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[It's fairly late in the afternoon when Pai finally makes it to prison for her daily visit to her brother. (It turns out that it's hard to move with utmost efficiency when you're cursed.)]

Brother.

[ He's slipped from a deep meditation into an almost comatose relaxation. Then, dizzying sleep. (His sifu back in South America would be so embarrassed for him). In the next cell, a new prisoner sings drunkenly. Over that incoherent warbling, the main door creaks. Hei's eyes flutter open; his bad dream skitters away like a mouse into a corner. He rolls over in the bunk, his hair tangling over his eyes, settling against a cooler spot on the pillow. In the tiny frosted window, evening is a red hint. ]

[ Outside his cell, he hears familiar footsteps. Pai. At once, alertness resurges, tailed by a keen sense of relief. Slipping off the bunk, he crosses over to the bars, just as Pai approaches. His smile is soft. ]

Well. At least you aren't a cat. [ He was concerned she'd be hit with a curse this weekend; something hideous or painful. But she seems fine. (On the surface.) ]

It would probably be easier if I were. [She settles neatly on the ground and pulls out a few pieces of fruit. She passes Hei an apple.]

Truth or dare.

Hm. You could fit through the bars.

[ He accepts the apple with a half-smile, folding himself crosslegged opposite to her, the bars throwing zebra-stripe shadows across his cell. But in the gloom, his eyes are bright, full of affection. ]

Truth or what ...? [ An unsure pause, before the realization creeps in. Oh. Exhaling, he bites into the apple, the taste exploding crunchysweet between his teeth. ] You're cursed. [ He continues munching on the apple, but it's not long before he breaks the silence, a quick glance up at his little visitor, the curve to his mouth a quiet tilt. It's a juvenile thing, he admits, but he'll always make allowances for Pai. ]

[ Finally, ] Truth. [ Not many daring things he can do in a prison. (Well, he could. But that'd just shove him neckdeep in shit, where before he was waiting comfortably at waist-height. ]

What would you do if Amber were brought here?

[It may be a curse that's making her ask, but it's something she has wondered for awhile. Making plans for every contingency. (But really, she misses Amber. And Carmine, and the way things were. A part of her needs to know just how much Hei has changed, and whether there could be any hope of having her family back.]

[ Hei stops mid-bite on the apple. He wonders the same thing. Is it the curse that's squeezed out this question, or something that's been brewing in Pai's mind? She's like him, that way. She tries to gauge every angle, to lay a framework for risks and eventualities, her manner calm, her decisions matter-of-fact. But beneath that, there's something always simmering, always ticking. And, like him, she has a gift for grimness, a humorless intensity. He isn't going to get out of this -- whatever it is -- with sarcasm or misdirection. ]

[ He clicks his tongue against his teeth and tries to settle on something honest. His gaze is half-shuttered, his voice quiet, as if he's gone shy. But Amber -- talking about her -- often has that effect on him. ]

Take care of her. The way I take care of you. [ It's another way of saying: I'd be glad she's with us.. He glances up at Pai then, with a meaningful look, brow arched. ] But I don't know what I'd do specifically. [ An exhale. ] Not until I understand how Amber would feel about this place.

[She wants to ask more. Would he have sex with Amber again? Would they live together? Would he dump Korra? But the curse is more powerful than her curiosity.]

Your turn.

[ He. Doesn't. Know. If Amber were here, she'd be giggling at them both. Except, if Amber were here, he knows in his bones he'd find it difficult to make room for Korra. He realizes with a pang, that the idea of no Korra is terrible. Which doesn't make any sense, because if Amber were here, he'd be fixated on no one else -- whether in annoyance, in calculations, in lust or in sadness. He'd want or need nothing else. The thought-process wouldn't have seemed illogical and portentous in other circumstances. Yet Hei can't shake off the idea that there's no such thing as coincidence. ]

[ Shrugging it off, he recites the words to Pai by rote. ]

Truth or dare?

Dare. [The answer is immediate. She's curious to see how her brother's overprotective streak will affect the entire point of the game.]

[ Careful. Hei may chose something benign, or something entirely outrageous. Hei may be an overprotective older brother. But he's also just her brother. If there's anyone who can put him in a mood for pointless whimsy, it's Pai. Eventually -- fuck it -- he makes a wry face and says, ]

Leave an anonymous voicemail to someone on the Network. Ask, in a sultry voice, what they're wearing.

[ Adult humor? What is that? ]

[Her lips twitch, an almost-smirk.]

All right.

[She pulls out her device and sends a message to Chekov.]

Edited 2013-09-08 05:45 (UTC)

[ He's absolutely impassive when she leaves her message. That is, right up until Pai's imitation of the sexy voice. It's clear enough she's trying to emulate Amber -- except Amber could play the minx effortlessly. Pai's version sounds more like a ten-year-old attempting the breathy Monroe drawl. Happy Birthday, Mr. President. His lips tic helplessly at the edges; he lifts a hand to rub his mouth and swallow any impulse to laugh. ]

Do I want to know who you sent it to?

[ Although he has an inkling. ]

[She just smiles at him.]

Truth or dare?

[ He finishes the last bits of his apple, tossing the core so it lands with a plunk in the grimy little dustbin. Her half-smile gets one in return and if he could nudge his shoulder against hers, he probably would. He never does this with anyone; Chekov likes to talk about science and astrophysics with him, Korra and he both occupy the physical end of the spectrum, more goofiness and randomness and fucking than actual banter, Yin, well -- he could sit in a room with Yin, saying absolutely nothing, yet feel soothed. ]

[ Pai, though, is family. That always places her in a completely different -- unique -- category. ]

Truth.

[ He'd go with dare. But again. Not much room to be daring. Even his Network device is bugged, and outfitted with a timer so his communiques aren't constant. ]

Do you have any more plans that will get you in trouble that you haven't told me about?

[ A plain and pertinent question. Hei considers it for a moment, taking a mental inventory. Then he shakes his head. The Barrier attack hasn't forced him to go back to the drawing board. But it has opened a limitless array of new theories. That, added with Anonymous' notes, guarantees that he'll be kept solidly occupied for a long while. ]

None. [ His tone is mild. ] The experiment's left me with too many variables to try and understand.

[I want those details. She doesn't say it, but it's clear in her expression. They both know she's the smarter one.

She doesn't wait for him to ask.]

Truth. [She's curious to know what he'll ask.]

[ It's habitual for Hei to be reticent. But if she presses, he'll grudgingly share details. There's no need to make this a repeat of South America -- all the misunderstandings and resentments and vendettas burgeoning because no information was offered. Both Amber and Pai have said, one directly, the other in so many words, that they'd withheld the facts because he was human. Because they wanted to protect him. But it'll be awhile before Hei's psychic bruise fades, or before he swallows the bitter sense of loss. ]

[ She says Truth, and Hei considers for only a moment. ]

Are you happy in the City?

[ Happiness is just a state of mind, true. It's not an emotion Contractors put stock in. Most would argue it's not one they even experience. But Hei knows better. Pai takes after him in feeling everything more, perhaps, than she lets on. They're both extraordinarily driven people, and Hei recognizes himself sometimes in Pai's loaded questions and careful looks, and in her ability to stew silently for hours without deviation. ]

[ A pause, before he rephrases himself, ] If that's too abstract ... then what's one thing you wish you could have, out here? Anything at all.

[She blinks slowly at him, pondering the best response to that question. She doesn't feel happiness as such. But, even if she did, she probably would not feel it here. She's too alone, the only real Contractor. She lacks purpose.]

I have you. [It may not be happiness, but it's the only thing she actually needs. The one thing she wishes she could have is Amber, but she doesn't want to taunt her brother with something he can neither give her nor have himself.]

[ She doesn't mention Amber. But everything she's asked so far suggests that her thoughts have been looping and weaving in that direction. He understands the solitude, the lack of purpose, more than he'd admit. It's what he felt when he'd lost Pai, and the large chunks of himself that had slid away with her. He won't pretend not to understand how Amber's presence might relieve Pai's innate and specific loneliness as no one else can or will. Not even him. Family isn't the appropriate term to use for his old South American team. Yet the word is flavored like one in his memory. Disjointed and dangerous as they all were, they fit together. ]

[ That's what Pai longs for. It's the reason why she'd been willing to erase herself for a few thousand. She'd never said so. But there are certain things Hei doesn't need to ask to know. ]

You do. [ A beat, before he wraps a hand around one of the bars, leaning in. His gaze is soft. ] But it's not strange to want something more. If you do, I wish you'd tell me.

[ He may not be able to fix it. But he'll do his best to offer some anodyne substitutes. ]

Edited 2013-09-08 07:41 (UTC)

[I want you to be happy. He's the only one of the two of them still capable of that feeling. But she doesn't say that. He can be so stubborn and irrational about certain things. Besides, the curse compels her to continue.]

Truth or dare?

[ Hei wonders if it's the curse that prompts the subject change, or if it's something Pai's unwilling to discuss. But he'll wonder about that later. He doesn't smile, but the softness remains in his eyes. The choice is both matter-of-fact and predictable. ]

Truth.

Why did you ask that person to watch me? [Yes, Hei, she's aware that Chekov isn't the only person you assigned to babysit her.[

[ It's surprising when she asks him. There's very little that catches Hei off-guard these days, and he glances at her, a genuine expression in the lift of his brows. His hands drum lightly against the bars. It's a tricky question, though not as tricky as the answer. But he doesn't try to twist his words into an illusion of honesty. Pai has a right to know. ]

Because she's good at one thing. Watching. Because she's got a soft-spot for children. Even if she claims otherwise. [ It's a dismally familiar scenario. ] That, and if she tries anything on you, I'll have no reason to hold back with her. [ It'd be almost cathartic, if that's the right word for his and Hatter's endless games of cat-and-mouse. No holds barred; no time wasted on chit-chat. ]

[Pai arches an eyebrow. You'd hold back with other people? (She's not offended, mostly bemused. In Heaven's War, Hei would hold back with nobody.]

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