Everything Comes Apart
PASTE


Yokohama - Life Systems and Gravity Control

The sheer volume and sound within this space is immense as a single large cylindrical generator in the center of this round room hums, giving off an eerie blue glow to the cables and other electrical components as it powers the Yokohama. A faint beeping can be heard through the monotonous hum of the generator, signaling the use of the Water Purification System as gallons upon gallons travel through the piping and pumps, into the UV Sterilizers and final filtration vessels before being pumped back into the span of this place. Whirring also drags the attention as the Oxygen Unit filters air and recycles it throughout for the health and safety of personnel.

The flickering of lights across from these two devices on the generator's main panel note the current gravity conditions throughout the station as well as the requested status to maintain the levels in specific areas. The Filters for air and water are protected behind shatter-proof glass from tampering leaving only the generator and the engine which dominates the majority of the wall space, resting while the ship merely floats in orbit over Pern.


In space, it didn't much matter what time it was, you slept when you were tired and woke up when you weren't. Rather, that's how Mathis saw it. There were probably clocks somewhere, but he doesn't pay any attention to them, still wandering the ship level by level and getting better with remembering how to get back to lift and by proxy the residential area once hunger or weariness overcame him. He hadn't been at the party, having come up to the Yokohama in his regular clothes, disappearing soon thereafter while everyone else was out having a good time. It's been a day or two since then, he thinks anyway, having come up recently from another level. For a kid in space, on a spaceship, who should be having the time of his life…he looked rather morose. Instead of pushing buttons or taking things apart or any of the other options available to him, Mathis was sitting on the floor leaned up against one of the control modules with his knees pressed up against his chest. Just over his shins, he turns an ornately carved wooden cube around in his hands, studying the patterns etched there but seemed miles away. Slung around his torso was the strap to his satchel, appearing rather over packed and heavy, clumped up against one hip.

At some point, there was a starcrafter lead tour for at least some of the candidates up through the Very Important Level of Life-Sustaining stuff. Rhodelia happened to be on the tour and no longer dressed as a bluebird. Sometime since the masque ended and stranding began, she managed to snag a jumpsuit from somewhere. Even though the tour has long since ended, Rhody is still roaming through the glowing aisles of the water purification system with her arms very noticeably behind her back so she can't touch any of those tempting buttons. Her latest turn brings her in view of another panel that has someone probably much too young to be a starcrafter on duty leaning up to one of those fancy modules and the bartender gives a sharp hiss and waves at the boy. "You can't be leaning on that! What if they catch you?"

Luckily for Nessalyn, she arrived in clothes other than that lovely fire-flame dress that won her second place, so she's free to wander the ship in her own garments rather than borrowing from the crew. She's already here as well, tucked into some far corner, no doubt dismantling things to get a glimpse of their innards before putting them back into place again. In fact, she's tucking her screwdriver back into the messy knot of hair atop her head when she notices Rhody, and then the kid upon the floor. "That's how you get stepped on," she comments, nodding to Rhodelia as she passes. Her crutch is still in use, although she's making an effort to put some weight on both of her feet as well. She passes by the pair, leaning over to look beneath control panels until she finds what she's looking for. Then Nessalyn carefully lowers herself to the ground, scooting back until she's underneath the controls.

Mathis doesn't notice Rhodelia, not even when her steps against the metal panelling beneath her feet become unmistakenly audible no matter how softly she might tread. Seems as if all it took was the sound of a human voice to call him back from the void, because with it he's suddenly aware and without thinking pushes himself quickly to his feet. Or would have, if he hadn't banged his head on the overhang of the panel above him, dropping him right back down to his backside with a resounding thwack, clunk and pain-induced "Ow!" The cube he was holding? It falls and slides off somewhere for now unbeknownst to him. He was busy you see, accusingly glaring rather pointlessly at the offending metal edging, rubbing the top of his head with a bit of a wince. That in his search around the offended scalp he does not feel anything wet against his fingertips reassures him that he wasn't bleeding. With a sigh, "Who's they?" he asks of Rhodelia, hazel eyes are pulled away from the panel to be bestowed upon her instead. Considerably less glary and more sheepish at that point. Mathis hadn't heard Nessalyn messing around back there in the very same room he'd sought refuge, because he blinks at the sound of her voice and leans back with another wince to see if he can't spot the source. Soon enough she does come into view, the boy's brows coming together to form a slight furrow, "What are you doing?" Yep, he was totally going to ignore her comment about being stepped on. He wasn't THAT small dang it. (Psst. He totally was).

"They," Rhodelia clarifies with a wave around the entire Deck, looking over her shoulder as if mentioning the infamous they could summon them. But then there's a Nessa coming along and just helping herself to getting under the very same console panel she was just recommending Mathis not touch. "Or maybe you're in the clear now because someone is doing a lot more than touching…" She wanders over a step closer so she can nudge at the toe of the techcrafter's uninjured leg. "Hey. You're not going to kill us, are you?" Because normally while Rhody would be all about touching the buttons… some of those buttons might be ones that keep them alive in this very delicate but technically advance metal tube they're stranded on.

Rinian steps off the lift and winces at the sound. Way too much sound. Sure she's used to saws and such, but its different. She has her arms sort of wrapped around herself, and is also back in her usual work worn clothing. The fact that she is not comfortable in this artifical place is quite obvious, for all she managed to do fairly fine during the party. She expected to get straight back down on the nice, safe, not-space planet. She didn't even bring any tools or anything to carve with her to help pass the time and ground her with, and the technology of the ship holds no interest to her. The noise of the generator would have driven her right back to the lifts again if she hadn't noticed some familiar voices in the electronic humming. So she steps in further, seeking the source.

Rhodelia is on the receiving end of a look that absolutely defines dubious, that is, after Matty's followed her sweeping gesture that encompasses the entirety of the area which surrounded them. He might have hit his head pretty hard just a moment ago, but not that hard. "Uh huh," he says in obvious disbelief, putting an indefinite pin in that line of thinking before he slides his gaze towards Nessalyn again. What she was doing was much more tangible than the imaginary 'they' of whom the other woman had suggested, peering over with no small amount of curiosity, mouth opening as she takes apart the panel and examines the guts within, shutting and pressing his lips together instead of giving a warning she was bound to ignore anyway. This is was how it was all going to end, he could feel it in his bones. Still rubbing at his head, brows lift together towards his hairline, "See anything interesting?" Seemed a feasible and reasonable thing to ask, given the situation, even if he was unlikely to understand whatever answer she might have for him. If she actually offered one, that is. A shrug comes for the techcrafter-candidate's question of them, a light and dismissive thing that does not match the suddenly evasiveness of his eyes or tension in his shoulders, "Just came up here to think abnout…stuff." Ah yes, stuff. So many possibilities and yet so little information. With the sound of the lift opening, Mathis glances that direction, a sudden nervousness fluttering in the pit of his stomach. The kind that sends ice through his veins. "Someone's coming," he whispers a little too loudly to be at all secretive as he might have intended, but he didn't want anyone (let alone himself) to get into any trouble especially not by association.

Rhodelia just shrugs at the dubious looks. "Doubt me if you want… they, the starcrafters, are probably watching us right now…" Hopefully someone is watching them and it's not a bunch of mindhealers playing some kind of sick joke. The bartender gives a snort for Nessa's attestation of not touching anything. "Right, that panel just magically opened itself… I was just walking and definitely NOT touching anything." Unlike certain other somebodies she knows. Rhody didn't hear the footsteps, but when Mathis calls it out, she straightens up and hisses out a warning. "HIDE!" And with that, she's ducking back behind one of those water purification tanks.

Nessalyn rests the removed screws on her stomach, carefully ensuring they won't go rolling off and disappear without her say-so. When she cracks that panel open, it's a mass of wires and chips and transformers and ALL THOSE FANCY TECH THINGS, and she's fascinated. She sets her screwdriver aside to reach for something else - a pair of tweezers, which she uses to nudge aside wires and get a better look at what's beneath them. "I'm not disconnecting anything or rewiring anything," she corrects, breaking her engaged stare to peek out at Rhodelia from beneath the panel. "Whoever made this did some good work." Obviously. They're all still alive, so major points. While Rhodelia may resort to hiding and Mathis seems nervous, Nessalyn merely accepts the approach of someone else as a collision not even worth avoiding. She makes no attempt to restore the panel to its former position, instead merely peering out from her prone position until she spots, "Riri. It's just Riri, bartender!"

Rinian steps into view of the others in time to hear Ness. She really should correct her as to her name but honestly, it's Ness. What would be the point? She doesn't notice Rhodelia, as she's so neatly hidden herself, but there is, "Matty!" She seems quite relieved to see him. She does spare a glance for Ness, and panels, and wires and doom. As she comes closer to the boy she says, "She's going to kill us, isn't she?"

Ohhh! That's the they of which Rhodelia had spoken! The starcrafters. Comprehension lights up Mathis's features, giving another quick glance around before his eyes return to her more knowledgeable than they had been previously, and certainly lacking any doubt now. Indicating Nessalyn with a point of his elbow in her general direction, "Kinda think I'll be okay," he says with no small measure of amusement in his voice. After all, he had only been sitting quietly leaning up against a panel, not taking it apart. A lopsided grin forms on his lips one second, replaced with a wince and another 'ow' in the next. Anticipating that he'd either be assaulted by a stream of techno-babble or ignored completely in his inquiry towards Nessa, Mathis takes her look of fascination as good as any affirmation, "I'll take that as a yes," he mutters, distracted by the lift, but far from being as dextrous or quick to react as Rhodelia was. With a low whistle, he leans back to try and peek to where she'd thrown herself so efficiently, clearly impressed. When it's Rinian that appears around the bend, he all but forgets just about everything in favor of his friend, "Oh hey, Rin!" comes his pleased chirp, waving her over, but soon is sliding his attention towards the techie again. "Probably," And yet he's grinning, admittedly with some measure of discomfort marring the otherwise brightness of the expression, continuing to hold his palm protectively against his head, "Buuuuut at least we'll die together?" Optimism, thy name is Mathis.

Not-so-bravely running away is kind of Rhodelia's thing, so no surprise Mathis wasn't quite as quick on his feet as the bartender. To complete her hiding spot, the blonde had stuck her arms behind her back while she carefully peered but didn't touch the glowing tank. But then all the calls of voices identifying the newcomer as a fellow candidate and not one of the ominious they has her peeking back out. As for whether they'll all die at Nessa's hands, she shrugs. "I certainly hope she doesn't. Although why would anyone poke about in things they don't know without supervision on a SPACESHIP… I have no idea. Can you please get out of there, Ness? Or else I think I'll hurl." She is looking a little green around the edges.

"I'm a techcrafter, this is literally my job. They can't stick me on a spaceship and expect me not to dismantle things." Technically, they absolutely can, although surely D'lei and Risali fully expected her to start poking around where she shouldn't. "Don't hurl, you'll probably damage more than I will if you do." Does that make you feel better, Rhody? Nessalyn pokes around a little more, but ultimately, whatever she wanted to see in that panel she has already seen. She's not actually going to start disconnecting wires, don't worry. "I'm not going to kill you. I might decide to turn off the gravity at some point, but I'm not going to kill you." She's just going to end up in the brig, if they have one of those. Satisfied for the moment, she pushes the panel back into place and begins returning the screws to their former positions.

Rinian frowns a little when she notices Mathis' discomfort, and crouches near him. "Hey, are you ok, Matty? Did you do something to your head?" She casts a glance Ness' way, not entirely reassured. Turn off gravity? That's a thing? She thinks it sounds like a very bad thing.

Mathis had learned his lesson as far as quickly anything when he was sat beneath something that had already assaulted him once, giving his head another testing rub, and finding that yes…it still hurt. Probably would for a while and so he gives up adding to the pain and drops his hand away, scooting away from the offending metal lip and eyeballing it suspiciously as if it might follow just to spite him. He had heard Nessalyn when she'd assured Rhodelia that she wasn't doing more than looking, but having a bit of fun with current events was helping to take his mind off past ones. Grinning as crookedly as he could without hurting himself again, he rolls his eyes towards Rinian, "Famous last words." The frown that he finds on her face brings about a rapid succession of blinking, her concerned infused questioning pulling a short laugh, cut off by a grunt and the pressing of his lips, his hand half raised upwards as if to protect his head all over again. "I banged it on that thing," is said as he waves an finger towards the module he'd moved away from, "I'm okay though. Honest." As for the reemerged Rhodelia? He nods and gestures, "What she said." Techcrafter surrounded by tech? Well, yeah.

"You're a techcraft in Xanadu. I'm pretty sure we don't have spaceships in Xanadu," Rhodelia's voice is full of all sorts of doubt probably because if there was a spaceship in the Weyr it probably would have caught on fire already. "Plus, I won't do any permanent damage if I hurl. I'll probably just do it on you. You can always take a shower." Never mind that they're on a spaceship and the whole recycled water thing that Rhody had learned about not too long ago on the tour. But at the mention of possibly turning of the gravity, Rhody makes a strange strangled hiccuping sound and grabs for the nearest railing like a lifeline.

"He tried to give himself a concussion. I don't recommend it." Nessalyn speaks with the authority or someone who recently experienced one of those concussions, and did not enjoy the experience. Once all the screws are tightened to her satisfaction, Nessalyn uses one foot and her arms to help wiggle herself out from beneath that panel. As soon as her head is clear, she pushes herself up to a sitting position. "I'm a techcrafter, period. I have to study everything I can get my hands on." And right now she has an ENTIRE SHIP. While she might not be thrilled by the idea of being abandoned by Risali and D'lei, she is thrilled to have ALL THE TECH available to her. "Who else do you think makes sure all this stuff works?" She's already eyeing another panel thoughtfully. "This is delicate machinery, bartender, your hurling might damage the circuits. And then I wouldn't be able ot turn the gravity back on again."

Rinian doesn't even try to argue with Ness. What honestly would be the point? She sits next to where Matty has shifted, still looking concerned about him. "Want me to take a look at it? I've had some first aid classes lately." Like that is reassuring. But focusing on him helps her to not thing about all this strangeness around her that, while Ness may like it, Rin does not. She leaves the handeling of Ness to Rhodelia who seems to have a much better grasp of things.

Booted foot placed against the flooring, Mathis gives himself on final push away from the panel had had been parked under and chooses instead a spot along the wall with plenty more head clearance. It has the added bonus of being the perfect vantage in which he could see Rhodelia, Nessalyn and Rinian without straining his neck or risking adding to the throbbing already in progress. He lets the older women 'duke it out' as it were, in that he does not throw any fuel on the fire and keeps his commentary to himself, also helping to keep himself from seeming like he was picking sides. Though, Nessalyn's helpful explanation on what had happened to his head, does pull his attention her way. He had noticed her injuries of course, that first time they'd met actually, but he'd viewed it as impolite to stare or ask about it. Not to mention of course that she hadn't seemed especially approachable to begin with. Now that they were trapped in this tin can floating through space? All bets might be off. His blatant perusal of her injuries ends without any other reason other than he was busily shrugging off the idea of a concussion. "I don't feel concussed, if that helps?" Was that even a word? Eh. The offer from Rinian to take a look brings him to lower his head in such a way as to give a clear view of the egg that was forming beneath the thick crown of hair atop it, but to show that there wasn't any blood. It did look angry red though between the follicles, yep. "You can look, but I don't think it's bleeding or anything."

A grasp might be a strong word for what Rhodelia has for dealing with Nessa, but she's at least formulated a strategy. "TURN OFF THE GRAVITY AND I'LL AIM ALL MY PUKE IN YOUR HAIR!" Never mind the logistical possibilities of trying to aim puke through zero-gravity. As for the whole concussion discussion, she glances over her shoulder while still clinging to the rail. "Have you had a concussion in the past to compare it to? You should take care of your head."

Nessalyn arches a brow at Rhodelia's threats, unimpressed. "You can try, but I'm pretty sure that's not how it works." Granted, she hasn't been in zero-gravity conditions before, but she understand the theory of them, at least. But the bartender can relax for the moment, since Nessalyn isn't currently touching any buttons or panels. She's just sitting there on the floor, inspecting the area as a whole. "I doubt you have a concussion, just a bruised head," she comments, without glancing in Mathis' direction. "I think heads are pretty much designed to withstand some amount of beating."

Rinian rises when he does and takes a look at the offered head, starting a bit when Rhody yells. Thankfully she wasn't yet touching poor Matty's head. She's very gentle when she moves his hair out of the way and winces sympathetically. "You're getting quite the lump there. We should probably find something cold to put on it." Not that she has the faintest idea where to find that around here. "Do you have a headache or feel sick or anything?"

The suggestion that Rhodelia might, at the first sign of weightlessness, start projectile vomiting in direct line with Nessalyn's hair certainly pulls Mathis's appraisal her way. Brows up of course, perhaps to question the validity of that claim. Was her aim that good? Had she done it before? Was there precedent? Or it could have been the volume with which she'd used to get her message across. Yeah no, not touching that statement with a ten-kilometer-pole, particularly because it had been rather effective in turning him a little green around the gills purely by providing an epic visual. Imagination, totally got it. However, he looks away with careful haste when she asks if he'd ever had a concussion before, "Yeah." No further details are offered up, he merely repositions himself somewhat in such a way as to indicate that there might be a story there he's not so willing to share. Hazel eyes dart upwards to Rinian and then back down again, discomfort of another sort clearly present. There's the slightness of a nod when Nessalyn tosses out her two-marks worth, "That sounds about right." Notably, there is no further tracing of his gaze over her own state of being, not exactly bonding over potentially shared experiences so much as wanting the subject to be dropped. A hiss comes as his fellow woodcrafter manipulates the hair just over the swollen lump, doing his best not to finch away and risk starling the girl. He doesn't have much to say on treatment, but there is retraction away from her touch if only he could meet her eye, "My head just hurts, but otherwise I think I'm okay?"

Don't underestimate Rhodelia and her puking abilities! She has at least some faith in herself even if she is clinging desperately to the railing. "You're only pretty sure… do you really want to find out?" Rhody looks green enough it might not be an empty threat. She blinks as Mathis announces he has had a concussion before. "What are you, like ten? You should really watch for your head."
Long distance to Rhodelia: Mathis smooches you! Perfect!

Nessalyn shrugs, like puke in her hair isn't horribly disgusting. "Why not? I'm willing to put bets on the fact that someone else is more likely to end up on the wrong end of floating vomit than me." ENJOY THAT VISUAL, EVERYONE. The techcrafter grunts with effort as she gets to her feet, retrieving her abandoned crutch. She makes her way over to another panel, surveying the buttons curiously. Although her fingers dance a few inches over the various controls, she doesn't actually touch any of them, at least not yet. "You're fine, just don't do it again," she comments to Mathis over her shoulder. "Keep hitting your head and you won't make it to adulthood."

Rinian steps back from Matty and nods. "Well, you'll be ok I'm sure. But we still need to find something cold on that lump before it gets bigger, and to get the swelling down. Any idea where we'd find something like that?" And no, space doesn't count. She looks over to the other pair with all the talk of hurling. How about a chance of subject. "What do all of you think about actually impressing?"

The lift dings, opens, and admits a Teinon! He's looking pretty overwhelmed by all this technology, but somewhere he has picked up a notebook and pen. He's holding the notebook to his chest like a life raft, while he steps inside and looks up… up… and up again, open mouthed and awe-struck.

While Mathis might, just for the sake of avoiding the possible repercussions, be willing to point out that Nessalyn had closed the panel and didn't seem like she was about to go poking around anywhere else just yet; he does not. Not when Rhodelia was wagering a guess at his age and falling far short of mark, tossing her an argumentative look as his mouth opens, if only to shut it again as the techcrafter expands on an already too detailed picture. "Oh gross," he blanches, certainly feeling a little sick now, "Can we like, not? Please?" That there was a pleading tone there, if that will at all help his case, gaze lifting with her rise back to standing. It lingers there a while, falling away when she turns her back to move away from them, drifting back to Rinian and shaking his head just a little side to side. His brains had been sufficiently rattled already, no need to expand upon it. "I think there is an infirmary, but I haven't been there yet and I don't know how stocked it'll be." Cue the lift and Mathis leaning forward to peek around Rinian towards whomever had arrived and his eyes go wide shortly there after. A rather pronounced dusting of rose rises to streak across his cheeks and he very discreetly leans back in so he can try and wedge himself out of view entirely, "Uh, yeah. W-we should go and um…look…you know…for the infirmary…" Not conspicuous at all. No.

Rhodelia narrows her eyes and stares down and Nessalyn, but eventually she does pull away. "I'll puke on your hair later." As for now, she's just going to go over to the lift and try to find some corridor that doesn't remind her that she's stuck in space and curl up in a ball.

"I DARE YOU TO DO IT," Nessalyn calls after Rhodelia's retreating back, smirking all the while. This probably isn't going to end well. But with the bartender gone, there's no reason to keep talking about queasy topics, and so Nessalyn's focus moves on to other things. Namely, the buttons, and whether or not she wants to push any of them just to see what happens. She's safely away from the controls for the life-related systems, at least. A glance goes Teinon's way when he arrives, but it earns nothing more than a raised eyebrow before she's back to her contemplation.

Rinian guesses her question will just have to wait for a situation more suited to introspective conversation. As Mathis gets all stammery, and blushy and such she arches a brow, and then looks in the direction he was looking before the transformation as she says, "Well, yes we should.. Oh, hello Teinon. I don't suppose you know where the infirmary is?" Thank goodness for Matty, to keep her distracted, or she'd be like Rhody, trying to find a place to curl into a ball in and await rescue.

Teinon manages to tear his gaze away from the view long enough to note who is present, and give a shy wave. That's about the time that he spots Mathis and sees the kid's reaction. He gets that stricken look, but holds his hand up as he backs away, as though to indicate that they should stay. He /might/ know where the infirmary is, but apparently he doesn't believe that's the real reason Mathis wants to leave. No need to leave, he can see his own way out, cue the Charlie Brown sad walking away music. (Now look what you did, Mathis!)

A darting glance between Rhodelia and Nessalyn as they butt heads over threats of puke in retaliation for threats of no gravity and Mathis is tucking himself in marginally closer towards Rinian. For a moment there he thought the techcrafter might just go through with it, just to prove a point. He silently watches as Rhody storms off, startling for the bellow that follows after her, then staring widely in Ness's direction. She wasn't flipping switches or mashing buttons, YET, so rather than provoke the woman into action he concentrates on other things. Like questions he'd missed and mutes he was avoiding. "I dunno," he replies belatedly, "I'm just happy to have been asked." Thin shoulders are lifted and dropped, peeking up past the fringe of his lashes and then back down at his feet, "I'm flight born, but it was never something I really spent a whole lot thinking about before Leirith showed up." Now? Oh, he was giving it plenty of thought. Daring a brief location check on Nessalyn and what her fingers might be doing, the reason for his attempt at obfuscation had very obviously noticed him trying to obfuscate. Unfortunately, he can't see him anymore than he can hear him, not through Rinian anyway and there was no way on Pern he was going to be checking up on how things were going over yonder. He'll just clutch that over stuffed satchel to himself a bit, given a whole new reason to wince once the other woodcrafter calls over to Teinon for directions. Don't mind that soft groan just then, probably just his head throbbing.

Nessalyn is merely taking note of these buttons, so she can come back here and press them when no one can absolutely verify that she's the one pressing them. Those technicalities are how you escape trouble, folks, so pay attention! "Why waste time thinking about it? It'll either happen or it won't. Not like you can improve your chances." A shrug, and then the woman seems to tire of the consoles, as she turns away and simply walks off toward the lift. No farewell given, no further thoughts, just the back of her as she disappears to seek more trouble elsewhere.

Rinian has no idea why these two are acting this way, but considering the difficulties in communication, perhaps it is just a misunderstanding. She may be small, but she's quick. She hurries over, calling, "Teinon, hey wait a moment please." She really wants to dive more into the other converstaion, but eggs aren't hatching yet, and this situation seems a bit more immediate.

Teinon hunches his shoulders a little, and clutches the notebook closer to his chest. He looks like he might dart into the lift before she can catch him, but then there are /other/ people using the lift, and does he really want to be trapped in a lift with Ness right now? Such a dilemma! In the end, he turns back to Rinian, not quite meeting her gaze, and waits for what she wants to say. Look at those floor panels, they sure are interesting…

Mathis was keeping tabs on Nessalyn, have no doubts about that, but he couldn't even begin to wager a guess that all that studying she seemed to be doing was in preparation for things that may come to pass in the future. When no one was looking, of course. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Except the techcrafter wasn't coming, but going. "Hey, there's no harm in thinking…about…it…" Cue Nessalyn's exit, stage right, and a heavy sort of sigh from Mathis none-too-long after, "…and she's gone." Lift doors open and close with her on the other side of them, or so he assumes. His quiet protest in favor of dreamers, present or not, had not erased from his memory that Teinon was likely still here. Confirmed as Rinian abandons Mathis to give chase, leaving him without sufficient cover. For a split second, he considers trying to copy Rhodelia's previous maneuver to duck and hide behind one of the water filtration tanks, if just to decided against it in the next. He was far too uncoordinated to attempt such feats, even without a firelizard egg forming beneath his scalp. Instead, he flattens himself a bit against the walls there, listening as best he could over the galloping of his own heart. What was the deal?

Rinian is older than Matty, and younger than Teinon, but she gives them both a look an exasperated mother would. "Matty, come over here. Teinon..kindly explain what is going on between you two?" She's just glad is done fiddling with things here, for now. With any luck she'll get distracted with something besides removing gravity or perhaps blowing them up.

Rinian's demand is met at first with a quick shake of Teinon's head. He rolls his lips inward, and stares at the floor, blinking hard. Finally, he tucks the notebook into his belt so he can explain. It probably doesn't take an expert to decipher his signs. First, he jabs a finger at Mathis. Then, he brings his hands to his chest, making a face that is a parody of fear. Then, he makes a fist with his thumb between first and middle finger, and taps the back against his throat twice. He doesn't look at Rinian or Mathis through any of this charade, and when he's done, he crosses his arms over his chest.

Going over there was the last thing that Mathis wanted to do, and that trumped Nessalyn turning off the gravity, Rhodelia spraying her stomach contents all over the place, or getting blow up. Given the option, he'd easily pick one or all of the above over obeying Rinian's demands of him. The joy their friendship instilled in him was the only reason (with profound reluctance and no small amount of taking his dear sweet time) he appears out from behind a collection of small pipes feeding something going somewhere. He didn't have any schematics okay? To the ship or to where this conversation between the remaining three of them might be headed. Unhurried, dragging steps, carry him over to stand beside Rinian as Teinon explains in inaudible hand gestures, but because Mathis keeps his eyes downcast he misses whatever they describe. Instead he holds his satchel to him, either as a comfort measure or a means of barricading himself off as best he can out in the open.

Rinian looks surprised. "Oh now I find that very hard to believe. I've known Matty a long time and he's just not that way." She looks over to her friend and asks, "Matty, why are you acting this way? You don't dislike Teinon because he can't talk, do you?" All of that is said kindly, to the both of them.

Teinon looks up with dismay at Rinian's question (okay, and maybe just a tiny bit of annoyance). He swipes a flat hand diagonally to show his disagreement with what she just said. Then, a few more obscure signs, going on a bit longer this time. He ends on a wry expression that suggests whatever he's explaining, it's something he thinks he's encountered before. Something unpleasant but inevitable.

Mathis wasn't looking at anyone thank you very much, the grip he had on his bag shifting and increasing enough to make the canvas it was made of groan a little. This, whatever this was, was nerve wracking. The desire to flee and follow in Nessalyn's footsteps increasing exponentially with every pounding beat against his rib cage. Why was Rinian torturing him like this? Didn't she understand that he didn't want to be here, didn't want to be seen, didn't want to have this conversation, and most definitely didn't want to be feeling like he was about to do what Rhodelia was threatening. He didn't know what Teinon was telling Rinian, but the second he does, that head comes up a lot faster than it should have. Ugh, that did not help his nausea at all, or the aching at the top of his head. Regardless, "What?!" he exclaims in alarm, wide hazel eyes darting back and forth from girl to man and back again, "No! That's stupid! Why would anyone not like someone because they can't talk?" Mathis look offended at the suggestion of such a thing, brows knotted and furrowed. He can see Teinon gesturing out of the corner of his eye there, but nope, even given his protest he was avoiding direct visual confirmation that the guy existed.

Rinian ohs softly, she did tell Teinon that she was rusty. "Sorry, but I don't think that's the case either, Teinon." Which is obvious by Mathis' response. She worries about her younger friend who is looking more and more stressed. "Teinon, would you wait right here for a moment please? Matty..will you come over this way?" She gestures away from the lift, and with the noise of the generator, it'll be easy to talk to him without them being overheard. But there is just something she has to find out, and it would be rude to do it right in front of both of them.

Teinon looks from Mathis to Rinian with an almost dumbfounded look. For a second, he looks like there's more he would certainly /like/ to say… But under the circumstances, he throws up his hands and turns around to walk away. Walking away is what he had been intending to do in the first place, after all. Since the rest of the crowd has scrambled, he takes the opportunity to investigate the rest of the room and what it holds.

Still. Not. Looking. Sure, Mathis might have slipped up there for a moment as he'd been so taken aback by what had been implied, but he was taking measures to make sure that didn't happen again. Like, affixing his gaze on the lift. Oh, sweet lift. Would you, could you, take him away. Despite the longing look being given to his only escape route, the youngest of the trio was listening to what Rinian was saying, sliding his gaze her way only in light of her gentle plea. Exhaling softly, the lift is put behind him as he moves after her towards the noisy generator. Tawny lashes drift downwards, stealing a glance towards the frustrated Teinon completely against his will, and paying the price for it by flushing lightly. Coming to stop, he easily faces Rin head on, though it didn't look as if he would be letting go of his satchel anytime soon. His knuckles were all white.

Rinian speaks softly, well, she usually does anyway, but this time she does it conciously, so her conversation with Matty won't carry past them. "Can you please tell me what's going on? That man over there thinks you're afraid of him, but…I don't think that's it. Is it?"
Teinon purposefully does not look toward Rinian and Mathis. Oh look, a button. A nice shiny button…. Hm, nope, better not touch that. Moving on…

Thus an encore of Mathis looking appalled, but only after he'd muttered something incoherent with plenty of shrugging precluding other nondescript and noncommittal sorts of things. "Scared of him?" Blink. Blink-blink. "What the…" The image of his foster-mother pops into his head, firmly reprimanding against cursing and so he bites his tongue. Instead of disrespecting callously the wishes of a woman that he utterly adored, Mathis draws in breath, trying desperately to resist the urge to find where Teinon had wandered off to. "Why on Pern would I be scared of him? That…" Twitching, he releases his bag and crosses his spindly arms across his chest, a defensive posture if ever there was one. Then, there's a whole lot of silence and him staring Rinian down without actually meaning to before he scoffs and his jaw tightens, frowning the direction of the lift. Why were you so far away now? "…I don't know what's going on, okay? Looking at him, I feel…weird. My chest feels either tight or heavy, then my heart starts racing like crazy, my face suddenly feels all hot, and my stomach ties itself up in knots." One of his booted feet begins to tap offbeat, "I might be allergic to him." Yes, that had to be the most plausible explination.

Rinian waits quietly and patiently as Mathis works through that round of emotions. With amazing restraint she doesn't giggle, laugh and only the hint of a smile curves up the corner of her mouth, there and gone again quickly, when he claims to be allergic. "Well, you are going to have to apologize to him for treating him so rudely. And I can say for sure you are not allergic to him, and neither are you ill."
Teinon is still looking around, wandering the opposite side of the room. EYEING THAT SWEET, SWEET BUTTON. But no, he will not touch it. He'll leave that to Ness.

It was a blessing in disguise that Mathis had no Pernly idea of the magnitude with which Rinian managed to contain herself, even if it leaves him wallowing in the dark and continues his belief that one human being could actually be allergic to another. The smile that was hinted on her lips is gone when he looks back at her, exasperated when she lays down the law, "Ugh, I did not!" Treat Teinon rudely, he means. He might have stomped a foot and whined about it further, if he didn't think he was already pushing his luck in that department. The softness of a growl borne of hormone driven irritation, and he's pouting the direction of the lift. Lip stuck out and everything. "Fine." The certainty with which Rinian dismisses his summation of symptoms earns her back his full attention, one brow lofted upwards. Staaaaaaaare. "What else could it possibly be?" Yeah! Huh? HUH?!

Rinian looks at him sympathetically and with a crook of her finger gestures him closer. And if he doesn't, she'll get a bit closer to him so she can say ever so softly, not wanting the person in question to hear. After all, it isn't up to her to tell the other one how this one feels. "You /like/ him." She does fight a bit with her holder values. But she knows Weyrs are different and Matty is certainly Weyrbred.

Teinon is definitely not watching all this out of the corner of his eye. Nope. They have toooootal privacy… At least he can't hear them, so that's something? (Cause that totally doesn't lead to him misinterpreting that pouting and irritation. Not at all.)

Matty? Not expecting sympathy on the other end of the rhetorical question he'd posed to Rinian, finds his face wiped clean of everything other than total and absolute confusion. He's set just enough off kilter (okay, a lot off kilter), that he's easily coerced into leaning in with the crook of her digit, turning his head a little as to offer up the best angle for whisper listening. Patiently, downright saintly might be said of it, he waits for whatever enlightenment she had in store for him. Have you ever seen someone go through the five stages of grief in fifteen seconds or less? It goes something like this: Hazel eyes widen, his neck straightens, followed by his back. "I hardly know hi…" Denial. His face goes red all at once, lips turned down sharply at their corners, shoulders stiff as he lifts a hand that would be a fist if not for that accusatory pointy finger sticking out of it, "This is about that chisel…" Anger. Paling, a panicked flash of eyes towards Tenion, "I still have it so…" Bargaining. A few prancing steps in place, his too thin body taut, he covers his face with his hands and curls in a bit over himself. "Ugh…" Depression. Rocking himself slightly, he takes a few calming breathes and unfurls again, blowing off the rising crescendo of emotion as he nods and nods and nods to no one in particular shoving everything own and proceeds as if everything is just hunky dory. He's got this. No problem.

Rinian's brows just about meet her hairline as she watches this..amazing display. She waits again, quietly, as he sorts through things. Ok, he doesn't really sort. It looks more like react, and not terribly well. She shouldn't ask if he's ok, because he probably say he is, when he isn't..but what else does one say? "Well..at least you know why now." Real acceptance is a whole different matter. "Do you think you have it in you to apologize to him? I think he's been on the receiving end of enough trouble in his life. You may not have meant to be rude, but you may have hurt his feelings all the same. How do you think you'd feel if someone ran away when you came in? Or wouldn't look at you?"

Teinon is rather fascinated by this display, even from a distance. So much so that he gets caught staring when Mathis glances toward him. Quickly but still probably too late, he looks back toward these fascinating panels he definitely doesn't understand in the slightest.
Nessalyn heads towards the lift.

Somewhere underneath that messy tangle of golden brown hair Rinian's reaction to all of that probably registers, but Mathis was busily compartmentalizing and would have to contemplate it further at another time. No, he really wasn't sorting through anything as he was experiencing it all at once, and what thirteen year old can appropriately process at lightning speed? Not this one, certainly. It's fair to say that he wasn't expecting her to say much, if anything through all that, it'd happened far too quickly for the both of them. What does spill forth from her mouth next, once his freak out session was over, brings an end to the hand wringing and soft mutters beneath his breath. "No. No, I don't." Firm. Adamant. Annnnnnnnnd we're back to denial. Well, Rome wasn't built in a day, and although weyrbred that didn't mean immediate acceptance of life altering revelations. Chewing firmly on the flesh of his lower lip he looks long at the back of Tenion's neck much like he had the lift not that long ago, it's replaced by the jab of his thumb against his teeth, gnawing at the already too short nail. Back to stiff, he turns, and what's meant to be a simple pivot looks more like a poorly program robotic jerk towards Rinian. "No?" Softer now, gentler, everything he's feeling dissolves into gut wrenching nervousness. Sure, there's more than enough guilty to go around as she lays it all out for him in plain language, but when the other woodcrafter candidate asks him how it would feel were the situation reversed? "I have no idea," he complains in a low and overly accentuated tone, "Mostly, I get chased and beat up." Had he noticed that Teinon had been staring at him? If he had, he was blocking it out, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't peeking over that direction while he chewed away over there.

Rinian smiles at him gently. "I know. Foolish jealous people. But I think he's had other hard things to deal with. I also think you're more able than you think, to help both of you. I can stay here, go with you, or leave. Any of those that you'd rather. However, you do need to go talk to him and sort it out."

Mathis really ought to have all the time in the world to sort out his feelings. Really, it's such a difficult thing to process. So complicated. The problem is, Teinon doesn't know enough to be /that/ sympathetic. And he's run out of things to look at. He sighs, looks over toward Rinian and Mathis with a final, unreadable expression, and then rolls his eyes and starts for the lift. Unfortunately, all he can do is push the button and wait.

Being reminded of at least part of the reason he'd been run down and supplemented as a punching bag, oddly enough, makes Mathis feel better. It's in passing though, spying the roll of eyes and the subsequent determined march of the beastcrafter towards the lift. What drops out of his mouth, his foster-mother wouldn't have liked at all, and he'd kick himself for it later. Right now, he was looping an arm through Rinian's and dragging her away from the generator and blessed escape. So close, and yet so far. "If I have to go, so do you." Forced security blanket, for the win. And Mathis wraps himself around that arm quite tightly the moment that they're standing just behind Tenion, the need to throw up building quickly. Fingers crossed, that the man wasn't so preoccupied with leaving that he was willing to listen to the rush of words that emerges from him all at once, and have the patience to figure it out. No way he was going to repeat himself, "Sooooooo…RintellsmeIlikeyouthat'swhyIreactedthewayIdid…" Eye dart this way, and then that as he takes a breath and continues, "Idon'tthinkyou'rescaryorgrossoruglyIswearsodon'tfeelbadit'sallmyfault.." He loses steam there towards the end, might have to strain to catch the last bit, but there it is. And he's brilliantly red from neck to eartips to boot, despite his ongoing inability to make any sort of meaningful eye contact.

Rinian isn't hard to drag along, the joys of being small. Though she does hope the circulation will come back into her arm when she gets it back. She smiles as the apology and..more..all come tumbling out in rapid fire. She's ready to interpret both ways now if needed.

For some reason, Mathis's tumbled words cause a flash of defensive anger, which is so uncharacteristic as to look positively foreign on his face. But then he glances between Rinian and Mathis. He takes in the latter's beet red face and all the information falls into place. The flash of irritation drains away, leaving him looking stunned, and mildly uncomfortable. He starts to reach for the notebook still tucked into his belt, but then he decides to utilize Rin's presence, instead. So that hopefully Mathis doesn't have to stand there feeling humiliated any longer than necessary. He signs at a fast clip, letting Rin translate while he maintains steady attention on the boy: « I understand. I'm sorry I didn't understand before. » There's a short pause as he debates his next words. « When I was you, I had no words. No writing. No signs. My advice? Next time, /use/ your words. » The emphasis is provided with a slightly raised eyebrows and intent expression. Then he breaks into a crooked grin, and makes a gesture that probably doesn't need translation: Everything ok?

Had Mathis been looking straight on at Teinon during that initial burst of anger that erupts across his face, he would have likely withered away on the spot, not that the man's feelings weren't justified. Chalk it up to youth, inexperience, and his crash course introduction to things that would have eventually worked themselves out for that cascade of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Not seeing it doesn't mean he isn't sensitive enough to pick up on it, tightening his wrap of arms around Rinian's, but otherwise remaining perfectly still and completely silent. The reach for that notebook makes the kid flinch some, probably expecting to be pounded into oblivion, serving to strip him of some of that newfound color. Matty would have to go through Teinon to get off this floor, so pressing his face into his friend becomes a temptation he barely resists. As the girl he was clinging to translates hand-signaled words, there's a fluttering of lashes and purposeful evasion of anyone's gaze, nodding his head a few times for the apology, "I'm sorry too." Quiet. Oh so quiet. Muttered and remorseful, compounded by his mortification. The carefully chosen conclusion admittedly, couldn't have been put any gentler and he needed to hear it, but the tears come anyway of their own accord. Nothing as terribly dramatic as what had happened over by the generator, just a droplet or two that come and fall and disappear unnoticed before he nods his head again. No way he was going to be able to face that grin, though. "It's fine. Rin, can we go?" Again, with that pleading tone.

Teinon sighs a little, nothing but a sad sort of sympathy in his expression. He steps aside, holding an arm out to indicate they're free to go first. He can probably just…camp out here for awhile. Or hide. Hiding is good, too.

Thankfully, Teinon had pressed the lift call button already. With almost too perfect timing, the sweeping gesture of the man's arm and his step aside seems to herald sweet escape, the doors whizzing open before them. Don't mind the boy as he unapologetically yanks his friend into the metal cylinder and hits a button for a floor. Any floor but this one. Quite a lot actually. Way more than is necessary. Trying to keep himself together for as long as the doors remain open, there are no more longing or stolen glances for Tei, just the stifled sound of threatened emotion before the doors finally close. For the first time, Matty hated being trapped on a spaceship.


Add a New Comment
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License