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

[deployed]

[ Amusement flickers in Bellamy's mind, but ebbs away as he tries to consider the question and comes up empty handed. ]

( On the Station, I read what I can understand from the library. And I spend time in the training wing. )

[ But apart from that ??????? ]

( I don't think any of us have been able to completely forget our worries for an hour. )

[ That's not what he was asked, but it's the best he can do. ]

[perroquet]

(The days here are long. Taking just one hour aside for yourself will help you achieve more in every other hour of the day.)

[ He seems confident in this belief, but the options Bellamy has given are a bit limited in their current location. The tempo of his mind increases again as he puzzles through his own ideas of how to help. ]

(Hmm.. I believe the only reading material around is the mission brief, and whatever religious texts the Collector scattered about the tents.)

[ He recalls nearly tripping over one. After that he had found every last one in the tent and banished them to a neat stack in a corner where they wouldn't stub any toes. ]

(I'm not sure how interesting they are, but if you can read them that may be something... actually, if you can read them to me that would help my cover. Apparently my disguise is that of a holy man.)

[deployed]

[ It's...possibly a favor. Or Gildor's offer registers to Bellamy as one. It's thankfully framed as a necessity, which makes it easier for Bellamy to allow. Like skimming through the books they had managed to find at Naerhouse, reading in service of the Mission while they're on this planet is more excusable than the idea of reading for pleasure. Rhan's face flashes in his mind, discomfort and skepticism following, before Bellamy's thoughts circle back around to what Gildor has proposed. ]

( I'd do that for you, ) [ Bellamy agrees, wariness relegated to an undercurrent in hi mind. ] ( Some of them I can parse. Kaji was having some luck with them too. )

[ Gildor isn't asking for help with reading to seek out information, but Bellamy gives the kneejerk advice of who would be best suited to the job. ]

( We can start whenever you want. Lexa and Murphy don't need me to play bodyguard all the time. )

[perroquet]

(Thank you! Perhaps tonight if you'd like? I've heard reading before sleep helps ease the mind.)

[ He wouldn't know from reading, but when he was younger and read to, he used to sleep soundly. Now he sleeps more out of exhaustion than anything, and late into the morning if he's not careful.

He considers the suggestion a bit longer as though fine tuning it and realizing it's not perfect. ]

(We'll have to try and find you something besides a chore for me, though. I'll work on it.)

[ And by work on it, he means getting to know Bellamy. He can't come up with a good hobby for him without knowing him. ]

[deployed]

[ The care Gildor is extending to him is different than anything Bellamy experienced. Those he keeps closest don't think to prioritize hobbies; the kind of respite they bring is rarely considered a necessity. Confusion laces along the bond between them, but denial doesn't follow. ]

( In the meantime, I'll bring a book to your tent. )

[ Gildor will not be the first person Bellamy's read to sleep. Octavia comes to mind first (she will always come to Bellamy's mind first) but Murphy's face rises second; the memory is recent, and it is pulled back quickly. ]

( I'll see you then. )