Messages - from Emprise du Lion

[the_effect_she_has]

FORM: Sending Crystals
SENDER: Emprise du Lion scouting party (various messages sent out)
RECIPIENT: To Commander Cullen, to the Magi Council, to friends and family
WHAT: Reports, personal messages, flirting, and general griping about SNOW WHY ALL THE SNOW.
WHEN: Covering the three weeks of Haring
WHERE: Emprise du Lion
NOTES: Mentions of violence, of physical torture, of death, and of course, complaining. Why snow why.

Further edit: Katniss's post is screwed up because I didn't realize sending crystals are only auditory. So, please if you will, Katniss is making weird noises in the background of her messages. If asked, she will describe what she is doing.

Comments

[wontforgetyou]

Ah, I'm afraid I'm a terrible heathen and've not been paying attention at all.

[And now he's trying not to chuckle. Thanks, Katniss. His more usual sort of bafflement kicks in a few moments later, however, as the unfamiliar name winds up confusing him just a bit.]

Snow...fleurs? That's an odd name for a beastie. Even one with soft fur. If it's big, though, that could come in useful out there, I'd reckon.

[the_effect_she_has]

Obviously. Good thing we're not part of the Chantry, eh? Or the official part.

[She tries to think of how to to explain how they got their name, but honestly ... she's not entirely sure.]

It is fairly big, and I don't know why it's called that. I mean, it looks nothing like a flower.

[wontforgetyou]

[He likes to think he'd be forgiven for not being a part of the Chantry since different worlds and all, but she's got a point, and there's a vague noise of agreement on his end before he turns his attention back to the snow flower...er, snofluer.]

I've seen some places where there are flowers that are big and sort of...fuzzy, but that wasn't here. Maybe it's because it likes eating flowers? Although that might be tricky if there's as much snow there I think there is.

[the_effect_she_has]

[Well, he was forgiven as far as Katniss was concerned; anyone who said differently could get shoved head first into a water trough. Which Katniss would do personally, thank you ever so much.]

According to our initial reports -- this place is suffering from a sudden freeze. So maybe the flowers just haven't appeared yet.

[wontforgetyou]

[Flowers not appearing because of the cold makes sense, but that's not what gets him to give a startled look at the crystal - even though he can't see it. There's enough of it in his tone that it's possibly obvious, even so.]

Wait, so all that cold where you are just turned up all of a sudden? Is that natural for the area?

[the_effect_she_has]

[Katniss paused at the surprise in Jamie's voice.]

Well no, it's not normal ... but honestly with this much magical energy getting thrown around there are bound to be some weather side-effects. The weather's never really ... temperate this far South.

[wontforgetyou]

Magic does that?? I thought that was just weather machines that affected that sort of thing.

[Only they wouldn't have anything like that here, would they? Oops. Well, at least Katniss already knows that he's a rifter.]

So it's the rifts that's causing it then? Maybe it'll get fixed if some of us come out there to close them, in that case.

[the_effect_she_has]

Wait ... wait. There are machines on your world that can change the weather?

[What madness was this? This sounds like a dangerous world.]

I wouldn't mind it - but we have to get approval from Harding and the Commander first.

[wontforgetyou]

Well, yes. Just, ah, not during my day.

[That's probably not helping matters any, but since he's already gone and opened his mouth he might as well go ahead with it - and leave the matter of approval for closing the rifts as it is for the moment.]

Look, I can try to explain, but it's complicated.

[the_effect_she_has]

[And now ... she is going to be baffled. She eyes the message crystal skeptically, before answering dryly.]

I am starting to think you'd better.

[wontforgetyou]

Alright then, I'll have a go at it. Don't say I didn't warn you, though.

[Not that he thinks she's going to believe him, but he'll at least try.]

Have any of the other rifters explained what a spaceship is to you? Ah, assuming any of them come from places where they have them, anyway.

[the_effect_she_has]

.... I am going to say that no, none of them told me what a spaceship is. It's a rather roomy boat?

[Really at this point she is just guessing.]

[wontforgetyou]

Aye, well...you could say that it is, in a way.

[The TARDIS was pretty roomy, when it came down to it, but that wasn't quite what he'd meant. At least not in this case.]

Although it's a bit different than a regular ship. Ships normally can sail on water, right? Well, ours doesn't really do that. It travels up in the stars. Where I come from, "space" can be something that's roomy, but it's also a name for where all the stars and planets are. Sort of like how "bow" can be a weapon and a hair thing for lasses at the same time.

[the_effect_she_has]

[Katniss was silent for a long moment, before she stated slowly.]

You ... actually have ships, that travel through stars? Up where the heavens are? Doesn't the Maker turn around and smite you?

[wontforgetyou]

Well...no. At least not that I've noticed. Think if I would've if Go- er, the Maker had decided to smite me. Also I think we'd not be having this conversation if He had. As far as I know, anyway.

[the_effect_she_has]

You never know. You could be a really hearty ghost. [She is teasing, mostly to cover her own surprise.]

... So what are the stars like?

[wontforgetyou]

Look, just because some people thought I was once...aye, well, never mind that. I'm just as solid as you are, and if we weren't talking over this crystal thing I'd prove it, too.

[How, he doesn't know, but he'd think of something.]

And mostly the stars are wee bits of light like they are down here. You can't get so close to them because they're very hot. You'd burn right up. Planets, now, that's another story.

[the_effect_she_has]

Someone has already thought you were a ghost too ... you have led a very interesting life, Jamie, I must say.

[She laughs at that.] Why do I have a feeling it would include poking me in the ear?

[Planets ... she's never even heard of such a word.] What are planets?

[wontforgetyou]

Aye, well, maybe so. Although that one was my own fault, to tell you the truth. I'll explain it sometime, if you like.

[Once he actually gets around to explaining time travel and why it's a bad idea to go change things in your own personal timeline, but if she doesn't know what a planet is it's probably better if he holds back on that end for a bit longer yet. And explain what a planet is, too.]

You don't know about those, then? Right, let's see,then...mm. Oh, I know! Do you use the word continent around here to describe a large mass of land?

[the_effect_she_has]

I would be delighted to hear this story. Probably over a bottle of cider and some food.

[Because it sounded like the kind of adventure that required it, honestly. She paused, frowning.]

I know ... Thedas is a continent. Not sure if there are any others?

[wontforgetyou]

[Having the bottle and the cider there for it couldn't hurt, that's for sure - and he nods in agreement with that notion. That's for later, though. For now he's got to get through his current explanation.]

Well, likely there are. Maybe just not ones folk know about. Anyway, you take a couple of these continents and some bodies of water and maybe some islands and the like and put them all together and you've got a planet. Or a world, if you like. You can use either one..and a space ship will let you travel between planets so you can visit more than one of them. Like if you traveled between continents on a regular ship, only larger. Does that make sense?

[the_effect_she_has]

[Katniss looked at him, her eyes widening as he kept going. She nodded her head slowly, her mouth pressing together as she considered all of these things. Then she rubbed her forehead for a moment, tilting her head at him.]

..It makes sense. It's just -- it's so vast. It's unbelievable that so much exists. I mean, I'm from a land where the mountains stretch forever. To think there are hundreds, thousands of mountains? Wow. Just wow.

[wontforgetyou]

Aye, and that's not counting all the other places that aren't mountains.

[Or even on planets themselves, like moons and space stations, but he'll leave out that part of it unless she asks. He knows what it's like to try and wrap one's head around that sort of thing.]

I'll not say as it was easy to get used to the idea when I first left Scotland, that's for sure. It's easier if you don't try to think about it like that, though. To tell you the truth, most of the time I don't think about it at all. We were too busy getting caught up in some trouble or other to have time to think.

[the_effect_she_has]

Maker's Breath ...

[That was more land that she could imagine, More land that should exist, and yet it did. Easily fitting on a planet.

She nodded slowly, because if Jamie could wrap his mind around it, she could too. They grew up worlds apart and yet so very close to the same.]

... Did you get into a lot of proper scrapes then?

[wontforgetyou]

Aye, well, let me put it this way. That spaceship I mentioned? You'd never know where you'd wind up when you were in it.

[Or when, for that matter, but that part's not so important right now, and he decides to just skip that bit too and go on with the rest of it.]

And you'd never know who you'd meet. But no matter where we'd go, there'd be something that wound up happening, and before we knew it, we'd be in it right up to our necks. So aye, I'd say we wound up in our fair share of scrapes. Not that I'd change that, mind.