Impossible Time
Impossible Time
World
Words
Thoughts
Deductions
Words
Thoughts
Deductions
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Impossible Time
The only problem with his plan of getting Pearl’s hand properly fixed was the fact that he in no way understood how to work the robots in the infirmary. Not even the commands they would listen to. When he had been younger and less cautious Riley would treat his scraped knees. He hadn’t had a robot ever repair any injuries of his, even if none of them had never been particularly bad. So now he was very poorly suited to actually help Pearl. Which was highly upsetting to him. He decided to focus on the fact that Pearl had his knives and would know, probably better than he did, just how off they were. He knew they were slightly off because when he threw them he needed extra momentum to make sure they landed in the wall; not just hit it and fall.
And then he heard the some what distressing news that Smee had prohibited pixie dust on board the ship. “Bollocks. That’s about as much fun as half this ship manages to have. Well that is utterly disheartening.” John said, meaning it. But what it also meant was that he now had to hide any and all of his Pixie Dust. Which wasn’t much. He wasn’t much of a drinker anyway. Well… He did enjoy a good pint of brew every once and a while. But he had never been a huge fan of Pixie Dust. It burned something right awful, and he preferred to be able to breathe normally after having something to drink.
He had a few good hidden places on the ship. He was sure he could put his meager stash of the forbidden product there. But then again no one, but maybe Teddy ever went into his quarters so John was relatively certain his few bottles of Pixie Dust would be fine. And if not he’d survive. It wasn’t as if he used those very often. More often than not it was a tool for him to fall asleep. Three or four shots would put him under like nothing else could. Well nothing else he had ever tried at least. There was a shocking amount of things John had never tried. Many he had no intention of ever trying. His mind was sacred to him, and numbing it with alcohol was only allowed on rare occasions.
But he was shaken from his reverie when Pearl’s excited voice said that they would be landing soon. Hadn’t he just remarked not all that long ago how nice it would be to be in a port and get a hair cut? How fortuitous this was indeed. And Pearl’s mood extended to him, though to be frank he was already quite excited. But that was often the case with his bouts of Mania. Even he knew he could be obnoxiously annoying when he was manic. Not that he was proud admitting that fact even to himself. No one, no matter who it was had a desire to continuously have theirs flaws pointed out to them.
“Pearl, slow down love. You talk so fast when you’re in such an excited state. It is rather endearing, yet it’s much harder for me to follow.” John said, knowing that regardless he had caught ever word she had said. And within seconds his mind had indeed supplied him with that much needed information. He smiled, genuinely pleased that Pearl in her excitement had thought to include John’s needs into her plans. It was incredibly kind of her to do so. “I doubt our King or her Advisors want me to have a gun. Besides should I ever require one I would know exactly who to go to.” He said with a very pointed look in her direction. It clearly said, you know they don’t trust me, and that if I need a gun I would come to you.
He resisted the urge to kiss her cheek for her kind thoughts. She didn’t seem too comfortable with him constantly touching her. Even if it was in an entirely appropriate manner. And he had no desire to make her truly uncomfortable. “But I could use something with a little more bang to it. I have a few pranks in the planning stages and quite frankly the quality of the explosive powders on board that I have access too aren’t strong enough. Nothing to hurt anyone, but more than just a bright flash and a loud bang. Maybe a step down from TNT. Something with weight to it. And I just don’t have the access to make it myself.” John said, hoping Pearl could find something like that.
He shrugged as if it didn’t matter. And honestly it didn’t really. He didn’t want Pearl to get into trouble because he wanted a bigger bang in a few of his up and coming pranks. “If you can’t I can always pick up some whizz-bangs in port and modify them. I don’t want you to get into trouble over me and my silly wants.” John said, glancing at her hand. A smile at his lips, she didn’t seem to fuss so much once the robot got to work. John caught her slightly confused look and smiled a bit wider. “You were talking about trees.” He said trying to be helpful.
Impossible Time
She would never understand why the other two couldn’t stand planes. It really was such a childish fear, that she had gotten used to being the one in control whenever a plane was required as a means of travel. It didn’t mean she had to like it. After all being the one in charge for the next oh at least twenty-four hours or even longer held no appeal to her. Let alone the fact that she’d be the one dealing with the jet lag. Along with the massive hangover Laci had left her with. Well them really, but as she was the only one currently awake and in control she was the one who would have to deal with it. Arti still wanted to strangle Laci, but was willing to settle for a mental beat down, as strangling her was literally impossible.
The stupid twit had been the one in control for the previous week for the most part. Leaving the packing up to herself and Chloi, but the going away parties were Laci’s. And the biggest going away party of course was the surprise one by all of their friends from uni. And of course Laci just had to get knackered. Leaving them to miss their original flight. By seventeen hours. So now they were all horribly late. As in they wouldn’t be stateside until the day after they were meant to arrive. Meaning they would be late to class, by about half a day. If not more…there was after all that two-hour layover in New York.
As it was she was currently at Heathrow airport waiting for her flight to take off. The perks of being whom she was meant she was able to travel first class instead of coach. Which meant she had priority boarding, and more legroom. Which she desperately needed. And no obnoxious screaming children kicking the back of her seat. If she had to do a twelve-hour flight not even her manners would have been able to withstand obnoxious people pressing against her on all sides. As it was many of the other first class passengers looked to be far too into themselves to be bothering her. A couple of bankers, a well off family of four, an elderly couple, and a few other people she was saving for later to try to figure out. In case her in flight entertainment failed to keep her interested for the entire eight hours to JFK.
Arti placed her earphones on and turned on her iPod, going to the languages she had loaded on there. Latin was more than useful for her as one of her college courses was Law. But she had been learning Latin for years. Her Spanish was atrocious, but she just couldn’t seem to learn it no matter what. Her Russian was amazing, practically flawless. Her Chinese was passable until you got to the written language. Her French was sorely lacking, but would suffice if she was in a pinch. Arti chose French for that reason. Even if she was rather horrible at it at least she’d be able to hear the syntax and morphology. Which would hopefully improve her ability to speak it.
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Arti was woken up by the stewardess upon their descent to the airport. The Pacific Northwest’s weather was rather much like her own back home. Though from what she had seen thus far it was far more forested than England was. Her Aston Martin DBS was waiting for her at the airport, which was lovely. She wanted to get a feel for the roads here, to get a sense of where everything was. She plugged in the directions and placed her carry on bag on the seat next to her. She had shipped everything else weeks ago. The car started up and Arti smiled. This car was perhaps one of the only things all three of them agreed about. Very James Bond and very appropriate. Within moments Arti was on the motorway and on her way to her new home and college.
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The drive had been entirely uneventful, unless you counted the number of people staring at her because her car was set up the opposite of theirs. Which she didn’t, she was used to tourists complaining about the steering being on the wrong side and driving on the wrong side of the road. She didn’t see why they did that. It took her very little time to adjust to the driving differences stateside. Mostly because of a couple of family holidays to the states. The area the school was near didn’t seem too bad. Much smaller than she was used to, definitely much more secluded. She made note of places that she might enjoy going to such as the malls or any little cafes or stores that looked interesting. Chloi would love to wander around the park and the forests to take her pictures. And poor Laci didn’t seem to have any clubs to go to, but plenty of bars she could frequent.
The drive to the condo wasn’t long once she had reached the town. Anything smaller than London was a town to her and not a city. It was nice but was older in design; three floor building, with two condos per floor. One on the eastern side of the building and one on the western. Her condo was on the ground floor thankfully. And the moving company had already organized the condo to her specifications. She would go through the boxes later. Right now she needed a shower and a quick change. Her clothing was horribly wrinkled and she smelled of airports and their various scents.
A quick shower and change of clothes later Arti was ready to go check out the school. She already figured the day was a loss. But she could at least get the basic information and location of her classes. She’d be more concerned about what she had missed tomorrow. Right now all she wanted was basics. With that in mind Arti was back in her car and on her way to the school. The drive wasn’t very long at all and it was quite nice, if damp. She imagined that summer here was probably just perfect. At least weather wise.
She parked her car outside of the admissions building and went inside. Where she looked for a secretary or receptionist of some sort. “Hello, my name is Chloi Lacselles and I’m afraid that I’m rather late. I was wondering if you have a map of the campus or could show me to someone who could point me in the right direction.” She said, her tone polite and gentle. Her accent was undeniable, but Americans seemed to enjoy British accents so she didn’t particularly care if she sounded American or not. The woman looked up at her and gave her a packet with her name on it and there was a map… ‘Horrible. This thing isn’t going to suffice.” she thought before taking the woman directions to the Health building for a physical. The woman didn’t elaborate any further even after Arti asked, which was incredibly rude of her.
Arti practically stalked over to the Health building using the horrible little map. Her black stilettos clicking against the pavement, showing the beat of her annoyance. The place seemed busy enough. Enough clubs, she stopped by the Fencing, Dance Club, Photography Club, Art / Art Studies, International Studies, Horticulture, and Cooking booths signing up for things she knew one of them or all of them would enjoy. Before getting some better directions to the Health building. Once there she gave her name and was immediately taken back into an examination room. She was glad that at least reception here was quick. She didn’t mind waiting in the room. And when a doctor came she would be more than happy to ask them why the felt the need for physicals on campus. She was after all perfectly healthy.
Well as healthy as one could be with three personalities but very few people actually knew about that. The orderly seemed nice enough, but the second she saw needles she shoved the woman away from her. “I DEMAND to know what kind of physical this is. I have never in my LIFE had anyone require a blood draw in any of the physicals I have had. Now I want explanations and I want them right now.” She said her tone highly imperious and outraged. The orderly tried to give her some pathetic line about how it was all normal procedure and Arti turned to look at her as she came close with the needle. “Come one step closer and I will sue you and this school for everything it is worth. Make yourself useful and go fetch the primary physician here.” The woman seemed to get the message and went for the doctor. Who came quickly with a couple of male orderlies.
Arti leveled her gaze on all of them and spoke quietly. “I want to know why you people find blood draws necessary. Once that question is answered to my satisfaction I will decide then whether you will be doing a blood draw. And know now if you so much as try to hold me down to make this happen I will have all of you for every last penny in your banks accounts.” The physician seemed less that amused by her words but answered her questions nonetheless. Arti figured now would be the time for diplomacy and allowed him to take a couple vials of her blood. Figuring she would find a way into their records later to find out why they needed the blood. Before leaving the building. She was walking back to her car, or at least she thought she was when she ended up just inside the main gates.
Lord this place was driving her crazy. In fact it was driving Laci nuts, and she hated needles. Which probably explained Arti’s sudden desire for a f**. She pulled the pack out of her purse and swore under her breath when she realized she didn’t have a lighter. She only smoked when it was a truly awful day. And the past few hours had been that indeed. Arti looked around for anyone who might smoke and noticed a woman and a security guard. Well with any luck one of them would have a bloody lighter. She made her way towards the woman first. Noting things about her. ‘Middle Eastern, beautiful, sense of dignity and power. Looks bored.’ Mentally shrugging her shoulders Arti made her way closer and stepped next to her. “Pardon me miss but you wouldn’t happen to have a lighter or even a match? Apparently I left my lighter at home and I’m in desperate need for a cigarette.”
Impossible Time
Impossible Time
Impossible Time
It wasn’t too late, and thankfully the rain had let up. But she was rather busy. Cooking, well technically it was baking. Chloi sighed as she rinsed off the last sudsy bowl. It was probably luck that Arti had run into that lady earlier. It gave them all something to do…well it gave her and Arti something to do. Laci was grounded for a lack of better word. Chloi looked at the time left on the Portuguese chicken and mussels she had baking in the oven. Fifteen minutes, just long enough for her to go get changed and ready to go.
She hadn’t fully unpacked, hadn’t even started really; but she knew exactly what she wanted to wear and what boxes those items were in. Which was exceptionally handy, as she had very little time to make herself presentable. She shoved open the door to her room and tripped over one of the smaller boxes a few inches past the door. “SHITE! Ow…ow…bloody…who put that there?!” She knew there was no one to answer her, but she didn’t care. After all there were two other perfectly good people she got to talk to and live with. After all they were in her mind. There was no avoiding them.
As it was Laci was sniggering and Arti was chastising her on minding her surroundings. Chloi mentally shrugged and made her way to two big boxes on the floor next to her bed. There was a dagger on the bedside table and she used that to open the boxes. She knew she had her Kukri in another box somewhere. That one was her favourite. But it wasn’t all that practical. Once the boxes were open she counted the clothes until she got to the specific blouse and trousers she wanted. She opened another box and pulled out a pair of black flats with a blue paisley ribbon accent. It complimented the shirt she had on, and they were completely comfortable. Arti had been wearing heels all day so her feet were more than happy with the change.
By the time she had finished getting dressed and retouching her make up the timer was going off. She grabbed a paper bag and placed some dishtowels in it before placing the dish in the bag. She didn’t want to potentially burn herself on the way to the dinner party. Chloi grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and put it in the bag as well. As a thank you gift for Ka’eo. She plugged the address Ka’eo had given her and grinned. It was close enough for her to walk to. And now that it wasn’t raining anymore, the walk would be a good way to get a sense of the area. Chloi grabbed her clutch purse, her Nikon F6, keys, and left the condo, locking up behind herself. Even if the complex was nice and high end and security was passable she didn’t feel like leaving her condo open.
The walk over was peaceful, but she didn’t really stop to take in the sights. She was running a wee bit late; it just seemed to be the day for tardiness. And she knew that her dish was best served hot instead of warm. It wasn’t a very long walk five maybe ten minutes at the most. And when she knocked on the door there was no wait. She smiled as Ka’eo opened the door. “Hi! Sorry I’m a little late. Thank you once again for inviting me!” She moved inside and noticed where everyone else had set their food. There was quite a spread. Someone had made an entire dinner. There was enough food there to feed half the school! Okay maybe like forty people, but still!
“Wow, that’s a lot of food! Oh! I almost forgot this is for you.” Chloi said, handing the bottle of wine to Ka’eo. There were several other people there already, and she would get around to them at some point. But right now she wanted to put her dish out, so others could eat it. There needed to be a balance between the savory and the sweets. Which she got right along with helping with. She did have such an awful sweet tooth.
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She had fun, honestly she had. She hadn’t chatted with anyone. Not really. But mainly because she was still sussing out the situation. She had taken plenty of pictures, a third of the newest roll. She was sure she had captured the feeling of friendship and a good time. But she had excused herself after about an hour. She felt exhausted and only because right now in England she’d probably be on her way to bed right now. Jet lag and time zones did suck. She had said goodbye to Ka’eo, thanking her for a great evening and company. With a promise to text her later.
Chloi did feel a bit bad about leaving so early but she could feel the edges of exhaustion coming on and wanted to get to the condo before it became a problem. She decided to cut through the school, mainly because she wanted a sense of what it was like. Arti had done an okay job, but her indignation and anger hadn’t given either of them a very good grasp of the layout. Chloi uncapped the lens of her camera and took some random shots as she walked around. Mostly of the architecture and of the landscape but she got lucky. There was a group of guys hanging around the parking lot, enjoying themselves being loud. And in general acting their age.
Chloi grinned and took some long-range shots. Taking a few pictures of them in their more natural state before making her way towards them. “Hello! How are you gentlemen doing?” She asked, making sure her voice was loud enough to carry and be heard over their loud voices. It worked because there was a slight pause before a blond man turned around. Chloi smiled, glad that she wouldn’t actually have to yell; and to show she was of a friendly sort. "Oh, why hello there beautiful woman." Before she could even grin another man from the group spoke up. "Shut up Holden, she doesn't want to talk to you." Chloi couldn’t help but grin, it was obvious that these guys were friends. Another one of the guys started to laughed and patted the one not named Holden on the shoulder.
"We're doing well. About to leave campus for a bit of dinner. Yourself?"
Chloi smiled, she shrugged. “Pretty good, just came from a dinner party. I’m a bit knackered, time changes and all. If you don’t mind me asking what part of Britain are you from?” She was glad that she wasn’t the only foreign student around. Well not that Great Britain was really foreign but, for Americans it was.
Impossible Time
He was lost, somewhere. No he knew where he was. Maybe that was why he didn’t want to focus on anything. Three days. They had been here three days. And he, he still wasn’t able to cope. Someone or more likely something had dragged him to a room. He…He didn’t feel as if he had been physically hurt. The hurt was more in his soul. He hadn’t felt like this since his daughter had died. He was still in that damn hospital. He barely remembered the dinner three days previous. Let alone what had happened over the last three days. If he had eaten, if he had done anything than stare at a wall…or the floor. He was getting quite acquainted with the floor too.
He felt like he was going crazy, but that was better than what he felt when he thought of Cadence. Ah, oh god, just thinking his name. It hurt. God it hurt so bad. He couldn’t think about Cadence. Not if he wanted to stay sane. Well sane enough to kill the people responsible. And that was what he wanted. But every time he started to pull himself out of his self imposed mental stupor it hurt. He was reminded over and over that Cadence was dead. Don’t think about it. You can’t think about it. It hurts if you think about it. God. I just want him back. Please. Please? PLEASE?!!! He knew it was a lost cause. Cadence was gone, he had failed him. He had failed Cadence for the very last time and this time was the one time it had truly counted.
He hadn’t seen Cadence’s body; perhaps at this point it was for the best. The monsters that live here clearly didn’t have any problem with leaving corpses lying around. He didn’t want his last visual memory of Cadence to be his rotting corpse. But he wished that someone had taken care of Cadence’s body. At least allowed someone else from the force to come in and remove his body. The likelihood of that was the same as him escaping this place alive. He doubted that they were going to let them stay human. What was it that, that crazy girl had said? Aedan had to wrack his brain to remember it. The dinner felt so long ago, like it had happened years ago and to a different person. She had said something about knowing about them. Which meant that they wanted them here for a reason.
They had a plan, and Aedan wanted no part of it. He wouldn’t give the monsters a chance to turn him into whatever they were or one of the monstrosities they had wandering around. He’d kill himself first. He would have already if he knew that he had been stripped of his weapons. He had nothing left but his hands, and there wasn’t anything in the room he could use to kill himself. And choking yourself was hard to do. Eventually the body’s desire to breathe won out. Then again…how was he to say that they hadn’t already? Maybe what kept those children alive had been in the food? Or in the drinks…Oh god. Had he eaten anything over the past three days? He didn’t remember much. He hated to admit it to himself but he had retreated into his mind. He just…he couldn’t…still can’t cope with the loss of Cadence. He didn’t feel very hungry…god, so someone must have fed him.
He had to make a plan. Any sort of plan. Whether it was how he could get something to kill himself with or how to survive this ******** building so he could kill those responsible for Cadence’s death. The one they called their God was the one who actually killed Cadence. But Aedan blamed Simon, one of his superior officers for Cad’s death as well. That betrayal didn’t bother him as much as the fact the b*****d had clearly played on people’s fears and wants. That’s why Cad joined in the first place. Aedan, well he just followed in Cad’s footsteps. And clearly, Simon wasn’t the Simon he had known. The psychotic girl who killed Anna…she had called him André. Clearly Simon Frost didn’t exist.
So Simon…or André would have to die.
He felt like he was going crazy, but that was better than what he felt when he thought of Cadence. Ah, oh god, just thinking his name. It hurt. God it hurt so bad. He couldn’t think about Cadence. Not if he wanted to stay sane. Well sane enough to kill the people responsible. And that was what he wanted. But every time he started to pull himself out of his self imposed mental stupor it hurt. He was reminded over and over that Cadence was dead. Don’t think about it. You can’t think about it. It hurts if you think about it. God. I just want him back. Please. Please? PLEASE?!!! He knew it was a lost cause. Cadence was gone, he had failed him. He had failed Cadence for the very last time and this time was the one time it had truly counted.
He hadn’t seen Cadence’s body; perhaps at this point it was for the best. The monsters that live here clearly didn’t have any problem with leaving corpses lying around. He didn’t want his last visual memory of Cadence to be his rotting corpse. But he wished that someone had taken care of Cadence’s body. At least allowed someone else from the force to come in and remove his body. The likelihood of that was the same as him escaping this place alive. He doubted that they were going to let them stay human. What was it that, that crazy girl had said? Aedan had to wrack his brain to remember it. The dinner felt so long ago, like it had happened years ago and to a different person. She had said something about knowing about them. Which meant that they wanted them here for a reason.
They had a plan, and Aedan wanted no part of it. He wouldn’t give the monsters a chance to turn him into whatever they were or one of the monstrosities they had wandering around. He’d kill himself first. He would have already if he knew that he had been stripped of his weapons. He had nothing left but his hands, and there wasn’t anything in the room he could use to kill himself. And choking yourself was hard to do. Eventually the body’s desire to breathe won out. Then again…how was he to say that they hadn’t already? Maybe what kept those children alive had been in the food? Or in the drinks…Oh god. Had he eaten anything over the past three days? He didn’t remember much. He hated to admit it to himself but he had retreated into his mind. He just…he couldn’t…still can’t cope with the loss of Cadence. He didn’t feel very hungry…god, so someone must have fed him.
He had to make a plan. Any sort of plan. Whether it was how he could get something to kill himself with or how to survive this ******** building so he could kill those responsible for Cadence’s death. The one they called their God was the one who actually killed Cadence. But Aedan blamed Simon, one of his superior officers for Cad’s death as well. That betrayal didn’t bother him as much as the fact the b*****d had clearly played on people’s fears and wants. That’s why Cad joined in the first place. Aedan, well he just followed in Cad’s footsteps. And clearly, Simon wasn’t the Simon he had known. The psychotic girl who killed Anna…she had called him André. Clearly Simon Frost didn’t exist.
So Simon…or André would have to die.
Impossible Time
Despite how much Smee wanted to feel happy that Lemon was miserable she just couldn’t. It was plain as day that the poor sod was really not doing okay. And that made Smee want to swear. After the stunt he pulled that morning she should have been happy that he was miserable, she should be letting him stew in that misery. However, the part of her that was always there; offering a shoulder for someone to complain or cry on was softening towards the b*****d. So whatever she was expecting for him to say, what came out of his mouth was not what she was expecting at all. “I proposed to Elle, Daphne.” This time Smee did swear, although under her breath. No wonder he was so freaking miserable.
Smee was glad that they were the only ones in the shuttle. If any of the others from The Jolly Roger were here this would not have been a good thing. Finding out that Lemon was in a relationship with their Captain and King would cause too much trouble for everyone. Let alone that the news of a failed proposal would do. They were so close to losing control of the ship. Smee could feel it, hell she practically felt it. But for anyone planning a coup or mutiny, they could take Lemon’s despondent reaction in a manner to finally take control. Her mind was whirling, so she barely noticed Lemon’s out of character actions and behavior. She wasn’t shaken from her thoughts when the shuttle landed at the dock, but was shaken from them when Lemon stood and spoke to her. “Sorry about earlier. Do you need help in? You are hurt.”
She cast a glance at Lemon and shook her head. “No, I’m fine. But you…You could probably use some help.” She said moving over to Lemon, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulder. She didn’t know how much he had, had to drink. But she knew she didn’t want him wandering back towards the ship by his lonesome. “I got here just fine, Daphne. You’re hurt.” Smee wanted to sigh; she really did hate being called by her first name. But considering Lemon was at the least tipsy and at the worst completely tossed off his arse she had no desire to get into the name argument with him yet again. “Yeah I know. I got this way and I’ll be fine. Lets get back to the ship though.”
It was going pretty good, she had to say herself. So far they had managed to avoid anyone else who was on The Jolly Roger. She even managed to not hit Lemon when he poked at the bruises forming under her skin. Apparently alcohol worked the same on him as everyone else. He got somewhat stupider. “Why would you want to be hurt?” Smee sighed as Lemon moved away from her and towards the ship. “It comes with fighting. No one ever comes away uninjured from a fight. You know that.” She said following beside him.
He didn’t say anything but they continued into the ship. Smee was glad he wasn’t moving too fast, as it was her left hip was really bugging her. She’d get it checked out later. She did like the reminder of the fights. Well everything but the bruises. She still hated those. But she’d get them taken care of after she made sure Lemon was going to be okay. And by okay she meant situated in his quarter’s with instructions left with Rebecca to check in on him. “So I take it Elle didn’t say yes to your proposal.” Lemon gave a humorless laugh and looked at her. “Come on, Daphne, did you expect her to say yes?” Smee shrugged her shoulders and looked at him. “It’s Elle. Certain behaviors are set with her, but things that come at her from left field often surprise her and the rest of us with different and new reactions.”
Smee frowned when she realized where they were, and when Lemon placed a hand at the small of her back to lead her in she spun away from him. Only to wince as the action tweaked her injured hip some more. “Oh no. I’m good. It’s mostly superficial. Besides I’m more concerned about you and your break from your norm.” She had no intention of getting treated in the infirmary just yet. And honestly she was concerned about how Lemon was doing. After all his position on the ship and with Elle was somewhat critical. Smee doubted that the rejection of his proposal would cause him to turn on Elle, but she wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to go do anything incredibly stupid. Lemon shot her something resembling his normal sneer, only not nearly as strong.
“Spare me your psychoanalytical bullshit today, Daphne.” Smee couldn’t help it she snorted. “Why? I'm like this regardless of what's going on. I'd say get some food on that stomach but you got that slice of cake. So lets just get you to your room and situated.” She said before starting down the hallway in the direction of Lemon’s quarters. “I’m fine, Daphne.” Smee looked at him and almost gave in to shake her head at him. “Clearly you are not. A) We’re practically having a polite conversation B) you are under the influence of alcohol AND C) you ate that cake with your hands.”
All of this was out of what Lemon had developed to be his normal. And for a man who had to be in control of as much of his life and things in his life drinking alcohol was a major break from normal. “I didn’t have a fork.” Also the fact that he broke his practically perfect manners to eat that cake with his hands was an indication to her that he had, had enough alcohol to make that action okay to him. Never a good sign, let alone for him. This time she did sigh. “Normally you would have waited until you did. Hence, You are not fine. I'm a woman I know what "fine" means.” Smee wasn’t too surprised when Lemon tried to get her to go towards the infirmary again. After all the man did have a chivalrous streak…when it suited him.
This time though she grabbed his hands. “Honestly, Lemon, I am fine. You on the other hand have just hand a huge emotional upheaval. So how about we go to your room and you tell me about it?” “I don’t need to tell you anything, Daphne.” Smee shrugged and started towards his quarters again. This time not letting go of his hands. Who knew with how he was acting he might go all caveman on her and throw her over his shoulder before dumping her in the infirmary. “Considering we all have to work together, yes in some manner you do. If this has the potential to affect your ability to do your job properly then I need to know to work with it.” The fact that Lemon rolled his eyes in response shocked Smee. She had never seen the man roll his eyes before. Today was a day of many firsts though. And it wasn’t even over yet. “I’m the best damn officer you have ever met.”
Smee nodded, it was true he was one of the best officers she had ever met. “That’s true, but as far as I know you never had romantic relations with your superior officers that led to a marriage proposal and subsequent rejection by that superior officer. And despite wanting to break your neck earlier and our constant bickering I do actually like you. When you aren't being a giant arse.” She glanced at him when she heard him laugh. “I’m the arse?” Smee looked at him like he was a child. A very slow and some what dimwitted child. “We've already established this before Lemon. When I'm not making remarks about your body to aggravate you, you still seem to live to aggravate me.” Smee looked at him and back to the corridor they were almost to his quarters.
“I don’t try to, trust me.” Smee glanced at him as they arrived at his door. “It's just our dynamic. It's how we interact the best apparently. If you want to talk about you and Elle I'll be a silent pair of ears promise. After all who knows her best than the two of us. I don't think Peter counts; he stopped counting ages ago.” She was surprised however when Lemon leaned in towards the door, trapping her between the door and him. Perhaps he didn’t like being reminded that Peter still existed. “Sorry was that a button? Honestly I'm not trying to aggravate you right now. Anyway you should probably get some rest. Always helps me when I'm out of sorts. If I could sleep that is...”
And despite how many out of character things Smee had witnessed from Lemon today there was nothing that prepared her for what happened next. One minute they’re having a somewhat polite conversation, not entirely insulting each other. And the next Lemon was kissing her. OH MY GOD! It wasn’t what she expected a kiss from Lemon would have been like. From what Elle had told her, their encounters were violent. This was gentle. And that quickly the shock passed. “Lemon! What are you doing?!” Smee pulled back as far as she could, not that; there was a lot of room for her to do so. The few scant inches between them would in no way impede any forward motion on Lemon’s part. Which is exactly what he did by pulling her close to him again. “Would you shut up for once?”
Okay so maybe the shock wasn’t entirely gone. Because she knew even as hurt as she was she could have broken free from him. She could have done many different things that would have led to her not being in his arms. Instead all she could do was stare at him. “This doesn't seem to be the wisest course of action. I mean come on; we barely tolerate each other. Okay well we tolerate each other just fine. But you like Elle. And I'm most certainly NOT her.” This apparently was not what he wanted to hear from her because he was kissing her again. “I know.” He said, barely pulling back to do so before kissing her again. And then the door was open and he was gently forcing her past it still kissing her.
✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧
The door to Lemon’s quarters slid open and Smee slipped out as quietly as possible. This time she made her way to the Infirmary. Her bruises were driving her crazy, and her hip wasn’t bothering her so maybe she just had a minor strain in a muscle tendon…But she wanted to get those bruises taken care of. She entered the infirmary, not fighting it this time. She had handled most of her concerns with Lemon. So now it was time to handle the concerns of her body. She made her way over to one of the bots and plugged in the specifics she wanted. She only wanted the bruises taken care of. The cuts, scrapes, and everything else could stay. She wanted those to last for a day or two before getting those treated. As soon as the last bruise was gone, she was out of the infirmary and on her way back to her quarters. She needed a change of clothing that wasn’t in shreds. Well her pants were fine, thank god for minor miracles. But her shirt was beyond repair.
Once she was fully cleaned up and in a clean pair of clothing she made her way to Elle’s quarters, she brought some paper work with her. She entered without knocking, but sat down not too far from the door to work there. She did this occasionally so hopefully Elle wouldn’t be too upset. Smee didn’t think she could handle two slaps from her in one day.
Besides she had some things to think about as well.
Impossible Time
Today was a roller coaster for sure. She wasn’t even supposed to be out and about having any sort of fun. But she could always be the one who would go out drink and get into trouble. Which is why when Chloi was leaving that restaurant/bar The Buzz with Collin and his crew she had still be under lock down. But the second, literally right down to the second Collin mentioned that he and his boys were going to steal alcohol... Oh had Chloi and Arti loosened the reigns so to speak. They knew trouble making was her specialty. Hell she aced breaking and entering ages ago. Laci pushed the keys back towards Collin. “Love you are talking my language.” She said, looking at all of them. If they thought she couldn’t hang with the boys she’d bloody well show them.
She looked at Collin before grinning. “And you boys are in luck. I’m going to need to shake everyone’s hands now. If I can see your futures then I should be able to piece together a timeline. And a countdown.” Laci said, looking at them. If they were smart enough they’d realize how ******** useful that would be to them. And thank the blessed virgin they did have brains. They all shrugged in the almost universal whatever motion. “Besides I haven’t met all of you yet, so now works well enough yeah?” She said looking at Collin, a look of joking reproach on her face.
“Everyone but Thomas is here. Sent him to keep an eye on the back.” Collin said, Laci shrugged. There was a timeline so she wasn’t going to worry over one man. Now if things looked like they were going to turn to shite then she’d regret it. She looked at the guys expectantly until someone moved towards her. “Name is Chance.” Laci grasped his hand and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “Chloi. Pleasure to meet you Chance.” His more immediate future flashed through her mind with what would be a dizzying speed for most people. But it she was used to it. She continued with the introductions. Having finally met Chance, Scott, Nicholas, Holden, Liam, William, and Kain; Laci gave herself a moment to go through all the information she just gained.
Laci smiled at them. “So good news first, so far it looks like everything is going to go according to plan. Bad news is we have about a six to seven minute window from the time William there makes the car go Boom. Oh and whatever you lot do, don’t think of me as a part of this venture. The second that happens everything I’ve just learned will be wiped.” She said practically bouncing up and down, but not quite succeeding. “So someone give me a headset and let me go back inside, seeing as that’s where you…” She pointed to Collin. …Saw me. And I’ll just be everyone’s handy dandy clock yeah.” Collin shrugged before pulling out a headset and handing it to her. “Works for me.” Laci shrugged before looking at Nicholas. “Oh and Nicholas dear, please don’t forget to hand me a set of keys so we can lock up after almost all the patrons are out.” She said before fitting the headset into place and walking back towards the bar with a Taa and a wave.
Once Laci was inside she took a spot up at the bar that had a good line of sight; knowing thanks to what she saw of Collin’s future that, she was in the right damn spot. She ordered another drink and pretended that Collin had left her stranded for time with the boys. Garnering some sympathy from the Bartender and generally insuring there was no one sitting near her. Laci made it look like she was a lightweight when she “fell” off of her stool and onto the ground. Causing the bartenders to rush around the bar to check on her. A gently whispered “Go time boys.”, was the cue for Scott, Nicholas, & Thomas to break in. Within thirty seconds Nicholas was by her side and passing a key to her before disappearing again. Laci mentally counted down until it was time for the car to go boom, and when it did she gave a shrill scream.
“OH MY GOD! DID YOU SEE THAT?! WHAT THE ********] She shouted, drawing more attention to the explosion. A couple of more kind minded patrons immediately dashed for the door, shouts of finding out what happened coming from them before Laci turned to look at everyone else. “Oh my gosh! They’re right that was a parking lot! What if someone was injured!” This got most of the people to leave. Either from concern or because they had a fascination with death. Who cared? She was one of the last ones to leave. The few that were left inside were far too drunk. She locked the doors behind her and stood near them just incase people started to come back to the bar. She made sure to wobble a bit looking properly tipsy at the least.
She kept up the countdown, as loud as she dared surrounded by a smallish crowd. Seemed this lot were the helpful sort. She unlocked the doors slyly when people started coming back towards the bar, sirens being heard in the distance. She gave a muttered “You lot had better be clear” Before leaving the key on the floor and gathering her stuff and slipping out. As soon as she was out of eyesight of the bar she broke into a mild jog to meet up with Collin and the guys. When she saw them a wide happy smile broke across her face. “Tell me we got the goods loves.” Collin tucked an arm around her shoulder and led her to the back of a car before opening the trunk. Three huge cases filled with booze.
“We did, that trick of yours came in handy after all.” Laci grinned and shrugged. A yawn following not too long after. “Well I hate to crash this celebration now but I think that’s the jet lag and the booze telling me time to call it a night.” Laci said, looking at Collin before giving a final gleeful laugh. Everyone seemed to agree because not even two minutes later they were back on the road. Laci gave Collin the directions back to her condo and gave a wave as they drove off. As far as Laci was concerned today had been pretty damn good.
Impossible Time
He was finally coming out of his stupor. The thought of avenging Cadence was the stone in the foundation. But he still didn’t have a plan of attack. The bag of weapons was still on the first floor, near the entrance. He didn’t have a weapon on him but his hands. Or rather his body was a weapon. And he didn’t quite know where exactly in this madhouse he was. Aedan stood up and was alternately relived and horrified that he didn’t collapse. Clearly he had been fed. Otherwise by now he would have been woozy at the very least. He knew what happened when he didn’t eat for two or more days in a row.
So at least the monsters in this hellhole wanted them as healthy as possible. Not that, that particular thought gave him any sort of comfort. He ran through what had happened on that first day. After Cadence had died…He winced, admitting it to himself still hurt. But there was nothing he could do for Cadence now. He just hoped that Cadence was in Heaven with his father now. The thought that Cadence wouldn’t be alone in death was almost enough to comfort him. But not enough. He had run into that girl, one who he knew now was not one of the people abducted. Something even then had struck him as wrong. But he had been so focused on finding Cadence…he had ignored it. He wouldn’t be ignoring his instincts in this hell anymore.
So the girl…Marrison…She was one of the monsters here. She clearly wasn’t stable if her actions at the “dinner” were anything to go by. But she also wanted to leave…there was that. He…he didn’t know how he felt towards trying to kill her so he would leave her be for now. Now the younger girl…The one who called herself Papi. She would die. She clearly was completely insane. And she had killed Anna. Aedan may not have gotten along with Anna, but her family deserved some retribution as well. So yes, the one called Papi would die as well.
And he had every intention of killing Simon as well. The b*****d was one of them and was going to die. He was going to die for getting them to come on this ******** mission, for the events leading up to Cadence’s death. Aedan added the God of these monsters to his list of things to kill. Even having never met him. He would recognize the b*****d’s voice. He didn’t know if Sara was alive or dead, he hoped she was alive. But then again, she wasn’t the most physically strong of the two of them. And Aedan seriously doubted her ability to actually kill anything if her life depended on it. Until he saw she was alive he was going to count her as dead.
And if he was the sole survivor…well he’d find a way to kill himself. There was no way any of this could go in a report, he’d probably be locked away and considered certifiably insane. There would be no way for him to integrate himself back into society after this. He made his way across the room to the door and pressed his ear against it. He couldn’t hear anything on the other side, but that didn’t mean jack s**t. He tried the doorknob and he was genuinely surprised when it turned to open beneath his palm. He had expected the monsters to lock them into the rooms, ensuring they couldn’t escape. Aedan opened the door slowly and peeked through the crack. He couldn’t see anything out there. Nothing like what had been done to the children, no one. The hallway was empty.
Aedan slipped out as quietly as he could and shut the door just as silently. He wasn’t about to tip anything off to the fact he was on the move. He checked the doors that were open or cracked for anything or anyone behind them, but didn’t fully clear the rooms. He moved as silently as possible, hoping there weren’t any creaking floorboards to give his presence away to anything wandering the halls. He made his way down the hallway and to the steps without incident. But he knew half the battle was getting back to the ground floor and the entry. Which meant he’d have to re-trace his steps from the dinning room all the way down to the entry.
He didn’t even know if his bag of weapons was still there or not. But he prayed they were. Aedan paused at the top of the steps and inhaled deeply through his nose. Scents were important, especially if you didn’t know where you were. And it was something useful his b*****d of a father had taught him on their “bonding” trips. There was a faint scent of some sort of baked good, like bread coming from …he sniffed again and turned to look down another hallway. From the left. The scent was coming from the left. Aedan made his way down the hallway, pausing every few feet to sniff the air and make sure he was going in the right direction, or to pause because he thought he had heard movement.
Eventually he was close to the origin of the scent and he stopped dead in his tracks. Not even twenty feet from him was Simon…and curled into his side was the girl Marrison. She looked as if she was crying, maybe. Or maybe she was laughing. He didn’t particularly care. All that registered was the fact that there was the b*****d that led them to this. The one who indirectly was responsible for Cadence’s death. Before he didn’t even know what he was doing he was running that twenty feet with rage pouring through his veins. He heard someone or something roaring, but he didn’t realize that noise was coming from himself. He collided with Simon, the force sending them both to the ground. He wrapped his hands around Simon’s throat and began to squeeze, he had no intention of stopping until the b*****d no longer had a pulse.
So at least the monsters in this hellhole wanted them as healthy as possible. Not that, that particular thought gave him any sort of comfort. He ran through what had happened on that first day. After Cadence had died…He winced, admitting it to himself still hurt. But there was nothing he could do for Cadence now. He just hoped that Cadence was in Heaven with his father now. The thought that Cadence wouldn’t be alone in death was almost enough to comfort him. But not enough. He had run into that girl, one who he knew now was not one of the people abducted. Something even then had struck him as wrong. But he had been so focused on finding Cadence…he had ignored it. He wouldn’t be ignoring his instincts in this hell anymore.
So the girl…Marrison…She was one of the monsters here. She clearly wasn’t stable if her actions at the “dinner” were anything to go by. But she also wanted to leave…there was that. He…he didn’t know how he felt towards trying to kill her so he would leave her be for now. Now the younger girl…The one who called herself Papi. She would die. She clearly was completely insane. And she had killed Anna. Aedan may not have gotten along with Anna, but her family deserved some retribution as well. So yes, the one called Papi would die as well.
And he had every intention of killing Simon as well. The b*****d was one of them and was going to die. He was going to die for getting them to come on this ******** mission, for the events leading up to Cadence’s death. Aedan added the God of these monsters to his list of things to kill. Even having never met him. He would recognize the b*****d’s voice. He didn’t know if Sara was alive or dead, he hoped she was alive. But then again, she wasn’t the most physically strong of the two of them. And Aedan seriously doubted her ability to actually kill anything if her life depended on it. Until he saw she was alive he was going to count her as dead.
And if he was the sole survivor…well he’d find a way to kill himself. There was no way any of this could go in a report, he’d probably be locked away and considered certifiably insane. There would be no way for him to integrate himself back into society after this. He made his way across the room to the door and pressed his ear against it. He couldn’t hear anything on the other side, but that didn’t mean jack s**t. He tried the doorknob and he was genuinely surprised when it turned to open beneath his palm. He had expected the monsters to lock them into the rooms, ensuring they couldn’t escape. Aedan opened the door slowly and peeked through the crack. He couldn’t see anything out there. Nothing like what had been done to the children, no one. The hallway was empty.
Aedan slipped out as quietly as he could and shut the door just as silently. He wasn’t about to tip anything off to the fact he was on the move. He checked the doors that were open or cracked for anything or anyone behind them, but didn’t fully clear the rooms. He moved as silently as possible, hoping there weren’t any creaking floorboards to give his presence away to anything wandering the halls. He made his way down the hallway and to the steps without incident. But he knew half the battle was getting back to the ground floor and the entry. Which meant he’d have to re-trace his steps from the dinning room all the way down to the entry.
He didn’t even know if his bag of weapons was still there or not. But he prayed they were. Aedan paused at the top of the steps and inhaled deeply through his nose. Scents were important, especially if you didn’t know where you were. And it was something useful his b*****d of a father had taught him on their “bonding” trips. There was a faint scent of some sort of baked good, like bread coming from …he sniffed again and turned to look down another hallway. From the left. The scent was coming from the left. Aedan made his way down the hallway, pausing every few feet to sniff the air and make sure he was going in the right direction, or to pause because he thought he had heard movement.
Eventually he was close to the origin of the scent and he stopped dead in his tracks. Not even twenty feet from him was Simon…and curled into his side was the girl Marrison. She looked as if she was crying, maybe. Or maybe she was laughing. He didn’t particularly care. All that registered was the fact that there was the b*****d that led them to this. The one who indirectly was responsible for Cadence’s death. Before he didn’t even know what he was doing he was running that twenty feet with rage pouring through his veins. He heard someone or something roaring, but he didn’t realize that noise was coming from himself. He collided with Simon, the force sending them both to the ground. He wrapped his hands around Simon’s throat and began to squeeze, he had no intention of stopping until the b*****d no longer had a pulse.
Impossible Time
His morning had passed rather uneventfully after he had parted ways from Pearl. She had an actual job to do after all, and he couldn’t keep her from it because he was bored. He had washed all the ties he had pilfered from Teddy and returned them to his quarters without getting caught (or so he hoped so). He had gotten a little snack to eat before leaving the ship. He was happy to be somewhere that paraded itself as civilization. Not his planet of choice, but at least it had some of the basics. He headed towards the nearest banking center and did a video conference with one of his personal bankers back on his home planet. He gave them the account numbers on some stuff he had helped to patent and informed him that the royalties should be pouring in soon. Before heading back onto the streets.
He wandered aimlessly, wandering into and out of shops that interested him, or looked mildly interesting. He didn’t buy anything; he didn’t need anything else to add to the cluttered mess that was often his quarters. He was on his way back to the ship when he heard someone yelling his name. He turned around, confused mainly because he didn’t know who was calling his name. The voice was familiar, but it couldn’t have been who he thought it was. Let alone if he was the John in question. But then he spotted her. Riley. His sister. She was causing a scene, jumping up and down wildly waving her arms about. He couldn’t help but smile, a truly happy smile.
He missed his sister, and he was glad to see that she was okay. He worried, endlessly for her. He knew she did the same for him, but she was with war criminals. People who were definitely not in the King’s favor. John was expecting it when Riley ran to him, his didn’t pause and used her momentum to lift her up and swing her around in a circle. Cradling her head to his shoulder. Sometimes it was hard to believe they were siblings. They resembled either their mother or father so strongly, that it was almost impossible to tell that they were siblings. He kept a hold of her even after he had finished swinging her around. The height difference was always amusing to him, her toes dangled off the ground by a few inches.
Eventually he sat her down only to be bombarded with her statements and questions. He listened to them half heartedly, just because he knew she would have done that if he had only been spending the night at a classmate’s house. While she was going on John took note of her appearance. Riley looked like she had lost a bit of weight, and there were tiny lines at the corners of her mouth. Suggesting she had been stressed. Plus there was no way she had money to spare. And he did. So when she started towards a shabby looking soup stall he took control of their direction and headed further up the street.
“Riley, slow down! Come on, I got this!” He said as he dragged her to a decent looking café. He wasn’t smiling anymore, but his eyes were smiling. He was so happy to see her. “What do you want? My treat.” He said stopping just outside the front doors. “No, no, no. John, I can't make you pay. “ She said looking shocked by the prospect of him treating her. Of anyone treating her. John hated that; he hated the thought that the people she sided with didn’t treat her well.
He grabbed her hands and looked at her. “Please Riley? My treat. You're always the one treating me! This can be my turn. So what do you want?” He said, excited at the prospect of treating his sister to something she enjoyed. If she didn’t want something the café offered he’d find a place that did offer what she wanted. “...I don't know, John. You're my little brother so I should be taking care of you.” John looked at her and turned on his best pleading look. “Pleeeaaaassseeee Riley? Besides...I have more money than you. I can afford to splurge on my sister.”
John knew he had won when Riley looked at him. “...I suppose. Okay, just this once.” He couldn’t help it he practically beamed. He grabbed her into a bear hug before opening the door and ushering her in. “Thank you...So what do you want? What are you craving?” He asked looking towards the display case then back to Riley. “Ohhhh, I dunno. There are so many good--oh!” He followed her line of sight and noticed the items she was looking at. There was an assortment croissants on one level and a fruit tart on the other. “Anything to drink? Are…are you even thirsty?” He asked turning back to her. “Well, I hadn't had a decent cup of tea since I got on the Neverland...but I don't think I want to risk trying the tea on this planet.”
He laughed lightly, she was probably right about that. “I have to agree with you on that. It looks like they could even ruin coffee here. Water? Or if they have a fruit juice would you like some of that?”
He noticed a quick grin before a small frown appeared on her face. “So long as it's in a packaged container not from this planet. I don't want to risk you getting some bacterial infection when I'm not around. I wouldn't be able to take care of you.” He wanted to sigh. She wouldn’t be able to take care of him so long as she was with Peter and his crew. But he didn’t say anything about that. She knew how he felt about it. “Riley...I'm more concerned about you! If I get sick I've got some of the most advanced bots and medicines on board to make me better...You...you don't have any of that. I think in this case I get to be more concerned.” Riley smiled at him reassuringly. “John, don't worry about me. The ship has got an amazing medic. I think you would like him.” He barely contained a snort. Right. Medic. On that ship? Oh yeah he’d trust that man once the universe ended. “So he must have served in the war. I'm not the only one who worries about you, you know. Mom seems concerned too. And you can't blame her. You did choose to run with the outlaws and war criminals. I'll be right back just going to order.
He heard Riley following behind him. He couldn’t help but frown. His sister was in such a dangerous spot, helping Peter. And he wouldn’t dare to even hope that one of the crew members would keep Riley safe. “You know I had no choice. Michael gave you the same message; only he brought you to the king.” John sighed. Yes he did know it didn’t mean that he had to like it. “I know....I just don't like the idea of you being stuck with them on the wrong side. Let alone how the king would do to you if you and that crew ever got captured.” He said before turning to look at the person behind the counter. “Um... two fruit tarts, one chocolate croissant, a cup of beef soup, and two bottled waters please.” He said watching as they went to grab the items he requested. He mentally calculated the total, plus taxes, and some extra for a tip before placing the money on the counter. “We're not gonna’ get caught. Even if the King managed to find us, I doubt she would do anything rash. She can't possibly be that heartless. After all, Peter is still her brother.” Riley tugged his arm so that he’d turn to face her. “John, I'm fine on the ship. The crew treats me well. I'm more worried about you than of myself. And I have good reason to. Look at your state. Mother would be worried sick.”
John cast a glance down at himself and sighed. He knew he had lost a few pounds, he always did when he was manic. Never stopped to eat food. Not unless he knew he absolutely had to. “I'm fine...I mean you know how I am Riley. I've just been a little manic lately...so I've forgotten to eat a little. I'm eating now. See…” He said pointing to the tray of food the person handed to him. “Besides, I'm fine. I mean there's very few people on the ship who like me. But there's Teddy...he's the navigation's officer and he's nice. And then there's Pearl. She's so cute... She’s the weapon’s expert.” He said heading back to the table they had vacated. Trusting that Riley would follow after him. “Cute, you say?”
John blushed knowing that Riley would think that he had a crush on Pearl. And he might have if someone else hadn’t already taken up his thoughts. “Not...not like that. She's cute like...She doesn't seem to interact with people that much. And like when I hug her or like take her hand she just...she's cute in her reactions...And she's pretty but...I...there's someone I think I like. And it's difficult. What about you? I might not like the fact you're with criminals but anybody sweep you off your feet?” He asked, utterly hating the idea that Riley might have fallen for anyone on that stupid ship. Riley looked at him as she took a seat, a suspicious light in her eyes. John knew she knew he was trying to switch the subject. “Are you keeping something from me, John? But, um, I don't really interact with most of the crew on a day-to-day basis. Except for Timothy; he's the ship's medic. Adorable man, he is...despite his appearance not looking like such. But aside from him the only person I talk to is the captain.”
“No, I mean...it's nothing. Like the person I like is...they're so smart and they seem to like me well enough, but I'm still a kid to them you know. And this Timothy...what's he like? He sweet on you?” He asked as he handed her the plate with the croissant and a tart on it before setting a water bottle down next to her arm. “Oh, I'm sorry, dear.” She said patting his hand. He wanted to smile because he missed such open affection from anyone. But the thought that he had no chance with the person of his affections sucked. “Timothy and I are just friends. He fancies Summer, the ship's mechanic. But I believe he has a sexual relationship with Ami, the pilot.” Riley giggled and John smiled. He missed her laughter and giggles. He really missed her stories. “Truth be told, he's sort of how I picture my son to be like...personality-wise I mean.” John crinkled his nose in displeasure. He really hoped she wasn’t in a relationship with anyone on that ship. None of them deserved her, and he would have no problem hurting them if they get her pregnant. “Sounds almost like a soap opera. Bet things are interesting on the ship.” He said taking a couple swallows of his soup. “Well don't go having kids yet. At least not on that ship. I don't think Mother would approve of that.”
He said, and he knew Riley would know that while he meant Mother he also meant that he wouldn’t approve of it either. He doubted any person on that ship would have any kind of life if the King got to the treasure first.
Riley took a bite of her croissant, and John felt happy that he could give her something she clearly enjoyed. “I don't entirely know. The crew keeps to themselves in the ship often and expect me to do the same. So I'm either in the bunks or in the kitchen out of their way. It's fine with me really. The crew tend to get a little messy so I usually clean after them.” John knew that even if the crew she was with weren’t very messy she would clean up anyway. It was just how she was, but he didn’t like the thought that the crew treated her like she was their maid. “Well do you at least get along with Timothy and Peter? I mean, hopefully you aren't left entirely on your own. We both know now how boring it can be if there's nothing to do. I have to say I probably drive more people crazy on the Roger than I've made friends.” He said, and it was the truth. He was pretty sure most of the advisors and higher up members hated his guts. He seemed to get along well enough with most of them, when he wasn’t playing pranks at least. “Oh, I get along fine with Timothy. I can easily say he's probably my only friend there...save for Ami...but sometimes she can be hard to pinpoint. The captain, on the other hand, well...everyone knows what he's like. He doesn't...” John watched as Riley drew circles on the table, clearly thinking. “...trust anyone. But enough about me. I hope you're not causing too much trouble for the crew on the Roger.”
This time John did laugh. Riley would always hope that he wouldn’t be such a trouble maker. She was constantly doomed to disappointment in that arena. “You know me, how can you say that. I've been an angel. Well if an angel has horns and a forked tail...” He said a grin on his lips, giving him a distinctly sneaky look. Riley giggled again and John felt like he had won some sort of prize. He was going to treasure these moments in this port when he was back in space. “I don't remember one of those angels being in my stories.” She said, John shrugged his shoulders. “I'm not being too disruptive, or destructive. But generally most of the people don't like me. It's not my fault that half of them are complete idiots and a waste of space! Honestly you would think the King would keep more competent people in her employ but noooooo. They're all idiots and I can out perform them in seconds.” Riley gave him a slightly admonishing look; he knew she didn’t always agree with his attitude. But he couldn’t help it. So many of the people and officers on that ship were so rudding useless.
“Oh, John. You need to remember that there aren't that many people like you and I in the verse. Just be careful letting that tongue go off on its own tangent. You won't be of any use finding Michael if you're bleeding profusely on the floor.” John frowned and looked at her. “They could try to beat me. But they would still need me to decrypt the info Michael sends me.” He said, and she knew it was the truth. He might be tall but he was pretty narrow and quick. Very, very quick. “It doesn't hurt to be a little nice John. Mum taught us that.” John looked at her petulantly. “I have! I have given them everything they have asked of me. I have kept my pranks to a minimum; I have not interfered with their "analysts", or their data. I keep to myself mostly, but they all treat me like I'm a toddler who doesn't know anything and I do. And it doesn't help that some idiot keeps mucking up the engines. It's keeping us from getting to Michael and that worries me.”
He said, after that they did some minor chitchat, focusing more on their food. John looked at Riley and sighed before looking past her shoulder to the outside. “No lie I am concerned that we both chose this planet to dock on, so hopefully nothing happens. I've been hearing rumours of mutiny on the Roger. Which is never a good sign.” He said, voicing some of his concerns to his sister. “Mutiny ? John, I'm concerned.” And he could tell, Riley looked really concerned, truly worried about that fact. “I know; hopefully it won't happen before we get to Michael. But with how frequently the engines are sabotaged...”He said, feeling frustrated with the entire thing. All he wanted to do was get to Michael and get back home to his mom. He was tired of flying through space, decoding the information Michael sent him. They sat there for a while longer, talking about their lives on the ship. John really just wanted to drag her along with him back to the Jolly Roger. But knew Riley would hate him for it.
John looked at the watch on his wrist and sighed. He had to be heading back soon. He pulled out his wallet and pushed some money towards Riley. “This is for you. I would prefer if you spent it on yourself. But I know you too well to see you doing that. And don't worry, I'll be fine. I helped a couple of their technician’s patent some stuff so I have some royalties coming in regularly.” He said, and the amount would keep her pretty happy if she didn’t waste it on the crew of that damn ship. John had hoped that she would just take the money, but he should have known better. They argued over it for at least five minutes before John admitted “defeat” and hugged Riley one last time. As he did he slipped the money into one of her pockets. He knew she wouldn’t find it until they were long parted from each other.
He gave her one last squeeze and kissed the top of her head before heading back out into the bustle of the port and towards The Jolly Roger. Having spent time with his sister was nice, but it was also bittersweet. He missed her. A lot. And he missed his mom, and his home. He missed Michael; and he just was tired. He wanted to go home. He didn’t want to keep floating around in space surrounded by people who probably wished to throw him out of the nearest air lock as they passed by him. It wasn’t a surprise when he found himself back at his quarters. He had moved there by rote. He threw another load of clothing in to be washed and changed so that he was out of his suit. He hung it back up and stood in his room for a few minutes completely stark naked before moving towards his bed and falling on top of it.
If someone decided to come in without giving him a warning they could fraking deal with it. He didn’t particularly care. And with that thought a wave of melancholia washed over him and he rested his eyes. His head laying against the cool pillow.
Impossible Time
Late! AGAIN. Though this time the blame couldn’t be placed entirely on Laci’s shoulders. After all she had only had a few drinks, not even enough to have gotten her close to drunk. Hell by the time they got home they hadn’t even been buzzed. Unfortunately though when they had gotten back to the condo they hadn’t been struck by lethargy, instead they had been full of energy. So Chloi and Laci had done the most sensible thing and thrown Arti out to deal with the unpacking. After all, she was the most organized out of them. And had seemed happy enough to do it. They were entirely unpacked but by the time they had crawled into bed they had forgotten to set the alarm.
So now it was eight thirty in the morning, and while she probably could have just headed to class, she felt that the most important information was covered within the first fifteen minutes of any course and worked on throughout the rest of the time spent in class. So Chloi took a shower, not the quickest she could have, but not a long one either. She had just stepped back into her bedroom proper when she heard her phone going off. She slid the green over to the red when she saw that it was her parents calling her.
“Hello?”
”Chloi? How are you doing love?”
”I’m doing quite well mum. How is dad and grandmum? Is everything alright?”
”Oh we’re all fine darling, but we have some information we forgot to tell you the other day before you left, and it wasn’t until we had dinner last night that we remembered it.”
Chloi pinched the bridge of her nose and tried not to sigh. She knew that whatever it was her parents had forgotten to tell her was going to be something she wasn’t going to be very pleased about.
“Chloi dear, are you still there?”
“Yes mother, sorry. You caught me as I got out of the shower so I was just trying to dry off some. Please keep going. I am listening.”
“Oh yes, anyway. Your grandmother was informed that there is another student at that school who is of high political importance himself. She in turn imparted this knowledge with your father, who has a meeting this morning, and thusly left it to me to inform you about.”
This time Chloi did sigh. Her mother always did take a long time to get to the heart of the matter. And if her grandmother had been ‘informed’ then Chloi was pretty sure that she could safely deduce that this fellow of high political importance was someone her grandmother hoped to marry her off to. Arranged marriages were not something she even enjoyed the idea of, but knew that thanks to being an only child that she was bound to have one anyway. As when her grandmother and father had passed on she would inherit the earldom. Which of course meant by her grandmother’s and parents standards she would not be allowed to marry anyone less than a lord. And that they would always aim for a peer of equal or greater standing than their own title.
“So I am to befriend this gentleman then?”
“Yes, his name is Raphael Ruiz Duarte II, and he’s the first born son of the President of Valencia.”
“Well Do you know anything about him outside of that? There are a lot of people here mother. I cannot simply go up to all of them and ask them what their name is and if their father is a president of a country.”
“Unfortunately that is all your father has told me darling. And I simply don’t have the time today to pay a visit to your grandmother to ask her if she knows more.”
“Alright, I understand mother. Thank you for letting me know about this. I will do my best to find this man and get to know him.”
“I’m sure you’ll do just fine darling. So how was your first day?”
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By the time she had hung up the phone with her mother, Chloi wasn’t exactly happy. While the son of a president didn’t have the prestigious bloodline that her family would have preferred; his political standing was just as important. She wanted to hit something; which was highly irrational of her, but she wanted to do it nonetheless. She restrained because there was no need to potentially damage her new home. Besides it would do absolutely nothing for her, she had learned this the hard way via Laci. While it might have felt good to give into that impulse, afterwards there were no additional benefits. Chloi sighed and settled for throwing her towel as hard as she could towards the bathroom. She’d hang it up when she was done getting dressed. It hit the bathroom door causing it to slam gently against the wall. It was almost good enough.
Chloi quickly got dressed, she decided to do a chignon but left some of her bangs fall free in waves by her face. She never did like pulling her hair back really tight and slick. She needed some level of “messiness” to it. She threw on a hat, grabbed her bag, camera, and wallet. And was out the door. She barely had time to get to her next class. But she wasn’t going to stress out too much. She knew how much of a chatterbox her mother was and had gotten sucked into a conversation with her anyway. Besides having a car meant that she wouldn’t have to worry about running too late.
She didn’t break any speed laws, being late to class didn’t warrant a potential speeding ticket. She pulled through the gates after showing her student ID, found a spot, near where her second class of the day was located. (At least she hoped so.) Maybe you could get Collin to show you around. Chloi mentally sent a kick towards Laci, who in return blew her a raspberry. Funny, Laci really. Are you sure you aren’t the one with a crush on him. After all he does appeal to your law breaking habits. Chloi thought, not annoyed at all by Laci’s behavior. After all Collin was rather gorgeous, Chloi wouldn’t deny that. But then maybe if she ran in Ka’eo she would ask if she could show her around. She did feel bad about leaving the party early and then being awake most of the night. Both of you two need to grow up. You aren’t children. Chloi sighed, Arti of course would try to break up even their fun little “fights”.
Stop being such a kill joy Arti, it’s called teasing. Laci said causing Chloi to mentally snicker, and they both knew Arti wouldn’t respond. Though if she mentally decided to strangle Laci into submission Chloi would buy tickets to it. She reached her class after passing dozens of other doors; silently thanking whoever had numbered the doors, before entering. She did a visual scan before finding a spot; it was near a fellow with black hair and Chloi made her way over to him. Honestly she’d rather sit next to him than the other students in the classroom. There appeared to be a lot of animosity between many of them. And she had absolutely zero desire to get in the middle of anything going on between any of them. Before she ask him if she could sit next to him the instructor signaled her over and handed her a note.
Ms. Lascelles
Please come to the School Board offices, room #109
at your earliest convenience.
Chloi figured she would go after class. This class was a mandatory one. And she had no desire to find out what happened if she missed it. Besides, earliest convenience could mean now, five hours from now. Most certainly not tomorrow though. And she was concerned as to why she was being summoned to the School Board offices. She looked at the instructor and handed them the note. “I realize that I have already missed a day of this class, but if you don’t mind I would prefer not having to wait until the next break between classes. I won’t be much use in here until I know why I have been summoned to the offices.” She said and the instructor looked at her vaguely annoyed but Chloi took the sigh as unhappy acceptance. So she turned around and headed right back out the door, only paying so much attention to make sure she wasn’t near the students who didn’t seem to get along with each other. Honestly she didn’t understand why some people thrived on drama; let alone why they felt the need to create it.
Chloi sighed, relieved that the door to that classroom was shut behind her now. She pulled the horrendous map from her purse and looked at it for the vague directions to the building that housed the Student Board, and set off. Chloi was glad that the weather was nicer today than it had been when she arrived yesterday. If she had, had to walk around this campus with this horrible map yesterday then she would have gone crazy. She passed by a few booths that were just being set up, and some that were set up but were empty. She made her way to the Building she thought the Student Board was supposed to be in. It looked pretty deserted, so she made her way down the hall reading the numbers on the doors. Sure enough she was in the right place. She opened the door and waved to the lady behind the desk. “I received a note requesting me as soon as possible. Do you know who I’m supposed to meet with?” Chloi asked the lady, with a simple that door there; Chloi was directed to where she was supposed to go.
“Excuse me, you wanted to see me?” She asked, after knocking on the door. She hoped she wasn’t interrupting anything, and for that reason she didn’t open the door and go straight in.
Impossible Time
Impossible Time
She was miserable. If god had been kind he would have killed her by now. Well that was an exaggeration. She knew she wouldn’t be killed by this bout of flu. She was stronger than her mother in that matter. But god, her body was trying to kill her. She was pretty damn certain about that. She had caught this bug on her drive up from California. Probably by staying out too late one night and enjoying some really tasty tacos from a food truck. But the flu had caught her in such a manner that every time she tried to eat anything her body regurgitated it almost immediately. She hated being sick, she really did. Not only was it the normal being sick, but also every time she got sick she didn’t have any control over her ability. And she liked being able to understand her animals. The two babies she had rescued needed the comfort, and trying to hear their thoughts was like listening with cotton balls shoved in her ears.
Maple, her raccoon came over by her head and placed a paw on her face. She could barely hear his thoughts, but they felt distinctly saddened. Maple had been with her almost six months now. She had found him and his littermates when their mother had been hit and killed by a car. They’re cries had led her to them, and while she had given the others over to a wildlife rescue center. Maple was the only one who decided to stay with her. Mainly because he had ran away that morning and hid somewhere in her apartment. The two babies were the most recent additions to her pack.
Willow; was a baby otter she had found abandoned by a creek bed about three weeks ago. She had tried to find the mother, but had no luck that way. And Willow bonded with her faster than even Maple had. Willow barely left her alone, and even now was curled up sleeping happily on her chest. And the newest baby she found the other morning on her walk around the property. Most birds abandoned their young if they fell out of the nest; Alex knew that. But the baby hummingbird wasn’t even old enough to fly yet. And she had a soft spot for animals…clearly if Maple and Willow were anything to go by. She named her Apple and had been taking care of her pretty well. But she needed a lot of attention, because she was so young. With Maple and Willow she could leave them alone for half a day before having to make a drive out to the cabin to make sure they were taken care of.
Alex sighed and lifted Willow off of her chest. She had missed her classes yesterday, which was not a good way to start the school year. But when you’re puking up your guts? Yeah there was no other choice. So she had called the instructors during a brief break in the vomiting to inform them that she would not be in class. But today all she had was chills. She threw the blankets off and wanted to pull them back on immediately. Her cabin was FREEZING…okay she knew it wasn’t the cabin but her fever. But it still felt like a industrial freezer to her. She ran to the bathroom and threw on the water as hot as she could stand it, taking a five minute shower. She got dressed, grabbed Apple’s temporary nest and food supplies, tucked it into her purse and was off.
Her truck was old, but it ran good. A few replacements here and there had kept it running fine. And considering she liked living in secluded areas it was a good vehicle to have. Eventually when it died she’d get something newer. But for now she was happy with it. She had walked into what was supposed to be the first class of her day only to be handed a note telling her to go get a physical. Alex sighed and headed over to the building they had mentioned. Her feet were dragging. She knew for this area the weather today was nice, but she still felt like she was being subjected to sub-zero temperatures.
When she reached the office she was supposed to go to she found out she had at least a thirty minute wait, and settled into a seat on the floor and fed Apple. Placing her against her chest, in the pocket of her long sleeve shirt. The heat would do her some good. She probably had, had a sibling in the nest to keep her warm.
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She hated doctors…and needles, and doctor’s who felt needles were needed. Didn’t they understand she was getting over being sick?! No they decided to jab and poke at her anyway. She wanted to beat them with a club just for making her hurt worse than she did before coming in. Thankfully she was too sick for her to actually have created…or summoned either a Tiger or Wolf. So there was another day without bloodshed. Which only slightly improved her morning. She walked to her next class because she had been in there waiting so long that her first class had actually ended. This was the mandatory class and thankfully the administration seemed to realize that bringing a sick student in would only make others sick. She entered the class and spotted someone sitting. She didn’t look for anyone else cause she honestly felt like her head was a hundred ton brick.
Alex rubbed her arm absentmindedly because it still smarted like a b***h and then turned somewhat surprised when the girl she had noticed spoke up. “Physical is a whore, eh?” Alex looked at her and nodded in agreement. “Are we the only ones in this class?” She asked, not bothering to look around. “Nah, got a few adduh. Da red head a psycho mermaid b***h. The smelly ahse? He make bugs. An’, eh … had a no show yesterday.” Alex grinned slightly at the no-show comment before gently lowering her bag to the ground. Apple was still in her breast pocket, but she didn’t want to disturb the nest or food. “That’s me. I’m the no show. I’m Alex by the way.” She didn’t offer her hand, but figured as she was going to be sitting next to the girl that it was friendly enough. “Alex? Sweet. I’m Xal. So, what’s your poison?”
For a moment the question threw her, her fever addled brain made it sound like the girl wanted to know if she drank poison. And then about fifteen seconds after Xal had asked the question Alex understood what she had meant. “My poison? Oh. Animal Manipulation. You?” She asked as she took a seat and threw her feet up on the table. She wiggled a bit to get more comfortable, but that was a futile effort as the chairs were not comfortable in the first place. “Faerie mimicry. Not so cool, but enough of a pain in the a** to get stuck here” Alex looked at her, interested and slightly curious. “Faerie mimicry? You mean like those drawings people do of the cute little human featured people with wings?” She asked honestly curious. She didn’t know much about faeries, other than the drawings she had seen or the little figurines in card stores. ”Quit makin' me sound like some sort of punk””Alex shrugged like she didn’t mean to offend Xal. “Honestly I'm just trying to get some clarification. Never thought Faeries were even real.”
Alex wondered if Xal was often this prickly. She also wondered if how she was coming across was because she was sick then promptly decided she didn’t give two shits if Xal thought she was being nosey or just rude. “F'I show ya and ya laugh, me gonna pee pixie dust on ya” Alex was half tempted to go with a more normal retort but settled on a shrug. “For that reason alone I'll keep the laughing to my mind.” She said, just so she could see what Xal meant. Alex watched as Xal stepped back and transformed. All Alex could say is one minute Xal was there in normal size and then a second later she was about four inches tall with little gossamer wings and kinda sparkly. Well more like someone had covered her in gold dust.
Alex’s nosed twitched as she tried to not laugh out loud. It was somewhat hilarious. “Now that's pretty cool. Can you do anything outside of that Tinkerbell?” Alex asked, trying to keep her amusement out of her voice. Alex watched as Xal shook her tiny little body and a plethora of golden dust fell from her body. “So that's Pixie Dust I take it?” She said and Xal in her little faerie form nodded before transforming again. “S'not special, but it got me here. Had a lot of fun gettin' inta places I wasn't supposed
.” Alex nodded, she knew a little bit about that. “So did I miss anything important yesterday? Or was it a good day to be gone?” She asked drawing her arms inside of her hoodie to rub the tip of a finger against Apple’s head.
She didn’t care if it looked like she was playing with her tit. The little thing needed some tactile contact. And if anyone asked she’d tell them. She wouldn’t bring Apple out but she’d tell them that she was taking care of a baby hummingbird. She looked at Xal and smiled. She doubted Xal paid that much attention but she could try. She would be talking to the instructor for sure though once class had ended. Or during if she got the chance. “Good day to be gone. Bored as ******** man!” Alex nodded, one finger still stroking the top of Apple’s head. Apple seemed to enjoy it because she tried to get closer to the finger. Accidentally stabbing Alex’s breast in the process with her sharp little beak. She winced but other than that refrained from exclaiming anything. “I never did like class. This one I'll probably end up hating. But at least they have classes in the fields I want to major in. So there's that trade off.” Alex told Xal. And it was true. The fields she wanted to go into were offered at this school. And that had been the final deciding factor for switching to St. Bailey’s.
Alex moved her arms back out of her sweater and turned her attention back to Xal. Even when Apple shuddered in an unhappy manner. “Ya? what's your major?”
Colors:
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906E54
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