maskormenace | 003

[ Cassandra's voice sounds nearly gone. And it sounds close- this is on the mental link, not her communicator. The communicator's smashed. (Many things are smashed, but this is voice, not video, thankfully.) She hasn't bothered to get a new one yet. ]

So if you were one of those shitheads who kept whining about how "oh, those Gods, they ruin everything", you're in fucking luck, because now three of them are gone. So if you had some sort of hang-up on Baphomet setting shit on fire, or Persephone and that flooding issue which, by the way, was her saving your asses, or with Dionysus- I, I don't know-

[ There's a brief pause. This hurts. She shouldn't be talking about it, and not in public. But she's already too far in. ]

You can just keep it all to your fucking self. It doesn't matter anymore. What a great time it is for you.

And- if you had some sort of problem with Rex, who knows what the hell that would be, and he doesn't come back- then you'd better keep that to yourself, too. Before I fucking rip your fucking mouth off.

[ There's quiet, for just a bit too long. Then, softly: ] What am I doing.

[ The feed cuts off. ]

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[ She sighs. ] Yeah. I'm pretty sure he does, too.

[ She doesn't like to think of Martin in those situations, but it appears to have defined his life. Part of her is happy he can protect himself, but she'd rather he wouldn't have to at all. ]

You're going to have to be the one who comes up with that sort of shit, then. He's...bad at ideas. I know he probably has them, he just hasn't gotten to the "I can share my thoughts" stage yet.

[ Kanan, too, would rather kids not have to know that stuff. But life comes at you hard sometimes. Or all the time. ]

So I've noticed. I'd like to try and encourage him to get to that point - luckily, I run the Endeavor Center so it's easy for me to sign him up for anything here. I'm thinking of trying him on something new each week for a couple hours - basic stuff like painting, cooking, gardening, building a birdhouse - so it's not just about the activities themselves, and we can encourage him to decide for himself which ones he wants to do.

[ She's happy to be distracted, but though Kanan can't see her, part of her is starting to hurt now; she doesn't like to think about making these plans without Rex, as if they're replacing him already. ]

He does like making things. If he can. He's really into knitting, apparently. If you can get him to see it like that, it might be worth a shot.

I can do my best. I have to admit, I'm more used to sullen teenagers who don't want to do anything you say, not the opposite. But I know Martin's got ideas. We've just got to get him comfortable enough to voice them on his own terms.

Yeah. We do.

[ A pause, sizable for her. She's swallowing a rough feeling in her throat. ]

It's...good to know people are keeping an eye on him. He tends to get himself in trouble when he doesn't mean anything. Hence the recent prison visit. [ And, well, maybe she should just say it: ] He's going to need people looking after him right now. Obviously.

Yes. I... have some experience with this sort of thing.

[ Dealing with a teenager's grief at losing a parent or parental figure, that is. ]

Not that that makes it any easier.

[ She's beat back the grief she's feeling, now, but a bit of it lingers in her voice. ]

Look, if Rex was your friend and you're willing to look after him, we'll take it. As long as you don't also land him in lock-up for a night.

If he winds up in jail again, it won't be because of me. Promise.

Hey. Let's aim for him not ending up in jail again at all, no matter who did it.

[ She does feel the need to specify. ]

That is the goal, though he's his own person. We can't fully control what other people choose to do. It's good to stay realistic about these things, especially with teenagers.

I know, I just- I'm hoping letting him be his own person doesn't lead to him being in jail? He doesn't exactly have the disposition for it.

[ About the opposite. If she had to pick Martin's ideal job, it'd be "raising therapy dogs" or something comparatively mild. ]

Yeah, he'll be fine. Seems like mostly bad influences leading him to trouble.

[ She nearly snickers, but it's dry. ] Are we counting his soccer teammates or the robot as the bad influence here?

Well, I only know about the robot, so...

Apparently his teammates are a lot less mild-mannered than he is. Probably no more than your average pre-teen, but... [ Well. ] That's not Martin.

Might want to keep an eye on that. [ A pause. ] If you don't mind.

I'll do my best.

Edited 2018-10-30 01:53 (UTC)

Can't really ask for anything else. [ After all, she barely knows the guy. ]

Thanks for...all this, then. We'll let you know if you need to know anything. That good with you?

That sounds fine, thanks.

[ She takes a deep breath and exhales; this was far from the most stressful conversation she's had tonight, but it drained her, still. ]

That'll do, then. [ It's strange to end this conversation, too. ] You...try not to get too fucked up over this, I guess.

[ Don't be her, in other words. ]

I promise, you don't need to worry about me.

[ Honestly it seems like she's got enough on her plate. No one needs to worry about him. ]

Well- no offense, but good. I've got enough to deal with.

I'll...see you around, then. [ And she ends the call. ]

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