come_sailaway | APRIL OPEN LOG: PIRATE JENNY

APRIL OPEN LOG: PIRATE JENNY

[early risers with odd-numbered rooms might notice that the morning sun doesn't quite come through the curtains as much as it usually does; they can peer out the portholes to see their views blocked by black-painted wood. everyone else won't realize something's off until the morning announcements. there's the chime, and Friday speaks, but...]

Passengers, I'd like for you all to join me in the atrium at your earliest possible convenience! We have a… situation!

[there is no bind on their legs; going is their choice. but, who wouldn't? something interesting is happening, at least. for once.

when they arrive, they will find Friday, and find that she is not alone. a woman - tall, dark, with a flowing coat and a lit cigar hanging from the side of her mouth like an old movie gangster - is standing on the raised area by the stairs; they are having a conversation that's too quiet to hear, and the woman's face is nearly as inscrutable. when enough have gathered, Friday steps forward, her empty hands clasped together in front of her, as the woman puts out the cigar on the heel of her boot and tosses it thoughtlessly to the ground.]

Good morning, everyone! I.. I'd like, I'd like to, well, I'd -

[the woman places a firm hand on Friday's shoulder - spins her, grabs her, dips her low to the ground, and kisses her soundly. at the first touch, Friday freezes; but, at the dip, she squeaks, and throws her arms up to hold herself up. the woman returns her to a normal position, and grins widely.]

Let me handle this, Dajutia. Hm? [Friday nods, and the woman turns to face the passengers.] Tau, everyone! My name is Jenny Storm, but all my friends call me Pirate Jenny! And I'd like to think we're all friends, sí? You could call me an... alumnus of the Serena Eterna; I spent a good five years being a thorn in the side of our good Captain! So, when I heard that he was getting up to his old tricks again, I decided to come around and see the fresh meat! And maybe have a bit of a vacation myself!

[she looks at each of them in turn. her grin widens, showing sharp canines.]

Now, I am sure you are thinking, "Señora Storm? You are a pirate! Are you here to rob us of our valuables?" [she barks out a laugh, then shakes her head.] No, no. First off, we're friends; it's Pirate Jenny! And Pirate Jenny is not interested in such things. In fact, I have valuables for you!

[she makes a quick movement: she sticks her pointer finger in her mouth, and then immediately uses that same finger to make some sort of sketch on her palm. seconds later, that same palm closes around a single white rose, which she extends to Friday. she pauses... then takes it, careful, holding it gentle as a bird.]

I may not be the Captain, but I happen to have a little bit of magic of my own! And, for a very, very low price, I can grant you a few small wishes! Trifles from home, maybe - do you like rocket launchers? I am getting very good at rocket launchers!

Jenny...

Okay, okay, no rocket launchers... Machine guns are as big as I'll go, promise!

[Friday just audibly sighs and shakes her head, but there's a clear sort of fondness in it, and Jenny laughs again.]

So, be sure to chat me up, sí? After breakfast! I may not miss much about this damned ship, but I do miss those little omelets!

[she salutes the audience, and then immediately leaves, taking the stairs down three at a time and needlessly pushing her way through the small crowd on her way to the elevators. Friday merely watches her go; her fingers have worried the rose to shreds that fall at her feet.

the rest of the month, until the 13th, is very much the same, with one exception: Jenny's ship remains at the Serena Eterna's side, a sailing ship somehow keeping pace with a modern engine craft. and Jenny doesn't seem to be keeping an especially close eye on it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Honestly, Jade has probably taken far more time than entirely necessary to debate this with himself--whether to stop by the infirmary at all, you know, being well aware of the identity of at least one person in there at present. An exchange with Flynn a day or so earlier--the selfsame exchange that had brought in the doctor who had eventually seen to Rita's hand in the first place, even--has already given Jade a pretty firm gist of what actually happened, and so from an information standpoint this is probably really rather unnecessary. (There's also a more awkward standpoint, too, in the memory of the very petty way their last exchange in the icebreaking party had rather abruptly ended...these sorts of things don't generally haunt Jade for long, necessarily. But it's another of a combination of factors here, you know?)

...Still, though. In the end...

Maybe he just so happens to be dropping by the infirmary today, sure. Incidentally. You know, for totally unrelated reasons. But if Rita happens to be awake around the same time too--

--well, no, that question's actually answered pretty promptly the moment Jade opens the door...and sidesteps a localized splash of water, that happens to spring forth from the floor just on the other side of it at the exact same time. Huh.]

Well now! You must be recovering even faster than expected, if you're launching attacks at unwanted visitors already! [At least the remark is cheery instead of offended?? Too cheery, probably, in that distinctly happily sardonic way of Jade's...]

The control's still not quite right...

[Rita notes it to herself as soon as the spell ends up activating right at the door, a good three feet from her intended target. Hmm, maybe once she can do this out of bed (she is slightly behaving by sitting up in bed while she practices) and once she doesn't have to be on those medicines anymore, it'll be easier... She's almost distracted enough to not even pay attention to Jade until he speaks up, and, well-]

Ah...It's you.

[Look, she just can't respond enthusiastically when he starts off in that fake cheery tone, and instead gives him what must be a very familiar skeptical frown by now.]

[Goodness, not even so much as a "shut up", huh?

............Not that he even knows why he was actually expecting a "shut up" to begin with. She isn't Luke, after all, even if--there are a few vague similarities, perhaps--

--No, but this is a ridiculous thought tangent anyway. Why's this tangent happening in the first place? Clearly, the actual surprise here is the utter lack of energy, a rather far cry from the happily smug Rita Jade had left behind in their last conversation, and maybe that's the main thing that's just a bit jarring about this. Obviously.]

[...So, seasoned master in the art of poker face that he is, the slight pause this gives Jade is an imperceptible one that he easily passes off as a moment taken to pull the door back shut behind him, before he idly steps into the room. The fake cheer is taken down a notch or two, in his smile and tone, as he pauses midway across the floor and...doesn't quite approach the bed, just yet, but.]

Yes, it's me, more's the pity. If it's any reassurance, I'm actually here on more of a supply run than anything. Though... [His glance does fall to that bandaged forearm, and he makes little effort to hide it. No point in dancing around the very prominent elephant in the room, after all.] ...Word has gotten around, as I'm sure you've guessed. Are you cleared to be running these sorts of experiments?

[The magic attempts, he means. Because asking something like "how are you feeling" would be weird, obviously, and clearly it's much less weird to angle the question in this sort of way instead! (As if it's not already weird enough that he's even lingering to have this conversation...but, you know, whatever--)]

["Supply run". Right. Okay, Rita doesn't actually know what Jade gets up to in his spare time or what ailments he might possibly be dealing with, but it sure sounds like a convenient excuse to her (and she would know a thing or two about these kind of convenient excuses). Not that she thinks he has any reason to come see her, either, even as he does confirm he's heard about what happened...

So, anyway, his question at least sparks some of that attitude he so dearly misses!]

Hmph! I'm Rita Mordio; I don't need anyone's permission to use magic!

Besides, it beats sitting around being all gloomy.

[Moping is just annoying! One way or another, she's going to keep busy.]

[Wow, so skeptical already, are we!! (Her skepticism is pretty much on the money, to be fair, but still...!) Look, there really isn't any good reason for him to be here at all otherwise, and they both know it, even if the notion of netting more details from someone confirmed to have survived an encounter with the Captain would be a slightly more sensible angle to take. For Jade's part, though, Flynn had already filled him in on many of the main points to Rita and Yuri's very unfortunate encounter...

And he is actually picking up something from the infirmary here, anyway! Look, he's moving towards one of the cabinets right now, see? ...But also listening enough for amusement to set in all the same, when Rita promptly leans into a far more familiar sort of tone.

(It really is much better, isn't it? Here's something he knows how to deal with, at least--)]

My my, how rude of me to have forgotten! Naturally there could be no one that might stand between the great Mordio and her magic, hm? [Not that he knows there's people back in Rita's world who actually call her something like this without half the sarcasm Jade's using, but anyway.] ...You're not wrong, though; just about anything tends to be more productive than doom and gloom. It would seem the Captain has done little to actually put a dent in that attitude of yours, has he?

[Is that an insult, or something very nearly like a compliment--? He'll never tell! Jade's opening up the cabinet in question as he speaks, and pulls out a couple of first aid kits before turning back towards Rita.]

That aside--how have you been faring, with artes? I take it you've been starting small...

[She's still watching him root through supplies with plenty of skepticism. After she so clearly won their last conversation (not that it was a competition...but she totally won), she's half-expecting him to gloat or needle her in petty revenge, and instead...

Well, he's still being about as insufferable as usual, but that's the thing--no more than usual. It's mulling over that behaviour of his--and Natsuno, earlier, readily admitting he was worried--that partially contributes to Rita not taking his comment as an insult. In fact, she replies pretty truthfully-]

The Captain wants us to suffer. If someone gets all down over a little setback like this, they're just letting him win.

[As if losing a hand is just a minor inconvenience. It's not, but Rita is determined to make it a minor detail.

His next question earns him a considering look for a moment; Rita might not be very socially adept, but she can still be more observant than one might expect when it comes to people. And in her opinion, he's just making it all the more obvious that he is here--at least in part--to talk to her.

...Which is pretty weird from Jade, honestly.]

...What was that? Something about artes?

[Err, yeah, she was maybe thinking too much about that and mostly missed his question...]

[Maybe an opportunity to gloat and needle might yet arise in the future, you know!! ...But that opportunity isn't now, no, for all that some might think there's a wealth of easy targets to be had here. Not Jade, though, believe it or not...not the Jade of nowadays, anyway. There's "easy", and then there's "cheap", perhaps even "gauche"; on an objective level, the slapdash plan that's now resulted in her hand's absence might have been an utterly reckless and foolish one, but...the circumstances temper the idiocy, all the same, when the fact of the matter is that they've done what most everyone else on this ship rather wishes to do too. Getting the Captain's attention, and trying to demand answers...even if it might have failed miserably this time.

(...And that's just from the objective standpoint, which is plenty enough justification all by itself. No need to get into the less objective aspects--the parts of Rita's age and caustic nature that are still more familiar than Jade would care to admit, especially when it would otherwise be rather tenuous just to even call her an 'acquaintance' just yet. There are implications there that he doesn't want to look at, after all, much less ever let see the light of day! ...But still...)

Jade lays the two first aid kits out on the countertop below the cabinets, but pauses again when Rita replies in that surprisingly honest sort of way. Not quite enough to earn a proper look in her direction, but:] ...It does seem like this is an attempted framework for another of his games, doesn't it? I suppose you've heard of his fondness for them by now, then. [Not to mention experiencing a taste of it for herself, naturally, when one looks at all this in that sort of lens. But Jenny's flagrant spilling of the Captain's details to all who asked have been circulating about the ship too.] Your outlook is as good a strategy as any. He probably expects you to find despair in your struggle, or something utterly cliché like that...

[The remark is a thoroughly withering one, at the good Captain's expense, though there's also something very brief in the way Jade pops open one of the first aid kits--an irritable sort of energy, in the latches being snapped apart--that might point towards his own opinion on the Captain's methods being rather less vaguely indifferent than he lets on. There and gone again, though, and he's absentmindedly rifling through the kit's contents in a pause that...ends up stretching rather longer than expected, after his last question.

Which does prompt Jade to look up at Rita properly, this time, just in time to catch the leading end of that peculiarly considering sort of look--before she seems to stir from her reverie, with an answer like that, and his eyebrows arch.]

...Yes, I was asking how you were faring with them. Considering your current condition... [Which he'd meant to indicate to her absent hand, to begin with, but. Rita's response has Jade turning from the counter to consider her in turn, now, studying her features with a neutral sort of expression. He may not actually know her very well at all, but he has gotten a general gist that she's probably, usually more enthusiastic about talk of artes than most other topics. Which makes her lapse now pretty weird, to say the least. Though as potential explanations go...] Well, but if the good doctor had any competence to his name at all, I imagine you've still got a veritable cocktail of painkillers in your system at the moment. Not very good for focus, I've heard...

[There's a time and place for needling indeed, which is why Rita hasn't (yet, at least) mentioned how their last conversation went. He knows, she knows, they both know it's bound to probably come up eventually...unless he continues to be weirdly concerned like this?

Jade might not be looking, but her expression does darken a little at the mention of the captain's games. There's the detail that she doubts Yuri has shared with anyone: that the captain clearly tried to make them agree on a scapegoat, and it was just a sick game to him. Well, both then and now, Rita's not going to play how he wants.]

Oh, that.

[Rita's gaze flickers to one of the side cabinets storing medicines. As usual, Jade's pretty astute. There's a few books on the table next to her, the top one sitting open. Yuri brings them by, but she hasn't been able to get through them as quickly as she would normally.]

I think he said it was called "morphine". It's not impossible to focus, but...that is partly why I'm only practicing small spells for now.

[The other part is, of course, the injury itself. Intermediate and advanced spells require additional layers of formulae around the caster, and she's always utilized the aer conductance of her sash to facilitate the process--the sash that she's always wielded in her right hand.]

[Hush it's totally not concern, just! A vague curiosity! About her wellbeing! Which is a totally normal and utterly unsympathetic thing for a detached associate to have, seeing as there's a lost hand involved and all that...

Anyway. Speaking of painkillers in an entirely incidental sort of way, Jade's confirmed that there's a small bottle of painkillers in one first aid kit, and matching contents in the other one too, opened and closed over the course of Rita's answer in turn. (Jade's used up all the ones in the very first kit he'd brought to his cabin on his first days of arriving on this ship--no thank to a Certain 109 punch-party incident that Rita's not going to hear about anytime soon, if he can help it!--and so an actual resupply had actually been in order. Especially since rumor has it that things are bound to escalate sooner or later on this ship in general anyway...) Jade's taking both kits up from the counter again and turning around to cross the floor as Rita speaks, and--there's a slight pause, in the midpoint of distance between her bed and the door, where a brief consideration is made between angling for slipping back out of the infirmary at the nearest conversational opening versus...lingering at least a little longer, for a spell.

It's a pause that lasts until the end of Rita's last sentence, at which point Jade comes to a decision...the entire logic of which he's not about to elaborate aloud, as he ends up drifting over to the area beside her bed instead anyhow, in the end.]

That is actually a pretty prudent sort of choice to make. I suppose this also means you've officially used up your recklessness quota for the month already, haven't you? [Why yes, he sure is making a bold and rude sort of guess that Rita's prone to more recklessness than not, most of the time! What other conclusion is he supposed to draw, when she's just lost an entire hand going through with a very recently slapdash sort of plan? He doesn't even need to be privy to knowledge of her usual habit of blowing things up in experimental matters--though finding this out at some point also wouldn't surprise Jade at all in the least. (....And maybe a very mildly insulting prod in this sort of way will be enough to cover for the inevitable oddity in him setting his first aid kits on the table beside her books, before idly sitting down in one of the chairs beside her bed. This is just because he's curious to know a bit more about her brand of artes anyway, alright!)] I've been wondering, actually--I understand now that your own artes are usually sourced from the 'blastia' you wear. Does it usually serve as your casting focus as well, however? For artes that are more complex?

[He is genuinely wondering about how her loss of a hand might affect these sorts of things for her, in equal parts to better understand her system and--well. No, that's all there is to it, of course.]

[She sure would enjoy hearing about Jade getting a fist to the face from Clarke; what a shame he isn't happily divulging that detail, huh...]

Sometimes a situation calls for a little recklessness.

[She says it with a shrug, almost casual--if just slightly miffed about the fact Jade seems to be almost scolding her (and, again, a little weird??). He also really isn't providing much evidence for that unconcerned bit, not when he's actually coming to sit down next to her; she regards him with another considering look, even if he does talk his way through rather smoothly...]

A casting focus... I suppose you can think of it that way, but it's also a bit more complicated than that. You focus on having the blastia inscribe the formula for the spell you want to cast. The bigger the spell, the more complex the formula, and the more layers the formula requires. Those additional layers surround the caster, so something with a high aer conductance can help generate them.

[She could explain more, but...for now, she pauses there to let him absorb that.]

[Sure, yes, but just because it's called for doesn't mean it should be--which is what Jade would say if he did want to scold her ~~even more~~, but he doesn't! Because it's sure not an urge that comes up at all, actually. Not even a little bit. That was nothing more than a rude sort of prod, thanks, and he'll pursue it no further with such a context in place. ...Jade isn't missing that considering look, with this being said, but. If Rita's not calling it out just yet, he's sure not about to try calling any attention to it either!

Besides, this is a perfectly productive and valid sort of topic now anyway, right? Is it really so odd, to wish to sit down while fielding a question or two about a matter of some scientific intrigue? Which is all that's going on here, obviously. Because it is interesting; Jade takes in her answer with a thoughtfulness in the way he folds his arms, the explanation a mildly surprising sort of thing in its complexity. --Rather, it's not quite the kind of complexity he was expecting, so to speak...?]

"Formula"--that's an interesting sort of term to use for it. I suppose a "formula" must be parallel to what a fonist would simply call a "structure" of the desired arte; the framework that must be devised in the casting process, in order to shape the arte you're wanting to use. We might be able to channel fonons through fon slots, but you're only going to get a messy burst of fonic elements without any sort of incantation or focus to further condense them into something useful. [(Luke's extremely roughshod iteration of his first mystic arte comes to mind, honestly...granted, a messy burst of fonons could be effective enough, in some cases. But still!)] In that sense, yet again, our systems remain both similar and different. Something with "high aer conductance", is it...?

[Hmm, thinking back on their last couple of encounters, Jade can't actually recall Rita actively carrying anything that might qualify in such a way; then again, it's not like they were in the middle of a battlefield in either of those cases either. Still...]

Items like staves or wands are common tools of casting focus, in Auldrant. More general sorts of weapons could be sufficient as well. But...I'd guess you don't use anything quite like any of those yourself, do you?

[Maybe she'll call him out on it eventually; for now they can pretend this is just a normal, scientific discussion and that it's totally normal despite how the last one ended.

And, well--just like Jade, Rita can't deny that it's interesting (and, hey, he's being forthright with information this time!). Her head might not be in the clearest state right now, but the fact that it is so uncannily similar to some aspects of aer-based magic artes is not only fascinating, it also helps with remembering the details.]

No. Some people do use staves or wands-

[Estelle comes to mind (frequently...).]

-but it varies from person to person. You can probably guess just based on the term, but aer conductance refers to how well aer is transferred through a material. The interaction between aer conductance and artes is somewhat unusual, since the exact conductance of an object can actually vary depending on the person using it.

[You know, if Jade wanted a long-winded explanation of why she doesn't use staves besides the fact she quite likes the aesthetics of her sash. She doesn't quite get around to answering the implied question of what exactly she uses as her weapon of choice, since her focus wanders instead to Jade's arm.]

Your weapon was a spear, which I guess isn't that distinct from a staff... Does that mean it's your casting focus, or...since you have to use an arte just to manifest it, maybe it's something else.

[Actually forthright indeed, truly another miracle! One that practically nearly warrants some calling out in itself, perhaps...but while it does last--]

Hm, so with that in mind, there isn't necessarily one specific material that would work best as a conductor of aer--but rather, it's a parameter that varies entirely on an individual basis. Fair enough...focus tools for fonic artes are about the same in turn. There is a niche for fontech that can promote enhancing the fonic resonance of a given item...or certain fonic artes that can also imbue such enhancements upon a piece of gear...but in the end there's a great deal of individual variance in what works best for a given fonist too.

[The uncanny parallels certainly continue. At some point over the course of that earlier cabin 109 punch-party, Clarke and Natsuno had both nearly pegged Jade for a mage in the same branch of blastia-based magic as Rita and her companions--and in these sorts of ways, Jade can nearly understand the confusion. ...Hm, is it actually usual for two seemingly different worlds to end up with arte systems quite so oddly similar like this? He's encountered other "magic users" from other worlds besides Rita on this ship too, but what he could glean from those others hasn't struck nearly so close a parallel to fonic artes as this. ...Alas, if only time and space and multiple dimensions were anywhere close to a familiar field for him...

Ah, but that aside--he's noticing how Rita's glance falls upon his arm, coupled with her implied question. Not an answer to his own, but it's still a turn in the conversation that finally brings out something resembling his normal sort of amused smile. (Whoops, he hasn't been doing that nearly as much as he should ever since stepping in here--now's as good a time to remedy this as any!)]

But no, actually; my spear indeed isn't my focus. In the way that I maintain it, it actually takes me only a very minimal invocation to actually summon--not a sort of thing that would actually require a focus to begin with. But even all that aside... [An idle little shrug!] I actually haven't needed to use any sort of focus to cast fonic artes in quite some time now. Though, to be sure, I'd call myself an exception! And certainly not a rule. Most any other fonist would definitely require a focus of some kind, for larger feats of artes.

Hmm...for entirely different worlds, that's surprisingly similar.

[She just goes ahead and voices aloud the same line of thought Jade's going in. It makes her start to wonder if aer and fonons may yet have some relation. After all, aer can exist in many other forms, with mana being just one example...

But there Jade goes with that infuriating little smile again, which gives Rita the sneaking suspicion that any further questions won't get answered quite so easily.]

What, so you're saying you just became too good for one?

[Hmm...she's realizing Jade's prowess with magic might even be more impressive than she thought. Shame about the personality, though... (thought with zero self-awareness here)]

[(Yeah pot meeting a kettle much there Rita....personality, huh........)

Really though, he has to get difficult about this somehow, else they'd otherwise be having an entirely too forthright conversation here--which would still feel weird, and probably look weird too, considering how their last one had panned out alongside...just how unnecessary all this kind of is, even if Jade's trying his best to obfuscate the oddness with perfectly scientific interest. The way Rita frames her question certainly helps in that sense, prompting Jade's infuriating little smile to increase in size and infuriating-ness.]

My my, but that would be such a grandiose sort of way to put it! I couldn't possibly wish to exaggerate it in such a way as that...though that's not an entirely incorrect way to put it, either. [He tilts his head, with an air both amused and thoughtful in equal measures.] Hm, it might be more accurate to call it more of an 'improvement' that was made...perhaps I'll let you work on figuring that one out too, though, hm? It did only take you a few days to find the answer about my spear!

[And of course, he's only leaving it like this because she's clearly a smart girl who could surely crack the case in no time at all! --Or maybe it's an intentionally aggravating sort of angle to put on it, considering he could just answer her plainly instead. But again...he's got a bit of a brand to uphold here at this point, you know? Speaking of that unfortunate personality, and all.]

Here, a hint upfront! It has a great deal to do with what I told you earlier, about the fon slots of the human body and their order of magnitude. [Absently, he's adjusting his glasses about there...]

[(Clearly if someone has a problem with her personality, that's their fault and not hers!! Nothing wrong here, of course not...)]

Can't you answer anything normally?

[Will she ever learn not to give him these convenient openings? Her track record in that respect isn't looking too good--not when she's predictably giving him an annoyed glower over his renewed dedication to being aggravating!

And yet...and yet, she also just can't help but immediately start recalling what he explained about fon slots. It was an interesting enough topic that she did file the details away as relevant information, so it's only an instant later that she's already thinking out loud.]

If it's about the order of magnitude... That was the eyes, followed by the throat...

--And didn't you say a moment ago that fonic arte enhancements can be applied to equipment?

[She eyes him up and down again, focusing primarily on those areas where his fon slots are supposed to be, but the glasses seem the most likely suspect to her, especially with the largest fon slot being located in his eyes.]

...Does it have to do with those glasses, then?

[(Maybe a rough personality's just part of being really great at mage stuff anyway!! This is a feature, clearly, everybody's just gotta learn to Deal With It...!)]

Afraid not! It's a terrible illness, really...they've told me I'll never recover! So now I just have to make do. [Maybe Rita might yet learn not to leave openings quite this easy one day, but today clearly isn't that day just yet...and so, naturally, Jade's taking cheerfully full advantage while he can! Here's terrain that's more familiar, anyway--yes, much easier to manage the conversation like this. To say nothing of a small sense of assurance in the fact that it would seem Rita's at least feeling well enough to have room for annoyance too...

And well enough to draw connections in a rather prompt fashion as well, even despite the likely fog of painkillers--more of a slight surprise, that, but not an actually unpleasant one. Sharp girl for a fact, really, and Jade's smile does settle from obnoxious to somewhere very nearly like approval for a moment? Almost. ...Still kind of obnoxious, doubtlessly, but--]

Commendable, for a first guess! You're correct, it does have to do with my glasses...although, I'm afraid it wouldn't be quite on the mark, if you're assuming they're a catalyst item in themselves. [Not that he could fault Rita for angling in that direction first, considering the context clues she has on hand herself. Hm, would she be able to pin it down with just a bit more of a nudge...?] In fact, on the contrary, these glasses serve as a suppressant!

[(Indeed, their genius is the much more important feature here!!)]

A suppressant...?

[Can anything actually keep Rita from wanting to unravel a magic-related mystery?! Especially when Jade is dangling these tantalizing hints ~~like an actual teacher or mentor~~? Sure, her energy will probably crash hard before long, but for now she's as intently focused as she can manage, morphine or no, mulling over the new information he's provided and staring at those glasses. (If she's looking a bit more pale than when he first came in, well, that's obviously nothing to worry about! Of course she was well enough to be casting spells!)]

...Where else can you apply those enhancements, then? Can you place them directly on your fon slots? And what happens if you're not wearing the glasses?

[All she can do is ask directly, since it's not like she can sense these fonons or fon slots herself--even if she does look rather intently at his eyes all the same. Which is totally not a weird thing to do in the name of scientific curiosity.]

[Wow hey now, there's nothing like a teaching moment happening here, or anything like that!! Naturally he's only dangling these hints in this sort of way just to prolong his wonderfully annoying prowess in dodging straight answers, and not at all out of a curiosity as to just how quick of a study Rita might actually be!

--But she is quick, now isn't she? It's not hard to tell how just how strong her focus has become, anyway, even if she is expending rather a lot more energy than perhaps entirely necessary here. ...She does...seem to be getting a little paler too, actually, something Jade finds himself noting even as she launches into her series of questions in rapid succession. Huh--truth be told, he hadn't really intended to get her this intent about it...? Though perhaps he really should have guessed something like this would happen, considering how their conversation during the party had gone. Scientific curiosity's clearly in full swing here, but...]

Yes, enhancements can be placed directly on fon slots--in theory, at any rate. The theorem isn't yet sound in reality, though, as such modifications are simply too prone to instability and unraveling to be sustainable long-term, and too much tampering tends to be quite harmful instead. ...Are you sure you'd like to know what happens when I go too long without wearing these?

[Ever heard a question being asked both cheerily and menacingly, at the exact same time? Well, that's happening about now, too! With a bright smile to accompany it, as Jade idly adjusts said glasses yet again.

His eyes are still that particular shade of red, it must be said. Perhaps it's for the better Rita can't exactly get up in his grill for a closer look or something weird like that right now, too, because within a certain vicinity one could start making out the glyphs etched on his irises! ...But if she's looking hard enough, maybe she could start to pick out the slightest outline traces of them, from this distance...

But--] --Hm, speaking of harmful things, though. Perhaps we ought to stop talking about this after all...your color's getting rather poor. [Here, less cheer, in favor of a more speculative sort of look being leveled Rita's way now. Wrly:] You're working yourself up a bit too much, don't you think?

[Yes, he's totally not teaching even as he drops just the right hints to lead her to the answer...not at all...]

Hmph, what, you lose control without them?

[Rita is actually a tad familiar with employing exactly this type of threatening suggestion, albeit with way less cheerfulness, so Jade doesn't get a rise out of her with that one! This time, at least... Meanwhile, she is squinting pretty intently at those eyes, and just when she thinks she might have seen something--

He's getting ready to run away again?! Or so Rita internally frames it, because wow of course she's totally fine! Look, she's even abruptly leaning forward to protest.]

Hey--I'm not done yet!

[The nausea roiling away in her stomach with renewed vigour tries to say otherwise, turning her glower at Jade into more of a grimace.]

[Well, it's more that the glyphs lose control of themselves eventually, regardless of his own general say in the matter of their structure...and so, in that sense, Rita yet again isn't terribly far off!

But Jade never quite gets around to answering that question, really, seeing as Rita's also promptly going on to work herself up even more--]

Aren't you, though? You're not being terribly convincing at the moment, Miss Mordio. [Honestly, there's something kind of ironic in the fact that he hadn't actually been planning to bail at a crucial point in a personal explanation this time...but that's kind of on him, and the fact that he did end their last two conversations in exactly that sort of way, now isn't it? In that sense, Rita could hardly be faulted for assuming the same this time too--but Jade's unaware she might be having that sort of thought, at the moment.

Instead he's assuming it's mostly a matter of her not wanting to admit to feeling poorly--and, well. Not exactly the first time he's had to work with a stubbornness like this, now is it? Jade doesn't even quite notice the vague touch of déja vu falling upon him until he's already rising from his seat, and moving to stand beside the bed as Rita sits up.]

If you're truly fine, your vitals ought to say as much as well, yes? Let's see them, then. [You know, give him your wrist! He's brusquely extending a hand for it, anyway, as if this is totally the most normal sort of request in the world.]

[A bit of both, really--Jade isn't wrong that she can be too stubborn to admit it, though her lack of response to that observation is probably telling enough in itself...

And then she blinks in surprise, because this isn't what she expected him to do.]

...Since when are you some kind of medical expert?

[Is she stalling? Probably! He's definitely getting a skeptical look as she most definitely does not offer up her wrist.]

[The lack of response is rather enough in itself; even besides that, Rita isn't exactly the most subtle sort of person in the world either. All told...taking her vitals probably isn't really actually necessary, is it?

No, it's really not, a fact that becomes more obvious in the small beat of a pause that falls between Jade's request and Rita's skeptical rejection of it. Jade's expression doesn't betray as much, but--there is a small voice, somewhere in the back of his head, that's chiding him somewhat for moving and speaking without actually really thinking about it. Because that's pretty much what he's just done here, now isn't it? It's not exactly like he can even excuse it by calling it a habit, either, or anything else to similarly imply he'd always do this to just about anyone in the same position. ...It's been a little while now since he last did, and at that time...

Luke's condition had been increasingly worsening for several weeks, before the end of things.

...]

Only an anatomical sort of expert, I'm afraid. Still quite versed enough to tell a proper pulse from a poorer one in a pinch, though!

[The wry smile that settles upon Jade's features doesn't waver, in the same way that the pointed cheer of his tone doesn't either. He's also not lowering that outstretched hand, though he's not exactly about to try grabbing her wrist or something either. --He might be fully aware of the oddness of this gesture by now, but the other option at this point would be withdrawing it, and that would only open a whole other door to awkward terrain? So...!!

The best and least suspicious thing to do, about now, is double-down on it in sincerity instead! He regards Rita with an expectantly amused sort of air, as if she's really being quite silly about all this. (Which she is in some stubborn ways, to be fair...!)]

You know, it would probably be less embarrassing to have your bluff called promptly, as opposed to stalling it out like this...

[In strong contrast, Jade's far too good at hiding what he's thinking. Rita has a slight suspicion that there's something going through his mind, but what that something might be--she has no idea.

And she isn't really going to dwell on it right now, between not feeling so great and Jade apparently determined not to be the one to crack first.]

...What makes you so sure I'm bluffing?

[Surely it's not the terrible pallor or the sweat beading on her face. Neither of these are important!!

...Or so she'd like to think, but she isn't actually quite so stubborn at this little game of chicken to keep going until she's sick all over the floor, an outcome only becoming increasingly likely by the moment, so--

With a deep breath (to ease the nausea, out of resignation, perhaps both), she settles back against the raised bed and raises her gross and clammy hand for him to take. Not without glaring at him, of course (or trying to, the effect is kind of lost at this point...)]

What a pain...

[It's a grumble that's directed at Jade but definitely lacking some of the usual bite. Ugh, he was right all along, but that just makes it more annoying!]

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