[action]

[faterecanted]

[It's been a few days since Van arrived, under less than ideal circumstances. During that time, he felt it was probably wisest to remain incommunicado. The easiest way to assure the others from Auldrant that he was doing nothing threatening was to appear to be doing nothing threatening; and he wasn't... strictly speaking. For the most part, all he'd done was study Ms. Sage's guide -- no, memorized it. He'll have to thank her, if they ever meet. She provided him with so much valuable information; including a list of exploitable thugs.

Someone should really do something about that.

But as enlightening as Ms. Sage's writings are, man cannot live on words alone. The supplies he gathered after leaving Asch and Luke's building (...and later returning to it) were starting to run out. He wasn't particularly thrilled with the clothes he'd grabbed, either. He'd rather not wear his Oracle uniform all the time, and the rest were a bit... lacking. He'd like to think he was a striking, well-dressed man; and appearances were so important to a favorable first impression. He'd get to that later in the day. And then the library, perhaps. It was always an advantage to have more information. His first stop, though, was something he could no longer put off: the medical facilities in the battle dome. He'd have to hope he could find what he needed there.

Despite his long list of errands (and the vague concern that he'll run into people he knows and would rather not deal with yet), he'll be perfectly willing to exchange a few words with anyone else out and about. In fact, he'll make sure to at least make eye contact and give a polite nod to every person he sees. The charisma is turned up to 11 today.]

Dist: Something to discuss with you. CH#7. Tonight.

(TL;DR: Meet him in the library, the clothing shops, the battle dome, on the street... And fill this out if you would, plz)

Comments

Yep, me too XD

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

I imagine a good number of people would agree with you. Personally, though, I've always liked an atmosphere of competition. Keeps me challenged.

[faterecanted]

[Van picks out another shirt, and after a moment deems it... not significantly worse than his uniform, at least.]

Competition might be good for businessmen, but too many challengers is a sign of a poor general. [Delivered quite casually. Of course he's a general, should that be surprising?]

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

_{[A general. Nope, not too surprising. Yeager's taken orders from those types before--both in the military and the business meanings of the word. Van seems the rank.]}

Ah, ja. In the military obedience is much better. Can't have orders being disputed too often on the battlefield. Or too many enemies willing to test your troops.

[faterecanted]

Very true. Goals are always simpler to meet with ample cooperation.

[And this man strikes him as a man with goals.]

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

Indeed. _{[And Van strikes him as the type with quite grandiose ambitions. Which translates to high expenses. Which draws Yeager's interest like a moth to the flame, if only out of habit.]} You know, it's pleasure to meet someone of your status, even if it might not mean much in this world. I had quite a few military men as friends back where I come from.

_{['Friends' not being the most apt description, but he likes the sound of it.]}

[faterecanted]

An intelligent officer keeps touch with a wide variety of men, military or not. You never know who you need to know. [If Van has learned anything at all from live, that lesson is near the top. And naturally, he considers himself rather intelligent.]

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

There is a lot of truth in that. _{[And that said, he abandons the suits for a moment and steps over to Van, offering his hand.]} I'm Yeager, by the way.

[faterecanted]

[Van accepts the handshake, with a grip just firm enough to read as assertive without appearing overly aggressive.] Van Grants. A pleasure to meet you.

[The use of 'Grants' bothers him, as it always has, but it does lend a certain weight of authority that just Van doesn't have. Otherwise, he'd have dropped it ages ago.]

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

So you're new to Luceti, General Grants? I haven't been here that long myself. _{[Yep, already popping in the title. Got to be polite and respectful.]}

[faterecanted]

[Van certainly isn't going to complain about being addressed with respect (honestly, you try to replicate one little planet and people start acting like you're evil incarnate...), although he's honestly not picky about what people call him.]

Yes, a... 'New Feather.' How patronizing.

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

_{[He chuckles.]} Can't say I'm fond of the term, either. I hope things have been going well for you? I have had the good fortune of encountering a lot of friendly people. _{[And not too many of his canonmates. Yet, that is.]}

[faterecanted]

[Van ponders how to answer this for a moment. He could use his next words to discredit Luke and Asch... but that could come back to haunt him if it wasn't perfectly successful. Hmm... Half the truth would sound best, certainly.]

I had the misfortune of arriving in the middle of a rather petty dispute. [His "rather petty" dispute, but there's no need to mention that.] Though things have calmed down now; perhaps too much.

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

Oh my. I hope it didn't involve anyone you knew. _{[Yep, he can tell Van's being evasive, and he wants to know more.]} That would have been singularly unpleasant.

[faterecanted]

Being caught between bickering children is always singularly unpleasant, whether you know them or not.

[Not that Asch and the replica are exactly children. Well... the replica, maybe. And not that he isn't the reason they're bickering. Technicalities.]

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

Children, hm? You have my sympathies. _{[Though, really, Yeager loves children. The man adopted two daughters, after all.]} What were they bickering about?

that took longer than expected

[faterecanted]

Existing. [Which is... generally Van's fault, but details. He takes just a moment to decide what, or how much to reveal. To an observer he looks... perhaps a bit nostalgic. Certainly not like a calculating liar.

Calculating liars never do. After the moment is over he makes a small noise, the shadow of a laugh.] As children often seem to do. I'd expect myself to be more patient about it, after so many years teaching on the side. But when all you want is a sensible answer...

Oh hai thar. :3 Sokay; been sporadic myself

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

_{[It's an odd look on him, one that Yeager can't quite interpret. He cracks a smile at the laugh-like sound, though, as though he completely understands.]}

So you taught children as well? _{[Oh, that doesn't at all seem something Van would do without some ulterior motive. He's becoming more fascinating by the moment.]}

[faterecanted]

Only as a sword instructor. Chiefly the more promising students among the military academy, although there were a few wealthy families here and there.

[At this point, Van is perfectly aware that Yeager is feeling him out and trying to learn anything interesting. He doesn't particularly mind. Everything he's saying is, after all, perfectly true; not that there would be many ways to check his story. And beyond that, everything he's saying is painting exactly the picture he wants it to: of a respectable pillar of society.]

Of course, those students I chose myself were always more satisfying. They needed me more.[A charitable, caring pillar of society.]

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

_{[Yeager tends to have the enviable ability of making people practically pour out their life's stories to him, so Van's short answers are indicative of a few things. 1., that he has something to hide. 2., that he's very used to hiding things, and 3., that he's achieved the ability of doing it suavely. He's a man that knows how to choose his words without making it look like he's being choosy, that might have some ordinary person convinced of his complete openness and honesty. Yeager has met too many people like him to be entirely convinced. For that matter, he's too much like that himself.]}

How nice. So good swordmanship is important in your world? The knights in mine place much importance on it, though personally I find that view a little antiquated. _{[...And his interest moves inevitably towards the subject of warfare.]}

[faterecanted]

[Then he should consider himself lucky that the subject of warfare is one Van knows a great deal about.]

Swords are simply convenient. Artes aren't practical in a large battle, heavy artillery can't be relied upon solely, and the more advanced a weapon is the less one should trust it in the hands of a recruit.

Of course, in skilled hands, a blade ceases being a simple tool and becomes an instrument. [Van has had the privilege of seeing some exceedingly beautiful and artful swordsmanship in his life; and perhaps even exhibiting it himself.] ...Though the same can be said for many things.

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

I see. _{[The subject of artes surprises him a bit. They're not something that's present in too many other worlds, at least as far as he can tell from his conversations.]} So I suppose you don't have much in the way of hand-held firearms? Those are becoming increasingly common in my world because of their ease of use, ranged capabilities and the powerful ammunitionless settings we've developed in recent years. Or 'hot' settings, to use the common parlance. People used to argue that artes and swords didn't need reloading, you know. But now that we've pretty much solved that issue with firearms, I'm rather convinced that they're the way of the future there.

Oh, ja indeed. _{[Yeager's seen it too, though he can't claim to be even near that level of skill.]} I find it always fascinating to watch talented individuals fight. Amazing what kind of virtuosity years of practice can produce.

[faterecanted]

My second specializes with fontech sidearms, actually. But you would be correct in assuming that they aren't standard equipment. I doubt they ever will be. The current political climate is... overwhelmingly traditionalist.

[ever-deceptive.livejournal.com]

That so? What is the political situation in your world? _{[And so he doesn't seem too demanding, he'll offer some information in return.]} Mine is pretty much split into the empire and the guilds, which are always involved in some conflict or other.