Scarlet Loup

The Marauders (2018)

@Esailia - were you planning to post for Ren, or do you want me to go ahead and put something up first?

The Marauders (2018)

Tony's brow knotted slightly as he noted the fault in Luirae's step as he spoke up. He'd been expecting the sadness that came with mentioning Anderson even as indirectly as he could, but he hadn't really prepared himself for her expression at all.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," he replied, his voice betraying more of the sudden wave of emotion he felt. Anderson's death hadn't seemed real until that very moment, and all at once it felt too real. "He is...was...Anderson was a really good man." Tony hadn't expected himself to feel so utterly overwhelmed, but Anderson had been one of the few crewmembers he'd felt at least somewhat open with.

It had all started when Anderson stopped him during a secret and not-quite-allowed smoke break in the cargo hold. Tony had figured it would turn into a lecture about the dangers of an open flame in the middle of a pressurized spacecraft, but instead Anderson started to speak of his daughter at length. It was uncomfortable at first, but eventually Tony warmed up and returned the gesture. He'd opened up to Anderson about his own daughter, his ex-wife, his disgraced career. It became something semi-regular - Anderson would bum a cigarette behind the cover of some cargo, and they'd speak to each other like old drinking buddies. He would miss that. And he never would know now why Anderson had approached him all that time ago. Perhaps he heard of Tony's daughter from another crewmember, or perhaps it was some sort of intuition that brought them together. But it wasn't worth speculating now.

"He has a daughter," he said simply, forcing the emotion out of his voice. "I imagine she will be contacted." Tony's thoughts were, thankfully, interrupted as Rendyl walked into the door, and he stumbled slightly in a half-assed attempted to help her. But she found her bearings more quickly than he could offer any assistance.

She tapped at his shoulder before he could ask if she was alright, and the enthusiasm with which she signed assured him she was just fine.

"Oh, yes, probably," he replied, signing his words to himself as he reminded himself to keep brushing up on his sign. "Doctor, she'd like grilled cheese, if that would be possible. Just bread and cheese." He added the last part for clarification, unsure which sandwiches she had in her repertoire. Personally, he'd probably only ever eaten a grilled cheese a handful of times in his youth. The life of a diplomat's son and, later, a Committee member came with more upscale food than bread and cheese. But, he had to admit, it sounded damn good right now.

Tony settled himself in one of the chairs along the countertop in the kitchen, pulling one out for Rendyl to sit in if she wanted to. He let out a slow breath as he sat down and clasped his hands in front of him on the countertop. His knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on his hands, but he let it relax slowly as he exhaled again.

"I could really use a fucking nap right now," he muttered, more to himself than to either of the women.

The Marauders (2018)

Tony made a soft sound of surprise as Luirae elaborated, but the idea of her attempting to cook over an open flame in a dormitory brought a smirk to his face, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Afterwards, however, he realized she hadn't laughed along with him, and he quickly stifled it. He noted then that there was very little he knew about Luirae. In reality, he didn't speak often with the rest of the crew either. Speaking with his colleagues at length had always seemed trivial compared with the crowd he used to run with before his fall from grace. But he didn't feel like pursuing it any further.

He looked over at Rendyl then, expecting for just a moment that she would pipe up and fill the silence that had formed around the group. But then he remembered, of course, that she wouldn't. She had cast her eyes downward which made signing particularly difficult. Tony gave the woman a soft nudge with his elbow to catch her attention before he signed in her direction.

"You alright?" he signed, deciding to keep this between themselves rather than speak as well. Tony made a slight grimace, noting that his question was, in hindsight, quite stupid. "Well...as alright as you can be right now, I suppose."

But before he could answer, Raymond's voice blared over the coms in the hallway and caught his attention. He let Luirae respond to the crew before he looked back to her. He felt as though he ought to offer to help her, but he wouldn't have been much help anyway. In fact, thinking about it now, he probably had never cooked a meal in his life. He'd never had to either, for that matter. There had always been people to do that for him.

"I suppose the meeting will be about today's events?" His attempt at conversation was pitiful, and he knew it, but he needed to break the silence somehow.

The Marauders (2018)

Thanks so much - I definitely do feel a ton better & needed that break. Glad to be back!

The Marauders (2018)

Fuck, my bad entirely. I went pretty much offline over break because I was so drained after last semester and completely forgot to check the site. I'll work on something today when I have a second.

The Marauders (2018)

The tension in the room seemed to dissipate when Raymond left, but he realized he was sorely mistaken when he caught how Rendyl stared at Luirae behind him. He swore he could feel the doctor's eyes on him every once in a while, but the tension seemed due more to the unknown rather than to any sort of aggression. He lost his train of thought for a moment as he processed her answers and almost forgot to report back to Luirae.

Tony turned his gaze back to Luirae and met her gaze all of a sudden -- the intense, fiery stare was unnerving at first, but he had worked with her for some time and had mostly gotten used to it.

"She's twenty-six," he repeated for her sake, looking back to Rendyl occasionally to make sure he was correctly translating. "She was...she was sent away for her...gift? And she does not recall being taken onto the Ulnar ship." He noted that he would ask her to elaborate on what that "gift" was. For now, he continued -- and he smiled and turned his full attention back to Rae as he translated the last piece. "She apologizes for staring, Dr. Driani. She has never seen a species from another planet before."

He would have turned back to continue, but he was distracted all of a sudden by the growling of her stomach. Tony grinned back up at her for a moment, finding her embarrassment amusing and vaguely intriguing. For someone who had seemed so alien before, she felt quite viscerally human all of a sudden.

"No objection from either of us, I imagine," he replied, a slight grin still on his lips. Tony turned his attention back to Rae as he moved to leave the room. "I had no idea you cooked."

The Marauders (2018)

Still here, but I've got some work to finish up before the holidays, so I haven't had a moment to sit down and write for Tony. I have an essay to write, but after that, I should be good!

The Marauders (2018)

Yeah, my bad - I had another organic chem exam today, so all of my brain power went into that. I've got one hell of a busy week - another exam, two papers, and my birthday - but I have some free time tomorrow so hopefully I'll get something up soon!

The Marauders (2018)

Tony couldn't help but smile to himself as she responded with such passion to his slow, clunky signing. It certainly did something to boost his ego for the moment. He savored these moments in which he possessed more knowledge of a subject than his crewmates. There were enough moments where he couldn't find a way to make himself helpful - diplomacy wasn't quite useful when the firefight had already begun, and there were some missions where his input wasn't necessary at all.

But now he couldn't combat this sense of pride that washed over him as he communicated with the girl. He took a moment to process her signs and break them down mentally before he turned back to Raymond and Rae.

"She says she's a full human, and her name is Rendyl," he reported, looking back at the girl for a moment to check that he hadn't made a major translating error. "Her vocal cords were damaged is all - she knows what we're saying."

There wasn't much time for comment before Raymond pushed off the wall and made to leave the med bay. "Sure thing, Raymond," he replied, taking note of the edge in the Captain's voice. It wasn't enough that he felt the need to note it, but he tucked it away for later. He shot a look at Rae, gauging her reaction.

"Do you have questions for her?"

In the mean time, he turned back to Rendyl to finish asking his own questions. Again, he began to sign as he spoke so that Rae could follow the conversation. "How old are you? How did you end up in a cryopod on an Ulnar spacecraft?"

The Marauders (2018)

Oh fair enough -- I'll work on a post then, my bad haha!