023 // [VIDEO] // Such catty curiosity

[echo_of_utopia]

[ Lamb has been spending a lot of time in her part of the practice lately. Not for the influx of patients, mind, everyone seems to be doing splendidly with their destructive therapy, it's just that her room... but, well, never mind that. ]Five days. Five days, I believe, since the mansion has stopped regenerating itself. If this is merely an

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[video that hadn't thought of that!]

[40410]

[ Alex's carpet glitters. Who's to say whether the resolution of these screens allows a close inspection, but if you use your imagination I'm sure you could hit on the idea of shattered, stamped-on mirror glass. It's actually only what he couldn't get out of the carpet; the rest has gone down the toilet.

Also there is canned food piled up the walls. ]

You think we might be able to cross the sea?

[ There's a spark in his voice (and a crocodile egg on his desk) that wasn't there before. ]

[echo_of_utopia]

[ She will be focusing on the egg first. ]

...

...

...

...

[ Okay, good. Now to Alex's question and the answer may not me as promising after all. ]

If Wonderland is failing, so to speak, then there is a possibility, yes. Although... it appears that so far Wonderland's other properties remain unchanged.

[40410]

[ He has no love for the egg and will be studeously ignoring it until further notice. ]

Yeah.

[ Aaaand the spark is out. But it was there for a moment, which is a minor miracle in recent weeks. He got up and got dressed this morning, jeez, what else do you people want from him?

He linefaces at the hoarded food. ]

[echo_of_utopia]

[ She may have to come up with a more optimistic addition to that later on, but for now she follows his gaze to the food items she knows only too well. ]

Have you been preparing for something?

[40410]

I figure the closets might stop working.

[ What with the mansion dying and all. Plus it gave him something to focus on for a while! ]

[echo_of_utopia]

[ Good thinking. She briefly wonders why that didn't occur to her. Then she remembers that she didn't want it to occur to her, because Wonderland's death is... far exciting a thought to her than it is to most. ]

Good idea. [ I was hoping I would never have to see canned food again, but ] Perhaps I ought to prepare as well, just in case.

[ Now that's done, how about we address the elephant in the room... or rather, whatever it is that's hidden in that egg? She watches most of Bhamba's transmissions in order to keep as up to date with his research as possible, so she has a terrible suspicion, but... surely that can't be the case. ]

I don't recommend eggs. They are hardly nonperishables.

[ It's clear from her tone that she wants to ask about the egg rather than make recommendations. ]

[40410]

[ Do they have to talk about the egg? ]

Oh, believe me, I'd fire it out of the window if I could.

[ Fine, they can talk about the egg, but only if he can rest his chin on his knuckles and lineface some more. ]

[echo_of_utopia]

What do you mean?

[40410]

[ SO. MUCH. LINEFACE. ]

Bhamba decided I should hatch one of his stupid baby crocodiles.

[ DO YOU FEEL THE LINEFACE. DO YOU FEEL IT. ]

And if I don't I get eaten by his stupid grown up crocodile.

[ Fucking crocodiles. ]

[echo_of_utopia]

[ GOOD GOD, THERE IS LINEFACE ALL OVER ME! ]

Why you?

[40410]

[ LINEFACEPALM. ]

I don't know.

[ Something about his girlfriend and it really just boils down to 'Bhamba is a crazy bastard'. ]

[echo_of_utopia]

[ Well, that's... well. She considers this situation for a moment. ]

Would you like me to talk to him?

[ And is she really going to add that next part? ]

If you a certain you don't want to keep it, of course.

[40410]

[ That's actually a bit of a tough question. On the one hand he doesn't want his battles fought for him. But on the other... fucking crocodiles.

He shrugs, conflicted. Then he realises that his face is still on his hand, and lifts his head again before staring resentfully at the egg in its little incubator. ]

[echo_of_utopia]

[ Okay, fine. Let's try another approach. ]

Do you know when it will hatch?

[40410]

Yeah, mid-December-ish.

[ He got some books out of the library; funnily enough, they were fresh out of copies of "So A Mad Scientist Foisted A Saltwater Crocodile Off On You", but there are pet books and there are crocodile books and while he hasn't exactly thrown himself into the subject he has picked up a few things.

Pause. He kinda... he's aware that this isn't great conversation, he just feels like he's lost the ability to right that. ]

...

Sorry I've been...

[ His tone suggests that he's been trying to word this sentiment for a while. ]

...a bit crap to talk to, lately.

[ If you accuse him of understatement, he will not argue. ]

[echo_of_utopia]

[ That's enough time to come up with an idea or an interesting recipe for crocodile egg. It's also enough time to drop the subject for the moment and move on to his apology.

Their conversations were never the most cheerful, but lately it almost felt as if they had been unable to find a subject that didn't have a negative connotation to it somehow. ]

Don't apologise, Alex.

There have been too many events. They would tire anybody.

[ Not just literally. ]