nonscriptum | hadriel { ic inbox }

[He turns from the cliff's edge - for a moment it was almost as though he'd seen Sully's Grumman Goose floating down in the water, almost as if he could hear bring me back something shiny, kid coming through the tinny speaker of a walkie-talkie - to face her and the environment suddenly shivers, warping as a mountain range stretches from the earth, as trees grow instantaneously.

Were this not a dream, where things make sense Just Because, he might be a little more weirded out.]

Uh. Yeah, I am.

[Did she expect anything less?]

You want to tell me how the Hell you're in my brain right now?

It's just a simple little spell, that's all. Far more useful than those phones you people insist on using.

[Simple ha ha yeah no this is some serious magic shit, of the sort that many spellcasters never achieve in their lives. And she didn't have to study a single page for it, but. No big deal. If she wanted to, she could reduce this whole scenario to mental torture and leave him completely exhausted for the following day, but she doesn't have any need to do that to poor, dear Nate.]

How are you and any companions faring? And I don't mean that as small talk. Do you have a fragment of the Door?

...uh-huh.

[Unconvinced - and frankly, still slightly disturbed - Nate takes a moment to admire the alien surroundings, which are simultaneously familiar and foreign. Like Patagonia, if Patagonia's mountain ranges actually glittered.

Turning in place, Nate finally makes his way back around in a full three-hundred and sixty degrees to face Caedra again, raising an eyebrow at the question.

Presumably, she too is ship-bound and searching.]

Yeah. Why?

[Oh good! She seems to brighten up at the news, though she's searching his face at the same time for any hesitation, any indication at all that he's bluffing. She's not sure why he would, but you never know with these people sometimes.]

We're trying to verify how many are actually left. Most of the people who could have gone out on the little boats the false gods provided didn't look like they had any sailing experience. What's the one like that you found?

[Caedra appears to be interested in the news, which surprises him. Here he thought she of all people wouldn't want to help the gods for obvious reasons, unless she intends to locate the shards others brought up for the sake of destroying them. Wouldn't put it past her.

Nate also doesn't doubt that most of the residents who took nautical holidays aren't familiar with sailing. He had to help teach almost everyone in his group.]

Well, it's...pretty big, but- wait, wait, hold on a second. Who's we?

The crew I'm with, of course.

[She shrugs and moves on quickly. They're not of interest to her, after all.]

The one I found had all sorts of odd patterns on it. You have an interest in languages, as I do. Does yours look similar? Have you made any sense of it?

[Beside her, an image of the fragment she found appears on the ground. About two feet tall and covered in scrawling, spiralling patterns. It may not be language, but who knows?]

[This is an information extraction. Even in the comforting strangeness that is this encounter in his own mind, not unlike a lucid dream, Nate isn't an inept moron. His older brother was always more effective in negotiations, but Caedra came to him. She wants something.

Never let it be said that Nathan Drake is incapable of being a little shit, no matter how gray his temples get.

You didn't answer my question.

[He points out. A brief amount of speculation is afforded to the fragment she manifests before he shrugs.]

I mean, you interrupted a nice dream, you're asking for stuff...least you could do is make this more of an exchange. [Nate raises an eyebrow, leaning on a conversation from their not-so-distant past.] Fair is fair, after all.

What, you want names?

[She laughs, finding his paranoia legitimately humorous.]

I'm on Law's boat. We picked one up recently and want to make sure they're all retrieved. If, say, a group like yours goes out, gets one, but is killed by a sea monster on returning, we need to know that too - as much as we can. I'm not trying to hide anything.

[Well. That's a blatant lie, but she says it casually enough.]

[Practicality over paranoia. Spend enough time hanging around a shrink and some of that verbal runaround and psychoanalysis stuff starts to rub off on you.

Besides, the only thing he can trust Caedra to do is be herself, and therefore be self-serving. It's egoism, not rocket science.]

Ship. [He corrects her without thinking, distracted, putting a few loose ends together.] If it can carry a boat, it's a ship.

[Nate moves to continue, because he suspects he wasn't dragged in here to argue naval semantics. Still nice to have confirmation on a few fragmentary elements unaffiliated with the shards they're actually looking for.]

The piece I have is about the same size, similar markings, just in different arrangements. There are some symbols that repeat, which indicates to me that it's communicative rather than just existing as a decorative element. I don't know yet if the symbols are representative equivalents of something or would translate to sounds, um, syllables of greater words.

Ship. [She grins. The fact that he feels the need to correct her is amusing. But also, she appreciates the clarification, given her interest in language. She's learned a lot of new words on this trip, and new uses for old ones. It's fascinating.]

Right. Well, the false gods likely know, but given their refusal to tell us the actual name of their people, I somehow doubt they will be any aid in translating them. It might be worth attempting on our own, once we have them all retrieved. Do you intend on picking up any others, or are you heading back now that you have the one?

[Since Nate only gets particular about very specific details, he at least figures that his intrusive responses are marginally more forgivable than they would be if he tried to pretend he knew everything about everything. He's confident, but he's not a total asshole.]

Kind of depends on what else we run into out here. Thing is, they- they look similar to the writings I saw in the library back when...you know, we had a library. But they're not totally the same, so it might be an older dialect, or something that evolved into a more contemporary one-

[He's pacing now, nervous energy manifesting even in the mindscape, not entirely answering her question. After a beat Nate stops, moving back to Caedra's shard and crouching in front of it. Brow furrowed he rubs his (dream?)hand over the scratches, and at least they can't fuck with his head here. No whispers, no uncomfortable emotional pull.

He looks up at her.]

Can you take a photo of this thing and send it to me?

[The mention of the library catches her clear attention, as her expression shifts slightly. Her eyes become more focused on his, and she nods a little.

Could there be any reason to withhold information from him? To hoard the actual shapes and spirals for herself? Not really - not since Law has managed to convince her that these fragments really should all go to the same place, to be studied by mortals who might understand them. She has to remind herself to think of these people like Ironhold's Yugolothi researchers - mercenary academics who she doesn't trust fully, but who admittedly know enough to be helpful so long as they're given the right sort of coercion. Once all the fragments are gathered, it isn't like Nate wouldn't be able to just look at them himself. Might as well do so now, instead, and get a head start on understanding them.]

I hadn't heard much about the library. I didn't know there was script like this there, that's - well. It's exciting. Yes, all right. I'll send you an image of the one we have, if you do the same and send me one of yours. I can't do so right now, but I will when this dream ends. Send yours when you wake up and receive it.

[A generous offer from her, to give something without having received something first. But hopefully he'll see it as some tentative extension of her trust. Two people will be better at working something out like this than one alone.]

[Nate is surprised by her agreement, given the way she was intent on haggling over language lessons, which tells him that she at least sees the benefit in utilizing whatever resources are available to her. He still doesn't really trust her, but he knows that the sentiment goes both ways. It's not all that dissimilar from the kind of respect adopted among thieves.

Acknowledgment, if not deference.]

Yeah. Yeah, I'll text you. [Comes the distracted response, and he chews his lip for a long moment.] Let me know if anything comes to you.

Good.

[Whatever seriousness there had been in her tone previously seems to evaporate. It's that attitude that Rey has stated she hates so much, where Caedra can go from a serious discussion, an important topic, to laughing and smiling in seconds as if she doesn't take any of it very seriously after all. But at least with this she seems genuinely pleased that she and Nate have come to an agreement. And truly, she's excited to make an attempt at deciphering all of those beautiful patterns, not only for any meaning they might carry but because it's one of those rare things she takes actual joy in that isn't somehow linked to another person's death.

Well. Or maybe it is. It could be! After how Law reacted when he touched it... there may still be hope for a meaning that excites her in that way as well.]

Sleep well, then, Nate! I hope the rest of your dreams are just as pleasant.

[She winks, and then vanishes, taking her alterations with her, leaving Nate right back where he was before her intrusion into his unconscious mind.]

hadriel { ic inbox }

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