i_speak_softly | Fifty-First Theory [Written/Voice/Action]

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Fifty-First Theory [Written/Voice/Action]

[This morning, instead of going for his usual run, Don settles himself at his desk in the back room. The door is open and a pencil is poked thoughtfully between his teeth. When he begins to write, it isn't filtered, but courtesy of a translation-shield, anyone trying to read the entry will see something that looks more like a Danish cryptogram than anything intelligible. It's a code Don uses for his private notes: only his brothers or an extraordinarily gifted linguist would have a hope of being able to figure it out.]

BGTVULWG - Wvlz hltwqszu bluul kgf bj svg hblfl. Bj ilkqtblf bqs q lu zu lb pvwblu WJDLUQ, gs bj zpflh bqzzal tgulf bqs zlwh, lkulf vu bj nvhbl iglu nl f q lu vg gs lt vwh.

[A little later in the morning, Don leaves the following message.]

Filtered to everyone he can think of that he would consider a friend || Unhackable

All my friends here in Luceti... would you say a few words about yourself? For my notes.

[Much later, in the evening, Don goes out for his run. Now that Shredder is gone, he's allowed to go out after dark again. He knows he doesn't have long before the nights get too cold for this, so he's going to enjoy it while he can.]

((OOC: On Ami's suggestion, Don is working on the in-game equivalent of a timeline and a CR chart.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

Call it a working theory.

[Don pats Robert's knee and turns back to his notes.]

[In response, Robert peers curiously over at Don's notes.]

... Are you recording information about other people right now? Or... is it something else entirely?

[Don sighs, rubs the ridge between his eyes, and resettles his wings in an irritated gesture.]

Um... Things about people I know.

I do not wish to pry... [He trails off, awkwardly resettling himself in his chair at that. Irritating Don is not what he meant to do, not that he can entirely tell that he did it.]

... I just hope it is a successful endeavour.

[Not your fault. Still, Don is just going to put his pencil down and... wait until you're finished.]

It can't hurt, anyway.

[Probably a good thing to do - having a curious person sitting next to you while you're doing something you'd rather not be questioned about is a recipe for awkward.

Luckily, Robert brushes it off quickly enough.]

It is... one of those precautions that one takes, hoping one will never need to find oneself using it - but being inordinately glad that one had thought to make it, in the event one has to.

[Which is a very roundabout way of agreeing.]

[... What.]

Is that a quote from something?

... Not that I am aware of... [Yes, he just comes up with sentences like that on his own. ~~The mun doesn't think he's quoting anything...~~]

... Did it sound like one?

It sounds like something Master Splinter would say. Like when he was teaching us to break our thumbs.

...

Why on Terra would he teach you to break your thumbs? [That is utterly incomprehensible, and slightly horrifying to boot.]

So we can get out of handcuffs. [He tilts his head.] You didn't know about that?

No... I had never heard that sort of rhetoric.

[Then again, he supposes a lot of the rhetoric that the family knows wouldn't be something he would understand.]

Breaking your own digits... [There's a cold horror in Robert's voice at that.]

It's better than the alternative. [But never mind that. He taps Robert's knee urgently.] Are you saying you don't know how to escape restraints?

[He shakes his head, in an awkward sort of way.] It, er, was never knowledge I... came into much contact with.

[Generally if Robert were to have been restrained his reaction would be to panic instead of escape. Um.]

[Don regards Robert with a mixture of horror and admiration. He doesn't know this. He doesn't need to.]

What kind of precautions do you know about?

Admittedly, very few. [Basic safety tips taught to Terran children, like advice on how to sit properly in transport pods, some emergency equipment usage, and emergency medical techniques.

But physical stuff he knows almost nothing about. It shows.]

Edited 2011-10-13 20:54 (UTC)

[Don gives up on his current project, and closes the journal.]

I'm going to have a week's worth of insomnia over this, you know.

Is it truly that problematic? [Robert wrings his fingers together anxiously, trying to imagine the kind of mindset that leads one to feel that learning how to escape restraints is a necessary part of life.]

[Don sighs and puts a hand over Robert's.]

To be honest, it's not the usual MO around here. I shouldn't worry about it.

[And Robert manages a shaky smile back.] I would suspect you would worry about it regardless...

... I am always willing to... to learn, if you wish.

Of course I will. [He squeezes Robert's hands, then stretches his arms over his head and stands up.] Anything you want. Whenever you're ready.

[Remember their previous conversation?]

[How could he forget? It was important, after all - and it's something that he seriously does need to think about.]

I... I want to be able to... to be part of your family, in earnest, and... and this is something I think fits that description.

[Don smiles over his shoulder, then moves to the window.]

I need to get outside. Want to come?

Of course. [Robert stands, almost reflexively, when Don does, standing behind him obediently.] Where did you wish to go...?

I don't know; I'm not letting myself go running until tonight... [And the unspent energy is clearly making him antsy. He slides up the windowpane and swings himself out, turning back almost as an afterthought.]

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