[ can't do that while stunned. ]

[arcanepower]

Who: Belthazar & you!
Broadcast: Open to the fleet.
Action: On the Marsiva.
When: A reasonable hour on 3/25

[action;]

[Anyone on the Marsiva can find a short fussy elf if they'd like. He spends most of his time in the kitchen trying to figure out what weird-ass ingredients he's supposed to cook with, but he can also be found just... staring outside the window.]

[video;]

[This is not Belthazar's first rodeo. He's not going to sit here and play with the console for your entertainment. He figures it out in about two seconds, being familiar with comm devices already, and he is furious. The look he gives and his tone are ice cold. That combined with the glowing green eyes is a pretty freaky effect, but he looks and sounds fairly young.]

Is this some kind of game, Initiative? I am DONE. Do you understand? This is unacceptable. I did not ask to be removed from my property, and my books-- [oh, he is so angry about his books]-- and I have studies I must attend to. My arcane research is infinitely more important than your misguided sloppy war or your failed attempts at entertainment, which I assume this is supposed to be.

[He leans back, looking about as severe as a fifteen year old can look.]

I'm waiting.

Comments

Video

[wilder]

[Oh, hey- he recognizes this Elf. He recognizes the terms he's throwing around.]

[He also recognizes a tantrum]

Iiii don't think that'll work, kid.

This isn't them anyway.

video;

[arcanepower]

[He squints at the camera. This is definitely the same guy but his hair is like... gone???? Didn't he have a braid? AND WHERE'S THE LABCOAT? Thankfully, he settles down some.]

The nurse? [He forgot your name. Sorry, Kaneis. But he does know you're not a piece of crap so he believes you, mostly.] This doesn't seem like the U.E., so then what...

[He rubs at his temple in perfect imitation of someone who is at least twenty years older and sick of shit.]

video;

[wilder]

...Healer. At least get that right. [Sheesh!]

Some other group, called Atroma. UE and Initiative's not around anymore, so it's not them for sure.

video;

[arcanepower]

Healer. [He huffs, but doesn't fight him on it. It's all the same to him.]

Wait-- what? Where have they gone?

video;

[wilder]

Destroyed. Or non-existent, rather.

War's over.

video;

[hymnals]

[A child--a blood elf child. Adra's eyes widen as he leans forward, wishing he could reach through the screen and take this kid's hand.]

Rest assured, I don't think anybody here asked for this.

video;

[arcanepower]

[The subtleties of Adra's expression are lost on Belth, who is really just happy to see him again. It's only been a little while, he thinks.]

Master! Do you know what's going on? [Time for talking too fast.] I've been trying to contact whoever is in charge for hours but I haven't had any luck. Every attempt I've made at teleporting hasn't worked at all. The threads are all wrong, there's no ley lines anywhere in sight so I can't quite pinpoint the interference--

[hymnals]

[Master? Oh, that won't do.]

Whoa--slow down, kid. Slow it down. And don't call me that.

[There's a palpable shudder in his words.]

[arcanepower]

[Belth fumbles to a stop. Adra had never really liked being called master but that's about as close as he's come to snapping about it. His ears lower.]

Did... I do something wrong? [His fingers tremble beneath his sleeves, and he fights to calm them. His voice gets very quiet.] I am sorry, Mast-- er, Magister. It will not happen again.

action

[destinyembrace]

[At this rate, Kairi is getting used to new people showing up out of the blue. She doesn't check her communicator often, as she's likely to hear or see them first. So she's not too startled when she walks into the kitchen and finds a new person, seemingly confused by the food they have here. Admittedly, it had been a shock to her too, seeing what they passed as "food" here. Luckily, it tasted pretty close to the real thing.

For some reason, she had the knowledge of how to cook with it as soon as she tried (no one explained the augment thing to her yet). Why she knew how to cook with it baffled her, but she just rolled with it. And she might as well use it to try and help someone.

Kairi quietly enters the kitchen, walking over to the newcomer with a smile.]

Hello. Do you need help cooking with this stuff? It's pretty weird, but it's not hard once you get the hang of it.

[arcanepower]

[Belth's been through some weird shit and he has natural cooking talent so he doesn't find the augment thing too weird. What he does find weird is that he already knows how to do some other things, like someone just left the information there. He doesn't like that. He doesn't like having something in his neck either. He tries to ignore it as he experiments with frying the protein, though he does give Kairi a sullen look as she offers her help.

It's not that he dislikes her. It's more that-- he's not used to talking to girls, and he sorta shies away. Ducks his head and doesn't make eye contact.]

Unless you can get me real food, I really doubt it. What is this slop supposed to be? Prison food? I ate rats that looked tastier than this.

[He grumbles, but the tofu stuff doesn't actually smell that bad with the teriyaki melted on top of it.]

[destinyembrace]

I haven't been able to find any normal food, unfortunately. It tastes almost similar, but it isn't really the same. Luckily, there aren't any rats around, either.

[Whether he's that shy or she's being an annoyance, she's not sure. She'll leave if he asks, but she thought he might like to know he's not alone in this new mess they've all found themselves in.]

It looks like you got the hang of cooking with it, though. What are you cooking?

[arcanepower]

[Wow, she's not even a little put off by his remark there... That's impressive. Really impressive. He can't help eying her through his bangs. It's worth noting that he's about as tall as Kairi is. Yikes.]

This would be balsamic chicken if... I had balsamic vinegar, rosemary, olive oil, and poultry. Instead I must settle for this... sweet... stuff. I suppose it's premade sauce. I can make do.

[He flips the tofu over to make sure it's crispy.]

I suppose it smells edible, but I'm unsure.

video;

[ino]

[ Aww ... he's so cute and angry. ]

Sorry, but ... it's not that easy to leave, unfortunately.

video;

[arcanepower]

[He is. And pretty nice girls are his weakness, shockingly so.]

I have a feeling I won't like what you're about to tell me.

[At least he's realistic about it.]

Reading through the archives has not given me as much information as I'd like, so I would... appreciate it if you filled me in.

[A pause, and consideration for his master's endless patience.]

... please.

video;

[ino]

[ SO CUTE ... ]

Well the gist of it -- as you've probably read -- is that we're being watched by an audience, and the more entertaining we are, the more we get paid. The money can go to upgrading the ship you're staying on or whatever else you want.

Atroma, the people behind bringing us here, have said something about letting us leave if we achieve great ratings, but personally I'm kind of inclined to believe that's not really true.

video;

[arcanepower]

[He really doesn't like that answer, and it makes him scowl. Of course, Belthazar scowling looks about as threatening as a wet kitten.]

I take it I cannot simply buy a way home.

video;

[got_it_memorized]

Oh, I dunno if the entertainment factor fails that hard. I've been fairly entertained while I've been here. Moreso than back home, in any case.

[arcanepower]

[Belthazar squints at him discerningly. Seeing someone even passingly familiar is enough to distract him from what would otherwise be a tantrum.]

The fire mage?

[got_it_memorized]

[Axel narrows his eyes suspiciously.]

'Scuse me?

[arcanepower]

You startled me once. I threw a book at your face and we had a short conversation about setting people on fire. You were eager to show off.

[He squints more.]

You don't remember?

[faithfulwisdom]

You have been told, I assume, that it is not this 'Initiative' which now holds you captive?

[Finrod skims through the previous responses and waits patiently for the young man to calm down enough to hold a civil conversation.]

[arcanepower]

[He looks familiar in a passing sort of way. Belthazar doesn't know why, but there's something about the lack of huge ears that reminds him of someone else.]

A different name, but still the same. We're prisoners. [He's very bitter about this.] I have studies. I have training. I can't turn my back on those things, not even if I am paid to tolerate their absence. I am not motivated by money.

[faithfulwisdom]

Nor am I. [He understands the bitterness. Under different circumstances, he'd be right there with him. But he's also practical- too practical to go around pointlessly beating his fists against walls.] What is it that you study? Is there no way that you could continue your work here?

[arcanepower]

[Belth still does that on occasion.]

Magic. The mysteries of the arcane, the intricacies of fire and frost magic-- all of them are things I need to master in order to join the ranks of the Kirin Tor. My knowledge is limited so long as I'm cut off from books and other resources.

Like-- mana.

[At that last word, he looks away. This is going to be hard, he knows it.]