3163/Talk About Awkward

Talk About Awkward
Date of Scene:	06 October 2015
Location:	Heaven or Hell Tower <HoH>
Synopsis:	Psyber, Mordred, Duet and Nathan have a very awkward talk after Sunday.
Cast of Characters:	12, 92, 168, 253

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Psyber (253) has posed:
    What's for lunch in the lobby? It's actually a pair of pizzas.

    Psyber seems... surprisingly upbeat for the day. He's still working, even while he waits for Nathan to come down for the impromptu meeting he expected, but despite that working, he has a slight hum to his voice and a generally more... relaxed posture than one would expect from him.

    Due to the weird time of afternoon, the lobby is fairly deserted, with a minimal amount of foot traffic out on the street.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan heads down the elevator from the library without a ton of ceremony, really. He's just sort of doing things the way he's been for a long time. He has that air of an exhausted robot as he shuffles out, but he doesn't seem like he's going to touch those pizzzas. Or, you know, say anything first. Which may create a bit of an awkward silence when he wanders over to Psyber and just sort of stares.

Duet Fortuna (92) has posed:
    If Nathan isn't going to say anything, Duet's going to snag a slice of pizza and shove it onto a plate, passing it right over to the librarian. "Eat something, Nate. It's been a long few years, and I for one am glad to have it be over." She pauses, then adds lightly, "Not that I've known you all that long, just had my own long years, you know." She's leaning casually against the wall, and already has a half-eaten slice of her own. "I'd say you've earned it, is my point."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    Mordred walks in, wearing the typical short shorts, Psyber Replica Jacket and white tube top underneath, complete with ALREADY having a burger in her hand, half-eaten. She falls idle by Duet, munching.

    "You know, your office has so many wards in it, dematerializing here actually feels kind of awful if I don't watch where I walk." Despite already having food she will help herself to a slice of pizza regardless, duel-wielding her burger with that.

    "Long years is vague. Do we get a story time?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Sorry about that. Good to know they don't actually fuck you up, though," Psyber says to Mordred, folding up his paper and setting it down on the desk in front of him. He looks around at the three people gathered. The three people responsible, that he knows of.

    He slowly stands up and looks around, his gaze finally settling on Nathan, "If you're waiting for me to be mad, I'm not going to be," Psyber notes in a somewhat bland tone, "I think I've made it apparent by now that my strange and forgiving nature works in all directions."

    "Plus, Duet was willing to step in first and defuse a bit." He notes, looking at the masked woman gratefully.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "Mad? About what?" Mordred glances at Psyber, between bites of her food. "I feel like I missed something very important. What was defused? Who did what?" Evidently someone has been rather busy handling other stuff and hasn't caught up yet. It's probably not anyone's fault, the Servant had been back and forth a lot and rather scarce, perhaps to Nathan's joy.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    He stares at the plate like Duet just offered him a plate of snakes. Though, you know, for Nathan, the difference in expression is very difficult to see. He takes the plate though. "Of course you haven't, of course. You haven't known me long." He says, in that neutral monotone of his. "Though I rather don't think I've earned it. Had my fair share of..." He pauses before the first bite. "Debt on that point."

    He gives Mordred a long look, but as is by now per the norm for him, he doesn't really say much to her. Like he's been doing for a while, he keeps out of her conversation. Psyber on the other hand doesn't really get much of a look at all. Nathan keeps his eyes from meeting Psyber's. "Well. I admit I was braced, I was braced a bit for something severe. You'd shown a bit of... Severity, recently." He seems like he can't much figure the words for what he'd much want to say here. He'll let Psyber, Duet, and probably at least a bit of Mordred guide things properly.

Duet Fortuna (92) has posed:
    Duet shrugs to Mordred, "I had a talk with Psyber last night. He seemed a little down, so I reminded him of a few things and it all worked out." She nibbles on pizza a little and ponders, "Maybe... maybe you did, Nathan. But you should also know that sometimes it's good to get a fresh start, both for you and others. I know you likely have a lot of important things to take care of, I think you can let go and just accept a little forgiveness."

    She holds up a finger, "And don't have any of this 'undeserving' bit, I can think of at least one other person who doesn't deserve it and got it."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber looks to Mordred, "Mad over the circumstances of the death of Elliana Fairchild," He notes point blank. His hands go into his pockets and he takes out a cigarette. He's allowed to smoke in his own building, or so he'd think, barring someone stopping him. As he takes a slow drag, Psyber looks to Nathan.

    "Severe is one word for it. But I'm not mad at anyone in this room," The half-angel says very carefully, "Despite losing my best friend, I have reason to believe that things will continue to work out positively from this event, tragic as it may be." He sighs a bit, exhaling smoke, "I can't sum up the effort to be mad at my best friends. Or you, Miss Fortuna, who is on the road to becomin such." He adds the last part hastily, "So much of the problems over the past three or four years are from bitter grudges and anger that I think it's better to just... not be."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "Oh."

    Mordred looks down a bit. "Sorry, you said mad, and I wasn't sure why you'd be mad about that instead of sad. I mean, mad on the spur of the moment was fine, and that's why the Emperor got his due, but there's nobody left to be mad at. Nobody here's the one who killed her. I guess you could be mad at me for not playing my part and defending her, if you wanted. I should've stuck with her." Chomp. Well, Mordred doesn't have her usual, haughty smirk on, but chewing on food makes up for it.

    "Sorry about making that worse. Lord of Rage wanted out and the Command Spell might have made it worse."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan stares at his pizza. His stoic face has a hint of glumness to it. You can sort of barely see it, though you have to know him particularly well. He mutters something under his breath, clearly not meant for the others to hear, though it's quite possible they might. "Nobody got what they deserved."

    Well, that seems to not be what he intends to talk about. "I understand, Psyber, I understand, to a degree. It's good to know you don't have to deal with that, you don't have to deal with all that difficulty. So much exhausting emotional difficulty." He takes another nibble, it's not much though. He seems more interested in reacting than speaking on this. It doesn't look like he has a lot to say. Or, rather, he haas a lot, but he sure doesn't have a lot of words for it.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I could be mad at some people," Psyber notes to Mordred, "For deceptions kept from me. But I understand the logic behind her plan. I've had a day to consider it. I know why I had to be kept blind on that part," The half-angel frowns, "As much as it vexes me that it happened, I understand it."

    "I think though..." Psyber furrows his brow some more, "I'm done trying to play politician. I have people for that working here now. I'm a detective and a fighter, and I'd like to stick to that unless I'm really needed for stuff like that.

Duet Fortuna (92) has posed:
    Duet... frowns. Thens he shakes her head, "I think... that turned out for the best. There were some um... signs that it wasn't quite as planned. The Black Cartridge is something that I doubt Fairchild could have known about. I certainly didn't. At the end of the day, though, the Empire fell and has a new, trustworthy leader. The Confederacy lost three of their Elites. And I hope, at least, that you two can start to remember you're good friends again."

    She finishes her slice and sets the plate aside. "There were a lot of people hurt in the last few years. Mordred included. I'm hoping that won't happen as much."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    There is a brief exchange between Duet and Mordred, as the Servant frowns and tries to extract an answer amidst word games.

    And then she turns back to Psyber and regains her joviality. "I'm being informed I don't have to pretend like you don't know, so, for all it's worth coming from a treacherous knight, I AM sorry. I guess I lucked out. Fury is easy to crank to eleven when you have a switch for it inside you. Otherwise I bet I'd have been in the dark too."

    Mordred finishes her slice of pizza, turning to Nathan next. "Say, speaking of people who got what they deserved. What'd you do with the Emperor?"

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "It doesn't suit you, Psyber. Doesn't suit you at all, getting into that role." nathan says, somberly. "You have me for handling that, for handling it when things get too diplomatic." He makes a broad gesture, which looks a lot more casual when one of his hands is holding a slice of pizza. "I can withstand the social stress a lot more than you can, I think, before losing some efficacy. Before starting to lose too much efficacy." The wordless insinuations here are that he is, at least a little, saying that Psyber should trust that things like this are why he's the one who stays in charge of this kind of thing. "I'm glad you're feeling that way, Psyber."

    Then he's done talking about that. it's on towards Duet's subject. Mordred included? Nathan gives her a look, and it's edging out of his stoic blank ranges, but not much, and it's impossible to tell what its emotional content is. "Mm. Objectively, the only good thing I could desire here would be for that sort of hurting to stop." He says.

    As for Mordred's actual question to him? "Worse than some would want. Better than he deserves." Nathan says, blandly. "It seems the effect of the attacks attacks you and Psyber performed cut off his new body's connection to the Network. He's isolated. We've stored him, with relevant accommodations." Seems Lady Fairchild wound up causing a Binding in her death. "He will not be released." He's still not even halfway through his slice, his nibbles are that small.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    Mordred idly and dismissively waves her empty hand in the air at the mention of hurting. "I don't know if I'd say I've hurt anywhere near as bad as you two. Three. For the most part, I was a knight doing what their master told them. I can't really ask for more. Doing what you're told, not taking decisions, it has its charm, you know? It's less stressful than the alternative."

    She nods to Nathan, and then shrugs. "I guess that's for the best. Who knows, we might need him later. Stuff about the Empire only he knew. Secret contingencies. Certainly my former master wasn't the only fan of those."

Duet Fortuna (92) has posed:
    "And by necessity, still has a few running," Duet adds. "The Emperor was mad, but not stupid. Mordred brings up a good point, and we should keep it in mind. As a native, I'll give my advice where I can, but I think it best if Nathan handles the actual storage and monitoring." A little gesture of trust, perhaps.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber shakes his head at Mordred, "I appreciate it, but we're cool. In the end, for as much as the plan hurt me, it excised a damaged portion of my social life and implanted a more healthy arrangement. That was necessary. I'm not obsessing over juggling my social roster any more."

    He smiles and laughs a bit, "Heck, I might even get to have healthy relationships for once," He notes, some genuine humor returning to his voice as he looks to Mordred, "So in the end, thank you for that much alone."

    He looks to Nathan, finally, "Fine. I'll keep your drift on that much. But you don't fight any more. Let me do that, in exchange for you handling the social stress." He points at the Librarian, "No one likes it when you get violent and no one wants to see it again."

    The status of the Emperor causes him to let out a faint noise of curiosity, "So that was the verdict. I tried to... stack the jury against him, so to speak. I was interested if the five I chose could reach a balance."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "See it another way, what happened was kind of dirty, but now you've got the two best heads working in tandem to fix Terra Majora, and at their disposal, the two enforcers who can turn that world upside down by force if they want to. We've had our differents, Hall, but now you get to order me around and make me sword what's convenient for YOU. Ain't that gonna be a nice change of pace? Just don't slip back into wanting to hurt my master, past or current, and we'll get along best we can."

    The Saber grins, and then tips a hat she isn't wearing to Psyber. "Sure thing, ma'am. All cool here if it's all cool over there."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan just sort of gives Mordred a soft "mm" of response, keeping from giving them much of a significant reply at all. At least, to her first statement. There's more of a nod to Duet, of course, and he replies, "I have a few more investigations underway. Prefer, you know, prefer to keep them from the emperor, but it might help. Nobody closer to the top than he is." He sighs. The gesture of trusting him is accepted; it seems to not be the source of his distress.

    He gets a little more reserved when that bit comes up. "Yeah." He says. His voice edges down closer to a whisper. "Not meant for that at all. Couldn't do any good with it if I tried." The second statement Mordred gave gets a bit more of a distant look, like he's looking past her. "Wasn't what I had problems with." He says, still in that low tone. He sounds disinclined to discuss things on a more serious level with her, though...?

Duet Fortuna (92) has posed:
    "I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a little while for all of us," Duet points out. "It's a change of pace for everyone... including me. I'm new at... all this. That is, not having a specific goal to work toward, and not having to... engage in certain behaviors. Not making people do things for me." She considers. "Actually asking."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber looks over at Duet and reaches out. His hand comes up and... plants firmly on her head, "You'll figure it out," He ruffles gently. And then, unless Duet actually resists him, Psyber will attempt to pull the blonde girl into a firm hug. It's not hard to escape, though, if she doesn't want it.

    "Right now, I think we should all just be grateful it resolved how it did."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    Mordred raises a brow at Nathan, curiously. "If you want to air what I did wrong, you can go right ahead. If we're going to be working together, my time in Camelot has taught me unaired issues result in rebellions, stolen queens, crusades, and ultimately, burning kingdoms." She glances towards Duet and Psyber. "The stolen queen part is already happening, you see? Personally I was just mad you were romping in my former master's head and causing damage. I mean, besides the fact we were on opposite sides and all."

Duet Fortuna (92) has posed:
    Somehow, Duet manages to look startled at the hug, even if she returns it with a light laugh after the shock wears off. It's brief, but genuine at least. And when she releases, she casts a smile at Mordred. "Stolen queens, is it? I'll hold you to that metaphor, you know." Lightheartedly she punches Mordred's shoulder, before things turn a little more serious.

    "I can supply plenty of prana, but it does look like you'll see a lot of fighting. Fairchild was a powerful being in her own right, but Duet is... not so spectacular." She shrugs, "Maybe it's better that way."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan looks at Duet with a somber look. "It works. It works, you know, better than you'd expect. Much better than you'd expect, sometimes. Just don't let it give you the wrong impression. Sometimes you can't depend on it." He makes a bitter noise at that last part. Still a little stressed about it, seems like. There's a nod at Psyber. "It turned out better than it could have." He says. "Prefer this to most alternaatives." What an emotionless way of saying it, sheesh. Right during the hug too. Kinda classic Nathan, though.

    Mordred gets another long, storic look. He makes a critical sort of noise. "Doubt you much care for the story. I had no harmful intentions with trying to prolong that nightmare." His usually articulate monotone manifests in an exhausted mutter, very briefly, as if uncomfortable with airing anything out. "Wanted to see what it was like, being in a world where I was worth being loyal to."

    Wow, awkward.

    He goes back to nibbling on his pizza. Still only halfway through a slice.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    He doesn't try to hold out the hug or anything, releasing Duet when she's ready to be let go, "It's nice to see you able to relax, Duet. And to be yourself. In that much, I'm getting to see what I told Elliana my definition of redemption was," He admits as his hands fall to his pockets after that.

    Nathan's comment draw his gaze. He frowns a bit and sighs. He doesn't say much to Nate, at the moment, though. He's learned better than to call Nathan out on his emotions in front of other people. Though he at least has the impression that there's a lot more for Nathan to work through in the coming months. Instead, he asks a much more benign question:

    "So have you and Pegasus done much apartment hunting, Nate?"

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "My story didn't come from bad intentions either, you know. But I don't have to tell you how it turned out, and what history books paint me as. Mythology books. Whatever," Mordred answers Nathan, deciding not to push. "Doesn't excuse me. People're right to distrust me. You ever want to set me straight, though, you help yourself. Until then, it won't change the fact my sword is going to be yours to command."

    She regains her grin, especially at Duet's chiding. "Appearing powerless has its uses, master. One day someone will try to kill me by killing you, or will manage to slip past my guard. Best for that day that you not be the harmless person you pretend to be. And yes, I'm sticking to stolen queen. That makes Psyber Sir Lancelot in my analogy, by the way. I'm obviously the king. Who else could be?"

Duet Fortuna (92) has posed:
    Giving Mordred a bit of an eye, Duet tsks, "King Mordred, then. I guess that works. You're right, of course. Until then, I think I'll enjoy being just Duet for a while." She tucks her arms behind her, turning some more attention to Nathan. "Bsides, some things you can't really fix with a sword or raw power anyway."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    There's a bit less distance there for a moment. Progress! Or something vaguely like it anyway. "Mmh." Still not a lot of words there though. Nathan turns his attention from Mordred to Psyber. "We are making relevant arrangements. It should be complete soon. I admit I was ensuring it would be somewhat delayed, to a time when there was less tension. Like Duet said. I need to remember good friendships, and you needed some signs that I was not doing it to distance myself from you. Less of an issue, now."

    "Not a chance many people get." He says, nodding to Duet herself. "Best to enjoy what you have, in that case. As for those sorts of solutions... Yes. I hope to turn more to those now, once again."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I dunno if I wanna be Lancelot. That seems to imply infidelity and eternally unrequited love, lest I destroy everything I care about," Psyber notes to Mordred as he rubs the underside of his chin, "That sounds like what we had before, actually, so we're doin something new now. You can still be King Mordred if you really want, though."

    Turning to Nathan, Psyber nods his head firmly, "Of course, I can see the logic there. If you put me as a reference on your renter's application, I'm sure you guys can get some good deals shopping around the city," He adds with a bright smile.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "I'm fine with that if I keep getting free access to your fridge," Mordred answers Psyber, before giving Nathan and Duet a side glance. "Hey now, you be careful not to solve everything with words so hard we have to put our swords away because nobody wants swordsmen anymore. Try to leave some stuff for us to have to put in their place."

    How boring would those two's ideal world be.
    Mordred will ever be glad words don't fix everything, either.

Duet Fortuna (92) has posed:
    Duet just smiles, "I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for you to demonstrate your unique diplomacy, Mordred." She rubs at her shoulder, then looks thoughtful. "Speaking of diplomacy, I guess I'd better get my things arranged. I'm glad that we could all have this talk, though."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "Will be happy to. Very happy to, Your reputation is a good one here, I think." Nathan says, nodding to Psyber. Then, he shakes his head. "Our job is the same as yours. We each exist to put the other out of business, to take care of all the problems the others would. Neither of us ever manage, neither of us ever really pull it off, no matter how hard we try." He then regards Duet, with that usual uncertainty that he always gave Elliana herself. "Admit, I'm not sure, not immediately sure what the talk was for. Suppose it cleared the air on... Some subjects. Well. As long as you feel it achieved its goal."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber sighs a bit and folds his hand behind his head, "Right. I should probably get back to lobby duty. I need to finish up a gun for Kyra by this afternoon,"" He notes, considering it, "Mostly done with that, though. Mostly, I think, the talk was just nice. We got to hang out and chat a bit. We almost never get to just do that. I hope we can do it more often."