use_everything | 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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... And it hurts nearly as much as the first time?

[ Nods (carefully!) against his shoulder. ]

I may be appointed as Gregor's guardian, but I never want to take her place. I couldn't do that to her. Or Gregor.

... He loves you very much, you know. As your own person.

But not as a mother. Something close to it.

Foster mother is the term he uses. It fits, I think.

Foster mother ...

[ She holds the words in her mouth, seeing how it fits. ]

Not bad, right?

No. Not bad at all.

Good. His affection isn't any diminished for it, I'm sure of it.

It's just somewhat awkward, I guess. Being a mother and not being one at the same time.

[ There's a hint of trepidation behind what she says too. She hasn't experienced it herself yet; the paradox of such a role weighs on her mind. ]

... You'll do fine, Mother. I'm sure of it. Have done fine, in fact. Now you get to enjoy being a mother to a pair of reasonably well-adjusted adults.

[ She gives a little snort, half-teasing. ]

But that's not as fun.

A little safer though.

[ She pulls back just far enough from their embrace to give him a look with both eyebrows raised. ]

What? It is. I don't fall down and break bones quite as badly now.

[ She winces despite his flippant tone. ]

Was it really like that? That easy to hurt yourself?

[ Whoops. He tries to stay light, and partition away the part of himself responsible for bringing up relevant memories. ]

Well ... yes. The first time I tried walking, I fell over and broke my ankle. I used a walker for quite a while after ...

... How old were you? When you first tried.

Five years old. I remember it vividly.

So well after we scheduled your hip surgery ...

[ She nods to herself, confirming it in her sense of the surgery timeline they'd drawn up before coming here. ]

I think I'd had ... two by then? Three? My memories are a bit fuzzy at that age, obviously.

We had only arranged one with Dr. Vaagen after your birth, but more wouldn't surprise me.

Yeah. I think something had gone wrong with the first, so they had to try again.

[ She winces in sympathy. ]

... Sorry. It's ... that's my whole life. Was my whole life. I'm used to it.

(no subject)

keep_nothing - 2016-01-24 19:37 (UTC) - Expand

dendarii - 2016-01-24 19:38 (UTC) - Expand