forum Out in Space (classic lit and sci fi!) (CLOSED, stalkers welcome)

Started August 14, 2020 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

"Afraid?" Victor echoed. "No, I-I'm not afraid, just…"
He paused, choosing his words carefully as to not reveal too much.
"They just reminded me of something I'd prefer to forget, is all." He offered a smile that he hoped didn't seem forced. "And thank you for helping me…Eden, was it? Terribly sorry for fainting on you all there, that sort of thing hasn't happened to me in a while."
He rubbed the knuckles of one hand across the back of the other, trying to regain more feeling in them. Victor's heart rate was still above average, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. He would be fine. He would be fine. While they still made him a bit on edge, he knew that his creature, this Eden, was not the same as the other one he'd met.

“I-alright. Do you need some water?” clearly something about themself made Victor uneasy, but it had to just be their uncanny-valley sort of appearance rather than anything else, this Victor couldn’t possibly know what an undead being was like, could he?

"Water. Yes. That would be…nice," Victor stammered. He sat up, then absentmindedly tapped one hand on his thigh, trying to consider the next course of action. Sooner or later his secret would come out, did he want to admit it himself and rip the bandage off? Or did he want to wait and let the stitches slowly tear?
He opened his mouth, about to say it, and then closed it. He kept his gaze trained on the floor. No. He couldn't bring himself to admit it just yet.

(Oh, could he?)

“…Sure,” Mina said begrudgingly. She didn’t want to pry too much, but his answer left her unsatisfied. She sat back down, sharing a look with her husband.
“Ahem, sorry, I should’ve introduced myself. I’m Mina Harker, and this is my husband, Jonathan.”

Alek grabbed a glass of water, bringing it back to Victor. "Here you go." He said, stepping back once Victor had taken the water. The blond man looked a bit uneasy; but then again, he always did, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Eden went to the kitchen and poured some water into a glass from the faucet, then walked back to Victor, handing over the glass. “My own creator had poor health, I always found a glass of water and a pat on the back solved his troubles more often than not. Well, that and the medication he always refused to take, but my point still stands.” Eden said reassuringly.

"Thank you," Victor said, accepting the water. He took a small sip, his hands still shaking slightly. "It is indeed nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Harker. Well, I suppose that now that we're all introduced, we ought to figure out the best course of action? I suppose my best course of action is to spend the day researching, I'm more of a liability than anything else until…"
He waved a hand, careful not to spill any of the water.
"Until this passes. I should be better soon. Hopefully."

“And you,” Mina replied, offering a small smile. Jonathan nodded a greeting, smiling as well. “Ah yes, I was hoping to make some progress today. And no, I think researching is a good idea. You definitely won’t be a liability in that regard. I think I saw the, um, the other Victor go into a laboratory beneath the stairs, by the way. Before you came, I was hoping Mx. Holmes would help with that as well. You seem to getting on nicely, so I think we could get a lot done.”
She pushed her glasses up her nose, then crossed her arms and leaned over the table.

"I think that it would be wise of me to avoid the lab today, but if Mx. Holmes will have me, I think that we really could research well together," Victor said. He would certainly visit the laboratory later on, but it seemed like a better plan for him to stay far away from such a place so shortly after his…whatever it had been. An anxiety attack? Some sort of flashback? He made a mental note to read through some psychology textbooks later on.

Sherlock nodded a little. "Of course you may join me. I must warn you that I am, perhaps, not a great lab partner, as I tend to work alone, but I do not mind sharing the lab." They said simply, adjusting the collar of their shirt as they spoke.

"Excellent!" Victor exclaimed, clapping his hands together. He stood up, still a bit unsteady on his feet. "Has Moriarty provided us with adequate research equipment here, or will we have to find some sort of library?"
He wouldn't put it past Moriarty to have stocked the house with tomes and computers, especially if this mission was as confidential as it seemed. Then again, he was familiar with the sort of mind games that these masterminds could play.

They considered that for a moment. "I am…unsure." they said slowly. "I believe there is research equipment, though I'm unsure about a library. I have not had the chance to explore the entire house yet."

Victor nodded, considering Sherlock's words.
"Plenty of time in the day," he said. "We ought to start with searching the house for the resources we'll need, there's no reason to head into the city when we have them at home." That sentence just about summed up his general mentality when it came to public spaces.
"You know, one of the schools I attended had some sort of hidden library in its basement, it even had a moat! I stumbled upon it quite early into first term and spent nearly every day down there, which was probably why I was expel–oh, my apologies. That was probably quite boring to hear."