Temper Tempo

[namisan]

Who: Nami and you!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Bloodsport/Iskaulit for you drinkers out there.
When: Now-ish

[Nami's been in a bad mood of late. Mostly it's to do with Sascha and trying to shove her own feelings down and trying to deal with it in a responsible way because some jackass luck of the draw happened to make her Captain. Hooray! The bite has healed enough it just looks ugly instead of actually hurting (it itches, thanks so much for that), so she still keeps a loose bandage over the top. No big deal. She'll get over it. There's not much choice.

She works off her grouchiness at the bar in bits and pieces. She was doing pretty well until a box turned up in her bedroom addressed to Captain Nami.]

One piece--

[No, that's not a pun I swear. The feed clicks on to Nami's furious face, tapping the screen with one section of blue metal piping that a handful of people might find familiar.]

Problems with shipping? Delays in processing? IT'S A MATCHED SET! Why would you even break this up!? If you've lost the other parts I'm going to--

[RANT USELESSLY AT EVERYONE APPARENTLY. She shuts her mouth with a snap, fingers wrapped around the climatact piece in a crushing grip, before she suddenly smiles sweetly.]

Thank you so much for finally processing my claim, Diamond. Or whoever. At this rate I'll only have to submit those forms another eight times!

Don't think I don't know you're doing this on purpose. [And finally she pulls back, tapping the piece in hand before pointing it in the vague direction of her closed door with a dark mutter.] I bet it doesn't even work r--

[FWOOM.

...that'd be the sudden howl of wind punching through the air much like this, only more powerful and far less gracefully, given Nami went flying in the other direction with a yelp. There's a long moment of silence, punctuated by the sound of several maps falling off the walls, and the broadcast picks up nothing but the visuals of a room that looks like a small tornado just went through it.

......
......]


...needs calibration.

[Ow.]

-------

[You can also catch her at the Iskaulit.  Not on shift tonight, kthx.  She's just nursing a drink in the corner and glaring holes through the table.]

Comments

eyyyy

[namisan]

[Nami is pleased to dream about this ship again; it represents some of the more carefree happiness she's managed to salvage out of this whole fleet deal. Though her eyes widen a little at the voice she'd almost forgotten-- she kind of wrote Bill off, given how sick she was at the time. Triangle men in top hats do kind of sound like a fever dream.]

Evening. [She grins. Feels weird to say when the sun's out in her dream, but she welcomes the light.] I guess I'm healthier this time round. How're you settling in?

[tetractys]

PRETTY DARN WELL! I'VE MADE A FEW FRIENDS - ALTHOUGH I DON'T THINK MOST OF THEM BELIEVE I'M REAL!

[He chuckles. It's cool, man, he knows he's an Oddity.]

I SEE YOU GOT A PRESENT! I WASN'T ABLE TO SAY ANYTHING AT THE TIME, BUT THAT STICK LOOKS PRETTY HANDY!

[namisan]

You saw that, huh? Or ...caught it on the network... something. [She looks curious for a moment, because now she's more inclined to believe he exists, she wonders how exactly he operates in a way that doesn't drive him nuts.

But let's let that go. She smiles, stretching out before leaning on the rail.] It's handy. The Atroma are being kinda jerky about it, but I guess even if they were trying to be assholes I got one of my belongings from home.

[tetractys]

YEP!

[The answer is that he does not, and he is already way past nuts, but that's neither here nor there.]

HOW DOES IT WORK? THERE'S NO CHANCE YOU COULD TRY TO BUILD THE REST, IS THERE?

[namisan]

Believe me, I've looked into it. I haven't found even an approximation of the science I used to build it back home. That's probably because we never seem to land on high-tech places, I guess. Atroma insurance.

As for how it works, well... calculated chemistry. I know my weather. When you know at the base how a cloud is formed, you can provide the conditions with the right science.

[tetractys]

I'M SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR! I'VE BEEN IN A LOT OF SMART MINDS, AT LEAST! MAYBE I COULD HELP YOU OUT!

[namisan]

Mmm, how so? I can't even create the tech I need with the materials I've found. But then it was kind of uh... rare in my own world.

[tetractys]

YOU'RE LIMITED IN YOUR MEANS OF SEARCHING! I CAN GO INTO PEOPLE'S MINDS, IF A SUMMONER GIVES ME A REASON TO! IF ANYONE ON OUR NEXT STOP HAS SEEN WHAT YOU NEED, I'LL KNOW ABOUT IT!

[namisan]

So you can fish knowledge out of people's heads? Like-- memories? That's a handy skill.

[Also logical, if she subscribes to the notion that the beach and the ship are scenes Bill's created. She's not blind to the red flags that go up with that thought, though.]

[tetractys]

A LITTLE! I DON'T READ EVERY BOOK IN THE LIBRARY, BUT I'VE GOT ACCESS TO THE CARD CATALOG! IF IT'S FILED UNDER SOMETHING NICE AND PEACEFUL, AND IF THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR -

[Bill gestures around them.]

I CAN ASK THE FRONT DESK TO CHECK IT OUT!

[namisan]

Cute analogy. [Robin'd like it. Robin would find this guy fascinating.]

So what are you suggesting, exactly?

[tetractys]

I'M SAYING I CAN HELP LOOK FOR THE STUFF YOU NEED, IF YOU WANT ME TO! TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, IT GETS A LITTLE FRUSTRATING TO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO BESIDES DRIFT AROUND AND WATCH DREAMS!

[namisan]

Well, I'm not sure if you'd have any luck, but there's no harm looking, right?

I'd appreciate it.

[tetractys]

GREAT! HEY, LET'S MAKE A DEAL! IF I CAN HELP YOU TRY TO PUT THIS THING TOGETHER, YOU GOTTA SHOW OFF WHAT IT CAN REALLY DO SOMETIME!

[namisan]

[Grin.] You got it! I'll need to straighten all the kinks out in it anyway, by the sounds of things. A demonstration makes for a good test drive.

[tetractys]

[Bill springs up and sticks out his little hand to shake.]

GREAT! I WAS GETTING SORT OF ANTSY WITHOUT A GOAL HERE, HEH.

[namisan]

[Look, she doesn't entirely trust Bill, if only for the fact she doesn't entirely trust anyone until she at least gets to know them. On the other hand, shaking a hand seems entirely harmless. So.

Yes. Hand out, even if it seems to engulf his own.] I know the feeling. Having nothing to do out here is the worst.

[tetractys]

[Bill's grip is cold, and the flash of blue fire that flares where their palms meet is pure paresthesia - not a burn, just tingling pins and needles.

The minds of the entire port world open for him. Oh, this is going to be fun.]

DON'T MIND THAT, IT JUST MAKES SURE I HOLD UP MY END!

[Indeed, the sensation vanishes as soon as Bill lets go. Any lingering chill is purely psychosomatic. Probably.]

[namisan]

[Whoashit-- she snatches her hand back afterward to stare at it, shaking the fingers out. That was cold. Somewhat worrying, y'know?

But all she says is:] Warn a girl next time.

[tetractys]

SORRY, RED. EVERYBODY REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO MAGIC.

[He sweeps his little hat off apologetically and scoots back out of her space.]

THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN, THOUGH! THINK THE FINISHED STAFF IS ENOUGH TO CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR THE ATROMA?

[namisan]

In a perfect world. [She rubs her hand against her shirt to try and reintroduce some warmth, and gives him a wry grin.] It kind of requires direct confrontation, you know? The Atroma are pretty cowardly on that front. But if I ever got the chance, I could probably raise some havoc.

[tetractys]

HEY, MAYBE THEY DON'T HAVE PHYSICAL BODIES! I UNDERSTAND THE INCONVENIENCE.

[namisan]

[Well, that hadn't occurred. She doubts it, but it's an interesting possibility to keep in mind.]

You're not gonna tell me you're secretly one of them, are you?

[tetractys]

HEH, I WISH. BEING ON THE ORDERING END FOR A CHANGE SOUNDS FUN!

[namisan]

Tell me about it. I get tired real fast of places like this.