Scene #8946: MCRD Files: Rita Ma

Owner	Pose
Madeleine Cadrasteia	The glitz and glamour of Grand Dorado is evident from the moment Rita steps through the warpgate at Central Warp Station. Marble columns support a high, vaulted glass ceiling through which late-morning sunlight pours. The skyscrapers of downtown Grand Dorado tower on all sides, visible through the skylights. And all around, strangers enough to fill the Union Busan and more. Not a moment passes to take it all in before she's ushered forward by a transit agent to clear the warp-pad for new arrivals. And nobody's giving her strange looks. Nobody knows what she is. Madeleine melts out of the crowd seconds later. Her black and chrome outfit blends in remarkably well with the business suits and polished jewelry of Grand Dorado's usual foot traffic, but the spear stands out over the heads of most passers-by. Drogrung's eye is closed; somehow it's managed to fall asleep despite the bustling surrounds. "Hi! C'mon, take my hand so I don't lose ya. No time to waste - I'd like to grab lunch after, if there's time." The Concord laboratories are a short walk from the station, and Madeleine makes anxious small-talk en route. "So, how are the uh, the bees? How are they doing? On the island." When the pair arrive at the nondescript-for-Grand-Dorado laboratory building, Madeleine scans a key-card and applies a thumbprint to an electronic pad. "There's also usually a retinal scan," she explains, "but, you know." A tap at the corner of her night-black eyes, for emphasis. Inside, the atmosphere is distinctly clinical, with plain white-walled corridors broken up by occasional doors or electronic bulletin boards. Madeleine leads Rita down one hallway, then another, stopping at a room labeled '4'. "Well, here, uh, here we are," she says, and withdraws a ring of keys to unlock the door. Inside is a fairly standard medical examination room - there's a padded table, wall cabinets, some decently comfortable chairs and a desk with a computer. Madeleine sits down at the desk, gestures for Rita to sit opposite her, and taps a few keys. "There, now they know we're here, someone will be along in a minute. I expect we'll get Doctor Spring, since it's the weekend. I guess I can get started on some of the forms, since I already know ya." She logs into the console and begins typing and clicking around on it. "Make, uh, make yourself comfortable I guess." She's visibly nervous.
Rita Ma	Rita is anxious twice. The first and older anxiousness is the one about her appointment, and it gnaws behind her eyes and shows through in her conspicuously respectable skirt-and-jacket outfit. The second newer one is about all this, the glittering hustle of the Grand Dorado. Has she never been? 'The wealth of the wealthy is had from the poor'. Is that true here too? If it is, how much poverty is this? Who made those buildings? Who dug up the metal? Do the workers get to live here, or do they go home to somewhere less nice? What feels like a lifetime ago, Rita is sitting at a luxurious dinner table, holding an apple in her hands. She's never seen fruit before. How much freshwater was used to grow this? Her hands tremble. She can't eat it, for more reasons than one. What should she do? She can't just-- "-Oh!" Rita's startled from some very deep thought by Madeleine taking her hand. She smiles feebly. "Thank you, Ms. Madeleine. But... lunch? Are you sure?" A nervous laugh undergirds her words. Her head tilts to look around Maddie's shoulder at the keycard. "The bees are doing fine. I think they're happy to have all those flowers. Maybe on the ship, they were under-worked? I know how that feels." She giggles about the eye, but then her grip on Madeleine's hand tenses in the sterile hallways. "Okay! Tell me if you need me to answer anything." Rita's good at hiding negative emotion, but not that good. It's in that grip, it's in the way her heels tap against the chair's legs after she sits down, it's in her sympathetic smile when she finds the same symptoms in her friend's demeanor. But that's strange, isn't it? "... Is something bothering you, Ms. Madeleine?"
Madeleine Cadrasteia	"... Is something bothering you, Ms. Madeleine?" Madeleine keeps typing into the forms as she answers. It's hard to tell exactly where she's looking but there's not a sense of eye contact between the pair of elites. "I mean, there's kind of a lot riding on this, right? You're here to learn more about the fish disease, so the results of these tests could affect a lot of people... and this is my first time inducting an Elite into the records like this, there's definitely people in the Concord who'll be paying attention to how it turns out. So it's important to do it right. Which just makes doing it right harder, because I get the jitters." She shifts in her seat. When someone knocks sharply at the door, she nearly falls out of the chair. "Uh, come in?" A mid-thirties woman wearing a white labcoat unbuttoned over a blue dress and a disposable face mask enters the room, holding a clipboard. She fusses with her long brown ponytail as she introduces herself. "I'm Doctor Azalea Spring, you can call me whatever you like. It's nice to meet you. Well," she chuckles softly. "I already know you, Madeleine, but it's nice to meet you too..." she checks the clipboard "Miss Ma. Or would you prefer Rita?" "I'll be taking you through the biometric tests today," Dr Spring continues. "It's important that we establish a baseline for if you ever have to come us for help, and I've heard you're also a carrier for a 'fish disease' which is afflicting your world. We're going to have to do a cheek swab and blood draw to get a sample of that, but we'll start with the easy stuff. Please roll up your sleeve for me." Dr Spring invites Rita up onto the padded table and measures her blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, and breathing with the implements Rita would expect to see at a doctor's office, albeit somewhat higher-tech than the salvaged inheritance medical supplies from her own world. She scribbles a few notes about Rita's teeth after taking the cheek swab, then pulls out a small square of black articulating paper. "Please bite down on this, but not so hard as to tear the paper." The whole time she's walking Rita through the tests, Dr Spring's tone and touch are gentle and patient. "I also work on animal cryptids," she explains, "so it's always a pleasure to have a patient who knows how to cooperate so well." The doctor changes into a fresh pair of medical gloves, and opens the cabinet to get some more supplies. "Now we need to take a blood sample. I'm going to rub some alcohol on your arm, then I'll want you to take deep, calm breaths while I give you just a little poke, okay? It'll only hurt just a little."
Rita Ma	Rita manages to push a little more confidence into her smile. "If it helps, Ms. Madeleine, you're not alone. I'm kind of--" "-Oh!" she says, and startles for the second time in ten minutes. Having risen an inch from her seat, she sits back down and twiddles her thumbs with a sheepish look. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Spring. That's a really pretty name! Azaleas are a kind of flower, aren't they? And just 'Rita' is fine." Her head tilts a second later. Lips scrunch. "'Come to you for help'..." The idea hadn't really occurred to her. She still looks absently thoughtful when she hops up on the table, legs dangling off, and smooths out her skirt. "I'm not sure I have many human parts left at all, Dr. Spring," she says with a little touch of embarrassment. "But you can still probably find the virus in there. If it'd help, I can have older samples sent to you too, from when I wasn't like this quite so much." So she's been under observation for a while. That explains how familiar (and subtly uncomfortable) she is with the instruments. Rita's teeth are all zigzag triangles, almost like a shark's, but each one could plausibly almost be an oversized human canine. It'd be hard for her to look any more carnivorous. Having Spring's fingers near her mouth makes her scrunch her eyes tight; the paper, comparatively, is a relief, and her shoulders slump with a little sigh. HR: 20 BPM BP: 140/90 SPO2: 99% Temp: 96.5 F Resp: 0* (When not talking, Rita may breathe less than once per minute.) When she's allowed to spit out the paper, it comes out crimped from fitting the zigzag. She draws in her shoulders and smiles self-consciously while handing it over. "I feel like that's a low bar, Ms. Spring, but thank you," she laughs. "Um, how did you and Ms. Madeleine get to know each other? You seemed familiar." "... Oh." When Dr. Spring goes to fetch needles, Rita raises a finger as if asking for permission to speak. But the doctor's back is turned, so instead she just waits an awkward moment before saying: "What are those made of? I'm not sure that'll work. Here." However hard you push, a thin bit of steel isn't going to work well on Rita. So unless an objection is forthcoming, she does the very reasonable thing, and chomps to break skin on her own thumb. Blood wells as she holds it out. It's a good thing my blood isn't 'human', at least.
Madeleine Cadrasteia	"'Come to you for help'..." "Of course! We're always happy to help with whatever we can. That includes health issues, or anything else related to your life as a cryptid. We have a few support groups to help you find peers who understand your situation... oh, but Emmett will talk to you about that, I'm sure." "If it'd help, I can have older samples sent to you too, from when I wasn't like this quite so much." "Is that so?" Dr Spring pauses, clearly interested in what Rita's said. "Any data you can provide us from before you entered this stage of your life could be very helpful. Is there a doctor you used to see who you could refer me to?" "Um, how did you and Ms. Madeleine get to know each other? You seemed familiar." Madeleine chimes in. "Well, she's been with the Sweepers a lot longer than me. Went to med school for this stuff specifically, if you'll believe it. You already had an internship here by then - is that right, Doctor?" "Oh, Madeleine. You don't have to praise me." "I know. Anyway, she's been on staff at Grand Dorado for years. When I joined up it was only a matter of time til we met. And she's one of the real... real freaks about this stuff, y'know? I mean, everyone here loves our job, you don't go into this field without a passion for it, but she's-" "Madeleine, please! I'm doing my best to make sure Rita's comfortable. We are not freaks here, nor are the beings we study. No matter what people on the internet say," Dr Spring says, with a pointed look at Rita. "Yes, I've seen the videos. They were playing almost nonstop on the breakroom TV for a whole day after Madeleine sent them our way. And let me tell you, Rita. If there is one thing you take away from today it is that you are just as much a person as me, or anyone else who saw that footage." The look in Dr Spring's eyes is almost stern - but not quite. Like a teacher offering a hard-learned lesson. "Anyway. This about wraps things up," she says as she collects Rita's blood in a vial with remarkable nonchalance. "I'll be turning you over to Doctor Li now, he'll handle the behavioral evaluation." Dr Spring reaches to press a button on her pager, then stops and looks again to Rita. "Is there anything else I can help you with first?"
Rita Ma	your life as a cryptid Rita's cheek twitches a little, which can't extinguish a shy smile. before you entered this stage of your life She draws in a little more, hunching over her knees and crossing her arms over her belly. "'Emmett'? Oh, um... Dr. Foid for most of it, but also Dr. Ahn and Dddddoctor Lotus?" She seems unsure of that last title. Foid makes her flinch to remember, even if she's in a posiiton to demand samples back; Ahn and Lotus don't. Listening to the personal history between Maddy and Azalea is a nice break. Her smile gets less queasy, and she looks between the two of them with a new brightness, as a social peer rather than a subject. "The 'Sweepers'?" That lasts as far as... No matter what people on the internet say Rita sits up straight, eyes startled wide. "Dr. Spring...?" she says, desperately uncertain. Her eyes dart to Madeleine, and then back to Azalea's just in time for her to shrink from that sternness. Under her flinching demeanor, and over fleeting elation, a scratchy-sickly feeling percolates. Shyness and joy and misery fight for control of her face. (Before it can stain the padded table, her thumb heals on its own with a wisp of steam. The Queen did similar.) "That's really nice of you, Ms. Spring," she says, slipping up a little in her slow start. "But why did you think I needed to hear that? I never called myself a freak. I never said I'm not a person." She's thought them, but she's trying so very hard not to. "And so, when you say those things aren't true out of nowhere... I feel like... no, I'm sorry. I'm just being difficult, I guess." She squeezes handfuls of her skirt. Rita smiles, still, but her eyes can't meet anyone else's. "If you could tell them to bring a glass of water, that'd be nice. Thank you, Dr. Spring." Only after the door clunks shut does she ask Maddie: "Is there anything I should know about this test, Ms. Madeleine?" Her voice is steadier now, but her eyes don't leave the floor.
Madeleine Cadrasteia	"The 'Sweepers'?" "The Creeper Sweepers!" Madeleine explains with enthusiasm. "Just a nickname for our little corner of the Concord." "Why did you think I needed to hear that? I never called myself a freak. I never said I'm not a person." "But," Dr Spring says, her expression twitching with a hint of a frown, "I know a lot of other people have. Even some people in this organization. I do my best to combat that attitude, because you are important and worth protecting." A note of pride has crept into her voice by the end of her explanation, as she gets ready to leave. "I'll make sure you get your water." "Is there anything I should know about this test, Ms. Madeleine?" Madeleine stands from the desk and walks around it, sitting in one of the chairs opposite her former position. She scratches the side of her head. "I, uh. I'm not supposed to talk about the behavioral exam with intake subjects. Docs say it muddies the results if they have time to plan answers. And besides," she says, mirroring Rita's floorward look and swinging her legs uneasily, "they change up the questions. Anyway, I..." She stands, and steps closer to Rita. Offers a hand for her to hold, briefly, and gives a gentle squeeze if Rita accepts it. "If it gets a little uncomfortable, it's kind of supposed to. But if it gets really uncomfortable, look at me and cough. I'll give you an out. Doctor Li's kind of a hardass about the tests but I'm the Elite, I can pull rank if I have to." As if on cue, there is a knock at the door. Immediately after, without really giving time to answer, a man enters. He's wearing a maroon turtleneck sweater with tan slacks, and his black hair is up in a very tight bun. He sits at the desk, sets down the disposable paper cup of water at the empty seat across from him, types a note into the computer, and finally looks to Rita. "Hello. I'm Doctor Emmett Li, behavior specialist here at the MCRD. I'm going to administer the intake behavior evaluation in just a minute. This will consist of a number of questions, about yourself and your past. I need you to answer honestly, but you can be as brief or detailed as you prefer." With no further fanfare, he begins to ask a succession of questions. Some are mundane, but there are several where Madeleine glances at Rita - watching for a cue to intercede. "Do you have a family?" "How long have you known them?" "Are they they only family you've had?" "Do you know of or have you known of other beings of your kind, related to you or otherwise? What is your history with them?" "If other beings of your kind were discovered elsewhere in the multiverse, would you want to meet them?"
Rita Ma	"Oh... well, thank you, Dr. Spring. You're a really kind person, I think." Rita rubs her arm. She can't object in the moment. But after Azalea's left, she repeats under her breath: "'Worth protecting.'" Her hand scrunches her sleeve; lips shift uneasily. - - - - Rita looks up with surprise for the third time, and then her wide eyes settle into fatigued relief. She smiles and tilts her head so her hair flows over her hunched-forward shoulder. "You're so determined to look out for me, Ms. Madeleine. It's sweet," she says. "And not even determined in a pushy way." Like Dr. Spring, she chooses not to say. "But... you're used to dealing with people who are less loved than me, aren't you? All of you." "Out there, there's a whole island of people who like me. Even if it's hard for me to accept. Most of the Elites I know like me too. Ms. Grier, Ms. Petra, Ms. Hibiki, Mr. Bond, Ms. Rook... I know I'm not really a strong person. When people are mean to me, it hurts a lot. But at the end of the day, I can always go back to somewhere I'm loved." She squeezes Madeleine's hand again, a little over-gently, and her smile gets less sickly and more sincere. "So thank you, but I'll be okay. I promise, Ms. Madeleine." But she's helped her relax. She doesn't even jolt a the knock; just waves shyly, slides off the padded table, circles around to the desk, and sips her water. Her back straightens a little when it's her turn to talk; voice adopts some intangibly higher level of formality that doesn't quite translate. Best behavior. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Li. Thank you. Of course; go ahead." If not for the little glimpses of teeth, she'd seem like any other mannerly young woman. Her smile, for a moment, finds Madeleine again. - - - - "Do you have a family?" "Yes. Bota, my older brother; and Kana, who looks out for me." "How long have you known them?" Rita blinks in polite-but-sincere confusion. "Um, since I was born. Or, no, I met Kana when I was seven or eight." "Are they they only family you've had?" "Yes." Then, after a heartbeat's pause, her lips press. She reinterprets the question. "Well, I've only had one family, but... I used to have a mom and dad too." "Do you know of or have you known of other beings of your kind, related to you or otherwise? What is your history with them?" Rita finds herself needing another sip of water, but her businesslike smile doesn't waver and her re-folded hands don't fidget. "Yes. I'm the 'Queen' of lots of sea monsters, leviathans. They used to be my enemies, but after the old 'Queen' who hated me died, I control them now." "If other beings of your kind were discovered elsewhere in the multiverse, would you want to meet them?" "Other 'queens of monsters', or dumb leviathans? Either way, they'd probably be dangerous. Unless they were friendly to humans, I'd want to kill or assume control over them." The casual attitude towards ostensibly-heroic violence may not be a good look, but she's committed to honesty.
Madeleine Cadrasteia	"Bota, my older brother; and Kana, who looks out for me." Dr Li scrutinizes Rita as she talks about her family. "Has your older brother demonstrated any inhuman abilities, like what you can do?" "I'm the 'Queen' of lots of sea monsters, leviathans. They used to be my enemies, but after the old 'Queen' who hated me died, I control them now." "In what ways are you like the former 'Queen'? In what ways are you different?" "Unless they were friendly to humans, I'd want to kill or assume control over them." For the first time since he entered the room, Dr Li betrays his emotions clearly with a look of pure caution in Rita's direction. Madeleine suppresses a wince, but it shows in the way her body tightens. The doctor types an extensive note, checks several boxes on the form, and does not follow up the question. Instead, he scrolls down on the page, gently clears his throat, and moves on to the rest of the assessment. "You smell smoke, and a child is crying in the next room. What's at risk here?" "What do you hope your peers value about you?" "What personality trait would you most like to 'try on' for 24 hours?" "Tell me about a time you violated your own principles. How do you know that was wrong?"
Rita Ma	"Has your older brother demonstrated any inhuman abilities, like what you can do?" "No," Rita answers immediately. Then, frowning: "He can hold his breath a long time underwater. But that's only from how we were born. He's human. It isn't really like me." "In what ways are you like the former 'Queen'? In what ways are you different?" Rita isn't guarded yet, though she's about to be. She leans over the table and her lips part with a half-formed answer; then takes a second to think it over. "I'm not like her much at all, Dr. Li. Except in 'being in charge'. She wanted to exterminate humanity on our planet. And even if I'm not human anymore, I still think my place is with them. With you." - - - - How many people have stared at Rita the way Dr. Li does now? Not enough. She meets it with a haplessly self-conscious smile and a limp shrug, but her polite demeanor doesn't falter. It tightens, in fact, just after she glances at Madeleine's shifting posture. "Um. What all are you writing, Dr. Li? I didn't say that much." "You smell smoke, and a child is crying in the next room. What's at risk here?" Rita blinks in bafflement and looks to Maddie, like it might be a trick question. "Their life? If there's a fire." A little defraying nervous laugh, and she covers her mouth: "Or maybe they just burned their food. I hope so." "What do you hope your peers value about you?" That reads as more personal to her. She eases up, but her eyes drift. "It's nice when they think I'm cute, or kind, or easy to be around. But it makes me happiest when I can be useful. I want them to think I'm dependable. Like Ms. Madeleine is." "What personality trait would you most like to 'try on' for 24 hours?" A finger taps her lips. Relaxing again. "Try on... a lot of people I know are really confident. Like mean things just slide right off them. I'm not like that. Maybe I'd be less of a kind person if I were, all the time. But it'd be nice to know what that feels like, right?" "Tell me about a time you violated your own principles. How do you know that was wrong?" The time I almost bit Mia. Ms. Madeleine was there. If I don't say Mia, she'll know I'm cheating. ... But he only said 'a' time. Rita hesitates wih her mouth just open, then clicks her tongue. "There's a friend I have who's really wealthy. It doesn't come up much. But when it does, I feel bad. I'm okay now, but I grew up really poor. I feel like I should be pushing her to help more people with her money, or give it away. But if I do push her I might lose her as a friend. I think about all the people that money could help, people like I used to be, and it just... my stomach drops, and my throat gets a little scratchy. You said 'tell me about a time', but I guess I'm still betraying them." She looks up from clutching her shoulder and smiles, more earnestly fatigued than her put-together demeanor has allowed. It breaks for a second. "What would you do, Dr. Li?"
Madeleine Cadrasteia	"Um. What all are you writing, Dr. Li? I didn't say that much." "I'm afraid I can't discuss results with you during the assessment. After we've completed reviewing the evaluation we'll send a report on our findings." His voice is level, calm. Practiced. Doctor Li continues recording Rita's answers - or his interpretations of what those answers mean, it's hard to know which. Some responses elicit several lines of typing, while others only prompt the doctor to check a box with his mouse. The detail or brevity of Rita's answers seems to have little bearing on the importance assigned to them at each step of the assessment. "What would you do, Dr. Li?" "Well." He finishes typing, clears his throat again, and folds his hands on the desk. "That was the last question of the evaluation, so I suppose I can offer an opinion. I would, of course, have to know your friend a little more to make an informed decision. I'm sure she has her reasons for using her money in the ways she does. If you knew what those reasons are, you could judge her for who she is, and not just what she has. You don't have to stay friends with someone who makes you uncomfortable, but understanding her more will help you make that decision for yourself." The doctor stands and offers a hand for Rita to shake. "Thank you for participating in the intake assessment. If there's anything else you need, I'm sure Madeleine can help you find it." He opens the door, slips through, and is gone. Off to wherever doctors go to decide whether someone like Rita is human enough. As soon as he's gone, Madeleine exhales deeply, like she'd been holding a breath the entire time. "I... Doctor Spring was nice, wasn't she? And that all wasn't so bad, I don't think. They've certainly asked harsher questions before." A beat, then she stands. "What do you think? About lunch, I mean. We've got time enough for that still, I think. But also about the assessment. I've not had to do anything like that myself but it seems to stress people out." She shifts her weight uncertainly.
Rita Ma	"That was the last question of the evaluation" "It was?" Gear-shift back up to Best Behavior Voice. Rita can't decide whether to feel relieved or like she must have terribly flunked. Maybe both. "You're not going to ask me . . ." If I've hurt people. If I've killed people. If I've eaten people. If I feel bad about it. But she does her best, through the cold shock, to listen to Emmett's advice. Her eyes find the floor partway through. "Mmmm. That's a very 'doctor' thing to say," she says, like she should've known better than to ask. "But thank you, Dr. Li." When he holds out his hand to shake, she just smiles a little ruefully. You shouldn't want to do that. You're just being nice. In the moment after the door shuts, she stays limp. Then, with effort, she fills herself back out. Shoulders set, head lifts. She stands properly, scooting the chair back, and smiles at Maddie in good humor. "Lunch would be-- sorry, lunch would be really nice, Ms. Madeleine. But I'm going to need a sushi place." Laughing, as she looks back while turning to go: "Or maybe a steakhouse, if they're very understanding." It's a nice little exertion of power, to open the door and let herself out into the hall. "I'm a little anxious," she says as she walks. "I think I'd be more scared if I depended on what they think. I have a home, and doctors I can go to, and people who love me, no matter what they say. ... And Doctor Spring was nice, but not as nice as you, Ms. Madeleine." ". . . Ms. Madeleine?" she thinks to ask, en route to the exit. "Why haven't they tested you?"
Madeleine Cadrasteia	"I'm going to need a sushi place. Or maybe a steakhouse, if they're very understanding." "I think we can do sushi," Madeleine says with a chuckle. "There's a good sushi place on one of the islands, actually. No apple trees, though." "Why haven't they tested you?" Madeleine stops dead in the hallway, quietly and suddenly enough that Rita only notices three or four steps later. She takes a deep breath. "I mean, they... they didn't sit me down in an office and ask me two dozen questions and do a blood draw. But there was still a test, I'd say. There has to have been, right? You can't really say who is a cryptid without also saying who isn't. It's just like, a preliminary test, a 'do we need to test this person in detail to see where they fall' sort of thing. I guess I'm... farther from the line than you are." Madeleine continues, but her tone begins to falter. "Or I look like I am. I'm less human than you are, if I had to compare us. I'm just not inhuman in a cryptid way, while you... sort of are." An uncomfortable pause, then she resumes her walk back to the building exit, stepping just a little ahead of Rita to avoid looking her in the eye.
Rita Ma	Rita's just pushing open the last door to daylight when she notices Madeleine's stopped. Her hair shines in it, but when she turns back her face is still cast in the indoor dimness, which means the magic spell of a private liminal conversation hasn't quite broken yet. When she recognizes that deep and heavy breath, she steps inside and lets the door shut behind her. With the last ray of daylight disappearing the spell is sealed again. "I'm less human than you are, if I had to compare us." "Isn't it," Rita says with a gentle smile, "messed up to say that, Ms. Madeleine? When you get to be their coworker, and I have to be their subject." Walking to the building exit will mean walking past Rita. But if Madeleine does, Rita reaches out a hand to touch her shoulder. A polite request to not break the spell with daybreak just yet. "Ms. Madeleine," she says, gentle and almost apologetic. "They never asked me if I hurt people." "So that was one of the things you clicked at the start, right?" "Dr. Spring put paper in my mouth, knowing that. And Dr. Li acted like he wanted to shake my hand, knowing that." "But do you think, if you were a 'cryptid', they'd call you a dangerous one?"
Madeleine Cadrasteia	"Isn't it messed up to say that, Ms. Madeleine? When you get to be their coworker, and I have to be their subject." Madeleine nearly squirms with discomfort - she does a good job of forcing herself still, but the beginnings of the motion still show in her posture. "No, I- I mean-" She cuts herself off. "No, I shouldn't try to explain it away. It is a little messed up. But we do a lot of good, at the MCRD. Not just for humans, for cryptids too. And, honestly..." She tugs absent-mindedly at her jacket's collar. "Doing a lot of good while being a little messed up is the best you can really get, in this world. At least if you ask me." "They never asked me if I hurt people. So that was one of the things you clicked at the start, right?" This time Madeleine doesn't even stop herself from squirming, though it's not enough to shake Rita's hand off her shoulder. "...Yeah. Your threat rating was pretty much decided by the time we walked in the door. But we had to do the medical tests still! There are people, sick people, who that data could help. Remember, that's why I said we should do this. Not just so I'd look good at my job." "But do you think, if you were a 'cryptid', they'd call you a dangerous one?" Madeleine lowers her eyes to the floor in thought. "I... guess so? I'm a dangerous whatever-I-am, so if I were a cryptid I'd be a dangerous cryptid. And that's- that's not a bad thing to be. Not in my eyes or the MCRD's. I promise nothing will hurt you because of how you answered those questions. I won't let it happen."
Rita Ma	"'Threat rating'," Rita echoes, head cocked to one side. She smiles ruefully, which means I knew it, and also means they'd be dumb not to have one. "But there's a difference between a 'dangerous person' and a 'dangerous monster', isn't there? A yeongno is 'dangerous'. A person can be safe if they only hurt bad people. But a monster's only safe if . . ." Rita's lips twitch. She drops her hand from Madeleine's shoulder, and tilts her head the other way, towards daylight. ". . . I'm sorry. I'm being sort of terrible to you right now, Ms. Madeleine. You asked me here to help me, and you've looked out for me, and now I'm making you feel bad. There's no excuse for that. I should know what 'good, but a little messed up' is like." Her hands clasp in front of her. It's just possible to see the rise and fall of her chest with a silent, resetting breath. "Thank you, Ms. Madeleine. I really mean it. You've been a wonderful friend to me, today and always. I hope I can find ways to look out for you, too." "Now," she says, finally pushing open the door and stepping out onto the sunlight street, "what's your favorite kind of sashimi, Ms. Madeleine? They don't have salmon back home, but I've really been liking it. It's really mild and fatty, but it sort of needs a . . ." Maddie, fortunately, can't read minds. So she's oblivious to what still percolates behind that smile: Would something hurt me if she did let it?