l0velace

[l0velace]

MÆRA

《Incubation in 3..2..1..》

*krxh* "Dont you fret hun, i know its daunting down there in that chamber but we're up here with sweaty palms too. Now the fluid is breathable and full of that sweet ambrosia so go ahead and take a breath, relax, and drift away" *khp*

She's right its always a crapshoot isnt it tryn sumthn new nd honestly this fluid hasnt even reached my mouth and i already feel better, less tense, floaty like a salt bath if it were the color and viscosity of dirty engine oil..

Smells sweet, almost like rot but in a medicinal way... ambrosia huh, hear goes... tastes like fruit juice on my knee... not that hard to move through my lungs actually, i wonder how lon....

■

"Slipped right past hypnogogia... hope that ain't the case on the flipside. Lower the serum dosage 20%."

"Yessir, entering stage 3......stage 4..... cresting, begining reentry, stage 3"

"Drop another 20. Shit boy slow down. He lied to you Doc."

"It would seem so."

"No drug use my ass."

"We've reached hypnopompia sir."

"Atonia?"

"Yessir!"

"Hot Dog!"

■

Fuck, fuck why can't i talk? Shit somethings wrong w the fluid i cant move! What is-

"Hey sugar, i imagine you might be feelin' like a corpse in a casket right about now..."

No fucking shit! I fucked up!

"Like there's six feet of soil between you and sunlight..."

FucK! Im so dead...goddamnit!

"I'm gonna need you to start diggin' kid. I need you to take all the hypervigilance u can squeeze outta your adrenals and push out..."

They've been doin a lil overtime sorry!...shit come on! Pleaasssse

"Focus on the edges of your vision and try to see past all that filth in the pit."

Yah focus on the tears welling up. Great.

I wish i could do something other than freaking out. Fuck i didnt think a dark room could spin this much. Dont hurl. No hurling. Pleass God.

Wait how did Jacinta get in my-

Woah im outside.... That ridgeline its the Salspar Escarpment...

"There you go, Youre a natural kiddo! Now walk toward the escarpment keep your eyes on Salvor's Peak."

I can do that... heh mom always said i needed direction guess i got one. East by Southeast. Honestly one of the better directions westerly spring winds and the rings of Cathaş blaze violet in the afternoon sun. Oh fuck almost tripped that would have been embarassing Jacinta would hav- Why do my feet look so weird and my legs i look lik afucking bug! FUCK oh god wheres my dick?! Wheres my SkIN! FUCKFUKfuckFug I cant feel anything why didnt my knees hurt when i fell? My hands are tearing into my thigh but i cant feel it FUck im bleeding fuCk its everywhr fuck i-

■

"heyy kid how ya feeln?", Jacinta whispers.

She lightly brushes the hair out of my face. Her weight is flushing the mattress so that the side of my hip is pressed into hers. She clasps her hand to my forehead then my feels my quickly flushing face. The evening light leaking in through the shuttered windows lights her black hair to amber. She gives me a crooked smile.

"You're burnin up buddy. We gotta get some fluids in you..."

She turns to a small table behind her, her messy plait spills over her shoulder and swishes over the bare small of her back. The rattle of paper on board heralds

"Petragua or citralyte?"

I absently nod to the petragua and she replaces the other and proffers my mouth a straw.

Why am i always so... behind. Its like im in slow motion...always just barely responding...

She gazes down at me warmly as i suck down the plum-apricot-chem slurry. The infusion perks me up a bit.

"Alright now don't drain it dry. Don't want it coming back up all over my vest."

She pulls it from my lips and i eek a short and quiet sucking sound that manages a full 5 seconds of embarrassment even though the sound was .3 seconds long.

"Ill be real with ya. You did great..exceptional even! Most of the time we dont even get to a stroll the first time we just... well its a whole lot more work on my end than what happened with you so i just wanted to say... im proud of you."

She squeezes my shoulder and flashes me a big deep blue smile.

"I know all this been hard on you and you've put in a lot of work before you even got in the pit and it payed off."

She picks up the petragua again and hangs it in the air for a second.

"To your dreams...or better yet your nightmares."

She sips some of it then positions it back towards me again. I slurp with even more energy this time.

"Having such a strong liminal drive link seams to really make a difference. Honestly i think you two should meet but we have to get clearance pfft its bullshit. How are you supposed to pilot together if you don't even know eachother? How are we supposed to figure out what this spark is that makes the liminal drive work if we never get to observe you interactin' in a controlled manner? I swear im gonna have a word-"

*slurpppppp* she pulls it from my face.

"Oh listen to me blatherin' on, you only got 18 hours til you're on duty again. You can head back to your room whenever. Ill see you then ok? I just wanted to check in on you."

She finishes donning her vest and clacks and jingles out the door with her plait fishtailing behind her.