10. [text/video]

[brodakota]

If anyone's having any trouble with the latest round of dreams, I can help. Or at least listen if you want.

I figure I owe you guys since I got helped last time.

[A little while later, the video's on and there's a variety of holograms appearing. Some fireworks, a few dream eaters, a moogle. All a familiar red and blue colour. Theta's trying his best to cheer people up.]


[ooc: timing for this is nebulous and can easily become action if that's what you want. Just let me know the subject line or somewhere how you want to do this.]

Comments

[brodakota]

If they don't then they have a lot of explaining to do.

[He wasn't sure what else to say after that. Other than he probably wasn't going to stop Carolina in that event.]

Have you been able to sleep at all?

[guerriera]

[ Ask nicely enough and she might be willing to take turns in convincing the mysterious dream maker talk. North would likely be far nicer about it than Carolina would, at any rate.

Her lips thin, before she lifts her right shoulder in a shrug. The urge to pace remains, but instead, she settles her back against the wall. ]

A little. I try and rest when I can but if I sleep too deeply..

[ Then what dreams may come to keep her company wake her instead.

There's a faint mew of concern from Lela, looking from Person to Person. This NotSleeping is getting to be a bad habit.]

How about you?

[brodakota]

[Good cop, bad cop these two.

Still, he nods when she trails off. He remembers that all too well.]

But you're not avoiding rest, right? That doesn't work.

[And resulted in him trapped under a pricklemane for a few days.]

I'm alright. I mean, the dreams are there but not...they haven't become full blown nightmares like last time. I've been able to sleep through them.

If anything, they're causing me to really miss South.

[guerriera]

[ Better than Bad Cop, Worse Cop. ]

I'm not. [A touch waspishly.] Even if I can't sleep, I try and rest. I know my limits, North.

[ Which is entirely different from not being able to afford having any limits, but she's not going to waste time splitting hairs here. Besides, he's trying to help, even if she's..really not being helpful. She forcibly, visibly, relaxes her shoulders. ]

[ Her expression shifts when he mentions South, though it's more distant than dislike; prickly as the other woman had been, Carolina hadn't hated her. ]

York looks the worst off out of the lot of us. I don't think he's managed any sleep at all.

[brodakota]

[He knows, he's just worried because lack of sleep seems to result in bouts of stupidity, specifically in male freelancers it would seem.

He notices the way she forces herself to relax.]

Do you want to sit down? You can use the bed.

[It is comfortable, and North won't lie that he's grown rather fond of it. His expression darkens when he hears about York.]

Should I talk to him?

[guerriera]

[ Don't worry, when Carolina eventually gives into stupidity, it'll be a grand excessive display that'll outdo the boys. Lack of sleep will not necessarily be required (but sure might contribute.)

There's no immediate response to North's offer, but, eventually, Carolina moves. Sitting on the edge of the bed was safe enough, comfortable as it may or may not have been. Certainly more comfortable than bedding down behind the couch, as she has been since getting here. She's mindful not to disturb Cactus, the tail is spikey enough to worry about - she's seen Allison in action, after all. ]

I don't know how much of is "can't" rather than "won't", but if you think it would help, knock yourself out. [..Not literally, of course. But North would likely have more luck than her.]

[brodakota]

[Being stupid is not something you need to be number one at, Carolina. North relaxes a bit more when she sits down.]

Something tells me I'd rather knock York out, if that's the case. Still, I'll see what I can do.

He was a help when I wasn't sleeping.

[guerriera]

[ Number one at ALL THE THINGS, North. You can't tell her what to do! ]

[She glances down at her hands, mindful of the scars and calluses along her fingers. She presses them, palms flat, against her thighs. All the better to not dig her nails into her palms.]

How did you manage, in the end?

[brodakota]

I didn't. I got overtired and was knocked out by some nightmares. Theta had to call for help, and then Cactus wouldn't let me out of bed until I had recovered enough for him.

Needless to say, I learned my lesson. Kind of why I don't want you or York doing the same thing I did. It's not like you guys have a shield to defend you.

[guerriera]

[ She'd heard a little about that, though not about Cactus' intervention. Carolina gave the pricklemane an approving glance, before looking down at Lela. Hugs of 'death' would be more her style, but she didn't think the Frootz Cat would manage it. ]

[ Then green eyes snap up, to glare a moment at North. ]

I've survived without one this long. I don't see myself needing one now.

[Less snappishly:] But I...appreciate what you mean. [No, really.] Sleep's just very unpleasant right now.

[brodakota]

[Cactus flicks his tail. All in a day's work. North might be one of the easiest persons to look after, but that just meant he had to be watched extra carefully.

He pauses and places a hand on Carolina's shoulder.]

I know. It hasn't been the easiest time.

[guerriera]

[ There was a faint purr as Lela rubbed her head against North's knee, before she quickly padded over to her Person and curled up next to her.

To her credit, Carolina didn't flinch away from the contact. But her earlier efforts to relax seem to have been in vain: she's still pretty tense. ]

No. No, it hasn't. [And it will get worse before it gets better.] And stopping it means stopping...whatever it is on the ship.

[ It's a rhetorical statement, even if it's phrased like a question. ]

[brodakota]

That's the way I see it, right now.

[He paused for a moment, sighing.]

We really need a concentrated effort. All we know is it shows up randomly, so maybe if we find a place were it's attacked most often, and bait it somehow...we can make it appear.

[He's been thinking of plans.]

I think there's still those paint bullets in the training room. That can help stop it.

[guerriera]

[ Plans. Plans are good. Give her a goal to focus on, and Carolina will focus on it instead of letting her judgment cloud.

(Unless that goal is Texas. Fortunately, so far, that one hasn't been part of any equations here.)

She sits up a little straighter. ]

I was discussing ideas for tactics we could use with Noble-2, that Spartan that recently arrived? If we could lure it into one of the training rooms, we'd at least have space for everyone to face it. If there are actual lockdown paint guns we could use in one of the locker rooms, that would be even better.

Given what we've gone over so far, the 'bait' would have to be fast, or at least durable, to deal with our target.

[ ..Guess who plans on being one of the aforementioned pieces of bait. ]

[brodakota]

There are. I found a few of them, and quite a bit of ammo to. I haven't used it.

[He pauses, thinking.]

It sounds like we have the makings of a plan. We should probably talk with the Spartans about it and get something concrete.

I would say both.

[He has a feeling, and will staunchly object, unless she magically gets more sleep.]

[guerriera]

That changes things.

[In a good way, to her mind. It's a positive, when there's been little of that as of late.]

We'll need to hold some in reserve, we don't want to tip our hand too soon when attempting to lure it. ..It's still only really going for humans when they're on the ship, from what I can tell. That could be useful.

[ She makes a face at the thought of speaking with Kat, but there are worse fates. And if they were half as capable as Spartans were reputed to be, Carolina could force herself to be more tolerant. ..Probably.]

Could be worth making an open network callout. There are others here with skills that could tip odds in our favour. What I've seen of magic so far has been potentially useful. [haste spells just imagine how fast she could go with haste AND her speed unit..]

[ Funnily enough, magically is exactly how she'll attempt more sleep: there's a little prize baggy with pieces for a Tama Sheep in her room that will be seeing a moogle in the morning.

How well that works out remains to be seen yet. ]

[brodakota]

[North nodded, making a mental list of what they'd need.]

I can handle that, I think. You just focus on getting some rest first. If it's going to be a big op, we'll all want to be at our best.

[He wasn't planning on letting anyone get hurt again.]

[guerriera]

[ She stares at him levelly for a moment, before answering with a short, sharp nod and standing back up again. ]

..All right. Keep me informed of any changes suggested by the Spartans that could be useful.

[ Neither did she. Why else do you think she was determined to be the bait? ]

[brodakota]

You know I will.

[He looks up at her.]

Are you going to be okay for now?

[guerriera]

I'll have to be. Don't exactly have much of a choice there, North.

None of us do.

[ Lela mews softly, before rubbing her cheek against her person's leg, then moving to nudge North's knee in thanks. The Frootz Cat gets a slight headshake from Carolina, before she offers the vaguest outlines of a smile to North. She's tired and she's trying, but she is grateful. ]

Thank you.

[ Not that she said much, exactly, but. ]

[brodakota]

I know it sounds kind of strange, but you can relax here. At least a little bit.

[North offers Lela a pet back.]

Anytime. You know that.

[guerriera]

[ Can she?

There's something in the look she gives North, tired and uncertain and perhaps even a little wounded, that suggested Carolina does not agree - and has more than enough experience to back up such feeling.

And then, gone, shutters down. Nonetheless, she does not disagree out loud, settling instead for a simple nod to acknowledge she heard him. ]

I do. I'll try to remember.

Good night, North.

[brodakota]

Yeah, good night.

[He caught that look. He wishes he could be more help to his friends from the future, but it's hard. He can't really relate to what they've been through. It's all he can do to just stay positive.]