2024-03-04: All Clear
- Log: 2024-03-04 All Clear
- Cast: Dias Flac, Claude C. Kenny, Ethius Hesiod
- Where: Princebridge University
- Date: March 04, 2024
- Summary: Claude offers Dias some tips on how to study, while Ethius discusses with them what to do about getting a Psynard. All three of them discuss Federation hand signals and their newest party member, Grace, for a bit.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
Princebridge is a lovely city, all cobblestone streets and perfectly measured snowdrift. Its university is thus a cozy place, hot plates warming the stone building from the cold outside as teachers teach and students study. There's an extensive (though not perfect) library and plenty of classrooms to study in whe classes aren't actively in session, so for someone who's looking to learn something and is self-motivated and not actually a student, it's a good place to go.
Dias is one such person. He's seated in an otherwise empty classroom next to the library, his cloak and sword on the seat next to him, he himself facing the door to the room. This is not how the classroom is set up; Dias doesn't care, and has moved the chairs so he can keep an eye on who passes by. He has a few books from the library with him, all on Pokemon. One is on the intricacies of types, including weaknesses and strengths, and how they interplay with each other; the other is a more general encyclopedia of Pokemon. The latter is opened to an entry on Honedge, and the former Dias has been flipping through back and forth.
Now, Dias is a smart man, and he's capable of taking in the information just fine. However, he's not used to just sitting down and... studying. It's been a long time since he's been in anything resembling a classroom, and that was just a lecture at the church in Arlia. He did some reading on Pokemon over at Professor Oak's lab while he and his companions were in that area, and he's continued that between then and now, but there's a difference between reading and studying. To say he has bad study habits is an understatement. He isn't even taking notes.
For the moment, he rubs the bridge of his nose and leans back in his seat. He's been reading for a while at this point, and he's starting to get eye fatigue. Typical of himself, he's asked for neither help nor company--but since he's been facing the classroom's single door this entire time, and he left it open specifically so he can see who might pass by, anyone who *has* happened to pass by over the past hour or two could have noticed him inside in return.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude likes the university. Not all his own memories of school are good, but he always liked learning, and a library like the one here is very much worth celebrating. He happens to be traveling back from talking to a professor in one of the offices...
When he spots Dias, having taken over a classroom and and brutally molded it to suit his ends. Claude C. Kenny, in his trademark jacket, pokes his head into the room and looks around. Books, and some fatigue...
"Hey Dias," Claude says. "Looks like you're hitting the books!" He invites himself into the room. He's like that.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius remembers his struggles to play 'catch up' to the modern standards of education from when he was transplanted from the idyllic world of his childhood into having to comprehend the vast star ocean and his place in it. He's been in the area doing his own investigations of the aftermath of Michael's attack (and later the Team Rocket strike on the cloning laboratory), and has walked away both impressed and a little horrified as to just how quickly things generally manage to get 'back to normal.'
"...Ah, there you both are." That's Ethius, who is currently spotting a local hoodie of simple coloration and otherwise blending reasonably well with the locals despite the inescapable 'tell' that he's not from here. (The ear shape.)
"I recognize that look all too well," he says with a hand to his forehead. He also recognizes the observation technique, but doesn't call it out, as he steps into the classroom opposite of Claude. "The look of urgent studies in the face of unrelenting, exhaustive exams..."
His voice trails off into the faint whiff of existential horror.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
Dias tenses instinctively as someone steps inside, giving a sharp look up as his hand drops; when he sees and hears that that someone is Claude, he settles anew. His red eyes flick to Ethius as he too approaches and enters. Dias didn't invite either of them in, but the door *was* open, and he himself barged in earlier to use this room for his own purposes.
"Yeah," he tells Claude; it's obvious by looking at him, and he has no reason to lie.
Ethius he gives a level look. "Were you looking for us?" The follow-up gets him a flatter stare. "It's not that dramatic. I'm just doing a little research."
...He doesn't offer more information than that, but it's Dias. If either Claude or Ethius--or both!--want to be nosy, they'll have to nose right on in. (Fortunately for someone, Claude's good at that.)
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Ethius! He must've been looking for them, from how he says it. Claude looks over to him and waves. "Hey," he says.
But the follow-up... Claude laughs a little. "Yeah, me too," he says. "Though I didn't think it was quite that dire. More..."
"'Dry book, hard to absorb'. Am I right?"
Claude steps the rest of the way inside and looks at Dias's books.
Normal is fine, right? That's why they call it 'normal'.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"Yes, but the reasons aren't... of immediate urgency." Beat. "No more then usual." Almost everything with Ethius is of immediate urgency. He's still 'on the job' even with everything off the rails. It's his comfort zone, that's just how he operates.
Ethius lowers his hand from his head as Claude moves towards being a lookie-loo, while Ethius stands off to the side of the door in which he can keep an eye on who's coming or going as a quiet alleviation of Dias' own need to keep an eye on who is coming or going.
"I'm not here to hurry you," he clarifies further as the subject awaits revelation.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
"Hm." Dias's gaze levels of Claude, this time assessing. "Yes." He'll be able to see it for himself: one is an encyclopedia and everything that implies--though, again, it's just open to the one entry on Honedge, even if it's fairly expansive what with it having two evolutions--and the other is a highly technical book on types. Currently Dias has it open to a page on the Steel-type and an explanation of the kind of stats Pokemon with that type usually trend towards. It's almost as much numbers as it is letters.
While Dias lets Claude look that over, he looks over to Ethius. He's silently grateful that he's taken it on himself to take up a post at the doorway. He won't remark on it. He *will* remark on Ethius's response, though, by replying, "We can decide that for ourselves. Tell us what it's about."
He might not be here to hurry them, but Dias would rather know what it's about and *then* determine if it's something that can wait.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude sure can see. Honedge, and Types... Hmmm.
"I find," Claude says, "That when I try to study like that, copying notes and rephasing the material in my own style helps me learn it better. It's like how practicing a technique is better than hearing about it."
But Ethius mentions there is a Matter, even if not of immediate urgency, and while he isn't here to hurry them...
"Yeah. Happy to hear what it is," Claude agrees. He does notice Ethius taking up the Vigilant position.. and that's just fine.
That's enrichment for an Ethius.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Even with his Deal(tm) out in the open, Ethius can't help but be a little cryptic and choosy at times about what he does share. It's a bad habit, but it's also... a work habit. When Claude backs up Dias' sentiments about wanting to hear what the matter in question is, there's a nod of his head.
"I'm certain the incident at the Psynard facilities here are still fresh," he explains as he looks out into the hallway. He holds up a hand, to a signal that Claude would recognize is a Federation hand signal for 'observing environs - confirming presences.'
He curls a few fingers, waves them, opens. 'All clear.'
"Have you heard of the Cave of Crimson Crystals? It's said to be a habitat where Psychic-type Pokemon tend to reside... but, more importantly, the breeding grounds of the endangered Psynard." The Psynard that they were going to have cloned to their specifications for sake of transport.
"There have been reported incidents involving unidentified Pokemon appearing there in a hostile capacity, and the local Pokemon being at heightened alert and aggression for it. Given the present situation..."
Ethius holds up a hand again. Another moment passes. 'All clear.'
"Other parties are already investigating the phenomena and seeing to the well-being of the Psynard nests, but it has been suggested we do our own investigation when we are prepared."
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
"Hm." Dias considers Claude's advice; he didn't ask for it, but it seems useful. Writing notes in his own words... That *is* more active than just sitting here reading about it. ...It still involves sitting for long periods of time, but this might make the next time more productive. The other books he's read were simpler but also more vague, so if he's going to continue to read something more advanced like this, then it's just wise to do something to better enable him to grasp it.
"I'll try that," he summarizes aloud.
Ethius then brings up a topic of interest to all of them: the Psynard. He makes several hand gestures that Dias doesn't recognize, and the swordsman furrows his brows at them. However, they don't stop him from actually explaining what he's here for--even if he does pause every so often as he looks into the hallway, leading Dias to believe it's some kind of signal, possibly about if it's safe to talk--and when he's done, he nods slowly.
"As far as I'm concerned, our pacing on that is up to Rena and Claude," he replies. "But what you say is sensible. We're probably not getting that Pokemon back from the Boss of Team Rocket, and we can't sit around waiting for the research facility forever."
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude doesn't mind Ethius being cryptic. It's just something he's used to by now. Similarly, he doesn't mind Dias being taciturn. So when Dias summarizes that he'll try it, Claude nods along--he'd hoped so. He figured that by putting it in those terms, it might help... without being overly pushy.
Just normal pushy.
"The Psynards..." Claude remembers that, all right. He also notes the hand signals, and thinks--
"Hey. We should use those more," he says, being vague, but Ethius did give 'all clear'. "They'd be useful to our teamwork. ...I'll let him explain." That way Ethius has the choice to be quiet about it if he'd rather.
But the Psynards.
"I agree. We should check into it." All clear, still. "I'm sure Rena will be on board. She wants to protect Pokemon too, and we do need something like that to accomplish our goals..."
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"The... hand signals?" Ethius catches Claude's drift. A side-glance. Technically speaking, in a Functional Space Land Scenario(tm), he completely cedes all operational authority to whenever there's boots on the ground of a place he's assigned to investigate and infiltrate, and Claude is absolutely boots on the ground.
He nods, allowing Claude to make the call to teach it by his suggestion. "Very well."
"The hand signals I utilized are how soldiers and operatives of the Pangalactic Federation communicate without voice," he explains to Dias. "There's differences in... dialect, if you will, owing to the differing needs of what can, or needs, to be conveyed. The ones I just demonstrated do have overlap between us." Ethius lifts a hand to elaborate, repeating that first one with the raised hand and subtle movements following. "Observing, to confirm if there are other presences. This one is more passive as a general 'ensuring we are alone.'"
He curls a few fingers, waves them, and opens. "This is a general-purpose 'all clear.'"
This bit of education shared!
"I agree we should speak with Miss Rena as soon as possible," he concurs on that front. "I have been exploring alternatives... which I'll share if they become necessary."
THE ALTERNATIVE - SOMETIME IN THE PAST
Ethius picks up an old, long-discarded Hidden Machine - long fallen out of favor - which is said to teach 'Fly,' and there's a helpful reference of what sorts of Pokemon can learn it.
"...A far smaller Pokemon would make it difficult to be spotted by hostile interlopers compared to a Psynard," he says as he observes a Pidgey.
The wild Pidgey flies away as if they know what Ethius is thinking. 'Nope,' they say in Pidgey language.
NOW
"...I will hope it proves unncessary."
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
The only overly pushiness Dias tolerates is Rena's. Claude--it's true Dias didn't ask. But he's gotten used enough to Claude that he doesn't mind, and besides, Dias isn't so proud that he'd refuse perfectly good advice out of hand.
"Hmm?" Dias glances at Claude--but Claude passes that ball to Ethius, and Ethius does indeed explain. Dias listens, eyes locked on him and his hands. "Hmm." So it *was* what he suspected, more or less. He raises a hand and repeats the gestures. For having only watched them a couple times, and only just now, he mimicks them startlingly well.
"Good to know," he replies. "I think it'd be useful, too. There'll be times when we need to be as silent as possible."
In turn, he silently doubts Grace will go along with it--that woman seems to like being loud--but he continues to consider that a Claude problem.
But then Ethius mentions alternatives. Dias's eyebrows rise fractionally. "Huh." ...It's not that he doubts him, or even is surprised that Ethius would do it. It's just that, abruptly, it strikes him that even Ethius is more team-minded than he is.
This doesn't bother Dias all *that* much, but it does put all Rena's scolding in sharp relief.
"Good planning," is what he says aloud. "Let me know once you've got Rena on board, then." That's a matter of 'when,' not 'if,' so it won't take long--but he is still in the middle of something here. He's got a fountain pen and spare paper on hand, usually meant for taking notes on field excursions, so he won't need to go anywhere, either.
He might go somewhere anyway to rest his eyes, but that's another story.
And since that's another story, he eyeballs Claude. "I'm guessing you'll be dragging that Grace woman along, too?" (At least he remembers her name?)
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
"Yeah!" The hand signals. And Claude is not actively thinking of being an authority here... But he'll accept making the call. And that call is this!
"Right. You see why I figure they'll be useful. Moreso because our enemies probably don't know them; I mean, why would they bother?"
But, education. "...Other alternatives?" Claude wonders. "Hmmm. If you say so."
Claude leaves the matter of the books aside for now, though now he wants to show more interest in what Dias is studying. It'd probably put him off to push, though...
So he doesn't! "I will," Claude says. And, he laughs a little, "And I will. She has a lot of useful skills... and I don't really want to leave her on her own too much, if I can help it. I think we can keep her away from too much trouble. And she does have useful skills," he says.
"Besides, she's kind of fun."
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"It is true that on my part, they might confuse that for a Symbological spellcasting gesture," Ethius thinks aloud with - what else - hand to his head again. How narrow is his idle animation range? He should consider practicing 'junk' murmurs to obfuscate communicative signals from spellcasting, come to think.
How much that would fool their present enemies when one of them has astounding levels of Symbological depth protection in their teeth is another matter.
The subject moves towards Grace, and Ethius once again glances off to the side. "The two of us started on the wrong foot, but she is resourceful and energetic, and..."
He trails off, thinking about how to present this, as he straightens out. A cursory glance reveals they're still clear.
"Miss Grace and I went into conflict at least once over matters of law from where Claude and I come from. Given the extreme, unprecedented circumstances in which we are dealing with," even if what happened is something difficult for him to overlook, "I'm doing my best to extend grace to, well, Miss Grace. I'm willing to cooperate with her as long as she's on her... above-average behavior."
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
Why *would* they bother? It's a good question. Ethius goes to the thought that it might look like a spellcasting gesture; Dias goes to the thought that, maybe so, but the Ten Wise Men already knew about the Federation, and so did the leaders of Energy Nede--and so quite likely the leader of Team Rocket. He keeps that little seed of doubt in mind. Just in case.
As for what he's studying, the books are right there, but if Claude doesn't push, Dias won't offer. Besides, they're talking about Grace right now.
"You mean *you* can keep her away from trouble," Dias says. "I'll admit she isn't useless, but you aren't on this quest for 'fun,' are you?" The corner of his mouth quirks up a bit, and in a bit of self-deprecating humor, he adds, "Or else Rena wouldn't have insisted I join it."
That quirk fades as Ethius mentions starting on the wrong foot. Dias eyes him. There's no need to ask him if they have a History, since Ethius offers it up on his own. Dias listens. At the end, he comes away with: "You're saying she's a criminal?" His eyes narrow. "What kind?"
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
"Hmm. Yeah. It's possible that they'll know them, of course--but even if they do, the monsters we fight places here and there won't."
Still, the wrong foot... that doesn't surprise Claude, considering. People put a lot of stock in the Hesiod name. It's something he sympathizes with.
"True," Claude says of conflict. And then of Grace, "Heh. True, I'll take responsibility for that." A pause. "...But no. I'm not."
Rena indeed wouldn't have.
"...She doesn't seem to have much stomach for hurting people," Claude volunteers. "But she definitely likes to operate outside the 'rules', I think. And technically anybody who comes here intentionally is a criminal," he points out.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Even with Ethius trying to keep an eye out to the hallways - it is rather empty for this time of day, conveniently, maybe even suspiciously, as if Mayor Nall might be pulling the strings to allow them to use this public place for Difficult Conversations(tm) (unconfirmed but rather kind of him if so) - there's something about Dias' glare that still catches him off-guard.
Even a man known for his taciturn, unyielding glares that seem to take everything in and give little back, is not free of the capacity for intimidation.
"...That much is true, yes," he says of Claude's observations and attempts to smooth things out. Still, he can recognize a touchy subject, and a delicate one of his indiscretion. "Intrusion and disruption, yes, that would be a succinct summary. She did make an effort to take her leave without further incident."
Which led to Solaris destroying her spacecraft and stranding her on Filgaia.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
Dias nods once as Claude brings up that the monsters they fight won't know those Federation hand signals. It's true, and that means there's still applicability for them, whether Team Rocket and the Ten Wise Men know them or not.
Claude then points out that technically everyone who's come to Filgaia is a criminal, and Dias shuts his eyes, the corner of his mouth now tugging down. This blessedly frees Ethius from the stare of the basilik.
"...Point taken." He opens his eyes, expression now neutral. Ethius clarifies a bit more, and Dias gives him a curt nod. "Fine. I'll leave it at that."
He tolerated Joy enough despite her affiliation with Team Rocket to have a conversation, and then a swordfight, and finally make a deal with her (and he definitely isn't concerned about her being taken advantage of), and Claude's right that Grace doesn't seem to have a killer instinct. If Ethius, an actual lawman, can overlook it for the sake of their collective mission, then Dias can, too.
He still doesn't think it was wise to invite her along *on* said mission, but Claude's reiterated that he'll take responsibility. That's good enough for the time being.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
It was bound to come out eventually; Claude doesn't know Grace is a criminal aside from the part he does know, but he can guess pretty strongly. She admires Team Rocket's style, she talks about big jobs...
She lives outside the law.
"...I guess she would, huh?"
Try to get out.
But, "All right."
Claude will take it seriously; he said he'd take responsibility (Ashton better not hear) so he will. And it seems it'll do for now.
"Can you keep track of which books you got out for me?" Claude asks Dias, then. "I'm interested in the subject too, but don't want to take them while you're using them."
He nods to Ethius, too.