crystal.

[elegiaque]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Gwenaëlle Baudin
RECIPIENT: All y'all.
NOTES: There's a new junior dad in town. Tell her all about your sick magic weapons and how buff or noodly your little nerd arms might be. (Happy to do action spam here or in her inbox for any office threads!)

Alright, Riftwatch, I assume I don't need to introduce myself,

( possibly because she hasn't been paying strict attention to recent arrivals, but she is certainly not herself a new face, )

but if you have somehow mistaken my accent for Alexandrie, this is Gwenaëlle Baudin, and if you haven't noticed my taking up the office, I am now your acting Captain of the Watch. ( because they are still pretending that dad might come back (with smokes) and that rowntree's appointment might be temporary. she has already begun studying nevarran, but she isn't all that optimistic about when she's going to need to know it by. ) I've started with inventorying our armoury, and as such I have a couple of requests to make of, primarily, those of you not in Forces. If you are in Forces, I need to know if you possess any personal weaponry of note that we should be taking into account. You can provide details by crystal, book or at my office. If you are not in Forces, I would like to know that, but disclosure is voluntary unless your division head decides to make it mandatory.

( yes, she checked with rowntree before announcing it's mandatory for forces. )

Further, if you are not in Forces, I'd like to have an overview of the combat readiness of our ( nerds ) general non-combatants and what their, your needs are. If you'd like particular training, or if you specifically wouldn't. If you're going to be particularly vulnerable in the sort of emergency we recently experienced, or if it'd be useful for me to be aware that you won't. Again, we can have these conversations by whatever means suits you.

( there's a brief pause. )

And to be clear, I'm not assuming all diplomats and researchers need to be provided personal fainting couches, and you will not be considered clever for getting up in arms about having your toughness questioned. If you would like to be provided a personal fainting couch, ask the Seneschal.

Comments

[elegiaque]

( helpfully: ) He was a rifter elf. Won the archery contest.

[charmoffensive]

Got it, thank you.

[ Here's to hoping. ]

Did you get a raise?

[elegiaque]

Will you go for Vice Admiral if I say yes?

private.

[charmoffensive]

[ And for all the world, it appears that Captain Baudin won the quip off. Hurray! ]

It just quickly became deserved, is all.

private ∞

[elegiaque]

( a win is a win, baby. )

I wouldn't call the raise proportional to the workload, but I'll take it.

[charmoffensive]

Drinks on you, then.

[ Literally when aren't they. But anyway, ]

Alright?

[elegiaque]

( technically, they are often on her grandfather. but,

a big breath out. )

So it'd be a massive abuse of newly gained power if I were to rifle through all the paperwork I can get my hands on and burn anything that says 'Thranduil Baudin', right.

[charmoffensive]

No.

But I wouldn't trust me on that one, maybe get a second opinion.

[elegiaque]

( he startles a laugh out of her; probably a good sign. )

I was not alright about him, you know, for ages. And I've been— alright. You know. It's just

unexpected. And it's true, it happened before with Legolas, but Legolas had hardly ... he wasn't here long, either time.

[rowancrowned]

My son? [ because that's what he'll go to first, before anything else. then the use of past tense kicks in, and he understands. that's... he isn't sure if he finds that comforting, or not. frankly, legolas has enough to worry about. ]

Who taught you? [ is his first question, then comes silence. he's not showering her in them. he's picking them carefully. he's trying to be kind. ]

How long was my period of time?

[elegiaque]

Galadriel was also here for a time, as well as —

( maker, what was that priggish elf's fucking name, she hasn't thought of him in years, )

Haldir.

( and if he's not paying close attention, then maybe that sounds like an answer to his question. )

You were. Maybe half a dozen years. ( there's a stilted awkwardness to her; picking her way through what she should and shouldn't say, what he's inevitably going to find out, what she would rather not lead with out of the gate when she's nothing and no one to him. ) In the Research division.

[rowancrowned]

[ looking for humor: ] And I did I make many enemies?

[ galadriel? of all people, galadriel? he needs records. he needs to find paperwork. perhaps the previous him wrote a diary. perhaps it still exists. ]

My pardon, Captain Baudin. Perhaps there is someone else I should be interrogating on this matter.

[laruetheday]

Maybe you will someday.

[ Look, Clarisse has come to appreciate ranged fighting a lot more since she joined up. Riding a griffon in battle some of the time has only made it worse. Better? Whatever. The thought of cheating with magic doesn't seem like such a shitty idea when she's a hundred feet up in the air, is all.

She gives Gwen a little bit of a more searching look, a sort of rare acknowledgement that she's a lot more observant than people assume. ]

You okay?

[elegiaque]

( probably she shouldn't actually go and burn anything that has his married name on it,

it sounds like she might be smiling when she says, )

I wouldn't expect you to take only my word, monsieur.

( what will he think, if it's someone else who tells him— )

My office is always open, and all that.

[succise]

I am very proficient. (Are you writing this down?)

But Cedric may not want to learn from me.

open > private

[wearyallalone]

My weapons are all unremarkable, but my armor has some basic defensive enchantment, if you need to note it.

[Private for the personal addition:]

My congratulations. Or potentially condolences, if you feel it's more appropriate given how thin we're stretched.

[armd]

Yeah.

But — who knows, maybe I'll challenge you for it couple years down the line.

[wythersake]

Indeed, please refrain, you know what pride does to a mage. I don't see the point in pestering Niehaus until we've anything to show — I'll put out a call next time it's quiet.

[ no one is easier to bully than research. they already want to do their jobs. ]

private ∞

[elegiaque]

I try not to think of us as inherently doomed as much as possible.

[elegiaque]

( it certainly sounds like she's writing something down, )

Why's that?

[elegiaque]

( there's barely a sound before the crystal is off, and then a moment later on again as if that had never happened, )

I can find somewhere suitable to experiment with them in what we'll call a controlled environment.

( experience tells her that's always optimistic. )

[elegiaque]

We're not arm-wrestling, I'll tell you that for nothing.

[armd]

Of course not, that wouldn't be fair. To you.

I wanna win it honestly.

[dissolving]

Really think you'd hate it that bad? 'S mostly just answering letters. Finding new ways to say we don't have any money.

[elegiaque]

Have you tried 'when the world is saved, I'll remember each and every one of you cunts that didn't help'?