Monsters in Our Midst [Pregame]

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

Bomilcar would have stood a bit straighter at the approach if he was not already in a posture that kept him at full height. "Lord be with you," he replies in a low voice, that cracks slightly with a hint of physical discomfort. "Bomilcar Thorvald. An honor."

His eyes study both Dorian and Reyyan for a bit, but also glance away from time to time when he catches someone in the crowd making larger movements.

[Dorian Drake]

Bomilcar would have stood a bit straighter at the approach if he was not already in a posture that kept him at full height. "Lord be with you," he replies in a low voice, that cracks slightly with a hint of physical discomfort. "Bomilcar Thorvald. An honor."

His eyes study both Dorian and Reyyan for a bit, but also glance away from time to time when he catches someone in the crowd making larger movements.

"And also with you." Dorian replies.

"Levenbrech Ebrahammi here and I were discussing making use of the training facilities on the ship before we reach Arrakis. You look like the sort that can handle himself. Would you be interested in joining us later for a spar?" His hands naturally coming back to rest against the hilts of his weapons as he speaks.

[Cuyler Gray]

Cuyler made her way through the room, innocuously meandering in the general direction of Dorian. It was not much different than how she would move through a formal dinner, focused on a destination on the other side, seemingly disinterested in whatever might be happening around her.

[Reyyan Ebrahammi]

Bomilcar would have stood a bit straighter at the approach if he was not already in a posture that kept him at full height. "Lord be with you," he replies in a low voice, that cracks slightly with a hint of physical discomfort. "Bomilcar Thorvald. An honor."

His eyes study both Dorian and Reyyan for a bit, but also glance away from time to time when he catches someone in the crowd making larger movements.

"And also with you." Dorian replies.

"Levenbrech Ebrahammi here and I were discussing making use of the training facilities on the ship before we reach Arrakis. You look like the sort that can handle himself. Would you be interested in joining us later for a spar?" His hands naturally coming back to rest against the hilts of his weapons as he speaks.

Reyyan follows; There were others of her detachment around if needed, and learning about those she was going to be with seemed prudent. The blonde stands taller than the two men, though not by much, and she inclines her head as the scarred man introduces himself. She doesn't bother with an introduction since Dorian provided one for her. And it wasn't as if she needed to introduce her position or why she was here.

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"And also with you." Dorian replies.

"Levenbrech Ebrahammi here and I were discussing making use of the training facilities on the ship before we reach Arrakis. You look like the sort that can handle himself. Would you be interested in joining us later for a spar?" His hands naturally coming back to rest against the hilts of his weapons as he speaks.

Reyyan follows; There were others of her detachment around if needed, and learning about those she was going to be with seemed prudent. The blonde stands taller than the two men, though not by much, and she inclines her head as the scarred man introduces himself. She doesn't bother with an introduction since Dorian provided one for her. And it wasn't as if she needed to introduce her position or why she was here.

He nods his agreement. "I'm interested."

While he is certainly short in his verbal replies, now that he is being engaged, it's clear that he has interest in talking from a general opening of his body language and expression. That's likely the only amount of emotion that's likely to come out of the man that seems a bit stone face.

"Been a while. Don't spar outside the house much. Could use new partners," he explains.

He also adds a nod to the apparently approaching individual.

Cuyler made her way through the room, innocuously meandering in the general direction of Dorian. It was not much different than how she would move through a formal dinner, focused on a destination on the other side, seemingly disinterested in whatever might be happening around her.

[Kannon]

He deals another hand "I would watch how loudly you say that friend, it would imply that ANY noble who survived was in on it. And of Course the Emperor lives" He smiles "May he rule forever"

"Any who spurned the invitation." The man grumbled.

[Dorian Drake]

"Excellent, a resounding endorsement." Dorian responds boisterously as he follows Bomilcar's gesture.

"Ms. Gray! Now the party can start." He exclaims, "This woman creates the most exquisite food."

He holds his arms up and out towards Cuyler as if expecting a hug.

[Cuyler Gray]

"Dorian." She accepted the hug with a friendly smile. "You're making friends, I see."

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

The mention of food gets a raised eyebrow almost as though he was supremely interested. A pretty extreme show of curiosity from the terse bodyguard.

"Lord be with you," he greets Cuyler, but otherwise leaves any introductions to Dorian. He didn't even like saying his own name if he could avoid it apparently.

[Dorian Drake]

He deals another hand "I would watch how loudly you say that friend, it would imply that ANY noble who survived was in on it. And of Course the Emperor lives" He smiles "May he rule forever"

"Any who spurned the invitation." The man grumbled.

Satisfied with identifying the receiving end of the conversation and unsatisfied with the inane conversation he had struck up as cover, Edwell excuses himself and wanders around the room until he overhears a disagreement going on at a side table.

Someone from the upstart House Londine, and either someone with an axe to grind against Londine, a pugilistic loyalist, or an instigator. There are many layers here to peel back before the truth is revealed.

Or just a sore loser, he thinks as he observes the cards spread across the table.

[Dorian Drake]

"You know me, better to make friends than enemies."

He turns towards the others. "You may have met Levenbrech Ebrahammi back on Kirana, I think we had her over for a few formal dinners. And our new friend here is Bomilcar Thorvald. I was just roping them into some sparring practice over the next few days."

He shifts his position so everyone can face one another easily. "So, what trouble have you been getting into?"

[Cuyler Gray]

"Cuyler Gray." she introduced herself to the others.

"What possible trouble could I get into here?" she answered, with a disappointed frown. "They wouldn't even let me into the kitchen. Not yet."

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"Promise me some tabara, I'll throw them all out," he says to Cuyler, in the longest string of words he's constructed yet. He apparently likes his sweets. His expression doesn't seem like he's joking but somehow it's just clear that he is. His eyes maybe?

[Cuyler Gray]

"It might be best to wait until we reach Arrakis for that." she grinned. "I can't vouch for any of the ingredients on board, other than my own supplies."

[Kannon]

Suddenly, an old man in the middle of the room rose impetuously, raising his hand in the air.

"Enough of this!" He called. On cue... music started, the soft notes of a well-strung baliset.

The old man's face began to change, from anger to remorse, to distress, to sorrow, to sadness, to longing, to melancholia... and with the expression, the face itself changed, as if in kathartic, therapeutic transition, working through all the pain Otorio had inflicted upon so many families, until it was a face of a young, innocent chanteuse, fair-haired, small in constitution, arms undulating like willow branches when she brushed her garment and it suddenly changed into a dark, sparkling gown that shimmered in many colours in the room's lights. Her first song was without words, mere vocalising, made into an instrument that traversed the path to mental healing charted by the unseen baliset.

"Face Dancers...!" The hush crossed the crowd as they were becoming entranced, mesmerised by the abrupt show.

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"It's probably edible," he says of the kitchen's food, just as the show starts.

Others might be entranced. This looked like the distraction before violence to the Thorvald protector. He doesn't like unplanned entertainment. Buskers are always to be kept under watch in his mind.

[Cuyler Gray]

"Edible is hardly an acceptable bar." she shook her head. Cuyler turned her attention to the performance and to the crowd watching.

[Dorian Drake]

Dorian half-listened to the exchange between Cuyler and Bomilcar, instead watching the face dancer's display. The presence of a face dancer was not entirely unexpected, but flaunting it out in the open like this was disconcerting.

He had a bad run in or two in the past (that he knew of) with face dancers and he held a bias against their methods and a cautious respect for their abilities.

"Yes, mostly edible but subpar." He absently says in response to Bomilcar and Cuyler's remarks.

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

Agreeing with the Cuyler and Dorian. "True. Should be better."

He looked at her for a long moment, interested in something, but what it was wasn't exactly clear. Especially with his not overly articulate response of, "We should eat."

[Cuyler Gray]

"Perhaps we should." she nodded. "We can distract one another from the food."

[Kannon]

As on a beckoning, a Wayku appeared with a tray of appetisers, with a Harmonthep-themed fare. Seasoned quaraa eggs, aplomage milkbug, and osthmir tubers, cut and fried. Harmonthep was a Hagal world, mostly known for the lions it bred for Corrino carriages and for moss pearls, but it also had a very interesting cuisine, shaped by millenia of migrations it was on the path of, and its proximity to Caladan, so many things were done with rice and wine or in rice and wine.

[Cuyler Gray]

"This actually looks promising." she smiled, taking a quaraa egg.

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

Bomilcar similarly seeks out the Quaraa egg, trusting the sense of the chef. Not that they'd be unable to try them all, but if it looked best to her then might as well give it a go first. It likely looks a bit odd, being so stern and attentive to his surroundings, built like a warrior that brooked no nonsense, with a severe air about him that said there was no sensitivity to him... but he takes just the smallest of bites, and he seems to be truly appreciating it for what it was. He loved his food more than conversation apparently. If he had given the bite a judgement, he didn't share it at the moment.

[Dorian Drake]

Seeing the others partake in the appetizers, Dorian takes a small plate and collects some samples of each dish. He looks up while working through the assortment, swallows the fried osthmir tubers and says, "No risk, no rewards. The aplomage milkbug doesn't look much, but it's a little tangy and a little sweet. The food may be subpar in comparison to what I've become accustomed to," he tilts his head towards Cuyler, "but different experiences still have their own merit." He finishes off the plate, eating another aplomage milkbug.

[Reyyan Ebrahammi]

"You all enjoy the food; I'll worry about that sort of thing later."

Probably once everyone was asleep; She'd met Cuyler before and didn't have a bad opinion of her per say. Which was almost high praise from the Levenbrech.

"I will look forward to your culinary talents another time, Lady Gray. For now, it seems unpredictability is the word of the day. And that's something I've never cared for."

Though she spoke to those next to her the woman's blue-green eyes never left the face dancer. Not entranced so much as concerned; She'd not remembered a mention of one of them being on the vessel, after all...