Chapter Text
Work.
Laetitia had never been a fan of it. She was always living in the Backstreets of District 12, being a random face amongst the crowd, and had only recently gotten the opportunity to work for the Wing. Why? Hell if she knew. But still, she accepted without even thinking. Now, all she knew was that she had to put on a suit and tie, and do stuff she didn't want to do. She was happy to have stable Ahn, finally, but god DAMN did she hate work. And just as she was sulking her way through the hallways-
*DING!*
-her company issued tablet lit up.
<<Emma, please perform Instinct Work on O-01-67!>>
Hod's cheery voice nearly made her ears bleed. Why didn't they just use her name? She found that the few smiles in these corridors come from those who were near her, or any of the nicer Sephirot. But for her, she'd much rather have someone that acknowledged this shithole wasn't getting any better anytime soon.
"On it." She managed to bark out without rolling her eyes. The tablet couldn't take auditory input (or any input other than the base log reports) but it felt a little empowering to disrespect the image of Hod projected onto the screen. She had been given the most basic E.G.O- Wrist Cutter for the weapon and Noise for the suit -yet she clutched that knife like she was moving to murder someone.
On the way to O-01-67's containment unit, she decided to look at the information for the abnormality that had been collected thus far. And, all she found was that Attachment and Repression work were High and Very Low respectively, across all levels. Laetitia muttered to herself, "...why the hell am I discovering what else I shouldn't do? Shouldn't we just be sending some sap to play with her for the PE-Boxes we need to unlock Instinct info..?" She figured it had something to do with the same mental illness that made the manager hire her, but part of her hoped that manager knew what he was doing.
Her expression didn't soften any as she tapped the ID reader with her lanyard's card, the sliding door slamming open with a sound that made the abnormality inside jolt. As Laetitia stepped inside, and the door closed, the two looked at each other for a bit, neither speaking. The silence wasn't quite anxious, but it'd be trite to call it uncomfortable.
"...you eat anything?" The rude agent spoke.
"No..." The doll-like being replied.
Laetitia checked her tablet haphazardly, checking over just what the hell Instinct Work entailed beyond asking that.
"...what's your name?" The wee witch's question had Laetitia look up to her, then with a disinterested tone...
"...Emma." It sounded false on her tongue; mostly because it was. But still, the abnormality bought it with a polite smile.
"That's a pretty name."
"Yeah, well shame it's got a face like mine. Whaddaya do for fun?"
The coldness of her question- no, her demand -shook the witch for a bit. But she eventually replied with, "Making friends."
It took a few seconds of clenched teeth and blocked airways for Laetitia to not laugh. But after a quick second, she asked with a light smirk, "Making friends? With the folks who come through here?"
She nodded. "Yeah! I love meeting new people, and giving them gifts!" The little witch wasn't dumb. She knew she was being seen as childish. But 'Emma' had asked, and she thought better than to lie to her new friends.
"Honey, I don't mean to burst a mile-wide bubble, but don't you ever wonder what happens to those folks you hear groaning and moaning outside?" The mocking tone in her voice set Laetitia's mind back where it didn't belong. But after a bit...
"...I just assume they need a little cheering up."
Though the delusion of this little doll girl did still amuse her...the sincerity of her stubbornness did strike a small chord within Laetitia. The smirk faded, all plans to tell the doll about the cold truth seemed much less sound, and...well, she didn't CARE about her, but she certainly didn't want to hurt her now, either.
"...sure." She said with a shrug, tapping the same buttons on her tablet as she had for all other Instinct Work. "You do that."
But while she was working, the abnormality inched closer. Something akin to a giggle could be heard.
Laetitia quickly snapped her gaze to the doll, who was now only an arm's length of distance away.
"...what're you doing?" The witch responded by covering her mouth, another giggle emanating from her. "You've gotta be kidding me..."
Quickly, she brandished Wrist Cutter. "Look, if I see your little mitts doing something they shouldn't, I've been authorized to suppress you here and now." She wasn't. But bluffing was second nature to her.
...unfortunately, the witch picked up on her lie this time, and simply tilted her head. To which Laetitia simply groaned and sheathed her weapon.
After getting back to it, she logged her results and saw the 'Neutral' face mock her, then headed to the door. But right as it opened, she felt a tiny hand grace her pocket. Immediately, she looked back at the little witch with an annoyed glare, but it was becoming impossible to return her to that meek, jumpy girl she was earlier, and Laetitia knew it. So she just felt around it her pocket...and pulled out a red heart, the middle seeming dark and swarming with eyes.
"...the hell's this?" Laetitia's glare softened unnoticeably.
"A surprise...at least, it was meant to be."
...she didn't really have any reason to accept it...but Laetitia stuffed it back into her pocket.
"Then I'll see ya later."
The door closed, but not before a slight 'Wait!-' could be heard. Laetitia ignored it...or at least, she tried to. Her suit crackled at basically the same time, so she took it as an excuse for herself to not have heard the witch. She trotted on down the hall...
...until not 10 seconds later when Hod's voice rang back into her ears. She rolled her eyes to the back of her skull, pulling up her tablet and listening to what she had to say. What was it, 'Be nicer to abnormalities, especially children!', or 'That work type wasn't very effective...', or maybe even...even...
<<Great work, Emma! I detect you've gotten an E.G.O Gift!>>
Laetitia didn't really know what that meant...after all, there were only suits and weapons, right? But as she turned her head to check herself, she heard a faint *clink* from atop her head. She patted, and sure enough, there was a hat there.
"...juuust fuckin' great..."
<<You and The Wee Witch have a bright future together! You may even be great friends, if you work on them enough times!>>
Then, it occurred to her...one survival meant success, and success meant good things to whatever Manager was in his camera box watching everyone right now. She pinched the bridge of her nose, completely hoping she wouldn't actually be assigned to this doll later on. But she knew she would be.
"...guess that's the hand I'm dealt." And she walked off, one hand skimming the handle of Wrist Cutter and the other holding that ever-important tablet as she waited for her next work.