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[When Kaiba first started seeing the signs of the affliction among the city he disregarded it. A few extra petals scattered here and there weren't that alarming even if it was in areas where plant life was not present. Then things escalated, and he actually saw some people coughing up the foliage and he could not suppress a groan nor his apprehension.

So he took to the network to provide an important announcement]

If this starts to affect the locals I'm telling you now that if I have to perform surgery it's not going to be for free. Not this time.

[There, his first dose of honesty. Sort of. ~~Not really~~. Then he realized that the people here wouldn't understand his impromptu message, less so if they didn't know the malady he was referencing]

I've seen evidence that there is a disease ... taking root in the populace and it's one I've dealt with before. [The word pun was almost as painful as the condition could progress] Once infected a plant starts to grow inside the body, if left untreated it continues to grow until the victim begins choking on the flowers and expelling them from their mouth, so if you start feeling like something has infected you don't take it lightly.

There were two strains in the void, one was dependent on sharing any secrets you have bottled up, and the other was just physical so if you incur any cuts don't skimp on the antiseptic.

[OOC: Action is also possible if you would rather. He's personally going to treat you all like plague fleas and try to lay low in his house with Ann until it passes... or so he thinks. When he's hit with Prompt II he'll be exhibiting traits of a different God and feel compelled to go out and shudder be NICE. ALSO! Kaiba is operating under the false impressions that this disease will act the same as the one he knows, and is actually more serious and potentially fatal, so he will not have any chill about it.]

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[ As soon as he cuts the feed, Ann comes out of the kitchen, rounding the corner with a plate of sliced apples of both vibrant reds and greens. She walks up behind where Seto is seated so that she can press a kiss against his cheek, soft and brief, before she settles down onto the sofa next to him, placing the neatly sliced apples on the coffee table in front of them. ]

That was nice of you to dole out a little bit of info on what we went through in the Void.

[ Not a fun memory to have to actually relive, but... well, here they are. At least they've got each other for now. ]

[Kaiba looks fixedly at his tablet for a little longer after he shut off the feed, thumbing through it looking for anyone else that might have run in to the phenomenon before him. There was nothing yet, which was good. Maybe it wasn't going to be as widespread. Humming to the kiss on his cheek, he placed the device aside and sucked in a breath]

It wasn't nice, it was practical. Resources are limited here.

[Was he calling the other people resources? You bet. Did he mean it? Not likely. Havenwell was better stocked for anything they might need than the void. So, yes, he was being nice. Starting off in denial was ill advised]

Ugh, this is going to be rough. I can already tell.

[ Of course he'd say something like that, it's a very Seto Kaiba Thing to Say™. It's hilarious almost, but still, he says that it's practical, and he's right. But she still thinks it was very sweet, even if she won't push that particular subject because she knows how he feels about it. ]

Mm... true enough. Even still, I think it was very, very nice of you.

[ She smiles at him, before she gently nudges him with her shoulder. ]

Maybe it will, maybe it won't. We know how to handle things better now, right? We've been through this once, so we'll be okay.

[ Picking up the plate, she offers it to him -- it's a healthy snack, and she knows how he is. Mr. I'm-Not-Hungry. ]

[Seto never wanted to be thought of as a soft touch since in his mind that equated to weakness and in turn it would make him appear easier to manipulate. But yes, even though he hadn't formed any strong connections here yet he didn't want to see people needlessly suffer. He might not people well but he was not a sadist]

You tend to have that impression of me in similar instances.

[Also knowing better than to argue the point too much. Looking to her his grim features softened a bit, her actions were as if nothing had changed, as if there wasn't a very real danger and it was oddly calming.

So he snatched one of those apple slices]

I.... don't think I ever told you about the procedure I mentioned, did I?

Edited 2021-06-17 01:06 (UTC)

[ Seto is a good person, better than he wants to let on or even realizes, and she's glad that she at least gets to see that more often than anyone else who isn't Mokuba. Then again, she feels fortunate enough just to get to see him and be with him on a daily basis. ]

Of course I do, and I'm right every single time.

[ There's no point in panicking or worrying too much right now -- whatever ends up happening, they'll face it head on and come out stronger for it. That much she's convinced of; they're a little bit ahead of the game at least in this aspect, but they'll have to wait it out and see what's going to happen.

She's glad that he takes his apple slice, too -- because being healthy is key now more than ever. They're gonna have to amp up their vitamin game too, probably, even if vitamins have nothing to do with the disease. But it can't hurt. ]

No, you didn't... who did you have to do surgery on?

[ ...Is. Does he have a PhD too that she's unaware of? ]

[ddkfhkjhd If he could have heard any of this he would have little to say on it and would have tried to skirt right past it. Emotions were still difficult, and she did get to see more facets than most.. but he also held her in the highest regard]

You do like to think you are.

[Lips quirking upward in spite of himself. That was also true. What they were dealing with was not unknown to them. If anyone should be ready for it it was them... but it would mean having to share. His least favorite pastime.

Taking a bite of the apple slice, he waited until he had chewed the morsel and swallowed before continuing.]

Legion.

[Letting that sink in a little before he stood up and paced the room. There seemed to be more to it he thought he should reveal. Working on a machine was almost second nature to him, but this was .... different from his previous experiences.]

................................................. [Plunking back on the sofa next to her he elaborated] It sucked. [Done. Shared enough]

Edited 2021-06-17 02:10 (UTC)

[ She enjoys making #hearteyes at you, man, what can she say? ]

I really do, yes!

[ And how she loves it when he smiles, even if it's just those little ones. Still, he gets up and starts to pace, and she watches him, keeping her eyes trained on him, awaiting his answer. When he mentions it's Legion, she's... relieved it wasn't a person. It's not that she dislikes Legion, but... robot. ]

Wow... he [ She blinks, and corrects herself-- ] they were really that bad off, huh?

[ Aaaaaaaand...... wow that was anticlimactic. She stares up at him as he sits down again. ]

I'll bet it did. Was it hard? Come on, don't leave me hanging! I didn't have to deal with anyone at all during that time period...

[NOT THAT!
~~How to make your boyfriend squirrelly without even trying~~]

Something we share in common.

[Only he liked to think himself actually always right. The smile was short lived as the anxiety returned, and he found it hard to sit still. That was understandable, for the idea of him operating on a robot to be more of a relief, but it didn't lessen the horribleness of the experience]

Yes.

[The vines had tangled themselves throughout a complicated system beyond the technology of his own time.]

[He wished that he could say getting this off his chest was somehow freeing, but it wasn't. Feeling the weight of her gaze he crossed his arms and looked to the ceiling like it was most fascinating]

... Telling you the details should ensure that I won't fall prey to the disease. [He reminded himself openly, but when he looked back to Ann he nodded towards her plate] You might want to eat those first. [A beat passed] Or .... not.

Edited 2021-06-17 03:24 (UTC)

[ HEART EYES, MOFO!! ]

One of the many things, yes~

[ M a n y. Listen, they do have more than people would think in common, give her this.

A brow arches as she peers up at him, and.... then. ]

...So you're only telling me about this because you're worried that little incident is going to make you hack up flowers? [ If the Price is Right loser horn could blare right now, it would. ] I don't think you had to worry about that, you know... and here I thought you were just sharing to share.

[ She sighs, shoulders falling, before she glances at the plate. ]

Oh, I got these mostly for you. [ Because he needs to eat, dammit. ] I figured it would be a healthy snack since I didn't see you eating breakfast this morning. Or yesterday morning. Or ever. [ ...And she does worry about you, dear. ]

[It's true, they did have more in common than was apparent.]

... Is there a problem with that? [Taking his turn arching a brow and canting his head to one side as he looked at her silently judging] .. and it wasn't a little incident. I was going to let you air your own grievances after.. [Not appreciating the undercutting words.] You know what?... [Snapping his eyes forward to glare daggers at an inanimate object] Forget it.

I don't do anything without a reason, you should know that.

[waving the plate away he decided to get stubborn about this. Snack cancelled.]

No... I just thought you were finally telling me something without any other motive behind it, that's all. [ But of course he's not. While it's a little hurtful, she reminds herself he's not doing it on purpose. It's just how he is. ] I don't have any grieve-- [ She does pause mid-sentence for a split second, because while she'd like to think she doesn't, she actually does. And this conversation has suddenly reminded her of something pretty big. ] --ences.

[ It has to do with home, with Ren and a conversation. She should tell him and be honest, but she's not going to because she doesn't want him to get pissed off and storm out again. So she glances off to the side and sits the plate down suddenly. ]

Yeah, I do. Sorry. Hey, I need to go get some errands done.

[ Errands being just getting out of the house for a while to figure out what she's going to do. She stands up. ]

...We all have our secrets, and you're allowed to keep them or tell them to whomever you want, whenever you want. So don't be mad at me, okay? I understand.

[ Maybe if she goes for a walk, she can forget about her little rendezvous at home again. If she forgets about it, it can't make her sick, right? Right. ]

Anyways, I'll be back in a little bit. Do you have any other plans today?

Have you ever known me to be chatty? [Feeling the need to emphasize that this was completely normal behavioral wise for him.] I would think that it would count that you were the one I decided to tell... [.. but apparently not. They were both feeling hurt by the exchange but he meant it, he was going to drop it. She'd also belittled his preparedness, or implied that the disease wasn't worth worrying about.. but she didn't see the full extent of the damage it could do. He had. It's not as if he'd been able to use an anesthetic on a synthetic lifeform, and there wasn't an off switch so Legion had been conscious when the procedure was made and Kaiba had to endure all the feedback of agony that robot went through. What it could do to an organic would be .. he would think.. considerably worse]

[The pause was telling, and he looked at Ann anew but she didn't provide anything further]

... [Did she really just remember these errands, or was it something more topical to their earlier conversation?]

[It takes great resolve on his part not to raise his voice and say "I didn't want to tell anyone else, just you".. but the moment had passed and he didn't want to seem like he was opening it back up] I'm not mad. [At least, not like before. This was a quiet disappointment in comparison]

Nothing crazy.

Nope... good point. [ She blinks, and then flashes him a small smile. ] Of course it does! You know you can tell me anything and it won't go any further than this room. [ At least, she hopes he knows that. He must, considering he'd just told her about Legion. ] It must have been difficult working on something like Legion. I only saw him briefly once when he was infected, and he didn't look too good. How long did it take you to clear all of the vines out?

[ Ah, she's screwing everything up here again... but now she's more nervous than before, and she's gotta figure out what she's going to do, even though she knows what should be done. It is only fair to Seto to tell him, and he's going to find out either way... well. She'll worry about it when the time comes.

Time to try and be normal... as normal as she ever is, at least. ]

Nothing crazy, huh? [ Fix this, Ann. Don't just go running out because you're suddenly a little manic on the inside. She suddenly turns back and just sort of plops down on his lap. ] Errands can wait. I wanna hear more about this robot surgery. Please?

[Kaiba was relatively assured of Ann's ability to be discreet with sensitive material since she had not spouted off about that she had learned during that unfortunate memory sharing incident. He didn't need further convincing in that department.] .... Mm. [He did not however respond well to the backpedaling] What errand did you say you had to do?

[It was clearly a bid to change the subject, and she likely would be able to tell but he was no longer in the mood to go into it. Besides, she's acting weird and not making any sense. First Ann suddenly had somewhere else to be but now she was delaying? Couldn't she make up her mind? Maybe this errand just wasn't time sensitive but it sounded more like an excuse.]

[Kaiba was debating standing up again and maybe something about his body language telegraphed it because Ann sat on his lap before he could make his escape. Narrowing his eyes he studied her with scrutiny] I wouldn't want to make you late. It can wait. [Forever]

[ He's not responding well to any of this, and it's her own damned fault. And it also looks like once again, she's managed to screw this up, potentially beyond repair. ] It's a personal errand.

[ That's all he's getting on that, at least. Now she wishes she would have just left instead of coming back, at least then it'd be one less thing for him to be irritated with her about. She glances off to the side, her own body language rigid and tense even as she tries not to convey it. ] Please? You said you weren't mad.

[ She glances back up at him then, her shoulders falling. ] ...Sorry I upset you again. I didn't mean to. I know you're worried about this disease, and it was wrong of me to act the way I did.

[If Kaiba could have heard her thoughts he would have been the first to tell her not to be so dramatic. This was a failed moment, not something that was unchangeable. If he had bothered to read the room and offer this advice up willingly though more tactfully it might have been helpful] Mm. [He hummed unsatisfied with the response but not pushing it]

[The air was tense and so were their forms which was in contrast with the more intimate seating arrangement] ... and I mean it, I'm not.

[At least... not reallllly mad. Seeing her look so defeated was triggering his guilt, but what she was saying was making him want to stay sealed off. "you're worried".. as if he was the only one who was? Maybe he was? Was this coming across as insecurity? Should he have refrained from mentioning it at all?] I.. said it sucked, it's not hard to guess why. Knowing that should be sufficient. [He should be the one to exude strength- it had been a grievous error to give this disease any attention at all. Yeah- he was mad with himself. So how could he convince her that things were fine, when he didn't feel like it? Trying to make his expression look less severe, he reached out to cup his hands to her shoulders, then he leaned in to place a kiss to her forehead] You go complete your errand before things can get any worse, and we'll meet up later, see if we can convince the replicator to shoot out anything worthwhile and spend the evening together. Ok?

Edited 2021-06-24 09:07 (UTC)

I just... don't want you to worry, that's all. [ Or overthink things before bad stuff even starts. But she's worried, too, yes, but she doesn't want him to know that. Even... if she's doing a piss poor job of that right now. ]

... [ He says he's not mad, which is good, and he doesn't seem too terribly pissed off at her, so, this is a definite blessing. The last thing they need right now is to get into another argument, especially so because she's the cause of it this time, and he's been trying so hard for her. ]

Yeah, I know... still. It must have been terrible, but that was really kind of you to do that for Legion. [ It's a damn good thing that Seto is very much a prodigy, or Legion probably wouldn't have made it. Which makes her wonder if the same thing will happen to the robots here, too. She blinks up at him as he rests his hands on her shoulders and moves to press a tender kiss against her forehead, and almost immediately her mood lifts and her cheeks turn a light pink. And just like clockwork, even as he speaks, she shifts to start pressing affectionate kisses against his cheeks and his jawline, just as she is want to do when he offers affection of his own. ]

Okay. [ What errand-- oh, right. The fake one she suddenly had because she was starting to panic, the one she's very much regretting suddenly making up because she's suddenly very, very content to stay right where she is. ] Want me to bring anything in particular home? I won't be long.

Hello,

Thank you for the information! It is interesting, and very important to be aware of. However, I do not believe you need to worry about that strain of illness here.

• Symptoms suddenly began to appear midmonth, which is when odd events begin occurring most months. Things are resolved by the beginning of the next month with no lasting physical effects, and there is nothing to suggest this pattern would deviate now.

• If the root system was strong enough to produce such vibrant blooms those afflicted would not have been wholly asymptomatic before expelling perfectly healthy flowers.

• There have been no other outbreaks of physical illnesses since offworlders began arriving, save for the disease beyond the protective barrier.

• The recent barrier expansion revealed no new species of flora this illness could stem from, and if the root cause was the black goo the symptoms would be much different. If nothing else this is a strong indication that this is not transmitted via spores.

Everyone should disinfect any open wounds regardless, and take care if they are feeling unwell or as though something is not right with their body, but there is no need for immediate concern.

Hopefully this eases some of your apprehension.

[When Kaiba issued his warning somehow he didn't anticipate receiving a bullet pointed pamphlet as a reply. At least he had the decency to read and consider the contents before he replied]

From what you're written it implies that you've been here for a considerable amount of time, however I don't see anything that indicates prior experience with this specific condition. Just because illness hasn't been an issue in the past does not mean that it couldn't have been introduced.

[Who knows, maybe either himself or Ann were carriers that never came down with the ailment themselves]

You have given me other possible origins for the disease nothing that alleviates the situation, or removes any doubt.

[The timing was a little suspect but that's all that he would allow. This person might have ruled out the recent expansion but it didn't mean Kaiba did.]

Edited 2021-06-24 04:49 (UTC)

From what you have described, it is a parasitic illness that takes time to incubate, and only once it has grown enough to flower do people cough blooms from their lungs.

Sudden onset of that late-stage symptom without any prior indication of illness whatsoever, combined with the patterns of this world thus far, suggest that this is yet another of the local deities' many misguided attempts to force people to form closer bonds.

The fact that a majority of offworlders have been struck by it all within the same miniscule timeframe — even those without contact with each other — only adds more credence to it not being airborne, and likely not transmitted from person to person.

If Havenwell was at all like the last world I was in I would be very inclined to worry. As it is, while your knowledge is important to note, thus far this illness is not causing harm to anyone and there is no reason to believe that will change in the next few days, so there is no need to risk causing the young ones on the network undue fear.

I promise this will resolve itself by month's end.

And if for whatever reason it does not and this does happen to be whatever strain of parasite you have experience with, I will gladly perform surgical interventions should it become necessary.

Perhaps I should have been more clear, the disease did not affect everyone the exact same way. Some people seemed to be perfectly healthy right before the flower stage while others experienced the slower progression.. but you're such an expert already I doubt you want to hear more from me.

[Sarcasm, he has it. If only this was later in the month and he wasn't still in control of his attitude]

How many victims have you interviewed? What are you basing your observations on?

[If anything, Kaiba was a man of facts and figures- and he wasn't seeing any statistics here. ~~Not that he had provided any of his own, mind~~]

You seem to be held up on the transmission method. We never traced it to a central source or cause- it just appeared, assaulting whoever it wanted, whenever it wanted within the span of roughly a month's time... then it remained after that to a lesser degree.

You say undue fear, I say general preparedness or would you rather that everyone live in ignorance?

Your promise? [Although she couldn't hear it this generated such a scoff] A promise is just a collection of words, it means nothing and it's too easily broken.

[Then she said something that was actually intriguing]

On the organics or the robots because I was referring to the robots. What makes you qualified for either?

Edited 2021-06-24 07:08 (UTC)

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action bc u know this hoe is gonna be at home with him

Action it is!

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