absin

Uhh... Absinthe...?

What... happened to me?

Was I crying? Why...? I'm so sorry about that...

It's okay. It only took a little time. We should try contacting the outside again.

This is Rhodes Island Operator Absinthe and Operator Rosa. Our last position is 61.700.20.450.

Repeat... This is Rhodes Island Operator Absinthe and Operator Rosa.

Huh? There seems to be a transmission coming in—

Hello? Hello?

This is the Rhodes Island Catastrophe Rescue Team. Please report your coordinates—

We got through...

Our last known position is 61.700.20.450. I recommend checking the fallen plate to the west.

There are two of us. We're... hanging in there.

Na... Rosa, knock on the steel pipe next to you, use the beat I taught you before.

Two light knocks, one heavy one... Like this?

Right.

The coordinates and the rescue signal we got earlier are a match... The infrared detector shows... Th—They're close by!

—Hello? Can you hear us?

If you can hear us, use the frequency just now and knock on the steel pipe to answer us—

Help has arrived.

Absinthe looks up to the source of the voice, as Rosa continues to knock on the steel pipe repeatedly.

There's someone here! Right around the coordinates we got! Should be them—

Hold on, we'll get you two out right away. Stay put and don't move...

If you read me, knock on the pipe!

(Knocks)

Okay, okay.

Hold on—

*huff*...

You're hurt. You should get rescued first.

I'm in better shape. I'll be fine.

Okay.

Even though she has long known that the joy of surviving a precarious situation is not nearly as intense as the books make it out to be, Absinthe nonetheless feels a sense of bewilderment.

Below clouds spreading through the skies like wildfire, she takes in the fleeting emotions like a breath.

Confirming Operator Absinthe's condition... Initial Diagnosis: Minor injuries. Rescue successful.

Please rest up and don't do anything strenuous. Once we rescue Operator Rosa, we'll help you with your leg—

—Operator Absinthe?

Let me help.

What? You shouldn't be movin—

Oh.

Huh? Absinthe? Your injury—

I'm fine.

Give me your hand. I'll pull you up.

Operator Rosa.