Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Seven

"You mentioned the possibility of using a spell to look into someone's mind. Is that part of your plan to try to communicate with Fate?" Vestia asked Jarral. She wanted to learn as much as she could here. After all, it was her job to protect her crew as well as she could.

~~
"You can paint the light switches in your room if you want," Vestia told Vela. "I trust you not to break anything."

Ellie giggled.

Kay nodded. yes... for now... He tried to put such thoughts out of his mind, but it wasn't easy. Truthfully he WAS stressed and anxious, he didn't like all this uncertainty and change.

---

Jarral looked uneasy, he didn't much like answering questions at the best of times. He nodded. "It is however dangerous and I am keen to explore other options first. While I have no particular love for my father, I have no desire to harm him either. " He rose to his feet. "The demons are a threat, not just to this realm but to the entire multiverse. They are beings of pure chaos, but even then they must have some reason for what they are doing, some intention for the people they take. " he frowned deeply, thinking. "It is.. possible they are trying to goad Fate, provoke her into action or... simply rubbing her nose in her inability to protect her own chosen. " He paced, shadows draging out behind him, whispering quietly to him. "or they do not care who they hurt so long as they have playthings. The problem with chaotic entities is that their motives are... fleeting and erratic. Often there IS no reason for what they do, and that makes them harder to predict and defend against. " He looked agitated, clearly thinking hard on this current problem and trying to come up with some sort of solution. He didn't like sitting around doing nothing. "in terms of the greater good, it is worth the risk... however, there are other factors to consider. My father is important to the People, without him there is no clear heir, giving the Elders control unopposed would be disasterous and putting my uncle in charge all the more catastrophic. " He shook his head. "There must be a safer option." He seemed to have come to a decision, turning abruptly to the shadows and speaking to them in that wierd insubstantial manner they whispered to him. Within moments darkness bubbled across the wall nearest Jarral and he reached into it, withdrawing a large tome. He took his seat on the floor again and set the book in front of himself.

Danika used her head to rub against his hand again, purring to get him to relax again. Maybe she shouldn't of said anything. It wasn't that she was reading his mind, she didn't have to do that to feel his tension return while they were touching.

~~~
Vela flushed a little and gave the nearest camera a smile. "Thank you." She said happily

Vestia watched Jarral thoughtfully. "Well, please tell me before you try anything, or if you find anything out. The people who call me home, and their families, are my responsibility, and if they're in danger, I'd like to know."
In some ways, the people here were an ant farm that she kept and watched for the entertainment. But they were also her friends, and even her defenders sometimes. Either way, she wanted to protect them.

~~
Vestia's lights glowed a friendly, amused pinkish lavender at Vela in response.

"We could paint the light switch to look like a gemstone that the dragon is holding," Ellie suggested. "Thank it could totally be part of the art."

Vela smiled again and looked back to the tablet to see how well that idea would work on the plate they were drawing. "Looks good, kind of big, but it will work like that." She said and showed it to Ellie.

Jarral nodded curtly but was now too absorbed in the book to respond any further.

---

Kay patted Danika's head softly. Have you had enough to eat? He asked, for want of anything else to ask.

Yes Danika replied simply. She had been finished since she moved, but wouldn't speak that part.

(From Unity)
Asher, Starr, and Web headed onto Vestia.

"Oh Web! I didn't know you were here," Vestia said. "Welcome back."

Tala wasn't at the airlock at the moment, she must have headed off to do something.

~~
"I like it," Ellie told Vela. "It's all very artistic. And once we cover it in glitter, it'll look even better."
She grinned. "Your, ah, uncle? Brother? Asher, I mean, he ended up with glitter on him once. And Kay did too. It was so festive! The med bay was coated in glitter for weeks, no lie. I think that was before you hatched, actually. Good times."

Web bowed his head politely to Vestia's nearest camera. "And to you." He managed a tired smile. "I hope you're feeling better." He looked a little uncertain, not really sure HOW you told a ship to get well soon and all that. Erm... truthfully Vestia bewildered him. The whole biomechanical thing was just too alien for him to wrap his head around.

---

Kay looked thoughtful. Then... would you like to continue our walk? He was struggling to find something to do, feeling like he HAD to do something, anything that wasn't just sitting.

Vela giggled softly and turned the tablet to look at the plate again "Asher is a brother to Kerr and me, since he isn't blood related to any of us."

~~~
Danika stretched a little and looked up to him again Only if you want to, I am content just to be beside you again. We could find a lounge room and watch a movie or read or something.

"I'm recovering, yes, thank you," Vestia told Web, tone friendly. Although she was trying not to sound amused by his uncertainty. "Where are you guys headed?"

~~
"That must be confusing," Ellie said with a laugh. "I guess you guys have all had a while to get used to how complicated your family is though, so maybe it makes sense to you. I'll figure it out eventually, I'm sure."

Kay considered that, he nodded. Alright, that sounds like a good idea.

---

Web nodded to Vestia. "I'm glad. And... I.. don't know." He looked to the other two for clarification on where they were heading to.

---

"Did you want to see the kids, or some of the others?" Starr asked, looking back to Web.

~~~
Danika grinned and got up, jumping to the floor and shifting so she could grab a plate to take it to the wash station.

~~~
Vela laughed and nodded. "Yeah, it can get confusing. Most times we just call them the simple relation instead of worrying about the more complicated side."

"Makes sense," Ellie said. She looked at what Vela had drawn on her tablet."Do you think jewelry on the dragon would be fashionable, or too much?"

Kay stood, stretching a little as he did so. he'd been sitting in one position too long. He took took things to be washed and then held out a cautious hand to Danika, smiling a little uncertainly.

---

"Do you think they want to see me?" Web asked, he was never entirely sure the kids really regarded him as much more than that odd guy who just turned up every so often and then went away again.
He wasn't good with kids like Matt was, he was stiff and awkward and unsure around them.

Asher smiled softly. "I'm sure the kids would like to see you, you're part of our family and we worry when you're away." He kind of got the impression kids made Web nervous, but he was also pretty sure the kids liked to know that Web was alive. So there.

Web nodded hesitantly. "you all really needn't worry." He began to protest. He sighed. "perhaps.. we should see how Lana is settling in... " Poor kid, this had to be rough for her. Meeting her actual father for the first time and all that.

Vela frowned a little in thought before shrugging "Maybe something simple?"

~~~
Danika smiled and took Kay's hand to walk with him.

~~~~
"I know my three like you Web, they spoke well of you since our return." Starr said gently.

"We can give the dragon a necklace, and maybe some bracelets," Ellie said. "And a tiara." She reached out to doodle a necklace onto the dragon with her fingertip, although it probably didn't look especially good. Art wasn't something she'd done much.

~~
Asher smiled softly at Web. "Of course we're going to worry about you, don't be silly. Worrying is what families do." And Asher was unusually good at it.
He nodded. "Yes, let's go find Lana, if she isn't busy at the moment. Vestia, can you help us?"

"Sure, gimme a second," Vestia said. She'd look around for Lana and Matt, and tell them that Web, Asher, and Starr might come say hi if they weren't busy.

Vela moved closer so she could watch Ellie draw. This was certainly interesting to her. She reached over to help with the drawing and coloring of the jewels.

"Do they have art classes on Unity?" Ellie asked. "You're pretty good at this." She added a spiky tiara to the dragon's head. "I'm thinking it's an ice tiara and that's why it's so spiky," she told Vela sagely.

Web bowed his head, it was nice Asher considered him family he thought, even if it wasn't entirely true.

"Thank you." He told them both sincerely.

--

Matt was in the middle of regaling Lana with a dramatic retelling of one of their adventures, sanitised to be moooostly child appropriate. He'd sort of exhausted himself though, punctuating his story of fighting off slavers with waves of his crutch.

Lana helped him into a chair where he panted and caught his breath, about to continue when Vestia told them Web was here.

Matt's expression brightened. "Oh cool, yeah, send em over!" He grinned at Lana, "I'll have to finish this later yeah?" He was still breathing heavily. "When I... have more energy.."

Lana laughed and nodded.

"Art helps creativity, and you have to be able to draw at least a simple drawing to make diagrams to follow with inventions. Art is pretty important at least for the kids." Vela said with a nod. It was one of her favorites obviously.

~~~
(aww, she likes him )
Starr smiled back to Web, she considered him family as well, even if only through a sort of adoption of Asher. Her stolen memories from Kay and her ability to rationalize them as an outsider of them helped make Web feel like family even if she had made them not reachable consciously.

"Oh yeah, making planets and other things, you'd definitely want to have plans drawn for that," Ellie said, nodding as if this was a well-established fact she knew. "Do you guys have to sketch out the shapes of continents and stuff, or do you just kinda... know what to do instinctively once you've practiced enough?"

~~
Vestia told them where Lana and Matt were.
Asher headed with Web and Starr to go find Lana and Matt, smiling a little. He totally considered Web to be family, even if it wasn't technically official.

"I was talking about the scientists having to draw their inventions and stuff." Vela said with a giggle. She frowned a little in thought at the question though before shrugging. "I guess it depends on how you are making it."