the capture

[instar]

Bella is, uncharacteristically, home alone; Andi is over at Robin's, and Renée is visiting a friend of hers in the hospital, though she could be home relatively soon depending on how much the two get caught up in conversation.

Bella is memorizing the map of Phoenix.

Comments

[aeskhyne]

<I'm gonna see how well I can talk to her,> he adds, and goes quiet.

[instar]

Bella puts everything away and cleans up the lemon tart crumbs and then goes back down the stairs when Renée still isn't in the driveway.

[aeskhyne]

The two Yeerks in the bowl are swimming together in companionable little circles, the sides of their bodies touching.

[pandion]

Bella morphs Andi. <How goes?> she asks, just of Trouble.

[aeskhyne]

<Kinda slow. I mean, I can talk to her, but I can't get anything complex back. So far we've determined that she doesn't want to starve, doesn't want to be bleached to death, doesn't ever want to hold me still for Reggie again, doesn't really want to go back to the rest of the Yeerks...>

[pandion]

<Do you suppose we could trust her not to go back to the Yeerks if we went to the trouble of trapping her in some morph?>

[aeskhyne]

<Probably. I mean, what would she go back for? So Visser Three can eat her? Especially if she wasn't even a Yeerk anymore, I bet he would.>

[pandion]

<Would she help us if we did that?>

[aeskhyne]

<...I'm not sure,> he says. <And I don't want to ask her until I can talk to her better. Right now I bet she'd agree to a lot of things she'd end up regretting or bailing on later, if it meant she'd live through the week.>

[pandion]

<I'm... hesitant to suggest the obvious way to let her talk, but it exists.>

[aeskhyne]

<What, pour her back in? Yeah,> says Trouble. <We could do that. As long as she knows you'd kill her if she tried to run, she won't try.>

[pandion]

<I believe I've more than adequately demonstrated my willingness.>

[aeskhyne]

<I love you.>

[pandion]

<I'm just glad I didn't break your spine on a false alarm.>

[aeskhyne]

He giggles over thought-speak.

[pandion]

<But let's save that for when the others are here.>

[aeskhyne]

<Save what, putting her back in my brain? Sure, okay.>

[pandion]

<You're... okay with this plan?>

[aeskhyne]

<Yeah. I mean - it'd be different if I didn't feel sorry for her. But I do. She's scared as hell and she's had a really bad week.>

[pandion]

<...Okay. Is the water still "not comfy, not actually hurting you"?>

[aeskhyne]

<Yeah.>

[pandion]

<How about you wiggle distinctively or something and I'll take you out and you can demorph, and then I can put her away before Renée gets back? I can probably wrangle you an invitation to Olive Garden, then we call the other two and talk about how to deal with her.>

[aeskhyne]

One of the Yeerks twists itself upside-down and undulates. <Wiggle wiggle.>

[pandion]

Bella scoops up Trouble and sets him down. As an afterthought, she -

[instar]

- demorphs to acquire the real Yeerk, when it turns out to be necessary.