2023-02-15: This World is a Little Strange

• Cast: Rita Bernal, Kaworu Nagisa
• Where: Tokyo-3
• Date: U.C. 0097 02 15
• Summary: "Hello, Kaworu. My name is Rita Bernal. You helped my sister ten days ago." Her voice is more 'felt' than 'heard', breathy and sweet. Rita leans forward, bracing her hands on the edges of the desk she perches on. She has no weight. It will not be damaged. "I was wondering if you could help me, too."

---

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        At the edge of Tokyo-3, away from the central rising buildings, three blocks away from the last train station and almost to the forest, there is a three-bedroom apartment--more of a townhouse, really, as it takes up two floors. One bedroom belongs to Rei Ayanami; one to Mari Makinami Illustrious; and one, most recently, to Kaworu Nagisa. It's perhaps the first time he's lived with someone as a roommate. It's a lovely feeling, and honestly quite relaxing. He's already moved his meager possessions into his room, the one closest to the stairs: his bedroom is a bed, a desk, a closet, and several bookshelves where music boxes and a music player with speakers rest. Being underground, the light comes from a string of LED lights that cling to the ceiling corners.
        
        Kaworu is watching them blink now from atop his bed, arms folded under his head, ankles crossed at the foot of his bed. The soft strains of Bach's Air currently play, and he hums along; queued up next is Fire Bomber's Light the Light. Even though there are no windows, and there is another floor overhead, the vast stretch of the night sky is as known to him as the blinking fairy lights that surround him.
        
        It's a quiet night, and quite peaceful. Yet, for all this quiet, there is always noise somewhere. Sometimes this noise is discordant... but sometimes, it is a music all its own.

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Far, far above Tokyo-3, a golden bird has left her nest for the first time in many days. Wreathed in sacred fire, the Phenex suspends herself above the Earth, in a sweet spot where she will not be noticed by any scanners -- hopefully -- for a long while. And with her greater self secured...

A splinter of her soul breaks away, taking the form of a glimmering canary with two extra-long tailfeathers. She soars straight down. Gravity's pull finds nowhere to grasp across her spiritual body. Her speed and her path are her own. She seeks out one singular glimmering personage, glowing overbright in the crush of life within Tokyo-3.

Kaworu will, perhaps, feel her, before he can see her. Her approaching presence for one as sensitive as him is like a sunrise. Warmth and hope -- floating above an undercurrent of hard-forged strength. She knows she won't surprise him. It's nice, really! Surprises aren't always fun.

"Light the Light" begins just as the golden bird soars in through one of the walls of Kaworu's townhouse. She alights on the desk, looking at him for a moment, gauging his reaction.

Should he not seem to wish to shoo her away, the bird will fold her wings and duck her head. Light encompasses her form, and when it fades, a young woman has replaced the little avian creature. Blonde hair falls to her waist in cloud-like waves, with a white sundress covering her fair skin, leaving her shoulders bare. No shoes. She always forgets the shoes. Impossibly green eyes look deep into Kaworu's, and she smiles.

Despite her otherworldly beauty, it's clear she isn't quite 'here'. The young woman is ever-so-slightly transparent, and her hair and eyes glow just a bit in the dim light.

"Hello, Kaworu. My name is Rita Bernal. You helped my sister ten days ago." Her voice is more 'felt' than 'heard', breathy and sweet. Rita leans forward, bracing her hands on the edges of the desk she perches on. She has no weight. It will not be damaged. "I was wondering if you could help me, too."

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        From the MP3 player, the rich voice of Basara Nekki croons: "God's busy; he's in the middle of something right now... This world is a little strange, just like a merry-go-round..."
        
        Kaworu certainly senses her long before she appears before him. The Phenex has been an entity of some interest for a while, and not just for him. He wouldn't have anticipated that the soul within would have approached him directly like this, but he does nothing to try to avoid her or push her away. He simply watches with interest as her spectral canary form soars in through the wall, conveying with it a glow beyond visible light, and lands on the desk.
        
        When she shifts from bird to young woman, Kaworu is just as composed and unsurprised as before, simply watching her as she meets his eyes. He was already smiling his usual faint, crooked smile, but it grows in return when she smiles at him.
        
        For his part, he's barefoot too at the moment. He is in bed, after all. His night clothes are a white T-shirt and black sweatpants tied at the waist with a cord. They look comfortable, and indeed he seems comfortable himself.
        
        "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Rita Bernal," he replies, unperturbed by her use of his name. (Perhaps if someone were looking in on him now, they'd see him talking to the air. Perhaps anyone who would be looking in on Kaworu would be used to him talking to the air, though.) Ten days ago puts her appearance into perspective--but then, that is the only thing that connects them at present. "If I can, I don't mind. Might I ask which one was your sister?"

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Rita turns her head to the music, swaying back and forth to the beat for just a moment. It seems to be an indulgence she allows herself very little of, but there's a certain longing in her gaze as she tears it away from the little music player and back to Kaworu.

Being accepted by Kaworu brings an extra bit of warmth to Rita's smile. They're not the same -- but they're both /different/, in their own ways. She doesn't know exactly what skies Kaworu soars in, but Rita knows without doubt that he's seen at least as many skies as she has.

Part of her wants to ask. Part of her knows he wouldn't answer. No more than she would answer him, if he asked... Oh well. That way, it's fair.

"Oh!" Rita laughs softly, "They both are! But I mean specifically the Unicorn -- and her pilot. You were a vital part of her Miracle."

Raising one hand, Rita fills the room with an aurora of otherworldly light, identical to that radiance Banagher had summoned to save the Garencieres and Ra Mari II.

"It's still too soon for me to see them. They're both too unsteady. If I appeared now, we'd have no choice but to fight, and--" She looks at him, tilting her head slightly. "No one wants to fight their family."

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        It's a good song. Fire Bomber's released lots of good songs, but this one is one of Kaworu's favorites of theirs. He waits for Rita to indulge in listening, and would even if he weren't endlessly patient. Music is worth waiting for.
        
        It is fair that way, though. They each of them have their secrets and their burdens. To accept them as they are and simply speak to one another plainly is what's best for both of them.
        
        When she explains her meaning and calls up that glorious radiance, he hums thoughtfully. "I didn't do much, but I'm glad I was able to help."
        
        No one wants to fight their family. Kaworu's smile remains, but his eyes soften with a sad resignation. "Yes... It's something many would prefer to avoid."
        
        He rises from the bed then, long legs slipping off the side and chest rising so he can sit upright and face her. He leans forward, his back a graceful curve as he leans his folded hands along his knees. "I must warn you, I have no intentions of involving myself in conflicts between Lilim. If the help you seek involves that, then I will have to refuse. But if it is something else... I can at least try." A beat. "What is it that you would request of me, then?"

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Rita feels as light bond form with Kaworu as they connect over shared sadness. She nods, gently, in response, letting the miraculous light fade with a lowering of her hand.

Green eyes watch Kaworu move and resettle, Rita's smile never fading. "Please don't worry. It won't be anything like that. My sisters have to find their own peace. And beyond them, I have my own path to walk."

Rita wonders, briefly, if Kaworu would see the conflict she fears as 'between Lilim'. She watches him, appraising. Perhaps he would join the heroes of the living in following after her calls? But he did not appear at the destruction of the PLANTs, or the firing of GENESIS.

"What I'd like is very simple." Rita raises a finger, smiling so brightly her eyes squish closed. "I know you're very, very smart, and equally as capable. And, most importantly, not likely to try and trap me!"

"I'd like to learn sign language. You see, my true body is the Phenex Gundam. Very few people can see me in this form. Most can hear my voice if I try very, very hard, but there's one..." Rita closes her eyes again. "Someone who was kind to me when I needed it most. She'll never be able to hear me like this. So I must find another way to speak to her."

Once more, Rita holds a hand up. Within her palm, light shimmers, then coalesces into the shape of the Phenex -- just in case Kaworu hadn't seen her before. "Her hands aren't as flexible as ours. It's a bit like wearing a stiff glove. Do you think such a thing is possible, Kaworu?"

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        The destruction of the PLANTs and the firing of GENESIS were both terrible tragedies, ones Kaworu finds deeply lamentable. But those were tragedies wrought by the hands of man and stopped by the hands of man. It's not the place of his kin to step in. Then again--there are always exceptions. Had mankind failed to stop the firing of the GENESIS, Kaworu would have had no choice but to act, or else let the surface of the Earth burn.
        
        Rita doesn't voice her wonderings, so Kaworu doesn't say any of this aloud--but as sensitive as they are, perhaps this sentiment conveys itself all the same.
        
        For the time being, he listens to Rita as she explains her desire--a desire so simple that it surprises him, far more than her appearance or her nature does. This he conveys with a slight widening of the eyes. Still, he doesn't interrupt, and when she explains why she wants to learn this, he nods.
        
        "I've never seen a mobile suit try to use sign language. I don't believe they're built for that," he muses. "Still, I don't believe it's impossible, either. Allow me to do some research, Rita Bernal. There are many different ways to communicate without words, and perhaps there is a form of sign language better suited to your physical form than what Lilim traditionally use."
        
        By that, he means sign language using more subtle finger movements, as opposed to any specific 'dialect' of sign language.
        
        "That being said--it might be simpler for you to communicate through electronic devices," he adds. "Most Lilim these days carry at least one around. If it's feasible for you, you could send messages to that someone that way. It is admittedly rather less intimate, though."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

"In my training, we were taught to have them use basic hand signals for stealth missions." Rita mentions. "But they're certainly not built for it... The Phenex helps me with so much, but this might be beyond her."

Another brilliant smile from Rita as Kaworu offers to do research. "Thank you so much, Kaworu! You can just call me 'Rita', if you want to. And... 'Lilim' is such a pretty word. It's like a flower. It feels like an expression of love."

"Electronic devices..." Rita tilts her head. "I can manage some of them, but touch screens are impossible." She looks a little embarrassed by this. "If I can place my hand on an electronic and focus on it, I can tell it what to do, but it's a difficult thing for me. I never used them much when I was alive... It's hard to learn new things this way."

Rita smiles again. "I do have a Haro, but it's locked to only send coded messages to a single group. I put a little of my psychoframe in its mouth so I can talk to it from far away..." She brings a hand to her cheek, thinking. "Do any communication devices have psychoframes naturally?"

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        A pity that Rita's in a Gundam and not an Evangelion. An Eva's hands definitely have the necessary flexibility for sign language.
        
        "You're welcome, Rita," Kaworu replies, eyes squinting briefly shut from his own smile. He breathes a little laugh at her comment on the word 'Lilim.' "Someone else said something like that to me, too. Do you know Lucine Azul? She is more in tune with the universe than most, so she will likely be able to hear you in some capacity."
        
        Touch screens would be impossible for someone in her position. It hadn't been quite what Kaworu had had in mind, but it seems direct manipulation isn't easy for her. He nods once in consideration. "Then perhaps some form of sign language would be better after all."
        
        Her question gets more consideration. "Probably not, if they're purely for communication," he muses, bringing his folded hands to his chin in thought. "The communications systems in a mobile suit that utilizes psychoframes, perhaps... but if it were that simple, you wouldn't have needed to approach me in the first place." He gives her a thoughtful look. "Unless... I had assumed you would understand how to use all of your vessel's systems intuitively, but is that perhaps not the case?"

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

"Lucine! Yes, I know her very well. Liam, as well!" Rita laughs, kicking her legs from where she sits atop Kaworu's desk. "They're both very kind. I was so happy when they were reunited after Tsutsujidai's return."

With a little wiggle of her fingers, Rita 'flies' the Phenex toward Kaworu. The illusion isn't tangible, but it is large enough to hopefully let Kaworu get a good look at the joints and workings of her hands.

"Yes, I think so." Rita says, gently. "I understand the Phenex perfectly, don't worry. I know how to activate the radio, and transfer and receive information, but." Rita sighs, smiling helplessly. "...many of her more delicate controls work with touch screens. I fly her by propelling her with my abilities, rather than using any of her inherent systems."

Rita stretches an arm forward toward Kaworu's bed. His pillow lifts, outlined in azure brilliance. She moves it up and down a bit, before releasing it. It's not polite to mess around with things too much.

"The Phenex is more a host to my spirit than a true mobile suit. I've never activated her engines or weapons. I can project myself to others the way I do to you, but my friend exerts a sort of..." Rita hums. "Negative-energy field. The splinters I project are destroyed just from being near her, and if my greater self comes into contact, I vanish from this plane until I can restore myself."

Or worse. But Rita doesn't mention that. Kaworu will understand.

"Sign language could be understood by someone who can't hear or see me from a safe distance. And my friend is very smart -- she speaks many languages. I know she'd understand me."

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        "Ah, you do? I'm glad to hear it. They're both good people," Kaworu says warmly. "I'm happy for them as well--not just that they were reunited, but that they're now able to be open and honest with their true feelings."
        
        The image of the Phenex flies to Kaworu and, presumably, offers him her hands to inspect. Inspect them he does. Kaworu has little expertise in mobile suits that aren't Evangelions, but he has considerable technical prowess; simply examining them will give him a better idea of what they can and cannot do. As he does, he listens to Rita's explanations.
        
        "I see." He looks to one side at his floating pillow, then over to Rita. When she describes the negative-energy field, he frowns very slightly. "Oh. Are you speaking of Yuliana Kafim?"
        
        He does understand the 'or worse' indeed. If Rita considers that woman a friend, that explains her presence at the Institute for Continuing Study. Not that there weren't plenty of other reasons to be present there... Kaworu touches his chin in thought. "If you feel comfortable with it, perhaps we could arrange for me to inspect the Phenex directly. I have an understanding with electronics. If I'm able to study her, I might be able to teach you how to use the systems and speak through them."
        
        He lowers his hand and looks at Rita again, expression now sober. "...But I am usually watched. It would be a risk. I would understand if you prefer to learn sign language after all."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

The little image of the Phenex is warm, radiating the same heat and emotion Rita does. It is a part of her, after all. The Phenex indeed offers her hands, looking up at Kaworu. It's a bit like holding a sentient, moving Gunpla.

Blinking in surprise, Rita's smile fades for a moment, then returns in the same gentle curve. "Yes. She's very important to me. I want to be able to speak to her again."

At Kaworu's next suggestion, Rita goes still again, thinking. "I'm sorry you're watched so constantly, Kaworu. It's a difficult way to live."

None have yet seen the Phenex at her top speed. Whatever secrets she holds are already revealed by her two sisters -- either of whom would be easier to study. The only true risk would be to Kaworu himself, Rita decides.

"You know I'm hunted as well. By coming near the Phenex, you may put yourself in danger. If you're okay with that, I'd be just fine with you meeting her. Though I can't open her cockpit. That's far too personal!" Rita laughs, a little private joke with herself. "We do have another option. If you are able to dream, I could bring her to you there, and recreate her cockpit around us."

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        Kaworu hums thoughtfully at Rita's assertion about Yuliana. In that case...
        
        He smiles again, though, however faintly, at her condolences. "I'm used to it," he reassures her. It might not actually be that reassuring.
        
        "I do," he says simply, of her being hunted. Her follow-up gets another thoughtful look. Kaworu, who is unfortunately familiar with the ways language can be bent to hide one's true meaning--has been deceived many a time by others doing so--asks, "Do you mean that you are unable to open her cockpit or that you are unwilling to?"
        
        TEither way, he won't press that matter, especially since she offers an alternative. "I can dream," he confirms. "I have no need for sleep, so I don't often do so, but nothing prevents me from entering an REM state. I'm not certain it will be effective, but there's no harm in trying."
        
        He lies back down on the bed, rests his folded hands over his chest, and shuts his eyes. "Then, shall we?"
        
        Once Rita confirms her readiness, it won't take long for Kaworu to alter his own consciousness into the state known as 'dreaming.' What he creates there is a plain, white space, a blank canvas onto which anything can be ascribed. He appears there as himself to start, silver hair, red eyes, and black clothes and all, and waits for Rita to manifest herself and the Phenex therein.

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

"If you ever grow tired of it, I'll help however I can. Everyone deserves to live in peace." Then, a mysterious smile. "I am unwilling to." Rita answers, simply. "It's not time yet."

Rita laughs in delight at Kaworu's simple solution. "You're so funny! I'll see you soon, Kaworu."

She lingers for a moment longer, watching Kaworu to see if he can /really/ just fall asleep at will. He can. Rita smiles, then closes her eyes, vanishing in a burst of light.

---

This is Kaworu's dream. He will be able to choose the form it takes -- the setting, the feel. Though he's already given Rita permission to enter, she prides herself on taking care in these matters.

And so, in the midst of Kaworu's white space, a door waits. A gentle knocking can be heard from the other side.

Should Kaworu open it, Rita will be waiting, that same gentle smile on her face.

Glancing around, Rita looks slightly, gently surprised. "I've never seen a dream like this. Thank you for making it so easy for me."

Taking a breath, Rita raises both her hands. Slowly, color begins to fill the blank canvas. Dull grey, gunmetal silver... This is a military facility. More detail fills in, and the gravity in the dream shifts and weakens.

"This is where we first met." Rita explains, as a metal path stretches across a hangar before the two dreamers. It vanishes before it reaches its destination. The path doesn't matter beyond one stop.

Leaning forward, Rita gently floats toward the path, letting her bare feet touch down on it. Reaching a hand to the air, Rita summons new color to this dream: brilliant, shining gold. Like paint flowing through water, the Phenex takes shape from Rita's fingers.

"Finally," a ghostly voice whispers, echoing from memory to dream.

Rita smiles up at the Phenex. As if in response, the Phenex's cockpit opens. It can be easily reached by stepping up from the metal path.

With a glance back at Kaworu, Rita enters. There's space enough for several people within -- a secondary seat waits behind the pilot's. Rita stands just in front of it, waiting.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        Kaworu's smile turns rueful at Rita's offer of help. "Thank you. I appreciate your kindness," he says simply. Her admission of being unwilling gets a chuckle, though. Kaworu understands that very well.
        
        Then she laughs and calls him funny. "Hm? Am I?" he wonders. But he'll leave it at that for now. As she says, they'll see each other soon enough.
        
        ---
        
        Within the dream, there is a door. Kaworu looks at it with a smile, and the door is no longer a door, but a widening space, a bubble that pops in slow motion. Rita is inside, welcomed in and accepted into a space that is vast in orders of the cosmos. Not only is it huge, but it's so controlled. A human mind usually has some level of noise to it, but the stillness here is... unearthly.
        
        It really does make it easy for her, though. "You're welcome," Kaworu replies.
        
        Color fills in the white void: gray, then gold. A path like in a hangar, something with which Kaworu is quite familiar, and it leads to the Phenex Gundam. Kaworu strolls up to it, hands in his pockets, and inspects the exterior with interest. The cockpit opens; Rita enters; Kaworu, noting all of this, follows.
        
        As he steps inside, his clothing shifts. If one were watching from the side, it would be as though when he passes the threshhold of the cockpit, he's simply suddenly in a dark plug suit once he's inside. It covers all of his skin from the neck down, and aside from the red lining at his neck, it's in shades of black--darkest blue, darkest purple, darkest gray. Bands of metal line his ribs as though they are ribs, and the number 06 is imprinted on his throat.
        
        He nods to Rita, then takes the secondary seat next to her, now inspecting the interior with interest. Not just visually, either; Kaworu has the ability to control electronics at a literal glance, and he extends his senses here to take stock. Given that this is an approximation in a dream, he doesn't anticipate that there will be anything there on that level, but Rita's own attunement is quite powerful. Perhaps she'll be able to reproduce the inner workings of the Phenex just fine.
        
        If she can, and if she allows him to within this dreamspace, he exerts a gentle touch of his will to call up the Phenex's communication systems and put them on display.

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Rita laughs in delight at the pop of the bubble. "Oh--!" She spins in the space, letting her sundress flare out prettily. "This is... very different. But it's not bad." A smile to Kaworu. "I like it."

As Kaworu's clothing changes within the Phenex, Rita's image... flickers, for a moment, replaced by a woman in a white normal suit. Almost imperceptibly, she shakes her head, and remains in the sundress. It seems the way she appears is very important to Rita.

"Your pilot suit..." Rita murmurs, looking Kaworu over. "It's a little scary. Does it bother you?"

As Kaworu sits, Rita lets herself fall into the pilot's seat. It, too, is gold -- along with the hardware for the electronic systems within. Whoever created the Phenex had an artistic eye, even more than those who created her two sisters. With a little wave, Rita awakens the Gundam from within. The cockpit appears to become transparent, showing the exterior around the two dreamers in perfect 360 degree clarity. It shows Kaworu's white void, rather than the illusory hangar. There's no need to maintain the illusion.

Kaworu begins to take in the electronics, and Rita tilts her head. "I can help you. Take my hand."

Offered without further explanation, Rita waits to see Kaworu's response. Slight and pale, her hand is steady in the cockpit, fully tangible here in the realm of dreams.

And if Kaworu takes her hand, his knowledge of the Phenex will grow all the more. Rita provides an exact knowledge of the workings of the Gundam. Though she has never used its systems, the Phenex serves as her body. She knows every circuit, every inch of psychoframe.

Identical to her older sisters, the Phenex posesses an NT-D. Unlike her kin, it is entirely overcome by its pilot. It waits, toothless, simply another system.

Kaworu's urging is accepted by this dream-Gundam, particuarly if he's accepted Rita's hand. Screens arrange themselves before the pilot's seat. While there are mechanical controls bound to the arms of the seat, they work only to control the weapons and movements of the Phenex. The communications array appears on the leftmost screen. With no obvious control, it seems Rita spoke true: they are entirely touch-controlled.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        There's a flicker over Rita, from sundress to suit and back again with a reassertion of her will. Kaworu's attention goes from the Phenex to her, and he gives her a curious look at her comment. "Is it? To me, it's quite normal. It doesn't bother me at all."
        
        ...But then, he is attuned to Evangelions, which are like this but far more so.
        
        He observes the way the cockpit becomes transparent at Rita's bidding, how it shows the white exterior. When she offers her hand, he accepts it. An instant later, she floods his mind with information of the Gundam. It's a significant measure of trust, Kaworu understands implicitly, and he's honored by it. She is, after all, a hunted woman.
        
        The communications array springs into view on screens that rise up before them. As Rita had said before that they're touch-controlled, he reaches out to draw his fingertips along the screen. It responds with sensitivity, though he really didn't even need to touch it. It's good to see for himself what Rita means, though. He hums quietly and looks over at her.
        
        "This won't be difficult to reprogram to accept a different input. Do you have a preference for what kind?"

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Rita nods softly, accepting Kaworu's opinion on his plug suit. She's never particularly taken to dark colors -- but her opinion isn't the one that matters. "I'm glad, Kaworu. I never got to wear what I wanted when I was alive. It's been really nice now!"

Kaworu understand the trust she places in him. They're 'alike', Rita knows, and that's enough. Perhaps if not sisters... Maybe cousins? Birds of a feather of some sort. And Rita would never betray Kaworu. So why would Kaworu betray her?

"Oh! That's wonderful!" Rita beams, looking back at Kaworu from the communications screen. "I never used this sort of thing much." Her head tilts one way, then the other. "The machines I trained in had their communications disabled."

Rita lifts her free hand, flexing her fingers idly. "I can move and manipulate things with my Newtype abilities far more quickly than I could ever use my fingers. Maybe a keyboard? Do you have any ideas, Kaworu?"

"Of course, this would mean... Finding a way to make alterations and reprogram it. Is there a way to do that and keep you safe?"

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        It's a good balance with her light colors, though, isn't it? Black and white; silver and gold; red and green. They contrast and complement each other nicely. Kaworu's smile broadens briefly. "I'm glad for you too, Rita."
        
        Certainly he has no reason to betray her. Indeed, Kaworu is just not the betraying type, although he's been accused of betrayal all the same. It depends on whether you think not disclosing your true nature counts as a deception or not.
        
        He looks over at her fingers as she flexes them. "Truthfully, I'm the same way. But if you're unused to manipulating electronic systems, using a device that you're more familiar with might work better for you. If you feel comfortable with a keyboard, we can use that."
        
        For a moment, when Rita asks him if there's a way to make the alterations and keep him safe, he gives her a bemused stare. Then his eyes shut as he smiles anew. "You don't need to worry about my safety. If we're to do this discreetly, I believe it would be best to do it during a shuttle flight. I have plenty of reason to visit space via GGG's Orbit Base, so perhaps we can arrange something around that?"

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Perhaps this meeting, too, is what was meant to happen. They fit together too well for this to be anything but preordained. Rita has been betrayed before several times now. But is it really a betrayal if you know it's coming?

Rita doesn't think so, anyway.

"I used to have a keyboard to do school when I was a child. Using one again will bring me happy memories, I'm sure." Rita tilts her head as if listening, then nods. "But can we please make sure it'll look nice and match the Phenex's interior? She's very concerned about things like that."

Rita shakes her head, letting her blonde hair cascade over her shoulders. "Of course, that's not as important as keeping you safe! I'm at my best in space. I can meet you whenever and wherever you need me to. Please tell your allies if they try to capture me, I'll use force if I need to. I have a very important path ahead of me."

"You're so kind, Kaworu. Thank you." Rita squeezes his hand gently. "Please tell me if there's anything else I can do to make this easier on you. If you call to me while you're dreaming, I'll be able to hear you, and I'll come to you if I'm able to." A little smile. "I usually am."

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        "That shouldn't be difficult. I'll take a look for something that will match her aesthetics," Kaworu reassures Rita. Aesthetics are important--beauty brings joy to the heart and soul. And if a keyboard in particular will inspire happy memories in Rita, so much the better.
        
        As for her path, he assures her, "I'll do my best to keep violence from breaking out."
        
        It will really depend on where exactly he is when they do this... but that's something they can pinpoint later. First, he'll need to locate the appropriate parts for her.
        
        He pauses mentally when she squeezes his hand; then he smiles and returns the gesture. Contact is always so pleasant, even in a dream. "Let me think. If you're able to jam communications, then doing so for a time will help create plausible deniability for both of us when I come out to see you. Until then, let's do as you suggest and communicate via dreams."
        
        He raises her hand in his with his perennial smile. "I suppose I'll have cause to dream more in the coming days." But then, he already has.

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Another extra-bright, eyes-squished shut smile. "Thank you, Kaworu. I have complete faith in your artistic tastes! And thank you for being willing to protect me. I'll try to leave long before anything bad happens."

So many thanks. Rita gets the feeling Kaworu deserves even more than what she's giving him, when it comes to gratitude.

"I've never tried to jam communications, but I'm sure it's possible! I've been able to strengthen mobile suits before, so it makes sense I'd be able to weaken them, too." Rita laughs in delight at the suggestion to continue to dream together. "It'll be so fun, Kaworu! If there's anywhere you'd like to see again, I'll help you create it, here. We can go anywhere you remember. I'm afraid my memories are mostly boring places, so yours might be better."

Rita feels a bit like a princess from a child's movie as Kaworu raises her hand. She laughs quietly, once again, reliving what it was to be in her mother's arms, watching together.

"Let's make them sweet dreams." Already, around them, the Phenex begins to fade away. "We can play, too. It doesn't have to be all work. For now, it's time for me to go. I'll be spotted if I stay in one place too much longer."

A few heartbeats later, and they're both within the white canvas once again. The Phenex reforms just behind Rita, beckoning silently.

Placing her other hand over Kaworu's, Rita gently smiles once again. "I'll see you again, Kaworu. Please take care of yourself. And thank you, for being willing to help me."

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Rita's offer to recreate the worlds of Kaworu's memories is met with a polite, faint laugh. "That's very kind of you, but there's no need. It's better to look towards the future than to mire oneself in the past."
        
        Play, hm... He gives her a curious look, but doesn't remark, letting the Phenex fade around them. When the vision has faded, he starts to withdraw his hand--but Rita layers hers over it first. He smiles back warmly.
        
        "You're welcome. And you as well, Rita. It was wonderful to make your acquaintance. I look forward to when we meet again next."
        
        Now he withdraws his hand, and he'll let Rita and the Phenex both withdraw from this limitless space. Once they do--
        
                -~-
        
        On his bed, Kaworu's eyes open.