[ open ] how sharper than a serpent's tooth

[kosu]

WHO: Spock
WHERE: canyon wall, inn
WHEN: March 19 - 21
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: N/A Will update as necessary
STATUS: Open

---

March 19 - Canyon Wall

Spock had thus far been lucky to escape the lightning bugs, taking care to avoid any swarms of bugs she had spotted in the distance. Even before realizing the side effects, Spock had been disinclined to study the bugs. Her new, human body was far more prone to injury than the body with which she was accustomed, and part of the avoidance stemmed from a lack of desire to be stung.

That sentiment only applied to the bugs because Spock had been spending an increasing amount of time near the canyon walls, studying them for a possible means of escape. She had been in the village for a month, with no concrete plan to return to her ship and no ability to leave, which was not at all her style. While she lacked the talent for creative problem solving that many of her human peers did, Spock was equipped with stubbornness and vast knowledge, even if it was somewhat harder to remember all of her knowledge and her recall was not as exact as it would have been were her physiology still that of a Vulcan's.

Logic dictates that a canyon wall has to lead somewhere. If she could simply reach the top - and even knowing that her fellow companions in the village would have attempted such a feat did not stop her.

It was the lightning bugs that stopped her. Not even that far up the wall of the canyon, the bugs swarmed over her, a stinging mass that surrounded her for a few minutes, causing her grip to slip on the surface, and sending her tumbling to the ground. Normally a fall from such a short distance would have been nothing for her, and she had learned from a young age how to fall so to not damage anything vital, but it still left her bruised and gasping on the ground.

"Pain is a thing of the mind," she ground out, muttering to herself as she attempted to clear her mind. Meditation would not help now, but at least the familiar mantra was a distraction.

There was a benefit to the fall, and to her attempt to meditate: she failed to pay attention to the fact that she had been stung.

March 20 and on - Inn, around the village

After her disastrous fall from the canyon wall and the subsequent fever from the lightning bugs, Spock had elected to stay a little closer to the village. She would be found at the Inn and the buildings close by, exploring more of the place she in which she was currently forced to live, as it stood to reason that she would be there for a little longer than intended.

For now, that meant figuring out a better idea of the location, and what was readily available. As she healed up - or rather, as soon as she could move without visually displaying traces of discomfort - Spock will be investigating the various buildings, especially the blacksmith's building and the schoolhouse.

Comments

canyon wall

[powerunleashed]

Maybe it was a bad idea to find herself so far afield but Jean had been trying to explore the village and the outlying areas as much as she could so she could get an idea of how they could escape or, better yet, who held them here. She wasn't the only one with that idea, it seemed, because she had to get close to see her in all the fog but someone fell off the canyon wall, slipped, and Jean had tried to reach out with telekinesis and failed.

"Oh God," she said, drawing up close. "Are you okay? Is anything broken, can you tell if anything is broken?" Maybe it wasn't a long fall but it was still a fall and she was definitely concerned.

[kosu]

Human bodies are so much more breakable than Vulcan bodies. Spock knew this, but it had never been so obvious as it was when she landed on the ground.

She was already aware the mental control she normally had over her body was no longer present, but she had been trained in identifying broken bones. She spends a little time moving each of her limbs with care, wiggling her toes and then her ankles and legs, and same with her fingers. She does not immediately respond to the questions until she finishes, successfully realizing that the worst she has suffered are few bruises.

Well. It is perhaps better to say one bruise, as her entire back and hips feel like they are bruised.

"I am acceptable; nothing is broken." She glances to the wall, an annoyed sigh escaping her. "I was aware of the consequences and yet attempted to escape."

[powerunleashed]

"Yeah, I think we all try it at least once or twice. It's kind of expected, isn't it? To be told that you can't get out that you'd try to do anything you can to prove it wrong?"

Jean offered her hand to her to help her up, if she wanted to take it. "You were lucky not to break anything. The ground here is hard as rock."

[kosu]

Spock said nothing to that; while it might have been expected of most individuals, Spock was generally inclined to assume she had a better understanding of logic and would not attempt risky behavior just because of a perverse desire to prove a statement wrong. Life had taught her that it was not so simple, and she had proven her lack of logic time and time again, and once again just demonstrated her illogical attitude.

Perhaps, around her crew mates, she might have gracefully agreed. As it was, she was still learning the various individuals in the village, and it seemed prudent for her to keep silent on such matters as they pertained to self-assessment.

Besides, despite the fact that she had no broken bones, she was in a certain, unexpected amount of pain. And it was distracting.

She accepted Jean's hand, suppressing a grimace as she rose. "Luck is an illogical concept that fails to take into consideration the fact that I did not fall far and do have training in various martial arts that ensured knowledge of how one can safely land without unnecessary damage."

[powerunleashed]

"I guess that's one way to put it," Jean conceded. "But it involves a lot of calculation that I wouldn't necessarily want to do on the fly. I prefer to put my stock in a little luck."

It was a really, eerily logical way of approaching things and while she didn't have issue with that, she was mostly logical, it was way more logical than anyone else she'd met.

"Where are you from, anyway?"

[kosu]

"As I am capable of performing such calculations 'on the fly,' as you say, I would rather rely on those abilities than such an abstraction as luck." Spock was not one to trust something like luck - even though she had come close, with the rest of the crew.

"I am from Vulcan," she stated, as she tensed and relaxed her muscles one by one, determining the extent of her bruises. She might not have the copper-based blood of her ancestors, and the control over her body and mind that came with the Vulcan physiology, but she had been trained extensively in dividing her focus and in understanding her body. Carrying on a conversation while observing her body was simple. "As that is a world few are acquainted with, it was a planet 16 light years from Earth. My most recent lodging was on the starship Enterprise."

She said it with a trace of pride, something she couldn't entirely disguise.

"And from where do you hail?"

[powerunleashed]

Oh. She was another person from the future, then, someone who was from a place where it was normal to travel by spaceship and live on more planets than just planet earth. That was insane to Jean but apparently it was normal for other people so she had to be cool about it.

"Oh, well, I'm just from Earth. I'm hoping you know it?"

[kosu]

Spock has encountered ridiculous questions, though not so many here. And that was possibly one of the most ridiculous. It inspired a raised eyebrow, the effect slightly diminished because her natural, slanted eyebrows were no longer present.

"Indeed, I have heard of Earth. It is the home of Starfleet, and I studied in San Francisco prior to my assignment on the Enterprise."

[powerunleashed]

"Oh, okay, so you definitely know about Earth then," Jean said. She laughed a little, awkward, and shrugged. It was weird talking to people from the future and not wanting to ask them any and everything about what happened after her era and Jean decided not to tamp down that desire any longer.

"So, what is it like on a starship? Is it a military position or a civilian one?"

canyon wall

[ethnobotany]

It's been three days of this. Three days in which Beverly has been doing her best to settle in, though that definition is more geared towards not making waves and figuring out the logistics of this place rather than actually accepting that she's here for the long term. She doesn't take kidnapping well.

Still, she's definitely in the exploration and pushing of boundaries stage, so she, too, is at the canyon wall. She's been doing her best to avoid the bugs, considering how very unfriendly they look, but as soon as she sees someone sliding down the canyon wall, she hurries over, heedless of the bugs in her way.

"Are you all right?" she asks worriedly, kneeling down and ready to look the other woman over.

[kosu]

"I am acceptable." Which is not inaccurate, as other than her back feeling bruised and sore, and some scrapes on her legs, she is otherwise uninjured. Nothing is broken, thankfully. And there are only a few stings, though Spock pays little attention to those at first; they seem harmless, despite the fact that Spock has ample evidence of what happens to individuals who end up stung by the bugs.

"It was an unnecessarily risky move on my part, unacceptable that I should commit such an action."

[ethnobotany]

It's almost funny how forcefully those answers remind Beverly of Doctor Selar on the Enterprise, but she shakes herself inwardly. "I can hardly blame you for wanting to try to find what's at the top." Despite opinions that suggest that it's impossible to climb out. "But as long as you're not hurt..."

She eyes a couple of the fireflies, though. They still don't look too friendly.

"We might not want to stay here. I don't think these are the friendly kind of lightning bugs."

[kosu]

"As the creatures are not human, it is illogical to assign them such qualities as friendliness, either in lacking or possessing such a trait. They are simply acting according to their instincts."

Despite that, Spock agrees with her assessment, and quickly pulls herself up, barely suppressing a wince. Human bodies certainly are more frail than she imagined, or rather, now that she possesses one, she is acutely aware of how easily they can be bruised.

"However, we should depart the area, as it is wise to avoid unnecessary risks, and the lampyridae do provide a certain amount of risk."

[ethnobotany]

The word illogical hits Beverly with a painful wave of nostalgia that almost makes her dizzy. The very Vulcan word makes her miss Doctor Selar and sickbay. She suddenly wants nothing more than to be back on the Enterprise with her crew, her family, and knowing that she might be stuck here without any of them for a long time sticks a wedge in her throat. Swallowing past it is almost painful.

"I think you must be taking after a friend of mine if you like the word 'illogical' as much as she does," she offers after a second or two, moving to give the woman as much or as little help as she seems to need. "Come on. Let's get away from the larger clouds of them. Are you staying at the Inn?"

[kosu]

With that revelation, Spock studies the woman closer, taking in her features and bearing. After encountering people from other worlds and cultures, Spock is reluctant to assume that such words are used only by Vulcans, but it is very rare. It is possible this woman knows another Vulcan, which makes her grow quiet for a moment. No one here has even heard of her people; it is disturbing on a level Spock does not entirely comprehend.

"It is simply a word I use in describing the behavior that does not follow a discernable pattern of logic," Spock provides, accepting a hand up after a moment of consideration. There is no need to refrain from touch, her telepathy no longer active, and this is a matter of injury - it is logical to accept help. She allows the woman to help her up, taking a few steps on her own before realizing the pain is strong enough to prevent her from moving at her normal pace.

"I have taken a room at the Inn, yes."

[ethnobotany]

It's amazing how similar this woman's word choices are to that of a Vulcan. Except she has the look of a human, not a Vulcan at all. Not even half-Vulcan. It's almost as though this woman took lessons from a Vulcan somehow. As they begin to walk, Beverly does keep her arm close by, in case she needs to catch the woman or offer more support.

"I'm pretty sure all of her people would say that," Beverly offers, keeping her words as vague as she can. The Prime Directive must be upheld, for better or worse. "I asked because I was going to offer my room if you didn't. I'd like to see you resting after that fall, preferably away from the fireflies and where I can assess any injuries you might have."

[kosu]

"You are a doctor." There is no question in her voice because it is quite obvious to her that the woman is a doctor - only a doctor would talk about rest and assessing injuries. It almost reminded her of Dr. McCoy, though the woman lacked McCoy's attendant grumbling.

"I assure you, I am quite capable of assessing the extent of my injuries, and there is little harm done." From what she can read of her body, muted as her natural abilities are, she will be in some amount of pain and likely to struggle with walking long distances, but she should heal.

inn

[audaces]

Poe might not know Spock very well, but even he can tell when someone's not as healed up as they pretend they are; Jessica and Snap were famous for trying to push their limits before they were ready to get back in the cockpit (like Poe has a leg to stand on, here). He's gotten very good at identifying the slight tightening of facial muscles that betray suppressed pain, and so when Spock passes him in the Inn common room, he pushes up from the chair he'd been sitting in, almost dropping the book he'd been idly reading as he rushed after her.

"Hey, Spock," he calls out, catching up to her. "Uh, can I ask you something?"

[kosu]

"The tendency for humans to inquire if they are capable of making a query is one I fail to understand," Spock says. She slows to a stop, not that she had been walking very quickly, and turns to face Poe, careful to make her movements slow and precise. Her back is one large bruise still, and every shift of her body makes her keenly aware of the ache.

"If you are inquiring as to whether I am receptive to questions posed to me, it will largely depend on the query. As I am unable to predict what you are asking, all I provide is assurance that I will listen."

[audaces]

Humans. Man, Spock puts him at ease the way few others in the village do. He's comfortable with aliens.

"Heh, right." He grins at her for a moment, then realizes he doesn't actually have a question to ask her and panics. Briefly.

"Uh. Can you tell me about your ship?" When in doubt, talk shop. He's super comfortable with that, at least. "Almost everyone else here doesn't even consider space travel possible, let alone something they're familiar with." A society without space travel is almost incomprehensible to Poe. Space flight has been possible even before humanity fully came into their own. How can people not be aware of it? "I wanna compare notes."

[kosu]

Even though Spock might now be human - and had, before this, been half-human - and the only reminders of her Vulcan heritage are the cultural aspects she still applies to her daily life, she still feels like something of an outsider. She still is alien, even if it does not show in her blood.

But this query is simple, one easy to discuss, especially with someone who is familiar with space flight and regularly encountered aliens. She feels a brief rush of pleasure and gratitude when Poe speaks, and she nods, once. "Certainly." She waits to continue, pulling a chair closer to the one Poe had been occupying previously and sits. Mostly because she requires rest, as the ache in her back reminds her.

"It was the U.S.S Enterprise, a Constitution-class starship capable of warp speeds previously unknown."

[audaces]

Spock sits down and Poe works hard to contain the internal glee he feels at the concession; he's probably not very successful. Poe's always been an open book, his feelings displayed proudly on his sleeve, and the relief he feels that Spock's decided to take a break is probably obvious.

He throws himself back down in his previous chair, slouching as usual, and watches her with rapt attention.

"What's a Constitution-class starship? We don't use those classifications in my sector of the galaxy."

[kosu]

Spock is more than equipped to deal with expressive individuals who cannot contain their emotions; in some ways, Poe puts her at ease more than anyone who is capable of repressing their feelings, because this is familiar.

Ignoring his glee, Spock smoothes her hands over her lap, a nervous habit she finds somewhat difficult to control now. "It is a heavy cruiser class. Constitution class ships were designed for missions of long duration and thus were equipped to be self-sustaining, within certain parameters."

She pauses, considering his words. "What are the classifications with which you are familiar?"

[audaces]

"Huh." He reaches up to scratch at the stubble cropping up on his chin, trying to pull up the right kind of mental image to go with the words she's saying. Ships are important. He wouldn't want to imagine them incorrectly.

"Well, there's a Battlecruiser, a Bulk Cruiser, a Corvette, a Dreadnought, a Destroyer, a Frigate, a Star Defender, et cetera. I mean, there's lots. Plus all the shuttles and puddlejumpers and light aircraft that don't really fall into any of those categories."

He shrugs, idly picking at a callus that's been peeling these last few weeks, since he hasn't been working with his hands the way he's been most used to his whole life. "I like to think I can fly anything I climb into, but to be honest, I'm most familiar with smaller spacecraft, like X-Wings, and A-Wings. The bigger ships ted to be Capital ships, and, uh, we can't afford them."

[kosu]

"We lack a number of those designations." Though some of them are universal, and it is not a stretch for Spock, never imaginative, to grasp an understanding of other classifications. For the dreadnought, she has a thorough understanding, unlikely ever to forget the sight of the Vengenance suddenly appearing on the viewscreen of the Enterprise - and not just because she possesses an eidetic memory.

"We do not own X-Wings or A-Wings in my section of the galaxy. From the way you discuss the ships, they are closest to shuttlecrafts, though that designation covers a variety of configurations and uses." Transport primarily, but there are other uses. "What use do they provide?"