Meanwhile, by the Sign... (with screamsofstars)
*Natasha PINpoints in by the sign, wearing a grey woollen hat that was insisted on for disguise. Why? Because there's a Taxxon in all his ten-metre yellow glory with her, and a bladed Hork-Bajir warrior, and both of them are sticklers for detail. An emergency is no reason to let down one's cover.
They spread out a little, the Taxxon hissing and crouching down on his legs as he's assailed by the scents of the Nexus, the Hork-Bajir shifting his weight and regarding the place with an arrogance that hides his shock. Natasha's just peering around the Nexus with sharp, wary eyes, afraid of who they'll find as much as she is hopeful.*
Starscream: *saw that flash, and senses those non-human entities, but finishes giving Curly, Tash, and Mo a piece of her mind before she lets them head for the mall and actually bothers to glance toward what her sensors have already seen*
Issek: *skulks a little closer to the human, hissing in a Taxxon voice nigh-incomprehensible without a translator... or years of practice* This is the place to begin looking?
Natasha: Yes. I think. *swallows and moves away from the Taxxon* If this is where the other... us was it might be too late. He'd find them here as soon as he arrived. *her voice is mostly firm though, the shakiness coming from unfamiliarity and a lingering horror inflicted by Evil!Telrim*
Asfil: *head swings in the direction Tash went, red eyes narrowing as he looks above human height* That looked like you! Too late or not... *he lopes forward, leaving the others to scurry after him*
Starscream: *and there is suddenly a tiny, dusky-skinned woman placing herself between the Hork-Bajir Controller and her rookies, her large red eyes narrowed slightly* You don't want to go that way. There is nothing there that concerns you, yeerk.
Natasha: *stepping forward hastily as Asfil coils with tension and Issek hisses* Wait! It's all right! This is... who I was hoping to find here.
Asfil: *looking down at her, irritated* You mean apart from the duplicates?
Natasha: *looks away, at Starscream, but surprisingly doesn't wilt under the Yeerk's displeasure* Yes.
Starscream: *cool look that shows nothing of what's on her mind* You were looking for me?
Good!Natasha: *meets her gaze* I was. Telrim... isn't with me. But you probably know that.
Asfil: *looks between them, having no idea who this alien is. Issek's keeping still and difficult to read, beyond 'hungry'*
Starsceam: *silent for a long moment while the rookies fade into the distance, not even studying the beings before her with her eyes. To those who don't know what she is she might appear indifferent, but she is on full alert. To the point that she's just finished scanning the area for the tenth time for any hidden traps, and called six of her drones to come escort the youngsters*
*finally* Yes. I can see that.
Issek: *trusting, perhaps from what he's been told, that she can understand the bizarre and painful-sounding Taxxon speech* Then our problem should be easy to explain.
G!Natasha: *nods* We need you to help us find her.
Starscream: *mildly* Telrim did tell me to stay out of her business.
Issek and Asfil: *simultaneous hiss and huff - yep, this sounds familiar, apparently*
G!Natasha: *lifts her chin* Well, strictly speaking it's not Telrim we're trying to find.
Starscream: *arches one slender brow*
G!Natasha: *lowers her voice* We were hit by... I think it was an LOL. But it split us into two versions. One of the 'Telrims' seems to be all right but the one that was with me... is insane. *shudders unconsciously* And dangerous. She's taken a host from here and gone to find the other.
Asfil: *mutter* I cannot believe I am listening to this.
Starscream: What do you mean, 'from here'?
G!Natasha: She kidnapped- well, stole a man from the Nexus. At least, he was shaped human but... I'm not sure. She suspected he wasn't, and he was... very strong. *headache coming back again*
Starscream: Does this man have a name?
G!Natasha: I have no idea. He never told her while I was conscious. *looks at Asfil*
Asfil: I didn't ask. The human wasn't my concern.
G!Natasha: *hesitates* But he was with two people when we found him. *thinks back* I think one of them was called 'Brawl'.
Starscream: What did these two people look like?
G!Natasha: *concentrates and tries to describe them, though her memory is sketchy and she gets confused about the details*
Issek: *tonguelash* Eyewitness descriptions. Wonderful.
Starscream: *ignores him* Can you tell me what the man who was taken looks like?
G!Natasha: *nods jerkily - oh, she remembers him, and she describes him from the matted blonde hair down to the smell.*
Asfil: *huffs with amusement* I can't speak for the rest, but she's right about the smell.
Starscream: *mouth slowly curves into a very cold, very wicked little smirk*
G!Natasha: I don't think I see what's funny. *a little short, maybe, but well... it's that sort of day*
Starscream: No. I don't suppose you could.
G!Natasha: Do you plan to explain?
Issek: *shifts forward, a motion like the flow of a wave, jelly-like eyes fixed on Starscream* That's unimportant. Are you going to help us?
Starscream: You're telling me that one half of a certain yeerk will destroy the other half, which would quite possibly lead to it dissipating once the LOL faded. A yeerk who has stated that they would rather I keep my distance from their affairs. *smirk grows just slightly* I fail to see the problem.
G!Natasha: *ignores Issek's enraged, high-pitched hiss and Asfil's shift to a combat stance; she folds her arms and thinks very, very fast* Well, I see one, for you.
Starscream: *up goes the brow again, inviting her to elaborate*
G!Natasha: *takes a deep breath and doesn't look behind her* You wanted the Yeerks to stop using sentient hosts, right? And Telrim - the old Telrim - wasn't going to help you with that. Well, one of these two might, if she doesn't get rubbed out by her twin in the next hour.
*Asfil blinks in surprise, looking to Issek for guidance. The Taxxon waves a claw at him to stay calm, sat back on his rear two-thirds as he watches the human make her case.*
Starscream: Till the LOL fades. *one shoulder lifts slightly in a languid shrug*
G!Natasha: *scowling slightly* If it fades. And even if it does, that's... that's a side of Telrim I never saw before, and I don't think she did either. If she dies she'll never get the chance to learn from it, and you've lost the chance to convince her. *going to persist, even if she senses it's a losing argument*
Starscream: Even if she did continue to exist that side of Telrim would not betray her principles. Nor would she appreciate help from an enemy.
G!Natasha: I'm not sure she knows what her principles are right now. *shrugs and drops her arms in disgust* But you know what? It doesn't really matter to me how this helps you. One of her is a monster, but the other one seems like a pretty decent person, and I don't think she deserves to die. So either you help me, or I stop wasting my time trying to talk you into it.
Asfil: *gurgling groan and shakes his head as if to pretend he didn't hear that*
Issek: *leans forward, tongue flicking towards Natasha angrily* What do you think you're saying?
Starscream: *just smirks and lets them all hear a transmission from one of her drones who is spying on the fight*
G!Natasha: *hesitates, caught out in the middle of her moral stand* ...What's that?
Starscream: *smirk widens to contain just a little of cat with canary* An update on your Telrim's position.
Asfil: *huffs and sits back, regarding Starscream with something like appreciation now*
G!Natasha: *perks up unnervingly like the Taxxon beside her, though she stops to consider those fighting noises worriedly* Where is she?
Starscream: In one of the safest places it's possible for her to be, I would think. *still emanating waves of smug that are nearly thick enough to cut*
Issek: *tastes it in the air* That does not sound... safe.
Starscream: Really? The Andalite's already saved her life once.
Asfil: *bolts up from the half-crouch he'd been settling into*
Issek: *prevents himself from lunging forward more than a fraction as Natasha pales* Andalite?! You had best not be joking, alien...
G!Natasha: No, there- there is an Andalite but- *eyes Starscream* Just give us directions. Please, Starscream.
Starscream: *letting her amusement show as she turns and walks toward the Punchbowl*
*And she has Collaborator and Controllers very much on her heels until they get close enough to hear the ruckus for themselves...*
They spread out a little, the Taxxon hissing and crouching down on his legs as he's assailed by the scents of the Nexus, the Hork-Bajir shifting his weight and regarding the place with an arrogance that hides his shock. Natasha's just peering around the Nexus with sharp, wary eyes, afraid of who they'll find as much as she is hopeful.*
Starscream: *saw that flash, and senses those non-human entities, but finishes giving Curly, Tash, and Mo a piece of her mind before she lets them head for the mall and actually bothers to glance toward what her sensors have already seen*
Issek: *skulks a little closer to the human, hissing in a Taxxon voice nigh-incomprehensible without a translator... or years of practice* This is the place to begin looking?
Natasha: Yes. I think. *swallows and moves away from the Taxxon* If this is where the other... us was it might be too late. He'd find them here as soon as he arrived. *her voice is mostly firm though, the shakiness coming from unfamiliarity and a lingering horror inflicted by Evil!Telrim*
Asfil: *head swings in the direction Tash went, red eyes narrowing as he looks above human height* That looked like you! Too late or not... *he lopes forward, leaving the others to scurry after him*
Starscream: *and there is suddenly a tiny, dusky-skinned woman placing herself between the Hork-Bajir Controller and her rookies, her large red eyes narrowed slightly* You don't want to go that way. There is nothing there that concerns you, yeerk.
Natasha: *stepping forward hastily as Asfil coils with tension and Issek hisses* Wait! It's all right! This is... who I was hoping to find here.
Asfil: *looking down at her, irritated* You mean apart from the duplicates?
Natasha: *looks away, at Starscream, but surprisingly doesn't wilt under the Yeerk's displeasure* Yes.
Starscream: *cool look that shows nothing of what's on her mind* You were looking for me?
Good!Natasha: *meets her gaze* I was. Telrim... isn't with me. But you probably know that.
Asfil: *looks between them, having no idea who this alien is. Issek's keeping still and difficult to read, beyond 'hungry'*
Starsceam: *silent for a long moment while the rookies fade into the distance, not even studying the beings before her with her eyes. To those who don't know what she is she might appear indifferent, but she is on full alert. To the point that she's just finished scanning the area for the tenth time for any hidden traps, and called six of her drones to come escort the youngsters*
*finally* Yes. I can see that.
Issek: *trusting, perhaps from what he's been told, that she can understand the bizarre and painful-sounding Taxxon speech* Then our problem should be easy to explain.
G!Natasha: *nods* We need you to help us find her.
Starscream: *mildly* Telrim did tell me to stay out of her business.
Issek and Asfil: *simultaneous hiss and huff - yep, this sounds familiar, apparently*
G!Natasha: *lifts her chin* Well, strictly speaking it's not Telrim we're trying to find.
Starscream: *arches one slender brow*
G!Natasha: *lowers her voice* We were hit by... I think it was an LOL. But it split us into two versions. One of the 'Telrims' seems to be all right but the one that was with me... is insane. *shudders unconsciously* And dangerous. She's taken a host from here and gone to find the other.
Asfil: *mutter* I cannot believe I am listening to this.
Starscream: What do you mean, 'from here'?
G!Natasha: She kidnapped- well, stole a man from the Nexus. At least, he was shaped human but... I'm not sure. She suspected he wasn't, and he was... very strong. *headache coming back again*
Starscream: Does this man have a name?
G!Natasha: I have no idea. He never told her while I was conscious. *looks at Asfil*
Asfil: I didn't ask. The human wasn't my concern.
G!Natasha: *hesitates* But he was with two people when we found him. *thinks back* I think one of them was called 'Brawl'.
Starscream: What did these two people look like?
G!Natasha: *concentrates and tries to describe them, though her memory is sketchy and she gets confused about the details*
Issek: *tonguelash* Eyewitness descriptions. Wonderful.
Starscream: *ignores him* Can you tell me what the man who was taken looks like?
G!Natasha: *nods jerkily - oh, she remembers him, and she describes him from the matted blonde hair down to the smell.*
Asfil: *huffs with amusement* I can't speak for the rest, but she's right about the smell.
Starscream: *mouth slowly curves into a very cold, very wicked little smirk*
G!Natasha: I don't think I see what's funny. *a little short, maybe, but well... it's that sort of day*
Starscream: No. I don't suppose you could.
G!Natasha: Do you plan to explain?
Issek: *shifts forward, a motion like the flow of a wave, jelly-like eyes fixed on Starscream* That's unimportant. Are you going to help us?
Starscream: You're telling me that one half of a certain yeerk will destroy the other half, which would quite possibly lead to it dissipating once the LOL faded. A yeerk who has stated that they would rather I keep my distance from their affairs. *smirk grows just slightly* I fail to see the problem.
G!Natasha: *ignores Issek's enraged, high-pitched hiss and Asfil's shift to a combat stance; she folds her arms and thinks very, very fast* Well, I see one, for you.
Starscream: *up goes the brow again, inviting her to elaborate*
G!Natasha: *takes a deep breath and doesn't look behind her* You wanted the Yeerks to stop using sentient hosts, right? And Telrim - the old Telrim - wasn't going to help you with that. Well, one of these two might, if she doesn't get rubbed out by her twin in the next hour.
*Asfil blinks in surprise, looking to Issek for guidance. The Taxxon waves a claw at him to stay calm, sat back on his rear two-thirds as he watches the human make her case.*
Starscream: Till the LOL fades. *one shoulder lifts slightly in a languid shrug*
G!Natasha: *scowling slightly* If it fades. And even if it does, that's... that's a side of Telrim I never saw before, and I don't think she did either. If she dies she'll never get the chance to learn from it, and you've lost the chance to convince her. *going to persist, even if she senses it's a losing argument*
Starscream: Even if she did continue to exist that side of Telrim would not betray her principles. Nor would she appreciate help from an enemy.
G!Natasha: I'm not sure she knows what her principles are right now. *shrugs and drops her arms in disgust* But you know what? It doesn't really matter to me how this helps you. One of her is a monster, but the other one seems like a pretty decent person, and I don't think she deserves to die. So either you help me, or I stop wasting my time trying to talk you into it.
Asfil: *gurgling groan and shakes his head as if to pretend he didn't hear that*
Issek: *leans forward, tongue flicking towards Natasha angrily* What do you think you're saying?
Starscream: *just smirks and lets them all hear a transmission from one of her drones who is spying on the fight*
G!Natasha: *hesitates, caught out in the middle of her moral stand* ...What's that?
Starscream: *smirk widens to contain just a little of cat with canary* An update on your Telrim's position.
Asfil: *huffs and sits back, regarding Starscream with something like appreciation now*
G!Natasha: *perks up unnervingly like the Taxxon beside her, though she stops to consider those fighting noises worriedly* Where is she?
Starscream: In one of the safest places it's possible for her to be, I would think. *still emanating waves of smug that are nearly thick enough to cut*
Issek: *tastes it in the air* That does not sound... safe.
Starscream: Really? The Andalite's already saved her life once.
Asfil: *bolts up from the half-crouch he'd been settling into*
Issek: *prevents himself from lunging forward more than a fraction as Natasha pales* Andalite?! You had best not be joking, alien...
G!Natasha: No, there- there is an Andalite but- *eyes Starscream* Just give us directions. Please, Starscream.
Starscream: *letting her amusement show as she turns and walks toward the Punchbowl*
*And she has Collaborator and Controllers very much on her heels until they get close enough to hear the ruckus for themselves...*