Hybrid

{ (set: $stat_caution to 0) (set: $stat_energy to 0) (set: $stat_serene to 0) (set: $pronoun to "") (set: $genderqueer to 0) (set: $proto_pronoun to "") (set: $he to "") (set: $him to "") (set: $his to "") (set: $gender_singular to (a: "xem", "it", "him", "her")) (set: $gender_plural to (a: "them", "em")) (set: $current_mode to "Dark Mode") (set: $current_style to "Default Style") (set: $player_hair to "???") (set: $player_style to "???") (set: $player_eyes to "???") (set: $player_height to "???") (set: $player_variety to "???") (set: $player_complexion to "???") (set: $player_headscarf to 0) (set: $player_scarf to "") (set: $player_personality to "opaque") (set: $player_motive to "") (set: $guardian to "") (set: $family to "") (set: $they to "") (set: $them to "") (set: $their to "") (set: $crave to 0) (set: $mantis to 0) (set: $trigger to 0) (set: $_saw to "") (set: $lastpassage to "start") (set: $passage to 0) (set: $chapter to 0) (set: $route to "") (set: $iteration to 0)  (set: $done to 0) (set: $_walk to 0)  (set: $metFern to 0) (set: $gotFern to 0)  (set: $trigger_blind to 0) (set: $_nervous to 0) (set: $currently_playing to "The radio is silent at your hip.") (set: $saves to (datanames: (saved-games:))) (set: $station0 to "A violin plays a strong, folksy song with some occasionally harsh bars. The song is played confidently.") (set: $station1 to "A hoarse, feminine voice is heard through oceans of static as she reads out sequences of numbers that have no discernable meaning. Despite the poor quality of the transmission, the speaker recites the numbers confidently and evenly, with an occasional sudden cut that abruptly begins a new sequence of numbers.") (set: $station2 to "A thin layer of static plays just as a record is begun with a light scratching, and a gramophone begins to play an energetic song that grows frantically faster and then gradually slows pace. It's an old-fashioned piece, and the song ends as the static intensifies.") (set: $station3 to "Static begins as a firm, reedy, masculine voice begins to read out sequences of numbers in Russian. These numbers are recited evenly, with no clear meaning. Static plays throughout, although the numbers are easy to hear and frequently repeated.") (set: $station4 to "A piano begins to play a short and gloomy song at an even and unhurried pace. The song loops infinitely, although it doesn't properly end: it only cuts off and begins again.") (set: $station5 to "In a large, echoing room, a deep, smooth masculine voice begins to sing before abruptly stopping and mumbling to themself. They begin again, and stop again, rehearsing a particular song. The song isn't in English, and is operatic or choir-like.") (set: $name_counter to 0) <script>$('tw-story').addClass('default-style').addClass('darkmode');</script> (live: 0.001s)[(goto: "start")]}

<h1>Hybrid</h1> (link: "New Game")[(goto: "00")](if: $saves's length > 0)[ (link: "Continue")[(goto: "save")]](else:)[] (link: "Build a Save")[(goto: "savebuild00")] (link: "Settings")[(goto: "settings")] (link: "Asset Credits")[(goto: "credits")] (link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")]

<h2>Background Mode</h2> {(link-repeat: "Toggle Light/Dark Mode")[ (if: $current_mode is "Dark Mode")[ (set: $current_mode to "Light Mode") <script>changeMode(1)</script>] (elseif: $current_mode is "Light Mode")[ (set: $current_mode to "Dark Mode") <script>changeMode(0)</script>] (replace: ?mode)[$current_mode]]} Your current colour scheme should be: |mode>[$current_mode] <h2>Font Style</h2> {(link-repeat: "Toggle Default/Friendly Style")[ (if: $current_style is "Default Style")[ (set: $current_style to "Friendly Style") <script>changeStyle(1)</script>] (elseif: $current_style is "Friendly Style")[ (set: $current_style to "Default Style") <script>changeStyle(0)</script>] (replace: ?style)[$current_style]]} Your current font style should be: |style>[$current_style]

<h3>Asset Credits</h3> Station 98.9: <a href="https://freesound.org/people/cms4f/sounds/159163/", target="_blank">Recording of a Violin - cms4f</a> Station 101.1: <a href="https://freesound.org/people/kwahmah_02/sounds/255775/", target="_blank">Russian Man Numbers Station - kwahmah_02</a> Station 93.1: <a href="https://freesound.org/people/Natalia_Vidrio/sounds/535224/", target="_blank">Piano Progression - Natalia _ Vidrio</a> Station 106.1: <a href="https://freesound.org/people/schafferdavid/sounds/190951/", target="_blank">Singer Rehearsing - schafferdavid</a> Station 98.5: <a href="https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/178579/", target="_blank">Gramophone - Setuniman</a> Station 96.0: <a href="https://freesound.org/people/Trebblofang/sounds/222625/", target="_blank">Numbers Station Simulation - trebblofang</a> Link Font: <a href="https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Amatic+SC?query=amatic+sc", target="_blank">Amatic SC</a> Body Font: <a href="https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Dosis?query=dosis", target="_blank">Dosis</a>

{  (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "none")[ (if: (passage:)'s name is "start" or (passage:)'s name is "savebuild00" or (passage:)'s name is "savebuild01")[(set: $lastpassage to "start")] (else:)[]] (else:)[ (if: (passage:)'s name is "start" or (passage:)'s name is "startup")[ ] (else:)[ (if: (passage: (history:)'s last)'s tags contains "choice")[ (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "some" or (passage:)'s tags contains "none")[] (else:)[(set: $iteration to 0)]] (if: $iteration is 0)[ (set: $passage to it + 1)(set: $iteration to 1)] (elseif: $iteration is 1)[]]] (if: $chapter is 0 and $route is "")[(set: $nextpassage to ((text: $chapter) + (text: $passage)))] (elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "trans")[(set: $nextpassage to "trans")] (else:)[(set: $nextpassage to ((text: $chapter) + (text: $passage) + $route))] (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "none" or (passage:)'s tags contains "some")[] (else:)[(set: $lastpassage to (passage:)'s name)]  (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "increment")[ (if: $_reaction is "cautious")[ (set: $stat_caution to it + 1) (if: $stat_caution > 100)[(set: $stat_caution to 100)] (set: $stat_serene to it - 0.5) (if: $stat_serene <= 0)[(set: $stat_serene to 0)] (set: $stat_energy to it - 0.5) (if: $stat_energy <= 0)[(set: $stat_energy to 0)]] (elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[ (set: $stat_energy to it + 1) (if: $stat_energy > 100)[(set: $stat_energy to 100)] (set: $stat_caution to it - 0.5) (if: $stat_caution <= 0)[(set: $stat_caution to 0)] (set: $stat_serene to it - 0.5) (if: $stat_serene <= 0)[(set: $stat_serene to 0)]] (elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[ (set: $stat_serene to it + 1) (if: $stat_serene > 100)[(set: $stat_serene to 100)] (set: $stat_energy to it - 0.5) (if: $stat_energy <= 0)[(set: $stat_energy to 0)] (set: $stat_caution to it - 0.5) (if: $stat_caution <= 0)[(set: $stat_caution to 0)]]] (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "none" or (passage:)'s tags contains "some")[] (else:)[(if: (passage: (history:)'s last)'s tags contains "increment")[ (if: $stat_serene > $stat_caution and $stat_serene >= $stat_energy)[ (set: $player_personality to "serene")] (elseif: $stat_caution >= $stat_serene and $stat_caution >= $stat_energy)[ (set: $player_personality to "cautious")] (elseif: $stat_energy > $stat_serene and $stat_energy > $stat_caution)[ (set: $player_personality to "energetic")]]]}

{ (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "none")[]  (elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "some")[ (link: "")[(goto: $lastpassage)]]  (elseif: $pronoun is "" and (passage:)'s tags contains "choice")[ (link: "")[(goto: "startup")] (link: "")[(goto: "save")] (link: "")[(goto: "radio")] (link: "")[(goto: "settings")]]  (elseif: not ((passage:)'s tags contains "choice") and $pronoun is "")[ (link: "")[(goto: "startup")] (link: "")[(goto: "save")] (link: "")[(goto: "radio")] (link: "")[(goto: "settings")] (link: "")[(set: $iteration to 0)(goto: $nextpassage)]]  (elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "choice")[ (link: "")[(goto: "startup")] (link: "")[(goto: "save")] (link: "")[(goto: "radio")] (link: "")[(goto: "stats")] (link: "")[(goto: "settings")]]  (else:)[ (link: "")[(goto: "startup")] (link: "")[(goto: "save")] (link: "")[(goto: "radio")] (link: "")[(goto: "stats")] (link: "")[(goto: "settings")] (link: "")[(set: $iteration to 0)(goto: $nextpassage)]] (unless: (passage:)'s tags contains "none")[  (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "cover" or (passage: (history:)'s last)'s name is "savebuild01")[ (if: $player_scarf is "hood" or $player_scarf is "none")[(set: $player_headscarf to 0)] (else:)[(set: $player_headscarf to 1)]]  (if: $route is "c")[(set: $route_name to "Crave's Route")] (elseif: $route is "t")[(set: $route_name to "Trigger's Route")] (elseif: $route is "m")[(set: $route_name to "Mantis' Route")] (elseif: $route is "")[(set: $route_name to "Common Route")] (set: $save_name to (upperfirst: $player_personality) + " Zed, " + $route_name)  (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "nd")[ (if: $player_nd is "You feel the same so often" or "You've definitely felt the same way" or "You understand better than he thinks" or "Neurodivergent")[(set: $player_nd to 1)] (else:)[(set: $player_nd to 0)]]  (if: (passage:)'s tags contains "relative-pronoun")[ (if: $family is "mother" or $family is "sister" or $family is "grandmother")[ (set: $they to "she") (set: $them to "her") (set: $their to "her")] (elseif: $family is "father" or $family is "brother" or $family is "grandfather")[ (set: $they to "he") (set: $them to "him") (set: $their to "his")]]  (if: (passage: (history:)'s last)'s tags contains "save")[ (if: $guardian is "mom" or "mama" or "ma" or "mommy" or"haha" or "umma" or "mami")[ (set: $family to "mother")] (elseif: $guardian is "dad" or "daddy" or "pop" or "papa1" or "baba" or "appa" or "papi")[ (if: $guardian is "papa1")[(set: $guardian to "papa")] (set: $family to "father")] (elseif: $guardian is "Jun" or "Hyerin" or "Raenia" or "Trinity" or "Felicia" or "Hana" or "Puja")[ (set: $family to "sister")] (elseif: $guardian is "Rana" or "Goro" or "Daniel" or "Jihae" or "Raheem" or "Lian" or "Jax")[ (set: $family to "brother")] (elseif: $guardian is "grandma" or "oma" or "abuelita" or "nana" or "obachan" or "halmoni" or "ma ma" or "dadi")[ (set: $family to "grandmother")] (elseif: $guardian is "grandpa" or "opa" or "abuelito" or "papa2" or "ojichan" or "halaboji" or "ye ye" or "dada")[ (if: $guardian is "papa2")[(set: $guardian to "papa")] (set: $family to "grandfather")]]]}

<h3>Save Slots</h3> (if: not ((saved-games:) contains "Slot 1"))[(link: "Slot 1 (empty)")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 1", $save_name))[Slot 1 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]](else:)[(link: "Slot 1")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 1", $save_name))[Slot 1 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]] (if: not ((saved-games:) contains "Slot 2"))[(link: "Slot 2 (empty)")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 2", $save_name))[Slot 2 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]](else:)[(link: "Slot 2")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 2", $save_name))[Slot 2 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]] (if: not ((saved-games:) contains "Slot 3"))[(link: "Slot 3 (empty)")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 3", $save_name))[Slot 3 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]](else:)[(link: "Slot 3")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 3", $save_name))[Slot 3 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]] (if: not ((saved-games:) contains "Slot 4"))[(link: "Slot 4 (empty)")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 4", $save_name))[Slot 4 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]](else:)[(link: "Slot 4")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 4", $save_name))[Slot 4 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]] (if: not ((saved-games:) contains "Slot 5"))[(link: "Slot 5 (empty)")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 5", $save_name))[Slot 5 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]](else:)[(link: "Slot 5")[(if: (save-game: "Slot 5", $save_name))[Slot 5 Successfully Saved!](else:)[Not Saved ((link: "Help!")[(goto: "help")])]]] <h3>Load Game</h3>{(set: _saves to (saved-games:))(for: each _name, ...(datanames: _saves))[(link: " _name - (print: _saves's (_name))")[(load-game: _name)]]} When you click a slot to load it, this page should reload. You'll see this same screen, but don't worry: just hit the back button and you'll be dropped back into the story, exactly where you should be!

(transition: "fade") + (transition-time: 3s)[You (cycling-link: "gently", "harshly") shake the radio until you hear something click, and it (link-repeat: "hisses back to life")[(set: $currently_playing to $station0)<script>setAudio(0);</script>]. You sigh with relief; you weren't ready to let go of the sound yet, the soft hiss and crackle of your childhood. Now of all times, you're not all that concerned about weaning yourself off the soothing white-noise and irrefutable proof that you're not totally alone in this world. The wilderness has fallen away again, though pushing with the slow surety of the glaciers you've read about in old books against the surviving concrete of the old world. It's just more plentiful here; even now there's buildings standing despite the hungry way the earth's green hands snake up to try and reclaim them to dust. (link: "Climb some rubble for some perspective.")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "New environment, new dangers...")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Whistle an old lullaby.")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)]]

<h3>Help Centre</h3> (link: "Can I get some trigger warnings?")[Trigger Warnings! 1) Audio: This game features sound! While very cool to someone like me who slogged through the code to make it happen, I'm also the sort of person for whom sound is especially grating. If this sounds like you, I'll tell you now that you turn your radio on in the first story passage, when you click the link that says "(link-repeat: "hisses back to life")[]". If you'd rather not have the sound, just avoid that button. If you do turn it on and get sick of it, you can turn it off or turn down the volume in the radio menu! If you'd like a written description of the sound, visit the radio page and start clicking the stations! 2) Violence/Injury/Gore: Not like, directed gore, mind you. Some stuff I warn you about makes Hybrid sound like a horror game, but it's just more or less a game where sometimes as a result of Violence™ people get hurt and the narrative will get passively bloody. I don't revel in it (again, it isn't a horror game), but if the mention of injury or blood icks you out, just be aware of that moving forward! 3) Body Horror: This one is...complicated. Firstly, let me reassure you that there is none of it present in the demo. When it does show up, it's not meant to be body horror in the purposeful, genre-type sense. It's more of a generalized warning that if unusual things regarding skin really bother you, there will eventually be some weird flesh things. It won't go beyond the level of like...Pirates of the Caribbean 2.] (link: "I can't save my game!")[Problems Saving the Game The most common issue with failure to save Twine games would be your browser's cookie settings. Sometimes (understandably) people set their specific browsers to accept fewer cookies than a website offers: as a result, Twine can't use these cookies to save your game. You have a few options. You could change your browser's cookie settings (I won't get into the how here, because that's a lot of information; if you'd like to do this, I'll trust you to look that up on your own). Along those same lines, you could see if you can adjust cookie permissions per website, if you're not concerned about itch.io but you'd rather not open the gates for every site you use. I'm not sure if this is universally possible, but if you have the know-how it's worth looking into. You could also simply use a different browser, if you'd prefer to keep your main browser's settings intact (this is the easiest option).] (link: "My save is suddenly gone!")[Problems Loading a Save Did you clear your cookies? Twine games save by using your browser cookies, so when you clear it you can end up losing everything. This is a limitation of the Twine engine, and how it's designed to work. I could maybe work around it, but not at this time: it'd be quite a bit of work. My advice, as it usually is for similar issues but especially if you're the sort of person who can't abide not clearing their cookies, is to dedicate a separate browser to Twine games. That way you don't need to feel obligated to clear anything or worry about how your browser is functioning.] (link: "I found an issue and want to notify you/I have an accessibility concern.")[Where to Put Feedback Thanks! I have a <a href="https://heart-forge.tumblr.com">development blog</a> where you can tell me about your troubles and submit your screenshots, or if you prefer you can get down into the comments to let me know. If you do have screenshots I'm happy to take them, but if you'd rather not bother I can work with a general idea of where in the story you were when things went wrong. This can range from having a direct quote from the passage or link you clicked, or just the vague knowledge that you'd just met Trigger when the game exploded. Either way, I'll get back to you with a solution as soon as I can; in the meantime, check and see if there's been a new version upload since you last downloaded the game, especially if you downloaded it a few days before you played.] (link: "The font seems wrong and I can't see icons...")[Internet Connectivity and CSS Are you connected to the internet? Hybrid's stylesheet (what makes the game look like it should) relies partially on assets imported from a couple different websites. If you're not connected to the internet, the stylesheet can't really access certain fonts or the icons. You can partially solve the font issue by going into the settings and accessing the 'friendly styles': their fonts are likely already installed on your device. It won't look the same but it'll be formatted properly.]

You firmly reattach your radio, a patchwork bundle of metal and wires secured with glue and tape where you could find them, to its customary spot on your belt, only slightly muffled by your sweaters. It's been your pet project for a long time, enough so that your (cycling-link: bind $family, "mother", "father", "sister", "brother", "grandmother", "grandfather") has been scavenging parts for you well past the point where you actually needed them. (if: $_reaction is "energetic")[You push that bit of nostalgia out of your mind, quickly scrambling up a slightly unsafe-looking pile of rubble. It wobbles underneath of you, but if you're focused on balancing then you're not agonizing about...anything else. Your new vantage point doesn't do much for your sense of direction, but the novelty is comforting.](else-if: $_reaction is "cautious")[...This nostalgia isn't making you feel any better about leaving decent cover behind. You've never been so far from home, and never out of the thick of the woods. You're exposed and vulnerable in ways you've never been before, and worse you're letting yourself get distracted by the radio instead of using it to ground yourself.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[The lullaby is comforting against the radio noise, and you let your eye comb all the strange, open spaces. You're not worried about the plants, but the lack of them is penetrating your usually iron-grip on calm. It's more than fair, you think, given all the circumstances, that maybe you're not quite as chilled-out as you could be. You've definitely felt calmer.] The road becomes broader at this point, although what you'd normally recognize to be directional markings— and thank god for the scavenged books at home giving you so much fundamentally useless knowledge about cities— have long since chipped and faded away with the canvas they were marked on. You carefully make your way over the broad, upturned islands of stone formed by thick and unforgiving roots creating jagged fissures in what you think might have once been smooth and flat, towards a cluster of buildings. You double check your (cycling-link: bind $player_scarf, "hood", "headscarf", "shayla", "niqab", "hijab", "turban", "burqa", "kerudung")—a habit, a nervous gesture, and a comfort all rolled into one—and start forward.

<h1>Zed</h1> <table> <tr> <td>Caution: $stat_caution%</td> <td>Skin Tone: $player_complexion</td> <td>Hair Style: $player_style</td> <td>Guardian: $guardian</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Serenity: $stat_serene%</td> <td>Hair Colour: $player_hair</td> <td>Height: $player_height</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Intensity: $stat_energy%</td> <td>Eye Colour: $player_eyes</td> <td>Variety: $player_variety</td> </tr> </table> An otherwise accessible entry in a cracked handheld device. The damaged screen makes it impossible to access most functionality, but there's a full notes application available for perusal. Winter 90.90 The baby and me are alone now. I can't decide if I want to write something for the dead; maybe I'll do it somewhere impermanent, where the rain can wash it away. There's poetry in recording the ephemeral in the ephemeral: maybe it's selfish of me to try and remember. The earth that eats them will remember, and so the core of them will return as the green wilderness sees fit. I think I'll name $him Zed. Summer 20.00 Children are in turn easier and more complicated than I expected. Zed took and takes well to life, which I selfishly count among my own good fortune. (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[(upperfirst: $he) is](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[(upperfirst: $he) are] as children generally are, with none of the problems that plagued $his early counterparts. I don't generally count blessings, but a strong and curious child is as much of one as someone like me could ask for. Summer 54.30 Zed is as $player_personality as ever, maybe more now that (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he's](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he're] older. Perhaps my mind will change, but for now I recall the Zed I know best. (if: $player_personality is "cautious")[Part of me regrets that I've trained $him so well, but it certainly won't hurt $him to do a double take at a situation. It's an unfortunate side effect that they seem to be tense and on edge as often as they aren't...but can I have regrets if (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he's](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he're] safe?](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[I wonder how $he has the stamina for it, always as incessant as (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he is](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he are]. I don't know where $he got it from either; we've been alone for so long now that anyone else is a faded memory. Surely I'd remember someone like that. Maybe it's just $him.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[Who in the green wilderness could possibly understand what goes on behind $his eyes, what sort of existential secret to calm? I can't imagine, though I'd love to hear it. I think I've been lucky, to raise a kid so averse to meltdowns. Maybe $he'll be a better adjusted adult.](else:)[It seems counterintuitive to try as constantly as I do to pin $him down, but I am typically anxious about what the future has in store for $him. I don't suppose I'll be beside $him forever, and maybe a strong personality would help me to understand how $he'll fare without me.]

<h3>Station</h3> <table> <tr> <td>(link-repeat: "98.9")[(set: $currently_playing to $station0)(replace: ?closed-captions)[$currently_playing]<script>setAudio(0);</script>]</td> <td>(link-repeat: "96.0")[(set: $currently_playing to $station1)(replace: ?closed-captions)[$currently_playing]<script>setAudio(1);</script>]</td> <td>(link-repeat: "98.5")[(set: $currently_playing to $station2)(replace: ?closed-captions)[$currently_playing]<script>setAudio(2);</script>]</td> </tr> <tr> <td>(link-repeat: "101.1")[(set: $currently_playing to $station3)(replace: ?closed-captions)[$currently_playing]<script>setAudio(3);</script>]</td> <td>(link-repeat: "93.1")[(set: $currently_playing to $station4)(replace: ?closed-captions)[$currently_playing]<script>setAudio(4);</script>]</td> <td>(link-repeat: "106.1")[(set: $currently_playing to $station5)(replace: ?closed-captions)[$currently_playing]<script>setAudio(5);</script>]</td> </tr> </table> |closed-captions>[$currently_playing] <div class="button-bonnet"><button class="button-bon" onclick="setVolume(0);">- Volume</button><button class="button-bon" onclick="setVolume(1);">+ Volume</button><button class="button-bon" onclick="audioToggle();">(link-repeat: "ON/OFF")[(set: $currently_playing to "The radio is silent at your hip.")(replace: ?closed-captions)[$currently_playing]]</button></div>

Cluster is a generous term; it's mostly one enormous, multi-storied building around which there's several smaller, scattered outposts that haven't been swallowed by the surrounding flora despite its best effort. You don't see any real signs of life, but that doesn't mean they aren't there: another story of survival from (if: $family is "mother")[(cycling-link: bind $guardian, "mom", "mama", "ma", "mommy", "haha", "umma", "mami", "daya")](elseif: $family is "father")[(cycling-link: bind $guardian, "dad", "daddy", "pop", "papa", "baba", "appa", "papi", "bawa")](elseif: $family is "sister")[(cycling-link: bind $guardian, "Jun", "Hyerin", "Raenia", "Trinity", "Felicia", "Hana", "Puja", "Fatima")](elseif: $family is "brother")[(cycling-link: bind $guardian, "Rana", "Goro", "Daniel", "Jihae", "Raheem", "Lian", "Jax", "Malik")](elseif: $family is "grandmother")[(cycling-link: bind $guardian, "grandma", "oma", "abuelita", "nana", "obachan", "halmoni", "ma ma", "dadi")](elseif: $family is "grandfather")[(cycling-link: bind $guardian, "grandpa", "opa", "abuelito", "papa", "ojichan", "halaboji", "ye ye", "dada")], despite the fact that $they never took you off the farm. You're familiar with basic survivalism of course. You know what plants are safe to eat, you know the basic of preservation and what plants are safest to sleep near (and which will act as a guardian for you if you ask nicely); you just didn't expect your first field trip to be forcibly fleeing from the farm to escape wild gangs completely alone with only what you already had packed. You just ran.

(if: $guardian is "umma" or $guardian is "appa" or $guardian is "Hyerin" or $guardian is "Jihae" or $guardian is "halmoni" or $guardian is "halaboji")[(set: $korean to 1)](else:)[(set: $korean to 0)]You didn't see $guardian. (upperfirst: $they) wasn't anywhere in the surrounding woods when you fled, and all you have left to prove $they was real is your little radio. That's all that you can hold on to right now, and probably why the silence when you'd lost power for those few agonizing minutes had been so sinister. You're not usually given to total spiralling, but apparently watching your childhood farmhouse being all but dismantled by unsettling strangers wearing patchwork rags and burning the field brought it out in you. It'd taken every scrap of self-control you had to leave your home behind. You're...not sure why you did it, honestly. {(link: "Because you're scared.")[ (set: $player_motive to "fear") (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Because you're angry.")[ (set: $player_motive to "anger") (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Because... you are.")[ (set: $player_motive to "lost") (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $player_motive is "anger")[(upperfirst: $guardian) always told you what a hothead you are, and when you got back to the farm from a routine local excursion and found people tearing through the ashes of your field digging for root vegetables, tearing down the planks your house was made of, hauling furniture and clothes out like it was their right? You had to stop and think. Nothing good would come of you bursting through the treeline to throw rocks at the mob of strangers, most likely gang affiliated, especially not knowing where $guardian was. So you turned and you put distance between yourself and the farm, and then more and then more and now you just need a place to stop and calm down.](elseif: $player_motive is "fear")[There was something primally terrifying in a way you'd never experienced before about the sight of the farm. You'd come in from the woods to see the field burned, and scavengers tearing in and out of the house to steal supplies and furniture and clothes and even sometimes the wood it was made out of. When you started running, you weren't thinking of anything at all besides how badly you wanted to not be there anymore. Now, you suppose you just need to find somewhere that you can stop, focus, and gather the courage to turn back.](elseif: $player_motive is "lost")[Your brain... shut off, when you saw the farm through the treeline. The field was burned and still smoking, and a mob of scavengers and gang-affiliated toughs were digging through your house. (upperfirst: $guardian) built that house, and those people were pulling out furniture and clothes, supplies, hell you're pretty sure that they were tearing planks right off the walls. Something snapped and you started running, and running, and running... and now here you are. The only plan you can manage to cobble together in your jumbled brain is to find somewhere you can stop and... take stock.] Until then, your radio is on your hip. The signal quality fluctuates, but it's long range so you're not worried about losing it... yet.

And now you're here, among the half-digested buildings with your eye on the emptiness. Nothing is ever truly abandoned, whether it be populated with clever humans who've learned better than to make a fuss on ground that's still in the process of reclamation, or plants that are busy doing the reclaiming. You haven't met any such people on your journey thus far, or anyone really, but you aren't entirely sure if it's because you've done such a good job of staying low (unlikely, in your state) or for a much stranger reason. The people on the farm had looked... strange, and unlike you; maybe they stayed away out of fear? Maybe they burned your whole life to the ground because of fear. (upperfirst: $guardian) had never indicated that there's a different sort of human wandering around, and of course you'd never thought to ask. Really you've never met another person besides $them, but you don't think your first response to finding a wholly unfamiliar person would be to burn their house down... and you don't think that if you knew this strange human was wandering around, that you would just not tell $guardian.

You're so wrapped up in this mess, (if: $player_motive is "fear")[this constant buzz of terror](elseif: $player_motive is "anger")[this feeling like your gut is a pot about to boil over](else:)[this faint disassociative hum], that for a moment you almost don't hear the voices. It sounds like two people having a very quiet argument, somewhere to your left. You stop abruptly, tilting your head to try and hear them better. You hear a loud pop, the likes of which aren't unfamiliar to you. It's the sound of dinner, the sad sound of something feral being put out of its misery, the sound of distant people wandering a little too close for comfort to the farm: it's a gunshot. And then you realise you've fallen to one knee, and when you try to take a breath in it's like trying to breathe underwater. Your eyes drift dizzily to your leg, where you see a tear and blood that indicates the shot was at you. A warning? A near miss? {(link: "Run, before you have to find out.")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "This is all going so wrong...")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Who the hell is shooting at you?")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "cautious")[You turn and try to lift yourself up on the leg that's trapped in a kneel; and to your horror, pain jolts up your thigh like a crack of lightning and out of balance, you plummet and hit the cement.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[Your chest feels tight and you realise that your breathing has started to come in short, agonized gasps. Your panic quickly escalates into an attack and you freeze, your hands clenched in terror on the blood welling up on your thigh.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[Your eyes scan the horizon but whoever felt the need to wing you is at least well hidden. You know that now too; you've been brushed by the bullet, drawing blood to the surface but ultimately not damaging you. You'll be fine given a couple hours, but for now you find it too hard to move.] "Mantis!" Your head snaps up and you catch sight of them: there's two blondes standing just far enough away from you that if not for your wounded leg, you'd be impressed with their accuracy despite the miss. One is tall and gangly, with tanned skin and his hair messily shorn closer to his skull than his shorter but broader companion. "What?" the short blonde asks with an unnerving indifference, lowering her handgun; she was the one that shot at you then. She has shockingly pale skin, and her hair is visibly self-cut even from this distance, hanging unevenly just past her chin. "What do you mean what, you just shot (cycling-link: bind $pronoun, "them!", "them...or him?", "them...or her?", "them...or it?", "them...or em?", "them...or xem?", "him!", "him...or her?", "him...or it?", "him...or em?", "him...or xem?", "her!", "her...or it?", "her...or em?", "her...or xem?", "em!", "em...or it?", "em...or xem?", "xem!", "xem...or it?", "it!")" "Stop shouting!" she snaps, her eyes fluttering to you.

"Look now (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he's](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he've] seen us." The two of them, like the strangers on the farm, look strange and empty; manufactured and artificially released into the world. That isn't to say they don't look good; the tall one has kind eyes and his companion has a thrilling intensity to her face. You just...feel the need to make sure that your hands are still covered, so they don't see that you're not like them. You don't have a house to burn down anymore, so the only thing you can protect is yourself. The tall one looks over at you, and you're not sure what to do when he starts walking over. "Crave, get back here," 'Mantis' insists, folding her arms over her chest in what seems more like annoyance than anxiety. You'd love to dissect her reaction, but the gangly one— Crave, you suppose— is coming towards you. {(link: "Drag yourself away.")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic" (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Panic?")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Watch him.")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[It hurts badly enough that you're pretty sure your jaw locks when you hit the ground. You use your elbows to inch yourself forward, along with the leverage from the knee on your uninjured leg, picking up a decent speed; unfortunately, your pursuer has two long, uninjured legs, so all your frantic wiggling is doing is encouraging him to speed up.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[He's not running, but the look on his face is hard and determined; fear chokes you, paralyses your limbs, and all you can really do is be relieved that he can't see the hot tears welling up in your eyes beneath your goggles, and that your mouth, opened in a silent sob, is hidden beneath your scarf. You can't die now, like this; $guardian might still be out there looking for you.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[There isn't much else to do besides watch him approach, sort of distantly interested in the determination in his eyes. His unimpressed companion, while she clearly doesn't think you're a threat, is still refusing to make her way over and keeping a wary eye on Crave as he approaches. You feel hyperaware of your own body; how you blink, how you swallow, how your fingers flexed around the wound. He'll catch up to your position soon. What then?] He pauses when he's a few feet from you, close enough for you to see the way his hands are bandaged and the thin red scars scattered up his arms as he raises them to indicate, you guess, that you shouldn't be afraid. "Hey mate, feelin' all right?" he asks gently, like you're in any shape to skitter away like a spooked deer. (if: $_temp is 0)[You've already failed once, and aren't sure your dignity could take another hit like that.] {(link: "\"Peachy.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Not great, honestly.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Stay away from me.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "serene")[He smiles and risks inching closer; you don't really mind. If he'd meant to end you, he'd probably be armed; his biceps aren't really impressive enough to make you think he'd prefer to looking into your eyes as he crushes you. He also looks sort of worried despite the flippant nature of your answer; or maybe because of it, since he did just watch his friend shoot you.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[He must sense something truly fragile in your mien, because he drops to his knees before slowly shuffling a little closer. It looks so absurd that you laugh, a little, a strange sound that jumps from your chest in a creaky, winded sort of way. Despite the sound, he smiles in response.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[Your heart isn't deeply in your resistance, mostly because by the look in his eyes he knows just as well as you do that if he wanted to approach, he could. What would you do to stop him? Exacerbate your injuries more than you already have? He steps closer, as if to test his theory, and predictably you do nothing.] "Sorry, I gotta be close to patch you up, yeah?" He's still talking like you have the ability to run, which you think would be funny if you hadn't just been shot (which makes very little ultimately chuckle-worthy). "How bad did she getcha?" "Barely." It would seem Mantis has let go of her pride and decided to approach, walking sharply up to where Crave is but standing with far more rigidity than you think he could even manage. "Why does it matter? (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[(upperfirst: $he) looks](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[(upperfirst: $he) look] like one of Roach's." You don't know what that means.

"Nah." That seems to be all Crave has to say on the subject, besides a furtive glance back at you, now having approached enough that he can hesitantly reach for your leg. You allow it; his field medicine isn't necessary, but you doubt he'll let you bolt without taking a look. "Go on, how bad is it?" "I'll live," you tell him, narrowing your eyes a little. You're not sure if you would say he looks a lot like his friend; rather, it almost seems like two similar looking people have gone out of their way to seem identical. They're both blonde, though his roots are dark, and her eyes are brown whereas his are blue. She's built far sturdier than he is, shorter and thicker all around; in comparison, he's almost spiderlike in stature. "I mean yeah, naturally, but don't let her scare ya. Show me where she got you." Slowly, and with visible hesitance, you peel your fingers from the wound where blood is already crusting through your thick pants.

"(if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[(upperfirst: $he)'s](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[(upperfirst: $he)'re] fine Crave, let's go," Mantis says with barely a look at her handiwork. Her eyes flicker to the buildings around you, crouched and huddled in the rapidly fading light. "Marsh'll be wondering where we've been." "Not fuckin' likely, if she heard the same shot as me," he says with a scowl. "Reckon she'll be here any second to give us both shit for firing at a civilian." A third voice suddenly curls out of the darkness, belonging to a tall, lean black woman with thick black box braids, who looks like she's been standing there the whole time. "Correct," she says with a wry smile, stepping out of her alcove and letting her eyes flicker towards you. "What have the two of you done now?" Mantis stays quiet, her jaw clenched and her eyes averted. Crave adopts a similar posture, though his is more openly repentent than hers. "Manny shot $him," he reports, as if the woman couldn't put that together from context. "Thought (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he was](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he were] one of Roach's bugs and tried to make $him scurry off." Mantis scowls, but says nothing.

"What's the damage?" the newcomer asks, and Crave turns expectantly towards you for an answer; you, however, are aware that it isn't that simple. You don't want to tip these people off to the fact that beneath your many layers obscuring your face and body, that you and them are not alike. All of them seem to think your wound should at least hurt, although it's faded to a prickle by now; maybe you should just...go with it. "I'm...it's..." You open your mouth before you're really sure about what's supposed to come out of it in this situation. "I don't want any trouble," you try, because it sounds polite up until it leaves your mouth, after which you sound a mix of terrified and suspicious. Mantis' face says as much, but the stranger (relatively speaking) puts her hand up with her eyes locked on you. "What's your name, scavver?" she asks, and boy is it a relief to be faced with a question that you can actually answer. "It's Zed."

(upperfirst: $guardian) picked your name, $they said, to make it easier for you to venture off the farm if you so chose one day. Zed is the sort of monosyllabic, uninteresting buzz of a name that enables a person to use their real name without making it too easy to remember them afterwards. That's the key to living safely, $guardian had said sagely. Don't let anyone remember they saw you, and it can't occur to them to do you any harm. "Zed...I'm Marsh. You've met Mantis and her brother, Crave." She gestured to each of them in turn and you nod stiffly. "I'm the elected leader of our...outpost, let's call it, and you've stumbled a little too close for some people's comforts." She says so very evenly, but her eyes flicker to Mantis with a flat look that makes your shooter wince and turn away. {(link: "\"I didn't mean to.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"If I'd known I'd end up here, I would have avoided it.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Good to meet you.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $player_opinion is 0)[You can't. You don't need their medical help and you need to...you need to...what? Find $guardian? Go further into the wilderness, blindly searching for something that doesn't exist, some sort of big sign that points you to wherever $guardian is? Does it even matter that you don't know where you're going though? You've been shot by one of these people, is it unreasonable that you don't want to be around them?](elseif: $player_opinion is 1)[You understand that you've been shot by these people so you shouldn't be so interested in seeing their settlement, but... you are. They're odd looking, like old sci-fi books where robots were built to look like humans. You have to see more of them. Maybe the three in front of you just evolved differently.] "I think that's a good idea," Marsh says, and you note that her eyes are fixed on your face; what she can see of it, anyway. That doesn't bode well for her motive for inviting you, which you can imagine: if a total stranger were to show up to your farm under circumstances this chaotic, maybe you'd be more comfortable if they stayed long enough to ascertain their intentions. That doesn't necessarily mean you think you should, regardless of how it might be your best option all purposeless wandering considered.

Crave grins without noting that you haven't said a word and straightens up, offering you his arm to lift you to your feet. Now, you're not sure if his offer to give you a check-up at their base was pretense or genuine, but you err on the side of caution: if it was a genuine offer, then he expects that you're more injured than you...maybe are. You accept the gesture, getting to your feet shakily and making sure to keep your weight off your 'injured' leg. "I'm really fine," you offer in spite of the way you're keeping yourself purposely off balance. "Hey don't worry, we'll tell everyone you took it like a champ. You want me to carry you?" he asks, quickly and lightly bonking his own head as if he should have thought to offer sooner. You suppose it's not unreasonable, considering. To your surprise, Mantis steps up. "Don't be silly, Crave. I shot $him, I can help $him walk." It's a...shocking suggestion, actually, especially considering that this is the only thing she's said directly to you the whole time. {(link: "Accept Crave's offer.")[ (set: $crave to 1) (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Accept Mantis' offer.")[ (set: $mantis to 1) (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I'll... walk.\"")[ (set: $_walk to 1) (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $crave is 1)[You turn to the seemingly well-meaning Crave and nod your head shortly. It's your best cover; not being able to walk at all will at least make them think that you have no real means of resistance, which means their guard will drop. It sounds paranoid, but $guardian had always made it clear what you had to do if you were picked up by someone when $they wasn't around. Picked up by who? I've never even seen anyone else, you'd said skeptically after another lesson in wilderness survival that you didn't think was strictly necessary, what with the farm and all. But they're out there, $they'd replied gravely. With aplomb, Crave crouches down and it takes you a minute to realise he means to carry you on his back. "Go on; it's a little high up, sure, but less chance I'll drop ya," he says with a boyish grin over his shoulder. Making sure to keep your weight to one side, you manage to hop forward just enough that you can hop on his back; and he stands with such fluidity that you yelp in surprise, having expected him to have a harder time lifting you. He only laughs in response, hurrying after Mantis and Marsh who've already begun to make their way towards the largest building in the lot.](elseif: $mantis is 1)[She's gone and made you curious now; why would she offer, when just moments ago she'd been urging Crave to leave you in the street? You give her a short nod and she strides up, positioning herself (surprisingly short, up close) under your arm. You lean into her but not too much, starting to make your shaky way forward. Marsh and Crave have gone on ahead (reasonable, considering the speed at which you move to fake an injury) leaving you alone with the very person who shot you in the first place. She doesn't say anything, which sets your teeth on edge. At the very least you expected some sort of warning, but instead she just keeps glancing at you and then looking away when you turn to face her. It occurs to you that she's trying to see under your hood, checking for what you would assume was some sort of mark of significance. Her clear brown eyes are all but boring a hole into you. Keep your hood up and your scarf on around strangers, $guardian had cautioned. You never know what your face is gunna give away to someone looking. I've never even seen another person, stranger or not, you'd returned, young and weary of the constant vigilance. But they're out there, $they'd replied quietly.](elseif: $_walk is 1)[With your head held high and trying to ignore the curious looks they give you— unsure, you assume, as to whether you're being stubborn because they shot you and shouldn't expect any different, or if you're hiding something— you start to slowly limp forward. It's a difficult job, as you're not entirely sure how hammy you should be getting. Should you be in pain? Should you try to hide the wound, or bind it with something? Would that be rude, since they're bringing you to their settlement to get it looked at? Should you even care? Be cautious around strangers, $guardian had warned, after another long day of learning everything you needed to be entirely self-sufficient. It was where $guardian had ultimately failed; you can be without other people, but you're not sure you can be without $them. What strangers? I've never seen a person besides you, you'd asked wearily. You'd never seen anyone besides $them, and you were young and tired of lessons. They're out there, $they'd warned, even if you don't see them.] Apparently $guardian was right.

The wilderness here isn't tame, but it seems to be manageable. The four of you are able to ultimately make it through to the largest building you've ever seen in your life, looking for all the world like it's many buildings all stacked on top of each other by a particularly meticulous child playing blocks. It's uniform and symmetric, and well kept considering most of its fellows are moss eaten and crumbling like dry dough. (if: $crave is 1)[Crave keeps his hold on you well past the point where you would've assumed you could be set down; you don't see any other people, but you seem to be approaching the building from a particular entrance. Questions burn in your throat, about everything, but you're not naive enough to assume they'll be taken at face value. "Almost there, we just gotta show you to Trigger," Crave explains, shuffling carefully into the broad double doors held open by Marsh. Mantis, meanwhile, steps inside and quickly disappears down a hall.](elseif: $mantis is 1)[Mantis' staring hasn't abated, even as you approach what you would say was a far more interesting landscape. The four of you seem to be headed for a particular entrance (there are many, from what you can see), but as much as you'd like to interrogate the choice, you don't think you're quite in the position to do so. "Once we're inside," Mantis says as the two of you approach the broad double doors still held open by Crave, "Marsh will want Trigger to look you over. Then you'll be sorry." And with that, she drops your arm and bolts away, deeper into the building where you're sure you can't follow her.](elseif: $_walk is 1)[Finally you seem to be getting somewhere, approaching what you would say was a particular entrance uniquely shielded from all the other doors that lead inside the giant building. Mantis seems impatient to get inside, while Crave keeps looking over his shoulder to make sure you're still there. With Marsh having dropped off behind you, you're not sure how necessary his concern is. "Once we're inside," the woman herself says, closer to your elbow than you thought she was, "Trigger will need to have a look at you." You step through the broad doors that Crave holds open for you, noting that Mantis has already disappeared deeper into the building.] "Who's Trigger?"

Crave snorts at the question, which Marsh seems to have expected and takes with a quiet roll of her eyes. Oddly, neither of them seem particularly concerned that Mantis is gone. "He's head of security," she explains, which sounded more reasonable before Crave laughed. "He's a dick," he says cheerily, (if: $crave is 1)[setting you gently on your feet](else:)[leaning casually against the wall]. "Don't worry too much, it's like tearing off a band-aid. It'll catch a little hair but it won't be the worst thing to ever happen to you." You frown and are about to respond, when a sudden cackle of static and feedback makes you jump with a suspicious amount of dexterity. "Hello there!" chirps a very friendly, static-laden voice from a speaker just above your heads. "I just set our captain down for a nap, but I can process you in his place! I'll be down in just a second." Marsh is suddenly smiling, despite the fact that the voice was clearly not who she expected. Apparently she isn't as strict as $guardian, but to be fair she has more people to work with which surely requires more flexibility. It'd be an interesting thing to study, if you had the time.

(if: $player_opinion is 0)[You're here because there wasn't any real way to back out. Your leg was better, but not good enough to outrun three people who were presumably all armed; and besides, you had nowhere to go and might have been experiencing some mild shock. You suppose, therefore, your goal should be to leave as soon as possible.](elseif: $player_opinion is 1)[You're here because there wasn't any reason not to be. Sure, you might have to be a little extra careful, but you get to look at these strange people up close and maybe get a sense for how they're different from you and $guardian. Maybe knowing in advance will just head off any misunderstandings later on. You guess then that your goal is to watch and to wait.] Wherever the intercom-stranger was broadcasting from couldn't have been far, because before you can really decide how you're going to ask Marsh what's put her in such a good mood, the doors swing open. Standing there with a grin on his face that matches hers, is a man whose black hair is so charmingly ruffled, whose jumpsuit is unzipped and tied so casually, whose demeanour is so open and friendly, that you think you might like him already. "A new recruit?" he asks, his eyes falling on you. "Manny shot $him in the leg as (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he was](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he were] out walking, so we're gunna have a look at the wound," Crave explains, while Marsh brings herself to your side. The stranger's face takes on a sort of faux-solemnity as he gives you a grim nod. "It's a good thing I came, then. Seongho would only prick himself on the stitches and get mad at you for needing them." And the bright grin is immediately back at his joke and he makes his way over to you.

First he turns to Marsh, the both of them still grinning at each other with a sudden air of coyness. "Welcome back, fearless leader," he says, nudging her lightly. She laughs, almost shyly, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth like she's trying to hide it. "Good to be back, Jinseo. This is Zed." She puts her hand on your shoulder and you fight the urge to stiffen up; this is it. This is medical examination that you have to get out of, and to make matters worse it's not even Crave. All your plans had been centred around trying to get a slightly known element off your scent, but this is a stranger you're even less familiar with. "Good to meet you. If you'll follow me, I can have a look at your wound," he says, gesturing you forward. You stand very still and he gives you a friendly look over his shoulder. "Oh, don't worry. If you made it all the way here without fainting then we probably won't have to put you down." "I'm really fi—"

The doors slam open with such a bang that you jump again, reaching out instinctively for Marsh; realising very quickly that she's not $guardian and probably thinks it's strange for you to touch her, you back off and a little ways behind her. In the doorway is a man who looks like someone dragged Jinseo behind a tractor for several miles before cutting him loose. His hair is longer and tied back with the sole intention of getting it out of his face with no regards to tidiness, and he's let his facial hair grow out in a way that you can't picture on Jinseo despite their identical faces. His clothes are thin and layered and when his eyes meet yours, he scowls. "Go to bed, Seongho. I'll wake you up if anything happens, Seongho. And yet here you are, trying to process a stranger without telling me," he says in a tone that isn't quite as openly snappish as Mantis, but with the same brooding resentment. "That's not true," Jinseo protests, his mouth already flickering into a smile. "I wasn't going to process $him at all." "That isn't better."

Crave, who'd also jumped when the doors flew open, reasserts himself into the fray. "We found Zed here out in the wilderness, and Mantis shot $him. (if: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[(upperfirst: $he)'re](elseif: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[(upperfirst: $he)'s] being treated for wounds." "What (if: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[were $he](elseif: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[was $he] doing in the wilderness?" he asks, not looking at you, the only person with the answer to that question. "Maybe you should ask $him, Trigger," Marsh advises, not smiling like Jinseo still is but only watching. So this is Trigger; a battered looking man who staunchly refuses to look at you.

In what you're beginning to put together as a characteristic show of petty faux indifference, his eyes don't even flicker to you even though you can tell he's tracking you from his peripheral. "(upperfirst: $he) would have no motivation to answer truthfully if (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he was](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he were] a spy." "Seongho, be polite," Jinseo scolds, slapping the back of his brother's head. "Don't mind him Zed, he just woke up from his nap—" "This is why I'm in charge of security, because you'd let a total stranger wander in—" "I don't think Roach's followers are that well versed in subversive espionage, you paranoid jerk." "You wouldn't. I do." Now he turns to look at you, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Go on, then. Entertain us, since my brother's an expert now." Jinseo rolls his eyes with a huff and retreats to stand beside Marsh with his arms folded. {(link: "Fuck this stupid jerk!")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "He isn't exactly convincing you to confide in him...")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "If it makes him feel better, you can cooperate a little.")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["I don't owe you, or any of you, anything," you snap, quickly backing away from all of them. (if: $player_opinion is 0)["I didn't even want to come here in the first place!"](else:)["I wouldn't have come if I'd known I'd get shaken down."] Your back hits the far wall, a physical reminder of the cold hard fact that you're stuck here.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[You don't have anything to say, and you don't want to lie, so you stare back at him with what you hope is a totally unwavering expression...not that it matters what your face is doing, since he can't see it. It's just important to you that he get the impression that you're not backing down from his challenge so much as you're spitting in its stupid face.](else-if: $_reaction is "serene")[You're not going to say anything about $guardian—it isn't even his business—but you suppose, given all that's happened, that you'd also be a little anxious to understand where the stranger was coming from. "I lived on a farm. I came back from a walk and found a bunch of strangers tearing everything apart."] Infuriatingly, Trigger turns to his brother. "Satisfied?" (if: $_reaction is "energetic")["You acted like a dick and $he got angry: like you'd react differently in $his situation?"](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I don't blame $him for not wanting to talk to you, given how you're acting. You'd do the same thing in $his situation."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["How does that prove your point?" "It's an impossible to prove story!" "Or it's a person caught up in a bad situation reacting with a frankly unearned amount of honesty!"] "I wouldn't have gotten myself into this situation in the first place." "(upperfirst: $he) didn't," Crave pipes up from the sidelines, gnawing at his cuticles. "Manny got them into it."

(set: $crave to 0)(set: $mantis to 0)(set: $trigger to 0)Trigger shakes his head in frustration, turning to Marsh. "You've heard what I think. What's the order?" "Zed is our guest, for now. We owe $him that much for $his injury; just make sure (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he doesn't](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he don't] wander somewhere $he shouldn't." Marsh turns to smile at you, and you watch her carefully to see if she means you harm: quite the opposite, you almost feel a little kindred with her, although you don't understand why. She looks as blank and alien as all the rest of them. "So you want me to place $him?" Contrary to his acerbic tone with his brother, he speaks to Marsh with a quiet intensity. "Zed can choose, I think. We don't want to misrepresent our intentions." She folds her hands behind her back in a self-conscious sort of way, like someone who isn't quite adjusted to authority yet. "Jinseo and I are unfortunately occupied with camp administration, but you can pick anyone else to help you navigate." {(link: "Crave; he's the only one who isn't an asshole.")[ (set: $crave to 1) (set: $route to "c") (goto: "trans")] (link: "Trigger. He distracted everyone from your injury.")[ (set: $trigger to 1) (set: $route to "t") (goto: "trans")] (link: "Mantis. She seems to disappear easily.")[ (set: $mantis to 1) (set: $route to "m") (goto: "trans")]}

(set: $metFern to 1)"Crave," you answer, a little too quickly. You'd be embarrassed if he wasn't the only one to not shoot you or accuse you of...well, you're not really sure what Trigger thinks your problem is, but regardless, Crave has been nothing but accomodating. "If that's okay," you add quickly, glancing at him to gauge his reaction. "Fine by me; Crave?" Marsh turns to him, and he grins. "Not surprising, given what you're working with. Would you mind if we went to see Mantis every now and then?" he asks, sidling up next to you. "I know you're probably not keen to hang around with her, but she's my sister and all..." {(link: "\"Is she going to shoot me again?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"It's fine, I understand.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I guess.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

He threw a fit, and now nobody is even thinking about your leg. He's suspicious of you, so this is your opportunity to prove to him that you have nothing to hide. There's a lot of reasons to pick Trigger, despite the obvious reason not to. "Really?" Jinseo and Trigger ask at the same time in the exact same tone, which would be funny if you were less uncomfortable. Marsh snorts a little, covering her mouth. "I mean, there's sense to it. Trigger is the one who thinks (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he's](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he're] up to something. If I wanted to prove I meant no harm, I'd pick him too." "Sounds a little like walking up to the biggest asshole in a prison camp and punching him," Jinseo protests, swiftly and instinctly ducking the swipe Trigger takes at him. "Don't get me wrong, Zed, if that's what you want..." "No one's going to ask me?" Trigger asks sullenly. {(link: "\"Is there a problem?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You don't get to treat me like that and then back out!\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I picked the head of security. That's it.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

Everyone turns their heads, looking around curiously as if they've only just noticed that she wasn't in the room: everyone except for Trigger, who was presumably alerted to your presence by Mantis after she scampered off. "I'll talk to her," Crave volunteers immediately. "She might say no offhand but it'd be pretty iffy of her to turn you down." "Are you sure, Zed? She did—" "I'm sure," you interrupt quickly, hoping to avoid the topic of your injury. Trigger's fit seems to have distracted everyone from the idea of giving you medical attention, and you'd like to keep it that way; besides, Mantis is apparently able to quickly and efficiently disappear, which will either serve to keep you out of the critical eye of security, or leave you alone altogether to wander as you see fit. The bullet really only grazed you, and you're quickly learning some lessons about how strangers treat each other in the great wilderness. You refuse to blanche in the face of fear. "Could you find her then, Crave?" Marsh asks, and he nods determinedly. "I'll come with."

(if: $_reaction is "cautious")["Nah, she wouldn't try again; and if she did I wouldn't let her," he assures you. You're not sure if you trust it, but it's more assurance than you've gotten so far.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[Your body language must change enough that he can tell that you're sulking even behind your many layers, because he grins and nudges you lightly. "She'll grow on you; or worst case, she'll drop by to see me and you won't even notice her."](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["You know, I thought you'd be more pissed," he says with some surprise. "Well I'd still prefer she not shoot me, but if you're going to go out of your way to show me around, I'm willing to see your sister."] "No use worrying about it now, anyway. Better show you somewhere to lay your head, yeah?" You nod, a rush of relief flooding your chest: (if: $player_personality is "cautious")[you're just safer if you have a home base, even if it's unfamiliar. You need somewhere to retreat, and depending on how long you stay, somewhere to hoard supplies.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[you'd been a little worried about where you were going to sleep tonight. Watching your one and only home go up in flames does wake the sleeping beast of shelter insecurity in a person.](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[part of you had been certain you were going to be looking at the inside of a cage or something for a bed, so it's good to know that Crave intends to find you somewhere real to sleep.] "Follow me!" Crave's gait is fast, but you'd expected as much. You take this opportunity, as he seems used to people lagging just behind him, to really look at him, to try and get a sense for him as a person. Beyond how odd he looks, obviously.

He's extremely tall, easily the tallest of all of them by a laughable margin. Jinseo and Trigger are second to him, and both of them come up to about his neck. He's got the same white blonde hair as Mantis, although it's brown at his roots, shaved up the sides and haphazardly trimmed on top. His shirt is large, almost comically so, and hangs off of him at certainly uninteded angles in direct contrast to his fitting thigh-lenth shorts. He seems adept at keeping everything in place, almost unconsciously shifting himself to replace a sleeve or adjust how the shirt is laying. Wherever his clothes don't cover, plasters do; it's hard to tell if he injures himself that often or if they're decorative, although some strips of gauze do seem to indicate that both is a valid answer. The final piece of his strange look is a stripe of what you think might be black make-up all across his bright, clear blue eyes, from temple to temple. The fact that you can see them means that not only has Crave stopped, but he's looking directly at you. "Sorry, what?" you ask, hoping he doesn't ask what distracted you. Technically you weren't distracted so much as you were examining him, but it doesn't sound so good that way either.

He gnaws at his fingers again, possibly a nervous habit. "No big deal, just wondering how long you were walking to make your way to us." He's standing in front of a set of metal stairs that look almost serrated, with yellow arrows pointing down towards them. Truthfully, you don't know. Everything was a blur for a long time after you left the farmhouse, so you're not sure that it hasn't been days. You're not very hungry, but it's not impossible that it's due to shock rather than a small timeframe. "A while," you answer vaguely. "I don't know for sure. I didn't mean to come here." "That's good. I'm sure you could tell but people ain't supposed to just wander in. Hence the uh, armed guards." He smiles around his thumb, then moves towards the stairs, taking them two at a time like gravity means something different for him. "Sorry, again." "You didn't do it," you remind him with a faint smile of your own. "You're not fuckin' likely to get an apology from Mantis, so you oughta have one from me. She's twitchy, but she means well." {(link: "\"I get the sense I got winged by a warning shot.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Thanks for apologizing then, I guess.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"At least she can't catch me unawares anymore.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["I don't mean to make her sound stubborn, but...guess she kind of is, eh?"](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Likely, but you're still allowed to be pissed off about it."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[He laughs, loud and from his gut. "No shit, eh?"] "What about you?" you ask, relieved to be past the odd and hostile looking staircase. It was weirdly exposed, visible from all angles leading from the top floor to the lower and just...weirdly built up right in the middle of the wide open room. Even the second floor doesn't seem wholly removed from the lower, like you're standing in a vast glass box. "What about me?" He smiles and nods at a passing group of armed guards, waving them off as their eyes flicker to you. "Are you a guard?" He snorts, shivering a little. "Nah, only sometimes when Manny has to go out and get away from her work for a while. I work with the dogs." "Dogs?" (cycling-link: "You've only read about those", "It sounds like an animal"). Your books had a variety of pictures but you can't call to mind an image of a dog. His eyes widen and he reaches for your hand, taking it without a second thought before hastily dropping it upon realizing. "D-Do you...I mean would I, or could I, show you my—the dogs?" {(link: "\"Yes! Aboslutely yes!\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Is it...safe?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Sure! If that's okay.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "cautious")[Maybe you're feeling a little shy from how viciously Trigger doesn't want you here, but maybe you should double check if it's okay to wander. "No worries, I'm head of the department and I say it's totally fine."](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[You've never once turned down an opportunity to learn something new. "Yes!" He pumps his fist and turns on his heel.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Oh yeah, for sure. Just stay near me and don't start...I dunno, flailing your arms around and yelling." "I will...try not to," you return with a faint smile.] He makes a quick turn and leads you down the cavernous, white tiled halls. There's limited, low light from sunset streaming through some thin, cracked windows embedded in the ceiling. The glow falls mostly on small vines and flowers that've sprung up through the cracks in the grout between tiles; the fact that they're allowed to stay in a clearly inhabited building is, you think, a good sign. Crave walks a little faster now, eager to show you whatever a dog is. You try not to think about it too much: you don't think you'd be able to guess. As the two of you make your shuffling way across the dirty floor, you can see people in the deep, cavernous recesses of the walls, individual rooms where only a few have real doors.

You see the occasional greenhouse, in the rooms with more light spilling in than others— a few even seem to have electricity, running lights that feel fuller and warmer than the standard white light. Others have heavy hanging improvised pens built out of wire, wood, and rope, although you can't see what they're holding back. "Just up here," Crave says, fidgeting with excitement. He repeatedly brings his hand up to his mouth but quickly puts it back down: if any of his plasters aren't decorative, you're willing to bet that it's the ones on his hands. "Thanks for coming with me. I know you've never seen a dog, but it's easier on me to get to stop and pick up Fern." "Who's Fern?" "She's my dog," he says proudly. "Helps me keep calm and focused during the day if there's a lot going on." This once again radically shifts your idea of what a dog is, but you don't say so; he knows you've never seen one, but you're still a little embarrassed. There's a lot of things you've never seen, up to and including Crave himself.

He comes to a stop in front of a set of glass doors, pulling up on a chain around his neck which has a series of keys on it. "You don't keep Fern with you all the time?" you ask politely while he fiddles with the lock. "Nah, not out on guard duty. Wires me too bad to have her out where all kinds of beasties could get her." He pulls open one of the glass doors, stepping back to let you in first. As you step through the threshold, you're faced with what you must assume are dogs. There's a variety of shapes as sizes, all with patchy fur and thick pinkish skin, almost like scar tissue. They have wide, toothy mouths and lolling tongues, with front-facing eyes that glow lightly to let you know that they can see you in the dark. {(link: "You're in love.")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Can I touch them?!\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"They look like predators...\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "serene")[You watch in quiet delight as some of the bigger 'dogs' roll on their backs to leverage the texture of the floor to scratch, and the little ones sit with their back legs stretched out so sweet and silly. "These are dogs?" you ask in delight, clasping your hand over your mouth. "Sure are."](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["Maybe not right this instant," Crave advises. "I dunno which ones have been fed or not, and some of them get a little anxious around feeding time. Wouldn't want them to nip ya." You clasp your hands behind your back, a wiggle of impatience slithering through you. "Later though, at a less dicey time."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["They are," Crave advises. "But we reckon that back in the Old World the poor things were domesticated, so they at least weren't the natural predators of people." "So they're safe?" It seems odd to be worried about something that doesn't even go up to your mid-calf, but you've seen stranger things be more dangerous. "So long as you're sensible."] He looks around for a moment, surveying the animals, and then smiles at you. "Gunna whistle real loud for a second, so don't be startled." You nod and he proceeds, perking the head of almost every dog in the room; but only one comes running. She's about hip-height, and the same coiled pink as the other dogs with some prickly grey stubble in spots. Her tongue perptually lolls as if it's too long for her mouth, and around her neck is a soft black strip of fabric with hand sewn stars and in meticulously neat captital letters, FERN. "Hey baby!" Crave croons.

Fern barks, deep and hoarse, snuffling at the pockets of Crave's shorts. He makes his way over to a table with a clipboard on it, and upon checking, turns to rub her ears. "Says here that you already ate, eh? You wouldn't lie to papa now, would you?" She barks again, making a quick circle around him: and then finally notices you. She sits down sharply, leaning some of her weight on Crave's leg. "Hello," you offer, remembering how Crave said she helped him and noting the way he spoke to her. "I'm Zed." He grins, nodding a couple times. "If you wouldn't mind holding out your hand for her to sniff?" he suggests, and you very slowly do so. You don't take off your gloves, despite the distinct feeling that you should. Still, Fern snuffles curiously at your hand, keeping a thoughtful eye on you while she does. Finally she sits back and relaxes, looking up to Crave one more time as if to double check that it's okay for her to move. Seeing what she needs to, she starts her curious examination of Crave once again. "She's a little shy," he admits, reaching down to rub gently at her ears as she passes by. "She's real good at what she does, but she's tenderer than you'd think." Fern barks, as if embarrassed.

"Anyway, these are dogs, and this is my dog. Thanks for stopping with me." He's turning faintly pink, like he's suddenly embarrassed about his enthusiasm for the detour. "It was nothing! I'm thrilled to know what a dog is, and it was good to meet you Fern!" you add. She doesn't seem to respond, only faintly quirking her head when you say her name. Odd, though Crave did say she was shy. She's an animal so normally you wouldn't expect a response at all, though she does seem to understand Crave... "Let's get you settled now, and then tomorrow you can...shadow me, I guess?" He makes a kissing noise and gestures to Fern, who quickly follows and...you do too, but not because he made the kissy noise. "Actually I dunno what Marsh expects. I don't think you're stuck with me, so you'll have your pick come morning. We'd be happy to have you here, though." {(if: $player_personality is "serene")[(link: "It would be nice to hang around.")[ (set: $done to 1) (goto: "trans")]] (elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[(link: "The dogs make a strong case.")[ (set: $done to 1) (goto: "trans")]] (elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[(link: "You like having your options open.")[ (set: $done to 1) (goto: "trans")]]}

Welcome back to the end of the demo! Hey again. Hybrid got an update because Hybrid lovers have been very patient and I just finished a big Bad Ritual update (also, MH doesn't have public updates anymore so only people who <a href="https://ko-fi.com/martimcfly", target="_blank">subscribe to my Ko-fi</a> benefit from those updates) !! For those of you just joining us, Hybrid is a little different from my other projects: Zed is a locked nonbinary character (non-negotiable), and you may have noticed the minimal amount of opportunity to personalize their (used here in the general sense) appearance. That's all intentional and spoilers, although I'd like to reassure you that Zed has no canonical appearance, and that you'll have the opportunity later to personalize them...just not right now. If you ran into any bugs, you can go ahead and drop me a comment here or on my development blog, <a href="https://heart-forge.tumblr.com", target="_blank">HeartForge</a>! Try to be as specific as possible about what went wrong and when it went wrong, and thanks for letting me know in advance. Also, this is just an open call: if you picked your guardian and you have a different name for father, mother, grandmother, or grandfather, that hasn't been included, I'd love to hear it! Right now I'm working off of cultural osmosis and some research (that's always going to be a little awkward as I'm looking for non-English words for an English context). Thanks for playing <3

{(set: $random to (random: 0,1)) (if: $pronoun is "them...or him?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "They/He")] (elseif: $pronoun is "them...or her?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "They/She")] (elseif: $pronoun is "them...or it?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "They/It")] (elseif: $pronoun is "them...or em?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "They/Ey")] (elseif: $pronoun is "them...or xem?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "They/Xe")] (elseif: $pronoun is "him...or her?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "He/She")] (elseif: $pronoun is "him...or it?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "He/It")] (elseif: $pronoun is "him...or em?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "He/Ey")] (elseif: $pronoun is "him...or xem?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "He/Xe")] (elseif: $pronoun is "her...or it?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "She/It")] (elseif: $pronoun is "her...or em?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "She/Ey")] (elseif: $pronoun is "her...or xem?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "She/Xe")] (elseif: $pronoun is "em...or it?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "Ey/It")] (elseif: $pronoun is "em...or xem?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "Ey/Xe")] (elseif: $pronoun is "xem...or it?")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $proto_pronoun to "Xe/It")] (if: $genderqueer is 1)[ (if: $proto_pronoun is "They/He")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "them") (set: $he to "they") (set: $him to "them") (set: $his to "their")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "him") (set: $he to "he") (set: $him to "him") (set: $his to "his")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "They/She")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "them") (set: $he to "they") (set: $him to "them") (set: $his to "their")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "her") (set: $he to "she") (set: $him to "her") (set: $his to "her")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "They/It")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "them") (set: $he to "they") (set: $him to "them") (set: $his to "their")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "it") (set: $he to "it") (set: $him to "it") (set: $his to "it")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "They/Ey")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "them") (set: $he to "they") (set: $him to "them") (set: $his to "their")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "em") (set: $he to "ey") (set: $him to "em") (set: $his to "eir")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "They/Xe")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "them") (set: $he to "they") (set: $him to "them") (set: $his to "their")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "xem") (set: $he to "xe") (set: $him to "xem") (set: $his to "xyr")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "He/She")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "him") (set: $he to "he") (set: $him to "him") (set: $his to "his")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "her") (set: $he to "she") (set: $him to "her") (set: $his to "her")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "He/It")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "him") (set: $he to "he") (set: $him to "him") (set: $his to "his")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "it") (set: $he to "it") (set: $him to "it") (set: $his to "it")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "He/Ey")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "him") (set: $he to "he") (set: $him to "him") (set: $his to "his")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "em") (set: $he to "ey") (set: $him to "em") (set: $his to "eir")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "He/Xe")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "him") (set: $he to "he") (set: $him to "him") (set: $his to "his")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "xem") (set: $he to "xe") (set: $him to "xem") (set: $his to "xyr")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "She/It")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "her") (set: $he to "she") (set: $him to "her") (set: $his to "her")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "it") (set: $he to "it") (set: $him to "it") (set: $his to "it")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "She/Ey")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "she") (set: $he to "she") (set: $him to "her") (set: $his to "her")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "em") (set: $he to "ey") (set: $him to "em") (set: $his to "eir")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "She/Xe")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "she") (set: $he to "she") (set: $him to "her") (set: $his to "her")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "xem") (set: $he to "xe") (set: $him to "xem") (set: $his to "xyr")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "Ey/It")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "em") (set: $he to "ey") (set: $him to "em") (set: $his to "eir")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "it") (set: $he to "it") (set: $him to "it") (set: $his to "it")]] (elseif: $proto_pronoun is "Ey/Xe")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "em") (set: $he to "ey") (set: $him to "em") (set: $his to "eir")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "xem") (set: $he to "xe") (set: $him to "xem") (set: $his to "xyr")]] (elseif: $pronoun is "xem...or it?")[ (if: $random is 0)[ (set: $pronoun to "xem") (set: $he to "xe") (set: $him to "xem") (set: $his to "xyr")] (elseif: $random is 1)[ (set: $pronoun to "it") (set: $he to "it") (set: $him to "it") (set: $his to "it")]]] (elseif: $genderqueer is 0)[ (if: $pronoun is "them!" or $proto_pronoun is "They/Them")[ (set: $pronoun to "them") (set: $he to "they") (set: $him to "them") (set: $his to "their")] (elseif: $pronoun is "him!" or $proto_pronoun is "He/Him")[ (set: $genderqueer to 1) (set: $pronoun to "him") (set: $he to "he") (set: $him to "him") (set: $his to "his")] (elseif: $pronoun is "her!" or $proto_pronoun is "She/Her")[ (set: $pronoun to "her") (set: $he to "she") (set: $him to "her") (set: $his to "her")] (elseif: $pronoun is "it!" or $proto_pronoun is "It/It")[ (set: $pronoun to "it") (set: $he to "it") (set: $him to "it") (set: $his to "it")] (elseif: $pronoun is "xem!" or $proto_pronoun is "Xe/Xem")[ (set: $pronoun to "xem") (set: $he to "xe") (set: $him to "xem") (set: $his to "xyr")] (elseif: $pronoun is "em!" or $proto_pronoun is "Ey/Em")[ (set: $pronoun to "em") (set: $he to "ey") (set: $him to "em") (set: $his to "eir")]]}

(if: $_reaction is "serene")[You would have thought he'd be eager to monitor your every movement, but he looks a little sullen for someone who's getting what he wanted. "The problem is letting you stay in the first place," he grumbles, but there's something lacking about the protest. Maybe a suddenly onset bout of self-awareness.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[You've never had the occasion to fight with another person before— no one besides $guardian, and even someone who knew you well could never needle you as purposefully as Trigger has been— so you can't quite control how angry you immediately are. "Guess that's a no," he grumbles with a little less venom than before. Maybe it's the self-awareness creeping in.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I'm not trying to target you, I'm not trying to ingratiate myself: I just want at least the illusion of protection." That's a little more self aware than you usually run, but great green wilderness forbid that he think he's getting especially spiteful treatment. "Yay for me," he grumbles, but it's lacking the offense of before. Good.] He sighs and runs his hands through his hair, then turns to Marsh. "Fine, I'll keep an eye on $him." "Thank-you, Trigger," she says in a soft, sing-song sort of way. He imitates her in return, but it seems more fond than spiteful. "This is a big day for my brother, Zed," Jinseo tells you with a grin. "Hopefully we're looking at a brand new, cooperative—" "Give it a rest, Jinseo."

"I will not be doing that, thank-you." Still, Jinseo folds his arms behind his back with a smile. "Be nice, please?" "I get it, Jinseo," Trigger says warningly, then turns to you. "Come on. I'll show you where you can sleep and we'll go from there." With that he turns and heads out of the room, through the large set of double doors he'd almost thrown off their hinges before. He walks fast for someone who isn't that different in height from you. He moves with the confidence of someone who could navigate these halls in the dark; (if: $player_personality is "cautious")[you sort of passively envy his comfort, the same you used to have in the farmhouse. Who knows how long it'll take you to learn somewhere new?](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[it feels a little sad, that even in this— clearly his home— he's still so tense and on alert. Will you be like this too, wherever...whenever you settle again?](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[you're not surprised that his paranoia extends to even this, although it makes you terribly curious about where he came from. Would he know something about the scavenging strangers that ruined your life?] He's not a very good tour guide as he leads you through the oddly cavernous, white tiled room. There's two floors separated by nothing but an opaque floor: even then, you can see clearly from top to bottom, as if it was designed largely for looking rather than actual shelter. Thin light trickles in from the smashed glass windows embedded in the ceiling, feeding tiny curling saplings and blooms that sprout between the cracks in the tile grout. You're certainly not going to ask why his home is so exposed.

You turn instead to watch your tour guide as he walks along, not even turning to check if you're still with him. You maintain that he looks like a particularly haggard Jinseo, but there's a certain...way about him, you suppose. He's not lesser than his brother in appearance, only different. He's got a lot of layers on: like you, although you suspect he's doing so in a different spirit. A lot of it seems patchwork, like he's had it for a long time and is approaching the point of over-repair. His hands tremble lightly as he reaches for railings, and he takes the stairs in the same careless, hyper-competent way he navigates every other part of the complex. He almost seems to be ignoring everything else going on: there's deep, cavernous recesses in the walls that lead to shallow-looking single rooms. There's people that you can see milling around inside, fiddling with animals in pens that you can't quite make out at the pace you're keeping, and occasionally tending to indoor gardens with the warmest, fullest lights you've ever seen. "Are you listening?" As you turn back to Trigger, you reaffirm your opinion that there is nothing lacking about the intensity in his warm brown eyes. {(link: "\"Sorry.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Nope.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I was...distracted.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "serene")["I've just never been somewhere like this before. This building..." you trail off unsurely. It's beautiful but that's not what you want to say. "...is overexposed and defies all reasonable logic as to why it was built," he finishes for you, his eyes darting around.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["There's a lot going on around here," you defend lamely, eyes almost irresistably flickering back to where the shadowy people go about their evening. "Yeah, it's great." It doesn't sound like he thinks it's great.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[You smile the same way you would smile at $guardian whenever $she posed the same question to you, and Trigger seems just as impressed. "I'm entertaining myself!" you say defensively. "You're not a great tour guide." "How will I go on?' he asks wryly.] (if: $player_headscarf is 0)["I asked why you're all covered up." "What business is it of yours?" you ask without thinking. You're not usually this covered, but...](else:)["I asked what settlement you're from." "Does it matter?" you ask without thinking. You're not usually this evasive, but...]no one here even faintly resembles you. Even just taking off your gloves would be a whole thing that you're not ready or sure you want to deal with. "Here's the problem." He turns the corner and you follow, only to find yourself pushed up against the wall with his hand pressed just beside your head. He leans over, pinning you to the wall with his eyes. "You're either a total unknown, or I know you and you don't want me to know that. So...which is it?" {(link: "\"I-I...I'm no—I me-mean...\"")[ (set: $_nervous to 1) (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You'd recognise my voice, jerk.\"")[ (set: $_nervous to 0) (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_nervous is 1)[It's not easy to think while he's staring at you like that! You don't even know what to tell him; is there anything that'll satsify him? Anything you could say to prove to him that you're just...lost? "You wouldn't," you stammer finally, your stomach sinking hard.](elseif: $_nervous is 0)[You stare back at him, quickly approaching your limit for his whole suspicious guy thing. Everyone's got problems and at the moment, you're surrounded by total strangers who look like dolls; you don't really care if he's freaked out by the idea that he doesn't personally know everyone on earth.] He blinks, once, but you feel the tension release and almost sigh with relief. "Maybe," he concedes, and the door beside the two of you swings open, letting in a host of people he evidently knows. His whole body goes rigid. "Hey boss!" one greet, slapping him on the back. His whole centre of gravity shifts and he jolts, wincing (seemingly forgetting you can see what expression he's making). "Just out for a quick break." It's then they get close enough that you can smell a smokey stink on them, like someone's hot breath in your face after eating ash. No one else seems to notice. "We're back to work as soon as Moon finishes his cigarette," the other assures him, jetting out in front of his companion as if eager to demonstrate to Trigger just how much faster he's going to work. "Great," he responds hoarsely.

You wait until they're out of earshot to slip away from Trigger, maybe taking advantage of how uncomfortable he suddenly seems. As much as he tries to hide it, it's written plainly across his face and still-tense shoulders. "What's a cigarette?" you ask after taking a not so subtle, grounding breath. "If I'm good, you won't find out," he mumbles, his trembling hands reaching into his pockets. He has to search several before he finds what he's looking for— a small clear bag of dark brown, misshapen balls. He reaches in and pulls one out, jamming it into his mouth and closing his eyes. You don't mean to ask, but you've never really had to moderate your curiosity either. "What are those?" "Caramels. I'd offer you one but I fucked this batch up." He sticks his tongue out with the ball on it, as if to demonstrate to you that the act of eating it is actively unpleasant. {(link: "\"O-Oh...right...\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"What does that have to do with a cigarette?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Smile blankly.")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

He sighs deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You really don't know what a cigarette is?" You shake your head firmly. "It's...it's a rolled up paper tube filled with tobacco. You burn it and inhale the smoke." "And you...don't like that?" You don't know much about tobacco, except as an abstract concept. It's a plant in the genus nicotiana, it's used in particular ceremonies, it was a major trade item throughout history...but you don't think that Trigger is really referring to any of that. "It's bad for you so when I— Jinseo wanted me to quit, so I did. Now I make caramels to occupy my mouth," he explains, tucking his candy away. At your no doubt blank look, he sighs. "If you're a spy, you're a shitty one. Cigarettes go in your mouth." You don't know what possesses you to do so, but you press on. "So it's like...an oral fixation?" "Don't call it that." He takes off again and you follow him, jogging to keep up. {(link: "\"Sorry!\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Why not?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"O-Okay.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

He ignores you, leading you back through the building and away from the exit where he'd cornered you, while mostly ignoring the surprising amount of people who wave or call out to him on the way by. Far from offended, they treat his stony silence as perfectly normal, not even waiting to see if he responds before going back to what they're doing. You'll take note of that for when his outward suspicion goes away; you'd hate to misunderstand his blatant unfriendliness for...blatant unfriendliness. Apparently he's just like this. "Tomorrow may be a little different," he starts, not slowing his pace or looking to see if you're listening. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to not hear him twice? "You don't have to stick around if you don't want to: like Marsh said, anyone can monitor you. If you insist on hanging around, though, you'll have to keep up." {(link: "\"Am I not?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Don't you worry about me.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Will I need to participate?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "serene")["I don't mean how fast you're walking, although that could be improved." For some reason you get the sense that he didn't mean that jab; it feels a little less offensive than when he was grilling you in the entryway.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["I don't mean how fast you're walking," he warns, and you smile sweetly (even if he doesn't see it). "Neither did I." He frowns a little, narrowing his eyes like he's trying to read something from the blank canvas of scarf and goggles staring back at him.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Like I'd arm you," he says with a roll of his eyes. "I don't want to be armed. I don't...fight, a lot." You kick yourself for saying so, because all you have going for your personal safety right now is a vague air of mystery and unpredictability that you just shot in the foot.] He stops abruptly in front of one of the bigger recesses in the wall, within which you can see rows of empty beds with trunks at the end. Most look thoroughly lived in, but towards the back there's several empty, isolated bunks. You're not sure if you're going to be able to sleep tonight at all, but it's comforting to know you have somewhere to try. "Any last questions?" he asks, clearly intending to dump you right here. {(link: "\"No, I've got it covered.\"")[ (set: $_temp to 0) (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Where will you be?\"")[ (set: $_temp to 1) (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Can I have one of your candies?\"")[ (set: $_temp to 2) (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(set: $done to 1)(if: $_temp is 2)[You watch as what little of his neck is visible turns pink, and he harshly averts his eyes. "I told you, I fucked these ones up." "So? I've never had a caramel before." Frankly if he hadn't told you he made them wrong, you would've just assumed you don't like them. He stays quiet for a second, then grunts. "If you're still hanging around when these run out, I'll make you some." You beam, noting how he just tries to look away harder.](elseif: $_temp is 0)["If you say so," he says with a tone. "What's that supposed to mean?" you ask, folding your arms over your chest. "Just that you're playing pretty tough for someone who's playing this dumb." He grins and...is he needling you on purpose?!](elseif: $_temp is 1)["What do you care?" he asks, obviously trying to discern a motive from you. You resist the urge to roll your eyes. "I told Marsh I was going to stick with you. I don't want to get in trouble for wandering on my own." What if you need to get up in the night? What if something happens and you need security? He watches you for a moment, then sighs in annoyance. "I pass by here during the night. If you need me, you'll find me." Nice and vague, but what did you expect?] "If that's all?" He waits for a moment but that's truly all you got. "Then...goodnight." And he turns and walks away, supremely awkward but obviously pretending not to notice you watching him go.

"Uh...yeah, I guess that makes sense." Still, Crave looks uncertain about the prospect of you coming along; maybe he'd wanted a moment to prep his sister for her new responsibility. "Sorry, I was just kinda...hoping to spare you how shitty she's going to be about this." "It's the thought that counts," you assure him, hoping that he also understands that you're shutting down the idea of staying behind entirely. You don't want to spend anymore time being scrutinized by the group, and the only thing worse would be for all of them to return to what they were doing before you got here and leave you sitting on your own. {(link: "You didn't come all the way here just to get ditched.")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "It'd be kind of awkward to get left behind.")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "You'd like to keep as much of an eye on everyone as you can.")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[Trigger didn't seem to like the idea of you wandering around on your own, and Marsh agreed enough to assign you a buddy: it's best if you don't rely on Mantis to take responsibility for you, and stick close to Crave who you think will look after you if she refuses.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[Now that you're here, you might as well find out what you can about all these people. You'd gone from never seeing another human in your life to suddenly being bombarded with the strange looking people with a whole community in some old world ruins. You're not about to be chased out because a couple of them don't trust you.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[Although Crave seems very nice, you're not naive enough to assume he owes you anything beyond basic courtesy. If it comes down between you or Mantis, any one of them would be happy to leave you outside again; and it's dawning on you that you need to avoid that. You're wary of letting these new friends talk without you in the room.] You follow Crave out into the main structure, frowning in confusion. The first and second floors are both perfectly visible, destroying any hopes of cover in such a large, open building. The floor is slick white tile, with periodic cracks in the grout letting in curled vines and sprouting flowers. They feed on the thin light that trickles in from the smashed glass embedded in the ceiling...this place is a strategic nightmare. Impressive, though.

Crave is too busy fretting to make much conversation, but you're plenty occupied as you realise that the deep, dark recesses in the walls sometimes contain people. They work away at rows and rows of food-bearing plants under warm, full lights that seem different from regular electricity. Some have pens instead of plants, made of soft woven fabric, wood, and bent wire. You can't get a good look at what's inside— "Whoa there," Crave says, straightening you out after you walk directly into his back. "Sorry for stopping without warning; we're uh, here." He gestures to one of the recesses, one of the few with proper functioning doors. Inside are several large glass boxes with grated tops, filled with plants although you don't think they're the point of the displays. Inside, lit by a low lamp and sitting up on her knees in a tattered chair over a chipped white desk, is Mantis.

She's changed since you saw her last, now in a cosy-looking black hoodie and tight fitting black shorts. She's got socks that go up to her knees, and you notice a tight black necklace with a butterfly charm. As she stands, noticing the two of you at the door with a frown, you think again that she's surprisingly short. She pushes open the glass door, not taking her cold brown eyes off of you. "Crave, what sort of bug did you bring me now?" "Quit, Manny," he scolds. "Marsh thinks you oughta take responsibility." "You're kidding. Why would $he even want to bother with me?" She looks at you for answers, even though you can't help but notice that she definitely wasn't addressing you. After a moment of quiet, you look up and see that Crave is looking at you too. {(link: "\"Is it strange to keep tabs on the person who shot me?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Just to bother you!\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Why not?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "cautious")["Strange to want to hang around them after the fact," she argues, and Crave puts his hand on her shoulder. "Just don't do it again," he warns her, and she rolls her eyes. "And a sorry probably wouldn't be out of place." "Fuck no."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Why the fuck not, (if: $gender_singular contains $pronoun)[$he says](elseif: $gender_plural contains $pronoun)[$he say]," she says with a shake of her head. "You do remember getting shot, right?" "Sure. I also think I'm the one that gets to decide what I do because of it." You know why you're here. You don't need to justify yourself to her just because she tried to keep you away. "Still think a sorry would go a long way, Mantis," her brother tells her sternly. "Fuck no."](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[You smile sweetly at her, although she can't see it, and she rolls her eyes. "You'll start making me regret that I didn't aim truer." "So it was an accident!" Crave declares. Mantis groans, presumably at her limit between the two of you. "Now just apologise and we can all—" "Fuck no."] "Manny—" "Give it a rest, Crave." She folds her arms over her chest and he huffs in annoyance, turning to you. "If you're still sure, I'll get out of your hair before she drives me completely batshit." "Thanks for walking me here, Crave."

He nods shortly, then leans over to give Mantis a one armed squeeze that she passively accepts, before turning back to presumably report to Marsh. You're left alone with Mantis, and the two of you stand wordlessly in the cavernous hall for a moment, listening to the muffled shuffling of everyone else going about their days. "Well, if you're going to hang around then come inside or whatever." You follow her through the glass doors and into her little retreat. It's a poorly lit place, with only a single hanging lamp. Cold white light illuminates mostly her desk, leaving most of the terrariums either dark or lit by internal structures. {(link: "\"What are in all these glass boxes?\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Inspect the closest terrarium.")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Stand perfectly still.")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "serene")["What are you doing?" she asks, rushing up beside you. "Looking to see what's in here," you answer, gesturing to the box. "I can't see much in the light, though." "This is the nocturnal room. Low, limited light, if any at all." She folds her arms over her chest and notably doesn't answer your question: it's up to you then, you suppose. You crouch lower, watching the plants carefully. They're very languid; in the wild you'd suspect them of actively hunting and only playing at being lazy, but now it looks more like they're only moving for the sake of obscuring something. Something that doesn't move the same...](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["What's your problem?" she asks, without any particular malice. "I just...don't know what to do," you admit awkwardly. You're intruding on her space for the sake of disappearing: suddenly the idea of Mantis ditching you entirely seems extraordinarily unlikely. "I dunno. Look around if you like, but don't touch anything. Some of it can kill you." And with that cheery warning, she sits back down at her desk and returns to her paperwork. Oddly enough, that directive doesn't give you any better ideas. You decide on the path of least resistance: you shuffle over to one of the clear glass boxes, peering inside.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["What do you care?" she asks, although she doesn't sound upset that you asked. You'd almost think it was a genuine question, if she cared that you were curious. "Well you've got a billion of them. There must be something, and these aren't ideal greenhouse condition." "So you're a botanist?" she asks, eyeing you up and down skeptically. "Farmer. Kind of—more of a farmhand, I guess. Also, none of your plants are bearing edible produce." "Maybe they're like, lettuce or whatever. Or maybe you should open your eyes and look for yourself." "Bossy," you murmur, but kneel down anyway.] "Oh!" After a few moments of squinting, you finally see it reclining in the thick, leafy plants. "It's a praying mantis!" You look up, towards the other boxes. You start to see them distinctly against the vegetation: there's beetles and bees and butterflies and spiders all over the place. {(link: "That's a lot of creatures in glass containers...")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"IT'S BUGS!\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Whoa!\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "serene")["There's so many!" You didn't know this was like...a thing. You've seen bugs out in the wild but her setup is so professional: and more than that, thorough. Each little display has a precise amount of light and plant matter, and is lovingly hand-labelled with a scientific classification and a cute little nickname.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["Shush, before you scare them!" she hisses. You quickly cover your mouth, but you're grinning under your hands. Bugs! You've seen a lot of them out in the wild before, but there's ones here that you couldn't even name! Lucky for you, though, Mantis has clearly undertaken the effort of labelling each display with the scientific designation of each loosely-termed insect, plus a nickname for every single one.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Don't tell me you're scared of bugs," she says, as if the idea really offends her. You shake your head. "That's not it. I just don't know enough about them to really be...comfortable." "Don't be so uptight," she advises flippantly. You roll your eyes, quickly glancing back at the terrariums. Each one is meticulously hand labelled with a scientific designation and a nickname for every crawly.] "You named them?" you ask, almost incredulously. You're learning a lot about the person who skimmed you with a bullet for no good reason. "Someone named you," she shoots back. "I'm the head of entymology and arachnology, not that anyone ever remembers the second one, and I say that every bug needs as much love as my brother gives the dogs. Now quit gawking and come be useful."

She pats her desk and you quickly move to it, setting yourself down in the significantly less comfortable chair she pulled up opposite herself. "That is a book on beetles," she says briskly, tapping the worn hardcover. "These are my drawings of some new specimens. See if you can match any to the pictures in the book." She drops a stack of thick paper with sketchy and yet almost mathematical linework. They're fantastic likenesses of real beetles, and despite her lack of colour she still manages to capture vivid light value. You notice that in the corner, she's written the bug's nickname and left space for its classification. "You have pretty handwriting," you offer without much thought, surprised at how ornate it is. It teeters on the very edge of illegible, but she's obviously doing it on purpose for the sake of the art. She looks up and you think you see her nose turn pink. "Thank you," she returns shortly. "I taught myself out of an old world book of plant diagrams." {(link: "\"Your drawings are great too.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You're so talented!\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You clearly have a lot of love for your work.\"")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (goto: $nextpassage)]}

(set: $done to 1)Now you're sure she's blushing, although she snaps her head abruptly to the side as if to hide it from you. (if: $_reaction is "energetic")["They're diagrams," she corrects you sulkily.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["What did you expect?" she asks sulkily.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Of course I do. It wouldn't be worth doing otherwise," she says sulkily.] You laugh lightly before you can stop yourself and she rolls her eyes and pointedly returns to her diagrams. You settle into your chair, opening up the old, musty book and getting to work. It's peaceful, even if you're a little unsure of your performance; she obviously has exacting standards, so you strive to upset her as little as possible. You're almost a hundred pages deep before you look up. "Mantis?" "What?" "Where am I going to sleep tonight?" She's quiet for a while, then hums lightly. "How should I know?"

(if: $chapter is 0 and $done is 0)[  (set: $passage to 0) (set: $iteration to 0) (if: $route is "c")[(set: $crave to it + 1)] (elseif: $route is "m")[(set: $mantis to it + 1)] (elseif: $route is "t")[(set: $trigger to it + 1)] (set: $nextpassage to ((text: $chapter) + (text: $passage) + $route)) (live: 0.5s)[(goto: $nextpassage)]] (elseif: $chapter is 0 and $done is 1)[  (set: $passage to 0) (set: $chapter to 1) (set: $done to 0) (set: $route to "") (set: $nextpassage to ((text: $chapter) + (text: $passage))) (live: 1.5s)[(goto: "10")]] (elseif: $chapter is 1 and $route is "")[  (set: $passage to 0) (if: $_choice is "Trigger")[ (set: $trigger to it + 1) (set: $route to "t")] (elseif: $_choice is "Crave")[ (set: $crave to it + 1) (set: $route to "c")] (elseif: $_choice is "Mantis")[ (set: $mantis to it + 1) (set: $route to "m")] (set: $nextpassage to ((text: $chapter) + (text: $passage) + $route)) (live: 0.2s)[(goto: $nextpassage)]] (elseif: $chapter is 1 and $route is not "")[  (set: $passage to 0) (set: $chapter to 2) (if: $_saw is "Trigger")[(set: $trigger to it + 1)] (elseif: $_saw is "Mantis")[(set: $mantis to it + 1)] (elseif: $_saw is "Crave")[(set: $crave to it + 1)] (set: $nextpassage to ((text: $chapter) + (text: $passage) + $route)) (live: 1.5s)[(goto: $nextpassage)]]

(transition: "fade") + (transition-time: 3s)[(set: $nextpassage to "trans")When you wake up, it's like you've been asleep for a hundred years. You have no idea what time it is, although you're convinced it has to be the dead of night, where morning is as far away as dusk—it's dark and quiet and infinitely lonely— And then you remember where you are. You jolt up, half expecting someone there to scold you for sleeping in...but no, that would be true of $guardian. These people don't have any expectations of you, or they probably shouldn't if they do. You don't strictly understand what they do here, or why they do it, or how they go about it...but it doesn't seem like anyone is very concerned. You're alone, after all—or you were. (if: $crave is 1)[You remember, foggily, that Crave had led you to a bunk after collecting Fern, and let you know that someone would be by to get you in the morning.](elseif: $trigger is 1)[After Trigger dropped you off at the bunks, it'd been a bit of a production to find pillows and blankets for yourself before falling into an easy slumber, uncertain about what was to come. You expect someone will be by to get you: he wouldn't allow you to wander alone for very long.](elseif: $mantis is 1)[It'd taken some wheedling, but eventually Mantis had been drawn from her work and taken you to a bunk before disappearing back into the hall. Unsure of whether or not you were even supposed to be there, you'd settled into an uneasy sleep, waiting for morning when someone would presumably come get you.] Right on time, (cycling-link: bind $_choice, "Crave", "Mantis", "Trigger") turns the corner, like your confusion acted as a summoning spell.]

"About time." "You could've woken me up," you remind him (cycling-link: "sourly", "playfully", "calmly"), hauling yourself upright. You slept well, despite everything, which of course means that you're confused, disoriented, and feel like you have the density of uranium. He gives you a strange look that you can't immediately place, given how your brain has been buried in wet wool. "You got shot yesterday." (link: "\"So I was sleeping it off?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Right...of course...\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Ugh, don't remind me.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[Trigger shifts uncertainly. "I mean...I guess. Why am I the weird one for letting you sleep?" "You're weird for being annoyed that I was sleeping." "I'm not annoyed," he protests, annoyed. "Could've fooled me."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["That must be why I feel so excellent," you murmur. You can't even remember which leg got shot anymore, which is going to quickly start posing a problem. "So, you're welcome. For letting you sleep." You roll your eyes, refusing to rise to the bait.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[He gives you an odd look, and you make a face at him. "What, do you cherish the memory of the first time you got shot?" "No...I also don't talk about it like I'm being reminded that I have to go shovel shit." "I don't have to do that, right? I have an open wound." You don't, but it's worth pretending just to watch him try to collect himself and brush off your banter.] He looks a little less tired this morning, which was what struck you the most yesterday. You're still firm in your initial assessment—he looks dishevelled in a paranoid kind of way—but you're willing to allow that you'd met him shortly after he was abruptly woken up. You feel a little flush on your neck as you thoughtlessly concede that he's an interesting-looking person, despite the strange blankness of him—like a sapling that you can't identify, blank but brimming with personality. He averts his eyes and you realise that you've been silently watching him for...probably too long. Your skin gets hotter almost in surprise: you've never had to consider whether your mannerisms are strange to people who aren't $guardian. "Anyway, Marsh said I should keep an eye on you today."

(if: $trigger is 1)["Welcome back," you offer, your tone intentionally vague. He snorts faintly, leaning against the wall. "Are you happy to see me again?" "I'm happy to keep an eye on you. I'm not sure if the wonder-twins would be as thorough." On that, the two of you agree: time will tell whether or not being stuck with Trigger will make you better off.](elseif: $crave is 1)["Where's Crave?" you ask curiously. "Busy, for now." He doesn't seem keen to actually tell you anything about the situation, but it occurs to you that maybe it was a little rude to immediately jump to what about anyone else? "No offence, I mean. I don't mind sticking with you." Time will tell whether or not you mean that. "I'm thrilled," he says flatly, and you try not to decide then and there how you feel about him.](elseif: $mantis is 1)["Where's Mantis?" you ask tentatively. You're not exactly surprised that she's not here. "Your guess is as good as mine," he says with a shrug. "Not worried about where she goes?" "Did she give you the impression that she's helpless?" he asks, glancing down at your leg. Point taken.] "What's on the schedule?" you ask, instead of rising to his tone. He looks at you for an almost uncomfortably long time that must only span a couple of seconds, then...shrugs. "I'm security, normally, but as I'm not giving you a free tour of our defences...we're free to do whatever." You swallow back a sigh of frustration—it's too fucking early for Trigger's whole...deal, which apparently hasn't softened overnight. (link: "\"Well, it's still up to you.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Then let's get going!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You're so paranoid.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "cautious")["I don't know anything about this place," you add, in case he decides to take offense to your less-than-enthusiastic response.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[It's the nicest way you can think of to remind him that you've never been here before, so you have no idea what there is to do all day.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["What if I want to go on security rotations?" you ask, even though you fully expect the way his mouth thins in annoyance. "It's not like I know what else goes on around here."] The look he gives you isn't encouraging, and you can almost picture the game of 4D chess he's playing against himself in his own brain. It doesn't have anything to do with you, though, so you just watch expectantly. "Fine...do you need to...I don't know, freshen up or anything?" He's proceeding with a frankly undue amount of caution, but if you force yourself to think on the bright side, then he might end up being a very comfortable warden, predictable in his paranoia. (link: "\"Are you saying I smell?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I...can I be alone for that?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Yeah, actually. Thanks.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["Smell—that's not what I said. Don't most people clean up in the morning?" he snaps, averting his eyes. "Don't make such a big deal out of it." You can resist the urge to laugh incredulously. "Take your own advice! You've been doing nothing but making a big deal out of things since I got here." "And you've been doing nothing but acting sketchy," he hisses back. "By accidentally wandering close enough to something I didn't know was here, getting shot, and then going to bed?"](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Wha—of course you can be alone. We're not animals," he says, flustered by the very implication that he'd be glaring at you while you wash up. "Well I don't know. I haven't really encountered a consistent...tone here." "Are you surprised?" he asks, like it's your fault that one minute everyone is being cautiously nice to you, and then the next you're being surveilled by a furious jerk. "A little, yeah! I haven't done anything!"](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[It sounds nice: you haven't gotten the chance since you left the farm, and you weren't entirely sure that you'd be welcome to make use of whatever facilities this place has. Speaking of..."So, is there a sink somewhere?" "A sink? We have baths." He sounds offended, but also...confused. "O-Oh. I wasn't sure...there were a lot of like...greenhouses and stuff, when I walked through." "So we have running water for the plants but not the people?" His annoyance is edging into amusement, which is...a good thing, you think. "I don't know how it works here!" "Sure you don't. You're just some poor bastard who has no idea what's going on here." He still seems like he's having fun, despite what a total jerk he's being. "I haven't done anything!"] "You show up on the outskirts of our secret facility, wandering randomly down the road. You get shot, which doesn't actually seem to bother you all that much, you refuse medical treatment—" "Which you didn't even want me to have!" "I don't want you here at all." It's such a mean thing to say that it almost loses all its power: you're too stunned to be hurt or annoyed. "Follow me to the baths." (link: "You follow silently.")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "You will NOT go quietly!")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "cautious")[You refuse to give him the satisfaction of a reaction, instead hauling yourself to your feet and following silently as he leads you through the facility. There's fewer people milling around at the moment, so the two of you move quickly without anyone to stop Trigger to talk. You're not sure if he really grasps that you're being quiet on purpose, but you decide that it's still worth it to cut an argument short. ](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["Well I don't want to be here either! I'm not allowed to leave!" "You can't, now. You know where we are. You've seen the inside." He says it with an indifferent certainty, like it's something you should've considered before getting shot and dragged to the facility against your will. You stand to follow him as he strides away, pumping your legs to keep up with this argument. "So what? If I walk for a day in whatever direction, I'd never find you again." "Walk in some particular directions and you get Roach, so I don't think I'm gunna let you do that." Roach, again. "Like the bug?" you ask, exasperated by now. "Don't let Mantis hear you say that."] He swings open two broad double doors, leading in to a room that looks very different than the rest of the clean white facility. While it's the biggest enclosed space you've seen to date, its walls aren't the same cracked white, soil-smeared tile of the main promenade. These walls are sooty-black, and the floors are hard grey concrete. They've clearly broken ground, another deviation from the largely unchanged infrastructure of the main area. Large pools have been dug out from the polished rock, and from the hum of the floor you get the sense that they've also installed some sort of filtration system. "Wow," you manage. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asks. (link: "\"It means wow.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Nothing. I'm impressed.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Nothing. Sorry.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["Roach's warehouse full of unwashed animals not as good?" he asks tauntingly, and you grit your teeth. "For the thousandth time, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" At this point you'd take his silent suspicion over his constant accusations. "Now give me a break and get out."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["It's just the baths," he protests, like the mundane isn't worth the effort of wonderment. That's not how you roll, though, and this is a wholly new experience for you. "It must have been difficult to make work: it doesn't look like the pools or the filtration came with the foundations," you say, stepping forward to do a superficial inspection. (cycling-link: "You like to take things apart, and", "Normally you're not interested in stuff like this, but") if you had the time, you think this would be a great investigative project. "No. As far as the old reports say, this room was filled with garbage when they got here." You try not to look shocked that he volunteered any information at all about the place, but there's a poorly concealed pride on his face. "How old is the settlement?" you ask, since he seems currently happy to discuss the great strides that the place has taken. Nothing shuts him up like cautious prodding, though, and his jaw clenches as his mouth snaps shut. You muffle a sigh. "Right, fine. Forget I asked—just leave me to the baths."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[You snap your mouth shut as if to prevent any questions from escaping: it's easy to forget that these people aren't $guardian, and have far less patience for incessant questions. Although you'd like to know everything about how this room came to be, how it connects to the broader facility, and how they're using their water source for both this and all the irrigation systems you've seen strung up along the walls— Well, it's more important that you don't infuriate your hosts. They already think you're a spy, for some reason. "I'll just...get to it, then," you mumble, and you almost think that Trigger looks embarrassed. For snapping at me like that? The ungenerous part of you is glad.] "I'll be just over there, with my back turned. There's guards posted at the rear doors, so don't try to sneak out." "I hadn't planned to." Maybe you should have had at least some inkling to do so, but the idea of being back out in the world is almost...scary. Not before I'm ready, you decide, before you have to confront the idea of a wide open world and no plan for where you're going. I'll get my bearings here and be better off. "You're going to stay in the room?" "You'll have complete privacy." He seems earnest... (link: "It's still not good enough.")[(set: $_temp to 0)(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "You'll deal with it.")[(set: $_temp to 1)(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_temp is 0)[(set: $trigger_blind to 1)"Don't you think I'm entitled to some alone time?" you demand, offended that he would offer you such subpar privacy. "Not really, but that's besides the point. I have to stay in this room: at minimum, if you slip and smash your skull open or something, I'll need to offer you medical attention," he says gruffly. "I'll be fine!" "It's not about what you think will happen. No one travels Ca—the facility alone." His neck turns a deep purplish-red colour, and you're surprised to have caught him in a slip. What was he about to say? "Well then you'll...throw something over your head!" You don't plan to have your first interaction with these strangers be some kind of peep show—maybe they can't trust you, but they seem pretty fucking eager to demand that you trust them without boundaries! Trigger puts up his hands and slides one of his sweaters off, turning his back and throwing it over his head, going as far as to tie it in front of his eyes. "Happy?" he asks. "You could make me happier by leaving," you grouse, but...it's the best compromise you think you can get, and the most Trigger's offered you even just conversationally.](elseif: $_temp is 1)["No peeking," you warn him sternly, and he just barely and very visibly resists the urge to roll his eyes. "Not interested," he assures you, and you snort. "I'm not worried about you leering at me." (if: $player_headscarf is 0)[You saw the way they all looked at you last night: you think they'd all like to get a reassuring peek at what's under all your layers](else:)[Maybe a little, but your primary concern is that they don't trust you, and so you can't take for granted that they'll just honour any promises they make to you].] You quickly undress and slip under the water, surprised to find that it's hot. You yelp a little and turn towards Trigger, who has, reassuringly, not turned around. "Why is it hot?" you ask, your voice warbling. "You've never used hot water?" he asked skeptically. "No! How does it even get hot?" you ask, peering suspiciously around your head. The ventilation in the room must've been excellent and well hidden, for you to not immediately understand that the water was heated. "Generators. It's amazing what you can do without five people hoarding all the resources," he says, which sounds like another one of those invisible digs at the person he only thinks you are. "Is it safe?" you ask, and you're surprised to see his shoulders soften. "Yeah." His voice is short, but not harsh. "It's fine."

You tentatively slip into the water again, your body shivering at the warmth. Your skin relaxes in a way that's initially alarming, but you find with a little experimentation that it really is...fine. You don't dissolve, nor does your skin start to slough off. It actually feels sort of nice, especially on your road-weary limbs. You must've walked a longer ways than you thought, yesterday. "You know it's bad there, right?" Trigger asks suddenly, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "I know you might not trust the word of someone who's never been, but I...I know the type, you know?" "I really don't," you repeat wearily. It's like putting together a puzzle you can't see. Bad where? Been where? "They don't care about you. You're not united by anything but gullibility, and I'm not trying to be—I've been there. You need something and so you reach for something, but when that thing knows that you need it..." He trails off, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out (if: $trigger is 1)[his bag of candy](elseif: $trigger is 0)[a bag of little yellow-brown balls]. He pops one in his mouth, his legs twitching as if he's agitated. (if: $trigger_blind is 1)[Instinctively you dip under the water, until it becomes clear that he still can't see anything—he just reached reflexively for where he knew the candy would be. ]"It's not good for you. There's other stuff you can do, is what I'm saying." (link: "\"I keep telling you!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I don't know what you\'re talking about.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Thanks, but that's not necessary.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["I don't know what you're talking about! Whatever you're accusing me of doesn't even make sense to me." You sink under the water a little to sulk, and because you don't really want to argue anymore. He sounds strangely vulnerable, which is in sharp contrast to the complete shit he has been. "What's the point of this act?" he mutters. "I don't know if I'd pretend to be a hermit who's never lived in the world before if I wanted to come off as harmless." "That's what I am...but don't be a shit, I've lived in this world. Just not whatever weird corner of it that you're in."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I understand that you don't want to trust me—the feeling's mutual—but I don't know what to say. I don't know what you're talking about." For once the nerves that usually plague you are muted—maybe it's the heat of the water, or else you've just been worn down by his mistrust. "You're really gunna tell me that you're a complete hermit? No contact with the outside world? Raised by feral animals?" "I was raised by—a person," you say, stern until it occurs to you that you almost let slip your only secret.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Better save your speech for someone who really needs it, because I still don't understand what you're trying to say." You do your best to keep your voice genial, to try not to sound worn down by this person that he thinks you are. "So what, you're just a complete hermit? Never seen another person before in your life?" he asks scornfully. "Exactly."] He snorts and relaxes a little, in a...cosmic sense. You're not sure he could actually relax for real, all the way down to the bone. "Not sure if you're doing a masterstroke job of pretending, or just..." "Telling the truth?" He...laughs, sort of. It's more of an exhale, but for once you don't get the sense he's trying to fight with you. "Definitely not that."

The warm water makes it hard to rush, but you're not keen to be exposed for very long. When you're covered again, head-to-toe, goggles and all—and not very comfortably, as you've only got the one set of clothes and are extra paranoid about anyone catching so much as a glimpse of your wrist or being able to make proper eye contact—you take a deep breath and tap Trigger on the shoulder. "Done," you report, and he turns. "Can't tell if that's better," he says, and you shrug. "It's fine. Don't worry about it." "I'm always worried," he reports, which doesn't surprise you at all. "Are you gunna bolt if we go for a walk?" You perk up at the very thought, but it's almost difficult to believe that he's even suggesting it. "Are you going to believe me if I say no?" "No, but just remember that I'm a better shot than Mantis is."

He leads you out of the bathing area by a back door, leading directly back into the wilderness. It's to the place's credit, you think, that the flora seems peaceful: you've never seen an old world building so intact, especially with multiple floors and so much glass. Trigger leads you past the brush, conspicuously avoiding edging close enough to reach—and more notably, reaching out to course correct you when you don't follow the invisible bubble he gives to the woods. "Are you new? Stay away from the woods." (link: "\"What? Why?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"...is something wrong?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"It's okay, they know me.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(set: $_saw to "Trigger")(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["What do you mean why?" "I mean what's your problem now? It's something new every time I turn around, with you." He watches you, his eyes narrowly slightly, trying to figure you out. "Why can't I go near the forest?" "Because it...will...eat...you?" He makes sure to say it slowly, like he can't believe he has to explain it. "That's it?" You reach out and he dives for your arm and then freezes, watching the plants circle your hand like a curious animal. You let a vine circle your wrist and tug playfully, staying still to reassert your calm and deliberate nature. He gapes as the plants retreat.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Yeah, I've been asked to babysit someone with no survival instincts," he grouses, pulling you a little farther from the woods. You go, albeit confused. "Is there something in the woods?" You hadn't met much fauna on your way in, and in the very back of your head—not a conscious decision, but rather a passive observation—you decided it was probably because of the proximity of the settlement. Even predators wouldn't be inclined to fight, unless they were hard up for food. "I don't even understand what's happening right now. There's plants. In the woods. That will eat you." He says it slowly, like you're playing dumb. "I...your treeline doesn't seem particularly aggressive." Of course there's plants that are aggressive no matter what a person does, but if such a plant was so nearby, they probably wouldn't be settled here. As if to demonstrate this to him, you reach out towards the treeline, and he watches in horror as the plants snap around your wrist—and then incredulity as they relent, releasing you.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[You reach out towards the plants and he dives for your arm, yanking it back again more firmly. "Don't do that!" "Hey, relax! I told you, it's fine." He watches in annoyance and poorly concealed stress as you reach back out and the vines predictably snap around your wrist and pull—no rougher than any animal trying to assert dominance over a new element. "The trick is to let 'em know that you're not bothered," you explain, and right on cue the vines relent. "See? No big deal!" Why is he glaring?] "Are you kidding?" (link: "\"About what?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I...no?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"No. It's pretty easy.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["That's not normal," he snaps. "Well pardon me," you shoot back, scowling.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["You think everyone can just do that?" he snaps. "N—...No?" you ask, dread coiling in your gut.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["No, it isn't." "I can teach you, if you want?" you suggest unsurely, starting to feel like you've made some kind of error.] He rubs his forehead, looking around for some sort of answer from the woods. "It's fine. I was taught how to do it when I was a kid." "Where?! Where do you just learn something like that?" he demands. "My...house?" You're not entirely sure what he wants you to say. "Where are you from?" "A farm." "A farm. Of course you are." You're not even sure how to respond to that.

He paces restlessly, and you (if: $player_personality is "cautious")[regret getting comfortable enough to reveal this much about you: this fundamental thing you hadn't even thought might be strange. Their relationship with the flora seems fine: they have greenhouses! How, if they can't communicate?](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[fold your arms over your chest, trying to contain the static ball of frustration fizzling inside your chest. I didn't do anything wrong! Who cares if none of them can do it?](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[wait for him to decide what he's going to say. Clearly he isn't entirely comfortable with you being able to communicate with the flora, which is...strange, maybe even stranger than how they all look. How do they get by without being able to speak to the world around them?] "Is it that big of a deal?" you ask. You're afraid to verbalize your protest, that it isn't like you raised the forest against them: it suddenly seems unwise to suggest that you could. "Marsh has to know," he says finally. "Why?" "What do you mean why?! I just told you, the forest is dangerous. You're not supposed to be able to wave it off like that! People who can do that...you're worth your weight in salt." He says it like the admission is bitter in his mouth. "It means...the chance of you being a spy has gone down significantly." (link: "\"I told you.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"What makes you say that?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Oh...good! Right?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["It's still a possibility," he retorts hotly. "Just...a less likely possibility." "Aw, are we best friends now?" "No."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Because on one hand, I don't think anyone with your...abilities... would get a very warm welcome from Roach. On the other, if I think that, it's something that could be manipulated." "Does that open you up to a nigh infinite amount of worst-case scenarios?" "Yes."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Maybe, but if I believe that wholly them I leave myself totally vulnerable." "So...net zero change?" "As far as I'm concerned, yes."] He brushes a hand through his hair, making it stand awkwardly—it looks like he hasn't washed it in a while, despite the ready access he has to the baths. It strikes you as odd. You and $guardian had a lake behind the farm, usually ice-cold and depending on the season, teeming with insects, and the two of you still diligently cleaned: you have no reason to believe that these strangers are any different. Their compound isn't dirty, most people seem as clean as you'd expect, and hygiene is necessary for health. So what's up with Trigger? (link: "Tidy his hair.")[(set: $_temp to 0)(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Ask him what his deal is.")[(set: $_temp to 1)(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Wait for him to continue.")[(set: $_temp to 2)(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_temp is 0)[Whatever his deal is, he doesn't seem very conscious of the way his hair is sitting on end. You reach up to flatten it—you think you can say with absolute confidence that if you know anything about Trigger, it's that he'd want to look as close to baseline normal as possible. He snatches your wrist mid-reach, glowering down at you. You nearly jump out of your skin at the intensity of his grip—not painful, but stern. "What do you think you're doing?" he asks sharply. (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[You try to jerk your arm back impulsively, but he's not having any of that. Some part of your brain understands—he obviously thinks you were trying to grab him, for some reason. "I'm trying to fix your stupid hair," you mumble, suddenly embarrassed.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[You freeze from head to toe, new to real and immediate threats. It's a little distressing that your first impulse is to stand perfectly still and hope the conflict immediately ends, but more urgently, Trigger is scowling down at you. "Y-Your hair," you explain, trying to find your voice through what feels like a rush river. "Sorry. You messed up your hair."](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[You let the initial shock wash over and through you, then laugh nervously. "Sorry, sorry. You kind of messed up your hair, I was just gunna pat it down. You scared the shit out of me." It's not encouraging that his face doesn't soften, nor does his hand.] The two of you stand in perfect silence, Trigger's hand hard against your wrist and his eyes making you squirm. Finally he drops you, taking a deep breath. "I don't advise reaching for the backs of strangers," he says tightly. "Sorry." It's all you can think of to say, the awkwardness of the moment making it unbearably stuffy under your layers as your skin heats up. "You didn't know," he returns, which doesn't sound as casual as you think he might've hoped.](elseif: $_temp is 1)[It's not like he likes you, you decide, so why not just ask? "Do you use the baths a lot?" you ask, and he whirls on you. "What?" "The baths. Do you use them a lot?" His eyes narrow incredulously. "We're talking about you and your weird plant shit, actually," he snaps, his hair still sticking up oddly. "I was just curious. You seem like a kind of lonely figure." That seems to strike him, but not in the way you might've hoped: he's defensive now. ](elseif: $_temp is 2)[Trigger hasn't given you the impression that he'd be open to so much as the barest implication that you're perceiving him: it's better, probably, that his hair stays as it is, or else you're just inviting an argument. Somehow, though, your silence seems to speak to him: he narrows his eyes. "What?" "What what? I didn't say anything." "You're staring at me." "No I'm not." Your eyes flicker to his hair, but apparently silence only speaks so much and he turns away. ] "We should go see Marsh. She'll want to know about...you." (link: "\"Are you trying to scare me?!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Will she be...upset?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Sure, if you promise to relax a little.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

He opens his mouth to shoot something back—you can't imagine what—when something behind you catches his eye. You turn and see the guard from last night rushing forward, looking wane. "Trigger, Marsh needs you in Receiving." "For what?" The guard either doesn't notice the way Trigger has gone arthritically tense, or isn't concerned about it. You are, a little—his knuckles are white against his gun, drawn nervously, and you think it's pretty fair of you to not be a huge fan of weapons. "Roach sent us a message."(set: $trigger_knows to 1)

- Guardian pronouns

"Are you up?" she asks impatiently, folding her arms over her chest. You scramble out of bed, startled by her vehemence. (if: $mantis is 1)[You can't remember if she'd given you any kind of instruction the night before, or if it matters whether or not she did and only whether or not she meant to.](elseif: $crave is 1)[Your eyes dart around for Crave, or Marsh...pretty much anyone but the person who shot you. No such luck: your hero is missing, and in his place is the sister he saved you from.](elseif: $trigger is 1)[You proved the night before that you have a high tolerance for people who don't like you—Trigger seemed undecided at best—but you're not sure if that extends to someone who doesn't like you so much and for such little reason that she shot you.] She raises her eyebrow and you realise you're just staring at her, completely silent. (link: "\"Yep, I'm up!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I mean. Obviously.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Was I supposed to be up earlier?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "serene")[Your cheerfulness doesn't seem to put her at ease, but you're pretty sure that nothing short of your total disappearance would do that...or maybe some kind of cool bug? You're interested in finding out.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[(if: $player_headscarf is 1)["Took you long enough," she says dismissively, but you consider it your win. By the annoyed roll of her eyes, she's noticed your quiet victory and doesn't approve.](elseif: $player_headscarf is 0)["Is it?" she asks with a raised eyebrow. Admittedly, that one's on you: she has a point. "I'm upright," you say, just for the sake of arguing. "Maybe you're haunted." Definitely not, but you guess she has no way of knowing that.]](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Would've been helpful." "Ah...sorry..." You don't ask why she didn't bother to just wake you up then; she doesn't seem very open to questions, and she's already shot you once. "Whatever."] You lift yourself off your cot, (unless: $player_personality is "cautious")[excited to get going. Today is for exploring, for understanding just what exactly is going on here. It's probably not imperative in your search for $guardian, but this is a whole new world. Did $they know about all these strange people? Or would $they be shocked to learn about this whole new ecosystem too?](else:)[almost sorry to face the morning. Once you abanon sleep, you're faced with the grim reality that you're somewhere entirely unfamiliar with no real plans to move on. Very few people seem to want you here, but you can't leave...and where's $guardian? Why didn't $they tell you about all these strange people? Did $they even know?]

Mantis clicks her fingers in front of your face. "Christ you're interior, aren't you? Stop zoning out and follow me." "Follow you where?" You hadn't thought to ask if they expected you to do anything. (upperfirst: $guardian) would expect it, but it kind of seems like you'd only be in the way: (if: $mantis is 1)[you helped Mantis with her work last night, but that didn't prepare you to do any self-directed work.](elseif: $crave is 1)[you didn't do much last night besides look at the dogs; and you aren't sure that that really qualifies as a useful task here.](elseif: $trigger is 1)[you're fairly certain Trigger would rather leave you in the middle of the woods than let you become even partially aware of the daily tasks that go into keeping this place running.] "I assume you bathe." She raises an eyebrow and you resist the urge to jam the heels of your palms into your eye sockets. (link: "\"I do. Thanks.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Mm...\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Of course I do!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "serene")[It's a struggle to keep your tone in check, but she doesn't notice either way which is exactly why you're doing your best to stay calm: getting upset would only upset you.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[It's the only thing you can safely respond with while maintaining your cool. No point in fighting.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["You don't have to prove yourself to me," she says flippantly, and you feel your chest bubble with frustration. Letting go of a fight is fundamentally against your nature...but she has shot you, which just keeps coming up in the course of your acquaintance.] "Follow me." You slouch behind her, at least comforted that she seems largely indifferent to where you're standing. You can't be that blasé, eyeing her back warily—her firm, sturdy back. Her posture is very straight, almost proud although it feels a little mean to think. You don't intend to insult her—it just adds to the odd little mystery of Mantis. She leads you to a wide, dark room with several deep pools in the middle. The pools look homemade, slight lopsided and crude in the way that suggests they weren't here when the camp arrived at the building. The walls and floor are dark, which is almost surprising considering how bright and open the rest of the camp is. (link: "\"What's this place?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Check for exits.")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Ooh, it's warm in here!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[She turns, cocking an eyebrow. "The baths?" "I know that!" you protest. "I mean..." Well, what you mean is that you have a thousand questions about how it was built, when, by who, why they decided on something so permanent, how it works—but you get the impression that you're not exactly a guest here. You close your mouth, a little disappointed, and she sighs like she's annoyed. "Just ask." "It's fine," you protest, against every instinct you have. She rolls her eyes, and you try to at least be satisfied that you've annoyed her without getting shot again. "Fine, be that way."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[Your eyes dart around quickly, noting a set of large doors that seem to lead outside. Besides that and the doors that you entered through, there isn't any way out. "Nervous?" she asks wryly, and you jump—you hadn't noticed her looking. "Just getting my bearings," you say mildly. Maybe your childhood was spent largely in isolation, but even you mastered the teenage impulse to demur and downplay any strange behaviour. "Well settle down. There'd be more blood if I took you to the slaughter room," she says with a sniff. "The floors are dark," you argue against all your instincts. She snorts. "Fine. You're right and I took you to the murder room."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[She turns to stare at you, like you've broken some sort of critical pattern than she's expected from you. "It's the steam," she says shortly, and you nod. "I know, it's just nice. Fire can get a little smokey, you know?" "I know. I find it too hot." She narrows her eyes, gauging you for a reaction, and you decide to smile. She's doing a lot of frowning, but she doesn't seem upset—just confused. (unless: $player_personality is "serene")[You don't blame her for it; you haven't really been up to banter so far.](else:)[(upperfirst: $guardian) always told you that your relentlessly good mood was bizarre—always in good humour, of course—so at least you're prepared to field Mantis' suspicion.] "Better to make bread with, right?" you chirp. "...sure." You feel humoured, but that's fine: better than being shot.] She folds her arms over her chest. "Well?" "Well what?" "Are you going to use the bath?" she asks. Right. You're not just here to (if: $_reaction is "energetic")[admire the engineering](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[scope the exits](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[discuss heat sources]. (link: "\"Turn around.\"")[(set: $_temp to 0)(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Are you going to stay the whole time...?\"")[(set: $_temp to 1)(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_temp is 0)[Mantis turns on her heel and sits on the ground facing the opposite wall. She did it so readily that you're fairly confident that you're in no danger of her peeping: you can't imagine why she would want to, anyway, unless she means to find out for herself what you actually look like. "Stay turned around," you tell her. "Oh relax," she says, the gesture of her head making it clear that she's rolling her eyes at you. "I don't give a shit what you look like naked." "Not even to try and prove that I'm hiding something?"](elseif: $_temp is 1)["I have to," she tells you shortly. "Or else you could make a run for it and get torn apart in the woods." "Well could you...cover your eyes with something?" You're not eager to get totally undressed around someone who could hear an unrelated noise and turn around to look at you—or do so intentionally. "If you like," she says, pulling her hood up over her head and tightening the strings. It's not exactly complete blindness, but the gesture is appreciated. "But just so you know, I really don't care what you look like naked." "Not even to spy on me?" you ask shortly.] "I've already decided that I was wrong," she says primly. "You're not one of Roach's agents." "Oh?" "Roach isn't smart or patient enough for a long-con, no matter what Trigger says. If you were one of them, you would've been gone by now." She examines her nails indifferently, and you decide that her head's been turned for long enough now that you might as well undress. (link: "\"Glad we're all friends now!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Who is Roach?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I guess my word wasn't enough?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "serene")["Like you're not still a total unknown quantity," she sniffs. "Where are you from?" "Somewhere out in the woods," you say with a shrug. You've read about addresses, and while streets don't really exist anymore you're sure these people use something to track geography. "Mhm. Nowhere specific, right?" "I can't exactly help that. Wouldn't it be sketchier if I was full of perfect answers?" "Mm, that too. I think it'd be a strange play for Roach's agents to decide to play a hermit in the woods who's apparently never even heard of civilization." "Hey, I've heard of it! I've read books," you laugh. "Doesn't sound like this Roach has heard of it." "Roach is an idiot."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Roach is an idiot," she sniffs. "Hardly worth the breath to describe him. Scum." She played at haughty indifference, but there was a simmering resentment there that could easily catch fire—enough, even, to shoot at a random stranger. "I take it that he's not allowed here." "An understatement. I'd cave his skull in if he were in front of me." Mantis isn't the most physically intimidating person you've ever seen in your life, but there's a certain conviction in her voice that tells you that even if she couldn't smash this man's head in, she'd give it her best shot.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["You're right, it wasn't," she says indifferently. "Here in reality, it's considered stupid to just take people at their word as they're trying to convince you they're not dangerous." "But I was right!" "And what if you weren't? Besides, being stupid instead of duplicitous doesn' mean you won't be a threat eventually. You seem easily tricked." "You don't know anything about me!" you protest, and she snorts. "That's my point. Knowing that you're not associated to that scum doesn't mean you're not dangerous."] "Who is this guy?" you ask. It feels like you've been asking a lot and not getting any answers. "Is he like...does he do what you all do here, with the bugs and the plants and stuff?" "No. He's not smart enough, and even if he was then he wouldn't do it like we do it. Maybe he does study plants—or hire or coerce people to do it—but if he does, then he does it so he can figure out how to hurt people. He's a warlord, trying to reclaim ground for humanity—even if he has to take that ground from humanity to do it." She slouches and you soak into the water.

"Sounds personal," you offer. "It is." She doesn't continue, though, which you imagine was an admonishment more than anything else. The two of you fall into an awkward, sullen silence while you test the water. Part of you had been unnerved by the concept of stepping into water so hot that it steamed the whole room—like your skin would soften and slough away, or the only slightly less gross idea of marinating in your own soup—but so far you just feel some tension unwind from your muscles. "You know, you don't have to play dumb about knowing of Roach. Everyone's heard of him." "Not me. I grew up with just...well I was raised pretty isolated, then the other day I went back to my family farm after scavenging and a bunch of strange looking people were tearing my house apart: the walls, the floors, the fields..." You clamp your jaw shut, unwilling to revisit the moment just now. "So here I am." "Sounds like you've seen his goons, even if you'd never heard of them before." You wonder if she's right, before shrugging that idea off. "It was just a little farm. Why would a warlord put forth so much effort just to ruin my day?" Surely there'd be some cost involved, even in just expending the human resources to hit the little, isolated patch of farmland. Mantis slouches lower. "It's not about what he gains. It's not even about sending a message. He does it do be cruel: that's the point."

You sink a little deeper under the water: under there, your anxiety floats in your chest instead of weighing you down like an anchor. "That doesn't make any sense," you protest. "Who's expending that much energy on being miserable on purpose?" "People who feed on it. Monsters. Are you almost done?" She looks shivery, like she's trying to tamp down on her fidgeting. You shake off the gloom and reach for one of the misshapen, hard-edged bars of soap labelled NEW (TAKE ONE) and a folded cloth from a hard-scrubbed pile of fabric whose colours are fading. "Getting to it," you assure her. "Sorry, got distracted!" (link: "\"You're fun to talk to.\"")[(set: $_temp to 0)(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Got a little heavy for a second.\"")[(set: $_temp to 1)(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_temp is 0)["Are you just saying that because I told you I had no reason to shoot you again?" she asks mildly, and you snort. "It didn't hurt, honestly." The soap smells like earthy herbs—$guardian always made $their's with the lavender they grew against the house, to peek over the window sills.](elseif: $_temp is 1)[You try to scrub off the feeling with the soap that smells sharply like herbs—rosemary and basil, rather than $guardian's lavender recipe. "Things tend to, when you talk about warlords," she hums. "Should I have been lighter?" "No, I'm just saying: I need time."] You bathe in silence for a little while, casting occasional glances at her back to make sure she hasn't turned around. It's a paranoid little impulse—you expect that if she saw you, she'd make a noise. You almost made a noise when you saw her and her brother, with only your bullet wound keeping you from more open shock at their blankness. "So where do you intend to go?" Mantis asks, stretching her legs out in front of her. (link: "\"I haven't decided yet.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Does it matter?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Why should I tell you?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "serene")["I mean, I clearly don't know a lot about life outside the farm," you say with a shrug. "Why were you just wandering around then?" "I told you, they were at my farm—" "No, I meant...where were you going after that?" You look down at the water, staring down at your hands through the prismatic water. "You know. Around," you hum. "Wherever."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I'm here now," you remind her, trying to stay on task. "No one's gunna raise an army to come find me." "Well thanks for introducing me to that concern. You didn't have a plan?" "I had one," you lie. "It just doesn't matter anymore."](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["Is this a sting? Are you gunna track me down if I try to run?" you ask, not quite confrontational but definitely argumentative. "Oh please. You're not going to run off," she snorts. "And if you do, you won't make it far at all." "Rude." "We're surrounded by plants." "So?"] You sand, reaching for a towel. "Just a jaunt through the woods for kicks. No big deal, right?" "Exactly." You towel off and quickly start to pull your clothes back on. "You can turn around now." She does, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't sound like you were joking: about the woods." She pulls herself to her feet and stretches. "I wasn't. Why would I be?"

"You expect me to honestly believe that you just wander the woods like it's nothing?" she asks, and you feel suddenly awkward—like when you first saw the empty people rushing towards you after the gunshot. "What do you mean?" "The plants?!" "They're fine so long as you don't bother them." You wonder if this is another test, but you can't tell how you're supposed to get through this one. Apparently your complete and total ignorance of the very concept of the man named Roach finally convinced everyone that you've never heard of a man named Roach: surely these people aren't against the idea of plants, or else they wouldn't have greenhouses, or this expansive building hidden in the green...but then why is she so surprised that you don't have trouble navigating the woods? "And you're so unobstrusive that no plants ever bother you?" (link: "\"I mean...mostly, yeah.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Look, let's just drop it.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Maybe you're just...obstrusive.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "serene")["I mean sometimes you have to be a little cautious, but..." You trail off, not entirely sure what you mean to convey to her. You don't think about taking walks in the woods. Why would you?](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Drop this absurd story you're telling me?" she asks, raising her eyebrow. "It's not absurd, I just...I don't know what you're asking me!"](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["And maybe you're full of shit," she says, raising an eyebrow. "I am not!" You don't even know what you would be lying about.] "All right, you fucking clown, prove it." "Prove...what?" She makes a beeline towards the exterior door—not the one you entered through, but one through which you can see the treeline and the occasional passing patroller. "Go sit out in the green, if it's such a picnic."

The guards cast you both odd looks as you march out towards the treeline, Mantis looking smug while you must mostly seem confused. You follow, though, stopping when she stops a good six feet from the actual flora. "Go on then," she says smugly, then gnaws her lip when you do. "Come on," she protests, and you roll your eyes and come to a halt. "What do you want? Do you want me to go in or not?" you ask, exasperated. "I don't want you to kill yourself just to show off!" "Touching concern, considering you shot me," you remind her. "Exactly—you know how much trouble I'll be in if you get ripped apart my plants on my watch?" She folds her arms over her chest and you shake your head, headed back towards the woods. "What are you doing?" (link: "\"Proving a point!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Putting a stop to this.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Just watch, okay?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

Honesty and determination got you through the Roach thing—at least in Mantis' eyes—so you're now determined to just demonstrate your rapport with the plants to prove that the planet doesn't hate you and be done with it. You approach the treeline and a few vines snake out to investigate the vibrations you make with every step. "Zed!" Mantis calls, panicked. They lash out instinctively and you hold still. I'm just passing by, you tell them. The people here need to trust me. They respond with inquisitiveness, hesitating even as they wrap around your legs: a fair response, as the plants lack the complicated social nature of humans. You're not sure you can convey the cold dread of the wary, frozen look that Mantis is giving you. They're the only people I've met so far. I need their help. You haven't decided what for yet—they might be able to help you find $guardian, but that requires trusting them enough to tell them about $them. Right now they're helping you not get lost in the woods, but it remains to be seen whether or not that's good or bad. I need them to not hate me, you decide, and the vines understand aggression and symbiosis well enough to relent, only tugging you playfully before slipping back into the treeline like snakes. You turn to Mantis, who is somehow whiter than usual. (link: "\"Happy now?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"See? Nothing to it.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"There. Told you.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(set: $_saw to "Mantis")(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[You grin defiantly, only deflating when Mantis remains still and rigid.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[You smile encouragingly, unsettled when she doesn't relax.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[Your shoulders tense along with hers, nervous when she doesn't so much as blink.] It occurs to you that this wasn't a test at all. "What the fuck was that?" she asks, and you shift awkwardly. "I told you. The plants are fine." "They attacked you." "Of course they did. We worked it out, though." Pretty easily too: you've been waylaid by plants with less valid concerns for much longer. "You just need to tell it to them in a way they understand." "You were talking to them?" (link: "\"Uhh...\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Well, not exactly...\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I, uh...was I?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["No?" you try, and she narrows her eyes. Wrong answer, then. "I mean it's not really talking—"](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["It's actually more like a communication of concepts. It can take a little while, since they don't experience certain things the way we...do." Actually you're not sure how Mantis experiences things, but she at least seems to participate in the same civilization as you. Not that I've been a very active participant, you think grimly.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I was just—I mean, it's not quite..." You hate that it only just occurred to you to not do this, to not reveal this to them after she reacted mockingly to the idea that it was possible. Stupid, stupid, stupid, you think as she glares at you.] "We need to talk to Marsh," she says, her voice shaking. "Do we?" You'd really rather this stay between the two of you, now. "We could just forget this ever—" "We're going to see Marsh," she snaps. "Okay, but I'm suddenly thinking it's not such a good idea—" "Manny!"

The two of you turn to Crave, who bursts through the door, out of breath and shaking. "Manny, shit. Come on." "What?" She reaches out to him and he grabs her hand, starting to drag her. "Fuck, Crave, what's going on?" Crave shudders to a halt, still fidgeting but almost unsettlingly still compared to the state of panic he was in before. He brings his hand to his mouth, gnawing on the knuckle of his thumb so hard that it looks painful: he speaks around it, muffled but damningly comprehensible. "Roach sent a messenger." (set: $mantis_knows to 1)

"Morning!" he calls, leaning against the wall and peering over at you curiously. You suppose you must look odd: you don't usually go to bed with gloves on, but you hadn't thought about it long before deciding to do so last night. "How'd you sleep?" "Fine," you (cycling-link: "tell him", "lie"), rolling your shoulders. "Yourself?" "Oh, just...fine..." he says haltingly, his eyes flickering around the room. "Sorry. Sorry, I just...(if: $crave is 1)[kind of thought I imagined you last night, maybe?](else:)[kind of figured you'd be gone by now? No offence.] I mean obviously Marsh told me this morning to go get you so I knew you'd be here, but..." He scrubs his hand against the back of his neck. "Sorry. Sounds stupid to say out loud like that." "Not at all," you assure him groggily, struggling up to your feet. "Here I am." "There you are," he agrees. "You wanna have a bath? You've had a long night." (link: "\"Only if I'll be left alone.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You guys have that much access to water?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Oo, yes please!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "cautious")["What do you mean?" he asks, shifting back and forth on his feet. "Well I don't want to get stared at while I bathe." You're not sure how they do things around here—back home, you would have hesitated before heading to the river without $guardian: what if there was a plant you couldn't reason with, or an animal that you couldn't speak to at all? Here, though, the more people there are in the bathing area, the bigger the risk you're taking. "Oh, no. I'd have to be there to keep you safe and all but no worries: I'd turn my back and everything. Not a peep, pinkie swear." He does literally reach out with his pinkie, and you hesitantly return the gesture.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[You'd hope, at least, that they're not also bathing in their drinking water, but you'd expect a society that's doing that isn't also putting together any biology programs. "Oh, you should see it," Crave says with a grin. "None of our current engineers were involved in building it and they still talk about it like their own fucking kids." "Building what?" you ask curiously, and he beams. "You'll see."](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[Your last bath was...not recent enough, especially given how you've been wandering the wilderness and the adrenaline sweat from your bullet wound adventure. You don't think you're so far gone that you should be embarrassed, exactly, but it'll be a relief to not worry about any hygiene escalation. "Bet you've never seen anything like what we got," he says, picking up on your excitement.] You follow him back through some hallways that look the same as last night—the entire building is uniform on such a large scale that it boggles the mind to try to picture its life before all these guerilla biologists made their home inside, like ants in an abandoned hive. "Have you lived here long?" you ask Crave, jogging to his side. You can't help but fall behind—his legs are long and his energy comes in excited bursts. "Yeah, I guess. Me and Manny showed up when we were just kids—uh, grown kids, you know? Teeangers, I guess is what people call them." He cackles nervously. "We were shoo ins, what with me and Fern and Manny's bugs."

(if: $metFern is 1)["Did you already have Fern?" you asked, looking around for the dog. Crave notices and grins. "Yeah, we met out in the wilds on our way over. She's out socializing right now—needs to spend time with girls her own age, you know?" You don't—Fern's the first dog you've ever known—but you're willing to believe that Crave knows what he's doing.](else:)["Who's Fern?" you ask, and Crave starts. "Oh, right, you've never met her. She's my dog—real special girl." At your blank look, he grins. "Never seen a dog?" he asks, and you shake your head. "Well, once they're done with their play time I'll have to bring you to the kennels." "Are they...safe?" You're less sure around animals than you are around plants: flora shares instincts that drive them absolutely, but fauna operate by social convention and necessity. "Oh yeah, for sure!"] The two of you come to a set of wide double doors that Crave carelessly elbows open, and you feel a rush of warm steam billow out into the hall. You (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[dart in behind him, eagerly keeping step and desperate to find the source of all the warmth](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[slink in behind him, looking around for what's making it so warm](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[wander in behind him, peeking around the corner to try and find the heat source]. When you get inside, Crave throws his arm out to gesture to a couple large pools of water that hum softly with what you assume (and hope) is a filtration system. (link: "\"Holy shit!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"But...it's hot?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Wow!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["Right?" Crave laughs as you burst past him, your eyes darting around. "Our little spa." "It's warm! How is it warm?!" You fidget restlessly, resisting the temptation to take something off and dip it into the water. "Some kinda internal thing."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Yeah! Great, right?" he asks, standing very carelessly on the edge of the pool. You watch with a low hum of anxiety. "Is it safe?" Hot water is for cooking—this stuff isn't boiling or anything, but why keep it warm? "Course it is. Feels great."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Wow wow wow wow," you repeat, kneeling by the edge of the pool. You can't take anything off to try out the water, but you imagine your muscles unwinding and your skin prickling in the heat. "Wow!" "Never had hot water?" he asks, and you shake your head. "You're in for a fuckin' treat."] "And no one's gunna walk in?" you ask, eyeing the unlocked door. "Nope. I warned them off," he says confidently. "And if I know Trigger, he'll figure that's not good enough and send guards. He thinks I'm a soft touch." (link: "\"Better than a raging dick.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Are you?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Nothing wrong with being kind.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["Ah, Trigger's not that bad. Twitchy, sure, but he's reliable." Crave seems like the type of person who doesn't have to dig deep to find things to like about other people. It's an admirable trait, and one that reminds you that if there's anyone that Crave doesn't like, to steer clear.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Well don't tell anyone, but yeah. Doesn't everyone get a little bummed out to see other people disappointed?" Clearly not, or else you wouldn't have made your way here in the first place; but it's a sweet perspective.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["That's what I say; works out all right for me, anyway," he says with a shrug, looking a little flushed. He seems like a genuinely nice person, which is a bit of a novelty on your first adventure away from the farm; and it's much appreciated.] "Anyway, lemme turn my back here." He turns on his heel and sits down, and you shift awkwardly. Is this really okay? You look at the door again, then back at Crave, who's sitting still and not turning even as it becomes obvious that you're not moving. I need to bathe, you reason, and of all the people here, Crave seems the least likely to flip out if he does see something...but also the most likely to tell on me. You're decided, finally, when it occurs to you that you only have the one set of clothes. Not bathing will become an issue sooner rather than later, so you hastily strip down and dip into the hot water, jolting in surprise. "You like it?" Crave asks. (link: "\"Holy shit, yes.\"")[(set: $_temp to 0)(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I can't decide.\"")[(set: $_temp to 1)(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"It's...something.\"")[(set: $_temp to 2)(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_temp is 0)[You feel yourself unwind—rather than the worst case scenario, which was your skin softening to a point where it sloughed off like a potato in a pot, which was admittedly a bit far-fetched as far as worst-cases went, your muscles tremble as they relax. You could fall asleep like this. "Glad you're enjoying it," Crave says, and you believe that he means that; just joy for the sake of another person.](elseif: $_temp is 1)["It can be a bit much at first, but give it a few and you'll wonder how you ever handled rivers," he assures you, and you sink a little lower. Part of you is afraid to lose that familiarity with benign struggle, like you'll be made weaker for it. It's just a bath, you remind yourself, trying to enjoy the way you feel like you're skin is opening up like a crust on baking bread.](elseif: $_temp is 2)[You're not sure why anyone would go to such an effort for something like this: river water is cold, but it's bracing. You feel like you could fall right back asleep now, so you can't imagine how you're going to face the rest of the day. "Relax a little," Crave advises. "I know it can be weird to try and get used to doing nice things just to feel good." You start, a little surprised at his evaluation. Is that my problem? you wonder, thinking of the bracing cold that you wouldn't have described as pleasant.] You reach out and grab a bar of soap made of earthy-smelling herbs—basil and rosemary, if you had to guess—and get to work. "Are these usually communal?" you ask, and watch him nod in the other direction. "It doesn't have to be, mind you, but there's really no use trying to install a private bath for every person in here. No infrastructure for it, not to mention space—I mean you've already seen that we sleep communally too." You wonder how it all works: you've definitely been in moods where you've struggled to try and find a spot to be completely alone for a while, and you and $guardian were just two people. (link: "\"Does it ever feel like too much?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You must have a lot of patience.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I don't know if I could handle that.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[He snorts, loud and unexpected. "I mean yeah. Fuck. It's too much all the goddamn time. People are noisy and loud and look at you way too fuckin' hard for no reason, but..." he trails off, pensive for a moment, then heaves a heavy shrug. "Me and Manny were alone on the road a while. It's not better. So, I adapt as best I can and try to remember that people don't mean to stare at me or talk weird or whatever the hell else they're doing that's making me feel like I'm in the middle of a stampede crossed with an explosion." "Is it hard?" you ask. (cycling-link: bind $player_nd, "You feel the same so often", "It sounds difficult, next to impossible"), so you ask before you can think better of it. "Impossible, sometimes, but not more impossible than just disappearing into the woods, so..." Another shrug, this one a little lighter.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[You can't see what face he's making, but when he speaks again his tone is wry. "Have to, you know? When things get hard, I usually...I mean, I'm good by now at knowing that it's me." He tilts his head back and forth, the shakes it. "Not to be hard on myself or anything, I just mean that I've definitely noted that no one else is crawling out of their fuckin' skin because someone else is staring them right in the fuckin' eyes for no reason." "That must be hard on you," you say, feeling a little awkward. (cycling-link: bind $player_nd, "You've definitely felt the same way", "You can't imagine how hard that must be"), so your heart goes out to him. "Comes and goes," he says dismissively. "Better here, where people have the sense to look away if I'm uncomfortable. There'll always be the little things, but you just cope as well as you can, right?"](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I'm sure you could," Crave says flippantly. "It's not easy, but you learn to cope. Take me: I fuckin' hate when people look me in the eye. Makes my skin crawl, and I don't understand why people do it—and sometimes it feels like everyone in the fuckin' building suddenly decided that if they aren't staring right at my face then the whole complex comes crashing down: but I cope. If I can do it, anyone can." "Don't sell yourself short," you protest. (cycling-link: bind $player_nd, "You understand better than he thinks", "What he's doing is impressive"); coping, to use his words, is no small feat. "Eh, I oversell it. People here are smart enough to just look away if I start twitching but I mean...you get it." He flushes with the praise—down his neck and, you imagine, down his back—and for some reason you do too, grateful that he's not looking.] "So...what's up with you?" Crave asks. "Pardon?"

"Sorry, I just mean like—you're out here, right? And you seem kinda new to it—no offence—so like...what's got you out here?" he asks, and you take a moment to consider. Crave seems trustworthy insofar as you don't think your story is actually harmful. You're really just wandering, looking for $guardian—or more accurately, hoping $they just turns up, wondering where you were this whole time—but you're not sure of your own story. A question suddenly plagues you, one you hadn't even thought to ask before your world suddenly quadrupled in size, leading you to this moment right here in the bath. Who were the people who destroyed the farm house? You'd been perhaps embarrassingly willing to accept the event as some sort of act of the universe, as natural as if a tornado had slid in and ripped your home from its foundations. It never occurred to you that unlike hurricanes and earthquakes and coyotes and plants, people act with intent and, frequently, independently of their instincts. You can see a storm breach the horizon and you can follow a bear as it migrates for food, but how can you predict what drives a person?

Without knowing so many details—why it happened, who did it, and the myriad ways in which those answers could open up a thousand more questions—you can't confidently say that your story is just a random tragedy, a confusing and miserable stamp on an otherwise unremarkable lifetime. Without being able to say that, you can't say that your story will qualify as benign enough for Crave to not tell someone else. Having to leave the safety of numbers, into a world where the people are less predictable than even the most dangerous plant, is just as unbearable as the thought of being forced to stay. At least here, the people are in their own element. "Zed?" Crave shakes you from your thoughts, and you shrug. "Sorry, I was just...thinking." You need to be here longer before you start telling people things: your priority has to be your own safety, (if: $player_personality is "cautious")[because it's nobody else's](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[even if you'd really like to get to know everyone honestly](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[for now; you're sure that it won't take long for everything to settle down]. "You don't have to tell me," Crave says. "Just makin' conversation." (link: "\"Thanks. Things have been pretty crazy lately.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Sorry. I just don't want to talk about it.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I appreciate that, thanks.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["Well your incredible journey started with finding a secret facility, so I'd say crazy is a fair way to describe it," he says with a laugh. No wonder they'd all been so anxious about sequestering you inside, if you weren't supposed to be able to find it in the first place.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Don't be sorry. None of my business," he reassures you. The knot in your gut unwinds minutely—you don't think anyone else would be quite as understanding about you keeping your cards close to your chest.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["No problem. I'd always rather have someone tell me they don't wanna answer than just lie to me." "Same!" You're starting to think that Crave might be the only truly sensible person in this place.] You rush through the rest of your bath, eager to put time and space between the question of who you are and where you came from. When you're finally dressed and ready again, you're almost relieved when Crave turns around and grins; talking to the back of his head was starting to feel unsettling. "You wanna head towards the fields?" "What's in the fields?" you ask, and he grins. "Dogs! They'll be just finished exercising, so nice and sleepy for meet and greets—that all right with you?" (link: "\"Really sleepy, right?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Of course it is!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Sure! Lead the way.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "cautious")["As tired as they get," he promises, gesturing for you to follow. You do, a little apprehensive. (if: $crave is 1)[You remember the dogs from last night with some mild hesitation. They were sleepy last night too, and so were you: now there's not a lot in between you and them besides Crave](else:)[Maybe it's a failure of imagination, but you can't help but imagine that dogs must be large—they need a whole field to exercise in, after all].](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[He's clearly pleased by your excitement, stepping ahead to guide you without looking back. (if: $crave is 1)[You didn't get a great look at the dogs last night—you were tired, they were tired, it was late—so you relish the idea of not only getting to see them in the light of day, but getting to see them in their element!](else:)[Maybe you're getting ahead of yourself, but any animal that Crave would spend time with must surely be a sweet thing. Are they big? Small? Most of your experience with animals was with the brave ones that would raid the fields.]](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Follow me," he says with a nod, setting off with purpose. You follow, squinting into the distance to try and see where you're headed. (if: $crave is 1)[You remember what the dogs look like...vaguely, maybe. You're not sure that you'd recognise them in the light of day, in their own element](else:)[You can't really picture the dogs that he wants to go see—you think they must be large, or else they could use some of the spare space inside the facility to exercise them].] The two of you follow a small path near the treeline, and you hum as you pass so the plants inside can tell you're not doing anything in particular. Crave picks up your tune unconsciously, but you notice that he stays much closer to the actual building, occasionally even checking his path and skittering further from the bush. Odd. You watch him do it a couple more times, enough that you definitely don't think that it's an accident. "Crave?" you ask, and he pauses and turns—and his face goes white. "Zed—" And your world turns upside down.

Your head spins as you're lifted by your ankle and tugged into the treeline, luckily only your elbow smashing against a hard trunk. You hear Crave shouting and shake your head, trying to steady your vision. Stop! Stop! Let's talk! you urge the vine wrapped around your ankle, and it pauses. Danger. Noise, it tells you, and you instinctively shake your head no, even though the plant can't see nor glean meaning from that. Announcing myself. Not sneaking, you explain, and feel yourself being lowered towards the ground. You hold out your hands to catch yourself—plants and gravity have a very different relationship than the one gravity has with your bones—and stagger to your feet. Unintentional. Acceptable—mistake. Leave. You can't even see the root of the plant, indicating that you weren't taken far. You squint to find the edge of the woods and take off towards it, minding your footing so you don't bring down a totally different wrath on yourself. When you burst from the treeline, you're alone. "Crave?" you call, and just down the path you see him turn and stare. "Zed?!"

He jogs back and grabs your shoulders, turning you on the spot to check for...injuries, you guess. It's a nice thought, but you're a little more considerate than that—you wouldn't have waited for the plant to be incited to violence before clearing up the misunderstanding. "Are you all right?" he asks frantically, and you nod. "A little shaken up, but it was just a mistake. You know plants...all vocalizations are kind of the same to them," you say, and he frowns. Oh? "Oh. We were making noise—sorry, Zed, I didn't even realise that I'd started humming," he says, his face drawn guiltily. "I started it," you reassure him. "I thought it'd help reassure the plants, but they took it as a show of aggression." He frowns again, and you try to puzzle him out. "Not their fault," you remind him. "They just hear noise." "How do you know that?" he asks. (link: "\"It...told me?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I...what do you mean?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"What do you mean? I asked it.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "serene")["The plant told you?" he asks, and you nod. "Like it...talked?" "I mean. You know how plants are," you say with a shrug, and judging by the look on his face, no, he absolutely does not. "I didn't like...talk out loud. I just communicated." "How?" he repeats, and you smile nervously. "Do you...not?" you ask.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I mean you're talking about the plants like you know a lot about them," he says, his tone as uncertain as yours. "I just don't get how." "I know a lot about plants," you say, reserved. You can't answer until you know what exactly he doesn't understand. "You know how they think?" he asks, and you gnaw your lip. "I don't...I just..." you stop and start, feeling your throat shrink as he watches you. What is it? What doesn't he understand?](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["You talked to the plant?" he asks, surprised. You tilt your hand back and forth to indicate that he's warm, but not exactly right. "I mean, you know how plants are. I just kind of...communicated." He stares at you, like he's not entirely sure how to feel. "Plants don't talk, of course," you clarify, shifting your weight back and forth. "Then how are you talking to it?" he asks. "I mean I just...do. I don't know all the ins and outs of it." You've never really thought about it.] "I'm...not sure what's going on here," he says, and you agree wholeheartedly, although you avoid vocalizing your own confusion. It's occurring to you all at once that the blankness of these strangers has potential consequences: maybe they really don't understand how to communicate with the world around them. But...the hidden building in the green, all their greenhouses...how do they maintain it, if they aren't communicating? "You talk with plants." (link: "\"It's not talking.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Uh, yeah, kind of...\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Don't say anything.")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[It's pedantic, but maybe he just doesn't understand what you mean. "It's like...I don't know, like when you look at someone and nod and you both know what it means." Although with people, you're starting to understand that that sort of connection is a product of time and intimacy...which isn't quite the same thing as connecting with a plant.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[You decide not to correct him: it's not like you talk to plants like you'd talk to him, but you think it might be a little offensive to explain that because he's completely blank, you decided not to try to connect with him on that level...something that seems to have been the right move. "We communicate," you confirm tactfully.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[You feel frozen, your whole body stiff and afraid. It's not him; he's not even frowning anymore, but his eyes are narrowed like he's trying to dissect you. You try to muster something—anything—to say, but it all turns to smoke before it can get out of your chest. "Zed?" he asks, and you nearly jump. "I...I don't," you stammer. "I j-just...I get them."] "Where'd you learn to do something like that?" he asks. "Just practice." Of course you weren't able to have full conversations with plants right away—you had to learn what they understood and what was too complex or foreign to their experience to discuss. They can talk about the weather, but they don't understand having an argument with someone you live with. Crave takes in your answer, gnawing thoughtfully on his thumb for a moment until he decides what he wants to say. "Are you fucking with me?" "What?"

(set: $_saw to "Crave")"Are you fucking with me?" he repeats. "I just...I can't tell, and the whole disappearing into the bush thing was fucked up. I dunno how you would've faked it but..." "I'm not!" you assure him earnestly, almost embarrassed that he could think that about you. It's fair—he hasn't known you for a whole day yet—but makes you worry about your demeanor. "I'm not, I just...I thought everyone could do it," you admit, (if: $player_nd is 1)[your eyes darting away from him](else:)[remembering at the last second that he doesn't like to make eye contact and looking away]. "No one ever told you they couldn't?" he asked. You can't possibly tell him that you've never met anyone else, so you deflect. "Everyone I know can." "Where did they learn?" You don't have an answer for him: not one with a neat and tidy explanation that makes you sound less like you're making shit up, from the perspective of someone who's skeptical that the thing you're talking about even exists. The only thing you can do, at least, is show him that you're not lying.

You look over to the brush, then tilt your head to indicate that he should follow. You notice again that he keeps far away from the treeline, even when you step close to stick your hand in. Another vine grabs you, startled by your sudden movement. Sorry. Didn't mean to upset you. Brat. Startled. I know. Sorry. Unintentional. The vine loosens and lets you go, and you turn to Crave. "See?" "I...saw." He gnaws the knuckle of his thumb, staring intently at your arm and the woods, as if he's going to see the invisible string that you're using to pull this all off. "You...talked to it, then?" "Communicated, yes." You don't know how to explain it, but there's no point in relying on an inaccurate description of what you're actually doing. "I...what do you think?" "Dunno," he says. "Maybe we should talk to Marsh about it." "Why?!" You step backwards, not sure what you plan to do. Run? To where? "I dunno, I just...I don't know, okay?" A new voice asserts itself, and maybe the last one you want to hear right now. "Crave!"

Mantis is storming towards the two of you, and you feel the need to run battle much harder with the reality where you don't know where you would go, and running would alienate these people from you. She isn't looking at you though—her eyes are only for her brother, and she takes his wrist and starts to drag him back towards the facility without even acknowledging that you're standing there. "Where's the fire?" he asks, trying to slow her down. "Roach sent a little bug," she says from between gritted teeth. "How?" he asks incredulously, and Mantis doesn't even need to look at you for you to feel the weight of her gaze. (set: $crave_knows to 1)

(set: $nextpassage to "21t")(transition: "fade") + (transition-time: 3s)[Trigger doesn't ask you to follow him, but you do anyway: Roach is too tempting a target to not examine in person, even if it's only an envoy. Finding the camp by accident got you shot just last night, so it's curious that a much bigger and more real threat has made it past defences and to Receiving on their own. There's a crowd of people milling around just outside the wide double doors that Trigger burst through last night, but you note that everyone is canny enough to very nearly sense his presence and quickly scatter, parting a path through the nosy onlookers straight to the entrance. Once more he throws open the doors, and you (if: $player_personality is "serene")[drift in after him: if you weren't allowed to follow, surely someone will say something](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[hesitate for only a second before diving in after him: you'll just hang out on the peripheries and hope no one notices you](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[burst through right on his heels: like hell are you missing out on this]. Crave stands with his sister, his face concerned but his arm almost casually thrown around Mantis; you realise, studying them closer, that his arm is straining and Mantis is leaning forward, a patient predator waiting for his grip on her to loosen. Marsh stands firmly in front of a stranger—another blank person—with Jinseo behind her, his eyes trained to the back of her neck. Outwardly, Marsh is a pillar, but there's a softness that you sense, almost the same way that plants communicate: a shivering, gooey interior that cringes away from the intruder. You (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[fall just behind Trigger, far enough to observe without sacrificing the view](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[sink into the background, watching what Trigger does carefully](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[drop back, giving Trigger space to do whatever he plans to do]. He raises his gun and aims it at the back of the stranger's neck. (link: "Your hair stands on end.")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "You clamp your hands over your mouth, feeling sick.")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "You feel yourself clench all over in anticipation.")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]]

(if: $_reaction is "serene")[That seems to throw her off script for a moment, but she recovers quickly enough that you see why she was chosen as leader. Blink and you would've missed her confusion. "And you," she offers, and you nod in response.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")[She gives you a puzzled sort of look that lasts for all of a heartbeat, as if she hadn't expected you to say what you did; you...wish you understood these people better, as it's sort of nerve wracking that you can't predict how they'll react to you even with your hood on. "It's not your fault; we try to stay hidden," she says with a smile that tries to put you at ease.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Unfortunately things worked out this way instead," she says with what is still an apologetic smile despite the flash of annoyance in her eyes. You don't blame her: your injured self has determined to not be cooperative with anybody, least of all people who are at least outwardly on your side. Her diplomacy is astounding.] "Marsh, I think we oughta bring Zed here back to camp," Crave pipes up from his spot, crouched a little ways away from you now as he was briefly relieved of the pressure of his leader's gaze on him. "I haven't been able to look at the scrape and I think we owe $him to dress it up a little." {(link: "Oh no.")[ (set: $_reaction to "cautious") (set: $player_opinion to 0) (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Oh?")[ (set: $_reaction to "energetic") (set: $player_opinion to 1) (goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Oh...kay...")[ (set: $_reaction to "serene") (set: $player_opinion to 1) (goto: $nextpassage)]}

{<h3>(link: "(1) The Morning After")[ (set: $chapter to 1) (set: $passage to 0) (goto: "savebuild01")]</h3> You wake up to your world, still irrevocably changed. Take a deep breath, have a long soak in the tub, and find new and exciting ways to make your hosts suspicious of you for no reason.} {<h2>(2) Creepy Crawly</h2> There's more bugs than usual, only this time no one is happy to see them. (link: "Crave")[ (set: $chapter to 2) (set: $passage to 0) (set: $route to "c") (goto: "savebuild01")], (link: "Mantis")[ (set: $chapter to 2) (set: $passage to 0) (set: $route to "m") (goto: "savebuild01")], (link: "Trigger")[ (set: $chapter to 2) (set: $passage to 0) (set: $route to "t") (goto: "savebuild01")]}

{<table> <tr> <th>Guardian: (cycling-link: bind $family, "mother", "father", "sister", "brother", "grandmother", "grandfather") (link-repeat: "Guardian Name: ")[(set: $name_counter to it + 1)(if: $name_counter > 7)[(set: $name_counter to 0)]]|option>[$option]</th> <th>Headscarf: (cycling-link: bind $player_scarf, "none", "headscarf", "shayla", "niqaab", "hijab", "turban", "burqa", "kerudung")</th> </tr> <tr> <th>Personality: (cycling-link: bind $player_personality, "energetic", "serene", "cautious")</th> <th>Pronouns: (cycling-link: bind $proto_pronoun, "They/Them", "They/He", "They/She", "They/It", "They/Ey", "They/Xe", "He/Him", "He/She", "He/It", "He/Ey", "He/Xe", "She/Her", "She/It", "She/Ey", "She/Xe", "Ey/Em", "Ey/It", "Ey/Xe", "Xe/Xem", "Xe/It", "It/It")</th> </tr> <tr> <th>Prologue Route: (cycling-link: bind $_saw, "Crave", "Mantis", "Trigger")</th> <th>Motive: (cycling-link: bind $player_motive, "Zed is afraid", "Zed is angry", "Zed is lost") </tr> </table> (link: "Continue")[(goto: $nextpassage)]}

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[The air floods with static like the seconds before a lightning strike, and you take a generous step back out of the potential splash zone. You're behind Trigger which technically promises that very little would splatter back, but it's not a risk you're willing to take: you've never watched someone get murdered before.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[Your mind goes very suddenly blank, empty as a hot summer afternoon. In response to the abrupt lack of orders from headquarters, your limbs freeze indecisively and you can't move yourself further away from the scene. You've never seen anyone be murdered before, and it's difficult to picture a you that exists after having done so.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[You shrink back, nearly tripping over yourself in your urge to suddenly make yourself small and distant. Nausea and fear confuses your reaction, but instinct keeps you nearly silent as you back into the shadows against the wall, forbidding sound out of your mouth with your knuckles tight from clenching.] "Trigger," Marsh says, her aura fluttering. He doesn't respond. Maybe everyone really was confused about whether or not you were a threat, because now that they're sure there's very little back and forth about it. The stranger seems unbothered by the gun at their neck, but you wouldn't know what they're thinking. Only Marsh has the flutter of communication about her, and even that's murky and confused, like the first few steps of a newborn deer—instinctive, but unfocused. "Is that everyone?" they ask, their voice neutral. "As far as you know," Marsh responds, her aura flaring. "Must've been important, to wait for him." Across the room, Mantis stuffs her own arm into her mouth, sweater and all, and bites down with visible force. Crave's arm stays firm but tightens, in a dual-purpose hug. "What about the scarecrow?" You think they mean Crave, for one blissful moment. "Scared to show $his face?" Not Crave. You. Their brief glance back as the doors opened included you.

No one speaks, and you imagine no one has much to say. You're only here incidentally, (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[and while you may not have the strongest grip on social cues, you get the idea that no one would thank you for responding right now](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[and you're certainly not interested in taking the lead in this conversation: if Marsh wants to point you out, she will](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[and it'd take a lot more than someone having glanced at you once and found you odd to make a sound come out of your mouth right now]. You wait in the same high-anticipation silence as everyone else. "That shut everyone up, huh?" they laugh, and you watch Trigger's finger leave the trigger of his gun. He lacks Marsh's fledgling aura, but you think you can gauge what he's thinking from the look on his face: he doesn't trust gun safety to win out over his desire to shoot. "If you have a point, get to it," he orders, his voice remarkably even. His whole body has stilled in perfect predation, his eyes focused on his target to the exclusion of all else. "Just making conversation. I think you all know why I'm here." They examine their nails, still seemingly ignoring the gun. Trigger's weapon is long and thin; it looks like its meant to be farther away, but you think that when it comes to such machines, efficiency and intention stop factoring in after a little while. "We've come with the same terms we always offer: three days, surrender or forced subsumation: and before you ask, I'm not the one who found you." Trigger's focus shifts to Marsh, and her aura shrinks and pulses in hurried little bursts. You feel your lungs shrink: she's afraid, and she's thinking. Trigger's eyes shift back to the agent and from the corner of your eye—with what little focus you're able to sacrifice, with these blank and unresponsive people and too thoroughly covered to have a properly laid out peripheral—you see Mantis strain against her brother's arm, not pushing but relentlessly leaning forward.

"Then I don't think we have anything else to say to each other," Marsh says finally. Crave slackens, losing his grip on Mantis who dives out of the room. Her brother scrambles after her, clumsy and whiter than normal, and Jinseo pivots to follow them, his face wane and notably not glancing towards his own sibling. Trigger doesn't move. This course of events is obviously not what the messenger expected, and now the presence of the gun seems to assert itself. "I guess not. Three days for you to change your mind." They move to make a very bold step to the side, but are quickly corrected: Trigger is still watching, and uses the barrel of his gun to sharply discourage movement. "Oh please. You treehuggers don't have the balls." "You have been grossly misinformed," Trigger corrects in a low, unfocused voice: the very act of speaking is too much variance from his target. "It doesn't make a difference," Marsh argues. "Just let them leave." To your surprise, he lowers the gun without argument; the messenger shiveringly steps to the side and measuredly leaves the room. "Thank-you, Trigger." "Don't thank me," he says gruffly. "I mean it. I understand how hard that was for yo—" The sound of a gun ricochets off the walls, too loud and too close by. You and Marsh duck instinctively, Marsh with a small cry of alarm, but Trigger neither flinches nor shouts. "What the hell?" she demands, evidently confused. "Mantis left." "Where did she get a gun again?! We took hers away last night." "Dunno." Trigger's gaze is foggy.

Marsh presses her hand to her mouth, a frown folding her face. "Fuck, now we have to help—" "Wouldn't worry about it," Trigger huffs. Marsh's eyes widen. "Mantis didn't just kill—" "You think she didn't?" His voice is low and hoarse. You feel (cycling-link: "terror start to simmer in your gut", "your brain whirr and click as you process"), your eyes fixed on Trigger. It's impossible to tell what he's thinking, and it's (if: $player_personality is "serene")[really unsettling the energy in the room](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[giving you that prickly feeling you get when you need to run](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[putting you on edge, making your bounce on the balls of your feet]. The door behind you bangs open and you dart back, pressing your back against a pillar: it's Jinseo, his face pale as a corpse. "Mantis just shot the messenger," he says, his whole body shaking. "Are they...?" Marsh looks hopeful, but Jinseo shakes his head shortly. "Damn it!"

(set: $_temp to "t")Trigger turns abruptly and heads towards the door, and you follow him without thinking too hard about it. You probably can't get away with eavesdropping on Marsh at this point, and you don't want anyone to think you need to be reassigned; and more than that, if Mantis is lurking around trying to kill people, you don't want it to be you. He doesn't seem aware that you're behind him, storming through the building so fast that even the few not on a collision course with him dive out of the way. If you wanted to go find someone else, you could: you doubt he's paying close enough attention to notice, or in the mood to care much what you get up to. As long as you can be found, you should be safe from suspicions of collusion... (link: "Stay with Trigger.")[(set: $trigger to it + 1)(set: $route to "t")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Go find Mantis.")[(set: $mantis to it + 1)(set: $route to "m")(goto: "26m")] (link: "Find Crave.")[(set: $crave to it + 1)(set: $route to to "c")(goto: "26c")]

(set: $nextpassage to "21m")(transition: "fade") + (transition-time: 3s)[You don't think Mantis can hear you right now, which isn't novel, but you also don't think she can hear Crave. He's loping along ahead of you, his long legs still not fast enough to catch his sister. You imagine she'll break right through the wall rather than use the door to re-enter the main building, making a beeline for Receiving where the messenger is waiting for their audience; to your surprise she pivots, heading for a much less sturdy lean-to that seems to have been added on. "Mantis, no," Crave says, his voice far less firm than you imagine would give Mantis pause. She disappears and you look to her brother. "Mantis, fuck sakes—" She exits the lean-to with a gun and continues on her way. "Manny I'm being so fucking serious right now!" Crave shouts, taking off in a full sprint. Mantis responds in kind, and you (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[beam and dart after them](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[speed up, keeping them in sight](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[feel a spike of panic as you take off running after them]. "Stop running!" The two of you follow at her heels until you reach the door of Receiving, the wide set of double doors that leads to the room where you were briefly held last night. Mantis has stopped, slipping the gun into the waist of her pants ((cycling-link: "which seems unsafe", "which is kind of sexy", "which is confusing"), but you keep that thought to yourself), then turning to Crave. "No snitching," she says harshly. "Mantis." "No snitching, Crave. It's just to feel safe." "My fuckin' ass it is—" He's flushed from running and arguing with her, which she uses to her advantage, swanning through the doors like nothing is amiss, her baggy sweater hiding the bulge at her waist. You follow, making sure to place yourself behind Mantis. Crave opts to approach her, winding his arm around her shoulders as if to restrain her.]

You see a meeting already in progress, which you guess means that Mantis and Crave aren't unwelcome, but weren't the primary audience for such an event. The messenger in question stands relaxed, unbothered by Trigger's gun aimed at the back of their neck and the animosity that Mantis is radiating. "More guests?" they ask, and Marsh stands, unflinching. You notice that she has something the others don't—despite her relaxed, stoic face, you see the glimmer of an aura around her, like a pollen. Anxiety bubbles around her, making her air uneasy. "You're here on behalf of Roach. Get to the message or stop wasting our time," she says firmly. You wonder if everyone sees how frightened she is. "I think I know just about everyone in this room except for the scarecrow," they continue casually. Your mind flickers to Crave, but their eyes land on you. Oh, right, you think uneasily. You're not doing your utmost to be person-shaped right now, with all your tidy clothes lost to the sacking of the farm: scarecrow is a little harsh, you think. "You were told to relay your message," Trigger says in a flat, cold voice. You very nearly flinch: if you thought they were all upset about you showing up, it's nothing in comparison to this stranger.

"Fine, fine. Just making conversation." Mantis has leaned forward as far as Crave will allow her to go, her eyes boring into the messenger. It's difficult to get a read on her: she shot first and asked questions never when it came to you, so why is she restraining herself now? "Although, what can I say that none of you already know?" "Say it you stupid cunt," Mantis whispers, loud enough for you to hear but not to loud that anyone makes note of her. She's barely blinking. "I didn't find you all here myself—" "Could be bluffing," Trigger says, the barrel of his gun twitching. "I'm not. I was sent here to offer you what Roach offers everyone: three days. Submit or be eliminated." Mantis' pale face flushes hard, a violent red that makes her look ill; Crave, in contrast, looks like all the colour bled out of him except his brown roots.

"Then I don't think we have anything else to say to each other," Marsh says finally. Crave slackens, losing his grip on Mantis who dives out of the room. You don't hesitate to dive after her, instinct telling you that you need to find out what her plan is: this isn't at all the move of the person who shot you in the leg just for being in the wrong place. You pump your legs hard to catch up with her as she sprints through the halls, the two of you pushing through crowds of people anxiously gossiping about what's going on in Receiving. A few realise that Mantis is the one shoving through them and that you're following her, but thankfully no one tries to stop you (although you might have liked if someone had tried to stop her). You almost lose her once or twice, but she doesn't end up shaking you entirely and you scramble after her as she lifts herself into the rafters with a powerful heave off a conveniently-placed stack of crates. You wonder, as they rattle underneath you, if she's just good at assessing her environment and making snap decisions, or if this has always been orchestrated to allow her to escape into the bare skeleton of the ceiling structure. Following her across the beams is far more difficult than chasing her through the crowds was, but luckily she's navigating the ceiling with more care for her surroundings than she did on the ground. You note, with uncertainty, that she either doesn't see you or doesn't care that you're there as she pulls out the gun she still has jammed in her pants and crouches low. (link: "\"Mantis?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Say nothing, crouch beside her.")[(set: $_reaction "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Say nothing, stay hidden.")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["Shut up," she snaps quietly, her eyes focused on what you can now see is the door just pass Receiving. You didn't notice doubling back during the chase, but watch as Crave darts out from the doors she's watching, looking around like he's going to find her. He vanishes just in time for the door to open again, and the messenger to step out.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[She doesn't glance at you, but you're sure now that she knows you're there. You both watch what you recognise as the door just outside Receiving—you're not close enough to see what's going on inside, but you see Crave as he exits the area, his head on a swivel as he tries to catch a glimpse of his sister. He dashes away and the door opens again, this time revealing the messenger who you assume has just been dismissed from the meeting.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[You can't see what she's looking at, but you're sure you prefer it that way as you mirror her crouch in the shadows, far enough away from her that you think you can at least see where she goes if she takes off again. You hear a door open and close, but otherwise the hall the two of you are perched over is silent. There's a heartbeat of silence, until you hear the door open again.] Mantis gun flashes as she straightens, holding it out in front of her and pulling the trigger. (set: $random to (random: 0, 1))

(set: $_temp to "m")(if: $random is 0)[You brace against the noise and the shock, (if: $player_personality is "cautious")[muffling your startled shriek into the palm of your hand](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[your eyes blown open so wide you're almost sure that if she squinted, she'd see the whites through the goggles](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[letting out a whoop of surprise and adrenaline].](else:)[You feeling yourself stagger and you slip, shrieking in terror as you feel your weight rock right off the side of the beam you're balanced on. Your hands shoot out and grab the beam before you can leave it behind entirely, but without the use of your bare hands and nails, there's no purchase. (if: $player_personality is "serene")[You take a gasping breath, like a fish out of water, trying to pull yourself up without giving up what little grip you have.](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")["Mantis!" you shout, panicked.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")["Fuck fuck fuck oh fuck—" you whine, too afraid to try and pull yourself back up.] You feel a hand on your wrist, and with a little ooph of effort, Mantis pulls you back onto the beam. "Can you keep it together?" she asks, folding her arms over her chest.] "You just shot the messenger!" you burst. "No one else was gunna do it," she says defensively, as if that's what you were implying. Her eyes seem wetter than normal, and you can't help but see that she left the gun behind when she came to help you. It's not very safe, it's not very stable, and if ever there were a time to leave, it'd be now. (link: "Stay with Mantis.")[(set: $mantis to it + 1)(set: $route to "m")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Find Trigger.")[(set: $trigger to it + 1)(set: $route to "t")(goto: "26t")] (link: "See where Crave went.")[(set: $crave to it + 1)(set: $route to "c")(goto: "26c")]

(set: $nextpassage to "21c")(transition: "fade") + (transition-time: 3s)[Crave doesn't pause to defend you, but neither does Mantis seem to care to spend a lot of time accusing you; she turns on her heel after giving you a dirty look and takes off back towards the building. Crave makes a quick, aborted gesture to follow her, but pauses suddenly. "She's pissed," he tells you. (if: $player_personality is "energetic")["I get that impression," you agree tactfully. "I know you didn't do anything," he adds.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")["I didn't do anything," you clarify immediately. "I know," Crave says with a sigh.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")["Seems like she has her reasons," you shrug. "And I know you didn't do anything," he adds.] (if: $crave is 2)["You were with me the whole time. I'm not that bad at security."](elseif: $mantis is 1)["You were with her before me; I think she knows too, she's just...mad."](elseif: $trigger is 1)["You definitely weren't sending secret messages on Trigger's watch."] Silence falls for a moment as he shifts back and forth, unmoving. "Should we...?" you ask. Mantis isn't visible anymore, a pale shadow against the building you only just left. It seems irresponsible to leave her to her own devices. "I'm just..." he trails off, gnawing at his chapped lip. "I'm not Manny's keeper. I act like it but she don't listen to me." "What about the...bug?" You have to assume she didn't mean a literal bug, but as you keep insisting, you barely understand what Roach is meant to signify. "I...I don't think I wanna see what happens there either. Roach shouldn't be able to find us, and if he has then it's shitty news." (link: "\"Oh...\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Isn't that more reason to go?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"How bad is it?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)]]

(if: $_reaction is "serene")[That sounds...well, shitty. "Is Mantis gunna make it worse?" you venture, and he shrugs. "Won't make it better, but it's so bad it don't matter." He drags his hands through his hair and down his face, heaving an involuntary, watery sigh. "Fuck, it's so bad. ](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["Can I be honest right now?" he asks, dragging his hands through his hair and down his face. "I don't wanna know." "But it's like...pretty urgent, right?" "Don't remind me. It's..." His voice creaks dangerous and he snaps his mouth shut. "It's so fuckin' bad. ](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Fuckin'," he says, which isn't the sort of in depth analysis of the situation that you wanted to hear. "It's fuckin' bad, it's the fuckin' worst." "Like...army bearing down on us bad?" you ask, and he nods, dragging his hands through his hair and over his face. You suddenly regret using such an outlandish reference point: is there literally an army? "Fuckin' bad," he murmurs for emphasis, his head hung low, and you feel your gut tighten. "]Can we just go?" (if: $player_personality is "energetic")["Go...where?" you can only think of one place you want to go and it's the exact place he seems pretty sure he wants to avoid.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")["Just go where?" you ask, a little confused. There's one place to go and he doesn't wanna go there.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")["Go where?" you ask, prickling. Where does he want to take you if not in the direction of the problem?] "Anywhere. Somewhere quiet. Maybe go grab Fern first?" he asks, bouncing his weight between his feet like he's running on the spot. (link: "\"I think we should go see what's happening.\"")[(set: $_temp to 0)(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Sure. Let's go.\"")[(set: $_temp to 1)(set: $gotFern to 1)(goto: $nextpassage)]

{(if: $_temp is 0)[He sags, the energy sapped out of him. "Yeah. You're right," he mutters, his expression not exactly giving the mature revelation of his responsibilities. "Fuck. We're not gunna catch up to Manny." The two of you make your way towards the building with an awkward, stilted pace. You're impatient to know what exactly is happening, while Crave seems to resist the pull of the gathering crowd. It thickens until it's almost impassable, well before you get to the doors of Receiving, but just as you're about to start shoving—Crave's height good for very little besides confirming that the crush extends right to the doors—suddenly everyone jumps back and the doors fly open. Mantis darts in the opposite direction, too far away to follow (to say nothing of how the crowd parts for her), while silence rings from Receiving. "Fuck," Crave whispers. "Bad sign." "How bad?" you ask, and a laugh wobbles out of his chest. "Fucking bad."] (elseif: $_temp is 1)[He sags in relief then shudders back to life, gesturing for you to follow him as he breaks for a side door, well away from where a stream of people are suddenly coming in from the woods. You hear Fern before you see her, a distinct and powerful ARF distinguishing her from the other dogs. She bounds up to the fence that separates her from Crave, tensing as she senses his disturbance. "Come on missy miss," he murmurs, unlatching the gate and letting her slink to his side. "You're not scared of plants, right?" he asks, directed towards you this time. "I think I made that a little too clear," you admit sardonically, following him as he leads you back out of the building and far behind it. He stops at the top of a high hill, far enough from the treeline that whether or not you're good with plants is largely irrelevant, and drops down onto his back to stare at the sky. Like a well worn routine, Fern flops across his chest and takes a deep breath. You settle down beside him with your legs crossed, immediately reaching down to fiddle with some tall but not particularly sentient grass. "Is everything...okay?" you ask tentatively. "No." He closes his eyes.]}

{(if: $_temp is 0)[People seem to spot Crave, and he shrinks into himself, his face turning from misery to panic. "Listen, we have to go find Man—" he begins, his voice evidently louder than he means, but he's cut off by an enormous metallic bang, like a cast iron pot being dropped from the top of the building onto concrete. You and the crowd instinctively duck, but Crave stays standing, his face looking wane. "Shit. Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit—" ] (elseif: $_temp is 1)["People ain't supposed to find us. There's accidents every now and then, but we're hiding from the Roach," he explains. "If he's found us then it means..." He trails off looking up into the sky with wide, unseeing eyes. "Means what?" you prompt. Obviously nothing good, but will everyone move, abandoning the big building they've built structures inside of? Will they batten down the hatches and hold fast against whoever Roach is? Will there be a fight? "Nothing good," he says ominously and critically, without elaborating. You open your mouth to push him a little—he's clearly upset, but you'd really prefer to be prepared for whatever comes next—but there's an abrupt bang in the distance that startles Fern to her feet. It sounds like a generator backfiring but somehow...louder. You don't know if it's only because you're pretty sure their generator isn't backfiring. Crave perks up alongside his dog, looking back at the camp with something akin to dread on his face.] And Crave runs. (if: $_temp is 1)[You and Fern dart after him as he makes his way down back towards where a crowd of people has started to gather. You have no idea what's going on and your lungs burn from the unexpected sprint you've been hurled into, but you don't want to lose sight of him as he darts inside. ](else:)[(if: $player_personality is "cautious")[It's truly like you're the only one who cares about internal security: you take off after him, muttering a couple rushed sorries to the people you blow by.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[He doesn't ask you to follow, but you don't think you need a formal invitation or anything: he's technically supposed to be watching you, so you consider it keeping him out of trouble to give chase.](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[Much like an apex predator, running only makes you want to chase: you bolt after him, elbowing your way through the crowd and hoping they forgive you for it, because pausing will get you buried in the chaos.]] He makes a sharp turn and you follow, only to careen right into his back. He stands at just such an angle that you hit his bony shoulder with your forehead and reel back onto your ass, clutching your head in pain. "What the hell!?" you demand, more out of pain than frustration with his erratic behaviour. He doesn't respond, staring forward at a slumped body: a body, a dead body. (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[Your eyes go wide as you stare in wonder at the first corpse you've ever seen. It's so...normal looking, like whoever it is could just stand right back up.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[You feel your mouth go dry with terror as you stare at the only corpse you've ever seen in your life. In this moment, you understand how zombie stories are made—despite the unnatural and uncomfortable angle, it looks like it could just stand right back up.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[You gape at it, looking rapidly between it and Crave. Your brain refuses to process what it's seeing, leaving you in mute confusion as you try to make yourself understand what's happened.]}

"Damn it, Manny!" he shouts, turning wildly and pacing frantically. He tugs his fingers through his frazzled, bleached hair, his face going so wane that you're afraid he's going to pass out. "Damn it, why did you have to—" He pulls abruptly, hissing out in frustrating. "Mantis..?" You can't put it together in your head for a moment, too off-kilter from the sight of the corpse to follow any real trail of logic. A loud bang. A dead body. Mantis. Mantis...a loud bang, a dead body—"Mantis killed them?!" you burst, your mouth going dry. "She hates them," he said, his knuckles digging into his eyes as he crouched low to the ground. "She hates them, she hates them, she hates them—" There's a flurry of a footsteps and you feel rather than see Marsh and Jinseo approach. "Crave—fucking hell, Crave!" Marsh bursts, slapping her hand over her mouth. Jinseo freezes as Crave somehow shrinks further, his knees against his chest. You open your mouth to explain but all you can make is a few stammering noises (unless: $player_personality is "energetic")[as tears spring to your eyes in frustration](else:)[struggling to do more than gape at the corpse still just...lying there]. "Crave didn't do anything," Jinseo says with nauseating quiet. "Where were you?!" Marsh burst, and Crave suddenly rises to his full height, his shoulders heaving. "I'm not her keeper!" he yells, then sharply withers. He slouches and presses his hands over his mouth. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." Marsh softens, although her eyes are invariably drawn to the body as she reaches out to squeeze Crave's shoulder. "No, I'm sorry. I know you're not in charge of keeping Mantis under control." "I should have helped. I shouldn't have let her run off like she did." (if: $gotFern is 1)[Fern reasserts herself, nudging his hip for attention, but for once it's like he doesn't even realise she's there.]

(set: $_temp to "c")Crave is obviously feeling low, but he has people who know him well beside him to help him through. Glancing down at your recently deceased—well, you won't call them a friend both because you never met them and because you still don't know where Mantis is with her gun or if she can sense, somehow, that you feel bad for the person she just erased off the mortal coil—you think now would be a great time to leave the situation. "Sorry to you too," Crave says, suddenly looking up at you. "I shouldn't have dragged you all over the place. "It's fine, Crave. I followed of my own free will," you reassure him. It's hard to tell whether it'd be better for you to go so he has less lighthouses upon which to dash himself, or to stay and see this moment through, up to and possible including what they do with the dead person still slumped in front of you. You wonder how fast people die. You wonder if they're rotting now, as you think about them. (link: "Stick with Crave.")[(set: $crave to it + 1)(set: $route to "c")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Track down Mantis.")[(set: $mantis to it + 1)(set: $route to "m")(goto: "26m")] (link: "Find Trigger.")[(set: $trigger to it + 1)(set: $route to "t")(goto: "26t")]

(if: $_saw is "mantis")[You can't get away fast enough, harsh breaths making you clumsy as you scoot back across the ceiling beams and clumsily to the blessed floor. Out of the corner of your eye you see a familiar figure cutting through the crowd and nearly sigh in relief—Trigger. If anyone can keep Mantis off of you, it's him, and you're pretty sure he would if you asked. Without a backwards glance, you scramble after him.](elseif: $_saw is "Trigger")[(if: $trigger >= 2)[You watch Trigger's back as he makes his way away from the whispering crowd, all circulating secondhand accounts of what just happened in Receiving (and, you guess, what happened just outside of it). It's strange to see him move with such a lack of awareness—you hadn't imagined that he could lose that tight paranoia in his shoulders. Maybe things really are as bad as they could get, if he's not afraid of them getting worse anymore.](else:)[Trigger doesn't cast you a backwards glance as you follow him through the crowds of whispering strangers, all speculating on what just happened in Receiving—inside and outside of it. He doesn't stop to correct anyone or chat, so you assume the rumours aren't that important.]](elseif: $_saw is "Crave")[The dead body is a grotesque priority right now, so much so that when Marsh and Jinseo set forward to touch it you feel your stomach lurch and you instinctively stagger away. You can't stay here with it, you can't watch it move, slumped— In your rush to escape, you very nearly bowl into Trigger. He barely seems to notice, storming off down the hall, and on impulse you follow him. At least that way you're away from the body and no one can accuse you of trying to sneak around.] He takes a few turns and you hurry to keep up, only noting on the third turn that he's gone. You skid to a halt and (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[groan in frustration, peering around corners as if he's going to appear: of course, there's nothing. You scowl and turn a few times, picking a direction and storming forward; at the very least, someone will eventually report to him that you're wandering around by yourself](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[sigh, slouching in the sudden silence of the empty hall; you should have known better than to think you could keep up with him in that kind of state. You drift forward down a hall, directionlessly hoping that you serendipitously run back into him](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[prickle, feeling...not as alone as you think you maybe should. You press your back up against the wall and slowly slide along the plaster, trying to keep your breathing even as you step around the corner, trying to peek at what's to come]. Trigger swoops down on you like a hawk, shoving your shoulder into the cold, hard wall. You grunt and (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[immediately shove back, but find him immovable as stone with fire in his eyes](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[reach back to rub at your sore shoulder, only to find it immediately pinned above your head as Trigger glowers at you](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[try to shrink, to protect your organs, but Trigger is immovable and scowling at you as you twitch]. "Who are you?" he demands. "What?" "Who. Are. You?" he repeats.

"Zed from nowhere. Zed with the bullet wound no one is allowed to see. (if: $_saw is "Trigger")[Zed who isn't afraid of the plants.](else:)[Mysterious, nobody Zed.] Who are you?" You shiver, the question ringing through you. You knew—you used to know. When it was just you and $guardian you knew; you were Zed the forager, Zed the tinkerer, Zed the farm hand. You read about an old world rendered unrecognisable in your books, and you stretched out in the sun and let its warmth wash through you like a tide you'd never seen. Trigger doesn't care about any of that. Does any of it even matter anymore, without $guardian? What's the radio, the farm, the wilds, when it's just you? (link: "\"I'm Zed. You're gunna have to be okay with that.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Who are you?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Are you actually going to listen now?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["I know what question you want to ask, and I even know how you want me to answer," you tell him, your voice feeling hot as it comes out. "I'll tell you what I've been telling you since I got here: none of this has anything to do with me." "Then why are you here?" he demanded. "Why now?" "Shit happens!" you snap back. "A bunch of weird shit can happen all at once, or it can feel like all at once because one bad thing already happened—how the hell do you think I feel?!"](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["You're so concerned with figuring out what my deal is, it's like you can't even imagine that I'm a person in the same boat as you," you accuse, feeling a little flush. "I don't know you either Trigger. I don't know Roach, I don't know whoever came here today to threaten you, and besides the fact that I'm here now, I don't see what satisfaction it would bring you to find out that it was all tangled up in me." "It would give me a little warning when it came to whether or not you're going to drive a knife in my back," he snaps, and you snort. "There's nothing I could say to you to make you believe me when I tell you I can't think of one good reason to turn on you, and I think we both know it. Why don't you try convincing me that I'm safe with you?"](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Or are we playing again, where you jump down my throat for something you have no reason to believe that I did and if I try to prove that I'm innocent then it just goes to show that I'm guilty?" you snap. "I'm getting tired of running in circles." "You can't prove that you're innocent," he hisses back and you roll your eyes. "Clearly! Or we wouldn't be having this conversation! So what, you just want to fuck around and watch me beg for you to take me seriously, to resist the urge to gang up on me and actually listen, and then you won't, and then we get to start all over again later?"] "Why won't you just answer?" "Why won't you accept that there's nothing I can say?" you shoot back. "I'm a farmhand. I tinker with radios. I read. I talk to plants." (if: $_saw is "Trigger")[His eyes narrow.](else:)[His eyes widen.]

(if: $_saw is "Trigger")["Is it talking?" he asks, and you try to resist the urge to roll your eyes. He may as well ask you how you decide to breathe or how you're managing to communicate with them. "I guess yes," you decide. "If that's how you want to understand it." "How?" he presses, and you shrug helplessly. "I'm a good listener? How am I talking with you right now?"](else:)["You can talk to plants?" he demands, and you resist the urge to pinch the bridge of your nose as he backs up incredulously. Didn't you already guess how this would go? "I mean, it's not like I can just...chat with them or anything. I can communicate with them, sure—" "What does that mean?!" he demands, and you look around as if the inscrutable answer to the riddle of what the hell Trigger wants from you is written on the ceiling. "I just...the same way I'm talking with you. Not really, I don't...talk out loud or anything. Plants don't really...that's not how they do things." You wish you knew what he was asking.] Trigger's face slips between emotions—annoyance, confusion, paranoia—before landing back on tired, the same way he's looked since the messenger died. "What do you want?" he asks. "Why are you still here?" "I..." That's a good question. "I'm looking for my $family." With no leads you just kind of ended up in this situation, one that now seems to be closing in on you. You're not sure you would feel right leaving these people to die. You're not sure if they would die. You're not even sure you could prevent it by hanging around. You don't know anything except your exit window is slipping shut with every second and you don't know which direction will lead you anywhere, and it's dawning on you that some might kill you. "(upperfirst: $guardian) wasn't on my farm when it was raided." "You didn't see $them." "(upperfirst: $guardian) wasn't there," you repeat, your voice harder. "Our radio is still running; the station is near the farm." "Why didn't you go there?" You stare at him, your brain perfectly silent. If he wants you to tell him that you were (if: $player_motive is "fear")[so scared that your legs just started moving, that by the time you remembered the radio you didn't know where you were anymore and the thought of going to the station just to find $guardian's cold body would break you in ways you can't even imagine—](elseif: $player_motive is "anger")[within inches of doing something you couldn't take back, starting something you couldn't finish, that you had to get away or else you would've died trying to reclaim your farm, and by the time it even occurred to you to head to the station you were already lost and didn't know what you would do if you found out $guardian only got as far as the station before succumbing—](elseif: $player_motive is "lost")[so disoriented that your body just started moving out of pure self-preservation, out of a complete and utter lack of any signals from your brain, that by the time you came to with enough clarity to even remember the radio station you were already lost and flinched at the very thought of what you might find there—]he doesn't have the right to that. "I just didn't," you say instead.

His jaw clenches but he's otherwise more still than the air before a tornado. His eyes have a bright quality despite the depth of brown he's bringing to bear, staring so hard into your eyes that you wonder if, despite (unless: $player_scarf is "burqa")[the goggles](else:)[your veil], he can tell they're (cycling-link: bind $player_eyes, "black", "brown", "green", "blue", "hazel", "violet", "red", "orange", "yellow", "mismatched, brown and blue", "mismatched, black and green", "mismatched, green and yellow", "mismatched, green and brown", "mismatched, black and blue", "mismatched, blue and green", "mismatched, violet and red", "mismatched, black and red", "wholly black", "milky white"). You feel your breathing get heavy and slow, each breath in like you've just been drowning. This close, Trigger becomes an abstract—sun-tanned skin, sparse facial hair, a smattering of acne scars. (if: $player_headscarf is 1)[You feel the weight of your extra garments heavy on you. (if: $player_scarf is "niqab")[He would usually be able to clearly see your eyes, your hands; you feel the gloves and goggles and extra sweaters like they're a hundred pounds.](elseif: $player_scarf is "burqa")[You're not more covered than usual, but for the first time in your life you feel the keen pressure of being hidden. It isn't only that Trigger is a stranger, but that he can't be allowed to see you.](else:)[Your skin feels hot and flush from all your extra accessories, which only makes you feel them more keenly. Trigger being blank is what necessitates all the gear you would only usually wear to protect your skin as your foraged through nettles and whipping trees; there doesn't exist a world where he could have seen you dressed normally, without the biting fear of discovery, but for a moment you wish you lived there.]](else:)[There doesn't exist a world where Trigger could have seen you without all your heavy foraging gear, decked out and covered and sweaty and afraid—despite everything, dogged relenetlessly by fear—but it's never felt so heavy as it does right now, as he tries to look at you so hard that it slips all the layers and tells him your secret.] "This conversation is just gunna keep going in circles," he says finally, and you nod. He relents, his whole body relaxing almost against his will. "You don't know anything about Roach?" he asks with an air of finality. "Well, I know a lot about roaches—" "Zed." "No. I don't know anything about the person you call Roach."

He nods a couple times, taking a couple steps back as if all that stopped you from moving was fear he would stop you: (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[as if](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[that's not the problem, of course](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[weirdly enough that didn't even cross your mind]. You feel flush and fluttery, almost embarrassed even as he turns his back and sighs. "Fine. Now you're just a flight risk." "You were just telling me to leave," you sigh, trying to compose yourself. "No, I was asking why you weren't leaving." You close your eyes, resisting the urge to try and fan your face—as it stands, he can't tell what reaction you're having unless you start broadcasting it. "Doesn't that mean I'm not a flight risk?" "Unless you're biding your time, trying to lull me into a false sense of security." (link: "\"You're so paranoid!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"What does it even matter now?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Oh sure. I'm a tricky one.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["I would be running if I were you," he says with a shrug. "I guess that just makes me braver than you," you retort, purposely not mentioning that the fear keeps you here. He rolls his eyes and so you consider it your win overall.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["It's not like I can reveal your location more," you point out. "At this point you'd only be keeping me here to prevent me from leaking your battle plans, but the easy answer to that is to not let me find out what your plans are. I can contribute without knowing the overall strategy, which makes me functionally useless to the other team—and you know, setting aside all that, I get the idea that Roach isn't interested in how you plan to defend yourself. It sounds like he's a problem precisely because he has a foolproof method of battle, which usually includes just having more people and better weapons." "I was joking," he says, his face entirely blank so you can't really tell if he's being serious or not; you guess that means you kind of have to take him at his word. "Oh. Okay."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["That's usually how it goes," he argues. "You're affable, don't seem to know which way is up let alone what's going on or who we are, you're strange almost to the point of absurdity so I can't tell what's unusual behaviour—" "And it's all part of my master plan to be here during a crisis I'm not part of," you say, then make an absent swipe with comically clawed hands, like a cartoon vampire. "Mwahahaha."] "Seongho?" Jinseo's voice echoes through the empty halls, and Trigger leans over the corner to gesture his brother over. "You ran out quick." "Yeah." He doesn't seem like he's going to add anything more, so Jinseo turns to you. "How do you feel, Zed?" (link: "\"I can handle it! Everything, I mean. I'm fine!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Is that a serious question?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Oh...you know...\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[His face turns serious. "This is a lot for all of us; and you, sounds like. It's okay if you're not doing great." A kind thought, but the last thing you need right now is for anyone to decide that you're going to crack under pressure. "It's fine. I'm ready to help," you insist, and Trigger rolls his eyes. "Ignore $him. (upperfirst: $he)(if: $gender_singular contains $he)['s](elseif: $gender_plural contains $he)['re] trying to prove something." "Ignore him," you snap back. "](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[Jinseo smiles wryly. "I know how it sounds, but it is. Things are chaotic right now, but I'd still like to know that everyone is doing the best they can." "Then I am," you assure him, unsure of what that actually says about your state right now. "Not saying much, huh?" Trigger asks flatly.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Not excellent," you admit, holding up your empty palms helplessly. There's not much left to say, and evidently, by Jinseo's grim nod, he hadn't expected anything else.] "Well, Marsh is calling us all back into her office; we found Mantis and so...we have to go over things." Trigger's face flickers and he lets his weight drop against the wall. Jinseo seems to have anticipated it, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "I told her it might take a little while to find you, though," his twin adds. "Don't take forever, but don't rush." "Mmm," Trigger hums, then pats Jinseo's hand. "Take Zed. I'll be along." You feel yourself prickle: you'll have no real reason to be there if he isn't, and if Marsh has time to wait around for him then she'll have plenty of time to tell you to get lost. "I'll stay," you insist quickly. "With Trigger." He turns to look at you, eyes narrowed. "Why?" (if: $player_personality is "cautious")["Why are you trying so hard to get rid of me?" you shoot back. "What do you—what are you talking about?" he asks, and you fold your arms. "I think I should stay," you insist without elaborating. It never really worked on $guardian but it's worth a shot now.](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")["Because you're not the boss of where I go!" you shoot back stubbornly. "I said I was staying here, so I'm staying here." "What does it matter?" he asks, exasperated, and you make a face he can't see. "Matters of my autonomy are extremely important to me," you say firmly, a line which never worked on $guardian but is the best you can think of to say here and now.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")["What, you wanna get rid of me?" you ask, pressing your hand to your chest. "After all we've been through together?" (if: $trigger is 1 or 2)[Not much, but it's worth a shot, you think](else:)[A whole hell of a lot considering it hasn't even been one calendar day yet]. "What does that have to do with anything?" he asks, and the answer is nothing but that's not a story that'll serve you. "Why, everything!" you insist, which is a meaningless sentence that would have never worked on $guardian, but it's alll you've got right now.]

Jinseo smiles indulgently and Trigger rolls his eyes. "I have to go find Crave," he says, notably not giving another thought to making you follow him. "Make your way there, eh?" With another generous pat on Trigger's shoulder, Jinseo leaves on his next quest, and your surly guide sits in contemplative silence for a few more seconds. "You're not being slick," he says finally, and you stiffen. "What?" "You're hiding behind me. They won't kick you out if you show up with me—(if: $trigger >= 2)[you've been my problem since you got here, so no one will think twice to see you behind me](else:)[I guess you thought that I'm intimidating enough that no one would derail the conversation to make you leave]." You heat up beneath your layers, glad again that so long as you don't move, he can't tell that you're embarrassed. "Better to be in than out," you defend weakly, and he shrugs. "I don't care. I don't think a real spy would be that obvious." (if: $player_personality is "cautious")["You're just baiting me now, aren't you?" you accuse, instinctively shrinking. "I'm a spy, I'm not a spy, I couldn't be a spy, but if I wasn't a spy why would I act like this? You're trying to wear me down." He shrugs. "I guess we're both more obvious than we think." That's not an answer either, or not the one you wanted—maybe a little shame, maybe an apology, maybe a promise that the two of you will stop this multi-layered game—and just another move in this stupid game the two of you have fallen into.](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")["You change your mind a lot, you know that?" you grouse. "How am I supposed to know where I stand if you won't just tell me straight?" "How am I supposed to maintain an advantage over the spy if I just tell $him what I'm thinking?" he returns shortly, and you scowl, hoping that even if he can't see it, he can see your whole body prickle like a poked animal.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")["Or maybe I would be, just to confuse you," you tease, and he raises an eyebrow. "Or maybe my heart is just on my sleeve?" "You think you're real clever, don't you?" he asks, and you smile back. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't."]

Despite Jinseo's offer of more time—or maybe specifically because it was offered, a suspicion you keep to yourself—Trigger leads you back through the halls to Marsh's office without the anticipated detours. The walk is quiet; you spend most of your time watching his back as he moves, his face shifting in silent response to whatever he's thinking. For such a paranoid person, he isn't good at hiding how he feels—you wonder at what it means, though, that by the time the two of you are at the door, he seems mostly resigned. Marsh is sitting at the desk when the two of you enter, her braids fanned out around her head as she rests her forehead on the desk covered in paperwork. A low orange light sways slightly from the ceiling, and Jinseo straightens from where he'd been whispering to her at her side. At his movement, her head rises. "Hey," she says hoarsely, and Trigger nods. "We all knew it was coming," he says immediately, and she winces. "Seongho," his brother reprimands, but Marsh raises her hand. "He's right." "We should have been more prepared," Trigger continues, starting to pace. "We tried," she offers. "How do you get ready for this?" Jinseo asks, sitting back in a spare easy chair that's threadbare but clearly his seat. The door opens again behind you and you scramble out of the way of Crave, dragging Mantis forward like a spitting cat. "I can tell you how you don't," Marsh murmurs mutinously.

"No one wants me here!" Mantis snaps, trying to drag her hood out of her brother's hand. "Well you shoulda fuckin' thought of that!" he shoots back, wrestling to make sure she doesn't shimmy out of her sweater to get away from him. (if: $_saw is "Mantis")[She clearly didn't get far after you bailed, although you're not sure what her plan really was. You don't even know if she had one outside of just making sure that stranger was dead.](else:)[You wonder what was going through her head when she did it—shooting someone seems so alarmingly serious, but now Mantis has done it twice just since you've met her.] "Sit down!" "Mantis, sit," Marsh agrees, and she freezes at the soft sound of Marsh's voice, slowly sinking down to sulk on the floor. Crave drops beside her, his whole body twitching with how tense he is. (if: $_saw is "Crave")[Fern is nowhere to be found, but he looks like he could use her company about now—you still remember how raw his voice was when he insisted that he wasn't his sister's minder.](else:)[He looks frazzled and lonely, which seems to come with the territory of Mantis—at least recently, as she's been a lot of trouble since you met her.] "So. Here we all are." "I should've done more to prepare us," Trigger says, his eyes soft and blank. Of anyone here, he doesn't even seem interested in reprimanding Mantis. "I knew it was coming, I just—it was always coming." "No one expected anything more than what you gave, Trigger," Marsh says firmly. "I did," he shoots back. "Since when do we listen to you?" Mantis asks flippantly, and Crave lets out a sharp bark of laughter, like the act of finding anything funny surprised even him.

Trigger's mouth twitches, but not much more. "We need a plan," he asserts. "We can divide everyone up once we know what we're doing." "We need someone to run emergency evac," Marsh says. She moves like she's fighting a current to do so, her aura high and sharp with a hazy purple colour like deep sleep; she fights against the fear and disorientation with every gesture, her eyes fixed on the paper as she starts to write out what needs to get done. "On it," Jinseo says immediately. She nods and writes his name. "And someone needs to make contact with the satellite base," she says. "Trigger, can you do that?" "I...I'll check the radio," he says with a nod, and she writes his name. "But Marsh—" "Don't start," she says without looking up, her voice low like someone who's trying not to cry. "I just—" "Your is the only department that you've trained to work without you there, Trigger. Just check the radio and we'll follow up." He shrinks back but nods shortly, his eyes drifting over to you. You separated yourself from everyone to observe and, you hope, pass mostly unobserved yourself; you're never safe from his watchful gaze, though. You can't help but feel gratitude—manning a radio is something you know how to help with.

Crave is tasked with managing the safe handling of any critical samples or flora endangered by the potential fighting and worst-case scenario, and Mantis is told in no uncertain terms to stick with him. While no combat protocol is set, all agree to separate and provide a first-pass report on the situation; you follow Trigger as he grimly marches towards where you assume they keep the radio controls. In for a penny, you follow. The radio attendant is slouched in her seat, the excitement of the day evidently missed entirely in her isolation from the regular flow of traffic. She spins her chair lazily to see who opened her door, and startles when she sees Trigger. "Contact the satellite camp," he says shortly, his face grim and tired. "Yeah—yeah, on it." She drops back into her seat and Trigger turns to you, leaning back on the cabinet pushed against the wall and crowded with stray books and tapes. He doesn't say anything, only watching you with blurry eyes. (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[You make a face at him, then remember that he can't even see what colour your eyes are right now. He's frowning a little, so maybe your body language indicated you were doing something, but he doesn't know what. That sounds like a him problem, though, so you keep doing it while he stares at you in confusion, waiting for an explanation you're not going to give.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[You turn fully, your back to the radio. "What are you doing?" he asks, and you huff. "Looking away from your comms set up. That way you don't have to fret about whether or not I know anything about it," you answer firmly. "It's a hamm radio," he says. "You probably already know how to use it." You glance back at him, then sheepishly straighten yourself. "Just remember, you're the one who told me." He's right though—you did already know.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[You smile at him before remembering he can't see, then frown. How do you convey a smile to someone who can't see your eyes? You press your fingers into about where your dimples would be and tilt your head, which makes him scowl. "What are you doing?" he asks, and you fold your arms. "Trying to smile without my face," you explain. "Can I just tell you I'm smiling? Will that feel the same?" He raises an eyebrow. "You want me to feel something about how you're smiling?" "Yeah! Smiling comforts people." You've never had practical experience interacting with strangers, but it always felt distantly charming that humans have visual indicators that they want someone to feel better; maybe it doesn't work with humans like these ones.] "Hello? Zero Base seeking response from Remote 05." The attendant gnaws her lip, reaching down to crank her chair up to give her better reach. "Remote 05, it's Zone, come on." "What's going on, Zoe?" Trigger asks, straightening up. "Dead air," she mutters, her eyes fixed on her set up now. "Kerchunk, is anyone monitoring this station?" "No auto-response?" he asks, and she shakes her head. "Shit. Shit." (link: "\"Is there another frequency you could try?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You don't think...\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Just stay calm.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["I don't know," Trigger responds shortly, glaring down the radio as if the force of his displeasure would force a response. For once, his tactic fails and he drags a hand through his already dishevelled hair.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[Trigger looks at Zoe, who makes some adjustments. "CQ CQ CQ Zero Base," she repeats, switching through a few different options. When she turns back to Trigger, her face is grim and grey. "Nothing," she whispers, nearly mouthing it. Trigger drags his hands through his hair, making it stick out awkwardly. "Fuck," he murmurs.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["There's plenty of explanations for why they wouldn't respond. Maybe their antennae fell, or maybe there was an unrelated emergency that required more hands," you tell him. You can't deny how bad it looks, but there's no point in trying to guess the precise disaster that befell everyone. "If it's possible that it's the worst thing it could possibly be, then it's also possible that it's nothing." "And you believe that?" he scoffs, and you nod because you do. You have to.] "Marsh has to know. We have to adjust escape routes if we're not sure about their security." "S-Should I...?" Zoe asks, her hands visibly shaking as she looks at the now silent radio. "Keep at it, in case it's a coincidence." Trigger's face says he doesn't believe for a second that that's true, (if: $player_personality is "serene")[but it makes you smile that he's considering it](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[but you assume it's for Zoe's sake that he suggests it](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[but you understand how tantalizing it is to hope for possibility]. "I have to go find Marsh again. You," he points at you, "follow me." "Didn't we just have this conversation?" you ask, letting him lead the way back out into the hall. You haven't even been trying to learn your way around—there's still too much to see just moving in between rooms for you to worry about a floorplan. "You're stuck with me." "For now."

The two of you aren't the only ones who finished the primary report early—grey-faced Crave is right in the middle of reporting the sheer enormity of the effort it'll be to evacuate the specimens, with Mantis still scowling at his side, when the two of you re-enter the room. "You're back early too," she says with a faint twist of the mouth. "Dead air," he says shortly. "Nothing. No response." "Fuck." Marsh's aura turns a gloomy blue-grey, like a turbulent ocean (so you've heard). "Fuck. So we have the specimen evacuation and now someone has to go check on them." "It'll keep," Trigger argues immediately, and you balk at the callousness. "It won't," she says firmly. "And we need whatever reinforcements we can find." "There's no time." In spite of the ease that he's followed Marsh's orders til now, Trigger suddenly seems unsettled. "We can't move anyone fast enough to help." "They'll move fast enough if they have an experienced guide," she says, and his face falls. "No." "We need you, Seongho." "No. And leave Jinseo here by himself? No." "Your brother's a big boy," she says firmly. "And I discussed it with him already."

"What if there's no one left to bring back?" he snaps, and Marsh snorts. "That's why we need you. You'll think of something." Trigger's breath starts to come hard and short in his chest, and he clumsily retreats, turning his head against the futility of argument. "Crave, you'll be in charge of saving whatever we can." Much like Trigger, the prospect seems to terrify the man, but he nods with his jaw clenched shut. "Mantis, help your brother." "Fine, but I'm not hanging around him to do it," she snaps. "I'm not a prisoner." "No one said you were," she returns shortly. As if she'd been waiting for someone to say so, she breaks off from her brother and storms away, past you. You think you imagine it when you hear her whisper find me. Crave heaves out a sigh and grinds his knuckles into his eyes. "I'm gunna go," he says. "Not find Mantis, just...rest. Lots to do." "Let us know if you need help, Crave," she says, and his face tightens wordlessly as he gives a short nod and leaves. You turn to find Trigger, but the room is empty—it's just you and Marsh now, something Marsh realises at the same time. "Bad time to visit," she offers with a smile, but it quickly fades. "If you want to leave now, then do it. We won't stop you, I mean—I wouldn't have kept you here if I'd known all this was going to happen." (link: "\"I think it's okay.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Here we are anyway.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"We'll be okay.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["It's been kind of a mess but like, I think everything is gunna turn out okay." Frankly your brain can't really scale to the catastrophe right now: everything normally turns out okay and so it stands to reason that it will continue to do so. "I wish I had your confidence," Marsh says wryly, looking back down at her hastily scribbled notes. "We'll find a way through," you assert, feeling a little helpless. She doesn't seem to agree but you think you'd feel better if she did.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I don't think there's much of a point in regrets," you offer in what you hope is a reassuring voice and not one that conveys exactly how pointless it is to be sorry at this stage. You don't resent her, because that would also be pointless. You're both just here now and have to deal with it. "Is there ever?" she asks with a wry smile. "I'm given to understand it's involuntary." "Involuntary and rational aren't synonyms."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["It's a cycle, right? Or a river. It always feels like it's going to be one way forever and then it's not." If there's one thing you've learned on your short journey, it's that every mountain is unclimable from a distance and your biggest enemy is deciding that before you ever even reach the base. You have to keep going, because nothing is forever and the only way to get to the next thing is to keep moving. "A cycle kind of implies that it will be one way, in varying stages, forever," she points out, and you shrug. "Like a river, then."] "Am I to assume you're staying, then?" she asks, and you nod. You don't have anywhere else to go: you're friendly with the woods, but that'd only take you so far and you doubt you'd fare very well with the next group of people you stumbled across. Maybe it'd be a settlement, maybe it'd be the group of people attacking this one. "I won't tell you where to go then: you pick. There's two initiatives that need your help—Trigger or Crave." Or Mantis, you think to yourself. She's erratic, but you're still almost sure she was trying to signal you earlier. She's meant to be helping her brother, but you wouldn't personally count on her. "I'll get to work," you promise, wary of promising anything to Marsh who waves you off. She's got better things to worry about than where you're standing. (link: "Something's up with Mantis, and you decide to find out what.")[(set: $route to "m")(goto: "END")] (link: "Trigger's leaving the compound, and you're going with him.")[(set: $route to "t")(goto: "END")] (link: "Crave clearly needs your help with the evacuation.")[(set: $route to "c")(goto: "END")]

(if: $_saw is "Trigger")[Trigger's not paying attention, and ostensibly he's the one with the biggest problem with you wandering around by yourself. There's a crowd and he's running and who's to say that you didn't get totally lost in the rush? You slow to a halt and look around, trying to decide where it's important for you to be. (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[The action is, ostensibly, around Mantis...so you should probably be there too.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[You don't want to be caught up in this crowd for much longer, and arguably where the least amount of people are would be where the killer is...and you're reasonably sure you've slipped down to the bottom of her list of people it's worthwhile to shoot.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[No one's going to be bothering Mantis right now, except for maybe Crave...you'll get all the answers, with none of the potential stampede.] The crowd is thick but not so urgent that you're afraid for your safety if you try to push against them. You've never been around this many people, let alone this many people looking to exit a situation, so you do what comes naturally and keep your arms up by your chest, hoping to pre-empt anyone whose impulse is to plough you over. Eventually the rush thins altogether, and you find Mantis sitting on a stack of boxes—notably, there's no nearby corpse. "Hey," you offer, and she nods. "If you're looking for some afterlife tourism, you're too late," she says, her eyes unfocused. "Jinseo already showed up and cleaned up." (if: $player_personality is "energetic")["Maybe next time," you say, mostly as a joke. "You would see a pattern, wouldn't you?" she asks without any real offense.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")["Honestly, good. I was looking for you and really hoping to avoid the corpse." She shrugs. "Lucky you, then," she hums.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")["I was looking for you, actually," you tell her, hoping to dismiss the idea of the corpse entirely. "Here I am," she says, her voice lacking the verve to even be flat.]](elseif: $_saw is "Mantis")[(if: $mantis >= 2)[You didn't bail on her when she shot you, so by your own logic you should stick around for this. You're at least interested in finding out what the hell's going on, and so you steady yourself on the beam until she nods shortly. "Can you cope?" she asks, and you nod.](else:)[The people below, all in a crowd and trying to get away from the dead body, or towards it depending on what they feel like they can do, doesn't seem like a better place to be. Mantis watches you as if to assure herself that you're able to hold yourself up on the beam by yourself, so you stick out your arms to indicate that you're balanced. "Are you good?" she asked, and what a loaded question! You nod, regardless.] "Let's—hey, can we get down?" you ask, and she rolls her still-glistening eyes. "Whatever. Let's blow." She doesn't look at you as she climbs back down off the beam and to solid ground, side-stepping the person she shot and starting down the hall. You follow, feeling a hazy sense of unreality settle over you as you carefully keep your head up to avoid looking at the dead body. You don't have the bandwidth for that right now. When she finally stops, hopping up to sit on a pile of soil bags, you can see that she's faintly shaking.](elseif: $_saw is "Crave")[Jinseo and Marsh step forward and reach for the body and you—you can't take it, you can't take it, it's suddenly unbearable to you that this should be happening at all. You stagger back and then quickly away, your feet pounding down the hall in a mad scramble to escape. You're hardly coherent enough to find somewhere out of the way before you turn and puke at the very thought of the limp body being jostled, the murder victim slouched forever... "What's your problem?" asks a voice, and you look up to see Mantis sitting on a pile of boxes. Your eyes go wide and she rolls hers, turning away. "I suppose you and Crave figured it all out then?" she asks.] "What happened?" you ask. It seems to be the most pertinent question you can ask.

"That was one of Roach's bugs." That is, perhaps, the least revelant question implied by what you asked her. "It was here to kill us." "I don't think it's that easy," you argue, and she snorts. "What the hell would you know? You didn't even know who he was until we told you." That's true, but you think the critical piece of the puzzle that she's missing is that she just killed a person forever-dead. "You heard them, same as I did—they found us, they exposed us, and now Roach is going to come kill us." "Wouldn't killing their messenger make things worse?" You have no experience with murderers, but going based on books, antagonising a murderer doesn't usually work out great...which techinally you guess is what you're doing right now. "What's the difference? What's worse than killing us?" she asks, and you can think of a few novel examples but you don't say because you expect that she believes whatever gory, slow kill she can imagine is on the table for either side. "Besides, Roach doesn't give a fuck about some peon he sent to threaten us. That's why he sends them; I didn't invent shooting the messenger." You crouch, testing to see if small makes you feel any better about how fast things are suddenly moving. It doesn't, and being in this hard concrete building cuts you off from the faint hum of life from the dirt and grass. Rock feels a little different, more like a big body of water whose voice echoes back to itself over an insurmountable distance. "So what now?" "Now my brother will show up to scold me and drag me back into the room so that Marsh can tell me I'm too unruly to be left alone, and so I'll need to help Crave with whatever task she assigns him: but that's not important." (link: "\"The task isn't important?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Why not?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You have a plan.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "cautious")["Crave will do what he's told and he'll do it well," she says impatiently. "What's not important is our part in it." "Our...?" Oh. You're being looped in on shenanigans. (if: $player_personality is "cautious")[That's not ideal.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[You should've guessed!](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")[Fuck yeah.]](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Because it isn't going to have anything to do with us," she says impatiently. "And...what are we going to be doing?" you ask, although you don't think the answer is going to be anything good.](elseif: $_reaction is "energetic")["I do," she says with a very faint smile, like she's pleasantly surprised at how easily you caught on. You're pleased too, if only for the novelty of hearing the gunman's solution to the problem. "Let's hear it."] "It's a large scale problem, right, but our enemy has a name and a face," she says. "His followers are gloaters and cowards; if the head is cut off the snake, then the whole operation dissolves into a thousand weak packs." (if: $player_personality is "cautious")["And you know that for sure?" you ask skeptically. A power vacuum is nearly impossible to predict and even less possible to non-structurally dissolve. You get that the problem is too urgent to leave to structural dissolution, but you wouldn't want to find out what's worse than the threat of total destruction. "Him being dead is better than him being alive. I know that." Her face leaves little room for doubt; not that you don't, still, but she believes what she's saying.](elseif: $player_personality is "energetic")["How do you know someone stronger doesn't waltz in and take the empty chair?" you ask. It's theoretical book knowledge so you almost feel silly suggesting it, but...well it seems pretty pressing in books that power vacuums not be filled by worse people. "If there was someone who could take power from him and keep it, they would already have tried," she says firmly. "It's just him there." She seems a little confident about the inner conflict of an organization she's not a part of, but at the same time earnest. She believes she's right.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")["Are you sure that's the route you wanna go?" you ask. There's a lot you could say in argument; the risk of a power vacuum, the act of killing, the viability of killing just the one person (if that's even on her radar), but you don't think any of it would matter to her. "I know...I know what it sounds like, given what you've seen over the past few days," she says haltingly. "But murder isn't usually my first suggestion." She seems earnest, but you don't finish her sentence: that seems to be her go to only when it comes to Roach.]

If nothing else, she has the tact to fall silent after answering your question, waiting for you to push. There's a lot to push back on, but very little, you think, that would change her mind. Barring a situation where you reveal her plan to Marsh and Mantis gets restrained and corralled away until the threat's passed, you think she's going to do this. "You don't have to respond right now," she says, almost delicately, before reassuming a harsh look. "You just have to stay out of my way." "Right. Maybe...maybe we can talk about this again after Marsh actually has a say?" you ask. All well and good to plan along the assumption that she'll be quietly lost in the shuffle of preparation, but if Marsh actually wants her to evacuate civilians you'd rather she at least consider the option. (cycling-link: "You don't care if she wants to kill this guy", "You're kind of into the idea of killing this guy", "You definitely would prefer she didn't kill this guy", "You have no idea how to react to the idea of killing this guy"), but expressing that isn't going to be the most efficient use of your time. You need more information than what Mantis is giving you, (if: $_saw is "Mantis")[or else you'll be more in the dark than you already are](else:)[because she's clearly being...selective about the situation]. Her eyes soften but her mouth goes tense. "You're new. You don't get it yet, but you'll see: everything happens the same every time. Crave doesn't want people to fight. Trigger marches towards fights like he's already dead. Marsh wants to believe in a world where we can thrive but it'll always end the same way as long as the fucking Roach crawls around in the trash." Her head snaps up and she stares at you hard, the intensity of her eyes making you hot and cold all over. Her eyes are so intently focused that you wonder if she can see yours, (cycling-link: bind $player_eyes, "black", "brown", "green", "blue", "hazel", "violet", "red", "orange", "yellow", "mismatched, brown and blue", "mismatched, black and green", "mismatched, green and yellow", "mismatched, green and brown", "mismatched, black and blue", "mismatched, blue and green", "mismatched, violet and red", "mismatched, black and red", "wholly black", "milky white") and blinking back at her. "It has to change. I can't take it anymore."

You open your mouth, not sure what's about to come out of it, when you both twitch at the shrill squeak of rubber on the floor. Crave turns the corner, breathing out a heavy, annoyed sigh. "There you are." "Marsh called the meeting," she says to you, her voice low enough that her brother doesn't hear her. "You'll see now." "What were you thinking?!" he demands, and she tosses her head. "Want me to answer that? Really?" she asks, and he rolls his eyes. "You always get like this!" he argues. "Who knows what you brought down on our heads—" "You fuckin' well know what's coming down on our heads, hell or high water," she snaps back, diving into the argument with aplomb. "So you finally wanna act like you weren't the only one who lost something back then?" Crave's face is flushed red and there's tears prickling in his eyes. Mantis seems unmoved, but you're not really surprised. She doesn't seem like tears do much to tip her scales. "I'm the only one who knows that cringing and hiding isn't gunna protect us forever. We live on our feet or die with a shot in our backs." (link: "\"Can we not do this?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"This isn't going anywhere.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You don't want to fight.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[Both of them turn to look at you, and you put up your hands. "There's a lot to do right now! I don't want to pull over to hash this out," you say, and not only because you don't think either of them is going to reach a satisfying compromise right now.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["If people see you fighting, it's only gunna make things worse," you say, your voice low and urgent. "They might not be able to see you but they'll sure as shit hear you." Both of them turn to stare at you, not angry but almost confused, as if they'd forgotten you were there at all; a talent that you have because you know better than to loudly argue in public.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["There's a lot going on right now, don't make it worse by fighting." It's a little wisdom of yours that you're finding in short supply here in the Wilds. The two of them turn to look at you, not abashed which might have ideally indicated that they internalized what you were trying to convey, but at least quiet.] Crave turns away from his sister and you, fidgeting in the silence. "Marsh wants everyone in the office." "We're coming," she says shortly. "Come on Manny, you know I can't go back without you." "Who said that?" she asks, but for once her tone isn't accusatory. The lack of anger in her voice seems to set Crave at ease. "No one, but you know it's...implied." She walks to her brother and squeezes his shoulder. "It's not implied because you think it. Tell them I'm coming and bringing Zed with me—see, I can't run off because I'm in charge of Zed." He huffs, straightening up. "Not Zed's job to take you from place to place," he says firmly. "Not yours either. I'll be right there." She slammed her palm against his back and he jumped, taking a lazy swipe at her as he backed up. "Promise!" she added, as if to coax him into leaving. "You better."

You wait until Crave turns a corner and then for a couple mental elderberries (one elderberry, two elderberry, three elderberry) before you look back at Mantis. "What about Crave?" you ask, and she sighs. "What about him?" "You're not letting him in on the plan," you say, (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[a little more accusatory than you think you're allowed in this space](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[unsure if your tone conveys disappointment or approval...and even less sure which you intend](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[watching to see her reaction]. She fixes you with a look and you stare back unflinchingly. "Come on, Crave couldn't take it. He'd fold and tell Marsh before we even left the building." "And Marsh would stop you?" "She wouldn't want me to get hurt," Mantis scoffs, as if it's an inconvenience. "But I'm just one person. If I can stop Roach from ever even getting to step foot in here then it doesn't matter what happens to me." (link: "\"I get that.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Can't relate.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"You can't really think that.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[You wouldn't choose differently in her spot, but as an outsider you'd just really like to be sure that it'll have the intended effect before you consider signing on. You don't think she's lying, persay, but as the person who's shot the most people since you've arrived, you can tell she's...passionate, about the subject. "Then you already know why I can't get Crave involved," she said shortly, and slowly you nod. She's willing to be herself, but not her brother.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[Your job, put very simply, is to live. It's as much a botannical imperative as it is an animal one: you want to keep existing in as much a capacity as you possibly can, and you'd like that for the people around you. Grand gestures like human sacrifice are so infrequently worth what everyone wants them to be, and the only way for you to keep being useful is to keep being alive. "You don't have to," she says with a roll of her eyes. "You asked why I was keeping Crave away: that's why."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["How can you not?" she asked. "Because I think your friends and your brother would be crushed to lose you, even if it did win them the building. They could take camp anywhere, but you're their only sister," you tell her seriously. She rolls her eyes, which wasn't the intended effect. "I'm not talking about this with you. You asked why Crave wasn't gunna be involved and I told you—he'll stop me or he'll want to come and it'll fuck with everything." You open your mouth again but she holds up her hand. "I don't want to die, I'm just saying that if the body count stays at one—" "Three," you correct, thinking of the messenger and the theoretical man she wants to kill. "Whatever. Better than the dozens of people that'll get got in the evac."] "Won't he be mad when he finds out you kept it from him?" you ask, and she shrugs. "Either I'm dead and it doesn't matter, or I'm alive and it's best case scenario so he can't really complain." (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[It seems, at least, that she's thought a lot about all the questions you've had so far. That bodes well for the overall plan](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[That doesn't take into account even half of the problems you can think of off the top of your head, but you can at least tell she hasn't not thought about the issue](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[She speaks with such certainty that you don't bother to point out that he would, by no means, forgive being deceived just because it turned out all right in the end; it seems like she would rather intentionally downplay that scenario, so there's no point in arguing it]. "I don't need you to agree or even come with me if you're just gunna argue the point the whole way. All you have to do is not try to stop me."

While a sufficiently dramatic closing line, the two of you are going the same place; you fall into step in silence, your mind racing. Mantis earnestly believes that the only solution to the problem would be to kill Roach, the one orchestrating the attack on the camp. She seems so confident that no one else would agree with her that she isn't even going to bother to tell them. But will you? It's a dangerous plan, but one that you don't even know half of. She wants to leave to go seek him out, but how would she get to him after that? Is she relying on him being somewhere on the road with the people he's sending to the camp? You don't get the sense she's keen to divulge more information to you until you're onboard, which might mean jumping before you can see the bottom of this particular pit. You don't think you'd be more useful than a spare pair of hands here, of course, but...maybe you should tell someone what she's gunna do? Crave would want to know. Marsh would too. Maybe they aren't as against the idea as Mantis imagines? ...or, maybe they are, and telling them would fuck up everything. Or telling them would fuck up everything but save her life. (link: "But the mission means more to her than her life.")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "Her life is more important than whatever her plan is.")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "How can you decide between her life and her cause?")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")[She said so herself: is it your right to stop her to preserve her life, even if she's made it clear that this means more to her than that? You don't feel comfortable disregarding her like that, and you can't dsiagree that an army not approaching this building that seems to house variously aged scientists, engineers, and maintenance staff is a worthy cause. She has more context than you and ](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")[If she doesn't want to value her own life, that's her problem: you have to keep people safe even if they don't want you to. All dying accomplishes is death. She's scared, she's frustrated, she's definitely angry, but her dying about it isn't going to do anything but break everyone's hearts. You don't even know if she could pull off whatever plan she has—there's always the friction point of her being just flat out unable to skillfully kill this man, or his death not having the effect she wants.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")[It's not your right to choose which is more important, but even by not choosing you'll be making a choice. It's briefly overwhelming; just by knowing, she's saddled you with the responsibility to decide for her what's going to happen. So her life, or her belief in a better world? The certain danger of letting Roach approach the camp, or the muddied and confusing danger of letting her try to violently confront him before he even arrives?] "You're thinking too loud," Mantis grouses from beside you. Her dark eyes are fixed in front of her, framed by pale eyelashes. (if: $player_personality is "energetic")["I've got a lot to think about," you reply with a grin. "I've barely been here a day and I'ma lready reeling." "I guess." She still isn't looking at you. "You hardly know who any of us are. Why are you even hanging around?"](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")["I've barely been here for a full day and I go from wondering where I am to wondering who's trying to burn it all down," you return, a little surly. "I'm trying to get my head on straight." "You don't have to," she quibbles. "You could just go at any time."](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")["There's a lot on my mind," you defer. She doesn't need to be reminded of just how much is at stake here, so you don't. "We're turning out to be more trouble than we're worth," she says agreeably, which isn't what you said. "Makes you wonder why you're even still here."] (link: "\"I can't just let this guy wipe you all out.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I'm not safer on my own.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"I would never leave you guys to your fate.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["You don't really know anything about the situation," Mantis tells you with a wry smile. "Luckily assholes like this make it really easy to tell who's in the wrong by immediately threatening violence." Her eyes flicker towards you. "Like I did?" "Not that I'm the biggest fan of you shooting me or anything, but the scale's a little off." There's no point in getting philosophical about the place of violence in society, least of all because you can't imagine that this Roach guy, with agents in place specifically to enforce his will through violence, is having even one third of the existential curiosity about the topic.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Whatever context I lack, you guys have. I don't think someone willing to forcibly subsume an entire building full of people would hesitate at all in attacking me. At best I would buy myself a couple days head start, but even that is kind of negated unless for some reason you guys were super dedicated to keeping my presence in your camp a secret," you explain. "How practical of you," she says with a laugh. "I don't disagree." You smile faintly. "The best person to have in your corner is someone who lacks the same exits that you do. Anyone can feign sentimentality, and you can't rely on the principles of strangers." "Can I rely on someone who needs an exit as bad as I do?" she asks, and you shrug. "Same's true for me, so I guess we both just have to take the risk." You'd like to argue that you're risking more than them by just being so different from them...but that would defeat the purpose of the layers.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["You all deserve to live and be safe," you tell her confidently. "It's my responsibility to help you." "You don't know us," she reminds you. "As much as we might deserve to live, at what point is it a foregone conclusion? When does your survival outweigh ours?" "That's a little..." you trail off. Philosophical, maybe. Existential, for sure. "...wary," you decide. "Why shouldn't I be wary? My whole plan hinges on you now." Her intensity is foreign to you. "I guess it's not my style to be all that suspicious. I don't know how to respond." She glances at you, then nudges you a little. "That's the thing about suspicion. I don't want you to respond, I want you to act, and for that I need to wait." "Not long, I hope," you offer, although you're not sure exactly what she wants to see.] She leads you to a small door with Marsh painted on it in neat, sloping handwriting, along with several very pretty leaves and flowers (and several less pretty ones; evidently the door had multiple artists). Mantis freezes, takes one deep, vulnerable breath, then storms in. You fade gratefully into the background—while you were technically the reason for her appearing, you're sure that if you try to centre yourself in this conflict you'll be swiftly kicked out. "I'm here," she announces, moving to sit next to her brother. Everyone else is already present: Trigger looks like he's only just barely still on the planet, Crave immediately wraps his arm around his sister like she's going to run, and Jinseo leans against a bookshelf just behind Marsh, who's staring blankly down at her desk. "I should've done more to prepare us," Trigger says, his eyes soft and blank. Of anyone here, he doesn't even seem interested in reprimanding Mantis. "I knew it was coming, I just—it was always coming." "No one expected anything more than what you gave, Trigger," Marsh says firmly. "I did," he shoots back. "Since when do we listen to you?" Mantis asks flippantly, and Crave lets out a sharp bark of laughter, like the act of finding anything funny surprised even him.

You notice that Mantis watches Trigger even as everyone else offers a faint smile; his mouth twitches and she seems to relax. "We need a plan," he asserts. "We can divide everyone up once we know what we're doing." "We need someone to run emergency evac," Marsh says. She moves like she's fighting a current to do so, her aura high and sharp with a hazy purple colour like deep sleep; she fights against the fear and disorientation with every gesture, her eyes fixed on the paper as she starts to write out what needs to get done. "On it," Jinseo says immediately. She nods and writes his name. "And someone needs to make contact with the satellite base," she says. "Trigger, can you do that?" "I...I'll check the radio," he says with a nod, and she writes his name. "But Marsh—" "Don't start," she says without looking up, her voice low like someone who's trying not to cry. "I just—" "Your is the only department that you've trained to work without you there, Trigger. Just check the radio and we'll follow up."

"Crave, you'll coordinate the evacuation of flora first, and any critical samples after that." Crave nods and you think you see tears pool in his eyes—more than anyone else, Crave seems rawly afraid of what's to come. "Mantis, can you please just help your brother." "Of course," she says, her voice almost uncharacteristically soft. She leans over and whispers something to him, resting her head against his shoulder. With only a heartbeat of hesitation, his plastered hand reaches out to squeeze hers. She acquiesed so quickly that you're almost confused: did she give up on her plan so easily? Trigger files out, still looking untethered, and Jinseo crouches down to speak to Marsh. You rush out after Mantis and Crave, keeping...a little behind. You don't know if you can arrange your face neutrally when it comes to speaking to Mantis' brother right now. "So...we'll need a list of everything that needs to go," Crave says, heaving a sigh that seems to come from somewhere so deep in him that he just barely avoids heaving out his own soul. "Focus on the animals," Mantis says immediately. "I have running inventory of the bugs but worse-case we can just release them. We don't have any long-distance specimens right now so they should just naturally redistribute...and even if they didn't we wouldn't have much of a choice." "We have lists for the animals as well...they'll be harder to move..." Crave talks around heaving breaths, like he's trying his best not to dissolve into tears. "Then let me handle getting lists from the botanists," she says gently, rubbing up and down his back. He looks up, frowning. "No. Fauna already has lists, so go gather them. I'll go tell botany what I need from them." You watch her think for a second, then she nods. "Okay. I'll defer to you." Crave relaxes, then fully sags like a deflated dough. "Sorry. Thanks, Manny."

With an almost supernatural perception as she comforts her brother, Mantis turns and makes eye contact with you. She jerks her head to indicate that you should follow, then slips away from Crave and joins you down the hall. "What's the plan?" you ask, and she snorts. "We're going to get Crave his lists. They're already made so it won't take long." You're surprised that she's bothering to go through with the actual task she was assigned. (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[Regardless of how you feel about it, you imagine she has a lot on her plate right now without adding menial evac work she isn't going to follow through on.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[You suppose, though, that you would do the same thing in her shoes: better to not act suspiciously right before going missing.](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[You suppose he's still her brother, though, and clearly afraid; maybe she didn't plan to help him all that much, but can't resist.] You're mostly her silent partner for the chore, standing beside her while she collects lists of various animals who are slow moving, animals who are ill or otherwise injured and will be difficult to move, and domesticated creatures that need to leave with the humans involved. The list of animals who are ready to be released on short notice with good prospects is disappointingly small, but not empty. With the bundle of papers she needs in hand, she turns and starts back towards Crave. "Are we going to talk about...?" you prompt, and she shakes her head. "Nothing's changed." (link: "\"Then what are we waiting for?\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"It seems like something has, actually.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"It's okay if things are different now.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["I'm not leaving him out to dry," she snaps. "I'll do what I can before I leave, just in case the worst happens. Now quit talking; Crave's probably already gone back to do a prelim with Marsh."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Nothing has changed," she insists, her face stony. "It doesn't cost me anything to help for ten minutes, and it sets people at ease. Now shut up before you get us caught and follow me back to Marsh."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Well it hasn't," she says shortly. "Sorry to get your hopes up. Follow me back to Marsh's and keep your mouth shut."] When the two of you get back to Marsh, the others have also drifted back from their tasks. You arrive just time to hear Trigger's report: their satellite station's gone completely silent over comms, news that seems like a heavy blow to everyone, even Mantis. The worse news comes immediately after, that Marsh is sending Trigger to investigate the site and retrieve whatever reinforcements he can. There's an argument, but you're only half-listening; the news that Trigger isn't staying at camp seems to unsettle Mantis. Crave steps forward next to offer the papers he gathered, and Mantis hands hers off stiffly. Her brother's more than prepared to create priority evac for specimens as soon as the people start to leave.

Marsh tries a couple times to actually read the papers, but despite the even expression she tires to maintain, you can tell the information just can't penetrate at the moment. "Good work," she says instead of anything substantive about what she'd just tried to summarize for herself. "Crave, you'll be in charge of saving whatever we can." The prospect seems to terrify the man, but he nods with his jaw clenched shut. "Mantis, help your brother." "Fine, but I'm not hanging around him to do it," she snaps. "I'm not a prisoner." "No one said you were," she returns shortly. As if she'd been waiting for someone to say so, Mantis breaks off and storms away, past you. You think you imagine it when you hear her whisper find me. Crave heaves out a sigh and grinds his knuckles into his eyes. "I'm gunna go," he says. "Not find Mantis, just...rest. Lots to do." "Let us know if you need help, Crave," she says, and his face tightens wordlessly as he gives a short nod and leaves. You turn to see if Trigger's going to stop you, but the room is empty—it's just you and Marsh now, something Marsh realises at the same time. "Bad time to visit," she offers with a smile, but it quickly fades. "If you want to leave now, then do it. We won't stop you, I mean—I wouldn't have kept you here if I'd known all this was going to happen." (link: "\"I think it's okay.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Here we are anyway.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"We'll be okay.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["It's been kind of a mess but like, I think everything is gunna turn out okay." Frankly your brain can't really scale to the catastrophe right now: everything normally turns out okay and so it stands to reason that it will continue to do so. "I wish I had your confidence," Marsh says wryly, looking back down at her hastily scribbled notes. "We'll find a way through," you assert, feeling a little helpless. She doesn't seem to agree but you think you'd feel better if she did.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I don't think there's much of a point in regrets," you offer in what you hope is a reassuring voice and not one that conveys exactly how pointless it is to be sorry at this stage. You don't resent her, because that would also be pointless. You're both just here now and have to deal with it. "Is there ever?" she asks with a wry smile. "I'm given to understand it's involuntary." "Involuntary and rational aren't synonyms."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["It's a cycle, right? Or a river. It always feels like it's going to be one way forever and then it's not." If there's one thing you've learned on your short journey, it's that every mountain is unclimable from a distance and your biggest enemy is deciding that before you ever even reach the base. You have to keep going, because nothing is forever and the only way to get to the next thing is to keep moving. "A cycle kind of implies that it will be one way, in varying stages, forever," she points out, and you shrug. "Like a river, then."] "Am I to assume you're staying, then?" she asks, and you nod. You don't have anywhere else to go: you're friendly with the woods, but that'd only take you so far and you doubt you'd fare very well with the next group of people you stumbled across. Maybe it'd be a settlement, maybe it'd be the group of people attacking this one. "I won't tell you where to go then: you pick. There's two initiatives that need your help—Trigger or Crave." Or Mantis, you think to yourself. She's erratic, but you're still almost sure she was trying to signal you earlier. "I'll get to work," you promise, wary of promising anything to Marsh who waves you off. She's got better things to worry about than where you're standing. (link: "It's time to find Mantis.")[(set: $route to "m")(goto: "END")] (link: "Trigger's leaving the compound, and you're going with him.")[(set: $route to "t")(goto: "END")] (link: "Crave clearly needs your help with the evacuation.")[(set: $route to "c")(goto: "END")]

(if: $_saw is "Crave")[Marsh and Jinseo walk towards the corpse and you clench your jaw, hoping that you can tolerate what comes next. You almost jump when you feel Crave come up next to you, standing between you and the ghoulish tableau in front of you both. He reaches out and takes your clenches fist, squeezing as hard as you are. "Marsh, maybe we can go get people to deal with this," Crave says, not taking his eyes off you. "I dunno that just you and Jinseo should be doin' it." You watch Marsh back off quickly, nodding a couple times. "That would be great, actually, if you could go grab some volunteers from the morgue?" Her hand is shaking, but Jinseo catches you looking and reaches out to take it. "We'll set a perimeter," he says with a nod. "While you two handle the volunteers."](elseif: $_saw is "Mantis")[You quickly scramble down, fairly confident that she's not going to shoot you for leaving. She follows you and for a moment your confidence wavers, but you watch her dart away without a backwards glance at you, leaving you with the still-warm corpse. You assume. You're not quite brave enough to actually reach out and touch it. A small crowd rushes up, and you look up to see a grey-faced Crave, tight-jawed Marsh, and Jinseo bringing up the rear with a flickering look of exhaustion. You put your hands up immediately, hoping to demonstrate that you're unarmed. "What the fuck happened?" Marsh demands, and you look at Crave who looks at the body, then you, and then with almost supernatural awareness, down the hall where Mantis ran off. "Mantis shot the messenger," you say in a small voice, and Crave's eyes slip closed. "She...? Where is she now?" Marsh asks, and you tilt your head. "She took off." "Do you...why were you there?" Jinseo, it seems, is going to be the one to bring up the obvious, that they trust Mantis and they don't trust you. "Zed was out with Manny," Crave says. "Manny was armed. She grabbed the gun when we were heading to Receiving." A heavy silence falls and you hear Marsh's laboured breathing as she struggles to conceptualize just how wrong this whole thing has gone. "Are they...?" she trails off, and Jinseo crouches by the body. He's coiled tightly to avoid touching it, but nods regardless of how imprecise his diagnosis is. "Shit. Shit, we...we have to move them before people start to show up..." "Me and Zed will go get some people from the morgue," Crave says, his voice low and empty. Your head jerks up in surprise—you'd thought he'd be more angry with you for not stopping her. "We'll set up a perimeter in the meantime," Jinseo agrees.](elseif: $_saw is "Trigger")[You slow down and he outpaces you quickly, disappearing through the hallways while you circle back. You really can't do anything but wander; you don't know your way around, and even the short distance you followed Trigger put you way outside the few parts that are familiar to you. The push of the crowd eventually fades as you meander, and eventually you turn a corner and— And there's the dead body. And Crave is crouching nearby, looking so wane that for a second you're sure he's going to pass out right in front of your eyes. "Crave?" you ask, unsure of whether or not you want to shuffle closer—there is a dead body there, after all. "Manny, she uh..." He stops talking as soon as his voice wavers, and when his eyes screw shut you can see the glimmer of welling tears on his dark eyelashes. "We heard," you confirm, finally taking the dive and getting a little closer. You crouch and he looks up at you, then back down at the body. "Crave—Crave, shit." Marsh appears with Jinseo around the corner, her hand pressed to her chest as she approaches. "Crave are you okay?" "Been better," he says faintly. "We need to...handle this before more people show up," Jinseo says, the solemnity on his face finally making him look like his brother. "Yeah...hey, Crave, why don't you and Zed go down to the morgue and try to find some volunteers to handle the body?" Marsh asks, and Crave slowly lifts himself to stand at his full height. He scrubs at his face then nods, running his hands anxiously through his hair a couple times. "We'll make a perimeter in the meantime," Jinseo confirms.] Crave takes your hand and pulls you along, away from the body and away from Marsh and Jinseo whose heads are pressed together to quietly plan something you have no part in. You follow gratefully, (if: $player_personality is "energetic")[discomfort finally winning out against curiosity](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")[not at all eager to see how they try to offer the dead body dignity as you call for disposal](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")[wanting to put as much distance between you and the corpse as possible].

You let him guide you, neither of you making a sound.(if: $gotFern is 1)[At some point he stops someone rushing down the hall and hands Fern off to them, mumbling briefly to you to explain that he can't bring her into the morgue; it sounds reasonable, but at the same time both you and Fern seem deeply concerned about leaving him on his own.] Once you're well away from the body he slows down but doesn't let go of your hand, keeping his fingers wound with yours almost subconsciously. The sticky bandages that cover his hands bend and peel against the thick material of your gloves, which doesn't seem to bother him. "Do you get hurt a lot?" you ask. (if: $crave >=2)[You guess working with animals would run the risk of little nicks, although you're not sure how effective the plasters are.](else:)[You're not sure how effective the plasters would actually be in the wound-healing process, but he seems pretty confident in them.] "H'm?" He looks down and sees his hands, and then that the two of you are holding hands and tries to casually let you slip away; letting go of you is a successful move, while casual is a little less so. "Nah, barely even get bit anymore. Turns out dogs are pretty good at letting you know when they're about to fuck your shit. Just like how the bandaids feel." "...sticky?" you venture, and he nods. "And they're fun, right?" he asks with a smile, and you can't deny that. He has green ones with turtles, red ladybugs, blue flowers, and he's absently doodled dogs, skulls, and swirls onto the plain ones. "They're not really useful to the med team but the place was loaded with them." "The building was?" "Yeah. Had a lot of supplies actually, which was kinda weird for a two hundred year old building."

You look around curiously, a little more comfortable doing so when only Crave is there to notice that you're interested. More than anyone else, he seems to just get that of course you're curious, that it doesn't mean anything diabolical. "What was this place before you guys were here?" you ask, and he shrugs. "Someone probably knows for sure, but I think it was like, a market? Every room had a different assortment of shit in it: hangers and some clothes only good for scraps, plastic toys and some mostly-gone stuffed animals, mouldy books..." "A mall?" you ask tenatively. Some of the fiction you and $guardian took care of before everything (and the sudden realisation of the loss of not only your $family but also everything you don't have with you right now—books so old that they had to be taken care of with the utmost care, probably ground under the heel of whoever felt it was acceptable to destroy your home, is suddenly so keen as to be painful) mentioned malls as a place where people would go to spend time and buy things. The idea of being able to go to to a building and buy most things you could think of, and multiples of them, was just as mind-boggling to you as a castle floating on the clouds. "Maul?" he asks, confused. "Like a hammer?" "M-A-L-L," you clarify. "That's what they would call the big indoor markets." "Oh, weird. Wonder why? Like market mixed with...all? Like a market that had everything?" he asks, and you shrug. "My books just mentioned malls like it would be weird for someone to not know what they are," you admit.

"You read a lot, then?" he asks, and you nod. "It filled time, besides gardening and running the radio." It feels weird and wrong to refer to your life in the past tense, but at the same time...you don't really have anything to read now. There's no radio to take care of. Whatever wasn't stomped to death in the garden has probably been stolen. "I liked trying to put together things that old books took for granted I'd understand—like a food court." He snorts. "Sounds fancy. Who was the king and queen of the food court?" "Exactly! It sounds like some kind of festival gag or something, but they were in malls. It was just the area of the mall where all the food was made." "We got one of those! It was weird, though, there were a bunch of really tiny kitchens with walls between them. We had a knock a bunch down to make one kitchen big enough to cook for everyone." "They were a collection of a bunch of different restaurants," you explain. "So ten small restaurants would make different food for everyone, instead of one big kitchen serving everyone." He squints as he tries to picture it, then shrugs. "Still sounds pretty fancy to me. A bunch of stores selling a hundred different things and then if you get bored of that, ten people are waiting to cook for you?" The two of you almost absently stop in front of a thick, insulated door, and he reaches out his hand to open it, then pauses. "Hey so uh, the morgue's got dead people in it and it's pretty cold: if you wanna wait out here for me, that's fine." (link: "You're too curious to resist.")[(set: $_temp to 0)(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "It sounds awful, but you don't want to be alone.")[(set: $_temp to 1)(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_temp is 0)[You don't have any practical experience with dead bodies: you and $guardian were always a package deal and neither of you really ever talked about what would happen if that were no longer true. Maybe you should have; maybe you'd be less lost now if the two of you had ever planned to part. "I can handle it," you say with, frankly, unearned confidence.](elseif: $_temp is 1)[The dead seem to lurk behind every corner of this place, which feels jarring; you're used to the sounds of animals dying as a natural part of the environmental landscape, but the idea of a person dying is almost foreign to you. You're aware, of course, that they can do and must, but you and $guardian never talked about it and neither of you ever died, so that was that. The only thing worse than confronting it here and now in this controlled environment, though, would be to keep rolling the dice on random murders in the wilds and hope that other people continued to handle it on your behalf. "I'll stick with you," you said firmly, as it's the only thing you're confident about in this situation.] He watches you for another second, like you're going to change your mind, (if: $_temp is 0)[but you smile reassuringly back at him before remembering that there is no part of your face or body that is indicating to him that your expression changed at all. "I'm ready," you tell him instead, and he nods and opens the door](else:)[and while you're tempted to, you resist. You didn't track him down just to take your chances alone, and so grateful that there's no part of your body or face that indicates that your expression has changed at all, you nod firmly and he opens the door]. A blast of cold air rushes out at the two of you, one you feel through the hairline imperfections in your now very-sweaty armour, and you're relieved to find that whatever dead are stored there aren't sitting in what seems to be the lobby. There is an alive person sitting at what seems to be a ramshackle reception, with dark hair and thick glasses. "Hey Crave. Hope you're not here for a reason?" they ask, and Crave sighs. "Not the usual one, but it's...not great. Marsh needs you up top," he says, and they frown. "You hear down here about uh...Roach?" he asks, and they go wane. The expression indicates that they haven't yet, and worse, that now Crave is going to be the one to tell them. "I-I...maybe just send a couple people up to Marsh for body retrieval?" he stammers, and they tighten their grip on the desk. "Body retrieval?" they gasp, then shake their head. "No, no, I get it. We'll hear about it...I guess we'll know when we know. Is it...is it bad?" they ask. You don't see their perspective on Crave's expression, but whatever his face does confirms something dire for them. "O-Okay. Okay. Fuck, I'll go get...fuck."

Before Crave can try to walk anything back, they lift themselves up on trembling legs and stumble for the back, their breathing starting to come in heavy huffs. Crave shrinks. "I didn't ask if I should tell anyone," he says with quiet urgency. "I'm gunna cause a fucking panic—" (if: $player_personality is "energetic")["Hey, it's okay," you assure him. "They could have just as easily heard it from the crowd outside." "I fucked up," he insists with a shake of his head. "I scared them." "I don't think this is the kind of news people hear without being scared."](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")["There's no good way to get that news," you say firmly. "Some people will panic no matter what you say." You guess, anyway. (upperfirst: $guardian) wouldn't have and neither would you, but you guess not everyone can kick it into high gear on a dime. "I should have just told them to go back without freaking them out," he groans, and you shake your head. "That probably would have set them off too."](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")["They were going to find out eventually," you say comfortingly. "At least they heard it from someone they trust." "Who'd trust me with shit? I just spread a death rumour that sent someone into a panic spiral!" he groans. "It's not exactly happy news," you argue. "You did all you could."] Two grim-faced morticians—you assume they're morticians, judging by their outfits which include stiff aprons tied around their clothes, heavy rubber gloves, and masks over their mouths, which just some of the things you'd like if you were to attempt moving a body—clear the doors and stop in front of Crave. "We're sorry about Jay," the one on the right, sporting an uneven bob, says. "They shouldn't have lost it like that." "Let us know where Marsh needs us and we'll handle it," the other adds, adjusting their over-repaired glasses. "They uh...they probably shouldn't say anything to anyone," Crave says meekly, and they both give a firm nod. "We impressed that upon them." "We do delicate work here. Jay knows that."

Crave stammers out the directions, and you find yourself (cycling-link: "pitying his disorientation; he's doing the best he can, but what could anyone do here?", "frustrated by his hesitance; people need him to step up and he stops too frequently to doubt himself.", "alarmed by his uncertainty; if he's in the core staff for this place and he doesn't know what to do, who does?") The morticians leave to follow his instructions, and he pulls his hands nervously through his hair. "What now?" you ask. "Marsh and Jinseo will let 'em know what they want. We uh...I don't know what we do," he admitted. "Someone'll come for us eventually, I guess. I'm senior staff so Marsh is gunna wanna go over what the game plan is." "Is Mantis going to be in trouble?" you ask tentatively, and he snorts. "She's always in fuckin' trouble. Nothing anyone can do to convince her otherwise." He slouches. "But if you mean is Marsh gunna do something...I mean she'll probably be demoted in some way, but there's no one else who can take her spot in entomology. Bugs are kinda a hard sell and Mantis has a rare mix of extensive knowledge and zero fear. We're just volunteers and shit so unless we have someone we know can do her job..." He trails off, linking his fingers behind his neck. "I've read about...jail?" you ask hesitantly. You didn't see anything like that on any of your impromptu tours around the building, but you'd assume they'd be hard to get into. "What, like locking someone up?" He looks shocked at the notion, which settles your fear of having to watch it happen to his sister. "Nah. Even if we did that, which we don't because we're not total fuckin' tyrants, Marsh'd never. Mantis, she...she needs like...help. Putting her in a box would just piss her off."

(if: $crave >= 2)["Why don't we go get Fern(if: $gotFern is 1)[ back?"](else:)[?"] you suggest, and he sinks deeper into himself before nodding, almost urgently.](else:)[Settled as that matter is—not much, except to assure you that you're not about to watch someone get executed or something—you watch Crave look around, looking lost and anxious for a moment before he nods. "You wanna come with to get my dog(if: $gotFern is 1)[ back?"](else:)[?"] he asks, and you nod; (if: $_temp is 0)[you've followed him this far, after all.](else:)[you followed him into a crypt, so why not into a kennel?]] The two of you set a slow, lingering pace. You make sure, this time, to try and take in your surroundings: the paint on the walls was probably white, once upon a time, and is now a brownish yellow from age, wear, and you think probably daily hands touching it. The floor is smooth and whatever colour or pattern it once had has been long worn out by steady feet treading it. While the main section of the building—the mall, you're now nearly certain—is grand and open, with sunlight beaming down from the ceiling and wide open spaces where the camp has built their various different stations, these winding hallways are confined to the back and lack natural light. They're kept tidy of dirt and effort has been made to mop and scrub, but you feel almost an echo of civilizations past. The same people who wrote about meeting their friends at the mall are the people who walked these paths. "What are you thinking?" Crave asks. "About people, how many people used to walk where we're walking." Were these extensions of the stores? Were they back ways for the people who worked in the building? "Pretty deep. Ever read any books about how to stop your whole life from getting ground under some fuck's heel?" You incline your head, choosing to answer earnestly. "There's novels about resistance movements and war," you concede. (cycling-link: "They're some of your favourite, but", "They're definitely not your favourite;") actual violent conflict always seemed like such a distant and unlikely thing. "Any tips for us?" he asks wryly. (link: "\"Perseverance!\"")[(set: $_reaction to "energetic")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"From a book? Absolutely not.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "cautious")(goto: $nextpassage)] (link: "\"Don't lose hope.\"")[(set: $_reaction to "serene")(goto: $nextpassage)]

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["Someone whose core strategy is to grind you under their heel is relying on you to break; deny them the satisfaction." "Sounds like I'm also relying on him to not kill me immediately," he says with a bitter smile, and you shrug. "Honestly, the books don't rule that out; maybe dying is more satisfying if it pisses him off in the process?" The issue with only ever reading about conflict was that it was rendered wholly theoretical. "Nice thought, but I don't know that it offers much in the way of options."](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["Books about conflict can be myopic, nostalgic, and is almost always written by either victors or third party researchers. There is no victim's guide to never getting hurt." Well, there probably was somewhere but they wouldn't necessarily advertise the scam so blatantly, nor would their advice be any more useful than your bog standard don't die. "Damn. Could have really used some advice right now." "You don't need made-up advice from books," you assure him. "It'd take thirty titles all cross-referenced against each other to get even a kernel of the truth." "And I doubt I have that kind of time," he agreed bitterly.](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["Don't cede hope to the enemy; it does their work for them." Conflict varied wildly, even when purely fictional, but the one common thread is that the determination to see a better future, free of pain and violence, was stronger than the megalomania of any would-be tyrant. "Doesn't really help us against bullets though, does it?" he asked, and you smile. "If the secret to being unkillable was hidden in a book, more people would read." As it stands, if Crave wanted to find the foundation of violence being used historically to oppress various populations and enforce the will of very few people over many...well, it'd be a depressing journey, but he'd get there. "Guess it wouldn't do me anymore good if he could read enough to be unkillable too," Crave jokes bitterly.] "Have some faith in everyone," you urge him. "You're not alone here." "I'd rather be," he admits darkly as the two of you come to the kennels. "Then only I could die." He doesn't wait for you to respond, shouldering his way into the room where the dogs eagerly approach to snuffle him. Fern is the biggest of them, looking wilder but acting far milder than the others, nudging her way through the crowd to press her head against Crave's stomach. The weight of her seems to undo something in him, and his face folds into misery. He slaps his hand over his mouth as his eyes well with tears, his other hand reaching down to rest stiffly between her flopping pink ears.

His shoulders shake and you stiffen in surprise; another aspect of a social society that you'd largely missed out on was highly emotional sadness; $guardian rarely ever cried around you, mostly tripping over surprising and mundane sadnesses. Crave so openly advertising his terror and grief sneaks up on you, so much so that you don't notice Jinseo opening the doors behind you. "There you are; Crave?" The blonde freezes, his hand still shaking on Fern's head, but when he turns he seems largely under control. "Hey Jinseo. Just here to pick up my dog." "Lucky guess on my part," he returns with a faintly concerned smile. "Marsh is ready for everyone." "Morgue works quick," Crave says, deceptively casual. His eyes still glimmer with tears, but his voice is steady. "We'll be along in a sec." Trigger's brother nods and disappears with a last backwards glance at the two of you. When you're alone again except for the other handful of personnel in the kennels, his shoulders relax but he doesn't break down again. "You sticking with me?" he asks, and to your surprise he looks directly at your eyes. You suppose he doesn't feel especially awkward—he can't actually see you looking back at him...but you can imagine that he can make out a (cycling-link: bind $player_eyes, "black", "brown", "green", "blue", "hazel", "violet", "red", "orange", "yellow", "mismatched, brown and blue", "mismatched, black and green", "mismatched, green and yellow", "mismatched, green and brown", "mismatched, black and blue", "mismatched, blue and green", "mismatched, violet and red", "mismatched, black and red", "wholly black", "milky white") glint, just barely there. You nod your head, your throat feeling dry.

Crave leads you to Marsh's office in a deeply contemplative silence, with Fern padding along beside him and occasionally nudging his hand to prompt him to run it along her fur-patched neck. What's coming next is going to have enormous ripples across this community—you can't help but try to envision the damage as the two of you move past other labs. There's plant samples, insects, more animals than just the dogs, to say nothing of the rest of the people that seem to call this camp their home; all of them will have to fight or flee, and who knows how efficient that process will be? Is this Roach watching for signs of a mass evacuation? Will he try to stop it? You think you'd know, if you could discern motive in someone who seems to very readily wield the threat of violence. Instead you're just as clueless as the rest of them until you sit in on this meeting and find out how exactly they plan to defend their home. "I hate violence," Crave says, cutting through the quiet. "When I was a kid my auntie used to say I was gentle as a whipper spider at least twice as big." A smile flickers and dies across his face at the memory. "I don't think it's weird of me; to not want to fight, that is." (if: $player_personality is "energetic")["Sometimes violence is necessary," you offer, and he shrugs. "Doesn't mean I have to like it, or can't try to avoid it. I think avoiding bodily harm is something most people can understand." "If you get the choice, I guess," you cede. You don't have a lot of room to argue, especially since your first taste with violence was fleeing from it immediately, but from a historical perspective, there was definitely a pattern of states running roughshod because no one wanted to escalate to the necessary violence to defend themselves or others.](elseif: $player_personality is "cautious")["Who told you it was weird?" you ask, and he snorts. "Manny, of course." "I think avoiding harm is a fairly baseline state of being," you argue. Historically, there's been plenty of violence: that doesn't mean everyone was really jazzed about it, and as often as it could be used as a tool of revolution and the throwing off of ones chains, it could be used to put those chains there in the first place. "At the very least it's a tool that anyone can use."](elseif: $player_personality is "serene")["I wish it was so easy as wanting not to," you say, not particularly agreeing or disagreeing. His sister, certainly, would disagree with his assessment; someone with children might agree. Nothing, especially something so volatile and versatile and easily accessible as the threat of violence, can be called wholly good or bad. "It could be, maybe, if everyone thought so." "Unfortunately forcing a homogenous opinion among any group would likely require some level of violence, and we'd be right back where we started," you say with a faint smile.] He slides through a door with looping letters labelled Marsh, not continuing his abrupt story about his aunt. You get the idea that terror evokes a strange kind of nostalgia in him.

Everyone else is already present: Trigger looks like he's only just barely still on the planet, Mantis slouches against a desk as Crave slots in next to her, and Jinseo leans against a bookshelf just behind Marsh, who's staring blankly down at her desk. You try to blend into the background. "I should've done more to prepare us," Trigger says, his eyes soft and blank. Of anyone here, he doesn't even seem interested in reprimanding Mantis. "I knew it was coming, I just—it was always coming." "No one expected anything more than what you gave, Trigger," Marsh says firmly. "I did," he shoots back. "Since when do we listen to you?" Mantis asks flippantly, and Crave lets out a sharp bark of laughter, like the act of finding anything funny surprised even him.

"We need a plan," Trigger insists, his mout barely twitching against the joke that Mantis attempted—at least, you're pretty sure she was joking. "We can divide everyone up once we know what we're doing." "We need someone to run emergency evac," Marsh says. She moves like she's fighting a current to do so, her aura high and sharp with a hazy purple colour like deep sleep; she fights against the fear and disorientation with every gesture, her eyes fixed on the paper as she starts to write out what needs to get done. "On it," Jinseo says immediately. She nods and writes his name. "And someone needs to make contact with the satellite base," she says. "Trigger, can you do that?" "I...I'll check the radio," he says with a nod, and she writes his name. "But Marsh—" "Don't start," she says without looking up, her voice low like someone who's trying not to cry. "I just—" "Your is the only department that you've trained to work without you there, Trigger. Just check the radio and we'll follow up."

"Crave, you'll coordinate the evacuation of flora first, and any critical samples after that." Crave nods with a haunted solemnity that makes you shiver with the horror of it. "Mantis, can you please just help your brother." "Of course," she says, her voice almost uncharacteristically soft. She leans over and whispers something to him, resting her head against his shoulder. With only a heartbeat of hesitation, his plastered hand reaches out to squeeze hers. You're glad that someone else is there for Crave; he needs someone who understand him. Trigger files out, still looking untethered, and Jinseo crouches down to speak to Marsh. You rush out after Mantis and Crave, keeping...a little behind. You don't know if you can arrange your face neutrally when it comes to speaking to Mantis right now. "So...we'll need a list of everything that needs to go," Crave says, heaving a sigh that seems to come from somewhere so deep in him that he just barely avoids heaving out his own soul. "Focus on the animals," Mantis says immediately. "I have running inventory of the bugs but worse-case we can just release them. We don't have any long-distance specimens right now so they should just naturally redistribute...and even if they didn't we wouldn't have much of a choice." "We have lists for the animals as well...they'll be harder to move..." Crave talks around heaving breaths, like he's trying his best not to dissolve into tears. "Then let me handle getting lists from the botanists," she says gently, rubbing up and down his back. He looks up, frowning. "No. Fauna already has lists, so go gather them. I'll go tell botany what I need from them." You watch her think for a second, then she nods. "Okay. I'll defer to you." Crave relaxes, then fully sags like a deflated dough. "Sorry. Thanks, Manny."

Mantis slips away, presumably to do as she's asked although her acquiesence is a little surprising to you, and you watch Crave as the cogs in his mind start to turn. If nothing else, that's what rouses him out of his near-collapsed state of depression; you can see in real time as he starts to make lists and go over floor plans in his head. The two of you spend the better part of an hour visiting different departments and ordering a round-up of research, assets that can be transported, and assets that can't. Crave fares far better when faced with large-scale equipment that'll need to be disassembled or abandoned; despite the immediate tension that his request for resources prompts, he doesn't have a breakdown like he did in the morgue again. You stay mostly in his shadow, carrying papers and, mostly as a thought exercise, trying to grasp the sheer scale of this operation. Botany, entomology, predation, herbivory, even parasitism!—you didn't even know that institutions like this existed at all outside of your books. You...wonder, honestly, why you and $guardian aren't part of one. Sure, the two of you mostly just subsist out in the world, but you've seen $guardian's extensive notes and even though you didn't read all of them, $they couldn't just be keeping exhaustive daily diary entries. (upperfirst: $they) got you your books, $they encouraged you and answered your limitless questions. Maybe $guardian knew about as much about the world as you did before you got here. When the two of you get back to Marsh, the others have also drifted back from their tasks. You arrive just time to hear Trigger's report: their satellite station's gone completely silent over comms, news that seems like a heavy blow to everyone, even Mantis. The worse news comes immediately after, that Marsh is sending Trigger to investigate the site and retrieve whatever reinforcements he can. There's an argument, but you're only half-listening; the news that Trigger isn't staying at camp seems to unsettle Crave. He gives a half-mumbled report, forgetting several of the critical systems and chains of communication that he put into place, but Marsh only nods serenely and lets him stagger back to his spot over by you.

(if: $_reaction is "energetic")["It's been kind of a mess but like, I think everything is gunna turn out okay." Frankly your brain can't really scale to the catastrophe right now: everything normally turns out okay and so it stands to reason that it will continue to do so. "I wish I had your confidence," Marsh says wryly, looking back down at her hastily scribbled notes. "We'll find a way through," you assert, feeling a little helpless. She doesn't seem to agree but you think you'd feel better if she did.](elseif: $_reaction is "cautious")["I don't think there's much of a point in regrets," you offer in what you hope is a reassuring voice and not one that conveys exactly how pointless it is to be sorry at this stage. You don't resent her, because that would also be pointless. You're both just here now and have to deal with it. "Is there ever?" she asks with a wry smile. "I'm given to understand it's involuntary." "Involuntary and rational aren't synonyms."](elseif: $_reaction is "serene")["It's a cycle, right? Or a river. It always feels like it's going to be one way forever and then it's not." If there's one thing you've learned on your short journey, it's that every mountain is unclimable from a distance and your biggest enemy is deciding that before you ever even reach the base. You have to keep going, because nothing is forever and the only way to get to the next thing is to keep moving. "A cycle kind of implies that it will be one way, in varying stages, forever," she points out, and you shrug. "Like a river, then."] "Am I to assume you're staying, then?" she asks, and you nod. You don't have anywhere else to go: you're friendly with the woods, but that'd only take you so far and you doubt you'd fare very well with the next group of people you stumbled across. Maybe it'd be a settlement, maybe it'd be the group of people attacking this one. "I won't tell you where to go then: you pick. There's two initiatives that need your help—Trigger or Crave." Or Mantis, you think to yourself. She's erratic, but you're still almost sure she was trying to signal you earlier. "I'll get to work," you promise, wary of promising anything to Marsh who waves you off. She's got better things to worry about than where you're standing. (link: "It's time to find Mantis.")[(set: $route to "m")(goto: "END")] (link: "Trigger's leaving the compound, and you're going with him.")[(set: $route to "t")(goto: "END")] (link: "Crave clearly needs your help with the evacuation.")[(set: $route to "c")(goto: "END")]

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