Audio | username: fleetside

[hairrands]

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.]

Comments

[hairrands]

[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.]

[thecoldshoulder]

[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.

[hairrands]

[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.

[thecoldshoulder]

[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.

[hairrands]

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.]

[thecoldshoulder]

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.]

[hairrands]

[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.

[thecoldshoulder]

[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..!

[hairrands]

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!

[thecoldshoulder]

[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!