06-09-2017, 06:52 PM
Rebecca splashed happily in the water of the tub, singing soft nothings to herself as Tearen drew a warm washcloth over her skin. Jade lingered self-consciously in the door of her own bathroom, unsure how much she should involve herself in this bathing process, if at all. In fact, she pondered off-hand on how long it had been since she herself had taken a shower. Heck, how often did any Prime shower?! Despite having olfactory senses as acute as those of any bloodhound, she had never specifically noticed any pervasive stink in the Omniverse. Rebecca's yellow eyes gleamed giddily as Tearen rinsed soap out her slick, black hair. The affection radiating off of the elder Prime was palpable, even to a non-telepath such as Jade. She found herself smiling; it was good to see such a nice, loving thing after all the violence and betrayal of the Mountains. Jade subconsciously squeezed the green star piece through the fabric of her witch robes, and almost as if it were a trigger, Tearen started to speak in a soft tone.
"I think I understand the general events that transpired, since Rebecca came under the care of you and Becquerel." Tearen said flatly. Jade swallowed.
"...It's okay. I'm not sure I could have kept her much safer. You seek out danger, and danger seeks me. It makes little difference. I'm just glad she was with someone who helped her feel..." Tearen trailed off as Rebecca blinked up at him again. Those pale, fathomless eyes held all the adoration and silent pleading that a child could muster. Or, perhaps, he was projecting onto her. It was hard to tell. Regardless, the ex-enigma hoisted the girl out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel. Rebecca snuggled into the bundling like a silkworm, peeping over the edge of the cotton at Jade with a playful mischief. The Witch of Space waited for Tearen to finish his thought, but he changed the subject instead.
"Is there a place she can sleep?" Tearen asked. Jade quirked an eyebrow.
"I though she only slept if she ate Omnilium and stuff." the young lady asked. The Shadow nodded slightly.
"Under normal circumstances yes, but I feel it's better if I manually put her to bed for a while."
Jade nodded cautiously.
"Sure! Um. She can sleep in my bed for now and I'll summon another one for her." Jade volunteered. She showed her guests to the bedroom, and Tearen laid Rebecca down on the mattress. He carefully dressed her again before simply waving his hand over her eyes for a second. When he pulled them away, the little girl was dozing peacefully. This elicited mixed feelings from Jade, but she supposed it was good that Rebecca was getting some sleep. Goodness knew that she herself could use some! Regardless, there was the matter of Rebecca's bed to address first. The goodly Witch pulled a chair next to the wide windows and began letting Omnilium leak out of her palms. Tearen quietly moved next to her and began to assist with the production.
They both sat in silence for a minute, the soft buzz of the summoning process filling the silence before the eldritch human let out a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a scoff. Jade looked up from their work curiously.
"Nothing, just...here I am, a Prime you spoke briefly with over the Dataverse. I dump Rebecca into your lap without even having the dignity to deliver her myself, and show up months later to pick her up. Many people would have complained." Tearen sighed. Jade's mind turned the ensuing emotions over a bit before she responded.
"Oh, but...she's really not all that much trouble! Besides, I had Bec to help, and uh...I guess you just seem nice? So it was okay I dunno..." Jade said, her speech becoming more rushed and mumbled as she went on. Tearen grinned in spite of himself.
"She is rather easy-going, yes. I suppose I just feel selfish. On top of that...undeserving, I suppose." he said, glancing over at the sleeping girl. Her pale skin and tattered clothes seemed to form a natural sort of artistic display, as she lay sprawled among the snow-white covers of Jade's bed. Jade tutted at Tearen sharply.
"Don't be silly! You're her Daddy! You saved her from that awful place, and-"
"That makes me her savior, not her parent. I could have just as easily kept her with me, but at that stage in my existence here I only saw her as a tool. The Underverse changed me, and I seek to rectify that mistake. So I've been thinking..." Tearen said, letting out a long, long sigh. Jade turned her head and gave Tearen an askance glare. She wasn't sure she was comfortable with where this was going. Not necessarily because Jade didn't want Rebecca around, but because it seemed wrong for Tearen to just give up on her!
"I'm not giving up on her!" Tearen snapped, shooting matching Jade's green-eyed glare with his own. He found himself clenching his jaw, and sat back, breathing out through pursed lips. The witch blushed slightly, partially because it was a little awkward to have your thoughts read, but also because she had apparently been thinking so loudly. After all, Tearen wouldn't just go reading someone's mind without asking them right?
...Right?
"Listen, Jade, I think that you might not fully understand how Rebecca...eh...works. She's emotional, and affectionate, but otherwise most of her cognition is a pattern of pure brainwashing. To her, Daddy is not a specific person, but a concept. I'm sure she's called you such plenty of times."
"...yeah." Jade said in a short tone. Despite being confident in his reason, Jade's chilly response had his ego faltering. It made the ensuing confession all the more painful.
"...so, Rebecca doesn't call me Daddy because I actually developed that sort of bond with her. She calls me that because I rewrote her brainwashing when I took her from Rapture so she would perceive me as such. At the time it was just a function of convenience. You, on the other hand...no one asked her to start calling you Daddy. She chose to do that. This is significant." Tearen said, taking a harder tone with Jade. She turned back to face him with a slight gawk.
"At this point I don't really trust her with anyone else..." the eldritch human murmured. He scowled down at the floor.
"...not even myself. I think she should stay with you, but, I can't force you to take her."
"I think I understand the general events that transpired, since Rebecca came under the care of you and Becquerel." Tearen said flatly. Jade swallowed.
"...It's okay. I'm not sure I could have kept her much safer. You seek out danger, and danger seeks me. It makes little difference. I'm just glad she was with someone who helped her feel..." Tearen trailed off as Rebecca blinked up at him again. Those pale, fathomless eyes held all the adoration and silent pleading that a child could muster. Or, perhaps, he was projecting onto her. It was hard to tell. Regardless, the ex-enigma hoisted the girl out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel. Rebecca snuggled into the bundling like a silkworm, peeping over the edge of the cotton at Jade with a playful mischief. The Witch of Space waited for Tearen to finish his thought, but he changed the subject instead.
"Is there a place she can sleep?" Tearen asked. Jade quirked an eyebrow.
"I though she only slept if she ate Omnilium and stuff." the young lady asked. The Shadow nodded slightly.
"Under normal circumstances yes, but I feel it's better if I manually put her to bed for a while."
Jade nodded cautiously.
"Sure! Um. She can sleep in my bed for now and I'll summon another one for her." Jade volunteered. She showed her guests to the bedroom, and Tearen laid Rebecca down on the mattress. He carefully dressed her again before simply waving his hand over her eyes for a second. When he pulled them away, the little girl was dozing peacefully. This elicited mixed feelings from Jade, but she supposed it was good that Rebecca was getting some sleep. Goodness knew that she herself could use some! Regardless, there was the matter of Rebecca's bed to address first. The goodly Witch pulled a chair next to the wide windows and began letting Omnilium leak out of her palms. Tearen quietly moved next to her and began to assist with the production.
They both sat in silence for a minute, the soft buzz of the summoning process filling the silence before the eldritch human let out a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a scoff. Jade looked up from their work curiously.
"Nothing, just...here I am, a Prime you spoke briefly with over the Dataverse. I dump Rebecca into your lap without even having the dignity to deliver her myself, and show up months later to pick her up. Many people would have complained." Tearen sighed. Jade's mind turned the ensuing emotions over a bit before she responded.
"Oh, but...she's really not all that much trouble! Besides, I had Bec to help, and uh...I guess you just seem nice? So it was okay I dunno..." Jade said, her speech becoming more rushed and mumbled as she went on. Tearen grinned in spite of himself.
"She is rather easy-going, yes. I suppose I just feel selfish. On top of that...undeserving, I suppose." he said, glancing over at the sleeping girl. Her pale skin and tattered clothes seemed to form a natural sort of artistic display, as she lay sprawled among the snow-white covers of Jade's bed. Jade tutted at Tearen sharply.
"Don't be silly! You're her Daddy! You saved her from that awful place, and-"
"That makes me her savior, not her parent. I could have just as easily kept her with me, but at that stage in my existence here I only saw her as a tool. The Underverse changed me, and I seek to rectify that mistake. So I've been thinking..." Tearen said, letting out a long, long sigh. Jade turned her head and gave Tearen an askance glare. She wasn't sure she was comfortable with where this was going. Not necessarily because Jade didn't want Rebecca around, but because it seemed wrong for Tearen to just give up on her!
"I'm not giving up on her!" Tearen snapped, shooting matching Jade's green-eyed glare with his own. He found himself clenching his jaw, and sat back, breathing out through pursed lips. The witch blushed slightly, partially because it was a little awkward to have your thoughts read, but also because she had apparently been thinking so loudly. After all, Tearen wouldn't just go reading someone's mind without asking them right?
...Right?
"Listen, Jade, I think that you might not fully understand how Rebecca...eh...works. She's emotional, and affectionate, but otherwise most of her cognition is a pattern of pure brainwashing. To her, Daddy is not a specific person, but a concept. I'm sure she's called you such plenty of times."
"...yeah." Jade said in a short tone. Despite being confident in his reason, Jade's chilly response had his ego faltering. It made the ensuing confession all the more painful.
"...so, Rebecca doesn't call me Daddy because I actually developed that sort of bond with her. She calls me that because I rewrote her brainwashing when I took her from Rapture so she would perceive me as such. At the time it was just a function of convenience. You, on the other hand...no one asked her to start calling you Daddy. She chose to do that. This is significant." Tearen said, taking a harder tone with Jade. She turned back to face him with a slight gawk.
"At this point I don't really trust her with anyone else..." the eldritch human murmured. He scowled down at the floor.
"...not even myself. I think she should stay with you, but, I can't force you to take her."
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued