Office Hours

[newhire]

[Those who wish to meet with the Junior Administrator-- well she's always on call.

Getting her off her phone on the other hand... is a bit more difficult.]

Comments

[newhire]

[There's a bump, a sharp inhale and then several very quick footsteps before Megumi appears at the door with a huff.]

Viral! Come in.

...do you... not like the tablets?

[She wasn't expecting him in person-- not that she minds. But. She has to ask okay.]

[machrophage]

[He sighs and holds up a hand. Or, rather, the claws on the fingers of it.]

If I tried to use them extensively, I'd just wind up scratching the glass.

[newhire]

Oh!

[She lights up and starts rummaging through her desk. From it she pulls out— what looks like two pens, but has a rubber tip.]

Try these! You can use them to tap, swipe, write— anything you could do with your finger regularly!

[machrophage]

[He takes the styluses and gives them a bit of a funny look, before... sure, that's fine, and he tucks them into his pocket. The screen's still small but he can manage.]

I can't imagine that's what you wanted to talk about.

[newhire]

No! That's... no.

[She takes a deep breath.]

...I wanted to apologize for yelling at you the other day.

[Ah.]

It wasn't that you were breaking the rules, I just... don't want to see you putting yourself or the others in danger. So... I didn't want you getting the wrong idea...

[machrophage]

[He just... Blinks at her with that one visible eye for a minute.]

You... do realize that, having been kidnapped, there are plenty of us who regard ourselves as already being in danger?

[Perhaps being caught off-guard lends itself to his emotional honesty.]

[newhire]

No, I do understand that. I just... don't want to see anyone get hurt.

[Megumi please.]

A-anyway, I just wanted you to know that.

[machrophage]

...You're a very strange woman.

[newhire]

...you think so?

[Honestly, she has to laugh.]

You’re probably right. I just... don’t want to have any regrets this time.

[machrophage]

Strange even by human standards.

...This time?

[There's no way you thought that investigating troublemaker wouldn't ask about that, did you?]

[newhire]

Um!!

That is... yes.

[W h o o p s.]

[machrophage]

...Other than the Entrance Exam, has something like this happened before?

[Yeah he's not buying it.]

[newhire]

...no.

[machrophage]

[He gives her a long, considering look.

He'll accept that, for now.]

...Humans seem to put a much higher priority on avoiding injury than we do.