[Kalim is summarily banned on the premise that Jamil needs peace and quiet to make lunch, which has been his go-to privacy excuse for years now. Five is surely capable of sneaking by without Kalim noticing and wondering what they're up to, right?
Jamil doesn't even look away from the cupboard when Five comes in. He really does need to make lunch.]
And what's so important Kalim can't know about it?
[This is said without judgment. That applies to a lot of things.]
[If Jamil needs any further confirmation that Five is being absolutely genuine right now, he need only turn around and observe how uncharacteristically serious his expression is. It's the kind of look some might even call serious as the grave... Which is perhaps fitting, given his reason for being here.
Arms folded at his chest, he leans back against the far wall, eyebrows furrowed.]
...Before I get into it, I just want to ask you one more time. Directly. Are you one-hundred-percent certain that your Natural Soul is a Spectral type?
[Weirdly, it almost sounds like a part of him is hoping Jamil will actually say "no", and that this conversation won't need to happen after all.]
[...Unfortunate, is what he wants to say, but what's the point? He sighs.]
Alright. Here's the thing... I just got back from a... Let's call it a little note sharing session, with a few other Augmented.
[He fiddles with his bangs a little, clearly uncomfortable with what he's gearing up to say. He can't imagine Jamil's going to take this well, or even believe it, coming from him of all people... But he can see all too clearly how keeping this to himself would just cause more trouble down the line than it's worth. Plus... While the two of them may not get along very well, Five's not at a point where he actively wishes ill on Jamil or anything.
So. Someone's gotta tell him.]
...A couple of other Spectral type Augmented were there. And they all pretty much reported experiencing the same thing. There's... No easy way to say this: at some point or another, you're going to die.
[Jamil is silent for a long time, the expression on his face perfectly blank, his only reaction his lips pressing into a thin line. What Five said doesn't feel real, and yet Jamil can't find it in himself to doubt him. There seems to be a mutual understanding between them that this isn't something to joke about, so Five must believe it, at the very least.
Finally:]
Are you sure about this?
[His eyes dart toward the kitchen entrance. He hopes to whatever gods might be out there that Kalim is not eavesdropping right now.]
About as sure as I can be without experiencing it myself, yeah.
[He only has the word of the other Spectrals to go off of, but yeah: it would be a pretty deranged thing to try and trick people into believing. Too many people corroborating it.]
Patho-Gen supposedly knows this is bound to happen, too. One of the spectrals at the meetup mentioned they reported their death to the scientists... Said they seemed suspiciously unsurprised. So... If you want to get verification of your own, I suppose you could always go that route and judge for yourself.
[He follows Jamil's brief glance off to the side; it's not hard to figure out what he's probably worried about, which. Valid. There's a reason he warned him to get rid of Kalim ahead of time.]
You don't stay dead, for what it's worth. Not in the standard sense. But your heart stops, and you basically become... Well. A ghost.
This wouldn't need to be a big deal, if left up to him. "Temporary" death really means not actual death--essentially, it sounds like Jamil will be uncomfortably indisposed for a while, at worst. Not great, but not anything he hasn't experienced before. Kalim, unfortunately, is the issue. If Jamil had hardly a moment to breathe in the aftermath of being poisoned, Kalim will be downright intolerable in the face of an actual death.
Maybe there's a way Jamil can make it happen quietly, without him noticing. If this does have to happen at all.]
Thank you for telling me. I think it's best we keep this between ourselves for now.
[Five watches Jamil closely and listens, idly wondering how the hell he would have taken this information if their situations were reversed. Probably a lot less well, if he's being honest...
The ultimate conclusion Jamil comes to is hardly a surprising one. Five shrugs disinterestedly.]
However you want to play it. Hell, I'm perfectly happy to to disengage myself from the matter altogether and say you didn't hear any of this from me.
[Do you think he wants to deal with Kalim's inevitable fretting about this? Cuz, he doesn't. He REALLY doesn't.]
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no subject
[Kalim is summarily banned on the premise that Jamil needs peace and quiet to make lunch, which has been his go-to privacy excuse for years now. Five is surely capable of sneaking by without Kalim noticing and wondering what they're up to, right?
Jamil doesn't even look away from the cupboard when Five comes in. He really does need to make lunch.]
And what's so important Kalim can't know about it?
[This is said without judgment. That applies to a lot of things.]
no subject
Arms folded at his chest, he leans back against the far wall, eyebrows furrowed.]
...Before I get into it, I just want to ask you one more time. Directly. Are you one-hundred-percent certain that your Natural Soul is a Spectral type?
[Weirdly, it almost sounds like a part of him is hoping Jamil will actually say "no", and that this conversation won't need to happen after all.]
no subject
Reasonably enough. I can't tell for certain until more changes happen, of course, but it's what seems to fit the best.
[His eyes narrow, but with curiosity, not hostility. Why is this important, bud?]
no subject
[...Unfortunate, is what he wants to say, but what's the point? He sighs.]
Alright. Here's the thing... I just got back from a... Let's call it a little note sharing session, with a few other Augmented.
[He fiddles with his bangs a little, clearly uncomfortable with what he's gearing up to say. He can't imagine Jamil's going to take this well, or even believe it, coming from him of all people... But he can see all too clearly how keeping this to himself would just cause more trouble down the line than it's worth. Plus... While the two of them may not get along very well, Five's not at a point where he actively wishes ill on Jamil or anything.
So. Someone's gotta tell him.]
...A couple of other Spectral type Augmented were there. And they all pretty much reported experiencing the same thing. There's... No easy way to say this: at some point or another, you're going to die.
no subject
Finally:]
Are you sure about this?
[His eyes dart toward the kitchen entrance. He hopes to whatever gods might be out there that Kalim is not eavesdropping right now.]
no subject
[He only has the word of the other Spectrals to go off of, but yeah: it would be a pretty deranged thing to try and trick people into believing. Too many people corroborating it.]
Patho-Gen supposedly knows this is bound to happen, too. One of the spectrals at the meetup mentioned they reported their death to the scientists... Said they seemed suspiciously unsurprised. So... If you want to get verification of your own, I suppose you could always go that route and judge for yourself.
[He follows Jamil's brief glance off to the side; it's not hard to figure out what he's probably worried about, which. Valid. There's a reason he warned him to get rid of Kalim ahead of time.]
You don't stay dead, for what it's worth. Not in the standard sense. But your heart stops, and you basically become... Well. A ghost.
no subject
This wouldn't need to be a big deal, if left up to him. "Temporary" death really means not actual death--essentially, it sounds like Jamil will be uncomfortably indisposed for a while, at worst. Not great, but not anything he hasn't experienced before. Kalim, unfortunately, is the issue. If Jamil had hardly a moment to breathe in the aftermath of being poisoned, Kalim will be downright intolerable in the face of an actual death.
Maybe there's a way Jamil can make it happen quietly, without him noticing. If this does have to happen at all.]
Thank you for telling me. I think it's best we keep this between ourselves for now.
[Read: For Ever.]
no subject
The ultimate conclusion Jamil comes to is hardly a surprising one. Five shrugs disinterestedly.]
However you want to play it. Hell, I'm perfectly happy to to disengage myself from the matter altogether and say you didn't hear any of this from me.
[Do you think he wants to deal with Kalim's inevitable fretting about this? Cuz, he doesn't. He REALLY doesn't.]