2nd Floor Common Room, Saturday Morning

[crimson_sister]

By now, Lucille was familiar enough with the kitchen to make herself breakfast. In the morning she made herself a pot of tea and some toast, reluctantly deciding that modern appliances did make this easier than a wood-fired stove.

Taking a seat on the couch, she opened the book she had brought; the second one in the series Cassandra had recommended. She was already midway through it, and it was terribly exciting, more so than romantic novels she had read at home. Currently she was undecided whether this was due to the heroine being good with a sword or her lover being in a state of undress most of the time.

[open, of course!]

Comments

[giveherahand]

"Hello," Mara said with a small smile as she walked into the common room. "What are you reading?"

[crimson_sister]

"Good morning," Lucille greeted with a polite, if somewhat tense, smile. She put the book down on the couch next to her.

"Oh, just a novel. But I don't think we've met. My name is Lucille."

She might not be as embarrassed about the books she was reading as Cassandra was, but she saw no reason to discuss it before they had even been introduced. There was a shirtless boy on the cover after all.

[giveherahand]

"I'm Mara," Mara replied, holding out her hand to shake. "I missed the welcome picnic--I was at home on vacation. It's nice to meet you."

[crimson_sister]

Lucille looked at the extended hand, then at Mara's face and finally back at the hand, her default expression of not being entirely impressed on her face. Still, she finally shook the girl's hand.

"A pleasure to meet you. And where is home?"

[giveherahand]

"Imperial Center," Mara replied, "in a different galaxy. I was helping my guardian out with a few errands. Have you been settling in all right?"

[crimson_sister]

"I see," Lucille replied, by now quite proud not to even react when galaxies were mentioned. "And yes, thank you, I have. Quite well."

[giveherahand]

"I can tell," Mara said, looking a little amused. "The different galaxy part didn't even phase you. Do you have a roommate?"

[crimson_sister]

"Yes. Her name is Raven Queen. If you've seen someone walking around in very high heels it's most likely her."

She was also far to chatty and liked loud music, but Lucille comforted herself that the dormitories at the asylum had been worse.

"Do you?"

[giveherahand]

"I don't think I've met her yet either," Mara said, frowning thoughtfully. "My roommate is Merrill. She's very sweet."

[crimson_sister]

"And I haven't met her." Lucille fell silent, unsure whether she could be bothered with yet another introductory conversation. She already had more friends than she had expected, and Mara seemed a little too... nice?

Still, good manners didn't need to be sincere, she told herself.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" she asked, gesturing at the pot.

[SP? Need sleep]

[giveherahand]

Mara was quite an expert herself at insincere good manners.

"That would be nice," she agreed. "What's your planet like? Your dress is lovely."

And not nearly as ridiculous as what people from Naboo or Alderaan wore.

[crimson_sister]

Then they had something in common.

Lucille got another cup and poured tea for Mara. "Thank you. And my... planet is Earth. I am still unsure whether it is in the past of this one or a different universe."

As she got a compliment for her dress, which to be honest was rather unfashionable for 1885, so she paid a little attention to what Mara was wearing while taking a sip of her tea.

[giveherahand]

Mara was currently in an utilitarian black jumpsuit. She could splash out for parties, but in general preferred clothing she could move in. "It can be difficult to tell," Mara said sympathetically. "My boyfriend is from Earth as well, but not one where it rains popcorn or has news reporting squirrels."

[crimson_sister]

A black jumpsuit meant she couldn't return the compliment. There were limits to insincere politeness, after all.

"Neither of those things exist in my time," Lucille replied. "I suspect it isn't just a modern thing though. Can the world truly change that much?"

[giveherahand]

"It can make some truly incredible leaps in technology," Mara said, "but I think food weather's probably out of the question in most places. It certainly doesn't happen back home. The weather there is carefully regulated."

[crimson_sister]

"You regulate the weather?" Lucille asked in a conversational tone. "That would certainly be helpful where I am from. The winters can be quite dreary."

[giveherahand]

"We certainly try to," Mara said. "The buildings are thousands of feet tall. Electrical storms and earthquakes would be catastrophic."

[crimson_sister]

"Oh?" Lucille did her best not to sound impressed. "That must require lifts. I assume you don't rely on staircases."

Allerdale Hall had had a lift installed, which was quite modern, really.

[giveherahand]

"Thousands of them," Mara said, nodding. "We haven't seen the planet's surface in thousands of years."

[crimson_sister]

"That sounds... crowded," was all Lucille could think of. While she didn't enjoy nature as much as some of the poets she liked to read, that still sounded a bit excessive.

"So this place is quite a change for you too."

[giveherahand]

"Very much so," Mara said. "I haven't seen this much green in a very long time. And the buildings are so short! And nearly everyone is human--that's quite unusual on Imperial Center."

Even if the most alien of the races tended to keep clear of the parts Mara inhabited. Something about the Emperor's blatant xenophobia made them uncomfortable, go figure.

[crimson_sister]

"Oh! Yes, mostly human here." This was Lucille trying to seem quite at ease about non-humans.

"Of course, at home there are only humans. And animals that don't talk."

She took a sip of her tea.

[giveherahand]

"So what did you do to entertain yourselves without them?" Mara asked.

[crimson_sister]

How did you answer a question like that?

"I didn't realize they were entertaining," Lucille replied. "Are they?"

[giveherahand]

"Well, it depends on the species," Mara said with a little smile.

Mara didn't have the healthiest view on sentient non-humans.

"The squirrels here a quite entertaining. So's the talking pony."