iiiiiit's a mingle

[sinuosity]

Who: Red Fish crew and visitors.
Broadcast: none.
Action: On the Red Fish and waystations.
When: After returning from the Marsiva.

Comments

[sinuosity]

[ A little teasing, ]

They're mine, be sure you don't eat too many.

[ Caesar will just give her more, she's certain, but Nyssa doesn't like sharing much. Not when he gave them to her for nothing in return. ]

[child_of_bhaal]

Oh I wouldn't!

[No really. That would be so rude.]

I'll only take what you're willing to offer, Nyssa.

[sinuosity]

There is half a box, come along.

[ Briskly, she starts for the kitchen, expecting to be followed. ]

[child_of_bhaal]

[She'll follow as expected. And also steer the conversation to her new crewmate. Syeira much prefers talking about other people.]

What about you then? Your title included your heritage. Is your father someone powerful?

[sinuosity]

He is one of the most powerful men in the world.

[ Evenly, simply. It's a fact; Nyssa doesn't need to be bitter at him to speak the truth. ]

There are not many who would trifle with us. Those that do are swiftly cut down.

[child_of_bhaal]

Sounds like the guilds back home.

Do you like it?

[sinuosity]

In general, or in particular?

[child_of_bhaal]

Both, if you're willing to say.

[sinuosity]

It was comfortable. I am the best in each field I chose, I wanted for nothing.

[ She pauses. ]

There are always drawbacks to position. Those, I faced and conquered.

[child_of_bhaal]

Admirable. What are your areas of expertise?

[Yes, the drawbacks are the interest point, but they've only just met. She's not going to probe into Nyssa's private struggles quite yet.]

[sinuosity]

[ Nyssa smiles wryly at her. ]

I am expected to survive by myself, in any climate, under any condition, with no assistance. Will that suffice as a summary?

[child_of_bhaal]

So what you're saying is, you excel at meeting expectations.

[Because really, that was the vaguest answer. So she can make a vague, gentle joke about it.]

[sinuosity]

[ They reach the kitchen and Nyssa sets out plates, and the box of half-finished sweets. ]

Or perhaps I excel at that especially.

[ She laughs. ]

I hunt, I fight, I speak several languages, and I'm told I play excellent chess though I have little love for the game. I prefer carrom.

[child_of_bhaal]

[Oh yay! She laughed! That's a good sign, right?

Syeira sits, attention still on her new crewmate.]

I'm not very good at chess. I understand it, I just never win.

[sinuosity]

It teaches specific traits. If you don't require them you needn't bother.

[child_of_bhaal]

Strategy. Reading your opponent. Thinking three steps ahead.

Those things would very much come in handy, but my life is....mercurial at the best of times. Doing too many things at once is sort of part and parcel of adventuring. At least in my limited experience.

I'm adaptable. I think on my feet very well, but I've never been able to prevent things from happening. Only deal with them when the do.

[sinuosity]

You should only worry about those if they are things you could've foreseen and prevented.

[ She hums. ]

Guilt and regret serve little purpose. Here, [ handing over the box ] this is pistachio.

[child_of_bhaal]

[She thinks of Yoshimo. The signs were there from the beginning. She should have seen, but she'd ignored it. She'd held onto their friendship at the cost of so much else.

Pensive, she takes the offered sweet.]

I don't know if I agree. Without guilt or regret, how do we know we've made mistakes?

[She nibbles on the pastry then, and her eyes go wide.]

This is delicious!

[sinuosity]

I simply meant that it is futile to hold on to these emotions that cloud one's judgement.

[ A beat. ]

Aren't they? I doubt we have the kitchen to make them; the Marsiva was better equipped.

[child_of_bhaal]

[She still doesn't know if she agrees. But then, she knows what it's like to be soulless. Most people never feel that and come back from it. Syeira likes her guilt right where it is.]

We've upgraded it as much as Atroma will let us. It's a good kitchen, as far as I'm aware. I don't do the cooking normally. That's Zhas' area.

[sinuosity]

I can cook certain meals, not others.

[ Looking around, ]

Are there recipe books anywhere?

[child_of_bhaal]

In here?

[Blink.]

Ah, I don't actually know. You'd have to ask Zhas. The library on the Bishop probably has one, though.

[sinuosity]

I will make inquiries, then.

Do you have eating restrictions?

[child_of_bhaal]

Restrictions? Ah, please don't drug or poison me. That's pretty much it.

[Ahaha...ha. Ahem. >_> ]

[sinuosity]

[ Nyssa raises an eyebrow, amused. ]

Can you eat the same things as a human? I would not do so inadvertently.