nothing but shadows

built from the ashes                           left in the dust

[stellarpilot]

Even if he wanted to answer Puck’s question, there wasn’t any time now. Before he could stop Bella, she was covered in fucking pixie dust. “No! Belladonna, por favor!“ Reaching out to try and wrestle Bella away, he stepped on enough to cover both of his bare feet up to his ankles. What kind of sick joke was this? Of course the food was too good to be true, something had to go wrong.

Nico looked up at his new friend helplessly as he gave up on restraining his pride and joy. At least the awkward conversation was over because she was too busy laughing hysterically at the situation. Maybe it was a little funny, but this shit was going to get sucked into every nook and cranny on his ship. “So, I swear this doesn’t happen on a regular basis right? Maybe we should just shove um… a lot of it back in the bag until we need it…”

[phoenxed]

Puck isn't sure if she's still laughing because it was funny, or if she's still laughing because she's not sure what to do next. Condoms and glitter, and they've barely spent a night together. She plops down in a pile of it, her laughter beginning to weaken but her smile still plastered on her face.

When she's finally able to breathe, she takes a big breath before speaking. "I would help but then I'd get glitter... well, everywhere. Again." And now she's hysterical once more, falling back into the stuff as Bella comes to sniff at her excitedly. The dog is feeding off of the giddy girl's energy, tag wagging as she hops around Puck.

[shelleyhenig-blog]

best of octavia — 3 / ∞

[stellarpilot]

     Nico puffed his lips out, then made a clicking noise with his tongue and pulled the bag away from her to look inside. As he shoveled around in the bag he said, “We could blow them up like balloons and have a party, but with the amount of fuel we have I don’t think we’ll need to stop for awhile so we wouldn’t have any guests.” Dodge it, she obviously just had a nervous rambling and he didn’t want to dwell on any of it in case it would just upset or embarass her more.

     Feeling around inside still, he felt like it was some kind of black hole or vortex technology to have this much space. He didn’t think anything like that existed yet, it was actually really awesome. Sweetly, he continued his shorter less compacted rant, “I don’t have any romantic novels, but I know they’ve got those like…” he snapped his fingers a couple times trying to remember what they were called. When he did, he pointed at her, “radio shows? You can listen to those. I’ve also got porn, I mean if you want a visual…”

     He cocked an eyebrow at her, thinking maybe that was too much information but he didn’t care much. Done with searching, he decided to just dump the bag. It was a mistake and he should have just let her continue emptying it. Glitter piled out onto the counters and floors like a storm. Some of it flew up into Nico’s mouth and he tried desperately to spit it out. Piles of canned goods rolled out onto the floor and the rest of the condoms she promised scattered all over the counter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bella rush in and begin rolling around in the glitter.

[phoenxed]

     Puck stares at him with something that looks a lot like wonder. Usually people just teased her about her rants or looked at her strangely and made some excuse to leave the room. Her smile is shy at first, looking down at what he's pulling out. "I've never watched that," she lies, hoping he believes her. She didn't want him to believe she was some sex freak because she came back with ten boxes of condoms.

Quickly, she follows up with, "Do you even have enough cabinet space for all of this?" The blush on her face has begun to fade but thee's still a faint dust of pink high on her cheeks. It makes her eyes even more green. She's trying to come up with something else to say when he completely turns over the bag. She doesn't even get a chance to warn him, and she should be apologetic but she can't stop herself from being consumed by laughter. Again.

[stellarpilot]

     The comfortable silence they were sharing was shattered when she caused his wristband to call someone. He rushed over to help her, and worst case scenario happened. He stared at Puck, eyes wide and mouth open. “Fuck!” he mouthed, then caught the communicator and pressed it against his face.

     ”Hey baby girl, um…” he looked at Puck, now distracted by the amount of random shit coming out of the bag, “Oh uh…” Should he hang up or tell her the truth? Either way he was going to be in trouble. He may as well get it over with. “The cops showed up okay, the cargo wasn’t even there yet. I think it was a set up.” Yeah, nice save he smiled now pleased with himself. Though he really did think someone was trying to set him up.

     As he stared at everything exiting the bag, he just nodded along with what Gem was saying as if she could see him. Thankfully she didn’t video or hologram call Gem, he knew he’d never live that down. His brows furrowed when Puck pulled the condoms out and he accidentally (on purpose) hung up on Gem. “Condoms? It looks like she gave you the whole fucking store, how did it all fit in there?”

[phoenxed]

     The woman on the phone is growing more shrill as she begins to suspect Nico is lying. What did he mean by 'baby girl'? Was that his girlfriend? Puck feels a tug in her chest at the thought but ignores it when he hangs up. Nico doesn't seem like the type to hang up on his girlfriend. She takes a minute to respond, actually a whole minute because she has to process what he's saying. Condoms. A whole shelf of condoms were in this bag. "Oh..."

She drops the box like it was going to hurt her, and it falls to the floor much louder than she thinks a box of condoms should. "I, um, don't know why she gave me those. I mean, she gave me a lot of those but I've never even used them. I don't know why they all fit in here but there's like ten boxes, so we should probably find something to do with them." Another minute goes by as she realizes what she just said. Then the rest comes out like lava.

Her skin is growing hotter by the second, her eyes betraying her by locking onto his as she tries to explain. "But not like, that stuff. Or like... No, I mean maybe we can make them into stuff? Like to hold stuff? You could use it to smuggle stuff. I mean you're a smuggler, right? I'm sorry, that was rude. I shouldn't just assume you're a criminal, even if you weren't too hesitant about harboring a fugitive. Which sounds like one of those old romantic novels my foster mom used to read. The ones with shirtless guys on the cover and there's a lot of steamy sex. I don't think they ever use condoms in those, and neither do I because I don't have a..." She takes a deep breath, whispering the last word as she realizes how unbelievably stupid she is being. "...penis."

[stellarpilot]

     “Someone gave you stuff for free?” Nico crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head slightly as he followed her out into the common area. He wondered why on this planet anyone would give anything away for free, but he wasn’t going to question her. She sounded like she actually believed what she was saying. “…Weird.”

     Nico kneeled down next to the back pack and picked up a new canister, turning it around to see that it indeed was completely full. “You got free fuel cells, too? Or did you get the stuff because you bought the fuel?” They wouldn’t need fuel for a few months by the looks of it. Maybe he was actually lucky he decided to help this woman, it made the corners of his mouth twitch into a smile.

     Picking up the backpack, he brought it into the kitchen to put whatever she got away. It didn’t feel like it had much of anything in it, but he wasn’t going to complain. He just hoped there was something for Bella in here. “So what all did the lady give you?”

[phoenxed]

     Puck sits down to study the watch on her wrist, she kind of doesn't want to take it off. "She gave me that for free too," she says distractedly, pressing a button she's not sure what is for. It immediately starts beeping, and then ringing. She jumps, eyes wide as she tries to figure out how to get it to stop.

Just as she manages to find the off button, a voice seems to fill the whole ship. "Prick-a-doodle-doo! Where the fuck are you and my cargo?" Puck stares at the watch in horror then looks up at Nico with the most sorry expression she's ever worn. "Hello? Nico? Did you naked butt dial me?" Now the teenage girl's blush is acidic. Did that mean...? She yanks off the watch and throws it at Nico, knowing he'll catch it.

Scrambling off the floor, she takes his place at the bag. She pulls out snack item after snack item. Then some gloves, a bone for Bella, flashlights and magazines. The counter is running out of space but Puck doesn't notice because she's watching Nico as she unpacks. Maybe she was a little nosy, and if she wasn't then she would have realized she was pulling out a box of condoms labelled 'XL' and holding it awkwardly in the air.

[stellarpilot]

     Her voice carried throughout the whole ship. Nico shut off the water right after he heard, and quickly towel dried before throwing on some pants and left his button up open. “Took you long enough!” he called back to her as he stepped out into the hall without sans shoes. Bella came bounding out from behind Puck and immediately began licking the top of his bare feet as he walked.

     When he reached her, he raised an eyebrow and unintentionally touched her cheek. Confusion crossed his features and he asked, “What happened to your face? It was really fucked up earlier and now it’s not.”

[phoenxed]

     Puck tries not to blush so hard, especially because she's seen many of her foster dads without shirts on. Nico wasn't a dad, he was a cute... How old was he anyway?

She shakes her head for the second time today to clear away an unidentifiable fog. His hand falls away, and the loss of contact brings her back to the present. "The girl," she starts, turning away so she can think. "The one at the gas station, she just gave me a bunch of stuff for free."

[stellarpilot]

      Doing the best he could with the tools and man power he had, Nico finally wiped the sweat from his brow then put everything away. It was getting hotter by the minute and the girl Puck wasn’t back with Bella and the fuel cells. Nico circled his ship one more time before sighing, then went inside to wait on the ship. He was more than a little bit worried since he was supposed to finish when she got here, but he tried to push it down by saying he completed the task quicker than he expected.

      To waste time, he hopped into the shower and rinsed off all the dirt and grime collected from fixing Caterina.

[phoenxed]

     One of the suns was beginning to set, and Puck was moving quickly to get back to Nico. She hadn't realized how long she and Bella were bathing until the watch on her wrist beeped to warn her about the oncoming solar flares. Bounding up the ladder he left down for her, she tosses the bag from the gas station onto a nearby bench.

"Nico!" she calls, setting the fuel can down carefully. They would be out of luck if any of it spilled. Hearing the water rushing, she follows the sound down an unfamiliar hallway. "Nico?"

[jiminssie]

[positiveconduit]

     ”Oh, oh you’re right! He should be about done now too…” She furrowed her brows and counted the amount of time spent pulling everything off shelves. Yes, Nico would be done fixing the ship and the man behind the counter would be awake. Holding the container out to Puck, she gazed into her eyes with a serious expression, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be around whenever you need a hand.” Lina wanted to hug her, so instead of holding back she did just that. She tugged her sweetheart closer and squeezed her so tight because she knew she wouldn’t see her again for awhile.

     ”Be safe cute muffin, and don’t let that boy get fresh with you until you’re ready.” Lina released her and pat the dogs head, leaving a sufficient amount of glitter behind in her fur, and rushed back into the shop to lock it. She switched off the neon sign to say closed and disappeared into the back office.

     Satisfied with how the meeting went, she pulled out a communicator to call her mother.

[phoenxed]

     Puck isn't exactly sure what just happened. She stares at the closed gas station door in absolute confusion. Who was that woman? What did she mean when she said she'd be looking out for Puck? What bothered her most though, was that she somehow knew that Puck was travelling with Nico. Despite all that, Puck can't bring herself to be suspicious of the woman or afraid for that matter. "Strange..." she murmurs, beginning to back up towards the road.

She turns once her feet hit gravel, shaking the confusion from her foggy mind. The day gets warmer as it gets later, an unusual phenomenon that occurs on this planet. By the time she reaches the stream they had passed, she is soaking with sweat. Setting the backpack and can down carefully, she strips down to her underwear. "Come on girl, let's get cleaned up and surprise your Papa." When Bella doesn't follow her into the water, she waves the pooch on. "Ven, bellisima!"

[positiveconduit]

      Lina spun around when Puck started laughing, and if her smile could be any brighter it would be. Wings flickering haphazardly, she finsihed pushing everything on the last shelf into the backpack leaving the store nearly bare. Lina danced over to Puck and the furry beast beside her to hand off the full backpack. It was light enough to carry despite the quantity of items inside.

      “Here ya go darling!” she winked using her entire face, then grinned again. “No you need some fuel cells right?” Lina looked at the fuel can Puck was carrying and made a disgusted face, it was really old and unreliable looking. “But let me just get you a whole new container and everything because honestly that’s the saddest looking fuel cell holder I have ever seen.”

      More glitter fell out of her “pockets” as she skipped out the front door to the cell recharger. Looking behind her, she made sure Puck wasn’t able to see before she pulled a larger, brand new container out of thin air then filled it. She waited outside for Puck and Nico’s beautiful canine friend to come outside. Maybe she shouldn’t be stealing from this man, but she glared and held up a fist, swearing to herself she would come back with money.

[phoenxed]

     Puck receives the bag with the expectation of something heavy. Her arms nearly drop in surprise instead. "Oh," she wonders, staring at the bag as the lady disappears again. She didn't think the fuel can was that dirty. Glancing down at Bella, she whispers, "Did you see her put any food in here?" She'd been too busy laughing and ended up missing a lot of what was thrown into the bag.

After a short moment she decides to follow the gas attendant, poking her head outside to catch her in some sort of anime stance. Brows raised, she can't help another giggle. What was this lady's deal? And why did glitter follow her everywhere? She swings the backpack onto her shoulders, one hand landing in Bella's fur. "Miss? I really do have to get going."

It was clear she didn't want to be going anywhere. This was all too much fun, and Puck wasn't very used to all this excitement. She comes outside fully, peeking at the new gas can. It really was a nice one, she felt bad not paying for it. Hopefully Nico didn't have some sentimental attachment to the old one, and she had a feeling that even if he didn't that he would pretend to just to confuse her. She wasn't sure he was used to normal human interaction.

[positiveconduit]

     Her innocent, adorable baby was too honest for this life. It made Lina so happy that her girl still had good morals and he wings shivered under the shirt excitedly, spilling glitter everywhere. Everyone asked her why she let her wings get so out of control, but she would just smile and throw glitter on them with her hands. The answer was good enough for her. “Oh you poor thing! What happened to your face?!” she raised her hands and rubbed some of the smudge off along with the bruise itself. She loved helping people so much, healing had been one of the first skills she was interested in learning. Now it came so naturally that she could just rub superficial bruises away.

     After she was satisfied, she took Puck’s hand and pulled her into the store quickly. She made sure the door stayed open long enough for the giant dog behind Puck, “You don’t need any money, I can see you just really need help. Hold on a moment!.” She held her hands up for Puck to stay still, and ran back behind the counter where she nearly tripped over the sleeping attendant. She pulled a small backpack out oh a cabinet and dumped all the contents on the floor. When she appeared back next to Puck, she gave her the sweetest smile then started rushing around the aisles to shove essentials and other fun things into the bag.

     ”Come here angel, let me give you all of these things! Don’t worry, no charge for today only!" She shook her hands in the air like she was celebrating something and made quieted "woo" noises. Lina grabbed a box of condoms and tossed them into the bag. Then she squinted at them for a moment grabbed the rest to shove into the bag. They probably weren’t going to sleep with one another for a long while, but Lina wanted to encourage safe sex. After awhile of shoving food, air freshners, drinks, sunglasses, candy, and magazines into the bag she realized how that must look.

[phoenxed]

     The first few minutes Puck stands in the store, she isn't sure what to do. Just stands stock still and watches this lady run around, shoving things into a tiny backpack. She full on blushes at the condoms because she didn't see herself using those in the near future. Well, she'd never used one of those. Then she gets distracted from those thoughts because how the hell is she fitting all those things into that backpack? Bella is watching in confusion too, sitting beside Puck with her head tilted to the side.

Then it hits Puck like a train: no one has ever been this kind to her. She doesn't know why, but that makes her laugh. A sharp, hysterical laugh that has her laughing even more. There is glitter fucking everywhere and it's the best thing Puck has ever seen. This is something she's only ever dreamed about. The laughing of course upsets her rib so she ends up holding her middle like she's trying to hold her entire ribcage in, but she still doesn't stop. The laughter just bubbles out of her like that glitter falls from this woman's clothes.

Puck is happy. So truly happy.

[positiveconduit]

      Fluttering in, she had surprised the man behind the register but he proceeded to hit on her anyway even as glitter sputtered out of nowhere around her. Maybe he thought it made her even more enticing, her smile was wide as she put him to sleep but just for good measure she pulled a frying pan out of nowhere and smacked him on the back of the head. It was a strange habit she had, she knew her magic would keep him out for hours. Ever since the fire, she felt the need to make doubly sure.

      While Lina waited for her sweet baby girl, she went as far as searching for another uniform and tied the oversized shirt around her waist instead of buttoning it up. A hat was hanging above the office door, so she threw that on as well to add to the idea she was actually meant to be here.

      “Oh! My sweet girl, she is so wonderful!” her wings sputtered out even more glitter in her excitement and she had to keep herself from rushing the door. “Excuse me! Are you here for some supplies? We never get any visitors.” Lina could barely keep her giddiness out of her voice.

[phoenxed]

     Puck is mid panic attack when she hears the other woman's voice. She jumps, looking up with a lost look for a moment. "Um... I don't have any money. I'm sorry." She was quickly turning red, because she knew she'd have to steal from this nice lady. How else would she and Nico get away?

Her skin was beginning to itch from the filth caked onto it, and she knew she must look like Cinderella. Scratching at her neck, she shifts from foot to foot. If she stole the fuel then they'd have to leave right away. There would be no time for a bath in that stream she had passed. She'd never gone this long without a bath or without eating. Pressure was building behind her eyes but she was good at not letting it show. Crying, she could hide. She had to in the houses she grew up in. Her mouth twitched into a nervous smile.

[phoenxed]

     The wet nose brushing her hand is an absolute relief. Smiling wide, she ruffles Bella's hair. "Hi beautiful," she chirps happily, watching the furry beast trot beside her. "I guess your Papa likes me after all, huh?" That eased her nerves. If Nico sent Bella with her, then that meant he cared about the state she returned in. That was... not something she's used to. She usually represented a benefit check to most people, or just another mouth to feed.

A beeping from her wrist distracted her from that train of thought, and she looked down to find that it was alerting her that her destination was coming up. Time had passed by quickly it seemed. "Already here, girl. Maybe they'll have something to eat..." She reaches into her pocket the moment they reach the door but comes up empty. Panic grips her heart as her fingers find a gaping hole instead of the good amount of tokens she'd stolen from her foster parents. "Oh no, oh no..."

[stellarpilot]

phoenxed:

     Puck studies the watch with interest as Nico explains, trying hard to ignore the tingle his touch produced. His fingers felt like a soothing balm on her burning skin. Shyly, she lets her hand drop back at her side and shrugs. “I’m not good at driving those anyway.” Craning her neck to look up at him, she explains, “I’m seventeen, I don’t even have my license yet.”

That means she also doesn’t have a license to fly, but she was actually good at that so it didn’t matter. Unless the police pulls them over while she’s at the helm. Turning before he can respond, she grabs a fuel can and starts the trek into town. On the monitor of the watch, she can see that her heartbeat is beginning to race. She grew up on worse planets, but there was something about wandering around on a foreign planet with a possibly broken rib that did’t feel very safe.

She looks back after a few steps as if to make sure he’s still there, gripping the fuel can tight. It’s not like he could leave without her anyway, she had his very expensive tech on her wrist. He wouldn’t give it to her if he wasn’t planning on waiting. Smiling, she gives a little wave before hurrying off.

      The way she looked back at him, though she was smiling and extremely excited, made him anxious. Nico felt he had no other choice, but to send Bella with her. Raising his hand, he pointed toward the direction she went and commanded, “Bella! Vas con ella.” His intelligent best friend responded immediately and rushed after Puck’s scent. Bella caught up with Puck and nudged her hand in order to announce her presence. She would follow the girl and protect her if need be.

      Nico felt responsible for her now that he had rescued her from pursuers, maybe his wrist display was important too, but she was battered and bruised. He probably shouldn’t have sent her out at all, but she wanted to go and he wasn’t about to stop her. They needed it if they were going to get off this filthy planet.

      Ruffling his hair, he blew out an exasperated breath and stared up at the exterior of his ship. One engine was sparking wildly and Nico was surprised it was still even attached. Luckily there were no bullet holes, the shield was able to hold up until they got a safe enough distance away. There were several surface bruises on Caterina, but hopefully by the time she got back he would have at least the outside under control.

[stellarpilot]

      Nico quickly shut off the display and shoved the tablet back in his pocket before turning around, and looking at her pathetically. His ship needed a lot more than just fuel, but she was offering to help and he wasn’t going to turn it down. Nico rubbed at his wrist display for a moment thinking about giving it to her, but if she never made it back he would lose an expensive piece of equipment. After another few strokes of his fingers, he unbuckled it and walked over to where she landed.

      “This…” he took it off completely and raised it in front of her eyes before gently grabbing her wrist, “will help you find the nearest town, it will tell you how far away the town is, and it will start beeping if your vitals are dropping. It does a lot more, but you won’t need the rest at this point.” Nico strapped it to her wrist and pressed a button to switch the main screen. Pressing more buttons, he fully mapped out the closest fuel station as well as the way back just in case she couldn’t figure out how to use the machine. Despite his best judgement, he was going to trust she would actually make it back to him.

      “Only grab what you can carry because I don’t want you to have a hard time getting back.” Looking down at the ground, he sighed and finally released her wrist. “I’m sorry you’ll have to walk; I didn’t save enough to buy land vehicles yet…”

[phoenxed]

     Puck studies the watch with interest as Nico explains, trying hard to ignore the tingle his touch produced. His fingers felt like a soothing balm on her burning skin. Shyly, she lets her hand drop back at her side and shrugs. "I'm not good at driving those anyway." Craning her neck to look up at him, she explains, "I'm seventeen, I don't even have my license yet."

That means she also doesn't have a license to fly, but she was actually good at that so it didn't matter. Unless the police pulls them over while she's at the helm. Turning before he can respond, she grabs a fuel can and starts the trek into town. On the monitor of the watch, she can see that her heartbeat is beginning to race. She grew up on worse planets, but there was something about wandering around on a foreign planet with a possibly broken rib that did't feel very safe.

She looks back after a few steps as if to make sure he's still there, gripping the fuel can tight. It's not like he could leave without her anyway, she had his very expensive tech on her wrist. He wouldn't give it to her if he wasn't planning on waiting. Smiling, she gives a little wave before hurrying off.

[stellarpilot]

      Rolling his eyes, he walked away from her to check the outside of the ship. She obviously knew what she was doing and he could tell from the little bit she had already gotten done without his help. “I’m fine, I’m just used to traveling without humans— Bella.” he called to his dog and she came running up to his side. The walked out to the airlock together and Nico sighed audibly, “I’ll be outside fixing Caterina, thanks for taking care of her cockpit.”

      It would take him awhile to get use to having someone on board. He wasn’t much of a people person, and the people that he did know were mostly cops ready to pay him from bringing in bounties. They were friends sure, but he only saw them once every two weeks or so. This week, he really needed to catch someone since the smuggling fell through.

      It brought him to wonder what list Puck was actually on. He glanced down at Bella and shrugged before pulling up his tablet to check the records again; she wasn’t on them. Nico furrowed his brows and checked the minor crimes bounties. Still nada. That’s when it hit him. There was an information board with bounties that only criminals touched, and Nico never once looked at it. He hesitated before punching in the correct code to get in. Unfortunately, she was at the top of the list and he felt the need to protect her no matter the cost. No one deserved to be on that list, witch or not.

[phoenxed]

     Puck's eyes followed him as he left, not knowing how to apologize for causing him so much stress. He didn't have to go out of his way to help her, he could have just tossed her skinny ass off his ship the way they did those bounty hunters. The least she could do was apologize for breaking his ship. Sighing, she turns back towards the windshield and pets the console gently. "Sorry pretty girl, I get reckless when I'm scared," she whispers, feeling the adrenaline rushing through her begin to crash.

Reckless had begun to become the norm for her, and it was beginning to weigh on her. Whenever she felt scared before, there had always been this sudden calming presence. Like her fairy godmother was soothing her even though Puck couldn't see her. That's how she chose the name she went by: Puck. She wished she was a fairy herself, then she could make this all disappear. She could make herself disappear, maybe take Nico too. They could go to a fairytale world where there were no hunters and no need to smuggle or lie. Looking towards the hatch again, she felt the overwhelming need to be near him again. She's out of her seat before she even comes to a conscious decision to move.

     "Wait, I can help!" She lands on the ground with a thud, a shaky landing, but she has a smile on her face. "I mean, you will probably need more fuel and I can go get it." The planet they landed on was one of the lesser nice ones with a high crime rate and little to no civilization but it was a fuel center. There would probably be a fuel port within a mile or two and she could use a walk to calm her nerves.

[knockinonbellarke]

Octavia wearing a mask appreciation post.

WHY SO BEAUTIFUL.