Adia Costas (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chiron_survivor) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
nexus_crossings2017-08-15 08:17 pm
chiron_survivor) wrote in nexus_crossings2017-08-15 08:17 pm
A reminder to not count your Earths before they've hatched.
It is not unusual to find Adia in the Plaza. She is there frequently enough, sitting in front of a Nexus terminal or fixing herself a cup of coffee. It is not even unusual to find her accompanied by pokémon. This time it's only one, a large bird that stands nearly as tall as she does. It stays close to her seat, keeping a watchful eye for suspicious characters.
What is unusual is the expression on her face.
Adia has come to the Nexus upset before, but this is different. All her nervous energy is gone, replaced with a washed-out, nearly lethargic appearance. She's holding a children's drawing in her hands, staring at it for long seconds before folding it along well-worn creases. She picks at a corner, staring into the distance, then unfolds it and starts the process all over again.
This goes on for several minutes until Bucky, wise bird that he is, gently nudges her with his beak. Coming back to herself, she blinks and looks around, remembering where she is.
"Something... something bad happened back home. A lot of people are... really upset. And losing hope. How do you come back from that?" She looks down at the picture and whispers, "How do you learn to hope again?"
What is unusual is the expression on her face.
Adia has come to the Nexus upset before, but this is different. All her nervous energy is gone, replaced with a washed-out, nearly lethargic appearance. She's holding a children's drawing in her hands, staring at it for long seconds before folding it along well-worn creases. She picks at a corner, staring into the distance, then unfolds it and starts the process all over again.
This goes on for several minutes until Bucky, wise bird that he is, gently nudges her with his beak. Coming back to herself, she blinks and looks around, remembering where she is.
"Something... something bad happened back home. A lot of people are... really upset. And losing hope. How do you come back from that?" She looks down at the picture and whispers, "How do you learn to hope again?"
no subject
But no reason to leave Adia's questions hanging, especially since she's asking some good ones. "I got a lab tech in the gang named Mitchell. Fella's as bright as a new penny. Ain't too social; prolly from readin' so many comic books and not talkin' to girls. But he's always doin' some kinda science to keep workin' towards the cure. I should ask him about that antibody thing.
"As far as the symptoms go, y'all get a right nasty fever first. Cold sweats an' the shakes. If you were bit, the wound won't close for nothin'. Git real pale and slowly just kinda...fade out. Then anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, they're gettin' back up feelin' real hungry. But once in a blue moon, y'wake up still yerself, barrin' any brain damage from being dead too long might cause. And even then, y'just come back a little...easily confused or entertained. And those are the ones I'm always tryna find to add to the gang if they wanna come with. The living gangs for the most part don't want our sort around, so I just made our own."
no subject
Before Jesse gets too deep into his description of the disease, she pulls out of her bag a small notebook and pen. The notebook is already nearly full; she hurriedly flips to a fresh sheet and starts to write some things down. "Does this disease have a name?" she asks, her pen rapidly moving across the page. "Any idea how it started?"
It's sad to hear that Jesse and his friends are outcasts on their world, but sort of understandable. "Um... I know you said that most of the victims want to... ah, bite others, after they die." She pauses, then asks delicately, "Is that also a compulsion for the ones who retain their intelligence and personality?"