[The broadcast happens right about when she's waking up, on account of being mostly nocturnal, so she doesn't watch the actual thing. She's got other shit to be doing, thanks. No, instead she catches some bits that are being replayed on the news the day afterward and it makes several things in her head rearrange quickly. Everyone was going on about how it was rude to broadcast the event, to cause problems for everyone, and she didn't... agree with the decision, exactly, but she knows that sometimes releasing footage is a way to make people take notice. Cairo figured it was something like that, you know. Exposing humans so the fucked up shit they're doing doesn't happen again.
The brief clip they play on the news when she absently turns on the TV disabuses her of that notion immediately. It's not even the worst thing that happens, but she sees Atem holding up the film canister so the light is glinting off of it and all she can think of is keys being held up, the glint of light off a knife—
who stayed on track when the world was on attack and when girls don't have your back you have to c-c-c-cut 'em—
The remote clatters to the floor and she scrambles to pick it up because Riley can't see this. Momentarily, Cairo can't even remember if Riley is actually in the apartment or if she's working, but it doesn't matter. It'll send them both back to that basement, to the worst moment in their lives, at least pre-Ryslig. This isn't a last ditch effort to raise awareness. It's a cry for help.
—it was me who decided we could be so much more than they could see if i didn't do it w-w-w-what would we have done?
TV turned off, Cairo thinks about how to approach this. She fucked it up when it was Riley locking them all into a basement. She can't fuck up this cry for help too. Something went very, very wrong somewhere along the way and Cairo doesn't have enough information to know when it happened, to know how far back this mess goes, but it's okay. She can do this. She can put her fucking money where her mouth is and meet people where they are, personal fucked up brain worms and all. She has work in a few hours, so maybe after... yeah. Yeah, okay. She'll grab some stuff from the Japanese bodega, see if he's doing okay. Start from there, takes her cues from his reactions. She'd get pizza, but the place will be closed by the time she's out of work so breads and melon soda it is.
Which is exactly what she shows up with at about 1AM, knocking on their apartment door once before saying:]
night of the 25th
The brief clip they play on the news when she absently turns on the TV disabuses her of that notion immediately. It's not even the worst thing that happens, but she sees Atem holding up the film canister so the light is glinting off of it and all she can think of is keys being held up, the glint of light off a knife—
who stayed on track when the world was on attack and when girls don't have your back you have to c-c-c-cut 'em—
The remote clatters to the floor and she scrambles to pick it up because Riley can't see this. Momentarily, Cairo can't even remember if Riley is actually in the apartment or if she's working, but it doesn't matter. It'll send them both back to that basement, to the worst moment in their lives, at least pre-Ryslig. This isn't a last ditch effort to raise awareness. It's a cry for help.
—it was me who decided we could be so much more than they could see if i didn't do it w-w-w-what would we have done?
TV turned off, Cairo thinks about how to approach this. She fucked it up when it was Riley locking them all into a basement. She can't fuck up this cry for help too. Something went very, very wrong somewhere along the way and Cairo doesn't have enough information to know when it happened, to know how far back this mess goes, but it's okay. She can do this. She can put her fucking money where her mouth is and meet people where they are, personal fucked up brain worms and all. She has work in a few hours, so maybe after... yeah. Yeah, okay. She'll grab some stuff from the Japanese bodega, see if he's doing okay. Start from there, takes her cues from his reactions. She'd get pizza, but the place will be closed by the time she's out of work so breads and melon soda it is.
Which is exactly what she shows up with at about 1AM, knocking on their apartment door once before saying:]
Hey, it's Cairo.