Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Four

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"We could stay here and see if Vestia can start getting some movies on file for us." Shane said with a shrug.

Esk stared at her. "For a time?" He asked. "You changed your mind?" He was tense, but he wasn't backing away. She could easily touch him.
He shook his head. She was distracting him. "Mourn should be able to hack into this database, Starr might have some contacts...."

Dawn sighed as her fingers touched his jacket. "Esk, think, why did you let me tough you? Why did you push past me in the doorway? Can't you see you are not acting like yourself? And you changed my mind for me, if you remember."

"You don't just turn that off..." Esk shook his head. "I don't have time for this." He told her, trying to get past her again.

Silence looked at Moriah. "What now?" She asked. She wasn't really good with people.

"Could play a game..." Ivor mused.

"No, you don't" Dawn agreed but didn't move. If he wanted past her he would have to touch her.

He looked frustrated. "Dawn... Move."
She wouldn't would she?
He sighed. "Fine." he turned on his heel, he'd go the long way. All these corridors looped around eventually.

Dawn sighed, letting her hand drop. She didn't like this, but there really wasn't much she could do, was there? She turned and went to look for Jerral. She would ask him.

Moriah nodded. "Yeah, we could find a game to play. What games do you guys know?" she asked. She assumed the Imperium must have games, she didn't know if Silence would have learned any though, shifters were such an odd species, she really didn't know what a species like that would do in their spare time.

Jarral was still reading his creepy book, the door to his room open.

---

Esk went to talk to Mourn.

Mourn of course was always eager to show off his skills so when asked to hack into a bounty hunter database and restore Esk's access he agreed without question.

"It take a few hours maybe yes? I come find when done."

Esk nodded. "good."

He left the tablet with Mourn and looked up at Vestia's camera. "Vestia, where is Starr?"

---

Ivor looked thoughtful. He knew how to play some card games, variations of taufl.

"There is a game room no?" He asked.

Silence shrugged. She didn't really know games at all.

Dawn knocked, because that was the polite thing to do. "Jerral, do you have a moment?"

~~~
Starr had likely returned to her room with Luna (possibly with Armin if he had come with her) The young dragon was taking her nap.

Jarral looked up, an exasperated expression on his face. "Questions, or another request?" He asked.

---

Armin was pretty clingy wasn't he? He'd remain with Starr so long as she tolerated him doing so.

Esk went to speak to her.

"Yes, there is one on this level. The old game room got... vacuumed, but the one on this level is okay," Moriah said. "Come on, let's go see it."

~~
"Starr's in her room," Vestia said. She probably sounded a little doubtful about all this, Esk was still giving her weird vibes. Hadn't he been wishing he would never see his father again not too long ago?

"Both really." Dawn said, coming in a little "Is there any signs of possession besides just acting strange?" She asked worriedly

~~~
Starr went to answer the door when Esk came. "Hello Esk, what's up?" She asked curiously.

"thank you vestia" Esk told her. Well at least he was still being polite to the ship?

He looked at Starr. "You had a deal with my father, to help him to disappear. Sounds like he's done just that. I need to find him. " Straight to the point.

--

Ivor nodded and crawled out from the booth.

Silence stuck close.

---

Jarral stared at Dawn. Damn these people were obsessed weren't they?

"For whom? the afflicted, or to outsiders?"

Moriah led the way to the games room.

It didn't have as good a selection of games as the old one did, but the games were all fancy ones with imitation or even real wood boxes, or fancy decorations, or really anything to make them look first class.

The room itself looked pretty darn fancy too.

Starr tilted her head "I was already trying to find him to see if he was ok. Communicating with my contacts is not easy this far out, I am awaiting replies already."

~~~
Dawn frowned a little "Outsiders, or more specifically friends of the afflicted." She said after a moment.

Silence looked around and prodded a few boxes, but she didn't really have the dexterity to open them in this form.

Ivor looked at her and smiled softly, nodding.

She snorted and shifted, her form shrinking, shape changing with a crack and grinding sound as she became humanoid.
Her terran form was dark skinned, not overly tall and her face grumpy looking. Her dark hair was curly and messy and her eyes were still red and double pupiled.
She shot Ivor a 'better?' look.

Ivor smiled and nodded, opening a box and looking at the unfamiliar pieces inside. Counters, triangles on the board, dice... nope, not a clue what that was. He latched it closed again.

---

Esk nodded. "Let me know if you hear anything alright?"

Armin stayed out of this, not his business.

----

Jarral looked thoughtful, closing the book. "they are good at immitating, mimmicking. But not always good enough. The offness, for want of a better term, is something those closest may notice more... but not always." He stared at her. "They can hide from telepaths, it is difficult to read the minds of those possessed in any event. If the person does not usually have strong mental barriers that in itself could be a clue. It is.. possible that some may be able to glimpse beyond that barrier, see the truth.. but you would require a powerful telepath and no qualms with invading the mind of a friend uninvited." Many people were funny about having their minds invaded like that. "If the afflicted is strong enough, they will make their distress known soon enough. If they are smart, they will use their moments of lucidity to alert others to their plight. The demon makes you unable to speak of them, twists your mind so that you are unable to actively ask for help, but there are other ways... "

Can I ask why you are looking for him now?" Starr asked curiously.

~~~
"Other ways? Like doing something they would never normally do?" Dawn asked, thinking about what he had said.

Jarral nodded. "Desperate things." He averted his gaze. He'd stabbed Eva in the back himself, not deep enough to cause serious injury, enough to warn her. It had worked.
"IF they are smart, IF they are strong enough."

---

Esk shook his head. "He's running from something, I want to know what. " He shrugged. "And Eva wants him back. She thinks he can help with that rift. He IS a demon after all."

Moriah winced as Silence shifted to her humanoid form. She'd seen shifting once or twice before, but it was always unpleasant. She smiled a little awkwardly when Silence was done shifting. "It's so amazing how you guys can do that."

Dawn nodded then sighed "Esk is not acting normal. We may be able to ask Starr or another of the star dragons to check his mind, but he had strong shields before."

~~~
"From what they said, being even part demon is all the more reason to stay away from the rift. Such are more easily affected than others." Starr said with a shake of her head. She frowned and looked at Esk again. "Eva never mentioned wanting him found, quite the opposite in fact." Why would Esk lie to her?

Silence tilted her head. She didn't really understand.

Ivor lowered his head. "Not always... a lot of people don't like it... makes them.. nervous.. think you're a spy... don't trust... "

---

"Define Normal." Jarral asked dismissively.

----

Esk shook his head. "She's angry at him. Thinks he abandoned her. She was the only one of the three of us who ever thought he was anything other than a complete bastard." three? He had a third half sibling? "Ordinarily i'd say good riddance, but whether she wants to admit it or not he matters to her. What's he hiding from Starr? Enough that he'd avoid the only one of his children who ever defended him?

"His normal. We have been friends for a long time, I know how he acts and how he speaks, he's different today. He said he heard something after the battle and coming here, but there's nothing that was physically causing it. He came today to ask for painkillers and when I went to check up on him he wasn't acting normally. Such as normally he's very overprotective of anyone being too close or trying to touch him, but he let me touch his jacket and all but pushed me out of the doorway to get past me. He's also focused on finding Hytar even though he never wanted to see him again before." She explained her suspicions

~~~
"Demons" Starr said softly, shaking her head. "Apparently they can take over those descended from them a lot easier than anyone else." She said again then shrugged "We will see."

"Some people are bigots," Moriah said with a frown. "Your shapeshifting is incredible. I mean, most of us can't become different species at will. A skill like that could be super useful. And it's just... so unique."

Esk nodded. "thanks. Let me know if you find anything." He nodded to Armin as well and left them to it.

He went back to his room, so he didn't have to talk to anyone else. They were getting annoyingly suspicious.

---

Jarral nodded. "If he is under another's control, he will do something to alert you to the fact. There is little privacy on this ship, your cameras are always watching. It will be difficult to hide for long regardless."

---

Silence frowned. "almost all dead because of it..."

Ivor looked away. "They were seen as a threat and so they were all but wiped out. Sister was taught not to shift, not to change, so that she would not be hurt. But that didn't work."

"men took, caged. Couldn't hear. Silent minds." Silence shook her head.

"that's the problem when you can't speak aloud, you can't ask for help. You can't explain that you are not some.. dumb beast." Ivor frowned and opened another box. This one was a chess set, he didn't recognise that either. "I learned to maintain this form to protect myself, Silence learned to resist her instincts to blend in, so as to prevent another genocide. The shifters sincerely believed that if they didn't change forms, people would leave them alone, that... they wouldn't be a threat."

"I'm so sorry," Moriah said softly, "That sounds awful." She could kind of comprehend what it was like to be around people who didn't know you were a person too, but Silence had had it so much worse than Moriah ever did.
"I'm glad you're free now at least, in a place were you can use your gifts. But it's terrible that you and your people had to suffer so much."

"It's strange..." Silence mused.

Ivor smiled a wierd half smile. "to not have to hide."

"to not be feared." Silence nodded. "or treated like animal."