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[abrightboy]

 This is Bright. Leave a message.

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[empathicfault]

Ah...probably the part where she turned into a giant black monster, with--

[ He hasn't told anyone- anyone- about that yet, and he doesn't want to do this in the hallway. ]

I- I'm almost there, just wait a minute, okay?

[ He jogs the rest of the way to Malcolm's door and knocks on it. ]

[abrightboy]

[Malcolm yanks the door open and hustles Will inside, to the sofa, where sparkling water in a glass is already waiting.]

She turned into a big monster?

[empathicfault]

[ Will gratefully allows himself to be hustled to the sofa. He sits down heavily and takes in and blows out a long breath before trying anything else. He's so sweaty his hair is wet and he looks like he's seen a ghost. He basically did, he supposes. ]

It's...a familiar form, but not- not for her.

[abrightboy]

For Hannibal?

[empathicfault]

[ Will just nods his head for a long moment, before finally deciding to go into detail. ]

Ever heard of a wendigo?

[ He smiles mirthlessly, looking up at Malcolm. ]

[abrightboy]

Yeah, isn’t it an indigenous myth? An evil spirit that makes people…. [Oh. Right.] …Did she try to eat you?

[empathicfault]

It wasn't Abigail. Uh.

[ He runs a hand through his hair and takes a drink of water before he figures out how to continue. ]

The creature I've seen before is tall and too skinny, covered in black...almost oil. It has antlers on its head and Hannibal's face. It doesn't attack, just watches. It...waits. For me.

[ He shakes his head. ] It's never been around Abigail. Sometimes it turns into Hannibal, sometimes it's been overlaid on other things that he's influenced, but...never Abigail.

[abrightboy]

Maybe it’s her now because he killed her. Is that a memory someone got from you during the event?

[empathicfault]

[ Will's shaking his head, even before Malcolm says the second sentence. ]

No, never lost that one. But it's not- it's never....

[ He trails off. Whatever just happened, none of it makes sense. Maybe it is picking up on some of the mythology he's recently read, making new symbolism that he hadn't previously attributed to it. Maybe him talking to his imaginary Hannibal has forced the wendigo into a new position. Maybe...

Will looks miserable as he breathes out heavily, intensely frustrated. ]

It doesn't feel right. But none of this does, and the- what am I supposed to do when what I see isn't something I can interpret, anymore?

[abrightboy]

...What if it's not you? If you've always been able to understand the things you see, whether they're real or not, even under Hannibal's malevolent 'care', maybe there's some sort of outside influence. Like... space radiation or... someone onboard with supernatural moods that can influence you without you even realizing it.

[empathicfault]

Space radiation.

[ He says it bluntly, but not sarcastically. It's not something he's ever been concerned about. But he has no idea what's out there. Apparently sometimes it just does whatever to the people here. ]

Yeah, I guess there could be something out there that I'm more susceptible to than the rest of the ship.

[ He looks up at Malcolm. ] The only time it hasn't made sense- after I hit adulthood- was when I was sick. Even then, that was- it was new imagery, not retooling the old.

[abrightboy]

Have you had any symptoms besides the hallucinations?

[empathicfault]

[ He shakes his head. ]

Not that I've noticed. Other than...I have been sleeping worse. But that's not usually related to anything.

[abrightboy]

Have you met any new arrivals this week? Anyone who gave you the heebee jeebees or anything?

[empathicfault]

[ Okay, they're diagnosing now. Will can stay calm as he tries to remember details. He closes his eyes a moment, practically daring the visions to come back as he recollects. ]

The only one I've met is Nita- she's a warden. She'd been here before. So if something about her caused a problem with people, it probably would've come up already, but maybe.

I did learn something interesting from her, but that's probably...unrelated. Apparently, I'm in a book? A fiction book, that is, not a True Crime Special.

[abrightboy]

Names not even changed to protect the innocent? Or. Like. You and your friends? [He considers that. He's met Nita. Did he know she was gone?] When Abigail showed up at your door... was there anything weird about how she spoke to you? Anything that wasn't idiomatic for her? Use of particular words or phrasing or inflection?

[empathicfault]

Name's not even changed. She knew me, Hannibal, Jack, and Chilton. And the book's focused on Hannibal...obviously.

[ Even in this bad of a state, he can manage an eyeroll and a shake of his head, as if Hannibal's giant ego brought the entire book into being on its own.

But right. Questions. He approaches that more carefully, and after some water. ]

No, she...she was quiet, but it usually takes her awhile to open up. She talked about graduating, a little. She wasn't...uh, she wasn't afraid. I thought that was just the...that she'd gotten better here.

[abrightboy]

Did she know you the way she should know you?

[empathicfault]

We didn't have much of a conversation, but- yeah. She called me Will. She knew what I was talking about. She didn't- didn't have any knowledge she shouldn't have.

[abrightboy]

Nothing seemed off to you? Have you ever dealt with anything that could fool your senses?

[empathicfault]

No, nothing seemed off until she turned into a monster. Just the fact that she was there at all.

[ Will makes a face at the second question. How is he even supposed to answer that, with his history of being so detached from reality? He's getting frustrated again. He doesn't have words for this. ]

I mean, I'm not always right, when I'm looking at what I'm experiencing...seeing. But I can usually see the- the other layer. The reality that's there. It was just when I was sick that I couldn't.

[abrightboy]

Would something with telepathic powers of some sort be able to fool your senses, do you think?

[empathicfault]

Ah...yeah, probably. I think they'd affect most people here, wouldn't you? It's not like we have any comic book shields or anything to keep that out.

People here with abilities like that are...Lestat and Henry. Maybe Iris, if she got really creative. But she wouldn't.

[ He shakes his hands and his head, feeling bad about even thinking that. But he's sort of running out of suspects here. ]

[abrightboy]

Kikimora says she does if a Warden gave them back. I think Johann can do something telepathic when he has all his powers, too, but I don't know if Dorian gave him any back.

[empathicfault]

Kikimora would need a permanent warden for that, I think? If the rumor mill is correct. I don't know anything about Johann. So yeah, checking on both is probably good.

[ He's still frowning, pretty sure that's not going to lead anywhere. He has no basis for this, other than the panic that keeps coming back to him in waves. ]