Ashi's hand shook as she brought the filtered end to her lips, looking to Riola to light it. At least, she assumed he had a light if he had the sticks that needed it. She wasn't waiting long, Riola soon flicking a lighter in her face and soon the end was glowing a bright orange. Still looking confused, Mendez looked over to her and grinned, “Suck in.” The princess did just that, soon spluttering, a giant puff of smoke coming out of as an exodus of an over exuberant drag. With each cough, her body contracted and the waves hit from two origins crashing inwards, one from her right arm, the other from her kneecap. The waves crashed and seemed to collide somewhere in her gut and she suddenly found herself nauseous. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes before escaping their prison and gliding down her cheeks. On the plus side, she sure as shit was awake now—a million steps away from fading to unconsciousness.
Mendez laughed, “You didn't have to suck that hard, chic---” Mendez was cut off by a metallic hand around his throat, squeezing his neck. He couldn't breathe! He couldn't....breathe...His hands immediately went to the hand, trying to break the mechanical hold to no avail. The man's grip was simply too strong, and worse was the blood on Mendez's hands making his fingers slide across the metal as if it was oiled up ice. “Sh-Sh-al--” was all he was able to stammer before the edges of his vision began to fade to black.
“Shaldag! Stop! He's our friend! He's trying to save you!” Ashi said, almost jumping into a sitting position on her own cot, only being stopped by a new spasm of pain, relief setting in when Shaldag released his death grip and the redhead went toppling to the floor.
Mendez landed on his hands and knees, one hand immediately going up to his neck as if in disbelief that it was still in one piece. Air rushed into his lungs, and he began heaving, raking as much of that precious oxygen as he could properly fit. His immediate emotional reaction was thankfully one he'd caught in time. He'd been trying to save this man, why would he turn on him like that? But before he said anything he'd regret, he remembered. The man wasn't in his right mind. There was a good chance that he saw the flash of red, heard the timber of his voice and remembered what had happened to him. The man lost someone he cared about, almost losing another, provided he cared for Ashi or if she was just Hyun's pet. He put his hand on the cot, using it to prop himself up to a standing position.
Hyun, surprisingly, cared that he was okay, rushing to him, the redhead giving her a nod that worked on two levels, the first to show that he was alright, still conscious and still of right mind, the second to say that all was forgiven; he understood.
Magali, however, went catatonic and was still frozen until Mendez gave that nod. Her little body had taken to trembling, nervous at the possibility of his being this injured and still able to do serious damage. Her hands stayed plugging the same wounds, not moving as a deer in the headlights. She backed up with the order from Hyun, as if on impulse. “He's...he's bleeding most from here, and here,” she said, pointing with two bloodied hands, “I can...I can be back in a couple of minutes.” The felis gulped and backed out into the living room, bowing to Hyun before making her exit.
Mendez pressed his lips together, inhaling and exhaling from his nose. He would have put a hand on Hyun's shoulder, but given their present state, he thought better of it, “I'm alright, amiga. I think we should let non-Edensians tend to him—maybe I can grab Fikri. He left thinking that he was in the way, but I get the feeling his being a felis would make him less like to be attacked. Want me to get him?”
“Ah'm guessin' she didn't talk about 'er side o' work much, did she? Can't say ah blame the lass. But, now she, and you too, 'ave a chance. An' I will, provided yer still onboard when we leave the Pools. We're gonna be enterin' 'yper speed soon, an' ah need t'be in the pit for that. For the time bein' though, ye should decide if yer stayin' with us fer longer than this stop knowin' what ye know now,” Rosalind said, no matter-of-factly. She was by no means going to force the former slaves to live out their newfound freedom in the throngs of war. Options were available, should they choose to take them. “Don't worry,” Rosalind said, her eyes glistening, “I won't tell 'er about our lit'le conversation.”
“I'm...I'm learning how to make bombs, and how to utilize them,” Fikri said quietly, knowing that of the two, he was definitely the weaker. But, he was going to learn. He could be useful like Atrix, and he would, once Riola taught him everything. He'd work so hard, he'd show them. “I'll keep as many secrets as I need to not make enemies,” Fikri said with a shrug, “And Hyun has already made her distaste for me more than apparent. As far as I'm concerned, if I don't see something has it, I'll be as confounded as everyone else on board.” It wasn't that he wanted to see Hyun dead; he didn't. But she was not on the list of those he was willing to die for, and as far as he was concerned, it wasn't looking likely that she was vying to get on the list. He knew his place and his limits, and while he'd be constantly pushing for wider limits, he was not going to stray too far from them.
Fikri took the pistol in his hands, turning it over all the while being sure not to let the barrel point in Atrix's direction. The metal was cold, heavier than expected in hands too. In his hands, a containment of energy waiting to be released was bottled up, shaken, and ready to burst from the top should the trigger be pulled. He looked from the gun back to Atrix, craning his head upwards in order to make eye contact, “Th-thank you...I will. I won't let you, or Rosie, down.” Here, he offered Atrix the sort of smile that wasn't actually a happy one, but wasn't fake or malicious either. It was the smile of a man who was emotionally drained, one who would never catch a break. “Then let's get to it, she probably needs it, yeah?”
He holstered the pistol reminding himself to check some holo-vids on care and maybe some tips on firing and aiming later. Lacing his finger around the three handles he made his way to the cockpit, offering that same smile to the Pyra and the Felis sitting there when he arrived. “I brought coffee. Nokra, if you're going to be a pilot, you may as well get used to the stuff if you're not used to it enough already.”
Rosalind held out her hands, offering Fikri a grateful grin, “Thanks, Fiks. Hey, Atrix, how's it looking in the back? Are Shaldag and the princess stable, do you know?”