fourteen. spam. co co rico co co rico, in a flash of lightning.

[indispensible]

[She has been, if truth be told, a little lost since Stark left. Not because she was dependent on the schedule created by making sure he didn't do anything stupid, but simply because she misses him. His magic is still working, it seems; the things he enchanted for her function just as they always did, her golem-dog following behind her alongside Mike as she makes the rounds of the Barge.]

[Having his magic still at her back gives her a very specific sense of power - or maybe support. She knows she's powerful. It's nice that someone has her back anyway.]

[She spends most of her time on maintenance, at Anya's direction. But since she doesn't have an inmate to boss around anymore, she has more free time than she knows what to do with; since there are so many obviously dangerous people since the latest collision, she's experiencing a nice uptick in paranoia, too. She pays extra attention to the Mirror additions - not conspicuously, not drawing attention to herself, but she watches all the same.]

spam } psyke

[She has been watching this one - the one who was Jean - especially closely. Whenever she comes out of her room, Vin is there waiting. When she doesn't come out, Vin's there, too, listening with flared tin at the door for any sound that might filter through.]

spam } ben

[Vin is not as good as she might be at identifying the subtleties of emotion. If she was, she'd be able to put a proper label to this feeling. Right now the best she can do is betrayal, even though it isn't Ben's fault. And sadness. She is sad.]

[She sits outside his cell in silence, unblinking, waiting for him to speak. Wonders if he's going to spend the whole month in here. Probably he is.]

Comments

[annealed]

[She'd rather not leave her room at all, truth be told - not until she knows everything there is to know about this other Barge, and her counterpart. Not until, preferably, she can fake being that other Jean. Phoenix.

Unfortunately, Phoenix barely keeps any food in her room. She can't live on snacks and tea forever, especially if she wants to keep her strength up. (She's been doing her regular drills, and more besides - Phoenix does have the proper equipment, thank god.)

She's already made a few runs, late at night, moving as quickly and silently as possible. Stealth never came naturally to her, really, but Magneto drilled it into all of them.

Psyke slips out of her door with hard-won grace, but freezes immediately once it closes. It may have been a coincidence, the first few times, but now - ]

You're watching me. [Her voice is flatly accusatory. She refuses to show any apprehension - there's no need to flaunt her weakness.

She does, however, keep her back pressed to her door, and her hand lingering on the handle. She doubts this is her Barge's Vin, but if they have the same powers - it doesn't matter how quick or skilled she is, she's drastically outmatched.]

[indispensible]

[Vin lifts her eyes when Psyke opens the door - actually, just before, when her hand turns on the inside knob. The gears in the handle turn and Vin is waiting, so patiently, her hands folded behind her back, when Psyke steps outside. She notes the woman's posture carefully, that she keeps her back to a wall, that she is afraid regardless of whether she chooses to show it or not. That she has enough control not to.]

[Her lips go thin, an unreadable expression, neither a smile nor a frown.]

I've been watching you. Yes.

[annealed]

Why?

[To call her suspicious would be a vast understatement. It would be safer, probably, to just slip back into her room and slam the door.

But it wouldn't solve anything.]

[indispensible]

Because you're not right.

[And probably hungry. But Vin doesn't bother saying that. It's like sticking your fingers in a weakness and wiggling your fingers around.]

[annealed]

[Her eyes go wide, flaring with indignation, even as her mind catches up to her emotions. She's been told so many times that she's an aberration, a freak, a monster.

That's not what this is about.

She's not the right Jean, she knows that. Knows it right down to her bones, because that Jean is powerful, is in control. (Is noble, is loved.)

She takes a breath. She can't afford to lose her temper. Not here, not yet.]

And? [But her voice is sharper, now, harsher.]

[indispensible]

[Something she said is very wrong. That much is obvious immediately, from the look on Psyke's face and the way her body moves. She is so angry.]

[Vin goes over the words she said. Not right. It would have made Zane angry, once, to hear that from her. Why? Because she said 'not right', not 'incorrect'. There's an implied moral judgment. Vin tries not to make those, but it seems like she did by accident. She doesn't know anything about this woman's morals - except, now she knows that to question them is to insult her almost beyond bearing.]

And this isn't your home. So I want to help you, or help other people stay safe from you. Whichever's necessary.

[annealed]

[Help her? It's so absurd, so counter to everything she knows, either in her own world or the Barge. She can't help but laugh, low and harsh.]

Why would you want to help me?

[indispensible]

[This question, in turn, is fairly ridiculous to Vin. On the other hand, she remembers when it wouldn't have been.]

Why wouldn't I want to help you?

[annealed]

You don't know me. You're not - [Family.

But she doesn't have any family, not on the Barge, not any more.

She doesn't let herself deflate, she doesn't let herself seem smaller, but her shoulders do sink, just slightly.]

[indispensible]

I never said I knew you.

[She just watches. She's survived this long by reading people well, by acting on instinct - maybe she can manage a little longer.]

[annealed]

Then why do you care? [She would have understood, once. She would have trusted it.

That was a long time ago.]