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[banworthy]

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

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voice | un; mason (private)

[ingestion]

Vincent, pick up the phone. You were at that dinner weren't you?

( her voice is shaky, filled with anxiety and a nervous disposition. she just found out the gruesome news. )

voice | un: vsmith (private)

[banworthy]

[ in contrast, vincent answers with a casual: ]

Speaking. [ a beat follows. ] Indeed, I was, Heather.

[ingestion]

Vincent, did you eat any of the food there?

( while she had casually seen him and heard his voice here and there, truthfully she kept her distance and was distracted by her interactions with the others there. )

[banworthy]

No. I went to a dinner party and didn't eat anything.

[ He shakes his head, even if she can't see it, but holds his hand up automatically (again, aware that she can't see it, but does so, anyway). ]

Sorry, that was rude. I apologize.

[ And he moves on: ] Yes, it does seem like we ate a person.

[ingestion]

( heather would have immediately snapped back at his remark if he didn't just spit out what she was getting at. she was trying to be delicate about the whole thing, trying her best not to trigger her gag reflex all over again because when she found out-

she threw up almost immediately. )

Yes...to put it in a rather blunt way. I guess you aren't as phased about it as I am?

[banworthy]

Well, I was upset about it. I'm not a lunatic that would be fine with it, but let's think about it, hm?

[ He decides to pull her into his line of thinking. ]

Hannibal did something let's say unspeakable. [ From his tone, it indicates that he's not getting into the nitty-gritty details for her sake. ] However, his world is still in the running to be saved. Do you understand what that means?

[ He adds helpfully: ] Sin and evil as we understand it aren't a factor in discrediting a world. [ A pause. ] And to put it another way, you -- hm -- ejected a god from your body ... and Claudia did what she did.

We now have more in common with a madwoman, which is what irritates me more than anything else, if I'm being honest.

[ingestion]

I guess...

( and as much as she hated to admit it, he was right. it seemed that whatever it took to prove a world was worth saving, was good enough. good and evil were just arbitrary terms used to define how other's actions made her feel.

in a way, this line of reasoning helped protect her mind from further harm. however, there's a break in the conversation and a familiar voice seemed to take over. )

You're right Vincent, ever so logical and reasonable. Yet this is the thing that irritates you? Not the fact that you and Claudia were already so similar to begin with?

[banworthy]

[ Vincent breathes out a sigh. He certainly has more to say on the topic but stops at hearing the voice that comes over the line.

His eyebrows come together as a bead of sweat rolls down his forehead. Not sure what I thought when it came to you but I suppose this is another lesson learned. He is glad that they are talking on voice rather than video.

As he registers the words, anger beats out fear. ]

Me? The same as her? Not even in your nightmares will I be like her.

[ingestion]

Still just a child as ever, just like her.

( to someone like alessa [and even now as heather], the two were like lost, stray children who clung onto their religion for a sense of guidance and love. a protection from the cruelty of the world-

because if they could control it and usher in their version of paradise, the cruelty of life couldn't get to them. )

Let's hope you don't get a taste for human flesh after this.

[banworthy]

So, you're acting as Heather's protector?

[ Did he strike a nerve earlier? He wonders, but he supposes he could have been a little more sympathetic; he could have acted as he did to members who came to him in need of guidance. But Heather would have seen the lie in the sincerity. ]

Are you going to kill Hannibal for what he did to her? I'd not do it if I was you. Not for any lawful reasons, but she doesn't want to become a murderer.

[ingestion]

You say that as if I'm not in control.

( almost like a fog being swept away by the wind, the tone of voice returned back to normal, back to heather. it wasn't like alessa could control her-

she was alessa after all, cheryl too. the memories of her past self and the person she was though? that could never be discarded and set to the side as if it wasn't a part of her. )

Of course not Vincent, it would be stupid to try. He had to kill that person he fed us after all. Clearly he has some strength or someone helping him at the very least.

[banworthy]

[ Something to file away.

He can't think of them as separate entities, it seems, but he thought when they joined that would lessen the appearance of her. Well, he didn't get to test that theory before he died.

Hm, right. ]

So, what's stopping you is that it's too dangerous? That's a surprise.

[ingestion]

You said it yourself, good or evil, it's arbitrary to assign those values to any actions taken here.

( but of course she had to throw it back at him, the same way he did before. )

Well of course I don't want to be a murderer, but even I can't help but feel those urges. I wanted to kill Claudia after all, and I was going to do it.

[banworthy]

Well, I did.

[ She probably can feel his shrug. ]

She didn't leave you any choice, did she? [ A beat. ] But it seems like you misunderstood me on a point. You see, I'm curious what he felt when he did it. Did he view it as an evil action? Or as a reprehensible one?

Our view on his morality doesn't matter. So, does his view matter? [ A longer sigh. ] To be honest, we can view this as a boon in figuring out more about how we're being judged.

I'm somewhat looking forward to seeing if that person tries to kill Hannibal and if he'll get a warning or something. If he does, well, won't that be something...

[ingestion]

( as much as heather wanted to argue over the fact that none of this made any difference at all, and that what hannibal did was a violating thing, he made a fair point.

so far it seemed no one was out to punish him, or at least not from what she had seen. all there was, was a network post from the victim so far. )

I mean did Hannibal get a warning from killing and serving up that person to begin with? I guess you're right though, and for what it's worth, I think he views it as a perfectly acceptable thing to do.

I mean he fed all of us human flesh without even flinching. Almost like he got off to it.

[banworthy]

These are all compelling questions and ones that I intend to ask. [ A beat. ] Not to worry. I'll share with you my findings. It doesn't do me any good to hide information from you, after all.

[ Another pause. ] I'll feel out about the last comment. Though, you probably don't want to know the answer if it turns out that it is like that, am I right?

[ingestion]

( with the same intensity he felt when alessa seemed to take over, heather could only hope he could feel the roll of her eyes over the phone. his kindness, if one could even call it that was laughable.

she didn't want to see like she needed to be told about everything that went on with vincent, but then again, she felt partially responsible for him. so perhaps it wasn't the worst idea. but his statement...

he was right, she didn't want to know, because she already knew. why else would anyone do such a thing, after all? )

I think we can leave that where it belongs. Just tell me whatever you find out, as possible.

[banworthy]

Sure.

[ He hums and thinks to himself about the responses to the warning about Hannibal being a cannibal. ]

If you could, try to figure out what our main dish has to think about things. I do wonder if he'd like us to tar and feather Hannibal, but I also think that might be a little insensitive... given his wings.

[ingestion]

I'll see what he says, if he's even willing to talk much.

( she sighed for now, opting to just close out the conversation for now. vincent can call her back when he gathers anything worth sharing.

for now though, she'll say one last thing. )

Maybe we should both be careful about going anywhere anyone invites us to, or avoid any 'free' food for a while...

( really, that's more for her than him. she's sure he doesn't care too deeply about being fed human flesh beyond sharing something else with claudia. )

[banworthy]

I'll try to get what I can out of him, too.

[ By being direct about it, for once, because well, why not? ]

I've been feeling that for a while. I want to have a food taster, but sadly, even if they eat and it happens to be human meat... what can you do if they enjoy it?

[ Vincent laughs to himself, enjoying his horrifying joke. ]

Well, guess I shouldn't say human... that person definitely wasn't. Though, I guess you've already decided that doesn't matter much, hm?

[ingestion]

Listen, we can get into semantics and other things at a later time. Just find out what you can.

Give me a call when you do, or if you'd prefer to meet up to discuss, I'd be okay with that too.

( not that she cared to see him that much, but she did want to keep an eye on him. )

[banworthy]

Fair enough and look forward to your findings, too.

Let's meet up. [ A quick decision, a quick preference. ]

I mean, we're under the gaze of Echo so nowhere is private, but there's something nice about being face-to-face, am I right?

[ingestion]

Sure, you name the place and time-

( there was something that heather thought about before deciding to end the call. she wasn't sure if she should mention it to him or not, but she decided to-

after all, it was like he said, it would be hard to truly hide anything. )

I think I'll reach out to Aurora too...I'll see what 'she' thinks about these things too.

[banworthy]

I'll see what I can figure out.

[ Mapping this place out is easier than home, after all. He doesn't need to remember convoluted ways to get to A to B. It's refreshing, if not a bit strange. ]

If you think it'll help. [ A small breath in and out. ] Heather, even if she thinks differently, don't let yourself hope. She's just as powerless as everyone else. It just is that she gets to be the voice of Echo.

In many ways, you should pity her.

[ingestion]

Pity her?

( there's a strong tone of anger in her voice as she listened to what vincent had to say. it was difficult to even think of that thing as human, but when she first arrived, someone named chrollo seemed to imply it wanted to be treated as one.

she wondered if that was something vincent felt too, but she wasn't sure if she should even bring it up-

especially when his words felt more aimed at her than anything. it could have been from the pity she felt she was getting when she was alessa, or something else. whatever it was, she was growing weary of this conversation nonetheless. )

Whatever, I have to go. Just let me know when you've got something good to share.