ataraxion | Audio | username: fleetside

Entry tags:

aj harris,
nill

Audio | username: fleetside

Before you go flinging shit all over me, I know there's worse to worry about right now, but if any of you knows how to sew and has the cloth to spare I'll find some way to pay you back.

These blue rugs make shitty ponchos and unlike some of you lucky bastards I never got more than one set of space pajamas. I'll take spares, too, if that's all there is to go around.

[AJ's voice is utterly defeated right now, but then she's been wearing one of those bolts of blue alien fabric that had been collected from a month or two ago, the badly folded likes of which have been covering the shredded back-side of her crew-issue jumpsuit for the last two days. She's been feeling about as comfortable as a cat in a festive sweater.]

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[Algidus tucks his head back, scowling. He wishes losing weight was the worst of his worries, and not the fact that, y'know, he's still in the process of regrowing skin that was painfully burned off. He doesn't make any rebuttal, though; when he looked back over he had seen that careful look, and it took him off guard. Instead he simply gave a nod that was just as tentative. Even if things were really awful for him right now, he didn't want to fight with her...]

Yes... alright. We should be careful though... certain parts of my armor are not what they once were, and while I don't plan on turning my back on any slavering maws, I don't want to undo what healing my body has managed. [That, and he doesn't want anything to happen to her, either... but he's still feeling a little hesitant to voice those concerns. Despite the risks, though, getting out of the camp sounds good. He can only handle being in close proximity to so many people for so long before he needs to catch his breath, so to speak.]

[The awkward airs between them are palpable. AJ fidgets with her poncho in the meantime, rolling one shoulder in a very feigned attempt at nonchalance. If he can't be chill, she'll try for it.]

Don't stress about it. Me and a bunch of people manned the walls the entire time the things were coming out. By this point I might as well shred my belt I could put so many notches in it to toot my own horn, you know? I'll take the front, you can cover my back. You did it for me before so it's my turn anyways.

[Algidus straightens up slightly, giving a nod that could be considered as, of all things, shy. Being melted down to his underbody has really thrown him out of sorts; his only consolation is that not very many people saw him when he was completely exposed, but given how hot the planet is and how limited the water supply is, this is... not all that much better. Maybe getting out of camp is a better idea than he expects; then he won't have to worry about feeling like he has so many eyes on him, at least.

As he follows AJ he scrounges around for a different topic of conversation, anything to take his mind off the general state of things as they are now.] Being out at the wall... quite a rush, no? Probably the only time these simpering fools will thank me for being the way I am... not that I expect any of them to actually do so, feh.

You mean people aren't thanking you for keeping them cool just by being in your shadow? [AJ gives him a sympathetic grin.]

I know someone who you should talk to, some time. Old human, sort of barrel-shaped. He used to be an admiral of his own space fleet, or so the gossip says. He was the one who whipped people into putting the wall up to begin with; I bet he might see how valuable you are to everyone surviving out here even if nobody else does.

I wouldn't know that, given that I don't generally let people just hang around me like that. [Aside from one person, the person who he is currently hanging out with, but shh... just... go with it.] I just meant that none of them give a shit about what happened, and I don't expect any of them to recognize what I risked staying at the front of the wall. But--it's not like I care what they say, or rather what they don't say. I didn't do it for thanks.

[The real reason why he did it he is not currently up to voicing; he'll just leave it at the fact that he's brave, if pressed.] I don't need a human to tell me I'm valuable. [He's feeling bitter now, so he spat that a little more bitterly than he meant to. Realizing that wasn't what she meant and that AJ was just trying to help, Algidus rubs at his chest--hand over the site of that old injury as has become habit when he's feeling ill at ease--as he lowers his head a little.] But it never hurts to know who the competent ones are of this bunch. I'll keep an eye out for him and see if I can learn anything... but the second he starts trying to make me fall in line and dance to his tune, well. I don't take orders from anyone.

[No, he didn't; he just stalked out to the southern front of the wall to put his extremely susceptible body between the hodge-podge fort and a towering inferno. AJ was fighting hard not to roll her eyes or call him on this hypocrisy, but luckily, she managed to contain himself.]

Everyone's tired, sick, and banged up, [she offers instead.] We're stuck with them until we can round up the parts and the know-how to start working on prototypes for the project. It sucks.

...I'm glad you're here, though. You make it better, you know?

[It's probably for the best that she holds back. If AJ had called him on his "hypocrisy", things may have plummeted into awkward territory quickly--because Algidus was being truthful when he said he said he hadn't done it for random thanks. He sure as hell had not put himself at risk like he had just for the sake of random people living in the camp; in his mind there was only one person who had earned his efforts, the one person who had stayed by him through the worst of the shit they'd had to endure, both in one world and the next...

... So when that one person quietly voices her appreciation despite everything they've been going through, it stops the injured ice alien up short. He looks down at his feet for a moment, then manages to gather a little bit of resolve, squaring his shoulders and setting his mandibles when he brings his head back up. No more idle complaining, no more bemoaning an injury that can't be changed... time to focus on what he can fix. Time to focus on making this better for her, as she's said.] ... AJ. When we get out into the jungle, can I suggest a slight detour? There's something I should check in on; it could be helpful.

Yeah, of course.

[Were it anyone else, AJ may have hesitated, but with Algidus, she doesn't feel the same worry, exactly.

When they pass out through the gate they've been fortifying--currently open, though with nervous self-appointed guards keeping an eye on the pair as they left, AJ didn't speak until they'd gotten some distance into the rash of clearing left behind in the Tranquility's wake.]

Which way?

[She was hoping North, today; everywhere south of the crash-line had been giving her a headache over the last couple of weeks.]

[Somehow Algidus wasn't expecting her to relent so easily--there's a brief pause before he continues.]

Well, there are a variety of ways we could go, I suppose. Allow me to explain. You remember how random items tend to rain down around the crash site following a jump, yes? I've been stashing them away whenever I get the chance. There might be some clothes in there that you can use... and if not, we may find other beneficial supplies. I have them stowed in a variety of locations, all a fair distance from the base camp, to keep people from stumbling over them and stealing the items.

The caches lay on opposing sides of the the trail carved by the Tranquility's crash landing--one to the north of it, the other to the south. However, I did not leave them right out in the open, so once we get to the right point in the trail we will have to trek outwards into the jungle briefly. Though I have memorized the locations in my head, I have also carved simple directions in the trunks of trees in my people's own language to keep us on track--so don't worry, there's no possibility of aimless wandering.

[AJ simply listens, falling in line with him as they pass out of the camp. That he has caches somewhere isn't entirely surprising, though she'd gotten around to think that that Algidus literally didn't need anything. What was he hoarding all of that stuff for?

Well, trade, most likely. She knew he was far more dedicated to getting out of this jungle than she was. He'd want to leverage anything he could to reach that goal. She gave a slow nod of appreciation, then, though a squirming sense of concern niggled at her.]

I guess we should head to the south one, make sure it didn't burn or get trampled, huh?

[She doesn't want to go that way at all, but she's determined not to look weak in front of him anymore, especially when she promised she'd take point.]

[Trade was exactly the reason why the alien had been hoarding even the most random of miscellaneous objects that he personally had no use for... but it was getting harder and harder to pawn them off with salvage being pulled from the ship, and besides, bartering with people wasn't his strong suit. He was willing to part with his stashes for AJ's sake... it would be going to better use if it was helping her.]

Very well. In that case, let us follow the trail that has been carved into the ground for us. It will be a bit of a walk--I wanted the stashes located far enough out that people would not stumble over them accidentally--but should not take us more than a few hours. We can stop for rest intermittently; Makers know this heat isn't pleasant.

[At least it had been a few days since the fiasco with the fire had gone down. AJ had been spending a lot of time taking it as easy as she could handle, if only because pretending she was at her ease meant that Algidus would not get up and start trying to put her there. It meant that, though she suspected the kind of walk he was talking about would be hard for the alien, it wouldn't be as much to worry about for her.

When had worry about other people gotten wedged in the forefront of her brain? Ideally, this would have been a good time with anyone else to leave them for dead...

But she'd been asking herself questions like this for months now, it seemed like. They'd reached a comfortable, wordless understanding.]

It'll give me a chance to scrounge up some things to eat along the way, [she offered--and true to her word, once they'd hit the tree-line she began to keep an eye out. The smoke that had billowed up had left everything with a fine layer of dark grit, however... and in the end she found herself walking in Algidus' cool shadow.]

Maybe if I imagine a nice, tall, cold glass of beer it'll come true and it'll last, [she joked.] And maybe a great big watermelon. You know, in another world I would have said no fucking way to fruit a lot of the time, but out here anything that tastes like home would be the first thing I'd jump on.

[That earned a chuckle from the towering ice alien who was currently leading the way.] I suppose even if it did work, it would just disappear from your system shortly. I'm not sure how that would even work... best to stick with what we can forage. So... a watermelon. Alright, let me try to guess what this fruit is like. Melons have edible flesh, and they're usually round... and if it has the word "water" in it, then... does it... I don't know, grow in water? An aquatic plant? Probably won't find many of those around here, given how most of the rivers and streams on this planet are acidic.

You have the water on the wrong side of the melon, [AJ snorts, but it's in good humour. She hadn't expected the alien to take a stab at making conversation, especially the banal kind of banter she tended to run off at when she wasn't occupied by more gripping events. She hasn't even realized that, in this state, she doesn't have time to be paranoid about their surroundings. It's probably the first time she hasn't been in a good, long time.]

What? How does that make sense? [Algidus gives another chuckle--right now his tone sounds amused rather than condescending, which is the usual note to his words when he's criticizing human society.] If you put the water on the other side of melon, you would have "melonwater", and that makes it sound like some sort of juice or beverage, not an actual fruit.

[Honestly he's not even sure why he's pursuing this inconsequential line of conversation... maybe it's because it's refreshing to not have to focus on gravely serious topics for once. Or maybe it's because AJ has mentioned that this was a thing back in her home, and even though he can often be dismissive he still likes learning of other cultures, particularly when the topics are of importance to her.]

[AJ makes a fake gagging noise, then retorts] that sounds disgusting! No, it's a regular melon, green on the outside like you but pink on the inside like this sunburn. There's seeds, you spit them out at people when you eat it. It's not as bad as it sounds.

[The comparison startles Algidus, who is still adjusting to his newfound hue. He blinks and starts to look down at himself while he's walking, which causes him to stumble briefly before he catches himself. Embarrassed at the lapse, the alien mutters a curse under his breath in his native tongue.] You spit at each other? Human culinary culture sounds so... so... bizarre. Why not just eat around them? [Then, as if this has just occurred to him:] If you find a melon you had better not spit at me..!

There's too many to eat around, and anyways they're slimy, they're perfect ammo. You know what? [She would shove him if he weren't injured and so invalid as to stumble like he can barely walk!] You keep telling me you're a big tough thug; you can handle some killer melon seeds, you big fucking baby!

[HE STUMBLED BECAUSE HE WAS TAKEN OFF-GUARD NOT BECAUSE HE WAS WEAK OKAY?? OKAY!!] I--I am not a baby!! [Making a very convincing case of it here, getting flustered by a human that's a few feet shorter and much skinnier than you, Algidus.] I could handle the seeds--I could! That doesn't mean I have to find the concept of getting your... spit on me pleasant!

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