driftfleet | Heron Mingle

And where do you want to move forward to?

Just forward. Feels like we've had a lot of setbacks.

. . . I can understand that.

[ Certainly his life is momentum. If he keeps moving forward, he doesn't have to dwell or think too hard. Being away from the school gives him too much time to focus on his own anxieties. ]

But thinking about where never hurts either.

I don't know if I want to think that far ahead. Not here. I'm okay with small steps.

[ If he gets too ambitious, there could be another glitch and he'd have to work from the bottom again.. ]

Do you let yourself believe in those small steps though?

I try to. [ Maybe not as forcefully as he should believe in them, but they're still some sort of progress at least. ]

Trying is half the battle, I hear.

[ He knows he can't judge. Charles has enough trouble on his own. ]

[ They're all a bunch of social misfits on the Heron, so none of them can really judge. ]

Like you said, little steps.

As long as those steps mean something.

[ He sips his tea. ] It doesn't hurt to have something in mind, Winter.

Anything happening here is something. I'm not stagnant like back home.

[ Not exactly stagnant, but one ice. Waiting for a miracle cure for the shit inside his head. A new arm. He didn't have the answers on his own, so now he waits for someone else to come up with something.

Not like here. ]

[ Dryly. ] Stagnant and being frozen are very different things.

But you've given most of your time to the ship. Why not something for yourself? Like having a date, perhaps.

It's my job to look after the ship. [ Hell, it even gives him purpose. ]

I don't think I'm the dating type. [ Not anymore, anyway. ]

I think you've taken the job and made it your life.

[ And he hesitates visibly. ] Which . . . is a dangerous pitfall. It's not a bad thing, but it does rule you. The ship won't always be there. Some day, the journey will end.

[ Like the school. Charles would like to believe it'll go on, in the hearts of his students but he is well aware of his own finality. ]

And there is no type. As far as I know, you do it or you don't.

I do some things for myself. [ Though over the past few months, he's been doing them less and less as problems have arisen. Only having one arm hasn't helped with the stress-relieving hobby, either. ]

[ He knows he won't always be in this place, he does. But until that time comes, he's got a job to do. ]

[ He shrugs. ] Don't think too many people would be interested. I'm not a lot of people's cup of tea.

Oh? Name one. Five, if you're feeling adventurous.

[ And that last statement is baffling. ]

Are you . . . sure about that?

I read. Sometimes I opt for a bath because I feel like it? I knit.

[ There, three is the middle ground. ]

I haven't been looking, but I can assume.

Ah . . . well I don't believe that's quite true. Besides, it doesn't have to be a big thing. Spending time with others is just as fulfilling.

I don't mind spending time with others. [ Especially if they don't ask too many questions or don't expect a whole lot of conversation. ]

Who do you like to spend time with? I'm curious.

You. Wrath is nice to spend time with. Misty, sometimes.

Steve. [ Most of the time. ]

Who's Misty?

She's on the Windrose. I met her not long after I got here.

[ She must have been here for some time then. ]

That's nice. I confess, I don't get out as much as I used to.

It's alright. She uses the Interfaith Center a lot. Or the Meditation Room. I think you'd like her.

[ A very brief pause. ] She's special, too.

Everyone's a little special, Winter.

[ But he smiles fondly. ] All right. In what sense?

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