( OPEN ) she floats along as she goes

[ghemnotgem]

WHO: tej vorpatril & YOU
WHERE: de chima & ELSWHERE
WHEN: through the month of august
WHAT: open/catch all post for the remainder of august
WARNINGS: nothing rn; possible mentions of attempted suicide & body horror.


i. shopping. de chima.

( august brings her an expected windfall thanks to mark vorkosigan — true to his word, she had a substantial return on her investment. it’s enough to work on that personal security issue, and then expand her wardrobe as well as get any incidentals she could think of for the house and her room. expense is not an issue; tej manages to find herself in the upscale shopping areas of de chima; carefully examining and oftentimes attempting to barter with the person behind the counter.

if she knows you, she might have invited you along. if you know her, you might have invited yourself along. if you don’t know her, then she might remark casually to the air as she peers into a window of a jewelry shop, fascinated. )

I've been here for months and I'm still not used to these having value.

ii. lucky cat cafe. heropa.

( it seems to her that the vor on this planet have taken over the cafe as theirs, at least in so far as working for cass means they have any claim to it. tej mostly works the cashier, but she's slowly expanding her skills into other areas — like latte art. tej occupies herself with drawing geometric shapes rather than anything overly complicated. cute cats is a little more difficult than her skill level, but she’s getting there.

she has, at least, stopped turning mugs into various jewels, but she might bring a drink to a table in a cup made from ruby or pearl. )

iii. near any university campus in any city.

( decked out in 50s era clothing, tej is currently sitting on a bench off the side of a quad area, hands full of pamphlets for various classes and schedules. she's never had a formal education — the baronne and dada had brought in tutors for her and her siblings instead. and where those had ended, there'd been classes on holovid to watch and learn from. but she hasn’t had anything else to do here — less now that she doesn’t really need to work at the lucky cat thanks to mark.

the ones set out in a pile next to her are all for various linguistics and language programs, although she's currently reading one labeled STUDENT LIFE with pictures of fuzzy mascots all over. her face betrays her confusion on the matter. surely this isn’t what normal people go through on this planet? )

Is this some sort of— forced bonding ritual?

[[ pm me or send me a pp @ robutts if you want anything specific! also there’s a permission post here for her powers — smell and power nerfing! ]]

Comments

SCRUBLORD HUSBAND. I MEAN IVAN VORPATRIL.

[ghemnotgem]

( it had been on the list of things to do, encouraged by others who found her lack of practical skill surprising — right after cooking. and, well, she was reasonably sure none of the vorkosigans knew how to drive. which left an ivan. he’s not hard to find — living in the same house and all. they’re on— well, tej doesn’t know what terms they’re on, but through his youth she can see snatches of the man who’d watched holovids with her that night that seems like ages ago. )

An Ivan?

( surely this wouldn’t be too much to ask from him. )

[idontwanttoknow]

[Why is he always An Ivan? Were there other Ivans before him? ...besides the obvious one? Who is actually him and, therefore, the same Ivan?

Of course, what he says in response is completely different.]

Yes, Tej?

[ghemnotgem]

( except older and more handsome and someone she had a dream about kissing and who married her. none of those apply to the current ivan in front of her, so there has to be an easy way of differentiating the two. )

You know how to drive a groundcar on Barrayar, correct?

[idontwanttoknow]

Of course I do!

[For varying amounts of 'know," as his many citations can attest.]

[ghemnotgem]

( shh, ivan, tej doesn't know about those. )

Then you could teach me how to drive here, right?

( husbandly duties!! )

[idontwanttoknow]

Um.

I mean.

I would be glad to, but I don't have a car.

[ghemnotgem]

Oh. ( she says, pauses, considers this, and then smiles. ) That's not a problem, I can buy one.

( thank you mark. )

iii!!!

[jacksonian]

[ Mark recognizes Tej from a distance, and spends a while debating whether or not he should approach her. On the one hand, talking to people is stressful. On the other hand, talking to Tej is less stressful than most, because even though she's really terrifyingly beautiful she's also really nice and relatable. Jacksonians think in more understandable ways. That's nice.

Plus she's...really perceptive. She always seems to know what's going on. So, honestly, she probably knows he's there, and if he doesn't say hello, it'll probably seem rude.

So, finally, he shuffles over to where she's sitting on her bench. And he offers her: ]

Hello.

[ghemnotgem]

( mark is accompanied by a different smell -- nearly overwhelming his usual state and low-key arousal around her. it makes her pause; noise wrinkling slightly before looking up and discovering the source. a dog, nearly as big as he is. animals weren't commonly a thing on the station where she grew up, although the baronne dabbled sometimes. her expression is wary, but not unwelcoming. )

Hello Mark. ( a beat, where she gestures at the dog. ) Who's your new friend?

[jacksonian]

This is, uh...Captain.

[ That's said with a little wrinkle of amusement. It's just a little, tiny tweak towards his brother - a dog getting a captaincy before Lieutenant Vorkosigan does. Heh. Anyway, Captain is indeed enormous, a rather mean-looking pit bull whose evil look is somewhat belied by his whipping tail and happy smile. ]

He hasn't bitten anyone yet.

[ What an endorsement. ]

[ghemnotgem]

I don't know if you mean that positively or negatively, but he seems very happy and unlikely to bite anyone soon.

( tej points out, because that smile and tail are hardly signs of a fearsome beast. )

[jacksonian]

Yeah. I know that.

[ He reaches out - with some difficulty, he has to reach far - and smooths down the dog's ears. The dog leans his head back, happy at the attention. ]

People are afraid of this type of dog, though.

[ghemnotgem]

Oh? ( tej leans a little forward, frowning as she tries to pick out what, exactly, makes it so dangerous. ) I don't think I see it -- unless its dangerous features are hidden? That wouldn't be unusual.

( thanks odd collection of animals created for various things on jackson's whole )

iii

[komarran]

[ He's here, loaded up with a few textbooks in arm after having spoken to a department chair about adjuncting a few history courses coming up in the fall semester. Surprise crosses his face when he spots Lady Vorpatril. That's... unexpected. Current student or incoming? One scan at her pamphlets tells him it's likely the latter and given how recent her arrival was, summer courses would have been difficult to register for anyway. ]

I'm not sure. [ Should he give a formal greeting? It's traditional to kiss a Vor lady's hand in greeting, but that's difficult with both their hands full and her sitting like that. He opts to forgo it for now. ]

I didn't expect to see you here, Lady Vorpatril. Are you planning to attend classes this fall?

[ghemnotgem]

( tej is unaware of any and all protocol for meeting a barrayaran vor lady, so she could hardly judge him for the lack of it. he's a friendly face, however, or at least someone not predisposed to suspect her after he clearance by the gregor, and doesn't stare at her chest.

she appreciates that last part. )

Captain Galeni. I've been considering it -- just something fun and pointless to take up my time.

( which means no economics classes, please and thank you. )

[komarran]

Pointless? [ His brows furrow as he glances back down at her pamphlets again. There's an alarming number of language courses in the pile and hardly what he'd considered 'blow-off' courses. ]

Are you planning to pick up something other than another language?

[ghemnotgem]

I wasn't planning on it, no. Although not just one language -- I thought two would be fine for now. I've already made great progress with Barrayaran Russian.

( it's supposed to be fun! )

[komarran]

[ All right, so she really is talking about language-only courses. At least it's an educational pursuit of some sort, he can't fault anyone for that. Though it makes him wonder even more how she ended up with Ivan. ]

That took me some time to adjust to. Has Lieutenant Vorpatril been teaching you? [ Something Duv hopes the man would be capable of doing. ]

Which ones are you leaning towards learning here?

[ghemnotgem]

No, although I've been thinking of requesting him to teach me something else. ( it's a mystery, duv. you're gonna have to wait until it actually happens to find out. ) Hm, well. Maybe Arabic?

III!

[burnseternal]

[Saint Walker is not at the local university as a student - he's well past that now, he thinks - but as a representative of the local animal shelter. Some universities are kind enough to host animal shelters' Puppy Days, which is just a bunch of shelter dogs getting socialized in a busy place, and Walker had volunteered to help set things up.

It is also why, when Tej speaks out loud, she winds up talking to an alien holding a mutt with an extreme underbite.]

I believe that it is optional, [he says, as though he knows anything about it, which he doesn't.] From what I have gathered, the only necessities here are to attend class and exams. To gain friendship out of the experience is advised, but not necessary.

[ghemnotgem]

( aliens don't exist in tej's universe. humans with their genes modified to stretch the definition of 'human' are, however, and that is where tej's mind goes when she sees saint walker. although she can't, for the life of her, figure out why someone decided to make him look like he does. or why he'd do it to himself. his appearance, however, isn't off-putting in the slightest. some of her best friends -- well, her only friend -- is genetically modified to resemble a precious stone.

the dog, however, is questionable. )

So, in a way, you're paying money for an experience rather than just courses? I suppose that wouldn't be so attractive if it wasn't a fun experience--

( but all the smiles in the pictures look, well, faked. )

[burnseternal]

No, not in the least. That simply makes it more attractive for students to attend.

[He clears his throat, and launches into a speech that's honestly laughable to hear from an alien carrying an ugly dog like a baby in the middle of a university campus.]

From my limited understanding of the matter, most young Americans attend post-secondary institutions in order to find an occupation upon their graduation that will pay them enough in order for them to maintain a comfortable lifestyle for which they will not need to worry about shelter, food and water, and general quality of life. Those who do not have access to occupations often suffer underneath the capitalistic structure that western society prides itself on.

[He clears his throat, smiling at her.]

Ah, but that is simply what I have read, and gleaned from observation alone. I am certain that one who was born of this world would be able to give you a much more clear-eyed view on the matter.

[ghemnotgem]

( tej has to hide her laughter behind her hand at the image of it all, and even that takes her by surprise -- it's been a while since she's felt like laughing. is it wrong for her to do so, even after everything? her expression sobers, and she drops her hand to give saint walker the most serious look she can muster. )

Simply because they don't have access doesn't mean they can't succeed; it just takes less direct methods. ( like a lack of morals. but tej doesn't consider that a bad thing, where she's from. ) "Born of this world"? Are you not?

( does he look like it, tej? )

[burnseternal]

It depends on one specific circumstances, [Saint Walker says, smiling at her, evidently unbothered by the laughter he had been greeted with. He has come to his own conclusions, of course, though he's open to learning, both from others and from those he works with at the shelter.]

But if you believe that I look as though I am from this world, humankind where you are from must have much, much broader variance in structure and in look. [Gently, he reaches towards his face, touching his absence of a nose.] I am missing quite a few body parts to be considered human by this universe's standards.

[You know, like pores, and follicles, and a nose, and eyes... but hey, he's willing to buy that humans have more variety in other universes than they do in his own. Why not?]

[ghemnotgem]

I suppose so, but always on purpose. There was this one House ( and the way she says it indicates that it is indeed a capital h ) that made mermaids -- long, webbed fingers and toes, and the human body changed enough to be more comfortable underwater. I thought that maybe someone had decided to push the limits of what gene-engineering could do.

( a mistake tej will make care not to repeat in the future. )

Lady Tej Vorpatril. ( the inclusion of the title is almost second nature by now, as odd as it might seem. ) So if you aren't human, does that mean sentient alien life exists where you're from? Beyond.. yourself.

( she adds, only a little awkward. )