PT - ALHAITHAM

[heartofcorundum]

i could have sworn we had a pc already holy shit anyway meme goes here!

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WEEK TWO - WEDNESDAY (NIGHT)

[heartofcorundum]

[so my beautiful brother in informationally-inclined christ where are you holed up dying to pain of this fine evening

Thancred is not looking ANY better, like he may topple over at any second and double over himself in pain. But there's an urgency in his steps, regardless of how unsteady they might be.

He's looking for something. And though Alhaitham is clearly NOT what he's after, it's enough of a start to get his attention.]

--Alhaitham. [Labored. You alive, man?]

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham is slightly better by this point, having spilled bits and pieces during the evening. So he's slightly more steady than Thancred, if no less tense, and looks up from where he's taking up the main chair in the study.]

Thancred. [This is how they say hello. His gaze drifts over him.] You look awful.

[heartofcorundum]

[A laugh, lightly pained.]

I've felt better.

[But he's fine. He'll be fine. It hurts to breath, and walking is turning into an active effort. But he'll be fine.]

I won't take your time. [He runs a weak hand through his hair as he looks across the study, back towards the door. Surely. Surely of all places...] I've only two things to ask you.

The restaurant. The new one. Have you seen what's inside it?

[justscribing]

I've taken a look around, but it sounds like you have something specific in mind. [Alhaitham sits up, giving Thancred his full attention.] Given the way things have gone before, it's best for you to come out and say it.

[heartofcorundum]

Employee room. Locked, out in the back.

There were... mmmh. Menu drafts. The lines on them looked different for myself than those I went with. An item, and a description.

Not food. It was something I... wanted.

[Given their very recent talk about wishes and their involvement? Yeah.]

The music changed after we departed. Tested something out after that. The restaurant will... -hah, will react to abstract requests. "Something that reminds me" when my mind was focused on a specific person.

[justscribing]

[It isn't the first example if the wishing well is anything to go by, but to have something else responding strongly to desire...]

What did it give you when you focused on a specific person?

[heartofcorundum]

A tray of sweet biscuits, if their appearance was to be believed. [Cookies.] Not quite on the mark. But ...closer than I anticipated, given I was not expecting a response at all.

[Uno... minuto as he braces himself through another wave of discomfort. Hooorgh.]

Two of us experienced nightmares the evening after our visit. I've yet to find the third - I've reason to believe he's locked away in his room. But I would not be surprised if he experienced the same.

[justscribing]

And this is something you personally associate with them. [Still food, but less about Thancred's preferences so much as... missing someone?

Alhaitham's brow furrows.] Some people will need to see if it's still there. Did you take a menu with you?

[heartofcorundum]

Not to the exact. But close enough to unsettle. I did not touch or consume any of it. [Cause lmao lol lmao no thanks he did his stupid risky task for the day.

He shakes his head at the question.]

Similar to the infirmary, I'd no desire for it to vanish by being hasty. There are multiple copies, all in the back office filing cabinet.

[justscribing]

I'll look later. [If there's more copies, surely one should be removable. But... he'll deal with that later.] Anything else?

[He means about the building, but not being specific Thancred can really unload anything.]

[heartofcorundum]

No. Turned that place from top to bottom. All the other office records were scrubbed. No dates. No names.

[There's a pause, before he adds:]

Urianger. Have you seen him at all?

[justscribing]

[That question's a bit of a surprise. Alhaitham stops to think about it.]

No, not this evening. [He might've seen him around earlier in the day but didn't make much for conversation. Or was it the day before? Wednesday has been terribly hard to focus through.] Surely he'll return to his room at some point?

[heartofcorundum]

...

[He swallows, slightly paled. Glancing over the books as though he expects the Elezen to just be sitting in a corner unaware, nose buried in a tome.]

...Aye. Perhaps I'm overworried. He is normally not a hard one to find.

[justscribing]

This space is growing, so there's even more places he can wander off to. Maybe you should tie a bell to him so you can hear him down the street.

[heartofcorundum]

[Snrk.]

He would never let me live it down if I treated him as a missing pet cat.

Mmn. I'll continue looking. Should I hear anything else, I will speak of it to you.

For... your theories. Speak to Y'shtola and Victor, both. I think we... we may be on to something.

[justscribing]

[Oh. Well, that draws a clarity to Alhaitham's mind despite the pain--that they may be on the right track.

It's progress.] It'd be good if we could talk about all of this at once... but I expect they'll be much easier to find than they were before.

[So he'll keep that in mind.]

[heartofcorundum]

Aye. Given the state of most everyone, we will take what information we can.

[He blows out another breath, then another. A bracing, as though he is working himself up to just turn back around and out the door without too long a break.]

...Keep me apprised of your findings when you're able.

[justscribing]

Of course. [Bold ideas that anything is getting looked at the rest of this week.] And if I see Urianger, I'll let him know you're looking for him.

[heartofcorundum]

[that sounds like QUITTER TALK says man who can't breathe]

I appreciate it. With luck, we'll have better reason to regroup.

Until then, Alhaitham.