caughtinanetwork | Video: Public Service Princess

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Video: Public Service Princess

It seems as if the arrival cycle is over now. Allow me to extend a belated welcome to everyone who was pulled into Vatheon this past cycle. My name is Zelda, and I work with the Welcoming Committee here. Please drop by if you have any questions about our current situation as foreigners in the city. You are also free to ask me here, though there are some topics I would prefer to not discuss over the network.

I would also like to encourage new arrivals that are capable of fighting to look into joining the Defense Force. While things are generally peaceful here, there are some dangerous situations from time to time. Death is not permanent in this place, but it is still rather traumatic and we should do our best to avoid having it happen. If you are interested, please get in touch with Serph or Ky Kiske.

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Correct.

Please do not take this as an insult, but I must confess that I am somewhat hesitant to bring up such personal affairs with an alien race. Very few here seem capable of understanding it or successfully engaging in it. If I could, I admit I would have a troll fill this position. I seem to have run into a block, however, as I can think of none that would want to involve themselves.

You interact with the Grand Highblood, do you not?

[Oh goddesses, he's asking her out, isn't he? Give her a moment to compose herself. Stopping the Highblood from fighting with anyone while in his usual physical form is not her idea of a good time, much less someone he might have a vested interest in.]

I do not take offense. I will admit that my understanding is limited, particularly since I am not sure romantic hate is an emotion I am even capable of feeling. Yes, I have had contact with the Highblood. We were neighbors for quite some time, and we chat every now and then. He is...

[What is a polite way to put this?]

...an individual with a very different point of view.

He is a bloodthirsty rabid insane beast.

[Wow that sure is a lot of extremely violent hatred with the desire to tear out the Highblood's eyes!]

...Ahem.

As I was saying, I acknowledge that there are very few who would so much try to look his way for fear of catching his attention. Since you are one of the few, I was hoping I could perhaps come to you for such a matter. You see, my hatred for him is extremely short of romantic, but dealing with him any longer in the way that I have been may jeopardize some of my relationships, including that of my children. I also cannot have him... compromising his kismessitude with Lysunder.

I understand this is a troublesome thing to request of you, but would you perhaps be interested in acting as an auspitice between the pair of us?

He is dangerous, certainly, but he is not mindless. I simply recognize that it would cause more irritation for him to harm me than it would for him to leave me be.

[Excuse her if she makes a skeptical "hmm" sound at Darkleer insisting his hatred is short of romantic. Sounds like pretty intense hatred from this end!]

Ah, so they are in that sort of relationship.

[Why would Lysunder deny it? The Highblood seems like a perfectly respectable target for hate of any sort to Zelda, though she doesn't quite understand the whole affair. Perhaps denying it was just another way to show hatred.

Trolls. Seriously.

Either way, if she can prevent Darkleer from ending up brutally mauled as he had been that night in the warehouse, she's game.]

I would not be adverse to that. Is the goal simply to keep you both from fighting, or would an auspitice attempt to bring the two quarreling parties to some sort of truce?

[Pardon the snort he makes at the comment about the Highblood. He doesn't exactly have the... highest opinion of him.]

[There are more important matters to focus on anyway.]

If a truce is required for professional purposes, then I would see no issue with it. However, I remain skeptical that we could keep one going for an extended time period without pressure. Stopping us from violent confrontations, often with the use of words, is ideal. Stopping us from... [His nose wrinkles and he bares just a hint of teeth.] Sexual encounters as well, although I imagine that would often tie in with violence.

[Stopping them from...?]

[Sexual encounters.]

[No no no no nooooo that is not on the list of things she wants to think about happening. Is that what happened when Darkleer was injured like that?

Oh no, so many unwanted mental images right now, why?

Thankfully this is voice only and Darkleer can't see her distaste.]

[A small wince is the only verbal indication of her discomfort. She's silent for an uncomfortable thirty seconds or so, processing the implications of things she might see and be tasked with preventing if she takes on this relationship.]

I will need to speak with the Highblood as well, of course. I am not capable of physically stopping him from doing anything, but I do believe he has an interest in maintaining a relationship with Lysunder and may agree to this if he believes it necessary.

[He'd as much as admitted to her that he was bored and lonely, after all. Of course he would want to hold on to the only form of entertainment he has in this place.]

Perhaps it is better if you contacted him, then.

[Considering his idea of approaching it isn't really... Listen, he suspected he would have insulted him, shut up.]

I thank you dearly for this, Miss Zelda. While I care not a whit for that wreck, Lysunder and the children mean the world to me. I would not want to cause them further distress.

Of course. I care for them as well.

[She does not know Equius as well as she does Lysunder and Gamzee, but he seems like a good boy. His appreciation for poetry is something she can get behind, at least. If she's going to be involved in this though...]

If I may... the relationship between Gamzee and the Grand Highblood seems vastly different than the one you share with Equius. Is it safe to assume that they do not get along?

[Understanding the Highblood's motivations is vital to getting him to behave himself. This might be an uncomfortable conversation, but it is necessary.]

No.

[Wow, that is a quick response. It also carries the same kind of violent tone as before tempered with a parental protectiveness.]

On Alternia, indigobloods like Gamzee are supposed to be bred into nothing more than violent attack dogs of the Empire. Gamzee has no desire for such a fate, and the Highblood despises him for it, I believe. At the very least, that is what it seemed like last year when he tried to kill him.

[Gamzee is definitely not a concept she can use to calm the Highblood, then! Noted.]

Gamzee is a sweet child. I am glad that this place gives him a chance to escape that fate. So the Grand Highblood is fairly typical for his caste?

[She'd gotten that impression before, but it can't hurt to be certain. From what she's learned so far, it seems that the Highblood was a soldier of some sort, one that engaged in near-constant battle. He is also religious about the concepts of death and violence, greatly raising the chance that he may be adverse to the idea of not fighting someone. Still, if it is considered proper for trolls to only engage in one black romance and the Highblood adheres to his societal role, the chance that he will agree to having an auspitice rises.]

Yes. He is the head of the Subjugglators, which are the most powerful land-troll group on Alternia. All others report to them one way or another. They are considered the right hand of the Empress, enforcing her will through violence and terror when need be. Sometimes, even when it is not needed.

Yes, I rather got the impression that they engaged in such activities for fun as well.

[Well, all that information lines up with what she already knows. There is no reason to delay further. From what she knows of Darkleer, he is an intensely private person. He likely considers the situation desperate if he's contacting her.]

Very well, I will contact him and let you know if he agrees.

Thank you kindly, Lady Hylia. This means much.

I have last two questions, but they can wait until you establish contact with him.

[Oh no, now she's curious...]

I will call you soon.

Thank you. Good evening to you, my lady.

[Click!]

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Video: Public Service Princess

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