Hello, it's me

[perroquet]

CHARACTERS: EVERYONE
WHERE: Hyrypia - The Swept Manor Grounds
WHEN: Morning of day 12
SUMMARY: Rudely calling like 80% of the Nest out for being cagey.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary.



(Hello! Am I doing this right? Hello!!! Good morning!!)

[ The red sun is hardly up, it's barely after breakfast, some of the members of the nest may still be sleeping - and this one doesn't seem to mind. He noisily floods the network like a one-man-band who just won the lottery, his very thoughts musical and abrasively cheerful. ]

(It's been several long days since my young broodmate and I joined you in this dustbowl, but I have yet to meet all of you properly. I understand we're working covertly, but you're all quite cagey for being connected in the head, you know that?)

[ There's either a slight tone of vindication, as though he believes most have earned this morning call for being so standoffish. Or perhaps he's just being loud because he's inexperienced with the symbiote still. Possibly both. It's hard to tell through the band playing behind every word. ]

(Most of you don't know me yet, but I want to get to know every single one of you. Since we have another day here, I'd like to get started. Here, I'll go first-

My name is Gildor Helyanwe, and I'm a bard from Esterport. How are all of you? Well I hope, not getting too hot, learning to ride those constructs?)

[ The band stops. Crickets chirp, though hopefully not for long. If he's left hanging, he has no qualms over striking up the mental orchestra next. ]

Comments

[shri]

[ Thank God she gets up at dawn, anyway. But still - ]

( Must you? )

[perroquet]

(I must~)

[ There's a sense of mild apology in his mental voice, reserved for her out of respect for their brood - they have met, yes, and he should have avoided her mind in his call. Until he learns to create some sort of filter, something besides a thick wall, she will be caught in his music with the rest of them. ]

(Do you have any requests, Rani?)

[shri]

( Nothing I suspect you know, perhaps you should pick something I will like instead? )

[ Which is to say she isn't too cross with him. Because if she had her way with the hive, everyone would be up and training at first light anyway. ]

[perroquet]

(You will have to teach me some new songs soon. For now-)

[ He settles for something he hopes she will enjoy. Music close to his world, rustic and merry. Not at all the pompous chamber music he'd be expected to play for a queen - he loves both, but this is peasant music. He hasn't known Lakshmi long, but she is very unlike any royal he's performed for or known of. Though just in case it isn't to her tastes- ]

(Please me know how wrong I am.)

[ The flutes and drums and fiddles continue to play in the back of his mind as he settles in the distinct comfort of her connection. ]

(Though how are you faring this morning? Any luck at all in this endeavor to find this mysterious enemy?)

[shri]

( Not yet - )

[ This feels so oddly right - not just because of who he is, or what he is to her, but to hear this music rich - and in her mind's eye, the darkly light room is swirly with shapes. Of women barely kept inside of their clothes, breasts free and spilling over the top of their corsets. Being spun about by women who gladly tossed them about to the rhythm and the tap of their feet. On and on and on. ]

( - But these things are ever slow, especially as notable outsiders. )

[perroquet]

[ That she doesn't tell him to stop the song and settles in turn pleases him immensely. That he's hit some sense of familiarity for her is even better. So he continues providing background music as he listens and commiserates, becoming openly chatty. ]

(Yes, I suppose it's important to remember that. Having this new ability to talk to everyone in the Nest has made me eager to use it and solve this. Forgive me, normally I'm not so impatient.)

[ The symbiote is new toy for him, and one he likes. One he views as crucial to solving the mystery laid before them. ]

(I climbed the stairs to the cliffside manor the other day and attempted to eavesdrop on the dignitaries having tea up there. In hindsight I should've brought someone with me to appear less suspicious.)

[ But it had been the first day of riding practice, and frankly he's not interested in it. He'd rather scale a cliff and remain connected to the ground than on the back of a construct horse. ]

[shri]

( It is always prudent to be in pairs, especially if you can mingle yourself in with others more... native? Shall we say? It simply looks like you are trying to blend in rather than just...

... Being near them. )

[ It's said rather in a practiced explanation:

She's done this many times before. Expected really, for a queen. To skulk and have spies, but her meaning is far more pressed in. Holes in old shoes worn half to death. The smoothed spot of a rough object where the touch of many hands polish. ]

( Perhaps when it suits us, we could go on an evening stroll together? )

[perroquet]

[ Similarly, it was expected of bards to collect information. To spy and enter areas they shouldn't be, to act friendly and mingle with all sorts. Though it would be easier and safer to do this in pairs, Gildor is very much used to working alone - even when in a group. There is a fierce sense of independence in his thoughts on how best to approach this new covert operation, and it struggles against her wisdom as well as his own.

He's out of practice, and on top of that he doesn't like to ask for favors. A fault he'll need to correct for his safety, but for now Lakshmi takes the pressure off by asking first. ]

(That depends on how long they plan on keeping us here, but... I would like that very much, yes.)

[ He catches her drift, and the mental song still playing for her catches a rest. It slows and eases into something more casual, the thought of their mission set aside for the moment- ]

(Would you like to join me for a spot of breakfast, Rani? I promised Miss Pidge I would save her something from the dining tent.)

[shri]

[ It's an easy thing to ask for in the end. In this process of getting to know him - and getting to understand this connection, she asks, because it is always her place to ask and she does so without even a thought as to whether she shouldn't. An arrogance in even the little things. ]

( Of course, Master Helyanwë, I would be glad to. Shall I meet you there? )

[perroquet]

(Yes, come find me when you see me since I'm sure you will recognize me first. I won't be long-)

[ His attention on her then narrows, but never quite goes away. That is how it is with brood. The music in his head will continue for her if she wishes to keep listening, but for now he's more looking forward to joining her in person again. More plans for their mission will follow soon, he's certain, but for now - tea with the queen. ]