KY321B | voice | day 012

[backsassin]

Just want to clarify something I said when I first got here:

Whatever brought me to this place didn’t just get me stuck in human form. It actually made me human.

Case in point: sweat glands. Clawdites don’t have them. Humans do.

On a related note: how do you all deal with being so wet all the time? I know it’s how you thermoregulate, but it feels so gross. I feel like I need to be carrying around a towel…

[ It’s one of many, many complaints Zam has about her new human physiology, but in the interest of not offending her majority-human fellow islanders, she’ll keep them to herself. For now. ]

Anyone else get their species swapped upon waking up here? And more importantly: what are the chances we'll be able to be turned back?

Comments

[salamanca]

[ OOPS. Busted. There's a soft "ah..." and a moment of sheepish silence on the other end before Lalo's voice comes back as cheery as ever. ]

Ay, ay, ay, don't worry about it! It'll be fine. I already thought about that. There's one at the other place, too! Where the detective is. We can use that one when we find the password!

'Course, we might need to get the power back on first. But, ah! Details.

[lonelynotforsaken]

And find any other facilities like those two. I want to make sure all the drones are disabled before we get power back to anything here. No one should go through getting captured.

[salamanca]

You think there might be other ones? Now there's a thought... Probably gonna be a while before we get electricity back anywhere. I don't think you have to worry about anyone getting captured, amigo.

[lonelynotforsaken]

I'd be surprised if there aren't, and I don't want to leave things to chance. The electricity turned on suddenly and we don't know why. That means it could happen again without warning.

I just- I want to get to the airfield and start planning. M-making sure we can have supplies and things for people who turn up here. Caches of useful stuff like fresh water and some rations. We need that for when someone doesn't turn up close to a river or-or near fruit or stuff. I want people to have an easy time finding what they need to survive until they can find everyone else.

[salamanca]

[ To the first part, about the electricity: ] That makes sense...

[ To the second part: "Why the hell do you care so much about other people, man?" he wants to say. Logically, he does know why - Martin doesn't want anyone else to go through what he went through - but he doesn't understand, emotionally, why Martin is so invested in sparing others his own fate. It would be part genuine curiosity, part rhetorical question.

But Ben would never say that! Ben is the kind of man who, even if he has a temper, would implicitly understand that kind of empathy. So all Lalo says is: ]

Sounds like a sensible goal. How do you plan to do that, if I may ask?

[lonelynotforsaken]

I've been collecting containers, things to carry water in. I'm going to keep looking for more. Or-or building things from what I can find. There are other people there who are smarter than me.

Once I've got my first cache, I'll walk out for a day and set up the first waystation. It'll have, um... I want it to have instructions on who to contact for directions and a number so that we know where the waystation is on the island. And then I'll go back and get stuff ready to do the next one. And the one after that. I want to make a full loop of the island with a day's travel between each waystation.

[salamanca]

[ Lalo considers that. He can see the utility of Martin's ideas, even if he lacks the ability to understand the empathy that inspired them. ]

Those are good ideas. Anything anyone can do to help you?

[lonelynotforsaken]

If you can find any containers to put water in or something airtight for food, bring it to the airfield whenever you're headed that way. If we can gather supplies at that central location, then I'll have a good base of operation to work out from.

Also, any tools you find that could help with... carving things, I guess? We might be able to do some wood things.

[salamanca]

Your crew headed to the airfield? Yeah, I don't think I'll be heading that way anytime soon. Nothing personal. It's just — me and the kid, you get it, it's better that the two of us stay away from each other. [ No hard feelings. It what it is. If anything, he sounds slightly proud that he was able to come to such a big boy decision all by himself! ]

But! I'll look for whatever I can, and whenever I run into someone heading that way, I'll send it with them. Sound good?

Carving things? I'll see what I can find.

[lonelynotforsaken]

[The mention of Kokichi has Martin raising a brow. Ben's been so weird about this. But with what had happened with the whole... 'I don't have sex with men' thing and Kokichi being kind of a brat, maybe that's what he's talking about? But from what he'd seen Kokichi hadn't actually pressed anything. Not nearly as much as he could have done.]

Sure. That sounds good to me.

I don't know if he's actually going to stay at the airfield or anything when we get there. A chisel would probably be the best for what we need. Or, um... saws and hatchets? I don't... really know much about woodworking.

[salamanca]

[ Poor Martin. 'Ben' is certainly weird about a lot of things, as Martin has come to find out by now. But, yes, the blow-up at the drone facility is exactly what he's referring to, considering Lalo's beliefs about Kokichi's intentions and, you know, what actually even happened, don't exactly match up to anything remotely resembling reality. He's not lying, though (for once), just crazy.

But crazy or not, he's grateful that Martin either thinks it's a good idea or at least isn't inclined to argue, and he's very happy for the chance to latch onto something else and move on completely. ]

I know a little bit. Not very much, but some. Detective Cohle probably knows a lot more about that kind of thing than I do, though... [ Is there a hint of dreaminess seeping into his voice as he says the detective's name? It's subtle, but it sounds like it might be. ] I'll ask him what he thinks you need. Then I'll see what we can find.

[lonelynotforsaken]

Great. I'm glad you two are looking out for each other.

[He's glad Cohle is looking out for Lalo.]

[salamanca]

[ There's a long stretch of embarrassed silence on the other end of the walkie, followed by hushed voices and rustling. Sounds like maybe the walkie is being shoved back and forth? It's truly impossible to make out everything that's being said, but Rust's voice can be heard saying something to the effect of "that's just how he talks"... or something along those lines, in Rust's thick Texan drawl.

Then Lalo's voice comes back, more clearly. ]

Oh - ah - we're not - we're just traveling together, I wouldn't say... that, exactly... ah...

[ He clears his throat. Then more silence. ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

[There's a stretch where Martin tries to figure out what that response is about.]

But you're still trying to make sure neither of you die along the way, right? That's looking out. It's okay if you're not... friends? That doesn't mean you aren't companions right now. Just be careful. Both of you.

[salamanca]

Right! Be careful. You got it! Talk to you later, Martin. Bye for now!

[lonelynotforsaken]

Bye, Ben... and Cohle.