[Oh, good. Good good good. At least Rey's eaten a little now so she's less likely to start sobbing while in the middle of eating something, but she's still Concerned. People making food for you is supposed to be all important and meaningful, especially when they were thinking about your well-being. Hopefully whatever happens, Elleru won't take offense for any reason or another.]
By all means... [Rey doesn't waste much time fussing over where to sit before she pulls apart the last of the package and takes in another deep breath of the steam, trying to parse what kind of spices might have been thrown into it. There are a lot of things here she's seen that look familiar, but also other things that are... not. And it's a little worrying.]
You have anything, or... want some as well?
[Being the only one eating while the other watches has always been an awkward experience. It's why Rey never bothered to mingle with fellow soldiers on off hours or tried to make companions when she lacked a sense of taste for any of it. Maybe Elleru, given whatever and wherever she really is, doesn't follow the same etiquette that would make that situation rather uncomfortable.]
Oh no, I have had some. I had to make sure it was eatable.
[Or edible. Able to be eaten. She didn't want Rey to find it bland, so she just shoved a lot of peppers in there; unfortunately, her tastes may run a bit hardier than most humans, which is something she absolutely did not consider when loading the dish wish spices.]
[Elleru might not be the most knowledgeable about uprights, but she knows how breathing works just fine, and Rey's reaction isn't... encouraging. Her ears dip, her brow furrowing apologetically.]
[For Rey, it doesn't take much longer for her to compose herself. Her throat is dry and she hasn't had much to eat besides the occasional drink of water to stave off dehydration, so diving right into spicy territory might not be the best plan.]
Nope! No, no no no. Mean, ah, it's fine. Just... [She glances down at the contents of the stew before taking a deep whiff.] Peppers, right? And spices? How much did you put in...?
[There's half a second where Elleru's eyes narrow as she's trying to determine whether or not Rey is lying to her. She'd be insulted if so, as her people value the truth highly, but... she also knows that, perhaps, Rey is trying to avoid hurting her feelings. That is certainly a thing uprights are known to do, and from what she knows, it's not meant out of malice. It is a "white lie." Why it's white, she can't say. Maybe that's something she should ask.
[Okay, Rey can't say she knows what kinds of peppers grow in this place, but she's definitely feeling something strong sticking to the back of her throat. For her it's not entirely unpleasant. Something of a rush, really. But she knows that's not necessarily the norm...]
So, um. [How to put this lightly.] It's fine? Might want to be careful who you feed something like this to -- a normal person might think you're trying to kill them.
[Rey says it again, this time throwing her hands up defensively in front of her to illustrate just how much she doesn't need to go to the medbay right now, even.]
Just said, "normal person". Am not normal. Lucky you. [She hiccups, a puff of smoke bursting passed her lips. This time her hand flies to her mouth as she stifles her next cough.
[Nope, definitely not a dragon. Rey normally doesn't puff like that unless she's pissed, so whatever peppers Elleru dumped into her soup must be extremely potent.]
As in, not human. So, am not normal.
[Spoken like it should be so easy.
[...Well, why wouldn't it be? It's not like Elleru is human, herself.]
[She might not be human, but she's doing her best to pretend she is -- or at least that she's an upright, however nebulous the actual definition may be. Her ears prick up with visible interest.]
[Maybe most people would take offense to bring asked that question, but to Rey it's a fair one after what she just said. She chews on the inside of her lip as she thinks, picking at the stew before she decides to give it another try. Now that she knows what to expect, it's easier to brace herself for the spicy inevitable; she barely flinches this time.]
Just... something else. Not born, but made. [She shrugs like it's nothing. To her, it isn't. Why bother trying to hide it anymore -- she knows she's not human. That she doesn't have a home, anyway.]
[With only an adequate grasp on the common tongue and no real basis of comparison for someone who is made rather than born, Elleru struggles to understand exactly what it is Rey is saying. Her head tilts, her brow knitting tighter.]
Are all beings not 'made'? As in making babies? Or making love to make babies?
[Should've figured that someone like Elleru would have easily misinterpreted those words. Rey sighs, setting down the stew to rub her forehead as she wrestles with her thoughts for a second.]
That's... not... [Okay she can feel her face flush a little bit. Hiding that as well.] Was put together. Given different bodies and different lives to live and die, over and over.
[Sad as Rey's answer may be, Elleru can see why she'd say that. If she really has lived many lives and been many people, she must be tired of seeing it time and time again. So much is so new to Elleru, but she doubts Rey feels the same. Perhaps that's why she's so standoffish.
That, or in her many lives, she never learned to socialize.]
Then you must make this life your best one, and do all you have wanted to do in it.
[Ironically, there is still many things that Rey has yet to truly experience. Maybe there is a shred of decency out there for her somewhere, good experiences her past lives had been denied that could perhaps make her crave just a little more time in this life.
[Does she deserve that, though? After everything that she's done? All that she's taken away? She thinks about it a lot -- more so than what would be deemed healthy for someone like her, who carries so many ghosts on her back.]
Mn. You'd think so, wouldn't you.
[Obviously Rey isn't sure if she shares that life philosophy. Still, she had plenty of chances to die; many in which she had hoped for it. Despite it all, she's still here...]
[If this were most situations she had been in, she'd suspect that move to be a lead-in for an attack. Rey tenses, acutely aware of the sudden proximity between her and Elleru, a rational voice or two trying to quell her animalistic urges to interpret harmless gestures as hostile.
[Instead, she directs her thoughts somewhere else:]
Just how young are you talking about? You're at least a grown ass adult, right?
[Elleru looks like she is, albeit acting a bit like a fish out of water -- more so than most of the people here, even -- but you can never tell sometimes. Rey doesn't look her supposed age, either.]
[The question seems to catch Elleru off-guard: her ears flick upward, her surprise evident as a wide smile slowly forms across her face. She leans closer, her voice soft, hushed.]
Can you not tell, either? I have had such trouble knowing who is an adult and who is a child here! So many of you are short, but adults. [Rey included.] I did not want to ask, and I was thinking I might be the only one who could not tell!
[She giggles; her laughter is as inhuman as Elleru herself, her voice carrying a buzzing undercurrent like the thrum of a bird.]
[Okay, that... wasn't the response Rey was expecting. Well, she wasn't sure what to expect, but whimsy wasn't it. She just gapes at Elleru for a long moment, trying to parse where this conversation ends and begins.]
Honestly, that might just be that you're pretty fucking tall, yourself. [And Rey is no tiny person.] You could be some baby giant... elf... thing, for all anyone knows.
[Pause.]
But no, can't always tell. Sometimes people don't look their age.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
circumitus) wrote2019-06-10 07:47 pm
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By all means... [Rey doesn't waste much time fussing over where to sit before she pulls apart the last of the package and takes in another deep breath of the steam, trying to parse what kind of spices might have been thrown into it. There are a lot of things here she's seen that look familiar, but also other things that are... not. And it's a little worrying.]
You have anything, or... want some as well?
[Being the only one eating while the other watches has always been an awkward experience. It's why Rey never bothered to mingle with fellow soldiers on off hours or tried to make companions when she lacked a sense of taste for any of it. Maybe Elleru, given whatever and wherever she really is, doesn't follow the same etiquette that would make that situation rather uncomfortable.]
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[Or edible. Able to be eaten. She didn't want Rey to find it bland, so she just shoved a lot of peppers in there; unfortunately, her tastes may run a bit hardier than most humans, which is something she absolutely did not consider when loading the dish wish spices.]
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[On the plus side, Rey is the definition of being "hardier than most humans", so when she takes a first bite of the spicy stew...
[Nothing really happens at first. She just glances to the other woman before she sips the corner of the bowl.
[And then coughs.
[She opens her mouth again, and another fucking cough.]
Well, it-- [wheeze] --it's... er, "eatable".
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It is... too hot?
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Nope! No, no no no. Mean, ah, it's fine. Just... [She glances down at the contents of the stew before taking a deep whiff.] Peppers, right? And spices? How much did you put in...?
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Later, of course.]
All of them?
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[Okay, Rey can't say she knows what kinds of peppers grow in this place, but she's definitely feeling something strong sticking to the back of her throat. For her it's not entirely unpleasant. Something of a rush, really. But she knows that's not necessarily the norm...]
So, um. [How to put this lightly.] It's fine? Might want to be careful who you feed something like this to -- a normal person might think you're trying to kill them.
[At least Rey isn't normal by any stretch.]
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Oh no! I did not know, Rrey! Will you be all right? Shall I take you to the medbay?
[And oh no, she looks like she's about to just hoist Rey up right then and there to do just that.]
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[Rey says it again, this time throwing her hands up defensively in front of her to illustrate just how much she doesn't need to go to the medbay right now, even.]
Just said, "normal person". Am not normal. Lucky you. [She hiccups, a puff of smoke bursting passed her lips. This time her hand flies to her mouth as she stifles her next cough.
[Yup, totally not a normal person.]
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... or is she? After all, Elleru isn't the upright she seems to be, either.]
Not normal? How so?
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As in, not human. So, am not normal.
[Spoken like it should be so easy.
[...Well, why wouldn't it be? It's not like Elleru is human, herself.]
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You are not human? But what are you, then?
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Just... something else. Not born, but made. [She shrugs like it's nothing. To her, it isn't. Why bother trying to hide it anymore -- she knows she's not human. That she doesn't have a home, anyway.]
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Are all beings not 'made'? As in making babies? Or making love to make babies?
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That's... not... [Okay she can feel her face flush a little bit. Hiding that as well.] Was put together. Given different bodies and different lives to live and die, over and over.
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That sounds... so tragic. But you are still you, are you not?
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[The last thing Rey ever wants to do is turn her back on her past selves. Their pain and experiences are her own, after all.]
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Hope not. Least, there sure as hell better not be.
[Just let her rest next time, goddammit.]
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That, or in her many lives, she never learned to socialize.]
Then you must make this life your best one, and do all you have wanted to do in it.
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[Does she deserve that, though? After everything that she's done? All that she's taken away? She thinks about it a lot -- more so than what would be deemed healthy for someone like her, who carries so many ghosts on her back.]
Mn. You'd think so, wouldn't you.
[Obviously Rey isn't sure if she shares that life philosophy. Still, she had plenty of chances to die; many in which she had hoped for it. Despite it all, she's still here...]
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I would. I have only one life and one body, and I am still young. I want to experience as much as I can, and I will do so with whomever I like.
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[Instead, she directs her thoughts somewhere else:]
Just how young are you talking about? You're at least a grown ass adult, right?
[Elleru looks like she is, albeit acting a bit like a fish out of water -- more so than most of the people here, even -- but you can never tell sometimes. Rey doesn't look her supposed age, either.]
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Can you not tell, either? I have had such trouble knowing who is an adult and who is a child here! So many of you are short, but adults. [Rey included.] I did not want to ask, and I was thinking I might be the only one who could not tell!
[She giggles; her laughter is as inhuman as Elleru herself, her voice carrying a buzzing undercurrent like the thrum of a bird.]
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Honestly, that might just be that you're pretty fucking tall, yourself. [And Rey is no tiny person.] You could be some baby giant... elf... thing, for all anyone knows.
[Pause.]
But no, can't always tell. Sometimes people don't look their age.
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