And uh... Not exactly what I meant there about the feces collecting Justric, but still...
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That's exactly what I meant, Kuro. I imagine some of the recreation areas and other areas of the Copernicus would have entire walls like this.
And uh... Not exactly what I meant there about the feces collecting Justric, but still...
And uh... Not exactly what I meant there about the feces collecting Justric, but still...
Awwww... Kuro thank you! I hate to make you cry, but also glad you kinda liked the post... Ish? Unless you were crying because it was so bad. If that, then... Uh... My bad! >.> hehe
Anyway, by request regarding animals in stasis: I had to go with "no, they are not in stasis," simply for the logistical nightmare it would be. Now, would there possibly be experimental stasis beds for small animals like, say, Mowzer? Yeah, what the hell, why not - I can roll with it. Other than that, I rather imagined the holding stations/pens/enormous swaths of open space would be made over into something like biodomes. From a PM I wrote on the subject:
"There will probably be a couple acres of open area within each section, filled with a mixture of real and artificial plants, trees and land formations with a fake domed sky overhead - similar to the human dining areas and some of the rec areas as well. Within that open area, animals like horses, cows, deer, bison, whatevs would be allowed to roam; in another section the wolves allowed to roam, etc. There will also be vast aviaries, in addition to the sea water and freshwater tanks. Think a giant zoo ark. I imagine a great deal of the feeding of the animals as well as the clean up would be automated since even manure will be processed, treated, and filtrated for useful components (as in compost and fertilizer). Things like this might even fall under the watchful eye/rubric of Justric's character in that neural computer.
Mating however, will be closely monitored and regulated by the veterinarians as would the animals' health. So as far as layout goes, you will see veterinary facilities capable of caring for large and exotic animals, along with the more "normal" vet offices for small animals. You can feel free to assume a much higher degree of sophistication in equipment, to include both diagnostics and x-rays, MRIs and CT scans where needed, right alongside the treatments. So think, I suppose, enormous sections of a future indoor zoo and aquarium."
I hope that helps
Anyway, by request regarding animals in stasis: I had to go with "no, they are not in stasis," simply for the logistical nightmare it would be. Now, would there possibly be experimental stasis beds for small animals like, say, Mowzer? Yeah, what the hell, why not - I can roll with it. Other than that, I rather imagined the holding stations/pens/enormous swaths of open space would be made over into something like biodomes. From a PM I wrote on the subject:
"There will probably be a couple acres of open area within each section, filled with a mixture of real and artificial plants, trees and land formations with a fake domed sky overhead - similar to the human dining areas and some of the rec areas as well. Within that open area, animals like horses, cows, deer, bison, whatevs would be allowed to roam; in another section the wolves allowed to roam, etc. There will also be vast aviaries, in addition to the sea water and freshwater tanks. Think a giant zoo ark. I imagine a great deal of the feeding of the animals as well as the clean up would be automated since even manure will be processed, treated, and filtrated for useful components (as in compost and fertilizer). Things like this might even fall under the watchful eye/rubric of Justric's character in that neural computer.
Mating however, will be closely monitored and regulated by the veterinarians as would the animals' health. So as far as layout goes, you will see veterinary facilities capable of caring for large and exotic animals, along with the more "normal" vet offices for small animals. You can feel free to assume a much higher degree of sophistication in equipment, to include both diagnostics and x-rays, MRIs and CT scans where needed, right alongside the treatments. So think, I suppose, enormous sections of a future indoor zoo and aquarium."
I hope that helps
Fantastic song Kuro, thank you for sharing!
And IC started - have at it folks!
And IC started - have at it folks!
"Top?"
SSG George Liu's low pitched voice couldn't begin to touch the stupor he'd found his First Sergeant fallen into. Which, when he thought about, seemed like an amazing feat. Hell, that had to be one of the most uncomfortable ways imaginable to fall asleep, cramped up on that folding metal chair she'd dragged in from somewhere, slumped over a stasis bed with only her folded arms for a pillow.
"Hey, Top," He pressed his fingers gingerly against her shoulders a couple times. "First Sergeant! The Commander's waiting - "
First Sergeant Abigail Larson sat straight up like a shot in that hard metal chair with a surprised snort, and regretted it the instant she did. Cramped muscles screamed in protest, and her head ached mightily, throbbing dully behind her pale blue eyes like a thousand muffled hammers banging away in her skull. The doctors had warned that every person's experience waking from stasis was as different as the individual. Where some might wake violently nauseous, shaky, and near-crippling muscle weakness for days, still others rose from cryosleep as if waking from a refreshing (if extremely long) nap, all bright-eyed and perky.
Abby knew she hated those bright-eyed perky fuckers with all her heart and soul.
Most people could expect to feel some mild nausea and disorientation, fatigue and yes, sinus headache symptoms, for a few days after emerging from cryosleep, but it wasn't the headache she'd been fighting since she woke yesterday that sent her to this bay pod, and to this particular stasis bed.
She blinked and managed a wan smile for the squad leader, using the wrist of her ACU blouse to wipe away the thin line of drool she could feel had begun to work its way down her chin. Some people resembled nothing so much as earth-bound angels as they slumbered, rising from their heavenly rest with a slow, dignified grace.
Abby wasn't one of them.
"Thanks Liu," she murmured, rubbing at her eyeballs with her fingertips for a moment before standing to her feet, arms stretched overhead.
Liu nodded in response, his face stony though a single thin line of concern creased the corner of his mouth. "Commander said he wanted to talk to you a minute before briefing the whole Third Shift, but he didn't say why. He seemed antsy, nervous - it was... strange. "
Abby shrugged nonchalantly, though she honestly felt anything but. She picked up the tablet that rested beside her, atop the stasis bed where she'd fallen asleep, before reaching to her ear to tap the ear piece back on. "Don't think too hard on it. You know how CPT Stanford holds things close - don't sweat anything. You'll hear it all in the briefing."
Captain Lee Stanford wasn't a bad man. He was actually a very good man, caught in as shitty a situation as Abby could have dredged up in her worst nightmares. He'd done the best he could with what he had - she knew that. But that didn't mean she was looking forward to the shitstorm she expected, when he left her to make that announcement.
Abby folded the metal chair with one hand, leaning it up against the wall before her gaze returned to the stasis bed. She took a deep, steadying breath, deliberately shoving the lingering headache aside when her eyes fell on the face "sleeping" beneath the deceptively clear, thick glass. He looked so small lying there on a cryobed meant for an adult maybe twice his size.
But he's alive. Abby kissed her fingertips, laying them against the glass above her son's forehead. So still, so small, but he was alive - the displays all said so, and so did the med tech she'd stopped on his way through. That had to be enough.
Sweet dreams Michael. Love you baby. Mom will be back later. I won't leave you all alone...
Michael couldn't hear her. Abby knew that. But that maternal instinct simply wouldn't let her rest, that fiercely protective imperative that made her gut twist up with a snarling anxiety - not with the nerve-wracking news she'd woken to yesterday.
Abby tapped her tablet as she fell in beside SSG Liu, checked the time - half an hour until the Third Shift briefing when the whole of the just-woken crew was scheduled to meet and be briefed on the general business of the Copernicus for their annual assignment.
Heh. General business...
CPT Stanford would be waiting in the Auditorium, she knew. No point in keeping the man waiting. She knew damn well if there was anyone aboard the ship right now, craving a little slice of cryo-induced oblivion at the moment, it was him.
**********
The First Sergeant descended the curving steps that lined one side of the Auditorium, past row upon row of comfortable looking, well-padded fold-down chairs in a descending wedge. The entirety of the space resembled nothing so much as an enormous college lecture hall, though the ceiling high above formed a dome that curved into the wall behind the wide stage at the bottom of the wedge. For the moment, the illusion of a deciduous forest on a summer day occupied the walls and the great dome above. Deep green leaves fluttered on the branches of maples and oaks and ash, playing in the light breeze that also gently blew wisps of white clouds over a blazingly blue sky.
A few other folks had also arrived early for the briefing, for their own reasons she supposed , and Abby paid most of them little attention for the moment. She certainly cut a figure in her military uniform, her ACUs, combat boots barely leaving a sound in her wake as she strode the distance. Blonde hair pulled back smoothly behind her head and twisted into a tight, neat bun at the nape of her neck, Abby's sharp blue-eyed gaze swept the room for the MP commander.
Nodding a quick acknowledgement, Abby picked up her pace when she saw Stanford's hand beckoning her toward the stage.
SSG George Liu's low pitched voice couldn't begin to touch the stupor he'd found his First Sergeant fallen into. Which, when he thought about, seemed like an amazing feat. Hell, that had to be one of the most uncomfortable ways imaginable to fall asleep, cramped up on that folding metal chair she'd dragged in from somewhere, slumped over a stasis bed with only her folded arms for a pillow.
"Hey, Top," He pressed his fingers gingerly against her shoulders a couple times. "First Sergeant! The Commander's waiting - "
First Sergeant Abigail Larson sat straight up like a shot in that hard metal chair with a surprised snort, and regretted it the instant she did. Cramped muscles screamed in protest, and her head ached mightily, throbbing dully behind her pale blue eyes like a thousand muffled hammers banging away in her skull. The doctors had warned that every person's experience waking from stasis was as different as the individual. Where some might wake violently nauseous, shaky, and near-crippling muscle weakness for days, still others rose from cryosleep as if waking from a refreshing (if extremely long) nap, all bright-eyed and perky.
Abby knew she hated those bright-eyed perky fuckers with all her heart and soul.
Most people could expect to feel some mild nausea and disorientation, fatigue and yes, sinus headache symptoms, for a few days after emerging from cryosleep, but it wasn't the headache she'd been fighting since she woke yesterday that sent her to this bay pod, and to this particular stasis bed.
She blinked and managed a wan smile for the squad leader, using the wrist of her ACU blouse to wipe away the thin line of drool she could feel had begun to work its way down her chin. Some people resembled nothing so much as earth-bound angels as they slumbered, rising from their heavenly rest with a slow, dignified grace.
Abby wasn't one of them.
"Thanks Liu," she murmured, rubbing at her eyeballs with her fingertips for a moment before standing to her feet, arms stretched overhead.
Liu nodded in response, his face stony though a single thin line of concern creased the corner of his mouth. "Commander said he wanted to talk to you a minute before briefing the whole Third Shift, but he didn't say why. He seemed antsy, nervous - it was... strange. "
Abby shrugged nonchalantly, though she honestly felt anything but. She picked up the tablet that rested beside her, atop the stasis bed where she'd fallen asleep, before reaching to her ear to tap the ear piece back on. "Don't think too hard on it. You know how CPT Stanford holds things close - don't sweat anything. You'll hear it all in the briefing."
Captain Lee Stanford wasn't a bad man. He was actually a very good man, caught in as shitty a situation as Abby could have dredged up in her worst nightmares. He'd done the best he could with what he had - she knew that. But that didn't mean she was looking forward to the shitstorm she expected, when he left her to make that announcement.
Abby folded the metal chair with one hand, leaning it up against the wall before her gaze returned to the stasis bed. She took a deep, steadying breath, deliberately shoving the lingering headache aside when her eyes fell on the face "sleeping" beneath the deceptively clear, thick glass. He looked so small lying there on a cryobed meant for an adult maybe twice his size.
But he's alive. Abby kissed her fingertips, laying them against the glass above her son's forehead. So still, so small, but he was alive - the displays all said so, and so did the med tech she'd stopped on his way through. That had to be enough.
Sweet dreams Michael. Love you baby. Mom will be back later. I won't leave you all alone...
Michael couldn't hear her. Abby knew that. But that maternal instinct simply wouldn't let her rest, that fiercely protective imperative that made her gut twist up with a snarling anxiety - not with the nerve-wracking news she'd woken to yesterday.
Abby tapped her tablet as she fell in beside SSG Liu, checked the time - half an hour until the Third Shift briefing when the whole of the just-woken crew was scheduled to meet and be briefed on the general business of the Copernicus for their annual assignment.
Heh. General business...
CPT Stanford would be waiting in the Auditorium, she knew. No point in keeping the man waiting. She knew damn well if there was anyone aboard the ship right now, craving a little slice of cryo-induced oblivion at the moment, it was him.
The First Sergeant descended the curving steps that lined one side of the Auditorium, past row upon row of comfortable looking, well-padded fold-down chairs in a descending wedge. The entirety of the space resembled nothing so much as an enormous college lecture hall, though the ceiling high above formed a dome that curved into the wall behind the wide stage at the bottom of the wedge. For the moment, the illusion of a deciduous forest on a summer day occupied the walls and the great dome above. Deep green leaves fluttered on the branches of maples and oaks and ash, playing in the light breeze that also gently blew wisps of white clouds over a blazingly blue sky.
A few other folks had also arrived early for the briefing, for their own reasons she supposed , and Abby paid most of them little attention for the moment. She certainly cut a figure in her military uniform, her ACUs, combat boots barely leaving a sound in her wake as she strode the distance. Blonde hair pulled back smoothly behind her head and twisted into a tight, neat bun at the nape of her neck, Abby's sharp blue-eyed gaze swept the room for the MP commander.
Nodding a quick acknowledgement, Abby picked up her pace when she saw Stanford's hand beckoning her toward the stage.
Thank you all so much, that last bit was both fun and sad and wonderful and so bittersweet to write. Sure Serge, I imagine Gabe could hear anything he liked between Daisy and Veti. And no one has to write for a year out if they don't want - it was just something I had in my head, that our amazingly patient and cat-herding GM Heroes let me play with at the end - and would have never gotten done without the brilliance of Tirg and Dot.
Still yes, to your question Serge, I imagine he would have been on missions and gotten to know some people as well. Very much looking forward to all your posts, as well as Dot's and Derren's - I feel pretty confident they're going to have even more for us here at this amazing closing of the second chapter. And then to our GM's book end post... The word "bittersweet" just keeps going through my head, and seems so perfect too!
Still yes, to your question Serge, I imagine he would have been on missions and gotten to know some people as well. Very much looking forward to all your posts, as well as Dot's and Derren's - I feel pretty confident they're going to have even more for us here at this amazing closing of the second chapter. And then to our GM's book end post... The word "bittersweet" just keeps going through my head, and seems so perfect too!
Doesn't he though? Sergeant Davis looks to be as promising as so many other amazing characters you all have pulled together - and that's perfectly all right Justric, holding off on the secondary characters for a bit, to think on things. I've got a few NPC skeletons in my head, but not quite enough to qualify as fully fledged secondaries, so *shrugs* We'll all get there eventually!
I should have the first IC post up at some point this evening. Just a busy day ahead, so I can't give an exact time - hope you're all having a wonderful morning
I should have the first IC post up at some point this evening. Just a busy day ahead, so I can't give an exact time - hope you're all having a wonderful morning
And there we go, the last post for Veti, for this chapter
Thank you all so much for all these months of fun and play, laughs and yes, definitely some tears too. You've all been such a blessing, and it has been a genuine honor and joy to craft this wonderful story with all of you.
Thank you all so much for all these months of fun and play, laughs and yes, definitely some tears too. You've all been such a blessing, and it has been a genuine honor and joy to craft this wonderful story with all of you.
((featuring DotCom - thank you for all your help!))
He heard her - she knew he did. Regrets were for a lifetime, but so was love, and Veti breathed him in, her sweet love. Max, Thad - there was not one without the other, all the same man she loved like life and breath - the very last breath he gave her. She took that breath in, took him in, all the way down to the seat of her soul, all his life, every last thing that made him so... Beautiful. Shimmering, a glistening golden light like none she’d known before, or ever would again.
Veti closed her eyes as she held him there, within and without, her love.
Let go, Veti. She heard the words, the voice, singing through her head like celestial music.
I don’t want to let you go. Please don’t make me. Not again… I know I said I could, but I can't. I'm not strong enough to let you go again.
The laughter in her head was gentle and loving, but tinged with a wistful sadness. I’m not leaving you babe. You have me. You always will - the very best part of me, all your life. Take that with you love, and move on…
Veti groaned softly in the back of her throat, wincing in pain. There would be no runs in the woods when he finally embraced his own wolf. Max would never roam with his mate through the green hills, never slink through the alleys in the cities of this world or run with her on a hunt through ancient woods. Thad had so wanted to keep those promises he made, the plans, the futures, the pledges, but he could not.
And she could not keep him here. Not like this.
Veti exhaled, and opened her eyes, and chose to live the life she promised she would.
The werewolf felt the sweeping wind of deathly cold beside her, heralding the arrival of her Reaper friend from the other side. She felt Daisy’s approach, but did not lift her gaze from her lover’s still face, cradling him closely still because she simply could not let him go. Not yet. Loving fingers traveled over those cherished features, committing every last touch, every last plane and angle to precious, lasting memory.
"I know Daisy," Veti whispered, trying not to choke on the words and yet, somehow, smiling so softly nonetheless. "I know he's gone. Thank you for helping give him back to me, just one more time. Not everyone gets that chance… “
Daisy was quiet for along moment, telling herself she was giving Veti time to adjust. But they both knew no amount of adjusting would do anything to undo what Max had done.
She shook her head, and for once, there was no scorn or sneer or hint of derision or annoyance on her eyes. She tried not to think about the fact she was giving Veti the same shitty news twice in one day.
"You don't, though, Veti. What he did for me." What he almost did to me, but she didn't add that part, and never would.
"He didn't have to go. He could have come back. He should have come back. But he didn't. He gave himself back over to them. For me. For you, Veti. I'm here because of him. I just...thought you should know."
Veti nodded, and bit her lip, blinking back tears all over again as she turned to look up to Daisy, to those sad, strangely ancient eyes beneath all those long pink tresses. She did not really succeed though, and even though she smiled to her friend, tears fell down her cheeks. Yes, it stung still, hearing the words that he could have returned to her. That Max could be in her arms right now, alive and laughing, her sweet Thad saying the words with his own lips, his own breath, just how much he loved her...
But he had done exactly what he always did. Always would do. Max would have laughed, loud and long, if she'd called him a hero. Thad would have simply smiled and waved her away with a grin. But he was, and she loved him all the more, even now.
Veti's mouth opened, as if she might say something. But the weight of all Daisy told her, the weight of the grief and yes, the pride she felt in the man she loved, stopped her words for a moment like an invisible damn. She closed those sapphire eyes for some seconds before taking a long, painful breath, letting it go before she opened them once more. "I am glad, Daisy. I am glad you're here, and I am glad you told me. Please, for me - don't blame yourself. No more blaming yourself, not anymore. Max knew what he was doing."
Daisy smiled wanly at her lupine friend's words. She didn't know where Atticus and Siya had gone, only that they had. Max was gone. Thad was...an enigma at best. WolfGirl had lost far more than her fair share that day.
Daisy had never wished more that she had something to offer other than bad news.
"I'm back, aren't I?" She shrugged. "You say jump, Veti, I'll ask how fucking high. If you're glad, actually glad... It's good enough for me."
“I am.” Veti nodded but said no more as she let the wolf return, the first rays of dawn warming her crimson fur. She stood with her lover’s body cradled in her arms once again, her amber gaze running over the ruin of the stones of Ardgroom and all the lands about them. The enormity of all that was torn from her world today would not – could not – truly settle in for days to come. Not even the werewolf was strong enough to bear that burden all at once: Thad and Aislinn, her dearest Siya and Atticus – even poor Jay-Jay’s brave demon though Veti never knew her true worth til the end.
Daisy and Artie, Reginald and Henry, Semyon and Jay-Jay and even the new guy Gabe, these were the pillars that remained. She had no way to know then, how precious and strong they would truly be.
**********
Such a difference a year and a day could make.
A difference Veti never could have imagined, a world she could not have foreseen in her wildest dreams. “Another arrived yesterday, Reginald,” she said softly, closing her eyes contentedly as she smiled up into the warm Irish sunlight. “A lone wolf, ready to find a home… I like the smell of him. Marcus’ll be by tonight. I think he’d be worth your time to meet – if I can tempt you to stay for dinner?“
Those sapphire blue eyes opened once more, falling over the green hills of Ardgroom, her gaze lifting to follow the majestic forms of the restored stones, fingers of power in that ancient circle reaching to the dazzlingly blue heavens above. So much had been lost, and yet so much more had rushed into those empty spaces left behind. Veti could not bear to return to that old Boston loft, not with Siya gone. There was nowhere to turn, nowhere in that city she did not see her precious friend’s pale face in its shadows, silver blonde curls bouncing over her slight, slender shoulders, that sweet little pout of a smile with the glint of tiny ivory fangs…
But a new home, and a new purpose, were calling her back to these Irish hills at the coast. Aislinn Hoyle’s blood ran with hers now. Thad had made sure of that, one of his last gifts to her. The warlock who created her, had given her a pack as well. And in the aftermath of the battle with the Fenrir and the decimation of many of the great werewolf clans of the Lupus Naturae, the ranks of the Teachglach MacTire – a tribe once teetering on the brink of extinction – had taken root once more in fertile soil.
But a pack of her own wasn’t the last gift Thad left for his love. Not even the greatest. Veti’s gaze fell to her arms, to the precious bundle of warmth and sweetness and light cradled there, wrapped tenderly in a quilt as she snoozed away. Aislinn Nastasiya Blasko. Thad promised he would leave the very best part of him with her, all his life and all his love. Veti’s fingers ran lightly along that petal soft cheek, the whole of their daughter’s beautiful face framed by a halo of golden ringlets.
Oh, how he had kept that promise.
“Mmm… Tempt away Victoria. You know I’m yours where dinner is involved! Well, at least now that you know not all Irishmen will eat boiled ham… And… Cabbage! Ouch, ya little rascal!“ The ancient werewolf laughed heartily, despite the chubby little fists buried deep in handfuls of his beard.
“Maximillian Atticus Blasko!” Veti whispered with a hiss, eyes wide and incredulous. But her boy only giggled with delight at the funny face and funny noises “Uncle” Reginald made. God above, but she was still amazed at how quickly that crimson-headed babe could get around. Well, the both of them really, Aislinn and Max. Were they merely human children of this age, they might just be able to roll over and hold their heads upright. But the twins were anything but “merely.” These two wolf pups had already tussled and fussed, chewing on one another’s tender ears and wee tails by the bonfire of their first den circle.
Veti sighed good-naturedly, rolling her eyes with a soft laugh as Reginald waved her on, not minding little Max’s attentions in the least. The old werewolf carefully disentangled one chubby fist with a finger, returning the babe’s sweet wide smile with one of his own. It was good to have family again. “So Victoria, back to the topic at hand. You really aren’t going to try boiling another ham for dinner, are you - “
As if on cue, a deep, low howl of a bark sailed over the hill, rising toward them with its bearer on the enormous paws an ebony-colored Irish wolfhound. Artie bounded up the hill, his enormous tail wagging in a great sweeping arc behind him. The expectant sparkle in those great black eyes said he had an inkling that something about food had been involved in this conversation, and wherever there was food and his Veti, and her pups too? Oh, the hellhound was all in!
“Your lack of faith in my ability Reginald, to master the cuisine of my adopted homeland… That hurts, you know,” she quipped with a wide, playful grin that said she was anything but. Veti felt the chill of Daisy’s own imminent arrival and smiled. Where there was an Artie, of course her dear Reaper friend would not be too far behind.
Veti giggled as she bent to kiss the top of Artie’s great head, cradling Aislinn gently to her chest as she began to whisper to the hellhound in the sweetest little sing-song voice. “But if Weginald will not eat Veti’s dinner winner, I bet Artie will! Oh yes, he will! He will! Who’s a good hellhound who woves his Veti’s cooking? Who is? Oh you are Artie! Yes you are, you wuvin’ lumpkin!”
He heard her - she knew he did. Regrets were for a lifetime, but so was love, and Veti breathed him in, her sweet love. Max, Thad - there was not one without the other, all the same man she loved like life and breath - the very last breath he gave her. She took that breath in, took him in, all the way down to the seat of her soul, all his life, every last thing that made him so... Beautiful. Shimmering, a glistening golden light like none she’d known before, or ever would again.
Veti closed her eyes as she held him there, within and without, her love.
Let go, Veti. She heard the words, the voice, singing through her head like celestial music.
I don’t want to let you go. Please don’t make me. Not again… I know I said I could, but I can't. I'm not strong enough to let you go again.
The laughter in her head was gentle and loving, but tinged with a wistful sadness. I’m not leaving you babe. You have me. You always will - the very best part of me, all your life. Take that with you love, and move on…
Veti groaned softly in the back of her throat, wincing in pain. There would be no runs in the woods when he finally embraced his own wolf. Max would never roam with his mate through the green hills, never slink through the alleys in the cities of this world or run with her on a hunt through ancient woods. Thad had so wanted to keep those promises he made, the plans, the futures, the pledges, but he could not.
And she could not keep him here. Not like this.
Veti exhaled, and opened her eyes, and chose to live the life she promised she would.
The werewolf felt the sweeping wind of deathly cold beside her, heralding the arrival of her Reaper friend from the other side. She felt Daisy’s approach, but did not lift her gaze from her lover’s still face, cradling him closely still because she simply could not let him go. Not yet. Loving fingers traveled over those cherished features, committing every last touch, every last plane and angle to precious, lasting memory.
"I know Daisy," Veti whispered, trying not to choke on the words and yet, somehow, smiling so softly nonetheless. "I know he's gone. Thank you for helping give him back to me, just one more time. Not everyone gets that chance… “
Daisy was quiet for along moment, telling herself she was giving Veti time to adjust. But they both knew no amount of adjusting would do anything to undo what Max had done.
She shook her head, and for once, there was no scorn or sneer or hint of derision or annoyance on her eyes. She tried not to think about the fact she was giving Veti the same shitty news twice in one day.
"You don't, though, Veti. What he did for me." What he almost did to me, but she didn't add that part, and never would.
"He didn't have to go. He could have come back. He should have come back. But he didn't. He gave himself back over to them. For me. For you, Veti. I'm here because of him. I just...thought you should know."
Veti nodded, and bit her lip, blinking back tears all over again as she turned to look up to Daisy, to those sad, strangely ancient eyes beneath all those long pink tresses. She did not really succeed though, and even though she smiled to her friend, tears fell down her cheeks. Yes, it stung still, hearing the words that he could have returned to her. That Max could be in her arms right now, alive and laughing, her sweet Thad saying the words with his own lips, his own breath, just how much he loved her...
But he had done exactly what he always did. Always would do. Max would have laughed, loud and long, if she'd called him a hero. Thad would have simply smiled and waved her away with a grin. But he was, and she loved him all the more, even now.
Veti's mouth opened, as if she might say something. But the weight of all Daisy told her, the weight of the grief and yes, the pride she felt in the man she loved, stopped her words for a moment like an invisible damn. She closed those sapphire eyes for some seconds before taking a long, painful breath, letting it go before she opened them once more. "I am glad, Daisy. I am glad you're here, and I am glad you told me. Please, for me - don't blame yourself. No more blaming yourself, not anymore. Max knew what he was doing."
Daisy smiled wanly at her lupine friend's words. She didn't know where Atticus and Siya had gone, only that they had. Max was gone. Thad was...an enigma at best. WolfGirl had lost far more than her fair share that day.
Daisy had never wished more that she had something to offer other than bad news.
"I'm back, aren't I?" She shrugged. "You say jump, Veti, I'll ask how fucking high. If you're glad, actually glad... It's good enough for me."
“I am.” Veti nodded but said no more as she let the wolf return, the first rays of dawn warming her crimson fur. She stood with her lover’s body cradled in her arms once again, her amber gaze running over the ruin of the stones of Ardgroom and all the lands about them. The enormity of all that was torn from her world today would not – could not – truly settle in for days to come. Not even the werewolf was strong enough to bear that burden all at once: Thad and Aislinn, her dearest Siya and Atticus – even poor Jay-Jay’s brave demon though Veti never knew her true worth til the end.
Daisy and Artie, Reginald and Henry, Semyon and Jay-Jay and even the new guy Gabe, these were the pillars that remained. She had no way to know then, how precious and strong they would truly be.
Such a difference a year and a day could make.
A difference Veti never could have imagined, a world she could not have foreseen in her wildest dreams. “Another arrived yesterday, Reginald,” she said softly, closing her eyes contentedly as she smiled up into the warm Irish sunlight. “A lone wolf, ready to find a home… I like the smell of him. Marcus’ll be by tonight. I think he’d be worth your time to meet – if I can tempt you to stay for dinner?“
Those sapphire blue eyes opened once more, falling over the green hills of Ardgroom, her gaze lifting to follow the majestic forms of the restored stones, fingers of power in that ancient circle reaching to the dazzlingly blue heavens above. So much had been lost, and yet so much more had rushed into those empty spaces left behind. Veti could not bear to return to that old Boston loft, not with Siya gone. There was nowhere to turn, nowhere in that city she did not see her precious friend’s pale face in its shadows, silver blonde curls bouncing over her slight, slender shoulders, that sweet little pout of a smile with the glint of tiny ivory fangs…
But a new home, and a new purpose, were calling her back to these Irish hills at the coast. Aislinn Hoyle’s blood ran with hers now. Thad had made sure of that, one of his last gifts to her. The warlock who created her, had given her a pack as well. And in the aftermath of the battle with the Fenrir and the decimation of many of the great werewolf clans of the Lupus Naturae, the ranks of the Teachglach MacTire – a tribe once teetering on the brink of extinction – had taken root once more in fertile soil.
But a pack of her own wasn’t the last gift Thad left for his love. Not even the greatest. Veti’s gaze fell to her arms, to the precious bundle of warmth and sweetness and light cradled there, wrapped tenderly in a quilt as she snoozed away. Aislinn Nastasiya Blasko. Thad promised he would leave the very best part of him with her, all his life and all his love. Veti’s fingers ran lightly along that petal soft cheek, the whole of their daughter’s beautiful face framed by a halo of golden ringlets.
Oh, how he had kept that promise.
“Mmm… Tempt away Victoria. You know I’m yours where dinner is involved! Well, at least now that you know not all Irishmen will eat boiled ham… And… Cabbage! Ouch, ya little rascal!“ The ancient werewolf laughed heartily, despite the chubby little fists buried deep in handfuls of his beard.
“Maximillian Atticus Blasko!” Veti whispered with a hiss, eyes wide and incredulous. But her boy only giggled with delight at the funny face and funny noises “Uncle” Reginald made. God above, but she was still amazed at how quickly that crimson-headed babe could get around. Well, the both of them really, Aislinn and Max. Were they merely human children of this age, they might just be able to roll over and hold their heads upright. But the twins were anything but “merely.” These two wolf pups had already tussled and fussed, chewing on one another’s tender ears and wee tails by the bonfire of their first den circle.
Veti sighed good-naturedly, rolling her eyes with a soft laugh as Reginald waved her on, not minding little Max’s attentions in the least. The old werewolf carefully disentangled one chubby fist with a finger, returning the babe’s sweet wide smile with one of his own. It was good to have family again. “So Victoria, back to the topic at hand. You really aren’t going to try boiling another ham for dinner, are you - “
As if on cue, a deep, low howl of a bark sailed over the hill, rising toward them with its bearer on the enormous paws an ebony-colored Irish wolfhound. Artie bounded up the hill, his enormous tail wagging in a great sweeping arc behind him. The expectant sparkle in those great black eyes said he had an inkling that something about food had been involved in this conversation, and wherever there was food and his Veti, and her pups too? Oh, the hellhound was all in!
“Your lack of faith in my ability Reginald, to master the cuisine of my adopted homeland… That hurts, you know,” she quipped with a wide, playful grin that said she was anything but. Veti felt the chill of Daisy’s own imminent arrival and smiled. Where there was an Artie, of course her dear Reaper friend would not be too far behind.
Veti giggled as she bent to kiss the top of Artie’s great head, cradling Aislinn gently to her chest as she began to whisper to the hellhound in the sweetest little sing-song voice. “But if Weginald will not eat Veti’s dinner winner, I bet Artie will! Oh yes, he will! He will! Who’s a good hellhound who woves his Veti’s cooking? Who is? Oh you are Artie! Yes you are, you wuvin’ lumpkin!”
The laws of the ship are secular of course, considering the diversity that is bound to be there in the population. But hmm... All those questions there? Yes, lovely questions... So happy for a character-based RP to play with them!
As for food? I imagine it would consist a great deal of MREs reheated and supplemented with vitamin/mineral supplements, whatever can be harvested by the horticulturalists and the yes, butchering on occasion - though a turkey or roast beef or rack of lamb might only be on a given holiday. Now, if you're going to ask me about halal or kosher butchering, or accommodations for vegans, I'm just gonna have to beg you to pull me out of the weeds there! 
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