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Post by demikara on Oct 3, 2020 20:52:46 GMT -6
The prison was boring. None of the people in their unit was remotely willing to scratch behind her ear at all, and they kept trying to get them all to shift into large predators and fight each other. Eyelet didn't always get along with the rest of the crew, but she couldn't imagine wanting to do serious harm to them. Occasionally knock them over when they were being a jerk, maybe, but she was the smallest of the group and didn't exactly have enough mass to knock anyone over. She had attempted to explain that their mass didn't actually change, so there was really no point in the fight at all, but they hadn't been interested.
Her crew was going stir crazy too and the terrans still hadn't quite figured out feeding them appropriately. Flint had been going round with the people in charge lately trying to convince them that processed foods were just fine, and while a whole turkey was delicious, and so was the ham, they did still need more than just the meat. So far, it wasn't having much effect. Berry had already offered to handle the issue from the ship, but the captain was holding off on that for now.
At least they had cottoned on to the fact that erutin didn't really view gender like terrans did and mostly considered it something that was only important when the question of who was carrying the child popped up. Before that, who even cared?
There was at least on interesting person in the prison though, and she was pretty certain the guards didn't really care so long as she didn't start a fight, so Eyelet made her was to E Unit and sought out the scent of the most interesting person there. It wasn't like the walls would stop her. She could fly if she wanted, though she was terrible at it. Good enough to make it over a wall at least. Really, this prison was not made for erutin in mind at all.
It didn't take her too long to locate the right cell. There were lots of interesting scents of course, but Eyelet was only familiar with one on this block. She sat down outside the cell and purred loudly, clearly happy. "Can I came in? It's Eyelet. I came to visit."
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 3, 2020 21:00:29 GMT -6
The old woman had been lying down on the bunk, the blanket pulled up over her lower half. She set aside the book she had been reading - something about the native flowers of a planet a few systems away - and turned her head toward the doorway, Eyelet coming into view. "I don't suppose I could stop you if you were determined to barge in here," she said, chiding, but with a gentle tone. "What brings you this far afield? I'm afraid there's little to see here. The cells look all the same." She had folded up the comforter that Hope had left, leaving it on the end of the bunk, and had left her papers and books - the ones she had been allowed to keep - in the box by the small desk.
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Post by demikara on Oct 3, 2020 21:04:47 GMT -6
"You are much more interesting than the Terrans in my unit. And you won't try and get me to join a fight ring as a bear or a lion or a tiger." It was all rather ridiculous. "And if I ask, you'll scratch behind my ear." Which automatically made her the best terran in the entire prison, as far as Eyelet was concerned. She entered the room, permission mostly given. "Did you know your blanket smells like a erutin?" Eyelet sniffed the comforter curiously. and decided she didn't know whoever it was. "Very faintly though. I can't even pick up on their gender." Usually, you could pick up whether someone was the first or second born twin from their scent.
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 3, 2020 21:09:59 GMT -6
"You're certainly not the first Erutin to have been here," said Drulović, shrugging. She closed the book, reaching to set it on the desk. The cell was small enough that she could, in fact, reach the desk from the bunk, though she had to stretch slightly to do it. "You oughtn't take it so personally, though; many Terrans have had no opportunity to meet an Erutin before, and so shapeshifting abilities present a bit of a curiosity. They'll know to leave well enough alone. After all, they'll be afraid of what you might do should they attempt to start something untoward." Something twinkled in her eyes. "Appearances can be quite deceiving." She appeared frail, old, and exhausted, especially lying partially under the blanket as she did now, and she did little to discourage this perception.
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Post by demikara on Oct 3, 2020 21:15:22 GMT -6
"They all smell of fear around us a lot. I don't know why. We're big, but we are friendly. And I can make myself into a very cute dog. Would you like to see?" Eyelet was particularly proud of how she looked as a dog. "It's called a corgi. When I wag my tail as a corgi, my whole bottom moves and the terrans outside the prison assured me that was cute." She still weighed the same of course, so she wasn't going to get on the bunk. They had decided, wisely, to just have the mattresses on the ground for the erutin. The bunks were viewed with some suspicion and serious doubts as to whether or not they'd hold their weight. For the most part, the cell boundaries were ignored. Hook and Eyelet ended up curled up together most nights, Hook between the door and her. "They gave us bigger cells. I think because we are bigger."
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 3, 2020 21:25:22 GMT -6
"I'd imagine so," said the old woman. "Andrijana Krstevska may not be an excellent superintendent, but she's certainly competent and not entirely a terrible person." She felt now familiar pain radiating from her knees and hips, and a sharper - if dulled - pain in her shoulder, all of which had no doubt been sorely exacerbated by the walk around the yard. There was a cost to everything. "I'm afraid I can't help much with your fellow prisoners, nor with Mr. Humphries' no doubt poor choice of cuisine. I'm not too popular myself these days." She smiled wanly. For all Aerilyn and Ahmad's desire to drive up far more often than she thought they should, there were altogether very few who'd tried to pay her a social visit. She doubted many more would come. "What, exactly, is Mr. Humphries attempting to feed you?"
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Post by demikara on Oct 3, 2020 21:41:38 GMT -6
"Turkey and Ham mostly. Bones and all. The captain pointed out the lack of vegetables and is trying to talk them into giving us a more balanced and more nutritious diet. It is not going well. Berry says they are trying to same thing with the ship. They don't really know how to feed us at all. She ordered a delivery of erutin friendly food to the ship itself and has suggested we try and talk Mr. Humphries into jsut using the same service we use whenever we restock here." Grains were to be kept at a minimum, but they could have those as well. Too much grain gave Eyelet dandruff though, and she was glad the terrans hadn't figured out that they could eat grain yet. "He is trying. But he's not doing a great job. It really is easier just to use a service and let us make our own food."
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 3, 2020 21:46:42 GMT -6
"You might ask someone from the embassy to send someone with what you need," the old woman said. "Those with family to bring supplies on weekends make their own meals, at least some of the time." At any given point in the day, they could smell roast and grilled food from one or more of the yards, or the minimal kitchen facilities in each common room - better, usually, than what Humphries usually prepared. "Of course, those without families, or with families too poor to travel or afford food, remain dependent on whatever Mr. Humphries believes passes for food on a given day." She shifted slightly, to face Eyelet a bit better, but still lay on her side. "He's not particularly adept at feeding the humans, either."
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Post by demikara on Oct 3, 2020 21:50:22 GMT -6
"The embassy would send rations. We may have upset Ambassador Bamboo greatly." Eyelet would rather the weird attempts at feeding them continue than be stuck on rations for the next ten years. The ambassador would do it too and consider it their just desserts for getting caught. She sighed. "But I will tell the others. Berry will be excited to hear that she can send us food. Though affording it all...we were on a food allowance, for the Travelers. But we are currently expected to be fed by Terra." Eyelet put her head on the bed next to Arianne. "You should scratch behind my ear now. I am very soft there and you will definitely enjoy it."
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 3, 2020 21:56:19 GMT -6
"I imagine Erutin rations to be just as appetizing as the ones meant for members of our armed forces here," said the old woman, chuckling a bit, "which is to say, hardly enough even to be worthy of slipping the dog under the table." She moved her hand behind Eyelet's ear, only a firm touch dispelling the trembling that came with most movements now, and rested her hand there, her remaining fingers curling into the fur. "You needn't worry too much - what is it you'd prefer to have to eat? If Mr. Humphries maintains his ignorance, I believe I've still an old friend who might be of some assistance here." She meant, of course, the Bureau's cyberintelligence lead, who famously operated an entire chain of restaurants outside her work for the government.
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Post by demikara on Oct 3, 2020 22:01:02 GMT -6
"I like my food fresher than they serve. If they're going to serve it raw, it's best fresh, you know. If they are going to cook it, which mostly they do, I like it very juicy. I like butter. It's a terran thing, but I do like it. They haven't served us any beef yet, and don't seem to realize that bringing in a cow or two would be a delicious treat. We'll even kill it ourselves." It would be very nice. "There's also wild game on this planet I like. Deer are yummy. Hook likes spicy food but I don't. Ashe likes a lot more vegetables than I do too. And we all want more variety than what we've been given." It was like he had no clue how to cook big meat heavy meals. It was insane.
Eyelet didn't like it at all. "Captain Flint wants us to keep trying through official means for another two weeks, before he gets creative."
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 3, 2020 22:06:56 GMT -6
"I wish you the best of luck with that," said Drulović, her tone dubious. "You might try Dr. Krstevska, though I doubt she'll be able to do much about it. Funds are tight, you know," she said, with a bit of irony. Or so she'd heard, though she had her own doubts - contacts back in Wing City suggested that the budget was, of course, artificially contracted, the better to serve the interests of certain parliamentarians rather than to actually provide appropriately and adequately for those in Terran care and custody. Andrijana Krstevska had also repeatedly mentioned budget shortfalls leading to staff shortages, which certainly explained the lack of sufficient staff in each unit. "I'll speak to my friend about it. I'm sure something can be arranged."
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Post by demikara on Oct 3, 2020 22:11:08 GMT -6
"That is very kind of you. This is why you are my favorite terran." Not that she had a lot of experience with terrans, until very recently. "If the embassy has to provide food in the end, they will likely just direct the prison to order from the same companies we do and let us make our own. Would you like some, if they do that? You seemed to like the food on the ship." She ate it at least and didn't complain that Eyelet could hear. "If they put Berry in charge, which they should because she handled all that for us before, then we can ask them to include extra food for you, that is soft and yummy." She could always offer at least. There was no point in not offering, and this terran seemed bearable and didn't try and get her to wear a uniform that was really quite ugly. It didn't even shift with them, so for the most part the uniforms remained in a tidy pile in the corner of their cells.
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Post by Ylanne on Oct 3, 2020 22:25:56 GMT -6
"You can ask, of course," said Drulović, "but I'm really quite fine." She was not, in fact, fine. "It's certainly not gourmet, but it suffices." She peered up at Eyelet curiously. "What do you know of what happened to me?" she asked. She had been able to eat most things fine, until Andrade had taken her. It had been his doing. He had taken the teeth, the fingers, the ear. The Bureau had kept the entire affair as secret as possible. Khayyam did not want the public to know - neither did Lisbeth nor the old woman. Andrade had been part of the family. He had been part of her family, once. But of course, everyone had seen what Drulović looked like by the time of the trial. Reporters had asked questions. The Bureau, true to form, had kept mum.
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Post by demikara on Oct 4, 2020 8:22:48 GMT -6
"We know what your injuries were, at the hospital. We know you were missing before that. We're pretty sure you were tortured. We just don't know who by." They knew enough to know she'd have problems eating probably for the rest of her life. They just didn't know the exact cause. "We went looking for answers when you showed up at the trial, obviously injured beyond what you had been beforehand." And they had found some answers, but not all of them. For all it's faults, Terra had an excellent system of keeping their secrets very quiet. Eyelet was generally impressed by it too.
She had seen what the Terran inmates ate though, and suspected that Arianne was not fine at all. It was full of food she could not eat.
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