[ and that is where she's going to leave it. whether or not simon actually does know about the vampire thing, she's not about to just go talking about anders' stupid blood mage racism thing, or whatever it is. ]
Of course I won't. I'm sure he'll come back sometime soon, there's no need to worry.
[ that's as close as she'll get to openly airing her cdc grievances, but it might be just enough to give her away. ]
I don't know about rabbits in general, but I like Thumper. She wanted to play with me, and we kind of bonded, I guess. I've never had a pet before, it's really nice.
I need to get her a collar, though, I'm afraid someone's going to let their bahari eat her without knowing she belongs to somebody.
[It's certainly enough to raise red flags in his mind. They're the sort people wave in your face to unbalance you.]
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org It's not so much a question of let. A lot of the bahari run wild. Or they're sent off to find their own food. Or people just shoot them, if they're around the camp.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org They're very vulnerable, the madu. Not equipped to survive.
I understand having to kill things to eat, trust me, but it just... it seems wrong. Isn't there anything else we could be eating? I'm sure if we just looked out a bit further we could find something.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org They steal anything they can find. They're like magpies. Leave something near one, and you'll find it under a foot of snow - or you won't.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org Rabbits at home are sweet. They're poisoned and shot. Likewise wild birds. Pigs are extraordinary creatures. Chickens I could sit and watch all day. Animals are animals, Elena.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org The wildlife further out isn't less deserving of life because it's less appealing.
No animal's purpose should be just for eating. That's not right.
[ says the person who has to survive by drinking human blood. elena sighs, thinks for a moment, then sends off another text. ]
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
Sorry, I'm just overinvested because of Thumper. I know the people here have to eat, I wouldn't want them to starve just because the animals are cute. It's just sad, that's all.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org There we agree. It's a little sad, but that's life.
I kept rabbits at home. When I was in school. They were some of my favourite things. You can't let things like that interfere.
[He is a boxload of contradictions - and he does realise just what he's telling her: it's okay to eat people if you need to, Elena, don't worry. But does she need telling?]
Then what should you let interfere? If you try to put everything you love behind you in the interests of survival, then you lose the things that make you a person.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
I don't mean to judge, or anything, I just think there are more important things than survival. Holding onto yourself and the things you care about, even if they can be inconvenient, is important.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
Which I realize is getting a bit away from the subject of madu, sorry. This kind of thing is just a bit of a sore subject.
[ she used to need telling, a year ago. by now she's come to grips with what and who she is, and she knows what she needs to do. she tries to mitigate the damage she causes as much as possible, feeds from blood bags when she can, but eventually those will run out and she'll be stuck asking for help. the her of a year ago would have balked, but she's adapted. that's what she needs to do here. ]
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
You're right, though, in this case. My fondness for madu doesn't stop people from needing to eat, and that's just something I'll have to deal with, and hope Thumper doesn't end up someone's lunch.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org I think you're taking this a bit seriously, yes. [And wow, getting him to say that is an accomplishment. He takes everything seriously.] Of course there's more at stake here than survival. But you have to prioritise.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org You can't save all the things you value. Most of them are meaningless here. You can't be somewhere like this and expect to preserve yourself unchanged.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org For me, animal welfare isn't worth fighting for. I can see that for you it might be different.
I've been through a lot in the past three years that's changed me, and I'm not always sure it's for the better. The seriousness is more of a worry about that than anything else.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
I know I have to adapt. I'm just worried about what kind of person I'll turn into next. But again, we're getting away from madu, and it's not important. Sorry.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
You know, it's funny, I didn't care so much about it at home. I had other things to worry about so it never really crossed my mind to worry about animals.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
I don't really know why I decided madu are the hill I want to die on. They're just... helpless, I guess? I don't know. Thumper's getting to me.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pff plenty of downtime in sector r you laaaazy people
It seemed like the sort of thing you might understand. A risky guess, perhaps, but one that worked out.
Almost everyone in my rover is gone. You can probably pin the rest together from that.
excuse you elena was knocked out by chimera poison what have you been doing lately
Ahhh, yeah, that must be nice. There are three of us left in mine. Thumper has her own bunk!
apparently very little but i'm sure he was busy somewhere /chronology get
Thumper? That's a madu?
[Yeah, he hasn't heard about your pet, Elena. His good mood has dropped a notch or two.]
who needs accurate chronology anyway
Yes, I got her during the noah's ark thing, I decided I liked her too much to turn her in. July's taking care of her now.
/INCREDIBLY SHIFTY LOOK
July, really? Who's taking care of him?
[He's seen the helpless-seeming doll, but hasn't spoken with him. It's complicated.]
i see you there acting all shifty
He is?
[ wow simon don't be racist july can take care of himself. however... ]
Also November, probably. Misaki. Anders. He's got a lot of people willing to look after him.
you lie like a vampire flatfish, young lady
November's still in stasis. Anders will have it in hand, though. He's a good man.
I suppose I ought to talk to him at some point. I'm nervous with children.
i do no such thing! i am a very upstanding vampire... anglerfish
He's in stasis? July didn't say.
Anders is... some kind of mine, sure.
[ he keeps calling her a blood mage. she's not a blood mage!!! ]
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
You should, he's nice. And it's not like talking to a normal kid, he's... Well, he's different.
hmmn
You don't like Anders? I know he can be prickly, but he's been frightfully good to me.
[Until Simon yelled at him and called him an irresponsible bastard. They patched it up, probably.]
But yes, November's in stasis. Starting to worry about him, to tell you the truth. You won't tell anyone, right?
no subject
We don't get along.
[ and that is where she's going to leave it. whether or not simon actually does know about the vampire thing, she's not about to just go talking about anders' stupid blood mage racism thing, or whatever it is. ]
Of course I won't. I'm sure he'll come back sometime soon, there's no need to worry.
no subject
I don't think anything can happen to you while you're in there. That's rather the point.
You like rabbits, though? Really?
[He's pleased. A vampire with a bunny? It's validating his suspicion that there's more to her than that terrifying label.]
no subject
I wouldn't put anything past the CDC.
[ that's as close as she'll get to openly airing her cdc grievances, but it might be just enough to give her away. ]
I don't know about rabbits in general, but I like Thumper. She wanted to play with me, and we kind of bonded, I guess. I've never had a pet before, it's really nice.
I need to get her a collar, though, I'm afraid someone's going to let their bahari eat her without knowing she belongs to somebody.
no subject
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org
It's not so much a question of let. A lot of the bahari run wild. Or they're sent off to find their own food. Or people just shoot them, if they're around the camp.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org
They're very vulnerable, the madu. Not equipped to survive.
no subject
Definitely need a collar, then. Why would anyone shoot them? They're harmless and adorable.
no subject
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org
They are sweet. Very affectionate. But they're also prey animals, and food isn't as common as some would like.
They also steal.
no subject
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
I understand having to kill things to eat, trust me, but it just... it seems wrong. Isn't there anything else we could be eating? I'm sure if we just looked out a bit further we could find something.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
What do they steal?
no subject
They steal anything they can find. They're like magpies. Leave something near one, and you'll find it under a foot of snow - or you won't.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org
Rabbits at home are sweet. They're poisoned and shot. Likewise wild birds. Pigs are extraordinary creatures. Chickens I could sit and watch all day. Animals are animals, Elena.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org
The wildlife further out isn't less deserving of life because it's less appealing.
no subject
I guess it's good that I haven't really been bringing much out for Thumper to steal, then.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
Yeah, but... The animals further out try to attack us, right? So if we end up killing them then it's self-defense just as much as it's for food.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
That's better than killing the madu just because they're close.
[ right? ]
no subject
We also have to send people further out to hunt. And into greater danger. Swings and roundabouts.
In the end, it will all be the same. Depressing as that might be. In a way, we're giving them a purpose.
[Maybe. How much of this he believes, and how much he just wants to believe, is anyone's guess.]
no subject
No animal's purpose should be just for eating. That's not right.
[ says the person who has to survive by drinking human blood. elena sighs, thinks for a moment, then sends off another text. ]
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
Sorry, I'm just overinvested because of Thumper. I know the people here have to eat, I wouldn't want them to starve just because the animals are cute. It's just sad, that's all.
no subject
There we agree. It's a little sad, but that's life.
I kept rabbits at home. When I was in school. They were some of my favourite things. You can't let things like that interfere.
[He is a boxload of contradictions - and he does realise just what he's telling her: it's okay to eat people if you need to, Elena, don't worry. But does she need telling?]
no subject
Then what should you let interfere? If you try to put everything you love behind you in the interests of survival, then you lose the things that make you a person.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
I don't mean to judge, or anything, I just think there are more important things than survival. Holding onto yourself and the things you care about, even if they can be inconvenient, is important.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
Which I realize is getting a bit away from the subject of madu, sorry. This kind of thing is just a bit of a sore subject.
[ she used to need telling, a year ago. by now she's come to grips with what and who she is, and she knows what she needs to do. she tries to mitigate the damage she causes as much as possible, feeds from blood bags when she can, but eventually those will run out and she'll be stuck asking for help. the her of a year ago would have balked, but she's adapted. that's what she needs to do here. ]
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
You're right, though, in this case. My fondness for madu doesn't stop people from needing to eat, and that's just something I'll have to deal with, and hope Thumper doesn't end up someone's lunch.
no subject
I think you're taking this a bit seriously, yes. [And wow, getting him to say that is an accomplishment. He takes everything seriously.] Of course there's more at stake here than survival. But you have to prioritise.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org
You can't save all the things you value. Most of them are meaningless here. You can't be somewhere like this and expect to preserve yourself unchanged.
FROM: wilson.simon@cdc.org
For me, animal welfare isn't worth fighting for. I can see that for you it might be different.
no subject
I've been through a lot in the past three years that's changed me, and I'm not always sure it's for the better. The seriousness is more of a worry about that than anything else.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
I know I have to adapt. I'm just worried about what kind of person I'll turn into next. But again, we're getting away from madu, and it's not important. Sorry.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
You know, it's funny, I didn't care so much about it at home. I had other things to worry about so it never really crossed my mind to worry about animals.
FROM: gilbert.elena@cdc.org
I don't really know why I decided madu are the hill I want to die on. They're just... helpless, I guess? I don't know. Thumper's getting to me.
no subject
I understand, I think. But try not to get too attached. You'll have me worried for you next, not just Thumper.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)