That confidence is deeply comforting during a moment like this of such utter self-doubt. It was drilled into her for years that she was not a person, until it became as much as fact to her as the sky being blue, but he says it's wrong like it's written in stone, like it was never true at all. Li wants to believe him. She wants more than anything for him to be right, and so she lets herself try to hope he is. "Thank you, Donatello. You always seem to know the right thing to say. Your family is lucky to have you."
His easy agreement to calling her by Li makes her visibly relax. Some days she'd take death over reconditioning. Some days she's not sure. Either way, she'd rather not have to suffer the consequences for having remembered the handful of things that she has. Donatello's somber expression tells her he understands the stakes of this situation. That's enough to make her trust him. She wouldn't if he were human, but people who aren't human live very high stakes lives and appreciate the gravity of these things.
Those who hadn't pressed on are largely families, and Li can't fault them for that. Better to stay together than separate from those they loved. The children, at least, seem in high spirits, one of them yelling to his mom that he wants a jetpack for Christmas, one looking at Donatello and squeeing, "So! Cool!" even as his body language radiates discomfort. Li undoes the fire escapes and leads the adults down the stairs, asking about injuries and seeing if anyone needs help. People are shaken, but unharmed. That's very good news. Better still, a few have talked it over with each other and come up with the path to safety that involves going by the mostly empty part of uptown without adding too many minutes to their schedule, which will help avoid infected.
A little girl tugs at Li's skirt. "Is it okay if I don't go down with the fancy gizmo guy? I don't like heights." Li nods, and holds open her arms for the small child to climb into, carrying her down alongside her father, who's carrying twin infants in his arms. Clearly, this man is not having a particularly lucky day.
Getting everyone together on the ground takes less time than she'd thought it would, and this time, having seen their unlikely heroes fight for them, people are a lot more willing to give Li directions and thank her and Donatello both. They resume their trudge forward with a lot less internal tension, even if one or two of them seem jumpy, spooked by earlier events. It's understandable. This isn't something anyone here is used to. But the path ahead is much more certain now. That's enough to keep spirits from falling.
no subject
His easy agreement to calling her by Li makes her visibly relax. Some days she'd take death over reconditioning. Some days she's not sure. Either way, she'd rather not have to suffer the consequences for having remembered the handful of things that she has. Donatello's somber expression tells her he understands the stakes of this situation. That's enough to make her trust him. She wouldn't if he were human, but people who aren't human live very high stakes lives and appreciate the gravity of these things.
Those who hadn't pressed on are largely families, and Li can't fault them for that. Better to stay together than separate from those they loved. The children, at least, seem in high spirits, one of them yelling to his mom that he wants a jetpack for Christmas, one looking at Donatello and squeeing, "So! Cool!" even as his body language radiates discomfort. Li undoes the fire escapes and leads the adults down the stairs, asking about injuries and seeing if anyone needs help. People are shaken, but unharmed. That's very good news. Better still, a few have talked it over with each other and come up with the path to safety that involves going by the mostly empty part of uptown without adding too many minutes to their schedule, which will help avoid infected.
A little girl tugs at Li's skirt. "Is it okay if I don't go down with the fancy gizmo guy? I don't like heights." Li nods, and holds open her arms for the small child to climb into, carrying her down alongside her father, who's carrying twin infants in his arms. Clearly, this man is not having a particularly lucky day.
Getting everyone together on the ground takes less time than she'd thought it would, and this time, having seen their unlikely heroes fight for them, people are a lot more willing to give Li directions and thank her and Donatello both. They resume their trudge forward with a lot less internal tension, even if one or two of them seem jumpy, spooked by earlier events. It's understandable. This isn't something anyone here is used to. But the path ahead is much more certain now. That's enough to keep spirits from falling.