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[ Holy shit. Her eyes do widen briefly, naked shock coming onto her features and for a moment she is thankful for the fact that Wesker can't see as well in the dark as she can. Even if they are under street lights and park lamps now, but... she reigns it in quick enough, crossing her hands together in her lap. She looks intently at the man, keeping eye contact as best she can after that initial shock.

... The thing of it is. Wow. ]

... Ah, Albert. That must've been a horrifying experience.

It's one of the many reasons that I tend to agree with those that post to the network sometimes, insisting that they deserve to have remained dead for what they did in their past life.

[And that much is blunt and straightforward and most of all devoid of much tone; it's just blank, in a way that doesn't leave much room for debate.

He'd asked himself what people think they deserve; this is his own answer to that.]

[ Should she touch him? She's not sure if she should or not, but the fact is that ... Mmm. It's a delicate question, and, ]

It does make for an odd-sounding choice on their part, to pick that sort of person to salvage. If that's really the truth of it all.

[ Her hands still crossed, she tries to come up with what the right response here is. ]

It does, yes. I still don't understand why I'm here, unless we assume it's random chance.

[...Anyway.]

Is there anything else you want to know about? I don't particularly mind questions, though I have answers for some more than others.

I would say whatever you want to tell me, but I can't imagine you would want to say much of anything.

[ Rocking in her seat a little, ]

... But I do want to understand your concerns. At least a little. So why not some other terrorist scheme?

[...Just...give him a moment. He hasn't even told Jaeger this part, so...]

...I still don't understand the full scope of what I managed to do, or my methods behind most of it. I do know that I was involved in some sort of shell game spanning multiple continents - the only place I don't recall causing some sort of problem was Australia. Last I knew with regards to numbers, seven hundred fifty million were dead due to my actions.

[ What.

... What - no, okay, squeezing her hands together a little more and she bites her lip and nods a little. One man can kill that many people? Is that even possible? ]

[He's quiet for a moment; the silence is odd, distant. Off in his head, in some ways, before he speaks again.]

Do you still believe that I deserve to live? To not be judged for my past actions? Because I find those words are easier to say when they don't involve things like "unfathomable mass slaughter."

[And that's...highly unfair, and he knows it; his words are blank as opposed to cold.]

Yes.

[ to her credit, there's no hesitation to it, and she finally untangles her hand from her lap to reach over and... sort of just rest her hand near one of his. Not quite taking it, but showing a gentle sense of solidarity. ]

Because however odd Retrospec's choice was, the man I've known for years is someone that I've appreciated having in my life, and that matters a lot more to me than abstractions from some other world.

[...He can't say he minds the gesture, anyway.]

I can't say that I agree with you, just on principle. But I do understand, and I...

[That...isn't what he wants to say, and he stops before he finishes that. Shakes his head a bit. Starts over.]

...It's good of you.

Honestly, being a principled man is probably better. [ But the hand remains there, and she gently applies some force - both to show that he has her support... but also in a tangential way to show her new strength. She puts just a little of it into one finger, showing how she has inhuman strength now.

... She'll be a vampire, eventually. It's terrifying, even if she now knows that means she won't "die" per se.

It's nothing as compared to that madness, but it's still scary. ]

But of course. I'm here for you, Albert.

... Want to come to my Thanksgiving?

Of course I do.

[And that's immediate, without hesitation; if he finds it at all to be an odd segue, he doesn't seem inclined to say anything about it.

...The show of strength is interesting. Oddly comforting when combined with the general indication of support. It's strange, but he's not going to complain about it, either.]

Jaeger mentioned something like that to me; it's good to see that you're getting along well enough for it, I suppose.

Silver insisted I consider inviting him and then I'm informed you two've gotten closer. In all honesty, he wasn't on the first list but it seemed rude to exclude him... for those and some other reasons.

[ . . . ]

I've also invited Silver, of course, and one of his roommates.

That's fine. Silver... I've enjoyed his presence, he comes to see me sometimes.

[It's usually stupid, but they do spend time once in a while.]

As for Jaeger, we're... "Closer" is one way of phrasing it. We've been seeing each other in some capacity lately. Not for long, only for a couple of weeks, but that's the state of things for the moment. So the invitation being extended to him as well is appreciated.

.... Does he.

[ . . .

No, no, don't - overthink it. Either of those, really. It's good for Albert to socialize and whatever suspicions or weird feelings she has now can be pushed aside. Her breath comes off in a sharp exhale and she pulls the hand back to herself.

... Oh wait, ]

I hope he hasn't caused you too much trouble. I ... realize I'm not quite responsible for him anymore, but it does linger.

He's been no trouble at all.

[And that much seems entirely honest, at least.]

That's good.

[ And this is a lot easier than addressing whatever she feels about Jaeger and Albert seeing each other and that she didn't really know until recently. It's not technically her business... or no, was it? Well, even if it was, it's nothing neither man needed her permission for, at the very least, and she's far too old to feel anything but grateful that Albert has someone important to him like that, for real.

If anything, that part is a relief.

She hasn't really realized that her finger is on the bridge of her nose until it is. ... Ah, she was pushing up the sunglasses that aren't there, isn't she? She feels her cheeks burn and she looks down, exhaling again. ]

But yes, it'll just be the six of us. Some of the cats too, I suppose... unless you have anyone else to invite?

No, six sounds fine.

[And it does, really - besides, it's not like there's anyone else he would even consider.

That said, he's just...quiet for a moment, in that way that he tends to be when he isn't certain there's much else to say; he's aware that the conversation has gone strange and awkward, but he doesn't particularly regret telling her about this, either - better that she find out now than because Silver decided to open his mouth across the dinner table, because that child has less tact than both Wesker and Jaeger combined.]

...You are all right...?

[It's far more of a question than something desiring confirmation; there are a lot of things they aren't discussing here and he's entirely aware of it.]

I am.

[ She answers a bit too quickly, perhaps a smidge too forcefully. The fact of the matter is she won't sort out all of her feelings about all this - about Silver knowing Wesker, about Albert and Jaeger being in a relationship to the point Albert feels he can be sincere and forward, or about all of that bioterrorism stuff. ... She won't work out how she feels about any of that or what it means for her until she's home, talked to Toushiro, pet a cat, and possibly had a little wine.

Right now, she's going to tap her hands on her knees. ]

I'm just feeling that familiar ennui I feel every time around the holidays, [ That she's still single at forty-one. That Silver caused all of that right around Christmas... all of it. That's not the core of it, but it's a good excuse and frankly some of that has made that crater feel deeper ] that's all. Honestly, I think the work to cook things will help.

[ ... She can't leave it at that, though- ]

... I'm in your corner, Albert. If you hit some other rocky thing you need to tell someone, I'll hear it. But I am sincerely glad you have other people you feel you can too.

[...That's...]

I do trust you with it, you know. You're the only other person I've told; this isn't something that I can be open about, with almost anyone.

[...]

It was likely unfair to do so to you, but you're the only person I contacted with any honesty at all back in August.

[ "but I genuinely do enjoy your company and want to keep you close. That isn't something that I really experience toward most people." ... "It seems strange to say that I appreciate doing things that don't have any particular purpose behind them with you"

Honestly, those words, and the dozens and dozens of others, that little diary she got - she hadn't read it the day it arrived. Toushiro's, Silver's, Jaegers all arrived at the same time and all of them were shorter and there was a lot going on. But she'd read it the next day, and in the afterglow of the conflict, it made her feel warm, despite the implication they were breaking up, mirroring the message that she sent him.

That they could make that understanding happen was... honestly it was nice.

And she nods. ]

I'd figured... that it was the sort of sincerity you wouldn't have afforded other people back then, I mean. I have always worried about your ability to make friends, but I know I'm one to talk and there's no need to be overbearing.

[ ... ]

I appreciated them, though. I did.

[...]

You've been good to me, Elda. I'm aware that I'm not the most charming of people, and I'm not what you wanted in a person that you were with for so long. But I really have appreciated everything, even if I'm not terribly demonstrative about it.

[ At that... she actually laughs. A trill of a thing, perhaps releasing a little tension. ]

For how much everyone praises me these days you'd think I was some great catch either! [ She shakes her head. ] No, Albert, I've appreciated all of it, and for how muted you can come off, I don't think it's hard hard to read your intent into things. We've both benefited from the arrangement we had, and friendship... well, that's a whole other matter, and it's nice.

It is, certainly.

[And that much does seem genuine; he's appreciated it, how things have been since all of that.]

Good.

[ . . . ]

I'll be counting on you, I'm sure, in December. That's... it's not been a pleasant month for me in some time.

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