(no subject)

[sapphirecontess]

Elysium Dormitories after the liberation, open to all

[Musse is nothing if not scrupulously attentive to her duties. As such, she is here to greet the new arrivals as they are brought to the dormitories. Although she is clearly a noble - her demeanor, bearing and method of speech make that obvious - she hopes that this can help to show that she, at least, is firmly on the side of the rebellion. She is here to greet them and to provide what assistance she can in feeding, assigning, and clothing the new residents, as well as helping assess their skills. If nothing else, she's been able to show her use by proving her knack for reading people's abilities and helping assign them to roles that would best suit them.]

Hail and well met. I am Musse Egret, and I'm here to ensure you are properly settled and cared for. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Flotsam Waterlogged Row, open to all

[Somewhat surprisingly, Musse is something of a wallflower in this place but she enjoys coming anyway. The unbridled joy of Corsairs celebrating, swapping stories, and engaging in foolish challenges with each other is special to her. She'd never seen such a thing in her life as a noble, a genuine affection, even love for one's peers and comrades. She always make it a point to come here after a successful mission and soak in the atmosphere. Still, if anyone comes by, she'll make sure to call out. Any moments in this place she can claim for her own are special, after all]

Elysium, Musse's room - private to Maomao

It's been quite busy with the new arrivals. Tell me your thoughts.

Comments

[2mao]

[ Maomao is, naturally, there in Musse's room to perform the scant few duties not trusted to general cleaning staff. But, more often than not, it serves as cover for more clandestine conversation.

Honestly, Maomao still isn't entirely sure about Musse, in some regards. She's certain of some things, sure - that Musse was genuinely on the side of the Crimson Corsairs isn't in doubt, for instance. But questions like this make Maomao wonder.

Musse is certainly good at reading people herself. What's the point of asking for Maomao's opinion? Is it some sort of test, to see how much she was paying attention during the day, how astute she was being? Was she aiming for a second opinion? Or just checking to see if there were any people Maomao had met that she perhaps had not?

She considers herself decent at getting a read on people. As an apothecary, especially around Elysium, people simply lie when they speak about themselves. Learning how to read beyond their words is simply an occupational skill one had to develop if they want to accurately treat patients. Still, it's hard to get a reading on the recent rescues sometimes. Many are in a state of shock or confusion still, and many more are malnourished.

But it's what she has to work with, and she has a question to answer. ]

I noticed several that carried themselves like fighters. I'd wager they're better than your average Imperial soldier, if that's still noticeable after the kind of labor they're put through - or they will be once they're hale and healthy again. [ Which isn't terribly unusual, for outlanders, though to be frank most of the fighter-types wind up in Flotsam, not Elysium. ]

And there was one that carried himself like nobility. He'll probably be fitting right in here.

[sapphirecontess]

[Musse nods, considering]

You're speaking of the man with black hair, yes? I noticed as well. Adding a few fighters to our ranks is probably worthwhile to defend our staff if nothing else. And the one who is nobility at least might have the manners to make it work.

[She makes some notes on a stack of documents she has in front of her]

Do you feel any of them might be of use to you? I'm already hearing rumors of the next operations, and it seems your skills may be required.

[2mao]

[ Of use to Maomao? That's something she can't see. She doesn't have a need of fighters.

Well, she can't say she'll never need one. She can foresee future events where she might need a bodyguard. But for the next operation... using her skills.... hmm. ]

I suppose I might need somebody to gather rare materials. There are animals and monsters with parts that can be used for "medicine."

Other than that, it's too soon to say if any of them might have any other skills that can be of use to us.

[ There's a pause, though. Was this a test? ]

Did you have any further insight?

[sapphirecontess]

It's somewhat harder for one of my station to obtain genuine reactions. People are naturally on their guard around nobility like myself. You, however, can move far more freely. Your assessments are often accurate and will hold great weight in determining who might be trustworthy. Is it so surprising that I value your insight? I chose you for a reason.

[2mao]

[ In other words, Musse chose Maomao... based on her own intuition and judge of character.

Well, that and possibly the murders Maomao helped solve. There's always murders to solve. ]

As you say.

In terms of trustworthiness, I'd need to spend more time with them to say for sure. I can arrange to do some checkups later, perhaps take them out to gather herbs.

[sapphirecontess]

An excellent idea. What if we were to assign them as your guards for your next gathering. With some experienced fighters, you might be able to visit places that are normally too dangerous, correct?

[2mao]

I wouldn't mind being able to venture further out. [ Ironically, though, the last time she did that she was ambushed by people, not monsters. And kidnapped. Which started the chain of falling blocks that led to Maomao being here with Musse now.

Still, guards would prevent that from happening again as well, she hoped. ]

It sounds like a good plan. And even if one isn't as trustworthy as we'd hope, there would be others there.

[sapphirecontess]

I'm not keen on potentially endangering you with an entirely unknown detail. If we proceed with this, I want to assign guards to your detail who we know are trustworthy. Does anybody come to mind?

[2mao]

[ Unfortunately, the names and faces that come to mind as trustworthy are few and far between. ]

I know of a couple guards who we can trust, but I'm not sure how they would stack up against outlanders. [ In other words; NPCs. Maomao does have good rapport with the people who take on guard detail, both at the Vale of Flowers and in a couple places amongst the Crimson Corsairs, but when stacked up against outlanders... ]

[sapphirecontess]

Should I come along then? I have no desire to place you in a potentially dangerous situation guarded only by unknown individuals.

[2mao]

[ A small sigh of relief. ]

If you don't mind, that would be reassuring. [ Somebody could probably say something about the attendant needing the protection of their master, but Maomao has never once claimed to be even in the same vicinity as being able to defend herself. She knows where her talents lay - and it isn't in fighting. ]

[sapphirecontess]

Very well. You shall have your monster reagents and we can take the measure of our new arrivals together. Please prepare some tranquilizer rounds for my rifle. I will see that no harm comes to you.