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[demonicbeauty]

[Ariadne's gotten good enough with her Omni that the feed only wobbles a little bit when she turns it on.  That's progress!  No one's getting sea sick.  Hopefully.

She's standing on the threshold, between her building and her garden, moonlight lighting up her silhouette.  She's wearing her gold gown, clearly eager to make a good impression.  Her long hair is unbound, falling nearly to her calves in rolling waves.  It gives her the look of some kind of forest spirit (but she's not one, Maul, shut up).

Arrayed behind her is Serenity Garden.  Which would look a bit more impressive in sunlight, but Ariadne's done her best to arrange lanterns to illuminate everything.  She does, however, continually cast a concerned glance over her shoulder.  You can't trust fire, you can't turn your back on it.]

Well, it's April.  So I was planning to announce the opening of Serenity Garden to the public.  It's just meant to be a nice place where you can sit, meditate, talk with a friend, court your lover.  Just be in nature.  All are welcome, but no violence against the other guests or the trees.

...hopefully the sun will be back soon so you can enjoy seeing it in the daylight.

[But it's Trench, so that may not be a sure thing.  She can only hope.

Although, on the subject of hope:]

Also, the anniversary of my birth is at the end of the month.  Does that mean I should expect some kind of mysterious gift?  Any thoughts on what that might be?  Just so I can...prepare myself.

Comments

[demonicbeauty]

You do.

[She says with a laugh. It's just that there are so many wonderful people. That's by far her favorite thing about Trench--all the people she gets to meet.

Ariadne carefully sets down the basket, before turning back to him, her hands folded behind her back.]

I'm not sure I understand why you still go by two names, Albert.

[subject_013]

I used to say as much to a research partner when I'd clock out for the night and he was still hunched over his work top. [He might actually sound wryly amused, though inwardly, there might be the tiniest pang of regret.]

[Unwittingly mirroring her a bit, he clasps his hands behind the small of his back, at-ease style.]

I suppose the simplest explanation is that one is my work name, the other is my own, or at least the one which I used for so long that it has become as a true name. There's also still some Sleepers who remember me by that name, thus their memory keeps it cogent.

[demonicbeauty]

I used other names, sometimes. As part of my work with the resistance.

They were never really me though. Not really.

[Much fancier. She pops her hip to one side, rolling her wrist, fingers splayed.]

Lady Orly Bertram and Dowager Countess Catalina Laura.

[subject_013]

Since we're exchanging pseudonyms, though my causes may not have been as worthy, at least to my adversaries...

[He straightens up slightly.]

Adrian Winters... Albert Wesker... Abraham Johnson... [A pause, then as if the words taste terrible in his mouth] ...Project W Subject 013.

[demonicbeauty]

[She wrinkles her nose at that last one. It feels a bit impersonal. Not that she's going to judge another culture's naming conventions.

...not much, anyway.]

I haven't heard those last two before. You've certainly got a collection.

What's your favorite?

[subject_013]

I have to admit, I'm most fond of the first two. The third was one of the necessary pseudonyms I'd taken on during my travels. The last... I don't have to tell you is a designation, a label, rather than a name.

[demonicbeauty]

I figured it was something like that.

[She gestures to one of the side doors of the great room, leading out to the garden.]

Would you care to walk? Albert?

[subject_013]

[He bows his head toward her, almost lordly, but only just.]

Lead the way, Milady. I trust your grove awaits us.

[demonicbeauty]

[Immediately, instinctually, Ariadne dips into a curtsy. She knows a proper curtsy well enough.

That's what comes with pretending to be nobility, on occasion.

Except she's smiling a little too much for a courtier.]

I would be honored, my lord.

[subject_013]

As it pleases Milady.

[He'll follow her inside, and into the grove, gazing up at the trees, taking his glasses from his face.]

Beautiful... [He turns to her, those weird eyes of his warm, much more gold and orange than red, his pupils widened from their usual slits.]

[demonicbeauty]

[She actually blushes, her cheeks flushing light purple. Ariadne can't help it. Her trees mean the world to her. And when someone compliments them it's...

Well, it feels like they're complimenting her as well. Which she knows is a false equivalency, but still.

She raises her voice a little, tilting her chin to speak to the trees.]

Everyone, I'd like you to meet Albert. He's my friend and I hope he'll become yours too.

[subject_013]

[He chuckles, a rare one that doesn't lurk in his throat. He'll pause before the trees, bowing to them with the practice of someone who's been among nobility though not for a long time.]

It's an honor to meet you, noble trees.

[He looks to her.] Have you granted them names as well?

[demonicbeauty]

[She turns to him.]

Oh, of course! How else can they know who I'm talking to?

[With that, she trots over to her pear tree. She'd be loathe to choose a favorite, but she has a special connection with this one. Her first gift from Sodder.]

This...

[She gestures grandly.]

...is Sophia.

[subject_013]

[He looks up at the pear tree, smiling before turning back to Ariadne.]

A wise name for a strong and beautiful tree. Pyrus ...communis, I think her kind are called. I'm a virologist, not a botanist.

[demonicbeauty]

Oh, I'm no botanist either.

[She puts her hand on the trunk, feeling reassured by its solid nature.]

Plants just kind of make sense. They're a lot less complicated than people.

[subject_013]

Most living things untouched by sapience are less complicated. There's times I envy them for that.

[He reaches out and carefully, almost caressingly runs his gloved fingertips over the bark of the trunk.]

[demonicbeauty]

There's beauty in complicated too.

[Ariadne watches him, pleased that he's caressing the tree.

A lot of people think her foolish. But all living things need to be touched and loved.]

[subject_013]

There can be. The intricacies have an inherent beauty, which makes weaving through them all the more rewarding. However... there are times when the complications can prove tiring if you've dealt with too much of them at once.

[He may step closer to the tree, running his fingertips gently along the bark.]

But don't let my musing interrupt the introductions.

[demonicbeauty]

Oh, of course.

[She walks around the garden, naming each of her trees, pointing to the little plaques that spell them out.

Even the trees without magic have names. Including...]

And this is Riot, the avocado tree that Maul gave me.

[subject_013]

Excellent name for a gift from him. [He smirks approvingly, at the both the gift and her name for it.] Persea americana, we call them. They're a living fossil in my world of origin: they were the food of a massive but peaceful plant-eating creature called a giant sloth. But humans found them and decided the fruits tasted delicious. The sloths faded away, but the humans lived on.

[demonicbeauty]

They're certainly tasty. I've noticed that my young customers from Earth seem particularly fond of them.

[Don't mind her. No one's bothered to introduce her to guacamole yet. A tragic oversight, really.]

Maul tells me the name is a traditional Dathomirian name.

[subject_013]

With good reason: the fruit are an excellent source of proteins and nutrients, as well as some trace substances which the brain needs. They're often part of a plant-based diet, for those who prefer to avoid eating meat or other animal products for medical or ethical reasons.

[To bad his departure from his world of origin happened before the avocado toast debacle, no doubt he'd have had some choice words about human pettiness. If allowed, he reaches up and runs his fingertips along the tips of the leaves, almost caressingly.]

It's similar to a word in English meaning a 'wild disturbance by a crowd'. I think we can agree our friend is a one-being version of that. [He says this with a dangerous yet fond smirk.]

[demonicbeauty]

[Ariadne laughs. She knows exactly what "Riot" means, at least from Maul's point of view.]

But doesn't it also mean something so funny that it causes laughter?

[And with that, she winks--yes, winks.]

That's the real reason I chose it from the list of names Maul gave me.

[subject_013]

[He chuckles in his throat.]

Of course I would think of the darker meaning of the word. I'm sure I'll think of my own play on the word and hopefully a kinder one.

[demonicbeauty]

I enjoy plays on words.

[A pause.]

When I get them. The trouble is, most of the time, they don't make any sense to me until someone explains it.