Chapter 3.1: The party begins

[yhlee]

EDIT: The base is sited in the year 951, in a very odd timeline that has NO h*archate. Supplies have to be brought in via rift from other timelines. Thread here.

Ashari's new base features variable layout, which has been put to use in creating an extravagant ballroom. Tables to one side boast a variety of foods, drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and the occasional euphoric drugs. Candlevines glow blue and violet, and flower arrangements interspersed with fantastic sculptures of lace-woven wire adorn the tables. The arrangements mean various sarcastic things, if you're familiar with the Andan petal language.

Music plays softly enough not to overwhelm conversation, loudly enough to set a mood complementing the low-key lighting.

Remi is one of the first arrivals from the Cantata, shepherding the mothlings. Because he's a Nirai, he has a slate and is taking notes, although he is happy enough to talk to anyone who approaches him.

The kitchen is currently adjacent to the ballroom. Ashari's voice can be heard, raised in some kind of argument with...a caterer?

Comments

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[mawgs]

In truth, Eddox is terrified of the little void balls, but that’s the reaction they always have to new aliens. Initial feelings are nothing to go by, they know, and the prey instinct response should be left to bedroom affairs and running from the cops. So they work through it, as they always do, treating the new species with the same dignity and respect they would any of their own people. If they were in danger, they would assume someone would say something. If not, well, same as any other day of the week.

“They certainly are unique,” Eddox replies to Hana without really speaking to her, tone passably even. Eddox adjusts a frequency on their hearing aid, testing to see what the moths can hear. They respond... to just about everything auditory, including above and below human range, into waves Eddox has had little need to use to communicate with in the past. No matter, it will just require the fitting of new assistive devices. They make a mental note to send Mer a message asking about it, once they have a moment to do so.

Eddox turns to face the new woman finally. Still on their stomach, propped on their elbows, they rest their head charmingly on one arm and extend the other hand out in greeting. “Miss Hana? Forgive my exuberance. I am Andan Eddox.” They turn their head up and look up at the other woman who seems to know Seyli. “And you must be Sasha. Charmed. And yes, I’m always like this.”

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[zuhrovet]

"The pleasure is entirely mine." Sasha uses the archaic singular possessive. Truth is, though, she's less inclined to fuck with this pretty person than she was a few minutes ago: they're doing her the kindness of not looming at her, and signing with the mothlings is a genuine good idea.

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[sageling]

Hana stammers a bit before saying, "Just Hana is fine." She gives Eddox a smile that's not entirely natural before taking their hand in greeting. She looks at their hearing aid and signs, very haltingly, "I used to be a teacher. Nice to meet you, friend." The great thing about sign is she can avoid having her voice break, and there's something comforting about manual speech. She doesn't know Eddox's name sign or how to spell their name for that matter, so calling them 'friend' seems neutral enough.

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[mawgs]

Eddox smiles warmly and signs back, “Just Hana, then. A pleasure. Children tend to be a good judge of character, so I am predisposed to trust you.” Eddox points with their chin as if to prove their words: one of the mothlings is reaching out to regain Hana’s attention.

[ Eddox standing and addresses Sasha directly after this ]

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[mawgs]

“Excuse me,” Eddox says to the mothlings and then stands and brushes themself off. They fix their gaze on Sasha and offer a charming smile, let it hang a second too long, and then say, “I am told you are the woman to speak to about practically anything here.” They hazard a glance down to the mothlings. One is undulating at a decent pace. Eddox knows better than to assign any particular emotion or meaning to it, but hopes it’s one of the better possibilities.

“I have been talking to the lovely Seyli,” Eddox gestures to them, a flourish of hand that seems somehow musical, “as well as the, hmm. The stoic Sulen, I think.” Eddox stops and looks towards them, hoping to catch them looking back. “Both have informed me you‘ll be capable of telling me just what the hell is actually going on? Did Molina forward my dosier?”

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[zuhrovet]

Prophet's boots, they're a collector.

"I do not have the pleasure of her acquaintance. Nor am I aware why you require an early briefing. Perhaps you will enlighten me?" Sasha is emphasizing the archaic singulars hard, now. She doesn't look at Seyli.

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[kese_seyli]

Seyli frowns at Sasha. They know she's curt and comes off as very sharp, but they personally haven't seen as much outright rudeness. "It's a fair question, Sasha." The sound hesitant to speak against her, but are doing it anyway. "It is a bit weird this is starting with a party and not a briefing, anyway."

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[zuhrovet]

Sasha nods to Seyli very slightly, but speaks with the sweetness she once reserved for brand-new tutors and Junior Mining Engineer cohort leaders. "Are you familiar with the history of the arch-traitor, Shuos Jedao?"

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[mawgs]

“Familiar with...?” Shuos Jedao... Eddox had a friend in academy that was an actor. He was very pretty and they slept together several times. One time afterwards, they laid in bed, listening to him recite lines from one of his latest roles. He was so excited because it was a big role. Lots of controversy... yeah it had to be that Jedao. Who else?

“He’s that crazy murder twink right? One in all the histories? I’ve seen a couple dramas on him. Insane, but you do have to admire a man that walks into impossible odds, repeatedly. Anyway, I guess I do know about him. What of it?” Eddox looks to Sasha expectantly.

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[kese_seyli]

In the background Seyli makes an outraged squawk at Eddox’s pronouncing Jedao a twink (although they have no objection to the crazy murder part). “He is not a twink,” they scoff, mostly to themselves. They should know, after all, they’d been one themselves at one point.

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[yhlee]

[GM had to Google the term, LOL, which was mildly terrifying!]

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[chomiji]

[Having a gay friend come out to and start confiding in me when we were both early 20s was ... very educational.]

[OOC chatter]

[yhlee]

[Heh! I'm thinking back to college and I was the token queer among my friends, and no one told me any of the vocabulary. XD ]

Asking important ooc questions

[kese_seyli]

[Now my real question here is: is Kujen a twink?]

Re: Asking important ooc questions

[yhlee]

[I mean, it depends on the body...]

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[mawgs]

[ Wow I did Not expect the google images results to be that... explicit. Sorry lol. ]

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[yhlee]

[I am SO GLAD I didn't go into Google Images.

Did I ever tell y'all about the time I unthinkingly Googled the indie tabletop RPG Hot Guys Making Out by its name instead of the then-name of its creator? I backbuttoned SO FAST...]

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[zuhrovet]

[LaTeX is the one that usually gets me, though I've learned to add "math"!]

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[yhlee]

[Joe and I wrote a student paper--explanatory, not original research!--on kink and antikink mechanical solitons together for Math 222 back in college, as I'd heard of them in high school and thought they would be fun to explore. It used to be that you would get suuuuuuper sexy NSFW results for that search term. Things are better now, but man...I realize now that whichever mathematician or physicist named the suckers knew exactly what they were doing! Back then, as a teen, I thought it was a horrible coincidence.]

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[mawgs]

Eddox tilts their head at Seyli’s reaction. They’re amused, but not sure at what. They’ve decided they like Seyli and so tactfully they say, “Forgive me, I meant it half a joke. I know nothing of the man himself, just the historical record, and the ah, creative interpretations in videos.”

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[zuhrovet]

Now, there's a classic heptarchate non-apology.

"On our previous mission, a suspect agent tasked us with assassinating him. I chose to kidnap him instead."

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[mawgs]

Eddox fixes bemusement on their face and amusement behind it. “What an interesting interpretation of mission parameters.”

Obviously they kidnapped him for a reason. Eddox was less interested in that reason than the fact that Jedao was alive to be assassinated. As far as the histories went, he was hundreds of years dead. This is probably where the time travel bit kicked in.

“You say you made the decision to kidnap him. What did your agent have to say about that?”

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[zuhrovet]

"As far as Quill is concerned, he has disappeared from that universe without a trace." Sasha has dropped the pretense of sweetness. She is smiling now, lips slightly parted, the way a lynx scents its prey.

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[mawgs]

Hmm. So all y'all crazy, then. Good to know. Not that this was new territory, but Eddox's crimes were almost exclusively of the monetary sort.

"So it's like that then, all right." Eddox gave Sasha the once over, half because they hadn't taken the woman in properly at first, half because they wanted to project a lack of reverence for her implied threat.

"Well, I guess I can learn all the juicy gossip later. For now I'll play it by eye. But I do have one last very important question: Who is paying me and how much?"

Re: Eddox and Seyli wander over

[zuhrovet]

This pretty person is standing closer than Sasha likes. She could trip them--it would be satisfying, to watch those long limbs collapse--but she would have to explain to Ashari, after.

"I am; and you're asking the wrong question. Grid, when is Umul Eddox being paid?"

[The typical rebellion arrangement is to give people room, board, and pocket money, and to remit larger payments to a bank account in the person's home timeline. This is complicated by the fact that we're in a splinter cell of the rebellion, but Sasha used to work for the financial-transfers unit and has probably sorted out continuing payment. If Eddox wants regular paychecks in the current timeline, that's a special negotiation.]