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.

"thank you Miss Starr." Armin nodded, hugging her back gently then pulling away to keep walking. "This place needs flowers." He decided.

---

"Yes, like Hytar," James said. "They can die if they can't get away from Esk. His power doesn't control itself. But he's very careful not to hurt anyone."

~~
Asher smiled sadly. "Yes, all the time. We always seem to find another project, don't we? And we can't solve any of the problems right away, it seems."

Ivor frowned, looking uneasy. "Does he kill the animals?"

---

Kay smiled softly. [I suppose we wouldn't be happy not helping wherever we could would we?]

"Yeah." James sighed. "It'd be a dick move to keep them alive and traumatized." Or that's what he told himself to feel better about it.

~~
"No, I suppose not. I don't know about you, but I have an almost compulsive urge to try and help people sometimes," Asher said, smiling humorously.

[I'm a nurse, why do you think I went into the medical field?] Kay countered. It was a pretty thankless job after all.

---

"Do you eat them?" Ivor asked, tilting his head at the weird animal they called a giraffe.

Asher smiled softly. "Guess that's why I love you. Well, part of the reason anyway." He really did admire the way Kay always tried to do the right thing. Heck, even just today Kay had decided to let Amari stay because he cared so much about helping people, even though it was bound to be a tricky situation.
"This whole crew is full of people who are way too good at picking up new projects," he added. "But some group of people have to try."

~~
"Yeah, none of the dead animals go to waste," James said. "They all get eaten."

"Does it make them taste different?" Ivor was really curious apparently.

---

Kay smiled at Asher. [Even the ones who protest about it actually mean well.] He was certain of that. Matt and Ellie weren't bad people after all, just exhausted and sick of getting hurt.

James looked to Skye to answer that question. He had no clue whether the meat tasted different!

~~
"I think you're right. They've been made to regret their generosity before, but underneath the wariness, every one of them cares. We're lucky to be part of such a good group of people," Asher said.

[They're good people. ] Kay agreed. Well most of them were.

"A little damaged and not always unified, but their hearts, or whatever they use instead of hearts, are in the right place," Asher said. He shook his head. "Who would have ever imagined we'd all end up on this ship together? A vavare, a queen, an android, and a shapeshifter walk into a spaceship... It sounds like the start of a slightly racist joke."

Kay shook his head. [I can't say it ever crossed my mind no. I also never expected to have Esk here, or to have a daughter, or to find love.] He smiled a little coyly. [It's funny how things work out isn't it?]

Asher looked amused. If you substituted Esk's name for James's, he'd gone through pretty much the same odd string of life changes Kay had. "It really is odd. I have to say, a lot of it's been fun though. There are some parts I would rather have skipped, but there are a lot of parts I wouldn't have missed for the world." He smiled softly, thinking of just how much had changed for him because he'd talked to that purple-haired woman at the spaceport. It really was odd how things worked out.

"That would be pretty" Starr agreed as she looked around. "Flowers and flowering trees." She said and nodded.

~~~
"Not that I noticed" Skye said with a shrug "Of course I don't think I've ever eaten giraffe or goat before I came here either, so I'm not sure.

[Might be the only time i'll concede that Matt's ridiculous talent for getting into trouble has actually netted GOOD things.]Kay nodded.

---

Ivor frowned a little and cautiously approached the goats.

Asher chuckled. "Hey, don't underestimate Matt's ability to do good with his talents. He did steal a piano once, right? And people are always trying to give away their pianos."

~~
James looked amused. "If nothing else, the meat is probably unusually safe because all the bacteria are dead," he suggested.

Kay looked amused. [I'm not convinced they were trying to give away THAT piano though. I wonder what ever happened to it... he doesn't seem to remember.] That was Matt though wasn't it? too busy living for the moment to remember something like where he left a piano.

---

"s... sterile?" Ivor suggested. He sat down on the grass and watched the goats.

Skye nodded again, leaning on a fence post to watch the goats playing "Yeah."

"Well then, I'm sure they can get a free piano from someone who wants to get rid of a piano," Asher said. "Maybe the people trying to give away the piano even paid for the movers to take it out. Matt was just boosting the piano economy." He laughed at the idea.

~~
"Yay for sterile steaks," James said. "Much less risk of food poisoning, thanks to Esk and his power."

Ivor tilted his head, it looked like he was listening to the goats.

----

Kay looked amused at the thought.

Skye looked at Ivor then to the goats, nope, she wasn't going to ask, she didn't want to know if they formed thoughts.

James watched Ivor curiously. Goats must have audible thoughts, he supposed. Made it kind of creepy to kill them. Darn.

~~
Asher smiled up at Kay. "Your brother is secretly an accidental doer of many good deeds."

Ivor looked fairly content. Animals had nice simple thoughts, providing comforting background noise without the headache.

---

Kay tried not to laugh. [Don't ever let him know that, he'll use it as an excuse.]

Asher smiled. "It's our secret. We don't want to encourage him to take things, that would be unfortunate. Although I suppose we might get out of practice bailing people out of jail if he doesn't get arrested enough." He nodded.

[I think i'm okay with losing that skill.] Kay smirked.

"You say that now, but what are you going to do the next time I get arrested, and you've forgotten how to bail someone out of jail?" Asher said. "I'll be stuck in there, forever." It was a dumb remark, but then, he kind of had a dumb sense of humor.

Skye was glad to see him comfortable here. "You can come here whenever you want, usually it's just me or Dawn, though the others come at times."

"Dawn... the woman who was shot?" Ivor asked, he was trying to put names to faces and thoughts.

----

Kay shook his head. [Don't get arrested.]