Intro 4: Trune

Sunday, 6/22/2014

<GMAmy> == Intro Start ==

<GMAmy> It is nearing the autumnal equinox, and the weather in Chesterton is gorgeous. The days are sunny and pleasant, not too hot, with cool, crisp mornings and lazy afternoons. Still, the drive up to Helicon Base in the Rhipaion Mountains foothills is beginning to get a bit icy in the early mornings and late evenings, due to altitude, so Trune is relieved when he hears his father at the door around 9 pm this Monday night. The hinges creak, and the door slams shut again.

<GMAmy> A thin, blond man with wire-rimmed glasses and a bit of stubble sighs tiredly, his keys jingling as he lays them on the counter and drops his heavy briefcase on the floor. Dr. Cedric Albien, renowned neurosurgeon and medical researcher, works long hours for the GDF these days, and it shows.

* Trune is hunched over the kitchen table, a hand absentmindlly running through a mop of dark reddish-brown hair as he skims over what appears to be a large stack of papers. As he hears the door unlock he looks up, quickly picking up the papers and putting them in a large textbook. He closes it shut as his father enters, "Hey Dad."

<GMAmy> Cedric sighs. "Hey, Trune. How was school today?" He glances over at a calendar on the wall, on which Jasion 10th is circled and marked as "Graduation." "Did you get your final exam results yet?"

* Trune quirks a grin and sighs, "Eh, could have been worse. Only a bit of drama with my literature class, you know? I swear the professors group me with guys who don't even bother to read anything more than three paragraphs long." He pauses for a moment, "No, no final results yet. Said maybe end of the week."

<Trune> Was the drive here okay? You look as if hell warmed over.

<GMAmy> Cedric chuckles and slides into a chair. "The drive was fine. Just some stress from the Project." The capital P is almost audible, though of course Trune is not privy to the details of exactly what his dad is working on for the GDF. All he knows is that it isn't directly related to the Makhai Initiative, and it frequently makes his dad angry. "As for exam results, I'm not worried. You'll do great, as you always do. Besides, you already got accepted to some excellent schools for next year. Speaking of which, you're going to have to settle on one of them if you plan to start university in the spring. Time's running out, Trune. Have you picked one of the acceptance letters yet?"

* Trune hesitates for a moment, "Well...yeah. I suppose I have."

<GMAmy> [Cedric] So, where are you thinking? Dikaia Tech? Crios University maybe?

* Trune shakes his head, "Not those. ...Feh, okay, listen. I've been thinking on how to break this to you all fucking day, so I'm gonna just come out and tell you. I honestly don't know if you'll be proud of me or throw me out of the damn house."

<Trune> I applied somewhere you don't know about. It's not a school.

<GMAmy> Cedric raises an eyebrow. "...All right, go on."

<Trune> You know the all calls in the news, right? About the government looking for people who might be able to use geodes?

<GMAmy> Trune's father frowns darkly, knowing what's coming. He sighs heavily. "You applied, didn't you? Do you realize what you're getting into? Yes, it's important work, but it's DANGEROUS."

* Trune opens the textbook, gently pushing what appears to be an acceptance letter forward so his father can read it, "I swear Dad, I didn't honestly expect to get accepted. I thought I'd be disqualified just based on all of my phyisical shit."

<Trune> Well, no shit it's dangerous! I must have spent hours just doing pyshological testing that drilled over and over that this is very dangerous shit. I still want to do it.

<GMAmy> His dad shrugs, taking the letter and scanning it. "Ordinarily, maybe, but with a project like this...and let's face it, you've got some eerie affinity for geode use. I don't pretend to understand it." He sighs again, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and forefinger. "...You're not doing this to spend more time around me, or because you think I don't care or anything, right? I admit it'd be nice to have you close by, but we're still not going to see much of each other if you do this."

* Trune sighs, "I admit at first it crossed my mind, but I kinda realize now that's not gonna happen."

<GMAmy> Cedric doesn't say anything for a while. He leans forward with his elbows on his knees, the cuffs of his dress shirt unbuttoned and rolled up, his necktie loose. The worry is almost palpable, mixed with his exhaustion. "Well, I'm not going to kick you out of the house, and I damn well AM proud of you. Not just anyone could get in - I heard they're probably going to be accepting less than ten people, total. And that includes applicants from other countries. I'm just...well, let's just say that there are a LOT of things that could go wrong, beyond what they probably told you."

<GMAmy> There's an undercurrent of anger in his voice still, but not directed at Trune so much as that unnamed source of frustration from Cedric's work at the GDF. "I can't tell you much as it's classified; if you end up going through this far enough, you might find out more. But you're my son, and I'm not letting you get yourself into this without having some idea of how wrong it can all go."

* Trune shakes his head, "Dad, lots of stuff can go wrong. I know that. Hell, for us, a lot of it already has. And I like to think we made it through as fairly stable people."

* Trune groans after his says this, "Agh, fuck, that makes me sound like I'm not taking this seriously. I am. I really am, but you know me. I don't just turn back at something because it might be rough."

<GMAmy> Cedric smiles thinly. "I want to yell at you and say 'Absolutely not, no son of MINE is going to do this!' But let's face it. I am proud as hell, and you are going to blow them out of the water. But I'm going to worry about you constantly every day, because you're all I've got, Trune. You're an adult now, and you can make your own choices - but that doesn't mean I'm going to be able to stop thinking of you as my little boy."

<GMAmy> He grins a little. "So watch your language, kid."

* Trune grins, "Aw, now you're telling me to watch my language? Says the guy who swore at Mr. Jacobson because his son kept calling me floppy legs. I don't care that I was seven, I totally knew what you were saying."

<GMAmy> Cedric looks innocent. "Idon'tknowwhatyou'retalkingabout." He stands and stretches. "Well...it's clear you've got my stubborn streak and I'm not going to convince you not to do this, so what the hell, let's celebrate. Want to go out for a late-night dessert somewhere in town, or just break out the Choco Peanut Butter Explosion ice cream I know you've got stashed in the freezer?"

* Trune ooohs, "...Didn't think you knew about that. Nah, let's just break out the ice cream. Won't have access to it for a bit, so let's go all out."

<GMAmy> [Cedric] All out, huh? Are you suggesting I bring out the big guns? Homemade whipped cream, chocolate chips, sprinkles, dark chocolate decadence sauce, and basically enough sugar to drop a full-grown Elysian black elephant? *He grins* I'd better go get the kitchen cleaned up then, unless you had a chance to do it.

<Trune> Nope, already cleaned her out. I wasn't sure what time you were coming back tonight, so I figured I'd get a head start. And of course I'm suggesting the works, duh. Except the caramel sauce. We need that too.

<GMAmy> [Cedric] You'd better help me, then! Looks like this is going to be a two-man job. *He grins wider, standing and heading for the kitchen.*

* Trune , looking much more relaxed, pushes himself from the table, his hands grabbing hold of both wheels on his chair as he pushes forward into the kitchen, "Right Oh, geez, we have strawberries too? A celebration without strawberries is day without sunshine."

<GMAmy> There are indeed strawberries, and a delightful sugar coma awaits.

<GMAmy> == Intro End ==

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