alchemicalwater | Before the first trial

[YOU BET YOUR ASS HE IS GOING WILLINGLY]

. . . who?

All of them. The non-reapers.

[The ones who aren't absolute shitheads at least.]

We know what happened. The others are going to try and cover for her. They're going to mislead people. I can't let an innocent person get erased because of this.

[Maybe for Akira, or Terra, she might. Both of them seem to be decent people. But Dahlia? No. She will not protect Dahlia.]

[whoa whoa!! that's a lot of conclusions to come to at once]

You don't know that, Wells-san. Take a deep breath and calm down.

If we're supposed to blend in to survive, it's very likely the others will go with the flow of the trial, regardless of who seems most suspicious.

But we all KNOW what happened! Even if they go with the flow of the trial, it would be very easy to lead them off track! Or to even go along with a false assumption someone else makes!

[She knows the reapers have an advantage here, and she doesn't want that to be used against the innocent.]

Undine.

[slips into using her first name on instinct, hands coming to rest on her shoulders]

Calm down. Take a moment to clear your head, and then I'll help you think this through.

[That gets her to stop at least. She looks like she might cry but she takes a few deep, calming breaths to try and keep that reaction down. And then, after a few moments, she nods.]

Sorry.

. . . it's okay.

[that's what he's here for. to provide a sense of calm, to soak up that tension so people can clear their heads and proceed with a sound mind]

We may know what happened. [by now, he's totally talked to Dahlia, so yeah. he knows] But being obvious about knowing will just put ourselves in danger. It isn't just our lives we have to think about. It's those of our partners as well.

We can't let anyone know who we are. Not yet.

[gives her shoulders a tight squeeze]

For now, we need to trust in the logic of the other Players. Trust them not to get it wrong.

...mmm.

[She nods in agreement.]

If they're getting it wrong though, we should help them.

Pay attention to the trial. Keep your head down, and only speak up when it makes logical sense to do so.

[. . . he feels a taste of bitterness on his tongue at the words "keep your head down." he hates that phrase so damn much. but he knows they don't have a choice]

I want to help them too, Undine. And I'll do my best.

[She is reluctant, but she nods.]

Right. I'll do that.

[And then, after another pause.]

We can't tell the other reapers. If they know what we're going to do...

[She's pretty sure a reaper can erase another reaper, after all.]

[listen he might already be mentally preparing for the day Junko tries to Erase him so]

Pay attention to how they act at the trial. Some of them might surprise you.

[that is, he's pretty sure this group of Reapers is selfish enough to implicate a guilty Reaper in order to save their skin and make themselves look like Players, just saying]

[Right. Because people like that, they never stick by each other. They're always the first to turn when someone gets into trouble.]

Right, I will.

I'm watching your back, too.

[Because he sure did paint a huge 'FITE ME JUNKO' sign on his back and all.]

I'm- I'm actually really good with water powers, so I can catch people off-guard. If any of them try anything, I'll help you.

[actually, hearing her say that brings a grin to his features]

And I've got yours.

[allies, after all. as established way back after their first Reaper meeting]

Our partnership sounds pretty official when you put it like that, too.

A reaper-partnership of sorts, I guess.

[She's kind of wishing she had gotten Akira as a partner, even. There's no way it would have happened, not with them both being reapers, but it would make things so much easier.

Also, she's going to bring out a bottle and offer it to Akira. It's a chocolate milk bottle, but the cap has been taken off and put back on. And the contents are brown and milky, but don't look like chocolate milk.]

I suppose it's only fair, if I'm going to be your coffee-smuggler and all.

[HE HOPES THE BOTTLE IS OPAQUE TO HIDE THE NOT-AT-ALL-CHOCOLATE-MILK LIQUID WITHIN]

Ah-- [right. he knows she promised she'd do this, but!! he's still!! pretty touched by the gesture]

[he can't help it. he laughs as he reaches out to take the bottle from her]

Just don't let the higher ups catch you. I hear coffee smuggling comes with a sentence of five to ten years.

[The label is big enough to hide almost all of it so!

And Akira's laugh there makes Undine finally smile too.]

I can't have my reaper-partner going into a trial without his caffeine, now can I?

[GOOD ENOUGH]

I might run out of battery juice halfway through if you did, and that wouldn't help anyone, would it?

Edited 2018-03-11 05:59 (UTC)

Exactly! So this is just me keeping you fighting-ready.

[his smile softens a bit as he pops the lid off of the bottle and takes a swig, eyes slipping shut. aaaah, coffee. it isn't Leblanc's, but it hits the spot after nothing but stupidly sweet soda the past few days]

[he lets out a breath, soaking in the sudden rush of espresso, before he talks again, voice soft]

Feeling better, now?

A little, yes.

[She's not really better, but calmer? She can go into this with a clear head at least.]

Thank you, for helping me.

You're welcome.

[always]

. . . you know. [while they're on the subject of their fellow reapers? sort of] Truthfully, I don't really know how much I can trust the others at this point, either. All of us seem to have our own set of goals, don't we?

Before the first trial

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