Within The Dark

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val quietly looked through the room, never entering but instead simply standing at the doorway.

He saw the name, frowned, then turned

The Warrior wasn’t about to go snooping through everything that Ryssa owned. She may have been lying to him about her origin, but he wasn't quite at the point of reducing himself down to a common thief, rifling through other people's possessions just so he could get a tiny bit of leverage over them. It wasnt who he was, not now and not ever.

”Ryssa!” His voice boomed in the starship.

The bedroom door closed behind him and was left relatively untouched save for the fallen books. They had left behind that world rather quickly, and the bedroom had shown that fact.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

With the sound of that thundering roar, Ryssa gave a start. Shit. Dawning realization came in. In the wake of trying to get away from the villagers she'd traded in one problem for another.

"Damnit." the curse fell with a hitch of anxiety. A sudden thought came to her that Val was actually on her ship now and they were headed towards Tion space. Her attention fell once again upon the gauntlet in her hands. Promptly, a toe swiveled her chair to the left. The Skygazer had several little secret nooks and crannies she'd had built in and laced with nulification resin and sensor dampners to store items away from the prying eyes of port security. One of them was in the cockpit.

A small grunt and she bent down, moving towards a space right under the piloting console. This was also where she stored an emergency blaster laced against the durasteel bulkhead. Finding the hidden latch, the changling popped it open and shoved the gauntlet inside.

"Better safe than sorry," she reminded herself, storing the artifact away with a click and a press of the panel.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He’d spent a few years on a starship, a small frigate that had been crewed about three dozen people. The time had been fun, but in truth Val had never really grown his space legs. Being on a starship just felt unnatural. There was something about it that Val didn’t like, maybe the unevenness, or maybe the strange sensation he got in his bowels every time anything at all moved.


Either way this was not his happy place.


He did however, after what felt like an hour of searching, finally find the cockpit. It was a small thing, segmented a bit away from where he would have assumed it was. That was likely done on purpose to keep the pilot from being shot immediately, but...well it was inconvenient when you were trying to find it.


”There you are.” Val stated flatly. ”Nice ship.”


He did mean that.


The Nephilim, or whatever she had named it, was very pretty.


He hadn’t exactly taken a minute to look at the outside of it, but from what he’d seen whoever had designed the ship had really known what they were doing. That’s how it seemed to Val anyway.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

As if startled, Ryssa jumped in her seat, swiveling over towards the hatch. The cut against her cheek was still bleeding; green of all things. Was that green blood? Whatever it was, due to her blue skin it appeared to anyone studying her that she clearly was some version of near-human. Blue skin and yellow eyes gave the indication of a Wroonian for those who were familiar. Otherwise, she had the appearance of a Chiss were it not for her yellow eyes.

"Thanks." it was said rather awkwardly, as if the woman wasn't quite sure what to make of him -- besides the fact that he practically was blocking the exit with the bulk of his broad form. Just standing there made her feel small, and even though she was in the relative safety of her ship, it didn't bode well for Ryssa.

"Looks like we are stuck with each other for now." she added, turning back to the console to flick a few security switches. The last thing she needed was for them to be fiddled with. A cautionary precaution. There was no going around it anymore. He was already here and it wasn't as if she could just jettison him out.

"I'll show you to the spare cabin." she offered, turning back to him. A frown came over her angular features, the dark brows bunching forward.

"... and maybe a shirt."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He watched her flip the security switches.

It was an unnecessary measure. Even if he wanted to about the best he could do with this ship was drive it into a nearby asteroid. He had no idea how to operate a regular starship, and this one seemed to have more controls than standard so he would be utterly and hopelessly lost. A frown pulled over his lips but he said nothing.

”Sure.” He said quietly.

Admittedly, he did need new clothes.

His shirt was a complete ruin, and his pants were stained with blood, mud, and whatever else had been down in those caves. Half of him wished for his armor back, the other just wanted to be clothed. He was okay with being shirtless for a bit, but if they were going to go...well anywhere it would be nice to do so decently dressed. Generally humanoids were looked down on when they ran around naked.

That fact, added with the cold of the starship and space around them really made him want to at least get a sweater or something. At this point his nipples could have cut a Corusca Gem.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Right."

Ryssa came to her feet, only to bend back down to grab her satchel. She clearly wasn't too keen on leaving it out of sight. The Changling was still hesitant and unsure about Val, that much was certain. And after their rather tumultuous interaction with the villagers in thrall, it made Ryssa seriously question everything. This was more than just your average artifact hunt now.

This was literally life and death.

Thoughts shifted and swirled in her mind, trying to come up with reasons and explanations. Everything so far fell short. She wasn't even sure if the cultists would be able to track them now. She rarely left information behind, but there was still that possibility. Moving to slide past him, the diminutive female gave a glance up.

"Kinda need to get through the door, y'know."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val shuffled slowly to the side. The move was rather difficult given his size and the sleek architecture of the ship, but eventually he managed to squeeze himself to the side enough that Ryssa could pass through without much issue.

She was small enough that she didn’t need enough space.

”Sorry.” He apologized, though there was no shame in his tone. Val couldn’t really help his size, and he’d stopped feeling bad about it about nine decades ago when he first realized that things...well things just hadn’t really been built for someone as big as him. While aliens existed that were taller, stronger, and bigger than him, most starships and space stations were just built for more...normal sized people.

It was how it was, how it had always been. Val couldn’t really complain, and any complaints that he had would likely just be ignored. He had built his own home to be more suitable to his size, something that had made Aerith look comically call in comparison, but really he’d grown used to having to constantly duck and squeeze himself into tight places.

As annoying as it was.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Ryssa went squeezing right past him, but that didn't prevent the brushing of her bottom and a graze of her long hair as she slipped past. Mind going about twelve parsecs a second, the Changling straightened her stride out, torso moving forward to lead him towards the cabins.

This particular freighter was originally used for bounty hunters and mercenaries. Ryssa only bought it for the quick sensors and speed. Although in hindsight, not removing those two holding cells might be a good thing.

The ship was cast in sleek lines and had plenty of space. Considering it was just the contract archeologist who made it her home, it suited her well enough even if it was rather large. She had enough customizations and aftermarket dodads to suit her lifestyle. There were at least two other cabins, but Ryssa never had guests. Instead they served as storage, having an unmade bed there. She'd have to give him fresh sheets to make it comfortable. Maybe even a pillow.

Great.

"It's not much but..." she explained, going down and turning to the cabins. Her own was the largest. Off to the right they came to a door. She pressed a button and it slid open. Yup, bare bones.

"It'll do. I'll get you sheets. " a shift of her weight, then a swivel to gesture down the corridor " refresher is there."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He’d slept in worse places over the years. Dark caves, beneath felled trees, a ditch once or twice. His life had never been the most glamorous, and while he’d also slept in a palace once or twice, Val didn’t really need much when it came to sleeping arrangements.

”It’ll do fine.” He said with a smile.

It reminded him of his bunk back during his stay in the PDF. The little room hadn’t been much to look at, and of course the refresher had been communal. That was where he had first discovered his hatred of sonics, something that...well had been awkward at first until he’d found a way to wash up without his ears becoming bloody.

”How long have you had this ship?” He asked as she shifted down the corridor to what he could only assume would be a closet. ”Looks like it was meant for a bounty hunter.”

He’d seen the energy cages.

Val was probing of course, pressing for information. He had no idea that the Nephilim was actually a mass-produced craft, created for Mercenaries and Bounty Hunters as a standard, rather than an after market design.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"A few years," Ryssa replied, turning to move past him. Where were the skate sheets? She was a bit absent minded when it came to that. Her place was organized chaos. Generally she knew where everything would be.

Moving towards a spare crate on the left side of the room, Ryssa unlocked the latches. They gave a low clicking sound and then she flipped it open. Ah, sheets.

Taking the first stack of plain grey sheets she handed them over to him. As for the bounty hunter comment--

"It was." She replied. "It's how it came. "

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

So she wasn’t a bounty hunter, just had a bounty hunters ship.


Val took the sheet,s curling his arm slightly so he could pull them to his chest. For a brief moment he wondered whether or not he would actually be able to sleep, starships were always...difficult for him, or rather, annoying. He frowned for a moment and looked around, considering for a second then tossing the sheet onto the bed.


”Do you like it?” He was asking a lot of questions, but there was a good reason for it.


He still didn’t know a lot about Ryssa, practically nothing in fact.


Val figured the more he asked about...well shit that didn’t matter, the more open she would be about things that did. Perhaps he would catch her slipping up, or perhaps he would simply wear her down until she was just willing to answer any question that he had. The latter thought was a bit silly, but...well one couldn’t help but try.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Now Ryssa was faced with the very real complication that she did not have anything his size for him to wear. She was too distracted by this fact that it took a moment to register wgatvhe had asked. Having gone back to the collection of crates to search for anything for him to wear, the Changling gave a pause. Glancing up to briefly meet his gaze, one could tell his question , though simple, had thrown her off guard.

"Umm," she began, frowning a bit before she continued on with her search. He can't use my clothes. Their size differences were just too comical to consider anything viable.

"It has great sensors." She finally managed to say. "So yeah."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val looked down at Ryssa.

”That’s good.” Sensors were important. ”The engines seemed to be on hinges, do they move independently?”

He was of course, by no means an expert in starship design, but even from the brief glimpse he’d gotten on their run into the ship he’d been able to tell that the ‘wings’ of the ship weren’t designed in the same way as they would be on other starships.

It was curious, and also meant the ship was likely much more maneuverable that others.
The idea of course made him half want to vomit, his stomach not quite being able to handle the idea of being tossed and thrown around in the back of the cargo hold while Ryssa flew them through a storm or something.

He decided to keep that to himself though.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Good thing the Changling didn't catch the quick blanching of Val's face at the thought of just how maneuverable the Stargazer really was. Honestly , she didn't really consider it herself. She just added enough aftermarket parts for it to suit her lifestyle of exploring and searching for artifacts.

"Yeah," Ryssa replied. To be honest she wasn't that handy with thevship to know beyond what resources she had available and what fuel she had to add in it. Ryssa paid extra to add a dual fuel converter that allowed her to use Tibx for low emissions. Made staying under the radar possible. Some areas of the Galaxy weren't too keen on strangers poking around.

"It's has hairtrigger manuverabiliy." It was so weird having anyone on her ship. Much the less anyone who asked so many questions! She shut the crate and moved onto the next one with a grunt.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

For a moment he stayed quiet, preferring not to ask any more questions for now. He shifted slightly and looked around the rest of the place.


He had no idea how she would find clothes for him.


”That’s interesting.” val said quite honestly. The engines were, well, something that he’d likely never get to experience. He highly doubted they would be going through any dogfights or anything like that. Still the very thought of it made him queasy.


”That’s nice though.” He continued on with the pleasantries. ”Usually I fly around on old freighters and broken cargo craft.”

That was the way it went in the outer rim.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Ryssa was starting to realize that there was nil to none chances at finding anything that would fit that broad chest of his. It wasn't like she could change mass and make herself bigger. And if she needed to she could just skinshift clothes when necessary.

Val kept talking. The woman wasn't sure if it was to fill the silence or just talk. Biting her lower lip she shut the second crate shut.

"Yeah, not quite the same," she said rather absentmindedly. Locking the crate the Changling excused herself.

"Be right back," moving to slip past him to walk over to the next cabin. He still needed a pillow at least.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

While Ryssa wandered away, Val made his bed. There wasn’t really much to it. The mattress was barely enough to hold him, and he was tall enough that he could shift around the sheets fairly easily. Within a few minutes he had the bed nicely made up, smiling at himself as though it were a point of pride.


Oddly enough, over the last hundred years or so beds were just about the only thing that hadn’t really changed much.


He supposed that once you got to a certain point with a simple bed, there wasn’t really anything else that you could improve, at least not without getting overly complicated. He frowned slightly, thinking that his mind might have gotten way off track from where he was supposed to go. ”I’m getting too old for this.”


Val said quietly.


Briefly he thought about Aerith, what she would have said about all of this.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Meanwhile Ryssa went rifling through her other room. Well, storage space. It was becoming bleakly evident that she had no other pillows. Which meant she likely had to let him borrow one of her own. Great, she thought with a mild grimace. This has gone from tolerable to mildly annoying. A voice in her head said thatbit wasnt his fault but she wasn't comfortable with it.

"What in bloody hell will he even be able to wear?!" She mused, exasperated by the thought. Only thing would be if there was a shirtblarge enough---

She froze. A thought came to her. With a snap of her fingers the Changling went rushing from the spare room over to her own.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He doubted that his late wife would have been impressed by his behaviour over the last few days. He had bene boisterous, loud, and vengeful, all qualities that Aerith had tried to beat out of him over the years they had been together.


Yet...well here he was.


Val felt alone. Even when he was with someone, even with he was beginning a friendship, even when he was battling a rival, he felt alone. There was no other way to describe it, no other way to put it. He frowned for a moment and sat himself down on the bed, springing slightly as the soft mattress tried to rebound him.


At least he had a mission.


A goal that he could stick to in the end. Find a safe-place for the gauntlet.


It was a small task, a stupid one really, but it was little things like these that kept him going. Whether it was saving a young girl from a murderer or taking down a pirates, it was these small missions that allowed him to survive without her.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

With purposeful strides Ryssa enters her room. Where was it? She wondered, bending down to open up the bottom drawer of her dresser. The Changling did more than just hunt down artifacts; she also enjoyed going to a few concerts for her favorite bands. Jodi and the Blowfish was one of them. They had fantastic beats and catchy tunes. The last time she went to one of their concerts she'd bought a shirt. They were all out of her size but she bought the large anyways thinking it would make a good sleeping shirt.

She was right but it would hang firm almost to her knees. It was a soft fabric though, and if one excused the bright pinks, purples, and cobalt blues if the bright band logo against a magenta backdrop it would do.

I mean, at least it was a shirt right?

She found it tucked at the bottom of her dresser, and when she did Ryssa couldn't help but give a slight giggle. The day might have been shit, but at least they were alive.

That's something right?