RP: The Fringe [Chapter 2.1a] - Licking Their Wounds

Concordia Veil - Lounge

Sienna, freshly showered, reentered the lounge to find Oreza and Amelia still there. Her hair was still damp, but hastily finger-brushed to the side, and she was dressed in a clean pair of dark cargo pants and a snug-fitting, short-sleeved solid blue T-shirt, with gray slip-on shoes on her feet. Her dirty clothes and toiletry bag were tucked beneath her left arm, her boots pinched in the fingers of her right hand.

Hesitating at the door for a brief second, she swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded curtly to the pair sitting on the couch, and made a beeline for her cabin door, avoiding eye contact. It was then that she noted the sounds coming from the galley.

"Who's in the kitchen?" she asked in a quiet voice, the fire and fury from before long gone.

Lounge - Concordia Veil

Amelia lowered her Datajockey, looking at the captain once she had entered the lounge again. She was actually surprised that Sienna had asked who was in the kitchen, considering everyone else was in the lounge, and for a moment wondered if her good captain was still under the influence of whatever the doctor had given her; It sure would have been a surprise if Crash was in there. Still, she didn't miss the opportunity that had presented itself to her. "The kitchen fairies," she said, smiling with mischief internally.

Concordia Veil - The Lounge

Shrie then appeared in the doorway to the kitchenette. She was drying her hands with a rag and looked at the people that were in the lounger. The big man, strange robot woman/man/thing, Ameli and the captain. That made things easier, she would not have to go around and ask all of them if they want something to eat. Especially since she was not comfortable with talking to anyone but Amelia. Shrie still did not know those people. Only one she was not too wary off was the captain, since this was Sienna's ship and Shrie kind of owed her now some service as well. Besides, Sienna's ship, Sienna's rules. Well that is unless those rules would pose danger to Amelia.

"Hello," Shrie simply said to everyone in the room. Her eyes looking at Sienna though. "Sorry captain. Could not ask. You were in your room. Did not want to bother. I made a meal. I cook." Shrie gave a simple explanation with her peculiar way of speaking. Her one raggedy wing, sputtered nervously on her back.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

Sienna didn't appear to be amused by Amelia's joke. Her only response, after her intial reactionary stare, was a tight-lipped and badly forced smile, at least until Shrie stepped out of the galley, complete with her half-set of wings. The young captain turned her head and stared blankly at the Lorath, clearly recognizing her, but by all appearances finally getting her first good look at her with a relatively clear mind.

"Huh," the young woman grunted flatly and quietly. "Kitchen fairy." One corner of her mouth turned up very, very slightly, and she looked back at the others before turning back to Shrie.

Shrie blinked. Then she blinked few more times. She looked at Amelia and then back at Sienna. The reply made little sense to her. She was not even sure, what fairy was. As far as she remembered it was some nepleslian spirit from child stories. She then realised that apparently they had wings, but insect like ones. Still it seemed that for a nepleslian, wing is a wing and so if you have wing you are fairy. Perhaps, those stories got into the Captain's brain and stayed there. Shrie did not know and she did not care too much. She justk new that this explanation was the only thing she could come up with.

"Uh. I made meal." Shrie decided to run with what she had. "Do you want some now?" Her eyes when across the room around all the people there.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

As much as Sienna just wanted to go to her room and be left alone, she couldn't deny the fact that her stomach was in fact grumbling. It had been far too long since her last meal. To further complicate the choice, while she could elect to simply take a plate of food and eat it in solitude, she wasn't about to give Oreza, or anyone present for that matter, reason to believe that she had been intimidated, especially with Crash's words still ringing in her head. Even though she was far less than excited about the prospect of sitting with the rest of the crew right now, the last thing she wanted was to embolden them to push her any further.

After a pause, she nodded slowly. "Yeah," she replied, and waggled the boots in her hand and the garments under her arm. "Let me go put my things away." Stepping over to her door, she raised her hand, awkwardly trying to avoid dropping anything, keyed in the lock code on her cabin and stepped inside.

Shrie looked at Sienna as she went for her room. The lorath then stiffly turned around and walked back into kitchen. A clatter of dishes and other kitchen-ware could be heard soon. Within moments, Shrie walked again with set of forks and spoons and started setting them up on the table, without as much as a word. A fork and spoon was set before Amelie, Oreza and the Freespacer and in front of an empty chair where Sienna woulds sit, along with a napkin. Shrie then walked back and returned with a pitcher of water and four glasses, setting them on the table as well.

On her third walk back from the kitchen she carried four plates with steaming food on it. It was a pasta with Mornay sauce spread over the pasta and bits of chicken. Well it was the closest to mornay, Shrie could get with she had to work with. Powdered milk and cream was not the best, and spices were simple too. At least the cheese was an actual cheese, although cheap one. Chicken was a chicken, so that was fine.

Shrie set a plate in front of each crewmemeber and then walked and stood back by the kitchen. It was not for a cook to eat with others after all. She could eat later, this was her job now. That was what she learned on the last ship. Cooks ate later.

Lounge

Oreza had been deep in thought, not paying notice to Sienna coming back out, or that Shrie had been in the kitchen. He did notice when the plate was set before him, then served out food.

The Nepleslian smiled at the Lorath. "Thank you Miss Shrie, this is most kind if you" he declaired with a greatful nod of his head.

Food had not been chief on his mind all day and now that it was set before him and the others, his stomach reminded him how empty it was. He was suprised to see what she had done with their meager stores too.

"Smells wonderfull" he said, putting out his pipe and setting it aside so he coukd enjoy this suprise meal.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

Amelia watched Sienna get out from view once again before stashing her Datajockey away before releasing the gloves from her suit as she reached for each wrist, snapping the circular seals sideways and unsealing the gloves, before putting them away in one of her leg pouches. Once the process was done, the astrogator got up with a grunt, balling her hands and throwing her arms up as she yawned and stretched out the tension from her back.

The dark haired woman took a seat by the table, staring at the dish that had been laid in front of her with mild interest. She had eaten a few hours before when she was on the station, but it would also be insulting to decline the offer. She reached for her utensils and was about to dig into her food when she looked at Oreza, "do we have to wait for the captain or something?" she asked.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

The door to Cabin 1 on the far side of the room opened with a quiet grinding noise as if cued by Amelia's question, and Sienna walked out, tugging on the tail of her blue T-shirt, her belongings stashed inside. The captain didn't say anything as she locked the door behind her and walked over to the mess table, pulled out the nearest end chair, and sat down to the steaming plate of pasta and some kind of creamy meat sauce. A muted look of impressed surprise was visible on her face for a moment, especially once the tantalizing smell hit her. By all appearances, it seemed that the captain was pleased with what the Lorath had done with their rather basic food supplies.

Scooting her chair forward, she picked up a fork and loaded it up with an oversized bite, blowing on it for a second before shoving it into her mouth, chewing pensively, then shrugging her eyebrows and nodding once in approval. She said and did nothing that acknowledged the others around the table for a few moments as she ate gruffly, her cheeks bulging and chewing with her mouth open. Occasionally she would pick up her glass of water and take a hearty gulp, then continue eating.

"Where'd you get that suit?" she asked around a mouthful of food in a only mildly interested tone. Because she didn't bother to look up from her plate, it wasn't completely clear who she was talking to, but it was reasonable to guess that her question was aimed at Amelia.

Lounge - Concordia Veil

Taking a few occasional bites, Amelia ate silently and much slower than Sienna, staring down at her plate the whole time. The food tasted great, making her almost regret having bought a duffel bag full of groceries while she was on the station. The astrogator slowly lowered the fork that she was holding and raised her head to regard the captain when she asked her question, taking some time to process that it had been, in fact, directed to her. "Why do you wanna know?" She asked back, cautiously.

Shrie stood by the doorway to kitchen, when Oreza thanked, the woman only replied with a nod of her head. She was glad that people started eating finally and they did not seem to hate it too. When the question was asked by the captain about the suit, Shrie looked down on her old worn suit she had from Lazarus, but when Amelia spoke up, it was clear that the question was not aimed at the Lorath. So Shrie just stood back and waited.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

Sienna stopped chewing and looked at Amelia blankly for a moment; although it wasn't overt, there were a few subtle clues on her face, such as the slight cant to her head and the way her jaw slid to one side just a touch, that made it almost seem like the young captain wanted to respond with a snippy retort. But instead, after a beat, she slowly resumed chewing, finishing the bite in her mouth and swallowing it before looking back at her plate and loading up another forkload.

"Because I'm curious," she answered with a tight-sounding voice. "You didn't have it before. And the last time I asked you about something you had, you dodged me, and we both remember how that turned out." She shoved another large bite into her mouth and resumed chewing noisily. Less than a second after she did, however, she inexplicably paused, dropped her fork, and hid her hands beneath the table before continuing to eat.

Watching someone put their hands under the table, out of sight, made the astrogator nervous, although she made an effort not to show it. "I got it earlier on the station, but I think you were too indisposed to notice," she said as she rotated the fork on her plate then took another small bite.

Sienna didn't reply immediately, her eyes cast down and her chewing significantly slowed. Even her breathing seemed a little irregular for a moment, although it was barely noticable by anyone not paying attention. Then, just as quickly, she drew a long breath through her nose, and exhaled softly, pulling her hands from under the table again as she worked them open and closed a few times before picking up the fork again. Her downcast face was still mostly obscured by her hair. "You remember where you got it?" she asked with labored nonchalance as she swallowed her bite and prepared another. "I could use one myself that doesn't show off my tits and ass so freely."

Amelia covered her mouth with the back of her hand, although her eyes were still somewhat wide and beaming with amusement. At least she could sympathize with the captain's feeling. "Maybe," she replied still spinning the fork around itself on her plate. "I have a weak memory"

"Hm," the captain replied simply around another mouthful. "You always wear a spacesuit to dinner, then?"

"I didn't have time to change," Amelia replied, although it was far from the truth. Normally she wouldn't have, although she didn't have a problem doing so, especially with a new suit which, much like a shoe, needed to be worn until it better fitted the owner.

Sienna looked up, still hunched over her plate, and raised an eyebrow, then glanced back over her shoulder briefly at the other cabin door to her left. Turning her eyes back to Amelia with a very, very slight smirk, she tilted her head. "You were sitting there on the couch when I went to shower, and your cabin is right there," she stated.

"The couch was too good to leave," Amelia replied, smiling faintly.

"So was that suit, by the looks of it," Sienna said, her voice sounding a little less terse now. However, another odd look crossed her face for a microsecond, and again she put the fork down and crossed her arms, tucking her hands tightly into her armpits as she chewed. She took her eyes off of the astrogator and looked idly around the room as she did.

Not wanting to drag on the conversation to make it more awkward for her than it already was. The astrogator didn't reply, but instead just stared back at her plate again and continued eating.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

Six Four took an open seat at the table and stared momentarily at the dish in front of it, poking it a few times with its fork. Inserting the fork into the dish it lifted up a portion and looked at the string of melted cheese connecting the lofted morsel with the rest of the plate as if it were some sort of new discovery. Picking up its knife with its free hand it cut the cheese line from the bite on its fork with the precise skill of the surgeon it was before a small section on the front of its helmet opened up where it quickly placed the fork into. Removing the fork from the slot it quickly closed with a light 'click' before the Freespacer began the process again.

Poke, lift, cut, insert, remove, click, repeat. Six Four continued this process as it listened to Amelia and Sienna chat, its helmeted head darted between the two as each spoke in turn.

"This one sees no problem wearing a space suit all the time." It said voicing its opinion.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

The captain glanced over at Six Four with a slightly critical eye. "No, you probably wouldn't, huh," Sienna said from her reclined position, still with a half-chewed wad of pasta and chicken rolling around in her mouth, hands still tucked tightly in her armpits. Her chewing slowed as she watched the Freespacer cyclically repeat what appeared to be a mechanized eating subroutine with a muted mixture of detached curiosity and mild, puzzled disgust.

Turning her gaze around the room and over her shoulder, she spotted Shrie standing hesitantly in the doorway across the room, in front of the galley. She observed the Lorath for two or three seconds as she finished chewing the bite in her mouth and turned back to the table, leaning into her plate again as she twirled up another forkload of food. "You gonna stand there all day, or are you gonna come eat some of the meal you made?" she asked off-handedly. Her tone was very aloof and uninviting, but strangely, it didn't sound sarcastic; in fact, it sounded as if buried somewhere deep within was an actual invitation.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

"Maybe she poisoned the food and is just waiting for us to eat it all," Amelia suggested off-handedly, looking at the Lorath and smiling faintly. Barely half of her plate was touched, although she had barely talked on the table save for the brief exchange with her captain. The astrogator took a sip of water from her glass, her eye darting around to every occupant of the table, but stopped at the Freespacer, somewhat intrigued by it.

"Do you ever take that helmet off?" She asked Six Four.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

At the mention of poisoning the food Six Four froze, the fork frozen inches away from the small port on its helmet. Six Fours head slowly turned towards Amelia as the fork returned towards the plate with the small morsel on on it.

"This one does, Six Four's helmet helps with the air filtration removing the majority of airborne pathogens and other threats to its immune system."

As it spoke it placed its utensels down and crossed its hands on the lip of the table edge.

"Unfortunately this one does not have any chemical detection system in place, which if what you said is true, may pose a potential problem to this one's health."

Lounge

Oreza relaxed in his seat, taking a bite of the meal placed before him. "This is very good" he said with a nod to Shrie and a warm smile. He did not bother to interject in the conversation between Sienna and the others, but did set his fork down after a moment and speak to the Lorath woman again.

"I understand on some ships and in restaurants the cook does not eat until after the others, but this is a small ship and there is no need for such requirements, please, join us and enjoy the meal" he said and shifted his chair and plate over, making more than enough room for Shrie to have a spot at the table.

"Servants don't eat with others," came simple response from Shrie towards Sienna, when the captain asked the Lorath to join others at the table. To Shrie it was strange again, especially since Sienna was the captain. Normally captains don't eat with lowly crew. Now the rest were pretty much ship officers. Oreza was XO, Six-Four was ships medical officer and Amelia was the engineer and pilot. Shrie though, she was just a crewman quite clearly. Captains dine with officers, now with crewmen.

Then it got even worse, when Amelie suggested that the good was poisoned. Shrie-s little wing went up as she was shocked but the suggestion, she stared speechless at the nepleslian girl. "What? I did no- I would not...." Shrie tried to defend herself for a while, before becoming speechless again. Somewhere in her broken head she realised that since Amelia just continued eating and even started talking to the Freespacer, then that was probably just a joke. "Humour..." Shrie muttered, looking down at her feet, realising that she made a fool of herself.

Concordia Veil - Lounge

Sienna stopped chewing at Shrie's statement, and leaned forward on her elbows. She didn't look back a the Lorath, only lifted her eyes and stared distantly at the wall across the table from her, waggling the fork near her face slightly with her fingers. "I don't own servants," she said softly, but despite its volume, her voice carried a resolute, firm quality. "And you ain't one."

Her eyes focused a little, and she started to pan them around the table. Her eyes came to rest on Amelia briefly. "Neither are you," she said, a little more loudly. Then she looked at Six Four. "Or you. Or you," she continued, settling her gaze on Oreza, then slid her chair back from the table just enough to turn her body so that she could make it clear that Shrie was included in her address, and set her fork down, folding her arms purposefully again. "Ain't nobody in this room any better'n nobody else. I ain't nobody's master, and I ain't nobody's owner. I hired y'all each to do a job, because you each impressed me enough to make me think you're good at it. And that's it."

Glancing most of the way towards Shrie, turning her eyes just enough to make it clear she was addressing her without actually making eye contact, she continued with her stoically aloof (and still quite tired-looking) face. "You keep meals like this coming, that includes you too, Wings," she intoned. "Now get your freakishly tall ass over here and have dinner with us."

With that, she slid her chair back up to the table and leaned over her plate again, and continued eating.