voice, un: endsoftheearth

[earthy]

[It takes Terra a little while to report to the network. He knows he needs to — he can't just keep this information to himself — but he's not really eager to talk about what happened.

He finally just forces himself to sit down and turn on the device.]

... Hello. I'm Terra. I've never put up one of these messages before. If I do something wrong, let me know.

[With a deep, steadying breath, he gets on with it.]

I tracked down another one of the... 'M' people. She told me a couple things that I think might be important.

Uh... For starters, this 'M' group is apparently pretty big. She claimed my catching her wasn't going to stop anything, that there are too many of them... out there somewhere, I guess, carrying on doing whatever it is they're trying to do. Maybe she was just bluffing. Or maybe we're going to be dealing with these people for a while...

Anyway, then she went on to mention their leader. 'The guy at the top of all this.' I thought it was that Shady Man... S-8, but no, it's someone else. She didn't know his name. Said he's really into birds, though? And that he looks like a... normal person.

She told me that this leader has a hideout but that it moves around a lot. Moves around constantly... is what she said. It was in the Theatre District here in Olympia last, but she was sure it had already been moved again...

[He trails off at that and keeps quiet a moment.]

That's about it. All she would tell me.

[Another pause, this one a bit longer than the last.]

Her name was Gnome.

Comments

[nineteenfortyfive]

Bit off her tongue? And then she...?

[Baffling. She turns in her seat a bit to face him more, brow creased.]

[earthy]

Then she... passed away.

[Therein lies his confusion. He can't claim to know a lot about tongues, but it didn't seem like it should be a severe enough wound to take her life.]

I tried healing her, but the spell did nothing...

[nineteenfortyfive]

It's... possible that she had some sort of poison or capsule under her tongue. [Frank had plenty of stories about the L-pill, she knew, but didn't care to share them. Claire understood enough from the little he said and what she heard.]

Which meant she went into this with that in mind. It just happened to be you there, in that situation, but it wasn't because of you. She made up her mind long ago, I'd bet.

[earthy]

[Terra's brow furrows as he thinks that over. Poison being involved in some form would explain a lot... He's not so sure Gnome intended to put an end to herself all along, though.

He nods, anyway, and lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.]

[nineteenfortyfive]

[She leans over a little to tentatively put a hand over one of his.]

I'm sorry you had to see that. You tried your best. You were trying to find us answers.

[earthy]

[His eyes fall to her hand over his. His small smile finds its way back, if only for a moment.]

Thanks, Claire.

[nineteenfortyfive]

You don't need to thank me. I just want to make sure you're all right. Nothing is easy, right now.

[And he's young. Maybe not all that much younger than Jamie, but young enough for Claire to be concerned.]

[earthy]

I do appreciate it, though. Your concern and... you've said some things I needed to hear, I think.

[Even if he can't believe those things just yet, at least he can hold on to the thought that someone here doesn't think he's to blame for that woman's death. Maybe it'll start to sink in.]

You don't have to worry about me. I'll be all right. [He drops his other hand over hers, gives her a nod.] We'll all be all right.

[Somehow... and hopefully sooner rather than later.]