driftfleet | Naviadna Mingle

[Adapting was only part of the battle, with everything else they needed to make work. They needed to use the precious time they had now to continue to sort out the pieces they could at least have some measure of control over.]

A ... backstory...?

[The tea's somehow still warm, and she finally takes another sip of it.]

We need not... complicate the matter. I barely had a story until I learned I had forgotten one, after all.

[Still, this was important to think about, and she's quiet for a moment before nodding.]

My home is... gone. Perhaps I had... lived alone for a long time, somewhere isolated. Forgotten. So no one would have to have known me or where I came from or... what I am missing. The world's since changed, and I did not want to be alone anymore. Do you think... they would accept that?

Yeah, that'll work. Sometimes it helps to have a boring backstory if you can sell it well enough to be believed. Means they won't bother asking more questions.

[Not that she's against Honerva having folks get to know her, of course- but she'd rather they not think she's crazy by going on about being from another world. Baby steps. Learn that she's as crazy as the rest of them in more normal ways.]

It seems safer than coming up with details about places I have never been.

[Pathetic enough too, but at least her demeanor was somewhat less dour than it had been.]

How would we explain our connection?

Believe it or not, that isn't gonna be a big deal- just tell people we went adventuring together. It's not a lie, and it's a pretty common story. It's how all of us met each other, and how Taako met everyone he knows back there, too.

[Adventuring is the thread that binds them all together, really. There's plenty of world to see, and it's too dangerous to go it alone. Folks understand that sort of tale.]

That does seem... reasonable.

[She had enough room for belief, of course, but there was so much about this new lifestyle and perspective to take into account to adjust to, even if some aspects were surprisingly less complicated than she thought.

On that note, there were other things to take into consideration with building some sort of identity.]

Is there anything I should be aware of in regard to elves? Perhaps owing to the fact that you and Taako are not... typical examples yourselves.

[And honestly, her being a bit weird in that department might very well explain why she's attached to them.]

Mm... nothing else really comes to mind. The nice thing about elves is that there's loads of 'em, which means you end up with a wide variety of cultures and customs and families... but Taako and me were never all that connected to anybody there, so you wouldn't stand out much if you were the same way. Just don't answer too many questions, that'll be enough. People know that most elves are cagey, snobby pricks, they'll expect a vague response anyhow.

[She's quiet for a moment, content in the water, and then she suddenly stands bolt upright, eyes wide.]

Oh shit- I gotta teach you Elvish.

[Being vague due to lack of knowledge was certainly something she was accustomed to. Dealing with a larger group would be a different situation than these close quarters the Fleet had given them, but all it meant was that she could continue to keep to herself as she adjusted-- well, mostly, since there was a freedom in being more open around certain people. Her personality was struggling as it was, but that should hardly be more taxing than anything else had been.

She tilts her head at Lup's abrupt reaction with some amusement. Certainly very curious.]

That would be wise. It is... unlikely that my buried knowledge of intergalactic languages would match what is found on your planet.

Hmm, I'm guessing not. Only one way to find out, though-

[And then she says something in Elvish! Or at least, one can assume that's what she did. It probably doesn't sound like anything familiar, but it does sound kind of pretty, a quick, smooth language with a lilt and a strange accent to it.]

[She does know many intergalactic languages, or at least knew them before her memory issues, and the majority of those were obsolete by this point, though learning something new is as much as a worthy exercise as remembering.

When Lup speaks the unfamiliar words she listens to the flow of them, closing her eyes and letting the phrase rattle around, wondering if it would jog anything familiar.

As with most things, there's little purchase to be had there. Though she can't help but wonder how safe they would be speaking even in their standard languages.]

...you were correct. It seems very distinct, and different from what I can recall.

[But she'll try to repeat it, albeit a little slower than Lup does, mostly trying to grasp the difference in syllables. Her tone tends to be more measured than the lilts would allow, which is harder to adjust to, though the lightness of her voice carries it, mostly.]

[Lup tries to play it cool, but it only lasts for a couple of seconds before she snorts and has to bury her face against her arms, lightly slapping the tile with a wet hand.]

Ohhhhhhh my god! Okay- okay, okay- that was good. Um. Pretty good. Holy shit.

[Her shoulders shake; she is definitely trying not to laugh.]

[She tilts her head at Lup's response.]

... from your reaction, it would seem this is something I should not repeat again without... some further knowledge.

[After all, she can't tell if it's the fact that she attempted it that's humorous, or if she had butchered something while trying to replicate it, or whatever the context of the phrase had been itself.]

No, no. You should definitely say it in front of Taako, at least.

[She'd spoken the phrase without thinking that Honerva might repeat it, so... it is by no means appropriate for public consumption. Which makes it hilarious.]

But yeah, we'll work on it. Obviously you catch on fast.

Perhaps.

[That only sounds increasingly more suspect, Lup... but at the very least, a laugh was had out of it, whatever the intent had been at all.]

Speaking of him, however... how do you wish to inform him of these plans?

[Probably during one of his mealtimes would be best, but she thought it might come best from them together than bringing it up out of nowhere on her own.]

I don't usually plan to tell Taako anything- I just kinda do it. That's how it works with us. Don't worry about it, though. He might act like he doesn't care, but I bet he'll be happy, too.

[She grins, holding a finger to her lips.]

Just don't call him out on it.

[Taako makes connections with people in his own way, and he hates to lose them as much as she does. If she can help him avoid losing at least one, she'll be glad of it.]

I'll leave that to you, then.

[Her expression softens again at Lup's reassurance. Taako's behavior was so much different from hers, but... he did have his reasons for that. She just had to keep that in mind with him.]

I suppose at the very least, he would not mind the chance of... continuing to educate my palate, as he calls it.

[She giggles at that.]

Call it what it is! He just wants you to compliment his cooking.

When we first met, I could barely taste what he was offering at all.

[Not... that she'd graduated much further from crisp salads and sweet fruit desserts, in all honesty, but at least there was an actual progression of improvement.]

It is odd to think on it now, but... I am glad he was persistent.

Me too. It ended up getting me involved, too, and there's certain perks to that development.

[If you think about it, food really did bring them all together. An impressive feat considering it started with someone who barely cared about food at all- such a stark contrast to the twins.]

There are many.

[Honerva allows them both a moment to quietly bask in that. It had led to so much, more than any of them had expected at the time. Or understood at the time, at least where she was concerned. It even allowed the twins the chance to work together, even if one of them wasn't wholly aware of his part.]

More than the meals itself, you helped me... make meaning of it.

[Even if their earliest dinners together had been awkward, there was still something about the togetherness of it that she'd needed.]

Much as I'd love to, we can't take all of the credit. You've been doing your part, y'know? Putting the effort in.

[It's been interesting to see the progress being made as it happened, mostly because it's not a problem she's ever had personally. Sort of like watching Barry slowly come out of his nerdy shell, in a way.]

It has... taken a lot, even to get to where I am now.

[And honestly, to be "hanging out" with a friend in a spa pool drinking tea? It's a pretty great place to be.

Honerva can hear an echo of Loki in Lup's words, recalling the way the god had urged her to take credit for her growth. Her struggle to change, to search for the person she had been before it had all gone so wrong... and what she would lose, now, if she did not make every effort to realize that she wanted to listen, to learn of others outside of herself, while they were existing here in this present moment.

She had made those decisions, as much as she was pulled around by them. Her choice to change and rediscover those lost parts of herself, as murky as it sometimes felt.]

And it's... all been worth the effort.

Hell yeah. I'll drink to that. [She holds her mug up to Honerva, smiling in a way that almost seems... proud? Yeah. She's glad the other woman's come such a long way.] And here's to getting better and better from now on.

[She's touched by the gesture. There's a warmth and brightness in Lup, and that expression... says so much about the truth of her progress. There's something so real, so encouraging about that. Circumstances beyond their control had brought them into one another's lives, and here was yet another reminder, that it was real.

Thinking on this, Honerva lifts her own mug.]

Here's to both of our futures. To... recovery.

Naviadna Mingle

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