hadriel | 003 [Video]

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003 [Video]

[The video feed turns on to show what is probably a strange pair of people to be making a post together. It's also a really, really important post about an incredibly important subject.

Chris offers a small grin and a wave at the camera.]

Okay, so, I feel like I should say that I'm not announcing anything horrible about monsters this time. Just... Making that clear upfront.

[Is everyone relieved? Good.]

Instead, Cashmere and I are taking a super important poll.

[He glances toward Cashmere, waiting to see if she wants to continue from here.]

Very important. [ She agrees and pauses for a moment, fixing her hair in the camera. ]

I'm sure you’ve all noticed Chris and I have something special in common. So we need to know who else out there shares our special quality. Are you blonde?

[ Yes, she is serious. ]

We're here to make sure those of us who are blonde are having the most fun. If you're not having fun, we’ll think of a way to fix that.

[ She glances to Chris. Ideas?

Chris looks over at her in response, then fixes the video with a serious expression.]

Yeah. And if you are having fun, could you like... Tell us your secrets? Because that'd be pretty awesome.

[That covers the totally important stuff, he thinks. Any last remarks, Cashmere?]

Non-blondes need not reply. [ That should win some friends. ]

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[Oh hey, Maketh. He offers her a smile and then a moment of fake contemplation at her question.]

What, factor in as like, having fun because of drinking? That counts, though it'll probably be more helpful a suggestion for Cashmere than me.

[Her expression is deceptively serious. Apparently she does have a sense of humor. Don't tell anyone.]

Of course. I'm wonderful at parties.

[She tips her head to the side.]

Perhaps. But these phones can take pictures, can't they?

Oh yeah?

[He can't tell if she's sarcastic or serious, but either one is intriguing in its own way.]

Yeah, definitely.

[A suspicious pause.]

Why?

Mhmm-hmm. One day I may scandalize you with some of the Empire's graduation traditions.

[She gives him a little smile.]

Oh, who knows when you might see something interesting once the drinks start circulating. And decide the rest of the world ought to see it as well.

Hey, how do you know anything you told me would be scandalizing? Who knows what crazy stuff I've seen okay, I'm a college student.

[It's clearly a joke; it's totally possible to scandalize him. It wouldn't even take a lot of effort.

The rest of that response sounds a bit foreboding, and he's feeling even more confident in his decision to mostly avoid drinking for now.]

That's... Pretty ominous, not gonna lie.

Call it intuition. [Mostly she's teasing him. Having a little fun.

She leans back, more serious this time.]

It needn't be.

Wow, I feel like I should be insulted.

[He's totally not, and is actually pretty pleased to see her being less serious than usual.]

I guess there's always the potential of people here being happy drunks and doing a lot of bad singing.

[That'd be pretty great.]

Oh dear. Whatever shall I do?

[She keeps her tone light, though her face remains relatively serious. Everything except her eyes says business - she's got something of a mischievous light in them for the moment.]

No one is going to fault you for seeking out the smaller moments, Chris.

The bullying is so real right now.

[He's not bothering to keep a straight face, grinning a little, though his tone is serious in contrast.]

Yeah, I guess so. And besides, if I get blackmail material it won't matter if I'm faulted or not.

You poor child.

[Maketh smiles just a little.]

This is also true. Though I have a feeling I may regret telling you so.

[Because there's nothing to stop Chris from noticing her foolishness. She doesn't sound truly worried, though. Pleased at the lightness of the conversation, mostly. And the fact that they can speak like this at all.]

Seriously.

[He gives a small laugh at that last comment.]

Nah, it's cool, I play favorites.

Mostly, anyway.

[It's definitely nice to be able to pretend that things are something approaching normal, even if it's just for a little while.]

I warrant preferential treatment? Good to know.

[Well, he was kind to her when she was completely smashed that one time, so Maketh will return the favor as best she can. Even if Chris doesn't really drink.

She pauses a moment.]

How are your friends? Are they...well?

For now anyway.

[And probably forever let's be real Chris doesn't generally revoke his fondness for people. He and Josh are still friends, after all.

And speaking of his friends... His smile falters a bit, and he's a bit more serious when he replies.]

They're uh... We're doing better. One of our friends from home just showed up though, so she's still kind of... Getting used to everything.

[It's a major understatement.]

Oh, I--see.

[Maketh wonders if she ought to say sorry for that. This place is no one's home. But everyone is - for now - alive, and relatively whole. And at least Chris and his friends have each other. A bond like that must help, she thinks. Though Maketh doubts it makes up for being stuck here in the first place.

She decides not to say anything, in case she gets it wrong.]

I ran into one of them when I first arrived. I haven't had a chance to speak with her again, so I thought--perhaps I would ask you. If that's all right.

[Is she doing this right? It seems much more complicated than demanding a status report. Being social is hard. Maketh clears her throat.]

Her name is Emily, I believe.

[It definitely helps to have people he knows well here; everything would be even more stressful without them. But at the same time it'd be nice if his friends were somewhere a lot safer.

Still, it's nice to know Jess is alive. He'd been pretty certain she'd died that night on the mountain, and he's never been happier to be wrong.

He's definitely not expecting Maketh's next words though, brightening a little again.]

I didn't know you knew Emily. I can't speak for her too much but she's complaining to me about the quality of the coffee here, so. Can't be too bad.

[It's half true; as far as he understands, Emily's as good as she can be in the situation. It's just that the situation doesn't allow for a whole lot of good, since she'd been a wendigo.]

Edited 2016-03-14 03:17 (UTC)

[Maketh brightens a little at the mention of coffee. So there is some. Excellent.]

We've only met the one time, at the...beginning. I'm glad she's...as well as you can get here, I suppose.

[Emily had done her a favor with the birds, one that Maketh intends to repay sometime.]

You mentioned coffee?

Oh, did you guys like... Run into each other in the arena?

[Somehow he thinks Maketh and Emily would clash a bit, unless they were more concerned about not dying than about what the other was saying.]

Yeah. We've had a run of luck in that department, at least. Which is good, because I think the whole house is running on caffeine at this point.

[Five traumatized teenagers equals not a lot of sleeping, for several reasons.]

Yes. She, ah, helped me.

[The bird wasn't, perhaps, the greatest threat at the time, but Maketh is still thankfully that Emily made it stop. She still hears the screaming sometimes.

It's funny. Before Hadriel, she slept very well. Now she has nightmares more often than not.

Maketh smiles a little.] I can understand that. Could you tell me where you found it?

Oh, cool. She's uh... Pretty tough.

[Which is surprising considering she doesn't always act like it, but Emily's pretty badass when she wants to be.]

Yeah, sure. It was in the little cluster of shops by the lake; I think the one closest to the broken bridge but I can't remember exactly.

That will be helpful here.

[Hopefully. Maketh doesn't know Emily very well at this point.]

Thank you. I shall look for it. Strange, how much I miss coffee.

Is coffee a big thing in your world too?

[If so, he finds it amusing on some level that coffee is a somewhat universal thing.]

Oh yes. Wars have been fought.

[Not really. There might have been some stabbings. Trade negotiations get weird sometimes.]

Wouldn't be surprised at all. Coffee's serious business.

Very. Switching out an officer's coffee for decaf is the standard revenge scheme, if you happen to dislike whichever aid happens to be serving them.

I, of course, would never do such a thing.

Sure. Never.

[Said in a tone that makes it totally obvious he doesn't believe a word he's saying.]

Do they have energy drinks where you're from?

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