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 Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2025 5:58 pm
Quote: Commander Vyn, I require your presence. I understand you keep a busy schedule but I have cleared mine for the next 24 hours. Report to me at your earliest convenience but know that I expect you within this window.
His first thought: Aliez must have taken his concerns to the Commodore. He’d probably cried about it. Aliez, of course. Not the Commodore. Knowing his friend’s emotional nature, Vyn suspected Aliez might have exaggerated or misrepresented something—maybe by accident; maybe on purpose. Not to get him into trouble, but out of desperation, and Aliez’s genuine belief that Lyndin might be able to help where he could not. Nevermind that Vyn didn’t need help. He was fine. More than fine. Or something close enough to it.
His second thought involved some of the more colorful curse words he’d taken to hearing on Earth. His heart lurched. Something in the vicinity of his stomach dropped. None of the messages he’d received before had been quite so direct. Vyn wasn’t sure he could ignore this one, even if part of him wanted to.
He agonized over it like he agonized over everything else. He could go, and talk, and feel better for a while, like he always did after speaking with Lyndin. Or he could find out what happened if he disregarded the message. Vyn didn’t make a habit of disobeying, but as the Earthlings liked to say: there’s a first time for everything.
For several hours, Vyn decided exactly that. He wouldn't go. What did it matter anyway? He’d always been good. Surely he deserved a chance to be a little defiant. What would the Commodore do? Send him home? When Vyn was, dare he think it, the best he had? (Vyn didn’t have the confidence to sustain the thought and regretted it immediately. He doubted it was true, and he hated to be so unfair, even in his head where no one could hear him.)
A sickening mix of guilt and loyalty had Vyn reconsidering the decision long before the twenty-four hours were up.
He trudged back to the Vanguard house without anything to show for his long absences. He stomped through to the teleportation pad without stopping to clean himself up or change into his uniform. He left for the Commodore’s house in the Dark Kingdom before he could second guess himself, then second guessed himself anyway and almost doubled back.
But Vyn was not a coward. He wasn’t. And he had nothing to hide. He would straighten his shoulders and hold his head high and greet the Commodore with his usual enthusiasm.
Maybe he did in some other universe. In this one, he ducked his head and mumbled, “You wanted to see me?”
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2025 8:30 pm
In the comforts of what currently passed as his ‘home’, Lyndin rarely let his guard down. He was expecting Vyn, so there was no point in being dressed down. He was in his uniform, cape hung up and out of the way as it usually was while he was working. Lyndin appeared more rested than the last time he’d seen Vyn, a testament to keeping his promise. He had eaten. Slept. His hand appeared to have healed. He was doing paperwork as he sat at the dining room table, in plain sight of the warp pad. He’d set himself up to face it so there wouldn’t be any chance to miss an arrival. When Vyn arrived, Lyndin lowered his paperwork. He had specifically avoided any projects in order to guarantee that he could separate himself from his work immediately. “Come sit down with me,” he instructed. His voice was as calm as ever. The table only had one other chair, seated to the left of Lyndin. He watched Vyn with a solemn, thoughtful gaze. He hadn’t seen the Commander in some time. And yet, it was so easy to observe how different he was now from then.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 8:31 pm
Vyn thought about refusing—a brief, rebellious fantasy he knew he would never act on, but which he allowed himself to entertain for the few seconds his gaze flicked up. There was something exhilarating about the thought, if only because he couldn’t predict what might follow. Being good all the time was exhausting. Caring so much was, too. Suppressing everything didn’t seem to serve him well, but expressing any of it had done him no better. Vyn didn’t know what else to do when all his options seemed inadequate.
He soon squashed the thought and berated himself for thinking it in the first place. Vyn lowered his gaze back to his dirty running shoes. Lyndin didn’t deserve disobedience. Vyn wasn’t even angry with him. He had no reason to cause Lyndin trouble, except for what it might spark within himself—something to smother all the other tangled feelings he hadn’t been able to pick through; something to eclipse the fear and uncertainty, and the overwhelming dread.
Vyn shuffled toward the chair. He didn’t pout or scowl, but there was something petulant about his expression all the same. He sat and almost squirmed in place, unsure how to interpret the solemn look directed at him.
“Are you going to scold me?” he asked, already repentant. “Or are you going to be kind and understanding about it?”
Vyn kept his hands in his lap, fiddling with the hem of his athletic shorts. He hadn’t felt self-conscious about being out of uniform around Lyndin in quite some time, but he felt shame for it now after he’d gone so long without wearing it at all.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 7:26 am
For a moment, Lyndin simply sat in silence. It hung heavy in the air but he didn’t seem uncomfortable. He didn’t seem much of anything. Not mad. Not scared. Not even disappointed. Maybe he expected that Vyn might try to push his buttons so he’d already resigned himself to objectiveness. Maybe he was just still deciding how he wanted to proceed. Either way, Vyn had his full attention, and Lyndin took the opportunity to look at him–to see him. Every shadow on his face, every hair out of place. Each new piercing lining his ears. He didn’t need much time to make an assessment; Vyn wasn’t a project, wasn’t a thing to observe and deduce conclusions. He looked tired, worn down. Full of secrets. Lyndin asked, in an even but patient voice, “Tell me what’s going on.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 7:47 pm
Vyn struggled with his guilt. He fought for control of it and pushed it aside, but it came back the second his thoughts turned to the next stubborn emotion. If it wasn’t guilt, it was apprehension. If it wasn’t either of those, it was frustration and resentment. Vyn didn’t want to express those things. None of them were meant for Lyndin. Except maybe some of the guilt.
“Nothing’s going on,” he said.
He looked up but didn’t quite meet Lyndin’s eyes. His mouth quirked into a smile but it didn’t put any light into his face. His voice lacked energy, though it wasn’t without some of his usual warmth. Maybe he could have done a better job pretending if it wasn’t for the discomfort stiffening his posture. Vyn could only hope it seemed respectful instead of defensive.
“Why?” he asked, striving for nonchalance but landing somewhere near cautious restraint. “Has someone said otherwise?”
Vyn fisted his hands in his lap to stop himself from fidgeting.
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2025 5:55 pm
Lyndin looked at Vyn as though he were made of glass, like the mask he wore was so flimsy that he could simply see right through him. At no point did Lyndin’s expression waver. He might have seemed to be a statue, if not for the steady rise and fall of his chest as he listened. As he waited. He could have let the room descend into an uncomfortable silence. He could have waited to see how long it took before Vyn started to squirm under the scrutiny. This meeting was not about punishment. Lyndin had not called him here with the intention of causing him any discomfort. “I have not seen you in three months. You have not answered my messages,” he pointed out politely. “I think that is unlike you. Why?“ he asked, repeating Vyn’s intonation. “What might someone have said to me?”
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