[open] what mystery pervades a well; the water lives so far

[isorropia]

CHARACTERS: Rhan, Lyr, & YOU
WHERE: The Red Coast
WHEN: DAY: 029-:034
SUMMARY: Puttering around for fun and profit. Wild cards are okay!
WARNINGS: N/A, will add if necessary

LYR. THE ORCHARD

[The twisting fruit trees lay in perfect, ordered lines. They stretch out in the shadow of Tyrisson House and crawl quietly up the hillside. It's quiet here; the yellowed fruit on the knobby branches must not yet be ripe and the weather must be kind enough to simply let the trees grow. Come noon, the skeleton crew of grounds keepers and field hands have largely quit the place, leaving the orchards empty. Or close enough to it.

It makes for a good place to take a walk anyway. A fact that Lyr is currently taking full advantage of. He cuts a path first up between two straight lines of lumpy trees and then down the next, crisscrossing the orchard in exacting lines.]

RHAN. ABSOLUTELY GODDAMN EVERYWHERE

[Considering the amount of time Rhan's kept largely to herself in the Graze, it should be hard to pin her down here on the Red Coast where there's so many nooks and crannies to get lost in. But it seems the opposite is true: that cloaked figure at the pub's corner table? Rhan. That Carbauschian wandering the coast and cliffs? Rhan. Trying to get in some alone time? She's almost guaranteed to show up at your elbow.]

Well, fancy seeing you here.

LYR & RHAN. CARBAUSCHIAN QUARTERS (DAY :033)

[It's late in the afternoon and you've made a mistake. Meaning: you've arrived just in time to catch Rhan and Lyr in the middle of a debate. Lyr has taken up post in one of the heavy built in bunks and Rhan is walking circles in the center of the space. Clearly most of the other Hosts have not yet returned from whatever misadventures they're having, or (more likely), the two elder hosts' dialogue has driven off any unwilling participants.

Not that you're so lucky. Before the newcomer can so much as shed an article of their heavy Carbauschian disguise, Rhan calls out:]

Oh! Just in time. Come help me tell Lyr he's being ridiculous.

Comments

[isorropia]

I have full faith in your common sense. Or at the very least, I have every reason to believe the man's abrasive enough to chase people off from even a good argument.

[She flashes a grin in Lyr's directiin; he accepts it with a kind of droll glance, then rolls his eyes toward Sam. If she's all effervescence, a small bird hopping on a wire with its head swiveling to and fro, Lyr's mind is a grumbling storm cloud, the gurgle of some small stream, the flat shape of a cold rock in autumn. He says:]

I merely think she should ask for help with her project.

[Rhan sharpens considerably. --Rallies quickly. Her protest is purposefully breezy, all the edge pointedly thrown out the proverbial window.] That's not it at all. Don't you change the subject. We were discussing whether it would be better to hold ourselves back from whatever challenge happens next. Not entirely, of course. And hell, if it's all basket weaving and drinking with friends from here on out then I'm all for it but I suspect we're in for something big again and I wonder if it's smarter to be... conservative with our numbers.

[They're not winning this prize; no need to put the whole kettle of fish in danger.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ He straps a pair of metal wings on his back and jumps off things, Rhan, his common sense isn't always what it could be.

And of course his focus sharpens when Lyr mentions that Rhan should ask for help, raising an eyebrow as he looks between them. Still, mysterious projects aside, he... actually does agree with Rhan there. ]

I thought that back in the last one. There's no reason to risk so many of us when we just need to look like we're participating, but we got a lot of stubborn jackasses. Doing the alliance shit with Nelly felt like a decent compromise, but - [ Look where that got them. He cuts off his reply there more out of the fact that he doesn't quite trust his voice to remain steady than anything else, honestly. The dull ache of grief still tugs at the back of his mind, a whisper on the stirring of a breeze.

But he lets it go, lets it fade back into the faint rush wind that always flavors his mental link. ]

What kind of project we talking about?

[isorropia]

Ah, poor sweet Nelly. [Rhan sighs it out, something in the clip of her voice purposefully wistful. Nevermind that she barley knew him; it's still a little sad (and maybe she's avoiding other subjects - who can say).] --Have you and Collector written that one down, yet?

[Lyr grunts in response, tapping his leg with a short finger. The motion seems to say yes, it's all been taken care of to the point that Rhan can't very well keep fixating on the matter. Instead she springs smoothly to the proverbial other foot, flashing Sam with a smile.]

Anyway, thank you for your input. I suspect Lyr here would prefer to have as many eyes on the main event as possible to make sure we're getting as much information from them as possible, but I'd rather see what can be done about making sure some of us are left over for when we get to the end of this thing. Hence: projects. How are yours going? I assume a clever young man like you has a few balls in the air.

[She winks. From where he's sitting, Lyr says:] She's trying to put you off the point.

[Rhan makes a face.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam watches them both, wondering briefly if this is what other people feel like trying to have a conversation with him and Bucky when they're bickering.

There's a lot there that he wants to ask about - Collector and Lyr writing things down, Lyr's method of getting information, what point they're arguing - but he pulls back, focusing on what Rhan said about having some of them left at the end.

He gives a little huff of air that's almost a chuckle at Lyr's comment. ]

Next time I get accused of talking too much, I'm gonna point at you. My priority now's the same as it is when we first got here: getting out of this with as little damage as possible, and keeping people alive. The rest of it - [ He shrugs, grimacing a little. ] I'm throwing stuff at the walls and seeing what sticks. If you got something, what's it gonna hurt to get help with it?

[isorropia]

[Well call her out why don't you, Sammy boy.]

It's not ready for your big strong beautiful fingers yet, handsome. But I promise [--this, with a significant look in Lyr's direction--] I'll let you know when it is. [See? She can be succinct. Take that. But also:] Now, on to something actually productive. Out of everyone here, who would you say is the cleverest? No need to be kind; you can be honest with me.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam's great at calling people out okay. ]

Flatterer. [ He flashes a grin at her, playful and teasing, even if he's still suspicious. ] Yeah, yeah, all right. I still wanna ask you your thoughts on what the hell that circle thing was and if it was important, though.

[ Is he still fixated on that? Yes, yes he is. Most people seemed to have accepted that they can't learn anything more about it and maybe he should take the hint instead of getting his broodmates on looking into it - but he can't help it, all right. Still, he considers her question, and even if he answers it with a question of his own, he opens up his mind enough to make it clear that he's not just stalling; he wants to give her as accurate of an answer as he can. ]

What kind of clever? There's book smart and people smart, able to problem solve or able to match wits, depends on what you're looking for.

[isorropia]

[Lyr makes a low noise from his side of the room that's more or less the verbal equivalent of an eye roll as he turns his attention back the papers scattered across his bunk and the small book open on his knee. Apparently ejecting his way out of this conversation, thank you very much.

Rhan however seems perfectly satisfied with this turn of conversation. She sets her knuckle against her chin, one pale finger balanced under the curve of her bright red lip.]

People smart, preferably. Problem solvers. Not that the rest isn't handy. --And oh, darling, as it turns out I have plenty of opinions on that mystery circle, isn't that right Lyr?

[Insert one long suffering noise from her gray haired broodmate.]

What are your thoughts on it?

crap how did I miss this notif

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ There's a soft huff of laughter. ]

People smart might be the one thing this group struggles with. Shepard and Lexa and Misato are problem solvers. Pidge, too, for anything tech. Elena's people smart. November and Hadrian are charmers.

[ But of course - that's Sam's biased opinion, and he doesn't always agree with the way any of those would solve the problem. He trusts them to varying degrees, though, enough to mention their names.

And he shrugs, sliding easily into his own thoughts about it - he's never one who minds sharing first. ]

I think the Enemy made it. I think it means they got another way off or on this planet - or at least a way of teleporting or communicating. I got Pidge a sample of it and Bucky working on trying to identify the tracks around it, and I think if anyone can figure something out, it's them.