The Perk, Friday Afternoon

[offthelisthero]

Mohinder ducked into the Perk, absent-mindedly ordering an iced coffee at the counter

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[gkar_lastkhari]

"Mohinder!" G'Kar greeted. "It has been some time since we've encountered each other. Things are well I hope?"

[offthelisthero]

"Good afternoon," said Mohinder, looking up and smiling. "I'm well, if considerably taller recently."

[gkar_lastkhari]

He chuckled a bit. "Yes, I experienced the same myself. It was very...unique."

"How old did you turn out to be?"

[offthelisthero]

"I think I was seven," Mohinder replied, thinking back a little rueful. "Though at the time I was more interested in dismantling my toaster."

"I hope your juvenile self didn't cause any problems?"

[gkar_lastkhari]

"I was twelve. Outside of a rather...unique performance for the play that evening, I didn't cause too much undue trouble," he smirked.

[offthelisthero]

"The play?" Mohinder really ought to listen to the radio more often. Then, because he was curious, asked, "Is twelve a similar age for a Narn as for humans?"

[gkar_lastkhari]

"Yes. It has been running for about two weeks now. It is getting toward the end of its run." which is this evening or sunday, but mun is not sure, lol

"Perhaps we are a bit older than humans in age, but not by much, I believe."

(I have no idea, omg! And my brain is mushy...so I'm guessing?)

[offthelisthero]

"I hadn't realised acting was another of your talents," Mohinder replied from around his coffee mug. "Had you done it before?"

Mohinder untangled that sentence in his head. "Perhaps the rate of aging is a constant amongst similarly humanoid species," he speculated.

['ts what handwavey's for *likewise ignorant of comparate xenobiology*]

[gkar_lastkhari]

"I believe there is some variation, some species more than others. Minbari for example, live longer and age slower than humans."

He smirked a bit. "Acting in a sense. More of experience in projecting a personality and getting thoughts and opinions across to a large audience. The art of a diplomat is not so different than the art of an actor." A wideer grin. "Just that one audience tends to be more unruly than the other."

[offthelisthero]

"Ah, higher stakes and sharper, heavier objects thrown at you." Mohinder said lightly. "But less chance to improvise."

[gkar_lastkhari]

"Very much like that," he chuckled a little. "Acting on stage is much milder in comparison."

"And have you ever done any diplomatic functions, Mohinder? I though I'd ask since you seem to know something about the topic."

[offthelisthero]

Mohinder shook his head. "Academic conferences only, I'm afraid. I kept as far from the politics of it as I could. Defending a theory against a hostile audience was bad enough, but I'd prefer that to an apathetic one."

[gkar_lastkhari]

"Oh, the audiences I've encountered have been anything less than apathetic. It was more like an exercise of walking through a mine field of extreme frustration, ignorance and annoyance," he chuckled. "Everyone is more concerned about what is best for their world and their people, first." He shook his head a bit. "An amiable trait, certainly, but not when all the races are facing a great threat and the risk of elimination."

[offthelisthero]

"But it is a natural one," answered Mohinder. "Sentiment breaks under pressure, and it may be that more peoples survive at the expense of another species - but it is a lot to ask. I'd do my best, but I'm not sure I'd choose self-sacrifice each time."

[gkar_lastkhari]

"Yes. It was a difficult choice for many of them. But ultimately, they agreed. Possibly because there was no assurances as to who would survive or not. When the pawns find themselves trapped between the two greater sides, the only real choices are to fall underfoot or fight back."