driftfleet | /takes the huntress out back and buries it (jan mingle pt. II)

[ She's totally walking in on him in the kitchen while he's dismantling the blender. She has a short sword in one hand, and a small, still budding tomato plants in the other. What a great care package, am I right.

Anyways, she stands in the doorway, squinting in his direction. ]

Um ...

What are you doing?

[ You know that look a cat gives you when you walk in on it doing something wrong? ]

[ Annnd you know that look it gives you when it decides it doesn't give a shit and keeps on doing it? ]

[ That's essentially what we're dealing with here. ]

Ino. [ A brief greeting before he's looking back down, electricity charged in his fingertips to make an impossibly sharp blade that cuts evenly through the metal he's working with. ]

This isn't your ship. When did you arrive?

Just a second ago.

[ She approaches him now, though, setting the sword and the plant on the counter next to him. ]

You ... do realize there's only one blender, right? And that some people were probably using it?

What's done is done. [ Solid argument. ]

Now, I am also a member of the ship that's using it. [ He looks over at the gifts, however, then shoots her a quietly questioning look. ]

That's not how you -- [ Sigh. Okay. Whatever. ] Whatever. I brought you some stuff.

[ She nods at the sword and the plant. The sword seems self explanatory, so she skips over that and goes straight to the plant. ]

The plant's a tomato plant. It'll be awhile until it's ripe, but fresh air and green is kinda hard to come by here, so ...

[ Tomatoes, huh. He wants to ask her how exactly she knew but he can already guess the answer, another fact passed on by another version of himself. ]

I see. With as much free time as it seems I'll have here, I'll take care of it. [ Naturally he then reaches for the hilt of the sword, unsheathing it in one quick sweep in order to test its weight and judge its quality. A few test swings, a switch from a forward grip to a back grip... ] It's not bad.

[ Well, at least he seems to like the plant! She looks happy. ]

Besides watering it regularly, you'll need to change out the soil every couple of weeks to keep it growing properly. We have supplies for that in the garden Dr. Crusher and I run on the Iskaulit.

[ As far as the sword goes, she just shrugs at his assessment. It was part of a present for her, but she figures he'll make better use of it than she has so far. ]

Once we stop again, you'll probably be able to find something more to your liking for sale. Your captain sounds like a complete lunatic, though, so I figured you'd appreciate being armed.

[ Well... that's encouraging. He wonders which of the lunatics he's met so far is meant to be the captain, because that really doesn't actually narrow things down. ]

Iskaulit. I read about it; I'll keep it in mind. [ Good, another task to focus on. He has to flip that sword back around and angle it back into the sheath in order to accomplish it one-handed, seeming like he's getting adjusted to life without a second arm pretty quickly. ]

How often do the stops occur?

[ Yeah, she's kind of impressed at how easily he did that ... he really wasn't kidding about finding a way to adjust. ... Oh well, trying to invent a prosthetic for him will keep Hiro occupied with something interesting to do, anyways.

Either way, after a moment she'll move her eyes away from his hand to his face, and answer the question. ]

There's been a few exceptions ... but for the most part, we make a stop once a month and stay stationed there for a few weeks.

I read about past planets. [ Which alone had been a serious trip; he's having to adjust to the fact that they're flying through space at all after coming fresh from a world that hasn't mastered any form of commercial flight. Not to mention his involvement with the solar system stopped at the moon and did not involve a pleasant time. ]

Assuming there are cooperative traders nearby, I'll take your advice. Though I don't have money to barter with, yet. When do payments begin?

Yeah, it's ... pretty crazy, huh? [ By now it's old hat, for her, but she can definitely remember a time when it would have seemed impossible. ] Did Nightingale give you her guide? I think that has the most information in it about where we've visited, aside from some of the earlier places she wasn't here for.

[ Oh, that's ... a good question. She has to think for a moment to remember how long it was before she got paid. ]

Let's see, you got here on Wednesday ... ? So it'll probably only be another day or two. It's a weekly allowance.

[ The date reminds her, though, since time can work funny: ]

Oh, it's January here, by the way. The seventeenth. Not that it makes much difference out in space, but people like to keep track for holidays and birthdays and stuff like that.

Edited (html why did you betray me) 2016-01-18 19:19 (UTC)

[ Ah, he almost chastises himself for not thinking to ask earlier. Of course the date wouldn't be the same. ] It was October when I left. Not a major change, then.

Nightingale did, yeah. Along with answering a few of my questions, but I crosschecked the answers across more than one source. [ Maybe it sounds paranoid but this place is still new to him and being hunted and having his life threatened has become routine more than news. Maybe he should be more worried about going stir-crazy. ]

She seems to think highly of you.

... she was concerned that you were going to harm me in a fight.

[ It sounds like ninja level paranoid, which is at least normal to her, so she doesn't make a comment.

But ... she does start laughing. ]

We sparred once. I think she's a little afraid of me, now.

[ Well, Nightingale had said she'd held back some at least. Still, he would've been interested in watching the match and judging for himself. ]

What about Zuko? Have you fought him?

Zuko?

[ Oh, right -- Allen had mentioned that Zuko knew Sasuke from the last place he'd been. Huh ... she wonders how that conversation went. ]

No. I've seen what he and his sister can do, though. They both use fire to fight.

[ He's operating off of the assumption that Ino just knows everyone. For his own convenience. ]

We've agreed to a match already and I was merely interested in how well-founded his confidence is. If he's merely bluffing it'll be a disappointment.

[ It's a good assumption to make, honestly. Miss Social Butterfly, right here. ]

I'd be very surprised if you didn't kick his ass. That should be interesting, though.

[ It almost earns a faint smirk of competition but he holds it back, pride recently taking a number of beatings but he's never been one to back down from bragging about his fighting prowess. When boosting it is your singular extreme goal for years you have to have something to show for it somewhere. ]

It just brings up something else I wanted to ask about. Were your powers limited when you came here?

[ Hmm .... well, the answer to that is a bit complicated. She puts her hands on her hips, frowning. ]

Well, to be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure. Everything I've been able to test out has worked fine, but there are a few things I can't really test properly without, you know, giving certain things away to the entire Fleet.

[ Like telepathy en masse, etc. ]

As far as I know, though, no. It's not uncommon for people to have some of their abilities removed or limited, though.

[ While he's certainly not defenseless he's taken a big enough cut that it's going to Bother him for a long time, especially while adjusting to three limbs (potentially three plus a replacement, in fairness). ]

Given the nature of the Yamanaka clan's abilities that's understandable. Is there any precedent for someone regaining abilities that were lost?

Not here, no. It seems like the type of thing that ends up getting taken by Atroma is stuff that could potentially help you escape, so I don't think they'd be too keen on giving it back.

Tch.

Then I'll find a way to set that precedent myself. I won't be content in settling for less... In the meantime I suppose it's a chance to train lesser used skills.

.... C??????

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