MISSION: RELEASE THEM BACK INTO THE WILD

[initiates]

Date & Time: April 27th - May 1st
Location: Wollongong, Australia, 2464.
Characters: All voluntary transports + maybe a few drafted ones.
Summary: Make those stay-at-homes leave their nerdcaves! My god, do they even know what sunshine looks like???
Warnings: none planned, will be updated accordingly!

The city is old, dark, and very, very quiet. A good deal of the buildings are crumbling and old, but the ones that are actually inhabited glow like candles in the dusk the Transporter has dropped you into. All of these buildings are infested by wiring pouring in from every angle, ensuring that each inhabitant in his or her little block of a room has every modern convenience available in 2464.

There is no one on the streets, no public transportation, and even cars look scarce. But that doesn't mean there's no movement. Maintenance drones, controlled remotely, run deliveries or work repairs. Armed law enforcement drones patrol on rounds through the city, although their mechanized attention is mostly turned outward. Still, they might come to investigate a ruckus within the city limits. And if the persons causing the ruckus don't respond to peaceful attempts to get them to cease, the drones might attempt to subdue them with paralyzing technology and haul them in for a night in the city jail — another dark, unused place.

If you get hungry, there are entire warehouses dedicated to the production of foods. It can't be that hard to sneak in and collect a meal, right? Or you can hack into the system and order whatever you want, if you're good with that kind of thing. Or you can just scavenge—or fast for four days, maybe—if thieving and hacking aren't your style.

And somewhere around here, in those glowing, secluded towers, behind the legions of automated drones, live the reclusive citizens of Wollongong. The methods are up to you, as long as you can get them to come out and breathe the fresh air somehow.

[[ ooc; Mission details are here! This will run from 27th of April to May 1st, with those on the mission returning to Exsilium at the same time that the new arrivals show up. It's an optional mission, but if you'd like your character to go along that would ICly sit it out, feel free to say that the Initiative drafted them for this one.

There aren't any teams or structured threads to this one, so go wild! ]]

Comments

[duplicitoussight]

Heh... happiness isn't free. That's the moral of the story. Staying alone and safe or staying with someone even though it hurts you... ah, what a tough choice!

[A pause.] I wonder if the tailless bunny would think living alone was sad if he hadn't met the other. But on the other hand... the memories he got by being with the girl bunny were probably better than the ones he had when he was hiding.

[concealingeyes]

Even if she had given up after a while, it would have been too late. The more time passed, I bet he would've wondered sometimes about her. He was already lonely from the start even if he was hurt.

Well... everyone hurts each other sometimes. That can't be helped. They'll probably have fights and she'll probably feel a little guilty always. He'll probably sometimes think he should've stayed in the dark. But you can't smile the same or feel as happy alone. Those memories mean more than any of the pain.

You said she was happy but lonely. I bet her smiles are a lot brighter now with him. I bet he didn't smile alone in the dark. That's how it is.

[duplicitoussight]

So... in the end, this story's a happy one, even if one of the bunnies came out the worse for it. Happiness doesn't seem to be fair, either.

[He doesn't let himself dwell on his thoughts. If he does, he might say something he doesn't mean to say. If he blabbers, it creates a mental noise for him.] For a simple pair of bunnies, they're really complicated. It might've been better if I told a story about two bunnies being cute and in love!

[concealingeyes]

[She ignores his dumb joke.] It isn't fair, but... if they focused on that, then the girl bunny would just feel bad all the time and the boy bunny would feel bitter. If they weren't together, they'd be lonely again. Isn't that worse? It's worse to be alone.

[duplicitoussight]

It's for the best that they're together then. [How ironic.] Is that how Kido defines happiness--being with someone else?

[concealingeyes]

Huh? That's a weird thing to ask...

[She hasn't thought about it much but the answer is obvious.]

...Yeah. [Happiness is being together with your family and friends. With Kano and Seto and Mary and...]

What about you? What's happiness to you?

[duplicitoussight]

[He smiles at her.] My happiness is the same as Kido's, of course!

[concealingeyes]

[Kido stays quiet as she looks at him. Everything on her mind could be put together in a single question.]

Are you happy? Don't answer with any loopholes, either!

[duplicitoussight]

[The answer comes quick as a flash, without him thinking:]

What sort of question is that? Have I been acting unhappy?

[concealingeyes]

Oi! Answering with questions isn't an answer!

[She waves her hand in a vague manner. Just answer so she doesn't have to punch you.] You can give a complicated answer if it's easier.

[duplicitoussight]

I don't have a complicated answer to give. [He has an answer, but it's not one he wants to share. So he'll share a different answer, the one she probably wants to hear.] Of course I'm happy.

[concealingeyes]

[As if reading his mind.] Idiot. Just because I want you to be happy doesn't mean you have to say you are.

[duplicitoussight]

I'm happy because I'm with Kido right now. [He's going to chatter on like she said nothing.] And I'm happy because we're finally somewhere that isn't raining!

[concealingeyes]

[She sighs. If that's how he's going to be, then even if she pushes it, it probably won't do any good. Thinking back on the bunny story, would the girl bunny have kept pushing?

Maybe all she can do is be honest and hope for the best.]

...Happiness is complicated. I want to be home with all of us together. Wishing for that makes me sad. I miss Seto and Mary. [Saying this out loud actually hurts more than she expected but she can't end it there.] ...But I'm not alone. Ah, if I was alone, I probably...wouldn't be able to stand this place at all. Everyone just appears and disappears... but you won't. [She doesn't know that but she says it as thought it's a fact.] You've never disappeared on me.

[Even that's not entirely true. But in the big picture, Kano is Kano. He's here.]

...So I'm happy.

[duplicitoussight]

[He knows he's making her worry like this, by lying and covering up how he's really been feeling. And with each push she gives him, he feels conflicted--he wants her to keep digging as much as he wants her to stay away. Is he afraid of going blind, without the cover of his lies?]

Ah, we both know I'm not easy to get rid of.

[He can be honest. Just this once. I'm not happy. But when he opens his mouth, the mask of the lie is still there.]

As long as Kido's with me... even if Seto and Mary aren't here... I think I can be happy as well. It wouldn't be very hard.

[concealingeyes]

You're saying it like maybe in the future you can be happy, just not right now.

[Like always, she can't hide that it makes her sad or worry more. Kano 'deceives' but that's just a different way of hiding. His way works a lot better than hers. But it's probably lonelier in the end.]

If you think I can help, then... I'll keep doing my best for you. [Now would be a good time to say something, with all that's been on her mind, but she can't muster it, either. It wouldn't be enough to make him smile anyway.]

No, even if you didn't think I could help you, I'd just keep nagging you anyway.

[duplicitoussight]

[He didn't mean to let that slip. Dammit. He rolls over onto his side, so he's facing her, giving her his biggest smile. He musters as much cheer as he can.]

Leader's not making a lot of sense. I don't need any help! What she's doing right now is good enough. So don't put on such a glum expression, all right? You've got no reason for it.

[concealingeyes]

[What an irritating cycle. If she's serious, he worries. If she express it, he fakes harder. If she tries, he pretends. It won't get anywhere if he keeps fighting like this.

She groans and runs a hand through her hair. Why does such a nice smile have to be a lie? The more she tries, the more it feels like he pushes her back, always with smiles that should make her smile to see.]

You're such an idiot. Is it that hard to let me help you?

[She rolls onto her back and stares up at the sky. Even saying that probably just makes him want to try to throw her off even more.]

...Just so you know, though, it's okay to be sad.

[duplicitoussight]

[He, too, rolls onto his back, turning away from her, resting his hands on his chest.]

Maybe I'm not as sad as you want to make me out to be. It could be as simple as that. [It's a mean thing to say, but it leaves his mouth before he can stop it. It's become an instinct to push people back, even Kido, when they probed him like this.]

[concealingeyes]

[Maybe. He lies enough that she can't tell how bad or good anything he really feels, so of course she has to read into it. It's his own fault. If he wasn't so difficult...

She tightens her hands over her hoodie.]

Sorry.

[duplicitoussight]

[He doesn't answer for a moment. He looks up at the sky where they had traced their constellations together, frowning beneath the cover of his illusion. He doesn't mean to say things like that.

He's a liar. He lies, whether it's out of fear or worry or anything, from the most trivial things. And she knows that.]

... you shouldn't worry so much over my happiness.

[concealingeyes]

It's your happiness. Of course I'm going to worry over it.

[Even though she says it in a firm voice, she still won't look at him. If she was a better leader, a better friend, she could think of what to do to help.

Since she can't, she can at least stick by this one thing.]

[duplicitoussight]

Even though I am happy? [He gives a small laugh.] Well, that's to be expected from a stubborn person like you!

[concealingeyes]

Right, got it. You want me to leave you alone.

[She sighs. Just because she's stubborn doesn't mean she can't wear out trying. Not when he pushes it back on her.]

[duplicitoussight]

[His mouth will get him into trouble. He's heard that a million times. But he always forgets that it can hurt those around him to, when he speaks with sharp words. He doesn't want her to see that hurt part of him, that's all. But he doesn't want her to stop caring, either.

He's not very good at this. And he doesn't blame her for not wanting to put up with it.]

... sorry, sorry. But it's the truth. Leader's worrying over nothing.