UPON VESTIA: CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

First topic message reminder :

Kay looked amused at that remark. [You're probably right. And bottom bunk, because I wasn't willing to argue the point. There were about 12 of us in one room, it was fairly cramped.] Not that he'd spent many evenings IN his bunk considering. Nope, his evenings had been spent locked in an old bunker hoping like heck he wouldn't get out and nobody would find him.

---

Ivor shrugged. "I do.. don't know..." He came out into the hall and closed the door carefully behind himself. "You have animals on a ship?"

----

"If they have no choice, then they are still slaves." Armin bowed his head.

Kay hesitated, pulling on his vest before picking up his tablet to answer. He couldn't really say no could he? [Just be careful not to panic him. I'll try to be... calm.] He hoped Asher was right and the kid was coherent and able to be reasoned with. He was nervous.

---

Hewitt looked around the empty library. Hmm, no android? He smirked and couldn't resist the temptation to move some of the things on the desk. It was petty and childish, but damnit he was old and had to get his amusement somehow.
He looked up at the Camera. "Where'd the librarian get to?" He asked in a tone of indifference.

----

Armin and Matt were eating breakfast.
At least Matt was. Armin had dropped past to pick up his insect smoothie and paused to make sure Matt was okay.

"How are you my friend?" He asked.

Matt shrugged. "tired." He chewed his steak dully.

Armin nodded. "We shall arrive at Terra soon, and then on to the Imperium. I admit, i know little of your home worlds. " He was trying gently to distract Matt from his thoughts.

Matt shook his head. "You should count yourself lucky then. The Imperium does NOT like aliens. I dunno if you'd be better off because you're so un-like them or worse... Suppose it depends on the perspective of the asshole."

"You are uncharacteristically bitter this morning my friend. Is there nothing about seeing your home world that appeals to you?" Armin asked politely.

"Thalia... and the kids." Matt replied.

Armin bowed his head. "Of course." He brightened "Perhaps it may cheer you to speak to them? through Miss Starr? It is not quite the same as talking face to face or even mind to mind I am certain but some contact is better than no contact yes?"

Matt hesitated, looking at his food. "I dunno... "

"I am certain Miss Starr would not mind."

"it's not that.. 'm not sure Thalia will even want to talk to me. She's probably still mad."

Armin reached out and put a hand on Matt's shoulder. "My friend, your mate is a passionate and hot headed individual, but she is, at least from my understanding, not without rationale. You did what you did for a good reason, your heart was in the right place. You protected your mate and your child, she will see that."

Matt looked up at Armin and smiled weakly. "You don't know how good she is at holding a grudge."

Armin chuckled. "Ever fear the wrath of a female."

"Damn right, women are fucking terrifying." Matt agreed.

James got ready for the day, went to get some med supplies and go to check on Dawn. It was his job, after all.

~~
Asher nodded. "I know this won't be easy for you, or for him, and I'm sorry about that. I'm going to do my best to make this as comfortable for both of you as possible." He looked apologetic. He really hated putting Kay through something so uncertain. "And I'll have Vestia warn you before I bring him over."

~~
Vestia watched Hewitt's rearranging of Ethan's desk, amused. What? Her passengers' antics amused her. "Ethan's in one of the training rooms on this floor. Do you want directions to find him, or do you want me to ask him to come over here?"

Starr came in the cafeteria and waved to Matt and Armin before going to get her breakfast. She looked to them, coming closer "Good morning."

Amari would of fallen in to a deep sleep hanging upside down in the lounge. Surprisingly he didn't fall off from his perch, and seemed more comfortable to sleep like that. He would wake with a yawn and a stretch landing clumsily onto all three he rolled his neck and hobbled his way to his room for water.

"oh no, i'll go find him." Hewitt insisted, hefting his cane and heading down the hall. Now, training rooms, they shouldn't be that hard to find right?

---

Kay nodded. [It'll be fine.] He insisted, more for his own benefit.

---

"good morning Miss Starr." Armin bowed his head.

Matt waved half heartedly. "hey... How you doing?" He asked.

"All right, I'll leave you to it then," Vestia said.

It wouldn't be hard to find the training rooms, they were pretty nearby. After looking in a couple doors, Hewitt would find the right one. Ethan was in there, punching that punching bag and trying not to think. He didn't notice Hewitt right away, he was kinda distracted.

~~
Asher nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Kay. I'd better go see Amari now, I'll see you in a while."

Starr smiled at Armin then looked back to Matt "Better, thank you. How are you holding up?"

Hewitt watched Ethan for a while, leaning against the doorframe and looking a bit bored. When Ethan paused he spoke "does that help?"

---

Kay nodded, pulled on his work shoes, the only footwear he ever wore and would pad off to find breakfast and his morning coffee. He needed morning coffee to function.

----

Matt shrugged. "I'm okay.." He lied.

Armin set his smoothie down on the table, deciding to remain here with the others for now. "We were discussing the potential to get a message to Thalia" He offered.

Starr smiled at that then nodded. "Sure, anytime the kids are up and together we can talk to Thalia."

Ethan jumped at the sound of Hewitt's voice, and stepped away from the punching bag so he could see who was there without getting hit by it. "Professor," he said, watching the guy uncertainly, "what are you doing here?"

~~
Asher left Kay's room, and headed for Amari's room, where he assumed he was, to knock on the door. "Amari? Are you awake?"

"You weren't in the library." Hewitt replied cooly. "What ARE you doing?"

---

Matt looked uncertain.

"think about it my friend." Armin bowed his head.

"Yeah.. I will..." Matt mumbled, finishing his food.

Kay came in, tilting his head at the group and nodding in a silent good morning.

Amari was getting some water from the sink and doing some sponge cleaning of his chest. The young arran never actually had use a bath or shower before and his method of grooming was using a towel and what ever little water he would of found in his enclosure. "Y- yes?" The door was also open too into the room and bathroom.

"Punching a punching bag." Ethan rubbed his knuckles, wincing as they throbbed with pain. Maybe he should have wrapped his hands at least. Ow. "It does help, sort of," he added, answering Hewitt's earlier question.

~~
Asher wheeled into Amari's room, hesitantly peering into the bathroom, ready to look away if the kid was doing anything he shouldn't see. "Getting ready for the day?" He asked lightly. He hoped Amari was still excited about touring Vestia.

Hewitt snorted "So, hurting yourself makes you feel better?" He shook his head. "Do you not find that to be a little paradoxical?"

---

He nodded, "y-yeah, today also wash day.." amari muttered, it was clear he prefered having a schedule to follow. He put the small hand towel up to dry before going onto all three to follow Asher. His markings were a vibrant blue of curiousity and excitement.

Ethan considered that. "Maybe it is a bit paradoxical," he conceded. "Sore knuckles from punching things is a hell of a lot better than what I was trying to not think about though." He didn't think Hewitt was likely to understand or care much, the guy didn't really do understanding or caring. Oh well.

~~
Asher looked curious. "You were taking a sponge bath? You could take a shower if you wanted, you know, that's okay too."

"A distraction then?" Hewitt nodded, that made at least a little sense. Not much, but a little. Ethan was right though, the professor didn't much care. "Don't damage yourself too much, that synthetic skin isn't cheap, apparently."

He stared at Asher like he was insane, "W-what a shower...?"

"Yes, a distraction," Ethan said, smiling oddly. "Hand skin isn't too bad, I can afford to replace it if I need to." He looked at Hewitt thoughtfully, "So do you need a book? Or were you just coming to the library to do your daily 'annoy Ethan' ritual? Because I know how you've grown to love that." Bah.

~~
Asher frowned. Marcus hadn't mentioned showers to Amari yet? Oh dear. "It's that funny little stall with the curtain in the bathroom, you probably noticed it. There's a tap a bit higher than your head, you can make water come out of it, and wash yourself with it. Oh, and do you know about soap?"
Oh man, Asher wasn't sure how to teach Amari about washing. But he probably should, he didn't want Amari to smell bad. DId Amari smell bad right now, come to think of it? He had no idea, since he had no sense of smell. Hmm.

Hewitt smirked. "Oh so I annoy you do I? I'm just a poor old man." He feigned offense, shifting his weight to rest against his cane. "The other Androids were talking about some sort of modification the Felid did to one of them, what do you know of it?"

Luckily Amari didn't smell bad at all, maybe a bit earthy but he didn't stink to high heaven or the like. He stared at Asher, as if it confirmed the robot was insane. "S-soap? Water falling from the sky?" He held this tone of bewilderment, "I'm from the desert, not a ocean!" He squeaked.

Ethan muttered something sourly under his breath. Darned Hewitt and his smirk, he never knew how to feel about that. Or about Hewitt going out of his way to annoy him. Not that he'd say so.
"You only annoy me sometimes, Professor," he said, trying to channel Asher's placid attitude and failing completely. "The modification? You're talking about the one to delete memories so that androids can live longer?"

~~
Asher considered that. Oh dear, this could prove to be difficult in ways he hadn't anticipated. "Soap," he said gently, "It's the scented stuff you use to wash your hands with?"

He shook his head no, "Smells yucky, like poisonous fruit." Amari remarked. "Reminds me of evil bottles too."

Hewitt shrugged. "I assume so. Lots of fretting about whether it would work or destroy the android's processor completely." He waved a hand. "It's an interesting idea, extending the life span of the androids. I can see a market for such a mod, though of course, your manufacturer wouldn't approve."

Oh boy, well this was going to be interesting then. "Maybe before we go out, I should teach you about washing your hands at least?" he said, keeping his tone encouraging. "I'm sorry you don't like the soap's smell, Vestia can help you pick one you like better later, but first I think we should try hand washing." Yep, that seemed pretty important.

~~
"Yes, it's more something the androids, or their owners, would want than something their creators would want," Ethan agreed. "Kind of spits in the face of planned obsolescence, doesn't it?" He looked thoughtful, " I wonder if Levi's all right, they were testing it on him yesterday, but the tests were going to take all night."

He blinked, "I-is that one of the rules here?" Amari asked, it was clear if it wasn't he was gonna try to agrue.

Asher considered that. "Yes, it's one of the rules. Wash your hands after you use the toilet, or if they get really dirty." He wheeled into the bathroom. "Come on, I'll show you how it works."