sylfied | Week 5, Wednesday; Hiro

[And Hiro's...in his hoodie. Hating winter. Missing California a lot. But he recognizes the voice and he lifts his head to stare for a moment.]

...Yona's out. Wanna head inside so we're not stuck out here?

[ at least he's got a hoodie!

... Not that Fie's really suffering, she's too used to the outdoors, but that doesn't mean this is comfortable either-- so she nods and steps closer. Indoors is definitely preferred. ]

[Fie you might be used to it but please don't freeze??? So he's going to head for the door of the hut to open it, ushering her inside and shutting the door tight to block out as much of the chill as possible.]

So. This is more proof this whole thing is pretty fake, I think. When's the last time you've seen an island that snows? [Complaining about the snow will certainly help. But anyway.] Not important, I guess. What's going on?

[ In response, Fie pulls out a piece of paper, carefully folded. After a few seconds, she holds Serph's letter out to him. ]

Do you know what this says?

[???]

Where did you get this? Never mind, I think that was a dumb question. [He received one from Hayner, but. Give him a second to look it over.] ...Fie, have you ever heard of Morse Code?

[This is all said before he plops down on one of the trunks in the room and begins drumming his fingers idly on the surface. Fie can hear the "tap, tap, tap" pretty clearly even as he stares at the paper.]

[ Fie stays standing, arms wrapping around herself for a little more warmth as she watches him. Hiro's not a very quiet thinker, she thinks, slightly amused. ]

I know a few codes, but I can't really say I've heard of one called "Morse" before.

[Not-so-subtly he also stretches with his foot to kind of kick his bedsheets at her? Stop freezing, oh my god.]

It might not be a not-Earth thing. But Morse was something that was created centuries ago, like in the 1800s. It's basically a way of translating texts into audible or visual cues. Like lights, or pulses or clicks. A lot of tech uses it too to transmit messages over a long distance. There's a whole alphabet and everything.

This--[A gesture to the letter.]--is something someone wanted to minimize and get through.

[ Fie looks a little confused at the comment of "centuries ago" and "1800s", but then figures it's maybe a calendar thing. For the most part, she can understand where Hiro's coming from.

... But she does finally go for the bedsheets, geez. ]

... So even if it's in a letter, they were trying to send it to me in a way that I'd have to translate.

[ So then it's definitely important. ]

[Please tell him to stop being a nerd anytime, Fie...]

Yup. Not sure why? Sometimes it's because they need to make the message short to get it out there. For a really long time, ships at sea would send SOS as a distress signal because it was easy to type and they could get the message across they needed help. Anyway there's plenty of ways to translate stuff but this is kind of the one people have heard about.

[And there he goes with the tapping again.] Five letters. See how there's a space between each group? The timing and tapping of it is what makes the words whole. So...a five letter message. [This time the tapping is purposeful, like he's trying to jar his brain a little to remember the letters.

...and then he stops. He stares at the paper vaguely horrified, tapping out the letters again while his eyebrows scrunch together.]

...oh.

[ but would he listen if she did, Machias sure doesn't-- ]

... [ wait, that's not a good expression he's making, and that isn't a very promising noise either. Fie's own eyebrows draw together as she peers at him, completely lost. ]

Hiro?

[Hiro is less of a nerd than Machias maybe. But he doesn't quite look at her, fingers stilling on the trunk top for a moment.]

...do you trust me. [Hiro where is this line of thought going...] After everything, do you trust me to give me an answer if I ask you a question?

[ That's... also not promising, but Fie stays quiet for a good few minutes-- because she isn't like a lot of her classmates, who'd be able to answer instantly. She's a thinker during times like this, and at the moment, she thinks of Serph. She thinks of how he would have had no guarantee that Fie would have understood what he was trying to tell her. And she thinks of Hiro, who's always asking questions, always fiercely trying to figure out the truth, and how...

This week, she's never felt more alone.

But finally, she looks back at him, even if he's not gazing at her. ]

... Yes.

[It's a double-edge sword, he thinks, asking this of her and asking this question. There are two ways this could go but...even if what he's hoping isn't true is true, it's Fie. Fie, somehow, has become someone he would consider a friend. It's why he's asking. It's hard to imagine there's anything wrong when she's wrapped up in bedsheets to preserve some body heat, but then again...looks are deceiving sometimes.]

Did you know Serph was a Siren before he outted himself to the rest of the island? [Please don't be right for once, brain.]

[ truly, he should meet Millium if he wants the best example of deceiving looks. And Fie definitely looks small and harmless, swaddled in bedsheets and still occasionally shivering.

And now? She just looks tired. ]

Yes.

[I just googled Millium and holy crap. But yeah. Small, harmless Fie...right?]

...is that because you're one of the two Sirens left?

[ the other member of team tiny, who thankfully is NOT HERE.

Fie, though, continues to manage to look even more miserable as she nods. ]

[Trails has lied to me so much...

...but okay. He's just. Going to bury his head in his hands and stare at the floor.]

Great. Perfect.

[...] I can't believe they picked some of the best people on this stupid island to do the worst job.

I'm pretty sure hardly anyone thinks I'm one of the best, even if they didn't know.

[ ... and honestly, Fie's probably been one of the most subtle. For now, she's just going to... also stare at the floor, shoulders slumped. ]

Well I mean...you're still my friend, so that has to count for something. [He's pretty irritated though, and finally, he says:]

By the way, I know Vriska's the other Siren. So...just so we get that out of the way.

...this is really important. What exactly were you guys told by the Chiefs?

Pretty much what Battler told you at the trial. Do one bloody kill a week, or the volcano erupts and kills everyone.

... For the record, I know that's a lie now. I've been trying to figure out just how much of what they told us was the truth for a few weeks.

Vriska told me she was a Siren not long after Battler was killed. I had...hopes? I guess? That maybe she and the item role could work together to put a stop to this but then you guys killed Kyouko. [Yeah, guess who knew about Kyouko's role before the trial last week...]

Vriska wants to tear the game apart. I've been keeping an eye out myself, but...it's hard to make out what is and isn't true anymore. I don't even know if you guys know anything that's true, given how the Chiefs are.

[There's a pause.] ...the message says "abort." That's why I asked.

... [ she's just going to wearily rub her forehead, don't mind her. ]

I'm the last of the Sirens to find out the ways to actually end the game. And I didn't know Kyouko had a role.

And Serph's pretty much just confirmed what I was already thinking. If he's the one saying it, then...

[ Fie trails off, before bending over and pressing her clasped hands to her forehead. ]

I don't...

I know. She told me you guys didn't know and...it's probably because I didn't tell her Kyouko's name. I made a promise.

But...[He's just watching her, more concerned than anything else even as he leans forward and holds onto Serph's note.]

What ways exist to end the game, Fie? We can still fix this.

[ can they, she wonders. She's not too sure.

But she can at least talk about this much, even if she doesn't lift her head. ]

Someone willingly sacrifices themselves into the volcano. Everyone dies. Everyone dies except for seven people.

... All of the Sirens die.

[It's okay. They can have this conversation with eye contact. It might be easier.]

Wait does that mean there's really a volcano spirit? God, never mind. Okay. [A deep breath.] ...okay. Vriska asked me to keep her alive last trial because there were only three of you left. With Raven disappearing, that meant the numbers were going down. And...she's gone. We don't know that she's dead, so I don't know how to solve the "all of the Sirens die" agenda. Chief said he pulled her out of play but does that count as a loophole? I don't know if you guys were told either way.

If everyone dies that's not good either. But I wonder why seven specifically. Probably overthinking it again. [But there's a beat.] ...what route are you and Vriska taking then? It's just the two of you now.

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