driftfleet | (no subject)

[Two cups of tea steam on the galley table. Hange sips at one, in a relaxed posture; the other one is for Cecil.]

So, it's not as if you're unwelcome here in my books, but I'm surprised you transferred so suddenly. Did something happen?

[ When Cecil woke up to the sound of Diamond's voice, the first thing that popped into her head was "Makoto is gone". And she closed her eyes again, trying to will herself back to sleep because facing that truth was too difficult and she would really rather not be bothered with it on top of the situation with Kaneis today.

That ends quickly though when she heard Diamond announce she's giving up her captain title and being transferred to the Red Fish.

Then, Cecil's eyes snapped open and she bolted upright in bed so fast that she made herself a little dizzy. After a few deep breaths and looking around, it was confirmed-- she was not on the Wonderduck anymore and the knowledge made her feel sick. She dropped out of the top bed of the bunk she woke up in, and headed (albeit reluctantly) to wash up.

When she's decent again, she mostly just... stands around in the galley, shaking her head at the pile of actual pudding sitting on the table beside Hange's cups of tea, upset and not wanting to believe what she knows is true, but it's hard to argue with reality, of course. ]

I didn't transfer. They just put me here.

[for whatever reasons someone might want to find Zhas, he is in the kitchen, carefully cutting up bits of raw ostrich against a cutting board and dropping them in a pan with some other things--oil, canned vegetables, some kind of spice.

he's still got a skull painted on his face, but he's also... wearing... an apron... instead of his usual coat. you know, to keep his clothes clean. it smells good, whatever it is.]

[ And here is Cecil, going to the kitchen to force herself to eat something, but when she sees Zhas cooking, she turns sharply on her heel to walk right out of there again. They'd spotted each other sooner, but it seemed both of them had the same idea about how to deal with the situation: don't.

She almost makes it out too, but she catches sight of the apron he's wearing and she's so surprised by it that she stubs her toe on the door, alerting pretty much everyone in the whole ship to her presence in the kitchen. ]

[Woah, she raises her eyebrows and takes a sip of tea to buy time. Okay, she just assumed... but she believes Cecil.]

I suppose they could if anyone could.

Will you transfer yourself back?

I doubt my crew would welcome me back after this. Not all of us were getting along so well the last time I saw them. I made some comment about transfers being possible if tensions were too overwhelming to one of them and I'm sure he now believes I did this on purpose.

If you really wish to turn the situation around, I doubt it's as unsalvagable as that. [She sips her tea.] You might have a time with some tension, but sometimes that can be resolved with time.

On the other hand if you want to stay here, that's fine; I want that much to be clear.

[She glances in at what he's cooking. Hange already has the scratchy grey sweater pulled on over... the uniform she arrived in, actually: white pants, very high black boots flared at the knee, a cream shirt and tan jacket over that. The shirt and jacket are concealed under the sweater but for the collar, of course.

Then around her shoulders and head she's wrapped the great traveling cloak: traces of white patterning are visible, the wings broken into abstraction by folding and layering.]

What are you making?

[he kind of knows she's there. it's a small ship. he's keenly familiar with what her strange magics feel like, now. so he's not surprised when he hears her walk into the kitchen, and then walk right back out again.

...he is surprised to hear the botched exit. he stops what he's doing, paused halfway through raising his knife, and turns to look...]

[lookin' good, Hange... Zhas pauses in his work to look over at her, but he doesn't hesitate to tilt his head in the direction of the pan, inviting her over. she can come look for herself.]

[She does, sniffing briefly over the pan. Mmm...]

Not bad. I didn't know you were a cook.

[ She hisses a curse under her breath, mostly directed at herself, and hops back on one leg for a moment before setting her bumped foot down and shaking her head with annoyance. She pointedly tries very hard not to pay him any mind, trying to make it seem as though she wasn't just attempting to make a run for it, though the silence where the telltale sound of a knife hitting a surface should be tells her he's definitely stopped doing what he was doing and now he's looking at her make a fool of herself. ]

[...well, he clicks his tongue and goes back to cutting. lucky for her, he's not too interested in making fun of something that stupid. they aren't on that good of terms yet.

he also taps the cutting board with the flat side of his knife, a couple of times, to let her know he doesn't care if she comes in. sure, that's... kind of hard to guess since it has absolutely nothing to do with that to a normal person, but hey.]

[ It definitely doesn't. At the most, she gets the idea that the intentional noise is meant to catch her attention, so she stops fussing quietly after a bit and merely stands there by the doorway, leaning against the wall and watching him without a word.

It's quite a long while later that she decides to say anything. ]

...I didn't request a transfer here.

You don't know Kaneis.

[ She wraps her hands around her own cup of tea, but doesn't drink anything from it just yet, simply allowing the heat of the tea to soak into her skin as a means of comfort. ]

I'm not sure my request to be returned would be approved anyway, considering Atroma put me here with no consideration for what I wanted, so I'm relieved to hear that, at least. I'd be... a little upset if you tried kicking me off. I imagine Zhas won't be pleased, as it is.

I have met him, actually... he seems more like a bratty teenager than anything. I tell you, kids from home are better behaved.

[But let's not rant about the whippersnappers. Cecil brings up some good points, so.]

I've discovered Zhas does better with a bit of space, so give him that. Besides, I think we're doing better so if the problems are serious I'll do my best to lend you a hand.

Coil will probably follow Zhas' example. Have you met the kid?

[ "Bratty teenager" does seem to fit Kaneis rather well, but she knows he is more than that. She's grateful for the subject change though. ]

I don't think that will be necessary. Zhas and I have come to an understanding.

[ After she beat the tar out of him, that is. ]

Even so, that doesn't mean either of us want to spend all day, every day together.

[ Mention of this Coil though piques her interest a little. That must be the friend Zhas had mentioned to her. ]

I have not met him, no.

[he shrugs... he's never considered himself such, but he guesses it's true...

he's almost done chopping up meatstuff, so he'll finish the last of that now.]

[Hey, he can be more on top of being a bratty teenager. Hange just has little respect for teenagers of the bratty variety. The kids at home might be bratty at times, but they're also brave, dedicated, selfless, and so many good things - she'll be happy if Kaneis shows some of those qualities, but right now she's not counting on it.]

Well, we can spend plenty of time at waystations if necessary... and there are ways to cultivate the illusion of solitude even if the ship is cramped in reality.

Coil himself is Zhas' subordinate, and a complete mute. He communicates either through sign language or miming right now. He shares the lab with me. [Resentfully.]

[You know what, she's gonna hang around to steal a bit of meat before she braves the cold.]

[by the time she speaks, he's sliced up the last of that meatstuff and dropped it in the pan--it smells really good, after all of that protein junk, and now that he's got his full sense of smell back.

he looks back at her again... but this time, he picks up a spatula, taps it on the counter twice, and then points with it to the table. this is a much clearer gesture, accompanied by the slight tilt of his head. pull up a chair, have a seat.

he must expect her to just do it, since he goes back to cooking. he's got a pot of something grain-like that he scoops out onto his frying food.]

[Coil's got himself a new piece of technology, picked fresh from the shady planetside shops. it's not often that he gets so excited about something like this, but the hope of being free of a little frustration is fueling him.

...if only it would work.

the quiet boy has deep wells of patience for a great many things in life... but technology is not one of them, and his augment is not helping him as much as he'd like.

so, he's kneeling beside an open panel below one of the network stations, new toy (which looks mostly like a flat square of plastic) plugged into the ports there. alternating between leaning up so he can see the comm screen and peck at the keys there, and plopping back down on the ground so he can dink around with the mysterious piece of hardware... things are not going as planned.

finally, with a hiss of breath between his teeth, his temper snaps and he slams a fist down on the comm's keyboard.

ugh. great. one more thing not going right in his life. ...being an angsty teenager is hard.]

[ She gets the hint much more easily this time and after some hesitation, she obeys. Personally, she's a little more upset about being moved around like a pawn on a game board than she is hungry, but the food does smell good and, well, she's a little weak to anything warm that smells nice. It at least offers some comfort, even if it makes her miss Barakiel sharply.

She watches him for a while in silence, uncertain if he either doesn't believe what she's told him or simply doesn't care. She's not really surprised that he knows how to cook apparently. Of course he'd be somewhat self-sufficient. She is a little impressed though that he seems to move about the kitchen as though all of this is second nature. Even she probably couldn't do that well if left to her own devices. ]

Mm... nice apron.

[he shrugs. hange and coil get the lab, and zhas gets the kitchen. everybody needs a hobby.

he packs down rice, sets down his spatula, and finally steps away from his work. he pulls on his shoulder while he turns, stretching out the tendons and muscles--one of the many strange effects of getting all healed up is that his shoulders eased up for the first time in years. now that he's back to his old habits, he has to feel them complain and ache all over again...

so he glances at the wall, neck stretched to the side, wearing an apron, and somehow looking exactly as serious, unimpressed, and vaguely annoyed as ever.]

Met Coil yet.

[ A mute? Well, that explains why Zhas asked her if she knew how to sign the first time they met face-to-face. ]

...Not very likeable?

(no subject)

just for Cecil atm

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