* Keiko is , for whateer reason, standing out in the cold on the balcony, holding her two plush animals and the ribbons that Luana gave her, leaning on said balcony and looking out. I suppose it's good that she likes long sleeves. (No starter text? Well that's fine!) (That is starter text!) (Okay!) [Oh, that was all in brackets! Also it's after the christmas stuff last session!] * Heinrick walks out onto the balcony slowly, arms behind his back. Unfortunately for Keiko, he's pretty quiet while coming. He gives a brief clearing to his throat before talking, "I wouldn't have thought for you as one to miss out on the festivities." The last bit has a slight questioning tone to his voice. ( She's not, they're pretty much over now. ) (Well, there was plenty of good will and cheer!) * Keiko doesn't notice him, because he's anti-telepath. Boo. She shivers a little and replies quietly, "I had... enough festivities for one night." She runs one of her fingers along the red ribbon. * Heinrick nods slightly. "Did you enjoy yourself?" He's speaking pretty neutrally at this point. * Keiko takes a second before she responds, "How could I not?" * Heinrick looks at her, slightly bemused. "How would I know the answer to that? You're the empath, not me." * Keiko replies quietly, methodically, "Yes, everyone else was happy. Hotar--Jamie has likely never had a beter day in her life. Luana was certainly happy." She draws in on herself a bit. "Robert has been interested in Karin for a while." She looks over her shoulder at Heinrick, where it's clearer that she was crying earlier, and finishes, "You and Roseli, of course, only seem." *** Signoff: Brett (Ping timeout) * Keiko then looks back outward. "And Zarina, of course, but... she is so rarely unhappy. Confused, often, but not unhappy." * Heinrick nods evenly. "Ah. So you tend to be happy only when other people are happy?" * Keiko frowns a little to herself, looking outward as she is, but does not respond. After a few moments she murmurs, "And you? Happy? A happy Christmas?" * Heinrick walks over and leans on the balcony next to her. "Well, I am pleased that everything went well, yes." * Keiko says quietly, "That is good for you." She pulls up the yellow color and runs her finger along it. "Do you expect the paints to be another... diagnostic tool?" * Heinrick takes a slight breath and turns around, back to the railing. "You wound me, Keiko." * Keiko glances over and manages a very thin smile. "You seem well to me." She then looks back outward again. "There are cameras in every wall, maybe in every tree. Every hour. Every day. Every month." Her voice gets quieter. "It's all diagnostic." * Heinrick pushes up his glasses. "Indeed. Sometimes we forget we are dealing with human beings sometimes..." He picks himself up off the balcony and stuffs his hands in his coat pockets. * Keiko glances over at him a moment and then says quietly, "I wonder if Rose understands what she has done." Beat. "I wonder if I understand. Rescuing her from the night..." (Roseli) * Heinrick smirks slightly. "Whether she does or not is irrelevant. It was certainly a...surprising interlude. But it is not something that you might simply reverse." * Keiko shakes her head. "Why would I?" Her finger switches to run over the blue ribbon. I am not saying you would. *You* are the one who was questioning whether Ms. Tavares knew what she was doing or not. * Keiko shakes her head and says quietly, "You do not understand." She closes her eyes a moment, then murmurs, "I hate that I can't feel you. Your words and this place... are of two different rhythms." * Heinrick raises an eyebrow slightly. "Oh?" * Keiko just replies, "Yes." She then reopens her eyes and then takes a step back from the edge. "I am cold enough now." She then rubs her face with one hand. * Heinrick shakes his head slightly. "I am not sure exactly what you mean by that. As for feeling me though, do you only believe someone is being genuine if you can feel them?" * Keiko looks up to him and replies flatly, "Can you say you wouldn't if it better served you?" Wouldn't what exactly? * Keiko replies, still in a flat tone, still looking up at him, "Anything, but you can restrain it to 'being genuine' if it suits you." * Heinrick chuckles slightly. "I suppose you do have me there. The problem is that you're not even sure what "serving me" entails." Regardless, since when have you followed my orders if they have not served you as well? * Keiko snorts out her nose and then wipes it. "Since when have I not had a compulsion to listen to you?" You certainly do not act on it all the time. * Heinrick takes a deep breath and glances at Keiko, adopting a more serious tone. "That is neither here nor there though. Perhaps you are right. Perhaps I don't match with the atmosphere around here. I suppose you could say that I do not really belong here." * Keiko exhales slowly and then chuckles to herself before murmuring, "But I do." She looks off in the distance a moment, then looks down and shudders. * Heinrick looks out for a minute. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. I, for one, intend to play the best hand that I can with the cards that have been dealt. I suggest you do the same." He turns around to go back inside. "Coming?" * Keiko is silent a moment, then steps after him, repeating, "I am cold enough." She rubs her face again as she looks up to actually see where she is going. * Heinrick nods and opens the door from her. "Call these things what you will. Diagnostic tools, test samples, et cetera. But sometimes, things are given only to allow you your piece of humanity." * Keiko replies lowly as she walks by, "This isn't humanity. Humans don't live like this. I remember being human. It was different." * Heinrick doesn't crack an expression. "Perhaps. Though I believe we're all more human than we give ourselves credit for. * Heinrick closes the door behind both of them and heads in after. (Were you aiming for a close with that?) (Or did you have more? Because that's a very close phrase.) (I'm fine to close with it!) [And so they go inside! Probably to be more standoffish! Or not. Mini end!]