Demeanour (part 18)
- Location
- Hampden Park
21st April
01:25 GMT -5
**T'ronn! [Giant beaming smile!]**
M'gann tackle-hugs her White brother off his flying.. Bio.. platform thing, both of them floating into the thin Martian air. She's had to modify her Humanish form slightly for the low pressure. She could have had her shapeshifting clothes form an environmental suit, but she decided against it.
The rest of the party watch them. Five Whites and two Greens. All of them -T'ronn included- are in minimally modified standard pattern Martian forms. They're probably saying things to each other but at this distance I can't pick it up unless they decide to direct something towards me. I guess having M'gann around has spoiled me with the power of a once in a generation telepath.
Ma'alefa'ak smiles at the scene. "I was worried they might miss each other."
"How long has this been going on?"
"A few years. J'aarkn's return widened the appeal, but it's not as if White Martians weren't aware that they were getting a raw deal."
"Does M'gann know about it?"
"She knows that her brother and his friends like to meet up here." He glances at me sidelong. "T'ronn was thinking about involving her, then she said that she wanted to join the Manhunters. Since she ran off to Earth I don't suppose it matters."
"Can Whites do that?"
"In Mel'dilo'rn? Sure, if their record is completely spotless. With the arrangement she's got now I don't think it matters. Even if she wasn't a Manhunter on paper she could make a life for herself on Earth."
"Seems a few too many for a secret meeting."
"Martians… Who aren't me, at least, don't do things solo. Most of these guys and girls will be spending time tending to the animals."
"Why?"
"Making memories. It's not foolproof, but having definite memories of spending time here not discussing the overthrow of the existing social order makes it harder for anyone who might take issue with that to spot that they've been doing it."
I nod. Makes sense.
Kon peers blearily out at them, before exhaling lightly and shaking his head. "I'm going back to bed. Tell M'gann's brother I said 'hi'."
"Okay."
He turns away and trudges sleepily back in the direction of his temporary bedroom.
"Is it late, where you're from on Earth?"
"Middle of the night." The sun's still up outside. "And Kon can't control his circadian rhythms like M'gann and I can. What sort of time is it here?"
"Early morning." The party of Martians on the outside draw nearer to the airlock. Ma'alefa'ak turns away from the window and heads towards the internal side. "I live by the planetary day, not the standard day they use in the caverns."
"I'd have thought that the animals would be most active during the hours of darkness. If they're all burrowers."
"No, they're not. A lot of them have lived in the caverns as long as we Martians have. They're used to open spaces and light… Though not this bright."
"Did you design the biomes yourself?"
"Not entirely. They're based on designs we had for off-world habitats." He sighs. "A purpose they'll probably never be used for."
"I know… Martians have difficulty, when they can't feel other people's minds. But how many people would they actually need? For long term settlement, I mean."
"I don't think anyone knows. M'gann could come out here on her own, but everyone else who's tried that ended up feeling distinctly unwell until they got into range of my menagerie. And we're only about a hundred miles from the nearest city."
"Mister J'aarkn mentioned that he hallucinated during his journey to Earth."
"He probably did. Our early space explorers had the same difficulty. Patrol ships have crews of fifty or so these days, just to make sure the people they actually need are at full capacity."
The opening to the inside of the airlock oozes open and M'gann emerges, dragging T'ronn along with her. **T'ronn, this is my Human friend Paul, and this…** She blinks. **Where's Kon?**
**He went back to bed.**
**Oh. I suppose it is kind of early. Ah, Paul, this is T'ronn.**
I hold out my right hand. **Pleased to meet you.**
He regards my hand for a moment, then his body starts to shift. His arms shorten, fingers clustering towards the end of the limb and being joined by two extra digits. His face smoothes, hair extends from his scalp, his torso contracts and he gains a slightly more upright posture. Lastly, his belt expands to cover his increasingly Human body and I'm left looking at rule 63'd version of M'gann, complete with chalk white skin and grey-black hair.
**Hello.** He takes hold of my hand. **I am T'ronn M'orzz. M'gann has told me a great deal about you.** The left side of his mouth turns upwards and I feel-. **[My arms aroundher his chest, under her breasts his pectorals. My bare chest pressed against her his naked back. My face nuzzling her his neck. Her His giggles chuckles like silver bells a babbling stream.]**
I bow my head slightly. **I'd be more worried about what Mister J'aarkn was saying about us if I thought the idea of having a race of telepathic shapeshifters finding us sexually attractive-**
M'gann looks scandalised. **T'ronn, what did you just-?!**
**-at all problematic. Guess he didn't edit his own bias out of everything.**
**M'gy didn't need his help to find Humans attractive. Huh.** He looks down at his legs as the rest of his group file in behind him. **Certainly easier to walk around like this.** He tilts his head to the side. "Uncle Ma'al, where do you want us today?"
"That depends. How many more are coming?"
"Two more groups, I think."
"Nice to see you kids so interested in your natural history. So who wants to clean out the B'ool enclosure?"
M'gann's eyes widen. "You have B'ool here?"
"Little ones." He smiles. "No takers?" No one says anything. "M'gann? You want to show your brother how much you've learned from J'onn?"
"Ahhh…"
**Do you like seeing people suffer?**
That was one of the other Martians. Not sure which… Ring, is there a way to tell which of them is doing that?
Confirmed. Options available.
No, I don't think sticking collars on them is really-.
"Uncle Ma'al?" I look around to see Ma'alefa'ak.. clasping his head, unsteady on his feet. M'gann reaches out to support him. "Are you okay?"
"Ah… Ah…" Ma'alefa'ak pulls his hands away, straightening up and his fingers clenching into fists. "Yes, I'm… Sorry. I didn't mean I was actually going to let you loose on the B'ool unsupervised. Let's.. start with the Sho'keer instead. T'ronn, could you show the others where the protective gear is?"
He nods. "Sure, Uncle Ma'al." He looks a little concerned, but Ma'alefa'ak appears to have recovered.
Bit odd. But, I suppose that I'm better equipped to handle dangerous animals than they are and I don't know anything about Ma'alefa'ak's particular condition. Well, if M'gann doesn't look seriously worried.. I'll just.. leave it for now.
01:25 GMT -5
**T'ronn! [Giant beaming smile!]**
M'gann tackle-hugs her White brother off his flying.. Bio.. platform thing, both of them floating into the thin Martian air. She's had to modify her Humanish form slightly for the low pressure. She could have had her shapeshifting clothes form an environmental suit, but she decided against it.
The rest of the party watch them. Five Whites and two Greens. All of them -T'ronn included- are in minimally modified standard pattern Martian forms. They're probably saying things to each other but at this distance I can't pick it up unless they decide to direct something towards me. I guess having M'gann around has spoiled me with the power of a once in a generation telepath.
Ma'alefa'ak smiles at the scene. "I was worried they might miss each other."
"How long has this been going on?"
"A few years. J'aarkn's return widened the appeal, but it's not as if White Martians weren't aware that they were getting a raw deal."
"Does M'gann know about it?"
"She knows that her brother and his friends like to meet up here." He glances at me sidelong. "T'ronn was thinking about involving her, then she said that she wanted to join the Manhunters. Since she ran off to Earth I don't suppose it matters."
"Can Whites do that?"
"In Mel'dilo'rn? Sure, if their record is completely spotless. With the arrangement she's got now I don't think it matters. Even if she wasn't a Manhunter on paper she could make a life for herself on Earth."
"Seems a few too many for a secret meeting."
"Martians… Who aren't me, at least, don't do things solo. Most of these guys and girls will be spending time tending to the animals."
"Why?"
"Making memories. It's not foolproof, but having definite memories of spending time here not discussing the overthrow of the existing social order makes it harder for anyone who might take issue with that to spot that they've been doing it."
I nod. Makes sense.
Kon peers blearily out at them, before exhaling lightly and shaking his head. "I'm going back to bed. Tell M'gann's brother I said 'hi'."
"Okay."
He turns away and trudges sleepily back in the direction of his temporary bedroom.
"Is it late, where you're from on Earth?"
"Middle of the night." The sun's still up outside. "And Kon can't control his circadian rhythms like M'gann and I can. What sort of time is it here?"
"Early morning." The party of Martians on the outside draw nearer to the airlock. Ma'alefa'ak turns away from the window and heads towards the internal side. "I live by the planetary day, not the standard day they use in the caverns."
"I'd have thought that the animals would be most active during the hours of darkness. If they're all burrowers."
"No, they're not. A lot of them have lived in the caverns as long as we Martians have. They're used to open spaces and light… Though not this bright."
"Did you design the biomes yourself?"
"Not entirely. They're based on designs we had for off-world habitats." He sighs. "A purpose they'll probably never be used for."
"I know… Martians have difficulty, when they can't feel other people's minds. But how many people would they actually need? For long term settlement, I mean."
"I don't think anyone knows. M'gann could come out here on her own, but everyone else who's tried that ended up feeling distinctly unwell until they got into range of my menagerie. And we're only about a hundred miles from the nearest city."
"Mister J'aarkn mentioned that he hallucinated during his journey to Earth."
"He probably did. Our early space explorers had the same difficulty. Patrol ships have crews of fifty or so these days, just to make sure the people they actually need are at full capacity."
The opening to the inside of the airlock oozes open and M'gann emerges, dragging T'ronn along with her. **T'ronn, this is my Human friend Paul, and this…** She blinks. **Where's Kon?**
**He went back to bed.**
**Oh. I suppose it is kind of early. Ah, Paul, this is T'ronn.**
I hold out my right hand. **Pleased to meet you.**
He regards my hand for a moment, then his body starts to shift. His arms shorten, fingers clustering towards the end of the limb and being joined by two extra digits. His face smoothes, hair extends from his scalp, his torso contracts and he gains a slightly more upright posture. Lastly, his belt expands to cover his increasingly Human body and I'm left looking at rule 63'd version of M'gann, complete with chalk white skin and grey-black hair.
**Hello.** He takes hold of my hand. **I am T'ronn M'orzz. M'gann has told me a great deal about you.** The left side of his mouth turns upwards and I feel-. **[My arms around
I bow my head slightly. **I'd be more worried about what Mister J'aarkn was saying about us if I thought the idea of having a race of telepathic shapeshifters finding us sexually attractive-**
M'gann looks scandalised. **T'ronn, what did you just-?!**
**-at all problematic. Guess he didn't edit his own bias out of everything.**
**M'gy didn't need his help to find Humans attractive. Huh.** He looks down at his legs as the rest of his group file in behind him. **Certainly easier to walk around like this.** He tilts his head to the side. "Uncle Ma'al, where do you want us today?"
"That depends. How many more are coming?"
"Two more groups, I think."
"Nice to see you kids so interested in your natural history. So who wants to clean out the B'ool enclosure?"
M'gann's eyes widen. "You have B'ool here?"
"Little ones." He smiles. "No takers?" No one says anything. "M'gann? You want to show your brother how much you've learned from J'onn?"
"Ahhh…"
**Do you like seeing people suffer?**
That was one of the other Martians. Not sure which… Ring, is there a way to tell which of them is doing that?
Confirmed. Options available.
No, I don't think sticking collars on them is really-.
"Uncle Ma'al?" I look around to see Ma'alefa'ak.. clasping his head, unsteady on his feet. M'gann reaches out to support him. "Are you okay?"
"Ah… Ah…" Ma'alefa'ak pulls his hands away, straightening up and his fingers clenching into fists. "Yes, I'm… Sorry. I didn't mean I was actually going to let you loose on the B'ool unsupervised. Let's.. start with the Sho'keer instead. T'ronn, could you show the others where the protective gear is?"
He nods. "Sure, Uncle Ma'al." He looks a little concerned, but Ma'alefa'ak appears to have recovered.
Bit odd. But, I suppose that I'm better equipped to handle dangerous animals than they are and I don't know anything about Ma'alefa'ak's particular condition. Well, if M'gann doesn't look seriously worried.. I'll just.. leave it for now.
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