video;

[writtendestiny]

[She rests her chin on her hand while she addresses the screen. Poison is sitting in the shared living space of the rooms she shares with Peter, and there is a small black cat stretched across the back of the couch.]

I have a question, and... it's a difficult one, so no one has to feel like they need to reply.

[Sigh.]

I'm curious... about how many of us have died before. And how many times.

Comments

[writtendestiny]

Ah...

[She hadn't really expected to get so many replies. It puts things into perspective.]

That sounds... traumatic.

[circumspector]

There really isn't a better answer than to say it was, especially since it was my father that demanded it happen to me so he could become powerful.

[writtendestiny]

[There's a very obvious falter at that.]

Your father?

[circumspector]

He wasn't a nice man.

[writtendestiny]

No, it doesn't sound like he was. Is he gone now?

[circumspector]

He's not here, so I guess I'll have to take that.

[writtendestiny]

If he shows up... you'll have to warn us.

[circumspector]

Trust me, you'll know when he does. He isn't exactly a subtle guy.

[writtendestiny]

Ah...

[No, she knows the type.]

So the first thing he'll do is announce himself loudly to everyone, expecting us to know who he is? That should be helpful.

[circumspector]

He calls himself Handsome Jack. That really is all I need to say about that.

[ But because there isn't words for how she loathes her father. ]

He liked to build giant gold statues of himself, too.

[writtendestiny]

Oh, he sounds delightful.

[Deadpan, she clearly does not mean it.]

If you'd rather not talk about him, I understand.

[circumspector]

It's alright. He's part of my life. Pretending he doesn't exist is weirder. It's about as bad as everything else on my planet, no less. I can either talk about my sociopathic dad, or skags eating children.

[writtendestiny]

Mm... I see. [She understands... in a weird kind of way.]

What's a skag?

[circumspector]

Think like a dog? But.... horrible. And sometimes sets itself on fire as a defence? Or has spines, or throws up huge piles of stomach acid and will eat..... anything that moves.

[writtendestiny]

I've never heard of anything like that before...

[She pauses, then adds;]

At least, not all in the same creature.

[circumspector]

Oh, are they separate for you? What are those called?

[writtendestiny]

[She has to think about it.]

There's a kind of lizard in the southern deserts that will set itself on fire as a defence mechanism, but I don't know its name. Goatfish will eat anything, even people if they can. I'm sure that creatures who do the other two things exist as well.