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[major_rawne]

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[chaos_drifter]

The Barge is different, both from the Rift and from Earth. Even with Avalon’s telepathy restored, all of the cabins and some of the people register as blank spaces unless they intentionally reach out. When they do, some people are still harder to contact than others, their thoughts and emotions rushing through Avalon’s mind in a blur. They decide not to try any sort of manipulation on random people, even after they develop a mental list of those whose minds are more difficult to reach.

Which means that, by the time they knock on Rawne’s door, they have no indicator of whether or not they will be able to accomplish anything. They can tell that they want to, more than they did before, but they would prefer to try this on someone they know.

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[major_rawne]

Rawne answers the door, smiling a little when he sees who it is. "Come in. What brings you here, today?"

[chaos_drifter]

They mirror his smile after a moment, and it feels more natural than they had expected. This is what their bracelet had labeled as connection and empathy, what Malcolm had labeled as affection.

They can sense Rawne’s emotions more easily, the blur in their mind taking on more definition. “During one of the Floods, you asked if I could … remove your regrets. I may not have an exact answer to that, but you are easier to contact than some people here.”

[major_rawne]

"Oh, yeah." He remembers that. "I don't mind trying whatever it is you've figured out."

[chaos_drifter]

They close the door behind them, and the other emotions around them vanish as if being locked out. ::It might help if you think about it,:: they tell him. They let their ability probe, searching for the emotions that they remember from the dreamscape. As specific memories become more prominent, they try to touch them.

Nothing happens. Rawne will feel nothing except for the sudden absence of Avalon’s mind. One moment the connection is there. The next it is simply gone, and Avalon finds themself alone in their mind again.

[major_rawne]

"Ok." He thinks about Vervunhive, as much as he hates doing it. As Avalon does... whatever it is they're doing, the memories fade. Change. It's odd.

[chaos_drifter]

“…I have no idea if something happened or not,” they say quietly. To them, it felt like they picked up a couple of memories and then dropped them.

[major_rawne]

"It feels different," he says, "I have the memories, but they're not... it's not so heavy. You helped. Thank you." Perhaps he'll have a few less nightmares, this way.

[chaos_drifter]

Maybe they can try it again with someone else, and learn how it should feel. “Good to know. I was worried that I might have accidentally erased them.” Yes, worried is the name for this. This is what they felt when they learned that Shaw was in a coma, if not slightly stronger.

[major_rawne]

"Nope. They're all there, just... less. Less of an issue, I mean." He, on the other hand, is feeling very warmly towards Avalon. "Do you want a drink?"

[chaos_drifter]

They can sense the affection, recognize that some of it is coming from them. “That would be nice.” They liked how it felt last time, the way their mind had been quiet without feeling empty.

[major_rawne]

"Great." He smile again, feeling oddly jaunty, and grabs two glasses and the bottle of sacra before sitting on the couch. "C'mon, pull up a seat."

[chaos_drifter]

Avalon lets themself sink into the couch next to him, pressing themself against the arm. Their orb digs into their hip, and they unhook the carabiner from their belt, setting the bag on the floor.

[major_rawne]

Rawne pours the sacra into the glasses and passes Avalon one. "How's wardening going?"

[chaos_drifter]

“My new inmate is not someone I already knew, and I think that makes it easier.” Their instinct is to think of their inmates like partners, not subordinates. “I would rather be temporarily paired with strangers.” It helps them maintain distance.

[major_rawne]

"Easier? Huh, I usually had it easier with people I knew." As a temp, anyway. He hasn't been perma-paired with anyone he knew well yet. When he's been paired with people he knew, he mostly didn't do much he hadn't been doing already.

[chaos_drifter]

“It feels easier to keep my distance,” they explain. “I knew Root, so I tried to dig deeper and I pushed her away. With a stranger, I can learn about them, but I am starting with nothing and may not get to the point of pushing their boundaries.”

[major_rawne]

"It would keep things professional," he acknowledges, "I was usually worried I'd hit a raw nerve and piss someone off."

[chaos_drifter]

“You and I became friends, but I think that trying to form a connection with every inmate I had would end badly. Some people need an authority figure.” Avalon takes a sip of the sacra. “Eventually, I might find a better balance.”

[major_rawne]

"There's not much point to that with temps, too. You only have them for a month." He takes a long drink.

[chaos_drifter]

“I know.” They glance at Rawne’s eyes, then at their bag on the floor.

“Do you mind if I try something?”

[major_rawne]

"Sure." He trusts them enough to not add exceptions to that. Whatever it is, Avalon won't hurt him.

[chaos_drifter]

They lean over to retrieve their bag, then pull the orb out of it. They offer it to Rawne. “I want to see what it looks like for someone else.”

[major_rawne]

Rawne takes the orb and looks at it, curious. There's a swirl of colors, yellow and red and a twist of blue.

[chaos_drifter]

“No black. I wondered if that would happen.” Shaw had asked if Avalon’s showed a lot of gray, likely for the same reason. Theirs had been fully colored a few times before their cheat sheet had changed, but after that it had always had some black, either as a barrier between other colors or like a veil draped over them.