(no subject)

[ambriel]

Ambriel is sitting at the bar, apparently deeply occupied by staring at something bar provided with that cup of green tea.

Animal crackers.

They are apparently very puzzling, judging by the concentration the angel is aiming at them.

Comments

[theunsmiling]

Michael -- dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt with clockwork gears, one of them orange, on it -- looks over from the seat beside Ambriel, reaching out to pick up an animal cracker.

A lion, to be specific.

At this juncture she does not choose to bite the head off.

"Ambriel. Have you acquired no taste for sugar since you have been -- embodied?"

Inquiring minds that are fond of donuts want to know!

[ambriel]

"The pie was interesting," Ambriel says absently, before suddenly sitting sharply upright.

"Captain. My greetings."

[theunsmiling]

Michael does not grin, just inclines her head in acknowledgment.

"Well met, Ambriel. What kind of pie? I will note that humans are inordinately fond of desserts, and will often attribute characteristics to people who enjoy one kind over another."

It has its uses. Hence the donuts.

[ambriel]

"It was chocolate."

Ambriel blinks at her.

"Do they? Is there any truth in such categorizing?" What does it mean if you like pie? What does it mean if you like these...crackers? They don't seem nutritious for obligate carnivores.

[theunsmiling]

"Humans will believe there is, which is much the same thing in the end."

Michael flicks her fingers in a quick, dismissive gesture.

"The meanings change with the person they're observing, or so it seems. Funny how few of them notice that."

[ambriel]

"It makes sense that they do change, if their meaning has no basis in fact."

Humans are illogical coconuts, it happens. Ambriel glances at Michael.

"Do you enjoy sugar?"

[theunsmiling]

"Not particularly. But something about a donut with sprinkles makes people overlook this body that I'm wearing."

And that 'something' is probably the college-age look of it.

Still.

[ambriel]

Ambriel blinks. "Sprinkles?"

It takes a minute to parse.

"Ah. I see. I still fail to understand why a specific pastry could cause someone to underestimate you. Unless you were concealing yourself."

It's Michael. Doughnuts have no power to disguise the majesty of the Captain of the Host. Sprinkles or no.

[theunsmiling]

Michael doesn't smile, but abruptly all that is sitting in front of Ambriel is a college student -- or maybe she's in grad school -- with flyaway hair, slouching posture, and a general air of someone who would rather be anywhere else.

She rests her chin in her palm, looking at Ambriel with a mildly interrogatory expression.

"I've had a lot of practice at concealment, I will admit."

[riddleofthebelow]

Tom chuckles upon sight of the animal crackers.

"My son adores those," he says, not meaning to interrupt but doing so anyway.

It's Milliways. Conversations have to start somehow.

[ambriel]

Ambriel gives him a brief smile before glancing back at the cookies.

"May I ask an expert, then? What is the purpose in their shape? Is it intended to be educational?"

Seems a little morbid.

[riddleofthebelow]

"I think it's supposed to be fanciful."

He frowns.

"It is rather odd now I stop to think about it."

[ambriel]

"Fanciful is an acceptable explanation, at least."

Less creepy, too. Hmm.

Ambriel opens the box.

[riddleofthebelow]

"Better than others one might think of."

[ambriel]

The angel pulls out a giraffe, and studies it contemplatively.

"Oh? Are there others you can think of?"

[riddleofthebelow]

"I've seen Portico bite their heads off. That might be considered gruesome by some."

Tom thinks it's adorable.

[ambriel]

"I see. I suppose it could be satisfying, if you took each cracker to be a representation of its species as a whole."

Lions eat humans sometimes, after all.

"A symbolic victory." Ambriel eats the giraffe.

[blue_ajah]

She has been doing a great deal of thinking since she last visited Milliways, and is no closer to an answer now than she was then.

When the Aes Sedai glides through the door, she is intent on two things: obtaining a cup of tea, and finding any of a number of people.

None of them, however, is the one who catches her attention by virtue of the close attention being paid to something on the table.

"Light illumine," she offers.

[ambriel]

Moiraine quickly catches Ambriel's attention simply by approaching. Apparently, the power of an Aes Sedai is more interesting than human confections, no matter what shape.

Ambriel responds, but once again, there is that glitch in Milliway's translation. To Nita Callahan, Ambriel's greeting sounded like Dai'stiho. It conveys pleasure at meeting, well wishes, and respect.

It probably sounds a little like 'May you walk ever in Light' to Moiraine.

[blue_ajah]

It does, as it happens, and that simple fact is enough to immediately draw and focus the Aes Sedai's attention in return.

Very, very few people here have had reason to know the proper response to her greeting, and none so far who were not of her world have known it where she did not herself have some hand in sharing the knowledge.

She approaches the other's table without waiting for true invitation, her dark-eyed gaze searching the other's countenance.

"We have not met before, have we?"

[ambriel]

"We have not. But like calls to like, here. I greet you with full respect for your power and your cause. My name is Ambriel."

Someone like Moiraine could easily tell this is no human she is facing.

[blue_ajah]

She considers Ambriel for a moment more, then offers a serene smile.

"Then I shall do the same, and say that I am pleased to meet you, as well. My name is Moiraine, and I am Aes Sedai."

[ambriel]

"Please sit if you wish," Ambriel says. That's a new social behavior Ambriel has recently picked up. Until recently, the angel assumed people would sit or stand as they wish. Leads to some awkward hovering.

"I recognize the will and purpose behind your power and name." Servant to all. "But I am personally unfamiliar with the Aes Sedai."

[blue_ajah]

She draws out a chair, and gracefully seats herself across from him.

"It is a sisterhood, you might say, comprised of those who have the ability to channel," Moiraine explains. "One with some common interests, as well as some more diverse."

She brushes her fingers lightly over the deep blue wool of her sleeve.

"Each Ajah is identified by color. I am of the Blue. Sisters of the Blue have a particular interest in causes, and in justice."

[ambriel]

"I understand. What are the other colors your Ajahs embody?"

Ambriel sips the tea slowly. The cup is still steaming. The angel doesn't seem to notice. Or care, perhaps.