irismessaging | ( one, video, action )

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alex benedetto

( one, video, action )

VIDEO:

[ if you were expecting much to come from this current broadcast, camp half-blood, you've got another thing coming. after that "debriefing" alex just had, and her overall unfamiliarity with such "technology" as communicative necklaces... yeah, alex is a little too overwhelmed to say anything (not that she says much at all, usually) so all she's doing right now is peering curiously at the pendant.

so enjoy a few minutes of this woman frowning at you, turning this way and that as she turns the pendant in her hands.

then, finally, a sigh. ]

I must have overworked myself at Constance's...

[ because this is definitely some weird dream, right? right. ]

ACTION:

[ dream though it may be, it's definitely one... very vivid dream. and crowded, too! though that just might be because she's still in hermes' cabin, so if you happen to be around there, you can find alex sitting along the edge of a bed, keeping to herself, and frowning around at the rest of the space... nothing personal, of course. she just has no real idea, yet, what to make of all this.

in truth, she's probably still just waiting to wake up.

...

just to be sure though.

she'll give her arm a little pinch. ]

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[...Out of all the people he knows who could've come here. It had to be her. Nic sees the broadcast, but answering it is too much effort. He doesn't feel like doing all that talking.

But once he's done with his routine and beating some brats around the arena (it's really not his fault they keep picking fights with him), and once he's showered after that, there's no reason not to stick his head into Hermes cabin. See if she's there. That's barely a detour at all.

So, yeah, have one familiar face, now in a garish orange t-shirt, but his tags clinking as usual.]

[ surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly), she notices him right away. even amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy cabin, she manages to spot him from across the room, as if she'd been looking for him this entire time. her expression is a mixture of surprise, relief, and confusion, because of all people she thought she'd see right now... he certainly hadn't been one of them.

even in her dreams.

her mouth opens, but she makes no sound. instead she rises from the bed, looking as if she were trying to deliberate if she should come closer or remain where she is.

in the middle of this deliberating, though, her attention finally decides to focus on one thing—

that shirt.

...

yeah, definitely dreaming now. ]

[He watches her stand up and start, tentatively. And then stop in the middle of everyone's way, staring at him like he's some kind of apparition. So he gestures at her.]

What?

[Is she coming out or is she gonna stay in there? Not that he's got any reason to talk to her if she does come out.]

[ it's probably because she's still convinced she's dreaming that she doesn't let that look on his face and his agitated signing get to her, crush her nerves.

indeed, it's that look, coupled with that ridiculous shirt (a shirt she's noticed others are wearing, but somehow on nicolas it's just ten times more alarming) that actually gets her to do something she'd probably never do in front of nicolas in a million years (at least not on purpose, and definitely not at his expense):

laugh.

it's a quiet one, of course, muffled slightly by the hand she lifts to her mouth. but she's definitely laughing, nic.

and you can probably tell she's laughing at you. ]

. . .

[Either she's gone crazy or- actually, he's not sure what else it could be. He's barely even seen her smile at him. So this leaves him a little bit dumbfounded. (Bear with him, he's been wearing camp shirts for over two weeks now. It doesn't really occur to him.)]

[ she probably does look crazy, doesn't she? laughing alone tends to give off that impression... but she stops before long, which means her hands are now free to sign back. ]

Nice shirt.

[Oh. ...that.

He scoffs back, which is as close to him laughing along as she's gonna get. When he signs back he keeps it simple. For convenience, of course.]

I can't wear mine anymore.

[ that puts a curious frown on her lips. what would that matter, in a dream? finally, she thinks to cross over so they weren't standing across rooms anymore, and joins him outside.

it's her first real look at the camp, outside the cabin, so for a while she's a little overwhelmed by it. finally, when she turns back to him, there's something a lot like dread settling in on her features.

a dream, so vivid...

without warning, alex slowly lifts her hand, eyeing that bright shirt that proclaims the title of this camp, and lets her palm graze over it. soft, cotton, worn. real.

with a little panic, she looks up at nic, her hand following right after, settling firmly on his cheek. warm, rough, worn. real. ]

...I'm not dreaming.

[He waits for her to take the place in. It's not like he's rushing anywhere. But then she reaches for him and touches him and that's a number of lines crossed and he gets even angrier over it because he noticed too late.

Nicolas bats her hand away none too gently, with a slight baring of teeth, and doesn't have an answer. It's just a realization, after all. Just a statement. No, she's not dreaming.]

[ she's too shocked by the revelation to even flinch at the hit, though it isn't nearly as bad as the ones she'd suffer from barry. she shouldn't have touched him, anyway, it was stupid to, and later she'll hate herself for it, but now...

now she turns back around, takes in the camp yet again...

it's true? all of this? the bit about her past, her parentage... for someone who can barely remember her background, hearing such things is world-shattering.

slowly, she lowers down into a crouch, instinctively curling up as her mind races. give her a moment. :'( ]

[It's just that brief reaction on his part. No further anger, as no further lines get crossed, and something akin to relief as it seems to drive the point home. He knows her like this. At least, a little more.

But he still doesn't do more than look on, not sure how to actually comfort her, or if he wants to. If he should. It pulled the rug out from under him, too, but all the same, what is he supposed to do? He can't make it make sense any more than she can.

Either way, he stays where he is. Surreal orange shirt, dogtags, and all, watching as she gathers up the pieces.]

[ she appreciates his silence, but moreover, she appreciates his being there. he could have easily walked away, but he didn't. instead he lingered, and while he might not have done more to comfort her, that in itself was comfort enough. just... him being there.

gradually, she pulls herself together, manages to look up at him from her crouched position. when she's certain she's got his attention, she tentatively signs: ]

Worick...?

[ if nic's here, surely worick can't be too far behind? ]

[He meets her eyes when she finally looks up, catching the shift from the corner of his eye. Instead of raising his hands to sign back, he gives a small shake of his head.

After a month, he's not so sure he expected anyone to come at all. Maybe Paul Klee or Galahad or some of the other twilights, if anyone.]

[ the surprise is evident in alex's face. shocks her enough to get her back on her feet, facing him.

no worick? but how? why? it was a jarring thought, a scary thought... but she refused to curl up again. or, at the very least, she refused to let nic see her like that again.

so instead she focuses on him. truly looks him over now. ]

Are you alright...?

[On the one hand, he's not sure why that of all things shocks her so much. On the other hand, he knows it's... it feels odd to live alone after all these years. But he merely huffs and rolls his eyes.]

I'm fine.

[There's a few scratches on him, but that's all. Dirt on the knees of his pants that he can't quite seem to get rid of anymore. But no bandages, no stitches in sight.]

[ she's quiet for a few moments, taking his word for it. but it's clear there's still something that nags at her, something that can't be determined just by physical appearances alone.

eventually, shes dares to ask. ]

What about... your medicine...?

[There's a pause there, before he answers, in which he looks past her, then down. His hands falter for a moment, because knowing it in his head and telling someone about it are very different things.

He still answers before he's recovered enough to look at her.]

I don't need it here.

[ and she reacts before even thinking, eyes wide and excited. ]

Th-That's great!

[ at least it sounds like it, to her, someone who's been made to take pills, and now has to rely on another set just to keep sane during her withdrawal symptoms. ]

[He doesn't seem so thrilled. To him, her reaction is almost jarring, and the frown isn't leaving his face. He shrugs, turning slightly away from her, towards the camp, and feels minutely the weight of his tags - of course he still wears them, even now. Even here, in a place where they hold no kind of meaning.]

[ she hears the subtle clinking of his tags and immediately she realizes — being a twilight is all he's ever known. to suddenly be stripped of that... it must be terrible. frightening.

quietly, she hovers behind him, waiting. if it's just the two of them... she'll wait till he's ready. ]

[It's like suddenly having a completely different skincolor. Or maybe an even bigger change, if only for the life expectancy. Perhaps he should appreciate not being despised or looked down on on principle, but it's just one more unfamiliar thing to yank the rug out from under him.

So he thinks of something else instead, and for a wonder actually starts talking.]

I'm in cabin 5. The red one.

[He gestures over to where that's at. So she can find him. Not that they won't see each other at mealtimes, anyway.]

[ alex starts, startled by his voice. that he would even speak to her at all.

she looks around suddenly, easily locating the red cabin now that he's pointed it out. she makes a mental note to memorize it.

once done, she moves so that she's in his peripherals once more, and hesitantly signs: ]

What now?

[He shrugs. The ideas man is usually Worick, and there's only so much to be done when they're stuck in here.]

Don't walk out. The monsters they talk about are real.

[He had to go see that for himself, but now he can tell her not to try the same. She, after all, would definitely die.]

[ she hesitates, slowly turning to look at him. she doesn't know nic to have much of a sense of humor, but she's pretty certain he's got one... if not a very strange one.

but he isn't laughing, and he isn't smiling either. ]

Monsters? [ definitely not a sign she thought she'd have to know. ] Real monsters?

Yeah.

[He kind of got mauled by one. But since people tend to make such a big deal out of it, he's kind of hesitant on showing the scars there.]

Didn't get far when I tried.

[So you might want to just not do that. He doesn't look like he's joking at all here. In fact, he looks more like it's not something he likes to admit. He's sure he could've done better than defeating only one rhino-sized hellhound.]

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action. ...so I may have lied about just one more.

action. omg bad kite >8(

action. ^^

action. huffhuff

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