Starstruck mingle!

[pocketpal]

Who: Crew of the glorious ship Starstruck
Broadcast: If people want??
Action: On the Starstruck
When: Early April

[ Hopefully no first aid kits necessary this time. ]

Comments

[twocomplex]

[That gets a genuine pause out of him. He rests his elbow on the arm of the chair, looking over.]

How so?

[noctiphile]

[The lie's getting too large. He needs to stop it. Pull it under control. Instead, he thinks of what would upset him the most.]

... My mother. You insisted her death was foolish.

[This isn't a truth he wants to tell. Not to Oren, not to anyone. He turns back to his station. Shuffles another stack of paper.] As I said, it got tense.

[twocomplex]

[Mother.

So it was that. It's a believable lie, and he has to look away so not to scowl at the idea of Mattias' relationship with his mother. He doesn't know how she died now, but if he'd said something like that, only for Mattias to defend it...

He curls his hand over the arm of the chair, leaning back in it as he thinks. Would emotion make him go so far as to ruin all his hard work like this? Apparently. Stupid, stupid.]

I'm sorry. [The words come out heavy, and thanks to his thoughts towards himself, they feel genuine, as well.] I won't ask how it happened, but you must understand... Years of my own experience make it difficult to separate myself from others.

[He's always been fine with lacing bits of personal truths into his lies.]

[noctiphile]

[It's both satisfying and terrifying to have Oren fall into his own web. He speaks with his own truths weaving them with the lie.]

Though I wish it were, understanding is not forgiveness, Prince.

[The test finishes with a beep and he touches the screen to see the results, speaking distractedly.] Time will be what heals.

[And grants space. Hopefully the half-truth would be enough to keep him at bay. He needed this deception. Needed the sanity it would bring. He had no other choice. The more he thought of it, the more it seemed. He needed this lie.]

[twocomplex]

[Was his mother so close that he'd get so angry as to abandon him? It's not entirely, he realizes, but it's enough to fill him with rage and envy. A free hand rubs at his face for a moment as he stares at his own controls.]

Time together, I hope. [He falls into it, certainly, but with his own concern.]

This will be good for the both of us, I'm sure of it.

[noctiphile]

[So close yet even still Oren could tailor the situation to his benefit. He was a mess of thread, picked and plucked apart until a single line was found. Until Oren could salvage his words for his own scheme.

Mattias sinks against his chair, wanting nothing more than to fade. It should be easy here, he thinks. Space seemed suited for such phantasms. Again, the monitor in front of him blinked and it took all his energy not to shove the damn screen out of view.]

Yes. [He sounds exhausted. Weary.] I'm sure it will.

[This will be the death of him.]

[twocomplex]

[The next few moments are filled with heavy silence. Oren stays in his chair, watches the blank raydar and thinks. Soaks in his anger while making it seem like remorse. When he's finally drilled in the point, he stands up without a word and heads towards the exit.

It's only at the door that he pauses, hand gripping the frame as he looks back.]

Well, I'll leave you to your work and have a look around.