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[It's Yelena, here with a quick question. She has a somewhat harried look about her, and she doesn't look like she's slept well with the bags under her eyes, but it doesn't make her any less alert.

That might be because of the coffee-like drink she's enjoying at one of the cafes in the Wood sector, but it's not what she's here to talk about.]

Just to be sure, no one has noticed any ghosts of people who aren't from Keeliai, right? That is, spirits of people who are definitely from their worlds instead of here, for instance?

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Understood. We can stay here, too, if you'd rather. Or we can go there, I'm good either way. Done with work, so I'll be waiting for you.

Either way. I'll be there later.

[She disconnects, and it's a few hours before she shows back up at Bucky's suite. She knocks on the door quietly, worn out from her very emotional talk with Annabeth, and waits for Bucky to answer.]

[Bucky's ready to either stay or go when he opens the door...

... but then he takes one look at Yelena and steps back.]

Come on in. I'll make tea, and there's food I can warm up.

[Because nice as the groves in Wood Sector are? She looks like she needs comfort and calm more than anything else, and he - doesn't know how to give that, outside of 'urban' areas. And whether or not they talk about what she needed the privacy for, dragging her out in public doesn't seem like a good call.

So staying in it is.]

[She considers telling him no, that they'll go for a walk, but in the end she just doesn't want to fuss over it and tea sounds alright.

Yelena steps in, looking around automatically to note the similarities and differences between his Wood sector suite and hers.]

Thanks, just tea is fine. Sorry it took me a while to get here...took longer than I expected to finish up.

Tea it is.

[He heads towards the living room, motioning her inside.]

Make yourself at home. And don't worry about late, you had to do stuff, you got to do it. I've been trying to figure out if I can dig up something relevant from older kedan books that are readable.

[Off to the kitchen area he goes, starting the tea, and makes a face.]

To be honest, I've never been one much for reading, but making sure plans stick together, rather than fall apart, has been one of the things I was doing, back home. Means I got to look into details and such, and I figure the difference shouldn't be too bad. Not that I've found anything interesting, but maybe something'll come up.

[It's not like she'll be talking into an empty room, about something better not overheard. So he's babbling to try and make her relax a little.]

[Yelena nods absently as she walks around the room, examining it, noting changes where Bucky's made them, additions and things that are most likely his rather than provided with the suite.]

You ran into that problem too with the kedan books? The palace library had so many but trying to find any with pages that weren't damaged was next to impossible.

[Eventually she makes it to the door between the kitchen and the sitting room and watches him get the tea made. Her arms cross over her chest, causing her shoulders to hunch ever so slightly.]

Oh, I haven't tried the palace library - just books that the kedan sell. The're not supposed to be damaged, that doesn't sell, but they are... kinda vague. Using entirely different points of reference, I guess. It's sometimes hard to make heads or tails out of them.

[He looks up with a smile as she wanders over, but it fades a bit as he takes her in, mouth twisting slightly.]

Have you been getting much rest, recently? I thought you were planning on some recovery time, last we spoke.

I could take a look at them sometime if you want.

[And as for if she's been getting much rest...]

And no, it's hard to rest with the ghosts around. They're...unnerving.

Yeah? It's usually better work, two heads think better than one and all that, I guess.

[Eyebrows up.]

You've been having trouble with them? This place seems to be safe, at least for now. If you wanna, you can stay here for a night or two, get some sleep. I'll take the couch.

[She shakes her head.]

It's okay, I'm fine. I know someone who's going to keep the ghosts from getting into my place and I'll probably sleep a bit better for it.

But thanks for the offer.

[She glances around the kitchen uncertainly.]

Anything I can help with in here?

Yeah? Good. Only so long you really should go without good sleep, so. If that doesn't work, offer's open.

[He looks up with a bright grin, setting the last of the nibbly food on the tray.]

Nope, all done. Let's go get you settled more comfortably.

[And think of ways to get you to smile, the thought flits through his mind. She needs like she can use it.]

[And, yep, all food he has would be normal. Simple, tasty, with no surprises. He can and does experiment, but... well. Usually when he eats out or something.]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

[Yelena watches him gather everything onto a tray and turns her back to head back into the sitting room. It's perhaps a sign of how comfortable she is around him that she exposes her back to him, even if he's carrying something.]

If I remember correctly, you asked what my area of expertise was, right?

Yeah, I did. Didn't expect it to need this sort of a reaction, but.

[He shrugs, easy, but attentive, and settles the tray, pouring tea for fer and arranging snacks, like the nuns had taught them, back when they'd depended on them.]

Thanks for agreeing to tell me.

Well, I don't have a lot of reasons to trust people, and knowing that a lock on that network can be undone...So it's fine, I don't mind telling you, I'd just rather keep this particular skill to myself.

[Emotionally speaking, she's exhausted, but talking about poison tasting is a bit easier. She's anticipating that there will be questions about why and how she got into this, however, hence the need for secrecy.]

So, I know how to fight with a staff and a knife, that's not really unknown. But back home, what I'm known for is being the Commander's poison taster.

Edited 2012-11-27 18:41 (UTC)

Of course.

[Which is why he suggested it not be over the network at all. He's gleaned enough about security or lack of it, and doesn't really want to think about it, but the facts of the matter remain in favor of not trusting technology. Yet.]

[And then she tells that, and he... pauses, his face darkening.]

Somebody's making you taste their food for poison? So you die instead of them?

[Yelena lifts her shoulders in a shrug.]

If it's poisoned with something that works too fast for me to get an antidote, yes.

[Valek kept every antidote on hand, but there were some like My Love which were so lethal and fast-acting that surviving even with the antidote was up in the air.]

I've learned the taste, smell, appearance, and texture of a hundred poisons native to Ixia and Sitia...give or take. In food and in drink.

So why is this Commander so important that he'd have people knowingly do that for him?

[Beat. And then, actually softer.]

And why do you do it, for him?

He's in control of everything. There is none higher than him...and a great deal of how he overthrew the kingdom was through use of poison. It stands to reason that he would worry about it being used against him as well...

[Yelena trails off, looking uncomfortable. She hasn't touched the food yet, though she will in time.]

I do it because it's better than the alternative. The position of the Commander's poison taster is only offered to those whose lives are already forfeit anyway.

[Bucky stares at her for another moment.]

... I think I'm back to disliking the place you're comin' from.

[Because any place where that is an acceptable way to take power needs some good old-fashioned democracy.]

[He lets out a long breath, and leans back a bit.]

So you didn't have that much of a choice. Have you been doing it long?

[Yes, he is curious as to what crime she was convicted of, to get to that situation. No, he doesn't think she's up for answering that, right now. Too... tired.]

A lot of people who aren't from Ixia don't like it. It's just what I know. [She shrugs after a moment.] I had a choice to live or not. So far it's given me almost a year of life I wouldn't have had otherwise. And well, I learned skills. Ones I use here actually.

[And at this point, Yelena picks up a glass in front of her.]

Did you know that poisoners can mask the taste of a poison in the smell of a drink?

[She swirls the liquid around in the glass, watching it. She takes a sip then with her nose pinched shut, and then as quietly as she can manage, gargles it.]

Sometimes it's as simple as that to detect it's been tampered with.

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