inthebiblicalsense | TLV IC Inbox

Abel is stubborn, stubborn enough that he'll push himself up, though it takes him longer than it should. He'd managed to drag himself and Cain up and out of the Reliant when they'd crashed, he could handle this, just might be a bit of a bitch while he does it. He's aware of the death toll, he'd talked about it to make sure he'd know what to expect, though he hadn't been expecting the reset to make him experience the stress of jumping all over again. The fact that he was killed is honestly not that much of a surprise, he'd been waiting for Jacob to make a move, though he hadn't been expecting it to be so quiet that he wouldn't have even known he died. While it's strange to consider, seeing as he hadn't thought he'd made many other enemies on board, it might not have been him.

"What was the method?" Because he feels like that's important, leaning back against the pillows to close his eyes, get some relief from the headache. He'll ask where he is later, potentially ask to be put back in his own room so he can at least feed his cat while he's out, but that will come later.

"Injection. Probably something very fast acting. The person who did it is in zero now."

So Abel doesn't have to strain himself worrying about the investigation.

"Do you want tea? Painkillers don't really do much for the Toll but it never helps to be dehydrated."

And the cup has kept it at the perfect temperature.

"That's rather disturbing." But, the fact that they already had who ever had done it locked away made him feel a little better. "I have a feeling that who ever it is, isn't the person I would expect."

He takes a deep breath but it isn't as smooth as he wanted. "It would probably be good for my throat, thank you." Though, painkillers had helped the headache when he'd first arrived, just he hadn't wanted to say anything about it. It's enough of a pain to want to speak up now, "When you die, is it common to reexperience pain you felt when you arrived?"

"Yeah," he says, handing over the tea.

"It's like...when the barge resurrects you, it resets your body from the last save file? Even down to physical stuff like tattoos and scars, whatever it was whenever you came onboard. Not counting ports, because you're like...still in the barge's influence then, or something. I brought my medkit, if you're dealing with something besides the toll."

Edited 2024-07-05 16:25 (UTC)

Abel isn't the kind of guy who plays many videogames, but he at least is familiar with the term. It's more of a soft reset rather than a hard one. Not all the problems fixed.

"I had just woke up from a week long coma when I arrived here," He blows on the hot tea, not really one for overly warm, he didn't want to burn his tongue and not taste the rest of it. "The headache is killer, not that I needed more on top of that." And pair that with the fact that he's sure some death tolls are harder than others depending on how you died, this is never going to be easy.

Jedao winces sympathetically.

"Fuck, that's rough." He's never been in a coma - a real one, not the barge's stasis - but he watched someone he was close to fall into one after a bad allergic reaction to sedatives.

He reaches down to get his kit from the floor, and starts digging through it for the best painkillers for a headache.

"Any meds you're allergic to, or anything like that?"

"I think it helped me get over the crash that happened before I went under, so at least there is that. I wouldn't put it past the Admiral to come to some one while they were incapacitated."

Abel hadn't given it much thought, but the crash, pulling Cain from the Reliant, that had all happened like he'd been in a dream. Waking up after felt like he'd just experienced it while feeling like it had been months at the same time.

"No, I shouldn't be. Honestly it's been years since I've been sick aside from what just happened. Most people don't any more unless they've got a flaw in their mods, and thats rare."

"Alright." Jedao gives him a codeine on the saucer. If he's not used to feeling lousy, Jedao reckons that he currently feels really lousy.

Abel probably should ask him what it is, but seeing as he's at least familiar enough with Hakkai and he's been set up in here, there would be no reason to harm him further. That would be ridiculous. He takes it without question, washing it down with some tea and lets his eyes close.

"You know, I think I feel better about this, now that it's happened. At least I know what it feels like. It's shit, don't get me wrong, just. Nothing I can't handle."

"I get what you mean," Jedao says. "The Toll means different things to different people. And this is the worst it's going to be, it tapers off over the next week."

It could be worse with a worse death, potentially. But now isn't the time to dwell on that.

"If I'm going to be laid up like this for a week I'm going to get restless," Fitz will tell him its a much needed vacation probably, but he hadn't wanted or asked for one.

He isn't really wanting to talk much about it though, he'll get some information later, listen to Malcolm's post and the resulting responses and feel extremely angry about it. Time for a more pleasant subject change.

"You're Hakkai's spouse, right?"

"First two days, rest and hydrate and wallow. Watch some cheesy dramas. Days three to five, learn some new hobbies. Days six and seven, go back to your regular routine but grumble about it," is his advice.

At being described as Hakkai's spouse, he breaks out in a warm, dumb, smitten smile.

"Yes. I'm Cho Jedao."

Edited 2024-07-05 23:28 (UTC)

"Sounds miserable." Six days to get back into the swing. Maybe he can do it in four and see how that goes.

It makes him relax a little when Jedao smiles, remembering that first conversation he'd had with Hakkai rather fondly. It was, among a few other choice meetings, what helped him feel a little hopeful about his new mission.

"I wish we'd talked sooner and-" He almost asks if he'd had to be carried here, but thinks better of it. He wants to let it go for the moment. "A-anyways, Hakkai told me about you when I first arrived. Kind of embarrassing I took so long to say hello." Not that he'd been avoiding him, just despite the lack of order their paths just didn't cross well enough to be formally introduced. "It was really comforting, hearing him talk about your ceremony. I wouldn't mind hearing your highlights about it either if it isn't too much to ask, it'd be lighter conversation at least."

"It sounds miserable because you don't have enough hobbies yet. I'll teach you how to cheat at poker or something," Jedao suggests amiably.

He waves away Abel's embarrassment.

"A lot has been happening, and the barge is a lot to adjust to. I'm glad he was able to help you find your balance here."

He runs a hand through his hair, trying to - find words for things.

"We cobbled it together from a lot of different traditions. I didn't...have much family where I came from, but we've both built families here. Just looking at the family tables - seeing people there who were happy for me, who...cared about this crazy made-up mishmash ritual because I said it was important, I said it was real -" he swallows, getting a little emotional in spite of the fact that it's months.

"One of our friends showed us enough Earth movies that I knew about the rings thing -" He flashes his wedding ring, dark grey tungsten instead of gold. "And I loved that part. We danced so much, and. I got a new name. A family name, like a real person."

"I don't even know how to play poker." Card games wasn't really his thing, but it would probably be fun to play. If he was actually taught how he'd definitely be good at counting cards.

He closes his eyes when Jedao talks, it helps the headache, and he smiles at the way he obviously is invested in it. He peaks one eye open when he talks about his ring, and it makes his smile stretch just a little farther, "I left my family name behind when I enlisted. I didn't want it any more. I'm glad you got one you wanted, you obviously deserved it."

"Thank you," Jedao says, because he's been working on being gracious instead of self-deprecating. "And I'll teach you to play, then. You'd make a great hustler, probably."

"You know, I feel like I should ask why you think I might be, but maybe I don't want to know." Was it his sweet face? The big black eyes?

"I have a terrible poker face though, so you'll have to work around that."

"I think you have guessed exactly why," Jedao says, grinning.

"As for being an open book, well, we'll work on it."

That is definitely something he's tried to work on. He's not the best at hiding his reactions or lying about most anything.

"That'd be a trial worse than boot camp. Or this. This is hard to beat, but it would be difficult."

"Look, if we fail, all it means is you now have a new way of hitting on people, which is to challenge them to strip poker and then lose," Jedao points out optimistically. Success or failure all depends on your objective, after all.

Abel hadn't necessarily been expecting him to say that, both eyes opening and staring at him. His mouth opens to say something, but nothing comes out for much longer than he intended.

"You know, I wasn't expecting that, but you obviously don't know me very well if you think I'd be up for asking anyone to play strip poker without embarrassing myself." While it would probably be very fun, that's a little too bold.

Jedao laughs a little, but not meanly; he's mostly laughing at himself.

"Well, I don't know you. Fair enough. But it never hurts to have another strategy in your back pocket. Not to mention, embarrassing yourself can actually be a very good tactic for putting other self-conscious people at ease."

Jedao has a special talent for being earnest and Machiavellian at the same time.

"I just had a conversation with Fitz about this the other night. And I wouldn't say I'm self-conscious, just..." Not all that confident that he's not going to fuck it up. Or be laughed at. "I'm untested. And perhaps with how everyone seems to be on board, instead of being inviting, it's like i've jumped a few difficulty levels with how comfortable everyone seems." And he's just not.

How did they get here anyways? He's laid up and sick and here Jedao is talking to him about pulling techniques.

"It's alright," Jedao says softly. "I didn't kiss anybody for most of a year, when I got here. I was absolutely dying because everyone here is so hot, but..."

He shakes his head.

"I wasn't ready. You don't need to rush yourself just because your new neighbors are, ah, enthusiastic."

Abel is thankful that he isn't quite at that level, but there is definitely some worry about getting into something ill advised. Admitting it to anyone is difficult, but he'd started talking about it at least. It was helping. "I wouldn't say I'm where you were at, just. I've got some baggage that feels a little uncomfortable bringing with me even into something casual. Not that I haven't already, but we talked about it. At least, started to." After the fact, when it became apparent to him that he probably should after Cain had given too much out, but still. He was trying.

The other in we is left unsaid, he's got enough of his own personal business flying around the network if his death is at all public like he's sure it will be. He had been in the library for god sake. "You think the Admiral does it on purpose? Like, that can't be a coincidence."

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