futurology | voice, @TARANTO

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voice, @TARANTO

So we got a buncha old fashioned guys who are used to swinging around swords all the time and stuff, right? It seems like it, I can't go 20 feet without tripping over someone that's never seen a minipad before. God, would it kill that rift stuff to start taking more people from the modern era?

Anyway, point is I need one of you guys — or, hell, a buncha you guys — to start teaching. I've got some students in mind, foremost being me, because the training room here doesn't cut it if you've never even seen a fucking sword before. And if anyone else sucks at medieval stuff too lemme know, we'll make it a whole party.

Achilles and Koltira, you guys are my top medieval guys that know what you're doing, don't you fucking ignore this.

[ a beat ]

Also, I've got this little super strength issue where I might break any weapons I try and use, so... there's that, too. Still working on that obstacle. Any ideas, lemme know.

[ ooc: here's a planning post for teaching stuff!! ]

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[He scoffs, a little more theatric the closer he gets to having to pony up.] What, are you implying I'd renege on my debts simply because I question the scoring methods? Hardly. Ye of little faith.

[He's turned towards her, too, pulled into the moment implacably. For all that he's long since come to the conclusion that Ramir's flirting doesn't really mean anything, this... this feels a hair more serious than he was expecting. His heart is pattering with uncertainty. Perhaps the firelight was a mistake.

There's a moment where he fails to entirely conceal that uncertainty behind the sassy facade he's been putting up. He's kissed a grand total of two people in his life, and only one of those people enough times to get any good at it. Is he going to make an ass of himself?]

I'm game. [He's a little round-eyed, his tone less teasing too. Screwing his courage to the sticking point -- as the aphorism goes -- he leans in, uncertain if he'll be meeting her halfway or doing all the initiating himself.]

[ She fully intends to go for it, she's even planning her angle of attack as she leans in (waiting for him to initiate is clearly not in the cards). It'll be a good kiss, she's determined, nothing half-assed — just not too lingering or involved. That seems fair. No one could argue with that, it's purely for fun and that's fun. That's her line of thought as she tilts her head and lifts a hand to rest on either side of Evan's jaw, thumbs lightly against his cheeks.

It's only at the very last second that a flash of the wounded look Sigma can get going so well flashes suddenly through her mind, and the stab of guilt is too much even for Ramir. For possibly the first time in her life she chickens out, and she twists to miss his lips entirely and plant a kiss on his cheek.

There really is a first time for everything, apparently. ]

[When she twists to dodge it freezes him for an instant: he comes to an abrupt halt, close enough to her face to feel her breath, all the anticipation he'd been building up stuttering out like a firework that's failed to launch. Her hands are on his cheeks, and then her lips, and --

Did he read this wrong, or did he do something wrong? Misinterpretation, or misstep? A kind of panic that is depressingly familiar from other times he's completely failed a social interaction rises up in him like gorge, and he fights it, hard, but that thought thumps against his brain as his heart thumps against his ribs. How has he fucked up this time?

But asking would be admitting that he'd expected something, even if it was nothing serious. If it's a matter of having misread, his panicky brain insists that admitting as much would be as good as bearing his throat to a predator. He'll be mocked, or summarily shut down, or... who knows. So he pulls back once her lips part from his cheek, perhaps a little too fast.]

Well...

well there you are. Debt paid.

[But he can't quite dampen the look of dismay edged with hurt that colors his expression. What did he do wrong?]

[ Oh, that hurt on Evan's face is pretty bad, too. Man, accidentally hurting people is the worst, Ramir way prefers all her hurting people to be intentional and deserved. She doesn't drop her hands from his face, but does take a second to heave a sigh. ]

Man, I really wanted to go for it.

[ And she leans in again (and might pull his face forward a little while she's at it), rapid-fire pressing a kiss to his other cheek and rounding it off with one at his forehead before she finally releases him with a quick pat on his chest to push him back into his seat. ]

Sorry. [ She drops back into her own seat solidly, looking a little defeated. ] Talk about mixed signals, right?

[He's still in a state of high enough alert that the second and third kisses are just the oddest experience. For an instant he's stiff against them, uncertain, but he's too confused to really commit to the resistance. He thumps back into a sit when she releases him.

And then... oh. There's something, there's something for him to latch onto and some small piece of relief. So this isn't the sort of situation where she's going to go cold and head off and leave him forever wondering how he screwed up, and even just that drains a little bit of the panic from his heart.]

Well, I mean...

[He gives a weak noise that might have been a laugh, reaches a hand up to push his Nalawi-shaggy hair from his face and touches the eyepatch accidentally. Oh, god, it wasn't that she saw the patch up close and was grossed out, was it? His brows crunch.]

Did I... um. Did I do something wrong?

[ Of course he'd assume he did something, it's natural. And of course she can't just sit there with her hands to herself, of course she has to give his knee a firm pat, because that's natural too. For her, at least, tactile as she is. ]

Hell no, you did just fine. Good swagger, nice approach, top notch playful flirting.

[ She's seen better, but that's one truth she'll definitely keep to herself. She offers a crooked smile, edging along apologetic. She'd never dream of not affording him an explanation for the fake out. ]

I'm dating Sigma and I said I'd try out monogamy. I was gonna say it's just a kiss so it's fine, but... god, you should see the puppy dog eyes he can do. I didn't wanna risk that.

[He wrinkles his nose reflexively at the praise, too bashful quite to take it as it is, but he's not allowed time to dwell on it.]

Oh.

Oh.

[And the redhead actually visibly perks up. Okay, that makes sense, that makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? And though now he feels like a bit of an ass for having just about kissed a taken person -- okay, to be honest, he's heard rumors floating around about Ramir and Sigma, but then he's heard rumors floating around about pretty much everyone and everyone else -- feeling like an ass for that is a massive, lovely breath of fresh air compared to the way he'd been feeling like an ass before.]

Yeah, no, of course, good lord. [He holds his hands up and actually grins. His relief is magnifying itself.] I mean, of all possible explanations, I like that one. You and Sigma, huh? Um, congratulations?

[ That went over pretty well, she feels. It's nice when a blunt truth goes like it should. ]

Yeah. Thanks. [ Actually she has no idea how to take dating-congratulations, but this seems fair. Her smile's back again, a little smug. ] So anyway, don't think I'd chicken out of a kiss I'm gunning for without a good reason for it. You're cute, and I don't let cute ones slip away.

[ And Sigma's turning out to be a pretty good reason. But Evan deserves the ego-buttering after that, really. It's the least she can do. ]

[Evan's grin wrinkles his nose, and he scoffs at the praise. For all that a kind of giddy relief is at the fore, there's the complexity of a lifetime of low-level insecurity within his reaction.]

'Cute'. You don't need to whip out the flattery, I'm just glad you didn't turn around and tell me I smell like ass or something. Honestly, no hard feelings. It's kind of nice to hear about some actual romance in this place.

[In that he never considered himself an actual contender. But his pleasure for her is sincere enough.]

So how long? I mean, you two?

[ No hard feelings is a relief -- not that she'd precisely expected any. Still, it's nice to hear. At his question, though, she's not too sure what to do with her face. Her instinct is a smile that she suspects would be wide and a little goofy, and the thought of that wants to summon a frown.

This is uncharted territory. What if she makes herself look stupid? Her face is caught at an embarrassing somewhere between the two potentials, and she realizes she's let too many seconds go by without an answer. ]

Uh -- a while. [ It's out in a rush, to make up for lost time. And she's not sure how to quantify 'a while', but they definitely banged the first night they met, half a year ago. That has to count for something. ] But I guess officially since we got back to Oska.

[Evan grins again. The whole exchange earlier still has him just slightly manic with his good humor, but he's on the comedown rather than the ramp-up, at least.] No kidding. That new?

Can I ask maybe a dumb question? [He's going to either way, sorry.] How do you guys, I don't know, find the time? Nalawi was such a debacle, I barely had the chance to talk to friends a lot of the time, much less... [He waves a hand unilluminatingly, indicating the vast expanse of mystery that is romance and/or an active sex life.] I was talking to a new recruit the other day and it came up, and I realized I have no idea how any of you who are actually paired off find the free time to get around to it.

[Paired off. If Evan were not furiously stuffing his feels down the feel-hole just then, he'd've had to acknowledge a pang of wist at that idea.]

[ Ramir is generally all for dumb questions, but this one in particular gets a pair of arched eyebrows followed shortly by a laugh. This is sort of sad. ]

I dunno if you're asking how we find the time to start up a relationship or how we find the time to get laid. I'm not exactly an expert on the former, but I guess either way the answer is priorities. [ She gives a lazy shrug. ] You gotta get yours straight, then hang out with, you know, birds of a feather. You find the time.

[ Hang out with people that want to get laid all the time, Evan. It really helps. ]

[He's got the self-awareness to be a little embarrassed by the question, but it's been one that's been chewing at him in a low-key kind of way. He wrinkles his nose.]

No, you know, that's fair. Make it a priority. That's a thing, isn't it? I've never much tried that approach. At home, either.

[That nose wrinkle deepens and then he sighs out his grimace. He pulls his legs up onto the bed now that there's some space between the two of them, crossing into a tailor's sit and propping his palms on his knees. Honestly he's got more insight than he cares to admit as to why his high school girlfriend left him, and 'didn't make it a priority' is pretty high up there.]

Ramir, I've never asked, I think. How long have you been here? With ALASTAIR, I mean?

[ Oh, shit, that's a tricky question. She considers it for a second then, since he's getting comfortable too, flops back onto the bed on her back. The ultimate in comfort. ]

I dunno. [ That's a good, solid answer. ] I lost count. I guess... six or seven months?

[He frowns, just about settled in, though the frown is a thoughtful one. This feels more normal already, which is a relief.]

Really? I'd've guessed longer. You seem... I dunno, comfortable here.

[In a way he hasn't managed yet.]

[ That gets a laugh, as she throws both arms back to give her head a pillow. ]

Yeah, but that's me. Can you picture me uncomfortable anywhere?

[ That's an unfair question, there are place she's uncomfortable. But she figures he wouldn't know any of them, so it's safe. ]

[Unfair question or challenge? Because Evan definitely takes it as a challenge. He flashes a grin down at Ramir, ]

Um. Hmmm. Well... let's see. Competitive shuffleboard meetups? A daycare?

Pop quiz in a history class?

[That last might be a bit of a dig from the nerd, Ramir.]

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voice, @TARANTO

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