towerofanimus | (no subject)

Characters:

benigncancer for now - if one of their roommates would like to join, please start a new root comment so we can assume they had a chance to finish their conversation first!
Setting: Room 2-08, backdated to immediately after Ψiioniic's intro post thread with Mao
Format: Prose please, I suck at action tags
Summary: Signless is going to have a long, tough job to put his friend back together - AGAIN.
Warnings: probably lots of swearing, and mention of torture & abuse

Ψiioniic was still half doubled over in shock and pain as Signless hustled him into the room with their names on the door. 'Overlord' Mao was left out in the hall, and part of Ψiioniic's freak-out had a lot to do with the thought of potential punishments he might be suffering the next time he met the strange alien.

The rest of the freak-out was very much focused on the troll right in front of him. "You're dead," he gasped, choking on his tears. "You're dead, I thaw you die."

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To find himself liking someone who on the surface seemed so much like the Condesce was messing with Ψiioniic's head. In fact, he even found himself feeling sorry for, her a little. She had no idea what she was really up against.

But she was young and idealistic, and if even a fraction of that idealism survived into adulthood - assuming she survived into adulthood at all - she would make a far better ruler than the current Condesce.

There was something about the way she talked about Sollux, too, that made Ψiioniic feel like there was more to her than the Condesce.

"I've met Sollux," he said, tilting his head at her and offering her the tiniest, shyest smile. It was getting easier and easier to look at her directly. "He thinkth he's my Descendant. Maybe. I'm... glad if you want to join uth. I apologize in advance for all the timeth I'm probably going to freak out on you."

Okay so. This was kind of cool. She was just inducted into a renegade of rebels from times much before her own, but with the same ideas of freedom and equality.

Feferi immediately shines back at Psiioniic, cheering up significantly as she talked to the two. "It would make sense! You two are the spitting image." And she shakes her head a little, clasping her hands together in front of her. "It's alright! It's understandable, since you had to glubbing serve the Empress and all. Our lusus, she's told me atrout her a little. How horribubble she is, beyond that of even common knowledge. She likes me betta, though." A grin. "I actually take care of her, keep her voice to a whisper." And her expression turns a little more shy, looking between the two of them. "I hope we can become good fronds."

Signless grew even more relieved when he saw Psiioniic smiling at her and talking almost normally. It gave him hope, even though he knew in the back of his mind that the slightest thing could still set the former slave off. He'd have to watch Feferi closely, because while he was convinced that she didn't intend to harm anyone, she could unwittingly hurt Psiioniic badly if she was careless about her words.

"Yeah, I'm sure we can," he said, offering her a grin.

"I'd... like that," Ψiioniic said, and he sounded surprised even to himself. Well, he thought he could be excused for that, considering everything he'd been through.

Her smile should have made him flinch, given that the only time he'd ever seen Condesce smile, it inevitably meant torture and torment for him. But this was a completely different expression from her smug, superior smirk. It was a hopeful, sweet smile, matching what he'd seen so far of this girl's attitude.

"What do you both think atrout this whole "saved" business, by the way?" Feferi inquired, still kind of lingering in the doorway in case being too near would make Psiioniic uncomfortable. "Apparently everyone already here think its all bullshark." She leans against the door frame, hands absentmindedly smoothing out her flowing, colorful skirt. "And there aren't any doors or exits."

Signless shrugged faintly. "I'm pretty sure it's impossible that our world's been destroyed, since it's apparently still around a thousand years later to hatch you wrigglers. How do you explain that?" He shook his head. "Plus the lack of explanation, the unnecessary danger, and the fucking collars. No, there's some other reason why we're here, and it's not a rescue."

"Thtill so sure we're not slaveth, SS?" Ψiioniic murmured sadly, reaching up to touch his collar. "Or maybe 'lab squeakers' would be a more accurate term. But you know, 'thaved' or not... so far it's been a fuck of a lot better for me here than where I wath, so I'm grateful."

"From what I've heard from otter people, there haven't been any experiments or anyfin like that! They've been reely nice. The only time people have gotten hurt was when the Tower was being renovated." Feferi frowned, playing with a lock of her hair. "But we can't leave."

"We are not slaves," Signless snarled at Psiioniic. "The only people who have tried to hurt you are fellow prisoners. So far no one's told me about any particular person who's in charge. If we were slaves, they'd be making us do shit." He glanced at Feferi, eyes narrowed in a challenge. "Right? We're prisoners, like you said. But we're not slaves."

The snarl made him flinch back, eyes wide, and he barely bit down on the reflexive apology that hovered on his tongues. An apology wouldn't be accepted or appreciated, he knew, but it was hard not to beg forgiveness for whatever he'd said that had upset the other troll.

"W-well, either way," he said after a moment, struggling to recover. "My life here ith already a million times better than it was last night, tho I'm not complaining. So what if I can't leave the tower? At leatht I can leave the room."

"Definitely not slaves." Fef quickly stumbled out an agreement, hands pawing through her hair. "We're all just kinda... here. And I'm shore there's a good reason that we can't go outside! It could be dangerous."

Signless twitched at Psiioniic's reaction and buried a hand in his friend's hair, awkwardly trying to soothe him and tell him that he wasn't mad at him, without saying anything in front of the girl.

"Could be," he said neutrally. "I still don't like it. There's too much that's weird and dangerous, and makes no sense."

"Yeah, but one of the weird thingth is that you're alive, so..." Ψiioniic tilted his head into the contact, his eyes drooping again as he enjoyed the feel of Signless' hand in his hair. "Like I thaid. I'm not complaining. So long as the Condesce doesn't show up, thith is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Looking at Signless, he reconsidered with a small smile. "Well, second best. The firtht was being ordered to assassinate you."

Blink. Blink blink.

"Being order to assassinate him was a good thing?" Feferi brain no compute that statement.

Signless laughed. "Yeah. He was ordered to infiltrate our group and then assassinate me. But instead, he listened." He ruffled Psiioniic's hair. "Of course, because he's not a complete bulgemunching idiot."

"More like, becauthe you're one," Ψiioniic dared to tease back, smiling. "That, and you tell a good story. You'd almost think it really mattered to you."