Thirteenth Summoning [Accidental Video] || Overworked and Underpaid

[knew_anyway]

[The feed clicks on to show Nat in his study- but unlike his public addresses, he's not sitting calmly at his desk, or even looking at the camera. Instead, he has his back to the device, reaching up to get a book from his top shelf.

His study is nothing short of painfully organized chaos. Stacks of books and loose papers seem to reach the ceiling. His walls are covered with chalk marks, very few of which are English. He has Japanese characters, foreign words, and even a hieroglyph or two- and of course, lots and lots of Latin interspersed, with dark, angry lines connecting words together or crossing sentences out entirely.

It looks very much like he's lost it, especially as he opens the book he'd just gotten, turning slightly so his face is profile to the camera. He hasn't slept in days, his hair is messy from the times he's ran his fingers through it, his shirt is untucked, tie loosened.

With a negative mutter, Nathaniel snaps the book shut and turns to cross out another line of foreign writing, letting the book drop to the floor by his feet in frustration.

He continues working tirelessly, unaware that he'd being recorded, until the feed shuts off.]



[[ooc: SOOOO to anyone who can speak a foreign language, the words he has written are all regarding names- names of deities in that language's culture mostly, but also little scrawls on statistics and probabilities and things relating to alternate worlds, dimension hopping, and Other Places.

I am JUST returning from being internetless as well, so all of Nat's, Rome's, and Regulus' tags will be done shortly <3 <3]]

Comments

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

That there are many deities out there, the majority of which have some sort of affiliation for fire.

[Shut up about his handwriting, they were his personal notes okay.]

I'm in the process of trying to narrow down the possibilities by cross referencing the known worlds and religions in all of the textbooks in the library and the gods of the people who are already here.

1/2

[flameandpassion]

[ ... wait, Nathaniel, hold on, Rei just has to say:]

The deduction you've made is that there are a lot of fire gods and goddesses.

[The flattest tone you know, Nat. The flattest tone you know. But give her a moment more before she ducks out of the frame.]

[flameandpassion]

[And then, suddenly, there's a burst of fire that doesn't seem to actually burn anything, before Mars ducks back into view, one white-gloved hand wrapping a coil of fire between her fingers like it was nothing more than a string.

She looks so unimpressed it literally hurts her.]

I could have told you that.

[8|]

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

Yes, obviously.

[Don't push him Rei, he's still mad at you. >:(]

That was dry humor. I'm working as hard as I can.

[flameandpassion]

[She sighs to herself, letting the fire dissipate from her fingers, though she remains transformed, for a few moments.]

I can come over and help you.

[Pause.]

And I can tell you about the scientists.

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

[He watches her for a moment- still upset, but again, new information and the good of Adstring was more important than a few hurt feelings. He could swallow his pride for this.]

...I'll put on tea.

[It's not going to stop him from treating this painfully like a business transaction though.]

[flameandpassion]

[She's quiet for a moment before the transformation melts away in the flicker of flames -- and Rei sighs quietly before nodding slightly to herself, getting up and grabbing a thick wad of papers hand-bound together.]

I'll be there in half an hour.

[She has to tell Cas where she's going so he doesn't freak out again. It might take some doing.]

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

[Nat nods and shuts off the feed. He spends the next half hour trying to make the place look habitable, clearing up a space to sit at, and putting on that tea.

He tidies up his appearance, but there's nothing to be done for the bags under his eyes or the incredible weariness that was finally beginning to peek through the boundless energy he'd had at Christmas. She'll just have to deal with it.]

[flameandpassion]

[She slides into his house without knocking, when she arrives, precisely half an hour later, a little taken aback by the amount of... well, clutter everywhere. And when she eventually finds Nathaniel, she leans against the doorframe, hugging the papers to her chest, frowning slightly in concern.]

You need to sleep.

[Quietly. It's not a command. Just an observation.]

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

I need to fix this city.

[It's more important than his own needs- he's already realized that. Nathaniel looks at her for a moment, before leaning back against the wall.]

Have a seat. I'll get the tea.

[flameandpassion]

I can get my own tea.

[She doesn't move to take a seat.]

You're going to kill yourself before you even make it to the summoning, Nathaniel.

[She looks worried. 8(]

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

I need to do this, Rei.

[There's no real soft tones or gentle gestures here. He's tired, he's frayed and stressed, and he's still upset with her.]

It's for everyone's good. I can't justify making them all suffer just because I was too weak to keep going.

[flameandpassion]

I know that you need to do this, I need to do this too, but you can't just keep --

[But Rei stops herself, frustrated, and she grits her teeth together. There's little point in arguing. So, instead, Rei simply stares at him, stubborn, to wait for him to continue talking.]

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

You wanted to tell me about the scientists.

[Bart will knock him out before he actually keels over.]

[flameandpassion]

I will if you drink your tea and sit down.

[Quietly, without looking away.

Rest for ten seconds and be rewarded. If you want to be a stubborn jerk over it, then Rei will treat you like one, tyvm.]

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

[He sighs and moves to pour himself a cup, sitting down slowly on the couch. Nathaniel didn't have the patience to out-stubborn her right now.]

[flameandpassion]

[She watches, almost critically, before she sits next to him, though on the opposite end. He's clearly not pleased with her. There's little point in pressing her luck by sitting closer.]

They're alive and living in horrible conditions underneath the city.

[She tucks her legs underneath her, watching him quietly.]

I have it all recorded, if you want to watch it.

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

Please.

[He moves closer- purely so he can see her PCD- his eyes narrowed slightly. This is the best news he's heard all day.]

lalala details are still being played out lalala

[flameandpassion]

[She's quiet for a moment or two as she fiddles with the device, before scooting over to sit next to him properly, holding out her PCD so he can look.

It's recording discreeting -- an area with crops that aren't growing very well, numerous ill people lying around, and a lot of machinery. You can hear Rei, quietly hissing to someone that something feels wrong, along with another irritated mutter that her powers aren't working save for her kept transformation. Numerous people are present -- members of their team asking questions, speaking with the scientists, along with an unconscious guard propped against the wall.

Rei herself remains quiet as Nathaniel watches. Overall, it's a sad picture -- but they are in possession of machines powerful enough to render their abilities useless, through some weird branch of magic or whatever the hell it is -- Rei has little idea. It's not her area of expertise. And when the clip is finished, Rei finally speaks.]

Thalatte helped us.

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

[He watches it, not quite sure of what he's seeing at first, and remains silent throughout. A long few moments after Rei has finished, he finally moves, rubbing at the bridge of his nose with a long sigh.

Another puzzle. Another piece that he had to figure out and maneuver around. This almost made things more complicated. And the recording just hammered it home that Rei had done this without telling him, and as much as he was trying to not let his emotions get in the way, it was proving to be difficult.

Slowly, he moved to stand up, picking up the chalk and moving back to his wall.]

...Thalatte is weak in comparison to the others.

[flameandpassion]

[Her eyes follow him, some kind of knot in her stomach.]

... she is.

[It's quiet. And Rei falls silent again, as she thinks, before she closes her eyes, her hands folded underneath her chin as she lets out a long breath.]

Fire is unpredictable and can't be controlled unless you're just as unpredictable as it is. It can get away from you if you get overconfident.

[Rei opens her eyes slightly to look at him again.]

I swore that I wouldn't tell anyone about the mission, just like I swore to tell no one else your name. I couldn't break my word. And I'm sorry. [And Rei sounds genuinely guilty, as she watches him.] I never meant to hurt anyone and I was a hypocrite and I won't do that to you again.

[There's only the tiniest pause before Rei closes her eyes again.]

I can't let you summon this thing by yourself.

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

I couldn't tell you where I was performing the summoning because I was trying to protect you from my mistakes, should they happen.

[His voice is filled with tension, a few seconds away from snapping.]

There are different types of secrets, Rei. I told you my name because I trusted you to keep a secret. My name wouldn't hurt you- you going to find the scientists would. I'd like to know whether or not you're going to risk your life in the near future.

[His hands tighten into fists.]

I care about you, and if something happened to you- if you didn't even tell me-

[flameandpassion]

[Rei is quiet, as Nathaniel speaks, watching with a difficult to read expression. She tries to keep herself more or less neutral, but her heart twists at the thought of making him worried, and how cruel it had been.

It's difficult, for Rei, to relinquish her own responsibility for her own ability to keep herself safe. She is her own person. There's no need to rely on anyone else to keep her safe. Her entire livelihood is wrapped up in being the blunt force behind the senshi. If Mars can't take care of herself, no one can.

She doesn't know what to say for a moment or two, caught off guard, before she sinks slightly into the couch.]

A soldier follows orders when they have to follow them.

[Quietly, and Rei's eyes are fixated on her PCD as she turns it over and over in her hands.]

I'm sorry I hurt you, but I didn't have a choice. If I had told anyone, it would have endangered the mission, and -- I wanted to tell you, and Cas, but I couldn't. You have -- no idea how hard I fought to want to tell people, but I couldn't. And even if I had told you, in secrecy, you both would have insisted on coming along, and you couldn't. The people in charge of the mission don't trust either of you. No matter how much I do.

[Her nails tap against the screen of her PCD a little nervously before she finally looks over at him, clearly upset, but firm, at the same time.]

Toushirou would rather die himself than put me in any amount of danger that I couldn't handle. And if I thought I couldn't handle it, I would have told you regardless of what I was ordered. I wouldn't go on a suicide mission and not tell anyone I care about.

[knew-anyway.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't have gone.

[He looks back at her.]

That's the difference between you and I. If you tell me not to go, I'll trust you to take care of yourself.

[But he turns back, shaking his head.]

Nevermind that. You spoke with the scientists? Do you remember exactly what they said about the animus?

[flameandpassion]

[She's silent, at that, stung, before she goes back to focusing on the PCD. She shouldn't have to justify herself. But she does, at the same time.]

-- I lost my mind when I saw the Animus, Nathaniel.

[It's soft, almost inaudible, as she scrolls through muted video of their journey underground, eyes fixated on the dark video, ignoring his question. It's meaningless, at the moment. The information will be made public by morning. And Rei is having difficulty caring over the rush of success when two of her closest friends are having difficulty talking to her without immense disappointment.]

I didn't want you to face that alone.