[PRP] This place is terrible and endless (Eve & Aleksy)

[cibarium]

"There's also... field notes in here," she explained further, flipping the journals pages to one she'd marked with one of those pagemarker post-it notes. "Magic related. Renard was trying to invent the time machine with his work, and some of the things in here went into it."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Why would Renard try to invent the time machine," said Aleksy. He doubted Renard had an interest in time magic. He'd always thought Liam's husband had more of an interest in medical magi tech, but like, who ******** knew, when you were at least a hundred and fifty years old maybe you wanted to time travel back to the good old days when most of your people were slaves? As a Russian Jew he'd really never felt that kind of desire to go time traveling, but like, maybe. "Those do not look like time machine notes," he said. "Those look like notes for a cure to a disease."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"Well, one of his goals was to cure AIDS," said Eve. She still had some obvious respect for the endeavor. "He wanted to eliminate it before it could take the people he cared about."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Aleksy frowned. "I see," he said, though his tone made it clear he didn't really see. "These are notes from your Renard, then? Or from the one I knew from before?"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

Eve blinked and straightened, looking fully at Aleksy again. It took her a moment to remember which one was which here.

"I believe this book is from your Renard," she slowly said. "But my Renard opened it for me. He did say his other self had left it..."

Something about this wasn't quite sitting right.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"It is only that the Renard I knew lived in Ashdown in the nineties," said Aleksy, pointing out the date. "I came to America in ninety-eight, and he had been here for almost a decade, if my remembering is correct. This refers to a bar in New York City that closed in 1989, after it was bombed. He has told me the story before."

He hesitated, turned the page forward, then back again. "This is not the memories of the Renard that I knew."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"So my Renard lied... or didn't know..." deduced Eve, "or somehow there's a third one involved in this."

What the ********?

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Three is a magically significant number," said Aleksy. "But also, two is almost as significant. Duality and trinity." He peered at the notes again. "If these are directions, a map, to a schema meant to destroy AIDS and prevent the deaths of his loved ones, then do you intend to create a schema of your own?"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"Maybe," Eve said. "I only know there must be something I can do in here." Then she smirked. "But I'm so far out of my league with most of this, I couldn't even call myself an amateur."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"A novice, perhaps," said Aleksy, "Luckily, you do not have to do this alone." He smirked back. With his narrow features, it made him look kind of fey and terrifying. "It's an interesting project. I would like to help, if you require an extra pair of hands."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

Aleksy's helpfulness had done much for Eve's mood. Her demeanor was still dimmed by an undercurrent of depression, but here she was beginning to feel normal. "I'll accept any insight you have to offer," she replied gratefully. "Thank you. Right now I'm just trying to categorize everything I find, and you've already shown you're better at it than me."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Aleksy sniffed. "I am cheating. I am not a pod person." He pulled the notebook slightly closer to him. "It is an even exchange. That is a potent magical concept as well, Eve."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"In exchange for... talking with you about Finn?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Yes," said Aleksy. "It was a personally painful topic to discuss. This is a personally personal topic for me to discuss. It is fair, yes?"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"Well, when you put it that way."

Eve reached out for a handshake.

"Maybe you'll even reconsider the watermelon."

shibrogane