Log: Seeking Shelter

[ambitious_muse]

Who: Sigma Ai, the Ai twins, Agent Texas (native), and anyone else who passes by
What: hiding from a plague storm
Where: an antique shop between the twins' daycare and the shuttle stop
When: 15 April, around midday
Warnings: none yet

Day one of getting the twins from daycare, and Sigma has already run into trouble. A plague cloud collided with a storm front, causing a torrent of acid rain and liquid illness. Sigma grabbed the little ones and ran for the first cover he could find.

When they exit the airlock, he finds himself in a dusty but well-lit shop. Pieces of mismatched furniture take up nearly every available space on the floor. An antique shop, then? Sigma holds the little ones close. This isn't the place to let them run around. He'll have to hope this storm ends soon.

Comments

[soldierinblack]

She raises a brow at that. "Scientific genius that's working accounting?" At least, she assumes he's going to school for that given that was his go-to response for when she asked what skills he had.

[ambitious_muse]

"He did it so he could pay the bills," Sigma says. "He hates it, though. But that doesn't mean he isn't really good at it."

[soldierinblack]

There's a slight frown at that. The more she learns, the more she's finding out they've sacrificed to get by. "If he didn't have bills to pay, what would he do instead?"

[ambitious_muse]

"He loves computers," Sigma says. "Anything technology-related, really, but computer science has always been his favorite."

[soldierinblack]

"There's money to be had in that, too, you know." If he landed a job with the right company, likely a stipulation attached to any job in accounting as well. "But I guess he weighed out all the possibilities before he chose anything."

[ambitious_muse]

"I'm not really sure why he chose accounting," Sigma says. "Probably because he can work from home, like he's doing for you." He would want to spend more time with the twins. Iota has offered him the pencil; he scribbles out another chemical diagram to keep his brother busy.

[soldierinblack]

"Work with computers could be done remotely," she answers as she watches Sigma scribble away. That is not the first thing she would think to draw for two small children. "Do they like those kinds of drawings?"

[ambitious_muse]

"I guess he never thought of that?" Sigma says.

He shrugs her commentary aside. "They don't like it when I take too long to figure out what to draw. It works and it helps me practice. Everyone wins, really."

[soldierinblack]

"Keep that up and you might have some assistants when you start you research," she teases and leans closer to get a better look at Eta and Iota's work.

[ambitious_muse]

"I wouldn't be surprised. They're pretty smart, aren't you two?" he asks. He reaches over to ruffle Eta's curls.

[soldierinblack]

"You should get the pair some lab coats," she says as she reaches for an extra pencil and piece of paper. If she's going to be stuck here, she might as well doodle. "How old are they?"

[ambitious_muse]

"I bet they would love that," Sigma says. "Would keep their clothes from getting messy too. They're five, so apparently that's normal."

He considers drawing, too, but should probably keep his eyes on the twins.

[soldierinblack]

"One of the many reasons why I don't have any of my own. Did your parents leave after they were born?" She's not much of an artist, but her doodle is slowly beginning to resemble a dog.

[ambitious_muse]

Sigma shakes his head. "Long before. I never knew them. The little ones just showed up on the doorstep with a nanny who only stuck around until we knew how to take care of them. You could doubt we're related, but for the eyes."

[soldierinblack]

"And the nanny didn't say anything? Just... showed up and took care of a couple of random kids without explaining?" What the hell was going on with this family?

[ambitious_muse]

"Yeah. They came for a few months but never answered any questions. The Counselor would shepherd us away from them if we got too demanding," Sigma says. "You know, it sounds like some freak experiment when I put it that way."

[soldierinblack]

"You sure it wasn't?" she asks carefully. "Is this Counselor still around and involved in your family?"

[ambitious_muse]

He sighs. "Could've been. But Meg threw the Counselor out the day he turned eighteen, so we'll never know."

Omega has always wanted to protect the family in case the Counselor came back. Maybe that's really where this mercenary business started.

[soldierinblack]

"And that's that? He never came back?" She's not sure how old Omega is, but he's definitely not eighteen anymore.

[ambitious_muse]

"Never," Sigma says. "Meg worries about it still. I don't think it'll happen, though."

He hopes not.

[soldierinblack]

"Never know, but it's promising if he's been gone for years. He wasn't your father?"

[ambitious_muse]

Sigma makes a face. "No. No, definitely not. He never seemed the father-ing type, let alone the fatherly type. Besides, he was the wrong ethnicity." None of his siblings have every shown the darker skin or more rounded features he remembers the Counselor having; statistically speaking, at least one of them should have if they were actually his offspring.

[soldierinblack]

"Then what was he doing with your family?" she asks. Something about all of this feels wrong. Very wrong. If the Counselor left their family alone, what has he been up to all these years?

[ambitious_muse]

"I don't know," he says. He finally realizes that he shouldn't tell her even if he did, but something about this woman puts him at ease. She may be a mercenary, possibly even an assassin, yet he feels fine watching her idly drawing with Eta and Iota. Maybe his judgment is impaired?

No. He trusts her. It's something about those eyes.

"Really, I don't remember. It's been seven years at least. I--I know he tried to make me forget someone. A brother, my oldest brother. The Counselor tried to convince us that he never existed."

[soldierinblack]

"Sounds like he failed," she remarks. She might be drawing, but she's glancing up at Sigma every so often. This is a mess she never imagined herself being drawn into, yet here she is. Something keeps pulling her in every piece she learns.

"Was he always there? Before your brother kicked him out."