Chapter Text
New protoframes...
When Loid messaged me that, I could not help but let out a sigh. The previous encounters I've had with protoframes have been delightful, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have a sense of family I haven't had in a long while. Too long to possibly put any semblance of numbers, of time to. Forgive me. I likely shouldn't be writing this while I'm still processing this information. Any mistakes I make, for the sake of authenticity, well, ignore them. I will.
One of them is an Orokin. I am greatly unprepared for this. I know the child is much less enthused about this. At least in Duviri I could pretend some Orokin were simply... people. Some simply existed. The children did. They played games. At times, they seemed so normal and similar to us back on the Zariman. Duviri is not the standard I should hold everything to, but as a lens to filter things through, it's a way to enter this situation with just enough of a lack of bias to start sensibly instead of walking into a conflict and losing out on information or allies instead. What is curious, however, is just how upset Loid seemed by this information. Is he not intimately familiar with Orokin? Why would the presence of one upset him so?
Come to think of it, in all of Albrecht's notes, I've come to learn so little of Loid. Is that deliberate, or was it simply not his place to write of Loid? Are notes about him simply kept elsewhere? Is it my mistake for not asking more about him? We've spoken so much of the Void, the Cavia, and Albrecht, but so little of him. He knows so much of me. Knowledge is power, and I sense an imbalance. He knows who I am and what I am. I wasn't just trained for combat, but tactic. I'm a survivor, and I didn't get that way by just sitting by and ignoring signs like this. I think I want to trust him judging by how he treats the Cavia, and I certainly believe that caring for them like he does is the way to move forward with them. I believe it comes from a genuine place, and whatever his past may hold, this is the person he is now, and that grants me peace. Nonetheless, I find myself realizing I must come to know him. I realize I need to trust him, and that I never truly did. I work with him out of necessity, and can comfortably turn my back on him. But what of if or when Albrecht returns?
Oh, we have avoided discussing this, haven't we? How I want to see his face should I bring it up but every time I think to, I freeze. I cannot imagine losing him as an ally, can I? He's heard Tagfer speak of his beloved, and what has he thought and how does it compare to what he says? His Albrecht. He must know how many truly loathe this man. I still feel the burn of where he shot me. If it where the first time I was shot, I might be more bitter. I may be a healer, but rage and a thirst for revenge does quite a number on one's idea of peace and what must be done to maintain it.
What is going on in your head, Loid?
Can I count on you?
Bah, I think I'm actually looking forward to the distraction of talking to this Orokin protoframe....