We'd be alright if the wind were in our sails

[astrogator]

Who: Arilanna Tayrey and You!
What: She's still alive and she has a lot of feelings about this (aftermath of event)
When: Post-event, catch-all for May
Where: Outside her cabin, shops, bars, lounge, around the ship in general
Warnings: She's likely to be depressive, possible talk of suicide and oblivion, property damage with a gun, will update with anything else.



1. another night in jail wouldn't do us any harm [existing CR, outside her cabin/texts]

[Sparkles vanished. She can't fault the decision; she'd want to vanish too, if they'd been in each other's places. What this tells her, however, is that there's nothing more she can do right now. Exhausted, Tayrey retreats to her cabin. Some good has been done here, she knows. The dimmed lights are testament to that. The tormented souls are free. But Ari Tayrey herself? She's right back where she started, trapped on this ship, surrounded by people who are now even more pleased to be there than before. Happy prisoners.

She can't bear to be around them. She can't bear to be around anyone, it's as if the lack of privacy she had no choice but to endure has rubbed every nerve raw, and she needs to recover. She scrubs herself clean, getting rid of every trace of sand, every trace of that ordeal. Before she sleeps, she barricades the door, just in case there's anyone cruel enough to try to disturb her.

Talk to her through the door, if you're not worried about making a habit of it. Or text her. Either way, nobody's getting in for several days.]

2. a bottle of rum wouldn't do us any harm [open, shops or bars]

[When she finally ventures outside again, it's for a perfunctory look around, an assessment of what she's missed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the supply issues catch her attention first. For now, she's not personally worried. Her stockpiles are very healthy – but she's also aware that they're not infinite, and what is currently an erratic restocking system might quickly get worse.

Find her with a backpack, filling it with whatever looks useful. Depending on where you are, that might be packaged food, or it might be alcohol. Brandy and port and beer. This isn't done in busy areas, but she's not really trying to hide it either. In fact, if anyone approaches her, she'll raise a hand in greeting. No smile, though. She's busy.]

3. if the devil's in the road we'll roll it over him [open, various places]

[She's heard it all now. That Yato never returned from that room. That neither did Shiranui. Incongruously, her first reaction was anger. How could he do that? Confess his feelings for her, leave her no choice but to disappoint him, and then disappear? It isn't right. Ari's emotions are so conflicted she struggles to unpick them at all. She's grieving for the loss of a friend, but also for the loss of something that could never have existed, no matter what she felt for him.

She'd been careless. This is why Tradeliners don't get attached.

Her only solution is to keep herself busy. Even more patrols of the ship than before, and long hours bent over her astronomy texts as if she and not Crichton were the one with hidden knowledge that sufficient effort might reveal. Once, she even falls asleep over an open book in the lounge – something she'll be very flustered over if anyone ventures to wake her.

Or find Ari sitting on the ground, gun in her hand, firing short blasts at a nearby wall. The dark scorch marks leave patterns, and she links them together with a thick marker pen. Star charts. Trading lines. A map writ large, drawn out on a ship that no longer seems to be mending itself. An image in reverse, a negative, bright stars rendered as dark stains, signs of damage. And yet it's all very careful, very precise, and there's a strange sort of beauty in it, for those willing to see it.

If she's approached, she'll lower the gun, give the person an expectant look.]

or a wildcard

[Contact me via PM or at MillisaK for a custom starter or to discuss other ideas!]

Comments

1

[crushed_pearls]

It's about two days after people return to their cabins, when Erin herself is still in privacy mode, when Ari gets a text.

I have a promise to keep. I have no idea if the ring will work given everything but even if it does not you are owed the full explanation. Excuse the flagrant hypocrisy of the request but I would prefer privacy for both the test and the talk.

if the devil's in the road

[not_the_last]

"Tayrey?"

Of all the people she might expect to see falling asleep in public, Ari Tayrey might be at the bottom of the list. Cassandra is almost certain she wouldn't want to be found this way; unfortunately, the only way to help her avoid it is to wake her.

She doesn't touch her, though, only speaks from a short distance away.

3

[neverleave]

[Natsuno followed the gunfire from a below deck. Judging by the sound, someone's shooting at the walls instead of targets, and he wonders who's venting now. When he turns the corner and sees Tayrey, he stops for a moment to observe the scene.

Tayrey's been a stubborn skeptic, but he figured they can at least be allies. After the whole Sparkles debacle, though... on one hand, he can't deny she had an important part in defusing the situation. She was smart and level-headed. On the other hand, she has genuine sympathy for the thing, even offered to protect it, and that doesn't sit well with him.

He's conflicted, but - does it even matter anymore?

Tayrey lowers her gun when he approaches, but Natsuno pulls his out.]

Tell me where the next one should be? I'll try to hit the spot.

2

[actuallyawolf]

[Ylva watches for a moment or two, nose wrinkled a little. Supplies are one thing, but she can't imagine why anyone needs them.]

Are you going somewhere?

2

[sabigoe]

[ Several feet away, Fio cautiously watches as Ari loads her backpack full of packaged snacks. Her levitating stuffed teddy bear, Judith, is nearby to clearly indicate that the little girl is also present in the shop.

She's been distant, almost in a similar way she had been after last December's event. In recent events however, she's had more of a role, despite being asleep for an entire month. Most passengers had seen her wake on the bridge roof and know by now that she's a friend of Sparkles. Since then, she's been wary about who to talk to. And she doubts she would have a good argument with those who are rightfully angry about her friend. ]

Um... [ A small noise. She still recalls a glimpse of Ari's smile. A recent memory that grants some courage to try speaking up. Though she holds a few packaged candies in her hands, she's not quite here to stockpile like Ari is. (Fio's just wondering what kind of snacks Sparkles would like the best...) ] Do you need some help?

3.

[decohere]

[the sound of gunfire draws her curiosity, but this isn't what she quite expected to find at the source. no blood splatters, no bodies strewn. Ava relaxes, slowly fades back into view. she observes the marks for a moment, figuring out what they must represent.]

That your map home?

3.

[decrypter]

[it's the sound that reaches her, sets her on edge - she isn't sure if it's gunfire or an energy weapon or something to be concerned about. but investigating is the only way to make sure, even if it means putting herself at risk. so cautiously, she creeps closer, cane giving that telltale tap tap on her footsteps, until she's close enough to discern...

well, no scorched flesh scent. so that means...a firing range? and someone nearby, but she can't tell who, for obvious reasons. instead she hovers, still nervous, in that safe vicinity where she hopes the weapon doesn't come her way next.]

Is everything all right?

[that sounds nicer than what's being shot.]

3

[ss_buttcrack]

[He finds her asleep in the lounge with the book open in front of her. A sad kind of knowing crosses into his expression. She's running herself ragged. Keeping busy, he knows she would say. Keeping her mind busy. He can't really blame her.

He slips quietly into the seat next to her and then, very gently, shakes her by the shoulder.]

Hey, Tayrey, maybe you should head back to your cabin?

2

[be_seeing_you]

[Number 6 has been observing the changes around here with his own unease. He's glad they accomplished what they have, but the cost may become high. He's thinking along the same lines as her, gathering some supplies to keep on hand in case of emergencies. He's not particularly surprised to see Ari doing the same.]

Lieutenant Tayrey, it's good to see you. Would you like any assistance?

3

[configuration_birdwatcher]

The sound of an energy weapon discharging from the other side of the promenade has Bastion instantly on edge. They run through an analysis of the situation automatically - uniformity of sound suggests a single weapon model, no exclamations or person-sized objects hitting the floor - before they've even turned around, finding themself closing the distance with their gun arm at the ready without consciously intending either.

Oh. Oh, it's Lieutenant Tayrey. She's vandalising the wall. That's congruent with their observations. She lowers the gun, so they make themself do the same.

3

[konpeito_aji]

[Nobunaga doesn't encroach on her distance just settles back to back not touching her, still abiding the personal bubble until she chooses otherwise, but if she leans just a little, hes there to silently give his support.]

Good job. You left your room. I'm proud of you.

[Not the slightest bit sarcastic, but none of his usual teasing. He just sounds exhausted. Like the ship's power was his own, and it's on energy saver mode. His job is 1/2 done. He thought he'd find the way home first, free the ghosts second. But it's not unusual for things to happen backwards for him. Like everything with Klaus.]

My deal with Yato ended. So the wish that conjured him was fulfilled. [Is that just the narcissism talking? Thinking he had some weird control over such things?] I suppose that's what I deserve for making deals with gods. Are they any different from demons?

[The price was his soul, and still is. But such is the way of it. You think it won't matter, but on account of time happening out of order, of course it does. The strange existence of void in his soul, his heart, his head. Knowing that he's a weapon to a god who isn't here. The mark remains. The missing piece of himself.] Perhaps I should ask that of Valdis. [Valdis and Ari are still his other reasons for ultimate composure, even now.]