capeandcowl | [the twenty-first] / [video]

Entry tags:

edward nygma | riddler

[the twenty-first] / [video]

[His eyes are peeking betwixt ungloved fingers, wide and wild. Edward does not blink throughout the entire transmission, but his pupils are consistently darting to and fro, darting about at a hummingbird’s pace. He looks disheveled, wretched and yet glowing with some intangible, nigh-golden force.]

I can—I have tried—over these past few hours—youhavetounderstanditisalotto—

[A pause. He seems captivated by something; he takes a deep, sensual breath.]

Cameron—who? Their safety—John and—and—Kyle and GLaDOS and who--? That can’t stop the cold. The lonely—that feeling won’t—look, I’m sorry—

[Grabs at the communicator, shaking it.]

Don’t. Don’t ignore this. The Porter—Don’t attack. I can see it, feel it, God it’s almost like being it, Alastair, don’t yield to that—It can’t end well—bloody hell, someone stop him! Someone stop it.

[A crack in his voice; the strain is apparent.]

Desire. Please. Stop it.

ooc || Eddie’s been hooked to the Threshold! That means he’ll be spewing desires from this permissions post throughout the span of comments here. If your desire wasn’t mentioned in the opening (didn’t want to bullet the material) fret not! Eddie will be sure to play the sibyl to someone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ When he leaves the table she removes her coat, taking quick stock of it's contents - keys, phone, communicator, pen, paper - before draping it over the back of the chair and settling back in her seat.

Perfectly still. She feels a bit more in control now than she did hours ago, than she did when Nigel came to the house to see her, and she's glad for it.

But she is good at noticing when she is being observed so she looks up and smiles at Nigel. ]

[ Nigel smiles back, of course. Smiling it something that, although he doesn't do it very often, he's very good at. His mother told him once he had a golden smile, though he imagines that's the sort of things all mothers say to their sons. When the barista finally brings him their drinks he carries them first over to the small station that houses the sugar and cream and lemons. He carefully pours out a measure of milk and picks out a specific number of packets of sugar before finally coming back to Cameron and settling the things down onto the table between them.

Finally, Nigel sits and pulls the small pot towards him. His looks up at her and then at her drink.. ]

Hopefully that will be what you were expecting.

Edited 2009-11-07 21:15 (UTC)

[ Cameron would not tell him his smile is golden. She would tell him it is very interesting, the differences in the smiles he gives her and the ones he gives other people, in those and the ones he gives Dr. Einstellsehn.

Because they are, to her. She takes the cup with a smile, tucking stay hairs behind her ear before taking a measured sip. The smile returns. ]

Yes. Thank you very much, Nigel.

Edited 2009-11-07 21:27 (UTC)

Good, [ he says simply and then goes about the very careful meticulous process of preparing himself some tea. He checks and rechecks the color of the liquid in the small pot to make sure it's properly steeped before pouring himself off a cup and then measuring some milk into it. Three sugars. A careful stir and then a sip.

It's not until he's done that he looks up at her again. ]

Are you feeling better?

[ She watches all this with an almost clinical curiosity, amused at the realization that the people she is attracted to an interested in all exhibit and manifest symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. For whatever reason, Cameron likes finding the similarities and differences in her own patterns nearly as much as she enjoys finding them in others.

His question gets a quirked eyebrow as she was in the middle of another sip from her cup but she sets it down. ]

Yes. Much better.

[ He takes a sip and stares at her over the lip of his cup. A little girl who wanders by on her way to the bathroom stares at Nigel and his black eye until he look at her and she skitters away nervously. ]

Are you still thinking about John?

[ Cameron wonders what it is about children and staring and a lack of manners. She can understand and tolerate the ones who ask direct questions better than the ones who stare. ]

Yes, but that is to be expected. It is not as bad as it was.

[ Nigel looks down and contemplates his tea for a moment. ]

Do you want him to come back?

[ Another drink as she considers how to best explain her answer. ]

It would be better for him to be here, with Kyle and without his mother or the impending threat to his safety from our would than it is to be there.

[ Nigel immediately frowns at her and shakes his head. ]

I'm not asking what's best for John, I'm asking what you think is best for you.

[ She doesn't like being frowned at; from Nigel it smacks of disappointment. ]

Is it best for me? Possibly not. However I would rather he were here, where I can learn to temper myself and not react to the things he does and says, unthinking.

[ Nigel's frown tempers slightly and he nods, though perhaps a bit stubbornly. ]

Alright. [ He takes another sip of tea, rolling it around in his mouth deliberately before swallowing. ]

I don't like him.

[ Some part of her is reserved to that expression when the topic of John comes up. ]

You don't have any reason to. It is, honestly, somewhat refreshing.

[ Nigel raises an eyebrow. ]

Is he very well-liked?

Mm. That is a complex question.

[ She takes another drink. ]

Back home he is crucial to the future of that timeline. I met him first as an adult and was sent back to assist him as a teenager. He is respected, as an adult, and feared to a degree.

Liked, is harder to quantify. He is the single most selfish individual I have ever encountered.

[ Nigel's incredulous expression cools to something like barely-veiled disdain. ]

Then it's hardly fair for him to be so selfish and for you not to be, Cameron. [ He's quiet before he smiles at her slightly and leans forward across the table to peer at her intently. ]

You might even like it. In fact, I suspect you will immensely.

[ She sees the disdain and it doesn't bother her. John's reputation has never bothered her, beyond what he worries he will be like in the future. If that were the case, there are a lot of things she would never have done in the first place. ]

No, I never claimed it was fair. [ She isn't stupid and can view it somewhat distantly. ] But it is a difficult adjustment.

[ He settles back in his chair again and idly stirs his spoon through his cup for a few long moments. ]

Just as long as you don't become complacent. Though I'm sure you won't.

No, I have no intention of becoming complacent. It's indicative of knowing everything there is to know, which is statistically impossible.

[ She smirks, slightly, over the rim of her cup. ]

I like learning new things, Nigel.

Edited 2009-11-07 22:37 (UTC)

[ He lifts an eyebrow. ]

Anything in particular?

[ She mimics his expression. ]

I am interested in the way people think. The ways I think, now that my brain is entirely different. I am interested in the things people keep from themselves and others in the name of being 'normal', out of fear, out of discomfort.

Those were my first lessons. They are the ones that will always be the most interesting to me.

[ He stares at her for a moment. ]

And what sorts of things do people keep from themselves, Cameron?

What they are and are not capable of is the most common. People do not like to believe that they can do the things that shock them the most, so they bury it deep within themselves until the walls they create to keep that part of themselves in breaks.

It is the very definition of inefficient. You cannot ignore a part of yourself. You can change the methods you use to express it, but that is all.

[ She drops her gaze and returns to her drink. Psychological torture taught her all sorts of things about the human mind. ]

[ Nigel tilts his head to one side and then, very slowly, smiles at Cameron. There's a reason why Nigel is capable of being fond of her and it's when she says things like this he's reminded of why that is. He leans forward again to look at her closely, some of his teeth showing as the bruised muscles in his face ache very dully. ]

Jack would like you.

Would he?

[ She smiles, glad to see that he is no longer disappointed with her for the moment. That, possibly, is selfish she realizes, nearly as selfish as accepting his offer earlier but there is something to be said for the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it. ]

I wonder if I would like him. What do you think, Nigel?

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