driftfleet | Naviadna Mingle

Not too long, nah. I've got a baller imagination, and the house has had a certain shape in my head for a long time now. Used to make it for seven people, on worlds that weren't people-friendly. Reshaping the rooms for two or three isn't that different. Kitchen's always the same, and the spooky service, too.

[In other words, yeah- definitely utilized plenty, though not in the best of circumstance.]

Never done a cat room before, though. That's new.

... It was a nice touch. I have to wonder what he'll take to the most, in there.

[She feels like she wouldn't mind to just watch him indulge for a bit, even, as her meandering takes her over to the door to do that. He's busy scampering about, of course, paying her no mind; it's too early for favorites, and he's a cat that's not really used to having this sort of space, so who knows what he'd end up with.]

You have always had others in mind, to account for their needs. Do you have a favorite area for yourself, or is that the kitchen?

[Ditto is of course patiently following Kova from toy to toy, batting at him or the toy itself depending on which he chooses. He's not usually a cat so he's somewhat more reserved, and his behaviour is partially dependent on Lup as her familiar, but she has her own streak of playfulness and it carries through to him enough that he does fine on his own. Plus he and Kova have a well-established dynamic by now.

Lup, meanwhile, leans in the doorway to watch them for a moment, amused, but turns away and heads towards a room in the back where steam is gently wafting out the crack in the door.]

Oh sure, I love the kitchen! But it's not my favourite. I never cook in here- this is my vacation zone. This-

[She opens the door wide with a flourish, revealing an elegant spa and bath, decked out with all the features one would expect from a quality establishment. It smells delightful, and, much like the main room, has a perfect temperature for soaking, relaxing, and pampering.]

This is my favourite.

[She finds it... pleasing, to watch the pair interact. She doesn't know if Kova had ever really had another animal companion to play with before, in all his years, but he had taken well to this creature. Perhaps it was because he had taken so well to Lup, and Ditto was so much of her creation. Just another reminder, of what was at stake; of what could be taken away at any moment.

Then Lup responds to her question, and she turns to follow her lead to this other room she had not examined yet. Like most of this house, the reveal is an unexpected treat to all of her senses, as she allows her eyes to close, taking in the aroma and the feel of the room before looking into it to grasp the whole of it. Such places, she still wasn't used to, not with the added benefit of comfort over ordinary serviceability, but she was in a better position to grasp the purpose of it than before.]

... Then, perhaps we should stay in here for a while. The rest will still be there to look at afterwards.

You don't have to tell me twice. And hey, conveniently, we're already dressed for the occasion.

[What with them just coming from the beach and all. Lup steps forward, tossing her clothes aside as she goes - the overcoat, the hat, the flipflops - and stops at edge of the steaming hot tub in just the bikini that remains. And then she spins on her heel, salutes Honerva, and falls backwards into the water with a big, overdramatic splash.]

So we are.

[She rewards Lup with some light applause at her display, and remembers to remove her sunglasses. Strange accessory. Of course she's slower to join Lup, as she slips out of the sarong covering her very modest bathing suit, and her water shoes, before finally making her way to the tub and taking a seat on the edge, dipping a hand in and lightly moving her fingers in the water.]

[It's not a huge pool, but it's sizable enough that it could fit half a dozen comfortably, so there's plenty of room for two to move about as they wish. Lup's resurfaced in the meantime, swimming over to prop herself up against the edge near where the other woman is seated, her head tilted back as she lets out an exaggerated sigh.]

Mmmmmyeah, this might actually beat the beach. I usually dig the open water, but on this planet, no thanks.

[The open water of the beach had been almost too peaceful to look at, in a disconcerting way, though she hadn't truly harbored any thoughts of entering it, especially not with the energy levels being what they were. Reminded her far too much of other things.

This was different though, a smaller, much more controlled space, the temperature palatable. It was nice that it was just them.

Still, it was... new, so she takes it in.]

This is... far more preferable.

[She agrees, still only with her fingers in the water, before allowing herself to cautiously twist and allow part of her legs in too. Progress.]

What led you to create such a room?

[For it to be her favorite, that is. Something had to inspire it, and she found that liked to hear those sorts of stories. If there were any.]

Self-indulgence, mostly. It's a luxury we didn't get on the ship we travelled in, and I hate sharing bathrooms. Some of the planes we fell into were rough... where some of us died, or got hurt, or would freeze or starve if we went outside- bad worlds make for bad years, and since we couldn't control where we ended up, we learned how to control the ways we survived it.

[Lup stretches her legs out in front of herself, toes floating gently above the bubbles. That feels a bit too morose, too solemn, so after a moment's uncertain pause she adds-]

The first year I made this, we were stuck on a desert world, no water anywhere. We could conjure some up, but there wasn't a lot to spare, so we went a long while without a way to have decent baths. This room exists because after three weeks, dwarves have intolerably smelly feet.

[Hearing someone talking about dying so casually is never going to sound normal, even with her history of being an evil space witch. She can tell Lup is trying to lighten it all up by the end, anyway.

Even so, Honerva listens quietly to her response, head tilted, still sitting so much like a cat on the pool's edge, the water only somewhat lapping halfway between her knees and her ankles.

For her, it had been so very different, everything being technical, instant, so much less immersive. Always - secluded, as it were.

But of course, there it was: the fact that it was taking control of circumstances out of their hands, as well as the necessity of comfort, even over function. It puts to mind other considerations, but for the moment, she only asks,]

Did it always fall to you to create the house?

Nah, not always. Our group had five wizards, so whoever learned it could take turns, give our own little spins on it. Our captain liked it in a cottage style, Lucy made a library, Barry gave it a lab... it was always different.

[Thinking of them hurts - her family, all the people she's loved and missed for so long now - but she's endured a decade without breaking already, so she can manage a little longer.]

But this... this was mine, so it was the best.

Of course it is.

[She might be able to devise a pocket dimension herself with her own magic, but it wouldn't be nearly as pleasant, or feel quite so safe. That would take a lot of work. In a different mindset, she might have appreciated having a lab, but... that was not what she needed.

However, it is because this home is Lup's creation that she can agree that it is the best, and allow her to bask in that sense of... pride. It's only too late that she realizes, again, how long ago it must have been for her, to last summon it or to be in the presence of those others.]

You have been very patient, with my questions.

Right? You're lucky you're you, or I'd be charging by the minute. Information should never be free.

[Unless it's between friends. Which it is, in that case. Although for her and Taako, sometimes even that doesn't mean anything.]

I suppose that all of my luck could not be so poor.

[After all, was it luck, to be drawn here at all? To make such a ... connection? Hard to say.]

With the noise... abated, it helps to fill some of the quiet left behind.

[Fuel for rousing her thoughts, such as they were. She still maintains her odd perch on the edge of the pool, however.]

Yeah... not a big fan of quiet in general, not gonna lie.

[Despite her words, she falls silent for a long moment after that, brows furrowed, lost in thought. It takes her a bit to find the words to continue with, pitifully vague as they are-]

Kinda feels like we're winding up towards the end, whatever that means.

There have been signs... of change, for some time now. To what end, however...

[Hard not to notice, the Fleet growing quieter and quieter, the ships themselves not upgrading, and perhaps even part of why Lup and Thor suddenly transferred in when they did.

That energy from the planet refused to leave her alone, but it did not give her any true insight onto what would come.]

The question remains... if we are truly to have any choice, by the end of all of this, should we be successful in... breaking the path of the Atroma and the forces which brought us here.

Mm.

[Lup glances sidelong at her, brows furrowing.]

Question being... where do we go from here.

[She might not like it - hates it, as a matter of fact, with every fiber of her being, with the sort of panic in her soul that she'd not felt in years - but she knows where she's going. There's no question. She goes where Taako goes, where her heart goes. Where her family is. That choice might not be so easy for other people.]

We...

[She exhales softly, looking down into the water, still lightly trailing her fingers across the surface, swirling them to keep her reflection from manifesting.]

I cannot deny that it has weighed heavily on me for some time. Whatever the reason, whatever the... forces, that brought us out of our universes... how do we continue to hold on to this time?

Dunno. Might be tricky, especially with how memories work when people are sent back the way things are now. It hasn't been a walk in the park or anything, but... in retrospect, I don't feel like losing what happened here.

[Her family has lost enough already- memories are precious, regardless of the what or the how or the why. But there's no voidfish to conveniently broadcast it here.

She splashes one foot listlessly against an edge of the bath.]

I don't have a choice in going back, though. One way or another, that's how it'll end for me.

You go where he goes, of course. And he... wants to return.

[That much was clear, for all Taako had tried to get himself home and had all but exploded himself in the process.]

It's not just that. I mean, it is, at the core of it, but...

[She huffs a frustrated breath, hugging her knees to her chest beneath the water.]

The thing we need to get his memories back... it's there. I won't get him back for real until we've settled everything, and that's not going to happen anywhere else. Hell, even if that wasn't an issue, I've got some unfinished business to resolve. [And a Hunger's ass to kick.] I won't be satisfied otherwise.

No matter what you face, your resolve is strong. I admire that in you...

[For all Lup had gone through, even at her own hands. That sense of what would be waiting for her, should she return right back to where she was. Forgotten in that umbrella. The recoil from the elf's soul still lingered with her; it wasn't often that she was so affected by another's pain. Those powers of... evocation.

And she thought of her own resolve, how it had cracked under Loki's scrutiny. Even if her own memories were intact, her own universe was still a mess of her own making, to some degree. There was no place for her there.]

... however, I would have you know this. I... I do not want to lose you, Lup.

...I mean, duh. I'd miss me too.

[A soft snipe with no venom attached; there's a smile on her face, small and struggling.]

Not to be that asshole, but you're gonna lose something, no matter what happens. So I guess the question is... what do you want more? What path do you think will lead you to some kind of happy ending?

[Will she go home and try to mend things with her kid, or find somewhere else that she might belong?]

A path toward happiness...

[She's quiet for a moment, reflecting on the first time Lup had mentioned that she could even be capable of finding some happiness. When she had wondered if it was possible for her to feel it at all.

Much had changed since then. She had her faint, memories of when she was last happy, much more locked away still. There was so much to lose, one way or the other.]

Even if I were able to keep my memories, and this... understanding, my son made it very clear when we last spoke that... he did not want me present in our universe. The mother that he envisioned... was a far greater ideal than... what I am now.

[Her hand stills, reflection appearing over the water as she looks down at herself, before she stirs it away again, sending gentle ripples across the surface.]

... Meanwhile, our war is still there. The Emperor... is not as he was. I would not even have Kova... only, my darkness. In my time here I have come to realize that it would not be... a happy path.

[Ah... Lotor said that, huh? She hadn't been aware. Things had been delicate after they'd returned from the Marsiva and he vanished, and Lup had been in no state to try and maintain her own mental health, nevermind anyone else's. She felt like shit for not trying harder at the time, but... she's only one person, and she'd already been hanging by a thread. It's likely that her "help" wouldn't have been all that useful.

That feels doubly true, hearing that. If he'd rejected her utterly, if she'd already lost her husband, if the galaxy's a huge mess, if there's nothing there for her...]

...Fuck it, then. Come back with us.

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