souffle_girlek | (no subject)

(no subject)

She knows it's late, but it's important, and...

Oswin pauses in front of the unfamiliar door, hand raised, and reconsiders.

It's very late. Or rather, very early. She shouldn't be a bother. She turns to go - she'll discuss this tomorrow.

Really.

No, she won't, and really, she ought to just... go talk about it. She turns on her heel again and marches up to the door and knocks on it, sharply.

And again, because she suspects she didn't knock loud enough the first time, that was rather hesitant.

...

And maybe again, it has been a while, maybe she's... out?

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Alana furrows her brow. "I can't advocate the use of violence, even if it's to keep your cats safe," she says, folding her arms. "I understand your need to protect yourself, but I'd be shocked if he came after you."

"No, he'll be." Oswin corrects. "And if he doesn't, no one gets hurt. It's not like there's going to be some spider-bot rampage."

Alana purses her lips. "I still think that you should reconsider," she says. "Your use of tasers could be construed as rule-breaking, because they hold the potential of violence."

Oswin snorts her tea.

"Are you kidding me? Do you know how many guns I've had aimed at me by jumpy army types in this bar? Honestly, if we're going by that standard I'm behind the times."

Alana frowns slightly, her brow creasing again. "No, I didn't know that had happened at all, and I'm sorry it did," she says. "I just don't want your use of tasers to escalate a conflict that might be able to be resolved peaceably."

"He can't have the cats, and he has the means and motivation to take them. I'm just making sure he reconsiders his options." Oswin can remember options being taken by force.

Like hell that's happening again.

"Do you want me to talk to him, to suss out his motives?" Alana says, resting two fingers on her temple. "I'm sure he means you no harm."

"I do not want a deeper understanding of Cap'n Broody. I'd be just as happy to never see him again, actually." Oswin frowns, putting her tea down. "What, do you think I'm trying to start some sort of war or something?"

"Not at all," Alana says, picking up her tea mug again. "I think your reaction is a little bit overboard, but makes sense in the context of your history. If you were planning on starting conflict, you'd have gone on the offense rather than staying defensive."

"Too right." Oswin grumbles. "And it'd be over by now."

This is a bit optimistic. Also, probably not reassuring.

Alana draws a breath through her nose, concealing the sigh she wants to give. "Well, for everyone's sake, I'm going to hope that you'll be able to avoid this Security member from now on. Do you have video footage of him? I'd recommend deleting that so you aren't reminded of your anger at being lectured."

"I am not angry at being lectured by that miserable fellow, only concerned that he might take the cats when it takes his fancy. I could work up to being angry about being lectured now. I'm not hurting anyone, or breaking any laws." Oswin bristles, her tone sharp.

Alana remains silent for a while, studying her. "All right," she says eventually. "I can't stop you from equipping the spiderbots with tasers. Just be careful about it."

"Well of course, one wrong move and I'll be flopping around like a landed fish. Don't worry, I've gotten quite good at it."

Just how many bots does the girl have?

"I hope you never have cause to use them," Alana says, and can't manage to completely stifle a yawn. "Is there anything else you wanted to cover tonight?"

Oswin is no-where near tired, but she suspect it's just going to be one of those nights.

"No, I think that's about it. I'd better go make sure the cats haven't done themselves in or something while I was away." Abandoning tea, she stands smoothing her skirt and heads for the door.

Alana follows, picking up her discarded mug on the way. "Have a good night, Oswin. I hope you're able to get some good sleep."

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