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Post by Suji on Sept 7, 2010 0:12:49 GMT -5
Suji led Aubrey down the hallways of the Bladeship, one hand extended behind her, clasped around the blonde girl's. Aubrey probably had just as good of a sense of the place as she did -- they both arrived the same night -- but she seemed content enough to let Suji lead. They bumped into walls every once in a while, giggling quietly to themselves. The bottle of tequila Suji had nicked earlier had done its job. Eventually, even Suji couldn't stand to wallow in her own emotional problems, as understanding and supportive as Aubrey had been.
"Here, here, be quiet," Suji instructed, not exactly following her own advice. She walked up to Drake's door, and knocked. It occurred to her that maybe thoughtspeak would have been more effective, but at least this way if he was already asleep it might not wake him up. And if it did, getting woken up this way was a lot more comfortable than with someone talking into your head.
Suji's eyes flashed over to Aubrey's, and she mimed zipping her lips before pointing at the other girl. "Don't you say anything about... anything." Her words were more pleading than anything else, but she trusted Aubrey.
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Post by Aubrey on Sept 7, 2010 0:28:37 GMT -5
Aubrey followed unsteadily behind Suji, her free hand waving out to brush the wall as they passed. In the dim light of the hallways everything was tilting back and forth, side to side. As they walked, Aubrey was attempting to be as quiet as she possibly could. It wasn't working out very well at the moment; Aubrey had been telling some story before the two of them had left the room, and little snippets of it kept surfacing, just needing to be told.
"Here, here, be quiet," Suji said. Aubrey bit her lip--trying not to giggle--and nodded very seriously. They'd found Drake's door. Aubrey stood straighter, glancing over at Suji. "No worries, I won't, I promise," Aubrey whispered, then placed her index finger against her lips. "Not a word from me."
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Post by Drake on Sept 7, 2010 0:46:11 GMT -5
Drake rubbed his eyes and stood up. He was wearing striped pajamas and was just about to try getting some shuteye when he heard the knock at his door. Slightly annoyed, Drake went to the door and attempted to work the opening mechanism yet again. He could hear a snippet of a conversation taking place on the other side.
"Not a word about what?" Drake asked as the door slid open. He was half expecting the knock to be his... enthusiastic supporters, again. But he was pleased to see it was Suji and Aubrey. It was pretty clear they weren't very clear headed at the moment, but that just made their visit all the more interesting. Suddenly finding himself in familiar company, he leaned against his doorframe and waited to see what they would come up with for an answer.
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Post by Suji on Sept 7, 2010 0:59:08 GMT -5
Suji looked over guiltily at Drake, and put her hands behind her back, even though she wasn't holding anything. Only she was holding something. Aubrey's hand. She let go of it, fumbled with something to do with her arms, and eventually crossed them. It seemed safest.
"Oh, um, nothing. Not out here. Can we come in? It's a private discussion," Suji said, as if this explained things better. Before really waiting for a response, she turned sideways and slid past him. Which was about when she noticed that he was dressed in pajamas. Actual pajamas! What a strange thing. She found herself staring at him for a moment, before shaking her head and moving the rest of the way into his room.
"Aubrey, come on, don't let anyone see!" Suji gestured for her to follow, laughing as she did so. Once Aubrey was inside, Suji turned to look back at Drake. "Um, I know you said you weren't really looking for an adventure last night, but, well, do you want to go on an adventure?" She bit at her bottom lip, eyes wide as she waited for the answer.
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Post by Aubrey on Sept 7, 2010 1:15:45 GMT -5
Drake answered the door in his pajamas, looking some parts tired and some parts pestered. Aubrey clamped a hand over her own mouth, a big grin forcing its way onto her lips. As Suji spoke, Aubrey shook her head vigorously. "Yup. Nothing, nothing at all. Whatsoever." Before Drake had even had time to green-light the two of them to come inside, Aubrey found herself squeezing past him with Suji.
"I'm trying! I don't think anyone saw us!" Aubrey whispered. She turned to face Drake, and accented Suji's request with multiple nods. "It'll be fun, we promise. Really, really fun." While Drake thought it over, Aubrey took the time to casually glance around the room. It was then that she noticed something sitting on Drake's desk. She squinted once, trying to focus, then realize what it was. "Drake? Did you bake or something? There's--there's a pie on your desk."
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Post by Drake on Sept 7, 2010 1:34:12 GMT -5
Drake tried not to laugh as Suji and Aubrey made their way past him into his room, but it was difficult. He had never seen either of them this inebriated before. It was hilarious!
Drake thought about asking why they didn't want to be seen, but he could already guess why. Then he thought about asking what sort of adventure they had in mind, but Aubrey asked him another question instead. One that was a bit embarrassing. She asked about the pie.
"Oh, um, no. I didn't bake it. It was a, um... I guess you could say a welcoming present? Go ahead, have some. Just, uh, yeah..."
"So, what kind of adventure did you have in mind?" he asked, trying to change the subject back away from the pie. Drake sat down on a corner of his cot. "Nothing to do with vents, I should hope."
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Post by Suji on Sept 7, 2010 1:44:30 GMT -5
Suji laughed at the pie, cupping a hand over her mouth. A pie? Why would Drake have that? Did Drake bring stuff back from the Mess Hall too? There hadn't been any pie when she was down there. And she didn't think Drake would take a whole pie. Once upon a time they'd eaten what felt like half a rack of candy in an abandoned Blockbusters in Dallas, though. "Welcoming present! I didn't get any presents."
Even as Drake asked them about the soon-to-be adventure, Suji stared at the pie. It was so out of place! And she noticed that he seemed to not want to talk about it. Her mind worked extra hard to come to the conclusion that would have taken her a second normally. "YOU HAVE STALKERS TOO!" She shouted with triumphant glee, before realizing her volume, and clapping both hands over her mouth. Suji shrank down, shoulders hunching forward, and she blushed. After a moment of cowering, she giggled into her hands.
Her voice was a whisper when she began again. "We're going to the top of the Bladeship. Like, the outside top. I've never stood on a spaceship before."
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Post by Aubrey on Sept 10, 2010 22:55:22 GMT -5
When Drake offered some of the pie to her, she paused and considered it. Her deliberation was short-lived, however, and Aubrey ended up giggling at the loudness of Suji's shout instead. "Shh! Shh!" One finger was pressed against Aubrey's lips, and she gave Suji a gentle nudge on her shoulder with her hand. "They'll hear us!" At this point, Aubrey wasn't even sure who 'they' referred to, but it was obviously of the utmost importance that they--whoever they were--did not hear them through the walls.
"Drake! Drake!" Her speech was muffled by one of her hands pressed against her mouth, her eyes glittering with amusement. "I can't believe you have stalkers! How come you haven't eaten the pie yet? Won't they be sad?" By this point, Drake had moved over to the corner of his cot. Aubrey was still hovering around the doorway area, and she glanced over at Suji as she explained what their idea was. "Me either, so we figured this would be the perfect place to try this. We're on a ship, and it's not moving so we won't fall off." Her expression turned very serious very fast. "So will you do it with us? You have to."
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Post by Drake on Sept 11, 2010 2:54:10 GMT -5
Drake completely ignored all of the pie and stalker questions Aubrey was asking. Not because he didn't want to answer them, exactly. But because of what Suji had said about the blade ship. Aubrey's further explanations didn't really help the matter much either. They really wanted to climb on top of it?
"You guys really want to go outside and climb on top of the blade ship? You can't be serious. I mean- Well- We can't just-" Drake let out a defiant sigh. "You know what? Why not. I haven't done anything just for fun in a while. Lets go spaceship-climbing."
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Post by Suji on Sept 11, 2010 23:44:41 GMT -5
""I can't believe you have stalkers!" Aubrey said, and Suji immediately thought: I can believe it. Even though she didn't say it aloud she felt herself blush a little, and she shifted her weight. Luckily, the discussion didn't go any further on that topic. Drake agreed to go with them, and Suji grinned. She stepped between the two of them, and casually looped an arm across both sets of shoulders. "All right, I think our best chance is towards the other end of the ship."
- - - - -
It'd taken some finessing -- well, a lot of finessing, and exploring, and Aubrey and her stumbling into each other and Drake -- but they'd managed to find a hatch that opened to the top of the Bladeship. It was a human construction, something put in by the engineers after it'd been repurposed for the Academy, most likely. At least, that was Suji's guess, as it had actual hinges rather than a fancy sliding mechanism.
"I'll go first." Suji said, already climbing up a couple of the rungs. It took more concentration that would have been normally, but she got to the top without slipping. Turning the big crank on the hatch was it's own challenge, but it gave eventually. She pushed the hatch open, and clambered out.
What she noticed first was that it was chilly, but not as cold as she would have thought. That, and there was no collected ice on the surface of the ship. Images of cars with frosted windows in winter came to her mind, but the surface was dry and smooth. Suji stood up, and looked around. The stretch of ship here was almost perfectly level, and it extended for what seemed like impossible lengths. She'd known the Bladeship had to be huge from all the levels within it, but seeing it from the outside, this close, really drove the point home.
She leaned over -- very carefully -- and looked back down the hatch. "Coast is clear," she shouted down. Of course it would be, though. No other crazy people were tramping around on the top of the ship. Suji crossed her arms: it might not have been brutally frigid, but it was still more colder than was comfortable.
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Post by Aubrey on Sept 18, 2010 1:39:30 GMT -5
As Suji ascended the ladder upwards, Aubrey leaned heavily against a nearby wall. The more time that passed, the more the room seemed to spin. It seemed that even standing completely still, Aubrey was having some trouble keeping herself upright. After a few moments of waiting, Suji finally called down to say the coast was clear. Aubrey glanced at Drake to see if he wanted to go first, and then began her journey up the ladder.
A few missed steps and hand slips later, Aubrey had pulled herself onto the top of the ship and near Suji. The cold air sent a chill up Aubrey's spine, and she shivered a bit as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Her body swayed as she wrapped her arms around her torso. Despite that, there was a huge grin on her face as she scanned around the top of the ship. "This is so cool."
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Post by Drake on Sept 18, 2010 2:02:42 GMT -5
"You got that right," Drake agreed as he climbed out into the cold. But as he looked around he said, "Wow. You do got that right." The blade ship was huge! It was a big black expanse that seemed to stretch on forever. And to think, these things were made for flight.
Despite the giant thing beneath his feet, Drake couldn't help but look up. "And would you look at those stars? There must not be a cloud in the sky. And no light pollution." This wasn't the first time Drake had seen a clear night sky since becoming an animorph, but growing up in Las Vegas helped him to fully realize how awesome the sky could be without light pollution. As far as Drake was concerned, this would be a good end for their 'adventuring,' but he still didn't know if this was the end of the girls' plans.
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Post by Suji on Sept 18, 2010 17:21:49 GMT -5
"I think there's some kind of force-field around the ship. Maybe that's what's stopping it from being as cold as it should be." Suji reached her arms up, as if she'd be able to feel it where she was standing. She couldn't, but that didn't surprise her too much. Maybe it started at ten feet or something. That was pretty small in space, but would let people work on the exterior without worrying about hitting it accidentally.
When Drake mentioned the stars Suji tilted her head back. It took a little effort from tumbling backwards, but she managed. Slowly, her arms lowered back to her sides. Back in the free human camp she'd been on, the stars had been bright, but not this bright. The air was so clear here, no mugginess. "I guess we're a pretty important part of the galaxy now, huh? Earth? Don't have to worry about being insignificant." She laughed to herself, and then promptly hiccuped, cupping a hand to her mouth guiltily.
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Post by Aubrey on Sept 25, 2010 3:40:27 GMT -5
Once Drake had made his way up, Aubrey heaved herself up onto her wobbly feet. The Blade Ship did seem to extend into infinity in all directions, and--after being cooped up in the ship for a couple days now--Aubrey had the sudden urge to burst into a run and to keep running until she ran out of ship or breath. The idea was just on her lips when Drake mentioned looking up at the stars. Keeping her precarious balance, Aubrey followed suit and looked upwards.
The stars were ablaze, bright dots dusted across the black sky. It was a beautiful sight, peaceful, but Aubrey couldn't help feeling unsettled by it. Her eyebrows knit together. "Yeah, it seems like we are," She mumbled in response to Suji's statement. The cooled air burned in her lungs as she took in a slow breath. Then, "Why? Why us? Why, out of all the damn planets in the universe, all the stars in the sky, all the infinite stretches of space, us?" There was a pause as Aubrey buried her hands in her hair, still staring up at the night sky. "How could something so evil and nasty come from that?"
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Post by Drake on Sept 26, 2010 0:08:29 GMT -5
"If it wasn't us who got singled out from the big black abyss, then I suppose it would be someone else and they would be asking the same question. Maybe the taxxons and hork-bajir said the same thing too. Er, or maybe not. Who really knows."
Drake wasn't usually so philosophical, especially around other people. And definitely not out loud. But it was Suji and Aubrey he was with, and he felt closer to them than he ever had to any of his family members. Besides, it seemed likely that they may not even remember this too well in the morning.
"For whatever reason, the yeerks are here now. They took the only thing we thought couldn't be taken. And they aren't leaving without a fight any more than we are."
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