_ _ _ _Carmen Pov_ _ _ _
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(At least they're getting along...) I hummed in thought.
I was sitting cross-legged in front of a window to the outside, enjoying the view as I communicated with Eno through the hive mind. She had been giving me a full report on various projects and we had just gotten to the part involving our plans with the kinshins. As you can probably tell, it was a time-consuming process. After a while, we ended the conversation; after saying goodbye I cut the link and returned my focus to my physical surroundings.
(Now that that's done, time to relax for a bit.) I thought, stretching as I looked out the window at a patrolling group of xenomorph sharks.
(These things really are unusual.) I breathed out, watching as one of the notepads I had gotten from the outpost began rapidly generating a drawing of the scene before me, a list of the creatures' capabilities appearing next to it. (I mean, I was never really much of an artist; so having a magical book that perfectly draws anything I think of is unsurprisingly quite useful.)
(I should also give them another name other than just "xenomorph sharks"...) I mused internally.
"What are you doing?" Just then a familiar voice echoed from behind.
"Oh, I'm just taking notes as usual, indulging in old hobbies," I mused, not needing to look back to know who it was.
Ophelia, for her part, just sighed with her usual fed-up expression. "I still don't understand how those work."
"Neither do I, really. I just chalk it up to magic," I hummed, watching as the book finished sketching out a picture of the xeno shark.
"I would say that's bullshit, but at this point nothing's off the table," she grumbled, and I could only shrug in response.
"True."
"By the way, shouldn't you be preparing?" she asked a second later, causing me to turn slightly to look at her. "You know, instead of sitting here and drawing those damn things."
"Physically there's not really much for me to do, although I have been using the hive mind to manage things," I muttered.
I paused for a second before asking a question of my own. "So… did you come over just to criticize me, or is there something else you have to say?" I could tell something was up from the way her emotions were being projected through the hive link.
"I really hate that you can do that," she growled, clearly realizing what I was doing; however, after a moment of glaring at me she answered my question.
"I just wanted to say thanks… for keeping my grandfather back at the sanctuary to manage things," she huffed, crossing her arms and glancing away. "It's easier to work while knowing that he's not in harm's way."
Edward had mainly been staying back in the sanctuary. While he did occasionally pop over, I had left him, as well as several others, in charge of managing things back there. He was honestly surprisingly good at that kind of thing, and he was quite popular for his calm and polite personality. So I had felt perfectly fine letting him run things in my absence, although I still appreciated the occasional report he would bring me about the goings-on over there.
(Huh… that felt weird.) I thought, feeling a little perplexed at her words. (I'm used to her yelling at me, not genuinely showing me gratitude.)
It took me a moment to say something back, but once I came back to my senses I coughed awkwardly and said, "Well, if we're showing our appreciation, then I suppose I should say thanks to you as well."
"For what?" Ophelia asked, confused.
"For being such a hard-ass," I mused, only half joking.
"What the hell are you on about?" she scoffed, with an annoyed look on her face.
"You've been helping to keep me grounded. You have seriously helped with stopping me from becoming a megalomaniac or some shit like that, even if you never noticed." I admitted honestly.
It was true. Sure, she could be a bit of a pain in the ass at times, but that was the kind of person I needed to anchor me. Seriously though, most of my followers were already practically worshipping me at this point, Ashley and Roseanne being prime examples. It was only right that I had someone by my side who wasn't afraid to call me out for my shit when needed.
"Don't joke like that. We may not get along, but you're not that type of person," she huffed, although I could tell she didn't take my words lightly.
"Sure, but who knows if or when things might change," I sighed, knowing full well how much darker of a person I had become in the little time I'd been an alternative. "I can't say that it won't happen; after all, I've already done so much, already killed so many."
"I'm already a monster, but having someone who doesn't constantly kiss my ass and isn't afraid to call me out for being a dumb ass every now and then helps keep me from developing some kind of god complex," I breathed, leaning back slightly as I watched the stunning environment on the other side of the glass.
For a moment Ophelia remained completely silent until finally she spoke up. "I'll be honest, I never really liked you at all in the beginning. I saw you as just another tyrant, another manipulator."
I couldn't help but laugh somewhat bleakly at that, as those were the exact things that I saw myself as: a tyrant who forcefully mind-controlled others to secure her own survival and a manipulator who orchestrated the deaths of thousands. I mean, yeah, I had helped others as well, but sometimes I wondered if the good I had done outweighed all the blood staining my hands.
She wasn't finished speaking though, and I continued to listen. "However, I will say that you have proven me wrong somewhat. While I agree that you're not a good person, I don't believe you're a bad one either. At least you're honest about your sins. And besides, being around you for the past couple of months has made working with you… tolerable."
"Wow, tolerable? What an upgrade," I said with a grin, and despite my teasing I was genuinely grateful for her words.
"Oh, shut it," she grumbled without any edge to her voice, rolling her eyes at me.
"You know, I never asked but now I'm curious," I said after a second of silence between us. "How did you and Edward end up on that prison world anyway? You two don't strike me as the criminal type."
She seemed to think over whether or not to respond before shrugging and giving a somewhat vague answer. "Let's just say we took a dislike to those in charge and things escalated. We made a miscalculation and ended up getting thrown onto that hellhole."
"You were what, rebels?" I blinked, somewhat taken aback.
"More like terrorists with good intentions, but yeah," she answered simply, her voice filled with what sounded like a bit of nostalgia.
"Huh… I wasn't expecting that, not gonna lie."
We spoke a bit more after that, chatting about various things with the only background sounds being creaking metal and rushing water. Talking to her like this was new, to say the least, not that I really minded it. Still, it wasn't like we'd suddenly become best friends; things had cooled off somewhat between us, but she still clearly wasn't my biggest fan.
Our conversation was suddenly and abruptly interrupted however, by a spike in the hive mind. Something was happening, something that filled my head with alarm signals. Thankfully it wouldn't be long before I got my answers as to what was happening.
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(That's… if it was just the splicers I could understand, but if there are big sisters as well, that means… Why would she order an attack so suddenly without any real information? Is she just that stupid?) I thought before shaking my head at that. (No, she's probably just greatly underestimating what it is she's up against…) It wasn't like I hadn't expected to be attacked at some point, but still, I definitely hadn't foreseen it happening so soon.
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"What is it now?" Ophelia asked; she could also feel the disturbance but didn't know what was causing it.
"Oh, you know, just a certain bitch adding more shit to the pile," I growled, anger boiling up inside me.
(So, you want to escalate things, Sofia? Fine, but don't blame me for what happens next…)