A visit to Alexandria.

[3rdangel]

Mikoto has been almost overly cautious in picking the time to confront the younger of her brothers. She'd waited until she was certain Regulus had recovered, found suitable Gaian style clothing, and had the Mages arrange for transportation from their Village. They could PINPoint there, thus avoiding too many guests at the Desert Palace.

Mikoto has already dressed, and is in the sitting room of Kuja's former quarters.

So is Regulus, but he's still glancing over his clothing options with a look that, under the initial calm veneer, hints that he's more than a bit disbelieving that there are people who actually dress this way in public. It seems to have almost rendered him incapable of speech. He gives a particularly incredulous look to a wide-brimmed red hat with a big white feather in it. "Rather... foppish isn't it?"

Comments

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

"Ah." Telrim looks seriously at Mikoto for a minute. Then smiles at the Magelets again. A subject change would be tactful now, yes? "Where do you get cereal from, all the way out in the village?"

Curious thought, though - give the older Mages a brood-name and you could almost introduce them like normal people, she thinks, making Natasha want to know what's wrong with human names.

[mage_hatchlings]

"Oh, we trade for things!" says Juro. About three Magelets nod.

"Sometimes we trade in the Nexus," adds Luca. "And sometimes we trade with the Dwarves in Condie Petie."

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

"I see. Maybe we can do some trading someday." She's only smirking a little! Although on that thought- she looks over at Regulus speculatively. What does he plan to do with his life, in this world?

Well, she realises, he possibly doesn't. It's the first thing a Yeerk would think of - what their place, their purpose and duties are in a strange new situation. But humans are different, and Regulus is only young, getting used to being yanked away from everything he knew.

She mulls over that. It might offer opportunities along the line.

[darker_black]

"Ok!" chirp the Magelets, only too happy to agree to trade. They like to trade for things.

Regulus is still by the railing, watching the landscape zip past and letting the wind mess with his hair. He doesn't look like he's been listening in... but he has been.

It's true that he hasn't decided what to do with himself yet, though he has at least determined that this is far too elaborate to be a hoax.

Right now, he feels he has insufficient information - and, disturbing to him, insufficient resources - for any kind of major decision, so he's doing what he feels any sensible Slytherin would do... Keeping his head down, being civil, gathering information... and biding his time.

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

It doesn't really occur to Telrim that Regulus might have his own talent for watching and waiting. Valuable and fascinating as his abilities are, to the Controller's mind he doesn't really register as a factor in his own right. She's impressed with how well he's adapted so far, but most humans the Yeerks abduct into their alien and dangerous world hide their reactions about as well as a new grub. She rather expects him to be the same, and any differences she absently puts down to shock.

"Wonderful!" Telrim doesn't hide how pleased she is with the Magelets' answer. There are all kinds of advantages to a trading arrangement: having a reason to carry things in and out of the dimension...

She looks up from them and calls over, "Are you enjoying the flight, Regulus?"

[darker_black]

The Magelets are quite pleased themselves, simply because someone else is.

Regulus straightens a bit from where he's leaning against the railing. "Yes, I am. I've always been rather fond of flying... though I have to admit this makes me miss having a broom."

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

"A broom?" Her tone is light, a little incredulous, as if she'd had no idea. "You really use brooms?"

[darker_black]

Which sends Regulus into a brief fit of blinking as if someone had just asked if he wore underwear. Bloody hell, he didn't think he'd ever get used to all the differences. "Ah, yes. To fly on. I suppose mentioning Quidditch would only confuse matters." He sighs.

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

"Yes. But that's not such a bad thing," she adds, encouraging even as she feigns sympathy. "So... what is Quidditch?" Apart from a very entertaining word to say!

[darker_black]

"Well, it's a sport, played on broomsticks..," and then Regulus has his wand out, using it to 'sketch' a glowing 3-D scribble of a Quidditch Pitch in midair.

This soon attracts Magelets, who crowd around to watch.

"There are seven players on a team - three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper, and a Seeker, and four balls - a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch..." He trails off briefly as he notes that there are seven Magelets. If he could just find sport equipment and get them up on brooms... they'd still be lacking an opposing team. Oh well.

"Now, each end of the field has three hoops at different heights, from thirty to fifty feet up in the air. The Keeper's job is to protect the hoops. The Chasers pass the Quaffle and try to get it through the opposing team's hoops..." He watches to make sure the Magelets, and Telrim, are following so far.

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

Telrim's a little startled when he draws his wand. She relaxes swiftly and leans forward to study his diagram.

I like that, Natasha says, as they watch the drawing. I mean, it'd make explanations much easier, wouldn't it? she adds, trying to be practical.

I'm sure it would... if we were planning to explain anything. But when all is going well, the aliens give the intel, and the Yeerks are happy to devour it.

"That seems pretty straightforward..." Telrim murmurs, giving a nod. Quidditch is comparable to other human sports, then. Those don't usually interest her, but if it's significant to Regulus and his people, that's what matters.

Wizards playing sports... kind of weird to imagine, her headmate remarks.

[darker_black]

And since the Magelets seem to get it so far as well, Regulus continues. "Now, the Bludgers are smaller, and very hard. And they're enchanted to knock players off their brooms." He'd drawn a soccer-sized ball in the air with the word 'Quaffle' under it, and now draws a roughly softball sized one with the word 'Bludger' underneath.

"That's not very nice of them," says Juro.

Regulus just chuckles. "Well, that's what the Beaters on each team are for. They have bats, you see, and it's their job to knock the Bludgers away from their own team and towards the other team."

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

Telrim blinks and looks up at Regulus, clearly - and genuinely - surprised. This game just got much more intriguing. "Really? So you're... flying under fire." There's an amused twitch at the corners of her mouth as she adds, "Your Beaters would need to be extremely good at their job, then."

[darker_black]

"Of course," says Regulus. "And it's especially important that the Seeker not be distracted, as it's their job to find and catch..," he draws a very small, winged ball - roughly the size of a golf-ball - in the air with his wand, "the Golden Snitch."

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

This feels like it deserves an 'ooooh'. Or so Natasha thinks. Her more dignity-minded Yeerk doesn't supply one, but she does focus on this smallest ball intently. "Is that really how big it is?"

[darker_black]

Fortunately, some of the Magelets provide any requisite 'Oooohs'.

Regulus nods, still smiling. "Yes, and it's fast and has an erratic flight pattern." He mutters something in what sounds like oddly mangled pseudo-Latin, and gives the sketched Snitch a poke, making the drawing mimic a real one and zip around the immediate area.

The Magelets are fascinated by this. And it seems that while the species in general has trouble reading anything smaller than extra large print, small moving objects are much easier for them to follow.

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

Telrim has to rein in her chuckles at the way their little heads follow the Snitch. "All right - the Quaffle gives you points and the Bludgers might knock your opponents around - so what happens if you catch the Snitch?"

It must be something worthwhile, right?

[darker_black]

"Catching the Snitch is worth a hundred and fifty points, and ends the game." He's also watching the Magelets watch the Snitch-sketch and finds it adorable. "It's just a sketch, so it will vanish if you catch it... but why don't you give it a try?"

That's all the prompting they need, and soon there are Magelets after the little flying ball.

Regulus draws a few extras to keep them occupied.

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

"Oh, very good," Telrim chuckles, though from the way she's still studying the original diagram, she might be talking about that. She tears her gaze from it - really, holograms you can manipulate for no apparent effort: just imagine what else his people must have to offer - and looks at Regulus himself. "Do you play, then?"

Not 'did'. She's not going to be the one to say that, even if it were strictly accurate.

[darker_black]

Mikoto keeps her silence, but is thinking that the Snitch unbalances the game. Why, after all, would anyone end it when their team was far enough behind to lose? And if winning or losing then all came down to the Seeker, where was the incentive for the others to play?

"Not professionally, but I was Seeker for my House Team in school for a few years," says Regulus, most of his attention on the Magelets as they waddle around and chase the Snitch-sketches. He wonders if they'd be more or less clumsy on brooms.

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

"You must have some reflexes..." She sounds impressed as she looks up. "It certainly sounds more fun than football. Kind of realistic, too," she adds, almost murmuring. To Telrim's mind it's a reasonable start for a training game, in fact. The way the classes of 'troop' are divided is rather familiar, if rudimentary.

She cocks her head at the way Regulus is watching the Magelets, then lowers her voice, sounding amused: "Wondering where you can find brooms their size?"

[darker_black]

Regulus has never heard of football. Probably some muggle sport... watch him pretend he didn't hear that part. He chuckles at the mention of finding the Magelets brooms. "Ah, well, they do make them small enough. But... not here." He almost looks like the thought of home is going to put a dip in his mood, but then there's a sudden distraction from the Magelets.

"I caught one!" chirps Kaze, who fell on his tummy in the process.

Regulus can't help but think they look oddly like penguins in that position.

Kaze gets to his feet, bits of rapidly fading gold sparkles on one glove and down the front of his jacket. He didn't just catch it, he squooshed it.

Mikoto just notes that they're approaching the Gate and should be in Alexandria soon.

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

"No, but I'm sure I could find-" Telrim bursts into chuckles at the triumphant Magelets. Good grief, they're so cute she's sure they could mind-control humans. Actually. There's a thought. "Well done!"

She steps forward, willing to help Kaze up until he does it himself. Well and good. She looks over to Mikoto, noticing the Genome's silence abruptly and wanting to check her reaction. "They're good at chasing, aren't they, Mikoto?"

[3rdangel]

"Yes, good job," Regulus will give Kaze a pat on the hat, which makes the Magelet bounce happily before rejoining the others.

"Of course," Mikoto says, watching them start to chase the remaining sketches. "The species' original purpose would have required being able to track targets."

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

"And now they can use that talent for their own purposes," Telrim says cheerfully. Or... whatever they're persuaded are their purposes.

She moves to the side of the deck to have a look at how they're progressing. In-atmosphere transports always feel so maddeningly slow, but experience - and knowing she has an instant way home in case of hunger pangs - are allowing the Yeerk to relax right now.