Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Seven

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"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.

Web blinked, surprised by the materialisation of the kettle and Zara's spiking anxiety. He bowed his head and took the kettle "thank you."
He decided not to ask Zara if she was alright, explaining you could feel people's emotions usually freaked them out more.

"I'm not sure a drinking game without alchohol is really a game at all." Wasn't the point to get drunk? or get other people drunk? It had been a while since he'd played any drinking games honestly.

"Would you like erm.. red berry or... cam... uh.." He held up the last teabag. "whatever this one is." Dang galactic common.

---

Hewitt scoffed "value? perhaps as pulp, or kindling." He didn't ask about Ethan's reaction, he really didn't much care or really think it was particularly odd. He was too self absborbed for that.

---

Kay glared after Matt one more time. [He really seems determined." He exhaled sharply. [I suppose he succeeded though didn't he? ] He looked at the table. A puzzle, yes, that was a distracting thing. Better than dancing. He nodded, looking awkward and uncertain.

---

Jarral looked around warily. "I am not certain this sort of event is really... my idea of enjoyment."

Jess smiled awkwardly at Danika, this was all a lot to take in. "Auntie... i'm still finding that strange... "

"Would you prefer we called you by another name?" Jarral asked sincerely.

Jess shook her head. "no. no.. it's fine. Just... an adjustment."

----

Esk nodded. "Alright." He lapsed into silence again for a bit, thinking. "I know what the demon told you." He admitted at last. It had been gnawing at him and her words earlier troubled him.

Dawn shook her head once he started that thought. "They say anything to get a rise. I'd rather talk to you to have information about you." It was an out for him, sure, but better that way. She knew how she felt, that was enough for the moment.

~~~
Danika smiled at Jess, at least she wasn't upset about it, or didn't seem to be. She herself was doing her best to not read the emotions beyond body language and facial expressions. She looked to Jerral again and tilted her head. "What do you like to do for fun?"

Ellie looked impressed. "That other dragon dude has skills. Now I kinda want tea, just for the novelty of this." She looked at Zara though, concerned by the woman's reaction.

Zara forced herself to keep lipreading, although with her sudden new set of fears it was difficult to sort the movements into words. She took a several seconds to understand what Shane and Web had said, before trying to reply.
"It's fine," she said to Shane, trying to put her doubts on hold to be considered later, because there was no way she could figure them out here and now. Whatever it all meant, the safest option was to not upset the status quo as much as possible, until she could work it all out later. "I know magic is... important here. It's not something I'm used to, but it is your way of life here, it seems like. You don't need to change that because of me."
She wasn't sure what teas Web was trying to read the names of, so she asked him with a small smile, "Can you pick a random one please?"

~~
"Also it has historical value. Someday people will be analyzing astrology books like this one to try to understand this era," Ethan said. He turned the book over in his hands, checking it for damage and trying to ignore his lingering embarrassment.
"Besides, I spent good money on this book, Vestia only gives me a limited allowance to use each month for these. I bought it to read it to you until you shook off your coma from sheer annoyance," he added.

~~
"He did achieve his goal, I applaud his enthusiasm," Asher said, sitting down at the table and waving in invitation for Kay to take a seat. He opened the puzzle box and poured the pieces onto the table so they could look at them easily.
"Have you read any good books recently?" he asked hesitantly. Inquiring about hobbies was probably safe, he hoped. And Kay's pulpy Satare adventure novels had always seemed to bring him joy.

Web nodded. "Alright. Hopefully it'll be alright." he took one at random and set about steeping the tea in a mug he found in the collection of cups.

---

Esk shook his head, looking grim. "She was trying to hurt me. First Matt, then you..." He averted his gaze. "i'm sorry." He spoke flatly, his tone betraying no emotion. It was how he dealt with things.

----

Jarral hesitated, fun wasn't really a term he was that familiar with. "I... read." He told Danika.

---

Kay sat down, busying himself finding edge pieces. He glanced up at the question and smiled weakly. This was so awkward and he wasn't sure if Asher was just trying to be polite by making smalltalk or what. He shook his head slowly.

----

Hewitt scoffed "historical value. What nonsense." He smirked at Ethan. "Trying to annoy me into waking up were you? " He laughed. "Cunning. " He clapped his hand on the bed. "you're a coniving AI i'll give you that."

Asher set about flipping over pieces that were upside down, so they could see the patterns on them. "I suppose there must be a lot of new books you'd like now, I haven't been keeping track of what's been published lately though. Maybe we can try to look some up sometime."
He knew they both needed to become more comfortable around each other if they were going to have any hope of figuring their relationship out. And it was pretty clear to Asher that he needed to be the one to try to make that happen, because he had the advantage of knowledge and emotional distance. He also guessed Kay would be reluctant to take the first step, for fear of driving him further away, so it was up to Asher to show that he was serious about trying to repair their relationship.
Asher wasn't sure he was socially adept enough to manage this though.

~~
"You don't remember me threatening you with this book, then?" Ethan asked. "Yes, it was a good idea. I bought this book yesterday and threatened you with it, and you woke up today, so one could argue that maybe it wasn't a coincidence, and the book did help." He didn't seriously believe that the book had woken Hewitt up, but it was an amusing thought.

"A tenuous link at best." Hewitt scoffed, but he smiled. Ethan amused him. "Been fawning over me have you? " He chuckled. "my boy, you flatter me."

----

Kay frowned a little, then nodded. Asher made a good point. Ten years was a long time. He glanced at his tablet which he'd set to one side, bit his lip and wrote [I'm sorry, I dont' think i'm very good at small talk.] turning the tablet so Asher could see it.

He hated how awkward this was. He hated that anything had changed at all. it just felt so acutely unfair.

"Of course she was trying. That's part of how they gain power if I read the situation right." Dawn stated, shaking her head. "That's why I didn't let it rile me, I know it wasn't you talking then. Just kept making me angry to hear her talk about you and sad to know we couldn't get her out easily."

~~~
Shane nodded but she still seemed upset somehow, so he would try not to do anything more to upset her. He looked back to Ellie and Web and shrugged. "It's still a game, right?"

~~~
Hm..reading. "Have you been to the library here?" She asked then, wondering if he ever did anything just for fun and not to learn more.

Zara smiled at Web. "Thanks, I'm sure it'll be good, whatever it is."

Ellie considered the drinking game topic. "Hmm, I dunno what makes it a game. Is it the getting drunk aspect, or the bingo aspect?" She laughed and added, "If it's just bingo, then that doesn't sound as fun. And if it's getting drunk, I'm not sure anyone would want that near the kids."

~~
Ethan gave Hewitt a disgruntled look. "I wasn't fawning, I visited sometimes, in case you were one of those people who stay conscious while in a coma. I didn't want your brain to rot from boredom." He huffed and added, "And I'm not your boy."

~~
Asher read what Kay had written, looking slightly crestfallen. Small talk was pretty much the only plan of action he actually had so far. "That's understandable. Is there anything you would like to talk about?"

Hewitt laughed. "Well now i'm awake you can make yourself useful and help me up. A walk should get the water flowing properly."

----

Kay frowned. There was a lot they should talk about, but a lot he preferred not to address becasue he knew it would be painful. [tell me what you've been doing with yourself, about Unity, about the kids? ] Anything really to avoid having to talk about them.

----

Web looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure what makes it a game. " He looked around. "I believe there's cards over there, perhaps that's a safer bet?"
He smiled to Zara. "I appreciate your confidence in me." He chuckled and offered her the mug.

----

Jarral nodded. "It is not particularly well stocked. The shadows bring me books from My Lord's library."

Jess looked confused. "Web has a library?"

Jarral looked at her. "no. I speak of my god, the Lord of Shadows."

Jess looked confused and troubled by that. people who claimed to be gods were seldom, in her opinnion, a good thing. "what...do you DO for this... this lord of shadows then?"

"I translate texts. I seek out knowledge. I do as he bids me." Jarral replied.

"That's... not reassuring." Jess told him.

"it is my purpose."

"And you're okay with that?"

"It is reassuring to have a purpose in life." Jarral told her.

Esk shook his head. He wasn't sure Dawn really understood. Matt still flinched away from him now and Dawn now knew something he hadn't been ready or willing to tell her.
"i'm not sure how I feel knowing my father really IS a demon." He told her, changing the subject. "I always assumed it was just my mother being metaphorical..."

Ethan frowned, but then got up and went over to Hewitt, switching off his sense of touch. Not a perfect solution, it made him feel like he was floating outside reality or something, but better than the alternative. "Where do you want to go?" he asked.

~~
Asher looked uncertain. "I already told you a lot about that when we were messaging, and yesterday," he said, sorting some puzzle pieces into groups by their patterns, "I'm not really sure what more to mention."
He supposed he could find more anecdotes to share. And certainly there was a lot more to tell, but a lot of the big picture he was going to have to omit because he didn't think Kay was asking to hear the depressing parts. There had been quite a lot of depressing parts.

"Bingo?" Shane asked curiously. He hadn't known that was a drinking game.

~~~
Danika listened to the two talk, curious about them both really. "What kind of books do you find fun to read?" She asked after a moment.

~~~
Dawn thought about that then shrugged "I don't know if anyone would find that easy to hear, but in a way, it does explain your powers, doesn't it? At least the why they are hard to control, since you haven't had the proper training for them."

"I meant that drinking games are sort of similar to bingo. You know, because something happens and then you have to do something," Ellie explained to Shane. At least they seemed like bingo to her, only with more inebriation. She nodded at Web's idea, "Yeah, let's go to the game tables and play one of those games."

Zara took the mug of tea with a smile. "If you somehow made a mistake preparing tea, I'll only give you constructive criticism," she promised.

Jarral looked confused. fun? Again he didn't really understand. "I... " he struggled a little here. "I translate things..."

---

"I couldn't care less. Just... out." Hewitt gripped Ethan's arm with one hand and dragged himself to his feet, leaning heavily on his cane.

---

Kay smiled weakly. [Humour me?]

---

Esk nodded. It explained a LOT. "It's... unpleasant." that was an understatement. His fingers brushed the pendent Starr had made for him, he didn't really know why he still wore it given he was fairly sure it didn't actually work. Hope maybe? Foolish hope.
He looked at Dawn, frowning a little. "why aren't you scared of me? Everyone else is. Why aren't you?"

---

Web smiled to Zara. "Then i'll prepare myself for copious notes." He joked.

Danika frowned as she watched Jerral. "You don't do anything just for fun anymore? When we lived together you collected things, remember?" She thought a moment then shook her head "Come on, let's find something fun to do. We can try some of the games here first."

~~~
Shane nodded, going with Ellie to the games table so they could pick something out.

~~~
Dawn frowned at the question then shrugged. "I have never been scared of you. I was scared of what you could do at first, but even knowing your power hasn't scared me. Everyone else seems to be more scared of your anger and power than you yourself. At least from what I overhear when they talk about me being with you."

Ethan set the astrology book back on the bedside table with his free hand, then turned his attention to helping Hewitt. "I end up helping people around an awful lot," he told Hewitt, "It's damn strange."

~~
Asher sighed, then smiled and nodded. Something to help Kay feel better, he reminded himself.
He'd tell Kay about their birthday celebrations, where they made treats in accordance with the kids' various dietary needs, and colorful decorations, and also had Star Dragon traditions thanks to Nova. Since three of the kids shared the same birthday, it was very exciting and slightly hectic, especially when they were younger.

~~
Zara laughed. "Since you put a tea bag in hot water, I can't imagine I'll have that many pointers for you. You already have the gist of it."

Ellie headed with Shane to the games tables, looking around thoughtfully. "Board game, card game, or a puzzle?" she asked Shane. "We have so many options here, I'm a genius for adding games tables this time." At least, she was taking credit for the idea, yep.

Jarral frowned. "I... do not have time for fun." He protested.

Jess shook her head. "Go play a game." She tried to encourage. Honestly it was somewhat painful watching Danika desperately try to connect with the kid.

---

Esk sighed. "That's what I mean, you can't separate the power from ME. " He looked at her though, frowning. "But they all have a healthy fear of being near me, you don't. You... trust me." He looked away, that alone meant a huge amount to him. He was terrified he'd betray that trust at some point. That he'd hurt her.

---

Kay smiled as he listened, enjoying just hearing Asher talk as he sorted puzzle pieces. [thank you.]

---

Web chuckled. "Not too many ways you can screw up tea in a bag." He watched Ellie and Shane wander off and looked back to Zara. "Would you like to play a game? I'm not sure I recognise any of these."

"Let's do a card game" Shane replied, smiling at her again. He didn't mind which one they did.

~~~
"Then it's about time you learned something fun to do." Danika replied with a smile.

~~~
"Of course I trust you." Dawn replied and chuckled softly. "You do spend quite a bit of energy making them fear being near you, that has nothing to do with your power just your fear of losing control. I understood that fear, since my people grow up with the same one, so for me it is quite easy to separate you and your power."

"Of course," Asher said, smiling back. He nudged some edge pieces toward Kay. "How about you," he said after some thought, "Tell me something about yourself that I don't know?" It might be a risky question, but it wasn't small talk exactly and it also wasn't diving straight for the hard questions that needed to be discussed at some point. Therefore, he figured it was worth a try.

~~
"We could go join them, they probably wouldn't mind," Zara said. Other than her nagging worries, both Ellie and Shane had seemed pretty nice.

~~
"All right," Ellie said with a nod. "Card game it is." She headed with Shane to a table that had cards, suggesting a card game of some sort that she knew. (I... don't know card games. Except War and Solitaire, lol)

Jarral tilted his head at Danika, not sure if that was a threat or not. "What did you have in mind?" he asked warily.

"Why don't you play a game?" Jess suggested. She herself was fairly okay with just staying here in a nice corner, away from the aliens, especially that minotaur.

----

Web nodded. "Lead the way." He picked up a few more bottles to bring to the table for everyone so they had drinks.

----

Kay chewed his lip thoughtfully, starting work on the puzzle border. [I'm not sure there's much you don't know at this point.] He admitted. Which sort of sucked. It felt very one sided.

----

Esk nodded slowly. What dawn said made sense in a way he supposed. He changed the subject, uncomfortable with how honest he was being and how vulnerable that made him feel. "Let's watch a movie or... DO something."

Shane nodded and sat down, picking up a deck to shuffle it. (I don't know much beyond the names either, lol) "Poker? Or something easier?"

~~~
"Um...let's try a board game? You can come too Aunt Jess. Or I could grab a game and bring it over here?" Danika replied, she knew both of them seemed leary of the others and didn't want to venture to the center much if at all.

~~~
"Sounds good to me, random one?" She asked, looking around then grabbing the remote to turn on the TV "We can boo it if it's bad." She added with a grin.

Zara nodded and headed over with Web to join Ellie and Shane. As usual, she intentionally picked a spot where she could see everyone pretty easily. "Hope you guys don't mind the company," she said.

Ellie grinned. "The more, the merrier." To Shane she added, "Let's go with a simple game. Human Cards, maybe?"

"Wait, there's a game called Human Cards?" Zara asked.

"Of course," Ellie said, as if naming a game Human Cards was a completely normal thing to do.

Zara didn't know what to say to that. She swished her tea with the tea bag.

~~
"All right," Asher said with a nod. It couldn't be entirely true, there must still be lots of stories and little facts he didn't know yet, but it was true enough to be sad.
It would have been one thing if they had both had years of life apart, and could learn about each other all over again, but the dynamic was very different when only one person had to do all the learning.
"We could go somewhere else if you wanted," he offered, "The kids all seem okay for the moment, and Nova's here, so I think it would be all right to leave the party."

Shane laughed a little "Well, you just put yourself in 'teacher' position, so teach us the rules." He said and handed her the shuffled deck

Kay hesitated, glancing around. It was true, everyone did seem to be fairly content. Danika was chatting to Jarral and Jess which was... sort of heartening to see. He nodded slowly, setting the puzzle piece in his hand down.

----

Web looked bemused as he sat down, setting the bottles down as well. Most of it was soda of some sort.
"I don't believe i've ever heard of this game."

----

Jess shook her head. "no no, you two go catch up." She forced a smile that didn't really suit her.

Jarral would follow Danika, but he looked somewhat bewildered.

----

Esk wasn't really that accustomed to sudden grinning from Dawn but he returned an almost sincere looking if not very fleeting smile. "It's better if you can throw popcorn at the screen."

Ellie started teaching them all the game, which was fortunately pretty simple to learn. Other than the name, it didn't seem to have much to do with Humans. Go figure. "It's a game Humanists play sometimes," she explained, "Come to think of it, maybe the rules are top secret."
But she kept teaching them all anyway.

~~
Asher stood, and gave Kay a hesitant smile.
He wasn't actually sure whether spending time with Kay alone was a good idea or not but... it was worth a try. Probably.

Dawn nodded then shook her head "True, but that makes the bots have to clean up after us." She joked, picking a random movie. This was more like old times, joking and watching 'bad' movies together.

~~~
Danika nodded and led Jerral to the games table, picking out a board game and starting to set it up, moving the instructions to him so he could read them.

~~~
Shane listened to the rules of the game, settling in to play with the group.