IC Inbox - Asgard Eventide

[samantha_grey]

An old, brick edifice stands in front of the burnt-down ruins of a home in the hillside. Mountains rear up in all directions, covered in lush, green vegetation. Nobody comes this way anymore, but you have the sense that anything placed in the mailbox attached to this old structure will be found by someone, the only living person for whom this place still has any meaning.

OOC: Feel free to comment here if your character wishes to get in touch with Samantha Grey directly. Let us keep any such material to PG-13 or less. If you're interested in something that should be matured tagged, contact me via PM and we can discuss it.

Comments

[samantha_grey]

Come on back!

[The voice sounded a bit like a growl, though more in a 'busy at the moment' sort of way than anything else. Samantha was barely visible, more from the swish of her tail than anything else, down the short hallway into the back lab.

When he comes back, he will find her hunched over the usual set of beakers, running the extractions on one of the potions she actually knew already to keep her stock up.]

[holmes_fanatic]

[Conan does just that, making his way down the hall to the small laboratory. Rather than interrupt immediately, he takes a moment to study Samantha, taking mental inventory of her appearance, the supplies spread out around her and the smells and stock discernable in the lab. It's not until he's decided this is a process she's familiar and confident with that he speaks.]

Taking your mind off things by throwing yourself into your work?

[samantha_grey]

And here's someone who actually understands how I think.

[She chuckled dryly and nodded, tapping one of the beakers and seeming satisfied. Motioning to one of the chairs, she sighed and reached up to rub her foreheads.]

I've been sticking to private messages this time around. Most people really don't need to see me out and about right now.

[holmes_fanatic]

Samantha-san is the sort to be wanting to do something. It's easy to see.

[Conan's got his hands in his pockets as he approaches Samantha. He doesn't take the unspoken invitation to sit, stopping in front of the chair.]

I appreciate you making an exception for me. This is something I wanted to say directly to you.

[samantha_grey]

Ok... I'm listening.

[She sighed and looked at him fully. There was a tiredness in her eyes. She wasn't sure if Conan was about to promise her they'd find a cure somehow, assure her he didn't hold her accountable or condemn her. She was less sure which she could handle easier right now, or if it might be something else.

Her mind was going far too fast for its own good. She made a note to take a sedative later.]

[holmes_fanatic]

[Conan took a deep breath. This was hard for him to say, but necessary.]

Samantha-san.

Despite all the information and warning you gave us, it did not occur to me to consider that your demon-half would be willing to go as far as killing herself to escape. I did not allow for that possibility in my plans, and I did not find her in time to prevent her from harming two close friends of yours seriously, or causing other chaos.

This was failure on my part. We've already made plans to meet, prepare for the next time, and I've some ideas on how to eliminate a repeat of this -- but if you feel I have failed to live up to your trust in me and would prefer I step down, I understand.

[samantha_grey]

[Ok, that was more unexpected. She looked at him, clearly stunned. And then she closed her eyes and shook her head.]

No. It's still my claws, and I won't hear another word on the matter. We all fucked up. She's never done anything that crazy, but she's never had to. I should have remembered how many times I've died, and how little regard she would have for life, even her own.

We're all responsible, and I'm claiming the lion's share. Just make sure you're not alone on this. I... I won't let this happen again. I can't.

[holmes_fanatic]

[Conan listens very seriously. He's not glad -- that is entirely the wrong emotion for this moment. Neither is he relieved. It's more an acknowledgement of the truth of Samantha's words -- they are going to make sure that mistake is not made again. That's a fact.]

We've got some good ideas on how to make sure of that. One in particular you'd need to be in on.

[samantha_grey]

[She nodded and turned to her work, the tension leaving her shoulders. This was easier to talk about. Shifting blame bothered her, but she was a lot easier going about plotting and planning ways to fix this, as he'd already noted.]

What's that one? I prefer not to know a lot, but at this point... Honestly, you're going to need to do something that will make it not matter nearly as much to keep me under control. You'll need to gag me and make sure my hands, feet, tail and eyes are firmly bound so I can't do more than wiggle. Unless my powers grow before next time...

Well, there's not much I can do to get lose then. Still, what's the idea?

[holmes_fanatic]

[Conan nods, having been thinking along similar lines.]

I don't want to say too much -- for the same reason -- but it would involve tattooing a rune.

Since as useful as that would be, it would also require a lot of trust on your part, I'd like you to outline again what your limits are before we go into the meeting.

[samantha_grey]

...

Tattoo?

[The way that she looked at Conan, it said a lot. There was suspicion there. A runic tattoo implied something permanent, something ongoing and something that might never go away. She frowned.]

I'm not saying no... but I haven't said yes yet. What kind of rune, and how would this work?

[holmes_fanatic]

A tracking rune. When necessary, we would trace the rune onto a map, use that to directly locate you.

[samantha_grey]

[Her fist clenched, and it was clear she was weighing this. What Conan was suggesting was basically a leash and a tether. She would have to trust someone else, someone who could betray her, to know exactly where she was at all times, or at least have the option.

It was worse than house arrest. It was humiliating, degrading and a little terrifying. It was also almost necessary now.]

I need to know how it works first. Normally, I want to not know, but you're suggesting branding my body with magical writings, Conan. I take that very seriously.

[holmes_fanatic]

[It's actually a lot better than the reaction Conan was expecting. Knowing Samantha had very good reasons not to trust people, the fact that she was willing to consider this -- it spoke volumes for her drive to stop her other self hurting people. Or was it simple desparation?

Either way, Conan had the materials with him to explain fully.]

Do you have time now? Or would you prefer me to come back? It's still very sudden --I don't want you to make a decision you regret while you're fresh from your other half's influence.

[samantha_grey]

[A little of both, actually.]

Now. It's a lot to take in, but I'd rather we get this started than wait to find out later. I want to know, and if we're going to do this now, it might be better we get it done before I think too long.

Truth is, we're out of options if she gets loose again. Another Eve would be too easy to happen. We're lucky I didn't... [and she shuddered, putting her head in her hands and sobbing for a second. It was a partial breakdown. She'd come very close to doing things to Eve she couldn't forgive herself for.]