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"They are! In my time we call them sky puppies and they are known now to be fucking adorable." Erin sighs fondly; bats are so good. "...Being honest I've only used that trick for myself once so far, so Cass could show me an artbook of her home. I'm...worried that if I keep spending power to walk around with eyes I won't have that power when I need it. If the ship was less dangerous..."
But it isn't. And while it's not the same concern as Helena's, it does attend the same family reunions as that concern.
But it isn't. And while it's not the same concern as Helena's, it does attend the same family reunions as that concern.
"Give me the hard sell, why don't you." Erin stands herself, absolutely interested, and takes Helena's hand with a smile.
Their hands held, it feels more like an official promise.
"Keep the power for yourself right now, so that you have it in time of need. And when we are somewhere beautiful, somewhere we can see a clear sunrise or a lovely field or something like that, and there's no danger to be found for that piece of time, I'll take you up on that offer. How does that sound for a promise?"
"Keep the power for yourself right now, so that you have it in time of need. And when we are somewhere beautiful, somewhere we can see a clear sunrise or a lovely field or something like that, and there's no danger to be found for that piece of time, I'll take you up on that offer. How does that sound for a promise?"
"Sounds good," Erin agrees heartily. "But keep other opportunities in mind, yeah? There's a lot of beauty right here on the ship, and people to show it to you."
"Yeah! Badass, I'll keep it in mind." Erin squeezes Helena's hand and then lets go so she can sit again. "Ssssoooo...any news from your life?"
Returning to her bed, Helena tucks herself back under the blankets to keep her feet warm.
"I've started pursuing self-defense, actually. Mr. Maximum offered to teach me, and suffice it to say, I think the exact form of what he's offering will work well. How to resist someone faster, stronger, bigger than you...I don't think I'll ever be a warrior, but new survival skills would be foolish to decline."
"I've started pursuing self-defense, actually. Mr. Maximum offered to teach me, and suffice it to say, I think the exact form of what he's offering will work well. How to resist someone faster, stronger, bigger than you...I don't think I'll ever be a warrior, but new survival skills would be foolish to decline."
"Love that for you, and it's always a nice boost of confidence to be able to handle yourself too. Lemme know if you want any lessons on my end, I know some joint locks that sweet ol' grannies can use. They don't care how strong anyone is."
"I'll be sure to let you know. I want to get some basics down first, but he's been a good teacher. And Darcy's helping me with building my strength in general. It'll be nice to feel a little more capable with things."
Enough to vault quicker, to run a little faster - survival, but a tangible goal.
Enough to vault quicker, to run a little faster - survival, but a tangible goal.
"Ahh, you've befriended Darcy. She's a good friend. Fierce, honest. Sadly French but I try to only bully her for that when it's funny."
Erin makes a mental note to check on Darcy soon.
Erin makes a mental note to check on Darcy soon.
"She's admirably determined when she's made up her mind. I'm sorry I didn't try and get to know her better sooner - it shouldn't take a tragedy to do so. But there's plenty of things to speak of beyond that one incident."
That Darcy knew about her bringing tea for the Captain, she keeps to herself - Erin's opinion of the Captain is still not quite known, and she doesn't want to raise a tempest where it isn't needed.
That Darcy knew about her bringing tea for the Captain, she keeps to herself - Erin's opinion of the Captain is still not quite known, and she doesn't want to raise a tempest where it isn't needed.
"Try food sometime. Swear it's not a French joke this time, she cooks. Did a whole traditional holiday dinner and everything."
Maybe Helena can get Darcy to eat right.
Maybe Helena can get Darcy to eat right.
"Oooo. Just having cake or for someone special?"
Give her the gossip Helena.
Give her the gossip Helena.
Thankfully this is pre-significant conversations, so she doesn't give off any signs at someone special.
"It was for the Captain, actually. A sort of joke, since I spoke to him at the wedding about there being no proper cake due to the lack of kitchens. And then we had the kitchen, and so making him the cake felt like the right sort of gesture. We dropped it off for him afterwards."
Which is why she knew what room the Captain and Skulduggery were in for the trial.
"It was for the Captain, actually. A sort of joke, since I spoke to him at the wedding about there being no proper cake due to the lack of kitchens. And then we had the kitchen, and so making him the cake felt like the right sort of gesture. We dropped it off for him afterwards."
Which is why she knew what room the Captain and Skulduggery were in for the trial.
"Hhhhuh. Hope he liked it, always sucks when you put all that love into cooking something and it doesn't work out." There's a thoughtful hum for a bit (it lasts long enough to be recognizable as The Farmer In The Dell, and then Erin decides to just go for it. "What's your impression of the man himself, since he's come up?"
"...Truthfully, I don't know. I don't trust him, but I can't write him off as some tyrant and call that the end of it. There's enough bits and pieces floating about that make it not so - but I think what really cinched it was the trial itself. Why he had to do that, but that he could do it at all. Rules are powerful, and I know some will think it's cowardly he did it that way, but I have to wonder."
Her hands tap on each other, thoughtful. "Rituals are very specific things...anyway, I've made a choice that I am going to get to know him before I decide what kind of person he is. Impressions will be distorted any other way. And I will not let someone pass themselves off as the Captain to me again."
Her hands tap on each other, thoughtful. "Rituals are very specific things...anyway, I've made a choice that I am going to get to know him before I decide what kind of person he is. Impressions will be distorted any other way. And I will not let someone pass themselves off as the Captain to me again."
"...Yeah. The trial really brought some things into sharp relief. On my end...I can't help but see myself in him. I don't think I need to explain why."
"No. And beyond that...I think he truly does love Mr. Pleasant. I think if there was any other way to get through that, he would have found it, and spared not just us but himself all of that."
It's simple, straightforward logic. If one assumes the Captain is primarily driven by his own desires, then putting himself through that stress and grief wasn't optional. And yet he knew his hand would hesitate, so he bound it instead.
"It's far more complicated than good or evil, being a bad person or a nice person. There's so much information that we're still lacking, even though I know what the binder holds now." SecUnit's to thank for that.
It's simple, straightforward logic. If one assumes the Captain is primarily driven by his own desires, then putting himself through that stress and grief wasn't optional. And yet he knew his hand would hesitate, so he bound it instead.
"It's far more complicated than good or evil, being a bad person or a nice person. There's so much information that we're still lacking, even though I know what the binder holds now." SecUnit's to thank for that.
"...Yeah. The folks that helped me, they were big on the idea that there's no 'good people' or 'bad people', that you can't just sort people neatly. I had...have...feelings about that, because it sure is convenient for me personally to think that way, isn't it? But it's also not my idea."
There's a long pause.
Then: "...Ylva said something different. That she thinks I'm a good person who did bad things. Dunno how to handle that either, but. God, no, that's a digression, we're talkin' the big man."
There's a long pause.
Then: "...Ylva said something different. That she thinks I'm a good person who did bad things. Dunno how to handle that either, but. God, no, that's a digression, we're talkin' the big man."
The one who shocked you is Maximilien, one of the entirely inorganic passengers. He doesn't require an apology, but he asks that you not demonstrate that ability again unless it is an emergency.
Yes. He had assumed someone was pinging him specifically, hacking in through a backdoor in his system.
I made the same mistake the first time I met him.
I made the same mistake the first time I met him.
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