Mary asks Dad some question (ER5)

<Mary> [Mary: You've had some...very...interesting conversations these last few days?]
<Mary> [It has been quite a bit to process]
<Mary> [But you think more importantly]
<Mary> [You need to ask about a couple people you've met]
<Mary> [No wait you think the fact that death by meteors was mentioned at one point]
<Mary> [You walk into the room he's in, face still scrunched up a bit in thought]
<Mary> [The last time you had this look was when you were thinking of the best way to convince him to buy you a shark for a pet]
<Mary> ["Hey, dad?"]
<@Scott> [You're currently in the middle of waiting for dinner to cook. Leaning up against the counter, flipping through a book with one hand when she enters. You peak over the top, then mark your page and set it down when you see the look she has. "Yes, Mary?"]
<Mary> ["I met Zeimah, along with someone named Vru, and another person with your name on the chat yesterday"]
<@Scott> ["Ah, you found your way there, did you?" That really didn't take long after you got the blacklist rescinded. "How were they doing?" You ask, mildly.]
<Mary> ["Doing okay, seemed a bit confused at me"]
<@Scott> ["Thats good to hear." You give her a warm smile and go give her a hug. "They don't really get many people on there who haven't played the game yet."]
<Mary> [You hug him back "Also, she said" you stop to do your best older person voice "'if he becomes a Guardian instead of a Player, I will have /words/ for him in the bubbles'. Whatever that means"]
<@Scott> [That actually gets a chuckle out of you. "Ah, nice to know she still cares." You pat her back before letting go. "So just as confused as ever I'm guessing?"]
<Mary> ["Pretty much"]
<Mary> [You shrug "I half expect that you all did a lot of LSD at one point and made up a lot of slang off of the hallucinations you had"]
<@Scott> [You laugh again. "Hmm, well." You shake your head, still chuckling. You go pull out a soft drink out of the fridge and offer it to Mary. Not a usual thing for a weekday dinner. "Think your old man is as crazy as the rest of them?"]
<Mary> [You open it up, then look at him]
<Mary> [You open your mouth, then close it. You look at him with a deep thoughtful look]
<Mary> ["If I say no can we get ice cream after supper?"]
<@Scott> ["Maybe. But I want to hear what you think anyways." You grin and sit down at the table.]
<Mary> ["You aaaarrreeee" you make hand motions, trying to think of what to say]
<Mary> ["You are great in your own way, and judging you with my thoughts that, although I know a lot, I don't know you completely one hundred percent as a person, so therefor saying anything to judge you in such a serious way would be detrimental to our relationship"]
<Mary> ["What I'm saying is yes, but you're cool anyways"]
<@Scott> [A small laugh. "Thanks dear." A small thoughtful pause as you consider her. "You'll get to know a bit more later, once we're playing. I promise."]
<Mary> [You take a sip of the drink, nodding "Speaking of"]
<Mary> ["You apparently already player the game before, and I met someone with your name on the memo"]
<@Scott> ["Mmm, well." You think about it. "Yes, I've played before. A long time ago. Just, hold on a minute, okay?" You wait for her to say okay before heading into your room.]
<@Scott> [You come back with an old photo, a little worn around the edges, but its still clear. You place it down in front of Mary, and pull a chair so you're right beside her. "First played it when I was only a little older than you are now."]
<@Scott> [The picture is of your native session. Theres you, Rigel, Phoenix, Kait, Cindy and Neil. All of you only look about fourteen or fifteen.]
<Mary> [You nod, then pick up the picture, looking it over "Really? So it /is/ a coming to age thing!" you do a quick fist pump]
<Mary> [Your eyes quickly dart through the photo, before it very slowly slides across it, and finally spends half a minute looking over tiny details on certain people]
<@Scott> [You chuckle. "Yeah. These were my best friends, and her..." You point out Kait. "Is my sister."]
<Mary> [Your eyes shoot up, you stare directly into his in a stare that is trying to burn into the back of his brain, it isn't really a malicious look, you just use it when you try to see if you can look into someones mind for an answer]
<@Scott> [You look back calmly. "She, uh, doesn't really talk with the rest of us anymore." You say, a little sadly.]
<Mary> [You snap out of the stare, nodding]
<Mary> [You look at his face again, then stand up to hug him]
<@Scott> [You hug her back. "Thanks. I'll try and talk with her again, but unless somethings changed on her end, you might never meet her."]
<@Scott> ["Thats me, obviously." As you point yourself out. "and these are Rigel, Phoenix, Kait, Cindy and Neil." You point them out in turn.]
<Mary> [You nod again "You look...okay I'm going to be serious here the scars didn't age well"]
<@Scott> ["I got off easy, compared to Rigel." Rigel doesn't have any obvious scarring in the picture. "But anyways. You talked to Zeimah, eh?" A hint of your old Canadian accent in that. "You can trust her. Did she say who she was?"]
<Mary> ["Yeah, and then I showed her the photos you gave me, although I imagine by now she probably doesn't look the same, adorable freckles though"]
<@Scott> ["Yeah, shes a little touchy about them though." You have a very wistful smile on right now. You're wondering why she isn't asking the (atleast, to you) obvious question.]
<Mary> ["So did you do the, you know, do the things with the things with her or were you like an adorable couple that only cuddled?"]
<@Scott> [You chuckle. "Are you sure you really want to know that?"]
<Mary> ["It was bondage, wasn't it?"]
<Mary> ["I bet the rest of my drink it was bondage"]
<@Scott> [That gets a full laugh out of you. You pull her into a hug and kiss her on the forehead. "Sure, lets go with that."]
<Mary> [You hug back, giggling "See, I knew that you probably had a wild side when you were young but I could only guess that it was like"]
<Mary> ["Running through the halls"]
<Mary> ["Stealing a pack of gum"]
<Mary> ["Or saying 'hell' instead of 'heck'"]
<@Scott> ["You'll have to ask Zeimah or Rigel about that. I'm sure they'll give a much more entertaining story than I would."]
<Mary> ["Running through the halls with scissors?" you fake a look of pure amazement at him]
<@Scott> ["I was a revolutionary once upon a time you know." You chuckle. "Little worse than running with scissors."]
<Mary> [You smile, finishing up your drink "Who's basiliskTongue?"]
<@Scott> [Your laughter dies quickly, and you give a slightly unpleasant face. "A headache, most of the time."]
<Mary> ["They seemed pretty nice, talked to me about fish" oh hey, he doesn't like them. Yes you must find out more]
<@Scott> ["It happens, sometimes. Them being nice." You don't look like you quite believe it.]
<Mary> ["Mmm, seemed pretty interested in me, also you when I mentioned your name"]
<@Scott> ["Mary its..." You sigh. "You're getting to the age where you can make these decisions for yourself. So I'm not going to tell you what to do here. But theres people that can be interested in me or you for entirely the wrong reasons. Okay?"]
<Mary> ["Yeah, I know, you record everything those people say, then you punch them in the neck while sending the video to their parents"]
<@Scott> [You gloss over her statement "If you want to talk to them, I'm not going to stop you." She does need to learn on her own, after all. "But don't forget I'm always here if you want advice, okay?"]
<Mary> [You nod "So, how much are you two enemies?"]
<Mary> ["Have you reached the level where you do a dramatic anime standoff stare?"]
<@Scott> ["No, no. Its more...mmm" You think. "You remember that time a year or two ago I complained about the guy in my toxicology class that made everyone's life difficult?"]
<Mary> ["Yeah"]
<@Scott> ["Its sort of like that. They're not doing anything against the rules, but they make everyone's life a little less easy. Make sense?"]
<Mary> [You nod]
<Mary> ["So anyways, I said I was going to go hang out with Élo, can I have the ten you said you'd let me borrow?"]
<@Scott> ["Its up to you if you want to be around those people." You hug her. "No matter what happens, I'll always love you. Okay?" You chuckle. "Yeah. I'll even give you a little more for the ice cream."]
<Mary> [You hug back, taking a deep breath "I know dad, also thanks!" you'll save up for that shark soon enough]
<Mary> [You wonder if you can rent sharks]
<@Scott> [No, you can't rent sharks.]
<@Scott> [The evil overlord shop only sells.]
<Mary> [Maybe you can get a discount if you promise to slowly have someone tied up descend into the tank to be eaten]
<@Scott> [The timer beeps. "Alright. Ready for dinner?"]
<Mary> ["Yup! What are we having?" if Scott were to be paying attention, he'd see that you have seemed to relaxed, and loose a large amount of tenseness]
<@Scott> [You've noticed. You've been raising her for a decade. "Shepherd's pie."]
<Mary> [You clap and rub your hands together "Perfect"]
<@Scott> ["Alright. Set the table, we'll eat, then you can head off to see Élo." You smile at her. Proud at how much shes grown up.]
[Scene]