>>5384734“I...I can try.” Orwell says, voice so low you can barely hear her. Then, a little louder; “I will. I’m…I’ll do better.”
“And can you try to get some rest? Please?” You ask again, adding with as firm and as kind a tone as you can squeeze into these two syllables; “…For me?”
“…okay.” She mutters, a deep-set exhaustion overwhelming her as the emotional crash starts to wash over the girl’s mind and body. “Okay. For you.”
"Thank you Orwell. Sleep tight."
“…you, Shu.”
You didn’t quite catch her last words to you, but the line crackles shut with a small ‘pop’, leaving you staring out into the cancerscape with a thoroughly bemused Iris staring up at you from her meditative pose.
“Trouble in Paradise Lost?” She asks with the same ugly smirk that’s quickly become her trademark.
"Well it seems that one of the rogues in my gallery sent me an invitation, and a family member's in a panic about it." You answer with a deep sigh. "As for putting faith in the good will of the masses, such faith and goodwill can only be maintained on a two-way street through constant attention and care."
“Sounds like a thorough and tremendous pain in the ass.” The other girl retorts, shaking her head. “I’ve no clue how you and the Captain do it.”
"The perils of leadership and motherhood, I suppose. Such is the price we pay." You say, your over-dramatization briefly transmuting Iris’ sneer into a genuine chuckle. "Oh, they'll try to stick me on a golden throne, alright. Try to have me be everyone's mom for all I've done for everyone, but not if I have a say to that. They'll need to learn how to grow up and become independent. To be in control of what’s theirs, and their alone…that's life."
“Seizing control of their own destinies. Really your whole raison d'etre in a nutshell” Iris mutters thoughtfully before glancing up at you. “Quite the leap of faith, isn’t it?”
“Love always is.” You reply, earning an even uglier sneer from the other girl—one you pointedly ignore in favor of deciding how you’ll address recent events…
>>Continue westward, to the next safe zone—the mystery woman can wait, for now.>>Try to work with Karma to hunt down her peer, wherever they may be.>>Insist once more on keeping watch while Iris sleeps. Third time’s the charm, after all.>>Go speak with the young emissary, once you’re quite sure she’s what she seems.>>Write-inYOU ARE IN CONTROL