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Who: Elim Garak and YOU
Broadcast: Network wide at first; to the Red Fish ship afterwards
Action: In his room
When: December 28th

[A wholly pleasant smile appears on the network. While the face it's attached to is . . . reptilian, to say the least, at least the smile is friendly. Prominent ridges outline Garak's cheekbones and where a human's eyebrows would be; his black hair is neatly combed back from his face.]

I wonder . . . while the planet below is quite charming, I find myself rather disliking the temperature. And while I can amuse myself with embroidery, I find myself wanting nothing more than a good book. Do any of you have recommendations? I'm somewhat familiar with Terran literature; a friend of mine even says I have a favorite genre: realistic fiction, if that's any help.

My sincerest gratitude to any who might help.

[A beat. He cuts off the feed and adds to the members of the Red Fish:]

Coil. Might I ask you to stop by when you've a spare moment?

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[oop! a face like that has his attention hooked in an instant. when his video feed connects, Garak will have an absurdly pretty man peering back at him from the screen. absolutely too symmetrical and flawless for a natural human, and all the wrong colors--rosy lavender eyes and blue-black hair.

and oh he smirks wide.]

...Looks like someone forgot to fix their face this morning.

[now that he's got his little tablet device functioning, he doesn't have to struggle with the stupid keyboard. give it a moment to translate his handwriting into text, and--]

Why?

[One ridge raises up.]

Only according to a human standard, I assure you. If you were a Cardassian, you'd be positively swooning.

I've noticed you use sign language. I'd like to learn it.

Is that what you are? Cardassian?

[he likes the bit of wit. it widens his smirk into a thin smile.]

I don't know about the swooning... but if I were human, I think I'd likely be ordering some sort of hunt.

But since you aren't, might I count myself safe? I should hate to have to learn to fight so early in my time here.

[there's quite a delay before he answers. he may have even walked away from whatever network station he's at.

finally, though, the text comes through.]

Where are you?

My quarters.

Oh, I don't know. I hate to rule anything out right off the bat.

...But it is a rare day that I order a hunt purely based on someone's looks, so... odds are in your favor.

To be pretty and powerful: what a charming life you must lead. I must admit, I'm jealous. Now, did you craft that face yourself, or is it to your mother I must send my compliments?

[maybe he's actually busy, or maybe he's just a teenager and wants to make the new guy wait.

either way, it's at least an hour or two later before Coil finally swings by the bunk room. silent as always, haunting his way into the doorway without any real announcement.]

[He's impressed by the way he enters-- it's not often people are so quiet, not without training, which raises more questions about the boy. But those can wait for later. When he swings by, Garak doesn't look a bit startled-- he just gives him a pleasant sort of smile, as if he's only waited a few moments.]

I'll admit, I've never learned a wholly silent language-- but my own is rather dependent on facial and body cues, so perhaps this won't be as difficult as it seems.

[obviously hilarious or not, Tek will still take the flattery.]

Oh, I'd like to think that it's some perfect combination of both. ...Appearances are important, you know.

[as closed as Coil's expressions and body-language tend to be, it all opens up a little when he's curious and needs to communicate.

he starts small, maybe to test how responsive the new guy is to vague gestures.

in response to the little bit that Garak is offering, Coil lifts his chin a little, looking questioning about it--a tiny prompt for him to maybe continue. Coil too has an avid interest in languages.]

Of course. If you haven't your appearance, you haven't anything. Now: those pretty marks on your eyes. A simple make-up trick, or might your species be so fortunate as to have it naturally?

[His smile grows just slightly as he studies Coil's body language. For each species it's different, of course, but he's known enough humans to know that indicates curiosity.]

Mm, there's so much to tell, of course-- but I'll skip basic letters and numbers and tell you of our body language instead. As children, we're taught to hold ourselves as largely as possible, to impose rather than shrink-- it's only right, as the dominant species of the galaxy.

[Does he mean that? Perhaps. That slight smile doesn't give away much.]

As such, that's our neutral gesture. Should we tip our head one way or another, we might indicate anger or laughter-- similar to how a human might indicate sarcasm or true venom in their tone alone.

[ha, and here he laughs a little, pulling back from the screen as he settles straighter in his seat.]

Actually... how about this.

Names first? That only seems polite, before we start complimenting each other's eyes...

My sincerest apologies! Garak, at your service.

And you may call me Tek.

It has so far been a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

The feeling is mutual. A good conversation partner is quite a rare find.

[--and that is both more than he'd been expecting, and far more interesting than he'd hoped. the slight raise of his eyebrows tells as much.

it's both a fascinating and kind of an intimidating reminder of exactly how alien this man is.

the head-tilting thing is the most interesting--he tips his head one way, and then the other?]

How long have you been here? ...Because it's more rare in this fleet than you perhaps realize.

[He laughs softly and mimics Coil-- first to the left--]

Anger.

[--and then to the right.]

Affection. Though I hasten to add that we rarely use them and expect to be understood when in the presence of other species-- it would be fairly foolish, hm?

Might I suggest a trade? Teach me something, and I'll teach you something in return.

A few days, nothing more. Though I sense from the size of the fleet we aren't precisely a booming population, hm?

[Frankly, they only truly need one standard sized ship.]

[he nods with very little hesitation. a trade is nice and straightforward, especially with information that isn't of any great weight.

the most he risks is being better understood, and he's very much alright with that.]

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