Library, Monday

[intotheout]

"This is really what you do all the time?" Unicycle asked.

"Yup," said Tip.

"This is really boring," Unicycle said.

"Yup," said Tip.

They sat at the circulation desk quietly for several moments, Unicycle spinning around in her chair and Tip wishing she'd done it first so she wouldn't feel silly and immature doing it.

"Can we build a fort out of books?" Unicycle asked.

"Yup," said Tip. "Only hardcovers, though. They're more durable."

[open!]

Comments

[justice_undone]

Breq didn't really need anything from the library, but she knew this was Tip's shift, and she wanted to see how her friend was doing.

"A fort?" she asked. "You need to carry a lot of books for that."

[urapoomphead]

"I know," Unicycle told her. "My uncles are engineers."

"Boov engineers," Tip reminded her. "They aren't exactly known for working with angles."

Bill blew a series of bubbles in agreement.

[justice_undone]

"Books are usually very angular," Breq said, then remembered to smile at the child. "But I'm not going to question your uncles' skills."

[urapoomphead]

"Uncle Funsize built a deathray," Unicycle informed her gravely. "That was before I was cloned, though."

Tip gave Breq a little shrug and nodded.

[justice_undone]

Since cloning was fairly normal among the Radchaai, Breq thought nothing of it.

"What did he do with the deathray? she asked.

[intotheout]

"Dismantled it," Tip said. "He was going to use it to get revenge on Boov-kind, but then he helped J.Lo and I save their presidential election instead."

"Mom's basically a Boov hero," Unicycle said proudly. "Not that she tells anyone."

[justice_undone]

"True heroes usually don't," Breq said to the child. "What is your mother doing where you live?"

She didn't mind getting a glimpse of a possible future for Tip.

[urapoomphead]

"Probably panicking," Unicycle said.

"She means for a living, Sikes," Tip said.

"Oh. She's a diplomat on New Boovworld."

[justice_undone]

"So, not on Earth?" Breq glanced at Tip. "Or is Earth now New Boovworld?"

Things like that could happen, in Breq's experience.