They say Cain was sent to the moon after he killed Abel. [Title Unrelated]

[incesteyes]

Who: Cain and Mary Weather
What: The two of them have spent so little time together recently. Cain decides to make it up to her.
Where: Cain's makeshift lab in one of the storage blocks
Warnings: None.

Comments

[contraryeyes]

Mary had almost not heeded her brother's summons. Something in the turning of the time, in all of her training, nagged at the young girl's mind - something no training could aptly prepare her for

[incesteyes]

It would have been unfair to infer that Cain, for his part, was doing fine himself. When the general sleeping hours came about, he would finish his duties or clean up his workstation or tidy up whatever clerical bollocks Enitan had assigned him that day, and walk slowly back to the Hargreaves quarters, all the while lamenting to himself

[contraryeyes]

Her smile faltered only very faintly at the tone in his voice, but she quickly reframed it.

"Yes, quite well, older brother. I've progressed a lot, recently." Very carefully, she monitored her tone to keep it warm, like she wasn't at all bothered by it. "A-ah, yes. What is it...?" She would be lying if she said that the lab didn't kind of creep her out, but it was her brother's - so that made it somehow better, right?

A moment passed as she paused, shaking her head. "Really, older brother... you get to be such a mess, working down here like this." Leaning up on her tiptoes, she wetted one thumb with her tongue and scrubbed away a bit of dust - or whatever else it could be - from his cheek.

[incesteyes]

It was almost shameful, how much Cain needed his sister these days. But then, of course, he could not let on that he was the sort to break down so often. To say nothing else, he was glad his workshop had a lock.

Her fingers were still soft, even after all her training. With a chuckle, he replied, "Well, one might get a bit smudged up when one is working on something like this." He lifted the scrap of fabric off of the glass sphere, revealing the murky, spotty liquid therein.

"Tell me, dearest sister, what can you guess this item is?" he said. He was never above adding some tension to a situation, especially if it would have a favourable outcome.

[contraryeyes]

"Still..." Maryweather blinked a few times when he lifted the fabric, tilting her head. "It... it rather looks like a crystal ball, but..."

Inspecting it closer, she squinted. "Inside... are those what you were given on that planet?" she asked, softly.

[incesteyes]

He leaned back, folded his hands. "'Mary Weather is the sharpest child I have ever met.' That is what they say about you, you know. Now, can you tell what what you think I have been doing these past months regarding these cultures

[contraryeyes]

A small smile drew across her face. "So I've heard..." she murmured, pausing. Her answer would wait, at least, until the Shaman's image shimmered into existence. "That's-- brother, is this...?" Her eyes were wide, turning from the water to him, and back again, and again.

"How... can he hear us now? Is there more to it?" she asked, heart pounding in her chest. More questions came to mind - how did she start these herself, how often did it work... but those were things she could ask later, if he didn't explain it. The idea of ingesting the culture would be a little odd - but all the same, how bad could it be? She'd eaten some strange dishes in her time, and so she could think of them like that, right?

[incesteyes]

The Shaman mouthed some words, and then Cain spoke. "Yes, she's here. No, not yet. I will make sure of it. Yes, it is the right temperature." With a sigh, he rolled his eyes a bit, and turned back to his sister

[contraryeyes]

"Well, it does often help to take close stock in those you've taught your methods to, older brother." Mary reminded him, tilting her head. "I... I see. But they'll be able to hear me once I take this?" The pill looked a little dubious - and the idea of swallowing cultures reminded her of the Kelsias Drops, which sent a shiver through her. "I'm sure I will, brother. It's been a long time since we talked, after all."

That wasn't this, though. Cain would never so much as consider something if he thought it might injure Maryweather, so she only barely hesitated before taking the glass of water and the capsule, swallowing it down with a quick swig of the water. It was so fast that she barely even tasted it, which... admittedly, she was rather glad for. Setting the glass down, she climbed onto her tip-toes to see better in the ball. "Can they see me and hear me now?" she asked, eyes wide, childlike for once.

[incesteyes]

Ah, those eyes. He missed when she still acted like a child. These days, she was perhaps more of an adult than he was, though that was perhaps always the case. Just, having been put on Senburu Trati'Salan, everything changed drastically, in directions Cain did not much enjoy.

"As soon as the cultures acclimate to your system, you'll be in the right frequency. Just give it a minute or two..." he said, trailing off a bit. "Perhaps I'll go and see if there are any sweets in the kitchen. and you can talk with your friends?" He pushed the stool back, and brushed himself off slightly, and with a little breath, went toward the door.

Once in a while Cain was not a terrible person.

[the_measurers]

On Iksilar, children crowded into the Holy Man's hut. They jostled each other to get into view of his scrying plant, seeing in the reflected waters of its bowl the blinking image of their offworlder friend. They talked over each other and jockeyed for position in front of the bowl, all wanting to greet her and ask her questions at once.

In one corner Soohurn could be seen, waving shyly but happily grinning, showing a mouth that was just now getting its first sharpened incisors.

[contraryeyes]

"Alright, alright, I'll be patient." she promised, offering a smile to her brother as he suggested to head toward the door. "I... thank you, older brother!" she called after him, watching as he made his way to the door.

It was easy enough to guess when her system reached the proper frequency, as the roar of the children's voices rushed at her, and she had to laugh. "Slow down, I'm not going anywhere!" she promised, grinning widely. She waved back to Soohurn, too. "How have you all been?" Admittedly, she kind of wanted to talk at length to Soohurn - but they could do that later, when the other kids were done asking all their questions.

[the_measurers]

"All flows well!"

"The Promise Chief had to defend her title!"

"I hear the grey men wanted to trade to capture you guys!"

"You should beat them up!"

"Yeah! Pow pow ptam!"

"We wanna see what it's like up in the sky!"

And Soohurn, turning the greenish red of a ripening tomato, raised his hand and turned it over, to show the ribbon she'd left behind tied around his finger. By the look of it he hadn't taken it off once since she'd given it to him.

[contraryeyes]

"Oh? How did the defense of her title end?" That was a little surprising, though she did understand why it could have happened. "Well, we don't have the numbers to win against them - sometimes, you have to take your time and plan, instead of rushing in.

As for what it's like in the sky... maybe someday, we can figure that out - it isn't as special as it sounds, though." A small giggle escaped her lips and she made her ribbon clearly visible, holding a small section of her hair in place. That alone was their silent connection, and there really wasn't much that needed to be said beyond it. At least, not in front of the others. Really, it was so odd - Mary wasn't used to having real feelings toward someone - well, that wasn't entirely true. She just wasn't used to them not dying almost immediately thereafter.

[the_measurers]

"She won, duh."

"We wanna see the rest of your house!"

"Yeah, show us!"

There was a generalized clamor to see more until Soohurn objected saying she didn't have to if she didn't want to, to which was replied: "I bet you lii~ike her, that's why you're saying that." A kissy face and giggles followed. It appeared her fishy suitor was trapped, unless she acceded to granting a tour.

[contraryeyes]

"Well yes, but was she injured or anything?" Pausing as they continued speaking, she laughed. "I'm not sure if I can - I'll have to ask brother if the ball can be safely moved. I don't mind showing you the ship, but it might take a while, and that's assuming I can."

Oh, children. Obviously, Soohurn had made no mention to his friends of his feelings - which was fine. She understood completely, and what difference did it make? None, of course. The two of them knew, and that was that.