Avishraa Reloaded

Some vigils passed as Einriss settled into his new quarters. Dlyss had not yet put in another appearance, though the quartermaster - who seemed far more willing to talk to either Einriss or Puugwol than most of the other inhabitants of Oghiras were - mentioned that she had important business in the Citadel.

The gently rotting wood that Einriss had helped Puugwol collect had been placed in an alcove that had been built into the latter's quarters, where she had seeded it with spores from her bilaak-tesh fungus. Though it was still rather early, the emergence of tiny gray half-circles from the bark seemed to be a relief to Puugwol - at least they were growing, even if it was not yet possible to say that they would have the properties she intended.

When the set of rooms that was to be the laboratory had been substantially finished, both of them went to have a look around at the results. They were spacious, certainly; there were holding pens, tables with restraints, bins and other storage for various materials, though these last had yet to be filled.

“It is not the kind of environment in which I am used to working,” Puugwol felt moved to comment as they looked around, “but I feel that we could accomplish much here.”

Einriss was wandering slowly around the lab, opening some cupboards and empty containers to inspect how much space they could contain. He found himself verifying the ventilation - it would be important that air could come and go very freely if they wanted to keep live creatures in here in any number, and it would be desirable that this same circulation could be stopped if they were ever going to work on biological weapons that might disperse through the air. He nodded a little to himself, then, as if afterthought, extended it to be a nod to Puugwol. “I won't be able to spend all of my time here, either,” he observed, for the first time in a long time showing something like empathy rather than a purely literal understanding of Puugwol's words. “But it's remarkably well-equipped.”

Puugwol nodded agreeably. It was far beyond anything she'd ever had access to; she'd been lucky, before leaving home, to even have enough room indoors to host a patient without having to sleep outside her own hut, and that was usually when it was a child. Not that people had been eager to bring their children to her, by the end.

“I wonder how busy Dlyss will want to keep us,” she mused. “It could be convenient to use this space for other experiments of our own, if there is the time for them.”

At this, Einriss tilted his head with some curiosity. It wasn't that he hadn't had personal projects before - his wing was a perfect example of it - but he'd so taken to his recent work that he'd practically forgotten that it was an option. What would it even mean to use this space for personal experiments? It was so far from his mind right now that he had to stop and think about it. And yet, his curiosity was kindled. “Did you have any in mind?” he asked.

“Oh, I don't know,” she replied absently. “The Paagdil-shennai are more concerned that changes are made than what the changes are.” By this point, Einriss had heard her use the term several times; he was under the impression that they were deities of some kind. “Maybe if I could capture another one of those bright local beasts, I could modify its intelligence to the point of being able to communicate. It might be interesting to learn the perspective of an alien being.”

Puugwol mused on the subject, and added, “Or I suppose I would greatly like the chance to continue my developmental studies on the takma body, but I do not think that the people around here would be any more willing to provide me with an egg than those back home were.”

Einriss was considering her first comment when her second punctured through it. He glanced across at her, for a moment not sure he heard right - markedly less because of what she was proposing, and more because she was speaking of logistical problems, and it made no sense to him. And so he asked the kind of question only Einriss would ever ask: “Couldn't you use your own?”

Puugwol felt her train of thought hit a rock, and blinked. “…er.”

She considered the question for a moment, with an uncharacteristically awkward look on her face. “I, er. I suppose I could,” she responded, appearing to pick her words cautiously. “Dlyss has told me that lifegivers are… fruitful, so I assume I would not have a shortage of experimental material. But I have no mate, and it has seemed to me that learning how to acquire one would be more difficult than persuading someone else to provide an egg.”

For Puugwol even to mention the necessity of a mate in the process was somewhat surprising - not so much for its factual nature, because lifegivers of any sex tended to become aware of how reproduction worked whether someone explained it or not, but most still would not discuss it in polite company.

Einriss's stare just continued to anchor on her with mild incomprehension at her hurdles. When that didn't yield any response, though, he said: “It doesn't need to be a permanent arrangement for this purpose, surely you can find someone you find non-repulsive for this project who would be happy to indulge in the associated pleasure, if nothing else? I for one would certainly not object.” He said it with such a tonal shrug that it was mercifully clear that he wasn't being lewd or lecherous about it, but it was still a very crass sequence of words to come out of anyone's mouth in this context, regardless.

Puugwol's mouth hung slightly open for a moment, while various mild expressions of shock, mistrust, and intrigue battled for control of her face. At least, it settled into something like curiosity; there was a faint noise as her mouth clapped shut, and then she said, with a kind of exaggerated casualness, “If I may ask: have you often made such… spontaneous offers of reproductive assistance?”

Einriss tilted his muzzle mildly, expressing a soft confusion. “There's never been a project like the one you describe,” he pointed out. “By corollary, never?” So it was tied to the project for him. That wasn't really surprising, given everything Puugwol knew about him so far. He was excited by the science. Figured.

Puugwol nodded. It all made sense now. She knew perfectly well that, in terms of interpersonal relationships, she lacked not merely experience but a great deal of understanding, but by observation of the behavior of other women, she had the suspicion that, if Einriss had made such an offer before - worded like that, at least - he would, at the very least, currently be missing several teeth.

Aloud, she said, “While you are correct that the requirements for a reproductive partner are, in and of themselves, not complex, I would put it to you that the requirements for allowing someone to have what is, after all, a very thorough form of access to one's person are not necessarily the same, even though the former presupposes the latter.

She paused, and added, “Having some method for determining who should be allowed so near and who should not is helpful. As I have found, this is especially true when one, not giving the impression of being able to put up a resistance, encounters someone who is… not welcome.”

Einriss was beginning to look at her with something like a very mild annoyance. “Yes?” he said, fishing for some kind of conclusion or verdict on a line of thought he considered blithely obvious. Of course one didn't just let anyone close to vulnerable parts of oneself - but to Einriss, it was rather more of an intellectual exercise than something steeped in instinct. If one wanted to make eggs, it was comparatively easy to find a male eager to help, and it didn't need a degree in psychology to know whether the male wanted a family or it could be left at a one-time affair. That 'one-time affairs' were not a thing that women generally pursued was not his problem, after all; as far as he was concerned, that might as well be politics, and he wasn't interested in letting that get in the way of science. It didn't help that he could not imagine Puugwol, while fairly short as far as women went, somehow failing to defend herself if someone mistook her quest for promiscuity.

Puugwol sighed. “I suppose the point I was trying to make was that if were so simple to find a partner that met those standards, I would have already begun my studies before you got here. Or possibly before I got here.”

Outside in the hall, positioned where she could not easily be seen, Dlyss listened to the conversation and, somewhat uncharacteristically, let out a very faint sigh and passed a hand over her face. She was not, by most standards, very romantic, but she knew in a mechanical sort of way how courtship was supposed to go, and she was quite disturbed at how badly the two lifegivers seemed to be doing at achieving even a straightforward, utilitarian one.

She glanced down at her companion, who had also been listening, and who bore a look of vast amusement. He, in turn, looked up at her. In her future vision, she saw him say: “Well, dear, it might have gone as badly between us, had you not had the foresight to bring it about,” yet the words remained unspoken; long ago, they had determined that a sufficiently strong intention to speak could be used to pass messages to her even if nothing was ultimately said. She could not respond to him in kind, but merely shook her head: No, I don't think it would have. Not quite like this.

Regardless, perhaps it would be opportune to enter now, before they got too much more annoyed with each other. With a quick jerk of her muzzle, she motion for her companion to follow, and then stepped into the doorway. “Do excuse me,” she murmured. “There were some things I wished to discuss, if you would be amenable.”

Behind Dlyss and to one side, peeking in past her, was a bronze male. He looked thin and travel-worn, and his feet and the end of his tail were wrapped up in the fashion of someone who, at the very least, had had a near brush with frostbite, but despite appearing to still be recovering from whatever he had experienced, his expression was determinedly good-humored; he appeared keenly interested in the contents of the lab, both objects and people.

If the conversation had been any closer to traditional courtship, Einriss might have been embarrassed at the timing. As it were, it was merely the inconvenience of any interrupted conversation about work, one which he naturally forgave Dlyss automatically, given that she was his main source of interesting projects, not to mention finances. Interpersonally, he liked her - despite her baffling proficiency at politics, she was mostly no-nonsense and straight-forward around him. It was really quite welcome - and so he smiled alertly. To the stranger Dlyss had brought along, he gave a non-verbal greeting, dipping his muzzle with respect, and with his silence on the matter invited Dlyss to continue as she pleased.

Puugwol's greeting was similar, if somewhat less enthusiastic. She was grateful to Dlyss - she had helped locate and assist her after the lifegiver had stumbled, exhausted and sick, out of the mountains into the upper valleys of the Citadel, had brought her here to this wonderfully interesting world, and had introduced her to Einriss, who, despite being a bit dense right at the moment, made more sense to her than nearly anyone else she'd ever run into - but she often found the oracle to scrape across her nerves.

“I have been considering the idea,” Dlyss continued, “of… manipulating the Chosen body. This is not something I do lightly; the gods made us as we are for a reason. However-” A faint twitch of expression crossed her face, like a grimace. “-it is becoming clear that a confrontation with the Unchosen is approaching. It will not be immediate, but it will be difficult. If we intend for events to go in our favor, some niceties cannot be indulged, and our preparations must be underway. So,” she continued, to Puugwol's immense glee, “I am inclined to permit this course of study.

“However,” she added, “In the near term I foresee… difficulties in acquiring test subjects. Volunteers are likely to be scarce, at least at such an early stage, and the use of pre-existing prisoners would raise undesirable questions in certain quarters. I have been hesitant to proceed for that reason as well. Fortunately, my husband Zadireth-” she indicated the bronze beside her ”-may have inadvertently assisted in that respect.

“He has been outside the Citadel, seeking Chosen to rescue and bring home. And he has - but, as it happens, he found someone else as well while in the mountains. A criminal, in fact, who has long escaped the justice of the Council. Rather than turn him in for sentencing, I have arranged for him to be brought here; it seemed that he might pay for his crime by assisting with your research.”

'Manipulate' was a vague term, but even Einriss, who liked taking things as literally as possible, realised that it stood for improvements. Privately, Einriss found the notion of punishing someone with research meant to improve Chosen physiologically a little quaint, but as long as no one was asking him to deliberately and actively harm the test subject, he supposed it would do.

He allowed himself the curiosity, mostly in hope of better calibrating himself for how sorry he should feel if he did cause harm, but also in hope of better understanding what precautions they might need to take, of asking, quite innocently: “What crime did they commit?”

“He is a mentalist, as well as a stone elementalist. Ten cycles ago, he attacked a member of the Council in the street, in apparent retaliation for a legal decision involving one of his parents. The Councillor was not permanently injured physically, but the mental damage could not be entirely repaired. The criminal was briefly detained, but managed to escape and subsequently departed the Citadel without authorization - which, at the time, was itself also a crime.” Dlyss gestured toward the door. “If you would like to see him, he is currently contained, though we are still considering efficient ways to neutralize his powers outside of containment.”

It was enough to convince Einriss that the prisoner was dangerous. It was possible he was repentantly dangerous, of course, but it was always best not to expect that. Einriss had never really flirted with the notion that 'people change over time', so the passing of time itself did not change his position, but he was entirely familiar with the idea that people sometimes did things they regretted. He had a whole batch of his own, after all, even if they were certainly much, much milder.

He did not, in fact, want to see someone who was dangerous and could potentially damage his mind. So he smiled in appreciation and asked: “Should we be taking any preparatory precautions on our end, given his history of violence, or do you expect he will make little trouble after he can no longer throw rocks at people and mess with their minds?”

Dlyss considered this question, and said, “While he is not unwaveringly aggressive, he will not hesitate to cause trouble if he feels justified. Though at the moment the bulk of his feelings are directed at myself, I regret to say that he will likely be greatly displeased at his role in your research. He will almost certainly require restraints when outside his containment.

She turned and led them down a corridor. “That said, he is of a somewhat advanced age - fourteen cycles or so - and he no longer has the agility or stamina he once did, and we shall take care to minimize his ability to cause injury - blunting claws and teeth and so on. In the nearer term, he is almost no threat at all; he was caught in a snowstorm in the mountains when Zadireth found him, and will take some time to recover from his ordeal.”

“He's not the only one,” Zadireth commented, with a flick of his bandaged tail and a wry grin. “If we hadn't had the energists with us, we would've been in much deeper trouble, and so would he.”

Puugwol craned her neck to look at the bandages. “Did you need one of us to look at those?”

Zadireth shook his head. “Thank you, no. I've had some preliminary treatment already, and we have a healer at home who can take care of anything else.”

Einriss nodded amiably, already setting some part of his mind to work - with reluctance, as it wasn't an activity he cherished in any way - to thinking about the logistics of how someone might be restrained and remain useful to science. Then he asked: “Is there a particular direction we should preferentially be exploring this project into?” He was frankly puzzled how an adult takma might be useful, especially one of such advanced age, but given Puugwol's abilities, perhaps modifications would provide a useful biochemical template from which once could derive the essence of. If Dlyss thought it was a useful methodology, then it would almost surely prove to be just that. It wouldn't be the first time he simply had a lack of sufficient imagination, after all easily losing himself in the minutiae of his current projects. One more way in which Dlyss was a blessing.