A couple of patrons paid to be in the story. Here is Jeeno's part 1: -- It was dark, and his good eye hadn't yet adjusted to the murk. His cyb eye, still not fixed, offered nothing but a dim error message. Breathing quietly, he wondered what had awakened him. An almost imperceptible rustle, and something hard digging into his groin answered that query. "That a blaster in my 'nads, or are you just pleased to see me?" he grunted towards the blackness. "Shut up" a woman's voice husked, the hint of a particular accent (which called to Cap) barely traceable, but there. It didn't take him long to fit the pieces together, even with a muzzy head. "Whaddaya want, Jeeno?" "How'd you know it was me?" The response was voiced firmly, but Cap coulda sworn there was a concealed chuckle in there somewhere. "Nobody else has the recurring habit of shoving a shooter in my private area, so I figured..." His eye was adjusting to the gloom now, and he began making out her features hovering over him. Long brunette tresses with a tickling of white tumbled over feminine yet toned shoulders. The shoulders of someone who was no stranger to a scrap. A blue glow from a cybernetic implant near her temple softly outlined one cheek. She was currently screwing her face up in disgust at the thought of his groin. "I'd prefer your knee, just couldn't find it under the blanket." "Hey," he smiled " if you were pointin' a gun at my knee you'd still be in my private area... They don't call me Python Pete for nothing." She told him to shut up again, this time accompanying the instruction with a withering glare. He grinned. "Everything's a joke..." she muttered. "Almost," he admitted. The word hung in the air a moment, holding hidden meaning. He recovered quickly and continued. "To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" His voice was faux-polite, and he sounded for all the galaxy like he did not have a deadly weapon uncomfortably positioned between his legs, capable of de-jeweling him in an instant. At last the visitor known as Jeeno removed the gun from his joy department with an unimpressed huff. Cap rubbed himself in relief. "Actually," the woman told him,, "I'm here because I heard I could do something for you." At this she repositioned herself, swinging her long legs around so that she sat on the bed next to him. He stopped rubbing his mildly mashed man-parts and raised a brow, still suspicious. "You doubt me..." she smiled. He thought a moment, then gave a shrug with his mouth. "Well," he said, "you somehow track me down to the back of who-knows-where, break into my hotel room, in the middle of the night, an' stick a shooter to my whaz. ... All because you wanna do me a favor?" She smiled enigmatically. "Can't a girl be helpful?" "Helpful?" he honked, goose-like. " You got a funny way of showin' it." "Yeah, well" she flicked his broken cyb eye almost affectionately, "you've got a funny face." To be continued... As it's been a little while since I posted (this was a long and complex chapter to write!) here is a reminder of a few of the terms this planet's nongendered indigenous species use: Fne = Equivalent of he/she Fnir = (Pronounced fneer) equivalent of his/her Fneself = Equivalent of him/herself Ok, let's go... ~ Cap leaned casually, one arm against the barn door as he gazed silently in at the sheriff. Practiced poser that he was, he knew the effect would be an aesthetically pleasing sillhouette, and that his current quietness would seem mysterious and alluring to the enthusiastic official. ~~ The sheriff reclined on a pile of rectangular wormhay bales, studying the strange captain via a desirious squint, fnir keen eyes tracing the countours of this outlandish man. He appeared somehow slender yet solid, and currently cut a clean outline against the fresh night sky. Man. Even after hours of using it the ancient term was still so exotic, and exciting. A shiver wracked the sheriff's body, and fne swallowed to lubricate a throat which had abruptly become as parched as the sawdust-strewn floor of the aptly named town carpenter Sawny Cottonmouth. Fne shook the image off and continued casting fnir eyes over the goods. There would be plenty of time to think about boring woodworkers later, right now it was time to concentrate on the treat the star-strewn heavens had, for some glorious reason, decided to bestow upon fnir. A smile curled the edges of the sheriff's mouth. ~~~ On the receiving end of the smile, Cap thought how attractive the sheriff was. Moonlight was streaming into the barn, softly lighting fnir hair and the edges of fnir face as if the highlights had been applied by airbrush. The smile made those kind blue eyes sparkle with nerves and mischief. He wondered how old fne was. Did people on this planet even mark birthdays, or time, in the same way? Though a little shy, fne didn't seem like a super young adult but somehow did seem kinda young to be a sheriff. He reckoned that, using Eryth Standard, fne was probably around forty three years old. And hot as the twelfth Hell of Druakihn (a real place; a star with no sentient life for lightyears around other than a singular remote research station which orbited the star's nearest planet. He'd delivered there a couple of times and found the name a little ominous - but that was outpost scientists for you, always coming up with strange notions to pass the time. The ones on the station had always treated him like a second class citizen when he'd rocked up with supplies, like some kind of dirty underling. They may have been studying a sun, but Cap had found them cold as ice. Still, he'd been paid a lot for traveling to the isolated system, and he'd certainly managed to thaw out the frosty underwear of the busty hydroponics student who was in charge of the station's arboretum (the Botanical Beauty as he thought of her) - so it hadn't all been bad. He looked the sheriff up and down, taking in the denim pants, the checked shirt (or blouse, or whatever it was), the nice boots he wouldn't have minded for himself, and the wide brimmed hat. Though bumbling, the sheriff actually cut an elegant figure. Cap eyed fnir like a hungry man checking out a burrito. He couldn't wait to unwrap his meal and find out what was inside. ~~~~ The sheriff was observing him right back, and considering the similarities between the species in a distant ponder. Features obscured by the relative darkness of the barn, lit gently by moonglow, the Outsider could almost pass as one of the planet's indigenous inhabitants. His shoulders were a little wider, hips a little narrower perhaps, and he was a smidge taller than the average native. Not only this, it was interesting to note that he lacked a little delicacy that they possessed - there was a some grace missing, just a smidge, but noticable to fnir. He was also lacking the slight curvaceousness of the locals, appearing more angular, somehow. In the sheriff's opinion he had a heroic gunslinger physique, not like Winnie, but like those fne'd seen in old comics (one of fnir guilty pleasures). It was like having someone out of history, out of epic tales and adventures, right here in person. Fne thought further back still, to the stories of ancient hominids one of the rare travelers to this town had told the locals about during a brief stay. What were they called again, those ancient humanoids? Knee-Andy-Tools and Homos-Erections, something like that. Fne thought this one was a Homers-Apeyans, one of those kind of things anyway. The sheriff had often pondered the true history of humanoid evolution. Nobody seemed to actually know the full story, well, not on this planet anyway. When you spend most of your time having to avoid giant desert predators, engineering farming machinery, and rearing livestock in near barren conditions just trying to eek out a scrubby existence, it leaves little time to worry about the origins of species. But, a person apart since fne could remember, the sheriff always found time to dream. ~~ Cap - never one to shy away from new adventures (particularly sexual ones) - noticed the sheriff's brow crinkling in thought, and ceased his purposeful posing against the barn door. He sauntered over as casually as a guy could with his arm and leg in casts, and a stiffy resembling the somewhat paradoxically named Trifle Tower (in reality a huge natural uber-hard diamondine structure, designated so for the city near which it rose majestically, and not its rigidity. Or lack thereupon). He drew close to the sheriff, who was sitting alluringly yet a little awkwardly, and was smiling up at him all striking blue eyes through long, dry, blond bangs which in Cap's opinion coulda used a little conditioner, but were lovely nonetheless. It was an appealing image and he chuckled quietly. Taking up fnir hand from its aimless flop into his good one, he gave it a kiss. The hand was elegant, soft, and paler than his. The fingers long and fairly feminine, yet also a tad square and sinewy. Any variations on the theme of 'male' or 'female' were extremely subtle. Compared to his hands, he considered, they appeared a little feminine, but compared to Yus's they would have looked somewhat masculine, while at the same time appearing somehow both and neither - it was a curious, and not unpleasant, phenomenon. He shrugged internally, deciding he didn't really care what gender the hands appeared, either way they smelled good, and Cap sure appreciated pleasant odours. He inhaled the goodness, and softly, carefully, placed his mouth again, turning the curious hand over to kiss the inner wrist, expertly brushing his lips over the smooth, sensitive skin of the sheriff's veins. He felt his whiskers catch a little and wished he'd had chance to shave. He doubted there were any razors or buzzers available though - these folk did not seem to shave or have the need. Some of them actually seemed to relish excessive hair in those areas they could grow it, take Qaro's long matted locks for example. And Winsturdle's plentiful armpit fur, which Cap'd noticed poking out of a brown ratty waistcoat on removal of that long battered overcoat in the bar. Ah well, he'd just have to be careful not to spike his inquisitive partner. He proceeded with a little more care. Dimly aware that he was being uncharacteristically worryish, he reminded himself that it was with good reason. Eesh. The bubbling flow of his lusty mind stream hit an unwelcome jutting rock, resulting in a foamy insta-memory jolt from some years previously. A time when - cockily strutting his stuff, thinking himself most sexy and modelesque in his (stolen) designer gear - he'd swept one of his sweethearts of the time off on a perfectly planned date. Despite his generally chaotic approach to everything else in life back then he had managed to plan it down to the finest detail. Things had been going perfectly. It was time to smoothly move in for a kiss and blow his partner's mind with an expert performance of the Tongue Tango, when instead of becoming entranced by his oral expertise the girl had shoved him away, complaining that his stubble had spiked painfully on the underside of her sensitive nostrils. To add insult to injury, she was now... those awful, terrible words no horny stag wants to hear... Not In The Mood. Well, that had taken Mr Showoff down a peg or two. He'd been flabbergasted, humiliated. And not in the fun way. He'd muttered his excuses and left with both ego and penis deflated. It wasn't the only stubble-related incident either. He'd also dated a rather high-maintenance and bad tempered girl named Jessth on and off for around six months. She tended to come out in a terrible rash if he dared forget to shave, and would get as mad with him as if he'd sprouted sharp little pieces of hair from his face maliciously just to spite-spike her. Admittedly he didn't mind the shovings, slappings, and inevitable make-up sex when she realized how cruel she'd been, but what he did mind was the suggestion that he was anything other than an excellent lover. Cap knew what he wasn't good at, and he knew what he was. If lovemaking was something you listed on your resume, it would likely be at the top of his. Ask him to calculate a formula without the aid of his cybernetics, or write for more than three minutes without having to access his spelling application and internal dictionary databanks and he'd be lost, ask him to pleasure a woman for an evening however... Poor ole Tag had put a brave face and positive spin on the school reports he'd brought home as a kid (unlike Muryal who would have, literally, kicked his ass if he wasn't such a nippy mover) but Cap knew he'd never be smart, not in the school-sense, anyhow. To get him through life and fake those kinds of smarts to keep up with his peers he'd relied on machines, a lot. Which, he reflected with a grim inner grin, was sort of ironic, as now he was one. Partly, at least. "You're kind," Tag had told him frequently, "'n'that's worth more than a thousand qualifications". Cap often recalled one particular such moment, sitting on the stairs, hearing distant sounds as the rest of the kids played in the other room, while dear Tag, his smile-crinkled eyes and bristly white tache gleaming, had taken him aside to comfort him in his post-report frustration. On this particular day there seemed to be an added emphasis to Tag's words but Cap reckoned that, to this day, he'd still never fully understood what Tag was getting at. He wished he could ask him. Anyway, the cringeworthy stubble related incidents had encouraged Cap to try and keep clean shaven as often as possible. After all, he reasoned, you never knew when there'd be the opportunity for a saucy snogfest. Besides, these days there were implants and scarred places on his face where the hair wouldn't grow, anyway, so too much beard growth and he looked weird. Weirder. The frequent shave rule had served him well over the years. He normally only let his stubble grow out past the spiky stage and into a softer, longer, itchy straggle, when he knew he wouldn't be making any love for a while. So he was clean shaven most of the time. He winced at the memories, but only inwardly, and only in a tiny, tiny, miniscule compartment labelled 'shame', which was dwarfed by other much larger metaphorical boxes which sported such labels as 'pride', 'vanity', 'libido' and 'fun'. Outside he was all sizzling, savvy, business, for this was his territory, his joy, his practiced art. His internal self-celebration was enough to distract him from the memories. For a moment, outer-body style, he mentally looked down on the scene - he and the sheriff, their gentle exploration, the calm before the storm. He egoistically thought himself akin to all the famous romantic leading men: Fromeo, Slothario, Startrick Pwayzle... His lip twitched into a reflexive self-smile... He was Casa-freakin'-SuperNova. Back on the Leviathan Jim would almost facepalm himself into a migraine when Cap joyfully showed off about his exploits. Thing was though, much to Jim's irritation (and affectionate amusement), Cap wasn't exaggerating Perhaps taking a subliminal remembered scolding from Jim, he now tugged the reins of his runaway vanity, and concentrated on lovin' the sheriff instead of himself. Fne was running a couple of those long fingers along his jaw and didn't seem to mind the stubble. Thank fluk, thought Cap, that he'd managed to get a wash at least. (Admittedly the wash had consisted of Winsturdle looking disgustedly away whilst tipping a barrel of cold water over him as he shrieked his outraged objection, but still, it was something.) Cap loved to be clean almost as much as he loved to get down and dirty. 'A fresh smell is a fresh mind' dear ole Tag had always said, and it had stuck. Cap might sometimes look scruffy, and might tend to show up at important events as drunk as a whiskey dipper's junk, but his personal hygiene was impeccable, and he always smelled clean. Even now the scent of a certain brand of budget soap sent Cap hurtling again to his childhood and sweet, gentlemanly, Tag, the rancher, his much adored father figure who'd never changed even one tiny bit in all the time Cap knew him. ~~~ Surprising fneself, the sheriff realized fne was trembling at the man's contact. Oh goodness, the antique was only kissi-- Oops, referring to him as an 'antique', even mentally, was a bit rude, um, okay the 'old timey alien', then? ... Alien!!? That was probably ruder, pondered the sheriff, though fne did have to surpress a giggle. Cap it is. Cap was only kissing the inside of fnir wrist for goodness' sake, how could it feel like this? Preposterous! Uhhh! The internal monologue and related thought-functions ceased entirely for a moment, cushioned between beautifully billowing walls of pleasure which seemed both physical and mental, before they returned with a whimpered question... H-how exactly did he do that? He'd reached fnir shoulder now, his soft warm lips kissing tenderly and far more affectionately than the sheriff's previous partners. So, despite traditional teachings stating otherwise, being male didn't necessarily mean being all coarse and crass then... The tenderness was oddly juxtaposed against the man's bristles which occasionally caught and lightly brushed fnir lightly in sensitive places. Fne stroked the face fur and felt an odd pang of affection for the man as fne did so. Never before in all fnir years had the sheriff felt a bristly kiss, the gendered people fne'd met previously had just been passing traders, long ago. In fact they had all been disappointingly smelly and entirely lacking in sexiness. Even compared to Winsturdle. There had been no romance. Hm, 'romance?' Is that what this was? It was certainly something. Oh good Lordy Drawdammers! He'd reached fnir neck. Mmrf. ~~~ Face nestled into the sheriff's neck Cap inhaled deeply. The scent was like a freshly laundered sheet which'd been hung out to dry in the spring breeze, a little zesty, and, somehow without even a hint of the grubbiness this place suggested. He approved. Though the same species as his intriguing new partner, he doubted that Winsturdle would smell as good, and grinned into the sheriff's neck at the thought. That smile dropped, of course, as the summoned image of the tooth-pickin', loogie-hockin' Winny floated scowlingly through his brain. Eww ew ew go away. Fortunately the wolf of his libido - almost untameable at the best of times, let alone after days of imprisonment - padded back over to thoughts of the sheriff's refinement. The sheriff was like an oasis of elegance amid this desert of roughneckery. Cap felt himself becoming more aroused and his mind attempted to stop thinking, to let his body operate on autopilot. He didn't allow it - this lovemaking had to be measured and tactical, not animal. "Mmm" he muttered into fnir fragrant neck, simultaneously placing one of fnir hands on his hip. From the contact he could physically sense the sheriff's excitement, and nerves. He searched fnir slightly downcast face face to check all was good. and found that the sheriff was examining his body like he was a fine steak. He pulled fnir a little closer to him. "What's your name anyway?" he muttered "I can't just keep callin' you 'Sheriff'..." "I'll tell you" the sheriff managed to breathe "my name... If you tell me yours... I can't just keep referring to you-ooh, as 'Cap'.." ~~~ The man paused a moment, seemed to consider this, and instead of supplying his name simply mumbled "Fair enough" and began quietly kissing again. The sheriff frowned in a nanosecond of consternation, but then the man's face was in front of fnirs and in that moment the frown lifted as if sunshine had chased away the rain. Fnir eyes were instantly drawn to the lips which had been doing so much splendid kissing thus far, mmm. Fnir appreciative eyes skimmed along their loveliness to the outer edge... which... part of that criss cross scar sliced through. Oh no... Oh eugh no. In the earlier good spirits of the bar, and the current erotic exotic excitement, fne'd somehow sort of forgotten about... all of that. The captain's friendly, perky, personality had put thoughts of his facial features on the back burner. But now here they were, staring fnir right in the face like the badly arranged visage of a stitched together raggedy crawscare. Oh come on, fne told fneself, you're an adult. Don't be such a wimp. And , more to the point, don't be so rude! Poor man, that's his face. Fne braved a full-on look at the vision before fnir, and took in the hard metallic looking parts as well as the ugly scars... That must have been uncomfortable for him, surely? And then there was the confusing asymmetry. That lopsided leer... Was it sexual, or injury-induced? Trying hard not to be offensive, fne microsquirmed and recoiled a little, suddenly wanting to move away but trying to hide the feelings of repulsion at the face. Fne definitely did not want to hurt the feelings of this nice person and wrestled valiantly to stay in place. But to no avail. Fnir body squirmed. And he noticed. He tilted his head, not clocking the problem. "What is it? Too handsome?" He joked with a wonky grin, eye crinkling at the edge, seeming right then to be as friendly and sweet as a pet marbenpup. Fne felt like a shit. The male-creature's innocence in the question - the fact he honestly didn't seem to realise that his appearance may be offputting - made him seem vulnerable somehow. He'd been masterful, in control till then, but now through this momentary window of naiveté he reminded the sheriff of a sweet youngster. Unlike most of the folk in this roughneck town, the sheriff was highly empathetic, and fnir heart ached for him a little. Fne could suddenly see the child in him, imagined him injury-free, and it was painful to imagine that sweet child going through whatever it was he must have gone through, to become this Robo-Thing. Fne suddenly wondered how much else of him was robotic, and recoiled a little further. As Qaro had correctly informed the Outsiders, despite their simplistic lifestyle the folk in the town of Edge were adept at assembling and repairing machinery and even, when the occasion arose, cybernetics, but never were they ever on display like this man's parts, and were only fashioned for internal or prosthetic use - new knees and such. So to the sheriff it appeared that this man had part of the insides of his face showing on the outside. That exposed eye... Oh gods. The sheriff was momentarily overcome by a squeamish nausea. Common decency, and a mental echo of that warm, deep, innocent question nudged fnir into replying. Too handsome? "Uhm, no, it's not exactly that..." The sheriff suddenly wondered if all this was such a good idea after all and wriggled away from the man and his delicious kisses completely, shuffling back over the hay bales, moving away from both his warm, firm, inviting body, and his weirdness which was unsettling fnir so. The sheriff's soul pulsed with an odd sensation of baffled dissonance. The man gently released his embrace, allowing fnir to move away, but his till now semi-permanent grin flickered, faltered. The merry, functional eye uncrinkled. ~~~ Now, Cap was used to some people finding his appearance odd, (not to mention, of course, his own secret self-torturous thoughts when the breeze of his mind blew that way). Cyborgs were known of within the general population, and not especially uncommon throughout the galaxy, but it was true to say that they were more well-known on the outer planets. This meant that when frequenting the more populated and higher classed Inner Worlds Cap was sometimes a bit of a novelty and did get his fair share of odd looks and rude comments. 'Course, he gave as good as he got, (better, even), but that wasn't really the point. Romantic partners however tended not to care, or to not particularly notice his differences. Some even got with him because of his injuries and cybernetics (mainly those with disability fetishes or robo-kinks). Most just saw him as a normal guy, or he managed to charm them either way. The one thing he wasn't used to in a romantic scenario, was a recoiling partner. It wasn't particularly ego-boosting. It was lucky then, that the Captain's ego was comparable in size to the galaxy. One little planetoid of shame shouldn't dent it too much. Nevertheless, Captain Cucumber temporarily downsized to Private Pickle. He adjusted himself and cleared his throat as if the noise could somehow cover up the flicker of embarrassment. Maybe it... (A horribly golden jolt of shame passed through his stomach threatening to increase the size of the shame file, and flicked at his spine.) ... Maybe it wasn't The Obvious... He cast his mind back a half hour, to the moment he'd managed to grab his first glance in a mirror for days. His reflection hadn't been the bouncy, shiny, chiselled, gleaming grinmeister he was used to. He'd lost a little weight and had the air of a ragamuffin. His cheeks were drawn a touch inward and his normally superb cheekbones had been a bit pokey, heading a gnat's wanger towards the overly angular. His normally glossy bouncy hair was a ruffled scruff of unkempt brown, dipped on the ends with purple from the pool. A glance at his cast-free arm and he reckoned he was even losing muscle already. And his face was shaded and spiky. The desert sun and lack of sun protection had even summoned a few freckles out to play. "If I get wrinkles..." He'd grumbled aloud for the benefit of his reflection, Winnie, and anyone else who might be listening. "I swear..." One glance at Winsturdle's scowling line-ridden face (which apparently had never experienced the protective sheen of sunscreen in its leathery life) had shut him up. He'd felt a sharp sadness at an abrupt memory of The Leviathan. This time the pain was not for Jim and the lost souls, but for the ship itself. For his almost daily gym visits to the compressed air resistance training machines, for the Everfresh shower-toilets, the games suites, the huge sprawling refectory, and ahh, just all the wonderful and efficient facilities onboard which - despite his blasé attitude and appearances to the contrary - Cap had in fact never, ever, taken for granted, and had thanked his lucky stars for every single day he'd commanded it. While he protested when people incorrectly referred to the company-owned vessel as his ship, he had in fact privately started to think of the ole girl as belonging to him, and had become very fond of her indeed. He missed her with a sharp moment of sickness, then kicked the spasm away like an unwanted spocker ball, concentrating again on his scruffy reflection. His cyb eye was completely nonfunctional, dull and lifeless, which was kinda upsetting, like half of his face was dead or something. Qaro was right: He was a broken toy. He wasn't sure if his current appearance made him look older or younger than usual, but either way he didn't look quite right. Despite all this, he was, in his opinion, still pretty hot. The 'wash' he'd been given had made this shambling mess appear mildly less like a rabid hodgeheg, but he knew he was still rough as hell. So perhaps it wasn't his... differences causing the sudden cooldown... but the fact he was a mess right now. He cleared his throat again, this time to prep a question. "Do you... Uh. D'you think I'm ugly?" he asked bluntly, still surfing the horrible golden remnants of the shame-wave, and surprising not only the sheriff but himself with the question. ~~ "Oh!" the sheriff exclaimed in response, taken aback at the earnest enquiry. "I um..." Gosh... Fne didn't want to insult the man, but he wasn't exactly what the sheriff would deem as pretty. Out of empathy, wanting to comfort him, fne moved a little way back towards him, concentrating on the contour of his pectoral muscles through his raggy shirt, instead of his face. He sweetly brushed a strand of hair behind fnir ear and for some reason it made fnir blush. His face might have been a mish-mash-mess, but his body was hot as the desert that surrounded them. This was all very confusing. Entranced, fne put a hand on one of the pecs. It was so firm, and so well-shaped. Sculpted. Oh my gods... "Mmm?" prompted the puzzled one. "Well, ah, that is," stammered the sheriff " I find you somewhat unusual to look at..." At that, Cap's mood seemed to change instantly, as if something had clicked inside, and he now abruptly moved back a little himself. For a moment, from the look in his eye the sheriff thought he was going to withdraw his affectionate advances altogether. This (along with the hot pec), with a warm rush of sudden clarity caused the sheriff to realise for certain that fne definitely did not want things to stop. Unfortunately however the poor antique alien crawscare was now looking genuinely hurt. "Unusual..." Unusual. Unusual. Un-Usual. The word hung in the air, potentially connotating many things - most of them rather unflattering. The sheriff scolded fnirself and asked the question Winsturdle had hinted at many times. Why are my interpersonal skills so lacking!? But instead of withdrawing completely the man now seemed to rally himself without hardly missing a beat. He gently moved fnir hand to those lips which had thus far so pleasured, and so disconcerted. The action seemed warmhearted, kind, non-sexual in intent. Merely a comfort. He carefully guided fnir fingertips along the lips, allowing them to trace their natural plumpness then slide into the deflated groove of the scar. This is just part of me, the gesture seemed to say, there's nothing to worry about. He didn't stop there, he directed the entranced digits right up the main scar which lead to, and through, his odd mechanical eye. It was as if he'd decided that since they they were going to get intimate, he may as well share this too. The sheriff's heart was beating harder than Pollyarni's winning strike at last year's Punch n' Paunch contest at the town fair. Fne was baffled as to why, but the man's strangeness was simultaneously frightening and exciting. Crunchy guitar licks throbbed and floated over from the nearby saloon. Far from an interruption, the music seemed to soothe, and add to the gritty sexiness of the encounter. The man removed the sheriff's hat, tossing it carelessly aside, and fne shook fnir long blond locks out. 🎵 ... Love... is forever... as I lie awake beside you... 🎵 The sheriff looked into the man's working eye. Was it youthful, or wise? Fne wasn't sure. I believed, there's no Heaven... no hideaway for the lonely.... 🎵 Hard to tell what that eye had seen. But I was wrong, crazy... ...It's gotta be strong, it's gotta be right whhaoooo. 🎵 Fne gasped as the man ran his hands down fnir sides and over fnir hips, turning his hands, letting upside-down fingertips trace fnir upper thighs. Operating on a kind of joyful instinct, fne leaned forward and kissed his collarbones through his torn shirt. Only wanted to stay awhile, only wanted to play awhile (whooah), then you taught me to fly like a bird... whoaaa whoooa... He slipped the ragged garment off and the sheriff saw a sizeable dressing on his ribs - no wonder the poor thing had winced earlier when Burly McGraff had slapped him on the back. Fne was about to ask if he would be okay to proceed but his lips locked with fnirs. Fne closed fnir eyes, and soaked up the feeling. Baby, Thought I'd died and gone to heaven... Such a night I never had be-fore, ye-ah yeah... Thought i'd died and gone to heaven... Cos what I got there ain't no... cure for...." Once, as a small child, the sheriff had been to a beach. Fne often thought back to that day, to the waves lapping gently on the shore, the soft seaside sand so different from the dust of the desert, the sun warming fnir blood just the right amount, the cooling breeze... And that's what the kiss felt like - that gorgeous day at the beach. Fne'd had no idea a kiss could even feel that way. Fnir previous kisses, with other people, they'd been okay but they had mainly consisted of clumsy embarrassing affairs involving too much slobber, overly eager face-munching, and in one particularly unimpressive case, tooth bashing. This, now this, was very different indeed. Fne doubted it was to do with the species or gender difference - more likely the contrast was down to the completely non-romantic spirit of the locals. The sheriff had always been an odd one, standing out from the others as a whimsical daydreamer. Holomovies and books had helped instill a sense of who fne was and who fne wanted to be. That's why fne'd worked so hard to become sheriff, and why fne talked the way fne did, with an old fashioned polite accent. Why (unlike everyone else round here) fne washed more than once a month. Fne tilted fnir head back as the man kissed fnir neck again, moving slowly around to fnir throat. That brought another wonderful sensory memory to mind. "Uuuhhh, toffee ice cream..." "Mrrf," muttered the man directly onto the sheriff's voicebox, "what about it?" "Nothing... Don't stop..." Caught up in these sensations the sheriff supposed the man's wonky face was okay, actually, as it happened. After all his floppy brown hair was very nice, and he seemed like a good person. And he definitely, unggh... Definitely knew what he was doing. Bolstered by lusty courage fne now looked carefully at his face, blotting out the imperfections, imagining the kind of man he'd be if his face was uninjured, pure. And, fne thought with an ache of simultaneous joy and sadness, that man, was very handsome indeed. Fne held his chin in fnir hand, just as his began to move. Wait, what's this? Fne looked down for now, now, his hands were at fnir waistband, fingers teasing at the top button... TO BE CONTINUED...!!!!
Disturbia somewhat displaced in the face of impending sexytimes, Cap smirked at the sheriff, what an opportunity for 'em. That lucky, lucky...
Personally Cap had always wanted to bed himself, and had almost succeeded once thanks to a VR helmet and piece of "borrowed" illegal hard-holo tech... But, ah, that was another story. The sheriff, he considered, must have been super excited for the opportunity to knock boots with someone as good looking as him. He ran a hand through his hair. ~~ The Sheriff looked the Man up and down. He was leering strangely. Hm. Fnir eyes skirted the trouser area again. Oh yes, that did look inviting. If fne could get past the... (a grimace at the thought)... face, then this might be a marvellous adventure indeed. The male's working eye was sparkling rather attractively and the sheriff tried to hang onto that island of brown warmth amid its battered sea of wonkiness. For a moment the sheriff couldn't look away, and it was both a horrible and delicious sensation. ~~~~~ Cap's smirk turned to a grin. The sheriff was staring him right in the eye and... was that a shiver? Clearly of desire. Clearly even standing here battered, in rags, he still had it. Clearly the sheriff'd never seen anyone so gorgeous in all their days. Poor love, what a sheltered life they must've lead in this ole galoot town, on this backwater planet. But, he considered immodestly, even if they'd lived in a big city he doubted they'd have met anyone as fine anyways. Back in his comfort zone what with all the potential flirtin' n' lovin', Cap was feeling better and jauntier with each passing moment. He ate a cookie, seductively. ~~~~~ The sherrif felt fnir eyes almost pop out of fnir head when the man began eating one of the biscuits in a most peculiar fashion. What a thing to behold! "Are you, um, are you okay?" Fne asked with concern. Still silent, the Man paused his biscuit tongueing and looked a little confused, before shrugging and sucking on it. "What's he doing?" asked Yus. "He's..." The sheriff tilted fnir head to get a better focus on the display. "Well, I'm not quite sure in fact. He's um... Oh dear. I think he's about to choke on his biscuit." As if on cue, Cap did indeed choke on his biscuit. Yus facepalmed then felt around with her toes, found the target, and trod lightly on Cap's uninjured foot in reprimand. "Cap!" she hissed "we're meant to be making a good impression, we need their help". A little ruffled Cap managed to cease the battle for air with his nibbly nemesis and swallowed the crumbly pest with an audible gulp. Hoping beyond reason that everyone had immediately forgotten the moment, he put Yus's hand on his head and nodded meekly. Winsturdle chose this pause to remind them of fnir gruffing presence. "Y'know I don't think I wanna be around for all this," fne sneered with distaste. "I'll be in the bar if'n you need me." "Ohh yes!" the sheriff's whole demeanour slid from puzzled to bright and breezy. That is a marvellous idea. Let's all go to the bar. Surpressed no more, Winsturdle facepalmed openly. Cap nodded enthusiastically. "Well!" smiled Yus, "what are we waiting for?" ------------------- They pushed through the swing doors - it was like something from an old movie . Cap approved. The inside of the saloon was much as Cap imagined it would be: wooden, dirty, old fashioned, simple. Smelled reassuringly of alcohol. He inhaled deeply, letting the atmosphere wash over him. It was almost as good as the balmy moment with Yus. Almost. There was one unexpected bonus: Pop hits played from a juke box. That struck him as an oddly modern piece of tech to find in these parts and, if he was honest (he peered at Winsturdle picking fnir teeth), he was surprised they'd even heard of pop music out here. The music tickled warmly around the wooden structure. A pleasant sensation which shot a part of his psyche back to endless golden summers as a kid. ?*Waitin' for a star to faa-all... And carry your heart in-to my arms, that's where you belong, in my arms ba-by yeah...* ? He chanced a glance Yus's direction, sighed like he'd taken a long refreshing drink of water, then shook himself out of it. He had a job to do. And before that, he needed a drink. Suddenly very much back in command of his faculties he limp-strode to the bar, flashed his most winning grin at the surly, plump, frill-laden barkeep, and demanded "Whiskey. On the 'Roids." There was a very long pause during which everyone stared at him, their reasons their own. The silence was busted open by the barkeep asking "... You erm.. You want alcohol on your hemorrhoids? Cos it's not gen'rlly recommended for piles..." "No!" Cap flapped an impatient hand. "It means with ice. You know 'Roids!? Asteroids!?" The barkeep humphed "Bit fancy ain't it?" Cap snorted "Asteroids? Fancy? You some kinda--" The glaring barkeep never found out what kinda thing they were about to be deemed, as fne decided the needless waffle ought be cut short with a sharp "I mean ice, we don't have none 'o that stuff." Cap was temporarily taken aback, what kind of bar didn't have ice? Then he remembered seeing an old movie where ice was a rare commodity, and had to be delivered in huge blocks to towns just like this one. Fair dos. "Right you are. Jus' the whiskey then." He leaned in over the bar on his forearms, and grinned expectantly, charmingly. Utterly unimpressed, the barkeep's glare deepened. "Ah," added Cap, shuffling a millimetre back as he suddenly realised he should probably not anger his first source of alcohol in days. "... Please." He registered that apart from the wailing snazzy saxophone solo floating from the jukebox, it had become very quiet. Craning over his shoulder he looked round at the others, turning to face their stares. "What?" A fuzzy tingle pulsed through the seat of his belly at the attention, and he tried not to look as delighted as he felt because, (he glanced at Yus and her purple encrusted whips), somehow that didn't feel appropriate right about now. He clocked the sheriff's mouth hanging open again and chuckled a moment, both at the amusing sight, and because Yus's plan had sparked deliciously naughty thoughts about that mouth in certain post-crash neglected, yet vital, parts of his mind. And underwear. "What?" He repeated with a shrug of feigned nonchalance. But before there was even time to observe the sheriff closing fnir mouth Yus was by his side and hugging him. "Cap! Your voice is back!" Remembering to nod politely to Scary Sully - or whatever fnir name probably was - Cap accepted his whiskey and sipped some gratefully. Ahhhhh gods, that was the stuff. Surprisingly smoother than he was expecting... And (he took another sip and an experimental glance around) he still had his eyesight after imbibing some. Always a good sign. "Oh. Yeah" he replied through a grin giving Yus a return squeeze. "Not sure why, but hey I ain't complainin!" He was, gratefully, feeling all kinds of headed-in-the-right-direction. The patrons of the bar were all still looking. He frowned and, for the lark of it, gave them his best "it's rude to stare" expression (you tend to get pretty adept at that when you have one eye missing and a face full of scars n' machinery). They got the message and began looking away, returning mumblingly to their previous conversations with only the occasional peek around handfuls of playing cards and mugs of... something. Probably beer. The sheriff and Winsturdle rocked up next to Yus. "Your voice..." exclaimed the sheriff. "Fnuh" Cap sipped his whiskey again, good eye rolling in pleasure, reveling in the feeling as it slipped down his throat and warmed his chest "what about it?" "It's so... Low!" Well, that beat the ole classic moobeast comparison. Or Krimlitt the Squog. He smiled, remembering that a particularly hyperactive but pleasant boy whose family he'd once delivered to had loudly compared his voice to the friendly puppet, causing the lad's mom much embarrassment but Cap much amusement and a nice story to tell his buddies. Plus he'd let Mommy make it up to him by introducing him to her hot sister. It hadn't lasted more than a few dinner dates and a couple sessions of frenetic backseat boot-smashing, but it had been nice. Cap focused on what the sheriff had said. He supposed on a planet made of non gendered people that their voices were probably all kinda mid-range. The sheriff was probably telling the truth; they likely hadn't heard a voice like his before, or not often, anyway. "I ah, I guess it is." He finished his drink with a smile, turned, and immediately ordered another. The barkeep nodded at the empty glass, and hands on ample hips, less-than-warmly informed him that "I'm still waitin' for you to pay for that one, doob-for-brains..." "Ah. Right." Cap dug in his pockets and, rummaging around (unintentionally looking to all around like he was playing with himself), pulled out a holographic playing card which was curled on one of the corners, but had a lovely image of a naked woman projected from it, and proffered it as payment. The barkeep, unmoved, scowled and slid the dog-eared item back across the bar. "No." "Okay okay, wait a sec." Cap held up a patience-requesting finger. The keeper's expression still didn't alter. "Don't you worry," Cap assured, "there's bound to be somethin' good in here somewhere. Always is." He dug around in his pants again at length (causing Winsturdle to wince and the sheriff to ogle him), and brought out a small pack of tooth whitening strips, a comb, a few foil-sealed condoms marked 'extra fruity', and a marble which Jim had given him. If he looked closely at the tiny smooth sphere, it always looked to Cap as if it contained the entire galaxy. Jim had never been able to see it himself, he just knew Cap liked colours and had gifted it to him as one might a fascinated seven year old nephew who was a little backwards, but that you were particularly fond of. That these personal effects had survived their ordeals without falling from the ragged remains of his jacket and pants pleased Cap greatly. He fingered the marble into his palm then nudged the tooth whitening strips keenly across the bar. He was like a dog hoping you'll throw its slobbery tennis ball. "Go on" he said, eyeing up Scary's beige stumps. " Treat yourself." The barkeep scowled. Cap smiled. The sherrif stepped in. "It's okay, it's okay Pollyarni, he's with me". There was a subtle twitch of Pollyarni's bonneted brow. "Oh yeah" said Cap smugly, boastfully, and jerked a thumb at himself proudly. "I'm a 'he'". Finally Scary... uh that is Pollyarni... broke the seething stoicism and spoke again. "I couldn't give a rat's ass if you're a pocock's constipated fecal matter, I just want payin'." Unusually (apart from the bout with guilt-induced-mutism) Cap was momentarily lost for words as he sequentially failed to impress, was rebuffed, and noted the confusing fact that Pollyarni's vocabulary might have been better than his own. "Here" said the sheriff quickly, proffering a handful of notes "take this". Fne put the curious bills and a selection of oddly shaped coins on the bar. Polly accepted with a grunt and poured Cap another whiskey with about as much vigor as a seriously depressed slug. ~~~ Several whiskeys later and an oddly energetic Cap was sitting on a low couch surrounded by the saloon's patrons, jubilantly regaling them with all kinds of fantastical space-tales. Yus, not really stopping for more than a few moments to consider how the guy had been so poorly just a few days ago but now suddenly seemed fine, found herself swept along in the excitement. She simply assumed he was recovering and becoming himself again. That was reassuring, and it made sense; what with the (semi) normal food, drink and company, she was beginning to feel a lot better herself. She wasn't too sure about all the attention though; She knew Cap loved it but unlike her male counterpart she wasn't sure she enjoyed being a novelty. "The Outsiders" the patrons kept calling them. As for Cap's drinking habits, she couldn't say she approved (and she remembered Jyce and Jim not being too keen either), but if in this case it was leading towards getting them off this planet she didn't think it could do much harm. Relatively speaking. She tried to think of it like Cap was just temporarily self-medicating as one might in an emergency. Which - she grimaced, trying not to think of the crash - she supposed he was. Once they were off the planet perhaps she'd bring it up. Hey! Once they were off the planet. That sent the dark thoughts out of the room. She smiled, glad to be thinking positively again, as was her wont. "Quite right too!" Cap was bellowing at someone, oddly aptly. She tuned back in. The man might have been a bigger show-off than the revered Erythian supermodel (and famously egotistical jerk) Havleblad Falloffleblad, but his stories were actually very funny, and at times - for instance when he spoke of Jim - unexpectedly sweet and heartwarming. Even the surly Pollyarni accidently chuckled along despite fneself at the Locker and Hair incident (Jim - trying to escape an evening out - had thought he'd found an incredible hiding spot, but his voluminous hair had been sticking out over the top of a line of lockers giving him away). She wondered if the stories were true or fanciful yarn-spinning; She suspected they were real. Either way the amusing anecdotes went on for a good long while until Yus remembered that Cap was meant to be, ahem, charming the sheriff with a very particular kind of biology lesson. She reminded him. He hadn't forgotten. "I know" he told her, whispering warmly into her ear and turning her legs to jelly. "This is all part of the foreplay". "Oh!" She'd replied and, not exactly expert in such matters, wondered what kind of foreplay involved so many people at once, then shrugged. She didn't care, as long as this all meant they were headed homewards as soon as possible. At the edge of the bar, an unnoticed figure sat in the shadows, watching the scene and slowly sipping a beer. To be continued... Cap's stomach chose the awkward, question-hanging moment to issue an especially loud announcement. GLUURRPP GLOOPLE GLOIP!!!! Everyone's heads turned his way, and he grinned apologetically. It wasn't over though, the belly burbling continued for a good solid minute, before thankfully stopping with an abrupt BOILP. He looked down at himself, confused. The sheriff's mouth was hanging open, apparently still poised to enquire about the ins and outs of ladies and gents. Before fne could though, the sounds started up again and fnir jaw clicked shut. The belly's bizarre resonance had by now completely thrown everyone's concentration off topic. Blooorrrpp!!! Brruuppmmmrppet! It went. Barrrrunga! Only mildly peturbed, Cap smiled again, thinking that at least the distraction saved Yusseca an awkward conversation. Had his voice been working, and if he weren't dragging a leaden anchor of guilt around, he personally would have filled in the details with scampish glee. He reckoned his young female friend woulda had kinda different, squeamish, thoughts about it though. So embarrassment for Yus had been averted. Deferred, at least. His smile faded as yet another something bubbled internally, causing his insides to churn. His guts sure did feel weird, and, oh gods-- For a moment he actually thought he was gonna puke all over the sheriff's office. But, no. The wave of nausea passed. No he reckoned he was just super hungry. ~~~~~~~ The sheriff peered curiously at the... what was it fne'd said? Oh yes 'man'... the man's torso, and pointed a slender, gently accusatory finger. "Your tummy is rather loud... Man." (Fne felt kind of hip and retro saying the word aloud.) There was a pause, then feeling a little excited, and pleased at the lack of outraged reaction (meaning fne seemed to have gotten the term right) fne happily added "Would you like some biscuits with your tea?" In response to this, the Man nodded with great enthusiasm. The Wo-Man nodded daintily too. The sheriff smiled. Fne wasn't sure what it was, but fne liked these strangers a lot. They may look as though they'd been dragged through a Znakuzian Barbed Prisonfield backwards then rubbed around in the mud a bit, but they had a friendly feel to them. Fne was even getting used to the man's ugly, damaged face. Despite Winny's grumblings the sheriff didn't think these ruffled newcomers seemed like much of a threat. In fnir secret opinion (which Winsturdle would not have approved of at all), they were more like a couple of sweet things to be cuddled and appreciated. Looked after. In fact, now that fne came to think of it, they kind of reminded fnir of two ragged toys fne'd had as a child. Two sweet woollen dolls which according to the history-celebrating trends of the time were supposed to be gendered. One'd had big fluffy circles on its chest and the other'd had a strangely sausage-like affair between the legs. Fnir eyes skirted the man's body and made their inadvertant way towards his crotch area. Fne realised what fne was doing but didn't look away, it was intriguing. There was quite the bulge there, (rather unlike the almost imperceptible ruffle caused by the neat little spout system that this planet's native inhabitants sported). For some reason the sheriff became quite flustered at the sight, feeling an unexpected and pleasant stirring in fnir own system. Goodness. Fne looked away from the delightful trouser-shape and tried to think of something else. Oh yes, biscuits. Passing out the biscuits (meaning that Winsturdle now settled down to have a munch, and finally stopped looking so embarrassed) the sheriff gestured at Cap the Man (whose expression was currently reminding fnir of a wounded, hungry puppy), and, still fascinated, quipped "this one doesn't say much eh?" ~~~~~~ Chuckling, giddy from the sugar, after days of very little and very bland food, realising 'this one' must refer to Cap, Yus cheekily commented "Actually, normally you can't shut him up" and went back to stuffing her face. The reaction she pictured on Cap's imagined face, made her chuckle even more, causing a fine fountain of crumbs to shower from her lips. (She wasn't far wrong either, for in reality his expression was a comically quirking mixture of mildly insulted bemusement.) ~~~~~~ The sheriff noted Captain's expression, mumbled something about today's veritable glut of eyebrow action, and glanced between the two gendered people. The sheriff may've been clumsy, and not particularly well versed in gender etiquette, but fne was no fool. Detecting some of the chemistry which sparked almost tangibly between the two, fne wryly enquired "I see. And are you... Together?" "Oh" said Yus, a little more calmly now. "No. He is, um--" she stalled, looking for the right words and settled on "... He's my captain." The sheriff's eyes flicked to and noted a telltale twirl of slim fingers in fnir tattered clothes, and simply said "hence the name I suppose" with a wry smile. Fne wondered what the man's real name was. There was a stiff-bodied shifting which drew the sheriff's attention back. Not only was the smaller one fiddling, but, despite the harrowed visage, there was a little something shining in the captain's eye. "Personally" the sheriff continued casually, fighting a grin, "I rather suspected that you were deeply in love, but there you go." Fne cheerfully added "I have been known to make mistakes, on occasion." Both Cap and Winsturdle choked on their biscuits, for two entirely different reasons. The sheriff threw Winsturdle a scolding look, and fne guiltily and delicately removed some crumbs from the side of fnir mouth. Yus's cheeks burned with a hue almost matching that of fnir hair, which the sheriff thought to be most charming. Hold on. The Sheriff suddenly caught and chastised fneself for mentally referring to the newcomers as 'fne' when they had their own magically old-fashioned pronouns. Feeling brave after the successful use of the word 'man', fne decided to try them out: Fne hiked a thumb Cap-wards and merrily quipped "Well! It certainly sounds like She has a squog in Her throat!" There was a pause as Yus took a moment to work it out, then she burst into fits of laughter. The sheriff was pleased but baffled. "Thank you but I didn't think it was that funny." Yus collapsed into giggles again. Frowning the sheriff looked over at Cap who had recovered from his choking fit and was also looking amused. With a small chuckle of fnir own, the sheriff asked "What!?" The Man merely gave a jaunty wink of Her one eye. (It may've been a blink, considered the sheriff, but it seemed remarkably wink-like.) Oh dear. Winsturdle was looking embarrassed again and said "Sheriff, ah think'n you's got it the wrong way round there..." The sheriff's brow creased. "Oh." Then realisation hit... "OH! Oh gosh, I am sorry! I hope I didn't cause any offence!" Fne glanced at the amused looking Cap and the giggling Yus and supposed that while it might have upset others of their type, luckily it hadn't worried them. In fact the man looked full of cheeky comments, yet none were issued. It was a shame, the sheriff would've been interested to hear that one's voice. Yus regained her composure and carefully and kindly explained the pronouns for gendered and sexed people. The sheriff smiled and, part daydreaming, reflected how funny it was that simple terms (such outdated ones too) could cause such amusement. It was highly interesting for a number of reasons, and quite delightful. Sort of lovely. Then another thought struck and fnir face dropped as fne considered that - sentient and humanoid nature being what it was - such needlessly strong feelings around such mild terms not only lead to hilarity, but could likely (perhaps inevitably) also lead to extremely foolish, unkind, and even dangerously abusive encounters from the ignorant too. Fne hoped fne didn't seem dangerously ignorant, only amusingly so. Fne would never want to hurt such fine people as these. Fne looked at the genderds, thinking that when it come down to it they didn't seem that different (either from one another or the townsfolk), and wondering if they'd ever been abused due to the excessively iconic nature of their labels, and very much hoping not. "Thank you kindly Yus." The Sheriff smiled at... her, hoping that despite her lack of eyesight... She... knew she was being smiled at. Then, for some reason the sheriff felt compelled to add "I expect it would be quite an experience, being with a gendered person. I expect that would be quite fascinating." The others gawped. "I would rather like to try that." Fne added honestly. The sheriff was nothing if not frank. Windsturdle's nose crinkled in disgust. Mid nibble of her third biscuit, Yus paused. Then, with a probing tone to her voice as if exploring the idea as she vocalised it, Yus said "Well, uhm, maybe Cap could... show you... in return for your help." The sheriff felt a tingling excitement pass through fnir body like a joyful cellular scanner. ~~ Cap nearly choked on his cookie again. Uhm... what!? Had Yus really just suggested that? Yus? Polite, innocent, sweet Yus? He wanted to ask if she was serious, but - Adam's apple tighter than a Belitthian Denk dealer's wallet - couldn't. He just gawped at her. "You don't mind do you Cap?" She was feeling her way along the wall and moving a little closer. He stood there dumbly, watching as she drew close. With an impish expression she nudged him. "One squeeze for yes you do mind, and two squeezes for no you don't mind." She took his hand and awaited the reply. Cap was gobsmacked, what was she, his pimp? As much as he liked the idea, he would have thought Yus wouldn't. A little shellshocked he gave a squeeze, and Yus said "you.. do? But Cap we need t--". He gave a second squeeze. "Good work." Yus patted him. He felt filthy. And he loved it. To be continued... "Looks like a MooBoy town" is what Cap would've said if he was able. As it was he was still rendered speechless, his guts minced by the stark realisation that Yus's Thread-influenced words had pounded into him. A soft voice filtered into his consciousness, hers. "Are we there, Cap?" Instinctively he signed his answer, for (grating as it was) Qaro's flippant remark had been right on the nose. The cocky captain had indeed regressed to some of his childhood ways - lack of speech being the main contender. Pretty annoying as he had become somewhat accustomed to being a chatterbox over the years and, despite an alarming amount of people claiming he had the vocal intonations of a moobeast, he was in fact rather fond of his own voice. Qaro had been right about that too. He suddenly realised his signing was yielding no response. Oh, right. Yeah. Duh. He mentally floundered in the problem for a moment. This communstipation was likely gonna be trouble. Even Yus's hands wouldn't be sensitive enough to feel letters traced on her palm, would they? He decided probably not. Especially with his handwriting. Just in case, he tried spelling out NEARLY THERE, but as predicted she didn't seem to understand, just giggled at his tickling finger. At the unexpected cuteness and its contrast to the harsh setting, he felt the side of his own mouth pull into a partial smile, and again willed himself to push a sentence beyond the barrier of shame lodged in his throat. Still words wouldn't come. All he managed was a distressed sounding squawk. "What's wrong!?" breathed Yus, sounding alarmed. "Did you hurt yourself?" Alarmed himself at worrying her, he rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. The alien emotion panic shook him for a split second before a thought struck, and he placed her hand on his head. He gingerly shook in the negative, and this time she understood. Yesses and no's then. It was a start. ~ Leaving her hand in place on Cap's soft but pool-gunge matted hair, (and resisting the temptation to give it a little stroke), Yus enquired "Are we going in? I don't particularly want to meet another hungry desert creature..." Cap's reaction - a sharp no-nonsense nod - told her that he felt much the same. They walked hand in hand down the long sandy slope, and began to mosey on into town. ~ The ground was loose at first, but as they drew near Cap dully noticed the sand turning to dust and patches of hardy shrubbery springing up at the sides of the track. A little less deserty, a smidge more comfortable. Some of the surroundings were even mildly familiar, in the sense that the ranch they were approaching kinda reminded him of an old-fashioned version of his childhood home. This came as a strange and unexpected slither of comfort during these - he searched his mind for an appropriate word and settled on weird - post-crash times. Slither was an apt word too as it went, because unlike the moobeasts, horses, and zerkdugs of his childhood ranch, this one held giant worms in paddocks and pens. From the look of it they were smaller, tame versions of the horrific thing that had wanted to eat Yus and himself in the desert. Eugh. Ugly muthafunkers. He shuddered and, though right then she couldn't have known why, Yus gave his hand a comforting squeeze. Not for the first time, Cap reflected that he would have been faring a lot worse if it weren't for this plucky young lady. She was extremely strong. Not despite but because of her gentleness. He took a moment to gaze with rapt appreciation at her lovely determined face, smiling with such warm admiration she could surely feel it, like sunlight on her skin. Admitting to himself that this was a romantic, but unlikely, notion he brought her hand to his mouth to trace his lips, wanting her to feel the smile somehow, even if just digitally. Apparently registering the expression, she smiled kindly back. Something inside Cap warmed, and this time it wasn't internal bleeding from his lung injury. Forget Qaro's hoodoo, this was real magic. In a little over an instant, the world seemed to blur around them and slow, Yus's sweet smile highlighted in focus while the rest of the universe turned fuzzy and insignificant. It was as if they were in a protective bubble, all the danger, pain, and angst kept at bay, miles away, someone else's problem. He distantly pictured all the troubles of the universe turning biege, grey, and on the verge of fizzling out of existence altogether, while he and Yus on the other hand were illuminated in glorious technicolor. Damn. It was like his body had been dehydrating and he'd just taken a sip of chilled pinegrapple juice. Or, having been music-starved for months, he'd just heard the intro to one of his favourite tunes starting up. It was a perfect and much-needed breath of soul relief. An ear splitting shriek rudely selected that moment to erupt from somewhere, painfully piercing the hallucinatory haven and shattering the precious moment of calm. Cap sighed grumpily, his muscles tensing as he switched back to Survival Mode. Yus bundled against him in an impressively instantaneous kind of fight-or-flight crouch. Where had the freakish sound even come from? He squinted his good eye, internally cursing its bruising and the lack of working cybernetics in the other (a bit o' fast Seek and Focus would've been pretty swell right about then). He currently felt so inefficient, and now that he was getting well enough to properly consider his broken parts, this began to grate on him. Sqqqrrrueeeeeeeee!!!!!!! The sound came again, if his cyber parts had been working 'DANGER! DANGER!' would surely have been registering on his internal display. He looked about urgently. Hold up, hold just a duggy herdin' minute up, it was just one of the worms in the paddock. It would seem the burly beast was excited because it was feeding time. A curiously dressed ranch hand, who appeared to be clad in Hazmat-Lite, was nearly knocked to the ground as a herd of the fat wrigglers rushed for a huge bucket. Despite Cap's disgust for the creatures it was a pretty funny image, almost cute. Almost. Cap chuckled silently, not emitting any sound, just vibrating a little. Yus felt the good-natured tremor, clocked its meaning, and immediately relaxed. Without really thinking what he was doing, Cap gave her a quick kiss on the head as if to say "yep, everything's fine" and for his troubles he received an affectionate pat on his chest, then she took his hand again, and they continued down the hill to the settlement. ~ Both of them felt the sunlight massage their aching backs, and both of them considered that if circumstances had been different, this might in fact have been quite a pleasant stroll. But circumstances were not different. Circumstances were gritty as fluck. ~ Now that the worms had their... for want of a better mental description 'heads'... stuck in their meal, things had turned very quiet indeed. It was starkly noticable, and verging on the eerie. As they passed the worm pens, the ranch hand gave them a strange tilt-headed stare through the oddly overprotective headgear. Cap nodded politely but the gesture was not returned. Eh, people. He shrugged internally and tuned into the pleasing scuffing sounds his feet made on the dirt track, Yus's too. Lighter and more dainty soundin'. Cap was gently appreciating this when another horribly abrupt sound made them both duck in shock. KABOOOOFF! It was followed by a simple demand. "WHO GOES THERE!?" Cap snapped his monogaze to the person, instantly taking in their 5 foot seven stature, their brown overcoat, crumpled hat, dumpy figure, and overly stern expression. He was surprised and somewhat delighted to see the old weapon they were brandishing - an extremely outdated shotgun, and presumably the source of the bang. He was personally used to lazerweapons but he'd always, always, wanted to try out the kinds of guns you saw in old holomovies. Digging at his ringing ear, he stood up straight and straightened Yus too. ~~ Wits immediately about her, not knowing if the sound was a small explosion, or if Cap had fiddled with and clumsily broken something as they'd walked by (fairly likely, in her opinion), but recognising a threat and a stern tone when she heard it, Yus quickly cried out "Yusseca and the Captain! Please stay calm! We crashed in the desert. Qaro told us you could help us." There was a beat of the sunlight and her heart, then she heard the person spit into the dust before announcing in an extremely suspicious and twanging tone "Ole Qaro huh? Hmf. Well." Another wary pause before "I guess y'all better come see the shiruff..." ~~ Rather distractedly, Cap motioned for the person (who he was starting to think of as "Shooty") to put their gun down so it wasn't levelled at them. It was was reluctantly lowered. Once that minor matter was dealt with he moved on to the really important stuff, asking if he could have a go on the cool old device. He enthusiastically signed his request. Irritatingly Shooty did not understand this at all. Cap scowled. Frustrated, and grouchily wondering why everyone in the universe was not adept at sign language, Cap attempted some larger, simpler, gestures. After five minutes of this Cap decided it wasn't gonna work. Shooty, who was staring at him blankly, was obviously a fool. ~~ Deputy Winsturdle stared, almost transfixed by the movements, wondering why this odd machine-faced person was performing a peculya dance in the dust. They momentarily locked a simultaneous eyebrow-quirking gaze. Winsturdle gave a little head-shake. The stranger was clearly simple-minded. ~~ Yus wasn't sure what was going on, but she could hear and feel strange flapping sounds, and the sensation and vibrations of the dirt around their feet being disturbed. Was... Was he performing some kind of routine for the stranger? "Um, Cap?" No response from him, but she felt the bangy twangy one leaning conspiratorially towards her. "This clucken-flappin' idiot was your Captain? No wonder you crashed." "How ru--" "Little slow, is he?" "He's lost his voice" replied Yus primly, disliking both the insult to Cap, and thinking about the crash. She distracted herself by wondering if this person was male or female, she couldn't tell from the voice. Perhaps, like the Cavefolk, this town's people were also genderless. That would probably make sense as they were relatively near the Cavefolk's territory (presuming you counted being on the same planet and same landmass 'relatively near'. They had only travelled to the outskirts of the desert after all). She suspected this town's inhabitants were distantly related to them, or even just another group of the same people, who had maybe branched off at some point in their recent history. She smiled, Daddy would have been proud of her reasoning. Oh, the person was replying. She resisted the temptation to bask in comfortable memories and tuned back in to the conversation. "Oh, ah see." The person coughed. "Weyall, anyhow, you folk need to come with me. We don't genr'lly lahk strangers round these parts. But when they do come, they gotsta report to the shiruff, see." ~~ Annoyed that he hadn't been given a go on the gun, Cap trailed grumpily behind Shooty, and Yus who - blind or not - seemed perfectly able to follow the weapon wielder's shuffling steps. They were lead through the dusty town and along a street of squat conjoined wooden shops, offices, and, gloriously, a bar. Cap planned to visit that little gem later. They were lead over a creaking wooden threshold and into a humble office. Cap saw Yus's eyebrows raise, likely at the sound of gentle snores and strong scent of whiskey. He quirked an amused brow himself. The Sheriff was sitting asleep, hat pulled down, ornately booted feet up on the desk. Shooty coughed loudly. "Hey Shiruff, wake up, we's got gyists..." With a snort the sheriff entered reality and pushed the hat's brim up. "What? Hmm? Zorry!" the light voice was muzzy. "Musta dropped off there for a moment." The shooty one's eyes darted to the bottle on the desk and back to the sheriff's face. Cap noticed and smiled. A sheriff after his own heart. "Yeah..." agreed Shooty with almost disguised disapproval, "... Musta." Cap smirked, the word was as loaded as the shotgun. The sheriff gave an awkward throat-clear, before taking a deep breath and slapping their own face a couple times. "There we go, good as new. So!" the sheriff said, brightly now, smiling up at Cap and Yus. "What can I do for you good people?" Cap smiled back. She or he (or both, or neither) had a very pleasant fair-skinned face, and long blonde hair which was currently tied back under the hat. They did not speak gruffly like Shooty, and the latter's twang was also absent. In fact the sheriff's accent could be described as what Tag would have called well-to-do. In other words, plummy as a big juicy ... um, plum. (Cap frowned at his lack of fruit-based synonymary skills, wondering for a moment if his brain was less healed than he'd supposed.) Clicking his neck he quickly forgot about plums and continued to drink the person in. It was quite a pleasant experience, they somehow projected an air of innate friendliness, and charming dappiness. He reckoned that'd likely be rare in a gritty hole like this. Wondering how on Eryth such a person had managed to become Sheriff he mentally shrugged just knowing that he immediately liked them. "Would you like a cup of tea?" The deep blue eyes (which didn't stay still for long and were now directed at a small kettle) sparkled. Cap nodded in the affirmative. Yus smiled and politely said "Oh, that would be lovely. We are rather thirsty." Cap switched his own gaze to her, thinking that sometimes Yus sounded rather well-to-do herself. He resisted the urge to give her a cuddle. "Erm, Shiruff..." Shooty prompted. The sheriff who, when awake apparently found it difficult to stay still, was now leaning back on their chair, tipping it and swaying a little, playing with the balance between upright or floor-bound. S/he fiddled with a piece of paper, a pleasant and mild-mannered look on their face. The gently fidgeting moment seemed to stretch on for ages before Shooty gave a hard-bitten glare of such intensity that it broke the stasis. The sheriff frowned then seemed to realise the meaning. "Oh ah, thank you Deputy Winsturdle. Yes, of course. What I meant was..." (and here an unconvincing Shootyesque twang was attempted) "...'What'n the hell're you doin' roun' these parts, and what the darn, um, damn, damnation do you want?'" There was a moment's pause before, as an afterthought, the sheriff spat to add emphasis to the words. Unfortunately for the sheriff the hocked loogie didn't fly across the room as intended, just dribbled down a pale pink lip and onto their chin. Shooty, AKA Deputy Winsturdle, cringed noticably at the poor and overly-polite attempt at badassery. The sheriff produced a handkerchief and dabbed the wetness daintily away from their chin. Winsturdle's hand twitched, and Cap reckoned a facepalm was being surpressed, with difficulty. If not currently as mute as the damn desk Cap would have giggled at the awkward tension. As it was he just snorted. Blinking more than usual Yus cleared her throat "Well... um, Qaro sent us to you because poor Cap here needs repair, and--" The sheriff's brows shot up, completing a hat-trick of encounterous eyebrow action. "Qaro!?" "Yes, Qaro." "Oh, dear. Well, there's a name we've avoided for a while..." Yus grimaced. "Nothing too bad I hope?" There was a rustling as the sheriff, forgetting about the tea, seemed to settle down. "Ah nothing a little friendly warfare didn't resolve." There was a smile to the sentence. "Oh! Goodness!" "Quite." ~~ The sheriff smiled at how relatively high and how pleasant this newcomer's voice was, then looked at the quiet, taller one, taking the person in properly for the first time. Sweet hogietroids! It was difficult not to wince at the scarred cycloptic visage, but the sheriff valiantly managed out of politeness, but then noticed something rather curious, the excitement of which pushed discomfort away. "Well I'll be! Do you know, I've not seen anyone with chin bristles for a very long time." In response the spike-faced one gave a lopsided smile, and the sheriff, distracted once more, gaped openly, wondering if the wonkiness was the person's default grin, or an effect of the obvious facial damage. The red-haired one, (who seemed to be the brains and the leader of the duo), explained rather simply and to-the-point, that "We're gendered." The sheriff was more than a little shocked. Gendered!? "Blimey!" At that, the precariously balanced chair lost its contest with gravity. The sheriff tipped backwards and thunked unceremoniously to the floor. "... ... ... Ow." ~~ Impressing Cap with her consistent kindness, Yus quickly asked "Are you okay!?" She must have worked out what had occurred from the sound effects. Hat, hair, and clothes askew, the bungling sheriff clambered clumsily up the desk. "Oh yes, perfectly allright thank you." Cap snickered gently, watching with a wide grin as an ever-reddening (and Cap suspected, long-suffering) Shooty helped the sheriff up. The fall-jolted hat was nudged up once more, and some blonde hair blown aside. "Ahh, it's nothing. Happens more often than you might think" came the amiable explanation. Cap, who reckoned that sort of thing happened a lot, privately thought doubt it, and smiled at those friendly sparkling blue eyes as they met his good one for a moment then hurriedly looked away. "They crashed in the desert" Shooty explained, then motioned at Yus. "Fne says their names're Yusseca and Captain." Fne? Thought Cap. Fne!? Well, I guess that's how we address one of these folk. ~~ The sheriff considered this for a moment. Then fne came to a realisation. "Oh. Oh! I see, a crash." Fne settled fners butt back into the chair. "Is that how---" and here fne paused and gestured around fnir face to depict the person's scars. The spike-chinned one's wide smile instantly evaporated. Ah, the sheriff thought. Obviously not. Oops. "Oh I ah, yes of course not, how silly of me." Silence and a stony face. The sheriff tried to make it better, but just continued making matters worse. "I suppose they wouldn't be so... Healed. Sorry." The expression remained unimpressed. Well, this is awkward. "Is that how what?" The sweet-voiced one enquired, and at the question Sheriff glanced over and now realised that this one hadn't seen the gesture. Fnir pale eyes were blind. The sheriff's own eyes shot back to the scarred one, who was now openly scowling. "Erm, never mind." There was a terrifically uncomfortable silence, broken only by Deputy Winsturdle's embarrassed choking. The sheriff busied fneself by getting up and preparing the cups of tea fne'd previously forgotten. After what felt like a month of discomfort waiting for the water to heat, the sheriff gently handed the curious guests a couple of steaming mugs. What kind of thing did you discuss with gendered people? What was polite conversation in these circumstances? Hmm. Something jogged fnir memory. Ah yes. "So are you both female, or male? Or are you delightfully one of each?" The resulting expressions were ones of surprise. The sheriff blinked, a little embarrassed fneself to have blundered again. Fne supposed Qaro must have demonstrated far greater wisdom on gender history. Eugh typical know-it-all Qaro. "I'm very sorry, I'm afraid that such terms have fallen out of use around here really, we don't have much need for them." Fne gave a nervous snorting little laugh. "In fact, had I not once met a trader from Valsqutr who passed through here quite some years ago now, I might have even believed gendered people to be a myth!" The one with flame coloured hair stared sightlessly the sheriff's way for a while (during which time the sheriff was unsure if being on the receiving end of the 'gaze' was pleasant, or uncomfortably intense), before explaining "Well I am a female, a woman, and Cap here is male, a man." "Ahhhhhh, I see" remarked the Sheriff "Of course." Fne nodded as if understanding fully. Everyone smiled, the matter apparently settled. Then the sheriff - who in fact had not understood at all - added: "And what does that mean?" To be continued... "Baby, we're gettin' outta here." They were back in their room now, and with stiff achy movements Cap was packing up what little stuff they had, plus a handful of snacks he'd salvaged via a quick charm of the cavecook. Yus sat on the room's thick blankets, rocking and sobbing. "Don't call me 'baby'. I don't even know who you are..." Sighing inwardly he mumbled "Yes, you do, but that damn Qaro did some witchdoctor hoodoo on you." "I don't remember anything much," sobbed Yus in reply. "except Duncan, and Jyce. But she's dead isn't she? I remember THAT." At the pained tone Cap glanced over and, remembering his own disorientation on exiting his Thread, strode wonkily over, sat down and gave her a cuddle. "Hey, you'll be ok, promise. This'll fade." He reckoned it would, it was just taking longer because she'd been in so deep. After an all-too-short moment of warmth and comfort she shoved him off. "AAOOOUUWWW!" he yowled and moved reluctantly away, creating little friction-noises as he rubbed his sore arm. "Dammit Yus." "Voice of a moobeast..." she muttered, causing him to wonder about her sanity. Not that she could see it, but he snapped an arm-grumping glare her way. "What?" "I do remember. Aren't you my--" Surprising even himself Cap did not lie, managing to heroically suppress the urge to insist he was her husband, fiance, boyfriend, yoga instructor, BFF, or tantric sex coach. "Captain" he said simply, and somewhat stiffly at the effort of such blatant honesty in the face of such open opportunity. Yus mulled it over a moment, her perfect little brows knotting. Then, before he could even smile at the adorable sight, she unexpectedly launched herself at him, knocking him over backwards on the blankets. "What th--" His enquiry was cut short as she began raining down ferocious blows upon him. Thump after thump followed slap after slap before punch after punch. She was like an unstoppable smacking machine. He wasn't likely to admit it, to anyone, ever, but in the moment she'd flown at him, the expression in her pale unseeing eyes had genuinely frightened him. "Yus stop! Have you lost your Godsdamn marb--OW!" He angled his good elbow, holding his arm up in an attempt at shielding himself, but the blows kept coming. He wanted them to cease but didn't want to hurt her in return. He wasn't even entirely sure he'd be able to stop her if he did fight back - the girl seemed possessed. "THE CAPTAIN!!?" *WHACK* "IT'S" *SMACK* "YOUR" *THUMP* FAULT! *SLAP* "Wha--?" As with the previous query, the attempt to speak was interrupted, but this time by a teeth-slamming fist to the jaw. "ALL THOSE PEOPLE" *PUNCH* "DEAD" *BACKHAND* "BECAUSE OF YOU" *CLAW* "JYCE! AND THE FLUFF-HAIR MAN!" A heart-jolting image of Jim swum across Cap's mental viewscreen. "But!" *BASH* He wanted to explain about old Aggy, about the unexpected assailants who shouldn't have even been in that sector, that he'd done everything he could... Before he was able to get it out though she said something which trumped the lot. "YOU WERE THE CAPTAIN." *THUMP* "IT WAS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!" *SMACK* Till now, his injury-muddled mind, and being forced into sheer Survival Mode, had kept the thoughts behind a millimetre thin barrier. Now though he was healing, and currently relatively safe. Yus's words struck his consciousness as hard as she was smacking his physical being. She was right. The beating continued. He slowly lowered his protective arm, allowing, now wanting her to hurt him. A hand came for an implant-heavy part of his face and he turned his head to make sure she didn't hurt herself more than him by hitting his cyb-eye or surrounding paraphernalia. Hardest parts safely out the way he just lie back and let her go to town. ~~~ In the cave-idor two passing cavefolk exchanged a baffled glance and came to a halt. There were some very strange noises coming from within the guest quarters - howls, grunts, and irregular thuds. The two held a hushed conversation in their native tongue, recounted here in Erythian for ease of understanding. "Do you think they are mating, Zhleedleplip?" Zhleedleplip listened for a moment. "Hm, no I do not think so Shninkon. This sounds like a most violent encounter." Sharing another look, both ignorant of ancient courtship and combat rituals, yet most keen to learn about them, they crept to the slightly open door and peered through the gap. "Ah." "'Ah' indeed Shninkon." "It would appear that the small fe-male creature is killing the male one." "So it would seem." "This is not a good thing." They shuffle-scurried off to report the unsettling behaviour. ~~~ Cap waited for the next thump to come. Anticipated it, even looked forward to its merciful distractive properties and the miserably sweet justice the pain brought. He reckoned this next one would be a bony fist to the chest. No blow arrived though. He cautiously opened his re-bruising eye, and blearily made out Qaro's hand holding Yus's fist in a firm grip. "Stop now" Qaro instructed in the most soothing voice Cap had heard the strange one use. "You... You don't understand!" Yus insisted "He killed my sister! And thousands of other people!" Qaro shot a harsh look Cap-wards at the accusation. He shut his eye again, in shame. However, the elder responded with a doubtful-toned "You did not mention this when first you arrived. You seemed rather fond of him." Yus's sobs turned into a confused little choke. "I did?" Cap felt her indignant, rage-fuled shivering cease and sensed a portion of tension leave her body. With a minor head-shake at the emotion on display Qaro looked down at the two odd but likeable aliens. The red haired one seemed so small and weak but evidently was in fact very strong. She was vibrant, and significant. And so oddly female. The brown-haired one was a ridiculous creature full of silly notions and unnecessary drives but... still crucial. Despite his many, obvious flaws, one thing was very clear; he would always guard The Significant One, without hesitation. Qaro smiled. "Qaro?" enquired Yus in a shakey little voice, interrupting the elder's ruminations. "Ahhh? Oh, indeed you did. Myself I think him to be an arrogant fool, but yourself you seemed enamoured when you came. So much so we took him to be your pet, or best toy, or lover even. He is dull-minded as most pure males I have read about tended to be, but I do not think him a killer. Perhaps you are mistaken." Cap didn't even have the muster to grumble about being called a toy, or even register the fact that he'd been called 'dull-minded'. He just lie there, still, beaten, listening. Qaro uttered some mysterious words, and like a lazerbeam to the psyche Yus's brain suddenly recovered the missing memory data, and Cap heard her clap her hands over her mouth. "Oh... Gods." Here it came. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't your fault Cap..." But it was. He tried to say as much, but just couldn't bring himself to force the words past the deceptively golden ball of emotion which was lodged in his throat. "Cap?" she whispered, leaning down and hugging close to him, placing her cheek against his. No answer. She felt something which she reasoned was either a warm tear or a droplet of blood run down his cheek and through his stubble. She wasn't too keen on either idea. She sat up and got off the poor man. He stayed where he was, motionless. She didn't like that either. "Wh-why did I attack him Qaro?" The leader at least had the good grace to sound a little ashamed. "For a Thread - the dream you experienced - to Take, one must be of appropriate mind-state." A foot shuffle. "Methinks your head was too distraught and shocked for a Successful Thread experience. That child is why it went badly." Yus nodded her understanding. Qaro continued. "However, I believe it has done you well. In coming back this way thou has relieved some pent grief and angst. This very good for you..." Qaro glanced at Cap and chuckled "... not so good for this one." "How hurt is he?" "Hmm.." Taking in the newest injuries, the crashed-caused wounds, the old scars, and his implants, Qaro assessed the 'broken toy''s appearance. Why his eye was so mismatched was beyond the leader's understanding, it was completely unlike his natural, attractive, one. The mechanical eye was a most superfulous affectation in Qaro's opinion, and rather annoyingly, this coupled with his massive scar caused him to appear irritatingly unsymmetrical. It would not do if he were a cave-child. When a Craltharg was damaged they did not highlight their disability so unsubtly, they did not boast and make a fuss, they just patched themselves up as best they could, and got on with things. Perhaps it was fashionable among the wounded to show off their injuries in such a way in other parts of the System these days. How pretentious and self-celebratory. But that was a large part of this one's personality, was it not? Sigh. However, whether he'd previously been owned by someone else before Yus, someone who had treated him cruelly, or if he had served as some kind of soldier in an unknown faraway war, or had been a gladiator in a ring with animals like the Wyrm Weavers, he'd obviously been through a lot. This at least earned the leader's grudging respect. Like Yus's femaleness was obvious, this one's maleness was unmistakable. He even smelled male somehow. It was not unpleasant. If he was symmetrical he would have been very pretty... Shame. For a brief moment Qaro wondered what it would be like to couple with a gendered person, then cackled loudly at the preposterous thought. Yus blinked in Qaro's direction at the unexpected utterance, and the leader made an impressive composure-recovery. "Ahem. From the looks of him, he's been through far worse. He's just bruised and cut. Your to-- Your p-- Your friend, is fine Yus dear." Yus burst into tears, streams of relief. "But why isn't he saying anything?" "Oh" Qaro tossed off nonchantly "he has simply regressed to a similar state of him before he twelve year old. Trauma." Cap's good eye now snapped opened wide. How the hell could Qaro know about him as a kid? Yus was almost as thrown. "I... don't understand..." "My dear Yus, your Cap as you call him, he did not speak a word until he was twelve years of age." There was a beat while she took it in, then Yus said "No that can't be true. I've never met anyone who talks as much." "Mmmyes, him does like the sounds of his own voice." Cap scowled. Qaro continued, unaffected. "However, tis true. Do not judge solely by a pleasant aura. How was the aura made you must wonder? We have a saying here 'Even the mightiest of Sandworms started as tiny grublings'." At that Qaro patted Cap gently on the stomach, with something resembling affection. He flinched. Yus rubbed her forehead trying to mentally process and translate Qaro's strange style of speaking and take in the meaning. "Um... Okay... But even if you're right, how would you even know that?" "Ahhhh" Qaro swept a hand majestically, Yus felt the air shift around it. "The Purple Pool... It tells us many things. Not enough, mind, but unlike your friend currently, it says a lot!" Cap was not in a state to register his irritation, so he just abruptly sat up, grabbed his pack, tapped his cyb-eye, and took Yus by the hand. Yus didn't understand what the flapping and tapping noises were all about, but Qaro seemed to. Cap stared, waiting for a response. "Hm." The elder grunted. "Are you sure?" Cap nodded firmly. "Then, so be it." ---- Some hours later, and - courtesy of a rather nervous Zhleedleplip & Shninkon who'd dropped them off and zoomed away - our two plucky, confused, beaten, and more than a little pissed-off heroes stand at the outskirts of the Settlement Near the Desert's Edge. To be continued... "Would you freakin' bring her back?" Cap's voice managed to boom around the chamber. In response to the moose-like aural assault Qaro grimaced. "I am trying, child. You will be silent!" The worried one's good eye was wide, and wild, with concern as he watched Yus flail around in the goo. The frail-looking girl was gasping and seemed horribly frightened. Her increasingly erratic movements put her in danger of inhaling the curious purple substance if someone didn't step in soon. Cap stared desperately at Qaro. "Can I at least hold'r steady?" He currently felt pathetic, useless, weak, stupid, impotent to help her. (And Cap never felt pathetic, useless, weak, stupid or impotent... Unless he was paying skeezy back alley folk to induce such experiences.) His frustratingly plodding thoughts hit an ironic stone on the sidewalk; we-ell okay perhaps stupid then, in some ways at least, but he got round that one with his savvy in other areas. Snapping him back from his self-fuelled contrail, Yus lurched and arched her back in a most unnatural posture as if racked with excruciating pain. A yelp of worry fled Cap's person. "Qaro! This is not okay!" The elder snorted, and Cap couldn't tell if it was a snort of derision or some kind of crude concern. "Hm, it is normally advisable to avoid blocking a Thread's path - this mean no physical contact." A sigh. "But as the child's current movements may cause her to drown yes it could be recommends." Sweet little Yus drowning in this weird gloop? Not on my watch, baby! At the horrible image of a pruney purple-plunged Yus, the fuddled part-man part-machine immediately moved himself through the thick liquid and wrapped his arms around her. A tiny unreadable moan escaped the girl's pale lips. "It's okay honey," the 'borg reassured in warm mumbled tones, "I'm here." He had no idea if she could hear him or not but he thought it might help. Perhaps on some subconscious level she was able to take it in. Funny, he thought with a bitter twist of his lips, his words had echoed hers in his own Thread. It hadn't been intentional. With a sickening jolt it became crystal to him that he was more worried for sweet Yus's safety than he'd ever been for his own. Which was kinda strange, because he was generally more than a little fond of himself. He rocked her gently against himself and begged Qaro to release her from whatever influence she was under, but he was only told to zip it again. It was not at all reassuring to glance up to see the elder wild-eyed and sweating. He also didn't much care for being told to shut up, and treated Qaro to one of his most contemptuous sneers. "I don't care what gender you are, or aren't..." he groused. "... You're a dick." "Silence!" Qaro snapped. "I cannot concentrate with your mithering!" Yus let out a sob. Cap began to feel like his cyb eye and his good eye were glowing, powered by a steaming red rage. "Bring. Her. Back." His voice sounded almost demonic, even to himself. Qaro flinched. Unfortunately this wasn't the reaction he'd been hoping for and it reassured him even less. It was the first time this strange person hadn't seemed entirely self assured. Qaro wiped more sweat away from long wavy locks. "I TOLD you young one, I am doing what I can." "Not good enough." Cap growled through gritted teeth. "Get her back, then we're gettin' out of here." Clearly unimpressed, Qaro appeared on the verge of mockingly demanding "Oh really? To where?" but Yus interrupted matters by convulsing and twisting wildly into Cap's bad arm, the pain causing him to momentarily let go, allowing her to slip into the goo... Concurrently: The house was packed full of folk. Young, old, everything in between. It was quite wonderful. Yus adored admiring their strange costumes, just being able to. While she knew she was back in reality now, she couldn't shake off the feeling of having been blind for many years. Troubling as that false memory was, it also had the glorious effect of making everything appear fresh, and beautiful. She danced merrily with Duncan, and Jyce - oh how glorious it was to see Jyce again alive and well. She had not shared the fact that in her dream, or hallucination, or drug-fuelled flight of fancy - whatever it had been - Jyce and a curiously bouncy-haired and loveable man named Jim had died horribly, along with thousands of innocent crew and passengers in a space-cruiser accident. Accident? Had it been an accident? Or were they shot down? She couldn't quite remember. What she did remember was the terrible groaning sound as the ship had torn itself apart, and the awful, empty, numbing feeling of being profoundly shocked. Chalkboard-scraping nails descended her shoulder blades, causing an involuntary shiver. The air... She blinked. Why was there so much smoke in the air? Was it from the smoke machines? She squinted, trying to see the source. No, it wasn't smoke, it was... Liquid. What? She began to cough. There was liquid in the air, and it was slipping uncontrollably into her lungs. She folded to the floor, gasping for breath now. She saw Jyce run towards her and in a strangely resonant moment she reached out a desperate hand, Yus tried to take it but it was too late... She was... Slipping. Slipping away, into darkness into... A man's arms. ... "YUS!" screamed Cap, rather shrilly for him, yanking her spasming head immediately from the goo and slapping her gently on the back. Vomit issued from her mouth causing a mini waterfall effect. Purple into purple. He pulled her to him and held her strongly, not caring that his arm was throbbing harder than Jim's temple would during a particularly successful tease-fest. Yus blinked. "Why is it so dark?" She pulled back a little and looked around, but couldn't see anything. She coughed a little more, removing the last vestiges of gloop. "Where am I?" Cap kissed the top of her head, a tiny part of him noting that her hair was beginning to dread itself into purple-edged orange whips. "Thank Gods you're allright." She tried to wriggle further from the man's tight grasp. "Where's Jyce!?" she demanded. "And why is it so dark? I can't... Can't see... Please turn the light on." Realising in a millisecond what her Thread must have contained, Cap shot Qaro a look so loaded with hatred that he actually felt full of evil. He turned his attention back to Yus and gently addressed the Jyce issue. "Sweetheart, she's... gone. There was an... Incident..." He was saying more, but Yus did not take it in. Emotion filtered his voice down to a low muffle. The truth was like an abrupt ice-fisted punch to the face. Oh Gods, this was reality, the party had been the dream. The hue of Yus's cheeks transformed pale pinkish to a horrible ashen grey, the sort of skin-tone that wouldn't have looked out of place 'pon one of the Hovering Zombies of Hranth. She released a single extended syllable. Howled it with so much volume and anguish that had Cap's audio receptors been functioning properly they would have surely blown. Even Qaro cringed to the floor as the wail of pure despair resounded around the chamber, and stalactites fell. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" To be continued...
She squirmed and wriggled, hair flowing and flying all over the place in a silken fan of copper terror. Though the lizard man struggled to keep his grip, he did not let go. With a panicked squawk of alarm, Yus realised that if she wanted to survive it was time to start fighting dirty. "Ngg!" She began mentally mapping out bites, groin kicks, solar plexus jabs, the odd headbutt... Part of her wondered distantly if this beast even kept its essentials and soft parts in the places she was planning to hit. Before she could find out though, it did something which shocked her into momentary calm. It spoke. "Yus, what are you doing?" It was not the grating, slimy otherwordly tone she'd been expecting, it sounded almost... human. And, how did it know her name? Before she could demand answers, she noticed that, knee-tremblingly, GiganToe had heard the commotion and was now lumbering over from the trees. She began to squirm again and during the struggle one of her shoes was sucked into the mud, coming off with a squelchy slurping sound. "Yus" the lizard continued in a muffled tone. "Calm the Herc down! I thought you were joking at first, but you seem almost hysterical." "WHO ARE YOU?" bellowed the poor confused girl. "What?" Exclaimed the monster, sounding rather well-to-do for a hideous ethereal fiend. "Are you quite mad?" The beast let go at last, and Yus stumbled away a few odd-footed steps, turned, and then goggled - more awestruck than a fourteen year old lad who'd found himself accidentally transported into a women's locker room - as she took in the next horror. With a twisting movement, the gross lizard thing had begun removing its own head. Transfixed, Yusseca could not move her newly working eyes from the disturbing spectacle. She screamed mutely, so horrified that no sound came. The head removal continued. The neck bulged, and suddenly, where the throat had been, was a human face. "WHAT!?" yelled Yus, alternately confused, relieved, pissed off, and still very frightened. Heart hammering she realised she somehow recognised the face. It was a young-man version of a slightly rounder face familiar from her childhood, it was... "Duncan!?" What the hell was he doing running around in a lizard outfit. "Wow" breathed Yus. "Jyce was right, you really are a tit." A pang of sadness plucked callously at a heartstring. It resonated through her chest, vibrating through her being at the thought of poor, lost Jyce. Duncan ran a hand through his short blond hair, looking pretty ridiculous with his partial lizard body and man head, and seeming more than a little hurt. GiganToe lumbered their way. While it was likely this was also a costume, Yus instinctively took a step away. It too removed its head. "I never said that! Or.. Wait? Did I? Sounds like something I'd say to be fair." At the voice, and the face - a grown version of that which she so strongly remembered, and adored - Yus expelled a helpless yelp of emotion. It felt like immense joy and sorrow combined, and was so overwhelming that she almost crumbled to her knees in the mud. But she didn't. Instead she launched herself at her big sister, hugging around her furry outfit with an impressive rush of strength and love. "Whoa!" Jyce managed to grunt as the air was knocked from her. "Yus, are you okay? You're squishing me!" "I missed you so much! I love you!" "Yus, I love you too, but you saw me this morning, silly goose." "I did? What's..." Yus's voice became a quiet, muddled mutter. "What's going on?" She asked. "One minute I was in the Goo with Cap..." Jyce gently manuevred her so she could look into her little sister's pale face. "Who's Cap? What 'goo'?" Yus babbled beffudledly on. "You know... the Captain. The cyborg! The Purple Pool!" Jyce and Duncan exchanged confused glances. "Yus" Duncan said calmly, "I think you've been watching too many Horro'ween holos." A Durond dropped. "Horro'ween! That's why you're dressed as--" "Lizardo and his sidekick The GiganKid, yeah! You asked us to, remember?" Yus tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and frowned. "No sorry. I don't." Jyce let out a doubtful "Hmmmm!" and prodded her. "You're having us on, aren't you?" "W-what? No!" A humph from Duncan's direction and a tilted head. Apparently he was unimpressed. "Very funny, Yus. You almost had me going." Yus frowned more deeply. Had... Had it all been a bizarre dream? This certainly felt like reality. Jyce pulled Yus close and ruffled her hair "You are a funny bunny." Not knowing what on Eryth was going on Yus just hugged into her. "And annoying!" Jyce added, in typical Jyce-style, shoving Yus playfully. Duncan strode over, replacing the top portion of his horrible lizard costume. "Enough of this silliness. We're going to be late for the party, come on." Party? He ushered the young women through the fog, through the trees, to the side of a road which bordered a large storm ditch. It... seemed like Yus had seen it before. She looked about, trying to get her bearings. Civilisation was a LOT closer than she had realised when running. The lights of many dwellings could now be seen shining through the fog. Well, mist. The pea souper had begun to dissipate, turning the valley's edge from ethereal to faerytale. There was something familiar about the patterns the lights dotted out. The mental picture of that before her very eyes rearranged, melding with images from her childhood, and suddenly she worked out she was on the outskirts of town. Everything slotted into place. "My gods" she breathed "I'm home." A gust of breeze caused her to shiver. Duncan and Jyce weren't listening, they were fiddling with their costumes, dropping down into the stormdrain, chattering excitedly, hurrying through the dip and nipping out the other side. Before Yus could even catch her breath from all that, they prodded her down a slope and along the road. It was wide, smooth, and devoid of traffic. A bassy thrum could be heard from somewhere nearby. After a while Yus had to trot to keep up with Jyce and Duncan, who were now making a buzzline directly towards a large house which sparkled and shimmered through the mist. As they drew nearer, Yus dimly realised the expensive property was the Lyrca residence. The Lyrcas were friends of her father. Of course! They lived not far from a storm drain. She remembered them because they had a son around her age who at one time she'd thought rather cute. The lovely fancy home was decked out in fantastically arranged Horro'ween decor, and throbbing loudly with chart hits. People in all sorts of costumes were hanging out on the lower and upper balconies, and throughout the large gardens which gently sloped up to the house's front door. They were chatting, drinking, smoking, kissing, laughing. Living. An old classic, so old it predated Eryth's gradual reclassification, began to play. 🎵Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy...🎵 Funny how the vernacular could change - historical reasoning lost without a trace - yet the impact of ancient popular culture remained, solid as ever. Yus gazed about in wonder. It felt like decades since she'd been among people and normality. But according to Jyce it had only been this morning. What on Ery-- "Rescinderella!" someone laughed, pointing at Yus in a friendly manner. "Huh?" She looked down at herself, and for the first time realised she wasn't wearing the torn rags from the crash but was in costume herself. Rescinderalla was an old faerytale which had become twisted over the years, as truths and tales tend to, developing from the simple story of a poor girl who went to a prince's ball, into the tale of a young steely adjudicator whose job it had been to create barely legal loopholes in previously fair regulations, in order to unfairly and cruelly cancel refunds due to good, poor people who'd had their money stolen. The evil loopholes benefitted only the ruthless, greedy organisations who'd stolen from them in the first place. Due to overzealousness at the role which even the Bwanks and Zombudzmen couldn't stomach, the Adjudicator ended up losing her own job. She became lost in life, confused as to her purpose. No employer - legitimate or otherwise - would take her on, and soon all of her own money was depleted. She learned what it was like to live as a poor person and as a result, eventually became humble and kind. One day her formerly icy heart was melted by a good man whom she believed to also be poor. After some time her love revealed himself as a prince and invited her to a ball at his palace. This became a regular occurance, and she was elevated to a luxurious lifestyle once more, but this time with all the benefit of wisdom, kindness, and experience. In this new version of the tale, due to a curse by the wicked Feary Wadmother, if Rescinderella didn't leave the palace by midstar, she would never be allowed to return again. Her own Return Rescinded in a wicked reflection of that she once was. Night after night she fled, and night after night the Prince would become frustrated. One deep blue starspecked evening he stole one of her shoes so she could not run away. Famously Rescinderella wore a beautiful blue gown. And one shoe. "Nice touch" the friendly guy added pointing to Yus's muddy and pale, boney shoeless foot. "Authentic." "Um... Thanks." There was a rustling of scales beside her. "Hands off meladdo, she's mine!" Duncan's voice barked in an irritating muffled way through his lizard costume. Jyce - AKA GiganToe the GiganKid - facepawed. "No I'm not" Yus muttered, feeling a little confused and woozy. The scene seemed to float before her eyes for a moment. She felt like she was forgetting... Who was she... What? Someone dressed as the Gobline Kinge in impossibly tight grey leggings which distractingly highlighted his junk in intricate detail, floated before her vision as he danced past, then a scoundrelly looking man in a pirate outfit took her gaze. He had an eyepatch and for some reason he reminded her of... "Cap." She staggered unsteadily towards the pirate. Somebody laughed "I think she's had too much to drink already!" "Haha yeah" someone added. "Or something stronger". Have I? Wondered Yus. Have I been doing drugs? Is that what this is all about? Daddy will be disappointed. I'd better stop... She reached out a slim hand and touched the pirate man's face. He grinned, pervaciously pleased at the contact, but she realised it wasn't... Wasn't the man she was looking for. While she wasn't 100% sure what Cap looked like, something inside her told her that this was only a passing resemblance to... Thing... Duncan pulled her away jealously, lizard head removed once more. "You have been drinking haven't you?" Wait, who was it the pirate reminded her of again? She stared. The pirate winked his uncovered eye. "I... Don't know" said Yus, somewhat distractedly, trying to hang on to the last smokey tendrils of memory, of the face of a man she'd never seen. "Very unseemly you know. To drink before the party's even begun" Duncan tutted pompously. But he laughed, softening at her knotted brow. His hard blue eyes sparkled a little and Yus noticed that they were reflecting the garden's cosy orange Horro'ween lanterns. He wasn't bad looking as an adult she supposed. A little Gormy perhaps. He kissed her. It wasn't especially wonderful, but it wasn't especially horrible either. "Um, ew." Jyce was next to them. "Come on idiots let get inside and fluckin' DANCE!" To Be Continued... Yus blinked the remaining mist from her eyes, and saw that 'it' was a monstrous figure, which hulked in at around nine feet tall. And it was lurching its way directly towards her. It emerged from a swirl of fog, morphing gradually from Distant Shadowy Blur, into Chilling Stuff-of-Nightmares Creature. Disgust played Yus's spine like a sick xylophone. The soul gutting face came fully into focus, unashamedly displaying its hideous, scaled, bug-eyed and craggy visage to Yus with what appeared to be an almost proud leer. The Thing's lurch evolved to a speedy stumble, and, as it closed the gap between itself and the shocked girl, it reached one webbed hand out as if to grab her. "Fluccck!!!" screeched Yus somewhat uncharacteristically, and, rooted no more, began pelting the opposite direction. She may have somehow, miraculously, become abruptly sighted but she ran blindly through her terror, and the mist. Her footsteps thudded and echoed, and her breath reached her ears in an unnaturally loud rasp which, had her brain been able to focus on anything other than survival at that moment, might've put her in mind of Cap. It is a shame she didn't think of Cap's breathing, as the notion may have comforted her. As it was, she felt like hot green fire was pulsing through her veins, tracing a roadmap of terror throughout her body. Got to keep going. Dont stop. Don't stop. Don't stop. She thumped on. Each tuft-smacking step unstable, inspiring the fear that she could twist her ankle at any moment. Now you see me, now you don't. It finally clicked that she was running through pockets of fog, and it was those which cruelly obscured her newfound vision. A little thing like horrifying, horrifying ethereal fog wasn't going to stop her from escaping the creature though. She sped on, managing to make out snatches of grass sprigs and mud which formed little ridges and tiny hillocks below her fleeing feet. Her lungs burned as harshly as her veins but she tried to fool herself into not noticing. At times she could see the dark shapes of trees looming not far off. In fact there was a thicket, and it looked like a good hiding place. She made her way towards it. A sudden movement amid the undergrowth caused her to skid to a muddy halt. Yus had grown up on one of Eryth's least formidable continents and while she had heard tales of unusual and dangerous fauna from other land masses, other planets, she'd not encountered much exotica in person. Not even in the Zoological Gardens. She'd certainly never come across the beast she'd just seen flit between trees. Most of her friends back home would have called it a myth. "Gigantoe..." she breathed. And quickly assessed her options. A little way behind was the Lizard Creature from Hell, in front was Gigantoe, around her the mist was thick, swirling in little curls and patterns that would have been pretty if she wasn't so panicked. Can't go forward, can't go back... Only one thing for it then. She plunged sideways, deep into the fog to her left. ... And right into the arms of the nightmare lizard. To Be Continued... "Uhm yes, you know, those cute little people who live here with us...?" She glared at him and he whispered a quiet "... sure." She strode over, expelling a tired grunt. He worried that meant she was at the end of her patience, and kept quiet in case he ruined Whatever this was. Flipping his bangs back into their side parting and feeling his forehead again, Yus announced "Hm, bit clammy, but you don't have a fever. I think you'll be fine." He nodded marvelling at both her loveliness, and his currently crystal clear, binocular, vision. "... Thank you darlin'." Then she shoved him out the bedroom door. "Now. The car?" Only problem was, he had no idea of the layout of the house or how to exit. Let alone where the car keys were. "Uh huh." He wandered forward slowly, noncommittally. She shuffled him quicker. They exited the room into a spacious upper hallway which had a wood-railinged upper landing, and nice oversized thickly carpeted stairs. These descended in a large, wide, charming square spiral down to the entrance hallway which was also squarish and airy. This broad area seemed like the epicentre of the house. During the descent Cap cast his gaze about admiringly, the colours were all pleasant neutral tones - whites, pale beiges and so on. The lines were clean, crisp and homely. Nothing seemed out of place, the only mess was the very occasional scattered toy or odd abandoned item of clothing. Yus, he decided, liked things very tidy indeed. He must be a nightmare for her to live with. His mouth pulled into a half-smile at the thought. The beautiful one had started down the stairs already, nipping past him on the upper landing. The sound of children filtered into the space from a room off the lower hallway. Cap's stomach lurched with a peculiar feeling and it took him a moment to identify what it was. Damn, it was nerves. Sure he'd felt shock, surprise, dizziness, nausea, even, at the surprise of his reflection, but he wasn't generally prone to true anxiety. Now though he was about to meet his children for the first time, which was a bizarre feeling. He tried to steel himself for the meeting but had no time, as the herd came barrelling out of the kitchen into the hallway and streamed happily up the stairs "DADDDDDYYYYY!!!!!" How many!??? Cap, now half way down the stairs, stumbled backwards and fell onto his bottom. The kids cracked up, and Yus tutted. "Stop messing about, come on!" "I ah, I would" replied Cap with a soft chuckle. "But I seem to be covered in enthusiastic er... puppies." Over the rabble he saw Yus's sternly pulled face soften into an expression of unmistakable affection and pure, unselfish, love. The kids really were like wriggly puppies, all floppy hair instead of floppy ears, and big eyes and perfectly neat cute features. Freckles, wriggle-blurring mixtures of brown and red hair. Strangely he could actually sort of recall them now - even if was only as a kind of distant resonance. He just knew that somehow, something about this felt... right. He was aware of a pleasant soul-aching intensity. He supposed it was love for his... His family. He lifted a hand to shield himself from a particularly unruly little'un who was adorable, yet somewhat hyperactive, whirling and flailing around making helicopter noises. He was in danger of hitting himself, Cap, and the gathered small folk. As Cap made the protective gesture he noticed a simple gold wedding band on his own hand. Huh, well would you look at that... He'd never really been the settling down type. In a thunderous BOOM, and a feeling like a momentary pull of strong G force, he was back in the purple pool. All the injuries aches and pains returned in a nauseating instant, and his vision squirled down to one dim eye again. It wasn't a very nice feeling and he began to hyperventilate due to the shock of the sensation. His bad lung rasped and bubbled horribly through the purple liquid. Yus's presence next to him reassured him somewhat, but he felt suddenly empty. Horribly bereft of the enchanting love, the physical and mental comfort he'd just been experiencing. The lightness of being and the physical wellness he'd just felt brought the dingy reality of his current situation into sharp relief. What an unpleasant contrast. The thoughts he'd been pushing away - the accident, Jim, the loss of the ship, the crew and passengers - all hit him in a rush and his breathing hitched even more. "Cap, Cap what on Eryth is wrong?" As he grated an inhalation a concerned Yus pulled him towards her with surprising strength for her petite frame. Qaro's voice boomed "Do not panic, little... Man. For you are merely experiencing Extraction." Firmer than Cap had ever heard her, Yus snapped "Extraction? What are you talking about? What have you done to him?" Cap managed to splutter out "Tole you before. Not little." Yus shook her head at the fact he was still joking in even the midst of shock. Qaro rolled both eyes and tongue. "A turrrn of phrase simply, as to me you are but a child." "Qaro!!" pleaded Yus, almost shouting now, concerned at the way Cap was shivering and rasping in spite of the warm comforting liquid. "Please tell me, what did you do?" "Nothing my dear, simply--" and here the senior began chanting some more words which sounded like gobbledygook. Cap - finally catching his breath - saw Yus's eyes roll back into her head. "Oh right" he panted, "gonna play the same dirty trick on her now are you?" "Twas not a trick, it is a Possibility Thread, based on your true desires." Cap took a moment to digest this. "You're tellin' me... I want to be a daddy?" Qaro stared at cap with an air of regal interest and slight surprise. "Curious. If that is what you saw then... perhaps." "Moo-pat" was Cap's less-than-polite response to that. Then he turned his attention back to Yus. Shaking off the last of the post-Extraction shock he touched her shoulder. She felt stiff. Qaro was chanting something else now and, with a grimly calm demeanour, Cap interrupted "So she's seein' the same thing I did now?" A shake of the head from Qaro "No, not for definites. She could be experiencing something different indeeds. It all depends on the Possibilities she Truly Desires." Cap frowned at the emphasis given to the words. His natural inclination was to dismiss this whole thing as hooey, but he was space-seasoned enough to know that there was in fact more to life than the general population of the galaxy cared to think about. He'd seen magic before. --- Yus blinked in surprise, because she was no longer in the goo... And she could see. And what the hell was that!? To Be Continued... |
Imagining hilarious, beautiful
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