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Clara arrives from the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.
Clara has arrived.
Corian is seated off to one side, with what looks to be her own computer. It's
quite put-out with her, as its occasional flashes of light and random
disturbing sounds would suggest.
Clara gives the librarian a distracted half-smile as she stalks in and head
straight for the racks and racks of datacrystals dealing with requisition
regulations. Perhaps a dozen get plucked out and dropped into a container
before she makes herway to a reader, then blinks at the light flashing.
"Corian?" she murmurs, blinking to focus on the taller woman. "Is everything
all right?"
Corian nods, looking up with a smile that is mostly amused, but holds a hint of
exasperation as well. "All is well. He is merely annoyed with me. Tarrant is
asleep--I thought it might be best that I deal with the computer elsewhere,
so he could rest."
Head tilting, Clara blinks at you owlishly in distracted puzzlement. "Tarrant is annoyed with you? Because of your computer? That's...surprising." The final word takes a bit of searching before she finds one acceptable.
Corian shakes her head quickly at that, laughing. "No... my apologies, I was
not specific. The computer is annoyed with me, because of my absence. He is
somewhat tempermental."
This is entirely too much for Clara to handle on limited sleep, and she sinks
into a chair in front of a datareader machine and blinks at said computer.
"You have a portable AI? Good heavens..."
Corian tips her hand back and forth. "He is very limited. It is not so much an
AI as... an impression of a personality on the machine. He would not pass the
Turing test. A world that I visited, perhaps six years ago, was making
amazing advances in such, and he was gifted me."
Clara nudges the boite of datacrystals onto the desk and rubs at her eyes,
chuckling. "Ah, sometimes I envy all the places you've been, Corian. Such a
romantic life, maybe with a dash of adventure."
Corian apparently finds the right key combination, as her computer stops with the random noises, and the screen turns a rather soothing blue. "There you go," she murmurs, patting its side. Turning back to you, she considers your words. "I enjoyed it, and will likely enjoy it again if I resume my travels, but it was not all romance, not by any stretch of the imagination. And there was adventure, yes, but not all of it was pleasant."
Clara leans an elbow on the table, fingers setting her hair to disarray as she leans her head in her hand. "You...were...a coworker of Tarrant's?" she asks, spacing and choosing each word as cautiously as possible.
Corian, after a moment's hesitation, nods. "I was that, yes, though I was... not in quite the same line of work as he." She leans back against her chair, really looking markedly younger than she is. Of -course- she isn't in Tarrant's line of work, goodness, she's -far- too innocent for that.
Clara looks faintly relieved by this. While she may not disapprove of
Tarrant...she very much does not understand his work, or at least the more
lethal parts of it. She lowers her voice so as not to carry beyond you. "The
sanity question...he is stubborn," she murmurs.
Corian nods her agreement to that, with a faint smile of rather wry amusement.
"He is stubborn on many things. But... well, Hona informed me the other day
that I am a lunatic as well, so I suppose self-professed insanity is not so
horrible a thing."
Clara can't help but laugh quietly at that, rolling her eyes. "I have to room
to talk. I informed Riley early on that all shrinks were crazy. But he really
isn't. Tarrant, that is," she notes thoughtfully. "Just a man with
a...profession."
Corian inclines her head to that. "And that which he does -is- necessary," she says calmly, fingers interlacing. "He just has difficulty accepting that, sometimes. But he is willing to learn, which is some small comfort."
Clara's brows lift faintly as she manages a faint smile. "Perhaps he's learned
to allow you to accompany him on trips?" she asks dryly, absently wrapping on
tired curl around a finger. Yes, just that curl is tired. The rest are
obnoxious as always.
Corian's smile is faint, and not especially amused. "I do hope he has learned that, yes," she says quietly. "If his message had not been mis-sent to me... well, I do not know that he would be here." She shakes her head, then, passing a hand lightly across her face. "I believe he is learning that he can, in fact, ask for help. That will remain to be seen, though."
Clara drops her hand to the boite, tapping her fingers on it absently and
watching them for a moment before glancing up with a vague smile. "Learning
is a universal condition. I know it's none of my business, mon ami, but...you
did seem frighteningly happy last night."
And, tired as she appears, Corian's smile still reappears. "You noticed that?"
she inquires. "Well... yes, I was, rather. I have had the opportunity to do
much thinking, of late, and was able to come to a few conclusions, as well."
Only she's evil and doesn't say what they are, she just smiles. They should
be obvious.
Clara's smile warms considerably as she gives a single, sage nod. "I tend to
notice things like that, yes," she explains, amused, then thinks for a
moment. "Conclusions can be very heartwarming things. Tarrant looked rather
chipper too, although that could have been the drugs. Somehow, I'd say it
wasn't."
Corian doesn't quite have the same sappy sickening smile that can be found on
Riley's face, as she's somewhat more reserved, but the echoes of it are
there. "I believe it was somewhat more than the drugs. I... well, the danger
to him allowed me to see my feelings. And I was able to tell him about that,
which was more difficult indeed. Now," she adds, with a whimsical smile, "We
merely need to determine what we will do next, once he has recovered
somewhat."
Clara is quiet for a moment, a fond, almost daydreaming expression betraying a mental trip backwards. "The thing I've discovered with your brother...is when you come to one conclusion, there's always another just around the corner. The threat of danger is a strong incentive to make a decision."
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Corian's lips quirk fractionally. "Though that is not an incentive that is
especially appealing, I do think it will be somewhat necessary that Tarrant
and I have -some- form of incentive. Well... you saw, when we were trying to
determine which room would be better." She is quiet for a moment, and
apparently goes through a few chain-reactions of thought, as she inquires,
"Have you told Riley anything about Tarrant?"
Clara shakes her head slightly, half-smiling knowingly. "Tell the Chief of Security his sister is involved with...a man like Tarrant? No, I've said nothing beyond I've met Tarrant and that he's a pleasant man. I don't discuss much of my work with him unless he orders me to, and that's rare."
Corian's relief is palpable, and visibly so. "Thank you, Clara. I do appreciate
that. I... well, Riley knows, I believe, that Tarrant is with the Department,
but I am not altogether certain if he knows in what capacity. I would prefer
that he not know." With a wryly amused smile, she adds, "Such a label, it
seems, could cause prejudice, especially with someone like Riley." From her
tone, this isn't a positive thing, or a negative, but merely a statement of
what she believes.
Clara considers this, a line forming between her brows and making her look somewhat older than she is, hands folding over one knee. "Honestly, I think he suspects. I can't tell when he's telling me the truth or not, but I really got the sense that he knows more than he lets on. But..." She sighs, rubbing her head. "I doubt he'd be likely to do anything without excellent reason."
Corian rubs her eyes lightly with the thumb and first finger of one hand, a
quiet sigh escaping her. "I believe that you are right, in that. But...
Clara, you have not mentioned my own involvement in the Interior Department,
have you?" She looks honestly concerned at that. "It is one thing to know
that your sister is involved with someone like that, and quite another to..."
She shakes her head, with a smile that's half a grimace. "Well... I do not
look the part, and he has known me for most of my life. It could be...
difficult for him, and I do not wish that."
Clara lifts a hand to quell the worries, amusement invading her expression.
"I've not said word one...although I didn't figure it out until today,
honestly. My mind has been elsewhere on a million different things. But I'll
not mention it, no. Now, if he asks me directly..." she adds, fairly
apologetic, "Well, he -is- my CO."
Corian looks relieved once more. "Thank you for your discretion, Clara. It
is... most appreciated." After a brief pause, she nods at your final
statement, a hint of amusement making its way across her features. "That must
make your relationship somewhat interesting, the awareness of your relative
rank."
Clara can't hide a grin, shrugging more with her brows than with her shoulders. "It's difficult at times, but we're both professional enough to handle it. We've already run into the situation of him having to order me into potential danger. We're both soldiers, we do what has to be done."
Corian says candidly, a hint of sympathy in her tone, "And that is a reason I
am glad that I did not join the military, beyond my obvious unsuitability. I
do not believe that I would be able to give such an order--that must have
been difficult for him."
Clara nods quietly, silent for a moment at the memory, then shrugs with a
wistful smile. "It had to be done. He was going into a far worse situation. I
had to be ready to go after him, acting as a field med-..." She blinks at her
comm, which decides to ping at her cheerfully, then grins. "Well, a happy
appointment. I'm sorry, Corian, but I have a brand new patient to visit, just
introduced to the world yesterday."
Corian smiles warmly at that. "The newest member of the Edreeni delegation, is
it?" she inquires. "Please give the family my congratulations. And thank you
for this chat."
Clara rises and scoops up the boite, grin widening as she nods. "I will indeed.
And give Tarrant my best when he wakes. I'll comm later tonight just to make
sure everything's okay," she adds, then hurries off to go keep her
appointment.
Clara heads towards the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.
Clara has left.