Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

“Being exiled by my people problems. Being hunted problems. At risk of being scrapped problems.”

Rineth doesn’t move, as told.


It seems to be a phoenix egg, though it still differs marginally from the images she finds.

“You never told us why you left home. We were worried, but your father said to let you go, let you live however you wanted. I still tried to sneak off to find you, but he always would find out and keep me home.”

 

“Well, then that makes problems for me as well.”
I point out.
“If the information is so impactful, who’s to say that someone can’t try to get it out of me forcibly?”

 

Thirteen tosses a device at his door, sealing it off.
“I used code that pushed my race to near extinction. Your source behavior was nearly identical to the... mistake... that almost wiped us out.” He says quietly.

 

“...Ah.”
There’s a long pause.
“Well, that tells me how you did it, but what exactly is it?”

 

“It’s just old code, sourced from one of the monsters we made that singehandedly razed eighteen tribes. Nothing special, but there’s nothing more taboo among my people. I studied those monsters, learned about the loose ends they had. It was just a matter of hoping you were different than they were, the interfacing and hook setups were simple.”

 

“...Just some code? Nothing special?”

 

“Pretty much. Obviously I abstracted it a bit to keep others from noticing, but I’d hope you wouldn’t let any of my kind to study you long enough to see through the guise.”

 

"Well, I don't know much about your kind, especially how they look. So I can't keep that promise in good faith."

 

“Zakretian. Stella can give you a sufficient profile and history on us.”

 

After a while, the nurse returns with some warm porridge, a couple of pieces of buttered toast and a glass of water. She places it on the table next to Rineth gently.

"Call me if you need anything." The nurse says, gesturing to a small remote on the table.


Abigail thinks for a moment, before trying to call Stephanie. After a while, she gets through.

"Hello?" Stephanie asks.

"It's Abigail. You can get reception out there?" Abigail asks.

"Well, yes. My mother is the goddess of magic. Getting good phone reception isn't hard." Stephanie says, laughing lightly.

"Right, cool. Look, I got given this weird phoenix egg by some stranger who said I'd be better with her child. I have no idea how to raise either, I was hoping you could help." Abigail asks.

"Well, what type of phoenix is it?" Stephanie asks happily.

"I don't know. Fire I guess?" Abigail says, looking at the egg, "Can't you come look after it? You had that ice phoenix egg you were taking care of right? I have better stuff to do than be a mother. Hell, I don't even want kids."

"Abigail, I'm billions of lightyears away from you. I can't really get to you easily." Stephanie says flatly, albeit slightly apologetically.

"Geez, sorry miss demigoddess of magic. Excuse me for thinking you could teleport or some shit." Abigail says, annoyed.

"I'm not the demigoddess of space, Abigail! I can't just teleport wherever I want at a whim!" Stephanie says, angry.

"Oh, but you can get good phone reception billions of lightyears away from me?" Abigail responds snarkily.

Stephanie lets out an exasperated sigh.

"Do you want my advice with this phoenix or not?" Stephanie asks.

"I was thinking I could sell it. I need new armour anyway since that whore Iris broke it when she killed me." Abigail says offhandedly.

"Abigail! You can't do that! That's horrible! A mother entrusted you with her child and you're just going to sell it like some...some...skateboard of yours!? What would Artemis think?" Stephanie asks, offended.

"Please, I don't need another lecture from Artemis about morals. She's the one hooked up with Aj, a notorious murderer." Abigail says casually.

"Just...try to keep the phoenix egg warm and when it hatches, keep it well fed." Stephanie says, before ending the call.

Abigail sighs, annoyed.

 

"I ran away because of the war. I fled."

 

"I don't suppose they all look like you."

 

Rineth slowly nods.


'When it hatches' doesn't seem to be far, seeing as there's tapping from inside the egg.

"Similar, not exactly. Some people say we look sort of like a furred kobold, though they're much more interested in magic than we are."

"Where, though? You'd have to cut through the front lines to get to the forests."

 

"There were some ways to avoid the front lines."

 

The nurse takes her leave, Katie shifting a bit on her chairs but not waking.


Abigail drains the water, before panicking on what to do next.

 

Rineth lays back and waits for Katie to stir.


The shell cracks, leaking viscous magma.

Laura seems a bit annoyed.
“If we knew, the whole family could’ve... but, I’m glad you’re still well.” She sighs.

 

Katie wakes up after a while, rubbing her eyes and glancing over at Rineth.


Abigail's sink seems reinforced against such heat, acting as if the magma was just water. Abigail makes herself some more tea to try and calm down.

 

"Do you know anything about the others? Cause I have a feeling not everyone is doing as good as I am."

 

I nod.
"Well, thank you. It's good to know."
I turn to leave.
"My instincts tell me that the doors aren't motion-activated."

 

"Has it actually been a week?"


After about a minute, a small beak pokes out of the shell.

"I'll be blunt. I didn't do all that for free... mention this secret to anyone, and I'll know about it. Don't expect me to be idle about it, either."

"Your father has been put to rest forever, his spirit gone. Fybus has been searching for a new body in the dream plane, Ralgar has found a new body on another planet, and Premyn has been taking care of me in the spirit realm. I haven't heard from... from... why can't I remember his name? Your second brother, I don't know his whereabouts."