Sometime on Boukun...

[amandanoon]

Noon stood still as the teleport beam coalesced around her, she looked around the room and nodded. Scans had been correct, there was no-one here, she let her hearing increase and listened she could hear the soft sounds of someone sleeping and in the distance what sounded like someone sorting dishes. Did that man never sleep? Checking with Thing

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[civ_barbarian]

Hsu looked down at her, seeing how she was almost pleading with him. "I'll consider it. There will be other gardens, as well as there is already parkland to the northeast, but that is set aside for hunting small game."

He nodded. "You do have a point, although they don't actually do long sittings anymore. They just take several holographic images and work from those with maybe a couple of short sittings for some detail work. I don't have the time nor inclination to be sitting around for hours either. It depends how conceptual." He'd never been a fan of modern art back on Earth. "But yes, I'm sure we could come up with some representation of our alliance." That was actually a good idea. The Hsu and Noonian alliance might still be closely under wraps, but there should be something on display to symbolize their relationship, even if most viewers would not have any idea what it really meant.

"Yes." Hsu was nothing if not direct. When she said about travelling in time, he had an odd but fleeting feeling of deja vu, but it was gone before he could nail it down. It was similar to how there had always been something familiar about her. "It could be because my own eyes are unnerving." There was that raised eyebrow as she swung around to watch the eyes. "Because it's me, the warrior, the barbarian. It's not necessarily the image I want to project to the public while I work to bring order and peace to Boukun. And because, I can come here and reconnect with my true self, the warlord. Come, I'll show you the other."

After going around a few more bends, there was an even more magnificent statue. This time, the artist had rendered Hsu on a horse in mid-battle. The horse was half-rearing up as Hsu had his bow drawn and aimed at a luckless enemy trying to claw his way up Hsu's leg. At the horse's feet were more battle-dead with arrows sticking out of them. Below the sculpture was a fountain, and the artist had excelled himself by having small rivers of red-tinted water run down and mix with the water below without staining the pure white marble at all.

[amandanoon]

"Well hedges are good for jumping over, if you're hunting on horseback, so that sort of works." Noon frowned "Uh do you hunt small animals on horseback?" she didn't have a clue, as she could never get close enough to a horse to even try riding one.

"Well, we represent a Matriarchal and Patriarchal society, so an artist should be able to come up with something using that kind of imagery. The fierce mother, the stoic father?" Noon's mind began to ponder the possibilities, but she still paid attention to Hsu.

"Ok, that makes sense, and yes you do sometimes have unnnerving eyes, especially when you're glaring at me." Noon added and followed him to the next sculpture.

Noon stood stock still and stared up at the statue, not a sound did she make as she slowly walked around it. On her second time round she reached out and touched various parts of the sculpture, admiring the way the artist had caught the horse's movement but msot of all she loved the way the blood ran into the fountain. Her eyes had gained that subtle shimmer of gold that showed she was excited and her other hand rubbed at her temples indicating that she was obviously setting off her chip.

Finally she spoke, "I love it. It's like the sculptor managed to freeze a moment in time, and the blood, how did they do that?"

She wandered off around the sculpture again and this time, so engrossed was she in seeing the workmanship up close, she stepped up onto the small wall around the pool to get closer to the carving.

"I wish I knew how to do this, to make rock appear to be living, or when they make marble look like gossamer fabrics. Have you seen The Winged Victory? It used to be back on Earth, not sure where it is now, but I remember going to see it as a small child and mother has holos of it. The attention to detail, this is on a par with that." Noon said still moving around the sculpture.

[civ_barbarian]

"Well, there weren't many hedges on the Steppes, which is where I was raised, so the flat is just as enjoyable. And yes, I hunt large and small game from the saddle, with a bow." Hsu recalled that Noon once told him that her family took much of their culture from England. "I've never seen much challenge in hunting with a pack of baying hounds doing all the work."

He made a noise, which could have been a snort of derision or just clearing his throat. "Hmmm...what about the nurturing mother and warrior father?" Though he knew that idea would go down just as well as hers had. "I'm sure we can come to agree on something. Most people get that feeling when I glare at them. I'm glad it works," he added with a smirk.

At the second sculpture, Hsu watched as Noon circled the fountain in fascination and obvious admiration. When she touched the horse's nose, he looked amused. "At least it is one horse that isn't scared of you." He made no comment as she stepped onto the wall, in fact didn't mind at all. "It took a lot of experimentation to get the blood effect right, the right viscosity and colour without staining or eroding the marble. Eventually we found the right balance of ingredients." As he spoke, Hsu noticed the look in her eyes, that bloodlust, and he could guess what she liked about it by the way her chip was clearly bothering her. While he was somewhat wary of what she might be capable of should the chip not ever work, he also liked the idea of seeing her without that limitation, his own killer instincts recognizing like.

"The one from Samothrace?" He assumed so as that was the one those familiar with the later Earth period knew. "Yes, I even managed to see it in it's original setting in the temple complex, though she was already missing a wing at that point. That was when I was with the Roman navy, a few centuries after she was carved. The French, to give them some credit, did exhibit and restore a good bit of her very well."

[amandanoon]

Noon frowned, "Baying hounds? Oh like the old fashioned hunts of old England. That's no way to hunt, stresses the meat, I prefer the sneaky methods. If they drop down dead before they even realise you shot them the meat tastes so much better." she grinned, "But, if you like, I could run around baying loudly, to create the right atmosphere."

Noon sighed loudly, "Do you think there will ever be a horse that won't run away from me? They really are very beautiful creatures." she ran her hand over the horses leg nearest her.

"Yes, Nike of Samothrace, she is so beautiful." Noon sat down on the little wall, and let her feet dangle into the water, "Did she still have a head then? I've always wondered what she looked like. I wonder where she ended up, I would love to take her home."

She leant down and dipped her hand into the water and let it trickle through her fingers, "If you're going to remove the hedges, can I make a suggestion? You need something to break up the paths and statues, would you be interested in some of the new fragrant roses I've been developing? There's one particular one, it's blood red, and only releases it's fragrance at night. You do have to be careful with the thorns though, one scratch and it knocks you out. I use them as a defensive line in my gardens. Keeps out animals and intruders."

[civ_barbarian]

"I couldn't agree more, which is why the bow is so much more effective than a gun." He smirked. "They never hear it. Not only that, but if you've had to hunt to survive, stealth will get you a good meal without expending the amount of energy a chase over fields takes. No, I haven't ridden to hounds in four or five centuries, and then I merely viewed it as an opportunity for my horse to get good exercise and to socialize with some good friends. So no, Noon, dog impressions will not be necessary or appreciated." Hsu raised an eyebrow at her that could have been a warning but was definitely displeasure.

"Perhaps one day, but I wouldn't count on it." He paused, that smirk back. "Unless you can hide that predator inside you, but as horses are natural prey they smell it on you."

Hsu nodded and sat on the other side of the small wall, the other side of the water. "Yes, she did. I recall thinking at the time that she bore a resemblance to someone I'd met, an Immortal who lived during Greece's golden years. A quite beautiful woman, but extremely untrustworthy. Such a work of art would be something she revelled in modelling for."

"Hmmm." His reply was non-committal, and he spent several moments pondering Noon's suggestion. Eventually, he spoke. "I'm not a huge fan of roses, especially red ones. You know I much prefer the edelweiss." Hsu indicated up to some of the walls that surrounded them, some with the small, alpine flower carved into the stonework. "But I do like the thought of such an innocent looking defensive weapon. Make it a white rose, and you have a deal."

[amandanoon]

“Crossbow or compound?” she asked with interest, she knew which she preferred.

“How is it that we have never found time to go hunting? I have a whole moon to hunt on, and yet we never seem to find the time to go there and let me show it off.” Noon said looking a little sad. “Is this how life will be when I’m sitting at the top? Never getting to do what I want?”

“I could challenge the folks back home, breed me a horse. Although that’s probably how we ended up with some of those weirder creatures we keep in the compounds. Hmm...” Noon drifted off in thought. Then she looked up at him “So how do you get anywhere near a horse?”

“Is she still around? Or did she go the way of Samothrace?” Noon asked, making a slicing gesture across her own neck. “You think she’d mind if I had a copy made, don’t know why I haven’t done it sooner, as we have pretty good holos of it.”

“White? Well if we are going to mess with colour, I can get them to mess with size and shape, it won’t be edelweiss, but the flowers can be small and white. Ok challenge accepted, probably take about a year, as we’ll need to make sure it grows true after the boffins mess around.” Noon smiled, Hsu was a difficult person to find gifts for and Noon liked giving gifts.

[civ_barbarian]

He gave her something of a disparaging look. As if there were any choice. "Neither. A recurve, made in the Hun tradition with wood, bone, and horse glue and flexed into shape over many months, even years. An ancestor of the compound, perhaps, but just as accurate in the right hands, which are the same hands that made it." For a man not renowned for his patience, he always enjoyed the time and precision it took to make such a weapon. "I should show you some video of just how powerful it is, particularly from horseback." Hence the suggestion of video. "Compounds are good, but they do all the work for you as far as the draw is concerned."

That sad look didn't go unnoticed, even if Hsu hardly agreed with her. "Not necessarily. Certainly there are constraints on my time, even as Emperor, but as you can see, I still make sure that I have time to enjoy favourite pursuits. You'll just have to find that balance as well. Although, from what I can see, the reason you don't get to enjoy your moon is because you seem to make sure you are out in deep space where your mother cannot easily reach you."

"So that's what those things are? I'd often wondered." He raised an eyebrow at her as they continued to walk. "While I am a predator, I am a fully human one. Horses don't sense anything amiss."

Hsu snorted, which could have been annoyance or resignation. "I am sure Athenea is still around....somewhere. She is one of life's survivors. I can't see why she wouldn't mind, but I can imagine that if she discovered it, she might ask for royalties or something. That would be typical of her." Clearly there was little loved lost with him over this woman.

"Yes, white, the York rose. I wouldn't have anyone think I had any fondness for those Lancastrians or, worse, Tudor." He put aside the annoyance that rarely failed to rise at the thought anything remotely related to Tudor, even now. "But I would be very interested in what your scientists achieve." They had reached the edge of the courtyard once more, and he indicated a door through which Noon should step. "Come, I'll show you my bow, and I'll get MacDonald to pull up an image of Athenea, then you can judge for yourself if she matches what you imagine for Victory."

[amandanoon]

Noon tilted her head to one side, something she usually did when she was accessing Thing’s massive databanks for information, then grinned and nodded “Ahh I see, very simple, more reliant on the skill of the archer than gadgets and nik naks. Mostly I use a simple cross bow, John gave it to me.” She smiled that happy but sad smile that always flitted across her face when she talked about her long departed husband. “He said it suited me best. Although I have used compound bows and a few times when we were messing about I tried out some very basic bows that John and the boys made when they were younger, much younger.”

“Oh my moon isn’t anywhere near home, but when I’m there I can’t be contacted unless I choose to be. I bought it many years ago and then made very sure it vanished from every star chart and log book. A bolt hole, John said I should always have one.” She smiled up at Hsu “Not a soul on it, just me and the wildlife, I really should go check on it and cull the herds before they take over and eat the garden.”

Noon thought about the statue some more “Hmmm, maybe I’ll leave it headless, I’m fairly sure that’s part of what makes it so beautiful now.” Noon said, looking a little worried, “Not sure I want another ancient immortal in my life right now.”

Noon grinned, she’d endured a few lectures over the years about the Tudors and the Lancastrians, so didn’t rise to the bait. But his next sentence nearly floored her...

“Wait a sec, did you say that I get to meet Andy? The Andy? Really?” Noon had to jog a little to catch him up, “This is going to be fun, he’s not going to have a clue how I slipped passed his defences.” She smirked “I am allowed to tease him at least?” she asked.

[civ_barbarian]

Hsu actually humphed. "I wouldn't call it simple when it takes so much time and effort to make, but yes, it is the bowman's skill that makes it such a formidable weapon. It's how the Huns conquered so many." He'd never known her husband, or knew much about him, but he let her have that moment of reflection without passing comment. "Now, the crossbow is a simple weapon, though useful in close combat, especially the smaller, pistol-styled ones." He smirked. "Younger is a relative term for both of us really, isn't it?"

He raised an eyebrow on learning about her moon. It wasn't what he expected it to be. "I will certainly find some time to visit there and hunt with you. It would be a much more pleasurable way to cull the animals." Also, with it vanished from all star charts, he was now quite curious about it. "Although I've never needed a bolthole. I suppose it has to do with being from a tribal people. And when I do desire time to myself, I'm in a position to tell everyone to go away and they don't dare disturb me."

"You certainly wouldn't want her. She is quite beautiful, but wholly untrustworthy. The first chance that whore gets, she'll betray you if it's in her interest, but fortunately, I have no idea where she is." There was no mistaking that tone, that he knew Athenea's fickle nature, intimately.

That smirk was back as he looked back at Noon. "Yes, Andy. Really. No, he's not, and that's really going to annoy him. You remember Xiao?" The vampire had made the trip off Earth with Noon, but had died several years ago, trying to quell dissension in the badlands. "He used to slip past surveillance all the time. MacDonald hated him and Xiao took delight in it, so I think that he would be happy to pass the honour of teasing him on to you."

They were now inside, and Hsu hit the comm to tell MacDonald is presence was required. He then drew a large case from a secure cabinet, placed it on the nearest table and opened it. The bow was roughly half his height and solid, although it didn't take him much effort to string it. "Here, draw it. The recurve makes it easier than it looks." Although it still took more strength than a compound. He was in the middle of handing it to Noon when Andy walked in.

"Sir?" Then he saw the unfamiliar woman and gave her a very long, very suspicious look as she was certainly not Hsu's type. "I have no record of visitors. Who are you?" He would have drawn a gun if Hsu didn't look perfectly comfortable with her.

[amandanoon]

Noon grinned back at him, “Most definitely Gramps, and I meant it was simple as in elegant. Don’t be dissing my crossbows, they are very useful when you are clambering about in trees.”

Noon nodded “Boltholes are not just for getting away from the masses, they are also useful for hiding out, like when you’ve pissed off your mother to the point she is considering filicide.” Noon did not elaborate.

Noon stopped still, put her hands on her hips and glared at Hsu “Of course I remember Xiao, it was a sad day when we lost him. He was someone I liked to call friend. It will be an honour to takeover the duty of driving Andy nuts.”

Noon took the large bow from him and turned it about in her hand, holding it steady she ran her hand over the wood. “Oh, it’s beautiful, this must have taken hours?”

She tested the string and then held the bow vertical and hooked her fingers correctly about the string and drew it back. The first time it sprung out of her hand before she could complete the draw, Noon let out a curse under her breath and repositioned herself. This time she was ready for the strength of it, and drew back the string to full draw just as she noticed Andy had arrived.

“A test?” she replied to Andy’s question, “Let’s see how you do.” She was smiling as she slowly released the string on the bow, not letting it twang this time.

She handed the bow back to Hsu carefully, stroking the wood one last time “Thank you, it’s beautiful, but I don’t think I could draw that many times in a row mind.”

[civ_barbarian]

He let the 'Gramps' pass without retort, well except for the intense stare he gave her. "Very well answered. And I wasn't 'dissing' crossbows...entirely. It is their simplicity that does make them effective in the right conditions. Not that I find it necessary to climb trees, at least not regularly or for quite some time."

Hsu merely raised an eyebrow as he wondered what exactly -- and he had a feeling it was specific rather than general -- Noon had done to aggravate her mother to such a point. But he did not pry, she would tell him or she wouldn't, if she wished. "Fortunately, I do not have the same issue with my own mother, not to the point that either of us need to hide from the other." No, despite the many centuries in which he'd believed her dead, or perhaps because of it, after a rocky initial reunion, Cassandra understood him better than anyone, even if she didn't always agree.

"Then the honour is passed to you. I'm sure he would have appreciated that.." Again, Hsu didn't react to her indignation, but it did remind him that others missed his oldest friend, that it was not just him who mourned the vampire's passing.

"HOURS!!??" Hsu didn't splutter, of course, but he allowed a hint of mocking incredulity to show. "Some claim it takes months to make a bow, but among the Huns, it takes fifteen years from when the tree is first planted. Cut the wood too soon and the bow lacks strengths, and too late and it becomes brittle. As I have the time, I take the time to do it properly." He watched as Noon misjudged the first draw and nodding with approval as she adjusted herself to draw successfully. There was reverence in his voice for the traditional process "It's made of two layers of wood and two of bone, heated with animal glue until the outer layer sweats."

Confusion passed over the Security Chief's grouchy features as he looked to his boss for some hint of how to treat this intruder? Interloper? Guest? "A test? How about this for a test, you just tell me who you are and how you got past my security."

Hsu took the bow back, looking on with amused interest between Noon and MacDonald. "And thank you. As a warrior, in battle, you would be expected to draw and fire many times in succession, without even conscious thought." He could see MacDonald was struggling to contain his temper at being in the dark about this woman, and that was only because Hsu trusted her, what with letting her test his bow.

"Don't tell me she's another fucking vampire, sir."

"No, she's not a vampire." He looked to Noon to introduce herself, as he was never quite sure how she would prefer to do that. "Go ahead, put an end to the suspense."

[amandanoon]

As the two spoke Noonie weighed up her options, yes she did want to play her games with Andy, but she also realised that for that to be fun, first he had to trust her. Her natural survival instincts were screaming at her to befriend this man, and Noon rarely ignored those voices.

Noon laughed and did not hold back on the emotion but let the wave wash over Hsu and Andy. She had worked with Hsu over the years to let him build up resistance to her broadcasts, at least her low grade ones. But Andy was being tickled gently by the emotion, it was not enough to make him laugh, but this was Noon just softening him up. She held out her hand, and when he took it, she let a wave of happy emotion wash over just him.

“Very much alive, and very pleased to finally meet the infamous Andrew MacDonald.” Noonie said with a big grin. Her handshake confirmed what her handling of the bow had already shown, Noon had hidden strengths. But it also triggered something else in Andy, a strong feeling that Noon could be trusted, along with an odd disjointed sense of déjà vu.

She decided on full disclosure, she knew that Hsu trusted Andy completely, “Her Royal Highness Amanda Noon, Grand Matriarch in Waiting of the Noonian Sprawl.” She reeled “But you can call me Noon or Noonie if we’re being really informal. I pop in from time to time, Hsu’s quarters make an excellent stopover point when on long space journeys. Better than any other service stop in this sector.” She added grinning at Hsu and she poked out her tongue at him.

[civ_barbarian]

Hsu felt the wash of happiness and trust flow over him, but as he had come to recognize this particular ability of Noon's and, to an extent, was able to resist it, especially if it wasn't directed at him as in this case. Even so, he knew what MacDonald must be feeling, and it wasn't just Noon's emotion that caused him to be amused at the confusion and smile on his normally suspicious and grouchy security chief. He watched the introduction with a small smirk. It reminded him of MacDonal'd near constant aggravation with Xiao's sudden appearances.

Without quite knowing why, Andy found himself smiling quite pleasantly at this woman, and he took her hand with enthusiasm, distantly sensing that there was a hidden strength in her grip. . Despite the fact he had no idea who the hell she was, for some reason that he couldn't explain, he just felt a friendliness towards her that he rarely felt towards anyone, especially on a first-time meeting, where the person had sneaked past his security. His smile grew. "Well, alive is always a big plus in my book. And call me Andy" There was also a deep sense of trust, which although surprising, made some sense as Hsu didn't seem the least bit perturbed by her presence, and in fact had been showing her one of his most prized possessions.

But there was something else. Something that niggled in the back of his mind, but which he couldn't quite get a hold of. Somehow, and he wasn't sure how or why, there was something familiar about her and it wasn't just her name. He had heard of the Noonian family, and it was no great surprise that Hsu would know them either, but he never realized that his boss was on such good terms with anyone in the family. "You mean you've done this more than once?" It was said with amused incredulity and very much not how Andy would view someone getting past all his surveillance. Why was he feeling so good and calm about this? "Well I'm pleased to meet you....finally...Your High....." He smiled, and there just might have been a very small chuckle. "I mean, Noon."

[amandanoon]

Noon's eyes flicked to Hsu, checking that it was ok for her to call him Andy, she guessed that it was just Daniel he cared about in this respect, but it didn't stop her checking with Hsu.

Noon laughed again "Many times, I like it here, the foods good, the rates are reasonable and sometimes the owner is happy to see me.Plus I get to test the security surrounding my friend and tweak it if I think it needs it." she had, in her usual way, managed to avoid answering any questions, but as always raised many more.

[civ_barbarian]

Despite the good feelings Andy was experiencing, he was very proud of his security systems. "It does not need tweaking. All of the systems I've developed here are, as they've always been, state-of-the-art." Again, he felt there was something just out of reach of recollection. Not that it changed the umbrage he took at her comment, but it did distract him from realizing that she hadn't answered any questions.

"Noon, you know how good, MacDonald's security is, and you know I would have nothing less." Loyalty to his lieutenant prompted him to support Andy, even if Hsu knew how much Noon had helped in initially establishing the systems in the first place.

[amandanoon]

"Well not always, but over the years I might have twiddled a bit around the edges for you. I always give them a quick once over when I pop in, just to make sure no-one has slipped passed you. Sometimes I've even left you a report or two nudging you in the right direction." Noon said not worrying in the least about offending anyone. She'd been taught that when it came to security there was no room for ego, just get it as close to perfection as you could. Then she looked up at the two men and realised that maybe she might have overstepped the mark a little.

She looked at Hsu "I can't help it, it's what I do, if I see something I can improve I'm going to fix it. John taught me never to ask just do what needed doing when it came to our security. I didn't mean to offend anyone, I just think of you as part of the family and apply the same rules. As you'd never introduced me to Andy, how could I tell him without giving myself away?" Noon asked a little plaintively.

The mood in the room lost the happy feel as Noon was no longer broadcasting but instead was worrying that she'd upset them.