One really has to wonder how the twins manage to always remain completely synchronized in their movements. They dance Envoy into the salon while explaining just how the spotting will work. Naturally this is hard to follow because they're signing each word alternatingly still. Cats. What are you going to do. If Envoy did understand it right, though, it's nothing more than a bit of water soluable dye applied using a series of spot-stamps so that the outlines are appropriate. Fine facial details require hand-painting, though. So, it will be a while here.
"Go get a shower first," the one Envoy thinks is Rising-Star signs. She's never quite sure, though, and the twins seem to delight in causing such confusion. They pirouette her over to the sonic shower, then in a disturbing display of synchronized stripping, they lay Envoy bare before the shower. Is the twins have any concern over Envoy's lack of usual anatomy, it isn't shown. "Have," one of them signs. "Fun." the other finishes. They dance off and leave Envoy to her fate.
Envoy steps into the shower and muses over the last instruction. How does one have fun in a shower? "Maybe I'm supposed to sing, but Silent-Ones wouldn't consider that to be fun since they can't do it," she muses, and looks about for any plumbing controls.
There are plenty of knobs and insulated switches. Problem is like most plumbing, nothing is labeled. They aren't even color-coded.
The Aeolun considers this. Maybe it's a test? Knobs usually control water flow. Switches could be for selecting different sprays or additives. She decides to go from left to right, starting with the knobs, until something happens.
Fortune smiles, Envoy didn't turn on the sonic atomizer too high. So, instead of looking like an exploded koosh within seconds, she only looks like a mildly disgruntled one. She can still feel the vibration in her teeth, though. She can also feel the slow crackle of building ... static.
She turns that particular knob back down, before something gets zapped. Then Envoy moves to the next knob and tries it. "I wonder if they ever use this to torture Eeee prisoners.." she ponders.
Ackpth! That one was the water! Specifically, the hot water! It's like being hit by hose, too. Envoy suddenly suspects that maybe the sonic setting and the water are supposed to be used together in order to produce mist.
That knob is also quickly shut off. But.. does it count as having showered yet? The question is moot, since Envoy has to try every setting until she knows what they all do anyway.
In short order Envoy discovers the next knob is cold water. Then there are the infrared heaters, varying blow-dry settings, and even several switches that seem to dispense some sort of fragrances.
After trying everything, Envoy figures that she's officially showered now, even if she's still damp in spots and frizzed in others. She does try to wring out her hair though, and shakes her wings off.
"You need to be completely dry," one of the sisters signs as she comes dancing by. Do they ever stop dancing? She doesn't have long to ponder that, though, because the sister turns on the heated dryer full blast before dancing off again. Envoy finds herself feeling like she's in the middle of a desert tornado!
Envoy has probably never felt so floofy. But it's still better than being statically charged. She makes sure to expose all of her fur to the hot wind so that she doesn't have to go through it all again. She hasn't decided if this is fun or not yet.
When the system finally shuts off, Envoy looks ... puffy. Even her wing feathers are all poofed out. The twins naturally come dancing by and grab her. They make her dance around the salon, then spin her into the scary-looking automatic combing machine. It springs to life and Envoy is assaulted by dozens of little combs on mechanical arms.
"This thing knows how to handle wings, right?" she asks out loud, and keeps her wings raised away from the limbs. She can't do the same for her scales, but just assumes the device will know not to try and comb them.
Well, Envoy was hoping too much on that front; the arms do try to comb the scales. All that does is make a lot of clicking sounds at least. As for her wings, they're spared since they're lifted up and out of the way. The twins come slinking by again, shut the machine off, then dance her out of it. "Having fun yet?" one of them signs, her ears wiggling.
"I don't mind the dancing, but the machines don't seem very friendly to me," Envoy admits.
The twins guide Envoy over to a reclining chair and gently push her into it. This seems reasonably friendly, at least. It only has a few moving parts. "You may wish to take a nap," one suggests. "Yes, it will take a while," the other adds. The pair then go about setting up a stand with various ink pads, stamps, and brushes. It still looks more like a dance than a task. How do they do that?
"Who taught you how to dance?" Envoy asks instead of closing her eyes.
"She did, they sign in unison and point at each other.
This does bring a slight grin to Envoy's face (on top of her normal grin). "I see," she says, and then closes her eyes. She doesn't nap however - she starts sifting through all of the information from the Sifran spaceship, trying to isolate the bits that would be useful to Icarus.
And so while the twins go about slowly, well, spotting her (they start on her feet and lower legs), her mind is floating amongst star fields and maps. Everything just seems to fall away as she sinks into the data. Well, up until the point Envoy feels like she's being watched. It's then that Envoy realizes inside this floating data space Envoy is sitting on the ruins of a bench in a frozen fragment of a city, floating in space.
This seems out of place, Envoy thinks as she looks around. It isn't something she expected to find in a database, certainly, since it seems much more like a memory or simulation. "Hello," she says. "Is anyone out there?"
"Only the dead," comes a cold voice from behind Envoy. That's when it hits here why something seems familiar; she's sitting in a fragment of the ruins of Babel. "It has been some time, Mage," the voice continues and its owner comes into view in the corner of Envoy's eyes. Dressed in armor, a tall white and gray Eeee stands nearby. Her fingers are curled around a scary-looking pole-arm topped with an intricate set of scales. "Since your denouncement of the Guild, I wager," Rephath says.
Envoy stiffens at the sight of the goddess. "You used me," she says. "And for no good reason either, which is worse. Why seek me out now?"
"You expected me to use you," Rephath counters with that clinically cold voice of hers. "Do not blame me for your expectations and the will of the people. As for why now, things are ... changing. There are movements that are ... causing ripples in the old ways. I feel compelled to do what is ... just." That last word seemed particularly hard for the Goddess to say.
"I still don't see what that has to do with me," Envoy says. "And I didn't expect to be used. I trusted you. I asked you to save my friend and you did."
"I ... am sorry," Rephath says, her voice halting as she speaks. How often does a Goddess apologize? "Not for saving your friend, but for failing you. Will you allow me to try and correct that mistake?" she asks.
Envoy blinks three times at this. "I.. don't understand," she admits. "How can you be sorry? What.. what are you offering, exactly?" The Aeolun looks very confused - this isn't how the Seven Sisters behave.
"Things change," is all Rephath offers by way of explanation. "Are you willing to trust me once more, even though you have no reason to?" the Goddess asks.
"It would help if.." Envoy starts to say, then realizes there really isn't anyone who could vouch for the goddess. But then none of this makes sense. "Alright," she says instead, and crosses her arms. "I have to change too due to circumstances. If I can trust myself then I should offer you the same chance. But.. please.. don't hurt me again. I'm not in a good place to handle that right now."
"I am aware. That is partially why I am here. It has taken time and some ... agreements with my Sisters for things to align correctly," Rephath claims. "And I must tell you your position is more precarious than you know; this man, Von Bronson, has made ripples recently that even we have felt. He must not succeed in his plans."
"I already plan on stopping him," Envoy says euphemistically. "But as far as his plans go.. what I've seen isn't so far-reaching. I know that he's got a Sifran crystal command node from a spaceship that he's been somehow using to grow his own off-brand form of crystal, and that is my primary target. What do you know of his plans?"
"I know he is not human. Well, was not. Being human was his punishment," Rehath claims, voice maintaining that cold undertone. "Recognizing a punishment is ... a particular trait of mine, after all. Everything he does is to break his particular prison."
That tidbit gives Envoy a chill. "Punishment," she whispers. "What are the details of that?"
"That ... is beyond my knowledge. I can see the punishment, but not the why of it," Rephath claims. "Secrets, after all, are the purview of my Sister Barada."
Envoy twitches at the mention of Barada. "Do you know what he was before his punishment?" she asks.
"I have my theories, but no proof of them," Rephath remarks. "Would you wish to speak with Barada regarding what she knows?"
With fingers to forehead, Envoy kneads at the base of her horn. "Is she in a generous mood, or still stuck in her 'nothing is free' mode?" she asks.
"Nothing is free, but I have already paid for you for, well, an answer or two," Rephath claims. "How many depends on the secret you ask for." The Goddess then grows silent and looks at Envoy, possibly through her, with that steel gaze. "And I can offer you this," she adds and thrusts her scales forward. They're tilted to the right a bit, because the right one holds a small piece of metal, a short bar, maybe two inches long with a loop on one end, and a socket on the other as if it is incomplete.
After nearly jumping, Envoy reaches for the little bar. "Is it.. a memory?" she asks.
"Its use will become apparent in time," Rephath states and turns away. "It is currently incomplete. Barada holds the other piece."
"Well, that answers that," Envoy says. "I'll have to talk to Barada then. And.. thank you, Rephath. I'm glad that you're becoming a better person, even if it comes with alarming news attached."
"Do better or worse really apply to me? I am," the Goddess states. She taps the end of her scales-weapon upon the floor. "I will send you to my sister," she proclaims right as the floor opens up beneath Envoy and she plummets into a dark abyss!
Now THAT is more in line with a Kindly One, Envoy thinks as she falls.
It doesn't seem like there as up or a down, frankly, in this darkness. All she feels is falling, and falling for a long time. A spot appears below her and it slowly grows. The spot becomes a circle. The circle becomes a vast surface. The surface is ... an impossibly large maze full of dead ends, secret passages, and traps. So ... a place perfect for Barada to reside in, really.
"Does Blakat know you're stealing her mazes?" Envoy calls out.
"Am I stealing hers, or is she stealing mine?" comes Barada's voice from right next to her. All Envoy can see, though, is a wide smiling array of teeth, sparkling eyes, and a glowing rune on a forehead in the darkness. "Come to trade with me?" the Goddess asks.
"Well, I suppose Blakat is the one most likely to be doing the stealing," Envoy admits to the floating grin. "Rephath said that she already paid for two answers from you."
"Bah. That's Rephath for you. So ... honest," Barada laments. "I would have told you that ... eventually. After a few trades, of course."
Envoy sighs. "You really need to work on building trust," she points out. "Not everything has to be a game. Rephath said this is important enough that you all seemed to agree that it's an issue." She reaches out to tap on the teeth with a claw. "And I won't be surprised if you later claim to have sent me on this quest for the sole purpose of having me stop Von Bronson. So let's get to the point: what is Victor Von Bronson's plan?"
"Ooooh, ooh, I know! And I can answer it with one word: Resurrection!" Barada squeals with girlish glee. "That's one answer."
"That isn't a very good answer," Envoy points out. "That's just an action that doesn't have a subject! You're supposed to tell me who or what he is trying to resurrect."
"Fiiiiine," Barada complains. "He plans to resurrect himself. Happy now?"
"That still seems odd," Envoy admits, rubbing her chin. "Rephath says that being human is his punishment for something. So, is his purpose to resurrect himself as a human, or as whatever he originally was? See, 'himself' is vague due to that."
"That's pedantic. You asked a question, I gave an answer. If you want a more specific answer you have to ask a very specific question," Barada argues. Hordes secrets, this one, she isn't really known for giving them away easily. "He seeks to become what he was instead of the frail and dying human that he is."
"Fine then.. what was he, why was he punished, and who did the punishing?" Envoy asks, trying to be specific.
"That's three questions. You only get an answer to one of those," Barada remarks, nonplussed. "That is unless you're willing to trade..."
"Well, answer the one that is the most expensive in terms of traded information then," Envoy says. "I wouldn't want Rephath to feel she wasn't getting full value, after all."
Detached hands appear and spread as if Barada is shrugging. "How am I to gauge what is valuable to you?" the obnoxious Goddess claims.
"I suppose you can't.. not without knowing my plan," Envoy teases. "Fine, the first one then: what was Victor Von Bronson before he was human. In detail! Not 'he was a male' or 'he was tall' or 'he was blue'."
"Well, he was two of those. He wasn't blue," Barada remarks wryly. It's amazing how just seeing teeth still can convey a smirk. That smile, and the eyes, turn upside down (and yes, they're still falling). "He was wind and rage and strength," Barada riddles, "Ego and greed, combined with knowledge gained from living in eternity. Hubris incarnate. Virtues all according to some. Is that specific enough for you?"
"That... he said he didn't believe in dragons though!" Envoy notes.
"Oooo, and you think he always tells the truth?" Barada giggles, "Wow, are you naive. And because of the shock on your face, I'll throw in a ... freebie." Wow, when she said freebie, Barada's jaws manage to look ill. "He managed to piss off both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts of another place and time. And so, he was cursed to be the lowest of the low in their eyes."
"Why banish him to this realm though.." Envoy ponders. "Unless he escaped to here. I'm not sure if that would be important. It explains the unfinished Leviathan though.. possibly. He may have meant it to be his new body.."
"Rephath said his plan had far reaching ripples," Envoy notes, turning her attention back on Barada's grin. "I can't see that a single dragon could be that much of an issue, unless it's what he plans to do after resurrecting himself that is the problem?"
"Coooould be," Barada remarks as she starts juggling something between those disembodied hands. "Willing to trade for the answer?" she asks. She catches the item she was juggling and holds it up, it's the front part of an old key, with a socket at the other end instead of a ring. "I am supposed to give you this, but if you let me keep it ..."
"Well, do you want a dragon rampaging around, or would you rather have me rampaging around.. more carefully?" Envoy asks, and holds her hand out for the missing piece.
"Immaterial. This bit, or an answer," Barada comments appropriately (for her). She dangles the bit out. "If you take it, you'll get no more answers without trades."
"I don't need to know what Victor's plans are after his resurrection, because I'm going to stop him before that happens," Envoy says, and makes a 'gimme' gesture with the fingers of her outstretched hand.
Barada flicks her hand, sending the bit of key over to Envoy to catch. "You don't know how to play this game very well," she mutters.
"I'm still learning," Envoy claims, and tries to fit the two pieces together.
The pieces go together with a click. "Of course now you have to find the door that goes to. In the maze," Barada remarks impishly. "That's easy, though."
Envoy raises her eyebrow. "Easy enough? I assume that means you'll just take me to it if I ask?" she says.
"Oh no, that would be boring," Barada claims. "But ... I might be inclined to give you a clue if you flatter me and give me a kiss on the cheek."
"You don't have a cheek," Envoy points out.
The rest of Barada's head pops into view. "Pedannnntic."
"It pays to be such with you," Envoy says, and reaches out to pinch Barada's cheek. "You're cute and precocious. I used to be like that, I think. But if I give you a kiss on the cheek, won't Inala be jealous?"
"That is entirely the point," Barada notes, grinning.
"Of course it is," Envoy says, and does kiss Barada on the non-pinched cheek.
"Now tell me I am your favorite Goddess," Barada beams.
Envoy raises an eyebrow at that request. "That would not carry much weight unless it was true, you realize?" she says.
Barada sighs at that. "Fine," she relents. "So, the lock for that key. It's in the center of the maze. As for the maze ... well ... there are no greater prisons than the ones we make for ourselves." The Goddess winks, then pops out of existence! A good thing too, as Envoy is within thirty seconds of hitting the ground!
Spreading her wings, the Exile tries to turn her plummet into a spiral, so she can get a better view of the maze.
It looks like the size of a small moon, truth be told. And the top is covered by a mesh, so no, you cannot just fly to the center. You have to start at one of what looks like a dozen entrances.
Envoy tries to stay airborne as long as she can. There's a particular feature she hopes to find.. specifically a shaft. "Center of the maze, but the only center can be inside a sphere," she notes.
The sphere is huge. There are at least three places that might be a shaft. It's hard to say for certain either way.
Moving towards the closest one, Envoy looks for an entry point while studying the paths. Unless Barada cheats and makes the labyrinth change on her!
As soon as Envoy thinks about the maze changing, it changes in front of her.
"Sneaky," Envoy decides, and tries to think of conveniently colored lines on the ground to guide her through the maze instead!
"The greatest prisons are those we make for ourselves," whispers in Envoy's ear. A single glowing line then starts to etch out on the surface below, leading from one of the few breaks in the mesh, to what might be shaft some mile away from where it starts.
Envoy heads for the opening. She tries not to overthink things, or muse on the mental prison she really did create for part of herself.
When she lands at the entrance, everything is ... nondescript. Smooth stone-like walls with no seams that seem to stretch out to eternity. The only break in the utter grayness of it all is the glowing line at her feet.
Furling her wings, Envoy starts following the line. She doesn't mind nondescript surroundings. They aren't distracting.
So of course the moment she thinks that the walls alight with swirling spirals of colors. It's like walking through a nauseating kaleidoscope.
Focus, Envoy thinks. Which isn't as easy as it used to be. So she sings. Or more specifically, she sings about following the line.
"Center, center, center.. going to the center," she sings. "Gonna find a door, gonna find a keyhole. Just follow the line.."
This helps! The line stretches ever onward through the spiral of nausea and Envoy walks it one step at a time. Time itself seems to disappear on her ... and all of s sudden Envoy finds herself standing before a great pit that spirals into darkness. What is it with pits tonight?
Envoy starts following the spiral. It's easy for her to not think about giant screws, because she isn't very familiar with screws, at least.
Down down, down down. A forever of down. It seems endless, really. Right up to the point it just suddenly ends. Envoy finds herself standing on a cold stone floor. Ahead is a smaller sphere with a single seam of a door upon it. Standing beside that closed door is ... Rephath. She still stands in full armor and holds her scales. "You made it," the Goddess remarks.
"Of course," Envoy says, and tilts her head. "I wasn't expecting you to be here though. And now I realize I should have asked if what's behind the door is dangerous.."
"It is extremely dangerous," Rephath answers and looks towards that door. "So, now you have a choice. Open it, or walk away."
"I may not have Probe, but I still have my curiosity," Envoy says, and approaches the smaller sphere. She walks all around it first, and even puts her ear to it.
The sphere is very solid and very silent.
Standing before the door, key in hand, Envoy.. thinks. "Inala gave me back my Child," she notes. "Extremely dangerous things can be useful, too." She inserts the key into the lock, and turns it.
The click that follows can be both heard and felt. The key disintegrates, the sphere shudders, then swings outward. Mists flow out from the sphere. Within is more darkness. Darkness and the sound of slow breathing.
Envoy swallows and steps back, but says, "Come on out."
Something inside moves. No, it stands and walks forward, As it steps out into the light, the light flows upwards from its toes, over the flowing robes that drapes and defines its majestic body. The last to be touched by the light is its head; scaled, gleaming, and with strong eyes that look back at Envoy and into her very being. "Is it dawn?" dragon, one of Envoy's missing aspects, asks. "Has the endless sleep left me? Am I ... whole once more?"
"Not yet," Envoy says, holding out a hand. "I'm afraid things haven't gotten much better than when you went to sleep. We're on a different world, and there's another dragon out there. And that's just one dragon too many."
Dragon reaches out and takes Envoy's hand. "Then we face that one, together," dragon says. For a brief moment out of the corner of her eye, Envoy could swear she sees the impossible; Rephath smiles, dipping her head in respect. At that moment everything seems to snap. Envoy finds herself sitting in a chair and there is a Silent-One leaning over her and gingerly drawing on her face with a paint brush. There's also an odd sensation in the back of her mind, forgotten parts, memories, feelings, and knowledge coming to life like the lights of a city at dusk.
Maybe I'm whole enough to beat Victor now, Envoy thinks. And once Probe is awakened, I can deal with the Tribunal. She looks to the twins, but doesn't move her face while the painting is being done.. so no talking! Instead she raises a hand to sign, "Almost done?"
Envoy can now see her arms are spotted. It's so well done it actually manages to look natural somehow, not just painted on. "Yes," Rising-Star signs. Or is it Setting-Sun? "You have been asleep for three hours. Is everything okay?"
"I feel more dangerous now," Envoy signs. Then waves her hand in a 'forget that' gesture, as if wiping away the previous signs. "I meant formidable." she corrects.
"You are odd," comes the response. "Now, no sneezing." The last seems a bit odd, except that she's soon having her nose painted, both outside and just inside.
This.. is not a sensation Envoy was prepared for. She does want to sneeze. She also wonders just how much they can do with her nose, since it doesn't have a pad like theirs do!
Envoy gets a chance to find out as the sign comes that everything is done. The chair is set back upright and Envoy is free to stand (and look in a mirror if she wants).
Getting up to look in the mirror, Envoy still has to resist rubbing her nose. She also brings her tail up and around to look at, in case that was spotted as well.
Envoy .. can hardly recognize herself. Not only has she been spotted, her face has been shaded and brushed so that its shape looks more feline. There has even been what might be prosthetic padding that has been carefully glued around the edges of her nose so that she even looks like she has a feline nose-pad! And yes, her tail has been spotted too. Well, ring-striped. Cheetahs tails aren't really spotted. Though her spots are black, combined with that white fur coat ... Envoy actually looks the part of Icarus' mother to a degree. It's only the chest scaling that tends to break the illusion.
Turning to check her back, Envoy is surprised at the amount of work down.. and has a new appreciating for the power of make-up. At least her hair is still gold though. "It's.. pretty," she says. Was she really bland before, with just white and gold?
Wow, they even got her back somehow! She has banding stripes and spots radiating out from her spine beneath her wings. Were it not for the wings it would absolutely look like a Silent-One back.
This brings an odd thought to Envoy.. but one that might have been spawned by Dragon. "Do you girls use this to change a Silent-One's spots in order to impersonate someone else?" she asks.
The twins look at each other. "Maybe," the both sign in perfect unison.
Turning to look at both of them now, Envoy crosses her arms and asks, "For fun or for espionage?"
The only answer that gets is a unison of a shrug.
"Well.. is there anything else you need to do to me?" Envoy asks. "I need to see Icarus."
While the twins look at each other, contemplating, Envoy notices they even, well, painted her crotch so it looks like she does have female 'bits'. "Dress," they reply comes, they grin, and even wiggle their ears in perfect unison. Gah, they must do that on purpose to be creepy.
Thinking about the molding applied to her nose, Envoy double checks that they didn't also glue on nipples as she heads for her clothing.
Ack. They did.
This makes adjusting her clothes a bit more of an effort. She's also fairly certain Born-in-War did not tell them to go that far. The girls are just mischievous! Once dressed, she also wonders at all the extra effort, since there isn't much beyond her hands and face and tail that shows.
Perhaps it isn't always what shows, but the symbolism of being actual family. And at least the attachments aren't sensitive to the touch; they just cause a bit of 'turkey's done' in how things look when her shirt is back on. "Do you need a guide back to the lab?" one of the twins ask in sign.
"I can find my way, unless you have moved the halls," Envoy signs back. "I need to make some terrible weapons that you probably shouldn't see."
"We only move the walls on Wednesdays," one of the two claim. They then busy themselves with cleaning up.
Left to herself, Envoy makes her way back to the lab.. and wonders how the others will react to her makeover. She should probably make Morpheus get one too.
Upon entering the lab, Envoy finds Icarus curled up, pointing, and laughing at Walter. Walter seems to have gotten one of his masks actually stuck on himself and is flailing about trying to get it off. He might be saying something about face hugging monsters, but it is rather hard to tell.
Envoy has to pause and watch. But she also has to ask, "Do you need some help with that, Walter?"
There's an emphatic ... something from Walter. It might be a yes. It might also be 'banana'.
Approaching carefully, Envoy tries to see what the problem is, starting with an examination of the straps.
They're all tangled up; the straps and buckles are crossed, making it hard to tell which one to actually pull. Icarus is still being very helpful by laughing. He hasn't even noticed Envoy's makeup yet.
"You are supposed to buckle the straps, not try to tie them all together," Envoy says, and starts picking at the buckles and trying not to snag more of Walter's hair in the process.
Walter waves his arms about and says ... well ... something. It might actually have been rude but the mask is muffling it. The buckles slowly start to give way and come free, one by one.
"Please maintain a gentlemanly demeanor, Mr. Thorndike," Envoy encourages as she frees the mask. "Otherwise Icarus will pass out from gasping."
Walter puts his hands on his hips and just taps his foot now. This sends Icarus into another giggle-fit.
From the front, Envoy tries to pull the rest of the mask off once the straps are free. "You may think you have it bad right now Walter, but the twins made it so that I can't walk around naked anymore."
Walter gasps when the mask finally comes off! "Stars above, I felt like my face was being eaten," the human wheezes. And Envoy notices something truly horrible; his mustache is all squashed and askew now. It was so neatly combed earlier. IT's right about then that Envoy's comments make Walter blink. "What?" comes his intelligent question.
"Walter.. your moustache.." Envoy says quietly but with serious intent. "You must fix it. It looks as if it lost a fight with a squirrel."
The human practically squeaks. He rushes over to one of the steel tables and uses it as a mirror as he frantically works at repairing his poor mustache.
Turning to Icarus, Envoy checks to see if the boy has calmed down any.
Icarus is now staring at Envoy. "Your nose looks weird," he comments while rubbing at his own.
"Really, Icarus, you should have helped Walter instead of laughing," Envoy chides. "And my nose is the least weird thing that's been done to me. Are you ready to receive the control equations for your gravity-drive?"
"But it was funny" Icarus claims. "You saw him flailing! It was ..." He starts breaking into giggles. He has to actually take a deep breath and hold it to stop them! When he settles again he looks a bit pensive. "I ... guess?" he admits, "The way you said that makes me sort of feel like a thing."
"I said it was for your gravity-drive, not for you as a person," Envoy says softly. "I just want to make sure you don't drain all of your energy whenever you have to do anything big. These formulas will help you to be more efficient, just like I've become more efficient with magic over time."
Icarus gets up and dusts himself off. "I guess," the hybrid agrees. "Violette pokes me sometimes too when I feel odd at comments like that. 'What you are is not who you are,' she says. I guess I may be a thing made by a crazy human, but that doesn't define me, right?"
"If it's any consolation, I just found out that Dr. Von Bronson isn't really human," Envoy says, sitting on one of the lab stools and patting the one next to her.
"Er?" Icarus replies as he sits down onto the stool next to Envoy.
"Give me your hands," Envoy says, holding hers out. "The doctor is really a dragon that annoyed some fairies enough that they turned him into a human as punishment. So.. he might be distantly related. It's hard to tell. My dragon mother worked with fairies."
Icarus holds out his hand and looks confused. "So, wait. We could actually be related for real?" the hybrid asks.
"Well.. not biologically.." Envoy admits. "I mean, not me.. you've got some of his genes after all. But they're human genes. And I don't technically have genes. My closest biological relative is.. uh.. a tower. But in a broader sense of family, yes, we might all be related, sort of. Does that help?"
"I guess? Maybe?" Icuarus admits. He still looks really confused as he puts his hand into Envoy's. "Just promise this won't hurt of change me, please?" he requests.
"I'll be very careful in what I let get installed onto your matrix," Envoy says. "And don't worry too much about Von Bronson and relations, because I'm going to have to kill him anyway. Here we go.." Pressing her thumbs into Icarus's palms, Envoy thinks, "Synchronize.."