Grilka preened. "Yes," ey agreed, "I am very grand." Ey handed her the rum, petting her head approvingly. "Drink, pretty girl. I am not corporate, no need to be shy." Hands let her go, rising up taller to bring eir tail forward and bring it underneath her, tendrils wrapping around her legs so that she wouldn't fall as ey lifted her up into an impromptu lap. "I am an ambassador; I am… ah. Foreign soil? What a silly phrase. But you are outside Allied law while you're on me – isn't that fun? Make yourself comfortable, if you would like. I am very hospitable."
Kreska was rolling her eyes, but not at Grilka. At toots. Of all the goddamned things. Not having her tablet was a colossal pain in the ass for a lot of reasons, but not being able to easily quietly continue the conversation was pretty high up there. "Tch. 'Scuses."
He was far from the only person she knew who felt strongly about promises. She, too, kept her promises. She tried not to make them. Grilka always kept eir promises, but they came with a price that Kreska did not like to pay if she could avoid it. She'd gotten very good at it, not giving openings for things to be offered that she would need to refuse. She didn't like the debt that favors implied, regardless of whether they were acknowledged as such.
Yet here she was, owing three favors to a Krotazi and theoretically to blame for getting two practical-strangers into deeper shit than they'd bargained for. Even if she didn't think it was her fault. She hadn't asked for intervention, for assistance, for someone to fall on her head. Yet here they were.
Toots.
Even without Fate's response, Grilka could tell where ey'd hit the mark and where ey'd fallen short – if not from Sascha, then from Kreska, whose responses ey knew so much better. Ey rattled a laugh toward Kreska, who curled in on herself in an irritable ball. "He must be very special," ey teased, to which she gave another roll of her eyes. "Oh, yes – I want him, I think." How exactly this was intended was left vague, as ey usually preferred.
It wasn't like Kreska had high standards. It was only that human men had a remarkable tendency to fall short even of the shortest things. Was all.
"You do not know Krotazi, Sascha Bennett," ey said, answering one question by pretending to speak to another. "I will explain to you how it works here, then." Kreska fished a cigarette out of her pocket, settling in for the long haul. "The Krotaz Empire is not an Allied system, and so I am here as ambassador – only ambassador, unless I would like to renounce one citizenship for another. Yes? But that makes things very tricky, on an Allied station. Limitations on commerce. Can't have me buying out the system, making it Krotazi. Buying, owning, hiring – a very complicated process, to do any of these things. So I don't. Easier, that way. I am very law-abiding, you know."
"No law against having friends, though," ey said, and without asking ey brought Kreska closer, drawing her into the conversation. "Like this one. Kreska Ido is very special, you know. There is only one of her. Makes things complicated for the Alliance – complicated to arrest her. Big news, very embarrassing, angry Jobari. Easier to ignore her. But very unsafe."
"Y'know'm right here, right?" Kreska said.
"Very unsafe," Grilka emphasized, reaching out to wrap talons around her wrist and hold higher her injured hand, "when little half-human girl likes to run her fucking mouth." Ey let her go, and Kreska wrapped her arm under her knees, bad hand hidden behind her calves as she rested her chin on her knees to keep smoking. "But she is my friend! And friends look out for each other. I do her little favors, here and there, and give her gifts, and so she does me favors and gives me gifts – we must keep things even, for karma."
Kreska snorted.
"It is the closest word you have, in Standard," Grilka continued, ignoring her. "It is an important thing, for Krotazi. Very unforgiving. Balance is important. Karma punishes a lack of balance. Too many favors given and not returned, and terrible accidents happen. It is very tragic. Kreska owes me little favors, now, and if she is good then karma will not get her. She can even ask for more, if she wants. I am her friend, after all, and I am very nice. If we were not friends, I would do her no favors, but that would be a very lonely thing. It is always easier to have friends. Friends who are special, like Kreska. She is very quick, Kreska Ido. Aren't you?"
"Fastest thing't ain't time travel," Kreska said, because petulance did not dampen her pride in certain things.
"Very good at delivering gifts, Kreska Ido. I have a friend who used to be a lawyer, and so he is very good at explaining things to people who might misunderstand. Another friend, she is very sweet, and so she lets me keep a few things at her restaurant. Another is very friendly, and so he knows lots of very fun gossip. There is a human girl with spots who has very pretty orgasms." Kreska made a face.
"I wonder, Sascha Bennett: what is it that you are good at?"
Kreska was rolling her eyes, but not at Grilka. At toots. Of all the goddamned things. Not having her tablet was a colossal pain in the ass for a lot of reasons, but not being able to easily quietly continue the conversation was pretty high up there. "Tch. 'Scuses."
He was far from the only person she knew who felt strongly about promises. She, too, kept her promises. She tried not to make them. Grilka always kept eir promises, but they came with a price that Kreska did not like to pay if she could avoid it. She'd gotten very good at it, not giving openings for things to be offered that she would need to refuse. She didn't like the debt that favors implied, regardless of whether they were acknowledged as such.
Yet here she was, owing three favors to a Krotazi and theoretically to blame for getting two practical-strangers into deeper shit than they'd bargained for. Even if she didn't think it was her fault. She hadn't asked for intervention, for assistance, for someone to fall on her head. Yet here they were.
Toots.
Even without Fate's response, Grilka could tell where ey'd hit the mark and where ey'd fallen short – if not from Sascha, then from Kreska, whose responses ey knew so much better. Ey rattled a laugh toward Kreska, who curled in on herself in an irritable ball. "He must be very special," ey teased, to which she gave another roll of her eyes. "Oh, yes – I want him, I think." How exactly this was intended was left vague, as ey usually preferred.
It wasn't like Kreska had high standards. It was only that human men had a remarkable tendency to fall short even of the shortest things. Was all.
"You do not know Krotazi, Sascha Bennett," ey said, answering one question by pretending to speak to another. "I will explain to you how it works here, then." Kreska fished a cigarette out of her pocket, settling in for the long haul. "The Krotaz Empire is not an Allied system, and so I am here as ambassador – only ambassador, unless I would like to renounce one citizenship for another. Yes? But that makes things very tricky, on an Allied station. Limitations on commerce. Can't have me buying out the system, making it Krotazi. Buying, owning, hiring – a very complicated process, to do any of these things. So I don't. Easier, that way. I am very law-abiding, you know."
"No law against having friends, though," ey said, and without asking ey brought Kreska closer, drawing her into the conversation. "Like this one. Kreska Ido is very special, you know. There is only one of her. Makes things complicated for the Alliance – complicated to arrest her. Big news, very embarrassing, angry Jobari. Easier to ignore her. But very unsafe."
"Y'know'm right here, right?" Kreska said.
"Very unsafe," Grilka emphasized, reaching out to wrap talons around her wrist and hold higher her injured hand, "when little half-human girl likes to run her fucking mouth." Ey let her go, and Kreska wrapped her arm under her knees, bad hand hidden behind her calves as she rested her chin on her knees to keep smoking. "But she is my friend! And friends look out for each other. I do her little favors, here and there, and give her gifts, and so she does me favors and gives me gifts – we must keep things even, for karma."
Kreska snorted.
"It is the closest word you have, in Standard," Grilka continued, ignoring her. "It is an important thing, for Krotazi. Very unforgiving. Balance is important. Karma punishes a lack of balance. Too many favors given and not returned, and terrible accidents happen. It is very tragic. Kreska owes me little favors, now, and if she is good then karma will not get her. She can even ask for more, if she wants. I am her friend, after all, and I am very nice. If we were not friends, I would do her no favors, but that would be a very lonely thing. It is always easier to have friends. Friends who are special, like Kreska. She is very quick, Kreska Ido. Aren't you?"
"Fastest thing't ain't time travel," Kreska said, because petulance did not dampen her pride in certain things.
"Very good at delivering gifts, Kreska Ido. I have a friend who used to be a lawyer, and so he is very good at explaining things to people who might misunderstand. Another friend, she is very sweet, and so she lets me keep a few things at her restaurant. Another is very friendly, and so he knows lots of very fun gossip. There is a human girl with spots who has very pretty orgasms." Kreska made a face.
"I wonder, Sascha Bennett: what is it that you are good at?"
The following 3 users Like Tindome's post: Blade, danixiewrites, megs
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-10-2015, 11:03 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-10-2015, 11:03 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-10-2015, 01:38 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-10-2015, 08:01 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-10-2015, 10:38 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-11-2015, 11:50 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-11-2015, 03:27 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-11-2015, 05:55 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-11-2015, 09:52 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-12-2015, 12:23 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-12-2015, 12:17 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-12-2015, 01:54 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-12-2015, 06:39 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-13-2015, 12:43 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-13-2015, 04:04 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-13-2015, 09:13 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-14-2015, 12:08 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-15-2015, 02:29 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-16-2015, 01:20 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-22-2015, 08:51 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-24-2015, 11:53 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 02-26-2015, 02:32 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 03-08-2015, 12:28 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 03-14-2015, 12:58 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 03-28-2015, 09:48 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 03-29-2015, 01:54 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 04-11-2015, 11:46 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 05-06-2015, 12:38 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 05-14-2015, 07:51 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 05-14-2015, 09:27 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 05-14-2015, 11:37 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 05-15-2015, 12:34 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 05-18-2015, 11:36 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 05-18-2015, 03:33 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 05-28-2015, 11:29 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 05-30-2015, 01:40 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 06-08-2015, 09:54 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 06-09-2015, 06:15 AM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 06-22-2015, 08:55 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 06-24-2015, 08:45 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 07-03-2015, 12:24 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 07-04-2015, 11:28 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 08-11-2015, 12:23 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 08-12-2015, 09:59 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 08-15-2015, 04:49 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 08-18-2015, 11:42 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 09-07-2015, 03:38 PM
Bad Reputation [Closed] - by tindome - 09-07-2015, 04:58 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 11-06-2015, 04:05 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-07-2015, 04:05 AM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 11-09-2015, 02:13 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-09-2015, 08:14 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 11-10-2015, 12:17 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-10-2015, 06:59 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 11-13-2015, 05:09 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-13-2015, 11:20 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 11-15-2015, 05:01 AM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-17-2015, 08:24 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 11-21-2015, 09:50 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-22-2015, 01:20 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 12-12-2015, 12:18 AM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by Tindome - 12-15-2015, 03:15 AM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 01-02-2016, 11:16 AM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by Tindome - 01-15-2016, 10:17 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by danixiewrites - 02-22-2016, 05:21 PM
RE: Bad Reputation [Closed] - by Tindome - 02-24-2016, 10:27 AM