[MISSION: HYRYPIA] And through that cordage threading with its call one arc synoptic of all tides

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: Everyone
WHERE: Station 72; Naerstone House
WHEN: DAY :001
SUMMARY: Makeovers, wining, dining and...dead bodies??? The first night on Hyrypia.
WARNINGS: N/A, will update as necessary.

CASTING OFF
     I. MAKEOVER, MAKEOVER
[It's less than one full day after the briefing that the hosts once again have a voice interrupt their thoughts. It is familiar this time: the curt, low sound of Siva’co in their mind without warning.]

( There is- ) [the passage of time pressed into their minds like a flower into a book- one hour-] ( until departure. All hosts will report to the Hangar Deck for supply and outfitting. ) [He does not say precisely when they should report, but something about the weight of the words says sooner rather than later.

When the hosts arrive there is a strangely antiquated looking ship waiting for them, its rivets and steel in bizarre contrast with the seamless white flow of the Station’s walls. Its gangplank is already lowered, but before they can pass into the interior there is a raised platform manned by Rhan and Siva’co. Once again clad they're clad in the layered robes that Misato and Aloy had seen them in. On the platform there are stacks of similarly lush and contrasting fabrics, one for each host, each one a neat pile topped with a pair of odd boots that give the impression of heels.]

There will be no space on the ship to kit up. You will need to outfit yourself before we depart. If you cannot figure out how to dress yourselves, get assistance.

[His voice is clipped, sharp and precise. It does not invite conversation. The slightest survey of the deck reveals that there is no kind of privacy provided, which may explain the crooked grin on Rhan’s face.]


     II. IN FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
[Once aboard the ship there is little time before the deck of Station 72 drops out beneath them, lowering them down and out and into the still darkness of the in between.

They stay there, frozen for a second before the engines kick on - a low efficient hum, no apparent feeling of motion to accompany it. After a moment another much louder noise begins. It's a gurgling, creaking sound that seems more suited to the ship’s exterior appearance.

Siva’co remains where he has been since they boarded, poised beside a panel just to the left of the hatch to the exterior where he's checking a number of crisp readouts. They're digital black and white like the databanks held by all hosts and are completely out of place in the ship's leather and wood interior. After a moment, seemingly satisfied, he reaches down and snaps the display shut - holding his hand there as a glow spreads around the edge of the panel the fades into a seamless fusing into the interior walls, just another section of brass and pipe and spinning dials. He moves through the cabin then, down the rows of seats and towards the cockpit, nodding to Rhan as he passes her.

She seems to take it as a sign, standing up as he disappears with a dip of his head under the low bulkhead of the hatchway. She drags a heavy bag out from under her seat and drops it with a thunk.]

Well my dears, we've a few hours ahead of travel ahead of us. I hope everyone brought along something to read. If you're feeling bored, might I suggest swapping notes on the mission briefing? You've brought your highlighters along, right?

[She grins, flashing an encouraging wink.] --Oh! And before I forget, I've a little present for you all from myself and Siva'co.

[Rhan reaches into the bag, producing a series of ancient looking books.] Take one and pass it down. [She hands one to the nearest Host. The books are shockingly light... because they've been hollowed out into the perfect shape to conceal a databank.] This way you can keep your cheat sheets with you at all times. I've decided we're all very religious -- or at least that we have the pretense of it.

[As promised, the trip in is indeed long. It takes them through vast reaches of real space. It's quiet and still - the perfect atmosphere to get some last minute studying in.]


HYRYPIA
     [At a distance, Hyrypia is a world made of gold and brass banded with iron. As the Host ship pierces down through the atmosphere, the colors morph and curve into hard stone, bitter scrub, black seas, and beautiful - but barren - golden waves of long valley grasses. White stones and squat farmhouses speck the landscape which slants as if inevitable toward the glittering pastel household acting as sentinel at the landmass's edge where today a hundred brilliantly colored banners and flags fly from every tower and gate, are wound through every garden and adorning every tent on the grounds surrounding it.

Naerstone House sits at the eye of a veritable flock of ships of every design and taste. They range from delicate as a rapier to solid as a stone, from as slight as this small ship the Hosts have used for their transport to large enough to cast a shadow across the entire structure of the compound. The yellowed grasses bend and shake in the shadow of them as they drop from the sky and the Hyrypians stuffed on the gray road leading to Naerstone from the valley hold their clothes against the energy dispersal from the engines. The host ship touches down in the fields in a place marked out with blue and yellow flags, just one of scores.

Welcome to the corner of Hyrypia where hundreds upon hundreds of varied Rabadoceans have met under a flag of peace for perhaps the first time in two centuries. As the gangway to the platform is lowered, it becomes immediately apparent that Rhan and Siva'co's companions have come to meet you. Completely obscured from head to toe, there's no telling what they look like, but surely they must be familiar to the agents, as no one asks questions when one of them hurries aboard.]

[Lyr's mind is cool like a river stone, though in this moment the river is being chopped by rainfall:]

( Half of you - the ones who know how to speak - follow me in the procession to the Veranda. The other half - take everyone's things and go with Collector. )


SPLIT THE PARTY
     III. THE PROCESSION AND VERANDA
[Lyr leads the hosts in his company to join the long, winding procession making its way up they gray road to Naerstone. They are all recognizably Rabadocean, though their styling and some mutations of their biology separates them into clear subsets. Here is a group with elaborate cloaks of liquid silver billowing as flags in the acrid sea wind; there is a group dressed in thick rich furs, huddled close for warmth and trying not to look it as they make their way. Everyone travels on foot through the field of ships, the village of brilliantly colored silken tents, and everywhere one looks is another strange collection of people to stare at. --And some of them may be staring back.

The grand procession winds its way through the main entrance of the sky blue compound, through brilliant open breezeways painted with frescos of four legged animals, lush vegetation, and threads of light. Eventually this train of people reaches a vast garden at the center of which is a massive shallow pool with a path leading to the covered structure at its middle. THE GARDEN has clearly been decorated for a party. On one side is an apparent series of games and common entertainment, and on the other are a series of low tables and long benches dressed for an inevitable dinner studding the space between low flowering shrubs and beds of golden grass punctuated with winding stone paths.

But they bypass this all in favor of THE VERANDA itself, draped in gauzy silks and furnished with a series of low couches and delicate wood chairs with elaborately embroidered cushions. It's clear that the Veranda is where the ranking officials and their aides will start the evening. There's easy conversation to be had or overhead. Two musicians skillfully play large string instruments balanced on their knees and a series of mute servants make their way through the gathering with trays of fine finger foods and small cups of rich black wines. They're so silent and unaffected by the hosts of company that they might as well be dead.

--Which is because, on closer inspection, they apparently are. Or close to it. They've an ashen pallor and milky eyes; one or two of the re-animated dead servants wears conspicuous articles of clothing to cover the thing which killed them - a cracked skull, a terrible wound.]

( Act naturally, ) [says Lyr's voice in the mind] ( If you find yourself drowning, call for me. )

[Enjoy the appetizers and polite company, everyone! Strangely enough, it seems perfectly simple to understand the rough, low shared language of the Rabadoceans and as equally easy to mimic it.]


     IV. THE APARTMENTS AND GARDEN
[Those who remain after Lyr has departed are greeted by the second stranger. Much like Lyr, she speaks into their minds, but unlike him her voice is soft and sweet and melodic, ringing pleasantly as a bell, accenting somehow the sound of crowds and distant pulsing beat of some kind of music. She is taller than the rest, and the process of elimination says that this must be Collector.]

( Welcome to Hyrypia. I hope you will tell me your stories, when there is time. For now, please follow. )

[She turns, heading in the opposite direction as Lyr and his batch, weaving her way effortlessly through the crowds towards the largest collection of buildings on the castle grounds. Each building is connected to the rest by plain walkways through simple stone gardens with the occasional gently sloped awning. It's a longer walk then it seems like it should be, but after they pass some of the more grand rooms - most of them at least partly open to the air - they come across another low stone patio. This one Collector steps on to, passing through the wide open entry and into the half shadowed space beyond.]

( There are a number of rooms, please, take your pick. I would suggest keeping your most valuable possessions with you, but there are lockers beneath each bed. They have tales here of lovers being secreted away in them, but these should not be occupied. )

[With that thought - the bubbling cheerful ring of it - she passses through the living area, sidestepping the low piles of cushions and disappearing into one of the rooms.]

( We should join the festivities soon- ) [Her voice is as near as it would be directly into their ears, despite her absence-] ( And please, feel free to speak. Silence is only my virtue.)

[It is only a short time later that she again emerges from the room, pausing in the center of the space and pulling a bell from her sleeve, ringing it once with her gloved hands - a sharp peal that interrupts even the low background hum of the surrounding apartments.]

( We must now venture out. There are stories waiting to be made. )

[She leads the hosts out the same way they came and then further into the heat of the festivities. Here the crowd grow thicker - a myriad of Rabadoceans, some wearing intricate costumes, some in elegant garments or wearing very little. All head towards the same space - a great GARDEN at the center of which is a shallow pool and VERANDA. Clever eyes may spot the other hosts there even though the obscuring gauze. They're hard to miss in all that heavy layered cloth. It draws attention even from strangers here, some of which shoot them glances with their sharp dark eyes. Others Rabadoceans whisper as the hosts pass, but the exact words are hard to hear.

The garden itself is as sprawling as the apartments and is mainly composed of a low shrubs with pale flowers and the same amber grass that covers so much of the planet only broken by the occasional rug and twisting stone path. The largest open areas are home to what appear to be games: balls and hoops and poles. Some look like they're to be struck or thrown, others which appear to be a part of some elaborate strategy game involving the placement of people around a central pole. The Rabadoceans laugh - low coughing sounds - but you recognize them for what they are. Just as you become aware that their words - thick and mealy as they seemed at first, now sound perfectly natural. It would be easy to mimic, easy to speak. Collector smiles through her mind.]

( Go on now. You may be shy, but you must be sharp. Life waits for no soul. )


     V. A COMMON PURPOSE
[When both sides have completed their tasks - picking their rooms and playing alongside the common folk, or eating appetizers and rubbing palms with the elite - all are summoned at once to gather in the gardens together by the signal of a deep resounding horn. The two parties merge on their short trek across the garden to the long low benches. Each set of benches has an equally long table with a narrow walking path through the center of it, and as guests sort themselves into their correct places - each distinct party collected with itself - food begins to be brought out. They're sumptuous and heavily spiced dishes. Although you cannot immediately see her, Collector’s voice joins the procession-]

( You can process all of the food without risk of death, however humans may wish to avoid the eel. It will cause indigestion. They are scooped up from the shallow streams that flow out of the highest mountains, and they dine only on the passings of the cave rodents that surround such places. )

[Lively string instruments play through dinner and talk is encouraged on the fringes of each envoy. Dishes are passed from hand to hand down the length of the long table and re-animated servants pour long streams of dark wine and faintly bitter water from long necked pitchers to wide, intricately inlaid cups. And while you are clustered in with the rest of your “delegation”, there are other Rabadoceans sitting across from you- strangers with strange smiles. Food does not seem to prevent conversation. Anything you want to say without being overheard is better left in your mind- and the minds of others.]


     VI. EVENING'S END
[Evening falls. The braziers are lit. Eventually, the music of the uncanny reverberating string instruments wanes to a tinny pervasive whine that stretches long enough to rouse suspicion. Ting, comes the chime of a small metal bell. Ting, ting, ting - the sound of the metal adoring the robes and elaborate headdresses of the small group of four Hyrypians which passes now down the long path from the Veranda and into the middle of the feasting.

They come to a halt there in the burnished grass. Quiet falls, save for that pervasive buzzing whine. Finally the Hyrypian at the front lifts her hand in the dark, revealing from her belled sleeves the rows and rows of brass and gold and glass scales adorning her gloves. She breathes across her glove and for a moment it's as if the air has turned to gold. It slips glittering between her fingers, then the scales peel themselves from her hands and flitter away to reveal themselves as wings of thin intricately beaten metal with glowing glass bodies: insects with watch-gear small mechanisms powering the rapid beating of their wings. They take flight, swirling and dancing through the thin breeze. As they do, the acolytes behind her raise their own hands to reveal larger insect-lights within each palm. They toss them lightly as jugglers. At their highest peak they too take flight, elegantly pirouetting to hover over the tables and casting a warm glow over the guests who applaud, each according to their own custom. This group cheers with a low whooping sounds from one corner, that one with stomping feet, another with lightly chiming bells. The smaller lights come to land along the edges of cups, on the high peaks of guest’s hats, and on knobby wrists. The machines are small, twinkling lights held on wire fine legs and they hum with a comfortable, welcoming heat.

The leading technomancer then goes swiftly to one knee, her hand pressing into a barely visible stripe of copper that runs down the main walkway. With that, the Veranda behind them lights up suddenly and brightly like a catching flame. The light races along the branching pathways of of the garden led by similarly fine wires, and not long after the lit garden is joined by the entire castle: every castle and balcony shining brilliantly in the darkness by this lone technomancer's hand.

From one of the long central tables, an elder Hyrypian in an elaborately draped tunic and cloak picked with gold rises. She raises a mottled hand before her, palm to the summer night sky.]

Friends. [Ysiddia Cabrielle's voice is low and thick, requiring attention without demanding it. She speaks with all the ease of a Major House of Hyrypian's head - which is appropriate, for that is what she is.] Welcome to our Hyrpyria and this Naerstone House. You've done my family an honor that will persist for generations. Tonight, we know each other as strangers-- [Some measure of her smoothed facade shifts; Ysiddia has a wry smile, as if she's telling a small secret to a cherished second daughter.] --or as enemies. Tonight, we are separate peoples divided by the places we came from and the things which those places required we be. But in the weeks that follow, it's my wish - and the wish of all Hyrypians - that we remember we are all Rabadocean and that the prosperity of one is the prosperity of all. We look forward to reaching the end of this great pilgrimage not in the company of friends, but with honored family.

We hope that this journey will do for you what it has done for our people. That it brings you understanding and renewed respect for The First and all those who have followed down their path. We hope you will come to see our people’s true destiny and true strength. But for tonight and the two days that follow, we invite you to enjoy yourselves as yourselves.

[Ysiddia bows her head to the assemblage, then to the techomancer who rises. The light fades as she does - first form the distant apartment, then to these gardens, to the veranda and finally where she and her acolytes stand.

The music resumes. Ysiddia takes her seat once more and the Seconds retire into the darkened garden.]

---

((OOC NOTES: This is the log for the first day on Hyrypia. For events beyond this evening, feel free to make additional logs/posts occurring on DAY :002 and :003 as the assemblage will be at their liberty in Naerstone and beyond for those two days. What follows after? Who can say.

'Wait, can I NPC this character?' If they don't have a name, go wild. Should you desire mod input or for us to bounce into a thread, feel free to reach out to us and we'll be happy to accommodate. We may also be threadjacking some of these threads, however don't feel compelled to wait for us to do so. Have fun and don't blow your cover!))

MISSION HYRYPIA OVERVIEW • NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[huntsmachines]

( I can be patient I'm used to waiting and watching. Just not without a bow or a lance in my hand. )

[ Being unarmed is another reason to be nervous in potentially hostile territory, but it is what it is. ]

( I guess not. But I care more about them then they think we should, I'm sure. )

[huntsmachines]

[ ALoy nods in agreement. Watching, waiting, and observing all fit very well into her skill set and it buoys her confidence to have people like Lexa around. She's so used to working alone that the idea of having others you can trust and rely on is still a little new, even if in the end everyone had pulled together to defeat HADES. She finishes putting her hair back and examines the elaborate, stifling headpieces they'll be wearing. ]

Sounds simple enough. Keep my mouth closed and my ears open. See what they reveal to us.

[huntsmachines]

[ Aloy IS illegal in Shadow Carja country, she'll have you know Shepard. The unexpected compliment draws something of a shocked look from Aloy. Is this--? Was this flirting? Is that how it worked? Feeling suddenly self-conscious she begins to fidget with her own clothing a bit more. This was not going quite the way she expected. ]

Thanks. I think?

[ That was good, right? She focuses on tugging more of her robes on when Shepard's next question hits her like a trampler and Aloy fumbles to recover. It's times like this she wishes she could head out into the mountains and be well and truly alone again. ]

I guess? I've never really thought about it that much. I mean, I like men alright but I don't know if I want to, you know, pair up with one. Is that weird? To like women?

[ A beat as Shepard's other comment catches up with her. ]

Wait--! Who said I was looking at Lexa?

[ A flash of embarrassed anger. Was she that obvious? She struggles to keep the emotions contained in her own head, feeling suddenly like she'd broken something and Rost was admonishing her. ]

[redheadcarrier]

They're not like... Angels from mythology. They were... more like aliens.

[ Asuka shrugs. ]

I didn't name them. I just fought them.

[ As if to explain the name away. Then: ]

And then you ended up here? That sounds familiar.

[unfavoured]

[ Although Parker is generally A Dick™, on this one occasion she was holding it longer in case he had actual trouble reading; being good friends with a dyslexic back home, it was a habit she picked up. But Noctis would never be blamed for thinking she was being a dick. Afterall, that is what she is mostly known for.

While not glancing from the book, Parker does nod. She doesn't say anything for a while until she turns the page, takes a few extra seconds, and finally looks at Noctis. Apparently, she wasn't giving him the cold shoulder - she was merely finishing that sentence. ]

It's a good classic. [ An extra beat. Then, clarification: ] From Earth.

[redheadcarrier]

Oh, like you're not happy to finally have your own room.

[ Asuka rolls her eyes and leans against the doorframe as she adjusts her cowl and veil. She remembers Parker, sure enough, and she shoots a little glare down the length of the room at her. ]

Excuse me for wanting to claim one.

[earthborn]

[Shepard scoffs, pleased and amused. She'd been sure when she'd said it, but if Shepard had been fishing, Aloy would have just given her everything she needed to know.]

C'mon, now. You two hang out, you look at her, she looks at you... It's cute. You're not as subtle as you think you are.

[She pulls the strings of a pair of pants tight and begins knotting the sash. There, panties out of sight. Just how many layers does this thing have?]

And, it's not weird. Shit, Aloy, I've uh... paired up with plenty of women in my time. On this station, even. Weird would be if somebody was making it their business to judge what you do with other consenting adults.

[unfavoured]

[ Well, Asuka is not wrong. Having walls and a door is the best thing out of these inane missions and most often, the only reason she doesn't say no to being sent down. It's a good break from sleeping on hanger bays or hidden corners.

But Parker gives her a look. ] Not if it's next to yours. [ And it's surprisingly not said with malice. It even might be a joke. But who knows with her? The resting bitchface syndrome is strong with this one. ]

I'm surprised you didn't go with the other group. [ You know. The talking heads. ]

[redheadcarrier]

[ Asuka forces herself back under control and sniffs haughtily. It's not... as quite as much or as empathetic as it might have been a few months ago, but she can still put the facade up. Even if she feels each and every crack with a rather acute sense of personal failure. ]

I guess we are both women.

[ "Women". Not "girls". She refuses to insinuate that she isn't every bit the adult that Shepard apparently is. Even if she knows she's a girl playing at being something she's not, she isn't going to admit that. Not while she's still struggling with her own identity and what it means. ]

Ugh, I think I'd go insane. She was insufferable.

[ It's an innocent enough complaint, but there's real bitterness underneath. ]

And she plays favorites. [ Then again, Shepard has probably heard Asuka's vague complaints about Misato before. ]

[redheadcarrier]

Suck it up and deal, buttercup.

[ Her German accent makes that sound slightly weird. But it's apparently fairly genuine, especially because there's a glint of a gloat buried underneath it. She enjoys being able to rub things in peoples faces from time to time and this counts as one of them. Then again, she probably should be trying to play nice. Right? ]

Eh, I didn't wanna stand around and talk to a bunch of talking heads all day. Sounds dull.

[ She is not a diplomat. ]

[greentech]

( I'm never alone here. But yeah, thanks. I understand. )

[ She turns to glance up at him and grins through the veil she's wearing. No one can really see it, but he can definitely feel it through the link. in order to keep things moving she offers him a bit of finger food. ]

Wanna try some? It's pretty good.

[huntsmachines]

[ Aloy grimaces for a moment before settling into an expression of mild unease. ]

I mean mate. Someone who you're supposed to be with long-term, I guess. I've never really imagined a man there it's... when I've bothered to think about it, I've always kind of pictured another woman.

[ Aloy huffs a little, her embarrassed flush returning to her cheeks as she deals with her shoes. Focus on getting dressed, girl. ]

I didn't realize I was looking at her that much. And I guess that's good to hear that people aren't going to judge. There's not a lot of judgment with the Nora, from what Rost told me, though seeing what they did to him and to me I don't know how true that is. You're just supposed to be a mother eventually.

[ If you live alone in the mountains with your girlfriend, no one is around to judge you, to be fair. ]

Wait, you've done that? With other women? Here? I... wow.

[ Curiosity tugs at her mind but she shoves it back. Nope. That's not something you just ASK about. It's rude, for one thing and she doesn't want to pry into Shepard's privacy. ]

You don't have to say anymore. I don't want to pry.

[ Okay, she does, but she's not going to say that because the thought is a bit awkward and unbearable. ]

[greentech]

( Fine. Bury me, then. At least I'll have something be proud of. )

[ Whoa, someone's biting back. ]

( If I wanted it to be easy I wouldn't even be here in the first place. I wouldn't be a paladin. I wouldn't be a lot of things. Maybe it's not efficient or the best path forward or whatever, but I'd rather not be the kind of person who does things just because screwing over someone else makes life that much easier. )

[ Then again, she also hacked and snuck into a school to try and find her family, but there are degrees of ethics. ]

[greentech]

( I never really liked being quiet, but I guess I'm going to have to be. )

[ It's a a muted, half-hearted grumble, but she takes Lexa's point. She might learn more by not asking a bunch of intrusive questions, however much she might want to. She's itching to get her hands on some of the tech or to go up to the technomancers and just ask them about everything they do.

But that would probably end up blowing their cover, wouldn't it? ]

( I am so not a spy... )

[unfavoured]

[ What is she, a teenager from the 90's?

She doesn't say anything about it, crossing her arms over her chest loosely - not defensively as she usually does, like protecting herself from the rest of the word (and mostly, from human interaction). ]

Maybe it's for the best, considering the suggestions you were throwing.

[ She isn't a diplomat either, but she wasn't suggesting genocide, hellchild. ]

[earthborn]

Eh... motherhood comes to you in weird ways. I mean, I've never been. What did you call it? Mated?

[If the dubiousness of her tone isn't enough, the way Shepard's whole psyche seems to lean back from the idea probably conveys her feelings on the matter. Marriage? Ew. Ew, gross. Not for me.]

Hey, we've probably got a couple hours to kill on the shuttle transfer, so this is as good a time as any. Wouldn't be the first time I had to explain how this works. [It's different for Krogan, she's sure, but if her conversations with Bakara had taught Shepard anything, it was that not teaching young people how to treat women had definite consequences. If that made this less sexy, somehow...

...Well. Maybe that was for the best. Shepard pulls the last layer of cloak over her shoulders, leaves the hood and mask down for the time being, and tightens the clasps with a decisive motion.]

Get dressed. I'll see you aboard.

II.

[earthborn]

[Seemingly engrossed in her reading, Shepard nevertheless snorts an amused response.]

( You had some questions earlier. Why don't you just sit down and I'll answer a few of them? )

[inflori]

No? [ His mouth is opening for further yapping when Pidge pulls him, thrown off and scowling. A smack is what her hand gets for that, making up for the composure lost with further adjustments to how the robes fit him. This isn't going to ever work, is it?

Humpf. ]

At least we'd get a fight.

Re: II.

[huntsmachines]

[ Aloy had been doing her best to play it cool but the surprise and embarrassment feeding back to Shepard are like a searchlight on a dark night. ]

( Questions? I don't know if I had, questions, exactly. All of these things are just strange for me. )

[ Explaining the constraints of her life so far seems like an impossible task, but there's definitely a sense of deep isolation and loneliness, an aching to belong, to have someone want her around and want to keep her around buried deep in Aloy's psyche that this line of discussion is bringing bubbling to the surface. ]

( When you grow up as an outcast, you don't really have any friends. And I mean, Rost taught me how it all WORKS, I'm not ignorant about that, okay? But women don't have matching parts? And I don't... How do you talk to someone about that? Is it best to be direct? How do you tell if someone wants to be intimate with you? Am I asking too many questions?)

[redheadcarrier]

[ Yes, that is exactly what she is. Well, 2000s, but pop-culture apparently stopped in the '90s or something.

Asuka rolls her eyes again. Great, just what she needs. Someone else giving her crap. ]

Whatever. It's not like any of us are ever coming back here after we leave.

[ So therefore she shouldn't give a single solitary fuck about the place. ]

[inflori]

[ No one takes him seriously. That's probably the only thing keeping his ego from inflating and exploding on everyone's face. ]

Yeah, well, no one could've forced me even if they held a gun to my head. [ See? Ego. ] What's your job gonna be? A pretend book nerd?

[inflori]

They sound like a total bore. [ As all authority figures do, really. For someone that doesn't like to be bossed around, though? There's nothing but women doing just that to him. This bratty little complainer is in extreme denial. ] Sorry I don't shut up when there's bullshit going on.

[ Clasp. ]

[earthborn]

( Uh, no. No. But, you might wanna slow down a bit. )

[She'd say take a breath, dammit, but this didn't exactly require breathing. Shepard thinks for a minute, picking through the confused jumble of Aloy's rush-- alright, start with.]

( It's usually best to be direct. It can be awkward, especially if the other person wants to say no. You gotta learn, first of all, to accept rejection gracefully. People are gonna have a lot of reasons for turning you down, and most of them have nothing to do with you. As for how to tell, it's... ) [The pause draws out, agonizing, but not quite silent. Shepard is trying to find the right impression.] ( In my experience, every woman is different. You have to pay attention. Try different things, watch and listen to see what she responds with. When all else fails, just ask. )

[somnifacient]

(I think a lance or a bow might draw a few weird looks our way.) [It's tinged with something reminiscent of a joke, that statement.] (We have a dagger; not sure exactly how safe that's supposed to make anyone feel.)

[That and it seems fitting for a political setting. A lot of backstabbing and whatnot, he thinks to himself, as dry as summer grass..]

(I do, too. Guess we're just a pair of sentimental fools.)

[earthborn]

My job is going to be to stand there and look threatening.

[Which will be easy for her, because she is threatening. Some things only carry weight if you're willing to follow through on your promises.]

Then, when and if this all goes to hell, my job is gonna be to kill every single person at this party, who isn't either useful, or a Host.