worthallthis | IC Inbox: In the Night

"Coffee and head-scritches," Soldat answers readily, smiling a bit. Then they add, only about half-serious, "Kinda like me." After a couple bites of lunch, they add, "I should teach you their actual name if you're going to meet them. They're very kind about having to use Morse Code for a lot, but like it when I can use their language."

Cute.

"Makes sense," she agrees, not at all daunted by implied complexity. One word. She can tackle one word, assuredly. It'll feel better asking questions the more she can actually offer, anyway. "Not a problem. I can't promise pronunciation'll be perfect, but I'll get it best I can."

"Less pronunciation problem, more actually hitting the note. It's simple, just low for your voice." Soldat can make it, but Soldat is also a baritone. Not that they remember the actual term for it. "But they're understanding. Making the effort is enough. Here. This is their name:"

They clear their throat from the remains of chili, then makes a low hooting noise, rising and falling just a little at the end to make it less monotone.

"Oh, ohhho," a laugh, preemptively, "I'm going to have a much harder time with that."

Ever a believer in good sport, she opens her mouth to mimic. Immediately, the first second after beginning to vocalize, it stops short. The laughter has graduated to nervous laughter. Her ears are pink. "I'll never manage that. The ocarina won't work?"

"Sure. Don't see why not, everyone else does. I just don't know the note on it." Since they can't really use the thing properly, and prefer singing to trying to make the metal fingers do what they're supposed to. Really, Soldat and Daylight are one of the only ones who don't use the ocharina, and Daylight is lucky enough to have an electronic voicebox, so he can make a much greater range of sounds than a strictly human throat. "You'd have to experiment a little to find it."

"Easy trial and error there - I'll embarrass myself a hell of a lot less." Her grin is relieved, as this encounter just got a lot less imminently disastrous. This established, she can focus a little more evenly on lunch.

"I'll start after this, then. And we'll bring coffee? Do they like grounds, or like, filling up a thermos?"

Which means so can they. They've already cleared through most of the chili, anyway, currently using the bread to mop up some of the juices. "Usually just bring them a mug, swing by Invincible before heading out past their territory. It mostly stays warm long enough, if I use the right hand to carry it and keep it close." It's not like Soldat doesn't have body heat in excess if they're keeping active and fueled up.

"Does hoot have hands?" She won't imitate the name outright, but this seems perfectly fair shorthand. Because owls do not have hands, and holding a cup in place while a spirit drinks out of it feels - rude, even if it really isn't.

And, more normally: "Sugar? Cream?"

Hoot. Hilarious. Soldat gives her a (mostly not serious) unimpressed look, but it only lasts for a moment. "Talons, kind of. They look mostly human-shaped. Wear a dirty suit. Just bigger, taloned hands and an owl head. Feathers sticking out here and there. Seem to like whatever kind of coffee I bring, though."

Hey, she calls em like she...is vocally capable of callin' em. This friend sounds spooky as hell, but she'll roll with it. Must be an alright sort, she generally trusts Soldat's judgment of character.

"They napping any particular time, or could we head out whenever I've got the name-note down?"

"Usually I visit on my 1600 patrol. If you meet me at the Invincible at 1750 any day you're ready, we can get their, you can come with me." Routine is nice. Unless there's some kind of emergency, or he's summoned by someone during one of their "free time" periods like this (free time sucks, they always find useful things to fill it with; playing cards in the Invincible for an hour a day while they eat lunch is the most they can manage), Soldat's day is close to the same every day. "They aren't always there, but if we're patient and I keep calling, they usually come."

"Tomorrow's enough time to get the notes down, so I can try for that." Sooner the better, but best to not drop this in his lap. "I can definitely do patient. However long it takes, really, I'm excited."

Something new, seen first. The good stuff. "I won't hog you much after this, just wanted to get something set up. It'll be...I mean, hopefully good. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"You know I don't ever mind spending time with you, Misty," Soldat says. Sure, they have other things to do, but this is technically free time (or rather, "random tasks that need doing" time), and none of their current tasks are in such dire need that they have to get back to them immediately. Plus, lunch that they don't have to make, so they might as well just stay here until it's time to sleep again.

Almost, almost sheepishly, she shrugs, free hand at the back of her neck. "You never let on like you do, I don't think you're just bearing a burden! But you're kind of a man about town, you know. Lots of things to do in a day, lot of people to talk to."

However greedy she'd like to be, there's no sense Soldat-hogging.

"My next patrol isn't until 1600. Most of the time until then I'll be asleep." Hopefully, anyway. There could always be nightmares. It's why they sleep in two shifts, in the hopes that at least one of them was uninterrupted. "I can stay for lunch and talk. Or not talk. Which could also happen."

Military time is something she'd have to think about, so that's out - she'll just assume 'some time, yep' and charge on for the moment. Hard not to grin at the candidness. "Preference, any which way?"

It's easier to use when you can't say "four in the afternoon" or "six in the morning" because there's no afternoon because there's no sun... not to mention easy to remember, when you've been on military time for seventy years. Soldat shrugs with a dry sort of look. "Won't know until we try. Different every day."

IC Inbox: In the Night

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that last sentence is the most relatable thing I've ever read in my entire life

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