01; video

[seanced]

Who: Winnie Davids
Broadcast: fleetwide
Action: S.S. Bishop
When: now!

[the face that greets the network looks a little relieved to have figured out the communicator, and her eyes light up, albeit briefly, before she looks around. She mutters as she brushes the confetti out of her hair]

They don't really warn you when you're going to be moved, do they . . .

[she clears her throat and turns her attention back to the screen]

Um, h-hi, I'm Winnie and - okay, being in space is kind of really cool, but - could someone answer a few questions for me? A-And tell me how I can go back home? I really can't stay here, I was kind of - busy.

[what an understatement. She looks around again, then turns the camera to the pudding desserts]

And if anyone wants some of these, I'm on the - Bishop? I don't, uh - I'm not really hungry.

Comments

[seanced]

Oh. [were this any other time, she'd be excited about elves, but that can be for later, when she's less everything about being kidnapped and all]

I-I might be able to tell, I'm . . . I can usually see other spirits.

I'm just not used to people being . . . open about it. I was told it wasn't allowed back home.

[arcanepower]

[So many elves. She should see the Huntress.]

Humans are only one of many sapient races on my world. Are you... from Earth, perhaps?

[seanced]

[she nods quickly]

I'm from Earth, yeah. [and that's a thing she never thought she'd ever say] We have different races, but they're all human. The - things like me, we're supposed to be a secret.

[. . . she has to ask] What kind of races are there in your world? A-Aside from elves and humans.

[arcanepower]

[Ah. He remembers. His months in a post-apocalyptic London taught him that being different was terrifying and wrong and it made him subject to the occasional abuse. While many transports could blend in, he could not. There is no changing the color of his eyes.]

I understand.

[And that's honestly about the nicest he's been all conversation. At least he's beginning to thaw somewhat. See, it never takes long.]

Orcs, trolls, and goblins are anywhere from blue to green, and the tauren look rather bovine in appearance, while the pandaren look like bears. Draenei are a little like blue tauren. Night elves have purplish skin and silver eyes, and blood elves look like... this. [He gestures vaguely at his own face.] There are undead humans, and ogres... And of course, there are gnomes and dwarves, and they look very human as well. Just... shorter.

[He talks altogether way too fast. Sorry Winnie.]

[seanced]

[she doesn't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that he gets it]

You do?

[she's relaxing a little, too - or at least, she isn't stumbling over her words as much. She's used to fast talkers, though, so she listens closely, and if there's a little bit of excitement in her voice, well. She's a literature nerd]

Whoa . . . that's - that's really cool.

[arcanepower]

Is it? There is a lot of fighting in my experience. I wish it was not always like that, but... there are so many differences between the races. Sometimes it feels insurmountable.

[He brushes some hair away from his face, not that it helps. His hair just curls wherever the hell it wants.]

I spent some time on Earth before I woke up here. It was most likely not your Earth, but I remember how people were.

[seanced]

W-Well, it's cool because - that's the sort of thing I'd read in books a lot. About - about elves and trolls and things like that. It's not cool that they don't get along, but . . . t-that's not really surprising, either.

[she wrinkles her nose a little bit]

My Earth probably isn't that different . . .

[arcanepower]

Unless the name 'Exsilium' rings any bells, it probably is.

[It's always odd when he hears something like that. Not the first time he's been called mythology, but... well, he supposes it's no different from the myths he read about races that no longer exist.

... Also, books.]

You like to read, too?

[seanced]

[she shakes her head] I've never heard of it.

[but, perking up at his question she nods, brightening a bit]

Mm, I used to read a lot. I was going to go to school for literature before I—um. Before.

[arcanepower]

[Belth is happy to just not talk about it, especially because Winnie tips her hand and suddenly he is all over it.]

Ah!! You're a scholar! What kind of literature did you study? How long have you studied it? What is the oldest thing you have ever read? Have you ever touched an ancient text? Can you read multiple languages? How fast can you read? Have you ever published a paper or a treatise? Do you know anything about history? [And the questions go on for a solid ten seconds longer.

And then he runs out of breath and just looks at her with his cheeks puffed out, expectant.]

-- hahhhh, I forgot my manners...

[seanced]

[oh. Oh my goodness.

She doesn't bother trying to interrupt because he's so excited and. And really she doesn't even know where to start with her answers. But when he stops she laughs a little bit, completely charmed and decently distracted from the "before" part]

T-That's okay. I, um, I wanted to study English literature, but I read whatever was interesting at the time? I read a lot of poetry, too . . . and history, but that sort of comes with - reading older stuff. To understand the time and all.

I'm - I'm not really a scholar, though. I don't think, anyway. Um - I guess you like literature too?

[arcanepower]

The context, yes, of course-- that makes sense. I read a lot of those things, too, though of course they were specific to Azeroth and not Earth. All of the learning materials I had regarding Earth were... polished in a very misleading way.

[Gotta love propaganda.]

I love books. Even fiction can teach us something. It's-- it's important! And it is an escape, for some. I like to analyze the folktales of other cultures to find out what their values are, but I also like to learn new potions, and of course new spells.

[seanced]

Ah - yeah, a lot of Earth's history is like that. You - um, you have to read all the different accounts of something to really understand what went on. Otherwise you only get the one side and . . . it's usually skewed in their favor.

[she tilts her head] It's - really important, I agree. Do you get to learn a lot of new spells? Or - have you read a lot of interesting folktales?

[arcanepower]

I wish I had access to those other things. Maybe I can dig something up while I'm here.

[So far he hasn't quite been able to, though.]

I trained myself through books, yes. -- As for folktales, I read one a few planets back that had to do with two goddesses whose love made the universe. That was interesting.

[seanced]

If I come across anything I'll show you . . . is there a library here?

[the most important question she'll ever ask, let's be honest]

You trained yourself? That's - that's really cool. [she tilts her head] Was that - a story from this world?

[arcanepower]

There is. It used to be here on the Bishop, but it got too big. It's on the Iskaulit now.

[He misses it sometimes. He used to literally sleep on the books. Under books. Under the beanbag. It was so, so comforting.

(He's weird tho.)]

I think it was from a planet we haven't visited yet.

[seanced]

[that's not weird that's completely normal]

Oh. That's - good. I mean, that there's a library - um, what's the Iskaulit? Another ship?

[arcanepower]

Yes, it's the really big one in the back. It has a much different shape than the Marsiva and-- everything else in the Fleet.

[bless Winnie for understanding]

[seanced]

[book nerds unite]

And we can just - visit it? If we want to?

[arcanepower]

Of course! If the library were not public-- well, I would steal all the books and put them somewhere that was.

[Belth no.]

[seanced]

[Belth yes]

I think you would get in trouble for that . . .

[arcanepower]

If it's for the sake of spreading knowledge, it's worth it.

[seanced]

Mm, I can't argue there.