[002.b. - spam/network]

[reformedsinner]

cw: eye & hand injury, likely some self-destructive thought processes in tags

[open/spam, the infirmary]

Gonou does not fight back when his punishment is given, nor when it is carried out. The Infirmary is busy, the cries of pain from the beds around him disorienting; he gets up, after a few minutes of rest have cleared his head enough that he doesn't think he'll fall, and tries to find his way to a seat away from the beds. He's slow and clumsy, his one good hand held out in front of him to avoid running into anything important. Eventually, he finds a wall, and turns to plant his back against it and sit down there.

He hopes he's out of the way. He'll just -- take a little time to rest, here, and hope that at some point someone will arrive who's able and willing to take him back to his room.

[open/spam, afterwards]

He's been assigned to hard labor at the oars, but even though he heals a little faster in this body than he had in a human one, the stump of a hand takes more than a few days to heal over enough for a prosthetic to be fitted on it. He's spending a fair amount of time in his room, practicing mapping the space, practicing listening. He's trying to keep his fresher socket cleaned and bandaged; he knows the routine, even if it's harder one-handed, and harder still blind.

He goes to meals. His ears flick with paranoid speed when he's in a crowded room, trying to track the multiplicity of sounds around him, trying to feel out the echoes of the space; sometimes he walks into something, and sometimes this means he drops the tray he has to balance in one hand. When he does, grimly determined, he'll drop to his knees and do his best to clean it up.

Once or twice, he's allowed into the yard, but he finds that space even more overwhelming than the mess hall, and lingers very close to the door, keeping his head down.

After the first week, he adds rotations on the oars. Wherever he's seated, quietly, he'll ask the name of the person beside him.

Network, audio, a few days after the mutiny

[Gonou's voice is soft, a little hoarse. He just has one thing to ask:]

Who's still alive?

... Please don't reply in text.

Comments

mess hall

[riseunparalleled]

In terms of official judgement, Xie Lian benefited greatly from a combination of the general chaos and a subtlety that wasn't just tied to not having a weapon. While he'd been clearly involved to some degree, there was no proof of any murders, theft or that he'd been part of any conspiracy.

Which is why he just has long sessions on the oars, and visible bruising that he at least doesn't have to worry about trying to conceal from Gonou. A positive he doesn't he'll bring up.

He waits until Gonou's tray is on the table before moving to sit down.

"Hello, Cho Gonou."

the oars

[tarakan]

"Alexander Hilbert," he answers, looking over Gonou. He feels his blood boil as he looks at the man. This is what he was talking about with Eiffel. This is what angers him the most about this place. Just the sheer needless cruelty of it all.

"I am medical doctor. When we get off our shift, I can change bandages and help clean wound."

Mess hall

[deuceoftears]

"I'm coming to sit on your right," Jedao warns in a low, steady voice from a few paces away. He'd considered the other side, part of him wanting fruitlessly to defend it, but - he suspects, under the circumstances, that Gonou may want to touch him.

[brotherblack]

It's still chaotic, with so many dead and so many of the surviving Advocates running around in disarray, trying to figure out who to round up and what to do with them, trying to deal with the bodies and the damage. Chaotic enough that Shen Wei, with his downcast gaze, slow step, and robes still immaculately clean of blood combine easily with the stump of his missing hand and the socket of his missing eye still covered in bandages to paint him as clearly harmless and uninvolved in this madness.

He makes a show of appearing cowed, of wanting to be helpful, and so finds his way into the infirmary, to where those prisoners who are being maimed for their punishment have been brought. He doesn't let himself appear eager, or concerned, doesn't let himself feel worry or hope or guilt, he just scans the area, and when he spots Cho Gonou-

Rage is harder to bury under the mask than any of the others, but he breathes deep, clings to the veneer of meekness with iron-willed determination, and then lets himself pad over to where Gonou has curled himself against the wall. he makes his steps heavy so his approach is not a surprise, even in the bustle of the infirmary.

"Cho Gonou," he calls quietly while he's still well outside his personal space. "I've come to take you back to your quarters." It's a valid excuse to be here when the Advocates all seem very focused on what they doubtless consider more important matters. "May I come closer?"

Mess Hall

[choosetoforget]

Daniel did what Daniel does best. He hid. He squeezed his small frame into an exceptionally tiny space and stayed there, hands over his ears while chaos erupted around him. Because of that, he was spared any and all involvement in what happened. No one found him, no one approached, and he stayed out of the way.

But he isn't unaware of the consequences. Jon dead. Gonou maimed. Countless others with the same fate. He doesn't quite know what to feel.

"Let me help," he tells Gonou as the tray chatters to the ground. "It's me. It's - Daniel."