[035 - audio/action]

[slaying]

Memory loss? So not my cup of joe. Chalk another one up for the Malnosso having some kind of uberpowers. The more I witness, the less I like.

[An audible sigh. There's the sound of a mug coming back to rest upon a table-top.] Guess it's time to make it official. If anyone's curious, I'm no longer living back at forty-seven. If you want to find me

Comments

[action]

[lt_linguist]

[Guess who else is doing some shopping? Uhura is staring at a shelf of books, deep in thought, because what the heck do you get for your half-Vulcan boyfriend who doesn't celebrate Christmas and thinks gift-giving is illogical? She glances up as she notices the Slayer.]

Hey. Looks like we had the same idea.

[action]

[slaying]

[Oh. Hey! Books. She never even thought of that. Buffy quickly joins the Lieutenant in her deep thoughts.] It's getting to the Christmas crunch time and I don't have near enough gifts wrapped.

[action]

[lt_linguist]

I don't think it helps much that our housemates are so difficult to shop for. [Her eye is caught by something, and she pulls it off the shelf. It's a book of traditional Vulcan poetry. A slightly pained look passes briefly across her face as she turns it over in her hands.]

[action]

[slaying]

I considered getting Bones a bottle of that bourbon stuff that he likes so much--but there was major reconsidering on that one. I don't want to be his enabler. [She runs her finger along a shelf, but has her eyes on Uhura.] What's that?

[action]

[lt_linguist]

Poetry. Vulcan poetry. [She studies it a moment longer, clearly not sure if she should take it or return it to the shelf.] It's probably a good idea not to get McCoy anything alcoholic right now. He's been pretty down lately.

[action]

[slaying]

When is he not down? [She shrugs, but seems distracted as she studies the book in the other woman's hands. Vulcans had poetry? Seriously?]

I swear I used to be better at this. But, of course, back home there were CDs and DVDs to get people. So much easier.

[action]

[lt_linguist]

McCoy is grouchy, but I've never seen him like this before. [She doesn't know him well, but he's Jim's friend and even Jim seems a little worried about him.

She notices Buffy's gaze and actually smiles a little, despite her mixed feelings about the book in her hands.]

You think Vulcans don't have emotions, so how could they possibly do something as emotional as write poetry.

[action]

[slaying]

I don't know. Seems to me Vulcans might have a great ability to follow rules and structures, and if I remember anything from my twelfth grade English class, it's that poetry loves rules.

[action]

[lt_linguist]

[You just earned yourself several brownie points, Buff.]

Poetry is so much more difficult to translate than prose. You have to try and retain both the structure, the internal logic, and the feeling, the meaning to be conveyed. Lose too much of either, and it ceases, on some level, to be poetry. Spock understands that better than anyone I've ever met.

[action]

[slaying]

I think it's like that with charms and spells. [Buffy grabs a book at random off the shelf; after all, she ought to get something for Wesley, right? But maybe not a book on crocheting. Hmm. She slides it back into place with a frown.]

Like, they work in translation just...not as well? [Clearly, magic is not her discipline.] If you can do it in the original Latin then go for it, basically.

[action]

[lt_linguist]

That... makes sense. [She sounds surprised. She didn't really expect any of this magic business to make any kind of sense.]

Languages often develop along similar structural lines, historically speaking, but there are always enough differences, a few words here or there, that are totally unique to a given culture and just don't translate all that well into others.

Do you know a lot about magic?

[action]

[slaying]

Just a bit. You know, stuff I've picked up. Back home? There were a few magic-users in my social circle. I'm much more of the kicko-fighto type.

[action]

[lt_linguist]

Have any contacts here in Luceti? I'd be interested to learn more about how magic works here.

[action]

[slaying]

Well, Raine might be a good start. She seems pretty great with the knowing stuff. Otherwise? [Buffy shrugs.] Someone who's been here a little longer. My usual go-to-wicca hasn't shown up in these parts. Not yet, and hopefully not ever.

[action]

[lt_linguist]

Raine. Okay. Thanks for the info. I have a feeling if any of us are going to get out of here, we'll need to be prepared to make use of... any tools we can find.

[She glances once more at the book of poetry, then puts it in her bag. She'll decide later whether she ought to actually give it to Spock.]

Now, what to get Jim?

[action]

[slaying]

Well, I was thinking of going the nice button-down shirt route. You know, anything to convince him out of the gold one. But is that a bit to passive aggressive bitch girlfriend? [She impulsively snickers to herself, shaking her head.] Maybe I should just go for a really nice....anything else.