| Weights and Waiting |
| Summary: | Keenan and Devlin get in some PT and discuss girls, colleagues, and potential gatherings. Evan declines to join them; Solstice shows up as if on cue. |
| Date: | 30 May 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | None that I know of. |
| Players: |
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| Pilot Berths |
| Bunks and such. |
| Condition Level: 3 - All Clear |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #458 |
From his position at a table near his bunk, Keenan is reading a novel while speaking to an open bunk nearby, which seems to bear the laying form of Evandreus. Turning the page, Keenan frowns at his book and decides that he's had enough with written word for the day. The book is closed, and he absentmindedly runs his fingers over the wooden soma braid at his wrist. "Well if you heard any of that, that was Poppy. She's off to Lords know wherever. Where you been hiding yourself, anyhow?"
Evandreus is flat on his back, hand over his heart, the other hand starting to tangle its fingers up through his hair. "Poppy?" he asks, as if he's never heard the name before. Somehow or other, despite being here for the entirety, he's managed to miss the whole exchange. He wobbles his head in a helpless shake no and leaves the other queston completely unaddressed.
Devlin has also been here for the entirety, at least for certain values of 'here'. He pokes his head out of the bunk first, and then vanishes, before feet reappear and he steps down the ladder, emerging as he descends. He stops at the bottom to scrub at his face and run hands through his hair, spotting Keenan and Evandreus as he heads for his locker. "Hey, guys," he greets them, "What's up?"
"Yeah, Poppy. The Viper-boss." Keenan clarifies as if expecting Evan to be caught in some sort of post or pre-sleep haze. He's awake and Evan doesn't seem to be so much, and in such a state everyone has to be reminded of everything. Then Devlins steps around the corner, resulting in an upward nod from Keenan towards them an. "Not much, Decoy. Topics of the hour are Poppy, Gemenon, and that deckhand Bannik Tyr, unless you've got something else to throw on the cubit pile."
"Oh," Evan moves his head back straight to stare up at the ceiling of the bunk again. "Poppy," he repeats in a whisper. But he doesn't have much else to say about her. Or Gemenon, for that matter. Or deckhands. His eyes half-lidded, he no less seems awake, only lost, his mind elsewhere.
"What about Poppy?" Devlin asks Keenan curiously as he fiddles with his combination lock. "And it's Tyr Bannik, by the way," he adds a moment later, "Bannik's his last name, I mean. Just so you know. And nothing else on my end," he shakes his head, covering a yawn, "Just, you know. Napping. Early CAP this morning, felt like I could use the extra sleep. Gym and sims coming up, I think. Maybe sims then gym." He ponders that question, scratching at his chest absently, and then shrugs, turning back to the other pilot(s), "Sorry, I'm listening. Poppy?"
"No shit? I thought it was the other way around. I've never met the guy personally, but with all of this Tyr and Bannik and whatever…" Keenan smirks, shaking his head. "…Tyr seems like a better last name." He chuckles, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, nothing about Poppy in particular. I was just telling Bunny that her and I were talking before he came out of his hibernation. You need a spotter, Decoy? Bunny why don't you come along. I'm bored to frak-all."
That's enough to make Bunny pull a face. Go to the gym? Eyes are squeezed shut, lips turned after a disdainful fashion. "Pass," he murmurs flatly, sounding all but disenchanted with all and sundry, not to say life in general.
"For reals," Devlin replies with a nod, and then chuckles, shrugging, "I guess it might? I'm too used to it being Tyr Bannik for the other way 'round to sound right." He digs out gym shorts and tugs them on, nodding, "Ah, gotcha. And sure, man, spotter's always welcome. Cool." He finds a t-shirt and socks as well, tugging them on as he glances over his shoulder at Evandreus. "You alright there, E?"
"Yeah, what gives, Evan?" Keenan asks, downing the last of his coffee as he rises from his chair. He takes a few steps back to his locker, opening it up to get something he can wear while he works out. "Have you been up there a while? Because if you're not sick maybe you just need to get out and move around a little bit. It's not exactly bad for the soul."
"I'm fine," Evan answers, a sort of petulant emphasis on the second word before he swallows it down, takes a breath, and repeats, "I'm fine," in a more mannered, less adolescent sort of fashion. "Thanks." He rolls up to his side as if it were the labor of the ages, and scrunches his pillow underhead. "Just tired. Sorry," he adds.
Devlin steps into well-worn running shoes and crouches to tie them, looking over at Evan and then shrugging. "Alright, man, whatever floats your boat," he replies, "We'll be in the gym if you change your mind." He finishes the lacing and straightens, grabbing a small gym bag and slinging it over his shoulder, shutting his locker again and looking to Keenan, "Ready?"
Glancing back at Evan's bunk, Keenan lets out a quiet sigh and then gives Devlin the 'don't ask me' shoulder shrug. Flattening his lips, Keenan quickly changes into his sweats and closes his locker. "Alright. I'm ready." He says, turning for the door. "Alright, Evan, you know where we are if you get your lazy ass out and about. See you around."
"'Kay," is Evan's multipurpose answer to the various invitations tossed in his direction. He flips the rest of the way over and buries hif face into the pillow for the time being, the alarm on the stopwatch hanging at his bedside going off until he reaches out to grab it and stop it beeping at him.
| Athletics Area |
| A large pair of mats dominates the center of this room, their centers taped-out for a small area to practice boxing or other martial arts. Around the outside are treadmills, bikes, weights, and an impressive variety of gym equipment to help tone and shape the bodies of the crew. To one side of the room is the locker room while at the rear is a hatch that leads back to the oversized swimming pool. Off to the side is a rack that holds boxing gloves, pugil sticks, and the associated pads for the sticks. |
| Condition Level: 3 - All Clear |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #458 |
The door to the Athletics room opens and Keenan steps through first, mid conversation with Decoy. "…don't really know or care what that guy's deal is. He's been really uptight lately. I've tried to let the guy know a few things were cool that he thought were awkward, but he's just kept his distance. Personally I think he's just pissed off because he's running out of people to cuddle with." Making a bee-line for the weight benches, Keenan unzips his hooded sweatshirt and tosses it on top of his gym bag.
"Yeah…" Devlin replies, a bit more reluctantly, "I mean, Evan's a good guy…but yeah, he's got some issues. I guess he's in one of his hater phases again. They seem to be more of the time than not, these days. I dunno." He shrugs, and admits, "I've tried, you know? And I feel kinda bad, but…trying to cheer him up never works, and it's exhausting. He can be such a downer, and nobody needs more reasons to be depressed." He shrugs, scratching at the back of his neck and taking a swig from a water bottle as he heads over to the benches as well. "What stuff's awkward?" he asks curiously, "I've been so out of it lately. Just trying to really dig into the sims while we've got kind of a break, you know?"
"Oh, well I don't know if the scuttle's gotten around but Shakes and I are an item, and she used to be one of those girls that would cuddle up with the guy and watch movies. That was all before us and it's no big deal, but there might be some friction there." Keenan replies, stopping to pull his water bottle from his bag and move to his position as a spotter, making sure that Devlin doesn't accidentally kill himself while weightlifting. "Let me catch you up to speed then. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is talking about Gemenon and Bannik's manifesto, and we've been here long enough that the big question is whether or not command's gonna let us go down to the surface or whether or not it's some kind of trap. I've heard that guy Shiner's off the flight line, too."
"Oh yeah?" Alex nods, "I think I might've heard? I don't remember. But I've seen you guys together enough, it's not a surprise," he says with a crooked smile, "Good for you, man. And you know Evan's way into dudes, right?" he points out, "The cuddling is just… you know. Him being weird, not him being a sleaze." He picks his bench and loads on the weight before lying back, and beginning his reps as he listens. "Heard about Shiner," he replies, "Too bad. Jackass sometimes, but a good guy."
"Yeah, thanks. She's a great girl." Keenan motions to the wooden-beaded soma braid around his wrist, obviously something that Solstice made for him. "And I know Evan's way into dudes, which is why I told him that I didn't have any sort of issue with the guy. I know I don't have to worry so much about him. I dunno." Keenan shrugs again, letting Devlin count his reps while he waits for any sign of struggle. "As for Shiner, I gave that guy an unfair shake because he rubbed a raw nerve first time I met him, but if he is that level of jackass he's probably better off of the Air Wing."
Devlin glances at the bracelet as he presses the weight up and nods, "Cool. Glad to hear it. And not to hear it," he adds with a grin, "You guys must be quiet, I haven't heard any complaints. Usually that's how word gets around, you know?" His jaw tightens with the next rep, but it's not really a struggle just yet as he counts down. "Nah, Shiner's an idiot," he replies, finishing the last two quickly and replacing the bar before sitting up, "But he's a good guy. It's too bad he got booted, I think he would've pulled it together, you know?"
"Well, maybe I should have roped the guy down and gone in as some kind of mentor rather than writing him off as a joke. I didn't know him to well, but you've been at this longer than I have, so I'll take your word for it." Keenan replies with a smirk, helping the bar get secured back into place. "I don't care so much but Solstice is a really private sort of girl. She isn't the type that would want rumors spreading around, so we kept it really quiet for a while. Cat's well out of the bag now, though, and they're keeping her and I paired up in the Raptor, which is nice. I guess it was the long CAPs, you get to know someone well enough." He pauses. "So…what is your take on Gemenon anyway? Where do you stand on it?"
Devlin shrugs. "I mean… he was doing alright with the flying, I think," he says of Shiner, "He just screwed up and it bit him in the ass. I guess they kinda had to make an example or something. Or this was as easy as they could go. I dunno. It is what it is." He shrugs again, stretching his arms and standing up, gesturing at the bench, "You want a round?" As for Solstice he chuckles and nods, "Yeah, opposite of Psyche. I don't think she could be a whole lot less private if she tried. But I think everybody knows that at this point, too," he says with a crooked smile that's only faintly tinged with a brief smirk. He grabs some water, and then shrugs, replying of Gemenon, "Honestly, man, I haven't made up my mind. I figure whatever Command decides, they know more than I do, right? So I'm just gonna go with it."
"Yeah, even I've heard the murmurs about stuff she's dropped. Not too many secrets there I guess. I've never actually spoken with your wife but she really lets her presence be known when she's around doesn't she?" Keenan steps around from behind the bench, deciding to use Devlin's weight selection. Brushing his hands off, he lays down and reaches for the bar. "So when did you two get married? That was long before I got commissioned I think."
Devlin lifts a brow a little as Keenan decides to stick with his weight, stepping around behind to spot. "Oh yeah?" he asks, "What've you heard? But no, she's not shy, that's for sure." He grins a bit, and rakes a hand through his hair, replying, "End of September. Eight months ago. Almost a year, wow," he realizes, "That's crazy." He smiles crookedly, "We've now been married, like… four times as long as we knew each other before we did it."
"Nothing in particular. I just hear mention of you two." Keenan grunts in between reps. His arms aren't quite as defined as Devlin's, and he's straining after six reps. Narrowing his eyes, he stops talking long enough to focus on the rest of the set. Needing Decoy's assistance for the remaining four, he struggles through the last one and breathes a sigh of relief once the weight is back on the bar. "Frakkin hell…" He grunts, rubbing his bicep. Leaning off of the bench, he reaches for his water. "So…how did you guys decide how to tie the knot so quickly? Was it just an impulse thing?"
"Not from Poppy, I hope," Devlin replies, half-joking, "You shouldn't believe everything you hear." He pays close attention, and reaches down to help as Keenan begins to struggle, aiding just enough to allow the other ensign to finish out his set without making it easy. He moves to take up his place on the bench again, shrugging, "I mean… not impulse really. I thought about it pretty hard. It just felt right, you know? And I couldn't see any reason to wait, 'specially not with things are how they are, the risks and everything." He takes up the bar to begin again, finishing, voice tighter, "Didn't wanna regret not doing it when I had the chance. Never once regretted it since," he adds. He pumps off a couple more reps then adds, "You and Shakes serious?" The last two this time aren't precisely easy, but he powers through without assistance, and then exhales loudly as he sets the weight back down and rises, shaking his arms out again.
"Yeah, we are. She and I have been through a lot in a short time and really got eachother through some thick shit. She's from Sagittaron, so there's also some traditional stuff that's different from how things were for me back on Leonis. I guess without going into too much detail, we've gotten pretty serious, pretty fast and we're comfortable with it." Keenan replies, letting the more muscular man get through his reps while he pauses for another sip of water. "Between you, me, and the fencepost? The braid she made to me signifies betrothal. To a girl from Sagittaron that's about as serious as a heart attack. Which I've accepted, so I guess the truth of it all is that we've promised to marry eachother someday. I've just never done anything like this before and don't really know how I should approach the right timing thing."
"Cool, man," Devlin replies, nodding along as Keenan explains. He trades the bench for the spot behind it once again, bending to grab his water bottle and take another swig as he gets ready to spot. Brows rise a little as Keenan goes on describing, and he nods along some more, swiping his shirt across his face before he shrugs, "I mean… depends, you know? I wasn't really sure either, so I went back and forth for a while, but I knew Psyche was a jump all-in early on sort of girl, so I knew she'd probably be down if I asked. I guess it depends whether you feel like Shakes is up for moving that fast or if this's fast enough. And you, 'course," he adds with a grin, shrugging again, "I don't know, man, you just sort of have to go with what feels right, I think. You know?"
Keenan, in a moment of better thinking, decides to remove a little bit of the weight from the bar before doing his next series of reps. Having just spotted for Decoy, the Viper pilot is preparing to return the favor to the Raptor pilot. "I guess maybe I'm in the same boat that you were. I don't want to just say we should do it now because you never know how things go out there with the Cylons, but that's the same reason that I'm thinking that I should. The fact that I know that I want to for sure is what really ties it all together." Clamping the weights down into place, he lowers himself to the bench and starts doing his bench presses. "I think she's up for it." He grunts, the bar against his chest before he pushes it up again. "…the frak am I kidding. If I asked her right now to go to the chapel with me and stand before Zeus and Hera she'd probably already have her prayers written."
Devlin stretches an arm across his chest as Keenan adjusts the weight, listening. "Yeah, I mean… yeah," he nods some more, and then laughs at the last, leaning forward a little to watch the bar more carefully. He goes on after a moment, "Yeah, it's if you're sure you want to, rather than, like… thinking you might probably want to down the road, you know? If you're definitely sure it's what you want, and the only reason you're thinking about maybe not doing it is because it seems like too soon because it's not normal to do it so fast…" he shrugs, "Then maybe just do it. Who cares if it's not normal. Nothing's normal, anymore. Just depends if that's the only thing stopping you or not, you know?"
"Well…one thing's for sure." Keenan says as the bar is set back into place. Rising, he rubs at the palm of his hands. "I don't want to risk one of those situations where something gets frakked up and we never did. She mentioned that once..more than once. If we're crewing the same Raptor we're either going to really live together or die together in a fight, and…I guess that's that. Bad days happen." He nods his head a few times, staring at the floor as he seems to be coming to a decision. He rises from the bench. "I think her and I have to talk about it, but…don't be surprised if you hear about it happening. You should bring Psyche by when it happens, that is, if we've got your support."
Devlin nods. "Yeah, that'd suck," he agrees, "It's nice to know that if something happens to us, we've made the most of the time we've got, at least. And you're not always gonna be in the same boat," he points out, "I mean, shifts get swapped, different people get pulled for some missions and not others… I mean, not to, like, rain on your parade there or anything. But nobody's got a set pair they stick with all the time that I've ever seen yet. Anyway." He steps back as Keenan finishes and rises, and then smiles, nodding, "Of course, man. If you guys decide you want to, then I'm all for it. Whatever makes people happy these days is a good thing, right? And Psyche loves that kinda stuff. Sure we'll be there." He nods some more, and settles back down on the bench to knock off his final set.
"Yeah, Bootstrap's got us paired up a lot, though, so we've been getting in a lot of sim-time together. I've just gotten really used to her timing on the keyboard back there. In the fight against the Areion I was paired up with Pens and she got paired up on some drop-mission into the Areion itself. We did this strafing run on the Areion's flak batteries…" Keenan chuckles softly, shaking his head. "…gods-damn she was pissed at me for that one." He pauses once more, moving into position to spot for Decoy. "Honestly, thanks a lot. You've kinda helped me put this one into perspective. I'm going to talk with her about it and I'm sure we'll just go from there. We're that talking couple…kinda. We try not to ride too much on impulse." He furrows his brow. "…kinda."
Solstice arrives from the Deck 12.
Solstice has arrived.
Towel about her neck, Solstice steps into the gym dressed in shorts and tanks, her dogtags swaying at her neck. A ruffle of a hand up to adjust her ponytail and the soma braid catches for a moment in her worn curls. Tugging it free, she gives a roll of her wrist and turns, catching the sound of conversation a moment. Brown eyes settle on the two pilots and she pauses, a faint smile on her lips before she starts towards them. "Decoy." She says first to Devlin and then to his companion. "Keenan."
Devlin chuckles and nods, reminding, "Yeah, I was there for that, man. It was pretty sweet. Least you two are allowed to fly together. We're not. But I guess that's probably for the best." He quickly pounds off his final set and then sits up, smiling, "No worries, man. Always happy to talk shit out." He laughs at the last, replying, "We talk about everything. All the time. We're hardly ever not talking, if we're together. It's pretty cool, actually. I mean, we're both pretty talkative, so that's just kinda how it is, you know?" He collects his water and wipes his face on his t-shirt, smiling at Solstice. "Shakes," he greets her, "How's it going?"
Keenan turns his head to look at Solstice, returning that small smile of hers as she approaches. Absentmindedly he adjusts the lay of the soma braid on his wrist and gives her a veiled wink as she steps over. "Solstice." He grins, nodding his head in Devlin's direction. "We were just getting some weightlifting in." He adds, doing his best to look as if they weren't just talking about her. His eyes go to her towel. "What's your plan down here? Weightlifting?" He asks.
"It is going rather well, thank you. And it looks like you two are having a good discussion." Solstice observes and then looks to the weights. "I hadn't really decided, I thought maybe about going for a run. A lot of thoughts and too much quiet. Had to get out of the berths." She expresses with a slow nod of her head. "On your way out or would you two care to join me for a jog?" She asks them, giving Keenan a long look and then brushes a finger to her soma braid.
Devlin stretches, and covers a bit of a yawn, pulling his elbows behind his head. "I was going to do a bit of a run before I get back to the weights," he replies, "Good to break things up a bit, keep the heart rate up. Poms?" he looks to Keenan, "Thoughts?"
"Oh we were just finishing up, no big deal at all." Keenan replies, taking another sip from his water bottle before setting it down near his bag. Stretching his arms over his head, he lets his muscles lose their tension before stepping over to Solstice. "We were in the same boat with the berths. Lots of heavy air in that place, so you made the right decision." Grinning, he leads them over to the treadmills, stepping onto one and then immediately setting the programming to his liking. "Anything you wanna share, Sol?"
"Share?" She asks, looking between them. Solstice follows Pom's leads and then steps up onto her own next to his and hooks her towel over the front bar. She sets her pace and waits a moment, feet spread to either side before she catches on to what he is asking, "Oh, yeah..not really." It is pointedly said as she gives Devlin a smile.
Devlin glances between the pair as he steps up to a treadmill, agreeing, "Yeah, bunks seemed like kind of a downer today, at least for the couple minutes I was awake in them," he shrugs. He starts punching buttons on the machine, walking right away and working quickly up to a jog. He looks from Keenan to Solstice and back and then returns the smile and turns back to his treadmill, seemingly a little confused by the exchange.
Always one to note awkward moments, Keenan's mouth parts in a wide, joyful grin. "Alright we'll talk later, Solstice. I've got something I wanted to talk to you about later as it was. We'll deal with that after we work out." He waves away the awkwardness and then starts to jog. One foot after another, he sets his pace and finds his feet propelled by the never-ending wall of rubber beneath him. "So…all oddities aside I was gonna suggest to Boots or Toast that we all get together in the Rec Room for a night of bonding. I don't care if it's drinks or Triad as long as Bootstrap leaves his porn at home and Pallas shows up sober. You two in?"
"Of course.." Solstice says. Always a bundle of awkwardness, the ECO looks back and forth between the two. "Pallas.." She breathes that comment and then grunts, turning to look forward once more. "I would prefer that he not come." She says. She rolls a shoulder and ups the pace of her run, finger depressing the button. "Bonding is not always everyone's high point."
"Sure, if you want to get a group together," Devlin nods easily to Keenan, "I'm always up for hanging out." He glances across at Solstice as he ratches the speed up to a very quick jog, pointing out, "Isn't the idea of bonding to get closer to the folks you're not close to? Spiral's not all bad. He can be a dick, but he can be a decent guy, too. And he's a good wingman."
"He has been nothing but beligerent, condescending, and just an outright frakkin asshole." Solstice quips. The ECO bites her tongue and clears her throat. "But perhaps he is…I haven't seen it." She admits, giving, Decoy a look. The tail of her hair bounces with her increased pace, brows furrowing a little.
"Well…I mean I'm a little gunshy around the guy, too, but I'm willing to give the guy a chance." Keenan adds in, glancing between the two of them as he jogs. It's his preferred form of working out, so he's not bearing the weight of the exercise truly yet. "We've got differences. We've got spiritual and political differences but we're supposed to be a team. I say we get together and remind eachother that those things shouldn't come before us as an Air Wing." He pauses, chuckling inwardly. "…never thought I'd be saying that."
"Those're like the top three things anybody'd use to describe Boots, too," Devlin points out, "But he can be a decent guy too, I'm sure you guys've figured that out, since he's your SL and you're planning on inviting him. Anyways," he shrugs, "I mean, it's fair, like I said, he can be a real dick. But you should give him a chance, at least. And hey, he probably won't show up, anyhow. He's not the most social, you know?" He shrugs, running along at a brisk pace.
"He's social enough.." Solstice says dryly. She lets out a sigh, "Either way, I won't stop anyone." The ECO intones. She glances over at Keenan and then smirks faintly before she nods her head. "We do need to function.." She says and then regards Decoy, her arms pumping at her sides. "Either way, Spiral and I are not on good terms."
"Yeah, Decoy, I caught him saying some pretty nasty shit in the hallways to Solstice. So there's a rough edge there we might want to be ready for on bonding night. Though I do think he's right, Solstice, I don't think Spiral would bother to show up. Bootstrap? Yes. Spiral? Not so much…" Keenan trails off, pacing out his breathing as he continues to jog. "Though even then, settling for a certain percentage of the Air Wing is worth the shot."
"Yeah?" Devlin's brows rise and he shrugs, "That's too bad. I mean, it's not like I hang out with him much or anything, most of what I know's from flying with him and the fact that he was Psyche's bunkmate for like a year. Flying's not the same as what somebody's like otherwise, but I guess I figure if she likes him, he can't be all bad, since she'd know, you know?" He shrugs and keeps running, nodding, "Yeah, I mean, you'll never get everybody. Couldn't fit them all even if you did. But promise booze and music or a video game tournament or something and folks'll show up."
Strength training is not Solstice's thing, but the stamina portion is more her own. Her breath is normal, as she had started as she ups her pace again and her stride goes into full mode. "Rough.." She nods to that and then comments after Devlin's words, "Booze may not be a promised thing but it could be offered. Might get Spiral to make an appearance." She murmurs.
"If there's ever a carrot for that guy it's got to be a bottle of Ambrosia." Keenan chuckles, reaching for his water bottle. Carefully, he brings it to his lips as his feet continue to pound on the tread beneath him. "Alright then…I'll count the Devlins in, and I think Bunny was up for it as well. I'll spread the word to Juggs and Bootstrap. I'd assume Poppy's out of it, but maybe if we worded it to her as an exercise to get us all on the same page she'd be game."
"Heh, true," Devlin nods to Keenan, "But don't give him too much, I think that's when it gets ugliest." He nods, "But yeah, we'll come out if we can. And heh, didn't look like Bunny was up for much of anything today, at least. But who knows, maybe he'll change his meds again or whatever and come around next time. Anyway," he smiles, "I should get back to my circuit. Enjoy the rest of your run, Shakes, Poms. See you guys around."
"Take care, Decoy." Shakes says, remaining quiet yet on the rest of the comments of Spiral. She ups the pace a little bit more and starts to show a little grace of sweat across her brow. Reaching for the towel, she wipes at her diligently. She is not in a full out run and her breathing is becoming paced and timed, in through the nose, out through the mouth. So forth.
"Yeah, see you around. I'll let you know if we get anything off of the ground." Keenan nods upwards to Decoy as he exits. He settles into a long quiet, giving Decoy a chance to get away before he turns his head to watch Solstice jog. A smile crooks at the corner of his lips before he turns his head forward again. "So you first or me first?" He asks, sensing that they obviously both have reasons to want to speak with eachother in private.