Somewhere beyond the space lanes...

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

“Cresh, osk, leth, osk, usk, resh,” Vexen said slowly, managing to remember the proper aurabesh names for the letters as she ran a claw from her right paw across the letters. “And that’s colour. Should be cuh, uh, luh,” she said, using phonetic pronunciations. She was glad he didn’t comment on how deformed her left hand was, she was greatly ashamed of that. It was her fault, she hadn’t brought enough things back to placate Rakij one week. Instead of food, he’d made her hold her left hand out on the table. Three times he’d struck it with the snapped off head from a broom, each impact making a sickening crack. She’d taken the punishment of course. Anything else would have only made him angry; that would have led to an even greater punishment, or perhaps even withholding food for a long time. The bones had never healed straight.

She cocked her head to one side, considering his explanation for a moment. “So that’s green,” she said, pointing to a blue console light. Her eyes, remarkably sensitive to dim light, as well as a broader range of the spectrum, meant her own perception of colour was quite different. The bands her eyes detected and combined to create her version of colour were physically distinct from those of a human. The blue light seemed almost indistinguishable to the green to her.

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“You are enjoying this far too much.” Gabe grumbled, before rolling his eyes.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Remember, there is no such thing as bad attention. Flashy cars and climbing onto a table drunk and performing karaoke? Just another way to get dem girls, dontcha forget.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Gabriel wasn’t exactly sure if that was [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]really[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] true, but at this point in time the lad would try anything to stop feeling all that embarrassed about this situation. So instead he took a deep breath as they kept on walking, breathing out slowly and hitting the realization… [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]That he shouldn’t care.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]So when she started ruffling in her bag, revealing a camera? There was only one thing the young man could think to do in a situation such as that - namely, stick his tongue out and make a rock & roll gesture with his hand in the air.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Boom, that’s how ya get the girls.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]After which Gabey pretended like nothing happened and they filed into decontamination chamber.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“If you ever repeat what has happened here or show that picture to anyone… I will tell everyone about that one incident with [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Trudy[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px].” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]OH YES, HE DID.[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] Z-SNAP.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px][member="Magdalena Lethe"][/SIZE]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"You leave Trudy out of this," Magda hissed back as plumes of cold space air began filtering into the dep chamber, "she was the loveliest boy I'd ever met."

True story. Ahem, moving on.

Pulling the pressure release and turning the door lock, Magda felt the weightlessness lift her from the deck. With a gentle push against the wall she gripped the frame of the hatch opening and hovered out into the inky black of space.

"Well..." she said looking around, "here we are on another spectacular adventure. Magda and big sister Gabrielle....oh, there!" that was when she spotted [member="Liam Quez"] coming towards them, arms flailing. Their space suits were of ...adequate tech that they didn't really have to aim for him. Small thrusters at their backs would steer them right, but she appreciated the gesture with a broad smile. Magda switched her comm frequency to open so they could communicate.

"Hello! Thank you so much! You're a hero!"

[member="Gabriel Lethe"]

 

[Micah Talith]

"Huh," Micah would cock his head to the side, considering the color Vex had just described. Right, different races all together. "Well... for me, no that is blue." He told her, then gave her a sheepish look. "I forget that different species can potentially see a different spectrum of light."

He scooted forward, his eyes panning around to skim the area. What is... oh right. His his head would drop down to point at his cloak. It was a dark green. "This is green for me," he would explain, elaborating on the color. "A darker shade of it."

"Blue....blue is like the color of Ithor's sky." He would reference the cerulean hue that would make the heavens appear that shade of blue, flashing her a smile. It wasn't hard to see that Vex was still working through confidence and freedom from her former owner. She had an abused past and the scars were not only physical but also emotional and mental. Something he was trying to help heal bit by bit. A thought passed that perhaps he could take Vex over to his aunt Amore. For a woman who was one revered as the living incarnate of Inari, he was sure that she would be able to do something about all of Vex's physical aliments.

"And the apple is red." a tap of his finger would point to his eyes. "These are orange."

 

[Liam Quez]

I’m a hero! Probably the first time I’ve ever heard this, hopefully not the last. I reached out and latched one of the ropes to Magda’s suit and looked behind her to see some fumbling person following her. So there were two people in the ship – the girl failed to announce that. No big deal, Ibaris was just going to have to deal with it. I tossed a tow cable out for the guy to latch on to when he had gotten closer. I noticed that they had little propulsion tanks, so I didn’t worry about him too much. I tugged on the line after getting the girl attached and settled. Opening my com as the ship pulled us back in I spoke. “For sure, it was nothing really just glad we picked up your signal Precious.”

Didn’t take long to get to the ship, the Peregrine had gotten pretty close, Ibaris had done well. Stepping into the hanger, pressure and air were fixed and I took off my helmet and shook my blonde hair so that it sat just right on my head. My gloved hand worked through it clumsily and I worked my way out of the suit. Once my hand and body were free, I looked towards the girl and offered her my hand. “Captain Liam Quez of the Peregrine at your service.” I gave her my smile and the uh twinkle in my eye or something like that. “So what happened to the ship? Also you hungry? Ibby and I haven’t eaten yet so you’re welcomed to join us”

Pausing I remembered the fellow still out there. “Should probably wait for your boyfriend?” I didn’t know if he was her boyfriend or whatever, doesn’t hurt to find out right?

[member="Ibaris Varanin-Jacobs"] [member="Magdalena Lethe"] [member="Gabriel Lethe"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Vexen nodded, but at the same time her eyes displayed a hint of suspicion. “Riiight, got it. Also,” she said, trying to move onto something else, perhaps she could go back to being scratched instead of reporting on her progress soon. “Sometimes the writing is like this,” she said, pointing out the inside front cover of the book, that outlined publication dates and other information. It was written in High Galactic, rather than Aurabesh.

“I’ve seen this before, why is this page in a different language? That’s just stupid.”

 

[Micah Talith]

Micah gave a half grin, and the very devil was in his eyes at that.

“You’re not the only one who thinks it’s stupid.” He told [member="Vexen"], giving a half laugh. Scooting closer, he bent his dark head close to hers. A blunt finger went over the fancy sigils of former.

“This is High Galactic.” he would explain, “Really, it is just the old antiquated and more formal form of Galactic Basic. Most don’t use it, really it is seen more with the noble houses that do. “ he would continue.

“There are rules for use in informal and formal situations. Masculine, feminine, and neutral tenses.” his face would scrunch as he went over it. His father, by all intents and purposes, was a Prince. Nobility. There were times when he would catch his father’s speech change; it would shift. Become a bit more posh and his use of language would completely change his demeanor. It was curious when he would catch him speaking to his mother that way. Oddly enough, she found it endearing.

His own lessons had been full of language studies as well, something that with his knack of mimicry from his mother’s side of the family, gave him the opportunity to excel in. It was one of the few things he could consider himself advanced than that of his sisters.

“Galactic Basic on the other hand, uses a linguistic style that is easier to understand. That’s why it is the common language for trade and for interaction between all races in the galaxy.” he gave a half shrug.

“Although Huttese and Mando’a are up there.”

 

[Vexen]

Vexen gave a quiet "Harumph" as he explained this. "If you said the Galaxy had been a community for like thousands of years, why doesn't everyone speak the same and write the same?" she asked. The two didn't seem to marry up in her mind. Thousands of years was lots and lots of generations. Though she supposed Micah had explained that most families weren't like his. If people didn't actually travel that much, perhaps they didn't need to all use the same words. She didn't vouch the idea as it might have been silly. Instead she waited for Micah's explanation. He always knew how things worked.

[member="Micah Talith"]

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah couldn't help but give a wider grin, "Because not everyone had the means to travel from one place to the next." he told her. Plopping back onto his seat, he brought up his boots to set them on top of the console.

"Not everyone speaks basic because some planets didn't have a means of hyperspace travel for a while," He'd tell her, "Some were still pretty isolated, so they had their own language. Galactic Basic is just one language that only spread as the common tongue once more and more humans traveled from the Coreworlds.

Now most people use it as a trade language -- Ergo the Galactic Basic." a thought would pass. "But there are still places like Hutt space where trade language is Huttesse... or even like in Mandalorian Space, where it is Mando'a instead."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

“So how many are there? How many d’you know? How many I need t’learn?” Vexen asked the string of questions quickly. She barely spoke one language to an acceptable degree. Micah still chastised her for dropping her t’s and her lack of manners. The notion of learning several languages was a daunting prospect.

Her eyes turned to the viewscreen and the endless darkness out there. To her eyes – which were several orders of magnitude more sensitive than a human’s – the band of stars that comprised the galactic disk was a bewildering array of patterns. “Is there something out there?” she asked before Micah could even answer her first questions.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Liam...Quez? Ibby?"

Magda looked dumbstruck for a moment, as though experiencing a very strong and strange bought of deja vu. There came a frown, a quick glance around the ship, something of concern, and then she blinked.

"Sorry...guess I'm still a bit jittery...from before," she reached forward and took his hand, shaking it, "I'm Magdalena and that's ...uh, not my boyfriend," a small laugh as she looked back to see Gabe clamoring into the depressurization chamber, "that's my brother, Gabe."

Magda watched her brother twinkle-toe in from the chamber, slowly pulling her own helmet off as he wobbled on the kitten heels, spied [member="Liam Quez"], looked mortified for .2 seconds and then casually cleared his throat, "It's the latest style, didn't you know?"

"It was all we had in the emergency kit," Magda corrected in an effort to help him save-face, "Liam, does your ship have towing capabilities? I simply can't leave the Magesteria sitting here ... but I'm afraid I don't have credits to pay you. If you could just take her to the nearest port we'll be out of your hair and forever in your debt."

[member="Gabriel Lethe"]

 

[Ibaris Varanin]

She'd been listening. Avidly...and if anything, she definitely knew how to use the intership comm, so when they were all tucked in to the depressurization chamber, she flicked whatever switch or pressed whatever button that put her in touch with them.

"Welcome to my home-away-from-home," she said in opening over the comm, "I'm Ibaris Varanin-Jacobs, or Ibby for short and lazy, as the farmboy already mentioned."

She didn't mention that he never called her by her name, instead using a nickname as he'd already taken to applying one to the new girl. 'Princess' could have negative connotations, but she'd long since given up protesting his use of it. He just couldn't be stopped.

"Nothing's owed, Mags - can I call you Mags? - this is just something we do, isn't that right, Liam?"

She didn't want him getting any ideas. Derr.

"Oh, and watch out for the big, black dog when you get out. He isn't too fond of people he doesn't know yet."

[member="Magdalena Lethe"] | [member="Liam Quez"] | [member="Gabriel Lethe"]​

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

“There is much out there, Vex,” Micah told her, reaching out to scratch behind her ears, comforting her with a soothing motion. His mum would do that, stroke his hair whenever he would rest his head on her lap. She did it to his sisters and him, back when they were little. To be frank, she still did it, and he wasn’t one who didn’t mind.
There was just something about having his mum stroke his hair that was very comforting; loved.

“Countless planets with countless species. As numerous as the stars.” he’d say, still continuing his gentle cafune. “I can’t put a number to how many languages there are out there. I only know a few, Aela was the one who was more inclined to stick her nose in a tome and learn more.” He knew the basics and the trade languages, and his studies with his uncle Dissero gave him access to others. It was just a matter of studying and taking the time.

“You can learn as many as you want,” he told her encouragingly, “ We’ll start off with Galactic Basic first. Huttesse is good to learn, as it Mando’a.”

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Vexen let out a contented little noise, something between a growl and a grumble, as he scratched behind her ears. For a moment she lost herself in the scratching, but also the myriad of stars before her. She started to feel a little overwhelmed as she looked through the view screen. Micah had tried to explain large numbers before, but it was a concept she couldn’t fully grasp. However, her sensitive little eyes could pick out a phenomenal number of stars. Placed before her eyes visually, the staggering scale of the Galaxy seemed to hit home.

She’d lived in a quiet little hole in a maintenance shaft for her entirely life. No parents to teach her, just her determination to carry on existing to get by. Being nearly invisible in the dark had helped too. Vexen had built her own little picture in her mind of how the universe worked. The “station” she had lived on had been the whole world, with everyone and everything on it. “Ithor” had been the Land Below. The untouched gardens where no one went. To imagine so many starts, so many world, so many people…

She let out a sad little stammered sigh. For just a moment she felt homesick for her damp little cave. She reached her arms around Micah’s waist and squeezed him gently. “Jus’ like t’stay ‘ere for now. Okay?”

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah couldn't help but smile at that request. Looking down at the Defel, with her snout perched and pressed against his side, one couldn't help the bloom of affection. His arms came wrapping around her, and he drew her onto his lap so she could get comfortable. She was still pretty small, having been malnourished she still needed some proper nutrition to get back into that healthy weight. Even then, he wasn't sure just how much damage the first decade of her life had done to stunt her growth.

In any case, he had grown up along with her, and he considered her a friend. A bit over protective of, but when anyone he cared for came under harm, it came out from the teenager something fierce.

"We can do that," he told her, smiling as he scratched behind her ears again. Looking past the sensors, he saw the two ships interacting in the distance. The transponder code was known to him, at least one of them. With them being there, there wasn't a need to worry. Silent and still undetected, he was keen on indulging the Defel's request, and simply left it at that.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Varanin-Jacobs..." Magda mouthed silently to herself as though lost in a reverie she'd rather not be in. The girl visibly winced and made a marked glance to her brother with the barest shake of her head.

Don't say anything, the look she gave him seemed to imply. She hoped against hope he would catch on to her drift.

She smiled meekly to the disembodied voice of the young Ibaris ringing through the chamber, "Mags is just one of many nicknames," she replied, smile stretching, "thanks so much for your hospitality Ibaris."

Dog?

The Dep-chamber hissed open and there sat the biggest, ugliest black dog she'd seen in a long time.

"Dog!" Magda squeeked, immediately taking to hiding behind Liam, "I'm afraid of dogs!"

[member="Ibaris Varanin-Jacobs"]
[member="Liam Quez"]
[member="Gabriel Lethe"]

 

[Liam Quez]

"Finally decided to talk Princess?" I sighed, seemed she didn't want to come out of the cockpit for this. I nodded as Ibaris spoke about the dog and the part about not needing to repay us. Frowning, I was hoping for some credits or something, but that wasn't going to be the case. I rubbed the back of my head as I wondered if the Peregrine could tow their ship to the nearest station, I guess it would be something I'd have to look into while girls did what girls do or something. An idea sparked in my head as I blinked then smiled widely at Mags. Adas' face made an appearance and just as quickly as the hatch opened, Mags was quickly behind me cowering about the dog. "Uh there's nothing to be afraid of Adas is a good dog, he's way cooler than an normal dog."

I didn’t want to tell the girl who was already scared of the beast that the dog was a monster when he was provoked and liked to pee on my stuff. I mourned the loss of Mr. Fuzzywinks silently. Never forget. I wrapped my arm around Mags and pulled her to my side and patted her on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine, Adas is a cool dude we’re bros.” I let her go and remained where I stood for the time being.

“Well we’re going to cross in front of the dog to get to the food. You’re pretty hungry right?” I did my best to distract Mags with something else. Adas wasn’t an issue and he was pretty obedient with Ibaris - so I doubt the dog would do anything beyond just smell the girl. There was no threat, no reason for me to fly off the handle.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"] [member="Ibaris Varanin-Jacobs"]