Audience: Grace Monroe

[probe]

Comments

[alteracion]

[ oh, good, she was unsure. she settles in a little more, petting maus. there is no emotionshare but she's clearly pleased at that answer anyway ]

Well, I did say I was coming here to kidnap him, but he'd just come right back to you.

[probe]

[maus is busy rolling on the tabletop in a very undignified manner.]

He would. [greed sounds amused.] He's...very loyal to me that way. But he does have other people he likes.

[alteracion]

[ grace laughs but tries to direct him away from the tea and paperwork and. also the side of the table. maus please ]

You're his favorite, obviously, since you're his master. [ boops the dog's nose ] So even if he does like me, I'd have no chance in keeping him away.

[probe]

[maus licks her finger.]

He'd stay for a few hours at least. He knows his way around the base quite well with or without my assistance.

[alteracion]

Hmmm. Not worth it. I might as well hang out here and check your opinion on the tea. [ a beat ] Which you're not allowed to dislike, because a very strong minded six year old recommended it to me.

[probe]

[...he picks up the tea cup and takes a pointed sip. can't wait until he keels over from poison.]

And what precisely are Hazel's tea opinions?

[alteracion]

That you know it's the good stuff because the bug on the box has a cowboy hat.

[ grace jokes, but she did learn a thing or two about tea from hanging out in the tea room with gu yun, so it's not like she doesn't know how to brew it. it's just also very funny to say this.

there is no poison because this game has cursed her into being good ]

[probe]

[...kids are so strange. he seems briefly mollified by that before he shakes his head.]

Well. Who am I to question great taste? [this is absolutely a joke, even if the delivery is dry. the tea itself is fine though so he takes another sip.]

[alteracion]

Exactly! Can't possibly object to it with that kind of argument, right? [ grace seems pleased he's going along with it, moving back to pet maus again ] I would've bought coffee, but you seemed more like a tea person.

[probe]

Clearly. [it's obvious hazel's important to grace and it's half the reason he's going along with it. maus enjoys the pets as always.]

I am, thank you. Not that I dislike coffee, but I prefer tea. Prior to the library opening to all of you, I spent most of my office hours in the tea room.

[alteracion]

Office hours? You mean ... when people asked to talk to you?

[ she thinks that's a little hilarious way to phrase it, though it's also. not inaccurate. so that makes sense ]

I never thought about what I liked more out of the two, but finding either of them on the train is kind of a luck of the draw anyway.

[probe]

It was one of the easiest things Mollymauk could figure out how to mostly spell when he wanted to talk to me privately. [shrug. so yes, it's when people wanted to talk and he just adopted the phrase himself.]

It's dependent on the cart, isn't it? What about basis necessities, such as food?

[alteracion]

It's dependent on the car. [ she repeats it like it's completely normal to quest for necessities ] We just take what we need from other cars. There's a lot in the mall car, that's part of why we took it over. Having actual bathrooms was a big plus.

[probe]

Like scavengers. [there's a slow nod.] And the cars themselves don't reset after time?

[alteracion]

Only when there's no passengers in them. Same with the cars moving around, it's only when they're empty.

[probe]

How odd...magic? [he does not believe in magic, but also grace's world is beyond comprehension sometimes.] If you were to never leave then nothing would be replaced.

[alteracion]

Sort of? Most of the train is like... really advanced technology.

[ but also it's in a parallel dimension, so the real answer is Aliens. but she tilts her head ]

Nothing in that one car, that's true. There's a lot of cars on the train, though.

[probe]

More similar to this base then. [but still more advanced...]

Nearly impossible to count how many, isn't it? Are new cars created often?

[alteracion]

Yeah. There's always something new to explore around the train, between the new cars and the shifting. It's pretty cool.

[ her definition of cool leaves to be desired but. pets dog. ]

[probe]

I suppose I only ask because I'm curious if your desires have changed at all to take Hazel and maybe leave your train behind someday.

["what about simon?" irrelevant.]

[alteracion]

I wasn't... thinking about leaving the train. [ grace also does not mention simon or the rest of the apex, concentrating on maus again ] ... Hazel's never even been off of it. I'd just. Fix her, and bring the old conductor back. And everything could go back to normal.

[ she does not sound 100% convinced. ]

[probe]

No? [he also does not sound like he believes her.] I had wondered if perhaps being here had given you insight to a life off the train. After all, being off of it, would you have to "fix" anyone...?

[alteracion]

Denizens can't leave the train. I've watched it happen. [ and laughed, but let's. not. go there, rip mt. she looks at the arm that has her number, pensive ] Even if I wished for that, there's nothing for me off the train. For-- us.

[ grace does not think bringing a turtle along is a good idea ]

[probe]

Then why not make something for yourself? Or consider it, perhaps.

[no judgment either way, he's just curious.]

[alteracion]

[ where. doing what. she doesn't ask, just keeps playing with maus's feet ]

I can't just leave Simon and the Apex behind. I'm the leader, it's my job to take care of them.