Texts from Late Night

[matchbreaker]

[ Posted sometime around like four in the morning: ]

Has anyone else found themselves falling in love with someone in those memories we all get? That might feel a little extreme, but the face has been sticking with me for a while now.

Comments

[burndownforwhat]

That's good that you - or she - had someone like that to be with.

And I'm usually up at 5 am sharp to hit the gym. I just couldn't stay asleep long enough tonight, that's all.

[matchbreaker]

Oh gosh, going to the gym with that little sleep? If you were Satsuki I'd be scolding you for that!

[burndownforwhat]

I usually get 8 hours every night.

Oh. That's right, you're Satsuki's

[ she didn't mean to send the message. she meant to go back and delete it and say literally anything else but well. after recalling again where she knew this woman from (or thought she had) and now realizing Satsuki's told her about their relationship before...

yeah. what else is there to say? ]

I'm sorry

[matchbreaker]

[ she is Satsuki's 87 year old grandmother, yes. Who got magiced (well, Retrsospeced) into the body of a 16-30 (depending on what she's wearing) year old because of a shift in her body a few months ago. And had been getting there before then. But she laughs on her end and responds, ]

You don't need to be sorry for anything, dear, it's fine.

[burndownforwhat]

Absolutely nothing I said or did that night was what I'd call "fine".

[matchbreaker]

Well it was a little untoward, but to be honest, the whole memory of it's a bit hazy to me to begin with?

[burndownforwhat]

It's the same way for me, too. I could blame the drinks...

And now you know why I stay away from the stuff.

[ which is the. complete opposite opinion to that night. ]

[matchbreaker]

It was also just a stressful time! Everyone else in the city up and vanished, I'm sure we all lost some family for a bit there.

[burndownforwhat]

I'm sure others did.

It was pretty scary overall. But we made it through.

[matchbreaker]

We always have so far! With some bumps and bruises, but even so.

[burndownforwhat]

And our fair share of foot-in-mouth moments.
Or at least, for me...

I promise you I'm not normally like *that*. I feel like I need to make it up to you in a way that's not "untoward".

[matchbreaker]

[ Make it up to her, huh...

It's too late in the night for her to take this too seriously, even with her warped sleep schedule she runs on now. She rocks a little bit in her chair before picking up the phone again, ]

You're already always going to Satsuki's shows anyway, aren't you? That sort of support for the girl does trickle upwards. But if you want to do something for me personally then...

Golly, it's hard to think of something good these days.

[burndownforwhat]

I rarely miss a show when she's part of the roster. She's the only reason I go, actually.

What about the



How are you feeling these days?

Physically.

[matchbreaker]

I think I put on a few years, physically. I'm still getting used to how this body works and what to regulate it with.

I'm glad she has such a fan though!

[burndownforwhat]

That's good! I'm guessing you figured out the whole food situation?

[matchbreaker]

I've got some sort of solution! It's not fully settled, honestly, but it's alright.

[burndownforwhat]

I'm glad to hear it.

But if you


If there's a need for




Look, you know what I'm trying to offer, right?

[matchbreaker]

Your blood, right?

A lot of people offer that to me when they find out, and I always feel weird about it, like I don't want to hurt them.

[burndownforwhat]

That just shows they care.
Or they could be masochists but that's not me. I care.

And I don't want to brag. But I may have a one-up on most people in this field. I can heal from injuries much, much faster now. I can promise I'm clean, too.

[ since she also remembers some of the other things from that night and the way "Yin" behaved and looked. it was a brief "damn girl, you live like this??" moment. it's gone now. ]

[matchbreaker]

I don't doubt it, but I'm not sure you should upsell people to take your blood.

Honestly, I'm still not 100% sure what the taste is based on other than younger people tend to smell worse.

[burndownforwhat]

The way I see it, it's a chance to help someone. I doubt there's an easy way to get it from, say, a blood bank or hospital. Imagine the looks you'd get. Or the police attention...

I wasn't even thinking about the taste. As for the smell, I keep myself pretty clean for someone who spends hours at the gym every day.

[ it's tough to say if she would smell better or worse than Yin given the circumstances. she is in a better state overall, but still has her hang-ups, fears, imagined trauma, and relationship drama.

oh, but having her mom coming into town for a week starting tomorrow will definitely change all that. ]

[matchbreaker]

Yeah, that's been something I've been worried about before now, if I'm honest. A longer term solution's going to be more complicated.

As for the smell, I didn't meant to accuse you of that, sorry

[burndownforwhat]

No, it's fine! No offense taken.

And I remember talking about the hospitals before. What was it - "back channels"?

[ god she even remembers LAUGHING about that and the phlebotomy thing now. ...good thing this isn't voice because she can't help but snicker a bit at the pun. it's crude but. it was good. ]

[matchbreaker]

Mmmhm! Not that I should say too much about it because the legality of it all might be questionable.

[burndownforwhat]

Believe me, I'm not about to pry into anything that could get me in trouble by proxy. I have a career to think about.

But it just brings me back to the offer. At least think about it? I don't want to push, but if it's something I can do to help you feel better and, like I said, it's no harm to me. Then I want to do it.

I owe you one.