use_everything: (The tools of intent)
Admiral Lord Aral Vorkosigan ([personal profile] use_everything) wrote2016-01-16 07:55 am

Voice Testing Post

Canon

A.


[You may find yourself facing large, heavy gates. Behind the bars, you can easily see the enormous, austere residence spread both tall and wide against a backdrop of a lake, stables and a small, private cemetery. The unbridled horse grazing, unhitched beside a carriage, by a liveried servant is in direct opposition to an obviously futuristic lightflier not far from it.

Even the guard that narrows to nervous attention holds both a sword and a strange, small device.]


And you are?

[The voice comes from behind.

Aral, for his part, neither looks, nor feels the part of the lord. Having taken the long way, treacherous and unmonitored paths and foothills back to the residence, he smells of sap, a chemical tinge of smoke and the exertion it took to get back. His green dress uniform had survived in all but the pressed edges, looking as if he'd intended the slight look of disarray and set jaw.

He lifts a hand, stilling the guard from comment on him, and focuses all of his attention on this newcomer.]


B.

[The Counts and Minsters poured out of the building first. The debates of the evening being traded in words so sharp that they might as well have been blows. Aral followed much more sedately, having taken a bit of time to brief his intelligence officer and leave orders for the evening.

It's by chance he stumbled across a stranger, enough out of place to inspire both caution and curiosity in equal measures.]


You seem lost.

Mask or Menace

C.


[It helped to liken the city to a space station. It had the bustle of a large hub.. the rowdy clash and wild fusion of fashions and cultures that defied any easy identification of a trend or perhaps some anthropological hint as to the people - and species... intelligent and alien, the very thought sent his mind into fits of fantasy and planning at once. It was like water, as far as he could tell. Formless, impossible to grip, but could fill the air around you and sweep one far away should he let it. There were colors and layers fitting the ghem Cetagandan... lack of modesty known to the Betans... the maliable gathering of anything adorned by a Jacksonian mindset...

And yet, nothing that fit anything else.

There was only one way to begin. Diplomatically.]


Might I ask a question?

OTHER

[Pick your poison, or let me know and I'll cater a starter to you.]
dendarii: (solpadeine47)

[personal profile] dendarii 2016-01-20 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ah. Dammit. Another misstep. He tucks it away, resolving not to bring up Vorhalas directly again. In that, he finds an immediate outlet. ]

Treason to usurp Gregor's throne. No less than that, trumped up from the more minor Vorloupulous flavor. That was your doing, by the way.

[ And now, for once, he gets to sit back and see if his father picks through the tactics of that particular puzzle. ]
rathercommon: (listening)

[personal profile] rathercommon 2016-01-20 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
What are your politics like?

[ Her gaze is steady. The attempt to look airheaded is completely forgotten; she's too interested in what he's saying. ]
vorbarra: (baobabble13)

[personal profile] vorbarra 2016-01-20 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
[Or could happen. She's hit the nail on the head with that one, as per usual. Gregor is stuck in a position of not wanting to lie to her (it did haunt him, does still haunt him) but also not wanting to invite the conversation. It's far too heavy for day one of their newly balancing relationship.]

In retrospect I definitely understand why you wouldn't tell me. [Though he'd felt a bit betrayed at the time. Now, wryly,] Being an adolescent is confusing enough on its own, without all the complications.
keep_nothing: (birds and bees really can't interbreed)

[personal profile] keep_nothing 2016-01-20 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ Her smile stays in place, only a small blip of movement to betray that anything is wrong on the outside. But along their link, Miles will catch the sudden coldness from his words. It's not his fault, not at all, but it brings up a despair that Cordelia isn't quite over yet, a longing and heartbreak and anger all at once. ]

... Would that we could.
keep_nothing: (to yield is bittersweet)

[personal profile] keep_nothing 2016-01-20 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ She gives a light sigh to try to lighten the impact of the conversation, make a joke of it. ]

I wonder if Vorkosigans are cursed in some way, so everything blows up in our faces.
dendarii: (solpadeine118)

[personal profile] dendarii 2016-01-20 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
I wouldn't be surprised. And yet, neither did I marry into it on purpose ...
keep_nothing: (see clearly)

[personal profile] keep_nothing 2016-01-20 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ She senses that there's something to that, even without the link between them open. She doesn;t want to tug on that particular thread anyway, afraid this easiness between them would unravel. ]

Sorry to break it to you, kiddo, but being an adult is just as confusing. Then you get to throw politics into it.
keep_nothing: (was THAT your best comeback?)

[personal profile] keep_nothing 2016-01-20 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ She gives a light snort, the smile twitching in the corner of her mouth again. ]

Maybe I like a little excitement.
dendarii: (good point)

[personal profile] dendarii 2016-01-20 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
This much?
keep_nothing: (Aral really does have a nice ass)

[personal profile] keep_nothing 2016-01-20 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
I am finding it a bit more than I expected.
dendarii: (frakkingcylon 110)

[personal profile] dendarii 2016-01-20 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
Ah ... well, this sort of situation isn't standard. Even if it suits.
keep_nothing: (birds and bees really can't interbreed)

[personal profile] keep_nothing 2016-01-20 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ She moves one of her hands from Miles' to his shoulder, gently cupping an area not covered in casts. ]

We'll get through it.
dendarii: (frakkingcylon 104)

[personal profile] dendarii 2016-01-20 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ Dammit, tripped up again. This is like trying to navigate through a minefield blind. He'd only meant ...

Deep breath. And squash down the curiosity as to why. ]


Ah ... my apologies. I hadn't realized. You ... never indicated to me otherwise.
dendarii: (solpadeine122)

[personal profile] dendarii 2016-01-20 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, we will. All four of us together. What a thought that is ...

[ He doesn't even wince - she somehow found the right spot. ]
keep_nothing: (oh this should be good)

[personal profile] keep_nothing 2016-01-20 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
A good one, I hope. My precious boys ...
rathercommon: (self-satisfied)

[personal profile] rathercommon 2016-01-20 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
Well -

[ Her lie is smooth. ]

I imagine it'd be the government of the people who settled your planet, right? So probably a democracy.
keep_nothing: (and where do you think you're going?)

[personal profile] keep_nothing 2016-01-20 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ She shakes her head lightly, trying to quash that wrenching feeling, conscious of the fact Miles can feel it like this. Aral's warm hand helps her put it aside, even if she can't look at him at the moment. She doesn't want him to see her eyes right now. This too shall pass. ]

Don't worry about it. Just ... still coming to grips with it.
Edited (LAST EDIT I SWEAR) 2016-01-20 03:48 (UTC)
rathercommon: (incredulous)

[personal profile] rathercommon 2016-01-20 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ And her eyes narrow very slightly. ]

I'm fairly certain that your governmental system isn't dependent on your level of resources.
rathercommon: (mistrustful)

[personal profile] rathercommon 2016-01-20 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
Historical circumstances, for the most part.

[ She crosses her arms. ]

We've got a democracy here not because of any inherent characteristics of this country, but because people, in the past, put it in place.

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