[week six - wednesday]

[ceded]

[ If only she'd realized, from the very beginning, how long this conversation was coming.

Then again, if they'd known then what they all know now, the game would be a very different place. There might not be a game at all.

The Sheriff got what he wanted from them all. A fine show.

These are bitter thoughts to ruminate on first thing Wednesday morning. There's something coming today, more likely than not, she's not so stupid she can't recognize patterns. However, she is trying not to think about it right now. Right now, it is late morning, and she is making pancakes, because she wanted to try making pancakes.

She feels a little uncomfortable in the kitchen, suddenly, for reasons she also does not want to think about. Not yet.

It's only Percy Actual Jackson stumbling into the room in PJs looking half dead that gets her to snap out of her reverie, and just kinda.

Stare.

At him. ]

.... morning, Percy.

[ Assuming he. Just woke up. ]

Comments

[hydrokinetics]

[Yeah, well, Percy Actual Jackson is definitely on a second wind this morning. He'd woken up for a little bit the day before, long enough to get some juice before deciding being awake was still too much of an effort and going back to sleep through the night. It's strange to him that he's managed to sleep through Monday evening, almost all of Tuesday, and well into the morning of Wednesday.

Despite appearing half-dead and sleep-rumpled, his eyes are a little sharper than they were the last time he spoke to Xion. He's more alert and awake and he rubs the back of his neck, t-shirt doing nothing to hide the stupid tattoo on his arm.]

Hey. Good morning. [What if he just kind of melts into the floor? He had been expecting people to be out by now.] How's it going? [He'll also enter the kitchen and make his way toward a cabinet above her head.]

[ceded]

[ Somewhat despite herself, one corner of her mouth quirks up in a confused yet also very fond little smile. Just how long did he sleep? Yeesh. He must have really needed it.

She'll move with him without thinking, her smile stretching as she simply ducks while he goes for the cabinet above her. ]

It's going okay, [ she murmurs, trying not to laugh. ]

... are you, um ... [ glance ] ... just woke up, huh?

[hydrokinetics]

Good. [He's pulling out a box of blueberry poptarts, nodding to himself to confirm he heard her even as he shuts the cabinet.]

Mm...is it still Tuesday, or did we move onto Wednesday by now?

[ceded]

It's Wednesday! [ She finally cracks, laughing a little, and she has to stop what she's doing because her concentration is ruined. She was still making the batter, anyway.

Xion will turn and lean against the counter so she can watch him with a ridiculously fond (if also somewhat concerned) look on her face. ]

You okay? You must have been sleeping for a while.

[hydrokinetics]

[The laugh gets a sheepish grin in response even as he's setting the box on the counter and pulling out a foil packet. He's tearing into it almost ravenously, like he hasn't eaten for days (and aside from what little pasta he got from Xion and part of a sandwich, he hadn't.) It's only after half of a pastry's in his mouth that he speaks, even while he's chewing.]

Great, totally fine. [And this time he actually means it, though he coughs a bit when he swallows.] ...when I fell asleep it was still Monday. Surprisingly? Still not the longest I've slept. [He finally notices the bowl.] What're you making today?

[ceded]

[ Xion tilts her head at him and sighs through her nose. ]

Well, I guess you needed the sleep. Welcome back.

[ Finally she'll return to her bowl, smiling a little. ]

Pancakes! It's late in the day, but I haven't tried making them yet, so I thought I should. Would you like some?

[hydrokinetics]

[There's an almost-cheerful sort of grin. Wow. What a shocker. Sleeping for more than three hours or less a night is good for your health. He's already working on the second poptart, but his eyes light up at "pancakes" nevertheless.]

...if you've got extra, I'd absolutely be up for pancakes. [He puts the remaining poptart in his mouth and begins rooting through cabinets again, though he speaks around the pasty in his mouth once more.]

We've been here for so long, but I'm still not used to actually making food. It's been a while. At least somebody's learning around here.

[ceded]

[ Something about that - somebody's learning - pulls some of the light right out of her. She's so rarely cheerful these days that when she is it's noticeable. Now that it's left her again...

Well. She doesn't stop smiling. But the shape of her eyes changes, and she goes back to her ingredients. There isn't much left to add to this homemade pancake batter - just eggs, milk, and some butter. She'll start stirring, but right now, she's not saying much.

After a pause, she'll finally say, soft: ]

You know, it's weird. Usually I see other people in the kitchen this time of day. Was there really no one else out there?

[ She's gotten better at subtle.

Check the door. ]

[hydrokinetics]

[He notices, because of course he does. In the weeks by himself in this place, he's learned to watch people more closely. The shift in her demeanor doesn't go unnoticed, but he knows not to draw attention to it either. He leaves her to stir as he pulls out some syrup he squirreled away, tilting his head ever-so-slightly.]

Just you and me, Xion. With so few of us now, most people want to patrol the town or spend time in other rooms. [He's checked. He's always watching out for people in this place.] Just means more pancakes for you and me.

[And more time to talk about whatever's caused the shift.]

[ceded]

[ A breath. She won't ask him if she's sure, despite a burning desire to do just that. He wouldn't reassure her if it wasn't true.

When she's done with her mixing, she'll head over to the stove, where she's already got a griddle set up. As she sets about the small tasks of getting these pancakes started, she murmurs, in the same tone: ]

I know who the Deputy is.

[ No preamble, no qualification. She wants him to know that she knows, and they'll go from there. ]

[hydrokinetics]

[Both eyebrows lift this time as he looks at her back, though he doesn't pause or anything. No, instead Percy thinks. The Deputy, huh? That's...]

Oh yeah? [He sounds almost casual about it as he turns again, this time back to the fridge for more butter. For all intents and purposes, he really seems to be more focused on pancakes than the conversation.] What makes you say that?

[ceded]

Shinnosuke told me.

[ Said simply. ]

Don't yell at him, okay? I made him tell me.

[ She'll take the butter from him casual as you please, turning to use it on the griddle. She'll need plates; she hasn't got any of those out yet. ]

... I get it, [ she murmurs, very soft. ] Why you didn't want me to know.

[hydrokinetics]

[This he can handle. He can handle puttering around and helping her out and now he moves to grab plates for future pancakes. It also allows him to really mull over her words.]

I don't even know how Shinnosuke found out. [The tone is light, but the words are dangerous. No. This wasn't a conversation they should be having, and despite Xion's wishes not to yell at him, Percy's grip on the cabinet doors is tighter as he hunts for plates.] What did he say to you? And why'd you go and ask him anyway?

[ceded]

[ The way she cuts her gaze to one side to look at him is utterly inscrutable.

And then she goes back to her pancakes. The batter hisses once it hits the griddle, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet room. ]

We were talking about ways to end the game without more killing. Who we trusted, and who we didn't. I mentioned ... how much I trusted Dr. Lecter.

[ Past tense. ]

One thing just kind of led to another.

[hydrokinetics]

[Plates on the counter. Carefully, not forceful enough to shatter but with a purpose as he mulls over those words again.]

So Dr. Lecter's our Deputy? [Isn't that something. He hums in response, nodding like it makes sense before turning his attention to the griddle.] When'd Shinnosuke tell you that?

[ceded]

... please don't do this, [ she whispers. She takes the plates, keeps them close as she flips the pancakes, and refuses to look at him anymore. ]

Percy, I wasn't trying to go behind your back. I wasn't trying to find out. It just happened that way. We talked on Monday night.

[hydrokinetics]

You just told me you made him tell you. [He's trying not to blow up, but he's tried so, so hard to keep things under wraps. Monday. Monday was days ago. Did they get confirmation of his identity while he was asleep? Fuck. Fuck, fuck.]

Why. [Fuck.] Which is it...you weren't trying to find out, or you made him tell you? Don't protect him right now, Xion, this is really important.

[ceded]

[ Ah. No wonder people don't tell her things. She can't keep her story straight when she's trying to lie. ]

I guess I sort of made him tell me, in a way. [ very softly as she works on those pancakes. ] Really, I just don't want you to be mad at him. He was trying to protect me too, I think.

I told you I trusted you, Percy. [ Now she does frown at him as she ladles the pancakes off the griddle. ] I wouldn't go behind your back like that. Shinnosuke ... I think he just wanted to keep me from making a mistake I'd regret with Dr. Lecter. If I kept trusting him...

[ ... ]

Like I said, we were talking about who to trust. When I said I trusted Dr. Lecter, he got kind of quiet. He ended up explaining...

[ ........ ]

I felt pretty foolish, [ she whispers. ] But I haven't talked to Dr. Lecter this week. And I haven't told anyone else what I know.

[hydrokinetics]

This isn't about being mad at anybody. [Though he's pretty frustrated, there's that. He chews the inside of his cheek, not sure what to believe anymore. But he doesn't fly off the handle yet.]

I trust you, too. But this is really dangerous, Xion. Did Shinnosuke say it was for sure? Or that he thought he was sure? [This, too, is important.] I know Shinnosuke's trying to protect you, but...

[There are things he can't and won't explain. But...he takes a breath, running a hand over his face to calm down.] ...let's start over. What exactly did Shinnosuke tell you about Dr. Lecter when you brought him up? Who do you two trust?

[ceded]

I know it's dangerous.

[ She doesn't otherwise reply as she lets him kind of sort out his thoughts. In the meantime, she starts two more pancakes. His last question gets her to stare up, away, at nothing, at something a million miles away. ]

Each other. [ With the softest edge, before she looks at him. ] You. That's ... why I'm telling you this.

[ Again she looks away, keeping her focus on her food while she talks. ]

I didn't bring him up. Like I said, we were talking about who we could trust and who we couldn't, and I mentioned Will. I thought the best way to convince him of anything would be to go through Dr. Lecter. But Shinnosuke said that ... he and Dr. Lecter believed opposite things.

[ ... ]

He explained what the role of the Deputy really does, how you can protect someone or put them in more danger by putting them in the stocks, and how the Deputy has only ever endangered people. And ... he said that person is Dr. Lecter.

[ Her heartbreak lurks around her eyes, faint shadows that make her seem tired all through. But she doesn't pause in her motions. ]

He sounded pretty sure, but you'd have to ask him yourself if you really want to know more.

[hydrokinetics]

[It's alarming to hear all of this. He appreciates the trust, understands why Shinnosuke would think to tell her, but he remains absolutely silent as she speaks.

This is information he wasn't sure was meant to be given, and he can't help but wonder what happens now. There's a noise of agreement that Hannibal and Will want different things, though he says nothing. This isn't about Hannibal and Will. Hannibal, sure, but not Will. Not really.]

We don't know that for sure, actually. [It's the only line of admittance he'll say to her to acknowledge the Deputy role. Of course he's known about the role and what it does. He's known for a few weeks now.] But I can see why Shinnosuke wanted to warn you. I'm interested in what else he may know.

Did Shinnosuke say anything about anyone else? Anyone we should be suspicious of, I guess. [He doesn't know how to really address the Dr. Lecter thing yet.] …I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the roles. But I suppose it doesn't matter since Hal announced what they all are, and we know that Yuna and Sara both had one.

[ceded]

[ These next two pancakes are done. She transfers these to the same plate as the first, and then slides the plate over towards Percy without saying anything. If he still wants food, it's there. Now she starts on her own. ]

We don't, huh...? [ Glancing at him again out of the corner of her eye. Her trust in Hannibal is already irreparably broken; even if he turns out somehow not to be the Deputy, the other things Shinnosuke told her were enough for her to want to stay away from him until they all know for sure exactly what kind of person Hannibal Lecter really is. If he turns out to be the person he's always said he is, she'll apologize forever and ever and hope he forgives her. But if they're right, well...

Turning away from him now will have been for the best. ]

Well, he and I talked about who else might be a problem, which is really just anyone we're not sure of. That was Dr. Lecter, Will, Rin, Ash, and ... Okabe. [ Who seems to be missing. A thoughtful, frowning tilt of her head. ]

... it's okay, Percy. It is dangerous to know this stuff. We're going to have to be really careful about what we do from now on. [ With a sigh through her nose, she looks down at her pancakes again. ] ... we have to protect Damian.

[hydrokinetics]

[He'll take the plate and proceed to drown his pancakes in syrup.]

We don't. [He's firm about that, because it's a guess. There's nothing solid in the idea yet.] That's the problem with this game. People are going to have a lot of questions and speculations but we're always going to lack a few facts.

...those people are kind of on my list, too. Especially the last three, I don't think I've spoken to any of them more than a couple of times. Have you? [There's a pause as he looks for a fork.] We're going to do everything we can to protect him. Don't worry.