Does anyone here even hunt

[hearsthesea]

Who: SS Huntress and friends, visitors, pet bears, etc.
Broadcast: If desired!
Action: SS Huntress
When: Now!

[New crew! New upgrades! New world! ...And Varric in a coma for the duration of March, which is maybe slightly concerning.

For the other members of the Huntress, though, it should prove to be an interesting month.]

Comments

action; intended for Shirley.

[misconceived]

[ It's been getting bad recently. For as difficult as it is for Chris to get a good night's rest on his own, things have been getting worse ever since the blowout with Cole over the upper-level demon vanquishing potion. Lots of old and painful memories were dug up and he's trying not to bug Cole over it since they've both had really rough times lately.

What that means is nightmares. A lot of difficult nightmares that wake Chris up, keep him from falling back asleep and generally means the captain of the Huntress is rather off recently. At least he's rather quiet when he wakes, although the damn cots aren't and Varric's got the nicer captain's bed while the dwarf is pretending he's Snow White. His lack of sleep isn't too unusual, but the frequency is.

Chris, of course, plays it off like nothing is wrong. He's really good at that by now, but who knows how observant his other crewmates are? ]

[hearsthesea]

[It isn't hard to notice the change in Chris's sleeping habits, in both pattern and time. Shirley isn't awake to notice it every time, but once she figures out it's not going to stop anytime soon she approaches him sometime late in the evening with a cup of tea in hand.]

Chris? I don't know if this will help you tonight, but I thought it might be worth trying.

[misconceived]

[ To say Chris is surprised by being approached, much less the offer of help, is an understatement. He kind of stares at her for a long while, partially because he's so tired and partially because not used to being noticed for things he's been trying to hide. Well, not positively noticed anyway. ]

Uh... no, I'm okay. [ Something obviously comes to mind after he says it. ] Have I been bugging you?

[hearsthesea]

No, not at all.

[She shakes her head to emphasize the point, and offers the tea again. Even if it does nothing, she'd rather Chris have it than herself.]

You've been having trouble sleeping, haven't you? Even if I don't know why, I went to look for something that could help in the marketplace.

[misconceived]

[ HE REALLY DOESN'T WANT TO TAKE THE TEA... but he knows the type who will just keep handing it off until it's out of their hands so he just. takes it anyway. Such is life. ]

I don't think tea's going to help in this case. [ He stares into it for a minute, then realizes something at the mention of a marketplace. ] Have you spoken to Dad recently?

action | all 'round the ship | open to all

[serves]

[Say hello to your newbie, Huntress.

Cullen walks along the ship and inspects this and that, attributing any familiarity to that thing behind his ear. It's unsettling, all of it, but there's no use in panic. He just seems a little stiff as he moves along.

The cots remind him of his days as a young Templar, shoved into barracks with other young men and women hoping to serve. As much as he'd like to deny that those memories have been tarnished, he can't. It's strange to be back in such a position.

Really, he's just tired, and he looks it.]

[misconceived]

[ Chris catches him in a hallway. He knows there's someone new on the ship but he's been... distracted of late. Actual introductions can be delayed but not forever, not when you're stuck on a tiny spaceship together and that it's been put off for even a day is pretty remarkable. He nods to the new guy. ]

Hey. You need anything?

[serves]

[He needs to go home, back to his army and his tower and his work, but that's not very plausible, is it? Cullen offers a polite shake of his head.]

I need very little. Things here seem to be adequate, as they are.

[misconceived]

Adequate? [ Chris scoffs in amusement. He knows what you're getting at, Cullen, and yet... ] This isn't exactly the Ritz, but we've been working on it. Oh—yeah, end of the months. If there's anything you want to improve, we usually take quick polls and put them toward whatever upgrades win. This ship used to be even worse, if you'd believe it.

[ Oh, right. He holds out a hand. ]

Um, Chris. Halliwell. I'm the captain here, sort of.

[serves]

[Ritz??? Cullen sometimes knows it's best not to ask. Besides, he's used to being stacked with other bodies in barracks. So he gives the other man a firm handshake before introducing himself.]

Cullen Rutherford. I'm somewhat out of my depth here, but I'll do what's necessary. [To... keep them from... dying? He has no idea.]

[hearsthesea]

[Seems like nobody new on this ship is too enthusiastic about the little celebration at the start...not that Shirley can blame anyone, with distinct memories of mute fear and unease. Once she does note the confetti around the entrance, though, Shirley starts searching the ship for the new arrival in case they're in need of help and eventually bumps into Cullen around the bunk room.]

Oh! There you are. You've just gotten here, haven't you?

[serves]

I did. I seem to be your newest crew member.

[It's said with a small twist of a frown, though it's not as bitter as it could be--he's not about to be rude in front of a young lady that seemingly came to find him.]

Cullen Rutherford. And you are? [He asks it politely, not entirely sure who he's dealing with.]

[hearsthesea]

[Shirley knows better than to take the frown personally. So far Cullen seems to be reacting better than she had upon arrival.]

I'm Shirley, one of the lab members here. I've been here for a few months now, and so have Chris and Varric.

[At Varric's name she tilts her head towards where Varric's lying on a bed.]

I don't know if you've met the others yet, but something strange has happened to Varric. He's fine right now, but...

[serves]

[At that, Cullen's frown deepens, the lines on his forehead creasing.]

I saw. He seems to be unconscious. We're... from the same world, Varric and I. I did not expect to find him here, nor in this state.

Re: action | all 'round the ship | open to all

[hopefullyyours]

[Komaeda is curled around an earthenware vase about the size of his torso, in one of the storage hallways, when Cullen comes into sight. His head jolts up and he tips this way and that, sort of inspecting this new person.]

Oh, hello. Are you a visitor? Or....?

[He smiles, but he can't help but be uneasy. After so long being stuck with the same people on the island, and now being on a small spaceship with an even smaller amount of people, Komaeda has started to grow uneasy when new people abruptly appear in front of him.]

[serves]

[Oh, whoops. He didn't mean to startle anyone, though he's beginning to learn that armor like his might not be the norm for many. Cullen lifts a placating hand.]

A new member of the crew, apparently. Cullen Rutherford.

[hopefullyyours]

... Oh. Right. I heard the alarms earlier, I guess I just... Spaced out a little, haha. How disgustingly absent-minded of me!

[He stands up, dusting his pants off with one hand. His left is carefully bandaged and tucked away under many layers of cloth. While a narrow figure, Komaeda is much taller than would be expected from his initial stance.]

Sorry. It's nice to meet you. I'm Nagito Komaeda, your useless pilot for this ship. [Bowing politely, Komaeda sneaks a look up at Cullen from under his bangs.]

[hopefullyyours]

[Some things may have changed, but it seems like the crux of the matter doesn't, not really. Not for Komaeda, anyway. People are really at the whims of forces outside of their control way more than they'd like to admit, aren't they?

Staring down at Varric (asleep in Chris' captain's bed, and isn't that.... startlingly nice of him? not that he thinks Chris is a bad person, it just seems kind, but it could be some kind of plan to attack Varric, couldn't it? or a point of vulnerability to falsely accuse Chris of something, or), Komaeda is having a hard time sorting out how he feels about this mysterious coma.

He's been circling around some kind of inkling that something is odd for a while now, and Varric's coma has finally solved what that oddness is. His luck hasn't really done... much of anything, lately. Sure, he's caught himself miraculously while slipping as he cleaned, and fallen asleep in some really inconveniently uncomfortable cabinets lately, and maybe he's had the good luck to meet many amazing people, but.... Everything feels so minor. His all-consuming, all-encompassing luck has failed, lately, to consume or encompass anything.

After a life spent in its merciless golden shadow, it's hard to shake the feeling that something major is coming. It's hard to shake the feeling that somehow, Varric's coma is his fault, or related to his luck, or something. Or maybe he's a minute, an hour, a day from dropping dead from his brain tumor? He doesn't know and he's a little afraid to find out. Living, ending up here- was it lucky? Unlucky? It's... hard for him to sort out.

Stuck in this cycle of thoughts, anybody will probably come across Komaeda rather uncharacteristically brooding at an unconscious Varric. It could be taken as threatening, perhaps, though his body language isn't quite right for that. He's sitting perched on a chair, but he's folded in, body tucked close together to minimize the space he takes up.]

[misconceived]

[ Yeah Chris doesn't appreciate anyone hovering over a magically-unconscious person, especially when it's someone he actually likes. When he comes into the bunks next to see Komaeda still there, that's enough. He moves over, grasps the back of the chair, and pulls it back and away. ]

Cut it out. Didn't anyone tell you it's not nice to stare?

[hopefullyyours]

[The abrupt footsteps and jerking of his chair startles his heart into his throat, and it's probably clear from his expression as he looks back and up at Chris that he is, at least momentarily, terrified. Old instincts die hard- while he might have been willing to die, it didn't mean he wasn't afraid of it, too.]

I- mean, isn't it better to keep watch on somebody in a coma? [Actually, now that he thinks about it...] Shouldn't he be under the care of one of the medical officers? Or at least in a room with more medical equipment?

[misconceived]

[ The expression gets a befuddled reaction out of Chris before he lets it shake off when Komaeda speaks. ]

I am a medical officer, remember? I put him under all the ship's scans that I could when this happened. There's nothing else to do. He's fine, just... out.

Action

[hearsthesea]

[Shirley's on and off of the Huntress, busying herself with jobs or curiosity on Mor but frequenting the ship more often than she did in February. This location holds less interest for her than last month's, and she feels a little less comfortable on Mor besides.

Of course, the ship isn't the most cheery either. No wonder, with Varric mysteriously asleep for days upon days. Shirley isn't much of a moodlifter (that was always Norma's thing), but she does try in her own way. Little touches here and there, not unlike her attempts at decorating last month - a few flowers in the bunk room, a fresh batch of bread when everyone's on the ship...she only has so many skills fit for use on the Huntress, but she hasn't spent years keeping house without learning to make a place warmer.]

Re: Action

[hopefullyyours]

[Komaeda has similarly been exploring here and there, bringing back a few things that he guards.... not jealously, not exactly, but in a fashion that indicates that he expects repercussions if they're found. He's still, despite the slowdown of those desperate energy fluctuations, keeping the ship tidy beyond what's really reasonable.]

Hm? [It's on one of his scrubbing 'expeditions' that he notices the most recent flowers she's brought back. Popping up from his hands and knees to just his knees, Komaeda scrutinizes the plant with a serious expression. The blossoms are small and fluffy and white, and he's a little transfixed by a plant that looks like tiny versions of his head.] What kind of plant is this?

[hearsthesea]

[Shirley hadn't bought the flowers with the intention of matching, but she does notice the resemblance when looking at Komaeda and she giggle a little bit.]

They called it a rabbittail flower when I was looking at it. It does look like one, doesn't it?

[hopefullyyours]

[He smiles in response, straightening up to stand.] It does. Are you good at gardening, Shirley?

[It would be nice to have somebody to help him once Hange's plant project comes to fruition, right?]