J,GoB, Thursday Morning

[firstofitskind]

Once again, Liam was opting for a post-run breakfast that wasn't Mooby's. Not because there was another food-related crisis, this time, though. He was just really craving one of the fancy raspberry-and-chocolate croissants the bakery did so well.

Plus while they didn't have as many tea options as Hernando's place or even the Perk, what they did have was... well. It was fine, anyway, considering the tea wasn't the main reason he'd stopped here.

Liam had carbs, he had caffeine, and he was working his way through both as he scrolled through news stories on his Global.

[ooc: expecting one in particular to stop by, but also open!]

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[atreideslioness]

He would not have the place to himself for long; Ghanima was making an effort at not hiding in her rooms from the bleakness all winter, and had decided some fresh pastries were probably just what her tastebuds needed.

"One of everything that's so fresh out of the oven that it's still warm," she requested impishly, smiling at the person behind the counter. "And a large hot coco, with as much whipped cream as humanly possible."

They didn't have real tea or coffee, in her opinion, so Ghanima was going for the least-offensive option she could mix her Spice into.

[firstofitskind]

"Well, now I wish I'd opted for the cocoa," Liam had to admit, eyeing that whipped-cream monstrosity.

As a caffeine-delivery-device, the tea was fine, but also exactly the same as something he could have picked up from the grocery store.

[atreideslioness]

It was fairly mostrous, as the person behind the counter proceeded to add sprinkles to the top, just for the heck of it.

"And a second one for Mr. Kincaid," Ghani decided, because, well, he could always take the tea with him and reheat it later. It wasn't as if it would change the flavor any.

Her breakfast loot obtained, as well as both drinks, she made her way over, putting one of the beverages down in front of him. "Are you busy? Or may I have your company for breakfast this morning?"

[firstofitskind]

"Just killing time," he admitted, sliding the Global shut and pocketing it. "I wouldn't mind company at all."

[atreideslioness]

"I am attempting to make an effort at being more social, and not sulking over the weather in my suite all winter," Ghanima shared, sitting down with him and selecting one of her prizes. "I've been here for years, and yet I still cannot get used to snow and cold."

[firstofitskind]

"Yeah, I can see how someone from the desert would find this unpleasant," Liam admitted, remembering their first conversation.

[atreideslioness]

"You should have seen me trying to learn to swim," she shared, gesturing with a croissant. "My dear friend Max ended up throwing me in the water, because I was so reluctant, and I even knew how to swim, many different ways. I had the information. I could recall the experience, should I choose, and I was still so repulsed by the idea from my upbringing to the point I had to be dunked." By an elemental, no less.

"Weather? It doesn't matter how bad other people have told you it can be, the opposite of whatever you've grown to love is always going to be more terrible than you could have imaged."

"Does your Earth have seasons like this, or is the climate so very different?"

[firstofitskind]

"I'm actually from... well, not here, precisely, but I was born in DC," Liam shared. "It's more or less like this." Well, the Taelons had actually done a significant amount of work in reversing some of the damage humans had caused to the planet. but that was a complex can of worms to open over breakfast.

"You could recall the experience?" he echoed, because that was a... particular turn of phrase that was setting off- well, not quite an alarm bell, but. He was curious as to what she meant.

[atreideslioness]

"I am what my people call 'Pre-Born,' Ghanima said, smiling slightly. "Due to genetic predisposition and environmental factors, my twin brother and I were awakened to full, adult consciousness before birth, receiving the genetic memories of both our male and female ancestors at the same time."

"I am Ghanima Atreides, singular, but I am also more than myself, when I bother to listen to them."

[firstofitskind]

Liam was silent for a moment. Maybe even two moments.

"Huh," he said, finally, giving her a speculative look. "That sounds-" familiar. "Intense."

Not sure if he wanted to mention that he was in a very similar situation himself. Not sure how to mention such a thing.

[atreideslioness]

"That's a good word for it," she replied, amused. "Another is aggravating, when you're physically three days old and you are not yet capable of speech but know exactly what you want."

"However, I will admit that it has come in handy when the key to an island invasion is in some language no one has spoken in thousands of years." Ghanima smiled and tapped the side of her head, before taking a bite of her croissant. "It's generally in there somewhere. I just have to find someone willing to cooperate with me."

[firstofitskind]

Liam had never had that particular problem.

Mostly because at three days old, he'd not only been capable of speech, but working as a spy for an underground resistance organization.

"They speak to you, then?" he asked, picking idly at his own croissant. Of his parents, only Ha'gel had ever appeared as anything other than a memory. That was probably for the best; as much as he would've liked to discuss literally anything with his mother, the idea of Sandoval offering his opinions on Liam's private thoughts was... unpleasant.

[atreideslioness]

Ghani... Chani whispered gently.

Yes, mother. I see it. Because she did.

"Frequently. Running commentary, when they're interested; because what I see, they see. What I know, they know," Ghanima answered smoothly. "For example, my mother is currently fussing over your clear distress. I have informed her it is not her business, and closed the curtain between myself and them for temporary privacy, in case that is the cause."

"I am aware that the concept of the Pre-Born are... distressing, for many. Appalling, for many more. And that we can be disconcerting to deal with." Ghani tilted her head slightly, blue-on-blue eyes regarding him steadily. "If this is the case, I am happy to change the topic."

[firstofitskind]

"It’s not that," Liam said slowly. "Not exactly." A beat of silence, again, as he considered the possibility this was some sort of trap. He didn’t think so, but then, he didn’t live this long by sharing the details of his peculiar heritage over breakfast. Still, his instincts were saying she could be trusted, at least in this.

"I just- never figured on meeting anyone else like me." Or close enough, anyway.

[atreideslioness]

"Ah." Ghanima blinked at him slowly, letting things fall into place. "Like, yet not like, unless I miss my guess."

Since, you know, lack of neon blue eyes.

"No others? Are you the first, then? Or the last?"

[firstofitskind]

"Both, in a manner of speaking," Liam replied. "My father- one of my fathers- was the last of his race. But I have his knowledge, his memories, along with that of my human parents."

[atreideslioness]

"He was Taelon, then, your non-human father."

Ghanima had a flawless memory to begin with, and that was not the sort of discussion that one forgot.

"No wonder my eyes caught your notice."

[firstofitskind]

"Kimera, actually," Liam said. "But the Kimera created the Taelons," and were exterminated for their trouble, "So close enough."

[atreideslioness]

There was a push against her inner curtain, and Ghanima wrinkled her nose. "Stop that, Mohiam, or I will find a way to put you in a box for a week and train more boys as Bene Gesserit," she hissed under her breath. "Worse, I'll train Miss Beniko."

She would, too, and Ghanima felt the hesitation within her tau and then Mohiam withdrawing.

"--Apologies. You got them interested before I managed to shut them out, and there is a tantrum going on," she said cheerfully, taking a moment to chug some of her drink. "Unfortunately, many of them are not particularly good people, and dislike that I don't generally feel other people's personal secrets are for communal sharing."

[firstofitskind]

“I appreciate it,” Liam said with a nod. “It’s not the kind of thing I share all that widely.” For all that Fandom was far more accepting of all sorts of backgrounds, he’d been burned far too many times in his relatively short existence to have an easy time speaking of his peculiar heritage.

[atreideslioness]

"Don't worry, they don't have anyone they can tell except each other; I register strangely enough to most telepaths that they opt for self-preservation and don't even try to go into my head," Ghani assured him cheerfully. "They're just nosy and manipulative."

"Which, given that the vast majority of them haven't been alive for a long time, can almost be forgiven for how bored they are, if they'd stop critiquing everything I do."

[firstofitskind]

"Sounds obnoxious," Liam said, making a face. "And now I'm picturing the nightmare that my life would be if I had to listen to Sandoval- my human father- in my head all the time. He was bad enough as a coworker."

[atreideslioness]

"Coworkers?" Ghanima asked, reaching for another pastry. "He is also in law enforcement, then, or did you have another career before coming to our fair island?"

[DEAR SELF HIT POST YOU MORON. NO LOVE, YOUR FUTURE SELF]

[firstofitskind]

"He was FBI, technically," Liam said. "But we both worked for the Taelons as Companion-Protectors. I guess the closest approximation would be a combination of bodyguard and attaché?" he shrugged.

[ooc: *pats* IT'S BEEN A LONG COUPLE OF WEEKS, NO WORRIES/]