exsilium | voice;

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voice;

[ Now that a few days have already passed, there's not much point in moping quietly and ignoring the network for much longer. Hopefully things have settled down a bit by now... ]

It looks like people are already organizing a few missions of their own, which is all fine and good, but we need to look beyond supplies for the short term. Our new headquarters isn't fit for holding this many people, for who knows how long, so aside from supplies, I think we need to put an effort towards fixing that as soon as we can.

First and foremost, we need more power.

Especially if we want to get that Aristeas contraption back up and running. Obviously we don't have the tools and resources to fix that here and now, but I'm sure I can work out a few points in time where we can slip in and change how this place gets built. What I really need is anyone who can help out with the technical side of this, or even to lend a hand with the research, and a few volunteers to run around playing time tag. We're going to need to get our hands on and change blueprints and data and who knows what else.

[ Basically, a call for help. He might be in over his head on this one, with how much tech is going to be involved. That all rambled out, there's a small, awkward pause before he adds: ]

And hello to all the new Transports, I guess. When I first got stuck here, Exsilium had just gotten itself trashed by an army of monsters, but this arrival sure tops that one as the new worst entrance of all.

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I've always napped throughout the day and never had a problem with it.

[ He'll just let the infuser be for now and pull his own tablet over, fiddling with it until it opens to the right place, some page, at the start of some book. ]

Besides, it shouldn't effect me badly. As much as I dislike the research end of this business, it is something I'm good at.

( She doesn't point out that different circumstances mean different results; he hadn't liked space the first time. She doesn't think he likes it much better this time, or the enforced, close nature of it all. He had the option of looking past it, literally or figuratively, but he was still only human. He'd taken Elmer's world hard; she feels he has taken this to heart too.

For all the crazy interesting differences between his world and her own, this sort of destruction, longtime poisoning of the world itself, she doesn't think there's an equivalent. She hopes not. )

Is that meant to be convincing? ( She grins, even as her own eyes are on her tablet. ) I know you're good at this. It's part of why I want to help, even if it does require thinking.

( Another dramatic sigh! )

Does it have to be? It isn't your business unless it's keeping you awake. As it is not...

[ Commence with the reading! Well, he already has, actually, since he's watching his tablet screen instead of her.

There wasn't much to compare what's happened here to what has happened on his own world, though. In his, they narrowly avoided having the entire Northern continent destroyed, so they had no fallout of that to deal with, while anything as oppressive had ended before he'd even been born.

With the exception of Harmonia, of course, but he has little to do with the land conquering superpower of the Holy Kingdom. For now. ]

Hmm. [ He goes on to make a thoughtful sound and scroll over to the next page on the tablet. ] You know, I'll never understand why you talk about yourself like that. Around me, at least. It's not like you're going to trick me into thinking you're dumb.

( She looks up from her own tablet, briefly startled. Most of what she says and does she doesn't even think about so much -- it's not a conscious behavior. She's used to acting a certain way, and so she simply does.

Collette falls into a temporary silence. In the end, she reaches out to swirl her infuser around her mug, pulling it up to let the water drain back out into her tea. )

I'm used to it, I guess.

( She's not sure what else to say to that. It's just easier if people don't expect much out of her. It's that knee jerk reaction to avoiding responsibility too, though she's been less and less good at the actual avoidance over the last year plus.

Collette sets her infuser down in the empty measuring cup, the glass singing out like a bell startled into ringing when the infuser slips out of her fingers. She flinches, drawing her hand back.

It's not a memory she feels should be bad, the sound of glass hitting against metal, or glass against glass. As if to avoid thinking about where it might come from (it's a flaw! how are we supposed to work with this? you can't get the kind of results we're being asked for like this!), she pulls back, leaving her tea on the table. )

Besides, you're my business. You don't need to be an inconvenience for me to care one way or the other.

( She doesn't like her own wordchoice, after the fact. With a shrug of her shoulders, she determinedly returns to reading. It's just difficult when she keeps losing her place in the same three paragraphs. )

Well, it's irritating.

[ To him. He expects more! From her, from other people. Is this how Apple felt whenever he was the one not putting his best work forward? He certainly hopes not, the idea of ending up anything like his old teacher an entirely worrisome thought (because next thing he knows, he'll be wearing glasses and writing history books and... how awful!).

The noise of the infuser against glass brings his eyes up from the tablet. The sudden movement away from the glass, the disinclination to pick her tea up now. What's that about?

He frowns, but doesn't pry. Instead, he takes greater care to set his own mug's infuser into the measuring cup without a sound once he decides it's done steeping. After that, he turns the frown down at the tablet instead. ]

And while I appreciate the concern, it really isn't that big of a problem, alright?

Does it actually bother you?

( She sets her tablet on the table, intent on a degree of movement right now rather than focus on the whys of silly little reactions. She misses the care Caesar takes to place his own infuser down; she'd have appreciated it for equally unknowable reasons if she'd seen.

The time it takes her to switch from her chair to the bench (or table chairs) is enough to give her a reason not to talk for the moment. She can sit on the point about him last time in space; this time being only worse, and without an immediate or clear end point in sight.

He knows that. He's also not the sort, in her figuring, to want t make a deal out of things that even are important, if it's not important in some more immediate sense. Getting by was good enough.

But not to her. )

Right, right. Here, can I get you to straddle where you'r sitting?

When you're only kidding around, it doesn't, but when you actually sound like you believe it yourself? Yes, a little.

[ Like, why would he be with a stupid girl? He wouldn't be! That should be proof enough that she's smart right there!

The request brings his eyes back up from the screen and he blinks, momentarily puzzled by it. Straddle his seat? ]

What? Why?

Sometimes I do believe it, for a little while. Like with why we were sent to New Mexico.

( She makes a turn around gesture with her hand, lips pulling up into a lopsided grin. Who knows? Maybe Caesar would be with someone not so smart... say, a pretty blonde! She could be really charismatic and undemanding! What if her only fault was being a total -- ahaha, no, she can't see him having extended tolerance for a total airhead, even if the airhead never got when he was fed up with her antics. )

I just learn from things, that's all. And right now I want to get my hands on your back. Scoot! You can keep your tablet on your lap for reading.

( Having taken the time to situate her own legs properly, she waits patiently for Caesar to follow suit. )

I thought you were joking about massage part.

[ And thus he's a little reluctant to do what she asks! They're out in the open. People might see! Not that it's anything particularly indecent, but...! He makes a face and looks around the cafeteria.

At least it doesn't seem too crowded, so, with a sigh, he picks his tablet up (because he plans to keep reading!) and gets up, but only briefly to turn around and straddle the chair. That done, he has to ask: ]

What about New Mexico?

[ He doesn't recall any particularly dumb moments there on her part. Well, aside from her failed attempt at getting a kiss out of him, but that was more humorous than dumb. ]

( She snorts, smile widening as he looks around. He's reserved enough about contact that she considers this a victory, much like it had been an unintentional victory that time she'd gotten him stripped half naked in the library.

... Though that hadn't been for fun reasons so much as groundbreaking ones. )

You don't remember? I told you after I licked your hand.

( #conversations-best-not-overheard-by-others-for-lack-of-context. (Not to say context made it any better.) Collette uses the table and a curious toss of her weight to inch slightly closer, then determines this is all good enough. She reaches out, settling her hand son his shoulders and firmly pressing her thumb into his trapezious as she started figuring out how much tension he's carrying in his shoulders. Her hands are firm and sure of what they do; fingers massage into the muscle in circular rotations, encouraging blood flow. )

What Sollux and I got up to?

[ That time with the shirt was for a good cause, okay!!! ]

Oh. That.

[ That he does recall. He'd been disappointed about that! But he didn't see much point in dwelling on it past that. What was done was done and recalling it has nothing to do with how his shoulders and back go stiff and tense under her hands. Or more stiff and more tense, as he imagines he hasn't really been relaxed since getting up to this awful place. ]

Yeah. That was pretty stupid.

( For all she isn't, in many ways, inclined toward patience, she holds a persistent patience as she continues to work at his shoulders, trailing here hands and thumbs downward along either side of his spine after a moment. She's more mindful of how low and how swiftly she does, stopping at his hip level to make the return, slow, circular motions over his tensed muscle back toward his shoulderblades. )

I won't be double dog daring Sollux again anytime soon. Triple, maybe. He won't do anything outside multiples of two!

( Kind of his duality theme going on, one that extends deeply into his personality. She doesn't refute that it ws dumb: she thought so. )

Though it did kickstart what got us here. I think you've installed steel here instead of muscle, C! These definitely feel like cables.

( Her warm amusement lingers as her strong hands and fingers continue their work. )

I think that would have happened without the sudden need to.

[ Not to mention it would have been so much less chaotic had it not been something that the Initiative needed to suddenly shove everyone away on. ]

Steel? Oh come on, they aren't that tense...

[ Only they are. They are and they only seem inclined to give a little as she works on his back. All the while, he's scowling down at his tablet, willing himself to concentrate on reading. ]

Mmm, you're right! They're even more, more like titanium... I think abs if titanium would have been more fun, personally, but to each their own.

( It's a light tease as she continues working. Having done this almost every day of her healthy life for herself since she was old enough to be shown how to, her hands have more than enough strength for one boy's back.

It's more that she settles into a lulling rhythm, talking in a similar cadence when she speaks. )

The Moon Base stayed multi-national, I saw that when I skimmed through first. We probably want to look at the first meetings discussing building plans. If we have those blueprints, we can make sure they all have the additions we want, if we rreplace them, right?

( She's not sure what sort of process will really be used, but she offers an idea of a suggestion anyway. )

It won't be that simple. They're designing the place, remember? If they notice too many inconsistencies, they'll scrap it and report tampering. We need to work subtly, influence the one big change we want and only that.

[ Which sadly means no bigger rooms or better bathrooms and so on.

Once she settles on a rhythm for working on his muscles, the tension slowly bleeds away. He eventually stops trying to browbeat the tablet into reading itself to him, since he's certainly not getting far himself right now. Now brainstorming out loud, he can do that. That requires less focus! ]

Makes sense.

( She says, mulling it over for a moment. She lets herself stay lost in thought, hands automatically continuin the steady rhythm she's fallen into. )

So concentrate on an extensive back-up generator system? Or a secondary power system, maybe, in case solar power fails, or something over loads the first system? I think that can happen. It should make sense, to build in those kinds of fail safes. I guess we need to make it seem worth the cost though.

( Chewing on her lip, she moves on to include his neck in her massaging, drawing her fingers down in steady pulls on either side, bringing them back up to rub at the connectors at the back of his head, where it met with his neck. She feels like his hair's getting longer. )

When'd you last get a haircut?

Just before heading off on that ridiculous Grasslands trip back home.

[ Sooooo. Like. Over a year. Over a year ago. ]

I'm not sure. A secondary system, a back-up, maybe better solar power technology overall. I'll go with what the engineering team suggests, as they should know better. Though I would like better emergency lighting when things do go down, that much is sure.

[ And things to light up the damn signs in the dark! ]

No wonder it's so long... mind if I try braiding it later?

( She grins, knowing he can't see her expression, but the thought amuses her. )

Have the better emergency lighting tie in with their suggestion, once they get back to you! That's another something with probably money attached, but if it seems worth it, I bet at some point we can figure out who'll suck it up and spend the extra money for those kinds of improvements. Maybe we can whisper it in a whole bunch of ears, while people are sleeping! Subliminal suggestion's supposed to be good for something.

( Wistful, amused sigh. She's back at his shoulders now, spreading her hands out to get over the blade of his shoulder and start working on the muscle on the back part of the bone. )

Braiding it?

[ Collette pls.

He raises a hand to touch his hair, snagging a lock of it with his fingertips and pulling them down it to the end, pulling it out as far as he can and giving it the good ol' side-eye. ]

Is it that long?

[ Overall, long hair isn't a bad thing. He could care less! But that might explain why it's been taking him longer to deal with whenever he has to, like in the shower and such. ]

Hrmmm. Maybe... [ But more on topic! ] Picking the right people to try and influence would be a part of it, so you're on the right track. Bribery, though not with money we don't have. I bet the people who worked on it can be bribed with ideas, ones they'll never have to attribute to anyone else.

You haven't noticed?

( She asks, curios. )

I figured you liked it longer, or else you would have done what Barnaby ( she misses him still ) did, and gone looking for someone to gut it. It's nice! You don't see as many guys who wear it long these days where I'm from. Bet it takes foreer to dry though.

( Her lips quirk up again, and she tells herself she will braid it for him later. It's a nice excuse to get to fiddle around with his hair, plus she can toss in a scalp massage.

#way too nice )

What if we did have money? Or insider information into stocks, something like that. "We tell you this, and in return, you do that?" Or should it just be ideas they can patent? Then they earn good money... which I guess is what you're saying. If they get to own the idea, they make the money off it.

( Or something? Is that how patents work? She thinks so... )

[ Way, way too nice. Spoiling him only leads to more laziness! ]

I never really stopped to think about haircuts and now we have no barbers.

[ And so he shrugs and lets the lock go, it falling back among the rest of the unruly mess that, by now, is brushing his shoulders. ]

Usually someone else would always tell me to go get a haircut! [ But none of those someone elses are around, so it passed by unnoticed. It's just hair, after all! ] And I'm not entirely sure what patents are. Or stocks. I really just think it's normal for people of certain mindsets to be greedy for any new idea that'll bring them fame.

( She hopes she'll get to creatively work spoiling into a rewards system. He just has to know what it's like beforehand!

Or something of the sort, as she brushes his hair aide with her fingers, trailing up his neck again. )

Chin down.

( She prompts, a non-sequitor tied in to her massaging. )

I keep forgetting how much or little you know... patents are a way of saying this idea for something is yours, and people will pay you for using it or buying it. It may or may not bring fame, but if it's good, it usually brings money. So maybe that'll be important? Making sure it has more than the one, special for us function?

[ Hey! He's not a dog! He's a boy! ~~Let's pretend those two are different at all!~~ ]

How long is this going to take? I really was planning on reading...

[ Though he puts his chin down as asked, while lazily slumping against the back of the chair he's facing, arms crossing to rest on the top of the backing as he does. ]

A way of saying an idea is yours. That sounds about right for what I was getting at, so yes, that'd be what we would bribe people with. Only we can't leave anything too advanced in the past, so that's going to be tricky.

( If she ever gets his leg to twitch while rubbing his belly, she just might lose it laughing.

Just saying.

She makes a sort of grunting noise to show she heard his question, though she doesn't bother answering. )

The problem is once you leave something more advanced, you make it easier for people to build off that into different, newer things. I'd be careful! Or accept that even thinking about this means we're making bigger changes than we know how to watch fall out.

( She thinks on the Andalites, and on the Yeerks. )

People are smart. Give them a reason to start thinking outside the box -- ( heh ) -- and they'll go crazy places! So maybe a more effective way of harnessing solar power? Just that. Something simple and... harder to use badly.

( She concentrates on his neck with his chin tucked in and down, glad to see each time he's relaxing a fraction more. The reading will still be there later. Well, unless the network's down! But what won't wait is health, or things like stress and tension, not in her experience. She just wants him to feel better, and he's being stubborn about her saying so. "I'm fine!"

Bear bottom's he's fine, mentally (where she admits he copes well) or especially physically (which he mostly solves by ignoring).

Oh goodness.

When had she turned into her mother?!

This extremely horrifying thought makes her grimace and pull her hands back down along his shoulders, slipping over them to work on the connectors from the front of his shoulder to his pectoral. )

That's got to be doable!

Is that what this place uses? Solar?

[ Like he would know for sure! Technical specs aren't going to be his forte at this level, no matter how many times he goes over them, which is why he recruited engineer-type people. ]

Is solar even any good as an energy source? Sure, the sun is always there, but obviously it isn't enough to fill all the needs we have up here.

[ Could they improve upon solar panels? Make them more efficient? Again, he wouldn't know and that's a little frustrating. If he had the energy to be frustrated, anyway, but right now he more feels like nodding off-- ]

...! [ Despite Collette still working, he sits up straight rather abruptly. ] I'm going to fall asleep at this rate! I think that's enough.

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wow i just realized his hair is probably much longer by now

yeah, i'd just sort of realized if he never had it cut, he's got... quite the head of hair now

how long would it even be... shoulder length by now?

probably at least! longer if his hair grows fast

probably there then! it's kind of uneven anyway

scruffy silverberg...

eternally so

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