Remnants of the Earth
EDANITH => The Frontier => Topic started by: Katie on May 07, 2012, 06:29:47 pm
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It was noon and they still weren't even halfway done. Ly was mucking out the barn--he had the horse stalls done, at least, although that didn't say much on account of of there only being three--and now he was working his way down the line of cow stalls. Lissa was riding fence check. She was scanning a minor break, from a plains fox or a 'yote, maybe, when the ship touched down.
It was close enough that she felt the wind and the heat on her face and she had to hold her hat on and Dmitri near threw her. She kneed the horse back into line and smoothed his neck to calm him. "Shh, baby, shh," she murmured, "It's just a ship, I ain't letting it near you." He quieted mostly, but she could still the whites of his eyes a little. Well, wasn't this just peachy.
She flicked her twin a picture of the ship. Ly, babe, I think I need ya out here, she sent. On my way, he sent back, and Lissa nodded to herself and reined Dmitri to a standstill. She was not going any closer to that thing til her brother showed up, that was for sure.
But she wasn't going to take her eyes off it neither.
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Hanguin grabbed his cloak and pulled the hood part over his head before opening the main doors to the ship and watching as the ramp lowered to the ground. He wasn't overly fond of Edanith, let alone the frontier, but there were so few placed he could legally purchase supplies. When they didn't manage to take enough supplies from other ships that's just what they did. Purchase them. Han knew it wasn't very pirate like, but he just couldn't bring himself to steal from the poor. Even ships they pillaged he made his crew leave enough food and fuel for that ship to get to the closest destination. He was clever and usually managed to avoid confrontation and casualties on either side.
As he started to descend the ramp he was stopped by one of his men. "Captain, let me come with you. It isn't safe to go alone."
"...Tahshkei, I need you here. I want you to take off once I reach the farm... maintain a safe altitude and come back on my signal. Most importantly, I need you to get out of here if there is any trouble. I'm not going to leave you all to the bandits while I negotiate for food and fuel." Hanguin's voice was serious but kind, it had an almost song like quality... which wasn't odd since all Dimuroite people sang.
"Yes but Shemyura can do that, I can come with you-"
"Tahshkei... You are the best defensive pilot I have ever met. I want to leave you in control of this. Besides... it's a little farm. I will be fine." The captain reassured as he wrapped a scarf like cloth around his mouth to conceal more of his blue skin that wasn't hidden by his hood. He always wore a pair of white gloves, so his hands were covered. "Travel safely Tahshkei!" He called back as he reached the ground, it was always a weird feeling standing on soil.
"Travel safely Captain!" The pilot called back, but a gust of wind swallowed the words, so they never reached Hanguin's ears.
Hanguin crossed the distance toward the farm. It looked like the farmer was a woman, and she hadn't taken her eyes off of him yet. He didn't approach her directly, and stopped within shouting distance, turning back momentarily to watch the Light Chaser take off again. Good. He turned back to the woman on horseback and called out to her. "Hello! I was wondering if I might purchase provisions for my crew, if you have any you could sell." He didn't want to get any closer without permission.
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Dmitri actually reared when the ship took off again, and Lissa lost her hat because she had to hang on with both hands to keep from getting dumped on her ass. Damn spacers. She slid off, to be more polite and to get her hat back. She had it back on again and was adjusting it when the man (pretty sure it was a man, though it was hard to tell since he was all covered up) called to her asking about supplies.
"If you like beef, we got lots," she called back. They couldn't sell much, but what they could was more than enough for that ship. And there was Ly now, coming up the fence on Ivan. He rode up next to her and dismounted, but he kept a firm hold in his horse's bridle like Lissa was keeping on hers. Geldings might be the most sensible sort of horse, but they were still horses, and you respected that or you lost 'em (or got kicked in the nuts or bitten or stepped on, either way). He reached over and tucked back a stray strand of Lissa's hair, letting his fingers stay at the side of her face for just a little too long, and just as he felt her gearing up to tell him to save it for the bedroom, he pulled his hand back and turned to the man.
"Hey, stranger," he called. "c'mon closer, we can't talk business if you're all the way over there."
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Beef. Beef would be good. Anything would be good. Han watched as a man approached the female farmer. Her brother perhaps? They did look similar, and a bit strange... though most other people looked strange to Dimuroites. He watched as the man touched the woman's cheek, and it seemed rather intimate to Hanguin. He even blushed watching it for some reason, thank goodness his face was hidden.
Once he was called over Han walked closer to the two, but paused a few feet away, both to hide his skin color and to stay a safe distance from the horses. He had seen many animals on his journeys now, but the Dimuroites only kept chickens and pigs on their mother ship. Such large animals would have no place... and he was a bit wary of the creatures. He looked back at the man and woman. "Beef would be wonderful... anything you can sell me I will gladly pay for."
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"Sounds good," said Lissa, nodding. "But this ain't exactly the best time for this, on account of me being in the middle of something I can't walk away from." She'd have finished the fence check by now, but she'd had to pick up half of what Lack couldn't do, so there was that. "Shouldn't be much longer, though, so, twin mine--" She looked up at Ly and bumped her hip against his gently.
"How's you coming up to the house proper with me sound? Liss'll come by when she's done," Ly said. She'd be sitting in, of course, but they didn't need to say that. Better to keep the weird under wraps til after they got paid.
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"I am sorry for the sudden intrusion." Han said sincerely. He was always polite, always wanted to present his people in the best way possible under the circumstances, even when he had to hide his skin color so he wouldn't be discovered as Dimuroite. It was hard having to worry about being discovered and sold off... or killed out of fear. People were such strange creatures... it was hard to tell what they were even capable of.
His gaze moved from the woman to her twin once again. "That sounds fine thank you." Under his cloak he began to sweat, partially from the heat but he also hadn't eaten in 3 days and was starting to really feel just how run down his body was. If he were a normal human it wouldn't be an issue... but he was a Dimuroite and their bodies burned energy far more rapidly. He hadn't eaten because he knew they were running low on supplies, and his men came first. But now ever step was becoming tiresome... and gravity and heat on the planet's surface didn't help. Still, he followed the man to the house, only stumbling once or twice, but never actually falling. He had to pull himself together.
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Ly shrugged. "'s alright," he said. "House is up here." Lissa mounted back up on Dmitri and went on the way she'd been going (with a you watch yourself, brother, just in case sent to Ly, and he flicked her a picture of the extra shotgun by the cooler back), and Ly got back up on Ivan and led the way to the gate. Real slow, but not much more than it would have been if they'd been riding doubled up. Gate wasn't hard to unlock since it was daytime, just a card swipe and a keypad password (15569) and they were through. The guy didn't look so great--he was dressed too heavy for this sun, was why. He'd need some water, maybe something to eat.
Well, a meal was a part of any decent long-bargaining session.
Ly stabled Ivan (and gently pushed Lissa out of the back of his head, because interference like that made them want re-melding and this was a real bad time for that) and let him in. Ly poured two cups of water without asking first and passed one over to--well, first things first. Names.
"Alright," he said, "I'm Vasily, most folks call me Ly. Who're you?"
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Hanguin was grateful to be out of the sun and even let out a soft sigh once they were inside. The man went about pouring water for them both and Han was instantly realized how thirsty he was. He had water in a canteen under his cloak, but was already being handed the cup. He held it and looked down at it but didn't drink it. Only a tiny bit of his hesitation was due to distrust... the rest was due to the fact that to drink the liquid he would have to remove the scarf from around his mouth. It was enough to simply hope that the hood was covering the rest of his face enough, he couldn't expose himself more.
He looked back at the tan man, Vasily, as he introduced himself. "I am Hanguin." He answered honestly and simply, not offering more information than that. He stared at the man's skin fascinated by the color. He found it amazing that the sun could darken it like that... he often wondered what would happen to the shades of blue skin his people possessed if they too were in the sunlight that often.
After a moment he realized he was staring and looked down at the water in his hand. He really was thirsty... thirsty and hot... and tired... so tired.
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"Pleased to meet you," said Ly, reaching over and pulling out a chair for Hanguin. "Have a seat, bargainin' ain't best done standing up." Handgun wasn't drinking--didn't trust him, or didn't want to move the scarf. The water had come right out of the tap, so it was probably the second one. Ly stared right back--and was he blue? Hard to tell, with him all wrapped up like that. But this close, it sure looked like.
Not his business, that. Weird, though.
"Look," said Ly. "You do need to drink that 'fore you fall over. We ain't got the time to patch you up if you hurt yourself like that. It's clean, y'saw me get it. And I ain't talkin' business with you til I can be sure you aren't fixin' to pass out."
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He sat down, thanking Ly for offering the seat but still hesitated to drink the water. Though, obviously this man could tell that something was different about him by now, most likely even saw the blue complexion. After a small nod of resignation he removed the scarf and let it fall in his lap before drinking the water, practically gulping it down before he could stop himself. After a moment Hanguin removed his hood too and ran a hand through his strawberry-blonde hair. He shouldn't have exposed himself, but he was too hot, and he didn't feel threatened by this man.
"...Thank you for the water." He said softly, almost feeling embarrassed for some reason. It was strange. "...should we discuss business now?"
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"Welcome to it," said Ly, sitting down himself. "Yeah." Now, there were a couple things he needed to know (numbers first, Lissa sent, and he caught a glimpse of their herd of brown-backed cows, which meant she was on the westmost side of the pasture and real close to being done. He sent back I'm not stupid and got a mental snort in response.) Ly blinked to bring the kitchen back into focus. Right. Numbers meant how many, then he had to know how much Hanguin could pay them. Man (Ly was pretty sure he was human, just blue) had his own ship, so that meant good hard cash.
"First things," he said, "How many people you supplying with this? Roundin' to within fives is best for that."
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There was no comment from Vasily about the color of Han's skin. That was a good sign. Maybe out on the frontier people didn't know about his people. Ly seemed not to care one way or another that Hanguin had blue skin. They just got straight down to business.
Han sat there thinking for a moment. He had a crew of roughly fifty people on his ship. Some were overflow from the mother ship that was undergoing repairs on one of the wings. That was part of why he was purchasing supplies instead of pirating more. With defenseless people on his ship he was wary of putting them in danger. "About one hundred." He said after a moment. Fifty Dimuroites ate like a hundred regular humans, so that was the number he gave. Of course his ship would be cramped if they really had a hundred people... the fifty was more than enough.
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That was six cows, with a margin--but that was for one day. They had about a thousand cows--the number went up and down, because despite his and Lissa's best efforts a couple got stolen or died. Despite the clicker and all the security measures, three people was a pretty small number, and they were down to two right now. But they could supply a hundred people with meat, if not for too long.
"Alright, how long you want the beef to last?"
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Even though he was sitting and had something to drink... even though he took off the scarf and hood... Han was feeling light headed and dizzy... and he was tired. Really tired... and his stomach hurt. But he had to be strong... he couldn't give in to these strange feelings... "...for as long as it can. A week, a month... whatever you can sell me." It was becoming harder and harder to hold his head up with every passing moment. It was so strange too... hunger and exhaustion was something he'd experienced before but not so... suddenly. Maybe the added gravity of the planet was making it worse... and the heat.
Hanguin just... just wanted to sleep... to lie down... but how could he? "I-I'm sorry..." He said softly, closing his eyes and holding his head. Dimuroites didn't get sick... so symptoms like these hit them especially hard... it was like they didn't know how to cope.
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Ly did the calculations in his head. Yeah, the herd could definitely support a month. The actual slaughtering and preservation was going to take a bit, but that couldn't be helped. "Month'll do--" he started to say, and broke off. Hanguin didn't look so good. Looked like the water hasn't been enough. Liss, he sent, and got a flash of exasperation and what are we, a hospital? back.
"Hey," he said. "'s fine." ETA?. Five minutes, Lissa sent back. "Any idea what's wrong?"
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Hanguin rubbed his head for a moment or two and then forced himself to sit back up. "I'm sorry... what were you saying?" He felt rude on top of everything and he hated feeling rude, which was of course a novelty since he was technically a pirate. He sat up straight and looked at the other man, but his head was spinning so much it just made him feel woozy. He had to pull it together... he couldn't... he... he had to be strong.
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"I asked if you know if there's anythin' wrong with you," said Ly, as gently as he could. "Pardon if I'm bein' rude, but you look pretty bad." That was an understatement. He could hear Lissa in the back of his head, running down a list of things Hanguin could have while she rubbed Dmitri down.
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"...I'm not sick if that's what you mean... my people.... we don't get sick." Han said softly. "I'm not too good at being on planets... I've lived in space my whole life.... and the gravity here... the heat... and I haven't eaten..." He was rambling, he knew that but he couldn't stop himself. "We've been running low on supplies... so I stopped eating.... because my crew comes first." He explained, he left out the biology lesson part. He'd have to actually say he was Dimuroite if he went into all that. He looked up at Ly. This was the nicest person he had ever met and here Han was being rude and about to faint in the man's house. "I-I'm sorry about all this..."
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He was apologizing. Because he'd been starving himself. For other people. This guy some kinda saint? Lissa sent. She was coming up the front steps right now. The door creaked open and shut and she appeared in the door.
"Right," she said decisively, "You need to eat somethin' and you need to rest."
All that talk about not bein' a hospital, Ly sent, a tinge of amusement going with the words. Lissa sent the impression of an eyeroll and turned to the cooler. They needed something that wouldn't upset his stomach.
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Hanguin looked up at the woman when she entered... how had she known what was wrong? Had she been listening? "Please... don't trouble yourselves over me... I... I'll just go back to my ship and come back..." He said trying to stand up but immediate having to sit down again. "I'm sorry... just give me a moment... I'll be out of your way..."
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Ly put a hand on Hanguin's shoulder. "'s no trouble."
"Think of it as us protectin' our business interests," said Lissa, giving up on the cooler and opening the pantry. "You keel over, we don't get paid. How you feel about wheat flakes?"
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Han flinched at being touched. There was no skin to skin contact but in his weak state he was still getting some emotions off of the man, though he couldn't make heads or tails of anything other than maybe some concern and worry. These really were good people weren't they? He looked up at Ly for a moment before turning to Lissa. "A-Anything is fine..." He said after a moment, giving in to their help.
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"Good," said Lissa. She fixed it--with minimal milk, last thing Hanguin needed was something that would upset his stomach. She set the bowl in front of him and perched on Ly's knee. Ly put a hand up to her hip automatically.
"We'll finish this when you're not half-dead," she went on. "Got a way to talk to your ship?"
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"Thank you..." Han took the bowl and slowly ate. He looked between the two siblings. His head was spinning but he couldn't help but think there was something strange between these two. He wasn't half dead... just not doing well... "Yes... of course." He had a communicator and could contact his ship... actually Tahshkei was probably worried and freaking out already. He ate some more and set the bowl in his lap. "...you are both very kind..."
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"Just good manners," said Ly.
"You should call in," Lissa said. "Tell 'em...well, tell 'em what you want, just as long as it means they don't land inside the gate." The corner of her mouth tilted up. "Cows taste better when they ain't been scared to within an inch of their life before the slaughter."
That was a terrible joke.
Like you're any better, brother mine.
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Han nodded. He should call Tahshkei at least... let him know what was happening and have him bring the ship around... and... The bowl slid from Hanguin's lap and clanked on the floor, at least he had eaten it all. He couldn't help it... he just, passed out.
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The twins just looked at the man now slumped over their kitchen table for a minute, and then they looked at each other.
Does he get a bed? asked Lissa.
Don't see why not, sent Ly. Customer. Manners. She sighed.
You do that. I'll call the ship. You see anything that looks like it could do that on there?
Ly sent one second and started looking for pockets. Gently, couldn't be getting too handsy with a client. And there--small and round and a metallic gray. Ly tossed it to Lissa, who caught it, and then, very carefully, picked up Hanguin. Didn't want to bang anything. Guest bed for him. They had plenty, this house had been home to a big family before they all split off and left it to the man they'd bought it off.
Lissa fiddled with the circle until it clicked it open (which spooked her more than she'd like to admit). Alright. Buttons. There were buttons--ah, there. Now she just had to figure out which one to press. She pushed her thumb down on one. Nothing. Next one, and it lit up. Progress. "Hello?" she said doubtfully.
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Even being unconscious he could feel Ly's emotions as he was carried. Two minds... two bodies... the love... the connection... all one. The feelings flooded his mind as he slept.
The communicator connected to Tahshkei on the ship, who answered quickly. "Captain? Are you finished? Should I land the ship?" He was worried about the captain being down there all on his own.
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"Oh, good, it's on," said Lissa, "He passed out. Hasn't been eatin', he said. Think you may want to come get 'im, but you'll have to land outside the fence. And if you want to finish the business without 'im, be my guest. Don't exactly have all the time in the world down here."
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Tahshkei paled when he heard the woman's voice on the other end. For a split second he thought this could be a trap, but then overwhelming guilt and worry hit him. Captain Hanguin hadn't been eating? How had he not noticed that? He couldn't remember the last time he saw the captain eat though... Shassshanm! How had he been so blind? So stupid? "Is he alright?" Tahshkei asked trying to keep his voice from shaking. The crew around him all started taking notice and asking him what was wrong, he had to shush them to keep quiet.
"Is the Captain alright ma'am?" He instinctively was a bit harsher than he intended to be despite his polite words. The captain was very special to him- to all the crew, and he was now torn between doing his job as the captain instructed, and rushing down there to get him. "...I am not authorized to land the ship without the captain's express orders." He said finally. If it was a trap... well he could not risk it. There were innocent people on board from the overflow... not just crew members.
"I am sorry for your inconvenience... but until the captain tells me to do so... I cannot land the ship. Please take care of him till he wakes up." Tahshkei was shaking as he said this, but he had to. He had to follow orders.
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"He's gonna be just fine," said Lissa. Guy up there sounded pretty unhappy about this. Not like she could blame him, this sounded pretty shady to her and she was saying. "Wouldn't dream of doin' otherwise. I'll warn you, though--this'll take a good while. Eight hours is my guess."
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"...Thank you. I will keep in touch." Tahshkei had to muster all his strength and courage to say those words without his voice shaking, and then he disconnected the communication and sat there with his head in his hands for a moment before alerting the crew.
Hanguin turned in his sleep... he could see the two siblings so clearly in his dream... speaking as one... sharing everything... their touches... it was strange but so right... he felt that connection in his dream. The way they felt it... like he was part of it for a moment. Like he was them...
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It was actually seven hours later--hours in which only half of what should actually be getting done got done, because somebody had to be in the house. It took Ly a good half of the seven hours to get the cows over to the other side of pasture (two-man job, that), and then Lissa took the rest of it to finish up with the barn and the stables.
Hey, he's up, sent Ly as she was scrubbing the uck off of her hands.
Right, call his friend. Be right in.
Ly flipped open the communicator and clicked it on. "Your captain's up," he said, "Passin' him over in a second." He turned to Hanguin and held it out.
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Tahshkei had checked in with the farmers a few times since their first conversation, and felt a sort of... comfort. They seemed like they were helping the captain after all, but he was so relieved when the man said that the captain was awake. "Thank you..." He let out a sigh of relief.
Hanguin felt unsteady as he awoke... he felt like he was moving even though he was lying down.... and in a bed too. He tried to sit up but wasn't able to right away... but he saw Ly and felt at ease. Why? The next thing he knew he was handed his communicator. "H-Hello?" He said softly.
"Captain? Are you alright!?"
"Tahshkei... yeah, yeah I'm alright."
"They said you passed out..."
Hanguin sat up. "Yes... I suppose I did... I was really dizzy..."
"You haven't been eating captain?"
"...no. I'm sorry... I was trying to help you all and I only caused trouble for my entire crew..." Hanguin looked at Ly and knowing that even though Lissa wasn't there she was. "...and the nice people here."
"...as long as you are alright everything else can be worked out. I wouldn't land the ship without your orders... I wanted to though... we all did." Tahshkei said seriously.
"I'm sorry... come get me. It's safe."
"I'll see you soon then captain."
Hanguin hung up and looked at Ly. "Thank you and Lissa for everything..." He said slowly trying to get to his feet.
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"Welcome to it," said Ly. Lissa came in, through the kitchen, and down the hall. She was tired, he could tell. The ache in her arms started to spill over into Ly's, and she pushed him out gently.
"Hey," she said, sticking her head in. "Hate to be rude, but this is a matter of business. You wanna finish up yourself, or is your second steppin' in?"
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"No, I'll finish our business. Tahshkei wouldn't make a decision without me anyway." Hanguin said looking at the two of them. If someone had tried to explain to him that these two people were one he wouldn't have understood it... but having felt it... somehow it made perfect sense. "You run this farm all alone?" He asked amazed that they could manage it all by them self.
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They looked at each other and laughed. "No," said Ly. "We have a hired hand." Both faces sobered abruptly.
"He's sick," Lissa said. "Fever. Harmless but takes a stone's age goin' away." She huffed a sigh. "Look. How much cash are you willin' to pay for a hundred head, here?"
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"I am sorry your worker is sick..." That was something his people didn't have to worry about, but starvation was a real concern. "I hope he gets well soon. I am sure it is hard for just you..." He wished that he had the means to get the farmers medicine. Even though his people were used to make medicine, they had no way to get or distribute the meds.
He looked at Lissa when she brought up price. "What is your usual rate?" He didn't want to low ball them or haggle really. He liked these weird siblings and wanted to do right by them.