You can check out anytime you'd like.. [Hotel Corona Mingle]

[thespaceopera]

Who: The Fleet!
Broadcast: If you want
Action: Hotel Corona or Planet Ikke
When: December 7th onward



[After the mystery and isolation of their last destination, the Marsiva seems determined to head to brighter, busier territory. After a long journey through remote, nebula-painted space, speeding along at a brisk pace for the Host ship, the Marsiva brings her Fleet to a sudden and prominent point of traffic.

It seems that the Fleet has happened upon some sort of vacation destination! Maybe Atroma thinks that the passengers deserve some rest and relaxation... or just wants to distract them with something huge and shiny.

Welcome to Hotel Corona! Feel free to enjoy yourselves and enjoy the sites! If a hotel resort isn't your thing, you can head on over to the nearby planet and explore it's icy wonders.

In order words: it's a mingle!! Everyone get in! ]

[>> Plot Post]

Comments

[axiomed]

[ He hums as he considers his move. ]

Good luck.

[exothermia]

[He snorts lightly, then settles in to survey the board.]

[axiomed]

[ Charles moves his knight forward. ]

It feels like a long time.

[exothermia]

[Erik glances back up, fingers poised above a rook.]

What does?

[axiomed]

Playing chess.

[exothermia]

Mm. [He moves his piece finally, musing on their time spent here.] We don't really play as often.

[axiomed]

[ Not surprising by any means. There's little he can add to that. What should he say? "Let's do it more often?". In light of his outburst, Charles just isn't sure anymore. Erik may not have taken it badly.

Instead he moves a piece forward. ]

I guess I miss it.

[exothermia]

[He's quite for a moment, capturing a pawn.]

I do too.

[axiomed]

[ He shrugs. ]

If you want, we can do it more often.

[exothermia]

...I'd like that.

[axiomed]

[ He nods quietly. ]

[exothermia]

[Erik lets out a breath, keeping his eyes on the board. There are so many things that could be said, should be said, and yet he's only ever able to scrape a few together and jumble them into a sentence. It's frustrating, but it's the tangle he lives in now. Hard to think there was a time when he could talk across the distance between them like it was nothing.

He purses his lips and moves his bishop. One step at a time.]

[axiomed]

You could try with your thoughts.

[ It's not hard sensing Erik's turmoil, especially since Charles has left his telepathy open since the attack. He doesn't look up. ]

[exothermia]

[Erik glances briefly at Charles, a little surprised. He looks away again, as the other man wasn't looking at him either. He doesn't know that his thoughts are any more orderly... and typically, his mind throws up nothing when given a blank cheque to cash.

He focuses on the game for a few moments instead, letting the thoughts come naturally instead.]

I suppose I've spent more time looking backwards, rather than forwards. Until recently.

[axiomed]

[ Charles hums quietly. It's a good sign, though he imagines Erik has trouble with that. Guilt, most likely. ]

I imagine it's a difficult thing to come to terms with.

[exothermia]

Yes. [It's one word, but with years of weight behind it. Erik shifts a pawn across the board, resting his knuckles against the table.]

And I won't pretend otherwise.

[axiomed]

No one would ask that of you.

[exothermia]

[Erik looks up, meeting Charles's eyes.]

It took me a while to realise that. [There's no accusation against anyone in his mind, other than a faint trace for himself. It was an anxiety he'd borne for months, and it still flares up from time to time.]

[axiomed]

[ He nods slowly at that, keeping Erik's gaze. ]

I know it seems like we've put our hopes on you, our wishes. But you shouldn't tell yourself you need to pretend either.

[exothermia]

No. I know that now.

[It's a lesson neither of them tend to learn all that easily. The sense of it lingers, even if he doesn't 'say' it outright.]

Sometimes we ask it of ourselves, and that's all it takes to think it's true.

[axiomed]

Mmm. I can't say I'm not guilty of that.

[exothermia]

[Erik knows that too. From the past, and from only a few weeks prior. He bows his head slightly in acquiescence.]

We both have been.

[axiomed]

Small steps pay off.

[exothermia]

[He doesn't smile, but traces of it curl around his thoughts.]

[axiomed]

[ He smiles back before ducking his head slightly. ]

Talking - or expressing for your own sake is important. Even when it feels wrong.