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Archive File #4: Scavenger once loved a young woman from her own tribe, who reciprocated her feelings. For whatever reason, they did not express their feelings to one another until Scavenger became Infected and was banished from her tribe. The next time Scavenger was able to meet the young lady, she had already passed away and with her the knowledge of their forbidden love. This memory is a keepsake that Scavenger will forever hold close to her heart.
Archive File #3: Scavenger prefers to avoid other operators until it's not required for her work, with the exception of Provence. She tends to sneer at those who ask her about her interest in Provence, which is reflective of some sort of attraction. While Provence is considered generally attractive (many Operators particularly enjoy fluffing her tail), Scavenger seems to be interested in something else....
Scavenger slams a gloved fist down on the table in front of her.
"No need to get so dramatic, now..." mumbles the owner of said table, the one known simply as the Doctor of Rhodes Island.
"Dramatic," Scavenger deadpans, "I've been outed as gay to the entirety of Rhodes Island, and you say I'm being dramatic."
The Doctor averts their gaze, expression still as difficult to read as ever behind their visor, but body language certainly giving off that oh god I messed up and now I'm being shouted down by an angry lesbian with a very big sword sort of vibe. "Not the entirety of Rhodes Island; files containing especially sensitive information are gated from public viewing by voluntary release permissions—"
"Then why exactly does everyone, including the woman who is for whatever reason specifically named as being my crush, know about them despite the fact that I never consented to their release?" Scavenger's tone is now as sharp as her aforementioned very big sword.
"It didn't get that bad, did it? I'm probably the only one who actually saw your files, and I was kinda flattered, if anything," Provence says from the seat next to Scavenger, shifting to a more comfortable angle in the chair that was clearly not designed to accommodate a tail as big as hers.
Scavenger's glare whips around towards Provence, who shrinks back only slightly. Her harsh look softens somewhat, before returning back to the Doctor in full force. "Why did you even write those files? Information on my background, sure, that might be understandable—even though it very much does still out me—but why include my... romantic aspirations, too? Setting aside whether they're even accurate or not, I mean," she adds, maybe a bit too frantically.
"I think the text is quite subtle and tasteful about those things, actually..."
"Yeah, like, I thought it was cute," Provence tentatively chimes in again.
"Both of you are missing the point," Scavenger sighs exasperatedly.
"I didn't write them, anyway. Kal'tsit was in charge of those particular entries."
If one didn't know better, one would have thought that Kal'tsit had waited for the exact moment that her name was mentioned to arrive on cue. That wasn't actually the case, but nevertheless she was here now, coming out of the bedroom door in the Doctor's dorm—this meeting having been arranged here on very short notice after usual office hours.
Kal'tsit, ever the social mastermind, makes the lightning fast split-second decision to simply act with confidence as soon as she notices the unexpected guests in the room, as if there was absolutely nothing strange about her being in the Doctor's room at this hour—uncharacteristically dressed in only a tank top and shorts no less. Striding casually like she owns the place, Kal'tsit moves to the coffee maker to prepare herself a cup.
Naturally, all eyes are on her. She glances around at the stupefied faces of those present, making rapid mental calculations and inferences in her head to gauge the situation. "Is this about Scavenger's operator files and the recent PRTS bug?" she deduces.
A set of slow nods.
"I don't see the issue. The bug has been fixed, and regardless, being gay is nothing to be ashamed about. In fact, you should be holding your head high with pride to be a part of our—of the LGBT community. We here at Rhodes Island have never discriminated on the basis such things," Kal'tsit shrugs, "And besides, it's not as if you're the only one whose personal details were leaked."
The Doctor quickly pushes back their chair to stand up and grab Kal'tsit by the arm, hurriedly pulling her aside into the other room as she struggles to keep her drink from spilling. Moments later, they return, Kal'tsit sipping from her mug as if nothing had happened. "What I mean to say, is that we apologize deeply for the breach in your and all other operators' privacy, and the breaking of your trust and the standards that you hold us to. We will strive to do our best to ensure such a thing never happens again, and that compensation for any and all emotional damages is offered as is necessary."
At this point, Scavenger is almost too tired from today's events and all the PR-speak to continue to press the issue. She looks at Provence, who offers her a warm smile in return, then back at the Doctor and Kal'tsit. "We'll call it even, then," she says with a pointed look towards the two of them.
Outside of the Doctor's room, Scavenger sighs again, unsure of what to say to the bright-eyed and very literally bushy-tailed woman following behind her after all is said and done.
"Hey, don't worry about it too much," Provence offers, "I'm sure everyone else was too busy worrying about their own files getting leaked to bother peeking into yours, specifically."
"But you saw them," Scavenger says, turning around and standing with her arms crossed.
"Uh, yeah, heheh... Sorry about that!"
This whole issue started earlier that day. Scavenger had returned physically and mentally drained from an especially difficult operation, when she was met by Provence, who gifted her with a cute new hair clip "to celebrate her victory." Provence, who had almost never spared her much attention before this, or so Scavenger had thought. Provence, who had shyly asked something along the lines of, sooo, is the stuff about me in your operator files true? while handing over her present.
Provence, who the other day had just happened to have been idly checking the scant few public photos and tidbits information on Scavenger's PRTS page, not yet knowing about the ongoing bug and assuming that Scavenger had voluntarily given her full access to her data at some point. After all, if that was in fact the case, it would basically be tantamount to a confession, wouldn't it?
Even after it was explained to her that this was a misunderstanding, that Scavenger had never released her files and that they needed to go to the Doctor to demand an explanation right now, the seed had already been planted. It was hard for Provence to not be conscious of the other woman after learning about her feelings, even if she herself wasn't sure yet if she swung that way.
"You can forget about what you read, the part about you is just... Kal'tsit's assumptions, no basis at all. She'll eventually have to update the files for inaccuracy if I keep my distance for long enough, and then I'll be out of your hair," Scavenger begins to walk away, ensuring that Provence can no longer see her face.
"It's fine, seriously, I really mean it when I say that it doesn't bother me at all. You don't have to change a thing!" Provence says, keeping up with the stubborn Zalak.
"Are you saying you would want me to keep hanging around you if I had those intentions?" Scavenger says, side-eying her.
"Well, when you put it like that..." Provence turns to look forward, but there's not a trace of distaste on her face, and her heavy tail wags slowly—which is not far from its top speed, given the mass of her fur.
Scavenger's brisk pace loses some of its urgency, and they walk together quietly for a while.
Provence finally speaks up again. "I wouldn't mind getting to know you a bit better sometime. We could make plans to hang out and chat over a meal whenever we're not too busy with work, if you're not opposed to that? Honestly, I think you're pretty cool, always kinda have. And like, the gay thing, I think that's pretty cool too, if that's not too weird to say? Sorry, I'm rambling a bit, haha."
Scavenger scoffs, not really an affirmation or a denial, concealing a small smirk. But then, her expression suddenly darkens. "I don't need you leading me on out of pity, if that's what's going on here."
"So you're finally admitting that you really do feel that way about me?"
"How on Terra did you come to that conclusion?"
"You wouldn't have said it like that if you didn't. And you're totally blushing right now, y'know?"
Scavenger clicks her tongue, stopping as Provence steps in front of her to look at her face directly. "No, I don't need... this. What's the point, if either of us could die at any time?" Scavenger says bitterly.
"Isn't that exactly why we should cherish the bonds we've got while we still have them?" Provence's reply is delivered with an unusual degree of seriousness.
"And that's where our outlooks on life differ," Scavenger tries to snap back, but can't quite manage to work any real harshness into her tone; then she continues with a mumble, "Besides, if you keep pushing like this, you're going to start giving me the wrong idea here."
"Yeah, I guess that attitude of yours totally backfired for you, huh?" Provence hums, her tail wagging slowly again, "Because of that, I've decided that I'm pretty much determined to get that date with you now, actually."
"Date," Scavenger parrots blankly.
"...Fine."