[sylvanSpider]

Rosalind stared in awe at the woman's face. There were no eyes, so looking for a place to focus on while speaking was awkward to say the least. This was the second time she'd laid eyes on this species. There was one other, very recently. That girl that went straight to Shaldag. What was her name? “We 'ave the fundin' t'keep your lips tight. We jes' need some healin'.” Rosalind was all business, her face rarely betraying an emotion as to what lay on her outer exterior. The cockpit was where she felt the most comfortable, and having just come from the wind and the rain now standing in front of this powerful presence, she was a bit out of her element. She felt naked. “Count on the day, we weren't sure ef we were gonna make it.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Mendez could see that Riola wasn't buying something that he was saying, but then, Mendez didn't buy it himself. The idea worried him. Just once he wanted to hear those three little words. Just once he wanted to feel like what they had was something beyond the amazing sex they had in the bedroom. It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He'd been in relationships before, relationships where he was in the position Atrix was, in the position where love had was questionable. He knew how she felt then. He told himself that he would never become her. Now he knew exactly how she'd felt. Since, they'd gone their own separate ways, but separate ways with Atrix could possibly mean death. He reached into his packet and produced a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out and handing it to Riola, “Alright, but I've got you in the mean time. I doubt they'll be selling anything like cigarettes on a planet that encourages health.”

“I think that as long as you're proving of worth, she won't mind that she's playing the part of the shield. Shit, she's warrior caste, she probably understands tactics and different roles, and she's damn good at playing hers,” Mendez said. Honestly, it would be better to look at it that way. If she plays her role well, it made sense that she should expect the same from those close to her. “If you want me to be truthful, I hope she chooses to stay with you. She hasn't said anything one way or the other, so it's hard to say what she'll want. I'm just saying that I'll follow her regardless. But, I will push to stay. If only because one day I'd like to visit Edensia without a fear of being lynched for being male or...or the product of a straight, interspecies relationship – and one currently going through with another. It's just... an issue that feels so personal and so distant at the same time, does that make sense?” He felt like the liminal character, the rope in a game of tug-of-war. He had no identity that had ever claimed him, so why should he claim one? But then, maybe this was his chance. He forever walked in shades of gray. There was no black and white. “Why fly a banner that's never claimed me? I'd rather walk under someone whose had my back, and so far, as fucked as it sounds, that's Atrix.”

“Well, he lived regardless, so it's probably a good thing he was made half of metal, however shitty the story behind all the metal was,” Mendez said with a sigh, but it turned into a chuckle at the thought of the three of them attempting to make something work, “If you think Rosalind, or Nokra for that matter, would go for it, you're welcome to try, but I'm gonna stick with the weird shit I already experience,” Mendez said laughing. “Verdaqua? Like, hot water? Yeah, let's just hope we can because he's metal.”

=-=-=-=-=-=

Fikri looked down, clenching his jaw. His fists would have been clenched too, but at the moment his arms were around the princess and he needed to remain as stable as he possibly could. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many things he couldn't. Like the fact that “don't”ing was exactly what he was doing, he wasn't exacerbating the problem. Instead, he was helping with another. But the pink woman had something against he and the rest of the freed slaves and didn't see it. The princess, on the other hand, was trying to adjust to being held. Her body screamed in discomfort, but she knew that was no fault of the felis. She said nothing, biting back heavy breaths, praying that the walk to the pools wouldn't be far.

Magali shook her head, “You're right, and a blanket's fabric would just leave pieces in already torn skin. We're just going to have to move quickly.” She watched as both the princess and Shaldag were lifted and lead the way out the door. (Mendez's heart soared with the small hint of affection and he was beaming as he followed) They travelled across the bridge through the wind and rain and finally to the room that Rosalind and a star woman already were. She raised her hands and Rosalind immediately placed herself between the guns and Atrix. “She's with us. None of the rest of us were strong enough t'move 'im. 'E's too 'eavy. Please, once he's set in the pools she can go back t'the ship.”

Mendez raised his hand from the tail end of the group, “And I'll go with her.”