Baby’s Breath: 5 things you associate yourself with:
Museums/LibrariesClassical MusicLines, columns, & neatly checked marksBeing on the ‘wrong’ side of the war...Freckles
Daffodil: What is one plant that you want to have but can never get?
“A plant I want to have? A plant?” he repeated and scrunched his nose, wondering if he was somehow misunderstanding the question. It wasn’t easy to have any type of plant in the Black, and at least in his mind, perhaps in Audrey’s too, put them into a sort of ‘luxury’ category so he couldn’t discount the validity of the question. He was taking most of this time on the semantics of the question, however, not his answer. “Cannabis,” he answered simply and without a shred of remorse or the shame that he is so frequently associated with. He sighed wistfully, imagining his own little ‘greenhouse’ in one of the sub-rooms off the engine where it would be nice and warm. He quickly dismissed the idea though, as there would be no keeping certain members of the crew out of his drug empire and no point getting his hopes up.
Lavender: What is something that you’ve always wanted to be/have/get but can never have?
Sullivan pondered the question for several moments, closing his eyes and tapping a finger to his chin. A chain of wants passed behind his lidded eyes like polaroids clipped to a string; most of them intangible values that he felt he lacked due to circumstance or defect of character. The ability to hold his head up without regret pulling it back down. The courage to stand up for something he believes in...without fear of the consequences, or the judgment of others, or by utilizing borrowed strength. The pride that comes with confidence or the confidence that comes with pride. Even feeling like he was capable of standing on his own two feet would be enough...
“A piano,” he answered suddenly, eyes and expression still vacant. “I really miss my piano.”
“hmmmm,” Hana lets out a sing-song chime, leaning her head on the table now littered with empty bottles of soju. “favorite part huh, now that’s quite hard.” Though the question did bring about a fair amount of good memories. Out of all the core planets, or all of the planets in general, Sihnon had always been Hana’s favorite. In fact, And though her leaving left a bad taste in the mouths of the guild, she still had quite a number of friends (be it companions or clients alike) that she would visit every now and then. “I love everything about sihnon.” she admits truthfully, “don’t you?” she queried back to the other. Perhaps for Audrey, there was less so good memories of the place, and more bad, but for Hana, Sihnon had been the place she’d been reborn. Literally. “I mean, maybe not the people,” she chuckled, a joke really, “but the planet itself is heavenly. I mean, the trees....if you closed your eyes it was as if they were speaking to you, their words being carried on by the soft whispers of the wind. and the animals,” she chuckled, “and the plants...” she gave a soft sigh, “and the waterfalls...” a nostalgic smile crossed her features, “It is my heaven in this galaxy.” she mused honestly.
42. Your muse shows up on my muse’s doorstep after several months of being missing, with no memory of the past few years.
Nine opened his eyes, immediately scanning the surroundings. He had fallen deeply asleep, and in the circumstances they are in, it could be a fatal mistake. His torso was bare to the elements, bandages wrapped around a gunshot wound only just recently cauterised. Audrey was sleeping on his thigh, probably worried sick for him. While some would have lost feeling in their leg by now, nine’s left leg had felt the same way for a very long time. He had left the serenity after injuring his leg permanently. As much as many convinced him otherwise, he did not want to be a burden to the crew. He had escaped on his own will, abandoning the crew.
He did not expect to have Audrey find him where he was hiding, with no memory of him leaving or even his injury. That was five years ago.
Unable to process the situation, Nine brought her away from the market where they met. Bringing her to his place, he pushed her into the bathroom, after all she looked and smelled like she’s been living in the slums of this rim planet for ages.
Sure enough, when he sat down looking at the girl in his oversized shirt, their conversation uncovered only memories that came up to five years ago. Everything else till now were foggy, fragmented or missing. He stood to peel away her clothes, observing her in a bare form. There were signs of torture on her skin. He nodded, allowing her to dress herself again.
A call reaching out to the serenity only came back as a dead line. They were either missing in action, or too far into the void. Nine hoped for the latter. Deciding to make a trip towards the central planets, they embarked on a journey together.
The mayhem that followed led to the scene pictured now. The alliance was hot on their tail the moment they stepped into a central planet. For nine who limps as he walks now, their ever increasing numbers slowly became a challenge. While he was injured several times, risking each and every resource available to them to contact the serenity or learn news of what happened to it, there had never been a case as close to death as today.
Nine knew the heated blade would help close the wound, however the bullet was too deep inside his body. There was no time to seek for professional help, especially in circumstances like these. Infection, or blood poisoning would slowly kill him, until he finds proper medical attention. That is, if he treats it in time.
It was worth it however, as they finally reached the crew. A daring mission had been scheduled to rescue the pair, and they only had to meet at their rendezvous.
Nine brushed Audrey’s hair, and watched as she slowly stirred. Her eyes opened, and gazed upwards to nine who was hunched over her. “We should leave.” Nine said.
Audrey held Nine as they reached the rendezvous, supporting him as he weakly walked onto the now derelict service bay. Audrey smiled, watching the familiar ship appear in the horizon.
The ambush sprung.
Nine and Audrey traded gunfire with the alliance, thankfully it was a small group, unsure of their intel on their movement. However, reinforcements had already been called. As the crew arrived on to the ground, coming out guns blazing, Nine managed to bring Audrey over.
“We will not be able to make it back into the black.” Nine shared with Jaewon. “The Alliance ships are coming. I will go over to their ship, and use it as a distraction while you all escape. I’d meet up with everyone once I’m safe.”
There was a look of hesitation in Jaewon’s eyes, however Audrey beat him to it. “That sounds like suicide. That impossible. We can find a way...”
“Audrey. I will not suggest something I cannot complete.” Nine spoke, looking at Audrey.
“You are lying.”
“I do not know how to lie.”
“Promise me you’d come back to me.. I mean us.”
“I promise.”
As the serenity forced it’s way out upwards, Nine took the distraction to board the alliance ship. A vicious firefight exchanged within the ship, and finally as Nine sat in the pilot seat, there was already a trail of blood behind him. His blood. His limp caused some miscalculations in his timing, and he had been out of practice.
Nine’s ship joined the convoy of pursuers, right on the serenity’s tail. Firing at the lead ship, he successfully drew the attention of the alliance.
Audrey watched as the alliance ship that fired on the others, obviously piloted by nine, crash into the lead ship. A huge explosion triggered, taking out several other alliance ship that were too close. Naturally, the seasoned crew of the serenity took the opportunity to escape.
A message arrived onto the ship, sent by Nine’s ship.
“Sorry Audrey.” His voice echoed in the bridge. “I learned how to lie.”
henry doesn’t get spoken to often by audrey, at least not about anything that’s not to do with serenity. so when suddenly his assistant engineer directs a series of words at him that don’t actually hold anything engineer-y except for the word airlock, he needs a moment to process.
and then irritation follows.
honestly, it’s not her fault. nothing’s her fault. audrey hasn’t done anything wrong for a long time now. she knows the ship almost as well as he does, and he leaves her to her own devices time and time again - with no negative consequences to speak of. over the course of the last week he’s left serenity’s engine to her more often than once, and he’s not regretted it once.
but these words? these words are just straight out ridiculous.
“what did you think i was gonna do, audrey? shooting her out into the black? cause that’s what i do?” his words are way too harsh to be a reply to a simple and almost playful sentence like the one audrey has uttered. but henry can’t help himself. he’s upset. there’s no other way to state it.
he’s not slept well in the last weeks, there have been plenty of nightmares and to be told such a ridiculous thing - even jokingly - it just kind of rubs him the wrong way.
and so he snaps.
“why don’t you tell me a few other obvious facts, audrey? let’s entertain ourselves with saying useless gorram shit, shall we? space is dark. screwdrivers are used on screws. jaewon’s an asshole. and i…”
he rounds on her, expression angry. he’s never angry. he knows because he does his utter best to never get angry, not inside of this small space where he’s stuck with the same people for weeks and months on end before they go planetside again. but honestly…
“…don’t give a fuck.”
he’s not usually an aggressive person, but the piece he’s holding in his hand is thrown to the floor rather harshly as he turns one-eighty and stalks off, out of the engine room.
“tough question. part of me absolutely does and part of me absolutely does not want to. the idea of all the souls who have passed potentially sticking around… they deserve rest. they deserve to pass onto whatever else there is beyond this world.”
her mind flashes to the idea of her family and those familiar faces she had seen visiting her home; knowing they were all now long dead and gone. a shudder runs through her as she involuntarily thinks of the shadow of her family wandering through their abandoned home, lost and alone amongst the rubble. panic sets in as her heart leaps into her throat and she falls silent, letting what she had already said stand on its own.
'Glad.'It wasn't a word Land would ever choose himself. Not unless perhaps in mocking but he was forced to consider the term now.
Being pleased wasn't something that came in large amounts, wasn't something he considered himself unless he recently won something. The current situation came with too many conflicts for Land to consider himself happy with it. There were too many strings attached, too many ghosts that accompanied him amongst the hall. Glad wasn't the word he'd use.
"I'm still here aren't I?" He rose a brow slightly, his eyes remaining bored as they flickered back and forth over hers. "When I'm bored I'll leave." This wasn't particularly true. Land couldn't leave, not without a dismissal despite how he felt, not that he sensed a desire to leave anytime soon.
Headcanon: Sid has on more than once occasion tried to fix Audrey's hair, after several tries he now knows how to braid hair with ease but he won't tell anyone how he learned.
HEADCANON: ACCEPTED!
Sid’s a really touchy-feely person when he cares about someone. He has often tried to run his fingers through Audrey’s hair only to be annoyed at how tangled it is. He has noticed how often she groans when her hair constantly falls over her eyes, so he took it upon himself to fix it for her. What at first was just to help the girl out, ended up with him unwillingly learning to braid hair. It has happened so often he now carries a hair-tie around his wrist specifically for her.
‘Why do wealthy people keep their living spaces so cold?’ It was something he’d been asked once by a man he brought home for the night, his arms wrapped tight around himself looking as if he were properly freezing. Neo had never thought of it before but when he paused to consider it for a moment he returned with a shrug, finding it to be a fair generalization, and said ‘So they can wear their furs.’ It had been a joke, a short response to a question he had no answer to but now he found himself with a proper reply, now he knew the truth.
‘To freeze the poor out.’
The lower levels of the ship are astronomically colder than the upper levels, that was the first thing Neo had noticed as he and Mina were escorted out of the engine room hallway into the wider space of Deck 3. The evening had not gone entirely without a hitch, but it was luckily only once they’d succeeded in their efforts. They were just finishing up when they were found, the cover winning over the guard’s tired, hesitant trust as he insisted on guiding them back upstairs. Neo’s hand rested on Mina’s lower back, leaning over behind the man’s turned back and whispering in her ear, in the disguise of sweet nothings said, “Slight change of plans, when we get up there we aren’t going to beeline for the conference room, we’re going to signal the others and let them go up first. He’s going to be watching us now.” It was said so low she probably had to strain to hear it herself, even with his mouth grazing her ear, but it was necessary for obvious reasons; if the guard heard anything the rest of the evening was over.
