tampered | (open)

[ Mmmm, yes, but Lucy doesn't care sober or otherwise. They get busy and they have their own lives. It makes it difficult to see each other on a daily basis. Lucy likes to think that if Pavel needed her, he'd feel comfortable letting himself into her flat or stopping by her work or just calling to say he needed her.

Oh good. She's just going to snuggle into him in that case. ]

Okay. Yes. Point, but you're also supposed to be happy on your birthday, hence the 'happy birthday' part of things.

"Yup." Lydia affirms casually and then, "Oh hey, you're Pavel's girlfriend? I've been dying to meet you! Great catch, lady." She nods her affirmation of this.

[ Scott watches with intensity, remembering even subtle hand movements. ] Can I try?

[ Full moon or not, he needs this. He likes this. And he wants this. ]

[Isaac is having the same feeling, indulging in the sensation of pushing into Scott, his warmth.]

You've lost your memory here?

Did it only last as long as the curse itself?

[All liking is mutual. Harry is the only member of Starfleet here who doesn't outrank him--something that Pavel deems unfair, as he has been here longer than everyone else put together--and that makes him easier to talk to. Chekov has a hard time foregoing the usual formalities, making interactions with superiors slightly awkward. It helps, of course, that Harry is indeed brilliant. He is familiar with ideas that have not been postulated by the year 2259, has had exciting firsthand experiences with all sorts of temporal phenomena, and--and this is the best--doesn't think less of Pavel when he forgets himself and acts his age.

If Sulu isn't careful, Harry might end up being Pavel's best Starfleet friend.

When Harry locates Chekov, Starfleet's finest navigator is busy building a sand replica of Tserkov na Krovi--The Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood, one of Saint Petersburg's most instantly-recognizable architectural attractions. Pavel isn't the least bit religious, but he does have a fondness for the cathedral's intricate facing and ornate cupolas, or onion domes. Although Spock may be a finer sand architect, Pavel's sense of scale and devotion to detail is remarkable. Well--the details will be remarkable when they're done, that is. He's still fighting with the onion domes which, incidentally, were not designed to be recreated with moist sand. Repeated failure has done nothing to put a damper on Pavel's attitude, and he looks up at Harry with a bright smile and a peeling nose.]

Alexander the third would be pleased with it, I am sure. Will you join the competition?

_{( his face scrunches as water hits him in the eyes, but he only waits a moment before retaliating. )}

I am an older brother. I think I'd probably sympathize.

Oh she likes you Lydia. There's a big smile at that and a nod.

"Yeah. He's pretty awesome."

Granted it took her a long time to make up her mind about committing to him at least in a verbal sense. She's got issues vocalizing emotions and commitment even when she doesn't have as many issues with feeling either.

"So how do you know Pavel?"

I can see that.

[Splashing at him again and then she takes a breath and ducks under the water, swimming over to grab him round the middle because really, that's a good idea, try to drown your friend. In good fun.]

I have been to few parties that don't inevitably become discussions about work.

[He drains the rest of his cup and looks to Lydia for guidance.}

What is next?

[Hei is kinder than he might give himself credit for, even if "kindness" may not be the most apt descriptor. On some level, Chekov is conscious of this.

And yet he finds it said that Hei is so resigned to being as he is. Anything, no matter how many pieces it has been crushed into, can be reassembled into a rough similarity of the original; those who have suffered can be shown that not all of life is suffering, those who have learned never to trust can, in time, trust again. The human psyche is strong. There are no good emotions and qualities that cannot take root in a soul, no matter how damaged it is. (Or so Pavel thinks.)]

Then I will hope that you will live, and that I will live it be old without bitterness. [He traces he glowing edges of the dreamcatcher again, enthralled.] Or, failing that, young and still not bitter.

[He pauses briefly--not long enough to invite further conversation, but long enough to drag up a thought that he has been meaning to get out for some time. Excessive drinking is good at that--bring up thoughts that would otherwise stay hidden.] Do you think that it is possible for you do be a good person?

[Pavel will be amazed by the self-inking quill. Handwriting is largely a lost art by the twenty-third century with the ease of tablets and all sorts of electronics, making anything resembling actual pens oddities. Not everyone appreciates throwbacks to humanity's earlier centuries, but Pavel is utterly fascinated by such things.]

If Spock does anything, I will refer him to you. [Pavel doesn't protest the hair-ruffling this time. If anything, he leans closer to encourage Ginny to continue, doing a fine impersonation of a sand-covered poodle.] Okay, okay--not until Christmas. But it will need to be very impressive. At home, giving good gifts frequently is the best way to assure a friend that they are important.

[It is exceedingly difficult for a young man to admit that he needs help--any kind of help. This is a truism that has existed since the first teenage boys came into existence. Fortunately, Lucy is at the top of people who would go to if he overcame his macho pride long enough to admit that he might not be able to handle something on his own.]

I have been very happy today. [Now he wants to think and ooze against Lucy like a semi-liquid, trying to make as much physical contact as possible while remaining decent.] I only hope that I will be this happy again, with you here, and with friends, and no imminent death threats. Many things change in a year.

[ (Kindness has no use in Hei's life. Trust, tangibility, weapons -- those are more important.) ]

[ Yes, human beings have an infinite capacity for resilience. Hei has met his share of people who've surprised him. Worthwhile people. But it's not enough to reverse his whole view of human nature. His glance flicks to Pavel at the question, and he raises an eyebrow in that dry way Hei has, a mild sense of amusement. He's long since left behind the narrow moral guidelines of Good and Bad. Certainly it's not his way to spend time pondering the weltschmerz of morality and the human condition. You don't work for the Syndicate as a renowned killer and expect to survive with clean hands, and making up for the deaths you've caused by shedding more blood is impossible. Back home, factions of the organization are still chasing Hei. He has to eliminate them to survive. Even then, Hei's been carrying out wetwork for so long, and from such a young age, that sometimes he wonders if a weapon is all he can ever be. Because there's only one thing a weapon is good for, and because he's damn good at it. ]

[ So: No. He doesn't think he can be a 'good' person. He has a desire, in the midst of a horrible business full of deceit and killing and regret, not to be responsible for additional deaths. To expiate the crimes of righteous butchery by saving a handful of lives. But that's not about altruism. That's about choice; about the calculated decision not to reduce himself to one static thing -- a monster, a parasite, a predator. It has nothing to do with goodness or redemption. ]

[ Hei doesn't say that to Pavel. Instead he claps a hand on the young man's back -- both chiding and indulgent. Rises, and dusts the sand from his clothes. ]

You shouldn't drink so much, Pavel. Turns people into philosophical idiots. No one needs that at a party.

[ Harsh, but there's no rancor in Hei's half-smile. This is a conversation for another time. ]

No, but I met someone who did. It lasted only as long as the curse.

[He gestures.]

Certainly.

[ With a steady hand, he tries to replicate. ]

[Friends? Yin remains silent, her expression never wavers as she considers this. She is part of Hei's team. They're partners, and Pai is his sister, but friends?]

[There's no thank you from Yin. She simply puts one hand to the hat in confusion, and she will keep the hat. Even after the party, it will remain in her wardrobe.]

[He wonder if this might be a sign that she's not interested in being friends. Just in case:]

Or not. Being friends is not necessary, if you would prefer not to be.

[(Even things that don't have a practical use can develop. That includes kindness.)

But Pavel forgot that trying to talk about good and evil with Hei is fruitless rather than philosophically intriguing. There's no changing his mind or convincing him that, in the City, he has an opportunity to be a decent person--that everyone has the capacity to be decent. Hei's view of morality is far more complicated than Pavel's and, although the Russian doesn't believe in the stark contrast between good and evil that he did when he first arrived in the City, they can't see eye-to-eye. Pavel's worldview has no room for cynicism.

He almost goes sprawling--see, this is exactly why Pavel never has more than a drink or two--but rights himself and replies cheerfully.] It is a wonder I am ever invited to parties.

[ Kindness and decency may have their perks. But Hei will never, ever lie and say that they're more important than anything else. Kindness is for people who don't recognize the dozen different nuances of sound for each crack of bone; decency is for people who want a family and children and to live and do good until they get old. Hei may want satisfaction, if not happiness, but his satisfaction isn't that. At the end of the day, well -- nobody wants to be alone. Isn't that all anyone is looking for? It's enough that he can form ties with people, however rare or brief or tenuous. Enough that he can have roadmarks, if not anchors, to humanity, in the shape of those he meets. ]

[ For someone who subsists on illusions and emptiness, on a labyrinth of smoke and mirrors, it's enough. It's progress, even. ]

You can't get kicked out of your own party, [ he says, lightly brushing the grains of sand away from his clothes. ] Still, it's better not to push your luck. [ A joke, a warning, and advice, in his own way. ]

[ Young men are silly, but yes. She is glad she is on that list. ]

Yeah, they do, but very happy right now is good.

[ She likes the oozing. All the physical contact is very appreciated. ]

Mm. I never thought you'd be this much fun when I first saw you at that hearing.

[ Three starfish: Targets Acquired. ]

(open)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Dusk

no subject

Dusk

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject