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Noel had found herself a cosy place in the dining hall, gratefully relishing the food Bliss and Ellie had cooked up. The events of yesterday still weighed heavily on her mind as she quietly organised the notes and pictures she had taken. Her notes held remarkable detail regarding the entire case and trial. She had also rigorously noted the death of Quill Kennedy. As a reporter, the death of a celebrity was of particular importance to her. This was news the people would want, and she was to deliver. Such was her way, and so was she going to continue. 

Now she just had to gather some more information on the new people as well. It was strange, she couldn’t recall ever being in such a crowded killing game before. She wasn’t sure if that was going to be a good or a bad thing, but she felt trouble brewing. 

Ice had walked straight from the Pod room over to the dining hall, fully intending to grab a bite to eat and then head back to his room after having seen something like that. His face would move from a cold expression to suddenly going red and him sighing. The Blood Donor had been meaning to go and actually talk to people in the dining hall, since the setting seemed to be the place people gathered in the mornings, but after an event like that, Ice might have been already socially tuckered out. 

Ice went in search of food and gave a nod to Bliss as a way of thanking her. Ice wasn’t a bad cook himself, but since the breakfast was offered to everyone, he might as well accept it. After grabbing some grub, Ice headed for a more isolated spot of the dining hall when he noticed a set of bloody bandages in a nearby trash can. Had Rika been here earlier? ...He could see why she must have stripped off her bandages, but did she need more? The man had plenty extra in his room after all. Ice set his food down at a table and sat before touching the loose bandages around his head, he tried to tighten them again to no avail. Where was Mercy anyway? Ice looked over to see Alice leaving with one of the newer Infinites, she usually spended time around Mercy, right?

The new presence in the dining hall had not gone unnoticed to the reporter. As she stowed away her notes and pictures in a way that actually told a story, she eyed the other infinite as he found himself a spot alone. Her eyes glimmered, seeing her chance to strike. If there was anything she knew of Ice, it’s that his nickname fit his personality rather well. Such a solitary person was definitely going to be a tough nut to crack. However, it was definitely in her job description to melt through that tough exterior. 

She waited exactly one minute before quietly scooting over to his table. She tactically picked the spot straight across him: unavoidable to his eye, but not close and friendly. Yet she was still unsure whether or not the male would feel as if his personal space was being invaded. Well, that was simply the risk of the pursuit for endless information!  [color=897691]”Hola, Isaiah!“[/color] She said cheerfully. [color=897691]”Very hectic day yesterday, wasn’t it? Are you feeling better?”[/color] She inquired. One might not believe it, but it was actually asked out of genuine concern than her usual nosiness.

Ice had been quite enjoying his eggs and bacon when the Reporter sat down across from him. The Blood Donor had never really had much impression of her except that she was a part of a world he never experienced... and would never want to. Celebrities could be trash, people were always downright horrible, and what was so entertaining about a scandal. While Ice had chosen to be more active with the other Infinites, this was definitely not the girl he would have chosen. Plus... She had brought up something he was not going to dwell on.

His jaw worked and he stared at the table for a second, [color=orange]"The eggs are crackin’, maybe you should go try some.”[/color] At the end of his sentence, he looked up at her. While Ice’s face seemed neutral, his eyes were secretly challenging her. How much intimidation would it take to brush the Infinite Reporter off?

[color=897691]”Oh, I’ve already had my fill,”[/color] Noel replied with a chuckle. She definitely didn’t seem intimidated, though it was impossible to tell if she was unfazed or simply oblivious. Her wide smile didn’t really indicate either. [color=897691]”But its nice to see you’re doing well, truly.”[/color] She said, seeing that Ice was obviously dodging her question. She figured she’d perhaps return to the subject later. It was a shame, she was rather interested in his thoughts on the events. Alas, you couldn’t always get what you want...immediately.

[color=897691]”Quite a crowded game, huh?”[/color] She attempted for some small talk. [color=897691]”Haven’t seen one this busy in all my time here. It’s quite worrisome. I have no clue what that bear is planning with this many people in one game.  Maybe it has something to do with that Parker thing?”[/color] She wondered aloud. [color=897691]”What was the deal with this Parker, anyway?”[/color]    

His interaction with Parker had been fairly simple, well after he had found out there another one of those insidious carnage sisters existed. She confessed that someone had thrown the wallet into the vault, and she seemed to give the wallet over rather easily. [color=orange]“She helps us in order to go free, yet that wine drum Davis doesn’t like her. The question is simple, is she a necessary evil for conquest? And if so, why did he create her in the first place?”[/color] As Ice said this, he stabbed at his eggs, one piece after another, before pointing his fork at her, [color=orange]“Well? Have you done any investigating on the matter, Ms. Noel Hawthorne, Infinite Reporter? Or are you to tell me that some mobsters are more important?”[/color]

[color=897691]”In due time, breakfast was more important than checking out some robot.”[/color] She told Ice. She wasn’t sure how she should’ve investigated this when it all had happened just yesterday. She definitely didn’t want to do it yesterday after all the hecticness that was the trial yesterday, she took the rest of that day to rest. [color=897691]”And yes, I believe the people in here to be plenty important. And that includes some mobsters, Mr, Isaiah Matthews. I quite felt my heart bleed for your story, you know? ” [/color] She said, pointing right back at him.

Ice’s jaw worked again, he had dug his own grave bringing yesterday’s trial up again. [color=orange]“Oh yeah? So you believed my sappy shtick? I guess I should feel relieved,”[/color] he finished off his eggs and took a sip of his coffee, before making a sour face and putting it back down. Out of his pocket came a few packets of sugar too many to go into his cup of Joe. [color=orange]“Who do you think must be itching to off someone then? You never know who might be lurking after... the last blackened.”[/color] His knuckles turned white as he held the coffee cup up again. Honestly all this talk made him tired after the emotional strain of the last 24 hours, and Rika hadn’t helped. Oh... His face went red again.

Noel wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not at Ice as he tried to talk his way out of this. [color=897691]”If that was just a simple sob story, you wouldn’t have-... oh forget it.”[/color] She didn’t feel the need to remind him of how he almost got himself killed back there. Though she didn’t doubt he knew what she was going to refer to. [color=897691]”It’s just that it kind of reminds me of my own family, my five siblings… none of them survived the tragedy.”[/color]  She looked down for a bit, before attempting to return herself to a more cheerful state. [color=897691]”But surely the infinite thug is not interested in someone else’s sob story. Now as to who to watch out for...“[/color] She paused, smirking. [color=897691]”Let me give you some advice, as someone who has survived for longer than you did. Don’t suspect anyone In particular. Just stay vigilant. The people you suspect won’t kill you, it will be someone you don’t”[/color] 

With the words of her siblings, Ice’s eyes softened and he put down his coffee, holding it with both hands as if he were a bit chilly. It wasn’t like him not to pry, but he really needed time to process his reopened festering internal wound rather than cut himself open with someone else’s story. [color=orange]“Good strategy, though there really isn’t a good way to be able to trust anyone here.”[/color]

Again, he reached for his pocket and pulled out a lemon sweet. He had already done it once today and was quite embarrassed to remember being so daring as to pat Krista’s head earlier. He played with the candy in his fingers for a while before unwrapping it and plopping it into his mouth. He pulled out two other candies and offered it to the Reporter. [color=orange]“Lemon or butterscotch?”[/color]

Noel’s eyes lit up. [color=897691]”Butterscotch, please.”[/color] She replied and gratefully took the candy.  She then quietly slid it into her mouth, letting silence rule for a little while. [color=897691]”Whether anyone is trustworthy or not though… I guess it doesn’t really matter. Ultimately, I want the stories.”[/color] She grinned. [color=897691]”With so much life being wasted, the least I can do is make sure they are remembered once I get out, right? And nobody will be remembered as more than a name or number without a story.”[/color] She sighed, staring at him for a bit. [color=897691]”Do you think I’m strange, Ice?”[/color] 

Ice pocketed the lemon sweet quietly and played around with the wrapper while the only sound in the room came from Bliss’s cooking. As Noel talked about memoirs and the like, Ice couldn’t help but remember the woman that the Reporter hadn’t gotten to meet. The woman who could control that high strung hairball and could bring the group together with her Chivalry, and how she had showed all of them that they could fight back. Shona had been the one to do what couldn’t be done by Ice or Calvin, someone who actually had a fighting chance, and took it knowing the consequences. 

[color=orange]“Not as strange as the other Infinites I’ve encountered. Being known for being wicked at what we do has downsides and upsides. It’s easy to fall into the cycle of becoming obsessed with our ‘talent’ and not having a smidge of personality outside of that. I think... You’re just human. There’s so much humanity in your gaze that I haven’t seen in others.”[/color] He thought back to the men he had worked with in the past, how even the [i]good ones[/i] thought that there needed to be [i]sacrifices[/i] for the group as a whole. [color=orange]“People don’t care much for the person themselves when they read news, they care about the action, the suffering. But the story wraps around the individual, not the other way around, right?”[/color] He scratched at his head, making a bandage even looser only for it to fall onto his shoulder, [color=orange]“That doesn’t make much sense, does it?”[/color]

She smiled back at the blood donor. She blushed at his first statement about her gaze, but decided to leave it for what it was.[color=897691]”No, that’s exactly how I think about it.”[/color] She replied. [color=897691]”I’ve been places. I’ve seen tragedies, wars and terror, but also festivities. But there is no substance to any of it besides numbers and events without a story.”[/color] She paused for a bit. [color=897691]”You don’t get people to care about a number. But the tale of a survivor, or a story about the deceased… that is how news can get people moving. I believe that is the way I improve the world; by getting people to care!”[/color] She shone with happiness; happy that Ice understood her vision. [color=897691]”So… that’s why… I hope one day your story might help too… Nobody else should have to go through something like that, right? [/color] She said, the happiness turning to uncertainty. She wasn’t exactly sure how the mobster was going to respond to that statement, even though she believed him to be a good person at heart. 

Ice couldn’t look at her, not with all that hope and ambition, not with all that emotion that he lacked. Something so essential for someone in this place, the light in the darkness, but it was pitch black for him. [color=orange]“Will that even work? Not everyone... Has the empathy to care. I...”[/color] His hands slipped under the table where he gripped onto his legs. [color=orange]“No one, no one did anything for my siblings while I was unconscious. They turned a blind eye because those measly bludgers didn’t think it was their problem, their responsibility. Because of that...”[/color] He stared down at his cup, with the now lukewarm brown liquid inside, [color=orange]“I was the spur that put my sweet younger brothers and sisters down that road. How can my story turn people’s hearts now if it didn’t then?”[/color] His [url=https://imgur.com/a/2chcI]face[/url] was devoid of anything resembling hope. 

Noel smiled somewhat uncomfortably. [color=897691]”I’m not claiming it will solve all and every problem out of there. But the more people are reached, the better the chances, right?”[/color] She shuffled a little in her chair. [color=897691]”Strength can come in numbers, or perhaps a story can hit home with someone who happens to be in the position to help. And sometimes… people only really see the need for their actions once they know the consequences of inaction...”[/color] Those last words were hard for her to say.  [color=897691]”And maybe, just maybe, justice can be brought to whatever remains of the bastards that did that to them. Your siblings deserve that much. Unfortunately, that’s all I can do...”[/color] She said, downtrodden. No, she was not a miracle worker. If only she was... 

Ice’s body went slack, his head against his chest as he took a silent breath, [color=orange]“What remains?”[/color] A sound slipped out of his throat, a small laugh without humor. It was a dry sound that creeped under Noel’s skin. [color=orange]“You think... There would be anything left of that godforsaken gaggle?”[/color] His head shifted up to look the Reporter in the eye. His [url=https://imgur.com/a/UDClW]expression[/url] a mixture of pain and satisfaction. [color=orange]“First I started picking off the lower gang members one by one, to make sure they were telling me the truth. It was shintock to think I would believe something so cruel and mortifying with only one account.”[/color]

[i]rain falling down as blood spilled into the alleyway, someone screaming as they saw Ice lying there in a pool of blood that wasn't his.[/i]

Bile rose in his throat again, but he kept it down,[color=orange] “My ‘partners’ kept getting angry that I kept going out to get blitzed only to come back with a body count because I wouldn’t let sleeping dogs lie. Finally I doggered them enough to start an all-out war. I didn’t have any clothes to wear after that because I ran out of bleach.” [/color]He rested his head on his right hand. A sneering smile on his lips,[color=orange] “So I made sure every last one of them paid for what they did, I’d have gotten the last one too if he’d- He hadn’t ended it himself.”[/color] His jaw worked again, all the consuming energy that surrounded him snuffing out like a light, [color=orange]“So where do I stand on your ‘caring’ list now?”[/color]

Surprisingly, a smile appeared on Noel's lips. She seemed strangely satisfied rather than appalled. [color=897691]”Then I guess yours is a story of successful vengeance. A story that might strike fear into the hearts of anyone who might try to repeat the mistakes of your victims.”[/color] She chuckled softly. [color=897691]”I don't blame you for not putting faith in other people's empathy. But fear is a pretty successful deterrent, am I right? I mean, Erin pretty much took the coward's way out as well.”[/color] Noel's eyes now showed a different light, one of fascination accompanied by an eerie kind of glee. [color=897691]”Yes! I knew I was right in asking you! A fantastic success story. Thank you so much!”[/color]

A weird look passed over Ice’s face before he let out a long sigh, [color=orange]“Just my luck to get a reaction so whack...”[/color] His eyes softened again for a moment as he nodded a goodbye to her. Balancing his coffee mug on his plate so he could carry it in his right hand, he left her with, [color=orange]“You’re a buck wild Ruella, I’ll give you that,”[/color] before heading back to the kitchen.

Noel had no idea what that was supposed to mean. But she grinned gleefully at Ice before making her way out of the dining hall.