MISSION: BAD COMPANY, PART 2

[ximilian]

● ● ● M I S S I O N   4 . 2

INTRO • THE DREAM DEFERRED • YOUR WAKE UP CALL • FYI

// INTRO. WELFORD BRANSON  

It is barely past twilight in Scorpion’s Bend, the twin suns having just set, taking their light with them — but the moons delay, and so darkness lingers over the town as Lan Xichen’s conversation with one Welford Branson comes to an abrupt end. At the same time, all around the town, the team will notice the town natives around them stilling — some freezing in the middle of a sentence, a man with a fork in the air, a woman mid-step on the street, some youngsters with their mouths open in laughter. All of them become statues in less than a heartbeat; still, eyes vacant, like everything that made them seem alive has been taken away.

And then — a reverberating sigh, echoing heavily in the ears of all the Orbers. What follows are words, spoken by a chorusing voice now familiar to most of the team —

“Well now you’ve done it.”

The orb’s echoing sound is filled with disappointment, even annoyance.

Some may see that amidst all the frozen townspeople, an old man runs, clawing at his thinning hair. Some of you may hear his words, muttered, desperate:

“I don't understand, I thought 'twas just a bad dream, everyone was fine, don't understand, what in the name of the Eight could've done somethin' like this —”

The disbelieving mumbles trail at his wake, making it clear he does not know what is going on at all — in fact, you may have a better idea as to what has happened than he does. But as you turn to follow him, open your mouth to yell at him to stop... everything around you shatters.

The lights in the buildings grow dim and break; the smell of food disappears; the horses in the stables simply fade away. You notice that if you were wearing or carrying something you bought while here, it too disappears, your clothes turning to those you had on upon arrival, all equipment shimmering away slowly.

But perhaps most importantly… the frozen statues of people crumble into ash right in front of you. It may fill the floors of the now-silent, dusty and worn-down houses, or it may blow away with the harsh desert wind — whichever it is, sans the team, the town of Scorpion’s Bend is now devoid of people.

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// PART I.THE DREAM DEFERRED  

The town that now surrounds the team is very different from the one it used to be — the houses are quiet, filled with sand and dust; doors broken, tables turned over, drawers open and mostly empty, aside from anything not valuable. The beds in Thornbush Inn are ragged, insects of various sizes skittering along the floors. The Saloon is dusty, furniture broken, and a lone piano stands in the corner, half its keys having crumbled away. The door to the Mayor’s office is ajar, a banging sound repeating as it hits the wall in time with the wind.

1.0   In the corners of the Sheriff’s office, the school and the church, the embera slither along, searching for food; owl-shrews hide from the Orbers on the streets, while feathered coyotes howl at the five moons now lending their light to see the town’s destruction better. The team may be the only living humanoids, but they are not the only living beings in the town anymore; in the absence of people, animals have made the town their home. And coexist they must, now, to survive the rapidly dropping temperature of the night that has fallen upon them.

2.0   The next morning, as the moons disappear underneath the horizon and let the two suns bring out their scorching rays once more, the team wakes up to the reality of having to survive Scorpion’s Bend… with very little supplies. So search the empty houses, for they still stand; the fire that has burned away the people has not touched the buildings… but they have not been immune to the passing of time, or the harsh weather in the desert. You may find clothing, basic equipment, pots and pans left on a now-cold stove; but no valuables, no money, no gems, no jewelry, no weapons.

But amidst your search through the town, remember that what you need, first and foremost, is to find water and something to eat — it will not be long until the suns are high in the sky, and some of you are already in desperate need of proper nourishment, without being left to endure the scorching temperatures the days on the planet of Badrock bring.

3.0   But should you want to brave the heat, you’ll find it is now possible to leave the town and venture out into the desert. Out there, the rock dragons search for prey, while bald vultures circle above your head in groups of three or four, their shrieks growing in volume the farther you walk. If you show weakness, any weakness, they strike — and the dragons, sensing their chance, are not far behind.

And when you least expect it, the ground underneath you trembles, like a small earthquake is approaching you… and then you see it: from the sand, a whale surges up, then another, and another, arcing through the air like suspended there, before the sand swallows them once more. Should you get too close, you too may be swallowed underneath the sand; unless you’re very, very careful, or have in your arsenal something else that may help you to deal with these near-immortal giants that have swam across the deserts for hundreds of thousands of years.

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// PART II.YOUR WAKE UP CALL  

Time passes at a snail’s pace without the comforts of the town you were used to. Scorpion’s Bend is now a wasteland you must survive, and it clearly isn’t easy. Some of you might question whether retrieving the orb is still an endeavour worth pursuing after all of this, but the rest of you know that it is. That you’ve come this far and you’re nearly there; you just need to band together and form a gameplan.

As the suns begin to set over the horizon on yet another grueling day of scorching heat and rough, dry sand in the ghost town of Scorpion’s Bend, you might begin to hear a distant thunder that has nothing to do with an oncoming desert storm or otherwise. It rattles at the already weakened structures of the old Saloon and the General Store, bits of broken glass and debris vibrating with the raucous sound of clattering hooves, feet, and paws. And as the sound of the invasion grows louder – you’ll hear the unmistakable manic howling and bellowing in accompaniment: these are the Bouldersnakes that some of you have already heard much of.

4.0   The Bouldersnakes are not a group to be taken lightly, and have garnered the fearsome reputation that they now hold for a reason. Kicking up dust, they arrive like a cloud of chaos in different sizes, shapes, and forms. Some have the ability to shrink and grow in size to match their opponents in physical size and weight. Other Bouldersnakes are agile and quick; and others yet are superhumanly strong and robust – either way, they make for formidable opponents when you, yourself, have been weakened from weeks of a lack of proper nutrition and sleep. The individual members of the Bouldersnakes are like a band of bloodthirsty brothers: from all walks of life and all colours and creeds, with a severe and mean streak to them, who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

What goals, you ask? Should you listen carefully, their leader, riding a winged lizard-like creature, shouts to their underlings:

“Find it! This is where it told us to come to. We missed it last time, but no more! I don't care what we have to do, we're getting our hands on that thing!”

As it so happens, you are not the only crew in search of that elusive orb; the Bouldersnakes have been tracking down the whereabouts of this mysterious and all-powerful object themselves, burning through towns – quite literally – to get it. News that Scorpion’s Bend has seen a resurgence of life and might still be the resting place of the orb has the bandits seeking out the town again. Their first round through Scorpion's Bend about a year ago had them coming up empty-handed (save for a few bits and baubles), but this time they are determined to find what they've come here to find. Though if there’s anything left here to salvage... they’ll ransack as they please.

Whether you confront them head-on or they catch you in hiding, they won’t easily back down from a fight. It will be best to keep your distance if you can manage it, and hope that they’ll pass you by. But the Bouldersnakes have their weaknesses too: once maimed, they still bleed, and none of them are immortal, though they are notoriously difficult to kill based on their talents alone... and when they carry weapons, too, well — those not accustomed to battles may find it best to hide. And even for those with fighting experience under your belt, teaming up with your fellow Orbers and combining your shared skills will be your best chance at survival.

5.0   By the time the suns have disappeared and the moons have risen, the Bouldersnakes invasion will make the bandit attack from the other night seem like a childish tussle. The Bouldersnakes don’t play nice and have adapted to the harsh lands as ruthless survivors. They arrive like a wave, many equipped with weapons: guns, sabers, pistols and small knives. A few others have engineered their own specially crafted weapons made of metal and magic (in the shape of guns, blow-torches, and blades) that wield a special element harnessed from mined ore called ‘pulsefire’. It is this pulsefire, glowing a deep blue (like the hottest colour of flame), that has the capability to destroy all living beings and allows the bandits to systematically ravage unsuspecting towns down to ash, reap its benefits (either for the town’s riches and wealth, or and especially: for any supply of ore), and then leave without a trace.

The best way to fight against pulsefire is to acquire weapons of pulsefire of your own and best a Bouldersnake before they best you. (Think high stakes, noon-time duels of the pistol.) Of course, this is a very risky and very dangerous affair as one shot by pulsefire could mean your untimely demise and the element itself isn't easy to put out either, so it might be best to work in teams to strategically disarm and swipe a pulsefire weapon to use before they manage to overwhelm you.

NOTE:   If your character is alive, your character will be vulnerable to the effects of pulsefire. Unliving things such as buildings and infrastructure will not be affected. Pulsefire has a slow spread-rate over unliving things, but its effects on the living are instant. Once in contact with the element, pulsefire quickly consumes the living body and spirit until it is turned to ash. Putting pulsefire out over unliving things is relatively easy, but once pulsefire has touched the living, there's little to no chance of making it out in one piece.

All through this, you must still remember your goal — it is not to stay in Scorpion's Bend, or even fight the Bouldersnakes, but to find the orb... and that means finding Welford Branson. How will you convince him to give you the orb, when all signs point to him not even knowing what it is, or what it has done? That is what you must decide... if you survive the Bouldersnakes in one piece, of course.

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F Y I

• The events in this log take place ICly right after the end of the NPC thread.

• The voting for how to get the orb is now open! Please head HERE to submit your idea for how the team should proceed to get the orb, or +1 others’ ideas.

• The conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on February 13.

• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.

• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪

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the doctor (12) | doctor who — closed starters.

[attackbrows]

[ closed starters posted below. feel free to catch me via pm or plurk ( robutting ) if want to do something with twelve! ♥ ]

—ITACHI.

[attackbrows]

[Amidst all the chaos, the Doctor concentrates on the task at hand: stopping the Bouldersnakes in their tracks. The unfortunate thing about living in an old, isolated ghost town is that you have to really scrape the bottom of the barrel to pull out the good stuff. The spike in difficulty increases when you have an entire group of bandits on your tail with a deadly pulsefire at the ready.

Hidden between two buildings is the contraption the Doctor is diligently working on. He and the other young lad had been working together to ward off as many of the bandits off. He continues to pull and tug at the swaths of copper wires and makeshift circuitry as he looks up to see if Itachi is still in one piece.]

[blackfire]

（ he is doing very little of the fighting himself. he's summoned a clone made of crows, and the clone is out battling the bandits as necessary. occasionally, he uses genjutsu on those susceptible to it — should he be paying attention, the doctor may bear witness to bandits either slumping over entirely catatonic, or turning on their enemies.

he has not, for what it's worth, killed anyone. nor does he seem likely to. even the knives he throws are meant to disable rather than inflict fatal damage.

however, he is being pushed back.

the clone takes critical damage, which causes it to burst into crows. it buys them a few moment's grace as the crows scatter and disorient their enemies, but — ）

Doctor, I don't mean to alarm you — but you may wish to work faster.

（ he makes a one-handed seal, and this time the clone is water-based. however, defending the doctor is not sustainable in their current location. the moment they are surrounded, the fight will become markedly more difficult to navigate. ）

[attackbrows]

[It’s always the heat of the moment where it appears the Doctor to be working slow as molasses. To any normal person, this may look like some haphazard mad science experiment. But the Doctor had thought two, three, twenty steps ahead to make this plan work. Things become a little difficult when you are scrapping for supplies and putting them all together. All he needs to do is place the final touches.

He taps the rim of his sunglasses to speed up the soldering process. There had been a loud crack followed by a flock of crows bursting into the air. The concentration on his face, however, doesn’t fade away. This isn’t the Doctor’s first rodeo of having a bunch of aggressive blokes with weapons attempting to murder him on site.]

That’s the problem with chalcopyrite! Not enough heat to conduct to get it to start properly…

[He's not trying to brush off Itachi's warning on purpose. Sometimes you have to brush off the immediate pressures around you in order to get the job done. He tosses a good hunk of wiring over his shoulders, now running (as fast as he can) towards Itachi’s side and over to the porch next to them behind the makeshift barricade.]

Two more minutes! I just need to give her the proper wake-up call.

[blackfire]

If you need heat, I can provide it.

（ he doesn't sound harried, but the fatigue is starting to show. he is not quite as precise, not quite as fast. thus far, he has preferred not to kill their opponents — but if h is strength continues to flag, he will have to to assure their safety. dead men don't get back up, but wounded ones or ones that are not so susceptible to genjutsu as he is accustomed to them being do.

the water clone falters even as the crows again coalesce into a duplicate of his body — but a fatal blow to the water clone dashes it to the ground, turning the footing treacherous.

one of their enemy has flanked them, and as the doctor joins his side itachi pivots and throws a knife. it hits the creature — because he is not certain it would be classified as a man in one of its many tentacles, and it shrieks in pain and retreats a short distance as he raises a wall of fire between them. if he cuts off their escape himself, at least they can't be consistently flanked. ）

You have eighty seconds. Then we will need to move.

（ he's not about to keel over — he is all too aware of his limits — but he needs space to catch his metaphorical breath just the same. ）

—MARTA.

[attackbrows]

[It was the dead of night. Things have settled down for now inside of the clinic. The crew have run themselves ragged up until this point. This is the calm before the rest of the storm. Now would be a good time as any to check on the rest of the crew members. The Doctor quietly steps up onto the wooden porch and through the doors of McCoy’s clinic.

It’s cold.

There are hardly any sources of heat save for a few bonfires trying to keep the crew members warm. The body temperature of a Time Lord naturally runs frigid but he can take on the cooler temperatures. Others? Not so much.

Say for the person in question: Marta Cabrera. Small. Human. Very human. He hasn’t forgotten about her. The girl who asked about the stars. He continues to walk further inside the clinic until he stops, finally spotting her.]

[naloxone]

[ marta has been trying to juggle her time between safehouses, telling herself that the movement keeps her blood warm. in reality, she knows idleness will only make her thoughts run wilder and the last thing she wants now after everything's crashed down around them is to be made useless by thoughts of uncertainty and doubt.

when the doctor finds her, her shoulders are hunched tight under a moth-eaten blanket she'd managed to find from one of the empty saloon bedrooms, currently crouched low on the ground to pick up a pile of extra clothing and sheets found throughout the rest of the town. she stands just as he comes to a stop, and it's clear she's been mostly working on autopilot when she damn near runs right into him. ]

—Doctor.

[ it takes a moment for her mind to catch up with the rest of her, but when it does the shift from her shock to sudden professional mode is noticeable. ]

Hi. Are you alright?

[ he's come to the clinic, after all. she assumes he's here for that. ]

[attackbrows]

Yeah.

[He says rather quietly, leaving his quirkier mannerisms to the wayside. The first thing the Doctor notices is the tattered blanket covering her shoulders and the pile of clothes on the ground. They were all scraping every nook and cranny for essential items to keep them at bay: molded clothes and dusty sheets being used for warmth and braving the heat of the two-suns to gather food and water.

The Doctor takes a few steps further inside the room, slipping off his maroon velvet coat to offer to Marta.]

…You’re going to need a little more than that to keep warm.

[naloxone]

[ marta knows the situation they're in is dire, she knows this, but somehow it doesn't actually hit her until this very moment — when the man who she knows has been able to smile and snark his way through everything looks at her with an expression so somber, his demeanor so subdued, that it's like a shock more effective than lightning. ]

I'm— [ fine, she almost says, but the churning of her stomach reminds her that would have been a lie. the weight of his coat settles over her shoulders, and whatever warmth he'd had permeates through her own little blanket. before she knows it, her eyes start welling up, but she's quickly to blink and wipe any oncoming tears away. ]

Sorry, I. [ it must be getting to her, finally. ] Don't you need it?

[attackbrows]

[Now, the Doctor is no expert at consoling people who’ve got tears running down their cheeks. If he did, then the tiffs between Clara and him would be much less messy. But the Doctor does have a modicum of emotional intelligence to read the room. Anyone with an ounce of compassion knows that this is scary. To breathe the ashes of the dead. The threat of fiery ire looming over their shadows. This is not something you throw any ordinary person in and expect them to be okay about it.

If they were okay about it, then that…is a whole other problem.

He stuffs a hand in the pocket of his black trousers.]

Souped-up metabolism. My species can take on extreme weather conditions without so much catching a sniffle.

[Several steps around the bed and the Doctor takes a seat on top of the rickety bedding.]

But it is a nice coat, so don’t go on and get any tomato sauce on it.

—GWEN.

[attackbrows]

[The two are in the middle of a heated scuffle with four of the bandits. While the Doctor and Gwen are more than capable of running, it's not going to do anything when the bandits have a horse advantage on them. And neither of them don't have a proper read on their particular skillsets. The first time Gwen ever met the Doctor was when he nearly burnt the entire station kitchen down.

One of the bandits aims at the two of them. Quick on his heels, the Doctor uses his sonic sunglasses to short-circuit the gun’s recoil, having the pulsefire miss them.]

Time to regroup, 10-54!

[construing]

[ were it up to gwen, she would happily haul out an oven for the doctor to smoke everyone out. unfortunately, life is never simple, but it can be fun. hooded and masked once more, gwen take in the bandits. to someone who has never encountered a superhero, gwen looks exactly like a slender, petite girl playing some weird type of dress-up. not exactly a threat.

she loves proving people wrong.

and seizing the brief confusion that followed the doctor's preemptive strike, gwen sprints forward.

first thing: she's fast. she dashes between two of the bandits, ducking at just the right moment to miss a rifle butt to the head.

second thing: the spiderwebs on her suit aren't merely decoration. crossing her arms in front of her, gwen fires two web-lines. with twin thwips!, each snags one horse's bridle.

third thing: she's strong. twisting around, she digs her heels into the ground. the horses are immediately brought around, and though she does her best to not hurt the animals, it's a wild, bucking time for the riders.

and fourth: she's maybe a little insane. ]

Look alive, Mr. River!

[ gwen leaps atop the horse that nearly succeeded in throwing its rider and completes the task for it. somehow, she manages to urge the horse into a gallop back toward the doctor. she grabs him like he weighs as much as a doll and plops him on the saddle behind her.

the entire event is over in seconds and now they have three (3) newly pissed off bandits ahorse and one (1) really pissed off bandit on foot following after them. good regroup. ]

[attackbrows]

[Go team. Now that their horsepower is down by one, the two can try to flank the other, lone rider who is shooting aggressively at them. But not until the Doctor asks—]

Was that all her idea?!

[He settles into the saddle, looking behind them all the while for the other bandit.

Even with all the bullets flying over their heads, the Doctor still needs to ask the hard-hitting questions. Is his wife really telling others that the Doctor's pretend surname is River? Or did they have this conversation beforehand about his surname being River? He can’t remember and that’s (probably) even more of a reason for her to be cross with him.]

[construing]

[ casual conversation in the midst of immense danger: another tuesday for the two of them. ]

What? Why wouldn’t you want to be Mr. River? She’s a lovely woman!

[ aka river heard gwen drumming and had nice things to say and now river is gwen’s favorite.

gwen catches a nearby barrel in a web-line and whips it behind them. there’s no crash, but she does hear heavy cursing so at least that slowed one down. ]

By the way, do you know how to ride a horse?

[attackbrows]

For the record: I thought I was supposed to be Mister Song. That’d be nonsensical for me to be called John River and her Mrs. River River. But apparently, I have missed the memo. Again!

[Sure, take things a little too literally in the heat of a chase scene, Doctor. That’s exactly what this conversation needs.

But you don’t need to ask him twice about taking the reins. He gives the top of Gwen's shoulder a couple of gentle pats, signalling for her to go do what she needs to do. They’re going about this with the same casual motions as going out to purchase bread and milk from the market.]

—THE DOCTOR (11).

[attackbrows]

[No more dawdling. The Doctor(s) had seen their fair share of bloodshed around here. And with the orb at stake, this can drastically shape the moral ground the Ximilia crew is standing on. Enough of the passive observer act. Time to be a Doctor.

The two had gone straight to work on building a device that can stop the Bouldersnakes in place. Without the use of guns, swords, or knives. Built entirely from the old appliances and wiring scrapped together from the town. Each lantern, copper wiring and leather belt holds the memory of those lost from needless violence. All to create a perimeter around the south side of Scorpion’s Bend that will (hopefully) create an electromagnetic fence.

The elder Doctor runs past his past self. With a grit under his teeth and brow, he sets one on several beacon devices down.]

[lateness]

[ It takes some doing, scrambling parts together to create the necessary beacons for their plan, but of course they're going to do it, and of course they're going to find a way to avoid any kind of violence while doing so. There's been plenty of that, as far as the Doctor(s) are concerned.

There's the buzzing sound of this Doctor's sonic screwdriver in between bits of broken-this and part-that being shambled together, and whether it's to set the piece in motion or to keep it glued together is beyond anyone's guess. But as the Doctor (the older one) rushes past him, the Doctor (this one) looks up. ]

How do those work anyway? [ He gestures lightly to the pair of sunglasses currently obscuring the older man's eyes. Admittedly, he looks very cool and it does make him wonder if he really ought to have made a sonic spatula or something because the sunglasses are a bit off-brand for them. It's not screwdriver-shaped at all.

And then, to himself, as he finishes up with another part of their fence: ] Ah-ha. Another one.

—RIVER.

[attackbrows]

[Night had finally approached. Without a single soul in sight besides River and the Doctor, they step inside the hollow abandoned halls of one of the shoppes in town hoping to scavenge for anything remotely useful.

The Doctor opens one cupboard behind the counter. Save for the rusted can of beans, all that was left was cobwebs and dust. He plucks the can off from the shelf, bringing it closer to his face in some false hope that these beans were the TARDIS itself.]

[spoilers]

[ River is having similar luck. Tools, food, weapons...anything of use has been picked over, time taking what bandits and scavengers have not. Inspecting a somewhat jagged (satisfyingly sharp) strip of metal that had once been part of, well, she isn't sure what it had been, she asks, ] Find something?

[ Gathering up a tattered piece of cloth, she winds it around one end of the scrap of metal before sliding it into her boot. Then she makes her way to where he's standing, staring into his can of beans.

She leans in to comment over his shoulder. ]

If you're hoping for the secrets of the Universe, I don't think you're going to find them in there.

[attackbrows]

[‘If only they did,’ he ponders. ‘Wouldn’t that be marvellous?’ He glances over River’s side before pocketing the expired perishables in his velvet coat.]

Don’t judge a book by its cover, River.

[His lips pull towards the right-most side of his face. Honestly, this little scavenge was more for him and his sanity than it was for the sake of the crew. Except for a handful of crewmates, he doesn’t quite see anyone else scarfing these down whole cloth.]

I once had a jar of marmalade to give me the access codes to a Sontaran fleet ship. [His brows raise a tick.] I think they fancied me.

[spoilers]

[ Her lips quirk up in amusement as her chest presses briefly against his back. ] You think everyone fancies you.

[ River's hand drifts to his elbow as she pulls away again. ] Moving on?

[ She doesn't see them finding much else here. Maybe they'd have better luck in one of the houses. People have a natural tendency to hide things away, save them for a rainy day.

Drawing him toward the next building, she spares a glance at his pocket. ] I'm not eating those, by the way. [ Not the either of them bothered to eat regularly anyway. ] You'll have to convince someone else.

—CLARA.

[attackbrows]

[After checking in on Marta, the Doctor returns to his “post” with Clara. He could run off with his younger self and prattle about how to go about the next day, but he still has a duty of care to her. Even if that means making sure she tucks in for a proper night’s rest. It’s nights like these where he ponders if she is becoming a little too much like him, always thinking ten steps ahead of everyone else, hardly getting a wink of rest.

He returns without his maroon jacket but makes up for it with a crotchet jumper to hand to Clara.]

Layer up. This cold won’t let down for another eight hours.

[bossily]

[She's deep in thought when he finds her, looking tired but refusing to rest. As she glances up his way to take hold of the jumper, she gives him a grateful smile and slides it on. She's cold enough that she isn't going to refuse some extra warmth. As soon as the jumper is on securely and she's wrapped up in warmth, she reaches up to rub at her eye with one hand and pats the spot on the ground next to her with the other.]

Ready to settle in for the night, then?

[as if either of them could possibly sleep with everything going on.]

[attackbrows]

[Here comes the hard part. Settling in had always been an arduous task for the Doctor. You can’t even make him settle in for a proper supper without some sort of pacing being thrown into the mix.

He turns to take a seat right beside Clara. This body isn’t exactly a beacon of comfort, but he will try to make an honest effort. His arm wraps around her shoulders, bringing her closer to his chest. If Clara wanted to, she could press her ear against him to hear his double heartbeats.]

Comfy?

[bossily]

[These are the quiet sort of moments that she misses with all the commotion that life on the station brings. Oh, they've had plenty of cuddling and softer moments. But the way they're sitting now makes her think to nights spent on outings on other planets, just the two of them against the universe.

She shifts so she can lean up against him better, reclining into a resting position. It's easy to hear the comforting lull of his dual heartbeats, and they almost pull her right into a trance as she basks in the comfort his proximity gives her.]

Oh yeah. Once you get past the boniness.

[Teasing him is second nature, banter how they communicate. She's well aware that he knows if she's truly bothered by boniness, she'd sit up and scoot away.]

If you're asking if I'm ready to try sleeping though? [There's a smile as she nuzzles her head up against him.] Don't think I can turn my mind off long enough to catch a single wink.