It's a relief to hear the pain for her subsides - it burns in turn down his own leg, but as he reaches the end of her injury, the sensation already starts to fade. His hand tingles a little, and Levi flexes his fingers to make it dissipate faster.
"You could probably do it, if you wanted to pay up to drink another potion. Thought I heard that recently."
Perhaps it would be useful to be able to use some kind of elemental magic so that he doesn't feel at a complete disadvantage compared to some of the people here; even with his renewed strength and agility, Levi isn't counting on that to completely keep him out of trouble when there were still so many unknowns about this place. But it's not a priority for the moment.
He presses his lips together a moment at her response - well, that idea is thwarted. He needs someone who is more confident in their skill, because if he's going to learn how to make coffee for Erwin, it needs to be more than passable, since he can already do that.
"I see." Sitting back on his heels, he starts to unroll his cuffs again, working the buttons closed. "You came from a big operation, huh? If you had people to take care of all that for you."
'Really?' she questions, surprised. 'I haven't seen them for sale anywhere - oh, you mean buying from some newcomer who decided not to drink from their vial?' It's not the worst of ideas, she thinks. Or at least it wouldn't be, if the outcome were guaranteed. 'I shall look into that.'
As she speaks, she leans forward to look at her wound. It's completely closed now, even if the livid red of the fresh scar tissue makes her wince. It won't look like that forever, she tells herself, but she doesn't let her gaze linger for long before she pulls down her trouser leg again. There's no need for a fresh dressing, not after that dramatically accelerated bit of healing, so instead she wads up the old length of white cloth in one hand, and stands, slowly.
There's no pain on standing, and she smiles as she crosses the room to drop the old cloth in a wooden container there. She'll boil it clean later. The method is primitive to her mind, but the concept isn't. Tradeliners, like everyone else who came out of the early colonies, don't waste resources. Her gait is markedly less irregular now, and she returns to Levi without any unsteadiness.
'There were over two hundred on my ship,' she explains. 'Most of the cleaning was automated. The coffee machines, too. Food was different. We had a very good cook! I know how to provision a ship for a quarter-year out in the black, but not how to cook any of it. It would have been very inefficient for us all to do that! The trade-off is that we didn't get much choice in meals, but I was never fussy. I take it that your people, working in smaller units, were less specialised?'
"Supposedly it's another thing you can ask the big creepy crystal for."
He's not bothered much with it outside of a couple things, but that's the rumor.
It's a relief to see that she can walk without pain again. Levi doesn't smile, but he watches her cross the room, pleased with the outcome (and that she at least has a separate place for the bandage to go rather than just tossing it anywhere). After a moment, he gets to his feet and joins her, trying not to take in all of the dusty spots he passes along the way.
"There are about three to four-hundred members of the Survey Corps at any given time. I think I've mentioned that our survival rates aren't very high, so often it's less than that for a while. At headquarters there are staff that help run things who don't do training or go on missions, but everyone learns how to cook in the field, if they didn't know how to already. Any one of them can be self sufficient if needed. And everybody cleans. Nothing is...automated? Dunno what that word means."
His mention of the crystal provokes a look of displeasure. 'Oh,' she says quietly. 'The spying crystal. I use that to tell Vaeros to return the goods he took from me. Not to beg for gifts and favors.' Is that insulting towards the people who do use the crystal to make wishes? Probably. Does Ari Tayrey care? Not a bit. She has always been clear about her notions of fair contract, and ethical consistency matters.
She listen to Levi's explanation of Survey Corps customs. Ari is blissfully oblivious to the dust around the room, but there's a considerable amount.
Nodding in understanding, she tells him, 'It makes sense. It's different, but it's like I was telling Commander Smith before, the differences make sense given our distinct operating parameters. Tradeliners don't have headquarters, except for a central finance office but that's very small. Shipside, everyone learns to use firearms, because if enemies attack they're not going to spare someone because they claim they're just an accountant or repair technician. If you're in a Tradeline uniform, you're a target. Automated means that people aren't needed for a job, machines can do it. We have machines that clean. Cooking is a specialist job shipside. I mean, anyone can heat up a ration packet on expedition, but I wouldn't call that cooking.'
It seems to her that both of them are concerned with practicalities, but what exactly counts as an essential practical skill doesn't really line up. She has to admit that Levi's skillset is probably more useful in Somnius than hers.
Levi's method of dealing with the crystal has also been to demand his shit back, rather than ask nicely, but he also doesn't care how other people use it. If they want to ask for things that makes them happier or their life easier while in this strange place, let them.
"Suppose if you have things to do it for you, you'd never have a reason to learn." He can concede that much, at least. Levi can throw together a handful of things if pressed - porridge, stew, things like that. But even he doesn't really count what he does as cooking, necessarily. Perhaps he could if he wanted, but that seems to be Erwin's hobby of late. Which is just as well, because Levi cleans.
"But you're saying even without those machines, you can't tell you've got dust and shit everywhere?"
She thinks for a moment, her brow creasing in concentration. 'If I look for it, I see it,' she admits, because now that she does look, the dust in the corners is beyond obvious.
'I guess... I have to prioritise. I'm good at that. This place is nothing at all like a starship. I had to learn a lot from scratch. So priorities are-' she starts ticking them off on her fingers, out of habit, 'earn enough to support myself, make profit, militia work, keep the house warm, haul enough water from the well to keep myself and my clothes looking presentable, lay pipes so that someday I won't have to do that... not in that order. But it's a lot. For one person to do everything alone. Building the kind of machines that deal with dust would be a big project and I wouldn't even know where to start with materials.'
Tayrey had gone from being a very privileged child to a member of a large and specialised starship crew. Living alone was never something she thought she'd have to do.
He connects those dots together. "Wait, hold on - you're building all that yourself because you don't want to ask the crystal for shit? Is it because you don't think it's a fair exchange to give it energy or whatever, or you don't want to give it?"
The words might sound somewhat judgmental, but Levi's just trying to understand what the line is for her here.
"Anyway, I don't mind doing this for you once in a while, if we can work out an exchange." For his purposes, he doesn't really need one, except that if Ari hopes to have him visit again, it'll make Levi more comfortable to spend time in a place not covered in a layer of dust. "If it's too much for one person, you can ask for help."
Her expression darkens. 'I was held prisoner by a being who saw me as a fuel source and not a person,' she says quietly. 'The fuel was my pain and suffering. I'm not being poetic. That's literally how it was. So no, I'm not giving up anything at all, tangible or not, without a contract in place. If Vaeros wants something from me, he can talk to me and deal with me fairly, and come to a mutually beneficial and consensual agreement. Until that time? There's dignity in doing things with my own two hands. However clumsily.' She glances down at those hands. They're tougher than they used to be. New calluses. 'There's none at all in standing in front of an inanimate crystal begging an unseen person for handouts and having to pay an unknown price for them.'
Tayrey isn't getting emotional about it. Her words are even and considered; this is simply how it is for her. She lives by her principles.
Can she ask for help, though? Again, she has to consider it. Most people would simply hear a pithy remark about her independence, but she trusts Levi more than that. Sometimes you have to rely on your comrades, don't you? If you know that they won't see you as lesser because of it - and she doesn't think he will.
'We could work out an exchange,' she agrees, finally, 'and maybe - maybe you could show me the most efficient way to handle it.' Maybe it's not wrong for her, she decides. It hadn't ever been her job shipside, and she'd been right to refuse after that, because cleaning the place of her imprisonment wasn't proper for a Tradeliner. Things are different now, aren't they? This cottage is hers.
Levi goes very still, his gaze intensifying, hardening, as she recounts her experience. He doesn't need details, doesn't doubt that she means precisely what she says. He's seen enough horror in the world even before ever laying eyes on a titan to know that if some shitty noble could have figure out how to profit off people's suffering for energy, they would have. They'd already exploited every other part of their physical body, why not their emotions as well? As far as he's ever concerned, exploitation is the true evil in the world.
He stares at her, hard, for a long moment before he simply says: "I understand."
There's no sympathy offered, but there is a palpable anger on her behalf that thrums silently through his limbs, an energy looking for an outlet. Levi clenches his fists briefly to try to dissipate some of it, but it's not enough, and he shifts to his feet, suddenly restless.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
It's a relief to hear the pain for her subsides - it burns in turn down his own leg, but as he reaches the end of her injury, the sensation already starts to fade. His hand tingles a little, and Levi flexes his fingers to make it dissipate faster.
"You could probably do it, if you wanted to pay up to drink another potion. Thought I heard that recently."
Perhaps it would be useful to be able to use some kind of elemental magic so that he doesn't feel at a complete disadvantage compared to some of the people here; even with his renewed strength and agility, Levi isn't counting on that to completely keep him out of trouble when there were still so many unknowns about this place. But it's not a priority for the moment.
He presses his lips together a moment at her response - well, that idea is thwarted. He needs someone who is more confident in their skill, because if he's going to learn how to make coffee for Erwin, it needs to be more than passable, since he can already do that.
"I see." Sitting back on his heels, he starts to unroll his cuffs again, working the buttons closed. "You came from a big operation, huh? If you had people to take care of all that for you."
no subject
As she speaks, she leans forward to look at her wound. It's completely closed now, even if the livid red of the fresh scar tissue makes her wince. It won't look like that forever, she tells herself, but she doesn't let her gaze linger for long before she pulls down her trouser leg again. There's no need for a fresh dressing, not after that dramatically accelerated bit of healing, so instead she wads up the old length of white cloth in one hand, and stands, slowly.
There's no pain on standing, and she smiles as she crosses the room to drop the old cloth in a wooden container there. She'll boil it clean later. The method is primitive to her mind, but the concept isn't. Tradeliners, like everyone else who came out of the early colonies, don't waste resources. Her gait is markedly less irregular now, and she returns to Levi without any unsteadiness.
'There were over two hundred on my ship,' she explains. 'Most of the cleaning was automated. The coffee machines, too. Food was different. We had a very good cook! I know how to provision a ship for a quarter-year out in the black, but not how to cook any of it. It would have been very inefficient for us all to do that! The trade-off is that we didn't get much choice in meals, but I was never fussy. I take it that your people, working in smaller units, were less specialised?'
no subject
He's not bothered much with it outside of a couple things, but that's the rumor.
It's a relief to see that she can walk without pain again. Levi doesn't smile, but he watches her cross the room, pleased with the outcome (and that she at least has a separate place for the bandage to go rather than just tossing it anywhere). After a moment, he gets to his feet and joins her, trying not to take in all of the dusty spots he passes along the way.
"There are about three to four-hundred members of the Survey Corps at any given time. I think I've mentioned that our survival rates aren't very high, so often it's less than that for a while. At headquarters there are staff that help run things who don't do training or go on missions, but everyone learns how to cook in the field, if they didn't know how to already. Any one of them can be self sufficient if needed. And everybody cleans. Nothing is...automated? Dunno what that word means."
no subject
She listen to Levi's explanation of Survey Corps customs. Ari is blissfully oblivious to the dust around the room, but there's a considerable amount.
Nodding in understanding, she tells him, 'It makes sense. It's different, but it's like I was telling Commander Smith before, the differences make sense given our distinct operating parameters. Tradeliners don't have headquarters, except for a central finance office but that's very small. Shipside, everyone learns to use firearms, because if enemies attack they're not going to spare someone because they claim they're just an accountant or repair technician. If you're in a Tradeline uniform, you're a target. Automated means that people aren't needed for a job, machines can do it. We have machines that clean. Cooking is a specialist job shipside. I mean, anyone can heat up a ration packet on expedition, but I wouldn't call that cooking.'
It seems to her that both of them are concerned with practicalities, but what exactly counts as an essential practical skill doesn't really line up. She has to admit that Levi's skillset is probably more useful in Somnius than hers.
no subject
"Suppose if you have things to do it for you, you'd never have a reason to learn." He can concede that much, at least. Levi can throw together a handful of things if pressed - porridge, stew, things like that. But even he doesn't really count what he does as cooking, necessarily. Perhaps he could if he wanted, but that seems to be Erwin's hobby of late. Which is just as well, because Levi cleans.
"But you're saying even without those machines, you can't tell you've got dust and shit everywhere?"
Wouldn't that make it more noticeable??
no subject
'I guess... I have to prioritise. I'm good at that. This place is nothing at all like a starship. I had to learn a lot from scratch. So priorities are-' she starts ticking them off on her fingers, out of habit, 'earn enough to support myself, make profit, militia work, keep the house warm, haul enough water from the well to keep myself and my clothes looking presentable, lay pipes so that someday I won't have to do that... not in that order. But it's a lot. For one person to do everything alone. Building the kind of machines that deal with dust would be a big project and I wouldn't even know where to start with materials.'
Tayrey had gone from being a very privileged child to a member of a large and specialised starship crew. Living alone was never something she thought she'd have to do.
no subject
The words might sound somewhat judgmental, but Levi's just trying to understand what the line is for her here.
"Anyway, I don't mind doing this for you once in a while, if we can work out an exchange." For his purposes, he doesn't really need one, except that if Ari hopes to have him visit again, it'll make Levi more comfortable to spend time in a place not covered in a layer of dust. "If it's too much for one person, you can ask for help."
no subject
Tayrey isn't getting emotional about it. Her words are even and considered; this is simply how it is for her. She lives by her principles.
Can she ask for help, though? Again, she has to consider it. Most people would simply hear a pithy remark about her independence, but she trusts Levi more than that. Sometimes you have to rely on your comrades, don't you? If you know that they won't see you as lesser because of it - and she doesn't think he will.
'We could work out an exchange,' she agrees, finally, 'and maybe - maybe you could show me the most efficient way to handle it.' Maybe it's not wrong for her, she decides. It hadn't ever been her job shipside, and she'd been right to refuse after that, because cleaning the place of her imprisonment wasn't proper for a Tradeliner. Things are different now, aren't they? This cottage is hers.
no subject
He stares at her, hard, for a long moment before he simply says: "I understand."
There's no sympathy offered, but there is a palpable anger on her behalf that thrums silently through his limbs, an energy looking for an outlet. Levi clenches his fists briefly to try to dissipate some of it, but it's not enough, and he shifts to his feet, suddenly restless.
"All you have to do is ask."