Early week 3

[loyalrebel]

I... will need a rundown of what the story is about what happened on the ship, and who is in charge. I would also appreciate some assistance in putting together some sort of disguise, I may have my legs again but it would likely raise questions if I showed up around the island.

[Malik is... back. In other words.]

I am... I will warn you all now. If you sneak up on me, I am very likely to strike first and worry about who I have hit later.

[Because there's really only one way to stop infiltrating mid-jaunt without someone using a Skill to do it.]

Comments

[loyalrebel]

The Workshop.

[He's not okay, bro.]

[theflyingone]

[ Altaïr goes below the Cornu's deck, then opens a portal into Liminal Space. He knocks on the Workshop door before entering. He's replaced his hood with a bit of sailcloth wound around his head, and his long overtunic has been put away as well. The shoulder of his undertunic still has some teeth-shaped holes in it. ]

[loyalrebel]

[ Malik is pacing, staying in motion as consoling as anything can be at the moment. He's got his own undertunic and pants on as well, and if it wasn't for the thinly veiled frightened and shaken expression on his face he'd pass as perfectly fine.]

Altair I... I do not know how long it will take for me to be fine again. This dying is harder to shake than the previous ones.

either shoulder will do, Altair aims for the one nearest to him

[theflyingone]

[ His eyes darken with concern. He is once again struck with the painful fact that he does not know how to handle things like this. Attempts to comfort others can backfire on him, Abbas being a prime example. Adha is his closest frame of reference, but his feelings for her don't really apply here. Altaïr is afraid—genuinely afraid, which does not happen often for him—that if he says anything, he will only make things worse.

[ He reaches out hesitantly, which is unusual for him, wanting to clasp Malik's shoulder. ]

[loyalrebel]

[ Simply coming was enough to ease the anxiety in Malik's chest. There are still obvious knots of tension beneath Altair's fingers, but his expression eases.]

There are too many things pressing at my mind, ask and I will talk them out as best I can.

[theflyingone]

[ He keeps his hand loosely on his shoulder, not moving away, as if he's scared Malik will scatter like blown leaves if he does. Where does he even start? With the immediate problem, he supposes... ]

What happened to your Infiltrator?

[ The first step to disassociating from an Infiltrator is to refer to them as a different person, he thinks. ]

[loyalrebel]

I- he was a father again, and died trying to defend his son and to get... vengeance for what happened to the rest of his family.

[Because Malik is, if anything, eternally loyal to his family no matter who they are. At least until betrayed.]

He was... poisoned by Jules' overlay, not actively but the particular sort of octopus his totem is happens to be deathly toxic.

[theflyingone]

Jules's overlay was attempting to attack the son?

[ First the sailor's corpse, now this. Just how many murderers are they dealing with here... ]

[loyalrebel]

He threatened to, just as he claimed to have sent the... force that killed the rest of his family.

[If anything is consistent across worlds and overlays about Malik it was his unwavering loyalty and willingness to defend those who won it.]

I am... thankfully there is time to sort my mind out before the end of the Jaunt. Eren was my son.

[theflyingone]

Eren's Infiltrator. [ he corrected. ] I know he was Infiltrating because he was missed on the Network. I also encountered him, and he chased me unprovoked. The Traveler Eren knows my face and would not have done so, even while knowing I am friends with you.