SoS B1 C2 X3: Message
After changing, Allarah found herself in the common room. She was not alone. Lyshjo stood, leaning against a pillar, smoking... something.
"You don't agree?" He said, offhandedly, offering it to her.
"How could I? I only apologized to them out of diplomatic necessity, but her..." She bit her lip. "What am I even saying? I'm not a diplomat-" She stopped to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry... I don't know why I'm telling you this. Don't mind me. It's been a long day."
"Yes you are, even if you don't like it." He said.
She considered the pipe. "What is that?"
He tipped the pipe at her. "Light stuff, but might make you a bit dizzy so perhaps you'd better not."
"Perhaps." She sighed. "On both." She leaned against the pillar next to him. "Won’t you be missed? Not to mention being seen with my faction is probably a death wish now. Not that I don't believe she has a plan, but... I don't know what to think."
"I'm Sazashi, I won't be missed.”
She glanced at the pipe again. "How dizzy?"
“Not fit to compete dizzy, unless you're staying back... otherwise we always have later, on me." He paused, sighed, steeled himself. "Synna told me to tell you that Lady Venistasia is a psiolic."
"That's... unsettling. Don't they dislike magic here?" She shook her head. "Nevermind. Thank you. She probably knows, but I saw something interesting earlier." She shifted so she could look into his eyes easier. "The blond Ireheart in the Somnolent envoy is also a psiolic... But not only that. He... forced Dmitri, the really big guy, to apologize against his will. I don't know if it's that big a deal, but it's discomforting." She paused a moment and gently pushed his arm. "Don't speak ill of the Sazashi. Your people are... amazing. I just wish more could see that."
He chuckled, relaxing now that Allarah had given him a compliment and seemed open with info. Smoke roiled out of his nostrils. "I'm proud of my race, just pointing out that nobody here much seems to care about us. As for the IreHeart... Synna saw him mindlink with Tyodor."
"Guess I couldn't contribute much then, sorry. Well, except that you shouldn't use the com room here for anything important. I suspect it's tapped. Just a heads up." She pushed herself off the wall. "I would love to take you up on that smoke sometime. And If there's anything you need, you can let me know." She coughed a laugh. "Maybe I'm a fool to be so trusting, but I think you're one of the good guys. I hope I'm not wrong." She extended her hand to shake his. "I mean it though, if it's within reason. Same goes for Synna of course." She paused for just a moment before before speaking again. "Unless you don't trust me... Which really wouldn't be much of a stretch now that I think about it." She chuckled.
Lyshjo took Allarah's hand and clasped it firmly. "I'd be a fool not to have reservations and a liar to deny them, but Synna trusts you, and that was good enough for me. We hadn't known about the com room tap, though, thanks for the heads up on that one. The rest of your crew... I'm not so certain about. I take it you're following them down to the surface, then?"
"I'm not really sure about the rest of my group. And of course I'm going. Maybe I can manage to do some good after today... maybe hinder the Somnolent a bit. How about you?" He shook his head.
"Only Laemon, our Sauthe, is going. None of us are quite so spry as..." He paused and looked up as the door opened and Ulysses stepped in. Allarah established a div link as soon as she saw him.
<I assume this conversation stays between us, yes?>
<Us and Synna. She sent me because her leaving would be conspicuous.>
<Understood. I won’t tell a soul. So what were we talking about for his sake?>
<We're holding hands. See it wrong and it looks like we're cutting a deal. Either kiss me or slap me.> A stir of emotions. Either option appealed to him, touching his mind made her privy to that knowledge. Allarah didn't think long before settling on clasping Lysjho's cheek to pull him in for a kiss, almost as if she hadn't noticed Ulysses' arrival. After, she leaned away with a mischievous smile, not removing her hand from his cheek.
<How was that?> His hand pulled away from her jaw where he'd cupped as they kissed. Smoke spilled from their matching smiles. She was met with a blur of emotion and sensation. Not overwhelming, but an answer.
<They don't kiss like that in Hedon. It was...>
"...Lovely," he said aloud.
Ulysses whistled loudly. "Looks like you kids decided to have a party without us. And here I thought everyone was getting geared up to deploy early." Ulysses put his arms up and shrugged. "But hey don't let me stop your fun. Oh, but, Allarah we should probably discuss tactics before we drop. You can bring your... friend if you feel like it." Lysjho gave the Sazashi equivalent of a blush -- he fluttered his ears and scratched the back of his head.
"Ah, hello Ulysses. No, I was just bidding Allarah good luck. I'll let you two get ready, you've got a long night ahead of you.”
"I hope to see you again when I get some downtime." Allarah winked at Lysjho. "In the mean time, I'll think on what we've talked about." She then turned away and walked to Ulysses side. "We were going to speak tactics?" Lysjho nodded and slipped off to the Hedon quarters. Ulysses waited a few seconds then leaned towards Allarah.
"So I'm guessing you're a cat person." He then grinned. Allarah shoved him and laughed.
"I guess I am." Ulysses grin widened.
"Okay that aside we should go find the armory. We can make a plan, and look at some blueprints, get some armor. You know the works." He then started walking ahead looking for someone to help him or hoping to stumble across the place. Before he got too far he turned his head back to Allarah. "By the way I gotta ask, are their tongues... are they like, really rough?”
"Kiss one and find out." She giggled. "I'm ready to leave right now. You go on ahead though. I'm going to visit the restroom. Meet you in our quarters." She began walking to the bathrooms without another word. Ulysses gave a wide grin and a wink. He then started walking away trying to find the armory.
She walked until she could no longer hear Ulysses' steps and began to backtrack to the Somnolent rooms. While standing outside, she searched the area for cameras before proceeding, trying to act casual as not to appear to be snooping about another factions room. She found a camera just under their door facing the hallway.
Allarah cast out with her Divination and found that there was a heat wisping out from under the door. From the sounds of things, however, that was caused more by the crackling of a fireplace than by the camera. Leaning down, almost as if she had seen something move by the door, she examined the camera. It looked like a fairly standard closed circuit thing, something quick and portable used for monitoring and reviewing later. Didn't live feed to another source. Allarah, slightly disappointed she couldn't learn more at the moment, but determined to get into that room, started walking towards her own quarters. Dinner was probably coming to a close and she needed to get back. She had learned of the camera. That, at least was useful, and something she could tell Synna and Lysjho. And Immuena, of course.
She went back to their rooms and lied down. There was a stain on the ceiling that had warranted her attention, and so she studied it while waiting on the others’ return.
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