Harrowheart (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
westfallcorndog) wrote2017-05-26 10:08 am
westfallcorndog) wrote2017-05-26 10:08 am
Missing – For Adia
Days have passed since Khan invaded the Nexus, leaving havoc and destruction in his wake and abetting some of the most unsavory figures of the Nexus to cause their own chaos in the hours that the anti-violence field was down. Harrowheart had missed most of the initial efforts to save survivors after the final confrontation – it was difficult enough for him to return to his own world and save himself after the destruction of one of his runeblades. In the time he'd been gone they had to be reforged and his body somewhat mended from the physical and magical wounds he'd sustained. Strips of flesh remained burned away from his face where Khan's plasma had melted anything it touched, and he was still forced to wear an eyepatch until his eye regenerated.
All that mattered was that he was well enough, and with an ominous new runeblade slung over his back, he returned to the Nexus to check on the people he cared about. His family, of course, was safe in Ixis Naugus' impenetrable tower, and he suspected Isidor and Viatorus were just fine – they were magically talented, and if worse came to worst they could have escaped back to Earth... But some couldn't have been so lucky.
His first stop is Steve's apartment. He knows where to find the key and doesn't bother knocking. If he comes in and finds Steve nakedly lounging, at least it means he's safe. What he doesn't expect is to find... Nothing at all. No Steve. He sniffs the air, but isn't sure what he was expecting to find. Of course it smells of him. Is it a distant smell, though? He can't quite tell.
He steps hesitantly inside, and the sound of his plate armor shifting seems so loud in the utter silence. The strange little animals Steve lives with aren't around, either...
"Is anyone home?" he asks, feeling stupid even as he does. It's not like anyone could be hiding out of view in this apartment. "Steve?" Light, what were the little beasts' names?... "Eth...el? Bucky? Sarah?"
It's empty. Totally empty. But that doesn't mean anything, right? Maybe they're out. They're all out helping people who need help. Of course that's the situation. Steve wouldn't sit around if he knew people were in need, and his little creatures were intelligent enough to go with him.
At a loss for what direction to take, Harrowheart does what he's spent the last few months in Acherus perfecting: Standing watch. With the door to the apartment still open he positions himself in the center of the room and stands stark still, his lone, glowing eye unblinking as it watches the doorway. It's only out of habit that he draws his weapon and stands it up, the blade's tip on the floor and his palms resting on the hilt as he waits.
All that mattered was that he was well enough, and with an ominous new runeblade slung over his back, he returned to the Nexus to check on the people he cared about. His family, of course, was safe in Ixis Naugus' impenetrable tower, and he suspected Isidor and Viatorus were just fine – they were magically talented, and if worse came to worst they could have escaped back to Earth... But some couldn't have been so lucky.
His first stop is Steve's apartment. He knows where to find the key and doesn't bother knocking. If he comes in and finds Steve nakedly lounging, at least it means he's safe. What he doesn't expect is to find... Nothing at all. No Steve. He sniffs the air, but isn't sure what he was expecting to find. Of course it smells of him. Is it a distant smell, though? He can't quite tell.
He steps hesitantly inside, and the sound of his plate armor shifting seems so loud in the utter silence. The strange little animals Steve lives with aren't around, either...
"Is anyone home?" he asks, feeling stupid even as he does. It's not like anyone could be hiding out of view in this apartment. "Steve?" Light, what were the little beasts' names?... "Eth...el? Bucky? Sarah?"
It's empty. Totally empty. But that doesn't mean anything, right? Maybe they're out. They're all out helping people who need help. Of course that's the situation. Steve wouldn't sit around if he knew people were in need, and his little creatures were intelligent enough to go with him.
At a loss for what direction to take, Harrowheart does what he's spent the last few months in Acherus perfecting: Standing watch. With the door to the apartment still open he positions himself in the center of the room and stands stark still, his lone, glowing eye unblinking as it watches the doorway. It's only out of habit that he draws his weapon and stands it up, the blade's tip on the floor and his palms resting on the hilt as he waits.
Fun Fact: On Azeroth, cells are called 'pixels'
He'll let her think that over while he considers the fact that he was not only slightly wrong, but super wrong about what she studies. "Micro... Organisms? Like whole creatures that're..." He idly rubs at one of his sideburns while he works through this. "I know cells are what our body's supposed to be made out of, but there's critters that small too? That... Don't make any sense, but... You're the expert, which means you know best, huh?" Dubious though he might be, he's willing to believe. After all, it's not a stretch for him to accept that there's a wealth of knowledge out there he might never understand.
"Guess it's kinda like gods," he muses. "I can't see 'em, but I'll put my faith in you and believe in 'em." He elbows Adia playfully, careful not to be too strong and knock the statue out of her arms.
"And, y'know, magical diseases like... Frost fever?" He looks at Adia to gauge her familiarity, but explains it regardless. "Makes a person colder and colder until they die. Crypt fever, which makes people crave flesh so they eat each other 'til they die." His eyes shift left to right as he tries to remember others. "Ebon plague, which makes a person's blood clot up and their skin turns all black – 'til they die, of course. Uhhh... Oh! Blood plague! Makes a person welt up in big ol' blood boils 'til they pop and give all their diseases to everyone else." He waves a hand and shrugs one shoulder. "There's probably more, but we don't always give 'em names."
He raises his eyebrows and tips his head when a realization comes to him. "So you and the folks on your ship... You're sorta like the Royal Apothecary Society, huh? You're brewin' plagues and craftin' diseases to kill the clone-bots who're after y'all, right? On my world there's rules and consequences for armies doin' that, but in your case... Shoot, it's probably a smart idea. Have you tried puttin' diseases in their food and water? That's how the Scourge killed about half the humans on my world. Maybe it'll help set y'all free?"
And diseases are caused by bad code?
The fact that he knows what cells are surprises her, considering how little he knows of the subject otherwise. "That's right. The human body -- all living things, actually -- are made up of cells. But there are some living things that are only one cell, like bacteria and viruses. Some of those cause disease, but some help us, too. I mostly study the former." His elbow nudge throws off her balance for a moment, but she laughs it off, even as Bucky circles a little lower to make sure she's okay. "The wonderful thing about science is that you don't have to take my word for it. I tell you what, I'm trying to get ahold of a microscope in the Nexus. When I do, you'll be able to see for yourself some microorganisms. It's really cool."
She listens to Harrowheart's list of diseases with a fascinated sort of revulsion. They sound far worse than anything the colonies ever experienced. Not even a hemorrhagic fever ends in exploding blood boils. But there is curiosity in her expression, too, as she begins to wonder how they work on a physiological level. "What causes these diseases? Do you cast a spell, or is it like a toxin?"
Once again, Harrowheart is very wrong about what she does, but instead of polite confusion, she stops in her tracks and stares at him, her expression somewhere between outrage and disgust. "What? No! I wouldn't-- the people on my ship study how to cure diseases, not make them worse!"
And then, just as quickly, she looks away, embarrassed by her outburst. "Sorry," she says, catching her breath before meeting his gaze again. "I forgot... it's different on your world, sorry. But we have those same rules, too, about biological warfare. It's... if we used that on the Cylons, we'd be the very thing they hate us for being." She grips the statue in her arms a little tighter. "And even if we did, I would never work on a project like that."
Diseases are what we call "the playerbase."
Listening to Adia talk about cells and microorganisms brings him a little smile and keeps the conversation lighter, fortunately. He listens quietly with large, bright eyes – well, eye in his current state – and his smile broadens a little more with the phrase 'the wonderful thing about science is...'
"You sound so much like Doctor Photovolt, my brother's girlfriend – except you absolutely cannot call her that in front of my folks, 'cause Mom and Dad don't wanna think about their son bein' in an interracial relationship. Anyways, she's a scientist, too. She works with electricity and power. Power that comes from the sun. She talks just like you, always actin' all..." He clears his throat before he attempts a falsetto voice, "You'd believe me if you could see, but I don't have the tools to show you!" When he's through he laughs at his own impersonation of her.
But they're quickly back to serious subjects, and one which Adia clearly has some passionate opinions on. He raises his eyebrows and leans away slightly, but is neither offended by nor guilty for the sudden burst of emotions. A few seconds and a few steps pass before he quietly asks, "Does it matter if you are the thing they hate you for, so long as you win? I mean, what's more important... That humanity lives, or that the folks who wanna kill y'all maybe feel a little remorse about it in a few hundred years 'cause you were such good sports? It'd be one thing if they were peaceful, but... When it's life or death, there ain't no choice but to play to win."
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She blinks and nods hurriedly before Harrowheart even finishes telling her about Doctor Photovolt, not wanting to ruffle any family feathers. The impression gets an awkward smile out of her, before she looks up at him hopefully. "Do you think she'll be around tonight? I'd love to talk to her about her research." It doesn't matter that it's not in Adia's field. There is a serious dearth of scientists in the Nexus, and as much as she doesn't mind explaining over and over what she does for a living, it'd be great to have a professional conversation for a change.
The outrage is gone, softening to a lingering consternation as she resumes walking alongside him. This is the same man who wanted her and Caspar to live happily ever after. Why would he blithely suggest that she essentially infect him and his kind with the plague? The dichotomy makes more sense when he speaks to her again, and she listens silently before formulating a response.
"You were right about Caspar," she finally remarks, sidestepping his questions. "He went against his model's programming to save me from being tortured. And Julia... she's another Cylon, she was in my lab. When Galactica came back to rescue us from New Caprica, a Four tried to stop me and she killed him. Which... they don't do that. Cylons don't kill other Cylons." She starts to gesture with a hand, but stops herself, not wanting to lose her grip on the statue. "And I know that those are just anecdotes, that the Cylons still hate us... but maybe... maybe we can win this war without having to do to them what they're trying to do to us."
And then, lest Harrowheart think that she's completely naive, she smiles wryly and adds, "Besides, we'd probably screw it up and infect ourselves instead. That's what happened with our defense system... the Cylons infiltrated it and turned it on us."
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"So they're programmed," he says, thinking out loud. Is that new information? Whether it is or isn't he's considering it in a new light. The Cylons are programmed to behave a particular way... Except some of them don't? His eyelid and brows are all aflutter with his thoughts.
"But some of them... They got free will? They can save you, like Julia, or... They can love. Like Caspar."
It's strangely overwhelming for being such a simple notion. People have their own opinions, goals, dreams, decisions... Even the enemy. He folds his arms in front of his chest and walks along their path, unspeaking for quite some time. He hardly takes his eyes off the road, only looking at Adia when he dodges people to be sure she isn't lost in any crowds.
Eventually he does turn to her, though, and in as much a question as a statement says, "They're their own people?"
He's not sure he expected that. He's not sure what he expected, honestly. The last time they spoke she called them robots, and robots generally don't have their own wishes and dreams, and they certainly don't love – not in his experience, anyway. Yet Caspar did. He'd been so caught up in trying to get her to fall back in love with a man he thought he identified with that he hadn't really considered the deeper implications of it all.
"I guess I figured they were like the Scourge. Which... Won't make any sense to you, maybe. But the Scourge, we only thought what the Lich King made us think. We were different, sometimes, but... We were all the same, too? We were..." His nostrils flare and he quickly motions to Adia. "Cells! And the Scourge was our body. Last time we talked you told me that the Cylons are robots, and their..." He gestures vaguely to his head and guesses, "Consciousness? Went into some kinda... Cloud, maybe? And they came back to life as the same person. Like demons in the Legion, they got immortal souls. And maybe I figured they were just like demons, who all obey the Legion. They only got one goal, and that's killin' everything. Demons don't fight other demons unless someone forces 'em to, just like Scourge don't fight Scourge. Except..."
He shifts his mouth from side to side and goes back to thinking. Normally he'd ramble off whatever thoughts crossed his mind, but this feels like a situation that deserves some honest thought.
"Except Ebon Blade knights, like me, who got our free will. So we're Scourge, but we're not. We're undead like the Scourge, but we're all our own people through and through. We're somethin' else. So... Maybe... Julia and Caspar are like Knights of the Ebon Blade. They're Cylons, but they're not Cylons? Which means there's probably more Not-Cylons like them out there."
He points a finger at her then and says eagerly, "So you can form an alliance with 'em! An Ashen Verdict! And then y'all can kill the rest of the Cylons together!"
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But she is reacting to his words, if he happens to notice. There's a soft blush when he mentions Caspar, an encouraging smile when he makes his biological analogy to the Scourge, and a thoughtful frown when she realizes how oddly appropriate that analogy is.
When he reaches his triumphant conclusion, she smiles at him in relief and appreciation, because this time he's actually gotten it right. "For decades, we thought of Cylons as this monolithic entity. Many different minds, but only one will. Even in their biological form, we made the same mistake, that each one is an individual, but they're all in agreement with every decision. And even if they don't agree, once they vote on something, they go through with it without argument... and they did little to dissuade us of that assumption, by the way. I think they wanted us to see them as this superior race that doesn't suffer from petty squabbles like humans do. But... Caspar still cared enough about me to save me. And Julia never thought she was human, never knew me from before... who's to say that there aren't more Cylons like them?"
She keeps her look of optimism for a few more steps until Harrowheart's suggestion sinks in. Rather than give her more hope, she smiles somewhat sadly and turns her attention back to the road. "That's a nice thought, but... not so soon after the Occupation. I don't think anyone's ready to trust any Cylons for a long while." She thinks briefly of Four grabbing her roughly by the hair and fails to suppress another shiver. "And some of them still hate us very much.... no, we need to find Earth first. It'll give us a little breathing room and put us in a position to negotiate a real truce."
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"Aren't you worried that the Cylons'll follow you to Earth? What's gonna be the big difference when they get there? You think the Earth humans can hold 'em off?"
As much as he'd like to end it there, his curiosity gets the better of him and he can't help but ask, "And Julia... She knew she was a Cylon, but she was workin' with you? With your human scientists? On your side, or?... I mean... Was she a colleague pursuin' your cause, or were you more like her, uh..." He clears his throat, and for lack of more eloquent phrasing asks, "Human slave?"
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She shakes her head in response to his hesitantly-worded question. "She wasn't on my side, but I wasn't her slave, either. When the Cylons found us on New Caprica, they decided to occupy us instead of destroying outright. They brought in a Four to oversee our research. We was supposed to train Julia... I was the only one who would say more than two words to her, so she ended up spending the most time with me."
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Speaking of good thoughts: Human and Cylon relations. The subject of Julia is still interesting to him, though in a detached sort of way. He's not the one who had to labor under a Cylon's watchful eye.
"I don't think I coulda been in your position," is the first thing he thinks to say. "Someone from a race I don't like forcin' me to work with 'em? For 'em? Teach 'em things?" The disgust is palpable in his voice. If he had even less class than he does he'd probably spit at the thought of it all. "Why'd you put up with it? I mean, I get it if you couldn't escape, but... What made you wanna be nice to her in the first place?"
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His second question stings, although she tries not to show it. He can't know how closely his reaction mirrors most of the humans in her Fleet. No one has accused her of being a Cylon sympathizer to her face, but she's sure that's what some other people think of her. First a Cylon ex-boyfriend, and then a Cylon co-worker...
"No one would talk to her," she says quietly, her gaze dropping. "At first I... I was worried she would get mad. Cylons only need the tiniest of excuses to inflict violence on humans... and, um, one of her model -- they're called Sixes -- she had been tortured and abused aboard the Pegasus, another of our battlestars. For... days, I think. Just brutalized." She shivers and clutches the statue a little tighter. "Whenever I looked at her, all I could think of was her sister, and... I don't know. I figured I could listen to her babble about her God if it meant that it kept everyone in the lab safe."
She felt sorry for her, is what she wants to say, but can't. What does a Cylon need of a human's pity? "I know it's not what other people would have done, and it's not like being nice to everybody won any wars, but... she did save my life. I don't think she would have done that if I'd ignored her like everybody else."
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"What happened to her?" he finally things to ask. "Julia. You said you're on your ship again, right? Not on that occupied world? So did you take Julia with you, or?..."
He continually flits his attention between Adia and the Nexus ahead of him as he awaits her answer. Not terribly far in the distance is the sight of Naugus' tower. They're getting close, and it won't be long before they're there.
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"I don't know," she admits. "After she knocked out Four, she told me to run. That's the last I saw of her... I hope she's okay. Four would have resurrected by now, probably." Which makes her wonder, how do Cylons punish other Cylons for their crimes? The death penalty is pointless if you can resurrect...
Her gaze instinctively travels up the tower looming before them. "Is that where we're headed?" She's never noticed it before, but when the Nexus skyline is full of all sorts of strange buildings, a wizard's tower doesn't stand out quite as much.
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He nods when she asks about the tower. "That's Ixis Naugus' place. He ain't been out in a long time. Family barely sees him, except when they bring him food or he comes down for supplies. I don't know what he's up to, but he's an archmage, so I figure he's cookin' up somethin' big."
Still, there's a little bit of silence to fill before they're there, and something has been scratching at his mind since Adia mentioned it. "What's the Cylon god like? What do robot clones believe in?"
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She looks ahead to Sarah, then up at Bucky, making sure they're both headed in the right direction. Ethel is still plodding along beside her. "An archmage," she repeats thoughtfully. Guess it wouldn't make much sense for someone non-magical to live in a tower like that. "He's your friend? Is that why he let your family move onto his property?"
The question doesn't surprise her, considering how much they've talked about Cylons and gods. She frowns a little, trying to remember what Julia told her. "They only believe in one god. He's not a -- an even bigger robot or A.I., so far as I can tell. He's big on forgiveness, but you have to prove yourself worthy of it." Her frown grows. "Cylons have passed his test, but humans apparently have not. For what it's worth, I haven't seen any evidence for him, either."
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"Is Naugus my friend?" he repeats. He's... Honestly not sure. His expression twists up into a thoughtful confusion and there comes another shrug. "I thought he was? But... Y'know, I'm pretty sure he don't think of people in terms like 'friends.' There's useful and there's not-useful. I... I mean, I ain't tryin' to sound ungrateful or nothin', but when I showed up at his castle with my family all bleedin' and scared from leavin' our home when the demons came, he was kinda..."
His mouth shifts side to side as he debates how to explain this. "He kinda didn't give a damn? Like he didn't understand. Like it didn't matter to him. Before that I thought he was my friend. Now... I guess I know how he works a little better. And I guess it don't bother me too bad anymore, 'cause he did give my whole family a home, after all. He pays for them to eat, pays for them to have clothes, doesn't ask for rent. He didn't even ask that they work on his land or clean his castle, but they do, 'cause what else would they do with their days? It's a lot like bein' back home, I guess."
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She stays silent during Harrowheart's explanation, her gaze divided between him and the tower. "But he didn't turn them away... does he think that they're useful for something?" She's not used to people like that, who don't even pretend to buy into the concept of friendship. "What sort of magic does he do? Do you know?"
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"I think he thinks I'm useful," Harrow says, nodding toward the tower. "Long as Naugus protects my family, I owe him one. Whatever he wants, I'll do it. Sounds like a hard bargain, but I don't think there's anyplace in the universe they could be safer than in his tower." He gestures to it, to the strange crystals it's made from, and says, "He conjures crystals that can't be broken except by him. No one can get into his castle unless he wants 'em in. It ain't gonna burn down, or blow over in the wind... Nobody like that Khan guy can hurt my folks if the anti-violence field goes down... It's worth it. I'll do whatever Naugus wants so long as they can stay there."
And then to her last question he laughs. "He's an archmage! Actually, he's an 'Ixis,' which is a title, not his first name. Far as I can tell it means the same as an archmage, anyway. He's good at all sorts of magic. All the elements, at least. You don't get to be an archmage bein' a one-trick pony."
There's a split rail fence made mostly of new wood surrounding the property now, and even the beginnings of a gate lying just inside, waiting for a few final boards to be added before it's finished. And the person who's working on it arrives in short order. He's a man who looks to be in his mid-to-late forties with a sketchy hairline, a stubbly beard, a thick-rimmed pair of glasses, and facial features that are strikingly similar to Harrowheart's. He squints at the two when he's a few yards off. Of course he recognizes his dumb brother, who waves like an idiot, but that woman? That's not Isidor, is it? Shit, he hopes not...
Following close behind him are... The pokémon! A short, squat snover is waddling behind with her arms raised to hold up a few planks for the gate. A fuzzy little swinub is following close behind, grunting and huffing as it struggles to keep up. Its mouth is concealed by its long hair, but sticking out from the tip of its snout are the ends of a few iron nails it's carrying. Swinub has to be a helper somehow, too!
Unfortunately for Lawrence, both pokémon drop their cargo the split second they see... Other pokémon! Planks and nails go flying and Lawrence mumbles some colorful language under his breath as he scrambles to find the nails in the grass before they're lost for good. Snover and swinub make a break for it, both overfed little beasts waddling at top speed to meet Adia's pokémon. All humans will have to wait for their greets!
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She hopes so, anyway. As Harrowheart describes his relationship with Naugus, she wonders if Julia has the same expectations. She saved Adia's life, will she expect something in return? She hopes not... that's not how friendships are supposed to work. Not that she thinks less of Harrowheart for the bargain he's made. He's keeping his family safe... a lot of family safe, if the size of the property before them is any indication.
His explanation of Naugus's powers gets the faintest of nods as she catches sight of the man working on the gate. He must be related to Harrowheart. An older brother, maybe? Oh, and Harrowheart is waving at him, should she wave too? She's about to, but then --
A furry piggie! And a little snowy tree thing! They are so cute. And look, they're helping! It takes all of Adia's willpower to not clasp her hands in front of her and squeal like a small child. Which is good, because then she'd drop the Mary statue and go to Steve's god's equivalent of Tartarus for a thousand years, or whatever happens when you destroy a Catholic relic.
Steve's pokémon are far less subdued, racing to meet their distant relations, Sarah leading the way with a loud, cheerful bark. Ethel plods along as fast as she can, adding to the noise with her oddly metallic call. And Bucky, who had been lazily gliding in circles most of the way, swoops down and chirps in greeting, with none of the wariness he saves for humans.
If any of them had arms, they'd probably give out hugs. Instead, there is friendly sniffing and playful tail wagging. Hello, new friends!
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"The piggy's name is Lil' Buddy," Harrow says, which catches Buddy's attention. Swinub quickly realizes he's not being called and gets back to grunting and romping with
Steve'sAdia's pokémon. "And the treant's name is Miss Dank Nugz," Harrow says, smiling like the idiot he is.He hardly gets that out of his mouth before Lawrence, his fist full of nails, stomps over and loudly clarifies, "No it's not! Holy shit, Harrowheart, that's the dumbest, most demeaning name you could have possibly come up with." Embarrassed, he turns to Adia and calmly explains, "Her name is not Miss Dank Nugz, it's Magnolia, and we call her Miss Maggie, and she appreciates that."
For what it's worth the snover doesn't even look over at the mention of any of these names. She's patting Sarah and Ethel on the head with both arms and squeaking out her little pokésounds with glee.
The man stows away the nails he had in his hand into a pouch on his toolbelt and removes his long gloves so that he can shake with clean hands. A clean... Robotic hand? His right arm from the elbow down has been replaced with a mechanical prosthetic made of steel and covered in a black material.
"Lawrence Weatherhill," he calls himself. "I'm Harrowheart's brother. You're a friend of his?" Then he nods his head toward the pokémon and, smiling faintly (because pokémon make everyone smile) asks, "And these are friends of yours, I take it?"
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Lil Buddy is an adorable name. Miss Dank Nugz is not. She's visibly relieved when she's provided with something far more appropriate to call the cute little tree-creature. But that relief is short-lived, because it's introduction time, and it's important that she make a good impression. This isn't just anybody, it's her friend's brother.
First, she has to carefully shift the statue into the crook of one arm so that she can shake Lawrence's hand. The robotic arm gives her pause, and she stares at it a moment before blushing and realizing that she's staring. Rude! She shakes his hand with more enthusiasm than the greeting probably deserves to make up for it. "Hi, I'm Adia. It's nice to meet you. Yes, I'm friends with him. Harrowheart -- your brother. He invited me over so that our pokémon could have a playdate. Well, um, they're not my pokémon, they belong to Steve, who is another friend of your brother's. And mine, obviously. He was hurt during the invasion so I'm looking after them. The one that looks like a dog is Sarah, the one with the shiny head is Ethel, and the bird is Bucky. Bucky is wary of strangers. Um, strange humans, anyway. Not that you're strange! Strange to him, I mean..."
She trails off, embarrassed by her own babbling. Looks like hair color is the only thing this woman and Isidor have in common.
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"Pokémon? That's what they're called? Hmm..." Adia taught him something without even meaning to. She can't be all bad, even if she is almost painfully awkward. He waves to the pokémon then, even if they aren't watching, and says, "Hello Bucky, Ethel, and Sarah. Buddy, Maggie, don't tell them anything bad about me, you got that?" Lil' Buddy grunts cheerfully and Lawrence takes that as a promise with a nod of his head.
"So?" he says, turning back to Adia and slipping his gloves back on. "Did you come for lunch?" He's going to breeze right past her comments on strangeness and save her some shred of dignity. "Half of us are working and half of us are asleep, so don't be offended if it's not a big affair." Having said that he waves his hands in an unspoken offer to take the statue from Adia, freeing her for the remainder of the walk.
Harrowheart asks, "Is Tamminy around? 'Cause I know somethin' about Adia that I think Tams is gonna like."
Lawrence eyes Adia up and down with a renewed sense of suspicion... But he does eventually nod. He motions for them to follow and Maggie, who had been watching, mimics his gesture to bring the pokémon along. She and Buddy scuttle after the long-legged humans and know their exact destination: the U-shaped table built in the center of the yard. And the best part about that table? There's food! It looks like the family has eaten about half of the potato stew they'd made, and Maggie is more than happy to helpfully begin ladling soup into small bowls for herself and the other pokémon. Are Steve's friends used to eating People Food? They're about to be. Maybe it explains why poor Lil' Buddy isn't so lil' these days?...
The arrival of new pokémon sparks the attention of the pink-haired woman who had already been sitting at one end of the table, her mind and hands busied with calculations and stacks of notebooks. She beams at the sight of the dog and the bird and – gasp! – even a dinosaur! In a rush she closes up her books and weighs her papers down so that she can hop down from the table and greet these fantastic new monsters. When she's seated on a stack of books it's not so obvious that she isn't the height of the average human, but when she's standing and patting her short knees with her long arms to coax Sarah over it's immediately obvious.
"Tamminy!" Lawrence shouts despite the fact that he could certainly speak at a normal level.
"What?!" she shouts back in her high-pitched voice, "Can't you see I'm trying to pet a do– Oh! We've got a guest!" She wipes imaginary dust from her pants and hurries over with an eagerly-extended, three-fingered hand to greet Adia.
"She's a friend of Harrowheart," Lawrence says, and Tamminy raises her eyebrows.
"Really?" she asks in surprise, "Them walking here together and having a playdate with her pets... I thought maybe they were enemies." Lawrence rolls his eyes and scoffs while Tamminy giggles.
Harrowheart puts an armored arm around Lawrence's shoulder to cool him off and helpfully tells Tamminy, "Adia's a scientist! Just like you! Which is somethin' I definitely knew about her for a real long time and didn't just learn about on the walk over here."
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"I... yes?" Adia looks up at Harrowheart to double-check that she is still invited for lunch. She smiles gratefully at Lawrence as she passes off the statue. "Oh, no, that's fine. Thank you so much for having me over." She follows dutifully when motioned, taking in the U-shaped table in front of her. Okay, wow, that table is huge, thank goodness she won't be eating with all of Harrowheart's family at once.
Steve's pokémon certainly seem okay with eating people food. Sarah already has her face in her dish, snarfing up potato stew like it's her job. Distracted by how adorable Maggie is serving the other pokémon, she only frets a little over whether it's okay for her charges to eat potato stew or not. It's a special occasion, this playdate, some bowls of "sometimes" food should be fine.
Adia smiles brightly at the petite scientist and shakes her hand. "H, Tamminy. It's wonderful to meet you. Harrowheart told me a little bit about your research. You're currently working with solar energy, is that right?" Unlike her awkward encounter with Lawrence, there is no hesitation or staring. She even laughs softly at Tamminy's friendly teasing. "I'm a microbiologist, I study infectious diseases."
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Tamminy gasps excitedly when Adia announces her profession. "Microbio! Ohhhh, that's fascinating! And a human microbiologist at that..." She rests her chin in her hand and looks Adia up and down with a little smile, like an art critic enjoying what she sees. Suddenly something occurs to her and she gasps again, this time with flushed cheeks. "Oh, that must have come off so rudely! I wasn't trying to talk down to you, I hope you don't think of me like that! Only... On Azeroth, there really aren't that many human scientists? Great architects, great leaders, even some of the greatest magi! But science is mostly for gnomes." She puts her hand on her chest to clarify what a gnome is on the off-chance Adia didn't know.
Tamminy takes a seat at the bench and pats the spot beside her encouragingly. Sit, talk! Still a little embarrassed at her previous comments she continues, "It's social, not biological. Of course humans have the capacity for great science. Harrowheart even tells me there are whole worlds with nothing but humans, and their advancements might even outpace ours. Do you come from a world like that? Can you tell me about it? I'd love to hear a little background before I ask you about your research."
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She takes the seat next to Tamminy without hesitation. Harrowheart has his brother to talk to, so she doesn't feel bad about ignoring the two men in favor of giving the woman her full attention. "It is so nice to meet a fellow scientist in the Nexus. There are so few of us, for whatever reason." She nods in response to Tamminy's questions, flattered by her curiosity. "There are only humans where I'm from... well, humans and Cylons. Sentient robots... but, um, if you've met anyone from a 21st century Earth, our science is about on par with that, save for space travel and robotics. Oh! I should add, I'm not from Earth." She glances Harrowheart's way briefly and smiles. "it's nice to have that in common, too."
Further elaboration will have to wait a moment, because that bowl of stew in front of her smells really good, and she can no longer wait to start eating it.
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Harrowheart quietly sets a bowl of soup in Tamminy's lap, but she immediately sets it back on the table. Come on, death knight, she's thinking here! Interrupting her with food...
She's back to looking at Adia and watching her eat with the distant stare of someone who isn't thinking about what's in front of them.
"A world full of humans and sentient bots... And you're implying you've mastered space travel? Fascinating... Your world's understanding of batteries and energy generation must be incredibly advanced. This whole Nexus puts me in the strangest predicament. My first instinct is to ask for the schematics for your ship's power supplies, but then I stop and think it over, and I wonder how much I want someone else's work to influence my own..." Her eyes narrow and she forces herself off the topic. Or tries to, anyway.
"So, infectious diseases, hmm? Have you learned anything groundbreaking here in the Nexus? Would you take knowledge you gained here back to your own world? Can that even be done?"
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