In which there are unpleasant conversations

[seventhsong]

Who: Lorelei seventhsong, Jade Curtiss sarcasmancer
What: Tending to a delayed conversation.
Where: Floor 89.
When: December 13th, Evening
Warnings: The Tower and Jade are involved. PG-13ish?



When Lorelei found a message from Jade about his decision to ask again why he wanted the things he did, the people he did - it seemed appropriate to find somewhere to speak where interruption was unlikely, or eavesdroppers for that matter. Lorelei knew where his isofons were and keeping them out of his head was an easy matter. Finding a location others might not wander into.. harder.

The hotel is selected simply due to being able to reserve a room. Paying the price had taken most of a day in attempting to beat down a strange monster in the pyramids and retrieve its still-beating heart but once the price was paid he had a room to himself for the night. It would have to do. And it gave him some time to mend the damage the monstrosity had done, carefully knitting back together bloody wounds and burns. He'll deal with his clothing later.

It's just a matter of waiting, then. The room thankfully had chairs and a small table as well as a bed, so there wouldn't be an issue of the Colonel finding somewhere to sit. Dinner is even provided! ...So what if it's meal bars it's still food, and that's something. And Lorelei was nice enough to even save the little chocolates left on the pillow so there's dessert afterwards.

Comments

[seventhsong]

"So long as it's effective, yes?" It's understandable. How doesn't matter so long as it works. Jade had come at a better time than Lorelei did to the tower, after everyone finally began sharing their information with each other. Lorelei had not, and most of his questions had gone unanswered due to the obsessive secrecy that had shrouded the beaten populace of the Tower previously. It had taken a lot of effort to garner that level of cooperation.

Jade simply reaped the rewards.

"I have heard Ruana." It's not a statement of absolute certainty, it is rumor and conjecture. But it could perhaps be relied on, as this sort of false information did nobody any good.

There's a pause from the crimson cheagle at Jade's apology, and the fuzzy little aggregate gives a faint smile. Thankfully it's an expression cheagles can manage well. "You're easier than most. We prefer straightforward dealings. Honesty, even brutal honesty, is preferred over the kindest of lies." Humanity is full of that.

He gestures a little with his paws, ears flicking back. "Asch is good at determinedly driving in whatever direction he chooses, and doesn't often look at where that direction is leading. Dealing with my isofon is less trying to stop him and more edging his direction in a more beneficial way while making sure he thinks it's his idea."

It sounds as if Lorelei's done this before. Maybe he had. "I will.. hopefully be able to redirect him to some way that isn't ... an implied intention to destroy us all." Hopefully. Nothing is certain, anymore.

[sarcasmancer]

Jade nods once. "Indeed." There's no use in complaining about what they don't have. As far as coming at a better time than Lorelei... that option hasn't occurred to Jade, since no one yet has given him the impression that there was ever a time when people weren't forthcoming with information. He'll be surprised for once if he ever learns it. Perhaps it's a balancing act; the Tower's got an expiration date now, but at least he doesn't have to flail in the dark as hard as some others have had to in the past.

Ruana, hm. He'd heard that she was the worst of the four, though he's also heard--from the one in front of him, no less--that Jason actually takes that title. Jade nods again either way. "I see." And that's that; after all, it was mostly a matter of curiosity.

The cheagle smile is met with a smile of Jade's own, though the reason for it is a little different than what could be considered normal. It passes presently, and the sarcastic joke that had been on his tongue dies without ever being born. "I must admit that it's refreshing to have someone with whom I can be brutally honest and still have a more or less positive relationship. The feelings of others are important to mind for various reasons, but it gets really quite tedious."

Doesn't look at the direction. One would think he wouldn't make a good commander... but maybe that was why Van gave him the position of God-General after all. After all, once Asch figured out what he was actually planning, he jumped ship. "I hope you will be able to, too."

The last of the chocolates melt on the tip of his tongue, and Jade crumples up the wrappers and tosses them into a nearby trash can without looking at it. "Is there anything further you wanted to discuss, Lorelei?"

[seventhsong]

A vital less-complicating issue in interspecies communication, as far as Lorelei is concerned. The nuances of human behavior were by and large a thing he guessed at, and simple blunt honesty negated the need to properly manage the dance of 'normal' socializing. That Jade lacked many of those graces himself at least simplified things. So far, as far as Lorelei could tell, the Colonel hasn't really misinterpreted anything he'd said.

Unlike some others.

"Then don't worry about it. It's likely more difficult than most to ... ah, 'hurt my feelings', so don't take it into consideration." There were ways of course, to find a wound and stick a knife in it, but that didn't seem necessary. "In the end it will likely benefit us both through sheer transparency alone." But will Jade actually follow through? Being almost callous to other human beings was one thing. To an Aggregate Sentience? Time would tell if he would be capable of it.

Asch was also a matter that would require time to handle. Much more than he really liked. He would prefer cooperation, but his isofon fought him at every turn, whether or not the matter was worth fighting over. One way or another he would handle the situation. "Time will tell."

He couldn't. Not anymore.

There's no immediate response to whether there's anything else. He might be thinking it over, or simply watching Jade for whatever nebulous reasons might drive such a thing. But eventually the cheagle inclines his head slightly in an almost human gesture. "Just one thing. You are often quick to discard those which are useful due to your personal distaste for them. Reconsider that, maybe. Don't be so swift to burn your bridges, you may need to cross them in the future."

[sarcasmancer]

Fortunately for them both, Jade prefers blunt honesty as well, though he's certainly capable of observing basic social niceties, as well as the more complex, subtle nuances of social interaction. You can't, say, manipulate someone into giving you an important fonstone by pretending to give up in the face of their niceness if you don't understand that that very niceness will consequently prompt them to give it to you anyway. There's a difference between having graces and being able to fake them, though. Knowing that he's dealing with something not human, even if his appearance managed to trip him up at first (which Jade had not been happy about himself about), helps with that.

Though his old curiosity does prompt him to wonder how far he could push Lorelei--as well as how he might best deal long-term with an entity that could reduce him to his component atoms and fonons. Right now they'll just come back to life and their powers are just glamour anyway, but if/when they get their real powers back, as Asch had mentioned would be possible in the very near future... It bore consideration.

And experimentation.

"I won't, then," he replies. If he's going to be invited to find a way to provoke the Aggregate Sentience for the sake of those experiments (not that that's what Lorelei has in mind, and Jade knows it), he may as well take him up on it. When Lorelei goes on to criticize Jade, though, the Necromancer frowns in annoyance.

He does not, however, argue with him. Whether this is because Jade thinks Lorelei has a valid point, or he thinks it would be a waste of time to bother, or because he knows it's not just Asch he's talking about, or all of the above, it's hard to say.

The fonist adjusts his glasses. "...Duly noted. If that's all, I'll be excusing myself," he replies, getting to his feet. "I assume you intend on staying, since you paid for the room. Thank you for handling that, incidentally. I do so hate having to scurry about here and there." A curt nod, and then he turns to go.

[seventhsong]

"I guess it is." Not much else, for now. He doesn't much like being alone but he wasn't going to ask Jade to stay just so he had company. That would be improper, somehow, and it's unlikely the Colonel would indulge such a whim. He stands and picks his way to the table's edge, peering warily down the side. It seemed so much shorter when he was in a human shape. "May our next conversation be about less unpleasant things." Surely there would be more chats in the future!

He glances up briefly. Staying? Of course he's staying! "Oh yes. The beds here are incredibly bouncy. I intend to enjoy that." Not relishing hittin the ground from even three and a half feet up, Lorelei balances on the edge of the table for a moment before hopping cautiously off and simply reacquiring his alternate shape. If Jade's leaving, then the cognitive dissonance shouldn't last long! "Have a pleasanter day than the last few have been!" Because things can ALWAYS be better.

He's not stopping Jade from leaving. No, he's going to wait very patiently for the military man to make his way back out of the room ... ever so patiently. And then jump on the bed.