#y.inlin the whole time: ??????????????

[guhamun]

@caemthe said (inbox):

[ cú, for yinlin] "I knew I would find you here!" the traveler says in a cheerful tone after spotting the puppeteer. Before he could be asked about anything, he extends an arm, showing a simple black and purple gift bag for Yinlin. "Today is your birthday, right? Getting to live another whole year in Solaris-3 is quite the achievement if you ask me, so it should be celebrated like there's no tomorrow. Dee and I picked this for you. Well, to be fair, it was Dee who took the time to try and look for the perfect gift. Hopefully, it's to your liking." It's a long hair ornament with a sharp end, the type that can be used as a weapon in a pinch, similar to the one Yinlin often uses, except that the decorative part resembles the Iris flower from the Whining Aix's Mire. ...And there's a magnet with the same shape as well, for Zapstring.

HOW IN THE WORLD did Cu always find her? No matter what guise she wore, it was as if he had some tracking device placed somewhere on her person. Of course that couldn’t be the case considering she constantly made sure this was never a possibility, but even so…it was…worrisome. No one could be that sharp-eyed. Otherwise, she would have been figured out by multiple sources a long, long time ago. ❝Cu,❞ she greeted him upon his approach, eyeing the other in a way that was difficult to discern, yet strangely observant. ❝I see once again you have somehow found me. You will have to teach me this little trick of yours.❞ Mainly so she could find ways to dodge both him and Deirdre since it seemed they had some…rather powerful senses. Well, it was fine this time, she supposed. It wasn’t as if she was wearing a disguise for once. Wait a minute…did he say he knew her birthday? How in the world did he find that out? That wasn’t information she just happened to have lying around for all to see.

     Maybe the Rover told them…?

     No matter. Knowing her birthday hardly interfered with her work. Slipping her hand into the bag, she soon pulled out what was inside, her head tilting curiously as bright eyes looked over that beautiful hair ornament. Truly it was a sight to behold…but it wasn’t this that took her full attention. Yinlin was looking at the sharp edge, a small hum of appreciation sounding within her throat. Beautiful and deadly… Deidre chose this specifically knowing that she would like it for far more than just looks. What an eerily discerning woman she was. Gently slipping it back into the bag, she pulled out the magnet as well, chuckling softly at how it matched the flower on the hair piece. That was probably for Zapstring.

     Endearing.

     ❝Thank you, Cu, Dear, for these gifts. Deirdre as well. It seems you both know me…oddly…well.❞  Primarily Deidre, at least, which in itself was somewhat alarming. Try as she might to figure out both of these former citizens of the New Federation, Yinlin was always left scratching her head at the end of the day, left with far more questions than the answers she sought. Maybe she needed to observe them both at another angle…

     She’d think about it.