Day 1: Out of One's Element

[perfectimitator]

Characters: Peony, Jade(s) (closed)
Location: Grand Chokmah
Time: late morning, day 1
Warnings: none yet

Comments

[voiceofrappigs]

The message had arrived without fanfare, a simple folded bit of paper with Jade's familiar neat script, passed to him with an apologetic murmur during breakfast. It conveniently interrupted what would otherwise have been an incredibly boring morning -- in Peony's experience, if people were asking him to sign things while he was still eating breakfast, it was going to be a rough day. So Peony had wholeheartedly welcome the messenger, but the contents of the message had done wonders to quell his enthusiasm.

From the message, he gathered that... there were dead people walking around who were not replicas. And he wasn't supposed to be alarmed by this?

Damnit, Jade, this is your idea of keeping me informed?After he managed to give Sesemann the slip, Peony strode through the corridors of the palace, thinking about heading out to military base to find the man himself -- but he caught sight of a familiar blue uniform and tawny hair crossing the path ahead of him

[perfectimitator]

His smile was quick and pleasant, unfaltering, and he turned on his heels to meet whoever felt the need to greet him so -- loudly. It was an assault on his senses.

As was everything else about the man approaching him. Lorelei help him.

But Jade only slid his arms smoothly behind his back and said lightly, "I would apologize, but that would be setting a precedent. And then you might start expecting it."

First rule of pretending to be yourself: be yourself. The servants hadn't seemed phased by his dry attitude, and he doubted anyone familiar enough (still? how had that happened? what had he done so differently here?) to be on a first-name basis with him would be either.

How could they be so alike, and yet...

[voiceofrappigs]

Peony sighed, long-suffering, as he drew up alongside him. "Right right, and you wouldn't want me to start expecting you to be reasonable or anything-- Like be available at any point after sending me a message like this?"

It wasn't that it was uncharacteristic of Jade -- especially if he had more pressing things that needed to be handled immediately (as Peony hoped he would, if the undead were involved) or if he didn't feel like he had enough information to report on -- but rather that it was an extremely aggravating characteristic of Jade. If Peony kept informing him that it was extremely aggravating, perhaps even Jade could be eventually taught a new trick.

The blond was nothing if not relentlessly optimistic.

And since Jade was here now, and he was confident that in a matter of moments he would have his answers, he could engage in a little futility, especially since it took the form of jerking his friend's chain. "What's the meaning of sending me a message like this?" Peony asked, amused, holding the missive with casual

[perfectimitator]

He felt his lips twitching, and since his first instinct was to suppress it, he did. "Are you accusing me of unreasonableness, Your Majesty? Why, I can hardly believe my ears."

Of course, he had no real idea what the message had been, but if it was something the Emperor of Malkuth was meant to be on guard for, well. Given the present circumstances? There were few possibilities. He only needed confirmation.

"Time, essence, all of that. You'll have to forgive me, I was slightly occupied at the time. Besides, a thing like this..." He trailed away and adjusted his glasses, shrugging unrepentently. Bemused.

One more hint? His memory is going, you know.

[red_under_glass]

Jade bit back a joke about the servants simply being too overwhelmed by his masculine beauty to be able to remain coherent in its bare presence. Neither the time nor the place.

Now that they were inside the Emperor's chambers, Jade released his counterpart's shoulder, taking this opportunity to instead watch his expressions more closely. Hm. It was probably only because Jade was right behind himself that he saw that slightest twitch... He flicked a glance in Misha's direction as well. She was taking it rather well. Perhaps she was assuming it was some kind of prank.

Once she left, the Colonel shrugged in return. "I have no complaints. More importantly, Jade, in the interests of learning what the differences are between our worlds, may I ask what your current profession is if you aren't a Malkuth soldier?"

[perfectimitator]

He paused, not entirely sure where to sit or how to stand, but after a moment he adopted a pose of relaxed readiness, hands sliding once more behind his back. It was not quite as comfortable as a chair would have been, but. No sudden movements.

"Profession," he repeated with some amusement. "I suppose you could call it that. I am... something of an entrepreneur. Modesty prevents me from going into the precise details, but my research is... appreciated." He adjusted his glasses with two fingers, and added, "I don't mean to be evasive. I'm simply unused to talking about myself in this fashion. I don't believe I have ever had to tell anyone about my life's work before."

To his double he added, "Has science never appealed to you? I must admit, I find that interesting. Or perhaps you started down that path and then changed your mind for some reason?"

[red_under_glass]

Jade assumed a similar position--though rather than folding his hands behind his back, he tucked them into his pockets. He listened politely and attentively, reading between the lines, and finally smiled. "Ahaha. Are you truly so famous, Dr.--Balfour, I presume? Well, I suppose I am as well. But, please, no need for modesty amongst this company. His Majesty is so embarrassingly direct, besides," he added, shooting a glance at Peony. "I'm certain he wouldn't allow it."

A pause, and then he shook his head. "Oh, no. I can't imagine myself as not interested in the sciences." It would, for one, drastically change his character, in Jade's opinion. "As you suggest, I went into the field and later changed my mind. However, I still consider myself a scientist. It's simply a secondary job rather than a primary one now. The military offers far more opportunities for research than I expect you imagine. For one," he added thoughtfully, "there's no shortage of specimens once a battle is concluded."

Another smile.

[voiceofrappigs]

Peony smiled, apparently unfazed by Jade calling him out as an embarrassment. There were worse reputations to have than 'direct'. (Reputations which, in many circumstances, were forestalled only by Jade's quick thinking -- but his rule was good overall, so it didn't really matter.) And that little look from Jade was as much polite request as anything he'd ever said aloud.

Cheerfully, he said, "It's true. No one seems to have any idea why I'm not an absolutely terrible diplomat."

Peony folded his arms over his chest and leaned forward a bit. "On that note, I'm afraid I didn't really catch what it was that you did -- you speak a different dialect of Jade than what I'm familiar with. What did you do?"

[red_under_glass]

Jade shot Peony a look at his remark--If that was a joke, I didn't find it amusing, it said--but he said nothing for the moment, and instead returned to cleaning his glasses far more than they needed to be as Misha entered the room and gave Balfour his clothes. He didn't intend on continuing this inquiry anyhow...though if Peony were to voice aloud that he thought this information-gathering with no purpose to it, he'd have a genuinely angry Jade on his hands. As it stood, the colonel was already a little miffed, though it wasn't a big enough deal to do or say anything about. On some level, Jade thought perhaps he deserved it.

When Misha left was when Jade replaced his glasses. He'd already observed that his counterpart's clothes were of a fine quality, elegant and of a quiet class. I suppose I can assume that Saphir didn't buy those for him, then, Jade mused, more to amuse himself than to seriously entertain the idea. If Saphir was still following that Jade around like an attention-starved tail-wagging puppy, and that Jade were still

[voiceofrappigs]

Peony was preoccupied, thinking of the various possibilities for putting their guests up. At the very least, if this other Jade understood that from here on out there would be penalties for impersonating a military officer, he'd be able to tell them apart quickly enough in the future. He slanted a thoughtful glance at Balfour, wondering if he'd have to mention that provision specifically -- it was a given, of course, impersonating a military officer was illegal; but Jades could be sneaky if you weren't specific with them -- and paused as he saw the scars.

For a moment he was stunned, seriously at risk of blurting out something inane like, what happened? or, did that hurt? It was Jade -- it was hard to imagine that he had gotten such neat silver lines scarred over his back in a battle against some enemy. And Jade's enemies were the ones who walked away with scars, with blindness, without their lives

[perfectimitator]

Doing up the last clasp and smoothing out the soft fabric, Jade turned to face them both -- patient, and almost at attention. He had, of course, noticed their attention; it would have been more difficult not to. Clearly his scars were not something his double shared -- although, given how he had acquired them, and the differences already apparent between the two of them, that was hardly surprising. Jade supposed it must have been a trifle alarming

[red_under_glass]

For his part, Jade was glad Peony had enough restraint not to blurt out something as indiscreet as that, even though he saw it written on his face. He imagined his double had noticed it as well, even though he'd gotten dressed with his back to them; if he were in his situation, he knew he'd be watching the two of them in the reflection on his glasses. Jade had long since realized they were useful for more than keeping his fonic sight in check.

He turned those eyes towards the Emperor as he spoke, considering his words. Nothing we probably wouldn't have done... Jade expected Peony had said that specifically to keep him from arguing, to keep him humble--if not out of intent, then out of instinct from having to handle him for the better part of their lives. It was a trifle annoying that it was working. Either way, Jade found himself in no mood to argue, and when Peony invited him to give him a better option after he gave his report, he nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I suppose it would be wrong to lock them up simply for existing..." he