+1 Cylon to the Nexus

[fiveofnone]

There is a man standing near the vending machines in the Plaza, dressed in a well-tailored, peacock blue suit. He looks like he could get you an excellent rate on your second mortgage, but you'd be wise to double-check the fine print before you sign anything. As he fixes himself a cup of coffee, he glances periodically at the people who pass by, his expression perfectly neutral. Although the more astute might pick up on the way he tugs at the cuffs of his sleeves impatiently, as if wishing he were somewhere else.

Finally, he sighs. "Okay. Listen up. Adia asked me to come here because she thought it'd be good for me to make some friends, so if you see her, you can tell her that we chatted and save yourself the actual trouble. All right? I'm sure we're all very busy people."

He takes a sip from his to-go cup and grimaces. "On second thought, can anyone tell me where I can get a decent coffee around here? I can't believe she's been drinking this stuff for the past three years.."

Comments

[fiveofnone]

"Was it here?" he asks quickly. That's his first concern -- always his first concern, because anything dangerous in the Nexus is a threat to Adia. "What happened? Did you stop them?" Hermione doesn't look injured, but that doesn't mean that her attacker didn't get away.

He raises a brow at the idea of a curse that can switch genders. Gender is a human construct, but he's rather partial to the construct that his consciousness is housed in. "Sounds harmless but annoying. Are they all like that?"

[mudblood_andproud]

"Not in the general gathering area. There is an Anti-Violence Field that usually prevents people from hurting others here..."

"It was at a Nexus apartment I was sharing with my friend, Hunter. And he did get hurt."

"Bellatrix was brought in for justice. She is facing trial in my world now."

Hermione takes another sip of tea. Crookshanks is laid out in Caspar's lap, purring up a storm. "Most of them. The LOL stands for Laugh-Out-Land. Generally, they are harmless."

[fiveofnone]

"Yeah, Adia told me about the anti-violence field." He trusts it about as much as he trusts anything else about the Nexus. Which is to say, not much. It's disconcerting to hear that it failed to protect Hermione and her friend. "Sorry to hear that. At least you caught her. What's going to happen to her if she's found guilty?"

Caspar has forgotten about his tea, both hands diligently scratching the cat in his lap. It doesn't look like he even realizes he's doing it, either. "I know what LOL stands for," he says. He appreciates the information, anyway. One more thing to try to protect Adia from...

[mudblood_andproud]

"She is being sentenced for the death penalty." Hermione explains to him.

Crookshanks is in cat heaven. He rolls over, exposing his belly to the rubs. Cat trust.

[fiveofnone]

"Huh." He wasn't expecting that, not after Hermione's whole spiel about wizard-muggle relations. "No rehabilitation for her?" He shakes his head before Hermione can reply. "Don't worry, I get it. If she's that dangerous, it's about the only thing you can do."

Crookshanks rolling over gets his attention. He looks down, that rare warm smile appearing on his face. "You are loving this, aren't you?" he chuckles. He goes for the belly -- gently, of course. "Adia told me she'd like to get a pet someday. Once there's a little less work to do and we're home more."

[mudblood_andproud]

Crookshanks opens one eye, sharing a look with his witch, before closing it again. He is enjoying the belly rubs. A lot.

Hermione smiles.

Then returns to the serious topic. "I was tortured by Bellatrix, during the war. I would be the last person who would try to stop them from the only justice that is left for her."

[fiveofnone]

Caspar is enjoying himself, too. At least until the subject returns to Bellatrix. He keeps a gentle touch on Crookshanks, but that smile disappears. Torture was a weapon wielded by both Cylons and humans during the Second Cylon War. At least he was never personally responsible. It's the only reason he can keep looking the young witch in the eye.

"Then good riddance." He smirks faintly. "Just make sure she doesn't have a spare body somewhere so the punishment sticks."

[mudblood_andproud]

"We have dealt with something like that once... with the return of the Dark Lord..." Hermione explains. "So we will make sure that she doesn't return either."

"But she did claim something strange, before she was taken from the hospital..."

[fiveofnone]

Well, that's interesting. "Wizards can resurrect?" he asks, leaning in as much as he can without disrupting the cat in his lap. "Or was this some special circumstances?"

As for whatever Hermione is about to share with him about Bellatrix, he's all ears. Sounds like this witch is going to be a problem even after she's executed.

[mudblood_andproud]

"Tom Riddle, the wizard who was behind two wizarding wars, had created several Horcrux.. objects that had fragments of his soul. During the Second Wizarding War, we discovered that we had to destroy each of those objects, to truly destroy him."

Hermione thinks for a moment. "Bellatrix said, 'She will be the new past. She will be the new future. She will be the answer this world has been looking for.' It sounded like a prophecy about something that she believes would happen."

[fiveofnone]

Oh. Magic, right. Caspar tries not to look disappointed. "And you got them all? Sounds like he went out with a bang."

His instinct is to say that prophecies are bullshit. That you can't trust the rantings of a lunatic. But... this is a world full of magic. This sort of thing might be commonplace. "Maybe she's talking about another witch. Someone to take the place of Mr. Riddle." Gah, what a ridiculous name. "Any more loose cannons out there in the wizarding world?"

[mudblood_andproud]

"My best friend was accidentally linked to the Dark Lord. The last prophecy we had to deal was the fact that one would have to kill the other."

"There are always those who would try to take advantage of their powers." Hermione frowns. It is a reality that no one can escape. "But it sounds serious."

[fiveofnone]

"That's a hell of a weight to carry on your shoulders," he remarks casually. "Knowing that it's you or the other guy. At least your best friend took care of the problem." His only reference to a magic duel comes from the movies he and Adia used to watch on board the Chiron, but he was never a big fan of fantasy.

"Well, better watch your back, then." His mouth twitches as he realizes how ominous that sounds. "I mean... y'know, be careful and all that." For his girlfriend's sake, anyway. He's sure that she'd be pretty broken up if something happened to Hermione.

He gives Crookshanks one more gentle belly rub. "Gotta get going, furry man," he tells the cat, almost apologetically, before looking up at Hermione once more. "Nice meeting you, Hermione. I'll let Adia know we talked." For a human, she wasn't half-bad to talk to. Maybe his girlfriend was onto something about meeting people in the Nexus.

[mudblood_andproud]

Crookshanks grumbles a little.

Hermione smiles. "Come on Crookshanks. You will see him again."

"It was lovely seeing you. Have a good afternoon."

[fiveofnone]

Caspar waits politely for Crookshanks to ease himself off his lap. He's pleased to see a lack of orange fur left behind. This cat is fantastic. Worth coming to the Nexus, at least this one time.

"You, too," he replies, standing up and tugging out the wrinkles of his suit jacket. He pulls a PINpoint out of his pocket and teleports home. As relatively well as that conversation went, he's quite done socializing for the day.