( open ) may catch-all!

[bruisehaver]

WHO: Lae'zel and you!
WHAT: Driving school, asking for hugs to get something to download, etc.
WHERE: Around base and the city!
WHEN: Early May
WARNINGS: None!



I. traffic school

[ It might be easy to assume that due to Lae'zel's hardass, soldier like mentality, that she might think sitting down to study might be a waste of her time... but that can't be farther from the truth. For a few days at the beginning of May, the only thing she seems to be doing in communal areas is read — a closer look would tell you that she's studying traffic laws. Very seriously.

Also of note is that she goes out of her way to print out materials, or find materials that are printed... because she hates using the implant. As a result, some of these traffic rules might be out of date, more akin to the 2020s than the 2300's. It's fine. She gathers up her flashcards and taps them in order on the table pointedly at you, bringing the index cards closer like they're about to peeked at. ]

Did you need something, or do you simply lack the common sense not to stare at others?

[ she's very busy learning that green means go right now!! ]

II. your uber is here

[ After getting sufficient lessons in traffic rules, Lae'zel can be found out in the city with her brand new motorbike at her side — glistening red and spotless. Has she given it a nice polish on her own? Why yes, yes she has.

Unluckily for you, you happen to be leaving the base just as she's about to go for another test drive. ]

You. [ Yes, you!! She tilts her chin at you, as if beckoning you along. ] You will aid me in testing controlling this vehicle with two people on it.

[ Yeah... she is no longer asking 🔫 There's a practical reason for this, because she thinks there'll be plenty of instances where she'll need to drive two people during missions. But you'll get something out of it: ]

In return, I'll take you where you need to go. You're leaving to go somewhere, yes?

[ Maybe you need a ride to work? To a restaurant? To a store? Lae'zel will get you there!! Maybe. ]

III. huggin time

[ sometimes you download the style upgrade, and it won't finish unless you hug someone.... but also, sometimes you don't really know what a """hug""" is even supposed to be. The implant explains it to her (it's an embrace of some kind??), but not in great detail.

Maybe you and Lae'zel were about to hit up the training room together, or maybe you're simply at the cafeteria enjoying a meal together — but she seems very distracted, her eyes lit up from numerous attempts to try to block the pop up from her implant. Hissed through her sharp teeth: ]

Tsk'va!

[ She curses in her native tongue, brow twitching. Unprompted, without ever explaining what she's going through: ]

Give me a hug. Quickly, just get it over with.

[ WHATEVER THAT MEANS ]

Comments

III

[icyspicy]

[ Winter had his own struggles with the fashion implant, so he might understand if she bothered to explain literally at all. But instead, all he gets is a brusque demand for a hug over lunch, and he looks up from his seafood ramen (he has so much seafood ramen) quizzically. ]

I enjoy your company just as much as the next person, Lae’zel– [ perhaps a bit more, because he’s awfully tolerant of her… githy-ness. ] –but I didn’t take you as the type to get touchy-feely.

[bruisehaver]

[ That elicits a frustrated growl out of her, fist clenching around her poor spoon that she's been using to eat her soup. It may or may not bend a bit underneath her grip. ]

Don't be simple. It's this damn implant. [ She hisses, clenching her teeth and flicking her eyes this way and that, clearly trying to clear something obscuring her vision from the virtual screen. ] There's no end to the faults of these pitiful things, it seems. It says I must, for a file to be "downloaded" correctly.

[icyspicy]

[ Please give him a moment. He eyes that spoon for a second, as if weighing whether or not laughing would be in his best interest right now. He settles on a bit of a smirk instead of outright guffawing. ]

Your implant is demanding you hug someone? Just what are you trying to download?

[ Is it the fashion thing? Please tell him it's the fashion thing. ]

ii. im hoarding more threads w her

[eirs]

( she does take frequent walks off base, actually, yeah. mostly because she's been told multiple times to please smoke elsewhere and she'd truly not deal with the constant nagging if she can help it.

this time is for a store run, followed by the usual snooping about. or at least that was the plan until she's hailed by a familiar voice.

her? what?

oh. )

I am.

( the bike gets a cursory glance, appreciation quiet behind lavender lens before turning her attention back to the githyanki. it's a simple enough of a trade. spares her the walk. why not. )

Want me to sit mostly still or what.

( kind of an important question, mostly because she's not sure how far along she's learned how to accommodate balancing with a second person, especially during extreme movements.

like, y'know. mid-fight.. )

REACHES MY PAWS OUT

[bruisehaver]

[ Her chin tilts up, looking haughty. ]

Chk. It would not be training if I knew all that was coming ahead. Being able to adapt on the battlefield is one of the most important skills.

[ That is, she plans on leaving how the other woman acts up to her — Lae'zel is confident in her ability to figure things out, no matter how chaotic they get. This is how a gith would expect their soldiers to train — there'd be no use in spoon-feeding them instructions or giving them a chance to prepare. There's only getting thrown in the deep end. A bit arrogantly: ]

Do as you wish — I will get us there one way or another.

[ She waves a hand, motioning for them both to climb aboard. ]

[eirs]

( suppose it wouldn't be of any help to her if it was too easy, which would defeat the purpose of the whole exercise to begin with. sure. she'll keep that in mind.

at the gesture to hop on, she doesn't so much as skip a beat before she slings a leg over her designated seat. she'll keep a gloved hand over the back of it just in case, with the other circled delicately around her waist just before she punches the gas. it'll be a proper hold when they go, but she does lean in with directions since it's not like she's really told her where she was off to. )

Corner store, three blocks south, red sign with a yawning cat.

( as for how she's going to be a nuisance in this endeavor to further hone her adaptability, she's still thinking about it. )

iii

[elfsufficient]

[ They're not eating together per se, but Fern is sitting maybe... diagonally across at the same table, trying her very best not to look like she's staring at Lae'zel but absolutely looking like she's staring at Lae'zel while trying to eat her cafeteria pancakes. The green woman from before... Winter had pointed the Githyanki out to the young human mage around when she'd first been awoken from her pod, but hasn't had the opportunity (?) to interact with the woman until now.

...And what an interaction it turns out to be.

Fern doesn't quite startle at the sudden cursing and utterly outlandish request, but she can't help but level her a bewildered look. ]

E...Excuse me?

[bruisehaver]

I need to perform the hug before this implant will stop being a nuisance.

[ Yes. The Hug™. She looks to be in a very sour mood, if the pinched nature of her brows and downward pull of her lips are any indication, but at least it doesn't seem directed at Fern (yet). ]

Or are you not familiar with this custom?

[elfsufficient]

[ The Hug™... Fern's brow immediately furrows, her lips pulling into a pout. ]

I know what the hug is, thank you. I just don't understand why you would ask for one so suddenly. We've never even met...

[ She did mention the implant just now, but... Could that really be the case? Can it really do something like that?? ]

iii

[wheft]

[ they are about to train together, yes. but it seems as though lae'zel is not up for another session in the pool with that all-too sudden request of hers.

luckily for her, ishmael doesn't question it. not right now. she'd asked certain people for it before, so she may as well return the favor even if lae'zel wasn't here for that long. ]

H-Huh? Sure, hold on.

[ she then wraps her arms around her in a hug - a little half-hearted than most, but at least it's a hug??? ]

[bruisehaver]

[ tfw you ask for a hug and you don't actually know exactly what that means until it's literally happening — ]

You —

[ For once, confident and blunt Lae'zel falters, stiffening up as Ishmael's arms wrap around her. It's not.... bad, but it is foreign, unexpected, and awkward for her. She doesn't shove the other woman away, but her body does stay tense, arms moving out further from her sides as if to give Ishmael more room. ]

This is the hug custom?

[wheft]

[ it really be like that for some people, huh. luckily for miss lae'zel, ishmael knows what a hug is, and knows just when to dole them out - usually for convenience. the way the other woman stiffens up tells ishmael all she needs to know, to. ]

Yes.

[ said matter-of-factly, as she gives lae'zel a bit of a squeeze for emphasis. ]

Do you not do hugs at all? Unless you githyanki already have other ways of keeping each other warm.

iii

[bowtography]

[ March kind of stares at her, a little bewildered, mostly concerned. Just because that is not really the way to ask for a hug and the way the request (demand?) is given while she looks completely and irritably distracted... ]

Um. Are you sure about a hug?

[bruisehaver]

Yes. Was I not clear?

[ She huffs, bluntly, sounding irate at having to repeat herself. Given the audacity of LILITH to request for her to do this, she must assume it's a relatively commonly known custom among humans... and thus, expects to be met with swift obedience. ]

It is a — well, I shall not mercifully call it a request. A demand, rather, from the implant.

[bowtography]

Oh... I don't remember it doing that to me, but sure, okay.

[ She'll roll with it. And open her arms, helpfully. ]

ii (with mentions of iii later on)

[frostfist]

[ Well, it's not like he's going to say no to a free ride to where he needs to get to go - even if he does have his own motorbike tucked away somewhere - but the rather forceful nature of request (demand) has him pausing, brows raised and eyes wide as they blink at her.

This is just how Lae'zel speaks, he's learned that much over the last few weeks, but it still takes a moment for him to adjust all the same. ]

I am. [ To the store to pick out a birthday gift. ] But before I agree, what sorts of tests are you planning to run while I'm on that thing?

[ And does he have time to run back and get his own helmet before his delicate human skull gets bashed in during a traffic accident... ]

[bruisehaver]

[ Her chin tilts up, eyeing him curiously. ]

The weight of the vehicle with two people on it — the force needed to turn sharply. How the motorcycle accelerates with added weight on it.

[ She answers seriously, but her eyes look scrutinizing, almost smug. ]

One of the greatest honors for githyanki is to become a kith'rak — a knight who rides a red dragon. [ this is why her bike is red, okay, she's a horsegirl but for dragons ] All these and more are the type of exercises needed to be deemed worthy and capable of maneuvering one.

[ She intends to apply all the safety precautions and seriousness of dragon riding to learning how to ride a bike... because Lae'zel takes most things very seriously like that, almost to a comedic sense. Still, the cocky, almost taunting glint in her eye never quite fades. ]

If you are overly concerned for your safety or doubting my ability, speak now.

[frostfist]

[ Oh. That's awfully detailed, which in and of itself is reassuring. She's clearly thought this over, and even if she ends up being a terrible driver, at least he'll know what he's dying for. Just kidding, he's never known her to settle for anything but the best, so no doubt she'll push herself to be the best with her motorcycle before too long. ]

I'm concerned for my safety only in that human bodies are awfully squishy.

[ He's been in enough fights to know. ]

But sure, I'll help out. Just give me a minute to get my helmet. [ Or rather, get his helmet delivered to him via his drone. He flashes her a quick smile, mostly teeth and not a lot of humor. ] Less to clean up that way in case something goes terribly wrong.

ii

[newphew]

[ hunter is just minding his own business about to go to one of his jobs or something.... he's planning to go by air flapjack, but when lae'zel addresses him, he doesn't need to be told twice to come over!! he approaches at the first "you", aww ]

That's one of those mo-ter-sigh-cles, right? [ he sounds out the weird, unfamiliar word, but looks very interested in both it hanging out with lae'zel. doesn't even need to be coerced, tbh ]

Yes! I'll go with you. I've been wanting to study one of these things more closely....

[bruisehaver]

[ AWWW.... ]

Yes, a motorcycle.

[ For once, she doesn't correct him to be snotty — but rather to share her new knowledge of the correct manner to pronounce the word. Lae'zel finds herself feeling much more helpful to those that share her plight of not being familiar with this place... ]

It may not be as nimble as your... "palaceman," [ that's what it was called, right ] But it will be of use in the upcoming missions, I'm certain.

[ And with that, she hops on, leaning forward so that there's room for her to come aboard!! ]

[newphew]

Motorcycle. [ he repeats, not offended in the least. nodding to show that he understands ] Palisman. [ similarly just correcting her but just to show her ]

I've seen these before... I've always wanted a chance to study and ride one up close....

[ continuing to sound excited, he hops on the motorcycle behind her ]

I can hold onto you, right? [ asking if it's okay.... ]

i

[omeka]

[ listen. it's not hana's fault that she's so taken with lae'zel studying traffic laws. those flashcards... they look like they've been through it.

she puts down her ancient gaming handheld (don't ask her how she got it) and grins at her. ]

Me? [ psh. ] Noooo, I don't need anything. But maybe you need a study partner?

HELP HER ICON.... SHES SO CUTE

[bruisehaver]

[ Lae'zel wrinkles her nose, already beginning to frown deeper at the other woman's teasing grin. ]

Assuming I did, I would require a partner with far.... higher mental abilities than yours.

[ While the words certainly have an edge, they lack the outright maliciousness that they'd held when they first met — it's almost like her cutting ways are just how Lae'zel banters with people or shows mild displeasure. In fact, her words are even a little casual. ]

ii, sliding in super late if that's okay!

[astarion]

[Oh, oh gods. The face that Astarion makes is that of dire recognition and a mote of curiosity.

But most the dire recognition.

He slides his sunglasses up his face, a pale brow arching high, high above their rims.]

Oh, no. No, no. Not you, too.

[NOT ANOTHER MOTORCYCLE TEST DRIVE-]

all good!!

[bruisehaver]

[ Oh, this is rich. Her chin tilts up, looking smug. ]

And here I thought you sought out excitement and thrill.

[ What was it that he had said to her? That she was too practical, and never had any fun? Dangerous motorcycle driving seems about the same as the type of fun Astarion likes to have, at least in her own mind. ]