driftfleet | someone get a lady on this ship so I can't make that joke ever again

[And here is River!

She's currently poking her way through the corridors.]

Cats remember who they are, in space. Can't fool them, they always find the feet.

[George is on alert for all of five seconds, encountering her in the hallway before he realises it's the youngling from the network he'd seen. She's obviously...teleported? Teleported over, as he hadn't had to do anything about ship docking permission, or accepting messages, or anything he's just found out how to do today. Thankfully.

He supposes she's here for a look around. Fair enough. If someone seems harmless, there's no reason for them not to show up places, wandering around. He'd have done the same if he was a young woman with innocent eyes.]

You've a talent for soundin' mysterious, lass. Has someone been tossin' you through low gravity? [Speaking of things he's just found out about today. His tone's light, anyway. Teasing.]

She doesn't have gravity. She is a moon.

[Stated very simply, she looks up at him.]

You're a moon, too. You like cats, big cats. They roar, no manes. They used to have those on Earth-that-Was now they keep them in a cage.

[George raises an eyebrow at that, and really focuses his Sight. He's not seeing any sort of magical core, no sense of what's in this girl. Perhaps she's a Seer. He's heard of them.]

Circlin' what's important, are you? ["Earth-that-Was" doesn't make sense to him, but he thinks he follows most of the rest.] My Lioness'd not abide by a cage herself. She never has. 'Tis a mercy she's not here. [He folds his arms across his chest.] D'you tell futures as well as presents?

[She smiles.]

She's your planet, it's nice.

[And then she makes a sound like she's thinking.]

Sometimes she knows things. Maybe it's connecting dots, maybe it's more. She can't always say, the words tangle on the tongue.

Powers you're still workin' through. [He nods, unfolds his arms.] I expect it's noisy, up in your head. Was there no one with the same powers where you were to be helpin' you learn the way of them?

There we more, little lab rats in the squeaky wheels. She got the jailbreak, her Simon rescued her, she's safe now.

[George frowns. Lab rat doesn't make sense, squeaky wheels doesn't mean anything, but he follows the rest.]

They had you caged? You and t'other seers? Usin' you? [He shakes his head, eyes full of sympathy.] I'm sorry, lass.

She asked for it, but they never told her.

[She looks at him, a little sadness on her face.]

She is safe now. Take the notes.

If it's what they wanted of you, lass, they'd've found a way to take it whether you asked or no, you can be sure of that. Never think you'd a thing to do with it.

[Did someone mention cats? Under any other circumstances, that alone would be enough to catch Anders' attention— for right now, there's a girl on his ship who he's fairly certain isn't ordinarily on the ship.

Appropriately, there is a kitten peering up from under the fold of his collar when he approaches her.]

True enough. I've always figured that cats were loads smarter than any of us, anyhow. [He pats Captain Whitefluff the Terrible's head, deferentially.] Are you lost?

[River looks him over. She looks for a second like she's looking at the cat, and then she blinks a bit.]

So many aches. You burn so brightly.

[She peers at him, and then settles down on the floor.]

You're one of the moons. You have a red thread, don't you, tied back to the planet.

You're free now, that's good.

Edited 2015-04-13 04:02 (UTC)

Thank you. [He bows slightly, exaggerated, careful to keep one palm against his kitten to be sure she doesn't fall out.] I'm not sure being kidnapped and stuffed into an aimlessly floating cylinder really counts, precisely, but it's better than before. It's the little things in life.

[Truth be told, that's the only part of that he understood completely. Talking to Cole has helped him navigate some of the speaking-like-a-literature-book sensibilities, but only enough to recognize that maybe River is seeing more than he's strictly comfortable with.

The rest he can only just tapdance his way through.]

I'd like it much better if we were back on the planet, yes. A planet. Anything that isn't here. [a beat] Does this mean you aren't lost?

[She smiles a little bit.]

They kept her, too. Said to teach.

[And then she shakes her head.]

No, she is here. Why aren't you with your planet? She couldn't be too far from hers.

[And she smiles gently.]

It's happy. You make him like cats. He makes you forget the hurt for a few minutes. She understands. Planets take so much looking after, or else they get into trouble.

[They kept her, too. That, if nothing else, is the surest way to win empathy from him. Some of the pomp of his demeanor filters out; he's still smiling, but it's a little less of a show.]

—Ah.

[He understands. Planets and moons are new concepts, but the augment and the general theme of the fleet have made them easier to swallow. It makes him uncomfortable, having it pointed out so plainly that he has hurt at all to forget, much less that Hawke helps him manage it. He glances back over his shoulder, old habit from the Circle, to check for anyone who may be eavesdropping.]

So they do, I suppose. Though I can't say I'm any better. [Perhaps that's why it works, he doesn't say.] We can't be together all hours of the day, in any case. Might drive us both up the wall and back again.

[This is probably completely false. They could tail each other all around creation and he's not sure he'd get sick of it. But they don't need to be attached at the hip; they exist in their own spheres and enjoy the overlap when it happens.

He rocks slightly forward on his feet, watching her. His smile takes on an edge of something mischievous.]

Did he tell you about me?

He likes the cats. They make messes, sink their claws in where they weren't expected to but it's not unwelcome, it's just different.

[She peeks over at the white kitten.]

It's not bad. He didn't like them. Cats were new. You kissed him, he liked that. There was a tavern. The cat was in the bag.

Well. [Well!] That's very specific. You're a bit nosy, aren't you.

[He touches the side of his head to indicate. He doesn't say it with any sort of heat, it's just an easier topic to latch onto than the actual meaning of what she's saying. It isn't a secret so much as he's been conditioned his whole life to keep private details of personal relationships quiet, lest they draw too much attention from the wrong places.]

Though I have to say it's good to have it confirmed he likes them. The cats, I mean. [Not the kisses. He had a pretty good idea of that already.] That's a tidbit I can torment him with endlessly, thank you for that.

You're very loud about it, it's important.

[Because Clearly This Is On You, Anders.]

Its okay, he's not one of the round people. You kissed them too but it was hot and furtive and afraid, it was desperate. You were living as much as you could, and she understands. But this is easier because there's no irons to lock you down and take that from you.

[She nods softly.]

[She isn't wrong. She is, in fact, very correct, which might be expected at this point.

He doesn't like to think about the Circle— or, specifically, the potential there was with people like Karl in the Circle, potential that was strangled by his own fear and desperation. By templars with watching glares like blades already set at the back of his neck. By wanting so much and hating so much at the same time.

Anger simmers, deep beneath everything else, but that's hardly anything new.

This is different. It's easier. Easy like slipping on a patch of black ice is easy, he wants to think, but also just... easy. It isn't something he'd thought he'd have before.

He doesn't know what to say. So he says instead:]

Do you actually need to be on the floor? Seems like it might be cold down there.

She likes the solids under her, it feels real. So much is drifting is floating, fleeting and she smiles softly. It's easier this way.

[She looks over at him. Maybe it's him?]

The Captain is very fierce. Very terrible, he thinks. There's so many claws in him.

[It's a fair enough explanation. He's never really been one for sea travel, either; not that you can call this sea travel, but it's the closest equivalent he has.

He likes the topic better, too.]

You're going to have to be more specific around here. We have a few Captains running about. Though I can only assume you're talking about this one. [He tugs his collar down, where his kitten blinks in the sudden extra light.] She's got the claws and the epithet to go along with them.

[Oh, hello there, fellow corridor-poking person. Incidentally this guy also happens to be poking his way through the corridors as well, albeit probably for entirely different reasons--still a bit antsy after the collective attack from earlier, and periodically inspecting the ship for signs of further damage already seems to be a habit developing, all the more helped by the prodding of the engineering augment and all that.

He doesn't find any damage yet, though. And finds a stranger instead, already speaking up, and that has him stopping short, a bit bemused.]

Oh, do they? I didn't know that. [It's the first remark to pop out, automatically--after a pause, though, with greater consideration as he blinks at her:] Um, are you--looking for one? A cat...?

She found the captain. He had white fur.

[WHO REALLY RUNS THIS SHIP????]

You have so many bits that bite.

[Or was it "byte"?]

White fur? Oh--you mean Anders? I...ah, I didn't know he had that either...

[WHO INDEED the real mysteries.....he's pretty sure Anders didn't really have anything along the lines of fur last he'd seen the guy, but--well, they are in space. Maybe Anders is some kind of alien after all. Yes.

More importantly, though--byte it probably is, but bite's what he hears, set up as a verb like it is and all. Increasingly bemused, now:]

Wait, me? But I don't--no, I don't bite. Or have...bits that bite, I don't think? [nO HE DIDN'T JUST GLANCE DOWN AT HIS OWN ARMS TO DOUBLE-CHECK THIS OR ANYTHING look you can never be too safe ok...but no.....] I'm sorry, actually, I must not be following you right. Was that what you meant, or did I get something mixed up? I think I did...

someone get a lady on this ship so I can't make that joke ever again

VISITING

:>

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject