driftfleet | Channelling Fire Fist

Who: Nami + You
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Iskaulit / Bloodsport / Briefly on the Ring
When: Now!

[The last few days Nami's been feeling progressively more drained, which is annoying, but these glitches tend to follow right on the end of overworking herself anyway, so she doesn't quite notice. Until today, when she quite literally falls asleep for a few seconds and ends up faceplanting on the shoulder of the complete stranger she's buying a bunch of bar alcohol from.

Awkward.

Then half an hour later when she's loading up the shuttle, one can find her literally sleeping on top of a couple of barrels. Maybe she should get someone to help fly her to the Iskaulit, because that seems less awkward and more stupid... okay, so something's up, she's either coming down with something or she's glitching and she'll just get her supplies back to the bar and (zzzz)--

...what was she doing? Oh, right.

Yeah, if you're anywhere nearby she might flag you down to fly her back, because death by faceplanting the shuttle somewhere would be just plain embarrassing.

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Whether by miracle or responsible supervision she makes it to the Iskaulit eventually, feet dragging and yawning, and manages to square away new supplies and give the bar staff a heads up.] This stuff's pretty strong. Don't serve it to anyone you know can't--- [Owlish blink.] -- hold their licks. Liquor. [Yeah, that stuff.]

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[And finally some hours after that, text to avoid yawning in people's faces. It's the slowest text ever.]

New stock at the Space Bar. Massive kick. Spicy, sweet. Drink wisely.

[...Nami you're not crafting a telegram. Man, why is this so hard--]

Lot of glitches lately??? you people have stolen all my izhu

[...well. That could be a fancy alien word. Or it could just be that she fell asleep while typing. She'll be back after this nap. Or after someone yells in her ear or... something.

After this, she'll ping the Bloodsport with a message to come get her and go sleep in the garden until someone wakes her up.]

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I used to. [He laughs, a little nervously.] My parents were surgeons, and –

[And he's mixing up lives. This house doesn't belong to him anymore. Nor did it belong to his parents. He can feel the weight of that realization on his shoulder.]

And uh, we had to move. I haven't seen this place in a long time.

[She can read the sudden minor shift in mood there, but without context Nami assumes that maybe this house is a bad memory for him.]

...did you want to move on?

Not unless you want to.

[ She'd gotten starry-eyed, after all. Stefan can't blame his jumbled up memory: it's another story for another time. ]

Just because it's been a long time doesn't mean it's off-limits.

Well, it's a lovely house, but it's just a dream. [Knee-jerk reactions about being rich aside-- it doesn't matter much in the scheme of things. She glances up at the windows.] I think I've only been in one this nice before, and it wasn't really to sightsee.

Then I've definitely gotta take you inside. [ He can't quite help his laugh. ] I can only imagine what you were doing - and my old house was more like a boarding house, anyway.

People would come and stay if they needed a place for a month or a year or whatever, and they'd pay us to take care of things.

[To be fair, it's also misleading for her to say that-- nice houses aren't very common, but she's been on the inside of at least two palaces, so...? Evens out...?]

Whatever you're imagining, you're probably wrong. [Grin. But she doesn't elaborate.] Boarders, huh? You ever meet anyone interesting that way?

One of my aunts, actually. She came and stayed with us when I was.... [hesitant pause, because that math doesn't add up if he's playing human] uh, when I was younger.

Apparently, she came for like a month, met my uncle, and decided to spend the rest of her life with him.

Sounds like a pretty storybook way to meet someone. I like it.

Me too. Gail was really into photography – and so is her daughter. My cousin. She's studying it in school now.

[ They're not quite his family anymore, but there's no mistaking the pride in his voice either. ]

So is this the family you always remember having? [Which is a weird question, but she remembers a conversation or two about invasive memories.]

[Oh yeah, he had mentioned that, hadn't he? He nods, looking more than a little sheepish.]

Yeah. They're my family but they're also... not my family, if that makes any sense?

Edited 2017-04-29 21:10 (UTC)

It does. But I don't envy you the confusion that goes along with that.

Thanks. I wouldn't wish it on anyone either, since it's a little deeper than run-of-the-mill amnesia.

[ He holds out a hand, ] But speaking of homes... Do you wanna see yours again?

...yeah. [It's been a long time, and she does dream about home sometimes. But never really in such clear detail as she's getting now. May as well take advantage, right?

She reaches out and takes his hand.]

[ As they stand there, holding hands, the view of the Manor melts into miles upon miles of mikan trees. They seem to stretch out in forever, as far as the eye can see - and the sweet scent of those fruit wafts in the air.

There's a cottage at the end of the road, where the trees seem to end, and the laughter of children playing is all too present. Stefan keeps his eyes closed as he focuses upon the memories, as intrusive as it feels. Perhaps there's even a road headed towards the rest of the village? No, that might be too obvious?

He settles upon the landscape before them, taking only a moment to open an eye and see if this is the right memory or even the right home. Pirates travel around a lot, after all. ]

[The orchard at home doesn't really go on forever, but this is always how she dreams it. She used to think it did when she was really small. Her face lights up at the sound of the children, too familiar, and the cottage in the distance. That's...]

...pretty amazing. Wow. [Excuse her, inhaling that sweet scent of mikan blossom.]

Praise be to God, [he murmurs, letting out a sigh of relief. Right memory: successfully acquired.]

It's your dream - always has been - so you lead the way. I'll be right here.

Sure. Wanna meet my family? I'm pretty precocious as a kid, just warning you.

[She grins. There's a nostalgic sort of pain to it; not really hurtful, just... a memory that's no longer something she has anywhere else but here. But it's definitely a keeper.]

Of course. [ He returns the smile, turning towards the cottage - or maybe the village? It's hard for him to know which is right. ] How could I say no to something like that?

[Getting closer will definitely show it's a small cottage, with two girls chasing each other round a table-- one clearly Nami as a child with her orange hair, the other with a pale, steely blue colour hair instead. ~~Hooray anime~~. There's a woman with a deep red chelsea hawk hairdo and a flannel shirt lounging at the table and smoking, pretending to ignore the both of them while she peels a mikan deftly with her thumbnails.

Nobody really looks up when Nami and Stefan arrive. Same ol' same ol'.]

The other little girl is called Nojiko. And that's Bellemere-san.

[ His expression softens as he takes in the whole scene. It's peaceful, and honestly? If it weren't a dream he could see himself stopping and staying here a while. ]

It's nice to meet them. [ he knows that they won't look up but he gives them a respectful bow anyway. ] Nojiko was... your sister?

That's right. We're not related by blood, but that didn't make us any less a family. [Nami watches Bellemere more than the girls, burning into her memory everything she does.]

Bellemere-san was a marine who found the two of us in a warzone. She brought us home and adopted us.