come_sailaway | What’s Taters Precious?

Entry tags:

What’s Taters Precious?

Who: Valdis and Open
What: Memory Share Event starters
When: March
Where: All over
Warnings: As Needed Plus Sad Potatoes

Pratt’s No Good Very Bad Day | Open | CW: sad potatoes

Valdis sits at a table near the buffet, slouched in her chair, arms crossed, staring daggers at the three plates in front of her. There is a variety of food on them, but every single thing that has potatoes in it, or is made of potatoes, or is a potato, is in some stage of decay. Odd, considering all the potato dishes at the buffet look perfectly fine, that is, until you put it on your plate, then it rots within minutes. If you happen to try eating it with a spoon straight from the serving bowl, well, it still rots. Valdis seems to have some idea of what is going on, but good luck having a pleasant discussion, she doesn’t exactly look happy.

Books are Better than People | Close CR | CW: None

Avoiding the world is easy when you have a bunch of books and a room with only two keys. Valdis is hiding from everyone and everything, reading books she’s read before. She will not answer texts and unless you happen to catch her coming back out of a memory she’s fallen into, you are unlikely to see her around much. If you ended up in a memory and she remembers you were in it, she may pretend she’s not home when you knock. Hard to avoid her roommate, but at least she hasn’t accidentally killed him yet. It seems her magic isn’t so out of control that it runs rampant when she sleeps, unless you are a potato.

Around the Serena Eterna | Open | CW: Will note if needed

Despite trying to hide, she can’t exactly stop living, so Valdis can still be found in Sand Dollar, on the sports deck, in the gym and in the library. But you won’t find her in any hallways or lounging out in the Atrium or really anywhere else. She tries to go places where others won’t be, but that doesn’t mean she’s avoiding people entirely. She’s not in the best of moods though.

Wildcard

PM, discord, plurk, you know the drill.

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Ordinarily, the strange decay of potato products might have caused Ari Tayrey alarm. It doesn't fit with her developing understanding of how the ship functions. As it is, she hardly noticed it. Ari has been in and out, lately. She's spent more time off the ship than on it, and that should please her. Except that she's seen some terrible things, and there's fragmentation of her own memory that has made her try to catalog what's true and what isn't.

Maybe the observer wouldn't notice. She's still Tradeliner Tayrey, and she's always been serious-minded when dealing with outsiders. There are a few here who are losing that designation, but these things take time.

She waves a hand in greeting when she sees Valdis in the gym. The woman makes her nervous, but Ari's polite, because she knows none of her anxious feelings are Valdis' fault, and besides, she has to learn to be absolutely neutral in her presence. It's the only way to protect her privacy.

Ari doesn't know that she's unconsciously raised a solid mental shield, but Valdis will notice instantly. There's nothing there to read - good, bad, or indifferent.

The stark lack of emotion accompanying Ari's soul sends shivers down her spine and she shoots the girl a look through narrowed eyes, evaluating. If the girl was possessed surely her soul would feel different, but the lack of emotion bothers her. It's similar to how Erin feels when she wears the ring, which is the only reason she doesn't panic.

"What do I call you based on our contract?"

The simplest test in the world, but she's not even going to bother explaining the question. She's uneasy enough regarding what she, Ava and Crabb learned that she just wants to be sure.

Most people on this ship, had they started abruptly questioning her in this way without so much as a word of greeting, would have received a sharp response - and not the one they were hoping for. But Ari knows Valdis, enough to trust her in most circumstances as she would a shipmate. She knows she isn't trying to be rude, and that she wouldn't bring up contractual matters without good reason.

And so she understands, almost immediately, that it's a test. One that she doesn't mind complying with.

'Stjernesjømann,' she answers simply. No hesitation, no attempts to distract her or evade the question.

'Do we need to take these precautions? Has something happened?' It's an honest question. She's been distracted enough that she might have missed the signs.

Valdis takes a breath and settles a quizzical gaze on Ari.

"You feel like an empty void. I can hear you, smell you, your soul still seems familiar, but the rest...nothing. With all this craziness going on, well...I had to check. I'm sorry."

She doesn't like it, it's wrong. Like one of her senses being completely cut off. One she's been relying on for thousands of years. But it was similar enough to Erin's ring that she knows it's going to be ok, even if she feels like she's facing reality with one arm useless.

"Something is making me feel incredibly uneasy about all this, so if anything feels off, even just a shadow or something out of the corner of your eyes, do not hesitate to call for me."

She has, to some extent, learned to pick her battles. So while someone talking about her soul still feels horribly uncomfortable, like they're pushing their religion on her instead of respecting her perspective, she lets it go. It's Valdis' label for whatever she thinks she can sense.

'You don't need to apologise. It's better to have twenty false alarms than to say nothing and risk someone getting hurt.'

That's sensible enough, but the rest troubles her. She's not going to start jumping at shadows and calling for help over nothing. Ari Tayrey does her best to project an image of strength, and this place is enough of a trial without adding more paranoia. But what's all this about an empty void? She has no idea how to interpret it. Unless...

'Could it be that I seem different because I killed people?' She asks it seriously. 'Through the rift. I'd never done that... directly, before.' Or had she? Her own memories are a mess, too.

"No, the taint of death feels different. I just...cannot feel you. Did you get a ring that creates a mental shield? Stops your thoughts and emotions from being absorbed? Erin has one, this feels similar to when she wears it."

It still makes her uneasy. This is clearly Ari, she knows the name, and she knows it shouldn't bother her as much as it does. Most everyone would want to shield themselves from her, but...the problem is that Ari doesn't seem aware of it. That is was truly concerns her.

But the fact Ari has killed people draws more attention than the fact she cannot feel the girl through her empathy.

"But are you alright? Being the cause of death isn't easy for most people, even if they have killed before."

'I'm fine,' she answers, perhaps a little too quickly. 'I mean, it wasn't easy. I don't think it should be, really. It shouldn't happen lightly. Not easy, but necessary, each time.' She says it firmly, wanting to reassure Valdis. 'It was always going to happen, in my line of work, so I was prepared,' she adds. As much as anyone could be. If thinking it about it troubles her on occasion, that's normal too, and she has been told that it passes.

She has to think for a moment longer before turning back to the other questions.

'I don't have any rings. I do have this.' She pushes up her sleeve to reveal a bracelet threaded with chunky lapis lazuli beads. When she slips it over her hand and then replaces it, however, absolutely nothing changes.

Ari frowns, looking back at Valdis. 'Perhaps it's no bad thing. You know that to me, having someone perceive my thoughts and emotions without my permission is an intrusion. I-' she stops suddenly, a thought occurring to her. 'When I was through the rifts, I witnessed - other such intrusions. Worse. Forcible tampering with people's minds. It disturbed me. When I returned to the ship, I felt a sort of... shift, in my own mind. I haven't the language to describe it. Maybe mental shield isn't too far off.'

"While I do understand your...hesitation over my abilities, you overestimate what they actually do. Yet, consider this at the very least, essentially my ability to see someone I care about has been cut completely off. I suggest you find a way to let it through on occasion, as the connection to your name is an emotional one, and I cannot hear you if I cannot see you."

Meaning she may break the contract through no fault of her own. It's lucky that Erin has already introduced the idea or Valdis would feel far more isolated. It's difficult to be upset when everyone tells her that her ability is a violation, but if she could control it, she would. Especially since a repeat of the trial on an escalated basis could be fatal.

Moving on.

"Whose memory scared you so much that it resulted in your sudden ability to shield your mind?'

Ari doesn't sure that Valdis does understand. It's important to her to be rational, to be professional, and in her case that doesn't mean not having emotions, but pushing them down and not letting them control her actions. She's good at hiding how she feels, when she needs to be, except in the most extreme of circumstances. The idea that Valdis can read from her every moment of suppressed anger, all the frustrations she doesn't voice, the relentless, wretched longing for home? It horrifies her. Not Valdis herself, who cannot help being what she is, but the fact of the situation.

'I didn't say I was scared,' she answers, slowly. 'The violation of other people's rights disturbed me. I wasn't afraid for myself. You'll understand why I won't give details. Other people's pasts aren't mine to reveal.'

She shakes her head. 'If I want you to see my feelings, I'll let you read them on my face. In my words and actions. You haven't any right to see what I want to keep private. Not that it matters, anyway. Whatever this shielding is, it's not something under my conscious control.'

"Fair enough."

But cleary Ari doesn't understand, or doesn't care to understand, what Valdis is trying to say regarding the idea of true names. The girl hates the idea of magic, powers and souls, so trying to explain further will likely just aggravate her.

"If that is indeed the case, then I will be unable to renew the contract." A small pause, "This has no reflection on if I see you as pack or not, nor does it impact the fact that I do genuinely care about your well being, it is simply a limitation of the ability that allows me to hear and find you if you need me."

Hopefully Ari will at least understand that much.

Ari looks faintly surprised to hear this, but the young woman doesn't seem upset in the slightest. Everything in her society is done by contract, and they're all temporary. Reacting badly when someone decides not to renew a specific agreement would be very poor etiquette, and she had deliberately made her contract with Valdis very short term, because at first it had served as a shaky peace to paper over a disastrous first meeting.

They've both come a long way since then.

'I understand,' she says, even though she doesn't, not fully. 'You can't hold to a contract that you're unable to fulfil. It would be very unfair for me to call on you, for you not to be able to hear on account of... this, and then for me to claim breach of contract. We were planning on amendments anyway-' to cover the daggers that she now has in her keeping, 'so there are a few options. Altering the original may be more trouble than it's worth, but we could let it expire and draw up a new document. Or we could revert to ordinary peaceable contract. That's an informal agreement that we mean each other no harm and will deal fairly with one another.' Very different from no contract, which promises nothing of the sort.

She's brisk and professional about it, but there's none of the cold, stiff attitude that characterised their first negotiation. She thinks well of Valdis these days, trusts her enough not to doubt her intentions in the slightest.

The knowledge that there is such a thing as a peaceable contract shouldn't really be a surprise, not every relationship needed to be so stiff as the contract she had previously.

"I am not certain what I have to offer in exchange for what I need."

Her powers have been rendered useless several times in recent days, and then of course, being crushed by a goddess of the underworld in some cursed memory she had little choice in, and, well, she hadn't had a choice in coming back either.

Hadn't that always been the way? Ari had - impulsively, after a few drinks - suggested the first contract as a way to avoid offering charity, and to gain an ally in the process. Something that any proud Company type would have immediately understood, but which Valdis had perceived very differently. Well, she doesn't make the same mistake twice. It isn't as if Valdis needs her now, anyway. She has others to give her energy. Ari won't offer a lopsided contract again. Nor will she negotiate both sides.

'It's no trouble,' she says. 'We'll go to ordinary contract, and we can talk about it again if you want another formal agreement later on.'

After a moment, she realises what Valdis might be worried about, and adds, quietly, 'The storage situation won't change. It's in my interest to continue it. I don't want anyone else getting their hands on those items either.'

"Very well, a peaceable contract it will be for now. Though, I feel I must tell you that your name is not bound to the previous contract. If you do find a way to open your mind as needed for the link to occur, then I will still hear you."

Though she hopes it will be unnecessary, the likely hood of that is quite slim and she does not want to leave Ari unguarded. She doesn't really have a choice in the matter though.

"I can offer this much in exchange for your protection of those items. Though I realize that an 'if' may not be as fair as it could be, I do still want to offer my protection as much as possible."

However thin she may be spread watching out for all of her pack.

She shakes her head. 'I wouldn't use it outside of formal contract,' she tells Valdis. 'It wouldn't be right.' Would her notions of honor and principle hold up if her life were in danger? Ari Tayrey likes to think so, although she's been out on the Tradelines long enough to know that sometimes people do behave unpredictably under enough pressure, and it isn't always the people that you expect.

Offering this assurance in return for her protecting the daggers is a different contract altogether, and you can't agree a contract where certain breaches result in death informally. That leaves neither party properly protected.

She thinks for a moment. 'It's something we'd need to test first, in controlled conditions, if we were ever to consider it again. Except- I was only ever looking for an ally,' she explains to Valdis, 'and I think I have that now, in a way, contract or not.' As much of an alliance as there's ever likely to be between them. Valdis' treatment of Nobunaga taught Ari that relying on anyone here Tradeline-fashion would be a mistake. 'At least I have a friend.'

"You do," Valdis says, "Have a friend, and an ally. Even if our worldviews are quite different, and even if I sometimes don't understand where you are coming from, I do respect you."

With a deep breath, and still feeling weird about missing an entire sense, she thinks back on her conversation with Ava.

"I'm, no quite sure how to explain, but these rifts, I think they are tied to the Nothing and perhaps the ghosts. So, just be careful near them."

'Thank you,' she replies, taking the other woman's words seriously. 'If you ever don't understand but want to, you can always ask me to clarify. I don't mind questions, not if they're asked in good faith. I've had to ask plenty about Earth culture myself.'

Valdis' commentary on the rifts troubles her a little, and she frowns. 'I don't mean to avoid them,' she admits. 'Not every time rift leads to a pleasant place, but they do lead to places where I can do as I like. It's... it's a relief from this captivity. I don't regret going through any of them. I can't do anything to change the ghosts, or the Nothing, so I'm trying not to worry about them.' Not that it's easy. The thought of the Nothing especially is like a tremendous weight pressing down on Ari to crush her, every time it comes to mind, because it's so much worse than death. But what can she do?

The old idea of the thing you love most about someone also being the thing you hate most comes to mind in Ari's comments on the rifts. But considering how adamant Ari is to escape, it shouldn't be a surprise that she doesn't think about the consequences for the rest of them.

"You may not be able to fix things, but you could accidentally make things worse."

Though Erin is far ahead of everyone else in that. Valdis takes a breath.

"I need to go, but...please be careful."

Ari knows about what Ava did - the odd business with the corpse, and the strange behavior of the ghost. It might have caused the rifts, but she doesn't know for sure. It isn't her priority, because she's more interested in the fact that stepping through a rift isn't like playing out a simulation of someone's memory. It's real cross-timeline travel, as evidenced by the fact that the person whose timeline it is remembers the alterations made by others.

If they were more stable, it would mean escape - but Ari invariably gets jolted back to the ship, sooner or later.

'I'm always careful,' she tells Valdis, seriously, but she leaves it as that. The two of them might trust each other in a crisis, but their outlooks seem too different to be on information-sharing terms.

'Safe skies,' she says then. 'Live long and prosper.' That's what they say in Valdis' culture, right?

Valdis seems almost startled by the Star Trek reference, but she quickly remembers that she's the one who started it.

"Live long and prosper, Teyrey."

She's not sure what to think of all this, but she has to believe it will all work out in the end.

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What’s Taters Precious?

Wildcard! Post-potato meeting

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