Author Topic: S.O.S. [Daglobster] [M] (Read 9658 times)

DragonSong · « **Reply #40 on:** October 30, 2019, 10:02:16 pm »

Maya frowned at the screen. I am...confused.

Unconsciously, she'd moved her hand under his to slip around to the back of his neck, her palm cupped gently against his nape both as a constant point of contact and as a source of heat. She was, in fact, curious about the texture of his scales, but she thought it would probably be rude to trace the shape of them as such curiosity urged her to do.

That didn't stop the impulse from slipping through with her projection however, even if she'd had the presence of mind to try and filter it.

How... How can one destroy a thing before it ever exists? Does this tale attempt to address the problem of the time paradox?

She was no scientist, not really, but she liked to think she'd picked a few things up in her travels. And theories about time travel were always entertaining, no matter how plausible--or implausible, as the case may be--they were.

Daglobster · « **Reply #41 on:** November 13, 2019, 12:45:23 am »

“By destroying what creates it, I suppose. I haven’t seen this one yet,” Elaros said, and his words came out almost with a pleased growling tone, and the heat was appreciated. He didn’t want her to stretch her arm so much for his sake so he came in closer so it was more comfortable for her.

The desire for warmth only grew stronger once he got a tidbit and as that small impression of her curioisity hit him it mixed in with that strong desire of his and came right back to her.

“But it’s interesting to think that even so long ago ancient people were thinking about these kinds of things,” he surmised.

The scene changes to those same concrete cities, but this time teeming with life at night. Antique combustion engine vehicles (some mundane, some of a sleeker, magitech design buzzed about and neon signs and lights painted the streets different colors.

UTHLYN, 1994

“And don’t worry about space, get as comfortable as you like. These can be kind of long sometimes.”

DragonSong · « **Reply #42 on:** November 13, 2019, 09:01:06 am »

But if you did...then you would never need to go back in time to destroy it in the first place.

Maya frowned, clearly wracking her brain in an attempt to puzzle through this particular problem. Unless of course your actions created fractured timelines, and there were individuals whose memories and experience crossed multiple realities--

Her voice cut off with something very like a mental squeak as his emotions washed back over her and her eyes widened. That was...powerful.

Feeling her skin flush gently, she gave her best approximation of clearing her throat--a sound that was rather like a a very soft, coughing sort of hum--and tried to return her attention to the screen. She snuggled a little deeper into her seat on the couch, though she was still trying to keep at least a bit of space between them, despite her hand still resting lightly against him.

Daglobster · « **Reply #43 on:** November 26, 2019, 03:04:12 pm »

"Perhaps it could be a strategy to proliferate yourself? Ensure you're never destroyed, in a way," he said, and he would've said more but then the scene changed to out behind what looked to be a Old Times bar, in a dimly lit parking lot. Lightning crackled and red light flushed the area as an orb appeared.

When it faded away, the ground touched by the orb was frozen and a single, muscular man wearing only very simple coverings stood up from a crouch. Then it stalks and ambushes a pair of drunk patrons so it can disguise itself in their garments, and it takes their car for transportation.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, in the middle of a park, another bright red orb appears except this time it's Race, and he stumbles out into the park in his underclothes, scaring a nearby visitor to the park and cauing him to run away rather embarassed. After sourcing some clothes of his own, he prepares himself and heads out to find the woman before her assassin does. The only thing both had to go on was a single name, Joan Smith.

"If you keep making alternate timelines, you can prolong the fight indefinitely. You would perish in your current iteration, but another would live on. And who knows, roll the dice enough times and maybe you'll just succeed."

DragonSong · « **Reply #44 on:** November 26, 2019, 04:21:53 pm »

Maya hummed low in her chest at that, accepting the premise, though she was clearly still attempting to work through the paradox in her mind even as she watched the vid unfold on the screen before them. With her hand still resting against his scales and her guard a little lower than it might have been normally, she couldn’t stop the soft pulses of her reactions from skittering across to him.

Surprise at the flash of light. A combination of anxiety and wariness when the first strange, naked man attacked the couple in the parking lot. Curiosity and a bit of intrigue for the second stranger’s appearance—along with a quick flash of appreciate for his physique. Old Earth actors were quite fit, evidently.

As the minutes passed she seemed to grow more absorbed in the vid, and didn’t seem to realize that she was still keeping that skin-to-scale contact, the mental link between them a live wire of flickering emotion and sensation.

Daglobster · « **Reply #45 on:** December 03, 2019, 08:36:03 pm »

Funnily enough, they both thought the same thing about the man's physique, but that wasn't the only thing Elaros fixated on. Whenever something exciting would happen, or a tense moment would come, it was like a flash through his system.

He spared her a glance, happy to see that she was so entertained by it, and he let himself relax more, coming to rest a little closer to her, subconsciously drawn to that mental link. It felt warm in all the best ways, and his pupils widened at the dual sensations.

Ooohhh... that's new...

He couldn't help but wonder if it could transfer more physical sensations as well...

Then, his attention was drawn back to what they were watching. He'd missed the scene where Joan Smith was introduced as a down-on-her-luck bartender, certainly not what you'd expect the future mother of the resistance's leader to be. Although the suddenly tense music drew his eyes in time to see a familiar stolen vehicle cruise on past the bar.

A couple of scenes later, Joan is walking home after bidding her coworkers farewell. A silhouette is stalking her, coming closer and closer, until...

Joan is grabbed and pulled into an alleyway, and her assailant covers her mouth. She struggles, but something about the way the guy tells her to be quiet, with a genuine fear in his voice, and she settles long enough to see that same car slowly drive past. The windows are rolled down this time, and the other time traveller, still stone-faced, can be seen peering around, searching for her.

Race has found his charge before the assassin, but only by a hair's breadth.

DragonSong · « **Reply #46 on:** December 04, 2019, 07:25:42 pm »

Maya jumped, eyes going a little wide, and a flash of alarm skittered across their mental link. She was so absorbed in watching the narrative that she didn’t seem to realize just how...open she was being, how much they were really sharing, regardless of if it was intentional on her part or not.

Her hand slid down to read in his lap, palm open and fingers spread slightly—a rather intimate gesture by ala’ora standards, but she had learned that most sentient races didn’t seem to view it that way and consequently her sense of “propriety” had gone a little lax.

[Do we wanna time skip with the movie a bit, or just after it?]

Daglobster · « **Reply #47 on:** December 04, 2019, 09:10:27 pm »

[yes please, as much as I’d love to write an AU Terminator movie in SoTE’s setting I don’t want to make it as long as a thread so that’s a yes]

There was a moment there where Elaros felt... something. He’d never seen this vid, let alone any vids as ancient as this one, a true collector’s prize. It was like a unique little slice of ancient culture, just for him, and the thrills were as fresh with him as they were with Maya.

And when they’d both startled at the same time like that, he’d done it almost completely in sync with her without even noticed. Both sensations became one in a way he didn’t quite think was possible, even if it was just the shock of a cheap scare.

It didn’t wash through him or overwhelm him, but nevertheless he was absolutely captivated by her for a moment. He didn’t look too long, maybe a little worried that she’d feel him focusing on her or something silly like that. But looking away was tough, and when he’d looked back to the screen and felt her hand on his lap, he smiled a little more to himself as he settled in to watch the movie.

He was never shy, but somehow the moment felt delicate and he turned the thought over in his head before covering the hand on his lap with his own and giving her a little sidelong smile.

The movie was picking up now. Of course, Joan didn’t believe Race, and despite his protests she ran off and into a crowded dance club. There was a pang of familiarity in Elaros’ subconscious, as he was a rather frequent patron.

Little did Joan know that the assassin had watched her run out into the open and followed her, and the rising danger, combined with the surprisingly good music caused for a tense buildup.

And it was only the first ten minutes...

[timeskip?]

DragonSong · « **Reply #48 on:** December 05, 2019, 11:59:40 am »

[Yep yep!]

Maya jumped yet again when he took her hand, glancing at him with wide eyes for a moment as the alarm skittered across the bond between them. She wasn’t objecting to the touch, she just hadn’t been expecting it—and with how lax her mental walls were, she found that she was falling back into old habits, reading ala’oran meaning to a gesture when it wasn’t really there.

When she realized what she was doing she flushed slightly and sent an automatic pulse of apaology across the link before turning her attention back to the screen. She let her hand stay in his lap though, unwilling to break the contact simply because she hadn’t had such contact in a long time.

Touch and companionship were just as important to her species as food and water. Though she didn’t seem to consciously realize she’d done it, Maya had spent so long wandering the stars that she was touch-starved in just about every possible sense of the term. The sheer relief of contact flickered constantly at the edges of her consciousness, occasionally pulsing across the bond—she couldn’t have stopped it if she tried.

Nearly two hours later, as the credit began to roll, Maya sat back on the couch and gave a low, appreciative hum, nodding to herself.

It was an interesting story, certainly. She still wasn’t entirely sure she understood all of it, but she had enjoyed it.

Her eyes flickered over to Elaros and she smiled, nodding again. Thank you, that was...very interesting, she projected, and finally—albeit reluctantly—began to draw her hand back. She almost hadn’t noticed that she’d been touching him the entire time.

Daglobster · « **Reply #49 on:** December 12, 2019, 08:42:10 pm »

Well, it was one way to watch a vid. He really wanted to give it his full attention but there was a point during that terrifying shootout in the police station where her sensations really bled into him. Or other points, like when Race and Joan ended up in love and he started to swim in a different kind of mind-fog. When she pulled her hand away it was like removing a sixth sense from him.

Because in truth, he loved the extended contact as well, both for the simple comfort of having another close by and for that instinctual and deep love for warmth. His own desire for closeness matched hers rather strongly and he’d been bathing in their connection until it suddenly receded away and he blinked.

“The video was good, but I’ve... you’re incredible,” was all he could really say, and he flexed his fingers in the absence of her hand.

“I’ve never felt anything like it and it was only just a touch of the hands, does...”

He trailed off a moment, and looked for her eyes. The credits rolled quietly in the background, leaving the room lit only by the dim screen and the space streaking by at Shock-speeds.

“...does it get stronger?” Elaros said, ever curious about her. Then, a smile in the dark.

“It’ll be a week until the next star system so we’ve got plenty of time to learn about one another,” he added, and he laid back against his side of the couch to stretch, but he also shot her a bold little invitation with his eyes.

DragonSong · « **Reply #50 on:** December 13, 2019, 05:03:42 pm »

Maya's eyes widened, and her cheeks darkened slightly with a blush, though she honestly seemed more pleased than embarrassed for the compliment.

Laying her hand over his again, she projected a quick, genuine, Thank you. So many people she had met since leaving home just seemed to find her strange. It was surprisingly rare to meet someone who just seemed curious about her.

At his question though, her blush deepened and she quickly drew her hand back before the shock of surprise and something far too close to attraction bled across the connection. She took a moment to collect herself, then cautiously laid two fingers against his wrist once more.

Stronger...how? she asked slowly, keeping a careful hold on her emotions as she attempted to project just the question, the words and concepts. Do you mean... With time and extended contact, yes, the bond can become stronger. The better I know someone, the more intimately we can connect.

Daglobster · « **Reply #51 on:** December 13, 2019, 10:48:21 pm »

He couldn’t help it, a flash of attraction shot through him when she brought up being intimately connected. He wasn’t exactly trained to resist psychics either, so he just let it all bleed through to her, uncaring and unashamed.

He just wanted a connection with her, to know about her in a way that was both innocent and not quite all at the same time. He couldn’t contain the burning curiosity and desire that he felt, partly from his natural tendency to shed as many physical barriers as possible, partly from a genuine, well-intentioned curiosity.

“There is much we can do, especially on the leisure deck,” he said, trying to ignore how good the warmth on his wrist felt and focusing on the conversation.

“You mentioned something else you wanted to do. You indulged me in a vid, so I’d be remiss to not offer you the same courtesy,” he said, those last few words coming out almost as a lazy purr and he set his shoulder against hers and put his head back against the couch. He smiled, satisfied at the extra influx of warmth.

“I’m still cold,” he said, almost in a whine.

“Could I borrow a bit more warmth?”

DragonSong · « **Reply #52 on:** December 14, 2019, 09:19:35 am »

The new pulse of attraction was...confusing. Firstly, she couldn't quite tell which of them it came from, him or her. And second--well, ala'ora had literally evolved to communicate through empathetic touch-telepathy, but Elaros's species obviously had not, and yet he was still more than willing to entertain her method of communication and even seemed to have grown comfortable with it.

That was perhaps more confusing. Without the instinctive knowledge of how to communicate as an ala'ora, Elaros was essentially letting his every thought and feeling pour into Maya's head. It wasn't an inherently uncomfortable sensation, but it was...more than a little intimate.

If another of her own species had been doing that, Maya would have assumed they were propositioning her. And her body responded accordingly, the flush that had risen to her cheeks refusing to die down while faint tingles began to run down her spine.

She quite firmly told her instincts to tone the hell down. It wasn't Elaros's fault he was sending her every ala'oran mating signal in the book, and she desperately didn't want to make him uncomfortable, so she clamped down tight on those sensations to make sure they didn't trickle back across the connection.

Although... Well, she really hadn't been able to tell if that attraction was his or hers...

No. No, stop that. Just focus. New friend. New friends were nice, she didn't want to jeopardize that.

When he complained of the cold though, pressing closer against her while his voice dropped down to a purr, Maya actually squeaked--a faint, tiny noise that was sort of strangled from the back of her throat, behind where a human's vocal chords would be--and looked up at him with wide golden eyes.

Ah...O-of course. Oh dear. It was getting very difficult to maintain her mental walls with the extended contact, but she didn't really find herself inclined to tell him no. A little hesitantly, she laid the flat of her palm against his leg, allowing herself to shift a little closer into his side.

Daglobster · « **Reply #53 on:** December 14, 2019, 04:03:23 pm »

She squeaked and Elaros smiled a little to himself at that as she accommodated him. It wasn’t a ploy or anything he truly was frigid! Especially since he’d been sitting still for so long. The hand on his neck was nice but the side-contact had glorious warmth radiating straight through him and it was awesome.

“My people are very.... affectionate,” he murmured, tilting his head towards her so he could look over to her, although with not much space between them he ended up meeting her eyes. His own eyes, deep jade with a predatory vertical slit, focused on her. “We have very few physical barriers in our culture.”

“So if I’m making you uncomfortable, let me know,” he said, even as he settled a little more into the comfort. He didn’t have purely carnal thoughts on his mind, but it was simply natural for him to desire physical intimacy with another, especially a beautiful stranger.

DragonSong · « **Reply #54 on:** December 14, 2019, 04:28:07 pm »

It's not-- Maya paused, biting her lip--a rather human gesture that she had picked up in recent years--then continued slowly, keeping her thoughts and emotions under careful control as she projected, You aren't making me...uncomfortable, exactly, Mr. Elaros.

His name, interestingly, was expressed both as the collection of sounds that made it up, and as a flicker of the image of him from her perspective, along with her instinctive impressions of him: large and strange and fascinating.

I apologize if I seem...off, she continued with a slightly crooked smile. It's that, ah.. How did she explain this without embarrassing herself? My people are also very affectionate, she settled on eventually, but also very isolated from the rest of the wider universe. Our methods and manners of affection differ from most in a lot of ways, and occasionally it can be, well--a little difficult trying not to get my signals crossed, that is all.

Daglobster · « **Reply #55 on:** December 14, 2019, 11:15:10 pm »

For some reason, that little bite to her lip caught his attention more than it usually did, probably because it contrasted harshly with her controlled expressions. It took him a second to process her “pronunciation” of his name, finding himself flattered by the mental description she had of him.

“Well, crossed signals or not I think you’ll find me rather agreeable,” he said, smiling a little wider as he gave the hand on his leg a light stroke.

Should he? He was sorely tempted to... ah, fuck it. A shot of indecision ran through him and finally he swallowed his gut.

He leaned in and pressed an affectionate little nuzzle to the side of her head, only for a moment. For it conjured images of butting snouts with favored servants or memories of sorely missed family. It went past a mere greeting and was more a show of trust and acceptance.

Then, just as quickly, he gave her distance. He pulled away and then stood, taking a moment to stretch before glancing back at her with mischief in his eyes before turning to fully face her.

“Well, the rest of The Anastasia is at our disposal,” he started, and tapped a claw against his jaws, striding past her and towards the bar. The bottle of wine he’d brought for the movie had been completely forgotten and so he took the chance now to open it.

“Plenty of ways to spend time, I’d wager. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to explore, either...” he said as he poured himself a drink.

DragonSong · « **Reply #56 on:** December 17, 2019, 08:21:31 am »

Another tiny squeak caught somewhere between her chest and the back of her throat and her eyes widened yet again as he nuzzled into her. It was...overly familiar, but not necessarily in the same way as the signals he'd been unwittingly sending her earlier, more--more familial. Or like a childhood friend one hadn't seen in a long time. Particularly with the images and emotions that were transmitted with the touch.

It was strangely soothing, though perhaps it shouldn't have been, and Maya found herself simply watching him in sustained silence as he stood and moved toward the bar again. She considered his words carefully as she got to her feet and followed him a little cautiously.

Reaching out, she allowed her fingertips to brush his arms for just a moment so she could project, Is there anywhere I should perhaps avoid, if I were to explore? I wouldn't want to inconvenience you or your crew.

Daglobster · « **Reply #57 on:** January 17, 2020, 10:08:35 pm »

It didn't take a mind reader to tell that she'd been a little perturbed by the little snout-rub he gave her. When she came back up to him to brush his arm again, he looked to her and tilted his head as he considered the question.

"The Anastasia's an open book. They only let the crew on board the major systems while we're on the move, so you'll have to wait until we dock if you want to see the drive core," he said, shifting his arm so he could take her hand and he tapped a thumb on her knuckles as he thought some more.

"There's so much on-board, you'll need a guide," he said, and he took on a playful, almost excited tone quite unlike the lethargy of before. Then again, he'd spent the entire movie gathering warmth.

"There's the O2 gardens, the star deck, a heated pool, where to start?" he continued, and he started to lead her away to the center of the room, back towards the deck elevators.

DragonSong · « **Reply #58 on:** January 18, 2020, 07:03:37 am »

Maya easily accepted his hand, too starved for the contact to really worry about such a comparatively innocent gesture when he was the one who kept initiating it. She'd pretty much determined by now that Elaros--either by personality or species--was simply one of the more open and affectionate people she'd met since leaving home; in a strange way, that made him both easier and more difficult to communicate with from an ala'oran perspective.

But she thought she was getting the hang of it. So long as she didn't accidentally overstep her bounds, he seemed more than willing to humor her...oddities.

With a flicker of thought, she commented lightly, You seem...quicker. "Quicker", was not quite the right word, and it was accompanied by a short pulse of sensory impressions in an attempt to elaborate: a comparison of the almost sluggish, much cuddlier version of Elaros when they'd first settled on the couch with the playful, rather fleet version that now held her hand.

With a smile to show that she didn't mean anything bad by it, she added, If there are gardens...I think I'd very much like to see those, yes. A garden on a ship? Only the largest of ala'oran transports had those, and then only for very specifics reasons--mostly to grow the algea that was the base for their fuel.

Daglobster · « **Reply #59 on:** January 22, 2020, 03:08:29 pm »

“Quicker?” He echoed, matching the tone of her mental voice. He couldn’t match the non-verbal information he got, however, but nonetheless was rendered momentarily speechless once again as he processed the impressions.

“You’ve given me so much warmth. Now that I’m standing and my blood is flowing I feel like a new Drakkon,” he said, and let her hand go.

In truth, it was both species and personality that made him who he was. He was considered promiscuous even by the standards of his homeworld, yes, and that was from a culture where a quick rut between close friends was more common than a hug, and if you were lucky one of your three mates would join in too!

It was one of the hardest things he had to cope with, this new concept of monogamy that many others seemed to embrace to the point of having visceral, emotional reactions. And while Maya was nowhere near as unabashed as him it was comforting to have someone accepting of his nature.

“Gardens are two decks above us, in Life Support control. Come along,” he said, and motioned for her to follow with a playful smile as he entered the elevator.