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

[dissolving]

What were their names?

[ something in the way a pyre deconstructs, grinds face and story and the whole fucking thing into grey. dispersed. how would she even know? of course she'd want to know.

(maybe some day he'll know) ]

[extortionate]

How pretty's the sword?

[extortionate]

What's it do?

[ the armor. just asking. no reason ]

[wearyallalone]

It makes it harder for an opponent to hurt the person wearing it.

[The statement doesn't quite rise into a question at the end, but there's the barest hint he is concerned Lazar doesn't know what "defense" means.]

[extortionate]

[ a snort ]

Yeah mate, that's just armor. Y'got scammed.

[wearyallalone]

[Ah.]

The enchantment doesn't change its function, it makes the materials more durable. More protection without adding weight or sacrificing mobility.

[elegiaque]

( a beat. )

Magalie and Alix. I knew Alix a little more, but neither of them well.

Magalie never got out of their house.

[elegiaque]

Broadly, to begin. We'll narrow it down from there— I can join you, once you have some thoughts, I'm not quite confident about taking Bellerose to battle but I think she can manage a spot of aerial surveillance.

[elegiaque]

( even when she'd sort of rather open a vein than her mouth about her feelings, it's easier than it once was to accept the sentiment, even to be grateful for it. easier to believe that it's exactly what it sounds like, not a trap, not an implication about how she's just too weak to handle it by herself, just—

it's not nothing. )

Merci. It's just,

( honestly, sort of dogshit timing to be taken off-guard by a rifter's return. )

I wasn't expecting the first person who answered me, today, and I think it's going to be awkward as all hell. But it'll be fine, I think.

( and no need to examine the way she'd still rather talk about that than the knife thing, at least immediately. )

[dissolving]

You ever... do anything for them? T'remember them.

[ can hear it already: all the weight of some grief she hasn't the right to. but grief passes around, never comes up dry. ]

[elegiaque]

You know the haircomb that I wear, most days? I weave it into my braids.

[dissolving]

I know it.

[ hasn't stopped to think on it, to notice, really. but gwen rotates the more obvious flash — the eye, the scarves, the closet. the comb doesn't change.

mourning jewelry, then, one way or another. can't think they'd own something like that; a hank of woven hair, pressed flowers, maybe bone or a silhouette picture. that's what he remembers of home. anyone digging through ash would've picked the jewels out clean. so it's half a question, when he says: ]

'S fine work.

[elegiaque]

Mmm. Not Dwarven make but Dwarven trained. The original piece was woven flowers— it's traditional in the Starkhaven alienage. Herian gave them to me when my mother died, and I couldn't wear them as they were, so I took them to Lord Luthor—

Not exactly his usual work, but he was kind to do it.

It was for her, but it's for them, too. I wouldn't have even known what to look for, of their own, if there'd been... there was never time, anyway.

[dissolving]

[ it's for them, and it's got to be a bit for the living, too: herian. this luthor. funerals aren't for the dead, not really. ]

Feels like time oughta stop for that. Feels — dunno, crazy sometimes, that it doesn't. Like something's moving all around and y'just... can't catch up.

[ he was kind to do it. she was kind to do it. kind of anyone, to wait a moment. to stand still. ]

[extortionate]

What happens if y'punch it?

[cozen]

We're alright, I think. We have a piece of someone else's house on top of ours, but it seems stable. Or that's what they said when we asked for some help removing it. Not a priority right now. And that's fine, if it's true, but if it does collapse in on us while we're asleep, I request vengeance be wrought on Thurston Vaughan at Riftwatch's earliest convenience.

[wearyallalone]

Sounds sensible. I'll make a first pass and get you a preliminary report.

[wearyallalone]

If someone knows something about armor, they may be surprised that its properties aren't what they expected from looking at it.

If someone doesn't know anything about armor, then yes, I expect they wouldn't notice anything other than the pain in their hand.

[elegiaque]

( with very serious audible humour in her voice, )

I'm going to do a flyover later with Orlov to start deciding on mustering points, I'll make a note of Thurston Vaughan's particular house. Just in case.

[elegiaque]

Merci, Vanya.

( after a beat. )

You speak Nevarran, I assume. ( based on the fact he's from nevarra and he sounds nevarran and that's not a complicated conclusion to draw— )

[cozen]

[ With a hint of a laugh: ]

J'apprécie.

[wearyallalone]

Fluently, yes. [A safe guess after all.] Can I help in that capacity?

[elegiaque]

I have a book of Nevarran poetry I'd like to translate, and I speak almost none of it. I know teaching a language is a different skill to writing it, but...?

[wearyallalone]

[The briefest pause.]

I've not tried to teach it before, so you may revoke your request after I try. But I'd be happy to teach you if I can. And I hear it is easier to learn more languages if you already have more than one, so perhaps you will pick it up readily enough to make up for my lack of teaching experience.

[laruetheday]

The guy asking about fainting couches?

[ Clarisse didn't recognize his voice, but she doesn't always pay attention to chatter over the crystals, especially when multiple people are using them at the same time. Besides, even though she has a general idea of who most of Riftwatch are, there are people who sometimes pass through and then leave again, doing work elsewhere. Not a big organization, but just big enough that she doesn't feel weird about not knowing absolutely everybody. ]

Why awkward?