"not here right now.
leave a message. will get back to you soon.
probably."
TEXT
CALL
VIDEO
NOTE: As of 12/2016, Rey has adopted the alias "Fiona Stransky" when working with the Guard. Something to keep in mind, as Rey maintains a low profile with her involvement in the group. Other than what is mentioned in the Guard records, there is no trace of a "Fiona" identified on the network.
[Nothing about the place seems off: the shed itself is fairly spacious on the inside, with one half dedicated to being a storage and work area, and the other a sitting room of sorts. The half closest to the door features a makeshift closet -- presumably for gardening tools -- and a work table that's currently host to a few plants waiting to be repotted. The ground gives way to a wooden floor past the table, making the other half of the building look far more like a home away from home. There's a small pallet bed, a coffee table, a couple of chairs, and even a shrine of sorts in the corner. Natural materials are everywhere, from the wood of the floor to the furs on the bed, to the very maw made of various rocks and bones on the shrine.
There's only one standout, something not nearly as natural as the rest of the room: on the coffee table is a piece of jagged metal, within which he's placed a few rocks he found particularly lovely. He's clearly using it as a decoration, but its unnatural hue does make it a bit of an anomaly in an otherwise organic room.
He directs her to the chairs, taking a seat in one himself after he closes the door. The clergyman debates inwardly with himself for only a second before just getting to the meat of the subject:]
[It starts off normal enough. On the surface, this could be nothing more than a house call. Carlisle's helped her ass after a few scrapes, so it's only fair for her to return the favor, right?
[His proposal gives her pause, though.]
What.
You mean, with you? ["Not 'for' you?" she means to imply.] What for?
[He clears his throat, wringing his fingers together.]
Well, there are certain rituals where I come from that require one to procure a gift for their, um, intended, and said gift needs to be made from materials gathered during a hunt performed by the party imparting the gift. And they need not go alone, though usually they do, especially people of my social standing, but as slaying wild beasts is not exactly my specialty, I thought that, ah. P- perhaps I could ask you, a skilled pyromancer and presumably soldier of some sort, for your assistance in this endeavor. I could- I would repay you in any way I could, of course.
[He uses a lot more words than necessary to describe the situation, but the details are appreciated nevertheless.
[Rey just sighs, supposing that she does make good on her word that she protect Carlisle when necessary. Just because she hasn't seen Shadow around doesn't make that concern any less valid.]
A hunt, huh? [She folds her arms. Strange practice.] And the only things you can really catch are out in the caves -- or the sharks in the lake.
[Both aren't exactly places that someone like Carlisle has any business venturing alone.]
You have any particular "beast" in mind, or will just any one do?
[Rey sounds just as thrilled. She doesn't do well, fighting alongside others, even those who have experience. But with someone who's just as hopeless at combat as he is with social graces? Disastrous.]
If you say so. Haven't been in the tunnels for a while, but it probably won't take long for something to show up.
[There's an awkward pause after a quiet sigh, as though this venture is already weighing on him before it's even begun. He clears his throat again seconds later.]
I am, ah. Required to properly compensate for the services of a mercenary when it comes to this. I suppose you know what skills I have to offer -- healing, tea, minor enchanting. I'm afraid I'm not terribly versed in what, er... would be considered valuable to someone who is partially a construct, given my inexperience with t- technology. [And outright fear of it.] I suppose if nothing else, I will be indebted to you.
[Compensation? Mercenary? Rey blinks before she focuses on the contents of what he's saying.]
Is that necessary? Don't really want anything, and I also don't care for you to have any more of that "debt" shit hanging over your head.
[Seriously. She'd seen how much it fucked with Carlisle with Shadow. She doesn't want to contribute to that any more than she already did when he first got here, thinking she was some other woman from a spaceship.
[Weird times indeed, and regardless of how it affected him with Shadow -- and still affects him, which he will never admit aloud to anyone -- he seems insistent about this.]
It isn't as though I'd be making amends to you as I was before, Miss Rey. This- this would be a simple barter, rather. Paying for your services.
So long as the exchange is fair and doesn't leave you feeling inclined to do more afterwards...
[Leave it to Rey be annoyed about getting too much in return of services.]
What do you have in mind? [It isn't like she's just going to look through Carlisle's stuff and take whatever looks useful, even if he might have come to expect that from certain individuals.]
[Carlisle hasn't put much thought into how he'd pay for this, aside from 'well, should you ever be mauled by someone or shot by a shirtless maniac again, my healing skills are yours.' He weaves his fingers together, his brow knitting as his eyes settle onto the table before him... and onto the metal decoration that sits there.]
Are you a smith of any sort, by chance? I have seen you in armor before.
You mean the Exurosuit? No, it was... It was designed for me. Didn't make it though. Just fix it up sometimes -- routine maintenance.
[Whatever it is he's thinking, it's probably a better trade-off than his own healing talents. And not just because she knows for a fact that he'd do that on-call anyway.]
Ah. I just— I had a passing thought that perhaps this might be of some use to you.
[He picks up the metal plate on the table, sliding the rocks off of it.]
I know it isn't exactly armor, but it's a stronger steel than I am accustomed to. It isn't... exactly valuable, I suppose, but if you could find a use for it, it'd be better off than it is here.
I found it a while back. Before I had my garden proper, I'd set out to do some digging when the false gods so demanded it of us. I just wanted the tools and soil really, but I found that while planting some flowers. An odd thing to be buried, but I was curious, and so I took it with me.
[She takes a moment to look at it. Despite all the knowledge she has crammed into her head, her past selves aren't quite specialists in every field... nice as that would be.]
Well, am no metallurgist, but it might be useful. Can't tell if it came from a weapon or armor... or one of those Null.
[Carlisle seems to shiver just a bit at the mention of the Null. He has little idea of what to expect from them, but the idea that they're technological in any way rattles him.]
I will admit that I have not put much thought into where it might have come from, through if the false gods are truly moving the entire city from place to place, I suppose I should have thought to ask.
[But that would require talking to them, and he likes that idea even less than the Null.]
[Unlike Carlisle -- and a good number of many in this place -- Rey has a better idea on how things like the Null function. They're not that hard to figure out, though it might not come as easy to one raised with magic rather than technology.
[She studies the piece of metal, a brow arching as she turns it over.]
Can ask them sometime, if it becomes relevant.
Why do you keep calling them that, anyway?
[The answer should be obvious, but Rey wants to hear it anyway.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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There's only one standout, something not nearly as natural as the rest of the room: on the coffee table is a piece of jagged metal, within which he's placed a few rocks he found particularly lovely. He's clearly using it as a decoration, but its unnatural hue does make it a bit of an anomaly in an otherwise organic room.
He directs her to the chairs, taking a seat in one himself after he closes the door. The clergyman debates inwardly with himself for only a second before just getting to the meat of the subject:]
I need you to go on a hunt with me, Miss Rey.
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[His proposal gives her pause, though.]
What.
You mean, with you? ["Not 'for' you?" she means to imply.] What for?
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[He clears his throat, wringing his fingers together.]
Well, there are certain rituals where I come from that require one to procure a gift for their, um, intended, and said gift needs to be made from materials gathered during a hunt performed by the party imparting the gift. And they need not go alone, though usually they do, especially people of my social standing, but as slaying wild beasts is not exactly my specialty, I thought that, ah. P- perhaps I could ask you, a skilled pyromancer and presumably soldier of some sort, for your assistance in this endeavor. I could- I would repay you in any way I could, of course.
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[Rey just sighs, supposing that she does make good on her word that she protect Carlisle when necessary. Just because she hasn't seen Shadow around doesn't make that concern any less valid.]
A hunt, huh? [She folds her arms. Strange practice.] And the only things you can really catch are out in the caves -- or the sharks in the lake.
[Both aren't exactly places that someone like Carlisle has any business venturing alone.]
You have any particular "beast" in mind, or will just any one do?
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It needs to be an appropriate challenge -- for both of us, given you are a far more skilled warrior than I am.
[He's more of a worrier than a warrior.]
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[She knows this well enough just from her ventures into the caves on her own, in addition to Sato.]
What sort of gift do you have in mind?
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[Or decide on the way. Or between now and their hunt. It's a work in progress.]
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Otherwise there might be some things in the tunnels that you could make do with.
[Pause.]
Does this mean you have to come along?
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[And he doesn't sound happy about that at all.]
I suppose I would prefer the tunnels, if I have a choice in this matter. We don't have to go far into them. Just... far enough.
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[Rey sounds just as thrilled. She doesn't do well, fighting alongside others, even those who have experience. But with someone who's just as hopeless at combat as he is with social graces? Disastrous.]
If you say so. Haven't been in the tunnels for a while, but it probably won't take long for something to show up.
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[There's an awkward pause after a quiet sigh, as though this venture is already weighing on him before it's even begun. He clears his throat again seconds later.]
I am, ah. Required to properly compensate for the services of a mercenary when it comes to this. I suppose you know what skills I have to offer -- healing, tea, minor enchanting. I'm afraid I'm not terribly versed in what, er... would be considered valuable to someone who is partially a construct, given my inexperience with t- technology. [And outright fear of it.] I suppose if nothing else, I will be indebted to you.
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Is that necessary? Don't really want anything, and I also don't care for you to have any more of that "debt" shit hanging over your head.
[Seriously. She'd seen how much it fucked with Carlisle with Shadow. She doesn't want to contribute to that any more than she already did when he first got here, thinking she was some other woman from a spaceship.
[Weird times.]
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It isn't as though I'd be making amends to you as I was before, Miss Rey. This- this would be a simple barter, rather. Paying for your services.
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So long as the exchange is fair and doesn't leave you feeling inclined to do more afterwards...
[Leave it to Rey be annoyed about getting too much in return of services.]
What do you have in mind? [It isn't like she's just going to look through Carlisle's stuff and take whatever looks useful, even if he might have come to expect that from certain individuals.]
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[Carlisle hasn't put much thought into how he'd pay for this, aside from 'well, should you ever be mauled by someone or shot by a shirtless maniac again, my healing skills are yours.' He weaves his fingers together, his brow knitting as his eyes settle onto the table before him... and onto the metal decoration that sits there.]
Are you a smith of any sort, by chance? I have seen you in armor before.
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[Oh.]
You mean the Exurosuit? No, it was... It was designed for me. Didn't make it though. Just fix it up sometimes -- routine maintenance.
[Whatever it is he's thinking, it's probably a better trade-off than his own healing talents. And not just because she knows for a fact that he'd do that on-call anyway.]
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[He picks up the metal plate on the table, sliding the rocks off of it.]
I know it isn't exactly armor, but it's a stronger steel than I am accustomed to. It isn't... exactly valuable, I suppose, but if you could find a use for it, it'd be better off than it is here.
[Also, it's an eyesore in his cabin.]
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Huh. Where did you get this?
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[She takes a moment to look at it. Despite all the knowledge she has crammed into her head, her past selves aren't quite specialists in every field... nice as that would be.]
Well, am no metallurgist, but it might be useful. Can't tell if it came from a weapon or armor... or one of those Null.
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I will admit that I have not put much thought into where it might have come from, through if the false gods are truly moving the entire city from place to place, I suppose I should have thought to ask.
[But that would require talking to them, and he likes that idea even less than the Null.]
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[She studies the piece of metal, a brow arching as she turns it over.]
Can ask them sometime, if it becomes relevant.
Why do you keep calling them that, anyway?
[The answer should be obvious, but Rey wants to hear it anyway.]
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[That is the only one that makes sense, and so he answers.]
It is what they are. They are not true deities, not of mine, nor of anyone else. Not unless someone chooses to worship them despite how they use us.
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[Which is no surprise.]
Still, "parasites" seem like a more apt phrase for them.
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