004 ◉ audio; dated to the 14th

[imaginate]

[ The audio clicks on and there's a long pause. When Kyle speaks, his tone is calm, perfectly controlled. It's his Business Voice, blank save for the barest hint of anger. ]

This is Kyle Rayner of the Green Lantern Corps. I apologise for the inconvenience, but our clinic at EA-3B is currently undergoing repairs and won't be able to take more patients at this time. We'll be temporarily operating a backup at WA-1A. [ He attaches a map, showing where it is. ]

Any and all hands with medical experience or healing abilities are always welcome.

[ Another long pause. ]

And if someone could come collect Avatar Korra, that would be appreciated.

[ There is a brief pause, as though he's debating what more to say, before the audio clicks off. ]

Comments

^ that

[imaginate]

Yeah, I've heard about you from Soranik. It's nice to finally talk to you.

[Beat.]

Abilities are back, how are you feeling?

[survival_isnt_living]

['Almost alive again.'

Except that is not something up for discussion.]

I could have done without the experience.

[imaginate]

A lot of us could have. [except perhaps those who burn down clinics in a fit of temper, he doesn't add, because that's too vicious a thought.] Let's hope it doesn't happen again, not to the extent that it starts affecting people's abilities to live freely.

[survival_isnt_living]

[Dryly:] But maybe to an extent where people learn to live with moderation concerning their abilities?

[Septimus is fine with saying that out loud.]

[imaginate]

Or just better training.

[The agreement is there in his tone, but this is a tangent he's unwilling to discuss, right now.]

Anyway, that's a story for another day. Thanks for offering, I'll let you know if we need to move anyone to your place.

[survival_isnt_living]

I've been told self-imposed limits result in better finesse.

[Just a thought, in case Kyle's involved in beating some discipline into Korra.]

The door is open whenever you need it.

[imaginate]

They do, actually. That's how I was trained, but I've learnt I'm the minority.

[He sounds more thoughtful than anything else, though.]

[survival_isnt_living]

[Sep's laugh is more than a little rueful.]

I seem to remember quite distinctly being very young and very, very convinced everyone older than me who said it had to be wrong. I had to be maneuvered into learning that way, at first.

[Though not necessarily subtly maneuvered.]

[imaginate]

[Kyle laughs too, wistfully.]

I kind of rammed into it, too, to be honest. Took me a while, but experience is maybe the only teacher who can get it to sink in the way it needs to.

[survival_isnt_living]

Experience is the only teacher, period. The difference is what kind. For some people rote structured practice is the right experience.

Some of us need to drop rocks on our heads a few times before we get the point.

[imaginate]

[He chuckles again, good-naturedly.]

Or to be thrown directly into the sea before we learn how to swim. Training is no substitute for what happens in the field.

[survival_isnt_living]

Tell me no one literally threw you into the ocean so you'd learn how to swim.

[Septimus was absolutely serious about accidentally dropping rocks on his own head once or twice.]

[imaginate]

With stones tied to my feet, yeah.

[It's both literal and figurative, because that's what it felt like, to him. The actual experiences he doesn't really want to discuss. They're too macabre.]

Did you seriously drop rocks on your head?

[survival_isnt_living]

Hmmph. There are limits.

[Septimus' face is disapproving, so it's probably best Kyle can't see it.]

I think I was ten. I was trying to prove a point.

[imaginate]

[He chuckles softly and there is a new note of heaviness in his voice.]

Limits don't mean much when it's your life or your enemy's. It's unfair, perhaps, but it's what happens.

[A pause for the unspoken 'what can one do about life'.]

Do you fight?

[It's obviously a 'yes', but he wants to know with what, and what kind of fighting, precisely.]

[survival_isnt_living]

How old were you, when you trained?

[It makes a difference. A man--even an older boy--signing up to train as a soldier, well, some things Sep frowns on but it's unavoidable.

A child? That's different.

And then he smiles slightly. Sorry, you sparked the sadistic sense of humor.]

Yes.

[imaginate]

I wasn't trained. Not... until much later.

[The first three words combined with the quiet intensity of his tone convey the truth of Kyle's life more succinctly than anything else ever can, or will. Normally he's not so blatant about it, but here, in Keeliai, he's stopped caring very much. There's no reputation he needs to protect, no one he needs to fool about his true nature. He can sense something of his coldness in Sep, too, in the yes.]

Nineteen.

['Still a boy', he doesn't add.]

Which weapons?

[survival_isnt_living]

[There's a long pause. Kyle can't see Sep's thoughtful, measuring expression--and the respect.

That answer told Septimus a great deal.

More, Kyle senses that chill correctly, and Septimus nods to himself despite the lack of video. When he does speak, his enunciation is more precise while his tone is more relaxed. It's an odd pairing.]

Sword, primarily, though I'm passing familiar with most others. And my crafting, of course.

[imaginate]

[No, he can't, but he can sense something of a change in that pause. It's a lot like Sep's seeing the real Kyle, which is good, because Kyle handed that part of himself over for inspection and would've reacted badly to any other answer but acceptance.]

I prefer swords. Bows are useful too. [Beat.] What do you craft?

[survival_isnt_living]

I'm not bad with a bow--I'm trained, and I have the power, but I'm not a natural in the same way.

['...as I am with a sword' is the unconscious, unstated ending. Sadly, he can back it up.]

Sorry. I mean furycrafting. You'd probably call it magic. How I can use water to heal, and other things. ['Other things' - least helpful description ever.]

[imaginate]

[He catches it, and there's a smile, on his end.]

If you need someone to keep your skills sharp, I have time, and facilities.

[survival_isnt_living]

[Septimus smiles as well, audibly.]

I did start some regular workouts when abilities were off, but--

Just out of curiosity, what kind of beating can you take? [Sep has been afraid of actually working out properly, here. He doesn't know how far he can go.]

[imaginate]

[His tone becomes playful, lightly challenging. Fun.]

You'll have to catch me first.

[survival_isnt_living]

I haven't had anyone outpace me in years.

[Except maybe his father.]

[imaginate]

About time it happened, then.

[He laughs.]

If my men were here, there'd already be a betting pool and they'd be selling seats for the fight.

[There's a note of wistfulness, he misses them.]