At What Price Respect

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity in the forum? Not a strange sight. Verity without coffee? Rather less common. Verity slumping, exhausted, into a couch? Unusual. Verity covered in scrapes, bruises, and dust? Definitely strange.

"Help isn't if it's forced on someone. This is true. Someone not in possession of all of the facts cannot give fully informed consent. This is also true. But nobody can be forced to listen." Of course Verity has things on her mind. Who here doesn't? "How do you reconcile that? Is ignorance truly bliss? Or do you do what's needed to save someone despite their choices?"

((A note before you come to play with Verity: she's got a magic spell stuck in her that lets her always know when someone is lying to her. This includes sarcasm and knowing when someone believes something to be true when it isn't. This doesn't include lies of omission. She can also see through illusions. Please respect this; if your character is trying to lie to her, please make that known so she can react appropriately. [I completely understand this isn't going to be everyone's idea of fun.] Thanks.))

Comments

[brave_heart_verity]

It's true that she does know Samus isn't lying, so she doesn't argue.

"I know. I just."

[onemorebounty]

Wish you could have done more?

[brave_heart_verity]

"Yeah."

[onemorebounty]

*She smiles.*

Easy answer: learn to do more, for next time.

[brave_heart_verity]

"...there a nursing school around here?"

[onemorebounty]

Probably. I know some first aid and basic field trauma I could help you with, too.

[brave_heart_verity]

"That's a good start. Is there anything you can't do?" Please say there's something you can't do, bird lady. You've already got Verity paranoid about her breathing for fuck's sake.

[onemorebounty]

So many things. I've been trying for years, and I'm still not a very good cook. I don't have the patience for knitting. The last time I tried to ride a horse... didn't end well. I don't have even the most basic cyberaugmentations, so there's a whole suite of things I can't do because of that.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Huh." She thinks about that for a minute before admitting, "That is strangely reassuring."

[onemorebounty]

Well, good. I'm glad something positive came out of getting banned from that ranch.

[brave_heart_verity]

And now there's more laughing. "Okay, I need to hear this story."

[onemorebounty]

Not my proudest moment, but alright. I spend some of my time on an early-twenty-first century Earth, with a girl scout troop, and one time we took a trip to a horse ranch so the girls could get some riding experience.

*She sighs.*

Someone at the ranch decided to give me a difficult horse--maybe he was itchy, because he kept rubbing up against trees as we passed, trying to scrape me off. By the end of the trip, I was fairly annoyed, and after I got down, I swear he laughed and then took a bite of my hair while my back was turned--so I turned around and laid him out. One punch.

[brave_heart_verity]

"You punched a horse in front of Girl Scouts?!" That may be the funniest thing she's ever heart. Ooooor she might be a little hysterical now.

[onemorebounty]

*Samus sighs, dropping her face into her free hand.*

It's kind of funny how everyone phrases it exactly like that, too.

[brave_heart_verity]

She's just laughing more now.

"How'd the girls take it?"

[onemorebounty]

*That elicits a groan.*

They gave me a stern lecture about not expressing my feelings with hitting. Lost my cocoa privileges for a month.

[brave_heart_verity]

Aaaand now she can't breathe. There's some coughing when she tries to stop laughing.

[onemorebounty]

*Verity can have her hand back if she needs it for flailing or the like.*

[brave_heart_verity]

No, she can flail just fine with the one hand. She'll be okay in a minute.

[onemorebounty]

*Samus will wait until Verity's got her breath again to speak, sitting quietly until then.*

I'm not sure if you're suffering some mild shock, or just very, very amused at my mistakes.

[brave_heart_verity]

She forces herself to take several long deep breaths before answering. "Ehh. Six of one?"

[onemorebounty]

Fair enough.

[brave_heart_verity]

That gets a little smile, but she doesn't start laughing again. "I'll be okay."

[onemorebounty]

So, we're adding first aid to the curriculum?

[brave_heart_verity]

"Yeah. Please." She's going to have a lot of free time soon.