The Galactic War: The Rebel Base

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Rythil tries to put on a positive face for Niko.  He'd been able to push past his initial attraction to the male human and counted him now as a close friend.  Though he still senses a deep sort of sex appeal from the human, he understands completely that, for several reasons, he's not a prospect.  Everyone kept referring to this Dominic, though the way Niko has mentioned him, it sounds as though he's already in a relationship as well.

The smile Rythil tries to put on is somewhat spoiled by the self-pity welling up inside him, taking a slightly sad twist.  It was easy for someone who already had such a relationship to say that someone else would find the same happiness.  They had that happiness already...of course they could put a positive spin on things.  Rythil quickly crushes the monster of jealousy rearing its ugly head.  Niko was a friend, he should be happy that his friend had such a relationship.

"Well, at least I'll always have a willing partner in myself."  He chuckles, trying to show mirth.  "Firin really couldn't care less."

<<That's not true...you become much more relaxed and bidable after some "alone-time."  I merely wish that your mind would remain in that state for a bit longer than it does.>>

<<And you get nothing out of the endorphin bath that my brain releases.>>

<<I'll not dignify that statement with a response.>>

"Okay, well he says I work better for a while, but that's the extent of his interest in the matter."  He grins and chuckles genuinely at that.

[Myitt]

Niko laughs outright, leaning back and watching Rythil with an amused expression.

"I honest-to-god never thought I'd be having this sort of conversation with a Hork-Bajir," he says with a chuckle, shaking his head. "Guess there's gotta be a first time for everything, huh?"

He eyes Esreth and Terenia, smiling. "Please, don't shock me with anything else, right now, okay?" Dark eyes flit back to Rythil. "Any of you. I've had enough for one day." He takes a sip of water to try and quell the overabundance of giggles. "Ah...well, Rythil, tell me how you've been adjusting around here, other than your unavoidable libido conflicts? With the success in the cabbage drainage lines I think we could press Reven to let you work on hooking more quarters up with individual recycled water lines." He raises his eyebrows. "Who knows? Maybe someday we'll be able to move from the communal restrooms to something a little more private. With the current setup I can't help feeling like we live in a college dormitory, half the time. In other words, um...like a group of young, occasionally intellectual, hormonal humans who were just given a whole lot of independence."

<<And...an abundance of alcohol and marijuana?>> Yarin picks from Niko's mind, which makes Niko snort sudden laughter again, covering his mouth.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Rythil raises an eyebrow and uses a mock-serious tone.  "But if we did away with the communal restrooms, I'd never get to see you naked again!"  He holds the expression as long as he can manage before it cracks and he starts chuckling.  "And don't tell me I can't look in those showers...I think the human saying is "looks are free..." or something like that."  He smirks again, showing that he's joking...though he's really not joking that much.  No need to bring that up and make things awkward again.

"In all seriousness though..." he glances over at Esreth and Terenia.  "I apologize if the conversation makes anyone uncomfortable.  Frankly, flirting is the only way I get to experience any kind of guilt-free sexual thrill."  He glances at Niko again.  "He knows me well enough that we can talk about stuff without things getting weird."  He sticks his serpentine tongue out at Niko in imitation of the human gesture, meant to convey mirth and playfulness.  "Some day I'll get you to tell me some juicy stories from Earth.  For example, these dormitories you speak of...they sound interesting."  He grins diabolically and chuckles.

"Some day in the lab, you'll have to elaborate."  He smirks again.  "But kidding aside...well, there's no helping what I am."  He shrugs.  "Back when I was somewhere that no-one knew I was intelligent, it was easier, though I can't say that I was any happier.  Here...well, the Yeerk controllers help, but the other Hork-Bajir always seem to look to me in some way."  Rythil shakes his head.  "I don't think I'm really leader material, but back on our Homeworld, that was the way.  The word 'Seer' was synonymous with 'Leader.'  Sometimes I curse the Arn...usually for making the majority of us so unintelligent.  But sometimes...a very few times, I've cursed them for not eliminating intelligence entirely."  He pauses, bringing himself back to subject.  "But even here, at this small base, with only a handful of Hork-Bajir...they see me as their leader.  Not completely...they know that Reven leads the Yeerks and, by-proxy, them.  But I can feel it...their Yeerks are friends, even good friends to them, but they see me as a leader no matter the rest."  He shakes his head.  "'You Seer...you chief.  You know most...'  No matter what I tell them, that's the response I get."

"It's frustrating...I enjoy intelligence, I like being able to think.  But if I was just like them...sometimes I want that."  He pauses for a moment before continuing.  "Of course, most everyone's been very nice to me.  And it's much nicer than the Empire.  Freedom certainly sweetens the sap.  And Firin finally gets to do what he wants."

<<That's a grossly egregious overstatement.>>

<<Oh come on, we'd still be shock-trooping if we were in the Empire...at least you get to work in a physics lab here.>>

<<Yes, and I dream all day of retooling irrigation systems.>>

Rythil pauses, his mouth nearly falling open...that had almost been a joke.  Dry and sarcastic, said without inflection...but still...

<<You're hearing things.>>  The Yeerk falls silent once again.

Rythil collects himself before catching his brain up on the conversation.  He gestures with a clawed hand as he speaks aloud again.  "Aside from the bevy of temptations just beyond reach, I must say the situation is quite nice.  Of course I wouldn't mind a few more open spaces and some nice, tall trees to climb...and a little more greenery wouldn't hurt.  The rock and metal is so...dead.  But otherwise, I'm just grateful to be here instead of there."  Rythil smiles, feeling a bit better.  He always does after going through the positives of his situation.  "Of course it would help if I didn't crave social interaction so much.  And I mean that in a purely platonic way...just being around people...listening and talking.  Sometimes I think it's the Ellimist's idea of a cruel joke...the ultimate outcast addicted to social activity."  He shakes his head.  "But I guess only the Ellimist knows, eh?"

[Myitt]

Niko shakes his head, still smiling in amusement. "There's still so much I don't really know about you damn aliens, even after ten years living with the lot of you," he marvels. "Like, what the hell is this Ellimist thing you Hork-Bajir talk about all the time? Yarin seems to think of it, or them, as some kind of Andalite myth. Beyond that, we're pretty clueless."

<<Speak for yourself,>> Yarin mutters. <<I simply don't care to know the intricacies of superstitious Andalite mythos. It doesn't make me clueless.>>

<<Oh, quit being such an uptight baby, Yarin.>>

He shrugs, clearing his throat. "We are glad that you're both fitting in well enough, at any rate, in spite of the challenges." Niko grins. "Should we start saluting you every time you walk past, oh fearless leader? I don't know if I should share my college dorm stories with royalty." He snorts. "There are enough egos around here, so please don't start building one of your own, okay, man?" He sets the dented tin mug of water down, pushing away his plate, but making no move to stand.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Rythil frowns.  "Don't you start with that.  I don't want to be different in any other way...I'm different enough already."  He shakes his head.  "I don't want them to see me as a leader...it's just...ingrained."  He shrugs, but smirks as he looks up from the table.  "I promise I won't let it go to my head, as long as you promise to share some of those steamy tales when we're not swamped."

Rythil shrugs.  "The Ellimist...I'm not so sure there isn't something to it.  It's a sort of ascended being...an alien or species of incredible power.  Perhaps it doesn't have the power to create life, but it certainly has the power to destroy it, if it exists.  Firin and I have both thought about what we've heard and what we know from logical points of view, and honestly, a super-evolved alien doesn't seem that hard to swallow...and it would certainly have access to technology the likes of which would look like super powers and magic to us.  I suppose the Andalites have added some mysticism and supernaturalism to the belief...but it's a point of contention.  Andalites don't believe lightly, so I find it hard to believe that such a persistent myth amongst them truly is nothing but myth."

"And if you start saluting me, I'll demand that you walk around the lab naked every Friday."  He grins, arching an eyebrow.

[Myitt]

Niko coughs. "Oh, Christ," he laughs. "Fine, you drive a hard bargain, but no salutes." He smiles, blushing a little, but amused. "You're going to make me want to wear a towel even in the showers."

He shakes his head, mulling things over for a moment, pushing what little remains of his cabbage around his plate. "This Ellimist thing sounds a lot like the religions on Earth. Where's the evidence? Until they show up on our doorstep, offering to pull some metaphysical strings and end this war in our favor? I'm gonna just file it in with the bogeyman and the Loch Ness monster and other silly superstitions."

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

"Alright, that's settled then."  Rythil grins.  "Hey, I'm just messing with you."  He smirks.  "Besides, how would you ever get completely clean if you wear a towel?"  He arches an eyebrow, before smiling again.  "Gene is a lucky male, and you're a good friend.  Of course, that doesn't stop me from being a little jealous of him from time to time, but I understand how sacred a pair-bond is.  You know that.  Besides, I wouldn't want things to get uncomfortable between us.  You know that I find you attractive, but you also know that I understand the situation, so that's really just a compliment."  Rythil grins genuinely.

He shrugs again.  "It's true that we haven't been presented with empirical data...that's why Firin refuses to commit belief.  As for me...well, I guess I'm willing to take the Andalites' word as enough substantiation to believe in the possibility."  He pushes his own plate off to the side and takes a huge swig of artificially-sweetened water.  It might not be sap-sweetened, but he's glad that the kitchen staff at least take the time to put the sweetening in.  It's actually more of a dietary staple for Hork-Bajir than most humans and Yeerks think.

"Theorizing about the nature and motivations of any kind of super-evolved life-forms is fairly fruitless in general."  He raises his eyebrows and shrugs again.  "It's true that the religions on Earth...at least those I've heard of...do bear some similarity, but one of the main differences is that the super-evolved beings are presumed to be benevolent and loving.  The Ellimist theory bears no such preconceptions, and to me, that makes it more believable."

[Myitt]

Niko laughs quietly again at that. "Well, I'm not exactly a religious man, but the God of the Bible can be kind of a jackass sometimes," he muses. "You know, maybe that does make the big guy a little more believable. Or the Ellimist, for that matter."

He idly turns the mug of water between his hands, hitching a shoulder. "We should hang out more, me and you and Gene and the slugs that live with us," he says off-handedly, eyes on the tin cup. "I'm pretty sure you'd kick everyone's ass on a basketball team, and there have been rumors of boosting morale with that kinda thing. Though I think between James and Chris, and Mike and Patrick and Juliette, there will be a fair running for hockey or soccer, instead."

He eyes Rythil's claws. "You think you could play without puncturing the ball?" he adds with a bemused grin.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Rythil smiles, a warm feeling spreading down his body.  Maybe he wasn't quite as alone as he'd thought.  "I...I think I'd like that.  Firin probably won't care, but it'd be fun to hang out with people in our off-time."  He smiles a little bit wider, happy to possibly have a true friend after all these months.  He feels like some sort of weight that he didn't know was there has been lifted from him...as if he suddenly feels like he belongs somewhere.  It's a wonderful feeling.

"I'm pretty dextrous...one learns to be careful with razor claws.  I suppose accidents do happen, though.  I don't know much about basketball...sports were never really something I learned a lot about.  Someone would have to teach me the rules."  He smiles.  "I suppose it might be possible...lacking trees to climb and swing through, I could use some exercise...running only does so much."

[Myitt]

Niko shrugs, smiling. "Yarin and I would be glad to teach you the rules, what little we remember," he says plainly. "In any case, we think it'd be good for morale across the base, but you're always welcome to join us." He snickers. "Claws and all."

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Rythil arches an eyebrow again, still smiling.  Normally he can get a sense of emotions from people, but Niko's managing to confuse him a bit.  "Well I guess you'll have to show me sometime then, you'd be surprised how careful I can be with my blades."  He grins again.  "Though I doubt it'd be a good idea for me to take part in some sort of violent contact sport..."  He chuckles.

[Myitt]

"Stay away from hockey, then," Niko advises. "Or football. Any kind of football. Or rugby. Basketball is pretty tame in comparison."

He shrugs. "Do Hork-Bajir even have sports?" he wonders aloud.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

"Hmm...not in the manner that you might consider.  Sometimes, there would be competitions of racing through the trees, either swinging or climbing...but it was never really organized from what I've heard.  Just friendly playfulness."  He looks down at the empty plates.  "Most Hork-Bajir life involved friendliness and playfulness...befor e the Yeerks and the Abomination."

Rythil shrugs, but looks up at Niko and smiles a bit, thinking that maybe there would be some more friendliness again here.  "But here with people like you and Yarin, well it's enough to give us hope."  He grins a little wider again.

[Myitt]

"Not all Yeerks are about war and catastrophe and abomination," Niko recites, transliterating for Yarin. He sniffs. "Some actually want parties with cake, and techno music. Oh, how long it took him to warm up to music." He smirks. "Though really, Gene won't go near the stuff that Yarin and I like. He'd much rather listen to classic rock."

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

"Yes, I know.  Races don't fit common molds, I'm just saying that it's nice to see the truth of that statement."  He smiles again.

"Techno music?  I admit, I've heard a few good stories about glow sticks and...mesh...garmen ts."  Rythil's eyes glaze a bit before he shrugs and chuckles again to himself.  "Firin and I have always preferred the strains of a classical score.  It's...soothing...in a way I can't describe."