Repentence: Blood

Recorder on.

The view is of an old, converted cargo bay that has been turned into a torture chamber, or at least a mockup of one. It is slightly too melodramatic to be real, with an emphasis more on sharp blades and chains than more advanced and effective implements of interrogation. Repentence is sitting against a wall, toying with a chain idly with one hand.

Finally found another camera drone. Got this one off Inara instead of stealing one of my brother's, this time... don't want him eavesdropping on me.

God, it's ages since I recorded anything... so much has happened! Dying, being reunited with Inara, making friends with an AI...

She shrugs vaguely, looking thoughtful and continuing to fiddle with the links.

Probably safe to say that we're being a bad influence on each other, Age and I. But I like her... She feels more approachable than Inara sometimes... we've talked about all kinds of things. And she's made me think about things... like death.

She stands, ambling over to one of the walls and feeling the blade of a knife thoughtfully.

She says that... I don't know. It's hard to put into words. We're all going to die anyway, so why bother being scared about it. Something like that.

She draws a finger slowly along the edge, back and forth.

Between that, and the blood therapy I've been taking... I've been hardening, I guess. I remember being horrified by Inara's record, and for a while it still made me shiver inside. But now I can think about what she's done, about what all the Ghosts have done, and not even flinch. People die all the time...

I don't know if I'd want to kill and threaten for a living, like they do. Probably not, but it doesn't frighten me any more.

The knife breaks the skin, and she draws her finger back quickly, looking at the blood welling up.

Oops.

She sucks on the cut quickly, before looking at it for a while. Then she carefully picks up the knife, and slices along another finger. She brings it to her nose, sniffing gently, and smiles.

Then she realises what she is doing, and drops the knife hurriedly.

Maybe that therapy's gone too far.

I should do something for these...

She reaches out to turn off the camera.

Recorder off.