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[officerrenaldi]

[Ladies and Gentlemen-have a certain cop who is scared as anything. The problem with all of this is-she's LAPD. Raised in a family who don't show fear. So she's trying to keep out of site yet wandering the halls. She's completely affected and struggling like mad with it.

But she's not giving in. So she's just got her hands in her pockets wandering the halls completely on edge. This is what it's like to be supernatural somehow. The other times she'd been someone else-this was the first time a flood hit her.

This is what it's like. But she's not saying anything about it. Nothing at all.]

Comments

[batmanschmatman]

[Dick's been feeling kind of uncomfortable this whole flood. He's not used to people seeing him vulnerable unless he's actually vulnerable, and people being able to read him this easily is kind of... unsettling. So there's a general feeling of uneasiness and discomfort on top of his homesickness, but all that is kind of getting pushed aside when he comes across Carla, because he's totally picking up on that fear. Concern quickly muscled past his own discomfort.]

You okay?

[officerrenaldi]

[Carla stares at him-eyes wide. Unease. Discomfort. She radiates fear and denial.]

...Yeah. Fine. Just...this is one hell of a flood.

[batmanschmatman]

[Which is just bringing Dick's level of concern right up.]

Yeah. Carla, what's wrong?

[officerrenaldi]

[There's a hard flash of anger there.] Nothing! It's just...

[It's too much.] I'm fine. I can handle this. I don't need any help. Ever.

[batmanschmatman]

[Dick was frustrated, but tried to keep his irritation in check, because all he wanted to do was help, and when you were getting huge waves of "I'm pretty freaked out" from someone you were friendly with, it was sort of a hard thing to ignore.] Yeah, you do. Everyone needs help sometimes.

[officerrenaldi]

...No. [Carla stares at him. He's irritated, she's confused and angry but it's that self-directed anger. Then in a show of false bravado.] Not me. I've shot zombies. Okay. I've put down werewolves and vampires. I'm here because I'm the calm one and I'm the rational one. I don't need help.

[She sounds boastful and arrogant but in reality all of her emotions scream yes I do.]

...I don't want to go see a barge shrink. This is making me feel like I should be a barge shrink you know? So many people who are being so upset.

[batmanschmatman]

[Dick's frustration spikes and then drops off a little again as he takes a deep breath, falling back on his training, on what he's good at, because even if this flood is giving him some weird empathy or something, he was still calm and rational and could focus on the important thing here.

So his voice is calmer and more controlled, his emotions a little more dialed back.]

Carla, calm down. First off, there isn't a Barge shrink, unless you want to go talk to McCoy or the Doctor, and second, being freaked out about floods is totally normal. It doesn't matter what you've been through - and all of us have been through something - it's okay to be unsettled by it. You don't need to lash out at people who are concerned.

[surfaceshine]

[So Dean hasn't seen Carla since the pirate flood, and it was longer even before then; and if that weren't enough, she's broadcasting loudly enough to give him a headache if his own tolerance for the same weren't ridiculously high. He knows how to shove the fear and anxiety away, and he does so now as he sets out to find the source of it. His proximity might not help her - there's a souldeep sadness and isolation that he carries with him everywhere even though it doesn't show on the surface, and an instinctive wariness of even people he trusts just because they're not Winchesters - but he wants to. There's empathy in the mix as he searches the hall.]

[officerrenaldi]

[Oh god it's like listening to a time bomb wandering down the hallway. Feeling it. She backs up a step-but there's nowhere to run as neither of the nearby cabin doors are open. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.]

....Hi.

[Never has someone looked that uneasy. Well, never has a law enforcement official looked that uneasy.]

[surfaceshine]

[Well, even if he didn't currently have flood-induced empathy, she's radiating nerves so strongly that he would have noticed on his own; with the empathy, it's enough to stop him in his tracks the second he sees her. Sincere concern colors both his expression and his projecting emotions, along with confusion and the first, unacknowledged pinpricks of hurt-by-proxy. He stays where he is, at least until he can figure out what's going on, and calls down to her.]

Hey sweetheart - everything alright? [Doubt, because he knows it's not, but he'll give her the chance to say so on her own.]

[officerrenaldi]

[Carla just kind of stares at him.]

...Fine. Why.

[It's pretty clear she's lying but a good poker face doesn't help in this case.]

tough flood.

[surfaceshine]

[Dean frowns; displeasure that she's acting so skittish towards him, but also understanding. He gets it. He doesn't try to move closer, unsure of what to do or how to help, though he genuinely wants to do so.]

Yeah, it is. Is that all it is? [The concern is still strong, too.]

[technophilic]

[ Poor Satsuki is still gathering data on who is affected and who isn't. She has some better idea of what's happening to her now, but she's still utterly unhappy with it. But now she's more confused than anything. People are reacting to her so strongly, as though she were some sort of emotional wreck.

If only she understood how to define her own misery. ]

Excuse me. [ You. Yes you. She has Questions. ]

[officerrenaldi]

[Carla recoils. That's strong. Like a punch to the face strong.]

...What? what?

[technophilic]

[ See, that? THAT CONFUSES HER. And distresses her. What is wrong? :c ]

I am running a statistical analysis of the flood events that occur here. It would be helpful to my analysis to know whether or not you have been affected by the current flood.

[officerrenaldi]

[Carla frowns. There are flashes of false bravado before she straightens-bravely.] Of course I haven't.

[LIEEEESSS]

[technophilic]

[ Satsuki... doesn't know what that means. It's not a feeling she's either felt or witnessed before. ]

Very well. Thank you for your help.

[ She writes that down. ]

You are Carla Renaldi, are you not?

[officerrenaldi]

[Carla frowns] Yeah. Officer Renaldi.

...why?

[technophilic]

[ She writes that down as well. Now that the initial confusion has passed, she's back to her usual miserable self. ]

As I have said, I am running a statistical analysis. The more data I have, the more accurate my results will be.

[nolongerhollow]

[Sad vamp is sad. He's not feeling as doomed as he was earlier, but there's definitely a strong sense of lonely/uncertain/mildly depressed. Whenever he passes someone, or senses someone is nearby on the other side of a door, he immediately forces himself to think of the gardens. Their green peace, the soothing sights and smells, the warm humidity of the air. It works. Calms him, helps him find the threads of his optimism and start reweaving it. That way he won't share his anguish as much.]

[That is what he is doing when he draws near to Carla, even before he registers who it is. There's a brief mix of mild emotions: curiosity, a bit of attraction, a touch of respect earned by their first interaction. But then her fear hits him and he stiffens slightly, eyes widening. Curiosity/concern wars with consideration for her pride and reserve. Then: realization.]

She's still relatively new. This must be the most drastic flood she's dealt with so far. What should I do?

What would Chromie do?

Officer Renaldi?

[officerrenaldi]

[Carla raises an eyebrow at him. She stops walking and crosses her arms over her chest.]

...What.

[nolongerhollow]

[His concern backs off a bit; just as with Ed this is a person who wants very much to keep her dignity, and he can respect that. So...now what? An idea springs into his head: suggesting a course of action in the guise of asking for help.]

My apologies if you are particularly busy, but I have a bit of a problem. You see, several of us are taking turns having...ehm..."mental privacy breaks" in various parts of the CES. It seems needed, and I am not too proud to admit I could use one myself.

The sun is just down and Stildye is busy. Would you mind accompanying me for a little while? I will make it up to you later.

[officerrenaldi]

[Mental privacy breaks. Carla brightens and looks more businesslike then she has since their conversation began. focus on your work that was her father's philosophy. Focus on work.]

I can take you. Absolutely.

[She practically leaps forward] There'll be time.

[nolongerhollow]

Excellent! [He has a real smile now, one that makes his eyes gleam a bit. It reflects in his emotions, which have no scheming to them.] It is greatly appreciated. I am doing better than some, but I must be extra careful about keeping control.

[True enough, but focusing on someone else is helping a great deal.]

[officerrenaldi]

[She tries to smile. It comes out skewed but the emotion is there.] I know how hard that can be.

[And she does. She's being sincere and it's said on multiple levels. She's seen the captain's niece. She knows.]