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Author Topic: Sticky Little Fingers  (Read 3030 times)

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Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #20 on: October 05, 2017, 11:48:23 pm »
Tsk.

"We'll see about that," He said under his breath, glancing away and puffing out his cheeks, looking a little offended. Little boy. Aesir glared at Kirkley for a long moment, taking in the sight of him before he turned his head and pretended to ignore him. Pretending to not notice everything he did. Ignored the butterflies in his tummy. Aesir rubbed his chest and hated how tight it felt, how the thumping in his chest was making his throat close up and he ducked his head down while he was being escorted around.

When they finally got to where they were going, Aesir was at a loss. His eyes wide. He'd never really realized how mediocre his life had been before he saw someone with literal pillars in their home. And guards. The rest of the walk was a blur but finally now, his eyes were open and... Damn. He tucked himself closer to Kirkley because he was now the least intimidating thing here. Pillars. Guards.

"Oh, fuck," He said his voice hushed when he finally looked up, moving his hand to push his green hair from his face. Kirkley wasn't lying and Aesir's jaw almost hit the floor. Instead his eyes were going dry, almost to the point of watering because he was sure if he blinked the woman would disappear. "She's beautiful," He whispered mostly to just say something that wasn't pinching himself.

The dream was that she came down the stairs fantastically and he gave a surprised giggle and backed up a little between looking between the two. Aesir was content to be quiet, watching the two of them and letting them have their moment. Mostly he just turned take in the image of the pair. Were they a thing? Was that why Aesir was never going to learn about the guys stamina?

Looking at them together though sent a pang of something through him and he zoned out for a moment. The edges of his vision greyed out and he felt his face go lax while he stared. There was a second when another imagine sort of clouded it of these two together and he shook his head at the deja vu. Aesir knew enough that deja vu was just the brain going funky and making new memories feel like old ones.

The look on the woman's face though when he focused on her, how she looked at him. Found him? Finally found him? Aesir looked at Kirkley confused, panic going up his spine at the mention of finding. Find him for what?

"Hi," Aesir breathed out, too enchanted to actually make real words come out. "I'm Aesir," He looked her up and down, cheeks flushed, mouth open. "It's a pleasure. You have a lovely home and you are lovely. Wow." He looked at Kirkley and then back at her, "Wow. Uh... Yeah... Hi. Kirkley?" It was the first time he'd actually said the mans name and he hated how nice it felt to say.

Like slipping into a comfortable shirt.

"Kirkley mentioned you. Wow. You're beautiful."
« Last Edit: October 06, 2017, 01:18:00 am by Draconian »

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #21 on: October 06, 2017, 10:38:46 am »
Aesir's reaction was better than Kirkley had expected; considering the fact that he was a thief, he'd been prepared to smack the kid upside the head if he tried whistling at Ain, but he didn't, which put him only slightly more at ease.

Only slightly though, because he also wasn't too fond of how Aesir was looking at her either. He couldn't tell if it was jealousy or protectiveness, but he shoved it down and ignored it. Wasn't like Aesir was his anyways. He still wasn't Bifrost.

Ain on the other hand raised her eyebrows at the kid as he complimented her, taken aback for words for a moment because while Bifrost had had a somewhat similar reaction, this was a bit different. He definitely didn't feel even remotely like the same person as before, and he was... So small.

She looked at Kirkley, recognized the distaste in his eyes and the way he stood and smiled a little--she found it kind of amusing. "Did he? Well, thank you, Aesir. It's a pleasure meeting you as well."

She turned to start leading them up the left staircase and Kirkley followed right behind, keeping an eye on Aesir and those guards as well, clearly trusting no one. "Well Kirkley, you made good time getting here. I've heard reports of rumors of a boy who can grow plants from his blood." She glanced back at him and Kirkley's eyes narrowed, cursing under his breath. "Cops haven't been called in on it to investigate yet but I wouldn't stick around to find out how long it'll take."

Up on the second floor she took them down a hallway lined with classic paintings, some well over several centuries old. One in particular, in a golden gilded frame, was of what appeared to be Kirkley, with a slightly different braided hairstyle, missing a lot of tattoos and scars, and a beautiful young man who sat next to him, who didn't look too different from Aesir himself. Kirkley ignored the painting as they walked past it; a keepsake from a time long ago Ain had offered to keep for him when he returned to the nomadic lifestyle he was apparently so damn good at.

"I've kept your ship in good condition as always; Loveless has missed you I think." At the end of the long hallway, all doors to other rooms closed off, there was one last door; she opened it by placing her hand in the center where a screen scanned her handprint and unlocked it; upon pushing it open, they found they were standing in a small hangar.

Well, small enough that it could hold two vessels that were no smaller than your average pirate ship. Because that was what they were.

The Loveless and The Hydra were two sister air/space ships, slightly different yet oddly fitting. Their designs made the two of them look like ancient sea monsters, the golden metal outer shells flowing in sweeping curves and edges that made one look more like a deep sea fish without its fins, the other a sea serpent twisted into itself. Several centuries ago the two of them had sailed the skies together, two pirate ships sailed by the two captains standing there on the balcony admiring them right now. They'd mostly been used with the intent of adventuring and fun, though that wasn't to say every adventure was family friendly, and Ain let out a slight wistful sigh. She couldn't exactly sail anytime soon; the money she'd made off her travels was now what funded her little empire and kept her secrets well hidden.

She looked over at Kirkley, smiling as she gestured to the ship. "I'll get clearances approved and you should be out of here in an hour. Better get ready." She glanced down at Aesir, gave him a soft smile that hid some of her worry, and turned and left them, door shutting behind her as the two were left alone in the ship hangar.

Kirkley tapped his fingers on the railing thoughtfully before he went over to the gap in the railing, which revealed a ladder that went down some ten feet that led to two walkways, one leading right into the open mouth of the fish, the other leading to the gills of the serpent. He slid down the ladder, not climbed, and waited for Aesir at the bottom before leading the way to the fish.

"C'mon Pipsqueak, this is your last call. Sure you got everything?" He came to a stop, the walkway ending abruptly some eight feet before the ship's slightly eerie, open maw.

The metal teeth on the upper jaw hung ten feet over their heads, the ship was massive--meant for an entire crew. Suddenly, there was a clicking sound as red lights lit up and scanned Kirkley where he stood, and then a door (the middle of three) set in at the back of the ship's mouth opened, a smaller walkway extending. He led the way inside, and as their feet touched the walkway the sound of great engines kicked on, the rumbling filling the entirety of the hangar, like a growling beast swallowing them whole.

They found themselves in an entry area, big enough to hold maybe five people, the metal ceiling surprisingly low, like a small alcove in a tunnel. Two blast doors were sealed shut and blocked their entry; Kirkley raised his hand and put it on a glass panel that scanned it; the lights went from an eerily dim red to a bright mix of white and red as the doors turned, unlocked, and opened. Up a flight of stairs and they were suddenly on the main floor of the ship, which was massive. The walls on either side of them were lined with doors and there were a few open hallways that would have led down more stairs to the lower half of the ship which was where crew quarters would be, though they were uninhabited at the moment. Another short flight of stairs went to a raised second level: captain's chair, all main control panels, etc. The two bulbous eyes on either side of the fish on the outside turned out to be functioning domes one could look out of to see the world around. The ship operated on binocular vision; as everything powered up a large screen set in between the two eyes combined what both saw together, a full 180 degree view of the surroundings outside, ship vitals monitored on the edges.

Kirkley looked at Aesir, shrugging and gesturing to the ship. "Explore if you want, living quarters are downstairs," He said, pointing out a set of stairs that descended on the lefthand side, "Just don't touch anything or press any buttons until I have a chance to show you what everything is, alright?"

He headed up to the second floor, an icon showing on the screen with Ain's face on it, presumably a selfie taken given by how she was posed in front of the camera, winking at it and playfully blowing a kiss. The icon disappeared and her voice rang out loud and clear over speakers set in near the ceiling.

"Everything suit your standards, Captain?"
Kirkley snorted.
"Good. Then let's get this shit going, shall we? I've already requested clearance from Aedolis air security that you wish to pilot your own ship leaving the planet. They're verifying information now..."


**Until I get updated concept art, think of it as a big version these. [Artwork credit goes to Mike Mignola]

Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #22 on: October 06, 2017, 12:57:46 pm »
Aesir missed the look from Kirkley.

Mostly because he didn't know how to read the man. Yet. He was confused. Being around these two felt like he should know something. Some part of him wanted to curl his arms around Ain and comment on how much he'd missed her. He'd never met her before though so it just confused him. Aesir chewed on the inside of his cheek and watched them, giving her a hesitant smile and nodding. It was a pleasure to meet him as well.

Warmth made him relax and he closed his eyes before turning away and looking around again, falling behind a little before he shuffled to catch up. His eyes were everywhere in the building. Looking everywhere. At everything. The painting wasn't missed and Aesir stared at it as they passed it. Looking to Kirkley before looking back at the painting. At the really pretty guy that looked kind of familiar.

The hair. The eyes. Aesir even stood in front of it for a moment to stare, looking back before he shuffled away to keep up. Who were these people?

Who was that guy in the painting?

Aesir chewed on his lip and closed his eyes, pressing a hand over his chest to feel his heart thumping. The painting stuck in his head now. Was that his real dad or something? Was this guy something else? His parents were insistent that he was their child but... He looked a lot like that guy. Mostly Aesir zoned out while they walked, his hand moving under his bandana to touch the pointed tip of his ear, frowning down at the ground while he caressed it.

"Pipsqueak?"

Aesir frowned and looked at him, drawn out of his head and moving his hand away from his ear like he'd been caught doing something naughty. "Of course I do," He grumbled, looking away, frowning. Head down. The place was... Really cool. Down the ladder he went, taking careful steps and not doing it all cool like Kirkley did. Once he was down the ladder he stretched his arms and he arched his back, fixing his bandana before he took it off all together.

He'd ask about the guy in the picture later.

As it was, he followed Kirkley like a duckling, staying close and looking around with wide eyes and his heart in his throat. This shit was scary. He reached out to brush against the walls and he veered off where the living quarters were after giving a lingering look to Kirkley. Aesir dropped his backpack in an out of the way corner and started to explain. He didn't press buttons but he brushed his fingers over them for the zing of breaking rules. The exploration was short lived though before the first soft surface he found he parked his butt on.

This was a real ship.

They were really going somewhere else.

"I'm coming back, right?" He whispered to himself, looking around before letting his hands rest on his legs. "Right?" A frown. They hadn't said anything. The goodbye's hadn't been super intense. They were just sending him away for a little while, right? Aesir frowned, pressing himself into a corner while he played with his bandana. Fingers going through his hair and resting on his ears. Who was that guy?

Why did he wanna climb Kirkley so bad? The guy was a tank. Huge. Made him feel tiny and insignificant and safe. Aesir sighed heavily before he tucked his legs up to his face and pressed his hands over his head. Emotionally overwhelmed and with his eyes closed, it was easy to fall asleep, back pressed tight to the walls, ears perked. He'd barely been here and he already wanted to go home. But all he could think of as far as home went was being curled tight against that giant beast of a man who kept glaring at him.

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #23 on: October 06, 2017, 01:25:55 pm »
One thing he always hated about Aedolis was the tightness of security; how long it took to get the appropriate clearances. Leaving the planet for any reason had to be a thoroughly planned venture, and he was impatient as hell to get off this rock and out into open space where Aesir would be far safer.

But that was just it; he had absolutely no plan.

It wasn't like he hadn't tried to come up with plans in the 3,000 years he'd been waiting around for Pipsqueak to show up; the problem was that they only worked in theory, not in practice. He'd had no way of knowing who Bifrost would be when he turned up, what creature he would be, where he would be from, the circumstances surrounding their meeting, nothing. How can you plan for nothing? You can't.

So he just had to get his shit together, fast.

"Well, keep in touch Handsome. I'll see you again soon enough--we'll talk more about the issue then, alright? For now, just focus on staying safe."

There was concern in Ain's voice that he'd heard hundreds of times before; she had every right to be worried, but he just pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah. See you soon."

The call ended and everything was set; the roof of the hangar slowly opened and Kirkley set the ship in motion, carefully raising it into the sky and heading on course to the nearest security station for ships to pass through before going out into open space, the last obstacle before they could breathe. It'd take about an hour to get to the checkpoint from there so he set the ship to auto for a moment so he could figure out where Aesir had run off to, hoping he hadn't done anything too crazy.

He followed his nose and went down the set of stairs that led into the ship's literal underbelly, where the crew quarters were all kept. He noticed as he peered inside some of the open doors that Ain had done a good job of keeping his baby; the interior was free of dust and spotlessly clean, she'd likely had a servant or several come in to maintain it on a regular basis. He smiled to himself, appreciating the gesture.

He found B--... Aesir, in one of the rooms, his bag tucked into a corner and supposedly asleep, curled up on the bed set against the wall. The rooms were small but had a good share of amenities, their own bathrooms, etc. But Kirkley hadn't decided yet where Aesir should stay--down here, so far away from him and so hard to keep an eye on, or should he keep him up in the captain's cabin? ... Where there was only one bed? No, this would work for now. He had security cameras so he could always keep an eye using those to make sure nothing bad ever happened, right?

He quietly stepped over to the kid, unsure of really what to do or say before he knelt down in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder, hopefully not startling him too bad.

"You alright?" He asked gently, pulling his hand away once he had Aesir's attention, trying to give him space. Teenagers were finicky little things, he certainly didn't miss this part of raising them in the slightest.

"We're heading out to the security checkpoint, once we get past that we'll be in open space, but they're going to need to come on the ship to check it before they let us through. As a precaution I'm thinking of keeping you in one of the smuggling compartments; I'd rather not chance them finding you, recognizing you and trying to arrest you, fair point?"

Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #24 on: October 06, 2017, 02:13:46 pm »
Purple eyes popped open and he blinked at Kirkley. The gloom was setting in. Did his parents sell him? Was this guy his master? Panic made his throat tighten and he gave Kirkley a nervous look. Sure he wanted to climb the guy but he didn't want to climb the guy because he was the dude's slave. Was this his shtick? Did he collect people that looked the same?

The guy from the picture was maybe... Another slave? Aesir let out a slow breath before he swallowed. Fear creeping from his belly up his throat while he flinched away from Kirkley. The idea that this was going to be a short trip for some weird reason was slowly changing into a different one. What was going on.

Aesir swallowed, moving his hand over his chest. "I'm fine," He whispered, licking his lips and hating how his heart was going absolutely wild in his chest.  Was he just willingly giving himself into slavery? Was this guy going to sell him? A look at his wrists and he considered for a brief moment just ending it now, right here. Then he wouldn't know what was going on. If he was dead there would be no more blood produced and...

"I'm scared," He finally whispered, curling in further on himself, "I don't know what's going on. No one's told me anything. Am I slave?" He hissed, looking accusingly at Kirkley, "Did my parents sell me to you? What the fuck is going on." His voice was getting louder and higher with his panic and he squeezed his eyes shut before leaning as far as he could into the wall.

"Is this really because of my blood?" He said, lower lip trembling slightly and grinding his palms against his eyes. "Are you really here to help me or are you going to sell me?"

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #25 on: October 06, 2017, 02:42:39 pm »
From the tenseness in the kid's shoulders and the expression on his face, it was blatantly obvious that no, everything was not fine. He was not fine.

Kirkley had been wondering how long it would take for the reality to set in, for him to realize that this wasn't just some fun little trip. His parents couldn't handle telling him and they probably had a good idea in not doing so--if they had, he probably wouldn't have left at all.

He closed his eyes and let Aesir get it out, let the kid have his moment before he finally looked up at him again; what this kid needed right now was a friend. Someone to calm him down, comfort him, keep him feeling safe and secure, and he hated right now that he couldn't really be the one to do that. It wasn't like before. They were strangers, now.

"You're not a slave, nobody has sold you. Your parents would never do that to you, you should know that." He said quietly, reaching out, slowly, to give him a gentle hair ruffle and a somber smile. "You're about to be more free now than you've ever been in your life."

Life on Aedolis could hardly be considered free in Kirkley's eyes; everyone was a slave to those freaky mutants they called dragons, the government controlled everything and what free choices they had were illusions limited by their social status. It wasn't a world he would willingly live in now, even if he had in the past.

"Your dad used to work with me, on this ship, actually. His room was across the hall, down a few." He nodded back towards the door. "He contacted me when he realized that your abilities were getting a little out of hand, and I swore to him that I would protect you with my life, and I will. There wasn't any payment. No credits, nothing."

As he spoke he kept his tone even, and he gently ran his hand through the kid's hair before resting it on his shoulder.

"There's a lot you don't know, but you'll learn it in time. I can't go telling you all my secrets now otherwise you'll get bored of me, isn't that right?" He tried to lighten the mood a little, get Aesir to understand that not everything was doom and gloom. That he still had his whole life ahead of him, however long that may be this time around, and that Kirkley had every intention of being right by his side for all of it.

Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #26 on: October 06, 2017, 03:18:50 pm »
Aesir didn't want to trust him.

Everything in him was begging for it though. Aesir looked at Kirkley and he wanted to curl his arms around the other mans neck, wanted to press his cheek to his and just... Take in the warmth. Breathe in the scent of the guy that was so familiar and so strange and made his chest tighten and his heart thump. It confused him and made him dizzy. Made him angry.

The words were taken to heart and he leaned into the hand on his shoulder, his cheek resting against the back of Kirkley's hand while he spoke.  "Okay," He said softly, voice a little hollow before he sighed heavily and looked past Kirkley to the door, chewing on his lip and closing his eyes before he squiggled himself off the bed. If he was okay...

Aesir made a point of moving as close to Kirkley as he could, brushing what he could against him because he liked how it tingled. How it sent gooseflesh across his forearms. "Before you throw me into a smuggling compartment, you should let me know what's...." Aesir's eyes flicked up and down Kirkley's crouched frame before he stretched his arms up and took a deep breath to get ready to be smuggled away, "Off limits?" He nudged Kirkley's leg with his foot and smirked.

He'd save the questions, worry and panic for later. For after they were on their way. For now, he would deflect because he was still terrified.

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #27 on: October 07, 2017, 12:31:18 am »
He let out a silent sigh of relief as Aesir seemed to react positively to his comments for now. They'd have a lot to talk about later, but that would be once they were in open space and safely off this miserable rock. As long as they were here, he couldn't let his guard down and the paranoia of it was really bothering him.

When the kid let his cheek rest against Kirkley's hand, the warmth and slight tingling sensation brought back waves of emotions that made him want to pull Aesir into his lap, wrap his arms around him and hold him close, so he could never let him go and stay like that forever. Like he should have done with Bifrost. He didn't appreciate it enough while he'd had it, dammit--

And then Aesir opened his mouth and the moment was effectively lost as he tried to work his way up to Kirkley and gave him the most obvious elevator eyes on planet earth.

Nope. No.
Nooooooooo.

"For now, pretty much everything." He said with a bit of exasperation as he stood up, scooping Aesir up into his arms as he did so and carrying him (and his bag, which he stooped down to pick up as well on his way out) down the corridor of crew's quarters, to a round door similar to the one they had passed through to enter the ship.

He opened the lock again and stepped into a cargo hold, the walls lined with metal and a kind of carpet-like material that made it pretty damn near sound proof as well. It was completely void of any kind of furnishing or interesting structural design other than a vent near the ceiling on one wall. Kirkley set Aesir down inside, handing him his bag.

He stepped inside, paused a moment and then went over to a wall; he tapped a specific sequence and a hole opened up in the center of the floor, a secret drop-down area that was otherwise completely invisible to anyone who might walk in. He gestured to it, expecting Aesir to hunker on down inside so he could close the trap door and keep him hidden.

"They'll probably want to check this room too so make sure you don't make any noise down there. Security checks take roughly an hour for big ships like this--you gonna be alright?" He asked, trying not to sound too callous considering how wonderfully Aesir had destroyed the good moment earlier.

He did honestly care about the kid's safety, he just hoped said kid would cooperate.

Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #28 on: October 07, 2017, 08:03:15 am »
Shot down.

He was no good at fliting with grown men it seemed. Made sense. There was a large divide between teenage girl and 'who even knows'. Aesir gave a surprised gasp when he was scooped up like a bag of feathers and carried along. It was odd for sure. He wasn't the tallest buffest guy to exist but he surprised at how easily he was scooped up like it was nothing.

There was a forlorn sigh when Kirklet confirmed most everything was indeed off limits. Boo. The hidden message was there, Aesir chose to play ignorant.

Aesir said nothing, just rested his head against the sturdy shoulder and played with his bandana. May as well enjoy the ride while he could, Aesir wasnt sure when everything would feel fine again. The trip was mostly ignored so he could soak up the warmth of being cuddled in some arms.

Made his heart thump and he sighed softly before fixing his stance and hugging his backpack. This was intense and Aesir looked around while panic clawed at his throat. Looked at Kirkley before giving a hesitant nod and squeezed his eyes shut.

He was walking right into his kwn casket. He knew it. Kirkley was going to sell him to the highest bidder. Or keep him for himself. No. He'd have been more into the shitty flirting. Aesir got into the hole and squeezed his eyes shut, wondering if he'd always been so high strung.

"No," he blurted, letting out a gasp before he hunked down and curled himself around his backpack. An hour? By himself? "Yes," another rushed word and he shook his head vigorously. "I'll be fine," he lied, chewing on the inside of his lower lip, looking down and away from the giant of a man. He could do this.

Sure he'll absolutely lose his shit once he was closed in down there but big guy didn't need to know that. That wasn't attractive. Aesir took a breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. I'm ready," he whispered, eyes squeezed shut. He'd never been on a ship before. Cut off from everything. 

Just an hour. He could last for an hour. Make the weird big guy proud of him. He could do it. He had to.

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #29 on: October 07, 2017, 08:57:26 am »
... He very obviously was not going to be fine.

He let out a slight sigh through his nose, looking away from the kid as he considered his options. This was the only place fortified for smuggling and the only place where the police wouldn't come across him. It muted sound, and the hole in the bottom did a great job of masking heartbeat and other signs of life for occasions such as this. There wasn't really any other choice.

He knelt down next to the hidey hole, giving the kid a reassuring smile and ruffling his hair, because he seemed to like that earlier.

"Look, I know it sucks and it's not fun, but this should be the only time we have to do this. I'll let you out as soon as we're out of Aedolis' airspace, and you can come hang out with me on the deck or something, yeah?"

His heart lurched for a moment; he remembered so many times he'd had to comfort Bifrost the same way and even though they weren't the same person, he still felt that connection to this kid. They were and weren't the same person; his mind was still caught up on that fact but his gut couldn't have cared less. He felt the urge to lean down and kiss him, but he was still just a teenager, which Kirkley's morals were highly against.

He hesitated for a moment, the internal conflict apparent on his face before he leaned down and rested their foreheads together for a moment, hand cupping the back of Aesir's head.

"It'll be over before you know it, then back to adventures and all that good shit, I promise."

He stood up, giving Aesir one last encouraging smile before he closed the compartment with the same combination on the wall, and he left, the blast door sealing shut behind him. They would be coming up on the security checkpoint soon and he had to get over the nerves flitting around in his chest like butterflies so they didn't suspect anything.


He let out a slow, measured breath as they came up on the port some fifteen minutes later, the ship slowing to a stop as he got radio transmission from the police waiting outside. "Opening the front bay door," He responded, tapping in the combination on the glass touch panel console, the walkway extending.

He headed on down the stairs, greeting them in the entryway and welcoming them aboard  the ship. A small team of guards got on board with little droids that helped detect things like drugs, illegal items, live animals that shouldn't be there, and criminals that were put into the constantly updated database. They went about their work and Kirkley walked with the chief officer as he went through his inspection.

"So, whereabouts are you headed?" He asked, and Kirkley hummed thoughtfully while he checked every room and door, Kirkley opening ones for him that weren't already.

"I was going to make a trip to The Cancer, I transport parts and supplies for one of the shipping companies there and they've requested my services."

"Ah, yeah I've met a couple of guys that do that. Which company?"
"Galley La."

The officer whistled. "Nice gig I'll bet that is."

Kirkley smiled and laughed, playing up the friendliness. He had absolutely nothing to hide, as far as this officer should be concerned.

The real heart pounding moment was when they reached the lower level and Kirkley opened the cargo blast door, leading into the room Aesir was stashed. The officer took a look in, saw a completely barren room and reached a hand up to his earpiece.

Kirkley held his breath. Just stay quiet, Aesir. Almost over.

"Manual inspection is good, we'll meet the droids back up on the first level."

Kirkley smiled at the officer as he passed, following him out and meeting the team upstairs who reported nothing unusual  in their searches of the upper level and captain's cabin either. He shook the leading officer's hand, and once they were off the ship, retracted the walkway and closed the entryway doors. A moment passed, and he was radioed  he was clear for take off. Great.

Time to get the hell out of here.

As soon as they were out of range he opened up a comm link to the cargo room, which Aesir would be able to hear.

"It's about to get loud down there, we're heading through the atmosphere into space so cover your ears, kid."

It took a lot of firepower to get a spaceship through the layers of air that protected the planet below with precious oxygen, several times more than it would have if the ship had just launched off the ground. The Loveless shook a little, the engines roaring to an almost deafening point from where Aesir was in the cargo bay, and as soon as they entered space Kirkley cut the engines as much as he could to minimize the teenager's exposure to the loud, scary sounds he'd probably never heard before in his life. To him it might've felt like the ship was about to explode, even though in reality it was far from.

He set the navigation course to The Cancer, checking on the monitors to make sure they hadn't been followed, and so far he saw nothing. He breathed out a sigh of relief and jumped down the stairs two at a time to the lower level, making a beeline for the cargo room and unlocking Aesir from his tiny hidey hole prison. He offered the kid a hand out, and a warm smile.

"There, all done. You alright?"

His ears were probably ringing but it was a small price to pay for ultimate freedom.

Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #30 on: October 07, 2017, 09:40:05 am »
It was fine if no one saw you cry right?

Once the hatch was closed Aesir's breath picked up and no matter how it was sliced his ability to control his breathing died as surely as he was stuck down here. His backpack was held tight to his chest and he burried his face against his knees. The lingering sweetness of the almost hug made his skin tingle. That was the only decent thing he had going for him.

Mostly the only thing keeping him in the hole was imagining what would happen to him if he didnt get out of here. Would they hang him upside down and bleed him dry? Attach him to a machine to steal his blood? Aesir shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the salt of his tears. The noises from above made his heart fall and he held his breath, not moving a muscle.

He was free now right?

Nope. Deaf first.

The warning was heard and his hands clamped over his ears, whining in pain. He'd been in here for days he knew it. Maybe he was dead? All her could hear was everything and his heart wss pounding so hard he knew he was dying.

The tears welled in his purple eyes again at the pain from the noise and he took deel ragged breaths. It was setting in. The bravado from the day before was sputtering away. Sure Kirkley said he was going to let him out of the hidey-hole but what if he wasn't.

It was the first peak of light that had Aesir gasp up at it and he ignored the hand and flung his arms around the mans neck. "Kirkley!" He panted, over heated from the tight spot, eyes still wet. His ears hurt and his jar hurt from clenching his teeth together. Aesir didn't let go, he just took in deep breaths.

"I'm never going home am I?"  His voice was muffled against the giantmans neck and he clung for as long as he was allowed before he pulled back ever so slightly, "it's really loud" he said softly, "but really quiet." The quietness alarmed him to a degree. An unfamiliar lack of something that he'd had moments ago back when they were still on the planet. "My ears hurt."

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #31 on: October 07, 2017, 10:02:25 am »
Kirkley started a little when the teen  practically attacked him the moment the hatch was open far enough; he almost stumbled, considering he hadn't been prepared for it, but he instinctively wrapped his arms around Aesir's back and waist and held him close, pulling him out of the compartment and standing there, holding him and closing his eyes as he let the familiar warmth seep into him. Memories of running his fingers through longer dark green hair made his fingertips tingle; they were interrupted when he had to reach up farther to entangle his hand in green locks, muscle memory proving  strong even 3000 years after he'd last held him.

"Shh," He whispered quietly, kissing the side of the kid's head through his hair and rubbing his back comfortingly, only letting go when Aesir started to pull away.

He saw the tears in the teen's eyes and it hurt. He remembered Bifrost, crying and mourning the deaths of his brothers. His brothers had died, and now his parents would, that was a given. He pursed his lips, helping Aesir wipe away the tears from his face and giving him a gentle hair ruffle.

"No, you're not going home." He said quietly, looking him in the eyes so he could see the honesty in Kirkley's own and know that he wished he didn't have to do this.

He hated taking him from his family, this was the second time now. It didn't hurt any less.

"Come on, let's head up to the deck. We'll get you something for your ears, alright?" He gave him a gentle pat on the back, picked up his backpack and led the way out, sticking close with his hand softly resting on Aesir's shoulder. He set the backpack down in the room Aesir had chosen earlier as they passed it and led him up the first set of stairs and then the second to the deck.

Space was big, real big. For someone like Aesir who had never seen it before, it was probably mind-bogglingly big. Pictures never did it justice; but the windows of The Loveless did a great job of making you feel like you were isolated in the center of it with nothing between you and the stars; it was great to stand in front of the domed glass and just get lost in all the little things there were to look at; Kirkley briefly wondered how the kid would take to it.

There weren't any plants here, so he wasn't sure how that was about to go--it wasn't something he'd ever had to worry about or consider in the old world. But when they'd had their house together, they always had a bunch of plants around. Something like that might make him feel more comfortable here, if he could find such a thing on the Cancer that wasn't deadly, expensive, and poisonous.

There were a couple of glass console panel stations with chairs in front of them, three total in the center of the deck and one on each side against the wall with smaller monitors over small desks. Right now they were all turned off with only the main center  console on, the Captain's. He looked over at Aesir and gestured to the vast room.

"Sit down, stand, explore, do whatever you like, again no button pressing just yet." He said softly, watching Aesir's reactions carefully.

He wasn't really sure if the kid felt like talking or opening up to him just yet, they'd only just met yesterday after all, even if their souls had known each other for an eternity. It was a really strange mix of feelings.

"Our first destination is The Cancer, to get our bearings and figure out some kind of plan. I've got some friends there who might be able to help us stock up on whatever we might need. Know anything about it?" He hadn't experienced it himself but he'd heard that the general public  education  on Aedolis wasn't exactly the most thorough in regards to the outside world, for obvious reasons, so it might be time for Aesir to learn something new before they headed there.

The ship was due for some upgrades, mainly to defense and security now that he actually had someone he needed to protect.

Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #32 on: October 07, 2017, 12:07:15 pm »
The first order of business was calming the fuck down.

The hug was nice. The kiss was soothing and Aesir melted into the embrace before he realized what he was doing. It was alarming that the more time he spent around the giant beast of a man the more it felt like being home. Like if there was anywhere in the universe he could be it would be right here.

Aesir glanced at the room he chose and puffed his cheeks out, following Kirkley like a duckling again. Even after he was given free reign to wander he stuck close by. It was a tether. Sort of. As long as he had something brushing against his current savior he wouldn't drift off into space.

"There's so much of it," he said wide eyed with a tremble in his voice. There wasn't a lot of leaving the planet for Aedolians. Aesir was an Aedolian, born and bred. Sort of. Kirkley had said he'd known his father. Was that guy reall his father? Or was thr guy with the green hair in the painting his father?

Better yet, Aesir stared at Kirkley while he tucked a chunk of hair behind his ear. Who the fuck was Kirkley? Aesir trusted him against all odds. The idea of not trusting him made him feel almost sick. Briefly he chewed on his lower lip until it was red, glancing to Kirkley.

A small frown, "The Cancer? I  mean... I've heard of it. No idea what it is. Whore house? Casino?" He paused, "Drug den?" Another pause and he did his best to stare at Kirkley instead of look out the windows. Going from a small hole to a wide open space in literal space may be too much.

The pain in his ears was slowly climbing through his head anyway and he let his eyes fall closed when those started to hurt too. "Does the pain go away?" Maybe it was the artificial gravity? Aesir licked his lips before he got comfortable on the floor, eyes closed with his arms outstretched over his head. "Is there anyone else on the ship?"

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #33 on: October 07, 2017, 12:42:50 pm »
... Yeah that was about what he expected.

Kirkley pursed his lips and nodded. "Well, it's all of those things, and more. And no, we're the only ones on the ship at the moment--sometimes I pick up crew members when I'm doing jobs."

He typed something into the console and on the large overhead monitor, easily ten feet wide and tall, a small window opened in the corner so as to not obstruct the view of space in front of the ship--it was an image of the Cancer space station.

"I'll get you some pain meds real quick, but that is the Cancer." He said, pointing to the screen that came up. "It's a space station, and it's nothing to take lightly."

He let Aesir examine the image of the ramshackle space station while he headed into the small med bay on the second floor, finding some pain meds and deciding to start with basic medication and work their way up from there, though he had a feeling the medication might not do too much to alleviate his pain, he just hoped it was temporary.

He came back with a water bottle and three pills, handing them to Aesir to take as he stood next to him, looking up at the image of the space station that was their destination.

"The Cancer is mostly scum and villainy of the galaxy. There's some good people on it, but not most. There's drugs, prostitution, all that fun shit--but Aedolis is the only place in this star system where that's legal. Everything of the sort is for the most part illegal out here, and there's way more business in it--you can make more money selling something rare that you shouldn't than something government mandated."

He paused, looking over at Aesir. "You're gonna need to stick by my side at all times; to the rest of the universe you're still a minor," He said all this assuming the kid wasn't even 18 yet, but he was pretty sure he was right on that-- "And you might get targeted for a lot of things. Looking pretty, being a kid. Children make great slaves, bonus points if you're pretty. The moment you wander off looking like you're new there, someone is gonna pick up on it and they'll make you wish you'd never been born. Don't get any ideas and try to have fun with drugs or hookers either--the moment they suspect you're ignorant, an idiot, or going to screw them over, they will look you dead in the eyes and shoot you in the face and not give a single fuck. Understand?"

He typed in something else on the console, pulling up a picture of Galley La and gesturing to it. "That's the company that made this ship, we're stopping there for upgrades and as soon as they're done, we're leaving. I try not to stay on the Cancer too long, even I can't stay there more than a week without getting something of value stolen off me."
« Last Edit: October 07, 2017, 01:13:47 pm by Cheesigator »

Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #34 on: October 07, 2017, 08:20:30 pm »
This was backwards land clearly.

Backwards space-land. Aesir looked at the screen, frowning at it while Kirkley went to get whatever. His head throbbed and he pressed his palm to his forehead, wincing while trying to take in the image of the cancer station. It was weird. He knew it was there. He had known there was lots of stuff out there. Edanith was the scum of the solar system.

Aesir frowned, looking at the picture and trying to make sense of it.

The bottle of water and the pills were quickly the center of his attention because he turned to those and accepted them gratefully. Quickly downed, he rubbed his hands over his ears and rolled his shoulders while he listened. Sounded like a walk in the part. Aesir remained quiet while Kirkley spoke, glancing at him on the emphasis he put on being an idiot or ignorant.

A frown and he turned away, looking up as the picture changed.

Kirkley thought he was an idiot.

Aesir glanced away, Kirkley's voice turning into a soothing drone while he spoke about upgrades or something and he just stared at the picture and turned his situation over and over again. This was his home? Kirkley was his guardian - for now. They were going to The Cancer station. For repairs.

He was never going to see his family again. He was going to be here forever?

"What am I supposed to do?" He whispered, looking to Kirkley and then flopping down on the floor, chest first. Head pillowed on his arms. "Like... Am I going to work on your ship for the rest of my life? Am I getting left on the Cancer?"

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #35 on: October 08, 2017, 02:56:14 pm »
Aesir hadn't answered even once when he asked if he understood, so Kirkley just stared at him for a second, and realized at the slightly random questions that he probably hadn't listened to a word he just said.

... Great.

Well, hopefully everything would be fine, as long as he stuck close to Kirkley which he had done a good job of so far. He could only hope, and pray.

The pictures disappeared from the screen and he turned towards Aesir a bit better, the question he'd asked being... Well, not the easiest to answer.

He had never come up with plans for what to do if he ever found Bifrost again because he had no idea what he was expecting. And given this current situation, things between the two of them right now were very, very different from the second time they'd met all those years ago. Aesir didn't trust him, and Kirkley didn't trust Aesir. They (presumably, on Aesir's part) both felt warm and tingly when they touched but that didn't mean diddly squat. He was a kid. Kirkley was an adult. He was a bit of a brat, who'd never left home before and knew nothing of life outside of his sheltered planet driven by pleasure and dim wit.

Would he stay forever? He had no fucking clue.

He let out a soft sigh through his nose, and looked away, the answers he came up with obviously a bit troubling.

"You don't have to do anything. You don't have to stay here with me for the rest of your life if you don't want to, I wouldn't blame you for that, or hold you back. But at the very least I plan on having you stick around until I know you can take care of yourself out here."

He looked to the kid lying on the floor of his ship, his own eyes swimming full of uncertainty.

"After that what you do is your choice. I have no right to stop you from anything; I just have to protect you."

Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #36 on: October 08, 2017, 11:14:46 pm »
He didn't have to do anything.

Aesir sighed and closed his eyes, glancing away before he pressed his hands to his face and took a deep breath. This was confusing. Just yesterday he was content to live out his life as boring as could be. Wine, women and song. Was it the fight thing? Was that the last straw? Was his blood thing an excuse? Aesir sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I can take care of myself fine," He said grumpily, sitting up and crosses his arms over his chest, before giving a subtly - or what he thought was subtle- glare to Kirkley while he pondered. Sucking in a breath he pushed a hand through his hair and glared off to the side, pouting almost. A very adult display of being.

"I only got caught at the wrestling match because I lost my bandana," He huffed, throwing up his hands, "That one was my favourite. It was the perfect colour," Aesir turned to Kirkley, looking up at him before he just pursed his lips and his voice went a little low. "Why do you have to protect me," He said moving to stand up and hold open his arms, "Is it really as a favour? Only? Do you gain something from this?"

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #37 on: October 08, 2017, 11:40:42 pm »
Kirkley snorted, rolling his eyes as he caught the glare and looked away. Yeah, sure he could on Aedolis. The rest of space was a different story and he'd likely be finding that out far sooner than he wanted to think or cared to realize. It was one of those things in life he'd just have to learn for himself, it seemed. Sometimes kids were like that.

Always gotta learn the hard way.

He let out a sigh as Aesir kept the questions coming, moving to sit down in the pleather captain's chair as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples wearily.

"You always were fond of that color..." He muttered to himself, feeling bad for not taking it when he'd run out to give chase. Still, he'd saved Aesir and that was the more important part that came first. The kid shouldn't have been complaining at all.

He looked up at him, his own expression tired, and in that moment he probably looked as old as he actually was, even if only for a few seconds. These kinds of questions were never easy. They were seam rippers that popped stitches on open wounds and made it real hard to clean up the mess and get it to heal again afterwards.

"First of all, because I promised it to your father that I would protect you with my life. I gain absolutely nothing from this." Well, he was supposed to, originally. He was supposed to gain Bifrost from it. Companionship. His long-lost love. But that was out of the question now.

He looked away, letting his hand fall to rest in his lap while the other rested on the arm of his chair.

"It's something long and complicated to explain, and I sincerely doubt you would actually like to take the time to sit down and hear it. You'll find it boring, I'm sure." It was only half a lie.

Offline Draconian

Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #38 on: October 10, 2017, 09:38:06 pm »
Aesir had looked away for a time, examining the interior of the ship while he waited for an answer. There was a glance to Kirkley and he stared at him for a moment. He looked so... Worn down. Tired. Aesir chewed on his lip and for a moment he felt bad. The tension in his chest made his pulse throb and he just watched for a moment. Watched Kirkley age and just look so tired.

Aesir listened to him quietly, lips pursed while he spoke and he was suspicious for a moment. He had nothing to gain. Then why do it? Who was that selfless? No one.  He tapped his foot impatiently before glancing down and away. The real explanation - that it was long and complicated was easier to swallow and Aesir nodded a few times before he fluffed his hair and glanced around.

Of course he was interested in the real story.

He was here now though and that would have to be good enough. Kirkley had taken him in. Smuggled him out. Put his life on the line and Aesir couldn't blame the man if he decided that he was better off being sold. Aesir licked his lips and looked down before he sighed and looked Kirkley up and down, taking in the image of the man.

"Thank you," He said finally, looking down cheeks flushed. "For helping me," Aesir swallowed and scratched his arm through his shirt. "I'm really tired though," He admitted, not looking up. Not looking at space. "I was wondering if it was okay if I have a nap," Aesir felt so young then, a glance at the 'sky' and he let his eyes fall closed. "Does looking out there get any less stressful?" He whispered, "I feel like I'm gonna fall out."

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Re: Sticky Little Fingers
« Reply #39 on: October 11, 2017, 08:29:54 pm »
The silence between the two of them that lasted only for mere moments seemed to weight down on them both for an eternity. Kirkley watched the kid, unmoving, devoid of any determinable expression until his eyebrows raised when he was thanked.

So the kid did know some manners.

He glanced over Aesir's form; he looked so small, standing there on the vast deck of The Loveless. Just a kid.

"Yeah, 'course you can go to sleep. You've had a rough two days." He said quietly, not taking his gaze away as he looked Aesir in the eyes and wondered just what lie there beneath that naive surface.

What would he be like when he grew up? The experiences he was going to have in the next year alone were probably going to play a major part in shaping who he turned out to be, now that his life had been exposed to something far bigger than Aedolis. Like two different inks spilling into each other and colliding.

He smiled, looking then to the space outside the windshields and let out a soft chuckled that made his chest shake with the movement.

"It took me a while to get used to it, too. Don't worry, it won't feel like that forever. Probably." He smirked, winking at the kid before he got up out of the chair, motioning towards the crew quarters below.

"We're gonna be out here for a good two and a half days in order to reach the Cancer, so make yourself as comfortable as you can. When we get there we can look for things you like to make you feel a little less homesick maybe, yeah?" He offered gently, hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans.

"My room is just up the stairs there," He said, nodding his head back towards a flight of steps leading to a second level. "If you need anything you're welcome to come find me."

 

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