Upon Vestia: Chapter Nineteen

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(Day 11 I think)

Esk rolled his eyes. "That was a low blow Dawn." He muttered. He shook his head. "You're such a strange girl. " He looked away, he didn't really seem to know how to respond to that. He rather wished she'd stop saying it, it made him feel weird, was that... disappointment or just a general unease with the whole thing? he had no idea. He wasn't one for introspection either.

"You and Ethan obviously have romantic feelings for each other," Ellie told Hewitt, nodding sensibly. "It's normal for that to happen, you know."

Ethan groaned. "Why did I decide to attend this party again?

~~
Asher listened quietly. He didn't have a whole lot to contribute at the moment. "Well we're happy to have you here," he said, "we'll done you a room to stay in, unless you're planning to stay in the Capitol."

flying_purple_monkfish wrote:Esk rolled his eyes. "That was a low blow Dawn." He muttered. He shook his head. "You're such a strange girl. " He looked away, he didn't really seem to know how to respond to that. He rather wished she'd stop saying it, it made him feel weird, was that... disappointment or just a general unease with the whole thing? he had no idea. He wasn't one for introspection either.

Dawn looked away then sighed "We can't change the fact that you can't touch me, so it's best to leave it at friendship" She said quietly then headed for her room again.

"Romantic?" Hewitt stared at her, then started to laugh. "My dear, your ignorance on Aketi biology is quite distressing. For one so interested in plants, you are woefully uneducated."

Amity spoke up helpfully. "Aketi don't form relationship bonds as many animal species do." He'd been reading up, horah.

"It is my understanding that concepts such as copulation and pair boding are quite alien to your species, is that correct?" Armin asked politely.

Hewitt snorted. "Disgusting messy practice, all those... fluids sloshing about." He shuddered.

Armin chuckled. "I do not only refer to the actual act of intercourse, but the very concept of romantic affection."

Hewitt shrugged.

"Yes, that's correct. I think. The Aketi have no concept of what animal species would call Family. " Amity nodded.

Hewitt eyed Ellie shrewdly. "You seem awfully preoccupied by other people's private affairs. Perhaps you are, what do they call it... projecting your wants and needs upon others?" He suggested coolly.

"Miss Ellie is simply a romantic at heart who wishes to see everyone happy." Armin defended Ellie as politely as he could.

Ellie shrugged. "Robots fall in love sometimes, why can't plant people?" She had another sip of beer. "I mean obviously you wouldn't be, you know," she wiggled her fingers significantly, "but love is more than that." She smiled at Armin. "Exactly, man!"

Ethan sighed. Ugh, maybe it really was time to head back to the library.

Shane just bowed his head, staying out of the conversation

Hewitt rolled his eyes. "it's good to see you're living up to your species reputation." he told Ellie.

"sir..." Amity began.

"Oh don't you start." Hewitt snapped.

Esk stared at Dawn, struck dumb for a moment at her words. She was already walking away before he found his voice enough to mumble "w.. what?"

Ellie stuck out her tongue at Hewitt. "My species is awesome, so YAY." She did notice Ethan's discomfort finally and changed the subject. "ANYWAY. This scone is AMAZING, Sawna!"

If she heard him, Dawn didn't make any sign of it as she went into her room and closed the door.

~~
Sawna chuckled softly and smiled at Ellie "Thank you"

Deeply and utterly confused, Esk returned to his own room to lay down and sleep off the painkillers and exhaustion of the day.

He had trouble getting his shoes off again, hissing in pain as he tried to untie his laces, but he was stubborn and he managed to kick them off and crawl into bed. Hopefully nobody would come annoy him.

He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. What the hell had Dawn meant? Was this more of that weird twisted sense of humour she had? eugh...
Now he'd be kept awake trying to figure it out.

---

Hewitt snickered.

---

"Ahh, well Dawn tried to get the paperwork rushed, as did Matt but i'm afraid they best they could do was get the location of my quarantine changed. " Web explained, looking a little awkward.

Matt grinned. "So he's gonna be staying here till they clear his application, he's not allowed to leave."

Kay looked sympathetic. [We'll find you a room then.]

Web looked grateful. "thank you, but really there's no rush. "

"tour of the ship then?" Matt suggested.

"I would very much like to meet this fiance of yours." Web told Matt.

Matt looked sheepish. "Yeah, we'll get to that. I kinda.. should warn her first. She doesn't really like surprises."

[Thalia doesn't seem to like a great number of things.] Kay wrote.

Matt made a face. He still hated that his brother and his fiance didn't get along, it sucked.

"I'll be patient then." Web assured Matt.

"Why don't I go like.. talk to her, you guys do the tour thing. I'll come find you later okay?" Matt suggested.

Ethan relaxed. Good, change the subject.

"My mate has declared she shall convince my tribe to leave their homelands!" Tala proclaimed suddenly. "She has not yet succeeded but this is cause for rejoicement!

~~
"Well if you have to be stuck anywhere, this is a good place to be stuck," Asher said brightly to Web. He nodded at Matt's words, "We won't show him the service bots without you," he teased a bit.

"Do you think she stands a good chance of convincing them?" Armin asked Tala eagerly.

"ahh yes, the war right?" Hewitt sounded rather disinterested. "Why haven't they evacuated already?"

---

Matt laughed. "Man, he's not ready to meet those guys."

Web looked bewildered.

[they're like the goats.] Kay explained.

Web nodded. Ahh, so mostly moronic things that Matt just talked at and became strangely attached to. Got it.
"I'll see you soon." He told Matt.

Matt nodded. "you can't hide from me, even on a ship this big." He grinned.

Web looked amused.

Matt waved and went to find Thalia.
If she was even about, for all he knew she might have decided to go raid the capitol's supply of fresh fruit or something.

"She is a most excellent speaker. She shall convince them in time," Tala said. To Hewitt she added, "Our tribe believes our homeland to be sacred. They are unwilling to leave the ground our ancestors tread and our god made for us, and so most are unwilling to evacuate."

~~
Asher waved as Matt left. "I can leave if you two would like to talk," he suggested. Hey, after years apart, they might have a lot to catch up on.

"That's moronic." Hewitt told her matter of factly.

Armin bowed his head. "I do hope she will be successful and that once more you may be united with your mate."

---

Kay smiled fondly to Asher.
[Stay. We can catch up at any point this evening i'm sure.] Maybe he wouldn't spend the night alone huh?

Web chuckled softly. "I understand this must be rather awkward, I don't want to force you to tag along if you have other things to do."

Kay rolled his eyes. [Stop being so diplomatic, he's coming.]

Tala snorted. "My tribe have their ways, for better or for worse. At times our beliefs have been moronic, but so have the beliefs of every culture." She nodded to Armin, "We are grateful for your hopes."

~~
Asher looked amused. Good thing Kay was here to keep them from going into a death spiral of diplomacy. "I don't have anything I need to attend to right now, and I definitely want to come along," he said cheerfully. He was curious about Web, it took an unusual sort of person to take on a leadership position like the that of the Sister Races. Besides, Kay's family was totally worth getting to know, seeing as it was, you know, Kay's family.

Hewitt shrugged. "And they'll probably die for it. Doesn't seem very worth it."

"Would you like a drink?" Amity suddenly declared, trying to divert the tension. "Perhaps a nice selection of leaves and tubers?"

---

Web smiled softly. "Excellent."

Kay nodded. [I suppose we start with this floor then.] He nodded toward the door.

Web nodded. "That sounds good. How... big is this ship anyway?"

Tala nodded. "If they choose to stay, they shall die. That is why we seek to convince them." She swished her tail and opened one of Ellie's beers.

~~
"She has a hundred floors currently, it's hard to know her exact dimensions because she grows constantly," Asher said. He looked amused, "Which makes maintaining her electrical systems interesting at times." He lead the way out of the room, holding the door for the brothers. "This is the floor we've all agreed to use as the main floor. Lots of useful rooms, plenty of space for everyone. Not as fancy as some of the upper floors, but it works well."

"How many people do you have here?" Web asked, this ship seemed ridiculously oversized.

[She's a cruise ship, or was meant to be, but there's only maybe 40 of us aboard. ] Kay wrote. Hmm, he'd never actually counted. Oops? [a great number of floors go completely unused]

Web nodded slowly. "Are you an engineer then?" He asked Asher, he'd mentioned maintaining electrics.

"It's a very exclusive cruise so we don't let many people join," Asher joked. He nodded, "Sort of. Technically I'm employed as a medic here, but I much prefer working as a mechanic when I can. Repairing ships is much more relaxing than repairing people."

Web laughed. "I suppose machines don't talk back so much."

[This one does.] Kay smirked and patted the wall with his free hand.

"They're much, much quieter," Asher grinned up at a camera, "Even Vestia." He looked to Web, "So I'm guessing you don't travel all that much, given the nature of your job? Seems like it must keep you pretty busy."

Web shook his head. "It's not often I manage to sneak away no. " He frowned a little. "My last vacation was about four years ago. When Matt and Kay invited me to go traveling with them for a short while."

[We got two whole weeks out of him.] Kay smiled softly to Web.

Web nodded. "Duty unfortunately always calls. "

[They can do without you for a few days though surely?]

Web shrugged. "I hope so. Kaliyani Vivek is extraordinarily efficient in my stead, But she has less sway over the Elders than I do."
He smiled grimly. "You speak of the ship as if it is alive."

[That's because she is.] Kay explained, smiling up at Vestia's camera.

"Well it's been a bit chaotic out here lately, but hopefully you'll be able to enjoy a bit of a vacation while you're here. And hopefully the Guild won't force you to stay for too long," Asher said. "Vestia's a bioship. She's sentient and sapient, with eyes and ears everywhere. It takes a bit of getting used to, but she's nice."

Web looked surprised, and then a little wary. He looked up at the cameras. "So... the voice earlier, that was the ship?" He'd assumed it was the captain or something.

Kay nodded.

Web nodded slowly. "She can hear and see us yes?"

Kay nodded again and indicated the cameras.

"Well uh.. hello Vestia, it's a pleasure to um... meet you?" Web didnt' really know how you addressed a bioship.

"Hello!" Vestia said, sounding amused, "It's nice to meet you too." It was always fun to see people try to make sense of what she was. Apparently a talking giant spaceship who listened and watched all the time was a weird idea to most people, who would have thought?

Asher smiled at Web. He'd felt weird the first time he'd talked to a smartship too.

Web smiled, looking rather weirded out. "This will take some getting used to."

Kay nodded. [It does]