Laboratory Beta, Brunnhold
At the mention of diablerie, Aurelie perked up somewhat, a question rising to her lips that sounded as if it had something to do with Fionn—until she cut it off abruptly. It was something that she made a note of, intending to come back to it when a suitable moment arose. She could feel some sympathy for the servant though, the gravity on her expression understandable. Niamh suspected that most passives lived in dread of what their diablerie might be and when—if ever—it would appear. No one knew when to expect a diablerie to go off as no one knew what actually prompted their occurrence. Although surely, passives couldn’t be paranoid about such things all the time; they’d go mad worrying about it constantly.
Evidently, it was something that concerned Aurelie, all the more so because she didn’t know what hers was and didn’t know she was capable of. Not all diableries were dangerous but those that manifested often were, and occasionally they were lethal to the passive and those in their vicinity. One such diablerie had made an appearance back in Ophus and the passive it had come from hadn’t stood a chance—neither had those closest to him at the time.
“That would be... something.”
Her response to passives being special was neutral and non-committal, which Niamh took to mean that Aurelie didn’t think it likely. Or was it less about passives in general and something more personal at work here? Did she feel as if she couldn’t be special? She’d seen Fionn oscillate between believing feeling as if he was potentially special and being sceptical because while other passives might be special, he couldn’t be. He found it hard to reconcile those things, found it hard to accept that he might be truly a part of the larger passive group, given that the boy struggled with his own self-worth. Thinking that passives might actually not be broken didn’t quite suit him, not when he liked to think of himself as broken beyond repair.
Aurelie seemed well-adjusted — by passive standards — and so it was difficult to believe that she could follow a similar line of thinking. Then again, it was clear that she already shared many things with Niamh’s brother, many behaviours she’d displayed to day uncannily familiar to the Madden daughter. So maybe she didn’t feel worthy of the title of special, or more the prospect of being counted among the best of galdori.
That was something else that she’d have to discuss with the passive as well. Although perhaps it wasn’t her place. Perhaps anything she said would sound like false platitudes and it’d make the girl hate her for it. After all, what could she possibly know from her place of privilege?
She thought about her home situation and the fiancé that had been thrust upon her; Niamh was inclined to argue that she wasn’t as privileged as people thought she was, especially when she was edging closer and closer to getting herself disowned. The eldest Madden wasn’t going to bring that up though. This wasn’t the time to air her own issues.
Especially not when her companion inadvertently blurted out things that she probably hadn’t intended—about Fionn. Her feelings had been amply confirmed and that meant that her presence around Niamh’s brother could be… problematic. The boy quite liked her as well and when two people liked each other, there could be trouble. Then again, when two people were determined to be with each other, there was usually very little that you could do about it. And the middle Madden could get into all sorts of trouble; he was very creative in that area. If they were under the watchful eye of galdori—well, Niamh because the professors couldn’t be counted on with one largely absent and the other absentminded—then surely, it couldn’t be that bad.
It couldn’t be that bad… right?
“Well… you’re probably better off helping instead of… keeping away. I could say that you shouldn’t come to the lab because you’ll encounter my brother, which could be- I feel that he’ll be less distracted with you around. Less trouble as well,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks warm as she smiled wryly. Maybe there was something conspiratorial in her gaze for a moment.
“I’m sure that you’d find another way so if you’re going to see each other—I don’t know that I entirely… but- At least you can be productive. Uh… by which I mean um… you can help. It might not seem as if you’re helping but- The research might seem strange to you but your participation would be invaluable. So many passives are made… uncomfortable by being here and not understanding why. Fionn appears all the time and Lars… comes largely for his own reasons,” Niamh explained.
She set her cup aside, placing her hands neatly in her lap then found one fluttering up to her hair to tuck it back.
“The professors are trying to map what the nexus is and how different conditions might affect it. At present, you’d be asked to carry out different tasks, different sorts of physical activity and be observed, often with magic. It won’t hurt you or interfere with you but it will allow us to gain insight into nexi and from there we can learn what you can do, learn about the diableries and why they happen, what triggers them, if they can be controlled and so on.”
She paused, considering the matter of the diablerie for a moment before approaching the matter with delicacy and—she hoped—sympathy.
“No one will try to purposely trigger your diablerie or anything, you won’t be in any danger and neither will others. I imagine in time that the research will reach that point—trying to cause diablerie to manifest—but that would be done with passives who have had them, ones that we know aren’t too… destructive. Like my brother. He’s had his and we have some idea what it is so that’s valuable, I think. But not knowing what yours is makes you no less important, Aurelie.”
Her hazel gaze was intent on the other’s face, the hopefulness present in both her expression and her field.
“Does that sound like something you’d like to do? Obviously I’m not the best messenger but if you’re interested, really interested then somRome else can talk to you about it. Someone who understands more. One of the professors if you want to understand the technical side of things or… Fionn. For the passive side.”