ataraxion | 001 | Video | Everything A Big Bad Wolf Could Want

[Ruby's in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee. She looks tired, though not overly so. Adapting to life on board isn't going all that great for her - but thank whatever deity you want to insert here for coffee, because Ruby is just going to survive on that. Hey, Grenny pestered her with early morning diner shifts often enough, and Ruby isn't ashamed to admit that she's addicted. Doesn't mean she's gonna kick the habit anytime soon. She smiles at the camera, friendly as always.]

Hey guys. Ruby here, for those I haven't met yet. Pleasure to meet you, not pleased about the weird circumstances, you know how it goes.

Two things... first of all. I gather I'm not the only one hallucinating. Or... having dreams. Memories. I'm not awake enough to puzzle that out. Is this some sort of... group hallucination, and what's so interesting about two people talking about how hot some prisoner is, anyway? Do I need to be concerned? Do I need to... I don't know, do anything about this, report it to anyone?

[She rubs a face down her hands, smiles, because all this sounds insane, but it seems to be common practice here.]

Second thing... well. I was wondering. I'll admit, I'm not the brightest bulb to ever light the room. So... we're in space. And I was just wondering, if you were. Say. Sensitive to the moon.

[Yeah, this is harder than she'd thought. Crap. Ruby takes a long sip of her coffee, a little too hot for comfort, but the burn is quite welcome right now. She can't exactly go saying that she's a werewolf and very likely to kill anything that moves in front of her during three months a night, because she doesn't think she'll be in control of the wolf after not transforming for a whooping 28 years, plus she doesn't have the magical cloak that'll prevent the transformation - yeah, that's not gonna get her pushed out of an air lock at all. She's had enough angry mobs after her in her own time.]

Are we in any way affected by moon cycles, given that we... well. Have no... moon of our own?

[Yeah, it sounds even more stupid when she says it out loud, but does the truth of her little problem really sound any less stupid?]

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[Gold isn't actually looking at the camera as a feed click on, appears to be busy working with something instead. But he's seen the feed, of course. He knows exactly who he's speaking to.]

I'm given to believe the cycle becomes managed... internally, as it were.

[He looks up, finally, a smile on his face that's almost friendly, though it may just be amused in advance of her reaction. He very much doubts he's a face she was hoping to see.]

Hello, Miss Lucas. Lovely of you to join us.

[Yeah.

No.

Her mug comes with too much coffee and too little vodka for this.

Ruby shrinks back from her own device a little - like that's gonna help - but sets her jaw stubbornly. No, she's not pleased to see him. Not even a little. No offense, but the only person she'd possibly like to see here less is Regina, and that's just because she's fond of Belle.]

Since we lack the pretense of you buying food from me, I'm not sure there's a need to lie.

I'd be careful with that judgement, my dear. Being so quick to it won't tide you so well around here.

[Lucas women and their sharp tempers. Though, true, he wasn't exactly a stranger she'd just met on a mysterious spaceship.]

I happen to have been here long enough now that a little familiarity is almost a comfort. [A pause.] And there was the thought it might be comfort to you, too, considering your predicament.

[That gives her pause, actually. Not the warning, no. Ruby can take care of herself on her own, thank you very much (except for where she totally can't). Still, the mention of being here long enough that even seeing Ruby is something he considers almost comforting?

Shit. Belle, huh?

Ruby's face softens. She doesn't exactly have sympathy for him, but... well. Even monsters can feel something, right? And she's not exactly got clean hands, either.

Well, crap.]

What, are you offering to help?

[Offering to help is a little more open and friendly than he really means, but he's wriggled through turns of phrase like that before, and does the same now: neither confirming nor denying.]

Well, it rather depends on what you have with you. Not the cloak, I assume, or you wouldn't be so concerned.

The cloak never turned up in Storybrooke.

[Well.

It did, but Ruby doesn't know that. Doesn't know David's less then charming (heh) father keeps it in the trunk of his car, and has no plans of sharing anytime soon.]

So yeah. No safety net.

[Gold's just loving that, she bets. ]

Lucky, then, that I recently had need to replicate the same work.

[Not that he ever really forgets any of the spells he's ever done, or any of the objects he owns - and it's a lot, considering how long he's been alive.]

I'll need a few things from you in turn, of course.

[Ruby raises her eyebrows. Color her suspicious, baffles... and reluctantly interested, because she's well aware that she doesn't have many options here.]

Like what? I came on board with an apron and a few dollars in tips. I don't know if you noticed, but there are many reasons why I'm thankfully not a piece on your playing board.

It isn't my playing board you need to be concerned over anymore, dearie. This ship has its own game.

[Which has left Gold wanting to collect as many pieces as possible in preparation to hopefully wrestle back some control, but he doesn't share that.]

But I wasn't asking for a trade. [Yet.] This particular enchantment has always required a personal touch.

So what, you need a clothes that belong to me?

[Just her luck, when she's arrived in the clothes she wore to the diner. Her apron isn't gonna be the second incarnation of the cloak, that much is sure.

Maybe the plaid shirt... less stylish than the cloak, admittedly, but it'll do.

Ruby's still not entirely sure she wants to do this. It would be ridiculously helpful, a safety net she really needs. But at the same time, it would leave her indebted to Gold, and even if he claims his playing board isn't what she needs to be concerned about, how can she help it, when every source of trouble from back home is either Regina or Gold?]

A little sentimental value would be preferable, but yes, at the most basic.

[Which, considering Ruby's choice in wardrobe, could result in him working with who knows what. The idea almost makes him miss the cloak. It had been a beautiful piece.]

[Hey, the male population of Storybrooke certainly appreciates her change in style. Girl's gotta earn her tips somehow, right? But yeah, look, something they can agree on - Ruby misses the cloak, too. It had style and she wishes it was back.]

And you can make it work exactly the same way, no strange tricks attached for fun and gigglees?

[That gets raised eyebrows, a bemused expression, as if he can't be sure if he should be offended.]

I assure you, dearie, I have far better ways to get fun and giggles than tampering with you.

[Yeah, she's right there with him on not knowing whether to be amused or insulted. Mostly she's relieved she's not important enough to warrant that.

Bad enough that all her friends are, to be honest.]

Alright. A favor for a cloak. Or... shirt. Or whatever I can come up with. So, how does it work? Do I get to say no if you ask more than I can give, or if you ask me to do something that could harm my friends?

001 | Video | Everything A Big Bad Wolf Could Want

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