driftfleet | [muffled spooky scary skeletons playing in the distance]

... That's a good idea.

[ Shifting to make herself more comfortable, Raven settles down and nods, turning her head to give Tempest a small smile. ]

Tell me where to cut.

Mm, and it gives me something to do when I am stuck there as well.

[she wasn't a gardener by any means, but she enjoyed this sort of thing. It made her miss the cat she had in Kyriakos. She blinks as Raven settles down, and again at what she says, a little surprised - in a good way]

Ah - these you cannot cut, you need the roots intact. But those - [she gestures to a different plant nearby] You can cut the leaves off and grow a separate plant from those.

You really couldn't find anything more interesting to do with your time?

[ But at least it's said with a smile, and she moves forward a little, huffing out a noise. ]

Alright, don't cut these, cut the other ones. It's like I'm being tutored again.

It is not as though I do not have other things to do. I read with your brother sometimes.

[and on her own, when she doesn't feel like alcohol is a better companion.

She rolls her eyes, but she's smiling too. She huffs faintly]

I am a terrible teacher. At least when it comes to this sort of thing.

You're really not making me believe you have better things to do by saying you read with Charles.

[ But she offers a small smile because it is a tease, mostly. She likes to poke at Charles because it feels familiar, like an age she had left behind, something they're both trying to reclaim in their own ways.

At least she's getting along with more people now. It makes a huge change. ]

I'm not much better myself, if it helps.

It is entertaining and they are terrible books. How is that not better?

[she picks up on the teasing and her grin widens a bit. She has to wonder if Raven knows exactly what they're reading. Though they're likely to move on to less scandalous things. Maybe.

She hums a little, pulling a plant free from the ground and setting it to the side]

Give me a sword and I am a little more decent. But these things - domestic things? I barely know how to do, let alone teach someone else how to do them.

I suppose making Charles read them might be entertaining. He used to be a bit of a snob.

[ She's not sure how he is with books anymore... Or a lot of things. It's been twenty years since they were together regularly, and ten years since they had learned to get close to each other on the fleet again. She has a lot of ground to make up, and she recognises it.

Still, she gets to work, nodding her head as she goes. ]

I've been living on my own for twenty years. I have no idea how to do anything domestic.

My. [there's a teasing lilt in her voice] He used to fluster when we read the one book. He does not do that anymore, sadly.

[it had been one of those changes she noticed immediately and commented on. Not necessarily bad, but simply was. She had to wonder just how much of it was his students, though.

Tempest makes an agreeing noise, dusting off her hands]

I've been on my own for - [she has to think] - twenty-three years. Any domestic things I know, I learned in other worlds.

He's grown up.

[ 'We all have'. And it's true - the Charles she knew as a young girl is far, far different from the one she knows now, and perhaps that's alright. It's not as if she can complain, really, and there's a softness in her features that speaks volumes to how she feels about him.

Charles is her brother, and she finally has a chance to fill the void inside of her. ]

I cheat. [ She shrugs. ] No need to do laundry when you can transform clothes for yourself.

He is still an old brat.

[but she understands what Raven means. She was still determining the differences, and how to maneuver them where her usual comments or actions no longer fit. It's a little harder with Raven, though, when she only knew the woman a little bit before]

Ah - laundry is a little different. [she reaches up to tug at the tunic she's wearing] I've had this for a few years now. I prefer to travel light, so I tend to wear the same clothes all the time. Knowing how to properly clean them helps keep them from fraying.

Though it would be nice to be able to transform instead. I hate doing laundry.

He's never going to stop being a brat. He wouldn't be Charles if he did.

[ The problem is that she and Charles are still dancing around one another, and after spending so much time literally wrapped around him... Raven is trying to figure out where she belongs in his sphere. She's not quite a teacher and not quite back to being a sister, and she darts between the two with a kind of awkward uncertainty she can't quite manage.

She'll have to go and see him again. There's no real escape from that, and she finds she doesn't want to. She wants to be around Charles, in a way she hasn't wanted for a very, very long time. ]

That depends on if you like feeling covered or not. Sometimes the clothes feel more like skin, so it's like I'm naked.

[ Her lips twitch a little. ]

Not that it's odd for me in my natural form.

He had better not. I find it endearing, especially when he tries to claim he isn't one.

[her lips twitch as well, and after a moment of consideration she pulls off one of her gloves and holds out her hand for Raven to see. The skin is scarred, both on top and on her palm. It isn't bad scarring, per say, but it is extensive, reaching up underneath her sleeve]

I like being covered. It is the best way I know to hide.

[she pulls her glove on again and quirks a smile as well, eyebrows raising]

I would hope not. Otherwise I would be forced to ask how you've managed this long if it bothered you.

Call him an old fart and see how he reacts to that.

[ It used to be her thing, but if she can convince other people to tease Charles...

Raven can understand the urge to be covered, though. Isn't that what her 'Raven' form is? It's hiding herself away, for her own protection, and it's the same as wearing armour or wearing something familiar to feel stronger. It's what she does, and she can handle that. Maybe it's changing, but after so many years of fighting and hiding from herself... She's still learning how to shed that armour and be herself. ]

I think I understand that.

[ She manages to twitch into a smile, though. ]

Most people don't quite recognise the nakedness when I'm blue. They just see the scales.

I call him an old man, does that not mean the same thing?

[had they met years earlier, Raven would be speaking more to a hood than to Tempest. She too is learning to shed her layers, one by one, the longer she spends around people. She was less likely to hide, but - back home, hiding was necessary. After all, if the wrong person found out what she was, it'd turn violent.

She glances over with eyebrows raised, and looks Raven up and down before she huffs out a laugh]

I imagine most people aren't used to seeing scales.

Sort-of, but there's something personal about 'fart'. He might find it a bit more... Well, more. It's what I used to call him.

[ Maybe she shouldn't be telling Tempest about all this, but... She can't see the harm in it. The more people that start teasing Charles and making he more comfortable with it the better, she thinks. The last twenty years have been so up and down for him that she wants to start making things easier and better, soothing his hurts and his wounds as much as she can.

Preening a little, Raven's lips twitch. ]

They'd better start getting used to it.

My. I simply could not use your nickname for him, it is yours. Perhaps "old goat" is similar enough, though?

[because she won't pass on the opportunity to tease Charles whenever she can. She's been teasing him since they met, and it's the one thing that she won't stop doing. Especially considering the changes she's seen happened.

Tempest grins wide, gesturing with her trowel]

If they don't, then that is their problem. They can - what is the phrase, fuck off? Yes, they can fuck off. [she looks pleased she got it right]

One of the men I travel with has scales, but he is not as pretty you are, I'm afraid.

Goat works. He might not like it, but it's just as good as fart, really, isn't it?

[ Raven's glad Charles has more people like this around him - more people that'll tease him and nudge him and not take him so seriously. Sometimes, she thinks, he tries so hard to be the 'Professor' that he forgets there's a man underneath that needs as much happiness as the rest of them.

She can't help her laughter, though, turning her head to look over at Temest. ]

Charles would be horrified by that language, you know. But you're right, they can fuck off. I don't have the time for them anymore.

[ She glances away, cheeks a little flushed - which, thankfully, mostly looks a darker shade of blue anyway. ]

Now you're flattering me to make me cut more plants.

I think so. I could cheat and call him old in my language, but he would likely know what it was regardless.

[don't worry, Tempest has taken it upon herself to remind him to be selfish every now and then. It's one of those "the least she can do" situations, where Charles has done so much for her that she can only return it with little gestures, whenever she can]

I know. [she says with an impish smile] But good, you shouldn't. I have heard what it is like in your world, so I hope it is not like that here for you.

[she grins wider and pretends not to notice, turning her attention back to the plants in front of her]

I would never do such a thing. [but hey, if Raven wants to help more, she won't say no] It is true, though.

[muffled spooky scary skeletons playing in the distance]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject