tushanshu | video.

[For someone who's just found himself the winner of a cheap turtle cruise, Scott looks pretty calm sitting in his suite with his chin propped on the palm of his hand. He's skimmed the console posts and wheedled tiny bits of information from the kedan. He knows something is up with the turtle. ]

God only knows I deserve a vacation on a tropical turtle paradise right about now, but usually when I take my days off I like them sunny, not sickly. [Here he straightens, features losing some of their humor.] I know I'm the new guy around here, but if there's anything I can do to help, let me know.

[Admittedly, this might not be his best move considering he still has no idea why or by whom he was brought here, but no one's killed him (yet) so Scott's taking that as a good sign.]

Oh, and.

[The levity's back in his voice now but it's harder, more forced, and anyone paying attention can hear the undercurrent of worry slowly rising to the surface. He's already asked Tea but she'd only been one person and this turtle place is massive. Can't hurt to ask around more.]

If anyone's seen a group of nine kids - including two fish kids and a head in a jar - I'd also like to know, thanks. You can't miss 'em. Really.

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... wouldn't have thought a head in a jar to move much from where you left it last.

...It's a sentient head in a jar with magical mind powers and is telepathically connected to the jar it's sitting in?

[Aka he actually has no idea how the heck Turg moves around in that jar and is making crap up.]

[ Well. It's not the weirdest thing Raven's ever heard, but it's getting up there. ]

And it decided to go sightseeing?

I guess. You can only tour the Baxter Building so many times before it gets boring. Especially when you live there.

[Lucky him, he hasn't reached that point yet, but he's hoping he never does.]

And the other nine kids?

[ Please have better descriptions for them... ]

[....That is such a vague question and Scott kind of pauses, unsure of what to say.]

...Aren't heads in jars? [Elaboration might be nice here.] Three of them are green, three of them are yellow, one of them is pink, and the rest look like you and me.

You were chaperoning a contingent of neon?

[ Raven stills for a moment, casting out her senses but not getting a reading of any groups that large of suitable age. ]

[Blink.]

That's actually a really good description. [Maybe he'll use it if anything like this ever happens again.] But yeah, something like that. I had three other people with me though.

The consensus is that people are arriving here without the people they were with at the time. You might have been the only one who was brought here.

That's—okay, I'm okay with that.

[Fewer kids to babysit. Fewer things to stress him out. Fewer people who know him and fuss over him every waking minute. Yeah, he's okay with this.]

Any consensus on the reason why for that yet?

That probably depends on how much weight you want to give the Emperor's "explanation" of being here to fight a threat.

[Hm.]

Let's pretend I give 100% weight. [Or however that works.] What kind of threat are we fighting?

They're rather unhelpfully vague about that part. But whatever it is, we seem to have just missed its last encounter.

Oh yay for us, that means it's time to celebrate, right?

[Can Raven hear the sarcasm in his voice right now, can she?]

They're unhelpfully vague about everything, except for what time I'm supposed to show up for this new job I've been assigned. You're not trimming dying hedges too, are you?

Only if there's pizza.

[ Stop the presses Raven actually does something like a normal teenager. ]

No, I haven't gotten a job yet. You're trimming hedges?

[GASP this moment must be recorded for posterity. Or it could be ignored completely because for all intents and purposes Scott thinks Raven is a perfectly normal teenager, albeit a weirdly serious one.]

It seemed easy. Also boring. [Shrug. Overall he is not that concerned.] I might try getting something else if it doesn't work out.

[Spoilers: it won't.]

I asked about some of the local laws on the cart ride from the palace, they're a little strange. You might want to check that you're committing a felony be leaving one side taller than the other.

Really.

[....sq....uint......]

Is there a big black big with all the local laws around here? Because I really don't want to get thrown in jail for making the mistake of wearing red and black together on a Friday afternoon.

[Or whatever day of the week it is.]

Most bookstores sell a copy of bylaws, yes.

[ She's already been into most of them. Bookstores, not bylaws. ]

[That's handy. Now the only remaining question is:]

How much are they? And I am going to be able to carry the thing home without using a cart?

[ Amused, Raven quotes a price in juulan equivalent to any regular book. ]

It's not an encyclopedia.

Hey, you never know. Maybe that thing you bought was the abridged version and come Monday we're both going to find ourselves behind bars because apparently it's a jailable offense to scratch your right ear on a Sunday.

[This is very srsbs okay.]

[ a fleeting smile ]

That would be one way to get information.

As opposed to marching up to someone and punching the snot out of them for information? Yeah, I think I like our way better.

[Never mind that all of this was his idea.]

But thanks for the heads up. I'll go check it out. [Brief pause.] I'm Scott, by the way.

You're welcome.

[ It's not that Raven doesn't think the other idea has merit; it's worked for her and her teammates more than once. But things had to have a balance. ]

I'm Raven.

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langsyne - 2013-08-10 19:48 (UTC) - Expand

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