003

[openhands]

Who: Cassandra + You
Broadcast: Nah
Action: On Arslae
When: Jan. 1 - 11th

[Cassandra is not overly enthused about the bitter cold on this planet, but It's certainly not about to deter her from spending time outside her ship and on the planet's surface. Those looking for Cassandra might find her shopping, though she's more on the look-out for useful items for the most part. Not that she won't sometimes look at a few of the trinkets and pieces of jewelry. She also looks at the foxes, though she's not interested in buying any of them. She crouches down, letting them sniff her hand before giving them pets.]

[(She is staying right the hell away from the elk though. They're basically horses and fuck that noise.)]

[Cassandra is especially interested in hunting though. Find her mixing with a few of the locals to learns of good places to hunt and then find her out there bringing back plenty of wares for trade and also for her own uses. She's not afraid to set out on her own, but if you want to tag along, she won't deny the company most likely. You know, provided you know what you're doing and aren't likely going to be a liability. Then maybe she's going to have to have a conversation for you to sit down and stay where it's safer. She'll bring you back a trophy in that case.]

Comments

[deshabille]

[Hunting, huh. Well, Mal is not exactly a traditional hunter, but she's here for this, honestly . . . mostly because she wants to see how Cassandra moves when she's hunting. For herself, she's a different creature entirely when prey's the objective, even if it's not her prey, which is why today she's quieter and more alert than usual as she pads along, the only sound the very slight crunch of her footfalls against the snow.]

[openhands]

[It's actually strange having Mal be this quiet. Cassandra is used to Mal chattering away. It's not ever to the degree of being irritating (usually), but it's something to fill the time and for Mal to express her opinions.]

[Opinions. She has many.]

[But the quiet is helpful in this situation, even if it feels abnormal and Cassandra almost wishes Mal would break it. It allows for Cassandra to concentrate and to think. She remembers her training well and though she is not hunting dragons, she is still hunting dangerous prey. It's best to be alert and prepared.]

[At some point as they are beginning, Cassandra holds her arm out to stop Mal.]

Stop.

[Cassandra steps just a little further forward. It appears they finally have some tracks that need looking over.]

[deshabille]

[She has so many.]

[If it helps, she's breaking it in other ways - not actually talking, but take this moment for example: when Cassandra holds her arm out, she stops immediately, looks up at Cassandra with her eyes open wide and her posture open, too, bright and curious and eager. Saying things without saying them - what is it? Where are we going? What do you need me to do?]

[When she sees the tracks, she bends immediately to inspect them, breathes in sharply and inquisitively, then wrinkles her nose.]

Not far.

[openhands]

[Mal's nose is so sharp, it's almost like having a mabari with her, Cassandra muses to herself. She almost says as much, but stops herself short. Direct comparisons to the dogs of Ferelden are typically insulting even though that's not even close to how Cassandra would mean it and Mal lacks that context. And besides,]

Stay sharp.

[imahologram]

[Leia isn't looking for anyone in particular--only a way out off this planet and out of this galaxy, which isn't proving easy--but she ends up finding Cassandra in front of a group of little white foxes milling around.

They're friendly little things, and she can't resist stooping down to scratch behind one's ears.]

Were there creatures like these on your planet?

[Casual small talk, to start things off. Making connections now will make planning escapes easier in the future--or so she's hoping.]

[openhands]

[Cassandra looks over at the woman when she's spoken to, noting that she hasn't seen her before, and nods.]

More or less. They're known as fennec where I'm from, but their ears tend to be longer and they are a little larger. I've also never seen them kept as a pet. But they're quite similar in their behavior and diet from what I've observed.

[So why people would want to keep these things as a pet is beyond Cassandra. It's not like a mabari, horse, or halla which could serve more purpose. Then again, Leliana's found a way to keep nugs so what Cassandra really know?]

Is this the first time you've seen creatures like this?

[imahologram]

[Leia listens, picturing these fennecs of the woman's.]

I've known creatures similar to these. Pittins, things like that. [Mostly, they remind her of her old pet, All-Terrain Attack Vehicle.] But we didn't have anything quite like these.

[Not on Alderaan, anyway.] And I can't imagine these things would be happy living inside a ship, domestic or not.

[openhands]

No, I cannot imagine it either. But I have seen a few members of the Fleet bringing at least one or two back with them.

[It's hard for Cassandra to keep the disapproval out of her voice. It seems a disaster waiting to happen and grounds for misery both for the would-be owners and for the foxes themselves.]

You said "on your planet." I assume you are more familiar with traveling through space than most of us.

[imahologram]

[Leia shakes her head.] They're going to live to regret that.

[Not a threat so much as a suspicion.]

It was commonplace for many people where I came from--as much as traveling somewhere within a world. [But that's unusual, it seems, by Fleet standards.] What do you think of the traveling?

[openhands]

It took some... [What's the best way to phrase this?] ...adjusting to, but I have spent much of my life traveling by land and by sea. This is hardly different if larger in scale.

[imahologram]

Did you? [It sounds like an intriguing life, from that small description.] What did you do, at home?

[openhands]

I am a Seeker. It is our responsibility to ensure that the Templars are not abusing their charges and to root out any corruption within the Chantry. But I have served as the Right Hand of the Divine who sits at the head of the Chantry for many years now.

Upon her death, I left to assist in rebuilding the Inquisition.

[A soldier through and through.]

[imahologram]

[It's a lot of jargon for Leia, but she gets the general gist of it. Some kind of peacekeeping work for a government of sorts--or some other organization, perhaps. She's a little too secularly minded for religion to come to mind first.]

It sounds like your work was important. I'm sorry you've been waylaid here.

[openhands]

It is frustrating, but I have been here for many months now.

[She's somewhat accepted the situation as it is, choosing to instead try and focus her efforts on being useful to the fleet in whatever capacity she is able rather than remaining frustrated that she is so far from what she should be doing.]

And what about you? Did you have a reason for traveling?

[imahologram]

You have my sympathies.

[Leia had better not be stuck here for many months. At the question, she nods.]

I was a diplomat, and a member of a rebellion. Most of my travels have been to negotiations or rendez-vous points--and the occasional battle.

[She has a little smile as she says that last bit. For the most part, Leia stays in the background when it comes to the fighting, but she's not bad with a blaster when it comes down to it.]

[openhands]

[Despite being pat of a system and holding fast to it in the face of a rebellion, Cassandra doesn't bat an eye at "a member of a rebellion." She's long-since learned that there's no such thing as a clear-cut right or wrong when it comes to rebellion, and that such an extreme response comes about for a reason.]

I cannot say I have known many diplomats who would be willing to engage in a battle even when circumstances demand it.

[Needless to say, she is impressed.]

[imahologram]

Being a diplomat can be dangerous work. Especially if you're using your status to change the status quo under everyone else's noses.

[She'd like to think that this woman would understand the need to rebel against the empire that held her galaxy in thrall--but then, she'd like to think that of everyone.]

But sometimes, battles accomplish the same things a whole lot faster.

[openhands]

It would be nice if the diplomats of my world were more understanding of that fact.

[Too reluctant to fight and too stubborn to listen to those around them who advise when it is best to fight. It's much easier to see those that would fight as warmongering or bloodthirsty rather than understanding that sometimes peace and security come at higher costs.]

[imahologram]

And in mine.

[There are always people who'd like to disappear into bureaucracy when things heat up. Leia can see why, in a distant kind of way, but she'll never be able to sit back and watch with them.]

I can't blame anyone for wanting to solve problems without bloodshed--I'd prefer it myself. But sometimes that's not realistic.

[openhands]

I don't know of many who take pleasure in bloodshed, [Cassandra agrees with a small nod,] but what must be done must be done.

Unfortunately, many do not share that initiative. They will complain, but they will only stand about wringing their hands.

[imahologram]

Hand-wringing doesn't do anything except chap your skin. [One of the foxes gets a little too eager for pets and ends up nipping at her. She pulls her fingers away, shaking the pain out of her hand.]

It's always nice to meet someone else who understands these things. My name is Leia Organa.

[openhands]

[It's telling of Leia's nature that she does not strike out at the fox when it nips her, but it is not unsurprising.]

It is a pleasure. [And she means that genuinely rather than as the polite thing to say.] I am Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast.