JULY PLANET MINGLE

[save_the_souls]

Who: YOU. ME. EVERYONE.
Broadcast: IF YOU WANT
Action: YEAH!!!!!
When: July!

[Congratulations to the crews that did not get themselves blown up! Welcome to the Blue Planet, a planet full of charming islands and even less charming weather patterns! Are you going to take the time to enjoy the beach? Help out with the local Nunnilis population? Get caught in a storm with another person and have a rating boosting sexual tension moment? The world's your oyster!]

[Yeah in other words: ITS A MINGLE GET IN HERE]

[July Planet Info!]

Comments

B

[arcanepower]

[Belthazar pokes his head inside, curious about the attention Hiro's been paying to the shuttle. He can tell it's been modified but he's not exactly sure why. The snacks and oxygen tanks get his attention pretty quick though.]

... Hiro?

[If he sounds concerned, he kinda is. To him it looks like Hiro's about to try and run.]

What's all this?

[everydayhero]

[he hears that voice and he perks up immediately, looking over his shoulder at, well, exactly who he'd hoped would show up.]

Hey! I was wondering where you were.

[he sounds cheerful at first, but... belthazar looks worried. he sobers a little, looking confused.]

I was just gonna go exploring underwater. Are you okay?

[arcanepower]

Oh. Oh. I thought...

[He isn't the sort to laugh deprecatingly but it's tempting. He's relieved that whatever he thought was gonna happen isn't going to.

He eases himself into one of the seats, by now a bit more comfortable around Hiro than he was when he first arrived several months ago.]

I thought you were leaving-- I thought you were running away. You could last for a long time with the supplies in here. [A pause.] Minus the food, that is.

[everydayhero]

[jesus christ the look on hiro's face]

What--dude, I wouldn't run away from the fleet! I like it out here. I'm doing what I love best, I have my brother, I have you and Ino--I wouldn't leave any of that. Not for a second.

[he's settling into the pilot seat, facing more toward belth.]

[arcanepower]

[He's... not expecting to be mentioned in the same breath as Hiro's brother or Ino. That's... huge. A huge compliment. His ears flatten against his hair and he ducks his head, an example of terrible shyness.]

I-- I wouldn't ask you to stay for me. I wouldn't ask anyone.

[He sneaks a glance out the front of the shuttle, careful to avoid basically all eye contact.]

Even when things are going well, there is always a risk that... that people can leave, or some terrible disaster might happen. The only thing separating us from the Nunnilis is some kind of invisible... hand, guiding us onward.

I don't know if it's possible for us to run, but I have thought about it.

[everydayhero]

... well, yeah. There's always the chance that something horrible could happen.

[hiro sighs, looking down a bit.]

Back home, Tadashi's gone. It'd been months since the incident by the time I got here, and then he showed up. So yeah, something could happen, but... I don't want to run from what I have while I have it.

[arcanepower]

[Right. He remembers this, back when Hiro found him hiding under something. The awful things they have in common.]

... You are braver than I am.

[He adjusts his sleeves, pale fingers disappearing beneath the hems.]

It's easier to drive people away. It's easier to be above attachment, and you won't get hurt because you never expect anything out of anyone. Depending on yourself, and making your way alone-- that was my creed, my secret to how I lived this long.

When things became difficult I always ran. If food was scarce, I ran. If danger was nearby, I ran. And then Exsilium happened and I could not run anymore, even though I tried. Adra hunted me down. And now this place, and you, and I still want to run even though I am happy because I don't really know anything else and I am--

[His rant comes to a sharp stop, followed by a soft confession in the stillness.]

I'm scared.

[everydayhero]

... Hey.

[he reaches out, finally, and places his hand on belth's shoulder.]

Here's how I look at it. If you run away from everything all the time, you end up alone forever. You don't get hurt by people leaving, but--nobody likes to be alone. You're hurting all the time. If you let people stay, there are happy times, too. I'd rather have the ups and the downs, even if it's scary. That's why I would never leave you guys.

[arcanepower]

[Belth takes a moment, but he accepts the gesture and finally looks at Hiro.]

I believe you.

[That's fine with him. He doesn't want this to end either. He still hasn't found Adra on his world, and there are so many unanswered questions, and he's still learning how to be a good friend--

He takes a breath and... tries to smile, and it's a bit awkward, but it's there.]

I've never seen beneath the ocean before. There must be so many strange things.