AUDIENCE 🚀 ANISE TATLIN

[dropoffs]

Comments

[sexyasmieu]

[ Anise doesn't hesitate; she immediately gets one with strawberries and chocolate sauce. ]

So this is the kind of stuff you like?

[ like she's making a mental note of people's preferences... ]

[dropoffs]

I'm used to things that are quick and instant, cheap too... but I like watching them make them.

[ the machines are very deft in putting together the order, with delicate little apparatuses that drizzle chocolate sauce onto a very delicious looking crepe. thebe has gone ahead and ordered one with some lemon and sugar and a little cream. ]

I've eaten better here than ever... everything's always so expensive.

[sexyasmieu]

Tell me about it... I never got to eat stuff like this before.

What did you do before working here?

[dropoffs]

Worked at a hole in the wall. The kinda place where you know all your customers.

Sounds kinda rough where you're from...

[sexyasmieu]

So like, a bartender?

[dropoffs]

Yeah. Like a bartender.

[sexyasmieu]

Does it not make much money? I thought you'd at least get decent tips once in a while...

[dropoffs]

[ wobbles their hand. ]

It's complicated. You know what inflation is? Money-wise?

[sexyasmieu]

[ she nods. ]

[dropoffs]

Let's just say it's really... really bad... so I can use every cent I can get.

[sexyasmieu]

I totally understand... It's really hard to make or save money where I'm from, too...

[dropoffs]

[ just a soft "maaaaan" that leaves them as they stretch a little. ]

It's never easy, is it? People don't get it...

What's it like where you're from...?

[sexyasmieu]

Papa got into a whole lot of debt, and Mama's bad with money too, so we've been struggling a bunch... We all work at the cathedral, but even with the three of us, we don't take home enough to make ends meet...

[dropoffs]

[ the money would do a hell of a lot of good for someone like anise. thebe's little ear appendages twitch softly. hhhrgh... ]

Debt, huh? Really feels like being up a creek without a paddle.

[ tilts head ]

What do you do at the cathedral?

[sexyasmieu]

I'm a member of the Oracle Knights! It's the military arm of the Order.

[dropoffs]

They make 'em that young? [ a light laugh ]

Joking... joking. You seem pretty competent, I wouldn't put it past you...

[sexyasmieu]

Hehe. I'm officially their youngest recruit ever! [ unofficially? don't worry about it. ] It's because I'm a prodigy when it comes to fonic artes. Amazing, right?

... Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to ask about that!! People were saying the nanites are what's preventing us from using our abilities... When do you think that'll wear off?

[dropoffs]

I am indeed amazed.

[ tilting their head while thinking. ]

Yeah, they act kind of like an equalizer, it's a little weird. I guess I wouldn't know much on a personal level about powers...

For some it's earlier, others it's later. I think Gan said theirs lasted about two weeks, but it's different for everyone, we can't count on that timeline to be accurate for all.

[sexyasmieu]

So there's nothing we can do but wait?

[dropoffs]

There's a lot of stuff that's not in our control, which I hate to say, but we're kind of stuck in this together.

[ stares tiredly into hand. ]

We're just trying to do what we can, but our comms suck and the hub's damn far. I think we're getting a message from the company soon to address a few things, at least.

[sexyasmieu]

Really? Man, they'd better...

... Hey, so, since the eight of you already went through this stuff before, does that mean you can use any special abilities you had before? Artes and magic and stuff?

[dropoffs]

[ anise says this, and for a moment, thebe kind of pauses. there's a little brief blip across their visor. they kind of stand there a moment, a second longer than they ought to before the ears twitch and they shake their head. ]

Sorry... Anyways, I can't speak for the others. I never had powers in the first place, so. All I've got are the perks from being promoted...

[ they tap the tip of their boot against the ground, and a small void appears behind their foot. smoothing their sole over it again closes it up in a blip. ]

[sexyasmieu]

[ ......? ]

-- Wait, perks? What was that?

[ void?? ]

[dropoffs]

It's just a way of getting places, quickly. Limited range, but helpful if I've got to meet one of you quickly.

Don't like to always use it though.

[sexyasmieu]

So if I do one of those location pings and it's super important, you can just zap yourself over there? Why not use it all the time? It sounds super handy.