untethered

Ryder shook their head insistently and smiled at Daphne. "You don't have a Karen haircut," he assured her. "Your hair looks really good and not like you want to speak to someone's manager, but still professional if that makes sense." She would look good with a streak of purple in here hair, though. Ryder wondered if she ever considered dyeing it.

"I think it makes sense... Or you're just flattering me." Daphne signed. It was difficult to tell about these sorts of things. Shaking her head slowly to clear her head out, she started in the direction of wherfe the managerial person was. "Let's do this."

Ryder's lack of enthusiasm over the ball pit had less to do with his age and more to do with the fact that he was the only one in there, but he still nodded along in agreement with Daphne. "Sorry, we didn't find your device," he murmured as he ran his fingers through his hair to smooth it out. "Should we maybe go talk to a manager to see if anyone found it?"

"Yes, that's probably a good idea," Daphne agreed, not wanting to stretch out this problem for much too long. "How's my hair? If we were on Earth, would this be considered hair too far into the 'let me talk to your manager' realm? I don't want to look remotely obnoxious."

Ryder nodded at Daphne, feeling a little guilty for failing to find her device. "Uh...no. That's okay," they said slowly as they started to waddle their way out of the foam pit. "These don't really have the same appeal when you're in them alone, and you're 27..." Oh no, every time he remembered how old he was he wanted to curl up and cry, but he ignored the urge as he climbed out of the pit.

Daphne looked at Ryder, momentarily alarmed to remember that Robin and Ryder were already 27. "Right... If you don't think it has the appeal anymore, then I understand. You're still incredibly young in the grand scheme of things, but you can enjoy other youthful activities like art, medicine, and enjoying your not-list comms device."

Ryder nodded at his captain and placed the device back between the same two foam blocks. He hoped whoever it belonged to would find it eventually. "Are you sure?" Ryder asked her, gesturing around the pit. "There's still a lot of foam pit left to look at, and you have some really important stuff on your device..." It wouldn't be too hard to replace if they really couldn't find it. Robin already went through a few devices after some...accidents.

"I know. But I can retrieve it later when..." When she was alone with just the lifeguard to watch and judge, rather than her crew member. "I'll get it later. it's fine, so don't worry about it. You can stay in the pit if you're enjoying yourself, but I'll handle my own error."

Daniel all but breathed a sigh of relief as Daphne confirmed the crew's plans and even added that she could get him to any city on the planet, and would even let him stay on right up until then. That certainly made matters far easier. Daphne didn't stop there though, going on to assure him that he would be welcome here for as long as he wished, and tell him how much he was valued - as a person, not just as an employee. His throat felt a little tight, all of the sudden. Prior to talking to Daphne about all of this, his main feeling going into the conversation had been anxiety... now that that was relieved, though, it was occurring to him how very much he would miss having her around, too. As an employer and a person. "I - thank you," he answered, trying not to sound choked up as he did. "I really - I really appreciate that. And all you've done for me. I know some of the requests I made in my initial interview were a little unorthodox...? But I so appreciate you taking me on anyway, and erm. Finding something that would work. And all you've done since then. I'm, erm. I reckon I'm rather going to miss you. You'll know where I'm going, so - no need to be a stranger if you're ever in the same area, alright? I could even - I wouldn't mind checking on the garden now and then, if the Prosperity ever stops by at a time that's agreeable for the both of us. You know - make sure everything's still set up to grow healthy food for everyone, and all of that." He'd hate for his departure to result in the garden falling back into the state it had been in prior to his arrival. Not that it had been bad, exactly, but... the plants were much happier now, and it seemed that had resulted in tastier food for the crew.

"Unorthodox? That's what we thrive on here, Daniel. You've been an excellent crew member and very dear and appreciated to so many of us here. I know that I'm never going to be the warmest person on this ship, but I will miss you too. Your work ethic, kindness, and sense of self are rare, and we'll do our best to carry on without you," Daphne said, thinking that some genuine sentiment might be helpful to have right about now. Damn, though. She really needed to figure out who could get those plants a better fraction of the way to maintaining health soon. "I'm rather optimistic this won't be the last you'll see of us- crew and plant alike. Thank you."

"Ah - yes, of course. I'll be sure to let you know when I'm done letting folks know individually ahead of a broader announcement. I -- I suppose I should say that Ian and Ryder already know? And I -- there's a few others who I'd like to tell personally still..." Like Robin, for one. Though perhaps Robin already knew? He couldn't imagine that Ryder would have kept it a secret from their own twin, nor would he have asked them to do so. He couldn't let himself get carried away thinking about that right now though, especially while Daphne was being so kind. "Oh! I hadn't really thought of any additional support that might be needed, erm -- other than. We're going to Kor'Sel'Koo, right...? I don't suppose I'd be able to continue my position here through to the end of that? And then - I might take a couple days of vacation during that time, to look for an apartment, if that's alright? But that aside, I'd really like to continue working here right up until you and the crew are ready to leave Kor'Sel'Koo, I reckon... it's been quite wonderful working here, much more than I would have guessed when I'd first applied! And, erm - I've gotten quite close to quite a few people here as well, so... even if I will be leaving sort of soon, I'd still quite like to stay as long as I can up until that point. Erm - if it's not too much trouble?"

"Understood." Daphne would have to guess at whether Robin heard anything through the grapevine. Her curiosity about if Robin knew about this was on a similar thought train as Daniel's. "Yes, we're going to Kor'Sel'Koo. We can get you to any city on that planet that you need to go to. But until then, you can stay on. Giving your notice to leave- even if you don't tell everyone immediately- is great for my planning. You're welcome on our crew with a job for as long as you want to have it. We value you as a crewmate and a person."

Daphne didn't seem happy with what he had to say, but Daniel reminded himself that that was fair - and in any case, it'd be somewhat upsetting if she was happy to hear he was going. So seeming not happy while also not seeming obviously unhappy with him was a best case scenario, most likely. He forced himself not to start panicking; it wouldn't do at all to do that. He'd asked for guidance on what to do in this situation and Daphne was very kindly giving him advice beyond just what she absolutely required from him next, which he very much appreciated and needed to pay attention to rather than disrespecting her time by panicking instead of listening properly. Still, it was such a relief to hear that what he'd just done was enough for her. He wasn't messing this up, at least not any more than his leaving at all surely put a wrinkle in her plans for leaving at all. It was a very good question she had next - a kind one too, he appreciated being given the option here. "Oh, that's - hm. Perhaps if it could be kept quiet for the short term, so that I can tell some folks one by one...? But then after that, erm. If you would be able to let the crew as a whole know, that would - I would appreciate that." The idea of letting everyone know himself was - not terrifying, but still nerve-wracking.

Daphne had a difficult time being able to tell just what Daniel was thinking, but she didn't think he looked super pleased to be in this conversation. It wasn't a fun topic, to be fair... Who really enjoyed planning out this part? Even someone like Daphne who did like getting organized didn't like the delivery of bad news procedure. "Yes, of course. I'll follow your lead, so do please let me know once you tell specific people if at all possible so that I do not 'act like a fool' by not realizing what topic is on the table. It's happened before. Is there any support I can give you in the meantime?"