(no subject)

[vance_prime]

Work on restoring the Borealis continues apace. If all goes well, they'll be ready to teleport out within the week.

Of course, not everything goes according to plan. Alyx hadn't anticipated Shephard's pet houndeye going into heat, for instance. But Alyx refuses to make that her problem. Shephard can deal--no, Shephard will deal with it. Alyx is going to take a break.

Thus, we find a pregnant Resistance leader stretched out across the couch, munching on a bag of Doritos and reading a book on childrearing.

[Open until it scrolls.]

Comments

[hecu_marine]

Yeah, speaking of which....

"Ma'am?"

[vance_prime]

Alyx glances over, one eyebrow quirked. "Hm?"

[hecu_marine]

"Didn't mean to disturb you or nothin', ma'am," Shephard says, indicating the book and the chips. "Reckoned I'd better check in, though. I got some news about Mrs. Wilson."

He's unaware of how fast the rumor mill works on the Borealis.

[vance_prime]

"She's in heat. I heard." Alyx pops another Dorito in her mouth.

[hecu_marine]

"... right," says Shephard after a moment's blinking. "Would've told you sooner but I wanted to figure out what to do about it first. Came here t'git it all worked out."

Well, shit, there goes the whole 'don't get called on the carpet for concealing important information from the CO' issue.

[vance_prime]

"And...?" She looks at him expectantly. "Have you worked it out?"

[hecu_marine]

"Yes, ma'am. Mari says this is gonna last nine to twenty-one days if I don't do somethin' about it," Shephard says. "Requestin' permission to take her out somewheres the locals'll verify has a houndeye population and bring a real strong tether and a sniper rifle with me. I'll deal with the pup question once I see how many there are."

[vance_prime]

"Granted," says Alyx. "You might want to bring an extra pair of hands or two, though. Things could get hairy."

[hecu_marine]

"Got a volunteer from the Bar, actually, ma'am," Shephard says. "Dunno if you ever met William Evans, but he's offered to come along if I just get him there."

She might notice some tension go out of his stance. Possibly a lot of it. Depends how closely she's looking.

[vance_prime]

"I assume you've warned him about what he's getting into?""

[hecu_marine]

"Everything from the broken bones to the heat to the spiders, ma'am."

[vance_prime]

"Good man," says Alyx with a nod. "I knew I could trust you to do what needs to be done."

[hecu_marine]

Shephard blinks twice. Then he says, "Thank you, ma'am. Permission to gear up'n take a defensive position somewheres safe for the next six hours or so? That went too easy'n I got way too damn lucky for somethin' fuckin' nasty not to be in the works."

[braveomaticaya]

The munching sound has one of Tsu'tey's ears flicking back every time Alyx crunches a chip.

Eventually, he has to look and see what's making the noise--and strangely it correlates with the faint smell of powdery-corn-like-something.

"What are those?" He's familiar with chips, just not that kind. Or with why they're electric orange.

[vance_prime]

"They're--" begins Alyx, then does a double-take when she sees who's speaking. "They're corn chips," she says once she's recovered her composure. "With artificial cheese flavoring."

[braveomaticaya]

"Why would you artificially flavor them?" he asks, ears perking forward.

[vance_prime]

"...that's a good question, actually," says Alyx after a moment's thought. "I guess real cheese wouldn't keep very well?"

[braveomaticaya]

"Not in those bags, no," he says, quiescent. "Are they good?"

Many Earth foods that are offered here in the bar he finds inexplicably strange; it says a lot when one is as impressed by the sonic-barking abilities of animals from other dimensions as the ability of humans to artifically produce seemingly everything edible.

[vance_prime]

Alyx shrugs. "I like 'em."

[braveomaticaya]

Thankfully he knows better than to ask if she likes them because she's pregnant, or if the two are unrelated.

"I will try them soon, then." That having been settled he extends her a hand as he's seen many of the people do here in the bar, though his hands are large and blue, and with not quite the usual number of slender digits. "I am Tsu'tey."

He's not giving his full name out every time. Few people pronounce it right anyway.

[vance_prime]

"Oh, you're the one Shephard was talking about!" Alyx shakes the offered hand with a smile. (Tsu'tey may have day-glo orange dust all over said hand now.) "I'm Alyx Vance."

[braveomaticaya]

"He has spoken of me?"

Color Tsu'tey surprised. He knows, in theory, that his appearance must make an impact on the humans not familiar with Pandora--and he knows this in other ways judging by Adrian's first expression when they met--but he didn't expect to be talked about. "It is nice," he says. "To meet you." Finishing the return greetings humans use often doesn't click with him--understandable given the Na'vi almost never use the same phrasing.

[vance_prime]

"Likewise," says Alyx. "And yeah, he said you wanted to play that 'great ball game' he was trying to organize?"

[braveomaticaya]

"Yes," he nods. "It sounded amusing."

He would be the one to say that game sounds 'amusing'. "I have never played it with humans, though."

[vance_prime]

"But you have played it before?"