3rd Transmission - Audio
Headcount. Who all here remembers the Elegante? Speak up.
[There's a couple reasons for asking. The general headcount, and asking a few important questions that came up when he spoke to Zuko.]
Need to figure some things out.
[There's a couple reasons for asking. The general headcount, and asking a few important questions that came up when he spoke to Zuko.]
Need to figure some things out.
[He does see what you're asking about, though, and so he just starts off:]
I've-- I-I've been here, uh... t-two months now, I-I think, but... th-there was a, a m-- me here b-before I-I was.
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[Tucking his journal away, Xanth heads out to the shore. He's not looking forward to this; recounting his life before is not altogether pleasant, and he was so, so pathetic. It was shameful, and Xanth very much does not want to tell Ironhide anything shameful.
But he's Ironhide. He deserves to know.
Xanth moves quickly, but he came from his room and that's a fair distance from the lake. He wouldn't be surprised if Ironhide had already made it.]
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[Since he can't drive out of the keep, he has to limp his way down the stairs and out of the doors. Only when he's clear does he actually transform and roll out drive out to the lake.]
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He offers a smile and a wave when he finally sees Ironhide roll up. He'd settled himself down on the edge of the lake, watching the waves roll in and out. It was calm lake, but it was enough to keep Xanth's attention.]
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[He limps up to the boy, standing just behind him to see what he's looking at.]
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He knows water is bad for metal. He'd be a fool not to.]
I-I wonder, y-you know, if... th-there's anything d--down at the b-bottom. S-Sunken treasure, or, y-you know. S--Something.
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[At the comment, though, he grunts, shaking his head.]
There is dirt. And weeds.
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Still, the absolute frankness gets another smile out of Xanth.]
A-And, um. Rocks.
[There's a moment where Xanth falls silent. He chews on his lip, unsure of what to say next.]
Sorry. I-I, uh. I-- I guess I'm just-- n-not really sure wh-where to... t-to start.
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Yeah. Big ones. They get stuck in your undercarriage until you transform.
[He falls quiet too, waiting. When Xanth speaks again, he just grumbles something in Cybertronian.]
I have time. Speak up whenever you feel like it.
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[He's quiet for another few seconds, gathering his thoughts. He shifts his legs, drawing them up closer to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. It's a comfortable position for him; he feels safe.]
I-I... n-never met m--my parents. I-I lived with... w-well, she, sh-she wasn't m-my actual g-grandmother, b-but I... I-I always c--called her that. Sh-She told me that... m-my mom couldn't k-keep me, but she... n-never said why.
B-But I... I-I think it's 'c-cause I'm not... I-I'm don't... h-have any m--magic.
[That fact still stings, even after the last year, but it's surprisingly easy to talk about.]
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[What he says... is confusing, though.]
Is that a problem? Neither do I.
[He'd never even heard of 'magic' until the Elegante.]
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It's-- a-a big problem, o-over there. S-See-- I'm-- a-an elf. I-I think. I, well, I-- I look l-like one. L-Like a... n-night elf.
A-And they're s-supposed to have... l-lots of magic, like, m--more than... e-everyone else. I-I don't know, I-- I-I didn't l-live with them. I-I was, um... a-adopted, by a-an Atlian. Th-they're still elves, b-but not night elves.
S-So I, um, I-- I-I stuck out like... l-like a sore thumb.
[Or like the only little boy with white hair in the entire city.]
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You look human to me.
[He's not trying to demean what Xanth is telling him. It's just his observation.]
[He pauses though, turning this over in his head.]
And... they were less than approving of your presence?
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He nods.]
Y-Yeah. My family, m-my, uh-- a-adopted family-- th-they were okay with it. But. N-Night elves, they're-- usually w-w--weird enough, like-- th-they never leave their own c-country. A-And there's a-- a lot of rumors, b-but I don't... kn-know if they're true.
S-So the fact that I-I was o-out of there a-at all was... w-weird. A-And then when-- w-when I m-might as well b-be human, it's just...
[Xanth rubs his cheek and sighs.]
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[Maybe he should have said it more tactfully, but this is Ironhide. Tact is a foreign word.]
[Besides, he figures Xanth is probably used to it by now.]
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P--Pretty much.
A-And the-- th-the older I-I got, the w-worse it got, a-and it all-- it-- s-spiraled, f-for a... a-a while.
[He winces and pulls his legs even closer. Some of those days were bad.]
B-But then... th-the-- the Elegante h-happened, and... th-that's that.
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