[PRP] Family Bonds (Aren & Slven)

[Sen Cross]

It had been a while, about a week to be precise, since the crash of his ship on this small, peaceful world. They had been lucky that another ship had strayed on the same course, even more lucky that it had been the Utopia.
Aren stared out of the large glass window that took up half a wall of his quarters, thanks to the fact that the officers rooms were on the observation deck, marvelling at the vast green that streched out below. This was a good place.
He wanted to get out there, explore this foreign lands, but that wasn't possible. Not yet. Refusing to acknowledge the fact that he was still recovering from his severe injuries, but not the fact that he was in no condition to take a stoll anywhere, figuratively speaking.
But he was working on that, both to fight the boredom and to keep himself from brooding too much. Ghost was around a lot, as was Zephyr. But one face he was waiting to see hadn't showed in all those past days. Slven.
Aren turned his gaze away from the window and back to the stack of papers piled on his lap, chewing on the pen while scanning through them. He was almost done with the plans.
He wondered though if his son would show up by himself or if he would have to wait until he was done and seek him out himself. He sure hoped for the first.  

[Cheekiebirdiee]

A week since the crash and still he had found no reason to bother to visit the man who was known as his father. Sure he had passed the infirmary once or twice while the man was inside, but when he was recovered, well Slven seen no use in it. What did he have to say to someone he barely knew? Congratulations on not dying, who are you? Slice! The sharp metal sword he used when practicing sliced through the air as he turned in the training room. Beads of sweat formed over his brow as his mind continued to wonder.

Aren knew where he was and if he wanted to see him, he would seek out Slven. Granted that the other was a little incapacitated but still..there were ways of getting into contact with him. Was it that fact that annoyed him the most or was it something else, perhaps it was more that to get to the observation deck you had to pass the officer quarters.

The observation deck.

Ghost, Aren meant a lot to Ghost or so Ghost had said. Like a father to him. A father. To Slven the word was alien, so unfamiliar it wasn't funny but he understood what it meant and was perhaps a little envious of the operator in ways. But even still. Clink. The tip of the sword in his hand hit the training ground floor and a pant escaped his lips. He was important to Ghost, so would Ghost be pleased if Slven were to pay him a visit?

The raven moved to put his training equipment away, telling himself as he did that the only reason he could think of to see Aren would that of pleasing Ghost and this was something he wanted to try doing. Not at all because he was still curious about the man. Amber eyes narrowed on the door as he made his way out. Stopping off at his room he showered off and made his way towards the offices rooms.

Walking slow as he went his eyes trailed over the area, "Mother...where is the one called Aren?" He asked in the oh so not interested tone he normally used, when mother responded with the room number Aren was in he thanked her and went on his way. "...." Staring silently for a moment at the door he now stood in front of the raven sighed. A hint of nervousness seeping into his eyes though it was well hidden if you didn't know the man. Lifting his hand he gave three distinctly loud knocks announcing his presence then took a step back.  

[Sen Cross]

Aren looked up from his papers at the knock on his door, wondering for a moment who it was. Probably Ghost, as usual.
"Come in, the door is open."
He watched as the door slid open with a low mechanical hiss, surprised not to find Ghost on the other side as he expected, but the youth he had not really expected but wanted to see.
"Slven." He greeted his son with a broad smile, waiting for him to step inside. "Good to see you."
Shifting a bit to get a better view of the door, leaning casually against the headboard of the bed Aren looked every bit as cheerful as his smile indicated. Most of all he looked well recovered apart from the fact that his broken arm was still in some sort of cast and there was the ocassional bandage here and there. But unlike the day Slven had last seen him, the white of the cloth was a stark contrast to the fully returned bronze hue of his skin.
The lower part of his body was covered by the sheets and piles of paper sprawled all over it, most of them covered in hasty scribbles and drawings that looked like small and very complicated machine parts.
A new black jacket hanging loosely over his shoulders was his only obvious clothing - not that he would've been able to put it on with the broken arm - and he looked every bit the perfection the Genome Leader was supposed to be from the stories of ancient times. And he watched Slven with sharp eyes that held no weakness at all. The eyes of a warrior, a predator that seemed to know your every move even before you made it and would instill fear in the hearts of lesser men.
Something the youth had obviously inherited from him.  

[Cheekiebirdiee]

"Come in, the door is open."

As the door slid open he furrowed his brows for the hissing mechanical sound, so obnoxious, much like he was finding his room to be as of late. Being so close to the labs was both a blessing and a curse. While he could look over all the new inventions he had to deal with the testing and long hours of those doing said test. Needless to say Slven didn't sleep much these days in fact he slept even less in his own room.

Room.

Amber eyes trailed around the room he stepped into, lingering from paper to paper with mild curiosity for the scribbles then up his fathers torso noting each bandage and scar. While he still wasn't as impressive as he had been in Slven's childhood dreams thanks to the stories he had grown up with and read himself, Aren was lighting a flicker of life behind the ravens cold eyes. The intimidating vibe was pointedly ignored by the youth, even if Aren was his father, a legend and a so-called great leader Slven would not bow to his piercing gaze so easily."Smiling already..." dark grin spread over his lips for a moment as he moved further into the room looking for a place to come to a rest.

Staring at him now the difference in how he first saw the genome was drastically noticeable. No longer pale or fragile, no he looked all but to the point of the images Slven use to imagine. He looked like a worn and harden warrior but a smart one. The later was what most impressed Slven as it was, but this admiration of his was well hidden behind the mask of stone he had built from a young age. Really this man was a puzzle of mysteries that he wanted to unlock. Perhaps that was why he was really here it seemed like the more logical reason to him, a selfish one.

Slven's signature ever so sweet if mildly bored tone slipped out as he continued his own greeting to his father, "you really are far to optimistic..." That was all. There was no return of it was good to see Aren or that he was pleased to see him in good heath or at least better. No. Just the obvious statement of his father being to optimistic, which left room to consider the truth that Slven hadn't come here on overly friendly or even concerned terms for the other genome, he had more pressing reasons for coming even if he couldn't gather them at the moment but he knew they were certainly nothing to do with emotional connections.

Now fully inside the room he stared at Aren for a moment in silence, having not found a place to sit or even anything to start with he simply stared the other down for a few moments before moving closer to the bed raw curiosity getting the better of him as his eyes trailed from his fathers to the papers again, "keeping yourself busy I see.. " Came the rather dismissive yet seemingly interested in his fathers well-being reply as a finger chance a touch to the end of a page he glanced up towards Aren's face watching his features for a moment before moving his hands behind his back, " I wonder..if restlessness can be inherited .." Smiling or rather smirking to the man he took a step back and awkwardly glanced over the room again.

Clearly he should leave he told himself this wasn't something he normally had problems with, typically even if he was bold and a little rough around the edges he was never this awkward in greetings and conversation. It was annoying to say that he felt all of like a child standing in a room with a stranger trying to decide if he was safe enough to speak with.  

[Sen Cross]

"That may be possible." The elder answered, following Slvens every movement with his sharp eyes, analyzing, taking in every feature of the young man that was so much like him. It was a strange feeling to see his son, Zeals son ... to be regarded with those familiar amber eyes that still burned in his memory and had followed him through each dream and waking hour for the past hundreds of years. "You have his eyes, you know ..." he said, returning the youths glance. "Zeals."
His smile remained, but there was something else there, a shadow that passed over his face for just a moment before the mask was back up.
"You must have a lot of questions. I guess I didn't make a very good first impresson on you, did I?" There was the humour again, the radiant cheerfulness that had always been able to spread through the ranks of his comrades like wildfire, raising their morale and spirits even while his own heart, deep down, remained cold and bitter.
"I sure have some for you, later. If you feel like answering them."
He wasn't sure what he had expected of Slven. Obviously not a loud and noisy child that would cling to him, happy that the father he had never known just appeared out of nowhere. Right now, Slven was very much likely feeling closer to Ghost than he would even think of feeling towards him.
He was curous, though. Ghost seemed a little ... off when talking about Slven. The Operator had raised the youth well, but he wondered if that was really all. But most importantly, he wanted to get to know his son, rebuild or rather reawaken the connection between them. For Genomes, family bonds were not easily severed. Not even by death.  

[Cheekiebirdiee]

" Hmm.. " Slven wasn't paying too much attention to the man in favor instead his attention was on the papers on the bed with him, what was Aren trying to create? When the comment of him having someones eyes came Slven could only assume that his other father was being brought up. Was this a good topic he had to wonder considering his father basically went nuts after Zeal's death right? Zeals. Well question solved he thought turning the eyes in question back up to Aren after he said the name.

A curious look played across his face before he spoke, "is that so.." To him it was a little disturbing how cheerful the man was but Slven wasn't a fool, he knew that this was considered a charm to others, it was a good front. Catching the flicker of the shadow he became a little more interested. What was that? Shifting he chanced a seat towards the end of the bed, sitting and staring at the other dark-haired genome before him with equally as sharp eyes analyzing the man as the man had him. "Not exactly. Though I'm typically hard to impress you understand.." His lips curled into a sort of mocking smirk at his response finding the humor the other took it upon himself to bring just a little amusing but he wasn't going to lie, he hadn't been impressed with Aren with first meeting him, in fact he thought he was a disgrace to be perfectly honest. A leader as well praised as he to be in such a condition...it wasn't ideal. It messed with Slven's picture of him, his logic and made him annoyed.

Questions for him? Slven tensed a little being he wasn't really the type that cared to share. He would ask questions of others of course and be sociable to the point he wanted but he had a suspicious feeling Aren wanted more but he wasn't sure how well he wanted the other to know him. After all when a father you barely knew showed up out of the blue..well there was more unknown anger than good feeling hiding within the raven for the man.

Closing his eyes for a moment he sighed a soft sigh before opening then again and glancing towards the door before back to Aren. " Not a lot, rather a few..." He started off taking his tone down a notch as his features twisted into that of a more serious look. Thinking for a moment over what to start with he reasoned fishing was the best approach, to start off impersonal then move more towards personal. "What happened to your ship?" Why had they crashed in the beginning. "This was obviously not your destined path, where were you heading?" Of course with the last question there was a second hidden one waiting for Aren's answer.  

[Sen Cross]

Aren listened to Slvens questions, nodding slowly. He had expected something like this, the youth was more like him than he had thought.
"You are right, it was a fortunate event, both ships crashing on this world of all things. If things had gone according to plan, both the Blackbird and the Utopia were headed to a world quite a few lightyears further into the unknown reaches. You see, we were sort of a convoy at first, but the Blackbird is a little slower, so we fell behind. Your ship was transporting the few recources and seeds that didn't have space on the flagship, the reminders you could say. So we planned to travel together and set up colony together. I assigned Ghost as Operator in case something like this would happen."
He couldn't begin to describe how fortunate they were. The Utopia, originally designed to be more of a transport vessel for all things the Blackbird couldn't store any more, was now their rescue. And the fact that both ships had crashed, on the same planet no less ... Aren wondered if he should start believing in fate.
"As to what happened ..." He sighed. "Our energy supplies were running low, we had to restock, but in an unknown territory, you don't find a suitable source easily. We found one, a small planet of this solar system. But when we arrived here with our shields and radar offline due to the energy shortage, we dropped out of subspace right into a meteorite storm. There was nothing we could do but try to save what we could. We crashed, but most of those that survived the initial destruction in space didn't survive the crash."
His eyes darkened, trying not to think how many were lost. The small crew of five that had managed the ship and all of those that were in cold sleep for the journey.
"Afterwards, I tried to at least save the seeds before the ship blew up, but I was too late. I was caught up in the explosion, and had to take some" he nodded towards his leg, hidden by the sheets "drastic measures to get out of the wreckage. That basically sums it up."
A wry grin returned to his face, humour flickering through his crimson eyes as he patted some of the scribbled over papers on his lap.
"Well, could have been worse, the explosion could have fried me. But as it is, nothing that can't be repaired with a bit of time and effort."  

[Cheekiebirdiee]

Another world was out there then, one better than this? Slven listened intently eyes going a little darker much like they did when he read or practiced. He focused on all that he was told and moved a hand to rub over his chin, a convoy so the Blackbird likely had no idea that they had even crashed. "I see and now that your here, what do you plan on doing?" Slven had a few things in mind mostly it was his father taking rank which wasn't something he was opposed to considering he did not want the job. For a moment his eyes lowered to his hands and he sighed exasperatedly, Ghost.

He wasn't leader material why couldn't Ghost see that? Rolling his eyes he shook the thought and turned back to his father. He went back in to save the seeds? "Why would you risk your own life?" Did he find nothing important to live for? The thought made his blood boil for a moment. With a newly narrowed gaze he considered then offered bluntly, "you could have kept your leg if you would have simply listed them as casualties. I would have." And he would have. Slven found only two people worth risking his life for. Two and the raven knew the number was likely to stay the same or so he thought.

Something came back to him as he sat silently and waited for more answers, he wasn't in the Utopia nor was Casshern so that left something to question, "and of us then, why were we sent in an escape capsule...Casshern and myself?" Sure he had said personal questions later but the question was forced out of him by impulsive curiosity. Besides he really didn't have to many questions forming for the other besides the ones already asked.

Looking down at the scribbled papers Aren patted he blinked before tilting his head to regard them in curiosity. Moving a hand up he peered to crimson eyes asking "and this is?" Lifting the paper without permission he looked over what was scribbled on it, expressionlessly reading over it.  

[Sen Cross]

Aren seemed to ponder the question for a moment, before shrugging. "Keeping up with the initial plan. This is not where we had thought to settle, but I really don't see a difference. Build a colony, resume leadership. That sort of thing."
His gaze continued to follow Slvens every move, studying him intensely like the youth did him. With every passing moment he found more parallels between either him or Zeal and their son. It was both fascinating and a bit unsettling.

Giving up the seeds? Zeal would've most likely asked the very same question. Many thought the life of the leader was more important than a few unborn children. Mother could give life to new ones, but a leader such as him wasn't easily replaced. But he was different.
"It's a leaders responsibility to ensure the safety of his subordinates. Seeds are no different." He smiled a bit sheepishly. "About the leg, well, that's unfortunate. But I'm working on it."

He frowned a moment at Slvens next question. "You were in a capsule? That's strange. Although, were there any seeds on the Utopia when it crashed? I assumed the kids around here had grown from those we had stored here."
He hadn't talked about that matter with Ghost yet, the topic didn't come up. So he had really assumed his boys were on the ship with all the others. That the twins were found in a capsule could only mean that the safeguard hat activated when the Utopia was damaged, shooting the seeds into space to be transported to the closest other colony ship. He would have to ask Ghost about that. Then again, the Utopias Operator hadn't known that the twins were among the seeds on the Blackbird. "Ghost told me about Casshern ... that he disappeared. I would've loved to meet him, too."
His eyes darkened again, hiding the sadness within his gaze was getting harder. So it was really just the two of them now ... he really hoped they would get closer, over time. Slven sure didn't seem to eager to.

As Slven picked up some of his scribbles with mild interest and asked about them, his smile returned somewhat.
"Oh this ... this is something I studied over the past hundred years. I've always had a bit of a hang towards mechanics. That's bio-android technology. The plans are almost complete, should fix this little leg issue as soon as I'm done. You can take a closer look at them if you want to, but they are quite complicated."
Slven seemed a stuious type, but intelligence alone wouldn't make him able to understand. Those weren't simple mechanics, after all.  

[Cheekiebirdiee]

Quiet, not a word was said between his questions and Aren's answers clearly Slven was pondering. Sighing he debated on his fathers answer, he wasn't really one to just go and help for the good of it, for others, this is why he was more than certain Ghost had clear hope in a lost cause with him. The life of a leader was far more important than some seed that barely knew life. "..That's a double-edged sword isn't it ...Aren? For going back in risked your subordinates safety as you could have essentially left them alone in an unknown world without a protector, a decision maker. Granted you lived but were of no use now were you? Right." Slven's tone was even as he spoke, no clear disrespect intended with his words but they almost seemed as if they were meant to try to sting the older genome.

Aren.

Slven didn't have a problem addressing the man as father but again it would only be in the literal sense. Aren didn't feel like a father and really Ghost whom raised him from seed did not feel like a father. But at least with Ghost there was a bond to him, with Aren there was....nothing at the present moment. Slven looked over the other with a cold regard as he reasoned he would have let him die if he had to and it wasn't even that he particularly disliked Aren it was simply he felt little to no connection with the estranged other.

Noting the frown his own features twisted a little darker. "That's something you would have to ask Ghost.." The most he had learned on the topic from mother was that he and Casshern arrived in an escape capsule. Amber narrowed a little when Aren said Ghost had talked to him about Casshern, something in him snapped at the topic.

A clear look of anger rose up on the pale face before he hissed a little, " I'm sure Ghost tells you many things, Casshern should have been watched better." Tone harsh a look of disgust washed over him, it wasn't Ghost he was calling foul on, or at least fully, more of the raven blamed himself for Casshern up and disappearing. He hadn't paid him enough attention being to intent on trying to get out of the barrier. If he had only ....

If Ghost had only let him.....

Slven clenched the paper in his fist and inhaled deeply the anger seeming to flood from his features to pool back into the pit of his stomach. Studied over the past hundred years? Thankfully his curiosity quelled most of his anger, looking over the writing he tilted his head, most of this was.... foreign to Slven. Sitting the paper down he turned an almost bored gaze towards Aren before asking, "your affinity what is it?" Science? Hundreds of years old and to have knowledge like this, it was something he openly yearned for which was why he read just as much as he could or rather as much as the library offered him.

For a moment a thought passed his mind that had his lips curling at the corners in a smile, if his father was force affinity ...perhaps he dabbled in psychic skills, maybe he could be a useful asset to him. A teacher of sorts. But that was something to look into later. "What did you want to know.." He reluctantly asked, when remembering Aren had said he had questions for him. Tired, he was growing tired with this visit..

 

[Sen Cross]

The silence remained while Slven seemed to be thinking, Aren using the moment to ponder for himself. Slven felt ... detatched in a way, as if there was a literal wall shielding his thoughts and emotions. Something that had always intrigued him about Zeal. Zeal, whose thoughts he could never even get close to guess while he himself seemed to be like an open book, wearing his thoughts on his sleeve. Could it be that Slven had inherited Zeals rare gift, his ability to read and manipulate the minds of others while shielding his own?
That sure would be an asset to the kid he did not mind. There was nothing he intended to hide from his son. Not that he would need to. It also made him wonder if Casshern had been the same. Slven had not been able to hide the flash of anger at the mentioning of his twin, and Aren had not missed it. Yes, twins were unusually close, almost as close as soulbound mates ...but Casshern was lost, not dead ... well, at least it was not sure he was dead, and Aren would keep a close lookout trying to find his wayward son.

"I've been an engineer for quite a while now, during the long journey ... so you could say my affinity leans mostly towards science." Leaning his head back agains the headboard, his ruby gaze travelled out of the window, scanning the endless blue of the sky outside. "Science is a useful asset. Not only machines, but amassing all kinds of knowledge. A good way to spend an eternity, because you can never know everything. There is always more to learn."

He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking ... not yet listening to his tired body urging him to rest. Well, it was his own fault for working for hours instead of sleeping as he should.
His lips curved into a wry grin. Not much longer. He was almost back to his usual self, and the sooner he completed this little project and got someone to give him a hand collecting and assembling the parts he needed, the sooner he would be able to get some exercise.
"Questions ... just one for now, I guess." No reason to push anything ... they had eternity, after all. At least that's what Aren hoped. "What is it you wish to do from now on?" 'I would like to be part of it ... your life' was the unspoken question that more than clearly followed his words.  

[Cheekiebirdiee]

It was true, Slven had been perfecting the block on his mind the more he worked with his gift. Stretching his legs out as he sat on his father's bed he stared forward to avoid eye contact with the other. Silent and observing the room for a few moments before glancing back to Aren as the other spoke. "An engineer.." He hummed thoughtfully leaning back on the bed a little to rest. Something about the man was growing on him, making him shift into a more comfortable posture than he had entered with. Science, while it wasn't of direct use to him he did wonder if like Empyrean if Aren could be of later use to him. When the mention of knowledge came something sparked him to ask, "do you keep journals, Aren?" Slven glanced to meet the ruby gaze, allowing his own curiosity for knowledge to show.

Noticing the wry grin he shifted up and off of the bed. Standing now he waited for the question and looked off towards the door. What did he want to do from now on? That was an interesting question, the others intentions were clear with it though and so he spoke carefully to Aren when he answered, "Explore and gain knowledge just like I have been. There's no reason to change my ways." It wasn't a solid answer but it was letting him know that he would be available if Aren cared to find him, just like with Ghost. Slven chose to be alone since it proved to be more useful though he was social so the offer wasn't hard to present besides, Aren could be useful. Taking a step towards the door he glanced back and offered with an even emotionless expression, "if you need assistance you should call on the one named Empyrean, he'll be of more use to you with.." Slven motioned towards the papers before running a hand through his raven locks.

"I must be off." They both seemed tired and he didn't want to stretch the visit since Ghost might still be out on the bridge if he left now.