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Rowan was looking for a repairman, so something must be wrong with his ship. I could trace him that way, maybe.
Or else, his ‘mission,’ which was probably going to turn into a really interesting search for him. A few places I had wandered into that advertised themselves as elven I had left again very quickly. Zynthar eventually explained role playing, but it had been too real for my taste, and I saw too many other things I wanted to learn about. I wanted to role play as a human. Humans had roller coasters and frosting.
He would end up in some of those places. And weirdly enough, ‘Elves in Space’ was an actual theme. Which meant he was bound to turn up at The Citadel, for one reason or another.
I did not want to go to The Citadel. It floated in a glass ball in a dark, starry sky, and the memory was too much for me. I had never made it very far inside before. I hurried in from the landing point, keeping close to the walls and trying not to look too far up.
I was right, though, and he had found the place, too. It took me a moment to recognize him, because he had tied up his hair, changed out of his traditional elven uniform, and was wearing some high tech looking pants and a plain, modern work shirt.
Interesting. The traditional uniform, his accent, and his old fashioned talk made me assume he was the traditional sort, unyielding to change, but clearly he knew how to blend in AND was willing to do so. Perhaps he could be reasoned with after all.
“Hey!” I yelled, and bravely dashed across the mall. "Hey wait! Stop!"
He spun around as I hurried up behind him, looking alarmed. Holding up his hands placatingly and backing away from me, he said, "I am not following you. You were very clear about your desires when we last met, and I will respect them. I am not following you."
Damn it, he did roll his Rs. "Why are you still here? I told you, there are no other Lyrans. Give up! Move on!”
“I will depart as soon as I can. I have no intention of causing you further distress. I swear to you, I will leave you in peace.” He dipped his head politely at me and continued edging backward.
I’d been freaking out for no reason. I could go back to my normal routine without worrying about religious kidnappings. Part of me was relieved as he turned to walk away, but the other part had been a fool once, and was about to be a fool again. I followed him.
"Did you break the ship?" I guessed.
"The shuttle," he reluctantly admitted. "A minor difficulty."
"So not the whole ship? Can't they beam you up or something?"
"I - I don't understand what you asked?”
I tried again, surprised by how much my vocabulary had changed during my time here. “Is there another way for you to get back to the ship?”
He shook his head. “A shuttle is the only way between the surface and The Voice of Lyra."
I snorted at the ship’s name. "Can’t they send another?"
"The reports indicate that the problem may be atmospheric in nature. We cannot risk damaging another shuttle. I am attempting to find a solution among experts here. It is my problem, and I do not intend to make it yours. Perhaps it would be best if you left now,” he added in a low voice. “This is not the friendliest location.”
I glanced in the direction he nodded his head in, and saw several people gathered. They weren't paying attention to us, but they were all geared up for battle. “Ah, yeah. Just tell them you’re OOC, they should leave you alone.”
“Oh Oh Sea?”
“Out of character. This is a place where people come to play games and such. They're acting, like in a play. Unless you tell them otherwise, they think you're acting, too.”
“Odd place,” he muttered. and turned his wary gaze back to me. “I wasn’t given instruction on what to do if you began to follow me.”
“I thought perhaps I might be able to help.”
“I suppose you wish to be rid of my unwanted presence as quickly as possible?”
Ooh, was that snark? “Look, I’m not interested in having an enemy. I just couldn’t - I don’t like being ordered about. If you promise not to be rude or drag me off, then I’m happy to help you if you need it.”
“I have more help than I want as it is, and I do not want to be in your debt. I have already upset you, and need to make amends.”
Ah, yes the elven need for balance. Even I had never managed to shake that. “Hard to do if you’re avoiding me,” I pointed out. “I did ask for information about my family and friends.”
He nodded. “So you did. Will you come with me to the shuttle?”
What the heck. Let’s see how far down the bad idea rabbithole I could fall. “Yes, but no further.”
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