[Action/Video]

[vianca]

SUPER BACKDATED HOSPITAL ACTION:
Back in ye olden days of late September, Vianca got completely wrecked. The pikmin was carted off to the hospital to have her checklist of injuries taken care of. Concussion, bone fractures, internal bleeding, some unexpected respiratory problems, an alarming amount of black and blue. THE WORKS. WHAT A GOOD TIME.

If you would like to backdate a hospital visit you are more than welcome to do so. She was there for an indeterminate amount of time before hobbling back to the Academy to try and fix the library.

---



[MEANWHILE IN THE MORE OR LESS PRESENT she was actually making a video post, which happened practically never. It was, however, still too cumbersome to type very well, and she had a number of things to bring up. None of which were her extended absence, which she didn't expect anyone to actually notice.]

Hello... I'd like to apologize for the disarray in the library. We are working to put it back in order as quickly as we can.

[Because it got wrecked. Wheatley has been doing the best he can, but he was Wheatley. Things were going about as well as anyone could expect.]

In order to speed this process, I would like to ask if there is anyone currently present that is skilled with robotics? My assistant's robotic chassis was... unfortunately incapacitated. It would be greatly appreciated if we could ask for your assistance in repairing it.

[She looks about as uncomfortable as someone who only linefaces could. The little girl looked down at her desk for a few moments and then she picked up a piece of paper with a crude drawing of a flower on it, holding it up to fill the whole frame.]

... I am also... searching for this flower, if anyone has seen one. There used to be a small patch of them in the forest, but that part of the forest no longer exists. I do not know where else to look... They are somewhat large, and come in different colors. I would be very grateful if anyone could point me to where they have seen one. It is... very important.

Thank you.

Comments

[insanecharisma]

[It was almost a little nerve-racking to have her attention the way he did. But he got the impression that it was akin to him. He didn't like making eye contact with anyone or even speaking directly unless he had some particularly valid point that he felt was necessary to make.

Not that she was doing that, because truth be told, Soryk never knew what was going through Vianca's head, and that was probably for the best.]

If you cannot use them now, I shall keep them in my care until you can.

[vianca]

[Her lips pressed together slightly, momentarily conflicted in how to respond.]

...Thank you.

[Even if she would never see there use, it was good to know that there were still some that were growing. She glanced over at them again thoughtfully.]

They're called candypop buds. At least, that is what Olimar penned for them when he found them.

[insanecharisma]

[She was conflicted. He was conflicted. Soryk didn't even know how he was managing this. Being friendly had never particularly been his cup of tea, but he had no reason to hold anything against Vianca. He never had, actually. If anything, he could only appreciate her studious nature.

If he was ever going to have a daughter, he hoped she would be akin to Vianca.]

Candypop buds. [Sounded bright and cheerful. Nothing like him. How oddly fitting.] Then I will keep them here and anytime you wish to see them, you are welcome to. We can care for them together, if it pleases you.

[vianca]

That would be ill-advised.

[She had said it in an uncharacteristic rush. Vianca paused, realizing that the true meaning was unclear.]

I am... not suited for caring for them.

[insanecharisma]

[To question her required no hesitance on his part, because to him the follow up inquiry was common sense.]

What makes you think so?

[vianca]

If I cannot properly care for my own flower, I have no business trying to care for another's.

[insanecharisma]

While a golden rule for certain, Lady Vianca...

[It was difficult to listen to her say such things. Not because she was wrong; he'd said the very same thing to himself several times. In fact, it was very much that reason that he'd put off his engagement to Atê for years, and even more so that he'd put off the concept of children.]

The same works in the terms of forgiveness. Learn to forgive yourself for the moments when you fail to meet your own expectations. The world can be a cruel place. It is hardly necessary for you to be cruel to yourself.

[vianca]

[Her brows drew together slightly as she listened. His words only served to confuse her, as she personally could not fathom what it was about what she had said that had prompted the lecture.]

The truth is only cruel when you believe in something false. There is nothing to forgive.

[insanecharisma]

I meant that I think you are being too hard on yourself. You say you cannot care for other flowers because you could not care for yours. That is so black and white that it does not take into account circumstance.

[He motioned to her.]

Tell me. When you lost your flower was it because of outside interference? Was it at the hands of someone else, indirectly or directly? Are you trying to take responsibility for something that you ultimately could not control?

[vianca]

[She looked at him again, blank as ever. She was being too hard on herself? What an odd thought. Her feelings were no different than they ever were... Or, no, she had been slacking a bit, considering the circumstances. The only thing out of the ordinary was that normally her thoughts were not a conversation topic.]

I am not. I am not to blame for that occurrence. I am only accountable for my actions thereafter.

[insanecharisma]

[Her response made him pause and he eyed her with a good deal of thought. Folding his arms over his chest, he contemplated his word choice before he spoke up.]

If it is not too out of place for me to inquire, what... precisely happened? Before and after. To result in this.

[vianca]

[There was a slight shrug of her shoulders.]

My petals were torn. It was unwise to remove them again. Nectar would not restore them like my sister's. I chose to disregard them.

[insanecharisma]

For your own safety. Is that right? I am afraid I do not quite know how these things work for you and your sister. Was it safer for you to be without or to leave your petals damaged?

[vianca]

[Vianca was silent for a few moments, giving her answer some consideration.]

If a flowered pikmin undergoes enough trauma or force, their flower will shed and their cycle can renew. Leaf, bud, flower. That much has been observed.

[insanecharisma]

If that is the case, then does it not mean that your flower will return, my lady?

[Because that was how it sounded, but he was actually trying to take care in not sounding insensitive.]

[vianca]

I was not damaged enough to shed it that time.

[insanecharisma]

Yet it is shed now. Does that mean your flower will grow back eventually?

[vianca]

It was an old flower that was shed. My sister's did as well. This one remains as it was, so it cannot regrow on it's own.

[insanecharisma]

Without a catalyst.

[It was mostly an observational and educational guess.]

Hence the flowers I have here, except that they will not provide the missing part of you due to prematurity.

[vianca]

[A nod.]

Correct. A mature flower would be able to change my form.

[insanecharisma]

I wonder, then...

[And he thinks before he speaks up, which is somewhat unlike him, for usually Soryk speaks with plenty of reason and little regard for interpretation.]

...Is there a degree of haste in obtaining a mature version of this flower? Or could it be as I care for these that the moment one appropriately reaches that stage, I could provide it to you?

[vianca]

[It was another moment where Vianca took a bit too long to answer as she considered her options. Waiting was not an option she had, she was fairly certain. There was, however, no good reason she could discern to trouble him with the reasoning.]

... There... is. Thank you, however. That is kind of you.

[insanecharisma]

[And he wasn't going to pry either. He had no place to do so and like with anyone, only if they divulged of their own volition was the information ever of any direct value.]

I think to date you are the only person who has ever said something like that of me. And I think it may be one of the few times I genuinely appreciate hearing it.

[Kindness. What was kindness, really.]