driftfleet | [Action] Complaint #3, Referendum A1

Entry tags:

[Action] Complaint #3, Referendum A1

Who: Edna and others
Broadcast: No
Action: The Blameless and the Iskaulit
When: 9/3-9/7

The Blameless, 9/3

[After so many months on the ship with her brother and the humans that seemed to come and go as they pleased, Edna's gotten used to people who can see her. She knows that she still doesn't show up well on the communicators because they just don't have any resonance, but that doesn't matter to her one bit. It's much more interesting to be the disembodied voice over the little machines in her opinion.

Since Calibrations, the fact that she's so far from Rayfalke after spending nearly her entire life on the mountainside has left her feeling listless. The last system didn't help with its distinct lack of anything truly natural on the planet's surface. Jobs on the farms with Sorey helped, but she's just not that easily satisfied. She never has been, if you ask Eizen or Zaveid.

Her slow-building irritation isn't helped by the disruption being put off by the newer system they approach. If anything, it's worsened. And where she would normally walk around silently, moving between her room with her small collection of things from her friends and the Atroma, the personnel office that makes up her "duties",and the ship's kitchen. As the days drag on, her footsteps grow heavier, shaking the ship's floor for yards around her.]

Move. You're in the way. [Manners are overrated. Sorry, shipmates.]

The Iskaulit, 9/4

[She can't stand the ships and the confinement and the lack of fresh air. And so she's taken a shuttle to the Iskaulit to find an area to stretch her legs. She'd offered to help that Hawke woman with her strange sage-like herb, but she hasn't started yet with the irritation in the air as of late.

She stops when she reaches an area that's open and bare. It's big enough for her to let out all of her frustration on. Honestly, it's perfect. She removes her communicator from the pouch she's taken to carrying and sends out two identical texts to Mikleo and Eizen. "I'm on the Iskaulit. Come to the big open area on the other side of the ship from Malum." Then she prepares to wait.]

The Iskaulit, 9/7

[Anyone visiting the large ship over the last three days will not have missed all of the noise coming from this previously abandoned area and should they arrive, they'll find the small Earth Seraph staring at the scene of chaos with a sort of half-pleased smile on her face.

Until she's interrupted by someone she doesn't immediately know.]

Do you need help with something?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't disagree with you. Why do you think I have a water tank down the hall? And the Huntress is practically overrun with plants at this point.

[Every now and then they all need to soak themselves in nature so they don't drown in artificiality.]

Why did you call me, though? Wouldn't Eizen be more helpful?

Everyone has to have their own projects and spaces. This one will be mine.

[She's just selfish enough to make others help her.]

I called him too, but I was thinking that it would be benefitial if there was a little stream or river. Sorey mentioned gardening. I want something more.

Besides, only an idiot limits themselves to one element in a project like this. The only reason I didn't ask one of the others is because I can only handle so much dumb in one day.

[She pauses and looks back at him, her expression blank but her tone anything but the flat irritation she normally uses.]

And I wanted to do something with both you and Eizen.

Edited 2017-09-04 21:38 (UTC)

[Wow, uh. That's so sincere he can't even tease her about it. And choosing him over the potential "dumb" is halfway a compliment, even. (A very Edna-esque compliment, anyway.) He blinks in surprise for a moment then coughs delicately into a fist, surveying the room again.]

I see... then, I'm glad to help. Whatever you need me to do, I'll give it a try.

[Look, she has her moments where she's not petty and totally irritated. And, well, Mikleo is... Well, if pressed she might admit that she likes him all right. He's got his good points.

And she's terrible at compliments, so stop fishing.]

The space is big enough for what I want. And I guess it'll work for all of us, a good spot of nature in the middle of all this cold metal. The planets aren't enough in my opinion.

[but fishing is fun.]

Yeah, no question about that. They're better than the ships, but almost anything would be. There's something about making our own space, I think... that's why this is different. Sort of like finding a suitable vessel, I would assume.

[Loser. Go fish with Eizen. Don't bring back hellions or vases.]

Why couldn't we have been kidnapped to a nice park or something?

[It's rhetorical. Don't answer her.]

As far as suitable vessels, they're few and far between, as you know. They have to be pure, for one.

Yeah, I know that much.

[What kind of simpleton do you think he is? Wait don't answer that either.]

[She can't help but smile at the irritated, fake superiority written all over Mikleo's face. He's so easy to rile up. And if she cared, she might feel guilty, but....

Well, no, she doesn't. He's amusing when upset.]

This is just like a gel for a wound. Helps take care of the immediate problem but it doesn't solve the why. Still, I guess it's better than nothing.

Better than nothing is right.

[And nothing is pretty much all they get on the ships, so. Gotta make it their own.]

Well, for a stream in this place, it'll need bumps and curves to keep the flow natural, and it should be circular so it can be left to its own devices. If you and Eizen can create a pathway in the mountain that you're satisfied with, I can work on that part.

[Trust her, she knows all about the nothing they get on the ships.]

I honestly thought you'd want something bigger than some tiny little circular stream. It's not like we get to build something with Seraphic Artes every day.

True, but this is your place, not mine. I'll enjoy making it either way, and it would be good to build something that requires little to no maintenance after we're done here.

[Doesn't mean that this won't be fun or that he's not glad to be here, but he does still have his tank when he needs his own flavour of zen. He can work around her vision of what this place should be like in the end.]

Although, if we're feeling ambitious, we could line the water's path with an imitation of the Mabinogio waterways, to give it that extra flair... I wonder if we can compress and mix the earth for the alternating shades...

[abort abort nerd mode incoming]

Well, I guess that no maintenance is good. That means I won't have to deal with anyone that annoys me too much.

[This time she's not talking about Mikleo?

And as much as she could give him shit about the nerding, this is about her project and she can be her own version of nerdy about anything have to do with Earth.]

Well, if Lailah was here, we could literally incorporate some scorching on the dirt to give it a darker texture. As it stands, I think that with Eizen's help we can probably pull enough rich earth together to actually darken the water's bed.

That would work. And it doesn't necessarily all have to be done today. Once the base work is in place, it can be refined over time.

[And if Lailah ever does show up, she can contribute, too.]

Alright, let's get to work.

I'm going to need you to be ready to help pare down the sides to get the right shape I want for the mountain. And it'll be easier than using wind to do it.

[And then she doesn't have to call Zaveid or Dezel.]

[Mikleo nods and calls up his staff, standing in a position he finds most comfortable for casting his artes.]

I'll follow your lead- ready when you are.

[Edna takes her parasol and opens it, letting the fabric shield her from the harsh lighting of the ship before stomping with the force of her element behind him. A large outcropping pops up in the middle of the open space, more like a faceless hunk of rock more than anything.

If anyone was ever interested in how mountains form...]

It's... okay, I guess.

[It's kind of fun to watch, actually. He's seen her use her artes plenty of times before, but there's something extra fascinating about seeing other elements at work that aren't his own.]

How much of the room do you want it to take up?

[There's a relaxing slump to her shoulders after the expenditure of energy to create the mountain. True, she's still a bit on edge from the crazy, crying planet, but it's not as bad. She'll live, so that means others will too.

She thinks about it and grins a little.]

How big do you think we can make it before it's too big?

Hmm... well, that depends. It might be nice to have it reach the ceiling, so the view is good when you're on the peak, but that would bring you too close to the lights...

[And he's noticed how little she likes those.]

We might be able to find someone who can rewire them so they're less bright and blinding, like the ones in the interfaith center. Or maybe even move them entirely so they're away from the ceiling. Until then, let's try this-

[He spins his staff around, summoning his artes, and flicks the tip towards each of the lights, one after another. A layer of crystalline frost gradually spreads over them, dimming the light and creating a dapple effect over the earth she summoned. It's not quite like sunlight through the clouds, but it's not a bad knock-off.]

[She watches him work with a surprised blink. Certainly she's taken to try and avoid the harsh artificial lights, but she hadn't thought that others noticed. She's always used her parasol to block too much light from her eyes and skin because up on Rayfalke the cloud cover and then Eizen's malevolent aura had blocked a great deal of the sun's rays.

But when he's done, it's not so bad. Almost nostalgic.]

It won't last for long. Aren't those fake candle hot?

[Thank you.]

I think it'll last a while. I've been working on extended artes since I arrived here- there's a play room for the foxes on the ship with snow that's been enchanted not to melt, and it stays that way for a good month or so before I need to refresh it. But if you notice it melting, just let me know and I'll fix it.

[She's suitably impressed, not that she cracks her carefully crafted facade of indifference.]

I guess there are worse things than having you come around once a month.

[As if she doesn't come by or speak to him at least once every three days. If not sooner.]

I notice that Sorey hasn't called me to take a look at the plants on The Huntress lately. Have you stopped killing them finally?

[You brat, see if he ever helps you again.]

Who said I was killing them? I've got nothing to do with it! If anything, my water just encourages them to grow stronger.

[There's a reason the Huntress has the nicest water in the fleet, geez.]

Anyway, no one said you needed an invitation to come over.

[He will, because he knows that if he asks for help, she'll be there to lend it. So, take your teasing like a man.]

It was more a general you, not you specifically. Don't tell me you're going to cry now.

[He's not, but she has to give him a hard time. It's part of her pact.]

I know. The same could be said for you too.

I'm not crying!

[HUFF!!!]

I guess I could stand to visit more... Eizen still owes me a few stories.

[and that's totally the only reason.]

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