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Who: Leto Atreides the II
Broadcast: Video
Action: Hospitality Deck, Marsiva
When: Feb 4th

[ The video activates itself to reveal a young man staring into space. His eyes are probably the most startling thing about him. Bright, eerily blue eyes that seem to pierce the fabric of reality. You may also see brown flecks of creatures embedded into his skin, near the neck and face.

And suddenly his gaze snaps back to the camera and he is all smiles and good intentions, as if a switch had been turned on. He sits on one of the many beds on the Marsiva Deck and kicks his legs, caught between the impression of a boy and a man.

( or something much older and far more dangerous ) ]

I do not need the spiel and I'm sure you are all quite thankful for that, but I am curious to know what qualifies as entertainment for our most benevolent hosts?

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[Story of her life. She's not phased.]

We're nothing more but dogs in a cage to them, I'm sure. I hear the cage gets larger at times but it's still a cage. Now and then I'm sure they'll toss in a bone and watch what unfolds.

Most likely. But let's not be the ones to offer our hands through the cage as an invitation.

Have you been bitten before? [She nods at the screen, the marred skin. Whatever it is.]

[ He glances at his worm-skin. It breathes quietly, a mesh of symbiotes lending its power to Leto. It had slowed down since his return from Aather, but it is steadily creeping over him, gnawing away his humanity. ]

No. This is simply my coat of arms. An armour I must wear til my end of days.

It sounds more burden than protection.

I cannot have one without the other. More? Less? It is not for me to say until I have survived it all.

How did you get it?

[It's the thing she's wondering. No reason to not ask.]

[ For a minute, Leto didn't know what to say. Or even how to explain it. How to explain the visions that led him to the pit of sand trout? Or his reasoning to let them onto his skin, searing him to the flesh until they grafted themselves so tightly that one could not survive without the other? ]

Ah, I . . . followed a path in the desert, which led me to these. [ He taps the worm-skin, feigning nonchalance. ] And we made a pact. Our waters would be forever mingled.

[She's not one to doubt visions.]

I see. Have they been a part of you long?

A few years. We're well-acquainted by now.

Edited 2016-02-05 09:35 (UTC)

Strange, to play host to such a thing, but surely you're aware of that by now.

[ He spread his arms as if to say there isn't much he can do about it now. ]

I'm the only one who chose such a thing. There will be no others like me and I'm quite thankful for that.

Do you regret it, then?

There have been regrets.

[ He would be lying otherwise. ]

But . . . it needed to be done. To feel sorry for myself at this juncture would be counterproductive.

That was not my intention. I was just curious about what would convince a man to do such a thing.

[Not that she's judging, of course.]

[ Ah. He simply smiles mysteriously. ]

My reasons aren't that special.

And they are your own. [She shrugs. Freedom is the most valuable thing in the world, and if he used his to make some sort of agreement with a worm-thing, that's his choice.] It does make good conversation.

A stimulating conversation is better than any gift, I find.

[ He means that, sincerely. As teasing and challenging as he can be, conversation has always fascinated him. He cannot think like a person, the way personhood is so defined because he is saturated by the experiences of his ancestors.

And yet he is very much his own person. ]

Oh, that's good. I have yet to see any sort of gift shop here.

[Just a lot of metal and darkness.]

Oh, you would not find it here. Have you not been down to the planet yet?

I have. [It's insanely bright and flashy. She's been to worlds with similar things, but it's still a bit of a sensory overload.] I am also penniless, and therefore shan't be doing any gift shopping even if there were an occasion.

[Because what is work that isn't killing?]

Hm, I imagine there isn't much call for hunting on a space station.

[ It's why Nova was't too pleased. Leto, on the other hand, is quite glad he's near a planet with ambient weather patterns. ]

I might choose a job as a fortune teller for the time being.

There's security work, but I'd rather not.

[Her patience doesn't need to be tested in a club.]

Are you a mage of some sort?

Of sorts. I do not possess any magic.

[ Well. Frank Herbert's science notwithstanding ]

Simply a gifted insight. I'm decent enough at helping people along their way if it is the future they fear.

A sort of seer, then. Are you accurate?