deernet | video; un: shiro

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video; un: shiro

[Oh hi Shiro, long time no see on the network. That's because this is a last-ditch effort. He looks pretty darn not great, despite the fact it's Sleep Season for Warmbloods. Maybe it's the Arena. Maybe it's the River. Something honestly, sincerely traumatic that's happened already.]

[His face is in his hands, hunched over the counter in his kitchen. The omni in front of him. Voice haggard and quiet. Like he has a migraine.]

I will pay... however much anyone wants. For coffee beans. Espresso beans. Don't even have to be cooked. Roasted. Doesn't matter.

[... Or it's caffeine withdrawl.]

Or tea leaves. I don't care.

[Please, he is Suffering.]

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[ .. oh, sheesh. Talk about someone not looking their best.. ]

Don't you think there might be.. something else you can do? [ Because coffee might not necessarily make someone looking like that feel any better. Ange thinks, anyway. ]

.. What's bothering you?

[ It's not like she doesn't have any idea of what it could be.. no, the problem is that she has too many ideas for what could possibly have made him look like that. ]

According to Eddie?

Caffeine withdrawl.

[And boy, he sounds thrilled about it.]

I... do not recommend it. At all.

Is caffeine withdrawl that bad?

[ Maybe Ange should feel lucky that she never got too much into coffee.. Though she does wonder what level of 'into' coffee you need to get before this starts happening to you. ]

It makes you look like you haven't slept, or something close to it.

So it would seem.

[At least for him. Eddie seems to think he has 'A Problem'. But it always seemed fine before?]

I've got the worst migraine of my life, to be honest. Among other things. Sleep... doesn't help.

[ She pauses for a moment. Then frowns. ]

That.. sounds more serious.

[ But then again, what does Ange know? It's not like she's ever had caffeine withdrawl. Maybe it just is that bad?

It's hard though, not worrying about it being something more when they've been through so many bad things already. ]

How long has it already lasted?

It's not much different than a migraine right now.

[It's Shiro, so maybe he's downplaying it. But in all honesty, he's not, for once.]

Just don't want to use up what painkillers we have. Before we figure out how to replace them here.

.. yeah. Usually I might have said that it can't hurt, but.. well, this place has already proven to us that it can get just as bad as Deerington, huh. [ Which is a definite disappointment, visible even in Ange's own expression as she frowns slightly.

But it also means that they're so much more likely to get into some sort of pinch where painkillers might suddenly be entirely necessary. ]

Maybe there's something else that could make it hurt less? Someone with healing powers?

[ Granted, powers seem to have been.. a bit iffy from person to person ever since showing up here, but Ange is really hoping someone kept or gained some healing power. ]

... Yeah. Yeah, it can.

[He trails off a bit, in the end, sliding his face into his hand. It looks suspiciously like he's massaging aching temples. A nice, convenient cover. For trying not to think about the Arena. About the sand and the crowd and - ]

[Breathe.]

Huh. I didn't think of that one, actually. Are peoples' healing abilities functional?

[ Ange shrugs slightly. ]

I still have my powers. [ Even kind of stronger than they were in Deerington, which is.. odd. ] I can't heal people though, but I figure that if I've got my powers, then surely there must have been some other people here who kept theirs.

[ Unless Shiro is super unlucky here. ]

That's a good point. I know I've heard of people having fire generating abilities when they couldn't before... so maybe you're right.

[He'd hate to bother someone for their abilities when he's just got caffeine problems though...]

Ugh, don't even mention the f-word around me. I'm tiring myself out trying to keep Ruby from accidentally setting the house on fire. [ It's been a struggle, Shiro. Maybe it would have been easier if everyone just kept their original powers, then at least she wouldn't have to deal with that. ]

But you should definitely ask around. Maybe ask Usagi? I know she has those sorts of powers, but I'm not sure if she also kept them when she showed up here.

Oh... that's... I'm sorry, Ange. [y i k e s] I know she works a lot with Mako - has he been trying to help her with it at all?

[He can't imagine accidentally setting things on fire... but. Hey, he can point people at the fire expert.]

She does? I didn't know that.

I know she did, back in Deerington. [ Which doesn't guarantee much for this place, considering all the weird power shifts going around.. But it's not like Ange knows anyone else who'd be able to do something similar, so she can only help him this far. ] It can't hurt to ask, right? You know how she is. She'd gladly help anyone.

[ That part is pretty easy to answer. It's the next part that makes her reach up and rub a temple with her hand. ]

As for the Ruby deal.. Yeah, Mako has been trying to teach her how to control it. I really hope that'll end up working sooner or later, because the current situation is pretty stressful.

Huh, I didn't know that, actually. I'll have to talk to her about it when I see her next.

[He hadn't known. Granted, he didn't know a lot of people with healing ability. He'd known Allura... but, well.]

Well - if you ever need somewhere to duck out for a bit, we've got a spare couch or two.

[ .. it's a sweet offer. And therefore unsurprising, coming from Shiro.

And though it makes Ange smile a little, it's a complicated smile. ]

Well, I can't.. just leave her to deal with it alone.

[ That's the main problem. ]

We have to be together through the good and the bad, right? Even when it feels like it's close to driving me crazy.

[That gets a smile out of him. Tired, a little sad, but it's still there.]

You're a good partner. Not everyone would stick with someone through dramatic life changes like that.

[hahahah... hah.]

.. it's only natural if you like someone that much, right?

[ Sure, it's not like Ange doesn't know a lot of people just dip out when things get tough, but.. it really does just feel natural to her to stick by someone you care about that much, no matter how hard things get.

It's by that same logic that Ange can't help but fuss about everyone she cares about - Shiro included, hence why she replied in the first place when he isn't exactly looking his best at the moment. ]

No one would want someone that important to suffer by themselves.

[Silence on Shiro's end. It's something they'd tried to work through, something they'd talked about. Ruby having weird new powers isn't even remotely comparable but... the way Ange phrases it is. Sticking by someone important while they suffered. So they weren't alone.]

[The loneliness ghosts through him then, sharp and sudden. Like he'd been sent back to all those years ago. His own fault, he'll say until he runs out of breath to say it with.]

No, they really wouldn't, you're right.

Still - if you two need anything, you know where I am.

[ Ange is quiet for a very brief moment, but then a soft sound escapes her, like a breath that intermingles with a small sound that borders on both fondness and amusement. ]

I think you have a few more problems to deal with right now than that.

[ Please, Shiro. She's not going to make you involve yourself in this while you're struggling with caffeine withdrawl. ]

I'm pretty sure I can just grab a bucket of water and live.

It's not a problem - it's just an offer.

[And a better focus, honestly, than brooding over who isn't here.]

[Or on the way his head is pounding.]

According to Eddie, a 'bucket of water' is what I need too.

[ ... ]

To drink?

[ Those two words sound so confused, since Ange apparently has no idea where that advice was headed. She's never had to deal with anything like this before.

Are you going to drink an entire bucket of water, Shiro? ]

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