ataraxionlogs | a crow beside me, a scavenger king [open]

CHARACTERS: Rey and You!
LOCATION: Here and there and anywhere!
WARNINGS: Rey's table manners.
SUMMARY: Catch-all log for the month, plus some starter prompts.
NOTES: Feel free to tag either prose or action brackets!

If recent events hadn't been enough of an indicator that something in the ship was terribly, terribly wrong, the jump sealed the deal.

The path planned for them is gone. More and more, those words are starting to make more sense, but it still doesn't leave any less a bitter taste in Rey's mouth.

And time, like a river, moves on.

I. Kitchens.

Anyone who had known Rey during the earlier days on this ship wouldn't catch her in the kitchens that often. Not only did her body require not as much nourishment from the average human, she had a history of sensory alteration, which had her deprived of certain senses. Her sight, hearing, and smell were heightened while her touch and taste were either tapered or deprived entirely. Whether it was gourmet or packaged shit, food would often taste either bland or rotten in her mouth, taking away the charm of nurturing her body or taking up on anyone's offer to accompany them for a meal. There was a sick reason for it, too, yet not something that she prides in very often.

Those who know her now, however, can catch her in the kitchens more often. Thanks to one of her previous trips back home, she had returned not only having been put back together after dying, but all five senses corrected as well.

Most of the things she eats for the first time is a new experience, so you can't really blame the way she wolfishly shovels food in her mouth. Whether she's slurping spaghetti or noodles or soup, or chowing down on a sandwich or produce from the gardens, her uncouth etiquette is enough to just about deter anyone's appetite.

Hell if she cares, though.

You may catch her during one of her moments, chugging beer or water or juice, or shoveling bread or vegetables while chewing open-mouthed, or anything that she is capable of whipping together in the kitchens on her own. Having spent over nine decades without a sense of taste didn't really inspire her to look into recipes to fulfill her nonexistent hunger.

Either way, you can bet your life that it's probably one of the most horrific displays you have ever seen at a dinner table.

II. Rec Room.

Another rare sight is seeing Rey dressed in anything that has sleeves. Anyone either on a casual stroll or wishing to pass time in one of the recreational rooms of the ship would catch her wearing a particularly different outfit from her usual attire of tanktops and cargo pants. Instead, she is covered completely by a black suit, tight-fitting with light indicators trailing from her feet, shoulders, and neck; the spinal column of the suit seemingly revealing some sort of additional function that has yet to be displayed. One final noticeable detail one may find is the upper back of the suit depicting a particular amphibian.

Hmm.

Even if you're just meandering by whilst minding your own business, it may be rather difficult not to notice the sudden whoosh of fire as flames trail around the fingers of her right hand, around her palm, and up her forearm.

It's quite a change of pace from several months ago, when she was struggling and attempting to shake herself free of the uncontrollable flames encompassing her arms, but never consuming or burning them. Rather than spewing expletives as she had back then, however, she can't help but crack a satisfied smile over the suit's effectiveness.

But to you, that sure is just a woman calmly standing there with her arm on fire.

III. Choose Your Own Adventure.

[In which case I can tailor a super awesome starter for you, or vice versa!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Does it? Rey almost wants to say, mostly because she's used to getting blank stares and confused questions when she tries to explain things like this. It's refreshing, really.

She just shakes her head. "Not really. Neither can the cold. Am pretty adept to most extreme temperatures."

Thankfully, she's not quite as cold-blooded as her old amphibious namesake.

Hey, if there's one thing an alien of ice understands, it's not wanting something to burn! Glacius seems to consider her response; she certainly sounds sturdier than most humans... probably has something to do with her cybernetics.

"I see. That must be quite the boon. I can function just fine in below freezing temperatures, but as you have probably guessed, the opposite can be dangerous for me."

Taking a moment to assess the alien, she nods with more understanding this time. "That makes sense. Would you melt, or something like that?"

Is that a rude question to ask? It's not like she's going to try it out or anything!

Glacius makes a clicking sound of consideration, trying to figure out how to best explain this without giving too much away. "It depends... my kind has invented technology that allows us to hold our form in warmer temperatures, but if the heat becomes too extreme it can cause a number of complications." If Rey looks close enough at him, she can probably discern what that technology looks like; everything about the being in front of her is natural, save for a pattern of glowing glyphs that light up periodically, making it look like they're flowing over his body.

When he mentions technology, Rey squints without taking another step closer. It doesn't look like he's equipped with any sort of armor, though considering she doesn't know what is natural or not for an ice alien then who knows what the difference is? She doesn't!

"Probably a good thing you weren't around during the temperature fluctuation throughout the ship. Sounds like that could've been life-threatening for you."

Not the most comforting thing to ever come out of Rey's mouth. Eh.

"What?" This is his first time hearing about that, apparently. The alien suddenly looks a little unsure. "Does that... happen often on board this ship?" It was stupid of him to make such an oversight; technology is fallible, of course it could happen. He needs to try and come up with a failsafe, now, some way to survive if that does happen again.

"No, not often. If anything, would just highly advise against venturing into the engineering complex. Some places there can get rather overheated."

She pauses, remembering something.

"If you're concerned, there is someone here who may be able to help in case something like that ever occurs again."

"Duly noted, thank you." Would he even be allowed in to the engineering complex? He doesn't have any sort of clearance; he can't imagine being able to go in to such a sensitive part of the ship. If there were a cluster of outsiders on one of his kind's ship, it certainly would not be tolerated; the concept of such a thing being open to him is a little bit baffling--it seems almost dangerous.

He'd been busy thinking that over, but Rey powers ahead in their conversation and the ice alien tilts his head slightly. "Who would that be? I have talked with some of the engineers here, but I am all for more help on this issue." He can be reclusive, but not to the point where he would rather risk an environmental hazard to himself than talk with someone that might be able to prevent it.

Some departments are locked up tighter than others, but she's seen non-department people sneak into Engineering with no trouble. Still, it's easy to forget this fact when you're part of SEC and have more access to interdepartment locations than any other.

"There's a woman who has ice powers. She also doesn't need it to stay cold to live like you do." She pauses. "Her name's Elsa, by the way."

Probably good that she actually mention that, even if the "ice queen" is pretty easy to spot.

"A woman? A human woman?" The alien seems genuinely surprised by this. He's never heard of any humans with such powers. He's not sure how he feels about the possibility... he's teetering in a very odd place between appreciation and... a sort of disbelief that a human could full appreciate such powers.

"Think so. Never thought to ask."

Rey was under the impression that people usually don't like being asked what they are, at least when they're more... people-like. It just seems rude. And Rey is never rude.

~~Except for when she totally is.~~

Glacius is usually the same way; he doesn't pry or ask for personal details, usually leaving it up to people to choose what they want to reveal or withhold. This notion, however, has taken him off guard. He's heard of humans either harnessing or yielding a number of elemental powers, but he's never heard of another being outside of his species with ice-based powers.

"I see. Well. I will have to be... on the lookout for her, then." It might be worth getting to know someone like this, and he's curious to see the full extent of these powers. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

Waving off the gratitude with her two-fingered hand, Rey just shakes her head.

"Don't mention it." Seriously, don't. She isn't sure what to do with people actually thanking her for anything. It's weird. "Her number's zero-two-nine, zero-thirty-six. If you ever want to get a hold of her yourself."

Look at her, networking people together and shit.

a crow beside me, a scavenger king [open]

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