[ It doesn't exactly occur to Cass that she should give her own description; she figures that Amy C March will be on the lookout for someone coming in from the outside. So when she spots the other girl (blonde, good posture, small) Cass waves before she begins using sign language. ]
Hi I'm Cass,[ The implant translates. ]Want to see if we can play a game?
[Cassandra finds Amy in the kitchen, frowning into a cupboard as she wonders what she might eat and missing Hannah fiercely. Seeing a figure out of the corner of her eye, Amy turns to find an unfamiliar girl waving at her. Then the girl begins to form a series of signs with her hands, which confuses Amy in the narrow gap of time before the implant comes to her assistance. Then she is astonished to hear the words form independent of any mouth.
All of her social training allows her to compose herself at once, no gaping mouth or wide eyes making a rude statement. She regards the girl politely, greeting her with a graceful nod.]
Hello, Cass. [Cass...Cassandra? Realization flashes across her expression.] Oh, Ms. Cain! It's you. Would you like tea? It isn't very nice here, but it provides something to drink.
[Then, remembering to answer the question her guest had posed, she adds:] What manner of game do you mean?
You don't have to call me Miss. I know it's polite, but...[ She shrugs. They're roughly the same age, right? Cass is all of nineteen and doesn't feel like an adult at any given hour. ]Tea is good, I like tea.
[ She actually hasn't had any here so she wonders how different it'll taste. Granted there were already so many kinds of tea in the world. ]
I wasn't sure what kind of game you were used to so I could download whatever.
Truthfully, I thought you would be older, since you were seeing to newcomers and all. Very well, Cassandra then. But you prefer Cass?
[That is too bad, she thinks, for Cassandra is such a pretty name.]
As for games, I know some card games, like Old Maid and that sort of thing.
[As she talks, she moves to take the tea down from the cupboard. Here, tea comes portioned in joyless little square packets, one of which she places in each mug that she produces with the ease of someone who already knows her way around. Although it is just a small thing, it is nice to have a routine to follow.]
[ Cass pulls a slight face. Is this the first time anyone's told her that she seemed like an adult online? It sure is.
That's kind of cool. ]
Cass is easier. Cassandra seems...formal.[ A shrug. ]It doesn't matter that much, I'll still answer.
[ She watches Amy make tea with no little curiosity. Cass spent her first few days glaring everyone to death instead of communicating, so it's interesting to her how other people even things out. ]
I think all the card games available are for betting.[ She's heard of Old Maid but she doesn't know how to play it, or if it still exists. ]But it might be weird, or hard to do without identification on the implant.
[And for Amy, keeping her head above the water depends entirely upon making her day as normal as possible, preoccupying herself with the mundane so that the unfamiliar does not overwhelm her. During the day, she smiles politely, professes her gratitude for those who help, and tries to make the best of things. At night, her grievances catch up to her all at once and turn her to tears.
But at present, Amy plays the part of hostess, as if this gloomy cellar were somewhere nicer. She fills the kettle with water, which flows easily from the sink — no need to go outside, nor to haul a heavy bucket. The kettle too eases labor, requiring no fire to heat its contents, but only the push of a little lever.]
Isn't gambling against the law? [She looks up from her work in surprise.] It's horrible, not at all ladylike.
I'm sorry the last two weeks have been hell on my tagging drive with Cass
[It will take the water some time to heat, despite all the advantages of technology, so Amy is able to turn her full attention to her guest. It's hard to gauge tone from the spoken translations, but she doesn't take the question for rudeness or insolence. So primly she answers:]
I know because my mother and sister taught me.
[Meg, of course, never Jo.]
What do you mean, "different"?
[Oh dear, is this another tragic orphan situation?]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action ; the safehouse ; sorry this is so late
Hi I'm Cass, [ The implant translates. ] Want to see if we can play a game?
no no i am the late one
All of her social training allows her to compose herself at once, no gaping mouth or wide eyes making a rude statement. She regards the girl politely, greeting her with a graceful nod.]
Hello, Cass. [Cass...Cassandra? Realization flashes across her expression.] Oh, Ms. Cain! It's you. Would you like tea? It isn't very nice here, but it provides something to drink.
[Then, remembering to answer the question her guest had posed, she adds:] What manner of game do you mean?
no subject
[ She actually hasn't had any here so she wonders how different it'll taste. Granted there were already so many kinds of tea in the world. ]
I wasn't sure what kind of game you were used to so I could download whatever.
no subject
Truthfully, I thought you would be older, since you were seeing to newcomers and all. Very well, Cassandra then. But you prefer Cass?
[That is too bad, she thinks, for Cassandra is such a pretty name.]
As for games, I know some card games, like Old Maid and that sort of thing.
[As she talks, she moves to take the tea down from the cupboard. Here, tea comes portioned in joyless little square packets, one of which she places in each mug that she produces with the ease of someone who already knows her way around. Although it is just a small thing, it is nice to have a routine to follow.]
no subject
[ Cass pulls a slight face. Is this the first time anyone's told her that she seemed like an adult online? It sure is.
That's kind of cool. ]
Cass is easier. Cassandra seems...formal. [ A shrug. ] It doesn't matter that much, I'll still answer.
[ She watches Amy make tea with no little curiosity. Cass spent her first few days glaring everyone to death instead of communicating, so it's interesting to her how other people even things out. ]
I think all the card games available are for betting. [ She's heard of Old Maid but she doesn't know how to play it, or if it still exists. ] But it might be weird, or hard to do without identification on the implant.
no subject
But at present, Amy plays the part of hostess, as if this gloomy cellar were somewhere nicer. She fills the kettle with water, which flows easily from the sink — no need to go outside, nor to haul a heavy bucket. The kettle too eases labor, requiring no fire to heat its contents, but only the push of a little lever.]
Isn't gambling against the law? [She looks up from her work in surprise.] It's horrible, not at all ladylike.
I'm sorry the last two weeks have been hell on my tagging drive with Cass
[ Different than just about anyone's she knows about, actually. ]
How do you know what is ladylike and what isn't?
no worries, i've been struggling similarly
I know because my mother and sister taught me.
[Meg, of course, never Jo.]
What do you mean, "different"?
[Oh dear, is this another tragic orphan situation?]
<3
[ So maybe that's why she doesn't know anything about what's ladylike. ]
I ran away from home when I was eight.