15S R6 IC Contact

[mermaidkin]

[The greetings on the other end of the phone line by time of day.]

5 AM to 11 AM: Good morning, Stranger!
11 AM to 12 PM: Good day, Stranger!
12 PM to 5 PM: Good afternoon, Stranger!
5 PM to 11 PM: Good evening, Stranger!
11 PM to 5 AM: A little late, isn't it, Stranger?

[And then:] What can I do you for?

Comments

[mermaidkin]

Because you wanted to hear our voice, right?

[The host just wants to help and isn't even thinking of anything else. That purity of intention is saturated to the point of tainted by the grammar suggesting this voice is not his to solely own. His words themselves are clear as crystal, even though in the silence there's snow in the distance on the phone line.]

Vita Clotilde-Morris said you didn't like it when you woke up and she couldn't be seen by you. [Similar neuroses wracked him at the base; Hiyori elects not to bring up the even wider extent of his knowledge at this time.] You've realized you can't be sure what's happening to me, so it's the same thing, right? You know, I wouldn't mind if you checked in every evening! Nobody else ever called all day. You're the only one who would rather talk to us than Link, I think. So I'll have time.

...though if you do it enough I'll have to talk about the corporation sooner or later... [He sighs. He doesn't want to dwell on what sounds like a depressing thing!!] I wish you could understand what a wonderful opportunity I've received. Not to mention getting away from Yurick - powers regained - as soon as possible. But at least you can tell that this is me. I sow confusion to keep things truly classified and all, but you're the only one I can't abide not having completely sure that it's me. My point is... Even if your wife remains utterly impossible to convince, if she at least felt less completely at odds with the world I'd still be so pleased...

[backuphero]

That makes two of us. I'm worried she's wearing a target, now, one I can't pick up and put on myself. If she didn't feel like it was us against everyone it'd be different, but... I cain't shake the feelin' she's decided we shouldn't bother with alliances.

[He grimaces at the sheer Southernness of his own voice - this time, it definitely wasn't intentional - and while Hiyori (probably) can't see it, he can definitely hear the frustrated little noise Jonathan makes with the face.]

Just wish you two could get along. You're right, by the way. I do worry because I don't understand what's been done to you.

[Admitting it feels like burying himself in a grave he just happened upon; the choppy stiff rhythm of his speech, trying to resist the tempo set by this world, sounds like dirt hitting a coffin-lid heard from the inside.]

So, ah. Yeah, if you're sure you're okay with it. I'd like to call.

[Link is blandly placid in a way he didn't seem to be when they last met. Hiyori is very like himself, still, even when pronouns keep slipping into plural and he calls people by their full names no matter what. To people who hadn't met them, maybe the former would seem easier to handle than the latter, but for Jonathan the choice is clear. He'd rather think it's possible to maintain some kind of self, in case the worst happens, and talking to Link makes him start to doubt that. Hiyori seems far less... diluted by combination, in comparison.]

[mermaidkin]

Why would she? [Bother with alliances.] Is there anyone else she's actively close with right now who wasn't directly charmed by you first? Also, you're literally twice her size - she can hide from almost anything behind you.

[He's asking these questions like Vita is using magic to do make-up but not fix her hair: Guileless confusion.]

You're the kind of person who wants to pick up targets and calls. That earns you admiration. It's very simple. You shouldn't... want to be hated more, okay?

[But it sounds like this kind of abstract concept is something very difficult to wrap his mind around. What Jonathan wants is to understand what's been done to Hiyori, which for the person in question is like looking at the sun instead of basking in its rays. What happened to him having so much to say? So many plans? What were some of the words he was using before?] No, literally double, haha. [Even the powers can serve as unpleasant reminders that aren't needed with so little additional information, when every inch of architecture screams the name of their new home. Hiyori decides to focus on a happy thing and end on a high note!]

Anyway, that's when I'll hear from you again then! Good night!