I cannot say with any accuracy. You are the first person I have known to any significant degree, prior to the Admiral making whatever prompts his decisions.
[He goes by foot, rather than simply take one of his portals. Even were it not for the fact that this doesn't feel quite urgent enough for the expedience of a portal, he is yet attempting to conserve his aether in the wake of recent months.
But he turns up shortly all the same, looking just the same as ever. So much so that even the faint awkwardness of uncertainty doesn't much show in his expression.]
[ Alan is there, looking how he usually does: tired, a little miserable, barely holding it together. He's got his own brown suit on, elbow patches and all, and at least gives a fraction of a smile to Lahabrea as he raises a hand to get his attention. ]
[The nod in return is very nearly warm, by Lahabrea's standards, as he makes his way on over.]
Should naught else interfere, yes.
[He doesn't expect anything like the situation with the Narrenschiff to occur again. But the fact that the pairings hadn't switched then is still fresh in his memory.]
[ There's a little crack, Alan thinks, in that ice cold glacier of a face. All the more reason why he doesn't want to fuck this up.
Jesus. When did he start caring about other people like this? ]
Right, the flavour-of-the-month bullshit. [ There's two empty cups, and Alan is reaching into his bag to pull out a blue thermos. He pours coffee from it as they talk. ]
How do you--I mean, what do you normally do? Announce yourself to your new temporary inmate and then...?
[There is a crack, slight though it is. Lahabrea has never been terribly expressive (and likely never will be), but he has nonetheless come to appreciate Alan's friendship.
And with so little else to use as what to expect, he is likewise wary of marring that which has already come to be.]
Indeed.
[The words aren't quite what Lahabrea might have used, but there's still a nod all the same.]
I have asked those with which I am paired if there is aught they require of me. I am aware that there is little enough I can do in a single month, and in all but one case none of those I have been paired with were inclined to violence. In which case, if there was no immediate need I could resolve, I was content to leave matters stand. Though I would - and do - consider it part of my duty to see to the safety of those with whom I am paired, I have seen no reason to request inmates go out of their way to see me past that first meeting.
[He has his warden item, and that suffices for most needs.]
[ Practical. Logical. Alan weighs his words for a bit, mostly because anything Lahabrea lobs at him tends to feel like it's worth reflecting. It's the verbosity, he thinks. ]
I'm not violent or interested in starting shit, so you've got that going for you.
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[ Only occasionally. Usually he's buried in his head as he tries to write. ]
Does this get any less awkward?
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[ Okay. How to make this less awkward....? ]
Do you want to hash it over or something? Hungry?
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[It might not be any less awkward in person, but it will at least be less impersonal.]
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[He goes by foot, rather than simply take one of his portals. Even were it not for the fact that this doesn't feel quite urgent enough for the expedience of a portal, he is yet attempting to conserve his aether in the wake of recent months.
But he turns up shortly all the same, looking just the same as ever. So much so that even the faint awkwardness of uncertainty doesn't much show in his expression.]
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So. Whole month, huh?
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Should naught else interfere, yes.
[He doesn't expect anything like the situation with the Narrenschiff to occur again. But the fact that the pairings hadn't switched then is still fresh in his memory.]
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Jesus. When did he start caring about other people like this? ]
Right, the flavour-of-the-month bullshit. [ There's two empty cups, and Alan is reaching into his bag to pull out a blue thermos. He pours coffee from it as they talk. ]
How do you--I mean, what do you normally do? Announce yourself to your new temporary inmate and then...?
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And with so little else to use as what to expect, he is likewise wary of marring that which has already come to be.]
Indeed.
[The words aren't quite what Lahabrea might have used, but there's still a nod all the same.]
I have asked those with which I am paired if there is aught they require of me. I am aware that there is little enough I can do in a single month, and in all but one case none of those I have been paired with were inclined to violence. In which case, if there was no immediate need I could resolve, I was content to leave matters stand. Though I would - and do - consider it part of my duty to see to the safety of those with whom I am paired, I have seen no reason to request inmates go out of their way to see me past that first meeting.
[He has his warden item, and that suffices for most needs.]
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I'm not violent or interested in starting shit, so you've got that going for you.
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[Barring their first meeting anyway, but he usually files that away under 'extenuating circumstances'.]
Nor would I see this pairing change overmuch between us. I have enjoyed your company thus far and I would not wish to lose that.
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I think this is the first time you've admitted to liking anything.
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[There is an echoing flicker of a smile, enough to suggest that he is at least attempting a moment of levity.]
Though I will not deny it is not something I have admitted to with great frequency.
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[ Alan seems to genuinely mean that, too. He leans forward, clasping both hands together in a chessmaster-like pose. ]
So... You get my whole file, or just a snippet?
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Well, I'm an open book.
[ Mostly. ]
Look--this'll be easy. Just a month and we can go back to being friends.
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[ He takes his hand, wiggles it in a see-saw, teeter-totter motion. ]
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