9160/Thoughts at the Metropolitain

Thoughts at the Metropolitain
Date of Scene:	18 December 2021
Location:	Metropolitan Museum of Art
Synopsis:	Angela and Monet meet at the Metropolain Musuem of Art and engage in conversation and even appear to enjoy it!
Cast of Characters:	Monet St. Croix, Aldrif Odinsdottir

---

Monet St. Croix has posed:
It's quiet and relaxing here. Even a couple of days after she was here before Monet has come here once more if only for some of the quiet. She's just calm and focused, taking some time to center herself after the migraine-inducing events of a couple of days ago. As she would walk through some of the exhibit halls, stopping over at one of African jewelry. Looking at things from Morocco and just settled in evaluating it. The pieces, the quality..

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    "What are you looking at?" asks a flat voice from just behind Monet's right shoulder; flat but curious, if such a combination is possible. Standing behind Monet is a Frank Frazetta painting, an Amazonian redhead in a knockoff Slave Leia outfit bristling with swords. Possibly a mutant or something if her featureless eyes, the red lightning-like streaks on the skin beneath them, and being a foot taller than the average white woman all mean anything, though otherwise she looks very human. Her lack of pupils and irises makes it hard to tell, but it looks like she's looking at the display rather than at Monet.
    Looks like.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The would-be cosplayer would get Monet to turn around and squint. About to comment over on the costume over when the -difference- of Angela's mental signature, even for Monet's untrained abilities would hit her. She resists the urge to go over into a defensive stance and would move to calm herself. "Who are you? And I am inspecting some of the displays of jewelry from around where I was born that are on display."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela either doesn't notice or is unbothered by the telepathic intrusion. She continues to look fixedly at the jewelry pieces. "I am Angela. I have formulated the question imprecisely, so I will rephrase it. What are these objects to you, such that you have decided to make a study of them?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
That was something that Monet could, with some adjustment, answer. "I see to evaluate the quality difference between a high end museum piece and something which has stayed within my home region and kept. I seek which pieces might be superior to estimate how they are in comparison."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela's body shifts, taking a quarter-step to her right so she can turn away from the display to face Monet directly and regard her closely, taking her time about looking the smalled human over. After a moment's consideration, she says, "You have asked for my name. Now I ask for yours.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
A fair request in turn. To this unusual 'Angela' Monet St. Croix would reply, "I am Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix. You may call me 'Monet' if you prefer instead. Most do." Her tone is relatively neutral, with none of the particular niceties that might be used in public discourse in her body language or tone of voice."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    "If that is the custom of your people, then I will abide by it, Monet. I reserve judgment on how many of your customs I shall respect, however." Her head cocks slightly toward the display as if to point at it not with her finger, but rather with her temple. "From which region are you, that these things connect to you?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Curious but managable. "Respect must be earned." Her tone is wary. "My family is from Morocco, in northwest Africa. These pieces are primarily from northern Africa. Most things museums display come from the Nile region, or Egypt." Lecturing.

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Most of those names mean nothing to Angela, but she grasps the general shape of them from context, at least, and nods along. "I am aware of your Africa. It is a region of great injustice. May its people achieve victory there. Do you consider yourself African, or from Africa?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
A complicated question. A very complicated one. Monet would consider for a moment, pursing her lips while trying to put an extended cultural issue into simple terms. "I am from Africa. My family adopted more of a lifestyle to French standards, whom were the European power that colonized and took over the area. My family was part of the bureaucracy that was formed to help do so."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela nods. "I see. Thank you for answering." She is quiet for a moment, considering what to say next. "Am I to infer that you find my questions unwelcome?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shake her head, "I do not at all. I find your company most.. Pleasing compared to most." Her tone with what would pass by her standards for praise. "Your questions are unusual but excellent."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela nods minutely. Her tiara makes it look silly to nod more enthusiastically than that, but it's anyone's guess whether that means the tiara is why her body language is so subtle or the tiara is a post hoc justification for being so still and restrained. "I see. I am not familiar with your ways, so I am occasionally unable to interpret what it means when someone only answers questions. It seems an unusal way to express enjoyment of company."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would incline her head over to Angela, "I find those whom have -interesting- questions enjoyable. Those that are well reasoned, logical, and fitting of the circumstances. You have inquired upon a subject and asked reasonable questions which lend themselves to thoughtful answers."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela might raise an eyebrow. She might smile. It's genuinely hard to tell, with her. "And how do you intend to repay that enjoyment?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shrug, "I was not aware that repayment was necessary. Have I answered your questions to your satisfaction? Do -your- customs require it?"

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    "Of course. Nothing for nothing." Angela regards Monet more closely. "It still surprises me how many Earthlings expect to be given without giving. It is as if you believe that repaying a debt is an offense."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shake her head, "Earthlings? What would you feel then if there is such a debt?" She would muse over then and reevaluate for a moment, translating over. "Forgive me, I misunderstood." A slight breach of etiquette is worth a small apology. "You termed me 'Earthling'. What then is your realm of origin if not of this planet? Are you from one of the parallel planes?"

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    "Perhaps. I am unfamiliar with this term 'parallel planes.' I am from Heven; an angel." She looks Monet over a third time. "Did you have a purpose for examining these artifacts of your forebears' culture?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
There's a curious glance from Monet to Angela, taking the other woman at her word. "You do not fit the normal Judeo-Christian visualization of what one is. do you mind informing me of more? And parallel planes.. There are a number of interdimensional realms that are connected tot his one to varying degrees according to what I have read. You appear primarily human and are integrated to this planet, which logically presumes you are not from a world that is not primarily inhabited by the various offshoots of Homo Sapiens."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela nods. "I am aware of your world's concept of Heven and angels, but I am not familiar with them. They have little in common with what I know, and seem to be used primarily as threats to enforce control over a population: obedience will be rewarded with Heven, while disobedience punished with denial." She shrugs slightly, hair shimmering on her shoulders as they lift and fall.
    "It may be that our people carry a common ancestry, but I am unaware of any such link. It would be interesting to pursue," she muses. "There are at least superficial similarities. I know of many angels who have skin color like my own, or like yours, or the various other shades your people seem prone to."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would lightly shrug, "I would presume by your description that they are entirely different concepts or some sort of repurposing. Or merely parallel evolution. There is no reason why different incarnations of different ideals can be formed in separate realms." She seems to accept this - whether or not it makes any sense to Angela. "And your description is.. Quite accurate." she would admit after some thought.

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    "Perhaps," Angela says again, voice neither interested nor disinterested, just delivering facts. "I have heard that all worlds are like lotuses: though each lotus may be identified by its own unique arrangement of shapes and colors, each it nevertheless alike in the range of shapes and colors available to the type."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod thoughtfully, "A reasonable metaphor for descriptive purposes. But we are not here to discuss theological evolution or cultural analysis, unless you prefer to."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    "It would be difficult for me to participate in such an activity, as I am largely unfamiliar with the ideologies you describe, and could only contribute an outsider's perspective. If there is another topic you wished to discuss, that might be more possible for me to contribute to intelligently," says the mostly naked woman standing in the middle of a bustling metropolitan museum.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod over at Angela, "Very well. Thank you for informing me of your level of fluency in the topic." No real apology necessary as far as she is concerned. "Unless you feel that you would have further questions for me on anything as I had selected something you were unable to contribute answers to any sort of significant degree."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela shakes her head. "No, I find your conversation thus far refreshingly direct. It is another Earthling trait I have observed, the desire to speak indirectly."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shake her head, "I find it irritating as well. If someone is not worth the effort of direct conversation, then why obligate them with your time?"

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela nods. "Misdirection is a valid tactic in combat. Perhaps humans are in such fear of one another that they consider conversation a form of battle."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod, "Misdirection is useful in many affairs. Among them diplomatic, in various negotiations or presentations.. But in normal conversation it is quite dragging."

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela nods, and looks over Monet again. "Was this the only piece in the museum you wished to examine?" she asks, changing the subject bluntly, or maybe not so much changing the subject as more asking if the conversation is going well.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod, "There are a variety of items that I wished to examine. I have nothing of any consequence further with these to focus upon. Might you care to accompany me then within the exhibition floor?"

Aldrif Odinsdottir has posed:
    Angela just nods. "I await your leadership. I shall attempt to ask... relevant questions."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod at Angela and move to walk along wtih her, "Historically I have found it interesting when one has looked at fossils of long ago extinct beings to read upon the theories of their evolution, and then when members of the species have been found to have survived to the era to compare the accuracy."