Chanteloup displayed an enigmatic smile. Vertiga had clearly taken her words as a threat, which, for once, was not her intention... But in retrospect, she could easily understand the reaction. They weren't two old friends just chatting it up after an exquisite, prolonged meal. She had been curious about her crew's existence once bereft of their charismatic leader, but his reply told her a great deal of information, and brought her back to reality.
Of this, she said nothing, content to remain fixated on her co-diner, this ambiguous smile printed on her features as she let the seconds pass.
"Humour me, if you would", she finally consented to reply. "If I had meant to seize you upon your arrival here... Do you reckon you'd be sitting comfortably at my table at this very second ?" She barked her customary, vigorous laughter, an indication the meal had healed her up quite well. Coffees were brought up by a maître d'hôtel who clearly had no intention of lingering any longer than was necessary. The room filled with the strong, vivid smell of freshly brewed coffee that powered her through any ordeal. "Make no mistake, you're a pleasant enough companion and significantly more learned and eloquent than the vast majority of the Sirians I've had to endure thus far. I suppose I could have my fearsome maître d'hôtel here arrest you on the spot (the poor man was just laying down the coffee cups and made every attempt to ignore what was being said about him), but then I'd need to feed you regularly and contend with these shadowy Order scoundrels, not to mention your very pissed-off crew. And there is a finite amount of hours in a day, to my eternal regret."
She took a sip of her steaming hot coffee, and lit up a cigarette. She just now realised she hadn't smoked for what seemed like ages. And also, how long it had been since Vertiga stepped aboard Cordes. There was a universe currently moving out there, and she felt a sense of urgency creep up within her. Or rather, return to her after a remarkable absence. She had to get back to that universe at some point.
"Don't worry. You've passed the test. I'll walk you back to your ship once we're done with our coffees to demonstrate that no ambushes await you on the way. I'm a woman of my word. Got any questions or idle thoughts ? It may be a while before we meet again." Her staccato, to-the-point manner of speaking had returned.
(06-14-2019, 12:25 PM)Sombra Hookier Wrote: If everyone was a bit more like Lanakov, the entire world would be more positive. Including pregnancy tests.
