Noe
It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime, everybody agrees
At teatime, everybody agrees
Vox gave everyone else feedback on their items, but to Noe, he gave only silence; her gear curled and warped as it fell, blooming into a pulsing, glitching heart that caught her gaze. She couldn't look away - not until the second beat had long since faded, the silence broken by the next item being dropped. She realized she was shivering and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look braver than she felt.
Eventually, everyone completed their drops, and Vox's attention turned squarely onto her. Caught in the eldritch horror's gaze (?), Noe froze, her heart stuttering in her chest as everyone turned to look at her.
Vesper was first to speak, stepping up to offer a maple seed to Noe, which she accepted in silence. As he explained, she dropped the seed, watching it spiral in the air. It was a strong contender.
Nova was next, a girl who looked about her age who positively bubbled with energy. The engineer swallowed hard at the good cheer cast her way. The Noe of a few weeks ago might have gotten caught up in the excitement - who didn't like glitter, after all? - but with all of Vox's eyes (?) on her, she couldn't bring herself to summon the same ability to care that she'd had before.
Jack was another unfamiliar face, but he handed her a bouncy ball - something that, as he explained, would always come back for more dropping. That was appealing, if only because it gave the girl something to do with her nervous energy. She dropped the ball and caught it when it bounced back to her, nodding to the captain before turning her attention to the next.
Thalassa - an Ancient with a face full of tentacles and too many eyes. It hurt to look at her for too long, and goosebumps rose on Noe's skin at the woman's veiled threat. She did her best not to move away from the infected Ancient and failed, shuffling a step to the side as she swallowed down a healthy dose of fear.
Iskra had a hammer, which Noe was very familiar with as an engineer. She couldn't fault his reasoning, but she had to admit that she liked other items better.
Hawthorn dropped a squash, and Noe looked at the remains with a strange look on her face. Something about its innards spattered all over the ground unnerved her. She couldn't quite explain why.
And finally, Liam - someone else whose face had been replaced by a void-tinged abomination. Of everyone's, she'd thought that his offer was perhaps the saddest. Now she saw his shrug and heard his explanation and wondered if the infection had sucked the feeling out of him, or if that was just who he was.
In the end, everyone was still staring at her, and Vox was still waiting for her, and Noe raised her eyes to his as she trembled beneath the scrutiny. She raised her finger and pointed to one of the faces she didn't know - Jack, who had given her the bouncy ball still gripped in her fingers. "I like that it always comes back," she explained.
---
Noe selects Jack's bouncy ball!
Eventually, everyone completed their drops, and Vox's attention turned squarely onto her. Caught in the eldritch horror's gaze (?), Noe froze, her heart stuttering in her chest as everyone turned to look at her.
Vesper was first to speak, stepping up to offer a maple seed to Noe, which she accepted in silence. As he explained, she dropped the seed, watching it spiral in the air. It was a strong contender.
Nova was next, a girl who looked about her age who positively bubbled with energy. The engineer swallowed hard at the good cheer cast her way. The Noe of a few weeks ago might have gotten caught up in the excitement - who didn't like glitter, after all? - but with all of Vox's eyes (?) on her, she couldn't bring herself to summon the same ability to care that she'd had before.
Jack was another unfamiliar face, but he handed her a bouncy ball - something that, as he explained, would always come back for more dropping. That was appealing, if only because it gave the girl something to do with her nervous energy. She dropped the ball and caught it when it bounced back to her, nodding to the captain before turning her attention to the next.
Thalassa - an Ancient with a face full of tentacles and too many eyes. It hurt to look at her for too long, and goosebumps rose on Noe's skin at the woman's veiled threat. She did her best not to move away from the infected Ancient and failed, shuffling a step to the side as she swallowed down a healthy dose of fear.
Iskra had a hammer, which Noe was very familiar with as an engineer. She couldn't fault his reasoning, but she had to admit that she liked other items better.
Hawthorn dropped a squash, and Noe looked at the remains with a strange look on her face. Something about its innards spattered all over the ground unnerved her. She couldn't quite explain why.
And finally, Liam - someone else whose face had been replaced by a void-tinged abomination. Of everyone's, she'd thought that his offer was perhaps the saddest. Now she saw his shrug and heard his explanation and wondered if the infection had sucked the feeling out of him, or if that was just who he was.
In the end, everyone was still staring at her, and Vox was still waiting for her, and Noe raised her eyes to his as she trembled beneath the scrutiny. She raised her finger and pointed to one of the faces she didn't know - Jack, who had given her the bouncy ball still gripped in her fingers. "I like that it always comes back," she explained.
---
Noe selects Jack's bouncy ball!
I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
