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.))

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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.]

[Well, Robert's not going to be getting out that way. He looks awkwardly at the window, clearly gauging the fifteen different ways he could spectacularly fail at getting through it.]

... Would you mind if I just used the door...?

[Seriously? It's a first-floor window, Robert.]

I'll meet you around back.

[Yes, seriously. It's still a window, and asking Robert to jump out a window can only lead to miserable failure.

So he nods and goes to make his way around the house the old-fashioned, non-ninja-y way. Which might take a couple of minutes, though he does hurry himself along.]

[By the time Robert reaches the back of the house, Don will be twenty feet up a tree and not immediately visible. He might not notice Robert right away either...]

[... Now where did his boyfriend go? Robert stands still and, essentially, comically turns in place attempting to locate Don. When that doesn't yield information immediately, he ventures:]

... Erm... Don?

[A deliberate rustle of a branch.] Here.

[Oh. Add "arboreal" to the list of things Robert never expected Don to be until this moment.

He glances up then, peering through the branches at his well-camouflaged partner.]

... Is there some reason you decided to climb up there?

Like I said, I haven't been out yet today. [That's an explanation, right?]

[In a moment, Don drops down to crouch on a branch a few feet above Robert's head.]

[Not really. That hardly explained anything. Still, Robert trusts Don's judgment for... whatever it is he does.

He still steps back awkwardly, though, when Don leaps down to the closer branches. Internally he is judging the strength of those limbs...]

I have never seen you do this before... though I suppose that, judging from your earlier exploits, it is not too unreasonable to consider this. [Climbing a building is pretty similar...]

[Don't worry; he's climbed this tree plenty of times before.]

You have to get up earlier in the morning. [He stands up on the branch, casually leaning against the trunk.] Can I convince you to join me?

[Robert eyes the tree warily at this.]

... I... am not certain on the... safety of the idea.

... Or the rationality.

[If he falls... well, it's going to hurt him a lot.]

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[Action] I tried to read that as 'abnormal'

[Action] pffft, as if Robert can judge that!

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