our feelings will tingle, it's a vanquish mingle!

[geonomy]

Who: The crew of the Vanquish and any visitors!
Broadcast: Maybe? Nah?
Action: On the awesome Vanquish ship
When: Now through July

[Just arrived? Don't like nature, or do you just not have feelings and don't want to hold hands? Come on in!]

Comments

[geonomy]

[Now, when Clay first saw the lion that was Hermione, he... well, not necessarily freaked out, but was very cautious in trying to figure out what was going on. The difference between then and now shows when the huff makes him blink, then set his notes aside as Hermione flops down and rests her head on his leg.

It's still a weird to make the connection between Hermione and the lion in his head, just like how it's weird to do so for Katie and the kitten that sometimes appears on the ship. Nevertheless, he wraps an arm around her head and strokes the underside of her chin, recognizing that she's probably feeling down about something - though he's not sure how he realizes that just yet.]

Hey. You okay?

[He doesn't expect an answer, her being a lion and all, but he does want to show that he's being attentive to what's bothering her.]

[brainiest]

[ Is she alright? Technically speaking, of course she is. There's nothing strictly wrong, of course, and it's not as if the new planet is as dangerous as the last one had been - there's no fighting and no poisoned air for them to worry about - but it has reminded her of her own isolation. She feels a little as though it's self-inflicted, and the fact that she has someone else in her mind now (not that she's complaining, she formed the Contract from choice) means that she has to be a little more careful when it comes to her own thoughts and... Well, that's exhausting.

It's easy, in that case, to tilt her head into Clay's touch and relax against him. Being around someone regularly makes things like this easier, and Hermione has always appreciated a bit of casual touching when she was in her alternate form; there's a kind of protective, affectionate warmth that settles in her mind, more instinct than anything else, and her wings open a little to wrap around Clay in return, almost as if she can cocoon the two of them together.

Nudging her nose into his fingers, she lifts her head and nods.

She's still technically a person, after all. ]

[geonomy]

[Ah. Well, all right. Clay glances at the wings covering him, but it's nice, too. There's something protective, something affectionate in the air, and Clay mistakes that for his own feelings, because that's how he always feels when he's interacting with his crew like this. He gives a half smile as a result, then boops her nose with a couple of his fingers before he rubs the bridge of her nose with the heel of his hand.]

Okay. Then we can just hang out here for a little while.

[You're all so important to me. It's generally how he feels right now as he goes back to stroking her chin. There's probably still something up, but if Hermione doesn't feel like talking about it, then he won't pry too much. He respects his crew's wishes, after all.]

[brainiest]

[ Hermione can't help the little huff of noise that comes when he literally boops her nose, and she wrinkles it, baring her teeth - but she's soon pressing into his fingers, the wrinkle nothing aggressive and more playful as she chases the touch. It's still a little odd for her to show affection when she's not herself, since she can't exactly hold hands or cuddle people, but she imagines this might be enough. It's not too awkward, and she feels a gentle warmth that settles over her shoulders, chasing the negative feelings away and to one side before she leans down, closing her eyes.

There's a lot of things she could talk about, but it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel as though she should be allowed to air her loneliness and her upset when, really, she is generally very happy - and the people around her are all wonderful.

Instead, she pushes herself up a little and then - flops. On Clay. Because if you're going to go for lion cuddles then you might as well go all the way, especially when she's careful not to crush him. ]

[geonomy]

[Oof.

Okay, Clay's a buff, broad guy. You gotta train intensely for a long time when trying to be an astronaut, and he still trains to this day to keep himself in shape.

But lions are huge and heavy. He can actually support her weight, could even lift her up and carry her around in this form if she wanted, but the flop is still enough to make him lean until he's on his back, taking her with him. He's not crushed in the slightest, but it's still a bit of a surprise, and he lets out a huff of laughter as he lifts up both arms to scritch behind her ears.]

Wuh - Whoa, hey...!

[He's grinning though, and with his arms around her, it's pretty clear that he doesn't mind one bit. Along with that protective affection he's feeling, there's also a bloom of that love he feels for his crew, the familial sort of connection that makes him love being the captain and caring for them all.]

[brainiest]

[ There's no way for her to hide her laughter, even when she's a lioness - it comes out as a sort of huff sound, closer to a growl than anything else, but the fact that she's leaning into him and letting him touch her and scratch behind her ears is proof enough that she's not actually doing anything but enjoying the attention. It's still difficult to get it all across as a lioness, but at least she can try, pressing into his hands and letting her wings drape over the two of them, almost cocooning them all over again in their own personal white fortress.

Eventually, of course, it has to end - Hermione can't stay a lion forever, no matter how much she might want to. She manages to shift her body, larger than what she's used to, and flop to one side, away from Clay's body just in case. Then she reshapes herself, lifting her head up and rubbing a hand at her eye, the one that barely avoiding her scarring, tilting her head up and offering a smile. ]

You indulge me too much, Clay.