Come Sail Away IC Inbox

[crushed_pearls]

Erin's voice mail message is in a weary voice: "Erin Peters. If you called in the middle of the night and I didn't answer, I'm dying. If I pick up and someone on your end isn't dying, they will be shortly. Text otherwise."

Comments

[serialskiller]

It takes the cup and takes a small sip. The tea's now cold. That's okay.

"Can...you please grab some toilet paper from the bathroom for me?"

[crushed_pearls]

"Yeah, one moment." Erin retrieves the requested supplies, taking some care to walk quietly. She's familiar with SecUnit's cabin in any event, but also just...trying to be soft, be gentle. She offers the toilet paper out with an apologetic look. "I should have thought of tissues when I was getting the tea, they'd be gentler on your face."

[serialskiller]

"My face doesn't need gentle. I just need..."

You know, to blow its nose, which it does quite cacophonously here in demonstration, before grabbing for its tea again.

"Um...thanks."

[crushed_pearls]

"Least I could do," Erin says, with a little shrug. After a moment she gets her own tea and sips it. Some part of her wonders if this is the first time SecUnit's...mourned, so openly, so messily, but there is no kind way to ask that. So she won't.

"...Who was she, to you?"

[serialskiller]

"My roommate. Maybe my friend, too. And an engineer. She installed the speakers on my drones."

Maybe. It shakes its head. "We died on the same day of the battle royale. And woke up together. And...didn't talk about it, not much. It was hard. I don't think she'd ever died before. I had, but this was a different one. I adjusted my settings to generate heat, for her. Something warm. I thought it would help, and it did."

[crushed_pearls]

Erin nods, softly. "...Part of why we didn't hit it off immediately, she and I, is we had something in common. Or I think we did, anyway. Seeing, hearing, things that aren't there. It can be lonely and distressing even with people who love and support you, and...I don't think she was used to having that. It's good that she had you."