Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty

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Skye nodded and smiled a little "It's a little scary though, when you only see your own kind then see a city with the others."

Tala snorted cheerfully at Kay. She thought it was nice of him to bring alcohol to his brother even if he didn't drink himself.

Ellie stared at everyone, curious to see them all. "Oh man, is this all cause of that protest? It's like a party in here!" She went to get some food, and a soda. "What a good surprise, I thought it was gonna be quiet in the cafe."

Sawna chuckled from where she stood. "All the dragons wanted to join in, since slavery is such an issue for them as well. They wish to end all slavery and since Starr sees them as people, they see androids as people too. It is wonderful." She said happily. She got to meet so many lately.

"The dragons are supporting the robots cause of their history of slavery? That's adorable," Ellie said. She might not be a huge fan of the androids, but star dragons being nice was something she loved.
Hopefully having their personal beliefs called 'adorable' wouldn't be too offensive to the poor dragons, because Ellie's filter on her words wasn't very good.

Sawna nodded and some of the dragons turned to look at Ellie, also giving a nod or wave. "I wouldn't say adorable, but it is one reason we joined the protest." One of them said. They were not offended but they did find Ellie and her surface thoughts cute.

Kay rolled his eyes and ate quietly.

Matt nodded to Shane and looked to Ellie "party isn't really the right word"

"Heartwarming, then?" Ellie sat down and started eating. "Not a party. Got it."

Tala ate a lettuce leaf, looking thoughtful.

"Gathering" Shane said before taking a bite of his food. He wasn't so sure it was the right word either, but it did fit.

Ellie nodded and would probably eat her meal pretty quietly after that. She kind of got the impression that the mood here wasn't all that celebratory, and maybe her cheerfulness wasn't super welcome right now.

Tala decided not to get super drunk today. She figured it was a nice way to unwind after a long day, but the mood here wasn't one for the sort of enthusiastic drinking she often preferred.
She wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't be called on to help with something later, and if she was called on, she didn't want to have her judgement impaired by alcohol.

Matt finished his bottle fairly rapidly, then went to grab a couple more.

Kay finished eating, rose without so much as a polite greeting to anyone else and took his plate to be cleaned. He wasn't much in the mood for socialising and he was worried about Asher.

Ellie waved to Kay, a bit nervous because he seemed so preoccupied. She didn't try to get him to stay and chat. Too moody today.

~~
If Kay went looking for Asher, he was in the holodeck with James, sitting in that field where they'd been talking. Asher checking repeatedly over the situation around the Terran Empire, while James tried to reassuringly keep him company. They'd summoned a tree because James was getting nervous about the sky.

Kay did indeed go to find Asher, to see how he was holding up.

--

Matt looked grim as he watched his brother leave. "Maybe uh.. give him a few days space yeah? If you don't want things thrown at you."

The androids would notice when Kay came into the holodeck. Asher smiled softly at Kay, although it was pretty clear the smile was kinda forced, and stood up to go over. "Hello again. Did Sawna make food for everyone like Starr said?"

James stood as well, although he looked a little more worried and hung back a little. Yeah, he wasn't sure about any of this, even if he was trying to be nice and supportive for his brother's sake.

~~
"No kidding," Ellie muttered. "Anyone with hangovers, find some other medic, maybe," she told the room at large.

Tala snorted.

Dawn chuckled at that and nodded "Yeah, find me." She agreed then looked around again.

"You're the best medic, Dawn," Ellie decided. "The most qualified AND the most understanding. We approve."

"yay for Dawn!" Matt cheered.

---

Kay nodded, forcing a smile back at both brothers.

Dawn chuckled and shook her head a little. "All this praise just for not giving lectures" She said jokingly

"Well that's good at least," Asher said. He knew organic beings needed their food, and it was nice of Sawna to make it for them. "We were reading up on the situation. Well I was, James was just being nice to me. No huge changes since what we heard earlier." He looked like something was on his mind though.

James nodded.

~~
"Well to be fair, lectures are awful," Ellie said. "And sometimes the others threaten to withhold painkillers."

"Hey, bedside manner is an important part of the job right?" Matt joked, swigging down another beer.

--

Kay looked grim. [So it hasn't gotten any worse then?] at least that was something.

"Dawn has the best bedside manner," Ellie said with a nod. "Although to be fair, James offers more star stickers, so he has that going for him."

~~
"No new major announcements from the manufacturers or the Terran Empire," Asher said.

"Androids are still getting hurt, but the situation isn't any more violent than it was a couple hours ago," James added.

Dawn chuckled and nodded "He does like giving stickers." She agreed

Kay nodded slowly. [At least it's not escalating. We can focus on trying to reduce the damage now. Save people. ] He looked tense though. [Hopefully the empire themselves have enough doubt to start actually looking into this. ]

"I see not why stickers are so important," Tala said seriously. "Paper with pictures on stickiness is of no importance."

~~
Asher nodded. "So far, things are going as well as we can reasonably expect. Who knows whether that will last though." He frowned. "Maybe we should go somewhere to talk. I've been thinking about things." He didn't know how Kay was going to take his idea, and he'd rather they discuss it in private.

James looked worried. He'd rather watch and fuss over his brother than give anyone privacy, personally.

"It's not the sticker itself that's important, it's simply getting something nice." Dawn said with a small shrug.

Kay glanced at James, oh dear. Now he was really worried. He nodded slowly and gestured that Asher follow him.

---

"Stickers are great, sometimes they're shiny and sometimes you can get fuzzy ones!" Matt declared.

Tala snorted thoughtfully. "I do not see how a small sticky thing is something nice, and I have never heard tell of a fuzzy sticker."

Ellie giggled. "Oh my gosh, but fuzzy stickers are almost as good as glittery ones!"

"Glitter is a nuisance," Tala informed the room at large. "And should be avoided by the general public."

~~
Asher started to follow, then paused to look at James.

James smiled at Asher, managing to mostly hide his worry. "Go on. Discuss things. Shoo."

Asher smiled weakly back, then headed after Kay. Oh, he was not looking forward to this.

Matt snickered.

---

Kay led Asher to a nearby room that was empty and about as private as anywhere on Vestia was and looked at him expectantly.