A fine day for horseback riding. ((For i_paladin))

[chiron_survivor]

Adia is full of nervous energy as she waits outside of the Nexus inn for Paladin. She is mostly excited, but it has been a long time since she has ridden a horse. Her riding boots and helmet are long gone, lost along with everything else when Leonis was destroyed. She is wearing her regular boots and jeans, along with a sweater and her heavy wool coat. She didn't bother with a scarf, worried the fluttering might startle or distract the horse. Paladin did say that he was sassy.

Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she pulls out her PINpoint for the hundredth time and checks for messages. The innkeeper was happy enough to play go-between, printing out Adia's electronic messages and transcribing anything that Paladin wanted to write back in return. It's how they were able to plan their get-together. But Adia checks anyway. Plans can change, after all.

Comments

[i_paladin]

They eat in relative silence both seemingly enjoying what they've plated up for themselves. Like always Paladin is grateful for the only instruction she ever had which also included how to not eat like an animal. Bad table manners put people off the wee Tiefling was told and that is supremely true.

Wiping her hands and mouth she takes a sip of water before answering the question. "Yes, for the most part," eyes narrow a little and a fork gets pointed at one of the cherry tomatoes. "We do not have those. There are also thin pieces of what I think is meat? Those are not familiar to me." Paladin means the cold cuts. While her world has turkey, pig and the like they aren't really ever served that thin and fine.

"Your greens are good?" And that reminds her: "the sweets of this world are very sweet. Sweeter than anything I have ever had I think. And there are these oozes that are almost transparent and come in multiple colors! Do you know what those are? I have not been bold enough to try them." Jello: unsettling yet delicious.

[indeed I have! I kept meaning to tell you: I was tagging a few nights back wearing my 'frak earth: so say we all' shirt. It was a number of years ago when I watched it so some of the details are foggy but it is a superb show and I love it.]

[chiron_survivor]

"These are tomatoes," Adia explains. "Small ones. They're sweet and a little acidic. I think you might be referring to the lunchmeat?" She looks over at the buffet, where the sandwich fixings are artfully arranged. "People liked them sliced thin for sandwiches."

She smiles. "Yes, they're very fresh." She spears another forkful of lettuce, as if to demonstrate their freshness by the delightful crunching sound it makes. "It makes me wonder where they get their food. If there is a farm in the Nexus or if it's imported from somewhere." Paladin's other question leaves her looking a bit clueless. Ooze? In different colors? "I'm not sure what you're referring to. If they have it here, point it out to me."

((yay!!! That shirt sounds awesome. I don't think anyone I RP with currently has seen the show. BSG had a ridiculously small RP fandom when the show was actually on, and now there is absolutely nothing. But the silver lining is no one can call me out if I accidentally flub up the canon, haha. btw, in case you were wondering, Caspar is a Five -- the Aaron Doral model, if that rings a bell.))

[i_paladin]

"Ahhhhh they are tomatoes! Yes, we have those, but we eat them when they are bigger." Generally in a stew or in a curry of some sort but Paladin has seen people eat them right off the vine. "Sandwich," is something the Tiefling isn't quite sure of. It's something they totally have but just not by that name, actually there really isn't a name for it, but everyone has slapped some meat between two pieces of bread before.

"Maybe it's magic!" Paladin gives a bit of a grin and a shrug. "That is usually the answer in my world. Why is there a half bear half owl? Magic! Why is sweet neighbor June trying to eat her family? Magic. Sometimes wizards are awful people, Adia." Not just the evil ones, and it's not necessarily evilness that made an owlbear (tho it probably was lets be real) but this curiosity and inability to put things right again after they fuck it all up.

Sitting up a bit straighter Paladin cranes her neck to take a look: "I think there is some up there now, next time I will show you."

[which is kind of mind boggling, like, it's a fantastic show even if you don't grab a muse from it you should have at least seen it! i saw a starbuck in BS once, tagged in (cuz how could you not) with a different muse and no response. that does ring a bell i totally know who you're talking about! i've been remembering the show the more paladin and adia interact which is really fun.]

[chiron_survivor]

"They call them cherry tomatoes because of their size. They're sweeter than regular tomatoes, usually." And cuter, in Adia's opinion, but that's secondary to their taste. "A sandwich is two pieces of bread with something in between. Meat and cheese, usually." Adia's world shouldn't have a name for sandwich, either, or at the least it should be named after some other guy who wanted to be able to play cards and eat at the same time. Maybe that's just how it comes across in translation.

It seems like a silly answer at first, something akin to "a wizard did it." But it sounds like, in fact, a wizard was capable of strange, sometimes terrible things on Paladin's world. "It's a lot of transformative power for one person to have," Adia remarks diplomatically. "Science is capable of awful things like that, too... it just usually takes longer." Both the cause and the effect. "Are the owlbears mean? Which part is the owl and which part is the bear?" She hopes it's an owl head with a bear body. The other way around doesn't seem as appealing.

"Great. Maybe when we're both done with our plates?" Despite going slowly, Adia has made great progress. A couple more cherry tomatoes and the rest of her dinner roll and she's good to go.

((Starbuck is a popular character, if anyone is going to play one from BSG at all. Too bad they didn't tag back. Doral is my trash fave, haha. The less character background and screen time, the more I love the character, usually. also fyi, I completely made up Caspar, too. I do plan on having Adia interact with a couple canon characters, but very obliquely. She's a civilian and not in the thick of things.))

[i_paladin]

Totally cuter.

"Oh!" of course Paladin knows exactly what she means when she describes a sandwich. "Yes, we certainly have those, they are very handy when one is on the move or in a great hurry. I don't think we have a specific name for them it varies from town to town." It should really just be sandwich, The Earl of Sandwich should just be a universal constant throughout the multiverse. Make things easy for everyone.

After a bite of veggies and potato Paladin nods thoughtfully. "I feel bad painting with a broad brush but if one meets a wizard who isn't evil one just hasn't met them at the right time." For someone who has faced racism and discrimination Paladin is pretty freaking willing to throw an entire class under the bus. "Mmmmm you do science, yes? Do you put two things together and make a new, greater thing? I don't suspect you of being capable of evil." It's probably Adia's cute smile and generally sweet and gentle persona that makes Paladin sure she's not an evil scientist.

"The head part is the owl, the rest is the bear and they are mean and vicious. The wizard with the owl familiar I told you about lost a rib in an Owlbear attack and was happy to let people feel the missing space with their fingers. I felt it once and indeed it was not there." Necromancers are weird.

"That sounds like a fine plan, I have to pace myself as well I fear I am getting full." A glance down at her plate, bones and a few bits remaining but otherwise pretty clean.

[lol i have a soft spot for those characters too, i think they're great because you can flesh them out but people can also put a face to them too if they've watched the show. i think you've done a really good job with adia, she is interesting and engaging and gives a great look into the people/attitude of civilians under occupation. i've really enjoyed interacting with you/her. thank you for putting up with us!]

[chiron_survivor]

"You should start calling it a sandwich. See if it catches on." She's smiling to so she's joking. Mostly. It's much more useful to have one name for something than to try to remember what it's called in each town. Maybe it'll catch on.

It seems out of character for Paladin to write off all wizards as evil, but she knows her world and the people in it best, so Adia doesn't question it. At least, not at that particular moment. Besides, Paladin is asking about science! "Not me, personally. I only study diseases. The closest thing we have to putting two things together to get a new thing is genetic modification." She smiles bashfully at the compliment. "Well... thanks. I'd certainly never knowingly do something evil, that's for sure."

"So... that wizard wasn't evil yet?" She asks in all innocence, genuinely confused over why Paladin would have a wizard in her party if she thought of them all as dangerous and untrustworthy. "That's too bad that they are so vicious... they must get that from their owl side. Bears will leave you alone if you leave them alone." Owls usually do, too, but maybe they are emboldened with a bear body.

Adia polishes off the rest of her roll. "Let me know when you're ready. I have room for a hot entree." And maybe dessert, if they have something she likes.

((awww, thank you! I'm glad that she's interesting. I think Paladin is awesome, she's so vibrant, her personality really stands out. I've never played D&D but I've played plenty of games of that ilk and I love how you've fleshed out Paladin's world so it sounds like a real place instead of just game mechanics.))

[i_paladin]

Paladin, who, tries to present herself as dignified as possible can't help but giggle at the suggestion, shoulders shaking in the typical 'heh heh' motion. "I like that idea very much," just slipping a little something in there, a simple 'oh, yes, I will take a sandwich, thank you' and see where it goes. Brilliant.

All joking aside, the comment about Adia's work has Paladin paying attention. She does love to learn about Adia's world, what she does, it's fascinating. "That is a very fancy name, genetic modification, for putting two things together. What is genetics?" Which may or may not be something easily answered, but the Tiefling is truly curious.

"Not yet, but I am sure over enough time she will be. We only met in passing," Paladin explains by way of how she would know an evil wizard. "The truth is, not all wizards are evil, in fact, most of the bigger towns and cities have wizards for their offenses, to help settle disputes, make defenses strong." Still, bright blue eyes narrow, "I just don't trust them." Which is absurd because the wizard of her village is an adorable nerd. But when you have things like Owlbears running around and the undead you just get a little weary of such power. "I, for, one am just thankful they can't fly. Do you know a lot about animals, Adia?" Paladin asked curiously, she had no idea bears tend to leave a person alone.

"Mmmm!" Setting the napkin aside, Paladin moves to stand and brushes off the front of her tunic. "Lead on, lead on, I will show you the ooze..." It's actually going to be near the salad bar, gotta keep jello cool.

[thank you! that is very kind of you to say, i am paranoid about how my character comes across. your words are reassuring! you should 100% play D&D it is so much fun! it would be fantastic to have an au where Adia becomes a Druid or something, might be kind of fun. thankfully i have a DM who does a wonderful job fleshing out the world i play in.]

[chiron_survivor]

Likely she'll get a lot of funny looks, maybe even an incredulous "there's no sand in this!" in response. But it's nice to see Paladin giggle. Adia is glad that she made the suggestion.

Adia opens her mouth, then shuts it just as quick. Shoot, how is she going to explain genetic modification? Where to even start? But after some thought (and a fortifying sip of tea), she leans in seriously, ready to rise to the challenge. "Genes are tiny little coils of protein that are in the cells of every living thing. They're like blueprints, or... instructions, on how that living thing is going to grow. Your eye color, your height, even what diseases you'll be susceptible to, it's all there in your genes. And every living thing has genes that do different things. Theoretically, you can remove a gene that does one thing and insert it into the genetic code of another thing, to give it that characteristic." She pauses a moment, to let Paladin take that all in. "Practically, you're very limited in what you can do, because you can only manipulate a living thing's genes so much or else it isn't viable. So... let's see. I know that there was a strain of rabbits that glowed in the dark because of a gene from a jellyfish. And plants that are resistant to disease because of genes from unrelated plants. But there's no way we could make an owlbear."

"That's too bad," Adia says finally, because it's unfortunate that Paladin can't trust an entire class of people. Not that she blames her; Adia trusts a Cylon about as far as she can throw one. "I've met a couple of mages here. No wizards, though."

She shrugs a little, in response to the question about animals. "Not much more than the average person. Except for horses, I guess. I've only seen bears at the zoo." Adia is an avid reader of several subjects, including animals, but the fact that she doesn't have direct experience with them makes her much less confidant in what she knows about them. "Oh, I do know a talking polar bear in the Nexus, though. His name is Ice Bear and he's very nice. He waits tables at Crossroads Cafe."

Adia stands up as well, absently readjusting her coat on the back of the chair so it doesn't fall off. "Where did you see it?" she asks. She'll head towards desserts if Paladin doesn't steer her in the right direction.

((It's hard with OCs! We have to build them from scratch. An au with Adia as a druid would be amazing. I did once create (with my husband's help) a dragonborn warrior who was constantly looking for ways to fight evil to bring honor to her family, but was also not very bright (her INT was an 8!) and ended up helping take care of kids at an orphanage. But my friend's campaign never took off. :( I'm tempted to bring her to the Nexus someday.))

[i_paladin]

"Oh dear," this is after a significant silence once Adia ends her explanation. Is this crazy talk? It sounds crazy, these tiny things inside of her determining how tall she was, the color of her skin, and wilder yet - her sex: which may or not make more sense than some people feeling the Tiefling had been blessed by the gods. At this point, Paladin had believed in what she had said with almost no question at all, but what if all this was just crazy talk?

But even after a few days she had not been wrong or made up anything else. "This is very fascinating," Paladin breathes, unconsciously leaning forward. "I am struggling to believe this is true, it seems so unbelievable. How do you know this to be true?" Her current difficulty doesn't make Paladin hostile but curious, wanting to believe. Adia believed when Paladin spoke about magic and how fantastic was that?

The call to get another plate is almost relieving and she stands. "I think you may know more than I do, regardless! A polar bear? he is friendly? I will have to swing around and see him for myself." Paladin motions back toward where Adia had gone for her first plate, and when they drew close enough pointed at the bowls of green, red, and orange jello some with dollops of whipped cream on top. There it sits, and there Paladin's finger points like a child tattling.


[hey, i'm always down for wild aus! okay that sounds adorable and awesome, i bet she was a lot of fun! also: love that she kind of ended up a social worker!]

[chiron_survivor]

Adia does not seem to be put off by Paladin's skepticism. If anything, she finds it encouraging. It's better to be curious and want more proof than to accept any explanation without questioning it. "We have powerful microscopes and other technology that lets us see genes. All living things, at least where I'm from, are related, so there are long sequences of genes that are the same. You can observe which ones are different and what traits are associated with them. Really, it comes down to observation, just like any other scientific field." She frowns thoughtfully. There must be a way to translate this kind of thing to Paladin's world. "You know how people will breed animals to have certain characteristics? Or plants? It's a little like that, just... faster. Because you're getting at the thing that's responsible for these characteristics, and not just hoping that if you pick two parents with the characteristic you want, the offspring will have it, too."

"He is very friendly. He doesn't act much like a bear, to be honest. He walks around on his hind legs." She turns herself around at Paladin's direction and looks at the bowls of jello. "Oh! That's gelatin. It's very sweet, it's mostly sugar and... collagen, I think. It takes the shape of whatever mold you put it in." It's not her personal favorite -- too little like real food, and she eats enough processed foodstuff these days for it to appeal to her. "They're flavored to taste like fruit... lime, cherry, and orange, based on their colors."

[i_paladin]

Out of everyone who could have come up to her and introduced themselves and started to explain the Nexus, Adia is probably the best suited and most helpful. It's not that the others are bad, or wrong, but Adia speaks in terms that Paladin is familiar with, as soon as she mentions the breeding of animals a light goes on and Paladin gets it. Even in her world breeding for strength, gentleness, or other traits is widely practiced. The Tiefling gives a small noise of delight in understanding. "Yes! Ah, yes, I see now, like when it comes to dogs or horses! Or races, yes? Two Dwarves will not have a human child because Dwarf genes are different in some ways than human genes."

Fun fact: half-elves *technically* aren't the result of an elf and another race mating, but that's what is widely accepted so, that's what everyone goes with.

"You are a very good teacher, Adia," and there is such a note of both awe and appreciation in her voice. "I did not go to school when I was young, that option is not open to my race. There was a Dwarf though who would teach me letters and numbers as I helped him in his bakery, you remind me of him. Except you aren't as surly." Which is nice, Paladin is too old for the gruff school of teaching.

Eyebrows raise and she gives a slight shrug at the description, the colors are certainly enticing: almost enough for her to reach out and take one but Paladin hesitates. "Do you like Jello?"

[chiron_survivor]

Adia finds it easy to empathize with others, and that includes trying to see things from their perspective. She doesn't have much teaching experience, but she's grown accustomed to explaining how things work, especially in the Nexus. And with the biological sciences, she has the combined benefit of knowledge and confidence in what she knows. "Yes, exactly." Which makes her wonder briefly what the DNA of another humanoid race would look like, but it's not like she has a spare electron microscope to find out. "Genes don't determine everything about a living thing, of course. The environment plays a huge role, too. But physical appearance is heavily based on genes."

"Thanks." She smiles from the praise, although it is tempered by hearing that Paladin wasn't allowed to go to school as a child. That seems incredibly unjust. "You're a quick learner, Paladin. I think it would be much harder for me to adjust if I had been coming from your world."

Jello is certainly very colorful, and probably what has kept it popular for so long. "It's not my favorite. I prefer dessert with a little more substance. You should try it, though, to see if you like it." She gestures to where the hot entrees are. "I'm going to get some of that chicken you had, it looked good. I'll meet you back at the table?"

((Now I am curious, what are half-elves? Also, I forgot to reply last tag, I am also a fan of wild aus. :) ))

[i_paladin]

If Adia ever wants a DNA sample from the Tiefling all she needs to do is ask. That would be a wild fucking trip to see what that would look like. "Interesting, it would take a long time for the environment to influence a person's appearance, yes? Or will a few years do?" This has now given her an interesting perspective on the people she comes in contact with.

The Tiefling practically beams with that compliment, really, Paladin is so very pleased that there is actually kind of a stammering, a verbal blush. "That is very kind of you to say. It is, at sometimes, difficult, but I have this thought that I have seen so many thing that at times defines imagination. It makes it easier to consider ideas different than my own."

Hmmmm.... Reaching out Paladin grabs a cherry jello, that seems safest. "Yes, that sounds like a fine plan, I am unsure of what to taste next but I am sure something will grab my attention. The chicken is very good, moist."


[ah! so, i should have kind of clarified. most people think a half-elf is easily made, right? an elf and a human do that thing mammals do and boom: baby that is of both worlds, but a half-elf is the result of an elf and another race actually beseeching the gods to allow them to conceive. if granted, the baby would be born either man or elf. the half comes from the fact that one of his parents was an elf. that's Tolkien for you. hey! if you're up for it and want me/paladin involved just let me know.]

[chiron_survivor]

Maybe someday, if Adia's world ever finds peace and she still has access to her equipment AND she works up the nerve to ask Paladin. "It depends on what aspect of someone's appearance. For example, someone may have the genes for freckles, but if they stay out of the sun, then they'd never show up. But other environmental effects might take decades, like poor diet leading to stunted growth."

Adia smiles to herself a little, at the tiefling's reaction. She considers Paladin quite bright. Explaining things to her has been a pleasure. "I'm sure that helps. Your world sounds so... mutable. Like anything is possible. That's good preparation for the Nexus."

"Okay. See you there in a bit." She hopes that Paladin waits until Adia is seated to try the jello. She has a feeling that her reaction will be worth seeing. After some time spent at the hot entree section, Adia returns to the table with a little bit of everything. The only dishes she skipped were those slathered in sauce, which reminds her too much of the unpalatable rations on New Caprica, even though rationally she knows they'll taste just as good as anything else.

((ahhh, okay. That makes sense. I've read Tolkien but I never looked too much into that aspect. I'll let you know if I ever go the au route!))

[i_paladin]

A word full of magic and shenanigans makes for easy transitions. When you have owlbears running around it's not so hard to consider human robots or being built by tiny little proteins that you can only see with a special machine.

Jello in hand, Paladin takes another look at what is being offered, maybe a salad wouldn't be such a bad thing to grab, so dark greens get loaded on to a plate along with some veggies and interesting pre-made cold salads that do feature vegetables but also some sort of sauce for flavor. Also: more chicken, because that was super delicious.

The table has been cleared of previous dishes when Paladin sits. "Variety is my favorite thing," the Tiefling tells her lunch companion. "I am so bad at settling with one thing, and why do so when there are so many exciting options out there?" It certainly explains Paladin's 'love' life.

[chiron_survivor]

It looks like Adia's iced tea is refilled, as well. She takes a sip after she sits, then carefully cuts into her chicken. "Do you mean food, or in general?" she asks with a smile. "Believe it or not, I had a hard time settling down when I was younger. I wanted to travel and see all twelve colonies. It's why I took the position on the Chiron. I couldn't resist working in space."

[i_paladin]

"In general," Paladin grins back. "In all things, travel, food, clothing, people, love."

A tilt of her horned head has her considering Adia carefully. "I don't know how easily I believe that, you seem very, steady..." It was a word Paladin searched for but was unsure if that's what she really sought in the end. "But I did not know you when you were young, and time changes us all. What was is it like, working in space?"

[chiron_survivor]

There is probably a better word for what Paladin means, but Adia understands what she's trying to say. "I prefer stability most of the time," she admits. "But not when it came to a place to live. I read about so many different places when I was a child, I wanted to experience them for myself. Including space." She smiles wryly. "Although it's not as exciting as you'd think. On a ship as big as the Chiron, you rarely feel like you're moving. It's like... like working in a sealed building that has an amazing view."

[i_paladin]

There is a wrinkle of nose at the description, Paladin has no concept of what space might be like, no idea that it involves no air and something about no one being able to hear you scream.

"The view sounds appealing but not the other part, being in a sealed building. It sounds like it would be hard to move independently: to do what you want, or go where you want to go. You can get off at ports though, yes?" So maybe that's appealing, a ship has to dock sometimes, right?

Speaking of docking, Paladin picks up her spoon and approaches the jello, carefully, slowly, before diving in and scooping out a bite. The taste isn't bad, but it is very sweet, the texture of it is quite appealing too: it's squishy! "Hmmmmm interesting! It is very sweet, but I think I may like it."

[chiron_survivor]

"It's true, you didn't have a lot of options on where to go. We had an entertainment room and a gym. It wasn't run like a military vessel, though, you could set your own work hours. We had the full run of the ship, except for the captain's deck and the engine room, that was crew only." Her expression grows wistful at Paladin's question. "Yeah... we'd dock at an orbiting refueling station every so often. We were never in deep space, if people wanted to take shore leave, they were never more than a few jumps from the colonies."

She eats some of her chicken, smiling at the way Paladin goes about her first spoonful of jello. "I'm glad you like it. It's funny, isn't it? The way it wiggles."

[i_paladin]

"That must have been very nice, being able to go to the colonies when you wanted to. I have to imagine your transportation is faster than what is normal in my world." It was assume off the word 'jumps.' It just sounds fast, though who knows, it could have been just as fast as a ship on Paladin's home world.

"It is! I was admiring the way it moves." What might be more funny is a demonoid playing with their jello. Paladin carefully pokes the jello with the spoon to get it wiggling, and once it is, she focuses and creates with a bit a magic a spooky 'oooohhhhhh!' ghost moan that appears to come from the wiggling jello.

[chiron_survivor]

"Probably," Adia agrees. "It's millions of miles between any two things in space at a minimum." She hopes that doesn't weird Paladin out. Space is big! "But, anyway, I never felt trapped. Some people do get claustrophobic on ships, though, especially the smaller ones. Or... the opposite. Agoraphobic? It can feel like too much, being surrounded by outer space."

There is thankfully no food in Adia's mouth when Paladin does her little magic trick; she jumps, then bursts into surprised laughter. "That's all the Nexus needs, haunted gelatin." As amusing as it is, Adia will definitely be put off of eating jello for a while.

[i_paladin]

A million miles? That's a very big number, that is something Paladin understands, a million miles between things and they travel that distance? The Tiefling whistles low under her breath and shakes her head slowly. "It is easy to feel overwhelmed in space, I think, it sounds like a very, very big area." It's sort of hard to understand, it's just too immense, but she knows it's a lot.

Looking up she grins broadly, a wide, mischievous smile that is followed up by a giggle. "We could make an immense jello and set it up to make scary noises! How fun would that be?"

[chiron_survivor]

"Overwhelmed, yes. That's a better word for it. Knowing that it was at least several hours travel to get to the nearest colony made several people homesick." Unfortunately, that was now a constant state of being for everyone in her world. "Sometimes I wish I had spent a little more time on Leonis before I left home, but... I mean, I couldn't have known."

Adia is not normally one for practical jokes, but a giant jello making scary noises sounds fairly harmless, and amusing. "That'd be pretty funny. I'm sure there'd be at least a few people who'd try to eat it, anyway."

[i_paladin]

"You couldn't have," Paladin agrees with a serious nod. "It is easy to look back and have regrets, Gods knows I have spent a number of sleepless nights like that. The trick is savoring and loving the things you did do, you did experience." Things that she will probably not be able to do again, depending on the experience that is.

"It is a valid attack," Paladin laughs sitting back in the chair. "I would fight by the side of anyone who saw a spooky jello and decided to go at it with a spoon."