paradisa | 117.0

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117.0

[Backdated slightly to this morning.

York wakes up not only on the floor but in a completely different room than where he was before. There's a moment of panic - it looks entirely too much like something from home to be recognizable as the castle immediately - but as always Delta is there in his mind, reassuring him. Yes, he can still access the CastleNet, and look around a little. This is Noble Six's room.

The question then becomes why is he in Noble Six's room, and how did he get there? And why is his journal mostly blank?]

Hey there, castle. It's me, and I seem to be back to normal now. So. What kind of loss was I on and for how long?

[UNSC filter, sans Maine]

And what the hell is going on with the journals?

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[Carolina leaves her journals for a bit, moving over toward York and the storage unit. Distractions are nice, after all, and her team made a hell of a good distraction most of the time.]

Think this'll work?

[Have something starting to flicker a little as Washington starts remembering how to make it work. It's not a large form, but it isn't long until a person in armor appears, flickering to different colors.] Cute, York. Real cute.

[He's hiding his anxiety behind annoyance at least, as he tries to stabilize the color to a simple gray.]

[Hey, that's Wash in a nutshell. York sounds cheery as Delta pops back on and out of the storage unit.]

No worries. I've got this place optimized for AI use. Welcome back, Wash.

[He motions Carolina over to take a look.]

[Carolina cocks her head slightly to the side as she moves to stand at York's shoulder, much closer than she's stood to him since he came off his loss. Watching Wash flicker in and out concerns her more than anything. She's never seen an AI besides Delta and, well, Delta doesn't do this flickering stuff.]

You do know what you're doing. [Despite the complimentary nature of her words, there's still no warmth to them.]

[That color keeps flickering a bit, not really stable, even once he has it to gray.] Thank you. You have no idea how good it is to get out of there...

Bet it's pretty boring, huh? You got enough power and everything? [He should, York has very redundant power attached to the worktable but he's not entirely sure Wash knows how to tap into it.

He does inch a little closer to Carolina himself, until their armor is brushing against one another. It's not nearly the same as physical contact, but there'll be time for that later (he hopes).]

And no problem. Just sorry I couldn't help out sooner.

[Carolina keeps her gaze focused on Wash as he continues to flicker, not sure exactly how this is supposed to go. The brush against her armor makes her glance over at York from under the visor, reminding her all too firmly of the fact that he isn't real in her mind. For all she wants to just reach out and grab him, feel him solid underneath her touch, she knows she can't right now.]

You alright, Wash?

Boring is not the word I'd have used for it since Friday. But before that, it definitely was. [He pauses, checking the unit over.] Power checks out. And not your fault. The castle did it.

[He finally stabilizes the image.] I'm okay, Carolina.

[Now if only he sounded as confidant about that as he wanted to.]

[If Wash wasn't the priority right now, there would definitely be some physical contact going on right now and she's see just how solid he is. As it is, well, they'd better figure this out first (and then maybe retreat upstairs to her room).

York rummages around on the worktable for a moment and comes up with a few devices: a Dead Zone power crystal and what looks like a holder for it connected to a USB adapter, which he then plugs in to the storage unit.]

Here. You can keep the casing, but use your own power crystal next time. This'll give you enough backup power in case anything happens again.

[Carolina nods an affirmative to Wash's comment, but doesn't necessarily believe him, especially with a certain power lacking in his voice. Keeping him feeling safe would be their first priority certainly, and with the current schedule, she and York would have time in her room only until 1600 until Maine was locked in. When York moves to rummage around in the worktable, Carolina heads over to pick up both of her journals.]

When did people receive the crystals? [She thumbs through her old journal, trying to find the date herself as well.]

Understood, York. Thank you. I doubt you'd be able to find mine easily.

[He's working to reinforce the stability of his image]

Got them about a year ago at Christmas from Flora, who lives out in the Dead Zone a little. Probably the nicest First Gen we've met, and she has hot springs. Maybe we ought to visit some time.

[He leans down a little to be more on Wash's level.]

Heck, I don't know if anyone thought to test them on Friday. Maybe they didn't work.

[Carolina quickly finds the page but definitely glances up at York essentially asking her to the hot springs. In front of Wash. :| It is a great distraction, though.]

Didn't ask for them. [Didn't think to ask for them in the first place.]

I don't think it would. Technically, the castle shouldn't have been able to do what it did inside the unit.

I was trapped in there.

[Well, he's dragged Wash there before, so there's no reason it shouldn't come off as innocent...except he's totally picturing it without clothes, so.]

But hey, you're out now. And there shouldn't be anything that can hurt you now that you're in a secure location.

[And that's where York would get in trouble if she knew. ]

We'll be here, too, Wash. If you need us. [In a very no-arguing tone. Even if the Castle, York, and Wash aren't real, old habits certainly die hard. If she and York need to talk (which they certainly do), though, she wouldn't object to doing so in a different part of York's quarters.]

I should be fine for now. Trust me on that. The Meta isn't here to cause problems.

Doesn't meant he's the only dangerous thing in this castle. Still. [He reaches down as if to tickle Wash.

He does need to talk to Carolina, though, and he's not quite sure how to bring it up.]

Mind if we grab some food?

[Carolina glances over at York before back at Wash.]

If Wash is comfortable with it. [It's a little like having a kid around sometimes.]

[If only looks could kill.] York, I'm not like Delta is. Don't start that.

And go. You two are still human. And besides that, I think you may need to discuss some things.

Fine, fine. [YEP laughing internally at Wash now, even if the guy is right about him and Carolina needing to talk.] Don't break anything before I get back, okay?

[He nods to the door.] Shall we?

[Carolina nods silently before turning back to Wash. She moves to set her journal by the AI storage unit.] Filter to York to get a hold of us.

[And with that, she'd feel more comfortable leaving. The conversation, though, she's not so sure about.] Lunch wouldn't hurt.

I'll be fine. Go on now. Get.

And if you get bored, Delta's got about a million puzzle games on there. Might take you a whole half hour as an AI.

[And he'll lead Carolina out, locking the door securely behind him.]

[Carolina follows York out, glancing over at him for a long moment after he locks the door. The distraction of Wash had done a great job of focusing her thoughts outside of her own about the falsity of the Castle, but she could feel them filtering slowly back in now that it was just the two of them.]

Kitchen or my room?

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