Staff Meeting [Friday Afternoon]

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe had met with the teenagers, now it was time to meet with the grownups after handwavily messaging them all about the meeting. There were more sweets among the sandwiches and salad for the staff - donuts, cookies, etc. - but no alcohol among the drinks unless someone brought their own. With this group, she pretty much expected it.

"Hello folks, thank you all for coming. I know some of you are very busy," she said. "I wanted everyone to have a chance to get together in case any problems have come up in your classes, or with any of your students. Also, we're going to be getting ready for the summer sessions soon, so be thinking about what you might want to teach and who you might want to teach it with. That's all I've got in the way of speechifying, so if you need anything, just flag me down."

[Going OCD-free today!]

Comments

[vdistinctive]

Of course it was a necklace. Of course it was a necklace. Eliot reached up to check that the claw was still in place.

"Some friends of mine lost -- a hard drive."

That was safe enough to reveal. He didn't have to mention what was on the hard drive.

[glacial_queen]

"So it sounds like there's some kind of...land-killing thief running around the island," Karla said, scowling. "That makes a whole lotta sense, really."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot pinched the bridge of his nose. He literally couldn't make his house any more secure, not without it becoming a death trap for him and Val as well as any intruders. He could always leave Fandom, but -- Hardison and Parker were here. Whatever else he felt about them right now, he was not leaving them. And there was basically no way he could talk them into anything, right now.

"This is an evil magic thing, ain't it. I hate evil magic things."

[glacial_queen]

"I'm having trouble thinking what else could kill off the land so much within a single week," Karla pointed out. "Unless someone dropped a nuke on the island and everyone neglected to inform me...? But the stealing angle doesn't make sense. My Jewel is magic, yes, but why a hard drive? And why Jono's letter? It was a love letter from his girlfriend, before she...died."

She was overlooking the Endless part of the equation, yes.

[vdistinctive]

"Sentimental value," Eliot mused. Like his goddamn necklace. "Maybe someone's planning some ransom."

[glacial_queen]

"I am praying to the Darkness that someone contacts me for a ransom," Karla snarled. "That's be a mistake they never have a chance to repeat."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot looked her over, eyebrow going up. Not disbelieving, just an acknowledgment, one ruthless killer to another.

"Yeah," he said. "I know what you mean."

[glacial_queen]

They could swap literal war stories some time! You know, once they were both less insane over necklaces!

"Your friends okay? Not hurt when their hard drive wandered off?"

[vdistinctive]

He'd rather enjoy that. Hardison and Parker never appreciated his really good ones.

"They're fine. Weren't even there at the time."

Because apparently "squirrels watch your every move and report it on the radio" translated into "perfectly safe to basically just leave the front door open."

[glacial_queen]

Pffft. It was because they'd never been in a war before.

"I assume that after this is all over, everyone on the island will be stepping up their security? I'll be lucky I'm allowed back without a bloody honor guard trailing behind me."

[vdistinctive]

"Yeah. . . . I didn't wait for all this to be over," Eliot said. "I've been stepping up security all week."

Longer than that, even. And in not the most rational of ways.

[glacial_queen]

"Where my fiancé and I basically had to lie to everyone back home about what's going on here. Otherwise my entire First Circle would be here and that's the last thing anyone needs. A bunch of Warlord Princes looking for a fight. My Master of the Guard would be the worst of the whole lot, too."

Karla shuddered and shook her head.

"...That didn't mean much to you, did it. Hi, by the way. I'm Karla."

[vdistinctive]

"Been getting used to that around here," Eliot said. "Eliot. I teach Creative Problem Solving with Parker." He nodded in Parker's direction. "Warlord Princes, huh?"

That bit he could work out.

[glacial_queen]

"History of Poisons," Karla said, not mentioning her class was actually more a 'how to' than a history lesson. "A caste in my world. They're the most more aggressive, violent, and temperamental of all males. Which means that they generally see everything as a threat until proven otherwise."

Karla gestured around, indicating the island at large.

"The last thing I want to unleash on the island is a pack of Warlord Princes expecting an actual threat rather than a potential one. But if they had even the slightest idea of what was going on, my Court would insist."

[vdistinctive]

"Yeah, I've run into that sort before." Worked for a few of them, even. "Court, huh? We got royalty teachin' here, now?"

[glacial_queen]

"I dunno," Karla said with a wry smile. "If I say yes, are we gonna have to get all fancy here? I am so not in the mood for having to mince around and pretend I give a fuck about diplomacy."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot actually laughed at that. Well, chuckled, anyway. "Never been much one for fancy, no."

And any diplomacy he had he'd learned from grifters and thieves.

[glacial_queen]

Like with Parker, if Karla ever found out that Eliot had a Sophie in his life, boy would she have stories to tell.

"That's one of the reasons I keep coming back to this island," Karla admitted. "No one gives a damn about my other job and most people won't hesitate to give me a thwap to the head when I'm being an asshole. It's refreshing."

[vdistinctive]

"That would be," Eliot agreed. "I mostly just get lectures."

This was because he was being EXTRA-ASSHOLISH right now.

[glacial_queen]

Even so, Hardison would like to point out that ain't nobody on the island stupid enough to hit Eliot even when he was being a giant asshole.

Which seemed to be his default state right now.

"Ugh." Karla said, making a face. "I'd prefer getting thwapped."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot shrugged. "I tend to hit back."

[glacial_queen]

Karla laughed at that. "Fair enough--but then, you've never been dunked in a horse trough by Lucivar."

[vdistinctive]

"Nah, that was Aimee." Eliot smiled. "Been a long time since, though."

[glacial_queen]

"Lucivar periodically stops by the estate," Karla sighed. "Comes in, kisses the baby, kicks my ass with sticks, grumps at me for not practicing enough, flies with Warren, bitches at him for not practicing enough, and then goes home to terrorize his own people, dammit."

[vdistinctive]

"Sounds like a decent sort of guy to have around," Eliot said. "What kinds of sticks?"

Why yes, of course Eliot zeroed right in on the weapons. It wasn't like he was about to start asking about the flying thing.