#ilikay things

[thejadedynasty]

Ilikay: Meet With the Warden

Sitting in the warden’s office isn’t new. You know this chair, big and uncomfortable despite its appearance, and you know these walls, empty aside from two large propaganda posters behind the warden’s seat. The only thing really different this time is the warden himself and you know why. The fire hadn’t been kind to him.In the time before you had pulled him from the inferno, he had managed to suffer numerous burns that were now etched across his skin like mountains scrawled on a map. If anything, they made him look more intimidating....a troll who had survived hell and come out to tell the tale. You’re sure no one will ever tell the part about you dragging him out on your shoulders.... Most days you were called in for some discrepancy or another. Sometimes you didn’t follow orders and other times you followed orders wrong. The result was always the same, but lately you had done your best not to rock the boat. The other trolls held on the station were not too happy with you ruining their plan with your bleeding heart and you’d taken the abuse like a good soldier does. Despite the bruises, you felt you had done the right thing...however ungrateful the warden might be.  He taps his fingers on his desk and watches you with two cold and steady eyes and you keep your own eyes toward the ground. You couldn’t think of why you might have been called there....he was probably going to tell you. “Nazca....brought here for attempted culling of a superior officer....free thinker with the potential for radicalism....potential threat to the Empire....” He reads off your chart with a disinterested look- the same “diagnosis” the Empire had given you when this whole mess started. You’ve stopped mentioning how you never wanted to cull anyone....they don’t hear you anyway. “Sentenced to an indefinite stay in military rehabilitation - to be released upon proper integration into Empirical Service.....sounds about right” The tone in his voice shifts upon his last words and you glance up for just a moment to see him looking at you through an expression you don’t recognize. He steeples his fingers and leans back. “You have fought this every step of the way. Countless punishments and increased regimes and you are still marked as a questionable entity onboard this station...” You don’t say anything; wringing your hands together in your lap. “And yet,you were the only troll out of hundreds held in my care....to show any loyalty.” Now he has your attention. You lift your head and wrinkle your nose a little as the statement settles in against your thoughts and tries to mix with the situation.  “I know that the fire was not an accident...It isn’t the first time the scum on this ship has attempted to remove me from my seat as warden....and it wont be the last. But it was the first time anyone has lept to my aid.” The warden shifts through the papers in front of him with a stern crease across his brow as though conflicted in his statement. His eyes swiftly lock back on yours and his voice turns low. “And I have to ask you....why?...Why would you try to help me when I would never do the same for you?” Again, you are confused. More confused than normal. Is this a trick? A trap? He’s alive and that should be all that matters, but here he is trying to determine the logistics of it all. You swallow hard and find your answer...though you’re not sure it’s the one he wants. “No one deserves to die like that....” He scoffs. “That’s all?....” he asks in a somewhat sarcastic tone. You don’t speak, but nod. His scowl turns to one of frustration and you both sit in silence for a spell. Over and over again, he shifts through your documents and seems to take in every piece of information they have to offer, but each time they don’t succeed in giving him and answer, he sinks back a little more in his chair. “I am not a superstitious troll you know...But I am a civilized one...I believe that actions speak much louder than words.....and that one should not look a gift hoof-beast in the mouth. All good lessons to keep in mind.” He pauses....and sets the papers down one last time.

“And that is why I have decided you are ready to be reinstated and returned to your post”

You sit up so quickly that you almost fall out of your chair. Had he spoken much quieter, you might have missed what he’d said, but as they echo in your mind, you can’t be sure you believe what you’ve heard either way.

“Re-.....reinstated?” you stutter out between bewildered blinking.

“Yes, reinstated. You will be going back to your home-ship and will return to the post you held before you came here. I believe you have proven that, despite your....quirks....your loyalties are steady.” He extracts a pen from the cup on his desk and carefully scribbles a few lines down on the paperwork now fanned out in front of him.You can’t think of a thing to say let alone how to react. It feels like a very surreal dream....

“You leave tomorrow. Have your things packed and your slave ready to leave the station by first call.”  Your ears perk. Perdix! You had almost forgotten and suddenly you’re itching to tell him the news. So much so that you stand up before being dismissed and have to sit back down with a heavy thud the moment your realize it. The warden raises his brow, but motions for you to stand.

“Don’t make me regret my decision, Nazca. Should you slip up again....it wont be here that they’ll send you....Don’t make me into a liar.” You nod vigorously and the moment he dismisses you, you’re out the door and down the halls at a sprint. You have to tell him. You’re finally going home. You can finally try to fix things. You’re finally free.

[thejadedynasty]

Ilikay was really not cut out for military leadership. She's just too cute

[thejadedynasty]

Yes, Chief Warrant Officer Nazca.

[thejadedynasty]

Ever had that moment when you are just in the zone and drawing and loving what you made and then you go to remove the sketch layer to color and you haaaaate it?

Yeah that’s me in a nutshell

[thejadedynasty]

Looking for the rainbow to break the storm inside of me...

[thejadedynasty]

Ilikay : Into the Fire

Just as they’d said, the alarms began to blare sometime around mid day. It seemed sort of funny to you - hearing a fire alarm on a space station - but you supposed it made sense for safety sake. Their plan, as you had overheard, was simple. Make it all look like an accident. The yellowblood was a technopath and powers like that could make just about anything look accidental. They would wait until the drills began and once the warden was in just the right place…they would set off their trap. The way they’d described it had sounded fairly genius when you considered it. A technical malfunction wasn’t out of the question on such a large ship and no one would be to blame if the fire was where the warden perished….Everyone would get away without a scratch…aside from the warden. You knew most of the crew would be rushing to the central hall to see the commotion. Not many knew about the plan to prevent potential snitches so the stream of trolls moving toward the sound of the alarms wasn’t unexpected. You, however, were going the opposite way. You didn’t care. In your mind, you kept thinking of all the things the warden had done to you since you’d arrived. All of the hell he’d put you through for his own amusement and all of the times he’d broken you down to tiny pieces bubbled in your chest and fueled the indifference you felt as you wandered into one of many abandoned hallways on your way back to you room. “Let him die…” Said the voice in your head. “Let him know how it feels to be helpless and let him regret everything he did…” The voice in your head was loud and bitter and twisted your stomach into a knot. You kept your head down as you walked and avoided eye contact with anyone who rushed by. They were all headed to enjoy the show and you just wanted to be in your room and far away. “He deserves it”. It takes a few more steps before you realized you’d said this out loud. You stopped dead in your tracks. Your owned words echoed in your head. Over and over…then they gradually merged with other voices from somewhere far in the past. The voices of everyone who had ever said it before. The voices of so many people…who had used it as an excuse to hurt you. The more they said those 3 words the more you realize how much you sounded like them. You feel sick. “No…” You head spins. This was what they wanted you to think and say. And somewhere down the line, they’d succeeded. You stumble a bit as the realization hits you again and again with more force. You had become them. You had become heartless. Suddenly your once numb mind was throbbing and filled with images. Images of the warden burning alive in a fire set by someone else. Screaming for help and surrounded by people who thought his death was…amusing. Writhing in pain…with no one willing to help. All at once the stone that had started to settle around you heart cracked and crumbled and you turned on heel back toward the central hall; sprinting with all you had. You shoved others aside until you reached the entry doors and felt the heat if a fire far larger than the ship could battle all at once - watching the smoke billow from within. The chatter around you was deafening, but through it all, you could here the voice in your head remind you why you were there. “No one deserves this…” With that thought repeating, you took a deep breath…and ran headlong into the fire.

[thejadedynasty]

🍛⌚😓 Ilikay!

Ask a Muse How Good They Are At....

🍛 - cooking:I lIke to thInk I’m a pretty good cook! When I was younger, I had to learn to make food out of whatever thIngs I could fInd In the jungle so I got good at it pretty fast. It was a lot of fruIts and roots....I even almost got PerdIx to eat it once untIl he realIzed what was In It...⌚- keeping track of timeI was okay before but sInce beIng sent to mIlItary rehab...I’ve had no choIce but to get better. One of the number one rules Is to never be late.😓 - acknowledging mistakesI make a lot of them and It can be sort of hard for me to admIt that a() of them have happened....I stI() haven’t told PerdIx the whole truth about how we ended up In thIs mess, but maybe I stI() don’t thInk It was a mIstake deep down....

[thejadedynasty]

Ilikay: Shake Hands

You took your seat in the mess hall just as you did every morning. Third table from the back, the farthest seat from the center – your designated place since you arrived. Now, you don’t exactly sit alone. Given how many trolls had been sent to the rehabilitation camp in this sector, there wasn’t a lot of room for you to be a loner. The trolls who sat beside you were by no means your friends, but they allowed you to exist just as you allowed them to do as they pleased.

Once in a while they might engage you in conversation as you were all kindred spirits, but for the most part, you held your tongue and prodded at the things on your plate that passed as food in this establishment. Today as you found your place at the end of the table, those you sat with seemed particularly hushed.

They spoke briefly and quietly, watching the patrolling guards with careful gazes as they did and you found yourself slightly intrigued. After all, these were criminals and rebels and part of their job had always been to be boisterous and rowdy. Eyes directed down at your plate, you found it best to just…listen for now.

“And you have it…” the tallest troll near the middle questioned a yellow blood across the table for him. “Course I do”. The yellow blood smiled smugly and was met by many mutters of disbelief. You weren’t sure what he had…but it must have been something he shouldn’t. “Then we can start phase 2.” The first troll continued; shutting out the others questions.

This time, the yellow blood lifted his arm and, with a nonchalant flick of his wrist, you watched as the brace on his arm let loose a tiny spark of static. All of you wore these bracelets. For most, it was used to detect where you were and identify you should the guards find you up to something…but for others…it was much more important.

“Aint no technopath troll out there can’t figure out a work around. Just needed a few wire tweaks.” The yellow blood smiled again as the light on his brace flickered and faded then restored itself with another spark. The trolls around him laughed and hooted, but the guards paid them no mind. The only one who seemed to be paying attention…was the large troll who had noticed you staring.

You snapped your eyes back to your plate, but it was much too late and you felt the shift in the table as he moved to sit close beside you; leaning in and nudging you with his elbow. “You know how to keep a secret, jade?” You almost choke on your own breath when he says this, but quickly nod. Not keeping secrets was the easiest way to end up dead, but another part of you was curious and amazed he was even willing to let you know anything. He motioned toward the group; waving and smiling at them like a public figure to his people. “We got a plan here, you see. A plan to fix that warden up real good…teach him a lesson no one will forget.”

The warden, head of the station, was someone you could all agree was not a kind individual. If anything, he got his kicks from the torture and pain he put you through in the Empire’s attempts to “fix” the trolls it took here and it’s because of this that you feel your shoulders stiffen. “The warden?” you stutter in a voice barely above a whisper.

He nods. “That’s right, little lady. We think it’s time he take his life…in a new direction. A downward one if ya catch me”

You almost choke again and the troll smacks you hard on the back; laughing loudly before moving in close and lowering his tone. “And you can help. All you gotta do is stay quiet. Don’t say a word….and before you know it, the warden will be history.” He holds his hand out to you.

“Deal?”

Your mind reels and stumbles over the information – vague but detailed enough to let you know that the warden was in trouble….But what did that matter to you? After all that troll had put you through and all the torment he caused just because he could, why did it matter to you if he got his just desserts? The other troll eyes you carefully as you think and, with a slow shift of your shoulders, you clasp your hand in his and nod.

“Deal.”