[sup][h1][b][INDENT][color=black] A B B Y + C U P I D[/color] [color=F8EF00]A B B Y + C U P I D[/color][/INDENT] [/b][/h1][/sup] [img]https://i.imgur.com/7Cb1ywk.png[/img] [img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/9304f544-03ff-4290-bdbe-aea57210d76f/d5wccb6-5aacd225-eb7f-4d5e-8e61-0e25823171c6.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzkzMDRmNTQ0LTAzZmYtNDI5MC1iZGJlLWFlYTU3MjEwZDc2ZlwvZDV3Y2NiNi01YWFjZDIyNS1lYjdmLTRkNWUtOGU2MS0wZTI1ODIzMTcxYzYuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.ydBhynTWBL8cnsfdNQkSdYPszT5rIVFcTZmeCgOHxIo[/img] [right][img]https://i.imgur.com/wgYH2dA.png[/img][/right] [img]https://i.imgur.com/7Cb1ywk.png[/img] 'Doctor' Straid had, to his credit, a clean and mostly sterile operating theatre. He did his best with the materials on hand to keep it all as tidy as possible; and as a result, the wild esoteric pseudoreligious paraphernalia seeped out into the rest of his parlor in a big and gaudy way. This was one of the only buildings where you'd not only find an entire taxidermied skunk wearing a cheap pair of sunglasses and a plastic cigar, it's also one of the only places where such an object fitted seamlessly into the decor. He'd managed to make wooden veneer desks look outlandish somehow with his pyramid paperweights and LED strip lights. It was carpeted, and that carpet had been through more than all of his patients combined but the pattern was so nauseatingly complex that you hardly noticed the liquor stains, cigarette burns and blood spatters. Had it not been for the tinges of modernity here and there you could've ripped this entire office space from an ancient interior decorating magazine in the seventies, given it to a spiritual conspiracy theorist and told him to go buck wild with his imagination and ignore the budget and only [I]somewhat[/I] managed to achieve the serendipitous balance between order, chaos and novelty lava lamps that Victor Straid's office had perfected. In essence, it was the perfect place to get high in. And whilst the Ripperdoc himself scrubbed up and grabbed his scalpel, Abby was reclined in his chair with a bong in hand. [color=ff5294]“He’d better take care of her.”[/color] Valentine - Cupid - John mumbled darkly, fishing for an actual cigarette before he joined Abby on the bong. [color=ff5294]“God. If he knows what’s good for him.”[/color] He oathed, before muttering something in Arabic that Abby couldn’t quite catch. A slow, growing bout of laughter echoed from Abby in the office and in part down in the operating theatre. Abby had seen this before. Cupid was lightning in the field, fast and explosive, so much so that it almost - even if only almost - surprised her he wasn’t that augmented; he kept it when he was working too, that brilliant purpose, that motive force and keen edged mind - Valentine was one hell of a doctor, and he was outstanding for keeping his head on the task. But he wasn’t one for waiting rooms. Yes. Abby had seen this before. She knew its name even if she at least [i]believed[/i] she was less familiar with it herself. Fear. Doubt. Dread. The wolf that devoured thought. He drew a smoke out of the carton and stuck it numbly between his lips, clicking the matte plastic jetlighter once, twice, and thrice before lighting it. [color=C9ABAB]"He better take care of her,"[/color] she echoed mockingly. [color=C9ABAB]"You hear that, Vic?"[/color] [I][color=5cd677]"My feelings are shot, and my day's ruined,"[/color][/I] crackled the Ripperdoc's voice in the office. He had a bit of a smoker's croak but the all-American drawl really shone through. The radio picked up on some ambient noise in the background as he prepped. [I][color=5cd677]"Lemme tell you something, sweetcheeks; nobody goes back to a shit Ripperdoc. It just doesn't happen! So you can rest assured she's gonna get the best-"[/color][/I] there was a clicking sound as Victor presumably lifted one of the cybernetics and gave a disappointed hum, [I][color=5cd677]"-...the best cybernetics she can afford, and it'll be the cleanest, safest procedure she's been in since somebody pulled her out of her mama's snatch."[/color][/I] Valentine found his gaze drawn back to Abby as she sat up to take another bong rip, lazily filling the room with smoke and steam all at once whilst Straid continued: [color=5cd677][I]"Repeat business and word of mouth. That's what a bit of tender love n' iodine gets you."[/I][/color] [color=ff5294]“We love to hear it, Straid. Don’t forget I brought you the cyber. I’d hate to see my bill get inflated for no good reason.”[/color] Valentine glanced up at the presumed location of the speaker, scowling darkly through his cigarette smoke. The Ripperdoc clicked his tongue with affirmation. [color=ff5294]“Poor girl didn’t do anything to deserve this.”[/color] He muttered as he returned to his brooding. [color=C9ABAB]"She's safe now. More than safe - she's getting upgrades. Win-win all around."[/color] Steam curled out of Abby's mouth and nostrils as she spoke. Valentine looked up at her. He'd felt this way a million times and it was never any different. Every single time, he had to make the conscious decision to trust her on it. [color=ff5294]"Alright. After this we're gonna get her something to eat, find her a place to stay for the night where she won't have to worry about more Scavs, and then in the morning we're gonna figure out who she's got that we can help her get back to."[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"You know,"[/color] Abby mused, taking another bong rip with the sort of nonchalant urgency that triggered a little warning in the back of Valentine's mind, [color=C9ABAB]"you keep up that charitable demeanor and she's going to expect you relieving her of some of those pesky extra kidneys soon too."[/color] He smirked mirthlessly up at her, and chuffed in bemusement. Then, he took a deep breath in. He held it. He released it. He shook his head at her as she made a great show of blowing the smoke from the bong. [color=ff5294]"You don't have the body mass for that thing you know. Green out every time. Pass it here."[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"That's not the weed,"[/color] she wheezed and chuckled, passing the bong over to Valentine as she reclined back in the chair. She was right. The myriad of machinery that kept Abby going was, to the parts that were still human, disabling in all sorts of different ways. She had her good days, more often she had her difficult ones; tired in ways Valentine couldn't begin to understand, distracted and confused by all the little things whirring around in her mind, restlessness from phantom limbs that she'd given up years ago. Marijuana made it easier to slip into the fleshy exhaustion of the human scraps left in her instead of using her cybernetics as crutches. Compared to Abby, Valentine was hardcore on the bong. He packed the bowl densely, scraped some of the dusty oils from the base of his grinder on top of it, and went straight to work. Glowing ember and burning coal, hot enough for the glow to show on Valentine's face. He blew smoke. He relaxed, and smiled. [color=ff5294]"Now, that hit the spot. Bowl is empty, all yours."[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"I thought I didn't have the body mass,"[/color] Abby mumbled as she refilled the bowl. Her movements were too smooth, uncannily precise and strange. It took her a while to talk. Her fingers were twitching; deliberately getting rid of something only she could see. [color=C9ABAB]"We should've picked up more tech,"[/color] she lamented, [color=C9ABAB]"could've pawned it off and made a profit."[/color] Valentine shrugged as he lazed back in the chair, drifting down into the familiar hazy glow of a cannabis high. [color=ff5294]"I figured if anyone was gonna, you would. You know what I'm like Abby, can't help myself in the moment - and once I had her, I quite literally did not have the space left for anything else."[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"Yeah, I didn't…I dunno. Keep telling myself that I was focusing on the hostages,"[/color] Abby acquiesced. He looked back at the grinder, noting that it was now half empty. He nodded, smirking appreciatively. [color=ff5294]"In but a second, I shall grind more. As for you my dear, you can be responsible for your own sobriety and lack thereof. Body mass is your problem."[/color] He grinned like an idiot. [color=5cd677][I]"At least one of you oughta' be sober enough to deal with her,"[/I][/color] Victor grumbled. [color=ff5294]"Yeah, thank you, Straid."[/color] Valentine snarked. Abby looked to Valentine pointedly; at least, she turned her face in his direction. Then there was this…difference in presence, a subconscious understanding that Abby wasn't really looking at him, that there was something else going on again. [color=C9ABAB]"I destroyed that guy's Pifner."[/color] Abby tilted her head back with a frown. Valentine raised his eyebrows at her. [color=ff5294]"Yeah?"[/color] He left it open, an obvious invitation to continue. [color=C9ABAB]"Yeah, it keeps replaying. Could'a…brought the whole head in, cut around the skull, power washed the brain out and boom. Easy money."[/color] Abby put the bong down. [color=C9ABAB]"But I didn't. I went out of my way to get rid of it. He was freaking out over stuff only he could see and I got angry and burnt a big fucking hole in it."[/color] She sighed. [color=C9ABAB]"Stupid-..."[/color] [color=ff5294]"Hey."[/color] Came Valentine, reason cutting through the weed. [color=ff5294]"It's alright. Tell me more, Abby. Why'd it make you angry?"[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"...Vic', I'm turning off the mics in here."[/color] Straid sounded busy. The whine of a drill could be heard in the speakers as he reassured Abby with a demure [color=5cd677][I]"you do you, toots."[/I][/color] After a moment longer Abby sighed and settled back into the chair somewhat, staring at the ceiling. These sorts of talks never got easier; it took a conscious effort to participate and reciprocate, to confront instead of dismissing it, deleting the footage and moving on with her life. She knew it was part of the process. She didn't have to like it. [color=C9ABAB]"Because I'm the only fucker who's allowed a Pifner,"[/color] she seethed. [color=C9ABAB]"That's my fuckin' tech. Nobody else should have to-... should live like that. Nobody else knows how to handle it like I do." [/color] She reached her hands up and applied pressure onto the metal box. She felt the pressure applied evenly across the top half of her head. [color=C9ABAB]"Wish I had eyesockets to rub."[/color] She chuckled. [color=C9ABAB]"Crazy what your body misses when you get rid of it." [/color] Valentine nodded. [color=ff5294]"We both know nobody can really handle it, full stop. But actually I do know how you feel - my hand hasn't felt warmth in decades now. Neither heat nor cold - and you know me. Those things are important."[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"It's just impulses. Just…little things that your meat wants. People should be able to overcome that sort of thing, we ought to be better than that by now."[/color] Her hand slid up her Pifner, leaning her weight into it and rubbing down her braids. [color=ff5294]"Why?"[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"There's a girl on Straid's slab getting a brand new arm and a leg, ones that are better than what she previously had. Why does she have to worry about infection, and phantom pain, and muscle damage? Why haven't we got rid of the itching and how tired you get dragging it around everywhere? Hasn't science progressed far enough to fix it?"[/color] Her fingers curled.[color=C9ABAB] "If not, I want out. Slap me in the Data Pool. Back to Plan A."[/color] He shook his head. [color=ff5294]"She has to worry about those things because it's a fact of life. It would be in the data pool too - it would just manifest in a different way. We are both human, and this is a part of that. We haven't overcome these obstacles because the implantation of cyberware - while remarkable and often incredibly useful medically too - is fundamentally at odds with our biology."[/color] Valentine shrugged and reached for the bong. [color=ff5294]"In essence because we were never meant to have it. Not that I'm complaining too much - but the facts remain."[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"That's a real shame for the feelings of my biology, but I'm better than my monkey ancestors."[/color] She huffed. She waited. [color=C9ABAB]"I do get it. I know. It's just not…not what I wanted."[/color] She lifted her hand and spread her fingers, looking hard as the light pierced the synthetic skin silicone and showed the wiring underneath. [color=C9ABAB]"Fine line between looking forward to the possibility of having a flesh limb again and hating the limb I've got now. Especially since the flesh limb isn't a guarantee. If I keep thinking like this I'm gonna go mad." [/color] Valentine's wistful smile faded. He reached out and gently took her hand, his palm on the back of it, interlacing their fingers - and he gave it a gentle squeeze. [color=ff5294]"You,"[/color] he began, [color=ff5294]"are doing so much better than I think you can appreciate. A fine line, yes - but we're all mad. We're also all still monkeys, it's not even our ancestors."[/color] He gave a grim chuckle, releasing her hand and passing the bong back. It seemed that he'd had more than twice as much as her - and yet he still felt sober. The stoner's curse. Abby took the bong as she refilled the bowl, lit it up and inhaled. [color=C9ABAB]"Speak for yourself,"[/color] she snickered through the smoke. The office was gradually filling with a soupy haze, and the less distinct shapes that made up Abby's body put the bong back down on the desk as she slouched back fully into the reclining chair and lapsed into a comfortable silence. [color=ff5294]"Nah. I have a license to speak for the human condition, I'm afraid. Quite literally."[/color] He chuckled, and retook the bong for himself. Abby was at a good state - but there was a great deal more in store for him yet. [color=C9ABAB]"Speaking of uh…nasty, monkey impulses,"[/color] Abby flapped a hand. It wasn't entirely sure if she was dismissing more popups or just moving for the sake of moving, [color=C9ABAB]"where're you taking her to eat, and why's it Ichiban Noodle Bar, aside from the fact you're getting me some beef udon and a uh…six pack of gyozas?" [/color] Valentine chuckled again. [color=ff5294]"Right you are Abby. I think I decided to take her there because it's cheap as fuck, and Straid is about to do everything he can to render me positively skint."[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"That's another impulse! He's the lion. It's his natural instinct to…to fuck other people over."[/color] Abby gesticulated with her newfound intellectualism. [color=C9ABAB]"You're goddamn right. We're all just filthy fucking animals."[/color] [color=ff5294]"We are. But oh, don't get it twisted love, I am still an advocate of controlling one's impulses where it is possible and beneficial to do so. As a species we only grew to dominate earth because we were willing to cooperate - no, actually, not even cooperate, because we were willing to be [I]genuinely altruistic.[/I]"[/color] The bong bubbled for a moment. He paused, and spoke through smoke. [color=ff5294]"Lions still have a pride. A group. Something they express genuine loyalty to, even if their basic cognition doesn't understand the concept of sacrifice for it. Straid has…"[/color] he paused. He withdrew the bowl and finished the hit. [color=ff5294]"Straid has [I]clients[/I] at best. You might be the closest thing he has to a real friend, and he won't even give you a discount."[/color] Abby started to giggle.[color=C9ABAB] "Hey, hey Victor, where's your pride?"[/color] She called out. The radios clicked back on. [color=5cd677][I]"Not far from wherever I left my dignity,"[/I][/color] he crooned. It had the desired effect as the cyberaddict melted into her own amused little chuckles. [color=5cd677][I]"I'm almost done here Cupid, you got any clothes for her or am I just wrapping her back up in this sheet?"[/I][/color] [color=ff5294]"Yeah. I popped out just after she went under the general. Nothing special but it is what it is. We'll wrap her back up for now, let her wake up on her own, and make sure she knows they're for her."[/color] He replied. [color=ff5294]"I'm sure she'd prefer to put her own underwear on. Rather not be touched, and the like."[/color] [color=5cd677][I]"You're the boss. Just send the rest of the eddies in and we're all kosher."[/I][/color] the sound of clattering, running taps, movement and general business accompanied Straid's parting words. Abby remained slouched and smiling for a while longer before sloping up to her feet, staring at nothing in particular. [color=C9ABAB]"I better head out,"[/color] she decided. [color=C9ABAB]"Gotta get rid of the van…"[/color] [color=5cd677]"You're not driving,"[/color] Straid drawled as the office doors hissed open. [color=5cd677]"Christ almighty, I can't see three feet in here! What've you rascals done to my office?"[/color] That was the worst part; he sounded good-natured, light-hearted and easygoing. The glint of his shades hid the bloodshot, tired eyes beneath. He had suspenders on, a bombastic pink leather jacket, yellow tie and flare cut jeans. In a smooth, practiced motion he slicked some hair over his bald spot. [color=C9ABAB]"I can't leave a hacked van inna-"[/color] [color=5cd677]"You're not driving,"[/color] Straid repeated - firm, decisive, indifferent to her excuses. He sauntered past Valentine, pushed his chair away from his desk, pulled out a sleek glass panel and tapped away as an invoice screen popped up. [color=5cd677]"You can watch your Jason what'shisface films-"[/color] [color=C9ABAB]"Jason Islington,"[/color] Abby corrected him. [color=5cd677]"-yeah, him. Watch a couple those, eat your way through my mini fridge and wait for Cupid to pick you up."[/color] He slid the pad over to Valentine. [color=ff5294]"You use the cyber I brought?"[/color] Valentine asked, before paying. [color=5cd677]"You think I'd waste my own stock on some choom I'm never gonna see again?"[/color] Straid flashed his signature smile. Valentine eyed him. [color=ff5294]"Good man. That's what I pay for."[/color] He tapped the pad, holding the eye contact, returning his own signature smile. [color=ff5294]"Feel free to enjoy the rest of the weed, Abby. Straid can have some if he likes, since he's been such a gracious host and opened his fridge to us."[/color] Valentine mused, grabbing his backpack and wandering over to the spot he knew would have a cold beer for him. Wordlessly past that point, he grabbed one, opened it on the edge of Straid's desk, took a swig, and left. [right][img]https://i.imgur.com/wgYH2dA.png[/img][/right]