[ Dryly, ] When the WAU stuffed you in there, somehow I doubt it was thinking about effective long-term functioning. [ A beat, before she adds, plainly, ] I wasn't thinking about it before, either. [ It hadn't really been a necessary concern, considering the brevity of their anticipated existence on Earth.

In another familiar Catherine-voice, one of bright self-confident teasing despite the implications of a moment ago: ] Good thing you have me now! [ She's finding it as easy to slip back into their old dynamic as Simon is, and truthfully, she's immensely relieved. They won't need to revisit that argument at all, and it won't come up, because the ARK is finished and done and over with and Simon presumably won't be copying himself here, ever again.

So she can just ignore that whole issue completely. Great. But this other thing, she's not ignoring. ]

Have you seriously not been telling anyone anything? [ Catherine starts with this conversational opener as she sits, too, on the bank of the gently flowing water beside him, uncaring about adding wetness to the dirt on her already. She has a messenger bag with her that carries her acquired tools and some basic supplies, and brings it forward onto her lap and starts to rummage around, eyes flicking noticeably between him and her bag, planning out her attack as she takes in details of his condition. ]