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[agnominal]

[ There's a perplexed looking young man in view of the screen. Anyone familiar with Locus will probably recognize him, but something's definitely different. That tell-tale x-shaped scar? Gone. His hair is shorter, hanging just below his jaw. Moreover, his eyes don't quite hold that thousand-yard-stare to them just yet.

He looks, well. Teenaged.

He's also holding Luna up to view. She's purring heavily, but he appears bewildered by her presence, if anything. ]

Does anyone know whose cat this is? I just...found her here when I woke up.

Comments

[agnominal]

Why is that?

[ Gabe is noticeably allowed to take the lead. Sam? Walks beside him, only slightly behind, anticipating where he means to head. ]

[nofortunateson]

I mean. It's not exactly all burgers and fries up there.

[Not that he hadn't grabbed the closest thing possible, but even then, the sheer variety present has made him suspicious of how familiar his selections are actually going to taste.]

[agnominal]

I've definitely seen worse.

[ Growing up poor? You learn to grow a more tolerant palate. But it's true. The food they're serving up here doesn't look all that bad. Maybe different, but he can handle different. ]

[nofortunateson]

Okay, fair.

[It could absolutely be worse, he has to give him that. Taking a seat in an open section, he looks up - something that stays constant even after Sam sits.]

Where are you from, anyway?

[agnominal]

A lot of places. Madrigal, originally.

[ Which was one of the planets the Covenant glassed so...no one's really from there, anymore.

He doesn't appear bothered, however, reaching for his own food. ]

[nofortunateson]

Wow- Madrigal.

[His eyebrows lift, and for a second he's torn if he should express . . . anything, actually. All he knows about Madrigal is broadcasts and news feeds, the seared-in sense memory of still rooms and tense conversations. It was a place he'd never thought of until it suddenly wasn't, and unless he's made a pretty big move since then . . .

He pokes at his food, finally deciding that the casserole-type thing looks like a good place to start.]

So, uh. Still in the outer colonies, or did you move inward?

[agnominal]

We moved further in, like the rest of the refugees.

[ He gives a light shrug. ]

We were luckier than most. We moved a lot but we had a roof over our heads wherever we went. My mother made sure I got to go to school, or had books to read if there wasn't one around. I know some families that had it worse.

[nofortunateson]

Yeah, I bet.

[He at least has enough sense to intuit that lingering on it is going to make things weird - weirder than their situation already is, even. For all that Sam has been following along, it's easy to take his lead in turn and just be cool about it, and he gives a hint of a smile as he thinks through the last several hours.]

I guess I'm less surprised by how calm you've been through all of this.

[agnominal]

It's all very...weird. Don't get me wrong. But I don't really see how making a fuss is going to change anything.

[ There's a wry quirk at the corner of his mouth. ]

Easier to keep a cool head and see what happens next.