SS Pathstone Mingle

[heresyandlace]

Who: Crew and visitors of the SS Passive Aggressive Pathstone
Broadcast: Probably not
Action: Aboard the ship
When: All February!

[with how good everyone on this ship is at settling differences, getting along, acting rationally, and sharing their things, this month will go by without any ripples.

the audience will be so bored. there isn't ever any drama on this ship. at all. it's great.]

Comments

Cole

[killedwithlove]

[Cole has helped avoid fights by not arbitrarily making off with the ship to run cargo, or flying them around for no reason. In fact, he's not been on board a huge amount, because he ended up working as a taxi driver for a while.

But he's stopped doing that now and has taken to hanging around the ship more. He's even acquired paints and some cleaning solvent in case he decides to remove the terrifying attempts at painting from his bunk walls.]

[princessia]

[ Whenever Elize needs a break from spending time on the station, either from working or being near many crowds, she stays back on the Pathstone. Being occupied with working to earn her credits back, studying, and with new goals in mind, she has managed to push her sad thoughts at bay for now. She hasn't been moping much and she hasn't been sleeping for unusually long hours anymore.

The door to her personnel room will be open, where she can be found practicing her writing. When she's not studying, she may be found practicing how to brush her hair into various hairstyles, using a pair of glowing ribbons she bought on the station. ]

[dirth]

[ Solas wastes little time, once he is adjusted and settled, in finding Cole. He had promised that he find him and he is doing his best to make up for what he has missed; it has been months, and he is aware of it, and he feels the sting of it in the pit of his stomach. He missed Cole, missed the gentle companionship and his quiet compassion, and now that he has it again he isn't certain what to do.

All he can do is step up behind the young spirit and fight back his soft smile, tilting his head. ]

Cole.

[dirth]

[ Solas, for his part, has been checking on what was abandoned in his wake - the paintings he had completed, the murals that were still in progress, what little paints he had been able to scrape together with the meagre funds he had found himself in possession of at the station. He works as little as he can to get what he needs and most of his time is spent in quiet, drawing and painting and settling himself in the darkness to allow his mind to settle.

When he manages to draw himself together, to step outside and see the people aboard his ship, most of them familiar - those that know him know where he spends his time and what he enjoys, so he makes little effort to find them. He sits, at peace, and waits for people to join him. That is how he has lived for very long, after all. ]

[princessia]

[ With their accounts still locked, Elize had already been under the assumption that the majority of the crew has been occupied regaining their funds. She has been keeping busy too, which has kept her from feeling down when the others are working.

But when she sees Cole on the ship, she's already racing in his direction to give him a hug. It's not even a hug because she's feeling upset this time, like she was the past month. She's only genuinely happy to see him. If he's carrying any paints at the moment, sorry about that. ]

[killedwithlove]

[Cole can often be found in the bridge now. His pilot augment means he's more attached to Pathstone than ever and spends a lot of time sitting and talking to her.

But he feels when Solas enters the bridge. It's a pressure against his awareness, eyes blinking in succession and watching.

He spins in his seat, but doesn't launch himself at Solas, because he needs to work out what the rules are again.]

Solas.

[killedwithlove]

[The paints are dropped. They're still sealed, it doesn't matter. He bends to scoop her up as she pounces, holding her tight and close and feeling her happiness bubble and fizz about them.]

Hello, Elize.

[princessia]

[ It's not a surprise for her to find Solas's name on the ship roster. She was aware of his return by his network post and expected the transfer if he hadn't been initially shuffled here. She might have been poking her head out of her personnel room several times, trying to find an opportunity to properly welcome him back. It's easy for her to check, now that her room is no longer on the Huntress.

When she finds him sitting outside, she walks up with her arms tucked behind her back. She's holding and hiding something. ]

Um... welcome back, Solas!

[princessia]

[ She's given a brief start, but starts to giggle with delight as he scoops her up. In return, she hugs him as tight as she can and lifts her head back slightly to look at him. ]

Hello!

[ Then finally she realizes she must have made him drop those paints. ]

...oh. I'm sorry about that.

[killedwithlove]

It's all right. It didn't hurt the paint.

[He doesn't put her down. Sometimes, hints of Cole peek out, reminding him how to be a big brother.]

[princessia]

[ Well, she's quickly back to smiling.

And she has no objections with being carried. Even if she openly protested about it, it would have been a lie. She likes being carried like this. ]

Were you going to paint some more? Do you need help carrying the paints? I can help!

[killedwithlove]

I was going to give some of them to Solas, so he can keep painting. He paints a lot nicer than I do.

[princessia]

Wasn't he teaching you painting before? Maybe he can help you paint your room.

[killedwithlove]

Yes, but he went away for a long time and I don't remember new skills well.

[princessia]

You can ask him to teach you again.

[ A pause, then her voice goes unnecessarily quiet into a whisper. She's not even sure why she's whispering question. ]

Do you think he can teach me too? I've never painted before.

[killedwithlove]

He'd probably teach you. He likes me and Jove, so he'll try to get to know you and once he knows you, he'll like you.

[dirth]

[ Things have changed, ever so slightly, but not enough that Solas feels totally out of place. He's fit back into the crew as easily as he did before, keeping to himself and making himself an invisible figure - he was personnel, after all. There wasn't much need of him in the long run, not much talent he could offer in the wake of the gifts others had been given.

He watches Cole for a long moment, wondering, before he shakes his head and returns the smile to his face. ]

You seem comfortable here.

[ An idle observation, waiting for Cole to make his choice. ]

[dirth]

[ There was only accommodation stopping Solas from returning to the Pathstone, the only ship that he really considered home on the fleet, and being back is almost like he had never left in the first place. Things had changed, of course, and people had come and gone, but there was no denying his place nor the fact that he had left his mark; his murals were still there, painted upon the walls for all to see.

It's been a long time, he thinks, but not long enough; he belongs here just as he once belonged in the Inquisition and he will soon abandon both once more. At least this time it won't be his choice alone that guides his path.

When he sees Elize he smiles, turning to look at her with a nod of his head. ]

Thank you, Elize. It is good to see you again.

[nerdeology]

[At some point during the month, a seemingly-empty shuttle docks at the Pathstone and just hangs out there for a while. To some, it's just sort of there- comes and goes without so much as a whisper of a visitor.

Others might find Mikleo waiting in the hangar area, leaning against the wall by the entry. He prefers to be invited further in, so if he's not discovered quickly, he'll be calling Elize to tell her that he's arrived.

Apparently there are some people he really ought to meet.]


(( as per usual please check permissions to see if mikleo can be seen/heard! ))

[killedwithlove]

[Cole nods after a moment.]

I have pilot augment now, which is nice, I can fly Pathstone and stop her being hit when we come under attack, and Tekhetsio yells at me a lot for making us look 'stupid' but I don't really understand that.

Am I allowed to hug you? Jove and Elize hug a lot and I've got better at it, but you've changed a lot and I don't know what the rules are.

[killedwithlove]

[Cole notices, as the pilot and goes down to see what's going on, because he feels something familiar, echoes and whispers and when he sees the young man, he knows and he smiles ever so slightly.]

You're Mikleo. Sorey's best friend. You wind together, like a plait of red thread.

[nerdeology]

[Mikleo lifts a brow at that. What a curious thing to say right from the start. Like thread, huh...? Well, he's not wrong. Does that mean he can sense the pact, or is it something else?]

You must be Cole, then.

[At least, he feels different from a human, or any of the other species he's met here.]

[killedwithlove]

Yes, I'm Cole. I met Sorey. You mean so much to each other, it's a song stronger than steel.

[He reaches a hand out, like he wants it to be taken, or maybe just reaching to Mikleo. He's not a human, a mortal, but he's not a spirit like Cole knows them.]

[nerdeology]

[Handshakes are unusual for him, but he at least knows of them, so with a small smile he accepts the offered hand. Sorey had mentioned how perceptive Cole was, but this is more than Mikleo expected. A spirit, Elize said, but... yes, definitely different than what he's used to.]

...I won't deny that, so yes. I've always known him. How do you know?

[killedwithlove]

[Cole clasps Mikleo's hand in both his, calloused from weapon use and with blank paint under the nails. He tries reaching, to see if Mikleo can do what spirits do what River did and communicate self to self, without words.

And it doesn't happen. He keeps holding on anyway, soaking in the warmth of Mikleo's emotions to Sorey.]

Because you both show it. Know it. It forms who you are and how you feel, always back to the other.