Tour de Force. [Stefan, Florian]

[Eitan Angevin]

"I could only file my report and hope the brass has enough context to suss out a strategy behind their guerrilla tactics. Keep the outlying areas in fear? Take down a lone airship? Time will tell." He took a sip of his beer. It was pleasant to share his exploits with Stefan, who was a sincerely appreciative audience. Sometimes he needed his efforts and sacrifices acknowledged, which required the right sort of people.

Luncheon continued apace, and he let Albrecht's minor transgression go for the nonce.

"I have been working out some ideas that I ought to share," he said, though some of them couldn't be shared in front of Albrecht—yet. Eventually, he hoped to persuade Stefan and Brenner both that Albrecht ought to be on the shortlist for their upcoming expedition. His loyalties, such as they were, followed Eitan and not the Order. Their internal politics would mean nothing to him. And he added potency to Eitan's magical abilities as well as bringing an array of his own that they hadn't initially considered for the expedition.

"Rather than one huge, complex warding. Mulitple smaller, simpler wardings anchored at regular intervals, overlapping like the scales of a fish or, more correctly, scale armor. A team of Warders could set them up quickly rather than waiting for a supremely powerful Warder to take the time to build something complex. And, should one blow out... there would still be protection from the overlap. A little redundancy, you understa—?"

But then Brenner appeared, calling all attention to him.

"Ein Kind aus Asche und Glut," he replied to the question in kind. But he would let both men take Albrecht's measure before he indicated he thought the Lysanrin ought to join them in their endeavor.

[Florian]

Florian listened intently to Stefan's response, and silently reveled in the minute symptoms of discomfort as much as the fact that he was being addressed at all. He was also interested in the matter. Not that he was an engineer, but Stefan's suggestion and Angevin's elaboration of an idea that Florian had recently proposed when inspecting his wards - whether that was truly the impetus that idea or not—

His mood faltered upon the arrival of another man. Another human. Florian immediately tensed. His look, his confusing exclamation upon seeing him — what language was that?— , the way he was not addressed but he was being spoken about. Observed. Florian felt like a caged animal, a creature held in a menagerie. But he was a person. He was a person. Maybe they didn't believe it, but he was a person. He took a breath, two, quelling the panic that rose in his stomach and tightened around his neck. The color drained from his eyes, but only so much to make them leave indigo and return to neutral blue. Angevin responded in a language that sounded much the same, but as to the contents, Florian was lost. The way he had attempted to pronounce Lysanrin felt like an insult that his past self might have started a fight over, but Florian just smiled. He was in no position to start a fight.

His brain sought something to focus on, and it chose what had been said before he was seen. And, as I've said, as long as we have a means of following their food source, we'll be better situated to find a specimen.

"Food source of what?" In some attempt to regain control of his swirl of emotions, he opened his mouth to speak. Consequences be damned, he had no idea what to do. He could have followed his superior's instruction, but to do so would have left him with even lesser dignity. He was a person. Was Angevin trying to embarrass him? Was this some sort of revenge? He bristled, and his eyes flicked between Angevin and the two strangers.

[Stefan Dornkirk]

The elder Dornkirk looked between his brother and childhood friend with an expression that very clearly stated 'Let's tone down the drama, shall we?'. Then he made an introduction gesture from the man practically clutching his pearls beside Stefan's chair to the horned man sitting across the table.

"Brenner, this is Private Albrecht of the ZADC." He said it with a little bit of reproach, since the uniform the Lysanrin was wearing was one Brenner himself had worn for years. "They here with Commander Angevin to go over the refit plans for the Noble Gambit."

He did not say that the meeting had been on the schedule he had handed out to both the other men so they could properly coordinate their time. It would have brought up questions in the mind of the Private that should not be there.

It seemed the manner of Brenner's careless entry had already incited the curiosity of the Lysanrin and Stefan had to control himself not to sigh.

"My brother and I make a hobby of studying rare biological specimens. In some cases those that are thought to be extinct. Forgive his intrusion." The apology was directed mostly to Eitan but there was some sentiment leftover for his other guest. He spoke the words with a little more emphasis than they strictly needed, as though he was implying things to the two men who knew him well that were not intended to be understood by the youngest member of the luncheon party.

"As we were saying." Without looking he plucked the book out of Brenner's hands and tucked it, title down, beside himself into the chair. "If you would care to join us for the meeting brother?" Turning back directly to Eitan he went on, "The overlapping idea, I like it, makes more sense. My idea was for something similar but with only six or so large overlapping panels. I will see if I can adjust my schematic to better accommodate. If we could walk the deck after we eat I would appreciate your input in a live setting."

[Brenner Dornkirk]

"Ach so..." Brenner replied mildly to Eitan's Kathalan reply, without averting his eyes from the creature. He was taken aback when it spoke, though not because he consciously believed it couldn't. He just hadn't gotten that far in his thought process, distracted as he was by the shifting shade in the eyes of the beast. There was something feral in the intensity of the gaze that answered Brenner's.

He winced at his own recklessness, when he registered what the creature had asked and parted his lips to respond, but Stefan beat him to it. It was Stefan's voice that finally drew his eyes away from openly gaping at the horned figure before him.

"Ah. Yes, of course." Brenner blushed, which was easy to do with his complexion, and cleared his throat as he took a seat on the arm of Stefan's chair. "I... didn't realise I was interrupting. Apologies." He may have been slated to lead Stefan in a few weeks, but he yielded to the chastisement recognising that he in his brother's jurisdiction, for now.

He smirked a bit, glancing pointedly to 'Private Albrecht'... a deceptively normal, Zaichaero-Gelerian name... as Stefan spoke of their hobby of studying rare biological specimens. He raised the sandwich for another bite, as he wondered whether Stefan was being cheeky about the rare biological specimen seated across from them, but it was a smooth recovery all the same.

The Air Commander nodded at the offer to join the meeting, though he didn't respond verbally with his mouth full. Brenner was content to finish his sandwich and let Stefan lead his meeting and continue discussing whatever they'd been broaching before Brenner blustered in. Finally, when there was a gap in the conversation he turned his head to Eitan and inquired,

"So, um... What does it-... er, she do on the Noble Gambit?" He gestured broadly toward Private Albrecht with his sandwich, before bringing it back round for another hearty bite.

[Eitan Angevin]

"He was assigned to me," Eitan supplied. He didn't put undue emphasis on the pronoun, but Brenner would either accept the correction or not. For all his inherent biases, the young commander had no problem accepting Albrecht as a man. Perhaps because, in a similar vein, he had declared himself human and preferred to be treated as such. Albrecht might not agree that they were in the same vein, but it was how things made sense to the half-elf-cum-full-human.

"The Corps accepted him, but they felt he would be best utilized under the command of a State-sanctioned Warder. His service so far has been exemplary, as I was telling Stef." He paused. "While in a nocturnal firefight with mages, he was able to see which attackers were channeling aether and snipe them. Directing me to do the same. I really do need to requisition some aura glass..." He had needed the tools of the Order trade, but now he felt their lack even more so between his guardianship of Albrecht and the Dornkirks' upcoming expedition.

"He can see aether that is being channeled to magical purposes, absorb it, and redirect it, which has been helpful in maintaining shields." After swallowing a bite of his sandwich, he nodded to Stefan. "I would be happy to, as long as Albrecht can tag along. He can't ward, but I need him to develop a more sophisticated understanding of them since he can redirect power to them. He ought to know how to be strategic about that."

Eitan glanced at the Lysanrin. So far, he was mostly acting his role. Once Stefan saw how useful he could be, his more obvious biases fell away. The more pernicious ones were subtler, of course. He could only hope Brenner would also see the wisdom of his choice because Albrecht's loyalty was worth almost as much as his adaptable abilities.

[Florian]

If Eitan were not there, perhaps Florian would have been a touch more bold. He had a white-knuckled grip on his beer and his appetite for the sandwich in his other disappeared, but he held himself back from a - frankly - well deserved outburst. His blue eyes washed black, but he stopped asking questions. Whatever he could have said remained caught in his throat, but he stared hard at Brenner. Eitan's subtle correction was some small salve to the humiliation that consumed him, but he cursed himself for speaking. He may have been blessed with boyish features and a near-nonexistent chest, but his voice. His gender was just another thing preventing him from fitting in, but like every other one of his qualities, he refused to compromise.

As Eitan went on to extol his virtues and his past accomplishments - which he now realized may have been more useful than he had originally thought - Florian's face softened and he dropped his gaze from the intruder, instead looking to Eitan as he spoke. He could see the resemblance in the new man and Stefan now that he had mentioned it, though he had difficulty deciphering who was the older of the two from looks alone.

Florian was unsure why Angevin seemed so intent on selling his presence to these two. He assisted with the wards, yes, and it was useful for him to learn more about the ship and the way the wards interacted with its construction, but his description of Florian's abilities did not make him feel any less like a creature on display. At least he managed to relax his furrowed brow, and he took another sip of the beer. With great effort, he even managed to release the tension from his shoulders. His eyes remained black, as despite his great effort in appearing calm, he was seething. But he would play nice, as something between the lines seemed important to Eitan. Finally, as he finished speaking, Florian decided to offer his own input. He didn't know why he kept doing this - maybe it felt important to him, an attempt to scrape back control over his own feelings.

"As a Lysanrin," He enunciated, "I am not only able to see aether as it is being channeled. I can see aether as it is manipulated, yes, but I can also see where it congregates, and see where it flows." A simple correction to Eitan's description of his abilities, but a correction all the same.

[Stefan Dornkirk]

"He can absorb magic, Brynn." The emphasis with which Stefan said this implied much that was not spoken. "It makes me wonder if..."

Glancing at the Lysanrin he cleared his face tightened at the literal black look being directed at his brother. Leaning to one side in his chair, a subconscious attempt to get between the hate in the eyes of the other and a person he cared about he redirected himself to Eitan.

"Of course, whatever aids you need. I will likely have my assistant following me as we walk the ship, taking notes for us. We can go after we're done here, if you wish. I have can clear the meeting I had for the afternoon. Truth be told, I'd prefer to clear it in lieu of present company." He shared a brief smile between Eitan and Brenner,

"Assuming you haven't anything pressing you could also advise about the Gambit, since you're used to the upgraded Victory and can make suggestions as to which items are most useful."

When Private Albrecht cut in with another of his oddly busting little speeches Stefan's mind derailed, yet again, from the matter at hand and he leaned forward in his chair,

"Can you really? That could be of great use. Do you think I might observe you doing so? At a later date, in my control lab, and with your Commander's permission, and presence, of course." The question turned from a request to Albrecht to a request to Eitan halfway through. Stefan's fascination seemed to force him through his societally taught prejudice but it quickly reasserted itself.

"I've been running some little experiments on the nature of magical creatures. Do you think you could entirely drain, say, a glowmoth? If so, would being deprived of magic kill it?" He did not sound eager for the creature to die, quite the opposite, his hope that I such a creature could be removed of the affliction of its nature and live was clear in his tone. Making a placating gesture he made himself sit back again,

"I am sorry. You are unlikely to know the answers to such questions and I do not mean to badger you." This was to the Private, then, to the Commander, "Shall we head out to the Gambit?"

[Brenner Dornkirk]

"He, then." Brenner whipped a dismissive hand at the air in front of him. He knew little enough about these creatures. He supposed it was a convenience that it had a gender at all, lest he'd be expected to figure out how to manipulate the language to accommodate some aberrant, alien notion. He regarded the smallish figure before him, now taking note of the uniform and realising there must have been some success in assimilating the creature. It had surmounted cadethood, after all, and was apparently assigned to a vessel of note. As Eitan spoke on, Brenner began to understand why.

"What?" The Air Commander wracked his brain for what he'd read of the Lice-rancid race in Gereon's bestiary. It beggared belief that, if these things could be tamed enough to be put unto uniform, their usage in Zaichaer wasn't more widespread as a magical deterrent. He regarded Albrecht, now, with an appraising- perhaps an analytical eye, now.

Sure, it may have been unsettling to look upon with its mercurial eye colours- Particularly now that they seemed to be trending black, but greater sacrifices had been made for the State. The Order of Reconciliators, for instance...

Brenner lifted both eyebrows, as the creature spoke. He promptly repeated the same dismissive hand gesture as earlier, when he'd been corrected about the gender.

"Lysanrin, then." He shrugged one shoulder, but leaned in as it clarified the point about its abilities. "Fascinating. And you utilise these abilities in service to the State?" It was the first time he'd addressed the private directly- with direct eye-contact, second-person pronouns and everything.

Stefan's emphasis drew Brenner's gaze away from Florian. He leaned down to whisper to his brother in Kathalan,

"...there may be some relation between this creature and our quarry?" He wasn't sure if he was finishing Stefan's thought, but it had been the first thing to occur to Brenner upon hearing this information.

"I should like to sit in on such an experiment..." He noted, before taking a hefty last bite of his sandwich and rising with a nod. He placed the remaining bite of bread and meat on the platter he'd plucked it from, and worked at chewing the oversized bite he'd taken to expedite their transition to the next venue.

[Eitan Angevin]

As Albrecht's correction only made him look a more attractive addition to their forthcoming expedition and his black eyes didn't seem to presage an explosion, Eitan just took another bite of his sandwich and nodded as the Dornkirk boys began to put two and two together. They were intelligent fellows and he clearly didn't need to hold their hands and lead them from point A to point B.

"Of course, of course," he said to Stefan when he asked for their presence in his laboratory at some point. Soon enough, his leave would be cleared so he could focus entirely on their preparations. He was less than pleased when the Dornkirk boys caught some momentum and wanted to immediately quit the room and their delicious luncheon to tour. Of course, he was happy to work, but saw no reason to cut short the meal. He ate as quickly as he could without breaking the codes of common decency, trying to refuel as much as he was able before they stood to go.

He washed it down with a swallow or two of beer.

Poise. Aplomb. Decorum. He couldn't provide Albrecht with a bad example. He was trying to help him mesh with Zaichaeri society, after all. At least, that would make it easier for him to function on the airship and in the city, at least outside of the ethnic ghetto areas.

He dabbed the corner of his napkin unnecessarily to the corners of his mouth, folded it, and set it aside. He glanced away to surreptitiously run his tongue over his teeth to ensure no food was lingering, and then he stood up and smiled, ready to do his duty. Apparently, the sacrifices they would be making for City and Corps included a full belly.

[Florian]

Florian's appetite ruined, he had no such desire to finish eating his sandwich. He did, however, finish the beer. It seemed his correction - and Eitan's description of him - had intrigued both of the Dornkirks. Perhaps Eitan was trying to sell the idea of him, but the purpose escaped him. Perhaps it had to do with the aforementioned rare biological specimen, but even with Stefan's question, he had no idea what use he would be in that regard.

"I don't know how it affects animals." Was his response to Stefan's request. They seemed awfully intrigued by his capabilities in a way that had not ever been expressed to him, and he was unsure if it could be considered a compliment. It all felt dehumanizing, but at least he wasn't being treated with disdain. Fascination was a potential step up, and these people seemed rather important to Eitan. As angry as he was, he could try to be more agreeable. Even if, in this instance, he was the rare biological specimen they seemed to be studying. Florian's ever-mercurial eyes returned to blue, and his gave shifted back to the brother, who added onto the questions.

"Well, yes, when it's asked of me by Commander Angevin." He shifted where he sat. Now, it was up to him to just follow instructions. He silently agreed that it was important for him to see everything, but the men still seemed to be hiding something. And speaking in a language he could not understand didn't seem to help their efforts at secrecy - now, he was trying to pay even more attention. It seemed that his questions had only hindered his efforts, so he chose to stay silent on the matter. As Angevin stood up, so did he, but a smile did not follow.