we're tuning in for your regularly scheduled changeling screaming

[runs]

[Not long after the return to Liminal, in a timeframe better measured in minutes than anything else, Kitty starts broadcasting. It's quiet at first but quickly gets louder as she's clearly working herself into a fit, dropping any ability to filter from the network as she goes.]

sheshouldnotbehereSheShouldNotBeHere

SHE SHOULDNOTBEHEREsheshouldnotbehereSheShouldNotBeHere

SHESHOULDNOTBEHERENOT HERE

NONONONONONODREKDREKDREKDREKTECHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHESHOULDNOTBEHERESHESHOULDNOTBEHERESHESHOULDNOT[...and so on.

(To those who'd actionspam at her instead of responding on the network, she's just standing rooted to the spot where she arrived, staring at a moose-sized dragon opposite of her, who seems to be rather unsure of how to help her, considering that she dodges every time the dragon tries to get closer, without ever moving away further. Her whole body is tense, her fingers curled, and those who can see through masks will notice that her whole body language resembles that of a thoroughly spooked cat.)]

Comments

[breakaleginhalf]

Okay, I'm coming alright? Just stay calm. Deep breaths, nice and slow. [He's trying to keep his mental voice even as he portals over to where she described, and finds her standing there.

With a dragon.]

...uh. What.

[runs]

[Kitty is circling around the same issue again in the time that it takes Gil to portal over, but she stops when he arrives, though she stays where she is, frozen in her spot between Gil and Cynthia, not wanting to get close to either and at the same time wanting to be close to both.

In the end she points at Cynthia accusingly.]

SHE SHOULDN'T BE HERE!

[The dragon just... stands there, already having learned that Kitty won't respond well to her coming closer right now.

And Gil will find a weak telempathic message floating into his brain, images informing him of Kitty having been worried about this happening since she learned that it was possible.]

[breakaleginhalf]

[The telempathic message is entirely unexpected, and his fur stands on end when he gets it - but he recovers quickly, and starts stepping closer to it with a hand out. He's seen How to Train Your Dragon he's got this. Totally.]

...okay, I get where you're coming from. [He does, really. The Arcana Folk kidnapping people she's started caring about is fucked up.] I do, you know I do. But she's here now. And we can't really do anything about that.

[runs]

But she should not be here.

[She's not yelling anymore, and the shift in her stance and how her ears stand more relaxed now betrays that she's okay with being approached now, which the dragon immediately picks up on. She wanders closer, nudging Kitty's side with her nose, and the girl leans against her, a bit defeated.]

She shouldn't. It's my fault.

[breakaleginhalf]

Kitty, listen to me. Okay?

[He steps in closer as well, resting one hand on the dragon's neck as he kneels down, putting his other hand on Kitty's shoulder.]

This isn't your fault. Not at all. We don't... [The dragon gets another brief glance.] ...we don't get a say in what happens here. And I know how much that sucks. No one gets that more than me. So, you have to believe me, when I say this isn't something you would have had any control over. Okay?

[runs]

[Neither the dragon nor Kitty pull away from the touch; Cynthia assumes that with how much Kitty seems to trust him, he must be trustworthy enough to not have to be worried, though she still watches them sharply.

Kitty's voice is still very quiet when she speaks.]

I shouldn't get close to anyone on jaunts then.

/switches to prose bc html sucks

[breakaleginhalf]

"That's not gonna help. It's bad for you to hide how you feel about things. And sometimes you won't be yourself. You won't be able to stop it." His grip tightens gently, and the look on his face is entirely empathetic. "But that's not gonna happen every time. You can't be scared of being close to people."

[runs]

"I can just stick to travellers." She frowns, but still doesn't pull away, doesn't seem to mind his touch at all. "But that's against their rules, isn't it?"

What happens if you refuse to play the game they want you to play?

[breakaleginhalf]

"I think you can talk to whoever you want. But if you wanna help break their rules, you gotta be social. All of us Travellers working together, that's how we're gonna win this for us. Not for one of those fuckers that keep changing the rules and cheating and bringing us here."

He feels for you, Kitty. "Being a Changeling means sticking together. Same as being a Traveller. They've got a lot more in common with us than we think."

[runs]

"...A lot more than they think, too. The other travellers." They don't understand, and she doesn't have the words to explain.

Neither of her. Both Kitties have never been the one to explain and dissect and academically consider. They've never needed to. One of her, her world was neatly parted into those who understand anyway and those who shouldn't know anyway, and the other of her, ... in her world, everything that others don't understand automatically either shouldn't be explained anyway or will be dealt with by one of the older teammates.

"They don't understand, and they should." And she can't seem to explain it properly, and it's frustrating, on top of everything else.

[breakaleginhalf]

"I talked to Riddick about it, but I don't think any of the others think the Arcana are like the Gentry. Matthew sounded pretty sick of Jules comparing them, honestly." Which frustrated Gil, in turn. Sure, the Arcana might be a bit more capable of human interaction, but he honestly didn't see terribly much of a difference. Magician certainly hadn't sold her case to him very well. "So I don't really think we're gonna be able to change their minds."

His hand shifts, to ruffle her hair gently between her ears. "So we gotta keep an eye out. Make sure the people you care about stay safe. The ones that aren't me and Jules. Okay? And if you ever need help, you can always find us." He looks back over at Cynthia. "Or her. I think she'll always be down to give you a hand."

[runs]

Kitty nods. "They think they can prove that they aren't Gentry, even though they can't." She frowns, thoughtfully. "I think it's because they're only stories to them, and even when the stories they know are accurate, stories are just stories. They think it's easy to trick the stories." Entirely. Not just win a single battle, not just stay free some days longer. No. "They think that they can know for certain that they are safe."

They aren't. And she'll look out for Cynthia and Gil and Jules, as much as she can. And maybe for others, if they become important enough. Or just more than a liability.