Heron mingle

[exothermia]

Who: Heron and visitors
Broadcast: N/A
Action: the Heron
When: April

[Hello birdies! We've got new bunks and a quieter engine, and possibly some rumours stuck to the fridge. What are you getting up to this month?]

Comments

[exothermia]

a. engine room

[It's immediately apparent when Erik's augment upgrade is approved. The engine room has expanded, and new equipment has appeared in the space. Erik can be found in there quite a lot for the first few days of April, putting his new knowledge to work in streamlining the engine's operations. The noise levels get steadily quieter over a week.

He's a bit more hesitant about the carpentry bench, so opts for laying his tools on it for now. But a resource is a resource. It can be used later.]

b. kitchen

[The kitchen upgrade from last month was much appreciated. Erik doesn't cook as often as he used to, however he still gets in there every so often to make things. Having stored up a supply of kelp from Mafik, he dries it out in the oven and stores some for later. The rest?

Well, he's putting it into cheese and potato pancakes. Anyone coming into the kitchen is welcome to take some; he regularly shifts the cooked ones from the stovetop to the table.]

c. rumours

[He may not have publicly said anything about it, but Erik hasn't gotten away from the rumour-spree unscathed. In fact, every morning a new note is pinned to the refrigerator:

'Erik is colour-blind to everything but magenta.'

'The only reason Erik cuts his hair short is because of helmet hair.'

'Erik has 23 other children he doesn't know about.'

And every morning, Erik sweeps in and throws the offending piece of paper into the bin. Of course, with its daily appearance, anyone could catch site of one before he gets to it.]

d. wildcard

[Erik often uses the treadmill in the early mornings, and keeps to his room a lot of the time. If you want to catch him elsewhere on the Heron, feel free!]

[ c ]

[axiomed]

[ Charles barely reads them. Some show up in his room ("Charles is bald because of headlice", "Charles has terrible taste in men", "Charles can't walk because he got stabbed in the back") and various other places on the ship. Even his normal sense of curiosity isn't so great that he glances at them.

He works in a school. He's seen worse. So before Erik shows up, he's already tossing them into the bin before looking up. ]

[exothermia]

[After the first couple of rumours, Erik didn't much bother to read them either. If any appear in his personal quarters, he hasn't mentioned it. It's when they appear in the communal kitchen that his irritation flares.

He quirks an eyebrow with faint surprise when he sees Charles has made it into the kitchen ahead of him.]

You're up early.

[Moving as he talks, he pulls another note off the fridge without reading it - 'Erik's real name is Max Eisenhardt' - and starts to pick through the containers inside.]

[axiomed]

[ His expression is bemused as he answers. ]

I couldn't sleep. Had another one of my headaches.

[exothermia]

[Erik makes a considering noise, then pulls a container of kelp out of the fridge. He glances at Charles again as he puts it on the counter, expression softening.]

They haven't been too frequent?

[axiomed]

No. They come on when we shift from planets to the ships. It's like . . . [ He pauses. ] Being used to too much and then adapting back to less.

[exothermia]

Does the reverse happen too?

B

[stabsbothways]

Gardening and cooking, a regular man of the house.

You're going to make a fine husband for a lucky chap some day.

[ She nabs one and takes a big bite, happily talking while she continued to chew. ]

That's a lot better than mashed potatoes and gravy.

[exothermia]

[He had glanced up when Isabela came in, and gave her a cordial nod. But it's her comment that makes him freeze for a moment, not having expected something like that. It hits too close to home. There's an awkward pause where he has to take a breath, settle himself, and continue stirring the batter.]

I'm afraid that time has already been and gone.

[At least that came out steady. Good.]

...it isn't hard to do better than that, you realise.

[stabsbothways]

You've been married before? Contrary to popular belief, losing your virginity does not in fact ruin you for other men.

[ She stuffs the rest of it into her mouth and takes a few moments to chew it down and swallow. ]

I'll agree with you on that last point when we get a live-in chef.

[exothermia]

[He's torn between smarting at the comment, and being bewildered by it. Why is she talking about being ruined for other men? Erik shakes his head slightly, not sure how his morning has taken this turn.]

I was, yes.

[stabsbothways]

[ 1) Because it amuses her and obviously puts him off balance.
2) there is no 2 ]

I can see you're just overflowing with details, as usual.

[exothermia]

[If this wasn't so very out of nowhere, he'd have stormed off already. As it stands, he finds himself giving answers where otherwise he wouldn't.]

I was married. [He picks up the bowl he was working in and slaps it down a bit too hard on the counter nearby.] She died a few months ago. ['Almost a year' his mind supplies, but he focuses on beating a new cup of egg substitute into the batter.]

nancy wheeler. ota.

[perfecting]

( A; water guns! )

[ if you happen upon the cargo bay, you may see nancy digging into a large crate of plastic water guns. she's filing one with water from a little plastic bottle. she really only meant to see if they work or if they have any special features to them but she will shoot at you, just once and not without a smile. ]

I guess they work.


( B; rumors )

[ the water guns came because of a rumor but there's another, hanged on the fridge. it'll take nancy a few hours to see it but when she will, she'll cover her mouth for a moment before tearing it away from the fridge.

she'll look at the little note before staggering back into a chair and letting it fall to the floor. You will find her exactly like that, frozen in her seat, a little note at her feet.

barbara holland's disappearance was nancy wheeler's fault. ]

b.

[exothermia]

[The kitchen is one of Erik's regular haunts, a place he can engage in a routine activity that he actually enjoys. Even so, he doesn't spend all hours in here... and not even all days. Lately though he's come through at least once a day, to remove offending rumours from the fridge. This one however he didn't see, until now.

Erik almost doesn't notice Nancy at first when he walks in, lost in thought as he opens up a cupboard to review the supplies. But his spatial awareness doesn't take long to kick in, and he turns to see the girl huddled in a chair, staring at the floor. He frowns, uncertain.]

Is everything all right?

[Her pose reminds him distantly of himself, in times he doesn't want to think of now.]

[perfecting]

Yeah.

[ she hurries to sort herself, brushing a hand through her hair, bending down to pick up the note from the floor. ]

I mean. It's just a stupid rumor. It's not. I know they're doing this because they want us. you know.

[ she sniffs and looks at the note. ]

To react to it, I guess.

[exothermia]

[His eyes flick to the note, but he doesn't say anything about it. Not specifically.]

They do, yes. And they'll keep trying until they get one.

[perfecting]

Then we won't give them one.

[ this one is lower than 'nancy wheeler is a good shot' or 'nancy wheeler has 2 boyfriends'. she can take stupid high-school rumors but involving Barb in all of this is trying even her resolve. ]

I mean, what's the point in all of this? The audience?

[exothermia]

So they say.

[Erik leans back against the kitchen bench, folding his arms over his chest.]

Whether it's true or not is another story. It's evident someone is watching, but I've seen no proof there's a mass audience somewhere.

[perfecting]

That's seriously creepy.

[ just one someone bringing them here to watch them? ]

Why do you think they watch us? I mean. They gotta be stronger if they can bring us here so why would they care about us?

So yeah I totally missed saying hi when she joined the crew last month. fail.

[stabsbothways]

Is everyone getting a delivery? I'm starting to get jealous.

[ The stream of water is expertly dodged, and Summer is left with a bemused expression. ]

Nice try.

no worries!

[perfecting]

You're welcome to take mine.

[ she smiles a bit. ]

Had to go for it, at least once. I think I'll hand these out. Do you want a few of them?

[stabsbothways]

I think I will.

[ She saunters over to the crate to start shuffling through water guns. ]

These are rather clever toys, actually. I assume they work with more than just water?

[ Think of all the fun fluids she could spray on people. ]

[perfecting]

-- yeah.

[ ... ]

I mean, I think so. I've never seen it used with anything else, though. Just water.

[stabsbothways]

If you don't mind ruining one, putting glue in one would be an excellent prank.

Also: anything that stinks really badly.

Or just color it something to make stains.

The possibilities are really endless.