(open.) while now i'm free

[abhorrently]

Who: Fever and open!
What: First month on the ship, and she's getting adjusted.
When: September.
Where: Everywhere - a few specific locations for some prompts.
Warnings: Marked in specific threads if they happen.
Notes: Will match tag-in format.

they let anyone in - infirmary.

There's a new face in the infirmary, but not slinking in with something that needs repair. Rather, Fever's taking stock of the inventory, looking at what's familiar and unfamiliar alike, reading boxes and labels to understand what they're for. She moves purposefully, before she's collecting items to put together in a group - not a lot, but a pattern emerges. One set of bandages, one of different ointments, something to splint a broken joint - all necessary components for a first aid kit, along with the violently red potion she has on the counter.

Though on a different day, she's cleared a little section for herself, and is cautiously using some equipment with a few empty bottles. Heating water, and crushing something unknown into it, the scent of brewing plant matter beginning to rise. Might as well refine what materials she can, while she's here.

you need hobbies - playback.

The arcade is loud, bright, but it offers amusements if she's patient enough to learn, and Fever sees the potential if she just keeps trying. Her despair over some of the games just not making sense is apparent - the Pacman should be able to face his foes always, not just at certain intervals, and it's beginning to frustrate her deeply before she stalks away to try and find something better.

But later, she's found her niche, almost serene as she carries on playing one of the light gun games. Her score keeps going up, but she barely seems to see it - only what comes to the next target, when to reload and where to fire next, at vital points that make the virtual foes fall. Peaceful as one can be while hearing fake zombies attacking and dying in explosions of pixelated gore. And all that said, there is a gun for player two there.

"let there be something green" - flowers.

Of course, the new plantlife is something to investigate. It shouldn't be growing from walls, from the floor, which is enough to tell her that she needs to be a bit careful. But looking for the effects and being around them, they're not destroying her with their aura - yet. Yet is always the key word, and that's good enough for Fever to make the unwise decision of taking blooms for herself. Plucked, placed in her satchel, she's hoping it'll ward off the worst effects.

Except of course, when it can't. And given that there's quite a few types around, it means that those who venture too close might be also at risk to falling victim to whatever plant she's clipped and currently dealing with. At the least, the magic should be a sufficient icebreaker. Or you can stop her from picking up one with truly hideous side effects.

[ooc: open to any and all flower effects except for baby's breath and titan arum. mix and match with me!]

insomnia club is always open - around.

Even on this ship, her sleep is no better than it has ever been. Never a truly sustained night, only some uneasy truce with her mind and her body to lie down and attempt rest. It never lasts for as long as it should, and when her nightmares inevitably wake her, sometimes staying in the cabin is suffocating. So Fever goes out, heedless of the hour, walking softly in the cabin halls and seeing where her feet take her.

Maybe she lays in a chair by the pool, trying to find new rest there and failing, or maybe she's sprawled out in the lounge by the atrium, having just taken a tumble from trying to fit all of herself on a chair. Or she's posted up in Bobby B's, but drinking isn't the name of the game. Instead, this is one of the few areas she can idle in with a mote of fire in her hands and not get sprayed down for it. Rolling the magic around between her palms like someone else would a stress ball, lost in consideration, her guard's relaxed for a moment.

wildcard.

[have a different idea for something to happen? come at me, my arms are open. basic info and permissions here, as well as Fever's opt out.]

Comments

[abhorrently]

"Single for now. I've heard there are perks and downsides alike."

But it means she isn't bothering anyone when she tosses and turns in the night, when she has to sleep in bursts instead of a long drawn out rest.

"You're not the only one with unfinished business. There are things I have to get back to and see through - I won't leave them."

[ss_buttcrack]

"Yeah, there are. The real perk is you get to claim the bed. Whoever comes in after you has to take the sleeper couch." Yes, he did make Arthur take the sleeper couch. Finders keepers.

"Who's them? If you... you know, want to talk about it?"

[abhorrently]

"I don't mind. My companions and myself - we're trying to stop a cult from destroying and taking over the entire Sword Coast, and they have the firepower and army necessary to do it if they aren't halted in their tracks. If the city they're after falls, then no one else stands a chance."

There's no reason to hide her goals, no reason to hold back on why she's intent on going back. What's someone going to do, tell her that she can't be ready to fight for home? That would be stupid, even for her.

"Getting elected to this place really threw a wrench into that."

[ss_buttcrack]

Trying to take down a whole cult? His eyebrows slide way up on his forehead. "Hot damn. You and how many companions?"

[abhorrently]

"Seven, if you keep the number to the ones who've sworn themselves to the cause. Us and all the allies we can convince to risk their lives though, that's bigger. Big enough to just maybe figure it out."

The talking, strange as it seems, is helping her keep her focus.

"What about you? Any pressing business to return to?"

[ss_buttcrack]

"That's all? Sounds like long odds to me but, hell, I've gambled on worse." He just hopes they know what they are doing.

"Me... yeah. Hard to know where to start. I got a crew on a space ship named Moya. I need to get back to them first. But, really... what I'm trying to do is make it back home. I've been lost a long time."

[abhorrently]

They're all improvising as best they can, but hey, they have some concept of a plan, so that'll have to do.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

And from her tone, it's genuine. It's sad, for anyone who has a home to lose it - with the idea absent from her, it matters more in other people.

"...Your crew - tell me a little about them? If they show up here, I could let you know if I see them." There's no annoyed group to remind her that they're not messengers, so she can do as she pleases.

[ss_buttcrack]

"Thanks." His expression warms. Her genuine sympathy is nice to hear.

"Well, they are pretty unique individuals so I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to spot 'em." But how much time does she have?

"We got Aeryn: she looks human but is actually a species called sebacean. Long black hair, wears all leather like me, has cheeks and chin you could chisel stone with but her eyes... deep soulful blue and yet full of fire." Can you tell he loves her?

"There's D'Argo, big guy, brown skin, beard and tattoos on his chin and head, going down the tentacles. Then there's Chiana, little grey girl with fluffy white hair. You'll know her when she flirts with you. Rygel looks like an ugly toad crossed with one of those old B-movie Kung Fu masters, except he can't fight for shit. Noranti's an old granny with grey hair, giant ears, and three eyes. I doubt Pilot's gonna show up here but if you see a guy who looks like a crustacean with four arms that'd be him. Sikozu..." Don't call her a bitch. Don't call her a bitch. "Is slender and orange, with bright green eyes and even brighter red-orange hair. If she shows up all she's going to do is yell at me. Last and absolutely least is... Scorpius. Nasty piece of work. Looks like an upright crocodile, wearing all black leather with a thong on his face. You see him, do not tell him you know me. Don't even talk to him if you can help it."

[abhorrently]

She's got more than enough time. The game itself has become secondary to the talk, and the people instead, she notes down on whatever scrap of memory she has that's intact. Names, descriptions - it's the least she can do, and there's a little nod after each one to acknowledge it. Aeryn, D'Argo, Chiana, Rygel. Noranti, Pilot, Sikozu, and Scorpius. Not too many to recall at once. But that last one...

"Right, so if I see him, shoot first and ask no questions later. Easy enough to do."

There's the vague possibility that she's making a decision too hastily, but she dismisses it. Improvising has gotten her this far, after all.

[ss_buttcrack]

"Yes. Thank you," he says, like someone finally passed a difficult quiz he's been giving out. "That's exactly what you should do. Make sure to aim for his face; his armor can take more hits than you'd think.

"If you take him down, text to tell me right after. The more advanced warning I have, the better my odds are."

[abhorrently]

"Will do. And if someone else spots him first, let me know where he is, and he'll get a less than pleasant surprise."

Then the burden of it just becomes defending someone who should be protected, which she can argue her way from in any ethics court.

[ss_buttcrack]

"You'd really go that far for someone you just met?"

[abhorrently]

"Yes."

No one would have blamed her if she had kept walking past other people she'd decided to stick her neck out for. If she had simply declared it not her problem. But she'd stumbled into getting involved and saw it to the end, and she has no regrets for it. Getting involved with the people here feels similar.

"The way I see it, it's straightforward. Whatever he's done, it's impactful enough that you feel the need to warn someone you just met, and that you want to stay out of his sight. I'm capable of doing the bare minimum, but I also can make him feel unwelcome. I don't need to have known you for an age to put an offer like that on the table."

[ss_buttcrack]

The look he's giving her now is like he's just remembered that good people still exist in the world. This place... it's ground him down so far.

"Thank you. That means so much more to me than you can possibly know. Scorpius is dangerous, and he's vengeful. The more you involve yourself, the more danger you'll be in... but. I need the help. He's been hunting me for years. If he catches me, he'll do worse than kill me. He already has."

[abhorrently]

Even if in the end, she's proven to have chosen wrong, that look in his eyes is enough for her. That undeniable tug of someone surprised to have an ally on their side. She's seen it before, the memories still fresh ones. She could no more turn him away than she could yield a friend into the knives of a hunter.

"We'll make sure he doesn't catch you or hurt you. His vengeance is no deterrent."

Neither is his danger, but she hopes that goes unspoken, given what she told him of her goals.

"I know about him, and he doesn't know about me, or anyone else aboard this vessel. So the odds are very much on your side."

[ss_buttcrack]

"Thank you," yes, he knows he already said that but she deserves to hear it twice. He offers his hand to her, to shake. "It's good to have people in my corner. The same goes in reverse too, you hear? I know how to handle a fight as long as it involves shooting. And if you need someone to put in a good word for you, I'll be there."

[abhorrently]

"Thank you."

She's heard it, now it's time for him to hear the same. When she moves to shake, her grip is only as strong as her arms are, but it's solid.

"At the moment, I can't say I need either service, but I'm grateful to have the offer, all the same."

[ss_buttcrack]

"The offer never expires," he says, squeezing her hand warmly before letting go. "Things here can be unpredictable. But you aren't alone."