1702/Bedside Manners

Bedside Manners
Date of Scene:	25 June 2024
Location:	Obsidian Tower
Synopsis:	Takashi (As Riventon) visits Chaar (as not-Chaar) while she's recovering from her wounds. Snark is exchanged, data is obtained.
Cast of Characters:	Doom and Gloom Girls, Takashi Agera

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Doom and Gloom Girls has posed:
Chaar is in Obsidian's medical ward and hospital, partially to be under observation, and partially because she'll heal better with access to dark energy and her artificial magic pumped up, than she would otherwise. She's out of henshin, back as a normal girl - back as Noriko the human with short black hair, ends dyed red, wrapped up in bandages like a mummy, resting on her side because of all her injuries.

Even with that, and Obsidian's pretty good medical care, she'd still been stabbed five times. And hard tackled by an armored boy until she'd left a trail in the earth and gotten a concussion. And had her arm sliced open. And been hit with all kinds of other attacks, and she's drained, bruised, and all around worn ragged..

But she doesn't care. She got the energy. A lot of it! An entire concert's worth! Those brats couldn't stop her!

She's still burning with anger, even if she's tired. Likeable. Likeable. The word rings in her ears, like the mantra from hell.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Rivenon arrives to see Chaar - to see Noriko - but it's not out of kindness or worry about her, not the way as it would be for Hematite or even Hinoiri. No, Riventon is here because he's annoyed. At her. At someone else. And because he wants answers. And in his experience, with the people around this building, sometimes the best way to get answers wasn't to snoop around or politely ask them - it was to annoy the answers out of them.

    The fact that he'd get to say things that bothered him directly as part of this was a bonus - not the whole reason, but it didn't hurt.

    So of course, he showed up, in henshin, and looked at her as he walked into the medical room she'd been temporarily given. "Wow. You look terrible." Riventon says. "The hell got into you, going out on your own?!"

Doom and Gloom Girls has posed:
There's someone coming and for a moment, she thinks it's one of the others - Yuuko (Zwei) or Takako (Aon) maybe, her closest friend on the team and the 'leader' of their little group. Then, there's the voice, obnoxious as hell, and Noriko's lip curls back in a snarl as she sees her other 'senpai', the guy who was theoretically her boss but not her boss, but who sucked as much as her senpai gone AWOL.

"Man, screw you too," she sneers, "Getting the job done got into me. Sixty plus people worth of energy, and and all the damage in a part of town no one gives a shit about."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon shakes his head. "Come on, anybody can get energy. That's kind of a waste of the effort that went into making you. Instead you got your ass kicked by the sparklesquad. Do you know how much energy it takes to recharge your device?" He shakes his head.

    "No, of course you don't. But I guess you weren't picked for your ability to know things. Still, I thought Sunbreaker and myself were pretty clear on the whole 'don't go out alone' thing. And now look at you. Energy or not you look like a friggin' mummy."

Doom and Gloom Girls has posed:
"Anybody can get energy, but not enough of it gets snagged," she growls, "And Sunbreaker went off on her own all the time. Least, before she chickened the hell out."

Yes, that's how she's decided to view it -

"She went nuts and then went AWOL, so why should I listen to anything she said."

No, she doesn't know how much energy goes into charging her. No, she doesn't know all about what went into making her. But she's replaceable if she doesn't get things done, so she's going to get things done!

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon waves his hand. "Your logic doesn't follow, then. If you don't want to go nuts and go AWOL maybe don't do what she did, which includes having a big head about your own capabilities and going to do everything solo." he says.

    "But hell, at least she was a real mahou. She had her own powers. She didn't get them as a charity case - as a science fair project. Like you did. You should be a little more aware of your own limitations - or at least not get your ass kicked somewhere I can't get data off it."

Doom and Gloom Girls has posed:
"A real mahou who's spending all her time running around while everyone tries to kill her pathetic, weak ass," Noriko snaps, and there's a shift in her expression as she says the words.

As she considers what Hinoiri being on the outs means.

Hah. Ha.

"Yeah, I'm fake, and I'm replaceable, and I'm not worth shit as far as you're concerned, so it's a good thing I did my fucking job and got the energy the boss wants, isn't it?! Your data isn't what's important around here, nerd boy."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Yeah, it's a tough world when people don't obey their superiors..." Riventon notes. "...Upset the wrong people and trouble tends to follow. Which is why I'm surprised you seem to think my data isn't important. To the point where you're giving me backtalk. From a hospital bed. All bandaged up like a Mummy because someone tried to use you as the woodblock to store pointy objects in, if what I've heard is right."

    "Yet another lesson you may not take to heart... Profit's more important than gross revenue, this is a real business, not a second-rate Clock App channel."

Doom and Gloom Girls has posed:
"Good thing I'm obeying my superiors, and not the trumped up middle manager who thinks he's hot shit." She shifts in her bed, sitting up even though it hurts, pulls at healing stitches and injuries. "Maybe if you wanted me to care about your data more, you should have given me a single reason to care about what the hell you're doing. Oh soooo sorry I'm not making sure you always have everything you need for Doom and Gloom 2: Nothing To Do With Me."

A scowl, at the reminder.

"Just working out the kinks. Figuring out how much damage they're willing to do, so I can do it back. That's what that stupid horse was always so worried about, right? Escalating the conflict?"

She snorts.

"If they're willing to stab me to hell and back, guess it won't be so bad when I return the favor. Cook their guts from the outside in."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    He had to give her credit for the trumped up middle managent comment. Hell, sometimes that's what he felt like. And so far she'd not given up any information he didn't already know, or effectively know - if they'd gone to speak to Beryl directly, it wasn't for a morale-boosting pizza party.

    "Hey, if you're worried about your superior's superiors, you should know the whole escalation jam comes from about as high as you can go." he notes. Though most people didn't take it to the degree that Takashi did - because most weren't trying to lock down the status quo as much as he was - he knew the Directors weren't entirely thrilled with it either, which meant it had to come from above them.

    "But really, do you think you can worry about that sort of thing? I mean, snark aside your power source isn't exactly gonna last long enough to burn a set of them out anyways, really. You must know that as well as I do. Whether you like it or not, you're limited."

Doom and Gloom Girls has posed:
"Not as limited as I used to be," she snaps, and that's a mistake, but she doubles down, because what does she care? What can he do? What is he, to her, when it comes down to it?! "I might need to charge and I might not have real powers like you, but I'm still the one she picked to be better!"

Beryl had come to them, not him. Had recognized that they needed an edge, after Sunbreaker, after the hell she'd put them through, and she was right, because even now she's never felt better, she's so much stronger, out from under his thumb.

"Maybe I can't burn through them all but one at a time until they break is how she taught me, isn't it? Scare them until they cower, until they don't want to come anywhere near me!"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    He'll take it. It doesn't really do more than confirm a suspicion he's already got, but that's why he's here. Confirmation, even if a bit soft. "Mmm, yes. You look drastically less limited from here - assuming the thing you were limited at is being injured, anyways."

    "To be honest I'm not sure what she taught you. You were always more her pet project. But fear is a double-edged sword. You have to wield it in a careful way, Chaar. Too much and they fight you to the end. Too little and they laugh at you. Frankly, it takes a nuance I'm not sure you have. Really, you should let Aon do the thinking. There's a reason she made leader."

    And then he pauses. "Did you tell her about this little solo adventure of yours?"

Doom and Gloom Girls has posed:
She lifts her chin, stubborn, proud, pissed. "Why don't you ask her?"

She's not going to throw Aon under the bus or undermine her authority. If this jerk who never cared about any of them wants something from Aon, he can ask her himself.

"I got the energy," she repeats, "And it's more than it's costing to fix me, I checked. Especially now. So I'm profitable, and I'm making it work, and it's not like I'm going to pull a Hinoiri and go begging those losers to take care of me, wah, wah, wah, I'm so weak and pathetic and sad now -"

She does not know if this is what Hinoiri is like, but, if she's likeable to a bunch of soft-skinned losers, she's probably pathetic.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "I probably will, but I was wondering if you had developed a spine with all of this newfound power you mentioned?" he says, in regards to Aon. "Guess you want her to speak for you as well.

    "But I'm glad you seem to have it all under control. I'm certain you won't end up in here stuck having to listen to me again. And again. And again." he says, rolling his eyes. "You'll figure out I'm right, I just hope it's not too late for you."

    "I wonder if that's a place you just happened to be like Sunbreaker, or if that's something you picked up from her... Maybe it's a fire magic thing."

Doom and Gloom Girls has posed:
"I'll end up here as many times as I have to to hit the goal. As long as I'm profitable, and I can pick myself back up, nothing else matters. Don't give me that shit. You don't hope for anything, when it comes to me. All you want is your precious data, so you can go on with your experiments."

She flaps a hand at him, dismissive. She's got plenty of spine, but she's not getting tricked into saying if she went around Aon OR if Aon approved.

"Now if you're done with the lecture, I've got a date with a shot of morphine coming up."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "That's not true. I hope you don't turn out to be a waste of effort. Given that Sunbreaker went all loco and then burned out her powers, I'd hope that her last project with us didn't turn out to be that." he notes. "Today is not giving me a great deal of faith, but you're just one of a group, so I suppose at least we hedged our bets." Riventon says, taking a step outside.

    She's absolutely changed. Not just in her power, or her attitude, but something more, something deeper. The readings are revealing something interesting. The discussion as well. He's got some hunches... but maybe he can think of a few other people who might be able to pick up what he puts down and get value.