Sime~Gen Roleplaying: District Controller's Office Scenario
Episode #185: Tea with Snake (3/30/00)
Nick "drops by" Arat's office, not too long after Beni has been sent off for a well-earned rest.
Nick does not currently have an assigned channel, which makes it easier to avoid such dismissals.
Nick still considers himself able to work, even if his feet do ache.
Nick does observe the proprieties, and signals.
Wise Snake: It's open! [loudly]
Arat flinches.
Wise Snake looks slightly innocent.
Nick opens the door in time to catch the Arat's pained expression.
Nick sets about soothing Arat.
Nick: I thought I'd drop by for a decent cup of tea.
Nick checks both his channels over for signs of stress or injury.
Nick: Unless you two are busy with something?
Wise Snake looks extraordinarily innocent.
Arat looks extraordinarily stressed out.
Nick knows what that means.
Arat gestures at the tea.
Arat hopes Nick will take the hint and make himself some.
Nick goes to the tea table and starts assembling the makings for a cup of Lilac Passion.
Nick: Would either of you care for some?
Arat: No.
Nick looks at Snake inquiringly.
Wise Snake sniffs, detecting the Lilac Passion's odor.
Wise Snake tries to decide whether she's willing to endure the taste of it just to annoy Arat by drinking it.
Wise Snake: Sure, thanks.
Nick raises an eyebrow, but obediently makes a second cup of Lilac Passion.
Nick is not adverse to letting Snake experiment with improving her tastes, but assembles the makings for a cup of third harvest trash as well, just in case she can't choke down the Narosian.
Nick pours the water only in the two Lilac Passion cups, however, and sets one in front of Snake.
Snake: Thanks.
Nick takes the other one to the Donor's chair and sits down.
Wise Snake has a sip, rolling the taste on her tongue.
Wise Snake: You know, I could learn to like this.
Nick sighs in relief as he gets his weight off of his feet.
Wise Snake: Not because it tastes good, of course, but just for the principle of the thing.
Wise Snake: A person wants to be seen sipping the best tea.
Nick: Narosian teas do have a reputation.
Arat grits his teeth and concentrates on finishing the memo he'd been penning.
Nick prefers the reputation of Narosian teas to that of Narosians themselves, but can't avoid either.
Arat refuses to respond to baiting, but the policy is sorely tried when spending time with Snake.
Wise Snake: A reputation for... class, and elegance. [agrees]
Nick notes the gritted teeth and sets to work undoing the damage extended Snake-supervision has been doing.
Nick would be the first to agree that Beni is far superior to Pylor in Arat-handling, but still, there are gaps in his abilities.
Nick: They taste good, too.
Nick enjoys a leisurely sip.
Nick lets the ~~ relaxed enjoyment ~~ mellow his nager.
Wise Snake ignores Arat, who is wilting into a huddle at the touch of Nick's nager.
Wise Snake: Maybe to you.
Nick looks at Snake with some sympathy.
Wise Snake: Personally, I think they taste pretty bad. But it's an acceptable sacrifice, for the appearance of class.
Wise Snake: The poor and the lowly can't afford the good tea, after all.
Wise Snake: Why should I drink what I grew up with, when I can drink what the Mayor of Capitol drinks?
Nick notes that for all her discussion about the benefits of drinking Narosian, Snake is doing more talking than sipping.
Wise Snake: [after a pause] I suppose I could do it anyway, just to prove a different sort of point. But that would be pretentious, wouldn't it?
Nick shrugs.
Wise Snake: The honorable Hajene Wise Snake Farris drinks only sticks-and-stones tea, why, that's what we all drink! Hail to the Honorable Hajene Farris!
Nick: You don't have to make a statement by your choice of tea brand, you know.
Nick: There's always the tactic of simply drinking what you think tastes good.
Arat massages his temple and tries to read what he'd been writing.
Nick uses this particular strategy to continue drinking Narosian tea, despite his distress at his genetic relationships with its producers.
Nick sets his tea aside and scoots his chair a little closer to Arat.
Wise Snake: Well, I think that's a splendid idea. But I came from the gutter. Here in the rarefied atmosphere of upper society, things are a little different.
Wise Snake: Or at least so I've gathered.
Nick puts one hand on the back of Arat's neck and concentrates on ~~ smoothing ~~ the nageric tension.
Nick: Well, I admit my acquaintance of rarefied society isn't much broader than yours.
Wise Snake: Take my dear father, for example.
Wise Snake: He prefers the stuff that costs a fisherman's yearly salary per pound.
Wise Snake: I know, I've seen Jeniard's private stash.
Arat looks up at the door across from his desk, with an expression of 'do I really have to listen to this?'.
Nick notes that Arat isn't concentrating on his work very well.
Nick decides that he might as well take advantage of the distraction.
Nick pulls a rumpled envelope from his pocket.
Nick hands it to Arat.
Nick: This came in yesterday--by informal means.
Wise Snake: And yet, he drinks the stuff the 3rds drink.
Wise Snake: Is that noble? Or just plain self-defeating?
Wise Snake: Or, [slyly] is it pretentious?
Arat opens the envelope and pulls out the letter to scan it.
Nick is not willing to join in the game of baiting Arat.
Nick: Perhaps mostly it's just convenient?
Wise Snake gives Nick a cynical grin; she knows he knows it's not that.
Nick returns a somewhat admonitory look: He can't approve of Snake trying so hard to bait Arat when Nick is trying to work on him.
Arat sees that it is a letter from one of Nick's contacts, regarding the dam. Nothing earth-shattering news-wise, but it's a positive sign that Nick brought it to him.
Arat: Thank you. [to Nick]
Nick nods acknowledgment of the thanks.
Arat: This has been the only one to arrive?
Wise Snake puts the cup of Narosian tea down in front of Arat and gets up, moving lazily over to the tea area.
Nick: Yes. The roads have been a mess, though. I'll probably get a few more in the next week.
Nick is careful not to comment on Snake's discarding the cup of Lilac Passion.
Arat nonetheless zlins Nick's attention pussyfooting around the cup. He didn't miss Snake putting it there, either.
Arat: Your father is in town.
Arat: Did you know that?
Arat was reminded of Riyyh not by Snake's comment about fathers (he could never think of himself and Riyyh in the same sentence in that particular manner... and he's not the only one!) but by the mention of impassable roads.
Nick: He is?
Nick has been putting in a lot of extra hours dealing with riot victims, lately, and so hasn't had a chance to keep up on news.
Nick: I suppose he came to get Racknie out of jail--again?
Nick is pretty sure Riyyh didn't come to enjoy the civil unrest.
Nick notes that Arat is looking better, and withdraws his hand from Arat's neck.
Nick doesn't withdraw his nager, however.
Nick uses his newly freed hand to pick up his tea, and cradles the cup.
Arat is glad for the continued support.
Arat: As I understand it, Capitol's full Narosian complement is in jail, and the bail has been set too high for a timely release.
Nick: Oh, dear.
Arat: In the meantime, their headquarters were vandalized by the Citizen's Coalition for Better Schooling.
Nick: Vandalized??
Arat hesitates.
Arat: I believe arson might be a better term.
Nick: They burned the coalition headquarters?
Arat: So I have heard. [somewhat reservedly]
Arat does not like to pass on information he can't confirm with his own senses, but this is something Nick would probably want to know about in any case.
Wise Snake returns to her seat at Arat's other side, carrying a steaming cup of really bad tea.
Nick wonders if the Mayor and the school superintendent were present at the scene of the crime in body, as well as spirit.
Nick: Riyyh must be very upset.
Nick considers the amount of "personal persuasion" which will be necessary to get bail lowered to something Naros can afford, and then the additional hardship of finding someplace to house the miscreants--preferably far away from Naros itself.
Wise Snake: I heard the Red Warthog Inn is very nice, though. Isn't that where he had to stay this time?
Wise Snake looks, once again, all too innocent.
Nick: The Red Warthog?
Wise Snake: After what happened to his usual hotel, that is....
Wise Snake: A shame, really.
Nick: He must be very unhappy, indeed.
Nick is just as glad that he isn't forced to listen to Riyyh's distress, under the circumstances.
Wise Snake: I would offer him my cell, if it were mine to give. [thoughtfully]
Arat considers leaving Wise Snake in said cell until it is time to pack her off to Norwest Territory.
Nick: I'm sure he'll be leaving as quickly as he can conclude his business. He doesn't like chaos.
Nick is sure that freeing the Narosians will take longer than usual, however, as many of the key individuals will be too busy to spend sufficient time... er, "relaxing".
Nick: Arat, do you think you can persuade the rioters to leave at least part of the city standing?
Arat: There has been some positive effect already.
Arat means, aside from the incidental benefits of keeping the ringleaders busy for hours at a time.
Wise Snake takes a long, slow sip from the stems-and-pieces tea, rolling it on her tongue.
Nick hadn't noticed much of a decrease in the workload, but then, he's been more tired, which makes each shift seem harder than it actually is.
Nick: I'm glad to hear that.
Arat: I am confident that in due time the peace will be restored.
Arat is confident that if it isn't, Fragga and her bunch will be going down and going down hard.
Nick nods.
Arat doesn't like uncertainties in his future, or people who contribute to them intentionally or unintentionally.
Wise Snake waits until Arat is trying not to zlin her tea-enjoyment too thoroughly, and then sneaks a hand toward the envelope still in his lap. But, she stops when his attention darts alertly back to her. Arat is difficult to fool in that way.
see note 1
Nick decides that the riots have calmed down enough that he can go home to his own bed, rather than just catching a nap wherever he can.
Nick is rather concerned about his landlady, although he has not heard of any major damage in the neighborhood.
Nick is keeping a sharp eye on his surroundings, just in case, and is not completely unsurprised when he spots Riyyh while detouring around a blocked street.
Nick: Riyyh!
Riyyh is trying to lead his sturdy brown horse past a burning wagon in the middle of the road. It's a calmer beast than most, but appears to have drawn the line at approaching large fires.
Riyyh looks up.
Riyyh: Nick!
Nick approaches Riyyh.
Nick: Where is your Donor?
Riyyh's horse is relieved as he turns back away from the fire to greet Nick.
Riyyh: Back at Naros, I'm afraid. I didn't think that this was... [looks around]
Riyyh: Well, you see, he is in First Year and rather impressionable yet.
Riyyh didn't want Ali and Racknie to come into close quarters until Ali is more stabilized.
Nick automatically blocks surrounding fields for Riyyh.
Nick: I understand.
Riyyh sighs at the feel of the high-quality support.
Nick: I'd heard you were staying at the Red Warthog?
Nick: ~~ disbelief ~~
Riyyh wrings his hands.
Riyyh: Well, I haven't spent that much time there, really.
Nick: And you would rather not?
Riyyh smiles apologetically.
Riyyh: I am sure it is a very pleasant place, under the ideal conditions.
Nick: Which these aren't?
Nick: ~~ sympathy ~~
Riyyh gestures at the burning wagon.
Riyyh's gesture includes his horse, which is now standing there looking rather lethargic and boring-coated.
Riyyh: I'm afraid you and Hero are the only relatives of mine in Capitol who are not currently in prison.
Riyyh doesn't actually know for sure regarding Hero, but he hopes that Arat has kept his staff under that much control.
Nick engages in an internal debate, his good sense warring against his sympathy.
Nick is, unfortunately, a Donor without a channel, and therefore more susceptible to unhappy channels than normal.
Nick is, of course, reasonably certain that if he and Hero are the only relatives of Riyyh who aren't in jail, that the probability of there being unrelated Narosians is slim.
Nick makes the mistake of looking at Riyyh, and catches a bout of tentacle-wringing.
Nick sighs.
Nick: There is an extra bedroom in my apartment, if you would like to stay there.
Riyyh brightens.
Nick: It's a bit old fashioned, and there's no room service, but at least there would be only the two of us, the landlady, and Linn.
Riyyh: Linn? I haven't seen her in so long. How is she doing?
Nick: She's a Third Order Donor, now. She has a great deal to learn still, but she's adjusting reasonably well.
Nick: Particularly for someone who objected so strenuously to even trying to be a Donor.
Nick: ~~ amusement ~~
Riyyh smiles.
Riyyh: I would love to stay with you.
Riyyh even has all his stuff with him, due to the overcapacity and undersecurity of the Red Warthog.
Nick: Come along, then. I admit I'll be glad to see my own bed for a change.
Riyyh's smile widens, and he follows Nick.
Notes:
1) Some time passes between these two scenes. [return]