Racio sees her hesitation and moves his hand to her chin. "I see, I see, you are still nervous about being out here. I understand, my dear. The galaxy can be a dangerous place for one such as yourself. But as long as you are aboard this ship, you are under our protection, and we will take care of anyone who gets too interested in you, either from within or without. I only wish to ensure things don't escalate, should a situation arise."

He turns back to Shir-Si for a moment, then returns to Lorielle with a wide smile. "I'll make you a deal. Hand over your weapons to me, and I will have Shir-Si and my strongest assistants guarding you at all times. I'll even let you stay in the captain's quarters until the end of your journey. Do we have a deal?" He extends his hand again.

Lorielle sighs. "That.. is not necessary. I don't want to cause any tensions by getting any special treatment. So no guards.. and regular quarters will be fine." she tells him.

Reluctantly she takes off the bracers. "I hope you can understand.. but if I am to hand these over.. I must ask for a written acknowledgement that you are responsible for their care, and returning them to me. I am sure you can see that they are of considerable value, besides just as weapons."

If he agrees and provides her with an appropriate "security" claim for the bracers, she will eventually turn them over.

Racio smiles widely. "Of course, my dear, of course! Shir-Si, fill out the standard forms, please." He watches her as the graceful woman behind him retrieves a set of papers from a shelf beside his desk, and begins to write on them. When she finishes and hands him the forms, he signs his name to them, before handing them to her. "This is a binding contract. I give these to all my performers whenever I have to confiscate something of theirs', and I always keep my word. As soon as you leave our company, your lovely bracers will be returned to you, just as you left them."

When she relinquishes her weapons, he gingerly takes them from her. Moving back to his desk, he unlocks a drawer, and carefully deposits them inside.

"Now," he continues closing the door. "My offer for you to sleep here still stands, but if you'd prefer to sleep in the crew quarters, Shir-Si will show you the way. As luck should have it, we have a show scheduled in thirty six hours, and we'll be making planetfall in twelve. Get some rest and we'll have you practice your act when we set down." He clasps her hand tenderly, before returning to his desk. Shir-Si motions for her to follow him.

Lorielle will read over the forms before handing over the bracers, although she is by no means a lawyer. The best she can do is interpret the most obvious statements in them - but she would not pick up on any loopholes or traps taht might be in the contracts. She still hesitates to actually release the bracers, but finally does with a sigh.

"As I said, I want no special treatments. The standard quarters are fine." she tells him again. She nods when he tells her the schedule for their first performance.

The meeting over, she stands up and pulls her cloak around herself again and pulls her hood up again. While Racio and Shir-si know her secret.. and it won't be long before the rest of the crew does too - it is habit for her to hide herself and attempt to be 'invisible' and unnoticed.

Shir-Si leads Lorielle through the halls of the ship, past performers and stagehands moving about, carrying supplies, practicing their acts, or standing around talking. Interestingly, though there are a few females to be seen - mostly performers, it seems - there are definitely more males, though of an impressively wide array of species and forms. There are aliens with two arms, four arms, six and eight. Some come up only to her knees, while others are so tall they have to perpetually stoop inside the ship. Some are large and muscle-bound, some have scales or skin as hard as stone, some are long and serpentine, and others are covered in fur and bear long claws. A number of the people they pass regard her curiously - and a few with something bordering on eagerness - but no one disturbs them. Everyone seems to be engaged in their own work.

"I'll show you to the dancer's quarters for now. We have some recently vacated space there," Shir-Si explains as they walk along. "You're free to move through any of the unrestricted areas of the ship. This includes the mess hall, performers' quarters, observation deck, and the lounge. However, there are rooms aft that are restricted. Please refrain from those. You'll see signs nearby to remind you."

Lorielle can't help but stare a little at all the different species that she passes. Even on entire planets, she had not seen this many different beings - let alone in such a small space. This is almost exactly what she had hoped for, and there is an eagerness in her gait as well as she walks past (although perhaps not the same eagerness the males are feeling).

Even with the cloak covering her, the way she walks.. the way her hips move, and the flash of her legs as she walks proclaim that this is a female being led by Shir-Si.

"Thank you Shir-Si. Is there also a gym, or a practice hall where I could rehearse myself? And am I to provide my own wardrobe, or are there costumes I need to go through and find something that fits me?"

Shir-Si nods, raising her arm in indication. "There is a practice room just down this hall, to your right. You'll have to share with the other performers, of course. Space is in limited supply on board. You'll have more room to practice once we land. As for your wardrobe..." She pauses to look the Star Faerie up and down. "I believe your current dress will suffice for your first performance. If the producers feel the need for a change afterwards, they'll let you know."

She leads Lorielle to a bunk room. Several performers are standing or lying inside already. They give Lorielle a polite nod and assessment as she enters, but they don't make much move to engage her.

"Come find me if you have any questions or concerns," Shir-Si tells her. "Dinner will be in five hours."

Lorielle nods, understanding the idea that space is limited and that she will have to share both the sleeping quarters and practice room.
Still -- if there isn't room there, perhaps she can find some private corner in the 'open' areas of the ship that aren't used often.

Lorielle is a bit surprised at the number of bunks and people in the sleeping quarters, and for a brief moment considers going back and taking the Captain up on his offer. While she is a bit anxious about the other beings, she was earnest in not wanting preferential treatment, so she thanks Shir-Si and lets the other woman depart to continue her duties.

Lorielle will walk through the bunks, looking for an upper bunk that is untaken - then, with tension in her shoulders, she removes her cloak. They are going to see her when she practices, so she might as well get over hiding her true self sooner rather than later. As she folds her cloak, she lets her wings relax - not opening fully, but the delicate butterfly like wings shift and flutter as her muscles relax from keeping them folded close to her for so long.

She will look to the nearest occupant, and smile. "Hello - I am Lorielle." she will say softly, her voice ringing softly through the room.

She can feel eyes watching her as she picks her bunk and removes her cloak. A hush seems to move through the occupants as her wings become visible. Quickly enough, however, it passes, and the performers return to their activities. No one seems to pay her especial mind, although there are still a few glances coming her way from this way and that.

The alien she hails turns to look at her, surprised but not unwelcoming. He looks similar to a human, although his red hair makes a shaggy mane around his face, ending near his jaw. He wears no shirt, and she can see that his upper body muscles are quite impressive, though whether this is a result of his training or just a racial trait is, as yet, unclear. His golden eyes scan over her as he flashes her a smile, pointed jaws visible among his teeth.

"Name's Arkan," he says, nodding to her. "You must be new here."

Lorielle lets her gaze look over the alien male, unaware that her action could easily be misconstrued. She's just looking at him, trying to characterize his race and other features - but one could easily mistake it for a gaze of 'interest'.

"I am.. I just joined at this last stop." she tells him with a congenial smile. "If you don't mind my asking, what do you do in the show?" She shifts a little, letting her wings stretch out a bit - rather glad to not have to hide them here.

"I guess you could say I do whatever other people are doing," he says, turning to face her full on. "I do a lot of assisting and partnering with other acts. Lifting, throwing, dancing. Things like that." He glances at her wings again. "It's been a while since we've had a Star Faerie in our troupe. Let me guess, you're a dancer?"

Lorielle definitely gives Arkan a look of shock. "You've met another of my people?" she asks, her eyes wide.

"They tend to be very insular - I wasn't aware that any of them had ventured away from their clans like I have before this!" she exclaims with a bit of excitement. "Where did you meet her? What was her name?" she eagerly asks.

When he asks if she is a dancer, she just nods. "Yes, Racio hired me as a dancer. I was a bit surprised, because he didn't even ask me to perform. But maybe that's why, if he's worked with another Faerie before." she admits.

Arkan nods. "A Faerie named Isara joined our group a few years ago. Said she was traveling, wanted to see the galaxy. Guess she was the curious type. She stayed on for about a year, before she left. Not sure where she is now. But we see more of your people than you might think. And you're always exquisite dancers." He winks at her and smiles. "I'm sure Master Racio will have a spot for you in the next act. Maybe I'll even get to be your partner. It's been a while since I've danced with a Faerie."

Lorielle is fascinated by how he talks about Isara and running into others of her race.

"They told me no one ever leaves!" she says in shock, "That I was the first to want to see other places.. meet other races.. to not be satisfied with my place in the clan!"

She blushes slightly when Arkan says they are all exquisite dancers, and that he'd be interested in being her partner. "Well he did say that I will be performing on this stop coming up. I've never danced with a partner though. I... assumed.. that I'd be dancing alone." she admits, a little embarassed at her own assumption now.

"And it has been a bit since I've done that.. I really do need to warm up and practice some, even before we land."

"Well, people love to say that no one ever leaves when they don't anyone to leave. The way I see it, though, anything you do, you're probably not the absolute first one to do it."

Arkan turns back to his bunk and picks up his shirt, slipping it on over his head. "There should be some room in the dance room, if you'd like to get some practice in. Nothing like a good twirl among the stars, right? Of course, I'll need to stay inside the ship while we're out here." He winks at her, extending his hand.