[ OPEN ] Hot Springs Episode!

[shri]

CHARACTERS: EVERYONE
WHERE: The Second Flight
WHEN: DAY :022
SUMMARY: The Sauna!
WARNINGS: Nekkid times.

[ A few hours after the murder, she hasn't blown the ship up, and here they are. Another knock knock on everyone's brain: ]

( For those of you that are interested - I have secured us a place at the Sauna. Free for us to be use without interruption from outsiders.

You are to be clean before you come in. )

[ Maybe you're here because she bullied you, maybe you want to soak - maybe you're the poor bastard that is standing guard at the door. Either way, welcome to the Suana, have fun. Or don't. ]

Comments

[detestable]

[ Richie's amusement coalesces in Seth's head before he voices the joke. It's unsettling for Seth. He pulls the towel off his shoulders, balls it between his hands in a nervous gesture while he gathers his thoughts and smothers the emotion. ]

Har, har.

[ But all reactions aside, it's good to talk to Richie and be able to see his face. It takes the edge off the weirdness of being able to feel his mind. ]

How involved do you think the rest of our rag tag little band is? The discovery had a few of them all worked up and not just because it was their first time seeing a stiff.

[ But no one seemed to know anything. That's the thing. Richie had been worried about leaving a body behind, but whoever the hell did this had managed to slip off without being caught. Seth's heard all the whispers and finger-pointing, of course. Even with all that going on, no one's come up with any proof. That's worth paying attention to. ]

[ophidia]

[Richard's amusement isn't dismissed by Seth's reaction. If anything, that makes it better, and it lingers, almost smug, as he considers the question.]

Peripheral. [A beat.] Maybe accidental.

[That's generous. Possibly too generous, but Richard has some optimism that there have to be at least a couple who were worthwhile in the whole brigade of fumbling amateurs.]

They've had their feet on the ground long enough to get started in with the locals, know some things. But if any of them wanted that to happen, there'd be more talk.

[Because that in itself would indicate direction. A goal being moved towards, or met, if the dead aliens were intended. But so far all Richard's heard and seen has looked like a bunch of mice in a maze running haphazard and blind.]

[detestable]

[ Seth scoffs; Richie's generosity is noted and deemed misplaced. Much of Seth's optimism had been shed as he'd watched the aftermath of the funeral and wondered how the fuck he was supposed to work with any of that. But he doesn't contradict Richie on that point outright. ]

And less panic.

[ Elena's vigil at Gildor's bedside comes to mind. ]

They've got an in with the faction the elf died protecting. But nothing concrete with the other two as far as I've heard.

[ And obviously, no info on which faction was housing the so-called Enemy. Which Seth figured to be the bigger issue than getting chummy with other politicians. ]

[ophidia]

[Richard snorts. Apparently easily amused today.]

"The elf."

[It's accurate. No denying that. But there's still something surreal and funny about it coming out of Seth's mouth, right in the middle of a sentence discussing the landscape of a job.]

[detestable]

Yeah, the elf.

[ Aggro, towel knotting between his hands. ]

You need me to call it something else?

[ Richie's in a good mood, for reasons that are beyond Seth. He's so ill at ease that it makes it difficult for him to unwind once he's made the effort to put distance between himself and Lakshmi's blissful enjoyment of the water. ]

[ophidia]

[Richard tips his head, half a shake, unaffected by Seth's tone. Or maybe encouraged by it.]

Just enjoying the sheer fucking incongruity, brother.

[detestable]

Yeah, well stop it.

[ Will Seth ever stop being mad about Richie being intrigued by their new situation? Unlikely. ]

Shouldn't we be trying to work here?

[ophidia]

[Seth has a point. A good point. Unfortunately (or not) it's enough of a good point to break down Richard's good mood, all humour finally slipping off his face.]

Here is a glorified hot tub, Seth. [One arm lifted from his position of repose to point down, sharp, at the water. But he isn't done, counting off each point with a finger as he continues, eyebrows raised.] This whole outfit's a mess [One.], the intel they gave us is as good as a travel guide [Two.], and my particular dietary requirements mean I'm having to figure out how to get my next meal, before I can start wasting my time trying to straighten out a so-called mission they're three weeks into with fuck all to show for it.

[Three. He holds them up, emphatic, then lets his hand drop into the water. Then gives a considered tip of his head.]

Credit where it's due, this little excursion is the most organised thing I've seen them pull off so far.

[detestable]

[ It's a momentary relief to have Richie shift back from laughingly commenting on the assortment of bad b-movie extras they're sharing space with and assess the situation like the professionals they're supposed to be. The relief fades when Richie lays out the exact nature of just how fucked they are, on top of Richie eventually needing a next meal. Seth had been letting himself ignore that, hoping Richie would come up with a fix on his own, except if they stayed on this airship, Seth was likely going to have to stay involved. He wasn't sure he wanted to, though he also knows he doesn't exactly have a choice. ]

Yeah, well, reserving a private room at the pool isn't exactly a groundbreaking show of teamwork.

[ Any excuse to throw shade at Lakshmi, even as the knotwork of scars on her bare skin flash into Seth's mind. ]

How long can you go before we have to start worrying about your next meal?

[ophidia]

[There's no point asking Seth how long he can go without eating. Use it as a snipe back, show him how fucked that question was. They both know the answer. They'd experienced it enough times as kids.]

Worrying starts at a few days. [That he knows well enough from his time with Kisa. When the hunger really started.] But I can go a week, maybe longer. As long as I don't have to heal.

[He doesn't know if Seth understands that, how the timing of their arrival had been the reason why he'd ended up so hungry so soon. The bullet wound, the walk in the sun. All of that, and then the attack at the motel had come before he'd even had time to think of going out for a bite.]

[detestable]

[ It's a fucked question. Seth isn't completely unaware of what blood is to Richie. A sandwich scrounged together from whatever he could lift from the market or a pit stop at the nearest burger joint wasn't going to cut it anymore. All the old go-to's Seth had learned when Ray hadn't bothered to stock the kitchen were useless now. Food had been a language between them, and now Seth can't keep up with the translation. It was fucked. For all the reasons Richie's thinking and then some. ]

It'll be easier to get the drop on someone when we're on the ground.

[ And there's already a murdered on the loose. That was useful. ]

If we play it right, they'll all keep on blaming each other and no one will look at us.

[ Us meaning them and their veiled cohorts. ]

[ophidia]

[We would normally be natural. No thought in it. The Gecko brothers together. But in the context it catches Richard's attention as unwanted. He looks at Seth flatly, ignoring the temptation to start bouncing off the facts he's stated, cutting the flaws away and working on the good.]

I'll handle it, Seth.

[He doesn't want a repeat of the closet. He knows Seth doesn't, either, no matter how much he might avoid stating it directly.]

[detestable]

[ Record scratch. They're running into those more and more these days. Seth frowns over it, off-put by the dissonant chord as much as the rebuke. ]

Oh yeah?

[ Does he want to restart the argument they'd only just barely put behind them? Seth's tired of that calculation. ]

Look, you're going to need someone to watch your back. That's all I'm saying.

[ And that the idea of someone else watching Richie's back rankles, but like hell is Seth going to admit to it. ]

[ophidia]

[Richard raises his eyebrows, a bitter pettiness in the press of his mouth.]

As long as it's just my back, right.

[detestable]

How many people do you want getting an eyeful of your mouth?

[ Not that keeping it a secret was going to be easy in this kind of set up. ]

[ophidia]

We’re all playing dress up as pretend frog aliens. Maybe my mouth won’t be that much of a problem.

[Not everyone reacted to culebra the way Seth did. Richard had seen that enough times back on Earth.]

[detestable]

Your mouth has always been a problem.

[ As if Seth's smart talk hasn't gotten them into an equal amount of trouble. ]

Are you going to take this seriously or not?

[ Or worse, take it seriously but without Seth. ]

[ophidia]

[That has more of a sting than Seth likely intended. A lazy, accidental hit that just summons up the full sensation of Seth's revulsion back in that closet again. Because Richard's mouth was the problem, one Seth didn't want anything to do with.]

This is the difference between me eating or starving, Seth. I was already taking it seriously.

[Expression flat and hard, unimpressed.]

The question is if you can stick with how I decide to deal with it.

[If he'll listen, or if he'll push and shove in his involvement, and then just leave Richard with the bitter aftertaste of disgust again.]

[detestable]

[ The hurt rebounds. But there's nothing Seth can do about it now, after he's already spoken. The conversation teeters on the edge of a more damaging precipice than either of them could have anticipated. Seth's jaw works around the snappy answer caught in his throat: It's not like I have a choice, do I?

But he doesn't say it. ]

I'll figure it out, Richard.

[ There wasn't an alternative. And they aren't in a place where Richie can get his own food without trouble. ]

Look, you do what you have to do. Just make sure you don't end up like the elf.

[ophidia]

[It's almost a concession. Not completely, but enough to have Richard ease back a little. Watch him for a moment. The sentiment in the last peeling everything down to the core of things, Seth's motivation, his own. They keep each other safe.]

I'm not gonna end up like the elf.

[More of an assurance than anything defensive. He'll do what he has to do. And if that means he needs Seth involved, then he'll have Seth involved.]

[detestable]

[ It's the best assurance Seth is going to get. He looks at Richie for a long moment, then gets up. ]

Right.

[ What more could Seth ask him for? They'd never really be able to have concrete assurances of safety in the best of moments, and this is far from their normal operating procedure. ]

Look, I got somewhere to be. Find me when you're done soaking.

[ "Somewhere" aka the bar. ]