It takes some time for Tasha to find her way to Hakeber's door. Part of this is that she has to sign in and do various other bureaucratic tasks since she's still technically a student herself, instead of just a visiting guest. She's luckily on the list of people Hakeber has pre-approved though, which is lucky since the scholar usually forgets about things like that.
Dressed in her now standard 'business casual' uniform, which she has adopted for any and all situations that are not formal JEF affairs but are also not so casual as to be purely personal and civilain, Tasha stands before Hakeber's door and daudles a moment. She's late by her own itinerary, and not just because of the paperwork; she stayed overlong at Katie's place and although she changed her clothes she still wonders if she smells like the famous Kaboom. Deciding it's far too late to do anything about, she knocks on the door.
"Hake-bear? It's me," she calls out.
There a wait of a few moments, and then the door is undogged and swung open, revealing a surprised looking Hakeber with a towel wrapped around her and lots of wet fur. Whatever Tasha might smell like, wet wolf likely overpowers it. "You're finally back from Spotty City!" the Karnor barks, then steps aside so Tasha can enter.
"They didn't want me to leave. I could tell by all the glaring," Tasha remarks as she turns to the side, then sidesteps her wings through the door so she doesn't edn up wing-swatting Hakeber along the way. Once inside, she turns around and smiles down at the shorter woman. The smile slides in to a grin, then the hybrid woman glances out the opened door to make sure no one is in view, then she scoops Hakeber up and closes the door with a kick of the hoof. "So, hi there."
"I'm all wet!" Hakeber warns with a giggle. "Gotta finish toweling off. You have terrible timing! And I want to hear all about Star City! Did you get the orbital pictures of the Kampf city?" Wagging tail spatters water everywhere of course.
Tasha carries Hakeber to her bathroom, which necessitates some wandering aroud first, then puts her down before shrugging out of her jacket and hanging it up to dry. She also resists a lude remark, albiet just barely. "Let me know when you're done," she notes as she steps off in to the main room, looking around as she switches to review. "Lets see, yes: I got the pictures. What an unpleasant few days that was; I had to ... Well, nevermind that. I have the pictures and the, um, Book Club is underway. I'd like ... I want you to come with us to where the Bellerophon is stored. It'll be for your safety, of course, but it will also be so you can get some training in preperation for space travel on my own ship."
There's the sound of shaking, and Hakeber calls out, "Are you taking me on the test flight?"
"If you want to come," Tasha remarks, inwardly biting back another lude comment and wondering if Katherine Vesuvius might be some sort of natural force, "You'll get to see space first hand and you'll be fitted for your undersuit, which will be like mine. There will be a lot to review, and you'll mostly be an observer when not training, but it should be a lot of fun. I know how much you like seeing and learning new things." She leans over, sniffing at Hakeber's refrigerator a moment to see what might hide within. "I'll be busy during the flight, and I'll be gone before landing. Oh, it'll be dangerous. We'll be investigating wreckage at L3."
Hakeber nearly swats Tasha with her towel. "If I want to come?" the naked (and fluffy) girl asks. "Of course I want to come! I've already walked on another world, but I want to see one from on high! And what are you sniffing for?" The latter is asked in a suspicious voice.
"Nothing! Nothing at all," Tasha insists, turning around and smiling in what must be -- and is -- her best look of innocence. This is ruined shortly after when she reaches over and picks Hakeber right back up, holding her in both arms abd carrying her over to the couch and dropping back on it with Hakeber on top. "So, I guess you do want to come," she teases a moment later. "Want to do anything else?"
"Can we go outside the ship?" Hakeber asks. Then she sniffs. "You smell really nice, Tasha. Something your bunny does? Have you eaten yet?"
"Of course we can! In fact we'll have to, because the wreckage isn't going to explore itself. Unless it's alive," the cadet explains, settling in with hr arms loosely wrapped around the other. "Um, the smell? Probably the bunny's work. Yes, that's probably it. I ate breakfast but I've been running, um, late."
"So lunch then?" Hakeber asks. "I've got leftover pizza. It's really hard to smuggle it into the Citadel. You have to get three times as much as you actually want."
"I'm kind of liking just being like this," the hybrid admits, smiling again. "You're a cuddily bear, Hake-bear." Shifting, the cadet pulls Hakeber up and bit, so she doesn't have to crane as much to look her in the face. "Besides, do you want to make a sandwich or hear about details? I also need to ask again: Are you really fine with what we're going to be doing?"
"My research thesis is about to be validated, I get to fly through space on an ancient ship, I've got leftover pizza and once it's over you're going to give me so much new information on the Kampf," Hakeber lists. "What's to be uncertain about? I already stepped through a magic door to another world and climbed a mountain full of crazy birds after all."
"Well," Tasha dithers, ears skewing as she glances off at nothing in partciular, "The Kamp isn't on the same power scale as the other nations, but they're still a government. If they determine who we are, they won't be able to do anything about it openly and they probably won't even be able to kill me, but maybe they won't be as nice to the others. To you." She turns back, just enought to look at Hakeber out of the corner of her eye. "They won't know how close we are; they may try and hurt you. The othes, too. They're not known for their kind treatment of other species. If they're smart they won't, but it's still a risk."
Hakeber barks a laugh. "Oh wow.. can you imagine an assassin coming after me?" she asks. "A Kampf assassin?" She cups her breasts and juggles them a bit. "I bet I can make him forget his mission! Besides, I think my contacts would warn me. They've never been known for assassinations.. or hiring outsiders to do their dirty work, aside from the Legion. And the Legion just trains on Abaddon, they aren't really deployed."
Tasha watches the show for a moment, ears perked, then with great focus forces her head back down and stares at the ceiling for a little while. "Well, I can always threaten them with total annhilation. I bet the Confederacy would love me forever if I handed them their cities. Maybe I'll get a statue, be known for exploration and acts of annhilation. Tasha the Annhilator." Not taking such a serious topic seriously eases her nerves while the serious aspects deflects her mind from less cerebral interests. She looks back at Hakeber, straight on this time. "I just wanted to let you know! And I did tell you we're schedualing the jounrye to the Hall of Souls after, right?"
"Assuming all goes well and the book actually has useful information," Hakeber notes, and taps Tasha on the nose. "Do I get to sit in your lap for launch too?"
"My sister will make fun of me," Tasha replies, grinning widely. "So of course you can!" To prove it, the cadet sits up suddenly and pulls Hakeber up with her, putting her in her lap. "Just don't distract me too much, Gabriel won't forgive me easily if I plot a course in to Primus." She uses her hand, like a spaceship, flying in to her balled other hand -- like a sun -- then makes an explosion noise. "And even if the book is just full of naked pictures of Humans, we're still going. We have to. If it's not done now, I won't be back on Abaddon for months. There could be problems with House Khomen, and I was warned not to deal with them before contact is made."
"So the Book is just to see if there's anything more to know before going in?" Hakeber says, hugging onto Tasha's neck. "You're being really touchy feely today. Did you really miss me that much, or are you just in a playful mood?"
"Do ... Do I need a reason?" Tasha hedges, shifting in what would be discomfort if she wasn't so comfortable. "Besids, we don't get a lot of time together. Oh! And the Book, the Book is definitely for whatever else we can get. You'll also be along in case I come sprinting out with angry gods chasing me; we need someone who can convice them I mean well. It's a hard job some times!"
"Plus you need someone to translate the Book for you," Hakeber notes with a grin, then looks concerned. "Are you sure you're alright? Are you stressed about the mission or something?"
"Yes, the Book, um, yes you definitely need to translate that. It's very stressful. Hey you have pizza don't you?" Tasha rushes, gaze shifting off to the refrigerator and ears shifting off to flat.
"Hey, if you need to relax, I can help," Hakeber says. "I've got a proven technique. It can reduce stress by like.. 80%!"
"You know math causes me stress. I'm just a dumb bird who goes in the scary places because she's not very smart. I'm easily lead astray and manipulated by smart people and odler people and also taller people," insists the cadet, who looks back. "You know Hake, you're really beautiful. I don't know why I never noticed it before? Maybe I didn't want to notice it. And now I'm noticing it because I'm a dumb bird."
"So.. you didn't think I was beautiful before?" Hakeber asks. "I'm just a little short.. that makes me seem cuter. Sure you're alright? Want something to drink with the pizza?"
"Hake ... " Before telling the truth, Tasha kisses Hakeber on the nose, then pulls her up and a tighter hug and says, "I think you intimidated me before, because you're smarter than I am. More knowledgable. I was afraid Gabriel would leave me." Her head tilts as she then admits, "So I always kept you at a distance, teased you, secretly thought you were going to get me back for Katie. I thought you did get me back, when I foudn otu you slept with Gabriel while I was intubated. But now I think all that doesn't really matter. You're right, I am touchy feely today. Katie was teasing me, so I came here thinking maybe we could do something. Then I felt bad. Then I remembered the rest. Now I feel worse." She then untangles a hand and taps her own nose, "Want to hit me?"
"Wow, you really do need a drink," Hakeber says with a grin. "Why was Katie teasing you? And.. look, I'm used to being pushed away, actually. I have flings and everything is good while the party is going, you know? But then they start to see that I'm a slob, and drink too much... and am generally just wild, and it's not what they want. I'm amazed you still like me like that! And it was hard, when you were in the tube. I don't think Nora likes me much. Seemed to avoid me when I came to visit you. Not sure if you even remember the visits though. Gabe and I.. we were each a link to you, to each other, you know?"
"I don't blame you or hate you, if you're worried about that. I'm just sorry I put you both through that. Stupid Tasha blew herself up with her own suit," the hybrid woman notes, biting her lip after. She thinkings a moment, studying Hakeber's face, then admits, "You're a lot like the old me, but smarter. I drank a lot, I had a lot of, um, flings, I didn't own enough to be a slob about it. Except you're nice and I wasn't. It was a bit hard to deal with. When I saw you excited to see me back, happy I was around, I wondered why that was ever important. It seemed stupid. Just like that. I wasn't about to use you like a Katie replacement, either." She lets out a sigh, then cocks her head to the side. "And me aside, we all need to get along. For us, for our future. This won't work if we can't trust each other. So, you still like me, and I like you. That's all the matters, right?"
"Right!" Hakeber replies. "And I'm sure I'll get along fine with Katie too, just really haven't spent much time around her. Does she even know about you and me and Gabe?"
"Oh," Tasha goes a second later, remembering there was more. "Katie was teasing me because she wants a shot at Gabriel and I. Together. She was teasing me before that, but Kate's teasing isn't like anyone else's. It's her job to be sexy, it's like some sort of magical power." The young woman sucks in breath, resisting the urge to run her hand through her hair. "So ... So there was that. It's tonight, by the way. And she doesn't know. She probably suspects it's ahppened before, though, since she knows me and she knows about you and me." She then blinks, glancing back. "My sister didn't like you either? She didn't like Katie. That's ominous."
"Tonight? So.. I guess me and you and Gabe tonight isn't gonna happen?" Hakeber asks, still grinning. "Oh.. when do we leave for all this, anyway?"
"Soon. Very soon, in fact. But!" And here Hakeber gets her nose kissed again. "You do get me, and I'm frusterated, and this is clearly a makeup so you might want to think about a shower afterward." She winks, then lets go of her hug just to hold on to something lower and tailwards. "You should probably think about packing. We're leaving tomorrow. I'm going to make that difficult now."
Tasha gives Hakeber a kiss, entirely unlike the last one. "I think I'll need a shower, too," she considers aloud.
And then there's an entirely different kind of wet steaminess to fill the room.
Tasha has learned not to be adjusting her clothing as she leaves someone else's rooms. So she gets that all taken care of before hand, while Hakeber is finally packing. Still, she no longer smells like Katie, and has recombed her hair to try and match what it was before (clearly, she should bring Liza along for things like this). She is, however, considerably more relaxed.
Making her way at a lazy pace, a suppressed grin plastered on her face, Tasha considers departing the Citadel when her considerbly happier and clearer mind reminds her she actually goes to school here. Not that I've been to class lately, she thinks, glancing down a corridor towards where her classes normally take place. I should apologize to my instructors. I don't even remember if I submitted absense forms; I hope the Captain isn't mad. Head shaking, but too at ease to really feel anxious about things, she changes course and heads down the corridor.
If Captain Frane would be anywhere at this time of day.. it might be down at the Officer's Lounge. Tasha knows of it, but has never seen it.
The Officer's Lounge ... An ominious place, whispered of by students. It's where their instructors gather and, as she was told, tell stories of previous student's pain while plotting their next class's downfall. "You don't want to get sent there," her roommate told her. "It means you did something bad. They're all there too. They'll think about ways to get you."
Tasha sin't sure she belives all the horror stories, but they are horrible enough she makes her way with some trepedition even as she keeps having intruding thoughts about Hakeber sneak in to disrupt the ominous.
The location isn't a secret at least - it's on the same upper level as the Scholar's Quarters and Riddle Smith's office, overlooking the assembly area below in what used to be the ship's main hangar. A Silent-One cadet stands post outside the door, doing his best to look like a statue.
Tasha approaches the student gingerly, half afraid he may sound some form of alarm and she'll find herself walking out with a pile of homework. "Um, hi," she greets the young man. "Can I ... go in? I'm here to see Captain Frane. I'm one of his students. Tasha."
The cheetah at first seems confused by Tasha's attire, then blinks and signs, "Winged-Gift?"
"Yes?" Tasha says rather than signs, caught aback by the sudden recognition and having a multitude of disasterous scenarios for it race through her mind.
What's more, Winged-Gift isn't even her Knights' student name, which is Red. Darker and darker scenarios continue to march through her mind.
The cadet knocks a code on the door, and slot opens up. He flashes some rapid hand signs, although Tasha catches 'Winged-Gift' and 'Hammer-Voice' in the mix. Then door is swinging aside for Tasha, and the cadet gestures for her to enter.
"I'm not about to be executed, am I?" tasha half jokes as she walks in to the lion's den.
The door is closed behind her by another feline attendant. Inside.. well, it has the window wall looking down into the hangar, and a billiards table. Mostly it's stuffed chairs, bookshelves, a fancy looking coffee machine and a slight haze of cigar smoke. It's easy to spot Frane in one of the chairs build for Vartans. There's a little table next to him, which has a mug of coffee, an ashtray with a half-smoked cigar in it.. and a brightly colored booklet. "Red," he says, and beckons for her to come closer.
"Um, hi Captain," Tasha offers along with a little finger-wiggle wave. She's immediately uncertain if the greeting wasn't respectful enough, biting her lip and then scooting over to have a seat in a way that reminds her far too much of Mariel.
Up close, it's clear that the booklet is the Winged-Gift comic book that was so popular with the 'underground' Silent-Ones. "It's good to see you again, Red," Frane says, steepling his talons. "You looked well on the stage next to your Titan. Did you enjoy your visit to Star City?"
"Star City has lovely ... walls ... " Tasha replies, her words trailing off as she recognizes the booklet. She swallows at the thought of Captain Frane actually reading the thing; Somehow she only ever expected young men to read it, and not actual adults. The thought is strikingly mortifying. "Um, thank you. Sir. Thank you, sir." She risks a glance up and says, "I'm, um, happy to see you, too. I'm, um, sorry I haven't been around. I've been in the, ah, field a lot. Busy. It doesn't, um," she glances at the book again, disappointed it still continues to exist, " ... leave much time for other things."
"It's very popular," Frane says, noticing her glance at the booklet. "Winged-Gift's uniform could be a bit more modest though. I assume she has anti-gravity fabric for her brassiere."
Tasha goes to say something but the words won't come out. She needs a moment, swallows, then says, "I think it's supposed ... To emphasis ... That I'm female. To ... Silent-Ones."
"Yes.. otherwise they'd think you were male, for being a pilot," Frane notes. "Did you actually write any of this.. tale?" he asks.
"All pilots are generally male," Tasha agrees, nodding in what she's sure is a dumb way that she realizes only after the fact. Her eyes return to the book and she explains, "Um, no. It's just ... It's, um, publicity." Sje isn't eager to implicate Katie, and so choses to leave out the detail as long as she can. "For the JEF. Because I'm, um, a plublic figure. Sort ... of?"
"There's a fine line between publicity and propaganda," Frane warns. "Kaboom Komics.. clearly Ms. Vesuvius is involved. Try to keep her reigned in. I don't want to see posters of Winged-Gifts gifts hanging up next to those of Katie Kaboom in the dorms."
"Katie ... Um ... Miss Vesuvius isn't very easy to ... reign in." Tasha bites her lip again, then turns to stare off out the window. She can't see much from this angle, but it's better than looking Captain Frane in the face when he's lecturing her about not becoming a pinup. "Is it, um, really that bad? Everyone loves Katie. Does it matter, if we get publicity? Or, um, prooaganda? It's not as if, um, the Silent-Ones really approved of me before, outside of the local forces. Now a whole class of them know my name." Explaination done, she still can't quite manage to look back.
"They know of a fictional character that is some sort of angel," Frane says. "Control your image, Red. Do not let it define you. You do not want to be dealing with expectations you cannot deliver - and did not even have a hand in forming."
"Kat- Miss Vesuvious wouldn't get me in trouble though. She's trying to help me. She wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Not intentionally," the young woman insists, finally managing to look back as she gears up to defend Katherine. "Besides, it's not like anyone expects me to ... to ... what did I do on page 28 ... " She has to lean over, flicking through pages until she finds it, " ... call down the light of the Star to ... what does smite mea- Oh. Smite evil. Tesla didn't even talk. I know, I tried to talk to it."
"It is aimed at children," Frane notes. "Silent-Ones children specifically. A little way for them to rebel harmlessly, and plant the seed of an idea in them. Likely that it's alright for them to ask for help from non-Silent-Ones. We'll see the results, if any, in about ten years."
"Well it's not like that's a bad thing, is it?" Tasha asks, though her eyes are wide after the explaination. "I mean, I've been to Star City. If they were any more smug and self-absorbed, I'd wonder why they don't become the Cat-fengruppe and forget we exist. It's not good for them, not as a society. I saw what happened on my home world, when they let their ego go out of control. The ruined a civilization, they oppressed half the world, and then they fell apart. They were enslaved. And it's only because of Terran kindness they aren't the Terran's first Clie-" The young woman bites her lip all over again as she realizes she may well have gone too far.
"The Templers serve all nations and peoples," Frane points out. "We don't try to change them. We don't put requirements on them for our service. And when they stop supporting us.. well, we still serve them as best we can. And we have no shortage of people willing to join us. Yes, the Silent-Ones are proud and xenophobic. The only way to change that is to show them the benefits of interaction. Not sneak it in under the door, or try to seduce them. That's all I have to say on that."
Tasha ducks her head as she listens, scratching her nose, ears back. She stays that way even after the lecture has finished, for several seconds before nodding slowly. "I understand," she mumbles, chewing on her lip.
"Be an example," Frane advises. "You don't need help from a cartoon alter ego. You've also missed a lot of classes."
"I try," Tasha insists as she looks up. "Ka- ... Katie's just trying to help in her own way. She wouldn't help if she didn't see something in me." She glances aside for a moent before looking back. "I talk in public now and then, maybe they'll see the real me, too. Maybe the comic will help them think to look hard enough? I don't know, I'm just an explorer. Everything else I'm new at." Nodding slowly, she then spreads her hands, "I'm not sure I can return to class, and I'm sorry I missed those classes. I wanted to do well here, be like my sister, and Ga- ... Gabriel. But I'm not. I have a hard time here, and I don't even have that time now. I'll be leaving again soon. I have a, um, new post. And I might be dead before that."
"You have a lot of life, if you don't burn it all up too fast," Frane points out. He then.. offers Tasha a cigar.
Tasha watches the cigar a moment, somehow expecting it might be an example of a point or about to lecture her -- then she accepts it. Sticking it in her mouth, she holds it with her back teeth, thinking and staring at her hands a moment before she fishes out her lighter and lights it.
A second later she takes a puff, then says, "I wish it were as easy as wanting to not burn it up," around the cigar. She scratches her nose a little, glancing away again. "There are a lot of things bigger than I am."
"Most things are bigger than you are," Frane says. "It's a good reason not to rush."
"I have to," Tasha insists, glacing back. "Because other things won't stand still. It's me because I'm the one who found it, and if it's not me, then who takes my place? Who gets to have the burden instead of me?" She licks her lips, both because they're dry, but also out of anxiety. "The Seraph. I could have let it be, but who else? If I hadn't acted, he would have taken it. Besides," she spreads her hands again, "whom am I without rushing around, running too and from? Where would I be? Nobody, and not here."
"Nobody to whom?" Frane asks, relighting his own cigar. "Yourself, or someone else?"
"Me, Abaddon, the people who love me. I wouldn't have met them, and I wouldn't have been exciting. I lived my life as nobody before, and I'm not doing it again. Rushing is how I got what I have and I'm not letting go of it. Which is good, because that's exactly what I need to do anyway." Sitting straighter, Tasha pulls the cigar from her muzzle and reaches over to tap it out before returning it to puff on. She leans in to that, too, then looks up. "People tell me about being who you are and about taking things easy, but I think they don't get it at all. Nobody told me that before, when I was nobody and didn't have what I have now. It was only after I changed. And I like it. I like me, now. I'll rush because it works; it gets things done."
"And what happens when there's nothing left to rush after?" the old Vartan asks. "Rush. That's what an addict feels, a rush. Be careful, is all. Don't become addicted to running headlong into things."
"Like I have an addictive personality, and there's always more to find," Tasha says with a snort, pulling in a huff and then addings, "Rushing got me to quit drinkin-" before she remembers who she's talking to and clears her throat. "Yes, sir."
"I'm sure you have someplace to be running too," Frane says. "Thank you for remembering an old bird along the way."
"I do. I'm sorry." Tasha begins to stand, but halts and sits herself back down again. She looks Captain Frane in the eye this time and says, "I didn't come just because I missed a few classes. I missed my teacher, because I felt guilty letting him down. You've always told me things straight and clear, and you're not taken in by my position or, um," she glances at the book, briefly. "Other things. I never had a father, so I guess it was nice to hear an old Vartan tell me what a fool I'm being and that I should try harder. If I had a father, I'd have liked him to be like you." She inclines her head, then adds, "I'd like to stop by, now and then. If you don't mind."
"I'm not going anyway, unless another daikaiju shows up," Frane notes, and nods his head. "So.. make me proud then."
Tasha offers a smile, although there's a sad tinge to it. "I'll try, but ... " She glances away, then shakes her head. "Well, life is complicated. Well, I'll try." She stands up, deciding she can't quite bring herself to let go of the cigar. Instead she uses her taloned hand to put it out, then carefully puts it in her belt pouch. "I'll finish this next time," she notes, then she nods to the man.
"Don't drive any students crazy, okay?"
Tasha lingers a moment, but then she off again. Somewhere else to rush to.