missiondeterminant | [Open Post]

It seems I was wrong.

[Connor states it casually and matter-of-factly, though underneath it he's somewhat annoyed with himself over it despite that he'd been completely aware there was a possibility that something evaded his scanners. He doesn't like to be wrong, he's realizing, although that makes sense for a being that was created specifically to succeed.

But that's a thought for another time; Maki seems fine as far as the thing having caused no injury, but she still needs to be able to drink some water if they're going to continue.]

Do you think you could lure it to the surface again?

[Because if so, he can make sure it isn't a further problem. In a cave system like this he can't imagine the water having enough food to support more than a few of those things, so chances are good that if they deal with this one she'll at least be able to get a drink.]

[ Wow Connor what an astute observation! She's just gonna ignore it given, you know, that thing tried to bite her face off. ]

Like bait. Of course. [ The miserable side of her thinks that of course she's the would-be sacrifice here. The rest of her just wonders why this is her life.

But okay. She figures he's been competent enough this far and probably has a plan, so she goes back to the edge of the water and repeats her attempt to drink. At first, it seems she's safe, but as soon as she has a mouthful of water, the piranha-monster jumps back up with a hiss, flipping in the air and looking for all the world like it's diving at her this time.

Connor help pls. Humans are squishy and easy to bite into. ]

[Connor watches the water carefully, both with his eyes and his scanner, tense and ready for the creature to reappear as Maki lures it out. But despite being ready for it, its ferocity is something of a surprise; still, it leaping out of the water just ends up making it easier for Connor to reach out in an instant, swiping it out of the air and over Maki's head to land on the cave floor a few feet behind them.

It flops on the ground, teeth gnashing, and Connor watches it for a moment before looking back at Maki.]

It should survive for a short time out of the water. Once you are done drinking I'll return it to the stream.

[No need to kill the thing unless it becomes totally necessary, after all. He'll just keep an eye on it while she drinks in case it tries to go after them despite being on land, but it seems too preoccupied with its current situation to be aggressive.]

[ Connor may be ready, but Maki isn't. She's not sure what to expect, which means she expects nothing and just ducks out of the way of the fish-monster being smacked away. It's anyone's guess if she's more unnerved by Connor's calm, though. ]

You shoud drink now too. I can't do what you just did.

[ She'd probably shoot to kill it, honestly. This is survival we're talking about. In fact, she's tempted to take her sweet time here, just to make sure it won't be a threat again, but wasting time seems unwise.

When she's finished drinking (and has rinsed her face for good measure) she looks over at Connor. ]

I wonder if we shouldn't kill it for food later, if it's edible at all.

[Connor ignores the suggestion to drink as well, at least for now; he's considering just telling Maki that he isn't human, at this point, mostly because he doesn't think that even if she took it badly that she could do anything to him. She did say she has a gun, but he thinks he could take her if it came down to it.

But first--]

I won't be able to tell if it's safe for consumption while it's still alive.

[Which his voice gives away is something he'd like it to be. He won't stop Maki if she does want to kill it, because food is important, but if it's up to Connor he'd rather return the creature safely to the stream.]

[ Maki may be able to kick ass and take names, but she's also more dangerous with a computer. Being that she doesn't have one now, she's just regular badass, which means that yeah she probably wouldn't do nuch damage to Connor. ]

Well, I don't need to eat yet. [ and she can tell he Cares about this thing that tried to eat her face ] Maybe when I do, we'll have plants to eat.

[ So fine, Connor. The fish monster can live. ]

Maybe. For a creature like that fish to live here, there must at least be some sort of food source.

[And for that fish it's probably smaller fish, but those smaller fish have to eat too, and so on. It's possible they'll find something edible down here, although Connor hopes they'll just manage to find a way out and have that way out somehow lead some somewhere that isn't just endless nothing.

But since Maki is done drinking and seems willing to let the fish go, Connor carefully picks it up by the tail before depositing it back into the stream; it quickly disappears into the depths once again, and Connor looks toward Maki.]

Are you ready to continue?

[ She'd feel better if they had a container to carry some water in, but she'll be okay for a while.

It's not every day you meet a person who spares an animal's life in a potential survival situation like this. Is he vegan or just really kind? Probably the latter, she thinks. He'd seemed pretty concerned when she said she nearly drowned, and he'd tried the water before her. That means she can trust him not to murder her if things go to hell. ]

Yeah. [ She nods at him and starts walking again.

After a few seconds of no conversation, she glances back at him. There doesn't seem to be any danger up ahead. ] I have two questions for you. What do you hope we find, and if we find a way back to where we came from, would you take it?

[ It's something she remembers talking about with her fellow Chosen as they'd wandered the Digital World. Kids have a different perspective on life. Back then, she'd wanted to stay with her partner. Now... if going back means drowning, she's not sure she'd take the option. ]

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