vor | Fifth Cream Cake: [Action/Voice]

[Almost two weeks spent in Malnosso captivity and what does Gregor have to show for it?

Lots and lots of band-aids, mostly. Also a minor cold that has turned into a chesty cough.

Instead of any great torture, drugs, or whatever he'd been expecting, the Malnosso mostly took DNA samples. Blood samples. Tissue samples. He's from further in Earth-universe's future than most besides Ivan, so maybe his specific point in human evolution was of interest. He understands the "lab rat" metaphor pretty well now. There hadn't been a lot of space in his cell, so he's a little stiff and sore. At least the hallucinations are gone. That had been the worst part--having to assure himself that this was a normal reaction to solitary confinement. He slowly heaves himself to his feet, blindly scrabbling for his journal. Writing is not easy with all his bandaged fingertips, so he speaks, sounding hoarse, slightly congested, and exhausted.]

Ivan. [A pause. ] Buffy. Adele. Whoever's...interested, this is Greg. I'm back. [He coughs a couple of times, fairly hard.] The Malnosso...anyway, I'm fine. It...wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm heading home now. Did someone take care of my horse?

[He'll take about fifteen minutes to walk home from his spot in the woods.]

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...They made you see things.

[ a frown. although she's had some terrible nabbings, she'd never experienced quite the same visions given to others. of course, she has had hallucinations here in the village.

recently, too.

drusilla. ]

Well. Expecting them or not, they still suck. Did they stick around after you were returned, at all?

[He glances up.]

No, it wasn't that. Just...typical solitary confinement hallucinations. And they were more...feeling things. And I'm not sure if I was hearing things, or if I was just hearing...other people.

[He looks a shade or two glummer than usual.]

Sometimes you can. Hear other people. Heck, sometimes you share cells. It's happened to me -- once.

But sometimes it's also better to believe you're imagining them.

[He nods, agreeing.] It just...some people must've had it bad. I think...I was so relieved when I found out this wasn't the Cetagandans, I didn't realize it could still--

[He puts the tray down and buries his forehead in his hands with a sigh.]

Greg, I...

[ she sits up a little straighter. ] You don't have to talk about it. Not if you don't want to. Not if it's too early.

[He knows. It's pretty much why he stopped. That, and emoting isn't really his specialty, let alone talking about his feelings. Talking at all. Buffy, he's more comfortable with than some. Than many. So she gets more out of him than 99.9% of Luceti's population. Or his social circle on any world. Out of necessity as much as anything.

No, this isn't emoting. This is the emperor collecting himself. Control has been drilled into him since his birth, after all. After about ten seconds, he releases another sigh and sits, up, reaching for the tray, composed again.]

It wasn't bad, not for me. They took a lot of blood and tissue samples.

Blood.

[ funny, how everything came back to it. it's always blood. spike's words had been ringing in her ears more often, lately. especially when she thinks about what had happened with the general. ]

You'll be taking it easy, then? For a while? A few days?

Probably. Until I get over this cold. I still need to look in on my horse.

...Did someone look after i--her?

Not that I saw. I think her muscles are starting to atrophy, and she's looking too thin. I can't slack on food an exercise.

I'm...sorry. Someone should've been there for her. For you. I would've, if I'd known she was...well, I don't know anything about horses. Never even ridden one, unless you count pony rides at fairs.

...I could teach you. In exchange for the Judo lessons.

You know, that doesn't sound like a half-bad trade.

I have enough points for another horse, actually. Unfortunately there's no place to put it. I've talked to...Zack Fair, is it? About building another stable. I'm not sure how that's coming along, if it is.

I work with Zack at the bar. He and BV do get hit with a number of building requests but you've been away for a while so...who knows.

But even still, keep your points to yourself. You probably have better things to spend them on.

No, I really do want to make multiple horses available for transportation purposes. I wouldn't even mind being everyone's groom. It's...one of the few useful things I actually know.

From seat of power to stable boy. It's like a fairy tale in reverse.

[ then again? she thinks about one particular tale. the prince and the pauper. ] Or maybe not.

It's a noble goal.

Nah, you hear about nobles disguising themselves as commoners in stories all the time. It's supposed to be less stressful. It sounded...pretty appealing, at one point. Still does.

It's no walk in the park -- being chosen. Sometimes you gotta live someone else's life besides your own.

But...I'd be honoured to accept lessons, Greg.

[He glances up to meet her eyes. Trying to decide if she's exaggerating. Looking for clues.]

[ to be fair, it can occasionally be tough to tell. her eyes held onto that slightly jesting gleam while everything else was all sincerity. buffy often joked through her seriousness.

but against the silence: ] Besides, seems like the skill could come in handy if you're looking to popularize the transport mode.

It probably could. [He finishes creating his perfectly homogenous porridge mixture and takes up a spoonful.] I think I'd...like teaching you.

[He pops the spoon into his mouth, trying to assure himself he is not blushing or about to blush.]

...Five minutes into the first lesson and you'll be taking that back. I'm a horrible student. I have no sense of discipline, I love to talk back, and I'm lousy with homework.

[ she wants to swing this conversation back towards levity. even if she didn't consciously recognize his capacity to blush, there was some sense of self-preservation that kicked in. ]