[Athena nods once and turns back to the display, eyes once again scanning the array of different outfit. Her hand hovers over one of the options… and then falls back at her side. She bites her lip and glances back at Red. Athena’s used to wearing a uniform, something that visually ties her to the people around her. Red doesn’t wear a uniform, but she has that white dress…
Athena turns back to the New-U, this time scrolling through the options with more purpose. After a few seconds, she seems to find something she’s satisfied with and a moment later, the station has digistructed the clothing onto her. She takes a step back, now clothed in a simple white dress. It’s not nearly as ornamented as Red’s -- even a not-uniform can have certain marks of rank.
[Red silently listens in on Athena's train of thought, daring not to interrupt; after all, her instructions were to pick out something comfortable, and comfortable clothing isn't just how it's made or what it's made out of, but something that is mentally comfortable, too.
"It's adorable," she affirms when Athena asks for her opinion. She holds out her tattooed hand to Athena now that she's dressed.
[Athena reddens slightly at the compliment -- “adorable” isn’t usually a word associated with her -- before taking the Siren’s hand with the same deference as before.]
Okay. But… [An uncertain expression comes across her features.] What you told me about him… Is that supposed to be a secret? Should I act like I don’t know? [Boxer hadn’t told her himself after all and Red had said something about him being “shy.”]
["From him? No, goodness no. He doesn't like talking about it, but he'll answer your questions if you have them."
From the other side of their telepathic connection, Boxer whines about it. Red tells him to suck it up because he has an obligation to satisfy their adoptive daughter's natural curiosity.
Red leads Athena back into the hall, where the dark figure of Boxer stands in the distance with his back facing the two of them while he chats with one of the mansion staff. Even from this angle, Athena can see that Boxer traded in his eccentric, worn Vault Hunter outfit for something clean, proper, and professional--while still maintaining some kind of casual air. As Athena and Red come closer, Boxer interrupts his conversation to look at the two best girls in his life.
He has a face now.
The big red lense that took over his face is gone, and while the bright cyan circuit lines still cut through his cheekbones, he has a normal human brow and eyes of a piercing blue color. He smiles down at her.]
[Athena isn’t entirely surprised to see Boxer in different clothes. If she had to change for dinner, then the same rules would likely apply to Boxer. She is surprised -- more than surprised -- when he turns around and Athena sees that he isn't wearing the strange ECHO device that had once concealed the top half of his face. Her eyes widen and she blinks a few times as she tries to adjust to his new countenance; she had gotten quite used to seeing that red lense as his face.]
Boxer? [She takes a few steps closer, not letting go of the Siren’s hand, but daring to tug just slightly at her arm in an attempt to get a better look at the Vault Hunter’s face.]
I thought… [She glances back at Red and then at Boxer again.] You’re not wearing the Transistor. [A statement of fact that sounds more like a question in Athena’s voice.]
[Boxer and Red exchange a wordless glance with each other, and he smiles down at Athena.]
Not on my face, no.
[He holds out his hand to hold the one that Red isn't.]
I'm home, so I can kick my feet up a little bit.
[They have a bunch of security guards here, so they're safe! Not to say that either him or Red are unarmed, but Boxer is definitely looking over his proverbial shoulder a little less.]
[Athena takes his hand quicker than she had before -- she finds that she’s warming up to the gesture.]
If it’s not on your face, then where is it? [She sounds rather concerned. Red had said that the Transistor contained Boxer’s mind, and that doesn’t sound like something you should walk around without.]
I am the Transistor, Athena, as the Transistor is me. We're one in the same.
[Together, the three of them walk deeper into the mansion. Eventually the smell of food wafts through the hall...and it's not just roast skag. It's richer, sweeter, and comes in so many more flavors.
The dining room is dimly lit by candles on the table and a fireplace to the farther side. THe table and chairs are made of a finely polished pitch black wood, which almost looks like marble--but they're much too lightweight to be stone. Despite the smells, there's no food placed on the table yet; just colorful salads.
Red leaves Athena's hand to sit at her own seat. Boxer, meanwhile, takes Athena to another, pulling out the chair for her to sit on.]
[Athena gives her head a small shake. He’s speaking in riddles. But the lack of the ECHO device on his face doesn’t seem to be impairing him in any way and she supposes that’s what matters.
Anyway, it becomes increasingly difficult to focus on the matter as they make their way deeper into the mansion and Athena picks up on the aroma of what she guesses to be food, though she can tell by smell alone that it’s nothing like the food on Pandora. It smells sweet and appetizing, without the sterile chemical scent of prepackaged rations or the underlying fetid stink of roasted skag or rakk.
She hides her curiosity well, walking along with Boxer and Red until they come to a dining room; it’s just as lavish as the rest of the house, though Athena’s already learning not to look quite so wide-eyed at the opulence.
She lets Boxer seat her, and though the main course might not be on the table yet, she seems intrigued enough by the salads -- they’re certainly more colorful than the few vegetables that grew on Pandora. Still, she watches Boxer and Red instead of reaching for any of the dishes herself: even a green recruit knows that COs eat first.]
[Athena blinks, slightly thrown by the change in rules. And in “standing.” Eyes narrow, not with any hostility but with… consideration more than anything, liberally tinged with skepticism. Athena could fill an entire page with reasons why “equal” doesn’t make sense here: Red and Boxer are wealthy, powerful, older, from a core world, and one of them’s a Siren. Maybe “CO” isn’t exactly the right term since they aren’t organized in an Atlas-style hierarchy, but Athena had expected that there was at least some ranking system in place.
But… if they really don’t mind her eating first…
She reaches forward for the serving silverware, her eyes flicking from Red to Boxer at first and then focusing in on the actual food. That she doesn’t recognize most of it doesn’t stop her from putting plenty on her plate. She’s just returning a salad fork to its place when Boxer asks his question.]
Sometimes. [Athena colors slightly at his tone.] When we both had food. [If he’d passed her a rations pack while they were on the move without taking one for himself, she took it as implicit permission not to wait up. That said, she doesn’t understand why he’d feel bad about it -- it just seemed like common sense at the time. And yet, judging by both his and Red’s reaction, it’s not.] Does that mean something else here?
["You are a member of our family," Red responds, listening in on Athena's internal monologue. Boxer, who is mostly quiet, puts on a meager smile when she says the word family. "We have different roles, but we are equally important."
The important part is that Athena is now eating with the rest of her pack, much to their relief.]
It doesn't mean anything. Just...out there, you eat when you can when you're hungry. I feel bad that you feel like you had to wait on me for something so important. [A pause.] And all this time I thought you were just a slow eater....
[Another considering look and then:] If you say so. [It might take Athena some time to wrap her head around the concept of being “equally important” as a Vault Hunter and a Siren, but she doesn’t have to fully understand to know that they’ve treated her better than Atlas ever did. Besides, she quite literally has other things on her plate to occupy her at the moment.
While most kids might’ve turned their noses up at so many vegetables, Athena is all too eager to try everything on her plate. She tries things one at a time at first: this red thing, this green thing, this orange thing. Some of the flavors are familiar, but most aren’t, and even the ones that do hold some resemblance to things she’s eaten on Pandora taste better. Clearly, Red and Boxer are never going to have to worry about Athena not eating her vegetables.
She looks up at Red’s question, fork halfway to her mouth.] Yes. [And then keeps eating. Actions speak louder than words, right?]
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no subject
While Athena makes her decision, Red re-folds the fatigues and pokes her head out of the bedroom door to have them sent of for cleaning.]
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Athena turns back to the New-U, this time scrolling through the options with more purpose. After a few seconds, she seems to find something she’s satisfied with and a moment later, the station has digistructed the clothing onto her. She takes a step back, now clothed in a simple white dress. It’s not nearly as ornamented as Red’s -- even a not-uniform can have certain marks of rank.
She looks back at the siren.] Is this okay?
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"It's adorable," she affirms when Athena asks for her opinion. She holds out her tattooed hand to Athena now that she's dressed.
"Would you like to meet back up with Boxer?"]
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Okay. But… [An uncertain expression comes across her features.] What you told me about him… Is that supposed to be a secret? Should I act like I don’t know? [Boxer hadn’t told her himself after all and Red had said something about him being “shy.”]
no subject
From the other side of their telepathic connection, Boxer whines about it. Red tells him to suck it up because he has an obligation to satisfy their adoptive daughter's natural curiosity.
Red leads Athena back into the hall, where the dark figure of Boxer stands in the distance with his back facing the two of them while he chats with one of the mansion staff. Even from this angle, Athena can see that Boxer traded in his eccentric, worn Vault Hunter outfit for something clean, proper, and professional--while still maintaining some kind of casual air. As Athena and Red come closer, Boxer interrupts his conversation to look at the two best girls in his life.
He has a face now.
The big red lense that took over his face is gone, and while the bright cyan circuit lines still cut through his cheekbones, he has a normal human brow and eyes of a piercing blue color. He smiles down at her.]
Aw, look at you.
no subject
Boxer? [She takes a few steps closer, not letting go of the Siren’s hand, but daring to tug just slightly at her arm in an attempt to get a better look at the Vault Hunter’s face.]
I thought… [She glances back at Red and then at Boxer again.] You’re not wearing the Transistor. [A statement of fact that sounds more like a question in Athena’s voice.]
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Not on my face, no.
[He holds out his hand to hold the one that Red isn't.]
I'm home, so I can kick my feet up a little bit.
[They have a bunch of security guards here, so they're safe! Not to say that either him or Red are unarmed, but Boxer is definitely looking over his proverbial shoulder a little less.]
no subject
If it’s not on your face, then where is it? [She sounds rather concerned. Red had said that the Transistor contained Boxer’s mind, and that doesn’t sound like something you should walk around without.]
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I am the Transistor, Athena, as the Transistor is me. We're one in the same.
[Together, the three of them walk deeper into the mansion. Eventually the smell of food wafts through the hall...and it's not just roast skag. It's richer, sweeter, and comes in so many more flavors.
The dining room is dimly lit by candles on the table and a fireplace to the farther side. THe table and chairs are made of a finely polished pitch black wood, which almost looks like marble--but they're much too lightweight to be stone. Despite the smells, there's no food placed on the table yet; just colorful salads.
Red leaves Athena's hand to sit at her own seat. Boxer, meanwhile, takes Athena to another, pulling out the chair for her to sit on.]
shows up 3 weeks late with latte
Anyway, it becomes increasingly difficult to focus on the matter as they make their way deeper into the mansion and Athena picks up on the aroma of what she guesses to be food, though she can tell by smell alone that it’s nothing like the food on Pandora. It smells sweet and appetizing, without the sterile chemical scent of prepackaged rations or the underlying fetid stink of roasted skag or rakk.
She hides her curiosity well, walking along with Boxer and Red until they come to a dining room; it’s just as lavish as the rest of the house, though Athena’s already learning not to look quite so wide-eyed at the opulence.
She lets Boxer seat her, and though the main course might not be on the table yet, she seems intrigued enough by the salads -- they’re certainly more colorful than the few vegetables that grew on Pandora. Still, she watches Boxer and Red instead of reaching for any of the dishes herself: even a green recruit knows that COs eat first.]
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"You may eat, Athena."
Across the table, Red smiles at her.
"You are our equal in this house. As far as standing goes, anyway. Please, eat--or else you'll miss out on it when the main course arrives."
Boxer, meanwhile, stares at her with a stupefied look. Hey, he can actually emote now!]
Wait a sec. Did you always wait for me to finish eating when we were on Pandora?
[He feels awful for not noticing if that's the case!!]
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But… if they really don’t mind her eating first…
She reaches forward for the serving silverware, her eyes flicking from Red to Boxer at first and then focusing in on the actual food. That she doesn’t recognize most of it doesn’t stop her from putting plenty on her plate. She’s just returning a salad fork to its place when Boxer asks his question.]
Sometimes. [Athena colors slightly at his tone.] When we both had food. [If he’d passed her a rations pack while they were on the move without taking one for himself, she took it as implicit permission not to wait up. That said, she doesn’t understand why he’d feel bad about it -- it just seemed like common sense at the time. And yet, judging by both his and Red’s reaction, it’s not.] Does that mean something else here?
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The important part is that Athena is now eating with the rest of her pack, much to their relief.]
It doesn't mean anything. Just...out there, you eat when you can when you're hungry. I feel bad that you feel like you had to wait on me for something so important. [A pause.] And all this time I thought you were just a slow eater....
["Do you like it?" Red asks.]
no subject
While most kids might’ve turned their noses up at so many vegetables, Athena is all too eager to try everything on her plate. She tries things one at a time at first: this red thing, this green thing, this orange thing. Some of the flavors are familiar, but most aren’t, and even the ones that do hold some resemblance to things she’s eaten on Pandora taste better. Clearly, Red and Boxer are never going to have to worry about Athena not eating her vegetables.
She looks up at Red’s question, fork halfway to her mouth.] Yes. [And then keeps eating. Actions speak louder than words, right?]