[It's endearing how much she doesn't know about non-Pandoran life, Red thinks. But she's a really good sport about it, which is what Red likes to see even more.
"Yeah, you've got the idea. It makes getting dry go a lot faster...not to mention it feels great when you're out of the warm water and in the cold air."]
[Athena doesn’t mean to seem skeptical; she believes Red is telling the truth and she’d seen with her own eyes that the hot air gun didn’t harm her… But when something looks like a gun, has a trigger like a gun, and you’ve spent most of your young life using guns to kill or maim people… well, it’s hard not to be a little dubious when someone tells you that this gun is actually nice to be shot with.]
Can I see it? [Athena asks, eyeing the device warily.]
Instead of handing it to Athena, Red places the hairdryer on the corner of the counter for Athena to pick up on her own, taking a half-step back to allow her plenty of space to experiment with it.]
[Athena looks from Red to the device once more, and then stands and steps out of the bath to investigate, trailing soapy water on the tile. The sudden chill of dry air is enough to persuade her to pick up a towel from off the rack before she goes further, shivering as she wraps it around herself. That done, she walks over to the counter and, after taking one more questioning glance at Red, picks up the strange drying gun.
It’s somewhat pistol-shaped, though quite a bit larger than one would normally expect of that type of gun, with a longer grip that seems to have been extended to make room for two labelled switches (though Athena’s not quite sure what to make of said labels). Athena instinctively checks for a logo, but can’t find one that she recognizes.
The first time she fires it, she points it away from herself and Red, using both hands to brace for recoil that, puzzlingly, never comes. The not-gun just makes a loud noise in her hands, the same as it had made when Red had fired it, with no discernible effect on her surroundings. Athena tries again, this time holding the trigger down for a few seconds. The device warms in her hands, but there’s still no damage. Finally she waves one of her hands before the barrel, quickly at first, but more steadily as it becomes clear there’s no resulting pain. The air that blows out of the gun is hot, but not scalding. In fact, it’s actually quite pleasant given the chill in the rest of the room. She directs the air up her arm, watching the water droplets scatter from the blast. She looks up at Red with a tentative smile, raising her voice to be heard over the drone of the device.] It does feel nice.
[Red watches with muted delight while Athena explores the wonders of the device. Many would write this off as a backwaters kid trying to figure out how to work out the comforts of proper civilized life, or perhaps be on the more patronizing end of the scale--but not Red. Being able to take a back seat to Athena's thoughts as she works through it by comparing it to what she knows is nothing short of a psychological intrigue.
You'd think that someone who can read the thoughts of others would eventually take it for granted.
"Doesn't it?"
Red picks up the hair brush and sits on the lid of the toilet, gesturing to offer combing Athena's hair.]
[Athena spends a few more seconds blasting water droplets off her arms before she notices Red gesturing to her. She takes her finger off the device’s trigger and walks over, her ears still ringing with the sound, before sitting down at Red’s feet. This much is familiar to her -- she and the other assassin recruits had regularly fixed each others’ hair in the barracks between missions and training, occasionally with an actual brush or comb, but more often than not with their hands, pulling apart stubborn knots with their fingers.
She doesn’t say as much out loud, but there is the silent expectation that Red will let her return the favor later on.]
[Expect gentle fingers to pry those knots out when she finds them. Red gives Athena a knowing smile as she detects her idle train of thought--Red's already done her primping for tonight, but perhaps tomorrow Athena can cash in her unwritten rain check.
She'll take the hair dryer from Athena when she can, showing her how it's used with hair--taking a section of it and separating it from the rest with the comb, then blowing the hot air over it.]
[Athena learns quickly, copying Red’s actions whenever she gets the hairdryer back. In no time, her hair is combed and dried, and she runs her fingers through it appraisingly.] That was fast, [she remarks. Even faster than letting it dry in the sun.
She stands and walks to the mirror, taking a moment to admire the shine of her hair in the reflection. Satisfied with that, she instinctively reaches for her folded Atlas fatigues on the floor, shaking them out to prepare to dress.]
[Athena jumps, eyes wide when Red rushes at her, momentarily confused as to what she had done to create such a fuss. She gives Red a rather quizzical look once she explains. They’re just clothes. However, her interest is quickly redirected to the strange New-U station embedded in the wall.]
Okay, [Athena says, placing her fatigues back on the floor before walking over to the station.] What kind of clothes-- [The interface springs to life before she’s even done asking the question, a dazzling assortment of various outfits displayed before her. It takes a moment for Athena just to adjust to the sudden influx of potential choices and she glances back at Red as if waiting for specification.]
[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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"Yeah, you've got the idea. It makes getting dry go a lot faster...not to mention it feels great when you're out of the warm water and in the cold air."]
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Can I see it? [Athena asks, eyeing the device warily.]
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Instead of handing it to Athena, Red places the hairdryer on the corner of the counter for Athena to pick up on her own, taking a half-step back to allow her plenty of space to experiment with it.]
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It’s somewhat pistol-shaped, though quite a bit larger than one would normally expect of that type of gun, with a longer grip that seems to have been extended to make room for two labelled switches (though Athena’s not quite sure what to make of said labels). Athena instinctively checks for a logo, but can’t find one that she recognizes.
The first time she fires it, she points it away from herself and Red, using both hands to brace for recoil that, puzzlingly, never comes. The not-gun just makes a loud noise in her hands, the same as it had made when Red had fired it, with no discernible effect on her surroundings. Athena tries again, this time holding the trigger down for a few seconds. The device warms in her hands, but there’s still no damage. Finally she waves one of her hands before the barrel, quickly at first, but more steadily as it becomes clear there’s no resulting pain. The air that blows out of the gun is hot, but not scalding. In fact, it’s actually quite pleasant given the chill in the rest of the room. She directs the air up her arm, watching the water droplets scatter from the blast. She looks up at Red with a tentative smile, raising her voice to be heard over the drone of the device.] It does feel nice.
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You'd think that someone who can read the thoughts of others would eventually take it for granted.
"Doesn't it?"
Red picks up the hair brush and sits on the lid of the toilet, gesturing to offer combing Athena's hair.]
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She doesn’t say as much out loud, but there is the silent expectation that Red will let her return the favor later on.]
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She'll take the hair dryer from Athena when she can, showing her how it's used with hair--taking a section of it and separating it from the rest with the comb, then blowing the hot air over it.]
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She stands and walks to the mirror, taking a moment to admire the shine of her hair in the reflection. Satisfied with that, she instinctively reaches for her folded Atlas fatigues on the floor, shaking them out to prepare to dress.]
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Red chases after Athena just in the nick of time after putting the brush and hair dryer away. She places her hands on top of Athena's.
"We'll wash that first before you put them back on. In the meantime..."
She gestures to a device imbedded in the wall. It's familiar, but only in the vaguest sense.
"Wouldn't you like to try out the New-U station first? See if you like any of the selection?"
Please don't sit at Red's dinner table with battle fatigues, Athena.]
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Okay, [Athena says, placing her fatigues back on the floor before walking over to the station.] What kind of clothes-- [The interface springs to life before she’s even done asking the question, a dazzling assortment of various outfits displayed before her. It takes a moment for Athena just to adjust to the sudden influx of potential choices and she glances back at Red as if waiting for specification.]
Um… Which one should I choose?
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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.”]
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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.
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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.]
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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.]
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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?]