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Gemini Star Fortress - YSS Kaiyô II - Hallways
The sudden withdrawal of the Kaiyo from the Soranumizu universe had reminded most of the crew that alternate universes are a scary place. Especially those who were there with the IYS Kaiyo encounter.
With long bridge hours, post-battle reports, system checkups and mainenence verification, Nerai had been up to her ears in one job after the other. All the while being curious as to how abart and Mark had made it through their sortie. As per usual, Abart wasn't very hard to find, but Mark had proven to be very elusive ever since they'd returned.
After checking in at the medbay, she was quickly waved of by a preoccupied snakedoctor, which gave her some relief in that he was most likely fine. Still, did didn't stop her from looking for the guy, and sure enough, after going through various places in the ship, quarters included, the snake finally found her boyfriend in the powerarmor bay, standing by himself.
The soft rustling of the serpentine tail over the hard floorboards was quicly accompanied by her voice, sounding a tad worried from the rather solemn sight of the man...
"M-Mark? How are you...?"
As she approached.Mark would turn, the coat pulled over his right arm and the eyepatch over his left now evident. He gave a slight smile as she approached, happy to see the woman he loved, but still very nervous.
"Oh, h hi Nerai. I'm doing okay I think."
The quick and slightly anxious response made Nerai raise an eyebrow. "Ah... i see. I've been looking all over you...got worried for a second, hehe... Glad to see you made it out well."
The snake quickly slid over to Mark taki g note of the eyepatch and the somewhat out-of-place coat. "...though not without a scratsh it seems..." Brushing one hand over his head, she gave him a quick ruffle. "You're gonna tell me all about it later, been stuck in the bridge for so long, i could use some R&R, don'tcha think...? "
Mark looked at the scorched and rent covered Mindy he called "Raven" for a moment before turning back.
"Yeah..yeah I could use some too. Especially right now.", Mark said trying to put on a smile as he thought of what Sacre had told him before booting him from the medbay.
The deck of the armor bay had been partially cordened off with cones as the deck was still stained with black from what happened on the trip home. They would eventually get it cleaned up, but he couldn't help but give it a glance with a pained expression.
Mark's quik glance was picked up by Nerai's keen icy white lookers, and they quickly followed his gaze to the huge black stains all over the interior. ".....looks like quite the homecoming there..... is that what's gotten your eye there?" She asked, quickly pointing in the general direction of Mark's face.
"It's all from me. And it's more than my eye, I...I wasn't exactly myself on the trip home, and the jump did something to me.", Mark said pulling the coat tighter over his arm out of impulse, "It began with something that happened in Ayenee."
Wait hold up. The words from Mark just now were outrageous enough to make even the scaly veteran do a double take. She knew something was up with him but this is *quite* something different. "Wh- wait what do you mean... from you?..."Before Nerai knew it, that sense of unease had crept back up her spine, making her whole back feel slightly cold.
"Uuuh,.....short story, I got turned into a demon while in ayenee. Trip home I turned back to normal --ish in a very painful process. I'm human again, but not without a couple souvenirs. Yeah, it it wasn't a good time.", Mark said um very nervously and pretty sure she was about to run away from him at this rate.
Throughout his explanation, Nerai continued to look at him, listening closely with a face that was part disbelief, part amazement. Despite how ludicrous it sounded, the evidence was quite literally all over the PA-bay floor. "Yeah... you don't say.... people usually don't just spew black goop all overt the place like that..." She let out a deep sigh, holding her forehead in one hand for a moment... All this information, so suddenly out of the blue was a lot to take in.
"So lemme get this straight....you did some shit in ayenee...got all demonized and stuff....." A brief pause filled their surroundings with a dead, icy silence, as Nerai tried to string her words together. "... and you never even told me!?" Unable to contain her confusion, she couldn't help but snap at the guy like she did. "You...you had suc a thing happen to you and you kept it quiet the whole time? What were you thinking!?"
All thoughout her little outburst, Nerai stood her ground, showing no signs of going anywhere anytime soon.
"Nerai....when it happened I had no choice, it was forced on me. By a creature who threatened to kill everyone I cared for. For days I fought her, having burst of anger and powers that weren't my own. I wanted to keep the crew and especially you safe. And I was scared, of what I could do, of what I had become, and what everyone else would think of me. For so long I fought a slowly losing battle, eventually I broke down and made a deal. I would be a willing host and in return she would spare the crew. And now....", Mark said this before trailing off his eyes now moist with tears that began to run down his cheeks as he spoke.
He let the coat fall away to show his arm, the skin a rough exterior with bone like plates having grown along the arms size like some prehistoric armor. And with a trembling free hand he pulled the eyepatch off before opening the eye slowly. The black schelera a startling contrast to the deep crimson reptilian slit pupil.
"And now I'm a freak, some kind of chimera. I never asked to become this, I just did what I thought was right. Before we left I had changed into a full demon, a tall lanky monster crawling across the rafters of this bay. Then when we jumped I was torn apart put back together as this you see now. It's like some fucked up Jekyll and Hyde story.", Mark finished in a sob.
As Mark slowly broke down into tears, Nerai's gaze was locked onto him, unable to break free. Slowly but surely her temper had died off, making way for a whole flurry of different emotions... "Mark....I..." The reveal of his demonic features were beyond anything she'd expected, for a secons almost unable to comprehend it's bizarreness. Nevertheless, she stood there, taking in all the confusion, fear, sadness and regret Mark was throwing at her right now.
With an audible gulp, Nerai thought of what to say...what would be most appropriate for this situation..... there was plenty of things she *should* have said, probably.. but right now.... there was really only one thing she truely *wanted* to say...
Without so much as a second glance, her upper body shot forwards, completely latching itself around him in a hug that was far too tight for comfort. It didn't tale long before her tail followed, firmpy wrapping itself around the two at their base, both standing in the middle of the big ciol wrap. "...you idiot!" *sniff* "You...you big dumb dummy stupid dummydumb you!"
Despite her cruel words, Nerai's embrace currently Enveloping mark was filled with nothing but concern and care, not wanting to let go for even a millisecond. She'd be damned if she was going to let go of Mark right now, be it physically or emotionally.
Mark found the physical side of the hug uncomfortable, but emotionally it could have been the softest thing ever. He returned the hug with his normal arm.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so very sorry. I just didn't want to hurt anyone. Please forgive me.", Mark said trying to pull himself together.
*sniff* "...It's alright.... i know you did sweetie...... it's just....... it all sounds so scary......i don'r even want to imagine what you have been through..." One of her hands ran through his short trimmed hair once more, rubbing his head tenderly. "it's alright..... you don't have to do this alone...."
Standing here like this, with the broken Nepleslian in her arms, she really meant every word of what she said. All throughout her life she'd been the flirtatious type, hopping from place to place, devil may care, but ever since coming to the Star army, once again finding purpose in her loose life of thrillseeking, Nerai had changes slightly at heart. This very moment she could finally truely care for someone who wasn't direct family....heck, maybe even moreso...
"I'm a mess, I'm sorry for making you worry. Things have been hard, but knowing I have people who love me makes it bareable. I love you so much, that there isn't a day I don't have you in my thoughts.", Mark said resting his head on her shoulder just enjoying the embrace.
Knowing she'd managed to reassure him somewhat had cheered up nerai a little as well, loosening her grip a bit as to not squeeze him down even further. 'Hmm.....don't be......i think there are plenty of people who'd do the same thing....so don't beat yourself up too much, alright? Just promise me that....whatever happens from now on, you make sure to tell me firsthand. okay? Please...." The big green lock of hair prodruding from her forehead lightly bristled over Mark's shoulder as Nerai moved her head a bit, returning the man's nuzzle.
"I heard Chlorate got to be Gunner on the last mission, and from what I hear, she did an excellent job. I'm so proud of her. My sister Kiki did well too in engineering. You did great too, you guys keep this up and we get out of pretty much anything.", Mark said more confident now his anxiety had been proven false. His smile no longer forced, but genuine even if not a full smile.
"Hehe...yeah, she did amazing...though not without the usual...'shenanigans'....if you know what i mean. Also what's this about Kiki being your sisterrr~?" She asked, in a slightly teasing tone, even if her voice was still a little quivery from before.
"Well after the whole pomegranate thing when we first arrived in Ayenee, and I got out of medbay, i ran into her while leaving. We got to talking and she doesn't have any family. At the time I didn't remember having any other than Chlorate of course. So after a bit, we just kinda adopted each other as siblings. Granted, the only good thing I got out of the whole possession thing with the demon bit was my memory back. Wait... shenanigans.... by the void please tell me she didn't shout it across the bridge.", Mark explained though gave a sigh of frustration as he realized what she meant.
"Loud and clear, hun... among other things, like something about asking Hoshi out on a date... Might want to ask her about that before she gets onto trouble.... as per usual." An exasperated giggle accompanied her response, confirming Mark's fears.
"So uh.....while we're here..." She sounded hesitant for a sec, gripping Mark's shirt a bit more tightly. ".. can i uh... see? ....a bit more closely?" From the tone of her voice, it was fairly clear what she meant by 'it'..
"Um, sure. My vision with it is weird like anything warm radiates, but it also has the enhancements the original eye had." Mark said using two fingers from his normal hand to keep his eyelids spread apart. The pupil automatically narrowing as it focused on her.
"Ooohh." Now that she was more up close to Mark's face, she could really see the eye in it's full detail. The deep red iris contrasted very well with the pitch black sclera, only made more outlandish by the slit pupil inside of it. Then again, as a separa'shan, slit pupils were quite normal to Nerai, and as such, that part of the eye wasn't really all that intimidating.
"Heh....i guess we match now, kind of..... Also those black sclera...call me crazy, but they remind me of Abart's moher from a good dozen years ago. She was originally from this one warrior clan, the 'I Sho'ach, who would dye their sclera black on purpose when thet were accepted as a fully fledged warrior....or something... it's been a while since she told me so i might've forgotten something... sorry if that sounded a bit weird...
As her grip slowly loosened on his body, her arm brushed along Mark's demonized arm, feeling the slight curved from the exoskeletal coverings. Without even realizing it, her hand stayed put aroud that area, feeling up the rough texture with strange curiosity...
"I am a soldier as I have been for years, so that actually seems fitting. I used to be an officer. Though that was several years ago.", Mark commented oddly enough finding the feeling of his arm being examined comforting. He was still surprised at just how accepting she had been, but brought a great relief to him, and remind him just how much he loved her.
"Maybe someday I can introduce you guys to my real sister,...and everyone one else. I've quite an oddball family, and they live out in Western space on a desert planet.", Mark added hoping to show her the only other place that had ever felt like home.
"Oddball sounds about right, judging by the big bro of the family~" She couldn't help but crack a quick joke at the guy, being back to his old straightforward self again. "I'd love to meet them someday."
After all that, she eventuallt let up the tight embrace, undoing her tail's coil to met Mark move freely again, reminded that there was still something to be done. "Say, all that ruckis has made me peckish, how about we head over to the wardroom for a quick snack?" The prospect of a yummy meal with Mark made her tailtip stand up straight, wiggling slightly in exitement.
"Sure I could use a bite, I haven't eaten since we started the mission. I need to cook for you some night, granted I know I'm not a chef like Miko, but I'd like to think I can cook pretty well. Maybe even a song later on the guitar.", Mark smiled as he said after being released. Now free he he gave her a hug of his own and a kiss after replacing the eyepatch, then grabbing the coat.
"Oooooh i'm holding you to that one~! Better put your money where your mouth is~"
Neray chuckled, throwing one arm around Mark's shoulders as soon as he'd donned the coat again. Even if the two of them had talked it all over, she could tell that he wasn't ready to openly show evryone else. Then again that was perfectly understandable, recalling her own shocked response, she could imagine what it's be like for mark if the whole crew figured out all at once. "I'm feeling like a good pasta right now, how about you?"
"That sounds perfect. Hmm, wonder if spaghetti is on the menu.", Mark said cheerfully as they went.
The sudden withdrawal of the Kaiyo from the Soranumizu universe had reminded most of the crew that alternate universes are a scary place. Especially those who were there with the IYS Kaiyo encounter.
With long bridge hours, post-battle reports, system checkups and mainenence verification, Nerai had been up to her ears in one job after the other. All the while being curious as to how abart and Mark had made it through their sortie. As per usual, Abart wasn't very hard to find, but Mark had proven to be very elusive ever since they'd returned.
After checking in at the medbay, she was quickly waved of by a preoccupied snakedoctor, which gave her some relief in that he was most likely fine. Still, did didn't stop her from looking for the guy, and sure enough, after going through various places in the ship, quarters included, the snake finally found her boyfriend in the powerarmor bay, standing by himself.
The soft rustling of the serpentine tail over the hard floorboards was quicly accompanied by her voice, sounding a tad worried from the rather solemn sight of the man...
"M-Mark? How are you...?"
As she approached.Mark would turn, the coat pulled over his right arm and the eyepatch over his left now evident. He gave a slight smile as she approached, happy to see the woman he loved, but still very nervous.
"Oh, h hi Nerai. I'm doing okay I think."
The quick and slightly anxious response made Nerai raise an eyebrow. "Ah... i see. I've been looking all over you...got worried for a second, hehe... Glad to see you made it out well."
The snake quickly slid over to Mark taki g note of the eyepatch and the somewhat out-of-place coat. "...though not without a scratsh it seems..." Brushing one hand over his head, she gave him a quick ruffle. "You're gonna tell me all about it later, been stuck in the bridge for so long, i could use some R&R, don'tcha think...? "
Mark looked at the scorched and rent covered Mindy he called "Raven" for a moment before turning back.
"Yeah..yeah I could use some too. Especially right now.", Mark said trying to put on a smile as he thought of what Sacre had told him before booting him from the medbay.
The deck of the armor bay had been partially cordened off with cones as the deck was still stained with black from what happened on the trip home. They would eventually get it cleaned up, but he couldn't help but give it a glance with a pained expression.
Mark's quik glance was picked up by Nerai's keen icy white lookers, and they quickly followed his gaze to the huge black stains all over the interior. ".....looks like quite the homecoming there..... is that what's gotten your eye there?" She asked, quickly pointing in the general direction of Mark's face.
"It's all from me. And it's more than my eye, I...I wasn't exactly myself on the trip home, and the jump did something to me.", Mark said pulling the coat tighter over his arm out of impulse, "It began with something that happened in Ayenee."
Wait hold up. The words from Mark just now were outrageous enough to make even the scaly veteran do a double take. She knew something was up with him but this is *quite* something different. "Wh- wait what do you mean... from you?..."Before Nerai knew it, that sense of unease had crept back up her spine, making her whole back feel slightly cold.
"Uuuh,.....short story, I got turned into a demon while in ayenee. Trip home I turned back to normal --ish in a very painful process. I'm human again, but not without a couple souvenirs. Yeah, it it wasn't a good time.", Mark said um very nervously and pretty sure she was about to run away from him at this rate.
Throughout his explanation, Nerai continued to look at him, listening closely with a face that was part disbelief, part amazement. Despite how ludicrous it sounded, the evidence was quite literally all over the PA-bay floor. "Yeah... you don't say.... people usually don't just spew black goop all overt the place like that..." She let out a deep sigh, holding her forehead in one hand for a moment... All this information, so suddenly out of the blue was a lot to take in.
"So lemme get this straight....you did some shit in ayenee...got all demonized and stuff....." A brief pause filled their surroundings with a dead, icy silence, as Nerai tried to string her words together. "... and you never even told me!?" Unable to contain her confusion, she couldn't help but snap at the guy like she did. "You...you had suc a thing happen to you and you kept it quiet the whole time? What were you thinking!?"
All thoughout her little outburst, Nerai stood her ground, showing no signs of going anywhere anytime soon.
"Nerai....when it happened I had no choice, it was forced on me. By a creature who threatened to kill everyone I cared for. For days I fought her, having burst of anger and powers that weren't my own. I wanted to keep the crew and especially you safe. And I was scared, of what I could do, of what I had become, and what everyone else would think of me. For so long I fought a slowly losing battle, eventually I broke down and made a deal. I would be a willing host and in return she would spare the crew. And now....", Mark said this before trailing off his eyes now moist with tears that began to run down his cheeks as he spoke.
He let the coat fall away to show his arm, the skin a rough exterior with bone like plates having grown along the arms size like some prehistoric armor. And with a trembling free hand he pulled the eyepatch off before opening the eye slowly. The black schelera a startling contrast to the deep crimson reptilian slit pupil.
"And now I'm a freak, some kind of chimera. I never asked to become this, I just did what I thought was right. Before we left I had changed into a full demon, a tall lanky monster crawling across the rafters of this bay. Then when we jumped I was torn apart put back together as this you see now. It's like some fucked up Jekyll and Hyde story.", Mark finished in a sob.
As Mark slowly broke down into tears, Nerai's gaze was locked onto him, unable to break free. Slowly but surely her temper had died off, making way for a whole flurry of different emotions... "Mark....I..." The reveal of his demonic features were beyond anything she'd expected, for a secons almost unable to comprehend it's bizarreness. Nevertheless, she stood there, taking in all the confusion, fear, sadness and regret Mark was throwing at her right now.
With an audible gulp, Nerai thought of what to say...what would be most appropriate for this situation..... there was plenty of things she *should* have said, probably.. but right now.... there was really only one thing she truely *wanted* to say...
Without so much as a second glance, her upper body shot forwards, completely latching itself around him in a hug that was far too tight for comfort. It didn't tale long before her tail followed, firmpy wrapping itself around the two at their base, both standing in the middle of the big ciol wrap. "...you idiot!" *sniff* "You...you big dumb dummy stupid dummydumb you!"
Despite her cruel words, Nerai's embrace currently Enveloping mark was filled with nothing but concern and care, not wanting to let go for even a millisecond. She'd be damned if she was going to let go of Mark right now, be it physically or emotionally.
Mark found the physical side of the hug uncomfortable, but emotionally it could have been the softest thing ever. He returned the hug with his normal arm.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so very sorry. I just didn't want to hurt anyone. Please forgive me.", Mark said trying to pull himself together.
*sniff* "...It's alright.... i know you did sweetie...... it's just....... it all sounds so scary......i don'r even want to imagine what you have been through..." One of her hands ran through his short trimmed hair once more, rubbing his head tenderly. "it's alright..... you don't have to do this alone...."
Standing here like this, with the broken Nepleslian in her arms, she really meant every word of what she said. All throughout her life she'd been the flirtatious type, hopping from place to place, devil may care, but ever since coming to the Star army, once again finding purpose in her loose life of thrillseeking, Nerai had changes slightly at heart. This very moment she could finally truely care for someone who wasn't direct family....heck, maybe even moreso...
"I'm a mess, I'm sorry for making you worry. Things have been hard, but knowing I have people who love me makes it bareable. I love you so much, that there isn't a day I don't have you in my thoughts.", Mark said resting his head on her shoulder just enjoying the embrace.
Knowing she'd managed to reassure him somewhat had cheered up nerai a little as well, loosening her grip a bit as to not squeeze him down even further. 'Hmm.....don't be......i think there are plenty of people who'd do the same thing....so don't beat yourself up too much, alright? Just promise me that....whatever happens from now on, you make sure to tell me firsthand. okay? Please...." The big green lock of hair prodruding from her forehead lightly bristled over Mark's shoulder as Nerai moved her head a bit, returning the man's nuzzle.
"I heard Chlorate got to be Gunner on the last mission, and from what I hear, she did an excellent job. I'm so proud of her. My sister Kiki did well too in engineering. You did great too, you guys keep this up and we get out of pretty much anything.", Mark said more confident now his anxiety had been proven false. His smile no longer forced, but genuine even if not a full smile.
"Hehe...yeah, she did amazing...though not without the usual...'shenanigans'....if you know what i mean. Also what's this about Kiki being your sisterrr~?" She asked, in a slightly teasing tone, even if her voice was still a little quivery from before.
"Well after the whole pomegranate thing when we first arrived in Ayenee, and I got out of medbay, i ran into her while leaving. We got to talking and she doesn't have any family. At the time I didn't remember having any other than Chlorate of course. So after a bit, we just kinda adopted each other as siblings. Granted, the only good thing I got out of the whole possession thing with the demon bit was my memory back. Wait... shenanigans.... by the void please tell me she didn't shout it across the bridge.", Mark explained though gave a sigh of frustration as he realized what she meant.
"Loud and clear, hun... among other things, like something about asking Hoshi out on a date... Might want to ask her about that before she gets onto trouble.... as per usual." An exasperated giggle accompanied her response, confirming Mark's fears.
"So uh.....while we're here..." She sounded hesitant for a sec, gripping Mark's shirt a bit more tightly. ".. can i uh... see? ....a bit more closely?" From the tone of her voice, it was fairly clear what she meant by 'it'..
"Um, sure. My vision with it is weird like anything warm radiates, but it also has the enhancements the original eye had." Mark said using two fingers from his normal hand to keep his eyelids spread apart. The pupil automatically narrowing as it focused on her.
"Ooohh." Now that she was more up close to Mark's face, she could really see the eye in it's full detail. The deep red iris contrasted very well with the pitch black sclera, only made more outlandish by the slit pupil inside of it. Then again, as a separa'shan, slit pupils were quite normal to Nerai, and as such, that part of the eye wasn't really all that intimidating.
"Heh....i guess we match now, kind of..... Also those black sclera...call me crazy, but they remind me of Abart's moher from a good dozen years ago. She was originally from this one warrior clan, the 'I Sho'ach, who would dye their sclera black on purpose when thet were accepted as a fully fledged warrior....or something... it's been a while since she told me so i might've forgotten something... sorry if that sounded a bit weird...
As her grip slowly loosened on his body, her arm brushed along Mark's demonized arm, feeling the slight curved from the exoskeletal coverings. Without even realizing it, her hand stayed put aroud that area, feeling up the rough texture with strange curiosity...
"I am a soldier as I have been for years, so that actually seems fitting. I used to be an officer. Though that was several years ago.", Mark commented oddly enough finding the feeling of his arm being examined comforting. He was still surprised at just how accepting she had been, but brought a great relief to him, and remind him just how much he loved her.
"Maybe someday I can introduce you guys to my real sister,...and everyone one else. I've quite an oddball family, and they live out in Western space on a desert planet.", Mark added hoping to show her the only other place that had ever felt like home.
"Oddball sounds about right, judging by the big bro of the family~" She couldn't help but crack a quick joke at the guy, being back to his old straightforward self again. "I'd love to meet them someday."
After all that, she eventuallt let up the tight embrace, undoing her tail's coil to met Mark move freely again, reminded that there was still something to be done. "Say, all that ruckis has made me peckish, how about we head over to the wardroom for a quick snack?" The prospect of a yummy meal with Mark made her tailtip stand up straight, wiggling slightly in exitement.
"Sure I could use a bite, I haven't eaten since we started the mission. I need to cook for you some night, granted I know I'm not a chef like Miko, but I'd like to think I can cook pretty well. Maybe even a song later on the guitar.", Mark smiled as he said after being released. Now free he he gave her a hug of his own and a kiss after replacing the eyepatch, then grabbing the coat.
"Oooooh i'm holding you to that one~! Better put your money where your mouth is~"
Neray chuckled, throwing one arm around Mark's shoulders as soon as he'd donned the coat again. Even if the two of them had talked it all over, she could tell that he wasn't ready to openly show evryone else. Then again that was perfectly understandable, recalling her own shocked response, she could imagine what it's be like for mark if the whole crew figured out all at once. "I'm feeling like a good pasta right now, how about you?"
"That sounds perfect. Hmm, wonder if spaghetti is on the menu.", Mark said cheerfully as they went.
