Voice Testing Post

[use_everything]

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.]

Comments

[dendarii]

Yeah. Uh - early experiments did not go well. Taller is ridiculously uncomfortable.

[keep_nothing]

Your bone structure probably couldn't support it.

[dendarii]

More or less. I haven't broken anything trying, but I rebound rather badly afterwards. Poor Gregor got dragged along the first time.

[keep_nothing]

Rebound, huh? What does that entail?

[dendarii]

Snapping back down to a much smaller size. Gregor and I were at roughly half my baseline that time. Fainted after another one ...

[keep_nothing]

So no growing larger, huh?

[ She can guess at how that makes him feel. ]

[dendarii]

Yes. It's not fair.

[ Pretty much that, yep. ]

[keep_nothing]

Hey ...

[ A great wave of sympathy for him, cupping the back of his head in what she hopes to be a soothing manner. ]

[dendarii]

[ He's just kind of exasperated, still. Painfully so. ]

It's fine, really. I just wish I could at least look normal for a few minutes without hurting myself.

[keep_nothing]

[ She's helpless in this department, wanting to comfort Miles but not knowing how to. ]

I suppose it's no comfort to have you mother say that you look normal to her, is it.

[dendarii]

[ It's a big issue anyway. Hard to just pull out by the roots. ]

If you'd met me taller, you'd thought that normal too.

[keep_nothing]

[ A soft sigh. ]

I would have, but only because I wouldn't know different.

[dendarii]

That's what I meant. You don't know any different for this body too.

[keep_nothing]

So ... that means whatever shape or size you are, it's normal for Miles.

[dendarii]

... How do you always manage to cut straight to the heart of things?

[keep_nothing]

[ She raises her shoulders and holds it, comedic with her smile. ]

Mother's intuition?

[dendarii]

Maybe just your intuition. Especially unfair with me.

[keep_nothing]

Is it unfair if it prevents senseless acts of stupid decisions?

[dendarii]

[ He flinches guiltily. How had she known? He'd thought he'd kept the thought away from the front of his mind. ]

... Sure it is. I enjoy my stupid, senseless acts.

[keep_nothing]

[ She just keeps smiling, not giving anything away except for a vague sense of smugness. ]

The acts, sure, but not the results. I know how those go too.

[dendarii]

Yes, well ...

[ He sighs faintly. ]

When's the last time you did something like that?

[keep_nothing]

Honestly? Retrieving you. It just happened to have the added benefit of retrieving Alys, Ivan, and the government of Barrayar.

[ Though underneath her words is the fierce guilt and regret of losing Padma and Kareen. ]

[dendarii]

[ Ah. He stifles the first comment that comes to mind, then, and instead says: ]

A mixed result, at least.

[keep_nothing]

[ She catches his restraint. She appreciates it, but ... ]

... What were you going to say?

[dendarii]

...

That I was biased in thinking that was an unabashedly good outcome. But you lost others, didn't you?