driftfleet | (no subject)

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Who: Anyone! Everyone!
Broadcast: If you want!
Action: On the FLOOT LOOP stations! Or the planet!
When: WHENEVER time is an illusion.

[you know the drill! this is a mingle for the stations floating around the bizarre forest planet, or the forest planet itself!

want to get away from the forest illusions? are you stopping for supplies? were you just really craving a bowl of Floot Loops for some reason? whether you are backdating for pre-planet shenanigans or just want to mess around, this is the post for you!]

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[oh jeez--when someone talks to her she looks up, startled, with biiig, watery eyes and her cheeks kind of red from all that crying. or maybe embarrassment, at the rate she's going. her makeup is an absolute mess.]

N-No, I'm okay... [accompanied by a big sniffle because she is not okay.]

[Dammit, big sad eyes, his one weakness. He frowns a little, then glances over his shoulder like he's making sure nobody can hear them before he looks back at her.]

Really? 'Cuz, I mean... people don't usually cry when they're okay. [He shrugs one shoulder.] If I should buzz off I will, but... I don't think it's cool to make somebody cry, so... [He's doing a lot of trailing off. This is kind of outside his comfort zone, playing nice with strangers, but he can't just turn away from those big sad eyes.]

It's... okay...

[she's making somebody awkward. this is so awkward. this is the woooorst. she smears away the big puddle of tears under her eyes and sniffles again and tries really hard to pull herself together.]

I just... saw some people in the forest and I'm... just getting sad and stupid and stuff.

[SEE SHE'S FINE she's totally great ugh she'll never breathe out of her nose again, it's so stuffed up...]

[She's obviously feeling pretty awkward herself, and that wasn't really Axel's goal. Now they're both awkward. He rubs his neck again and then shakes his head.]

Nah, it ain't stupid. I saw some pretty unpleasant stuff in the woods myself; it's not stupid to be upset about it, I think. Sometimes the past can be upsetting. [He turns and leans against the side of the ship a couple of feet away from her, his hands threaded together behind his back.] You wanna talk about it? I mean I don't have any context or anything, since we don't know each other, but it makes me objective, right?

[He's got nothing better to do, and he's always been a good listener.]

[she thinks about it for a second, the silence broken only by her sad sniffling...]

I guess, but if we see each other again, you can't think of me as that girl who was crying like a little kid behind someone's ship, okay? Guh... [she hugs her knees.] This totally didn't happen.

[He grins a little.]

What didn't happen? This is just a regular everyday conversation between a couple of people on a reality TV show in space. Nothing remarkable about it. [That Axel-ese for 'your secret's safe with me'.]

What's your name, anyhow? I'm Axel.

[well, it gets her actually laugh a little in between all of her sniffling and stuffy-nosed breathing.]

I'm Krista.

[The laugh gets a little grin out of him. Seems he's still got a knack for making people laugh, even without a heart.]

Nice to meet you, Krista.

So! What sort of regular everyday stuff should we talk about?

Ugh...

[her shoulders droop and she huddles up into a little protective ball, but at least she seems to be calming down a little. she still feels stupid for saying this, but...]

I really miss my friends from back home...

[She speaks so quietly, she's a little hard to hear. Axel drops to a crouch where he'd been standing, draping his arms over his knees so he can hear her better. He shakes his head and gives her a sidelong look.]

That ain't stupid either. It's normal to miss people who aren't around. [He pauses, frowns.] The forest showed you somebody you miss, huh? [He shakes his head again.] Me, too. It kinda sucks.

Really? [she puffs up her cheeks with air, for a second...] That sucks a lot. I saw a whole bunch of my friends. Here--

[she pulls a photograph out of her pocket, carefully folded and stuffed there earlier so it wouldn't get cried on, and hands holds it up so that Axel can take it.]

I got this from the end and everything. I think the place really had it out for me, this time...

[Axel only saw the one friend in the forest, but his circle is pretty small anyway; one was enough. He reaches over and takes the photo, examining it a moment with a frown. There's a long moment of silence and he hands it back.]

It's a nice photo. At least you have that, now, right? [He folds his arms atop his knees where he's crouched beside her.] Even if it's just a memory, it's still important. Sometimes memories are all we get to keep.

[she takes her photograph back, stuffing it back into her pocket.]

I don't want just memories, though. I need to be back there. I was figuring out so many important things, and that's been on hold for... ever. [with a sniff, she wipes away at her eyes again with he sleeves.] Ugh, I just... get so frustrated...

[Axel sighs a little, leaning back against the ship.]

I ain't got a solution for ya, kiddo. I know there's a lot of people here who would rather be back home, but I don't see any way to control who comes and goes, unfortunately. I was actually messing with the transporters on my ship, trying to see if they could be calibrated to send people anywhere but another ship, but I had no luck.

I did manage to beam a block of wheat solid into space, though, so I feel like I made progress.

[djfslkd she suddenly laughs--immediately covering her mouth in surprise. she just imagined this lonely little block of wheat solid floating around in space...]

I guess that's... better than nothing.

[The laugh gets a smile out of him. He's always been good at getting people to laugh, even when he was a kid, and he's glad that not having a heart hasn't impaired that, at least.]

I'll definitely let you know if I actually accomplish anything more than beaming food into space. For now, I think 'better than nothing' is the best we can really hope for. [He hefts a sigh.] It could be worse, though, I think.

You mean this place? Yeah, it's... Already better than the last spot I was in.

[she'll admit that. even if she's lonely and miserable, at least there are people here who will, like, talk to her.]

Same here. I kinda hated my job, and pretty much everybody I worked with was a real stiff. I mean, I got to do a lot of traveling, which was cool, but it was hard to appreciate seeing new places when work was always hanging over my head, you know?

[He won't ask what sort of situation she left, but he'll listen if she wants to talk about it.]

Oh, so this is... kind of like an extended vacation for you, huh?

[whether or not she'll talk about it, she seems to be doing much better already. :{ he's helping her get her mind off of everything.]

Mmhm, something like that. It's really nice not to have to file reports and paperwork and stuff. And sleeping in, man, that's the best part.

[No more early morning missions!]

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