epidemiology | [OPEN w/ closed prompts] i woke up thinking about Turkish drummers

[ She's very careful and holds a very positive kind of aura though, no malicious intent here whatsoever as she keeps herself seated opposite him. Her eyes slide up to look at his face as he rubs his face, knocking his hat a little. ]

You could have slept longer if you would have liked. You were not asleep for very long after I arrived, though I cannot say for how long you were sleeping before that.

[ She flicks a page in her book, grimicing slightly at some sketches and descriptions in there. ]

[he continues to rub at his eyes with the heel of his hand, trying to ward off sleep.] I shouldn't have fallen asleep at all, though I suppose I have been working awfully hard the last few days...

[has it been a few days? maybe it's been longer.]

[ Sonia's eyes do slip back up to his face, wondering just how long he pushes himself not to sleep before he collapses down onto a table like this. ]

If you do not sleep the sufficient hours, of course you will fall asleep in somewhere quiet like this.

[not having Tessai and Yoruichi (and the kids) around to supervise him isn't good for him, he knows. left to his own devices, he probably wouldn't eat or sleep... or shower, though the latter, mercifully for everyone, he's managed because cold showers can at least force him awake.]

True, true. I don't know how much longer we'll be in Oska, so I wanted to get as much done as I could before we leave again.

[ Sonia keeps watching for a moment longer, before she reaches to close her book, then holds out her hand with her palm facing up. ]

Can I see? [ There's a reason she's doing this though. ]

[he looks down at the book he was looking at- something about customs in some cluster of dimensions or another, and hands it over, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand.] I miscalculated how important the natives would be to our mission in Perdition's Rest. If I had paid more attention, I might have recognized they had been infiltrated long before it became an issue.

[he yawns again.]

[ She places it on top of hers, eyes sinking to it as she starts to study the patterns in here, listening to him at the same time. ]

Were differences later found between those that infiltrated and those who were unaffected?

[ Her tone is a little sharper now though, and depending on his answer he might find himself being scolded here. ]

Via brain scan, which some of the team have the ability to perform, but we were among Mz. Poppy's own for months before we realized she was the Mother, so there might have been more to be found if we'd gone in with more knowledge of the Qorral and how they operate. It's a very small chance, since the Taraxa seem to be skilled infiltrators, but...

[but it still feels like something preventable...]

I see. [ Her voice softens then, before she stretches her leg out to nudge his under the table. ] Get some rest, I shall continue this for you in the meantime and explain everything I have found. Not all of this will be useful, I am sure.

Please do not forget that it is not your sole responsibility. We are all in a team here.

[he really wants to protest, but his body is protesting the exact opposite.] It'll be easier if I can use the blood samples I extracted from some of the dead Taraxa to build something capable of scanning and pinpointing bio-signatures without expending a lot of effort to do individual scans.

[another yawn.] But I won't be good for anything if I can't even stay awake.

[they're all on a team, but it's in his nature to control the bulk of the work, to make himself indispensable.

but falling asleep and drooling on his own notes isn't really going to help much, is it?]

[ Of course it is if he hasn't slept in days?! ]

I am not that good at technology, but I can search through some of the materials and see what I can find. [ There's only a flicker as her eyes dip towards her hand, but it's a short moment where she finds she even misses Kazuichi here. Not having anyone from her world to share the burden, yet remembering their strengths, what made them ultimates as well.

Her skills have been useful sometimes here, but he... really could have gone wild with all this technology. ]

I have slept enough, so please go ahead.

If you like. You don't have to on my account, though. [he starts to stand up, and then... sits back down again. it's not just the exhaustion working on him, it's the lack of food too, and he's pretty sure he'll end up asleep in the corridor or some other unfortunate place if he doesn't sit back down.]

On second thought... Maybe I better stay here for a moment.

[ Her eyes flicker up as he stands, and she sighs as soon as he speaks. ]

Sit. [ It's firm and a lot more authoratitive than she's used on him before. A tone of voice that leaves little room for argument, especially as her foot moves out and slams down onto the top of his. ]

I shall not say it again.

[ Basically he doesn't have a choice. ]

Here, you may use my jacket if you like. It might ease some of the lights away.

[ She pulls at her uniform jacket, ignoring the slight chill once it's off, holding it out for him. ]

It may also be more of a comfortable pillow than the hard table or book.

[he cringes as she steps hard on his foot and makes a pained noise as he slides back down onto his chair.] You truly are a princess, Sonia-san. [princesses. always so bossy. Benihime, included, and she'd best not believe for a second she's not.]

But you don't have to be so kind. [he takes the proffered jacket and arranged it on the table a bit.]

[ She merely huffs in response, opening her mouth ready to bite back at him, when her words just end up sitting on her tongue unsurely. Her jaw stiffens, eyes fluttering down to the book in front of her. ]

I want to be. [ It's merely four words but considering who is sitting across from her, they carry more weight than others in the library may notice. ] So please rest, I can handle this in the meantime. I shall wake you if I find anything that may be of use.

All right, all right. [he rubs his eyes again.] Since you won't be satisfied unless I do.

[He shoves his down over his eyes and the moment his head is on the table, he's... sleeping again. like a loser.]

Good, thank you.

[ She reaches for her hair tie as he starts to move back onto the table, pulling up part of her hair into a ponytail/bun. She stares at the book for a second, then starts to read. It isn't all unfamiliar at least, though the research he's doing is more out there than what she's used to.

It's important, though.

She turns to a new page of paper, and starts to scribble down any notes that may make sense. Her attention never wavers though, even as minutes, followed by an hour or so passes. The large book is still covering them both, and she flickers between different materials to keep her focus.

It's when it reaches two hours later that she actually notices the time. She's made sketches of different possibilities from different body types that she's found in different books, but she doesn't have the details of the taraxa to compare. ]

Urahara? [ Her voice is soft when she reaches over, tilting the brim of his hat up slightly to let some of the dim lighting shine on his face. ]

[he groans and plants a palm on the table to push himself into sitting position, using the other to rub his neck where he's started to get a crick in it. he takes stock of her notes and the book she's been reading, and looks... well, bumfuzzled is the word.] You really have been working this whole time?

[he expected her to get bored, honestly.]

[ Her head cants to the side as she pushes her notes towards him. ]

Of course. I said I would, did I not? Hopefully this way you did not lose precious time. However, I cannot cross examine the results without information on the Taraxa, if you have that information?

[ Her lips twitch slightly. ] It is not dissimilar to what I had already been studying, do not worry.

I dissected one while we were still in Perdition's Rest. [he yawns and rubs at his face.] They have some similar properties to lampreys, but their biological make-up is foreign to me.

What are they made up of? Or were you not able to tell for that reason?

[ Like humans are mostly carbon and water, she means. Perhaps there are other substances from other worlds they do not know of yet. ]

Exactly that. [he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.] The only thing I was able to transport back with me were blood samples. The living Taraxa we bottled up were turned over.

[he sighs.] I should have known better, but we just don't have access to the lab conditions to analyze that sort of data.

I see. [ Her eyes sink to the table, though the fact that they were turned over only makes her feel more suspicious of ALASTAIR. As much as it might be better for her here, there are some things that just feel Questionable. ]

If we learn everything about other species before we come into contact with them, however, it may be that when the time comes a discrepency will arise?

That's what I'm thinking. Even if I can get a scanner operational that can pick out an anomaly in brain activity, your own eyes are just as reliable if you know what to look for and pay attention.

[says the guy who "sees" everything.] People in Perdition's Rest were noticing strange behaviors in their community, but we didn't think to ask about it, because we had no idea what we were looking for.

I think the same. [ She looks thoughtful. ] I arrived a little too late to have the opportunity to really know any of the Qorral before everything changed, sadly. Though it may have been easier to know what was happening if we had known it could be an option.

[ A beat, and her expression darkens slightly. ] At least next time we will be ready.

[OPEN w/ closed prompts] i woke up thinking about Turkish drummers

very true tbh.... ah

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