"Mmkay… thanks, Jax." Nathaniel took a bite of the apple he'd been tossed and started drinking his glass of water. He seemed to be feeling slightly better after he finished the glass of water, and he continued eating his apple. "When will nuggets be ready?" He asked, looking up at Jax curiously.
(lmao "Do you like mechanics?" Lysander sTOP)
Neige couldn't help but giggle at Lysander's question. "I guess. I like what… mechanics do. But I also like… seeing their faces after I… freeze their projects… like a popsicle," she said, her breath catching in her throat as she heard Peregrine–the girl's sudden surprise arrival startled her. "Hello…" was all she managed to get out before Lysander took the reins of the conversation. Not being content with staying still, she took off down the hallway, calling out, "There's snow time to waste! C'mon!"
(shit, didn't see Ash's response. lemme edit really quick)
(edit: okay we're good now lmao)
"Hi Peregrine!" Lysander said. He reached up and grabbed James's hand, helping him to wave. "What're you doing? Oh! Has Nathaniel shown you his cactus?" He chewed on his bottom lip, rocking back and forth on his feels, which James seemed to enjoy. "We were going to see if Nich could wire it up, if you want to come?"
James waved, then returned his attention to the window, sucking contentedly on his fingers.
Jax checked the timer on the oven. "About ten more minutes. That includes cooling time, though." The doctor opened the fridge, grabbing a jug of milk and a bottle of chocolate sauce. She poured the milk into another glass, and stirred in a generous amount of chocolate sauce. She set the chocolate milk in front of Nathaniel, exchanging it for the empty glass.
"I was merely getting my lay of the land," Peregrine replied. "The angel boy made a cactus? Interesting. It'd be intriguing to see how Nich will wire it. I'll come with you." Peregrine's hand rested on her belt, where her sword was sheathed. She didn't feel threatened at all by the present company, she could beat two, if not all of them in a fight, however, it helped her feel comfortable, knowing that if danger arose, she could strike back in an instant.
"Mmm… okay. Thanks for choccy milk…" He mumbled tiredly, picking up the glass and starting to drink the milk. He fluttered his wings a bit and started purring almost inaudibly while he did so, seeming to be content for the moment. His stomach growled angrily, but he ignored it. He'd be having food soon anyways.
"Ah! Yes! Snowtime," Lysander giggled, then blushed an even deeper shade of red. "Er, wait for me!" He took off after Neige, careful not to drop James.
He knocked loudly on the boiler room door when he arrived, and he heard a metallic thud, followed by a loud stream of curses and more clattering. Nich opened the door, smoke billowing out. His face was almost as red as his hair, which was currently sticking out in multiple different directions. He pushed his goggles up, which left lighter rings around his eyes, not unlike a raccoon.
"Oh, uh, hey kids," he said. "You weren't really supposed to hear any of that, but it's fine." There was another loud hiss and clank, and he winced. "Unlike the landing gear, which is….not fine. Unless you're about to go talk to Amira, in which case the landing gear is absolutely fine."
His world was at peace.
Which was rather boring for Ark, who thrived in chaos - generally, chaos he caused. The Bazur was in his own pocket dimension, simply ‘scanning’ for ships to transport himself to, and check it out a little. One may consider that weird, and even more so if Ark told you if it was his idea of fun - for Ark, jumping to a random ship was quite interesting and could prove for an adventure. Especially if it was a completely blank slate, with the ship inhabitants being unaware of who or what you are. How fun!
A ping within mind came, and Ark decided, after a while - that he’d transport himself to the BC Orion. Quite a fine looking ship; from what Ark could get from his mediation. He was only able to see a thin outline of the structure he’d be going to, not the full picture. Which could be risky. But risks were fun!
Standing up, Ark cleared some sand from his coat and lifted his arms, readying himself. In a second, Ark vanished in a brief but bright flash of red light.
It was only a few seconds later did Ark reappear, deep down in one of the storage rooms of the ship. Letting his arms fall to his sides, Ark peered around, not yet seeing anyone. Shame. He mused in his mind.
From his previous detections, there looked to be quite a few aboard the ship. Ark glanced around, deciding to inspect the storage. See what sort of ship this was; what they had and if they were bringing anything anywhere. Ark wasn’t going to steal anything, just get a feel for his surroundings before setting out.
Neige finally stopped at the door of the boiler room, waiting for Lysander and Peregrine, and James, to catch up. Her light trail of frost following her melted rather quickly, the heat from the surrounding area quickly thawing whatever extra ice her presence excreted. Neige was brought out of her head at the sound of, presumably the landing gear, clanking and crashing within Nich's workspace. "Oh… we were wondering if… you could wire Nathaniel's… latest invention," she pointed to the cactus Lysander was holding.
James cooed softly from his perch on Lysander's shoulders, babbling happily as he played with the teen's hair, blinking innocently at Nich.
(yes that's a lameass response. Don't @ me, he's a baby, what the fuck else was I supposed to do??)
((amira would have something to say about lying to your captain, only to get called out by any member who's been there as long or longer than she has. 'oh yeah, like you didn't spend the entirety of your career doing that when you were injured, causing problems with other crew members, or breaking things'))
"Wire the what?" Nich asked, raising an eyebrow. Lysander held up the cactus, and Nich did a double take.
"Um, what do you want me to do with it? Make it walk? Sorry kid, but I'm not giving legs to something with that many spikes. Besides," he waved a hand at the smoking room, "I've sorta got my hands full." The landing gear seemed to agree, based on the grinding noise it made.
Lysander's face fell, and Nich felt, to his surprise, a bit of remorse.
"Look, I'm sure someone else would be willing to help you, but there's no way I have the time for that. Or, as much as I hate to admit it, the skill. Say," Nich said, running a hand through his slightly singed hair, "you wouldn't happen to know the time, wouldja?"
"Don't you have a watch?" Lysander asked, incredulous, and Nich flinched.
"Er, not…right now?" he offered, and the landing gear shuddered and smoked again. Lysander's eyes widened, and Nich forced a smile.
Deciding not to waste much time, Ark didn’t spend an extremely long time viewing the storage. From what he could tell - if he was correct, of course; the crew he was dealing with looked to be..pirates. This’ll be interesting, Ark thought, rubbing his hands together.
Oh, you have no idea how interesting this day will get, Ark.
Without another thought he leaves the room and exits off into the hallway. He begins to walk. Ark’s sure it won’t be long before he comes across something or someone.
"You dropped your watch into the landing gears?" Lysander asked, his eyes wide, and Nich cringed.
"I didn't drop it, it fell," he protested, then sighed. "Besides, I'm gonna get it out. But hey, if you really want someone to make the cactus walk, go to the cells. But you didn't hear it from me, in case someone asks."
"You're the best!" Lysander gushed, pulled Nich into a quick hug.
"Huh?" the older man said, "Oh. I guess I sort of am."
From Lysander's head, James cooed and patted Nich, kicking his feet happily as he peered around the engine room, his fingers stuck in his mouth.
Benji hissed at the pestering purebred, ears flattened and canines bared with hostility. Enkidu also flattened his ears, but his more in submission rather than aggression as he slid away from the angry hybrid, muttering a few apologies. The noble had asked about Benji's eye, and then the deformed fins on his tail ("do they work or…?"), and then went to curiously inspect the fins when he found himself slapped in the face by them, and then Benji's long tail whipped out of reach and curled around the smaller male's body.
This was how their usual interactions went.
The only reason why Benji was in Enkidu's cell was that the prisoner had constantly bugged the first mate in his cabin. Git hadn't exactly been too thrilled, the crow's feathers puffing up and that sharp beak emitting a horrendous sound that Benji just had to relent and relocate the two sprites to a quieter spot on the ship. Now he sorely regretted that decision.
The oven finally beeped, and Jax opened it and carefully, using an oven mitt, set the tray on the counter so the food could cool. "Almost done, maybe two more minutes 'til they're cooled, alright? Once you get some food in you, you'll feel a lot better. You gotta eat more in the future, though, without a proper breakfast, you'll have no energy all day."
Once the chicken nuggets were finally cool enough for Nathaniel to eat, Jax piled half of them on a plate, along with some ketchup on the side. She slid the plate across the table towards the angel. "There you are!"
Peregrine had been silently following Lysander and Neige around the ship, and was getting tired of being led everywhere. Not to mention, whenever the swordswoman was around Neige, she had an odd feeling. Not exactly uncomfortable, but it was too much emotion for Peregrine to handle.
"I should go train. I haven't had an opportunity for several months, and I'm afraid I am out of shape." Peregrine quickly ran to her cell, to train and escape from people for a while.
"Mmkay. Thanks so much, Jax. Sorry I'm being such a hassle…" Nathaniel sighed, finishing up his chocolate milk while he waited for the chicken nuggets to be cool enough to eat. "I just get so absorbed in what I'm doing that I completely forget to do anything else, which usually consists of basic necessities… and that's… um… not great for my body, I'm assuming, considering I weigh nothing as is."
Eztli had been wandering the ship for a while, trying and failing to find the captain. Another memory had resurfaced, a glimpse of a face and a voice she could hear so clearly, it felt like she hadn't been alone in that room. It had scared her, at first. Made her drop the little bundle of wires and gears she had been futzing with. But the voice was familiar, in a good way. The voice was safe, reminded her of the memory she had had of a dark place lit with glowing plants. The voice sounded kind of like home.
Unfortunately, she couldn't find the captain. In a last ditch attempt, she had questioned another crew member about the whereabouts of the first mate, as no one else seemed to know where the captain was either. Now, she was making her way through the brig, peeking in each cell to find Benji.
It was not long before Ark found himself being greeted by some of the faint smells from the kitchen. Although Bazur didn’t have as good as senses of smells as other species, he was still able to catch a few scents. Although they were all very unfamiliar to him. Still, new scents, usually meant new people, or that something was going on in the kitchen. Ark had to decide his plan of action.
Deciding not for a very direct approach, he quietly made his walk through the rest of the hallway and up to the open doorway of the kitchen. Halfway in the kitchen and halfway out of it, Ark leaned against the doorway in silence, folding his arms. He could see, quite clearly from his position, two people in the kitchen.
It wasn't hard to find the first mate, though finding him in the cell of the ship's not-a-prisoner was a little bit unexpected. Li knocked on the closest thing she could find, standing just outside the doorway and arching a brow at the two inside. Even with that slight change to her expression, the young girl's scowl stayed in place, leaving her looking almost like she was about to go off on someone, even if her voice didn't match.
"I'm not interrupting, am I?" She asked, tucking her hands into her pockets. Down here, her veins began to glow slightly, visible just under the surface of her skin as she became a living flashlight. "Is everything okay?"
Nathaniel turned around at the faint sound of footsteps and noticed an unfamiliar man in the doorway. "Ah! J-Jax!" He fell off the stool he was sitting on, startled, and dazed himself. "Nngh…" Once he'd gathered himself, he cowered up against the side of the counter, staring at the stranger with eyes wide with fear.
Benji looked up at the sound of a female voice, and sighed a breath of relief when he saw the resident flashlight. He ushered her into the cell and scooted over to provide more room for her—while keeping himself away from an ashamed Enkidu—and wrapped his tail around his torso to keep it out of the way. Enkidu did the same thing, flattening the spines so that he didn't poke himself. "Yeah, it's fine. What's up?" Benji asked, tilting his head and peering up at her.
The glowy effect she carried fascinated him, and it almost reminded him of the shifting patterns that covered Enkidu, which expanded in width due to the slight chill the cells carried. Both sprites perked their ears up at the same time, one out of curiosity and another out of interest. Benji didn't know why someone would seek him out, first mate or not.
Li was a bit startled to be so suddenly pulled into the cell, her brows furrowing as she allowed herself to be sat down. It wasn't hard to tell, looking between the two, that something had actually happened. Unfortunately though, it was also easy to note that it wasn't the best thing, whatever it was.
"Ah, I was looking for the captain. I had news to share." Leaving it at that, she turned to Enkidu, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees, the same way Amira did. "How have you been?"