(no subject)

[failedpromise]

Who: Cortana and ...you?
When: Late June and early July
Where: Various
Summary: Cortana recovering from her injuries and attending a party
Warnings: Injuries, trauma. Anything more specific will be warned for when it comes up.

A) (Only open to people in wolf pen/who took part in the May and June events)

Cortana's bravery in the battle with Jimmy had very nearly become her downfall.

Too damaged and weak to transport herself back to temporary headquarters herself, she'd had to be carried, and there'd been little that could be done for her once she'd got there, no medicines or painkillers or even sedatives to provide her with any relief, nothing to do but patch her wounds and hope that she doesn't die.

Unable to fall into the bliss of unconsciousness due to her nature, Cortana instead spends her time in varying levels of stasis, cycling between the pain of lucidity and the hallucinations and nightmares generated by offlining systems.

Should someone enter the room, regardless of reason, there are two likely states they will find her in:

1. Earlier in the healing process, Cortana spends most of her time in a state of little awareness, rarely responding to the presence of others. Sometimes she cries, or apologizes over and over again to no one in particular. If she does notice that another person is there, she often mistakes them for someone else, most notably...
   
   "Dr. Halsey?"
   
   
2. Later on, as the pain subsides just enough that escaping it is no longer worth the half mad babbling and nightmares, Cortana spends much of her time awake... and miserable.
   
   Not that she's willing to let people know how badly off she is, if she can help it. When someone drops by, she does her best to crack a smile.
   
   "You should have seen the other guy."

B) (Also open only to people who participated in the May and June events)

Cortana still isn't doing exactly great by the time they head home. She's able to get around, but she really does not feel like doing so and ends up spending most of the trip curled up in bed, trying to amuse herself as best she can while she waits for the ride to be over.

She is, perhaps, a bit excessively overjoyed to see someone.

"Hey."

C) (open to all)

She's not really a fan of the ocean, nor is she particularly interested in a barbecue-can't eat-but apparently it's mandatory to attend, so here she is, in her human guise wearing a t-shirt and some shorts and staying as far back from the ocean as she can get away with.

Who the Hell thought a mandatory party was a good idea? There's almost nothing for her here, other than watching people build sculptures in the sand. She'd almost consider joining on the sculpting herself, but she's still not exactly feeling great and it requires getting closer to...

Closer to...

She's been zoning out and staring at the ocean a lot today.

Comments

c

[friendsfordinner]

"Oi," Hickey calls out, frowning a little at Cortana as she watches her space the hell out. He's wearing a pair of tacky board shorts and a sleeveless muscle top. The top shows off scars dotting his arms, recent acquisitions from dealing with the white things in their recent stay. A few of the wounds are still bandaged, which explains why he's not getting in the water.

He is, however, eating a hot dog and looking over Cortana with a small, quizzical little frown.

"What the hell are you staring at? Anything interesting out there?"

[failedpromise]

She stiffens at the sound of the voice but then relaxes again before turning.

Hmmm... a man, not bad looking, not someone she knows but vaguely familiar. She's seen him around her apartment block, hasn't she?

"No, sorry." She smiles as though nothing's wrong. "Just thinking."

And then, in an effort to change the subject, "My name is Cortana. What's yours?"

[friendsfordinner]

"Cornelius Hickey," he says, with a little nod. Definitely not a local as he still has his English accent. And, as he looks Cortana over, he's thinking the same thing. She's weirdly familiar.

"You're ADI, right? Still learning my way around the apartment complex. Barely a few days after I arrived here and they shipped me off to another state."

[failedpromise]

Hickey? Cortana thankfully manages not to react to that rather unfortunate last name. Instead, she chooses to answer his question. "I am. Where are you staying? I'm in apartment A2."

Which might explain why she looks familiar, considering she lives in the apartment right next to his... though she's a lot bluer when she's not in her human disguise. Also sparklier.

[friendsfordinner]

"We're neighbors," he says, with a little chuckle. "I'm A3. The apartment with the odd metal man."

Seriously Nick, what the hell.

[failedpromise]

"You mean Nick?" Her head tilts to the side. Odd metal man is an interesting way to put it: it'd be hard to to mistake that for being a description of anyone else.

[friendsfordinner]

Hickey nods. "Dunno if you knew his name or not," he points out. "Seemed like the simplest way to describe him."

[failedpromise]

"He is my neighbor." Admittedly, so is this guy, and she hadn't even met him before.

[friendsfordinner]

"Anyway, how long have you been here?" he asks. "And what do I need to know about the apartments? I got shipped off to Wolf Pen shortly after arriving, it's my first month or so properly here."

A-1, much belated

[worthallthis]

Somehow, Winter has come out of his various fights with scrapes and bruises, as opposed to others' burns and broken bones and internal bleeding. So for some of them, he sits by to keep watch, cares for the in what way he can manage.

He hates medical. Hates it so damn much. But this isn't... exactly medical. Because there's nothing the actual doctors (fucking doctors) could do for Cortana, she just has a room to herself in the hotel, and a guard dog glaring at anyone in a lab coat who tries to come in.

When she looks up, calls him by the wrong name, he twitches, but reaches for her hand. Whichever one is least damaged. "No. Winter."

[failedpromise]

Hilariously, the person Cortana is confused enough to be hoping for is almost always in a lab coat.

Her eyes crack open at the response, but their gaze is completely unfocused and she merely stares blankly in the direction of the ceiling.

"Halsey wouldn't want me anymore anyway." It's not really said to him-she's just voicing some of the more prominent thoughts in her head.

She doesn't try to move her hand away and after a moment her fingers twitch before closing to weakly grasp at his own.

"Winter doesn't like being touched." Again, not really said to him, just a thought that manifested in her head and decided to exit through her mouth.

[worthallthis]

Well, that's some kind of lucidity, anyway, and also true. "I can put up with it. For a little while," Winter assures her. "If it helps somebody else."

He can't imagine it would help him, but he's seen it help others. And there is some little, tiny part of him that feels better when her fingers respond and wrap around his.

[failedpromise]

"Oh." And then, after a slight delay. "Thank you."

She turns her head slightly to look in his general direction.

"Running maintenance. Not much for talking, sorry." She'd rather not be lucid right now, all things considered. At least with part of her systems shut down she doesn't have to deal with all the pain.

And yet, she activates a few more external sensors in her hand. Unlike Winter, Cortana very much does like to be touched.

[worthallthis]

Someday we will reawaken his touchy side and he'll get himself over his phobias. Someday. Hopefully.

For now, he just settles in on his seat with her hand in his. "That's fine. I'm good at sitting quietly," he assures her. "Don't feel like you have to. If you're not up for it."

[failedpromise]

"Thanks." And the lights moving over her body (except for her hand) dim and slow as she offlines several systems again, at least for a bit.

The problem is, Cortana never stops thinking, and it's genuinely hard for her to lie quietly and rest, even if it's the optimal solution to her current problem.

She glows a little brighter. "Not many would do this for an AI at home." She squeezes Winter's hand briefly. "The Chief, maybe." He'd cared where others hadn't.

[worthallthis]

Well, that's awful. That's like being an asset. (Nobody holds assets' hands, either, even if he'd wanted them to.) "If I'm supposed to be a person," Winter sniffs, clearly disapproving of the people in Cortana's home, "then you definitely are. You ought to have this, too."

[failedpromise]

Welcome to the life of an AI, Winter. Being property sucks balls regardless of the situation.

Cortana almost reflexively makes a bitter little noise that might have been a laugh if she were more aware and it was actually intended and not just sort of awkwardly slipping out. "Not legally."

The UNSC apparently disagrees with Winter on that front. Still though, Cortana manages a pained, but genuine smile. "Thanks, Winter." She looks at him for a moment, then closes her eyes.

C

[punched_hitler]

Steve is not really a fan of the ocean or mandatory events, either; frankly, he doesn't really care about the consequences of not showing up. Yet here he is, definitely not quite dressed for the occasion: shorts and sneakers, sure, but he's got a hoodie on over his t-shirt and bandages on his hands disappearing up under the cuffs. There is still raw, healing skin on his hands and arms, and he doesn't want to get it anywhere near any sand.

He comes upon Cortana, standing as far from the water as she can get. He can't blame her - though she looks distracted. "Cortana?" he asks, approaching. "You all right?"

[failedpromise]

Cortana turns, a relieved smile spreading across her face-or at least, it almost does. Her expression dampens a bit at the sight of the bandages and her gaze lingers on Steve's hands for a moment before shifting to his face.

"I'm fine. Not a big fan of the ocean." She says it casually, like it's nothing. Like the associated trauma hasn't left scars on her soul.

"What about you?" She's back to smiling, but her eyes do briefly flick back to his hands.

She's wearing shorts and a tank top herself.

[punched_hitler]

Steve glances out at the water, then offers her a smile that is, at least, more wry than tight. "Me either, honestly." Although he suspects the water (probably) wouldn't be freezing. He'd still like to stay pretty far away, especially after Dogtown. If he's watching the people that do seem to be braving the waves somewhat warily... well. It's good to keep an eye on things, right?

"Not - used to healing so slowly," he admits, sounding wry now, too, flexing his hands a little, carefully. "But I guess there's nothing for it, given the alternative."

He glances around. "But the barbecue's all right. Have you gotten anything to eat, yet?"

He has not yet picked up on the fact that she doesn't eat.

[failedpromise]

Cortana snorts. "I can't. Eat that is. So no."

Too bad, really. Though she'd rather not deal with everything that comes with it, she is really curious about what things taste like.

[punched_hitler]

"Oh." Steve blinks. "I - sorry, I didn't realize." Maybe she gets that a lot? Either way, that doesn't exactly make it fine. "I guess that makes a lot of the time we waste doing it seem pretty silly."

[failedpromise]

...Okay, now she's just full on laughing.

"It's fine Steve." Still laughing. "I know food is necessary for survival. Honestly, I'm more curious about it than anything."

[punched_hitler]

Steve has the good grace to duck his head sheepishly and just let her laugh.

"Well, necessary, sure. But we sure make it pretty complicated, don't we. Have you seen some of the bakeries and what they'll do? People make cakes that are supposed to look not like cakes."

The future is crazy.

[failedpromise]

"Sounds fun." No, really. It'd certainly be more interesting than the MREs the Chief often ate. "I wonder if anyone has ever mistakenly tried to use one of those cakes as the item it was made to resemble?" She trails off thoughtfully for a few moments before continuing. "That'd be an interesting surprise."