446/Glory for the Hard Headed

Glory for the Hard Headed
Date of Scene:	17 September 2023
Location:	Dorms #2
Synopsis:	Chrono and Hannah meet to discuss the matter of the Space Desk. A duel is formulated, and Hannah uses her skull for once!
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Steiner, Chrono Harlaown

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Hannah Steiner has posed:
It was almost the appointed time! Hannah had been as good as her word, sending her dorm room number through a ping from Blauer Greif to S2U, alongside a formal invitation to inspect 'lawfully and dutifully gained battlefield salvage as laid out in Tharkad-TSAB Treaty Number 439 Article Fifteen Section eight-point-one!'. Given she's from a Belkan Great House, and technically its' /leader/, she clearly knew how Enforcers for the TSAB operated, and thoughtfully sought to forstall any legal maneuvering by their allies.

It was addressed to the 'Honorable Enforcer Ser Chrono of House Harlaown', too, so Hannah was /definitely/ giving a bit of cheek here. One can almost feel the smugness in the offer.

The dorm room that Hannah shares is like most of the others, bunk beds, all the usual accoutrements any good teen needs to survive. It's also shockingly organized, but given the occupants? The fact that everything is labeled and has a Place is likely for her own benefit more than Ami's. The two girls seem to almost be in a competition to who can out-organize each other.

Also there's a rather nice looking couch before the tv, though this is of Earth manufacture. The rather advanced looking Space Desk Hannah claimed is sitting right out in the open, brazenly so, and already Hannah has put her own nick-nacks on top. Notably, she hasn't actually opened the thing, and frankly the anticipation is killing her.

So what does she do to stave off temptation? With her beloved roomie out, she's currently hammering her fists and feet into a big ol' free weight hanging from the ceiling. Music blares, 'Creeping Death' by Metallica playing as the Belkan hammers through her workout routine! She's dressed in a crop top and athletic shorts, her dark sunglasses on her and Lyra happily hiss-borking right by the door, guiding her owner in proper punchy technique! SMACK SMACK KICK!

"Feel the burn! Lyra, you aught take a turn mein dear!" She offered to her massive Razorhound, whom let out a HISS and flexed her butcher-knife like claws.

Chrono was going to need to really knock hard, given one can pretty easily hear the music from the dorm from the outside. Or, you know, just ping the Device leaning up against the bunk bed!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown may have had his third cup of coffee this morning already. He'd... yeah. He was exhausted. The idea of doing this wasn't something he wanted to do. It was something he needed to do, though. This... was...

This was for him. He just didn't CARE about the rest of the stuff. They could have all the bits and bobs and pieces and he didn't CARE! NONE OF THAT MATTERED! His mother's things were in there AND HE HAD NO IDEA WHERE THE HELL SHE WAS and he hadn't had any actual success and he was so tired and nothing here made sense.

But he didn't show that. He just... didn't. He was as straight laced as always. As calm as always. As strong as he had to be. Because he was an Enforcer. He had to be strong so everyone else around him could be. It didn't... matter. It was his duty. Even if he could... he wouldn't rest.

He wasn't wounded. He'd sleep later.

But he didn't want to do this. The Belkan... she... He gave a soft sigh before knocking on the door. Three times. One. Two. Three. But it likely wasn't heard. So...

< Hello, this is Time Space Administration Bureau Enforcer Chrono Harlaown arriving to procure the remnants of Admiral Lindy Harlaown's belongings. > Yes, he went the route of pinging her.

And he looked as prim and proper as always. Maybe a tiny bit tired, just a hint. But straight backed, clean cut, buttoned up shirt, ever the soldier.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Ping! Slowly, Hannah grinned. Finally! Finally! There was the sound of something getting punched, the music stopped, and suddenly the door opened with the kind of enthusiasm only a proper Belkan could exude. The door was all but yanked open, and the smiling blonde haired young woman opened her arms in welcome! "Ser Chrono Harlaown! May you ever walk in Her Eternal Grace mein freund! By the Sankt it is a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh!" Came the young woman, with all the joy and violent friendliness she could muster. It was like being beaten in the skull with a mallet made of appreciation. It was as if she's known Chrono her entirely life, and is the best of all friends!

It's worse than Chrono could have possibly known. Hannah is /karking friendly/! She lets out a laugh and waves him in! "Come come let us not stay on the doorstep as it were! What can I get you? Tea? Coffee? I have some sparkling wine as well! Acht, formalities, yes!" She paused, turned, and tapped one heeled boot to the other, before bowing at the waist formally.

She motioned to Lyra, who wasn't bothering with her disguise. That blue feathery covering and sheer /size/ marks her out as definitely From Space.

"Meet mein ever-loyal guide lizard, Lyra. Und I believe you are already acquainted with Blauer Greif? May you know naught but glory und honor, Ser Harlaown!" Smiiiile! She tilted her head.

".....You are recovered?" Oh no. That was definitely a very loaded question, given a Belkan was standing before him!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown just stared at her. Oh god. His eyes twitched. And he needed a second. He so needed a second. A few seconds.

You see, Chrono had one... rather... unlucky thing in his life. Something that most would have probably laughed at the idea that it was his 'curse'. He was... exceptional. Unique. Uptight. Talented. One of a kind, even. But you know what that tended to attract? Other... unique... individuals...

He rarely got to meet 'normal' belkans. He rarely met 'normal' anyone. His mother was an admiral, but she was not what most would think when they thought 'admiral'. She was playful, joking, kind, sweet, a teaser. Their ship was filled with people like that. Unique. Special. Those who stood out in a crowd. So he had been affiliated with those kinds of people his whole life.

When he met a cat familiar? They were the kind to pinch cheeks and call him cute and kiss his forehead and tease him until he wanted to curl up and die.

When he was in the academy? He'd end up surrounded by people who thought he was just 'so cute and amazing and adorable and serious!' and when he met Belkans? He never met the 'nice' belkans. The 'normal' belkans. The ones who blended in with society. He met the loud ones. the punchy ones. The ones who believed that concussions were how one showed affection. So the moment he heard Hannah was a belkan, the moment he got her message, he knew. He ALWAYS knew. This. This was going to be her.

Even then he wasn't prepared.

So he needed a second.

"Yes, I am. A pleasure to meet you, Lady Hannah of House Steiner," he said, as calm and collected as ever. Flashing that smile. The dead in his eyes at least hidden by the fact she couldn't see. "I am recovered." Aaaaand now he suspected he knew what was coming. And he was bracing himself... readying to counter if need be. He had no qualms about judo flipping a blind girl. None at all.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
"WUNDERBAR, Ser Chrono! By the Sankt's missing left sock, have you ANY idea how pleasing it is to acquire the company of someone not raised on a technologically inferior backwater!? Truly, there are kind souls on this little backwards rock, but I have missed for someone that knows the difference between an FTL-fusion-drive und a rail gun!" She sounds genuinely relieved to have another space-farer to talk to.

"Even if you are Mid-Childan - mein deepest apologies for the misfortune - I should be delighted to reaffirm the alliance between Great Belkan House Steiner und the Time Space Administration Bureau!" She is starting to grin harder. That's a lot of perfect teeth!

"Und so, mein heart sings to take your measure in /glorious honorable combat/! To chase the revelry of battle together und know you as only the clashing of blades or the impact of a high energy barrage of Barrets into one's face! A Duel of Honor und Measure, mein freund! Would you do this humble Countess-Palatine such a an honor!?" Oh yes, she is challenging him to a Duel! If Chrono is wondering whether she takes this whole 'Space Noble' thing seriously, there's his answer.

A hand goes up! And then...she's trying to swat him on the shoulder in an overly friendly manner!

"But business before pleasure, sadly! You are here to inspect battlefield salvage, und as much as I /ache/ to toss you through several walls dear Enforcer, you are here for a reason und I am not so callous as to delay it! Now! OPEN THE SPACE DESK SER HARLAOWN!" Encourages Hannah, and she makes a dramatic show of pointing and posing towards that darn desk!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown was ready. Was prepared. He was wondering if he could just flip her and go. no. No. He couldn't help but nod at that. "Or the difference between a spell keyword and a sub-type," Chrono said. He was gonna die. Yup. He could do this.

Ah, well. "Don't worry, I won't hold you being belkan against you either," he said, just snapping right back. He didn't really have anything against belkans either, but there was a duel of sorts going on here. And he had to play it, like it or not. Even if his style was far more dry than her own. And there it was. The challenge to a duel. Great. "Of course, I would be honored to down you in honorable combat," he said. OH! OHHHHHH! HE CAN'T JUST SAY THAT, CAN HE?! HERE IT COMES! And... she... didn't attack him. He was a liiiiittle surprised by this.

"Of course, thank you. As was sent in the mail, there is no issue with you taking possession of the desk per standard salvaging rights, but the contents are to be taken so they may be distributed to the admiral her... next of kin." And there was that hesitation. That moment. That clear sign that, despite his calm words, his careful appearance...

Despite all of that, he was the 'next of kin'... and there was a chance... she was gone. And it was hurting him more than he could, would, show. He'd step into the room and then sigh.

His mother's desk certainly WAS a massive thing, wasn't it?

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah can't help it. She busts out into a laugh, glee and enjoyment sparking beneath those glasses. Her voice is just /pleased/ as punch as the Mid-Childan actually plays her game and gives as good as he gets! She finds herself warming quickly to the young man. Of course, she's not going to let it be /that/ easy!

"Hah! Such PRIDE! I shall enjoy grinding such a thing under mein boot after I have smashed you repeatedly into the dirt und crushed your pathetic excuse for cowardly ranged spells! You shall know the superiority of melee combat! Of meeting the foe head on und the proverbial 'seeing the whites of their eyes'! Or their mana signature at any rate! Acht, the analogy is getting away from me!" That grin turns a little goofy, teasing!

Sorry Chrono. She likes you. You're entirely doomed!

But that all fades, Hannah good at flicking her own switch when propriety calls for it. And frankly after all that she's been through? It's easy for her to draw certain conclusions.

"I....happened to notice, Ser Harlaown. This may be a bit personal, however, I feel as though I needs ask. The owner of that desk. A relation, I assume, of your House?" She deflates a bit.

"'Next of kin' is a touch grim. Consider it...turning over the proper of one's House that they may be returned to the good Admiral. In person." Comes Hannah encouragingly. It seems the idea in the air assuming Chrono's family member is dead isn't one she likes. And so, she offers a bit of hope to the young man. Family is precious.

And though straight-laced and needing to chill, she's not going to let that hope die in her new would-be Mid-Childan friend!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown actually had a bit of a smile twitch. Ah. Wonderful. She liked him. They always liked him, didn't they? He was apparently likeable. He didn't see why. He didn't think he was that likeable. Eh. Oh well. Most the people he knew were weird, so it made an odd amount of sense. "Oh, don't worry, my cowardly spells are of a different nature entirely," Chrono said without skipping a beat. And that was, technically, true. A lot of his most powerful spells WERE quite close ranged. But his specialty was binding spells. Your opponent can't stab you if they can't move their body.

"My mother," Chrono said. "My last living relative."

The silence lingered when he moved to the desk. He sighed and then took out his card, henshining in front of it. There was a moment before the desk hummed to life and he started interfacing his device with it.

"There is a high likelihood that she's already dead. We both accepted that it could happen when we took on this mission. However, I do not intend to accept that as fact until I have turned over every rock on this planet to find her." One of the drawers opened.

"And if she's gone... neither of us will have any regrets. We accepted our duties, as well as all of the risks that came with them. I will be proud of the work she has done and all that she dedicated herself to."

There was certainly a... almost... clinical... sterilization to those words. A distance. Of course there was. Chrono... couldn't allow himself to cope with it yet. If he did, he wouldn't be able to look. wouldn't be able to search. If she needed him... if they needed him... he had to find them before he could let himself rest. That could come after.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah's smile soon descends into a /scowl/! Sure, Chrono is being logical. Even she knows that after the crash of a ship such as the Artha? Really, the odds are vanishingly small. That as many already have survived is basically a miracle. But Hannah isn't one to let such things as logic crush how she believes the world should work.

"Ser Harlaown, I spit upon your logic!" Comes the Noble fiercely! She hasn't physically assaulted Chrono, but that voice is aimed directly at his face!

"Have you found a body!? Hm!? Your dear mutter, honored Lady Admiral, is out there somewhere! Surely such an august soul shall naught die so easily by a /mere/ ship crash! By the Sankt, speak such /DEFEATIST/ language again und I shall put you through a table personally, politics be damned!" Threatens Hannah!

She hates it. Chrono seems like a good person. Like /heck/ he's going to lose his mother! Suddenly, she stalks forward, and those big Belkan toned arms are...well she has to stoop a little. But like some kaiju of a Very Space German Big Sister, she's hauling him up into the greatest of squeezing bear hugs that one can give! Oxygen might suddenly become a bit optional.

"Nein, Ser Harlaown! YOU shall naught overturn every stone upon this backwater! WE shall hunt down your mutter und reunite you both! I shan't allow the honor of mein House be sullied by allowing you as well to have your dear family member's fate haunt you nightly! I REFUSE to believe she is dead. We. Shall. Find. Her! Upon Sank Kaiser Olivie, und mein House's honor, this I do swear!" Growls out Hannah in her best attempt at 'encouraging' Chrono! Hopefully she doesn't break anything in the process!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown nodded, but didn't seem to react much to it. "Oh, she most definitely is. So long as there is a chance, she'll be there. She'd revel in the opportunity to read my reports too much to not be." She'd probably LOVE to hear some of them now. Probably find his flusteredness adorable. One of the desk drawers popped open, revealing paper clips, a few bags of gummy treats, some random knick knacks, a small notepad. "Either way, the-- grk!"

Wait, crap, he used reality against a belkan. Ineffective. Ow. Oh gosh his spine. Ohhhh it was a good thing he was henshined. Were he not, he would likely be in considerable pain about now.

"V-v-v-very... w-well..." Chrono managed to rasp out. Dear heavens, why?! "I-if you w-wish to add your help t-to the search, you are welcome to," he offered. Ow. OW.

"J-just... please cease t-this... affection!" His cheeks, now burning.

He had S2U send the 'missing group' file. One had been found... eight more to go. Eventually... the crew WOULD be found, he believed. Hoped. The more who helped, the more likely it was.

But in the mean time, his face was getting redder and not just from the lack of oxygen. "P-please p-p-put me down M-Miss Steiner!"

Hannah Steiner has posed:
G R I N! Being Chrono is utter suffering when facing off against this weird Belkan Noble! It's like she's trying to hug him into hope, and possibly off of this mortal coil! She's trying to channel Usagi. Only in a Belkan way. Violently. Very, very violently!

"Hah, clearly you require more training Ser Harlaown! A mere sign of approval und regard between warriors is enough to make you beg for mercy!? N E I N!" RIP Chrono's spine!

/Just/ before the point of actually damaging some ribs, she finally lets him go having gotten his approval of joining the hunt! "Send me her profile und...acht, the signature probably shall not be useful, but one never knows! Now then!"

She grabs Blauer Greif, henshins quickly, and then is using a Focus Search on that desk!

"Crack open the desk as a piniata! ...Figuratively. Frau Mizuno hates a mess." Griiiiin. The greedy Steiner merchant is just /drooling/ over what's in the admiral's desk. Those snacks seem tasty. She restrains herself from stealing them.

"The good Admiral has /excellent/ taste in vituals!" Compliments the young woman.

Griiiin. "I wonder if she has embarrassing childhood pictures in there somewhere of you~" Teeeeease! She's enjoying messing with Chrono far, far too much!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown grked. Oh gosh. Ow. Oh gosh. His spine. It hrut. Almost as painful as the experience of affection. Almost. Nope. Did not want. He put his hand on her shoulders, but it was not effective at all. Gahhh.

Then he was released. He dropped to the ground, rasping for air. Ow. ow. Ow. Oh my gosh ow...

Slowly, a gauntletted hand gripped the edge of the desk and he pulled himself back to his feet. It wouldn't be so bad, but he weighed like. 80 lbs. Ow.

Still... he pulled out the gummies... then tossed them to the side. "I wouldn't eat those. Who knows what this dimensional shift has done to them." NOOOO! The candy!

However, that last comment. Oh. Oh he stood up STRAIGHT then and she could possibly FEEL the blush from his cheeks. And now... she'd know they were. "T-t-t-that is irrelevant if she does!" And next, a drawer popped open and... files. Reports. And then some sighs when he pulled them out and flipped through them. "These were supposed to be done weeks before this fiasco... Admiral..." he grumbled.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
There's a bit of a chuckle from Hannah! She gives Chrono a nice, hard /punch/ to the shoulder in a friendly manner as he finds his feet, and notes the unfiled reports!

"Surely rank comes with a certain level of /grace/ in tedious paper filing, Ser Harlaown! By the Sankt. I am beginning to wonder about that connection if your honored mutter is so /free/ with the filing of reports! I am fairly certain I heard your soul cry out at such a breach of protocol~" Why yes, Chrono, Hannah is enjoying torturing you by giving you as much guff as possible. And worse, it's all in good humor. Being around Hannah is to drift in a social force of nature. Of /affection/ and /friendship/! It's terrible. And she's going to punch you later!

"Acht! The good Ser protests too much~! The pictures are precious, are they naught!? The /small/ Chrono Harlaown even smaller und adorable!" She goes, laughing all the way and grins fiercely!

Then, she 'stares' Chrono in the face. She catches that tossed dimensionally tossed snack bag of gummies. Even takes off her glasses to reveal her striking blue Belkan eyes!

"To the bold goes triumph!" She opens the bag. And then /devours/ it, pouring them into her mouth in a fit of pique, consequences be damned. Never let it be said she won't take up a challenge, no matter how stupid!

Monch. Lyra buries her face in her paws. Blauer Grief pings S2U in a 'why are they like this????' kind of Device commiseration!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave another soft sigh. "Paperwork needs to be done, regardless of rank. She could stand to unload a bit less of it on me, anyway," he muttered, just a hint pouty. Just a tiny bit. Just the tiniest bit of pout.

"She certainly thought I was," he mumbled. Nothing like lil baby Chrono pictures. In a lil TSAB uniform at the age of eight, saluting. He wasn't a full agent then. But my goodness...

Wait, why was she staring? Oh no. No no no no. Please don't kiss him please don't kiss him please don't-- Oh my gosh. He just... gave her a flat stare. "I'm not taking you to the nurse's office," he warned her. While his device couldn't respond on its own, Chrono at least could. With just a single word. < Belkan. > Belkan because other's can't.

In the end, though, more drawers opened. Mostly rather simple things. Until... Bottom right drawer.

And he took a deep breath. Opened it. And there it was.

The baby pictures. All of them. Books upon books upon... oh gosh she adored her son so much.

And if Hannah went for them she would trigger a delayed bind. Yes. He did, in fact, silently trap them because *BELKAN!*

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Blauer Greif does the Device equivalent of sobbing. She is way, /way/ too old for this. These silly teenagers!

<Praise to the Sankt Kaiser> Comes BG morosely!

Gurk!!! Oh those taste like...interdimensional magical BS. And like fruit. Not a specific fruit. But the general idea of fruit.

She goes for a /second/ bag. MONCH!

"It is /always/ a pleasure to greet Frau Meioh!" Of course she knows the nurse. Of /course/!

HURK! Hannah leans into the binding spell, as she's trying to Focus Search those baby picture in order to gain more beautiful blackmail for her new freund!

"Oh you cheating little Mid-Childan coward! GRAH! Render unto me the embarrassing pictures!!!!" There's the sound of a big old sucking breath, lungs filled, and then....well, she's a Belkan.

Muscles audibly flex, magic flares in her, and then she just starts to slowly /rip/ her way through the Bind spell. With sheer force and strength. Fleeeex! Creeeeak! Leave it up to a Belkan to just try to rip apart a spell. It's not like she /can't/ use gravity in this situation, but it almost seems like she's doing it on sheer principle! Chrono is masterful in his binding. But Hannah is nothing if not stubborn beyond belief! RIIIIIIP!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown sighed softly. Oh, if nothing else she was going to be hopped up on sugar for the rest of the day. His mother was many thing. A 'restrained devourer of sugar' was not one of those. If sugar intake was connected to one's ability to contain mana, it was no wonder her levels were so incredible.

But oh yes, there it was. The blackmail material. He wasn't surprised... after all, it was why he cast the spell. He just watched her, a small, gentle smile on his face. She was almost there...

            < Multi-cast Bind >

And another bind. And another. And another. And another. And... oh. Wow. By the time he finished, she was more bind than belkan. He was very good. Also... he'd been around his mother and very, very many evil women. He knew how this would likely play out. Likely with him being punched. But he was going to delay that as long as possible. As he started pulling out the books and then sighed again. "Seriously? She kept these?" he asked...

Into the device the first one went. What? He was doing it be the book, ensuring nothing was missing.

Sure, it didn't call for restraining the other person in the room at the time. But it did call for ensuring everything was correct. In went the second book.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah's words descend into /entirely/ Tharkadian flavored Belkan. Now, often, Space German tends to make one sound angry even in a normal conversation. The Countess is, in fact, both embarrassed as she's granted a gordian knot full of Binds keeping her from yoinking any politicially valuable blackmail material of cuteness as well as angry!

/Belkan/! If one bothers to translate the rapid-fire string of words, as it turns out, Hannah has learned quite a few interesting and censor-worthy chains of invectives all currently directed at Chrono, the TSAB, and the House of Harlaown! She just doesn't shut up even when she's more Bind than actual person!!!

Blame her Mother's beloved side-lover, former Dueling arena champion and inventive wielder of yelling at people. The Belkan has grown up with some /interesting/ personalities as her confidants.

Suddenly, however, the world is starting to fisheye. Directly towards one Hannah Steiner! Mostly because Blauer Greif is floating beside her, nestles into her two free fingers, and suddenly there's a very, /VERY/ worrying amount of gravitic magic flaring to life. Layer after layer after /layer/ of diametrically opposed gravity wells are being interstitched on top of one another. Oh. Oh that's probably bad. The fact Hannah is directly in it is probably by design. It seems Hannah is just going to blow up that masterful work of pure Binding magic rather than continue this sheer embarrassment, the consequences to herself and those around her never seeming to occur to her!

<Fluss: Akkretion>! Announces Blauer Greif. Lyra is already /noping/ out into the hallway.

"R...lease...me...MEDIATELY!" Grumples out Hannah, even as she forms a proper Belkan miniature apocalypse with all the subtlety of her House!

Their symbol, after all, is a giant clenched fist!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown just sighed. "You know, I understand many of those," he said before... muttering one of his own. It was, loosely translated, 'The stars themselves wouldn't have the patience for this'. AKA, Space Good Grief.

He picked up the third book... and then...

Huh. Gravity. That... that was... That was going to be trouble.

He picked up the fourth book and started going through it. "There are currently thirty five binds placed on you. While I believe breaking through all of them would be well within your capabilities, Hannah of House Steiner, the resulting shockwave of such would have a high chance of destroying not just these books, but also this desk. More importantly... it would likely injure me."

"That would mean delaying our duel until I could recover. Which could also take weeks. In order to do it safely... you would need to destroy seventeen of the binds first. Alternatively, you can wait patiently until I am done... and if it really means that much to you, you may attempt to duel me for them."

"Though until I find the admiral, these are the few-- o-oh god!" aaaand any chill left when he opened one of the books, his face going scarlet and practically STEAMING! Slamming it shut.

The academy had done a play. He'd been... one of the leads.

It was not a uhhh...

... ...... .......... He'd been in a lil dragon costume. He'd been seven. He'd sooner die.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
"Y...You should have gone for thirty-seven you little...!!!" She can't even finish that sentence, so enraged and About-To-Blow-Up-Basically-Everything. Unfortunately, Chrono proves to be a rather adept diplomat, and one that knows his audience. There's this /choking/ sound.

".....I should naught like to delay our /glorious clash/ by any more time than is necessary! Together, Ser Harlaown, she shall /DAZZLE THESE SANKTKAISERLESS PROLES WITH OUR DISPLAY OF MARTIAL PROWESS/!"

Okay, all that anger is bleeding out into her sheer desire to punch Chrono (positive, friendly) in the face in front of an audience. You win this round, Mid-Childan! Clearly, 'safely' is not in her vocabulary, and so she releases the massive gravity ball she's been building up to.

Grumble! Stupid fire support mages with an emphasis on binds!

Hop. HOP HOP HOP HOP! That book falls out. BG does a quick Focus Search, and shoves that into her head!

Griiiin! With all of the energy available to her, Hannah's great legs creak against the binding magic!!!!

H O P

"A test of your reflexes Ser Harlaown!!!!" Suddenly, there is this iron-like dome of a Belkan Forehead hammering into the back of the blushing Mid-Childan offer's own noggin! Gods, the Artha's hull is nothing on the power of her skull! BONK!

She's so trying to Device-hoover up that embarrassing dino picture, throwing herself on it bodily! "FOR THE GLORY OF HOUSE STEINER!" FLOP!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown just kept smiling. He was a master at this. He knew how to play the game, how to play the act. And there was just that one last book. Just... the one.

Alas... it threw him entirely off his game seeing THAT picture. What was in it. And so he was ill prepared. So he barely noticed... until it was too late. 'Test his reflexes' indeed. He should have known. He should have suspected it. He should have DODGED or moved aside so she bonk into the desk and concuss herself.

Instead, he turned.

BONK!

Head connected with ship-hull-masquerading-as-a-head.

And he went down. @_@

K.O. Her device managing to snag the last, most damning of books.

And he lay under a strutting, bound, proud and less-than-noble Belkan.

All Hail House of Steiner.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah feels poor Chrono succumb to the Great and Power Forehead of Steiner! Thunk. Oh she knows she'll pay for this later. But she's grinning, crowing, and absolutely preening despite her binding!

"Victory for the Great House of Steiner!" Proclaims Hannah with a laugh!

Consequences are for Future Hannah! It's time to bask in rather inconvenienced victory!!!!!