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Starless Horizon RP File #31

(Vela’s part in italics.)

[We just arrived here yesterday,] Vela signed to Dritz. They were standing in the cockpit of the Nova, and the Aurian kept glancing around distractedly to be certain everything was in order. [It seems like a shame to leave again so soon. Do you think this was really a good idea? We don't know how much trouble he will give us...] The thought disturbed her more and more the longer she thought about it, to the point where she was beginning to doubt her judgement on the matter.

Vela's concerns had actually been playing over again in Dritz's mind while they were taking stock of their supplies and making purchases. They'd worked so hard with Trelos and Chrysala, and they deserved time to be themselves on the station, the closest they had to a home for the two of them. It felt somewhat unfair, but at the same time, he knew he'd regret it if he hadn't helped Orion.

He signed in response, [I know, I am sorry.]

"It is a shame, and I know I like the guy enough, but to be leaving for Fera just feels especially like a kick in the shin," he mumbled, shrugging. He stepped forward, cupping her face and resting his forehead against hers, with his antennae naturally inclining her way. "But if he gives us any trouble... I am prepared to speak to him properly. Honestly, I know it's not the most charitable thing, but... we don't owe him that much. I tried to help him with his ship, and I appreciate what he did, but if he's unpleasant to you, it's not worth it."

Vela closed her eye, enjoying the warm feeling of Dritz's face so close to hers. It made her feel better to know that he would speak out against the prince if necessary. It might also help to realize in advance that he would be a pain to travel with. Maybe she could just... ignore him.

[Thank you,] she eventually signed when they had moved apart again. [We will see how it goes. I might have to turn the ship around if he gets to be too much trouble. That's within my rights, as captain.] She smiled at Dritz, trying to see the humor in it.

However, upon walking through the ship on a sort of inspection, she was struck by another thought. [What about...] She paused, looking into the bunk room. [There are two beds, but we couldn't sleep in here at the same time. Right?] The idea did not appeal to her. Orion was one thing, but Fera... [We might have to sleep in shifts then. But what about when we want to...]

She trailed off as she stared at Dritz, her normal eye wide, thinking he must know what she meant. Considering how fond they were of being intimate with each other, now she was worried that they wouldn't be able to do so nearly as much as they liked... if at all.

Dritz chuckled, a light chirping in the back of his throat as he thought of Vela turning the ship around and making for Hesperus Alpha at the first sign of the prince being a brat. There was something immensely amusing about that.

"Absolutely," he grinned, "We may owe him a favour, but he can't disrespect the captain!"

With some thorough double checks of the ship's inventory and set up, Vela turned to him again, looking contemplative. He frowned in thought as he looked at the bunks. He did not fancy sharing with Fera either, though he wondered if the prince was more tolerable when sleeping. Would he even sleep, or would he choose to complain about the setup? Well, if he complained, he was obviously welcome to attempt to stay up...

Vela's concern about their intimacy, though... Dritz stood for a long moment. Of course, he knew immediately what she meant. He simply didn't know what to really do about it.

"We could..." he started before shaking his head, "Maybe... if the doors were sealed?" It didn't seem likely, somehow.

Frowning, Vela considered this. [No, the doors aren't technically sealable. We upgraded many components of the ship, but I never thought doors that could lock were necessary. I guess I should have, but...]

Thinking about it rationally was difficult. They didn't need to share intimate times together during this voyage, but all the same, she knew they both enjoyed it quite a lot. Certainly too much for it to be an easy decision. [Maybe... we will have certain times we are allowed to be together alone, without interruptions except for emergencies. I think Orion would understand, and could be trusted to watch the navigation and keep the prince away from us. That way we could sleep and do... anything else we might want alone together. And then we can switch places. Anything else, even just sleeping in the same room, would be much too awkward.]

They began making their way back up to the cockpit, Vela turning toward Dritz slightly to sign. [Do you think that would work? I can't come up with any other solution.] She moved one arm around the Chrysalan's larger waist, squeezing gently as they walked, even now wishing she could spend some time alone with him.

Dritz nodded thoughtfully, so lost in the consideration that he was bobbing his head like he was listening to a jaunty tune. "We are all adults, here. Well, most of us, anyways. Seems like it would be the mature thing to understand that we're all in relationships and need to get... snuggly. On occasion. Or, with us, on every occasion," he reasoned, grinning. His antennae were flicking lazily as he thought.

"Hmm, yeah, I think that's a great idea, flower. I think the sooner we discuss it too, the sooner it'll be over. I mean, I'm sure it's not just me, but I don't fancy having a drawn out discussion of when we can each get reacquainted with our beautiful partners," he chuckled. With Vela nestled against him, he tugged his open jacket around to envelop her. Even if it wasn't cold, he loved having her squished against him.

"Cuz we weren't gunna consider the idea of just... not? Right?" he asked, sounding a little worried. Vela's expression suggested the answer he already knew, and he beamed.

Vela cuddled against Dritz's side, smiling. Of course they wouldn't consider anything else. Their special times together were not something that could be negotiated around or compromised on so easily.

Despite having been early in finishing their preparations, Vela and Dritz were kept waiting an additional hour for the arrival of their passengers. When they finally entered, Vela found her eyebrows raising in a combination of both disbelief and amusement.

Fera swept in first, head high and disdain on full display. He was dressed in an elaborate white gown, cut low in the front with a trim of some sort of feathery material which Vela had certainly never seen before. His hair was piled elegantly on top of his head, secured by long strands of what she thought were small white stones, unfamiliar with them as well. Even the Aurian had to admit the prince was incredibly beautiful just then.

"It is only a few hours until we reach my first contact," he said instead of greeting them. "And I have no desire to change here first." Vela noticed he was only carrying a small bag around one shoulder, but then Orion appeared in the Nova's main hatch, visibly straining as he carried at least... four? five? large bags along with him. There wasn't even time to react to this before Fera was talking again. "Now, where is my room?"

His tone was rather demanding. Vela's gaze slid to Dritz, deciding he would have to handle this part and tell Fera he couldn't have his own private room. In fact, Dritz might have to handle a lot to do with Fera. It was just simpler than him having to translate the words of someone the prince clearly found mistrustful.

They had been forced to wait for so long that they had managed to get two card games completed, and Dritz had spent a good while securing things that didn't not really need to be secured. He'd double checked their storage and kitchen, spun in his chair in the cockpit for several minutes while they chatted, until he got dizzy.

Fera's arrival certainly drew his attention, however. The prince was... Certainly choosing to look his extravagant best. Dritz's awe was only broken by the loud struggle of the prince's lover behind him, and he leapt up to grab a bag or two from him.

"We've only got the one room with two bunks, so we thought sleeping in alternative patterns would be for the best," he explained as he hauled the bags toward the bedroom, "It's just here. Vela and I are rested, so if you need to sleep, you can go first."

It was bad enough this was happening at all.

Then he was informed there was no room for his personal use.

Rather than pitching a screaming fit, however, Fera only glared icy daggers at The Vela, as though it was her fault somehow. Well, it was her ship, wasn't it? "Oh, of course," he said loudly, addressing Dritz, who was attempting to help Orion with the bags.

Beyond that, upon reaching the room, Fera could only stare. Who lived in this sort of... poverty? It was the only word he could think of. The room contained minimal decoration and only two beds, both of which looked hard and uninviting to him. After another few moments, another thought made him recoil.

"No. Absolutely not. They..." He paused for a long moment, pointing first to Dritz and then The Vela with a shudder. "They have performed unspeakable acts here."

"Fera, you have got to be kidding me..." he heard Orion groan in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

Dritz sighed, rolling his eyes but smiling at the same time.

"Yes. We have, because we are consenting beings in a relationship, and that is where our care for one another takes us," he explained, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his bright trousers and shrugging. "But there are two beds. We have never even slept in the other one."

Dritz gestured to the bed on the right hand side of the room. Really, if Fera were to pull the sheets back on both, he'd be able to-...

"In fact," Dritz stepped up and neatly folded the sheet back on the unused bed. The mattress beneath was fairly smooth. However, when he showed them the bed he shared with Vela, there was a slight dip in one side of the mattress. Dritz's side. With a grin that was at the same time amused and somewhat sheepish, he added, "That's how you know we've not been there."

Watching the sneer on Fera's face during this explanation, Orion had to sigh too, but couldn't help a large grin of his own.

"Frankly, that's adorable," he stated firmly, dropping the prince's bags down near the unused bed. There may have been a small bag he had been carrying of his own, but he wasn't sure until he spotted it again. The amount of clothing Fera owned was unreal. "And it's not like we're innocent. The possibility of us wanting to get intimate on this voyage was pretty high, so this plan works perfectly. I appreciate Dritz and Vela having worked it out."

It seemed he had successfully defused this particular situation... in a sense. However, the prince then turned on him and hissed, "Don't talk about it that way!" Determined that this conversation needed to be put behind them, Orion shrugged and turned to Dritz, ignoring his lover for now.

"Anyway, thanks again for having us. Seeing as I'm sort of a stowaway here, more or less, are there any duties I could take up for one of you? Well, I'm honestly more suited to engineering than literally anything else, so it'd have to be in that area." He was enthusiastic to help, still ignoring Fera's glowering in the background. Likely he wasn't enjoying not being the center of attention.

As if Dritz couldn't be more fond of Orion, the scruffy mechanic's method of dealing with his lover caused him to need to fight a smile once again. How was he speaking to Fera with such ease?! There was something almost adorable about it. Dritz also had to fight being too distracted by the amount of bags. Damn, did the prince have a great deal of luggage....

Following Orion's lead, Dritz continued to speak to him, seeing as Fera didn't seem to want to listen in the same way. "Ah, well, I dunno how much engineering work there will be, but I'd love to share any and all responsibilities with you! But we can work that out as we go on."

He turned to Vela with a goofy grin, gesturing to the two of them, "Seems you'll have plenty of helping hands to ensure we get Fera to his destination safely, cap'n!" He gave her a silly salute, hoping that between himself and Orion, they would protect her from any unpleasantness that might happen between her and Fera. He wanted to believe they were wrong and he would eventually... mellow towards her, if not get along completely, but it was also better to be careful.

Orion more than enthusiastically agreed to assist in any form Dritz and Vela might see fit regarding engineering work, while Fera shrank back with a scowl. If they thought they were getting him to do any work, they were rather mistaken. He did not even notice how they had all effectively shifted the conversation away from his demands.

Meanwhile, Vela smiled softly as Dritz spoke, saluting her in a silly way that made her think of the days they were first getting to know each other. Maybe it was too soon to be feeling nostalgic, but Vela really didn't think so.

[Thank you both for your assistance,] she signed, seeing that Orion was understanding a few of her words with some extra help from Dritz. [I expect to have a smooth voyage and you may not need to do much.] She turned to Fera, nothing but seriousness in her gaze now. [I need the coordinates for our first destination. The rest can wait for the time being, but as you have said, we had better leave in order to not be late.]

Fera, after a short amount of staring with slitted eyes while awaiting a translation, shrugged dramatically. He had been exaggerating about a need for haste, but didn't think that was worth mentioning. "There's a station nearby called Hadrian Gamma. It's small, and I have no idea what the coordinates are," he said fussily, smoothing out his dress. What did they expect from him, exactly? "Yes, hurry. The less time I have to spend on this... substandard vessel, the better."

Vela had no other reaction to this than to turn on her heel and walk swiftly back toward the cockpit. Slightly disappointed, Fera waited for the others to go ahead of him. He thought there must be some way to rattle her composure, which he found generally unnerving.

Not wanting Fera to get huffy over Vela's language and no longer wishing to see him glaring at the person he loved, Dritz was very quick to translate for the prince.

He hadn't, however, anticipated Fera not having the coordinates they would need, nor had he thought Vela would turn and walk off. He scurried after her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay, flower? I can grab the coords for us off my datapad, if you like? Get us on our way as soon as possible?"

With her agreement, Dritz prepared the coordinates and the ship's flight path, launching them with their same practiced rhythms.

Vela had not initially meant to walk away when Fera couldn't tell her the coordinates. It was the additional insult to the Nova, for some reason, which had irritated her to the point of simply leaving rather than rise to such obvious bait.

She knew her ship wasn't substandard, at least not now that it had been upgraded with Dritz's help. The layout and general style might be outdated, but that was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a relic of her past made new, faster and more efficient than it had been when she first left her planet, and she was proud of it. To hear it insulted in such a way had simply... stung more than she might have expected.

Of course, Dritz had come after her and smoothed the situation over. She told him she was fine, agreeing with his wish to look up the coordinates for her, and soon enough they were on their way. However, she was aware of Fera continuing to stare at her on occasion, which she somehow knew without looking, likely because it seemed so hostile. Why did he have such a problem with her, anyway?

Once their course was stable, Vela was able to step away from the navigation console. Her gaze slid over Fera, sitting fussily in one of the chairs as though he would rather not be touching it, past Orion, leaning against said chair and smiling at her, and over to Dritz, who gave her an encouraging look. [Should we play a card game? Or something else to pass the time?] she asked for him to translate. There was a strange feeling to having extra passengers, and she had no idea what to do in this case.

Dritz chose to fill the awkward silences with idle chitchat, rambling about how incredible it was how often one needed to manually update a navigation console, what with space constantly shifting and expanding, and new galaxies being discovered still, and didn't it make your head hurt, it certainly made his hurt, with his antennae twitching anxiously with every rambled word.

The silences weren't, however, too often. Orion was good at chatting cheerfully, and between them, with Vela's signing, there was enough communication that it should not be too awkward. It might even end up being... fun?

Dritz looked at the others with a shrug, "So, we have a little while before your first liaison, so... how about a card game? We have the table in the kitchen? I think it's a great idea, Vela and I play so many games while we travel."

Orion listened with amusement as Dritz rambled in an effort to keep the atmosphere friendly and not too awkward, though he then strove to keep up a pleasant banter as well. He knew Fera had no skill at this sort of thing, and he hoped it was something he could pick up largely through watching them.

Of course, it wasn't going to be easy.

"Cards?" The prince said the word like he had never before done so in his life. "Is that a game commoners play?"

"Er... kinda," Orion replied, shrugging. "I'm sure there have been royals who've played cards. And there are a lot of different styles of games. Just because you're not familiar with it doesn't mean you shouldn't try it."

"No," Fera said icily. "I'd rather not."

"Suit yourself." Maybe once Fera saw what fun he was missing out on, he would join them. In a leisurely fashion, Orion followed Dritz and Vela through to their kitchen area, plopping himself down in one of the chairs at the table with a big smile. He knew this would be fun. "Deal me in."

Dritz had set the water to heating up, grinning at Vela as he gestured to the box of flower tea. They'd treated themselves to a blend that neither of them had tried yet; yellow buds that unfurled into layered flowers with squat petals, apparently with a light, floral taste that perked one up.

He sat down opposite Vela, shuffling their card deck with a flourish when Orion came in. He beamed, setting ten cards out for each of them as he went over the rules, even though they all were aware. Once the water was hot, he made tea for those that wanted, and he grabbed a container of small blue pellets; the currency he and Vela liked to play for. They were chewy, sweet and slightly sour treats, and incredibly moreish.

He placed two of his cards down and grinned at the selection, at least until Vela gave a small smile and placed another down on top of one.

"Ah, damn, I was so confident with that opener..." the Chrysalan pouted.

Orion had to smile as he watched Dritz and Vela; he usually did. Resting his chin on his hand as he sat at the table, he waited while Dritz went over his cards and Vela sipped delicately at her flower tea. The human had refused the offer of a drink, not being much of one for tea in any case. Fera was probably still sitting on the navigation deck, which Orion personally thought was a bit rude, but there wasn't much he could do about it if he wasn't going to be friendly. Maybe he would change his mind later, out of boredom if nothing else.

The cards Dritz set down first were pretty impressive, but Vela seemed to have a strategy in mind. Orion squinted at his own cards, now wondering what to do next. There wasn't much, so he took the slight chance that neither of them would have a hand that could counter the few he set down beside Dritz's. As the game unfolded, however, it became clear that neither he nor the Chrysalan was going to be able to beat Vela. She just seemed to have a way of reading her cards which Orion, admittedly, might not have thought of himself.

"Wow," he chuckled, placing the rest of his cards face-down beside him. "I'm definitely out now. So does Vela win often, or...?" he teased, watching the Aurian collect her winnings with an incredibly modest smile. She offered a few of the candies to Dritz anyway, which made him laugh a little more.

During the course of the game, Dritz occasionally clicked and chirped in frustration, pouting, but never truly became aggravated by his partner's skills with the game.

He groaned loudly as the game closed, his usual goofy smile never faltering, slapping his cards down. "Dammit. Yeah, I swear she gets better every time. I think I won maybe... The first two games we ever played? And once when you were too tired, right?" he laughed, turning to Vela and taking one of the candies she offered. "I've never known anyone to pick up a game so quickly."

He handed Orion a couple of sweets too, chuckling, "Let's say we're all winners. So. You know what business Fera has going on...?"

With a fond smile, Orion accepted the sweets, popping one into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. "That's pretty amazing, especially considering you come from a culture without these forms of entertainment. I thought so before too, but you're just incredibly smart."

Vela was still rather modest, signing a simple thank you. She turned a loving gaze to Dritz, at least until he asked his next question, which made her frown and appear disinterested instead, picking up everyone's cards and carefully shuffling them once more.

"Well, Fera's business," Orion sighed, rolling the remaining candy around in his hand slowly. "I can't say I know everything about what he does. But what I do know is that he is remarkably involved in the trade of rare items. One-of-a-kind items and artifacts of important cultures, mostly those that have disappeared from the galaxy. I mean, you saw some of his rooms back on Hesperus. Apparently he has more than that, much more. I'm not sure why he's so into it, but it's something he's passionate about. And he doesn't conduct any shady dealings, that I know of. It's all legitimate. He's made such a name for himself that he's constantly getting offers and invitations to view items he might have an interest in. I know he buys or trades, he rarely sells. Like I said, I don't know everything, but I wish I could make him talk about it with you. His enthusiasm is so rare and nice to see."

Just moments after Orion said this, a soft look still on his face, Fera strode into the room as though summoned. "You had better not be talking about me." He swept through toward the table, clearly (and thankfully) not having heard their conversation, sitting down beside the human with a slight grimace of disgust. "Ugh. This ship is so... so tasteless. I might as well play whatever ridiculous game you have going on, I have nothing better to do."

"That's not a very pleasant way to join a game where you're supposed to have fun," Orion admonished, though he couldn't help grinning. Leave it to Fera to try making everyone believe his presence was only to do everyone a favor.

Despite Vela's obviously humble acceptance, Dritz was beaming with pride. Of course, he knew Vela was smart. Super smart. But it always made him particularly happy for others to see her as special.

The Aurian's reaction didn't escape his notice, however. He felt bad, his antennae arcing up in a longing to comfort her (though she probably didn't need it), but he knew she'd understand what he was trying to do.

Fascinated by the revelation, Dritz was about to ask further questions when the prince entered. He'd need to speak to him separately, maybe. Fera had spoken to him alone once, perhaps he might again if he engaged him.

"Ah, you missed a good game. I very nearly won," Dritz laughed before catching Vela's eye. "Nearly. I could have." He glanced at Orion. "Okay, so I lost terribly, but still. It's fun. You up for another game, flower?"

He smiled hopefully at Vela, gesturing to the table as an offer to deal them back in.

The information about Fera was a little interesting, Vela had to admit. She hadn't thought he would be so involved in something like that. But his sudden appearance lessened her enthusiasm, as usual.

She gave a very slight shrug, her gaze cast downward, but she did begin to deal the cards again. Even the idea of playing with Fera at the table gave her a bad feeling, one she could only ignore and hope would be proved wrong.

"Of course I know how to play," the prince was saying haughtily, taking each card gingerly as though touching them made him squeamish. In actuality, it was because the Vela had touched them. It was no wonder Dritz had lost, if she was using some spell to bend the game in her favor. "Everyone plays this silly game, across the entire galaxy, or so it seems. I may not be a commoner, but I know of such a common game."

He made every effort to be elegant and poised as he played the cards he thought would win. Wasn't that how the game worked? Yet for some reason the others kept giving him baffled looks with every card he set down. Even so, it took at least five minutes before he realized he was losing.

"Who is cheating?"

Everyone looked rather startled at this question. The Vela, setting a card down on top of his own, froze momentarily in surprise. Fera took the opportunity to glare, pointing a finger at her, not even needing an explanation. But why use dark magic on something so trivial as a card game?!

Dritz shrugged, laughing heartily, "Hey, us commoners know all the best games."

The game went well up until a point. Orion set his cards down, forcing Dritz to change his tactic, but when Vela revealed her hand, Dritz was able to keep his original idea to play the long term game, putting down weaker cards and keeping the others close, at least to begin with.

However, when Fera revealed, daintily putting a card down, Dritz had to pause. Was he truly playing a saint of stars after a ruler of planets? Really?! Dritz wondered if it was all a ploy, and he rolled his neck in an exaggerated acceptance of this perceived challenge. The next round went much the same, Vela seemingly having a wonderful hand yet again, while Orion was playing quite an overt round; no bluffs, but so well done that it was almost a bluff in itself.

Fera's outburst caught them all by surprise. At first, Dritz might have been able to laugh it off, but he frowned at the very sudden accusation, "Vela's done nothing but play the game. No one's cheating, we wouldn't have any cause to...?"

"She isn't cheating?" Fera's tone was still sharp with accusation and disbelief as he continued to glare at the Vela. The evil creature wasn't even looking at him, instead seeming to stare at the cards for no reason. Other than to hold her spell in place?

"Fera... no, I'm really sure she's not," Orion spoke up, annoyingly. Wasn't his lover supposed to be on his side? How many spells could she keep in place at once?! "No one is cheating, but for some reason you keep putting down bad cards. I don't see a strategy in it. And I'm not criticizing you, but I thought you knew how to play this game? Because it doesn't seem-"

"I do!" The prince exploded, indignant. "Of course I do! And I'm sorry if you can't see how I'm trying to play it! It's not my fault that you have... her... manipulating things the way she does!"

Vela finally leaned back, narrowing her normal eye. [If I can speak for myself, I will say I'm not cheating. If it makes you feel better, we can just say you won. But I don't manipulate anything, even if you don't believe me.]

She looked to Dritz to translate, not caring what Fera really thought. If he would not believe her, there was not much to be done.

Dritz had been willing to let the incident go, but having Vela looking so unhappy was effecting him a great deal. He patted her hand before translating. He had wanted to speak first, but poor Vela had clearly felt attacked, and needed to be able to defend herself first.

"And if I could add to Vela's words; you've continually insulted her particularly, and I can't really just keep letting it go, Fera. I've tried to be polite, but Vela is my love and by insulting her, you're also offending me. She didn't have to help you, in fact, she'd be justified in leaving you to whatever you had on the station," he explained levelly, trying to maintain a lighter tone. "But she's the reason you're able to conduct your business right now, and she's been nothing but tolerant and accommodating. And, come on, it's just a game."

He shrugged, grinning.

It was somewhat evident to everyone in the room (or maybe it was just Orion being extra attentive to it), but Fera's general temperature was rising to the point where it heated the air around him. This was never a good sign, and in light of Dritz's very appropriate speech to him, it was obvious the prince was not taking it well even before the Chrysalan was done talking. However, Fera's voice was not raised or shrill when he replied, and that was a definite surprise.

"No one asked you," he said to Dritz, his tone still sharp enough. "It doesn't matter to me, how you feel about what I say to her. I know what I believe! And I can't reveal what that is, just in case."

"Fera, I think you're being a little ridiculous. There is no plot against you here. And Dritz is right, you-"

"Shut up!" the prince snapped, cutting Orion off and standing, a particularly vicious glare pointed in the human's direction. "I don't know whose side you think you're on, but I have to say I don't think it's mine!" He swiveled back around to Dritz and Vela. "Just take me where I need to go. I don't want to interact with you otherwise." With that, he turned and walked out of the room in a way which was somehow both angry and elegant at the same time.

Fighting against the urge to immediately go after him, Orion squeezed his eyes shut and groaned, resting his head on the table for a moment. "You guys," he finally said, voice slightly muffled. "I don't know what to say except I'm sorry. You can take us back to the station if you want, I wouldn't hold it against you. I just thought maybe he'd... you know, I'm not sure what I thought." He lifted his head in a pained half smile, clearly struggling to hold the hopelessness out of his voice.

Dritz felt the familiar clench of conflict in his stomach. The situation was very quickly approaching a level of conflict he was incredibly anxious about, but almost-thankfully, Fera stormed off before it reached a point of nausea for him.

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and stood, moving to Orion's side, where he bent to hug him where he sat, "Hey, it's... Well, not okay, but also really not your fault. Don't worry, we'll resolve this. And if we don't, well... I dunno. Either way, it will be okay."

He moved back to where he had been sitting and pulled Vela close, kissing her cheek.

"As for what happens, I need to consult my captain," he said softly, affectionately. "But... I think she is too good a person, or too true to her word to just turn around and leave you back at the station. Right, flower?"

He realised his words had kind of put poor Vela on the spot, and he grimaced, looking at her apologetically.

Fera's outburst and resultant exit from the room was actually a relief to Vela. It was better if he was not there, if he had no wish to interact with them. But she saw the tension and stress in the other two males as being much worse than her own. Though, admittedly, she had decided she could care less what Fera did.

[I mean no offense,] she signed slowly to Orion, after taking a moment to nuzzle against Dritz's side, [but I do find him annoying most of the time. I don't know what he believes about me for sure, but he is strange. Coronal are very superstitious, maybe it's how I look...] She thought this over for a moment, then shrugged.

Orion did laugh a little when Dritz translated her words in their entirety. "No offense taken. I know how he can be. He thinks you can control others somehow, through your signing, I guess. I tried to tell him that's not how it works, but... Fera." He heaved a sigh, frowning again.

[Maybe he will learn someday,] she continued thoughtfully, not feeling she was beyond teaching him herself somehow. [In the meantime, Dritz is right, I can't leave you on the station with no way to travel freely. No matter how he makes me feel. For now we might just spend some time apart, at least until we arrive at our destination. Dritz and I can discuss what to do.]

The human was quite agreeable to this, and went to find Fera, who had likely retreated to the bunk room. Vela and Dritz headed back to the navigation deck. where she leaned against him with a tired sigh of her own. She knew that when he looked at her, he could see she was wondering what he thought about the situation so far.

The hum of the engine, or more accurately, the drone of it, was almost welcoming. The sound had always been a comfort to Dritz, reminding him that sometimes things worked against all odds, all the tiny problems that could occur.

"Hey, you know we don't need to do this, right?" he offered, pulling her close. "I know you want to, because you're a good person, but honestly, flower, it's all up to you. If you were to say the word, I'd escort him off the ship and to the nearest outpost." The Chrysalan was nibbling his lip idly. He knew deep down that Vela wouldn't say the word. She was too kind, as he had thought, and that of course was a wonderful thing to him.

"I think we can do this amicably. I wanna believe he's more tolerant than he's showing..."

Vela nestled against Dritz for a moment, drawing some calmness from him. He was such a comfort, making her life seem easier than it had been before.

[I know,] she finally signed, moving back from him for now. [But I don't want to do that. This will work out, somehow. Orion is a good friend to have, and I can't leave him behind. It's not his fault, even though... I don't think he has very good taste.] It had been a small joke, but Vela secretly thought it quite true.

[We will get to this station in less than an hour now,] she continued, glancing at the nearby console. [He will conduct his business and then.... Well, then we'll see if he still wants to travel with us. Maybe he will find it's not worth it.] She had her doubts, but left them all aside as she turned back to Dritz more earnestly.

[When it's our turn to stay in the bunk room...] She abandoned her signing there, instead communicating by pressing her body tightly to Dritz's and softly kissing his neck. For some reason, her longing for him seemed much greater than before, promising extra relief from the stress of the day.

Of course she didn't want to do that. Dritz smiled warmly. She was the sweetest being in the galaxy. He couldn't help but snort at her small, sassy jibe.

"I dunno, maybe Fera has bedroom qualities that help make up for all this," he whispered with a snicker. Judging from the look Vela gave him, his own jibe was not appreciated.

The soft press of her lithe body against his made Dritz close his eyes, smirking as he considered her 'quiet' signing and her soft lips on his skin. He let his fingers slide into the soft wisps of hair that just brushed her neck, his other hand slipping around to the small of her back.

"When it's our turn, I'll make this all up to you," he said cheekily, kissing her softly.

#starless horizon #rp file #rp logs #file 31 #and they're off again #fun times traveling with ferie #where he fails at cards and is a rude horrible bibi but vela decides to keep him on anyway ;p