(no subject)

[whomheloved]

Date & Time: 5th April, evening
Location: Disciple's apartment
Characters: Disciple, Helmsman and Nepeta
Summary: Disciple wants to introduce her descendant to her best-friend-who-doesn't-remember-he-is.
Warnings: None, I think!

"I'm really glad you said you'd meet her!" Di babbles at the Helmsman, clearly excited and a bit nervous over the meeting which was about to take place. When he'd been going to meet Sollux she'd been more worried about how the younger yellowblood would act, but with Nepeta at least she felt reassured that she'd be kind and friendly towards the Helmsman.

She just hopes it won't be too awkward. When she'd first told her descendant about her dear friend and what had been done to him she'd done her best to explain how he was now, and not to expect so very much in the way of friendliness perhaps. That his appearance would scare her is another concern, but then again Disciple has such a high opinion of her young descendant that she feels sure she'll rise to the occasion.

All she wants is for them to get along, and that maybe Psii, what little or a lot remained of him inside the Helmsman, would see how proud she is of Nepeta, and how much it means to Disciple for him to get to know her.

Comments

[whomheloved]

She lets it go, thinking over his question. Which game would be fun to play for him? Poker would be impossible, seeing that he has the most impenetrable poker face in history, and some others are just...

Hmm. "Would you like to try Snap?"

[maiinframe]

Yeah, good luck breaking this poker face. It can't be done.

"How ith the game Snap played?" He floats a little closer, hovering so he can see what she's doing.

[whomheloved]

"It's quite simple," she starts explaining, hunting out a packet of picture cards from amongst her heap of cushions. "I shuffle the pack and divide it between the two of us, face down, and then we each take turns placing one face-up in a pile in the middle. If the one you place matches the one directly beneath it, the one who shouts 'Snap!' first is safe and the other has to take all the cards in the middle into their pile. Whoever gets rid of all their cards first wins!"

[maiinframe]

Those rules are very simple, and the Helmsman has no trouble understanding them. There is one thing he's unclear on, however.

"Query: do playerth have to shout?" There are two problems with this: his vocal cords can't withstand extended shouting, and loud noises make him nervous.

[whomheloved]

"Oh...no, you don't have to!" She's quick to reassure him, guessing what his problem might be. "It can make the game a bit more fun and exciting but what's important is saying it quickly, not loud! There doesn't have to be any shouting."

[maiinframe]

"System would like to request no shouting." Look at that, making personal requests. Someone is almost turning into a real person. "System can shuffle?"

It will be much quicker with his psionics.

[whomheloved]

"One no-shouting match of Snap, coming up!" she laughs, grinning. It's so good to hear him actually demonstrate a preference for something. "Of course you can, they're all yours." The cards are placed on the floor and pushed over towards him.

[maiinframe]

The Helmsman uses his psionics to pick up the cards, and blue and red light flashes all around them as he shuffles them thoroughly. For all he can use his psionics to move spaceships and slam meteors together, he can also use them to do extremely fine-tuned things like this. Once they're shuffled, they flower upwards like a fountain, neatly dividing themselves between the two of them.

"System ith ready."

[whomheloved]

"Oh, wow..." She knows full well what he's capable of with his psionics, but sometimes a delicate display of skill like this is still enough to take her breath away and make her look on admiringly. "That was wonderful, Helmsman! Okay, I'm ready too! You can start the game if you want."

[maiinframe]

She knows, does she? Knows knows? Eheheheheh...

Showing off done, the Helmsman flips one card up and lays it flat between them. It's a three of clubs. "That ith the symbol for auspiticism."

[whomheloved]

Yes. Knows knows. She also knows you're in there smirking at her, Psii. Stop it.

"That's right!" She chuckles as she remembers something. "Rosa always used to mediate between us so much we'd tease her that she'd be the perfect auspictice for anyone." Her own card is flipped over and placed on top of the pile. Ace of hearts.

[maiinframe]

"Symbol for matespritth," he informs her when he sees that new card. He lays down another of his own (another heart card, so he doesn't bother to identify it). "User Disciple ith talking about user'th friendth?"

[whomheloved]

That gets a nod and a small, tender smile from Di. She looks lost in thought for a moment. "Hearts bound together. It suits." One more, another club, but she's paying more attention to him than to the game now. "That's right. The ones I left behind... I miss them a lot, Helmsman. All of them."

[maiinframe]

The Helmsman lays down another card, a diamond, before answering. "There were many that user Disciple misseth?"

[whomheloved]

"Three," she says, looking down at the diamond for a moment, reaching out to tap it gently with a finger. "A guardian. My beloved. And a best friend."

[maiinframe]

The Helmsman waits patiently for her to lay down another card. When she doesn't, he reasons that she wants him to ask her more questions. "Query: what were user Disciple'th guardian, beloved, and best friend like?"

[whomheloved]

The next card is finally set down; she smiles when she sees it's another club. "Dolorosa would look after us. She was the sensible one, taking care of things, our clothes, cooking our food, being there for us if we were miserable or down. She'd step in if we fought and mediate for us. We could never be angry at each other long with her around."

[maiinframe]

The Helmsman listens quietly to this; there's an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of his stomach, something he can't quite place. A more sensitive soul would recognize it as melancholy tinged with nostalgia, but he doesn't have the capacity to understand that and instead just assumes he's feeling poorly because of the soup Disciple forced down his throat.

He lays down another card, and this one is the seven of hearts. "Symbol for matespritth," he says quietly, half-hoping that will spurn Disciple into talking about her beloved.

[whomheloved]

"That's right. Matesprits." She closes her eyes, pressing one hand to her chest. "Signless. We'd describe ourselves as matesprits to others sometimes, if they couldn't understand, but...it was so much more than just that."

A flutter of her eyelashes and she's looking at him again, wistful. "His presence would light up the darkest space for me, and his voice could reassure any fear, any doubt that I might have. He was so warm, having him hold me felt like being surrounded by a blaze sometimes, but a blaze that kept everything else out, kept me warm and safe."

[maiinframe]

As she speaks, the Helmsman's expression slowly changes. If he could see it himself, he'd be shocked; for the first time since arriving in Exsilium, he actually looks like a troll and not a shell-shocked, wasted helmsman system. No machine ever looked that wistful, or that needy. He floats a tiny bit closer, leaning in to capture her every word.

Later, he'll argue that it was because he doesn't have any records on the Signless, and he was merely recording this information for when he's returned to the Empire. He'll never admit that hearing about him was like a cool drink of water in the desert, or like the hull cracking in the Battleship and giving him a glimpse of the sky.

"Pleathe..." Please what? "Pleathe... tell system more."

[whomheloved]

Unlike the Helmsman, Di can see the change in his expression, and it wrenches at her heart in the most painful way possible. She'd kept Signless' words faithfully in the hopes of passing them on to other trolls, giving them a way of knowing him even if he couldn't be there himself...

She never thought she'd be performing the same task for his dearest friend.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the Empire, I fear no evil, for you are with me. Your presence shall be my comfort always." His words, spoken to them so very often.

goddammit, I can't remember how the rest of this goes!

[maiinframe]

The Helmsman blinks slowly, but there's no recognition in his eyes. The familiar words go in one ear and out the other, and he waits for her to say more. He wants to hear more about this Signless fellow, not have her recite arcane poetry at him.

I made half the first part up anyway XD

[whomheloved]

Di sighs. Well, at least it had been worth a try.

"Those are his words, something he liked to repeat. To remind us all that no matter what, we aren't alone. I wish you could meet him, Helmsman. He has a kind word for everyone, always gives his time to anyone who might want it, no matter how tired he is. He's the kindest person I have ever met, the warmest..."

in Languish or CWP or somewhere, we had a complete Lord's Prayer for trolls!

[maiinframe]

The Helmsman keeps listening, the words sinking in. There's a subtle change to his body language, almost like he's... like he's relaxing, like he's forgetting the biowires implanted into his nerves and tissues and letting his body rest for the first time in lifetimes. It's almost like he's there and present in his body for the first time, instead of it being a sack of meat he drags around with him.

Almost.

"And the best friend?"

OH. that's right! we need to find it mO.Om

[whomheloved]

A grin tugs at her lips. "Oh, him. He was a complete and utter pain in the nook! He was brilliant and either entirely too sure of himself or else certain that he was a complete and utter failure. He used to drive me mad."

She sighs, looking at him fondly. "But he was loyal, and so caring in his own way. He'd always be there for me when I needed it. We helped each other to be better trolls, and if there was one thing we always agreed about, it was looking after Signless."