karlach [pcs]

[cumulative]

shitpost coming

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[ablazement]

[ARE YOU REALLY THIRTYSDLKJKSK

that one i think tickles her about as much as the rest of it - a bark of a laugh is surprised out of her, and she cackles like an idiot.]

Gods, am I thirty? I guess I must be. [a beat.] I'm not a hero, but I'm trying to be good. That's all I got. Defeating bad guys is a thing I do, though, with my friends.

[cumulative]

You and your friends must be... very strong, then. It sounds amazing...

[miss ma'am your muscles. obviously she's strong, but like, you know.]

Do... all of you live that long?

[ablazement]

[a - pause, and then:]

Yeah, most of 'em. Longer, even. I've got a friend that's two hundred something. Is that not how it is for you?

[cumulative]

N-no... I heard that outside of Arpéchéle, people can become old enough that their hair even turns white, and their skin wrinkles up, but... I've never seen anyone like that.

[it's something else that sounds nearly like a fantasy, since none of them have ever actually seen a person who lived so long.]

Everyone at home... dies by the time they reach twenty-three.

[ablazement]

That happens a lot, actually, they get wrinkles and go grey all the time.

[her tail sways...]

Phew. Twenty-three? That's - nothing, that's like nothing. [she actually sounds kind of sad.] That's when your life's supposed to start, not end.

[cumulative]

When it's supposed to start...?

[oh. then, just how short are their lives, in comparison? what about the people who choose to really let them end there, or who die before they get to make a choice-?

he probably shouldn't say this, but he doesn't recognize the places anyone has mentioned, so it has to be safe enough, right?]

We can still, um, keep living past that age-! S-so it's not so sad, maybe... but even a cloned body will only live for twenty-three years each time, and you'll always look the age you were when you had your genes and your memory backed up.

[ablazement]

[her tail curls around her leg.]

... Wait, really? [she's doing her best to not vibrate in place, but.] What do you mean? You just come back?

[cumulative]

S-sort of... um, if you choose to have your genes and your memory backed up at the Institute, then so long as you have the funds for it when you die... you'll be revived as a Reliver. But you'll still only have the memories from the last time you updated your backup, so if you didn't manage to do that recently, you might be missing some of them...

[he fidgets with the fabric of his waistcoat, fingers clutching at it.]

And if you die without ever creating a backup at all, then... another person can't choose to have you cloned as a Reliver, either. You have to agree to it when you're alive.

[ablazement]

[there's just like, a long pause, where she seems to grapple with something. like she's working through a thought process. and then:]

Are you one of those?

[cumulative]

N...no.

[mathis is quiet, with a long pause of his own after that answer before he shakes his head again.]

I-I'm not a Reliver.

[ablazement]

Do you wanna be?

[cumulative]

[there's less of a pause this time.]

I... I don't.

[ablazement]

[that's fair, and she thinks - that's a reasonable decision. it makes sense, she can see all the angles as to why someone wouldn't agree.

but, it escapes her anyway, her expression faltering.]

You don't want more time?

[cumulative]

O-oh, um... well, I don't think that it would... work... so maybe I should have said that it doesn't matter-?

[he manages an awkward little smile, but it's somewhat shaky.]

[ablazement]

It wouldn't work?

[a beat, and then:]

I'm asking too many personal questions, aren't I. Sorry.

[cumulative]

Ah, i-it's all right, I never... said not to...

[he's just trying not to be rude, mostly.]

And it... keeps me distracted from asking personal questions too.

[otherwise he would have put his foot in his mouth already going HEY UM WHY DO YOU GLOW.]

[ablazement]

[HELP she actually laughs at this, tail wagging. or swaying, but like, in a wagging sort of fashion. swish swish.]

Hey, I didn't say you weren't allowed to ask me back. I got up in your business, you can ask me whatever you want.

[cumulative]

[well, okay, in that case:]

I-if I may, then... are you really... glowing?

[ablazement]

Oh, yeah. [she raps her knuckles against her chest. it makes a thud thud sound, like metal.] Side-effect of the old engine.

[cumulative]

[oh. his eyes go wide at the metallic noise, and he edges a little closer without thinking, staring at the spot she'd rapped against.]

Engine...? The mechanical kind?

[ablazement]

[she doesn't seem to mind. once he's closer, he can hear the quiet chugging of a steam engine in her chest. she's also stupidly warm. not burny, but maybe a bit uncomfortable.]

Yeah. Infernal, actually, but close enough. Careful. Don't burn yourself.

[cumulative]

A-all right-

[it's a timely warning, because he was absolutely about to reach out; mathis quickly draws his hand back.]

May I ask... why? Were, um, were you made with one? Or is it more like a... a modification?

[ablazement]

[there's a pause, as she thinks about the answer she wants to give here.]

Modification. [she says, finally.] I wasn't born with it.

[cumulative]

Oh...

[well. he feels like the pause to work out her answer says something, giving his head a little shake.]

I-I'm sorry.

[ablazement]

[she gives him a little smile.]

It's alright. I'm still alive, right? So, not so bad.