maskormenace | 04 ⚜ Video

[Pristine is how Crane appears when he flicks on the video feed; it's a lovely display of smoke and mirrors that he's pulling off, after the events of the last three days. He has a clean, elegant, ascetic appearance - and enough calm professionalism to mask his excitement.]

You're all handling this outbreak remarkably well. It seems you're all keeping to the boundaries of the law, as the Major-General expects you to. That's a good thing, mind. It would be terrible news to hear people have been shot for breaking quarantine.

Anyway, I am here to help if this event has caused you psychological distress. I am a doctor, after all.

[A pause, and he tucks in his chin and folds his hands in his lap. He half-closes his eyes.]

Fears and phobias are my specialty, and there is much to fear in this situation.

[His head comes back up. He's staring at the lens.]

Be that as it may, fear is something everybody needs. It keeps you safe and keeps you on your toes. It will do you all well to remember that. That it's good to know we must always feel a little scared. It's good to see that most of you haven't submitted to bravado and dagger-tongued bragging.

[The corners of his lips lift in a boyish smile. He tilts his head slightly. His voice is disarmingly gentle. His soft inflection on 'most of you' is meant for one person in particular.]

And I wouldn't like to think that those with guts would put everyone in danger. I trust everyone to make the best decisions for each other in combating this disease.

It would be terrifying to think we couldn't trust each other. Wouldn't it?

[He crosses his right leg and rests his hands over his knee. His graceful fingers smooth his trousers, and he waits for his audience to speak.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Ah. Crane. That's actually a welcome face; Hiro's lonely and bored and terrified, stuck here in quarantine and waiting to see if he's caught a deadly zombie disease or not. ]

everyone ive seen's been doing good so far. really calm and helpful.

[Hello, you poor, lonely, terrified lamb.]

That's excellent news.

But I'm more concerned about your welfare. How are you holding up?

me? im fine. just staying in for a while, no big deal. ha ha.

[ Tooooootally smooth. ]

I see.

But you mentioned you've been mingling with everyone.

... Hiro, where are you staying?

[Spill your guts over the network. Come on, give everyone a show. Please?]

Edited 2015-04-27 21:11 (UTC)

[ Caught that contradiction, didn't you. There's a reason for it, but he doesn't want to spit it out. ]

i WAS out earlier. and now i'm staying in. that's all.

[Yes, he caught it. He's caught you by the tail here, too.

You're not at home. Clearly you're not with friends - because a nervous child like you is a bundle of nerves. So where are you, hmm? There's only one place with that many people under one room.]

... I see.

You are in the Quarantine Zone, then?

[ Bingo. Crane's a little off - Hiro's in a private lab with his brother on the other side of the plexiglass and not with a group of people - but it's quarantine all the same. ]

i didn't say

[ He fumbles the phone, sending the message too fast. ]

yes but im fine. no symptoms. just trying to be safe.

Trying to be safe and being safe are two different things, you realize?

You don't seem safe to me.

[ There's a long pause. He tries to phrase a message properly, but - dammit, Crane's got him spooked now. So instead there's a crackle as his video turns on. There's Hiro, looking much like the bundle of nerves Crane was likely picturing, with a sterile white wall for a backdrop. ]

My brother is here. I'll be fine.

[ It's clearly a mantra to try and keep himself calm. ]

[It's taken a lot for Hiro to switch to video. His anxious behavior doesn't pass by unnoticed. Crane appreciates the sight, and Hiro's bravery in his own way, and responds in kind.

His video turns on shortly after, like a reward. Hmm.]

Of course. Tadashi is quite the support for you, isn't he?

[A pause.]

Still. If your brother needs to disappear for any reason, feel free to give me a call.

[ Hiro's eyes widen at that suggestion; he immediately glances to one side of the screen, to where his brother would be. Just ... not right this second, since he's gone to grab the two of them some food. Crane has good timing. Or rather, Hiro wouldn't have turned on his comm to talk to his therapist via video with his brother in the room. ]

-- He wouldn't. I mean, he'll be back in a few minutes.

[Crane's eyes flicker in the same direction. He's staring where Tadashi would be, were he to visit. Then he turns them back on Hiro and smiles.]

Perhaps he'll be caught up in things.

Now. You're going to have to act alone, you realize? [Of course you do.] If not during this crisis, then one day soon.

[ He wouldn't, Hiro repeats inside his head again - they'd already fought to save people in Heropa, that's how Hiro potentially got infected in the first place. His brother wouldn't just run out there again, right? Then again, he would have said Tadashi wouldn't run into any more burning buildings, and he was sure proven wrong repeatedly there ...

He squeezes the comm a little, the screen shaking from the way his fingers are trembling. ]

Not yet. He's still here. I'm not planning anything past that.

[And those same blue eyes stare down.

Crane's hungry to commit every detail of Hiro's anxiety to memory. To cannibalise the fear and add it to his own. It's certainly making him more powerful, to see how he could affect someone like this.]

Good.

Then you should rest and take it easy. You don't look well.

[ Definitely having an effect. He pales a bit, tries to subtly brush at his forehead to feel his temperature. He's a bit red on the one side from having done it so much - checking every few minutes just to be sure. ]

You think so?

I know so.

[Crane speaks in such a confident, knowing tone that it's obvious he's noticed Hiro's anxious behavior - and is drawing attention to it. He's only trying to help by making Hiro face himself, right?]

I really don't see how anyone couldn't notice that.

[Especially given Hiro, you know, seems to be burning up.]

[ Sure. Helpful. Toootally helpful to make him break out in a cold sweat. And surely that's a symptom too ... ]

It's - it's just a little warm in here.

Perhaps you should have a wash then. It might flush away that cold sweat of yours.

[He says in the nicest way possible.]

[ Well now Crane's thoroughly scared him. The comm trembles visibly in his hands again. ]

I - I gotta go. Thanks, doctor.

[Ah. Shaking. What a lovely sight.]

You're welcome, Hiro.

Remember. I'm always here if you need a friendly ear.

04 ⚜ Video

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