#porphy

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Something was wrong. Their body felt cold. Lighter. Their head hurt. Somewhere in their dulled mind they heard Gossan's admonishments. "Don't ever drink to get rid of feelings or try n' sleep. It's a dangerous road."

Hal rolled onto their back, feeling their heart sink as their movement was met with no resistance. No warm body curled against their spine.

They sat up, the color of the sunbeams spilling over their covers betraying the late hour. Where's Tektite? They should be banging down my door by now. They swung their legs off the bed and got to their feet and stretched until they felt a little less like a dehydrated amoeba.

As they rounded the corner to the kitchen, they were met with rough fabric against their face. They stifled a yelp of surprise and tilted their chin to meet pinkish eyes.

"Lacking in situational awareness, I see." Porphy reached out a hand to keep them from tripping over themself, a gentle teasing to their voice.

"Shi- ah, Porphy! You nearly scared me out of my scales." Hal felt like a house-lizard caught in the pantry. "Why didn't you wake me up when you came over?"

"I tried to." Porphy tilted their head, studying Hal up and down. Hal became painfully aware they hadn't bothered to change or clean up after work. "Sorry, I thought you'd hear me moving around." They loosened their grip once they were sure Hal wasn't going to topple over.

"Right. What are you doing here? Where's Tektite?" An ember of worry kindled in their chest. If something happened to them-

"They're alright. They gave you the day off." Porphy herded them towards the table and motioned for them to sit. "They sent me over to let you know," A mug was set in front of Hal. "And, personally, I wanted to check on you."

"Right. So Esker said. Sorry, haha, I've been really busy with the bramble-seed-thing." Hal reluctantly sat. Porphy shot them a look that said they didn't buy it for a second.

"Well, now you're not. Tektite said you've made plenty of progress."

Hal shuffled in their seat and took the mug. It was just clean cold water. Honestly, they couldn't have asked for better. They managed to stall a couple more seconds by taking a nice, long drink. "So... was there something else you needed?"

Porphy sighed, settling down across from them. "Hal. Losing someone hard."

Hal flinched. Something twisted in their chest.

"I know you were... very close." Porphy's voice was too gentle, their face too kind. Hal couldn't look at them. It made the burning worse. "Please. Let the rest of us help you. I don't want to see you..." The winemaker trailed off. Hal let their eyes dart up briefly. Porphy was looking down, brow furrowed with an emotion that has no name. "I don't want to see you like Gossan after-"

"Can we not compare them to - that?" Hal's voice surprised them. It was so small. Porphy's brow raised, meeting Hal's eyes. I know I look like such a mess right now.

"Hal... They didn't have enou-"

"I know, I know. Trust me I've... run the numbers. A lot." Hal resumed their intensive table studying. A notebook filled with desperate, useless calculations was under their bed where the translator equipment should be.

"...Okay." A light touch on Hal's wrist that pulled them out of... wherever they were going. "I just mean... It's more similar than you might think."

Fuck does that mean? Hal wrinkled their nose. The time period after Feldspar's disappearance felt hazy. They did know Gossan had interacted with the hatchlings a lot less after that. Maybe that's what it is. But I don't have anyone relying on me like that...

Porphy pulled away. Hal shook themself. They'd been sitting, staring at the back of Porphy's hand for several minutes. "Gossan's worried about you. You should radio them, at least." Hal heard them shift in their seat. Hal raised their head.

"You're leaving?"

"Unless you'd rather I didn't." Porphy tilted their head, something hopeful in their voice. Something about that stung. I can't.

"No... It's fine. I have stuff to do, actually." Hal stood, a little hastily. Their head kindly reminded them that they hadn't eaten anything by making the room spin a little. Porphy shifted closer, as if expecting them to fall over again. Hal shook them off.

"Alright. Drop by if you need anything, and take care of yourself for stars' sake." Porphy made their way towards the door. "Oh, and I left you some tea in the pantry, should help with any aches and pains... from the work." Porphy's eyes scanned them, a little sharply. Hal felt sheepish.

"Yes, thanks."

"I'll see you at dinner tonight?" It wasn't really a question. It meant if Hal wasn't they could expect another unwanted house call.

"Yeah, see you there."

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Showering felt really good. It was a simple, rain-fed system just outside their and Rh- their cabin. The wooden privacy barrier still let in the song of insects, and the late afternoon sun spilled over their body like liquid amber, mellowing the cold water. Sounds from the village filtered in. Gneiss tuning a new instrument. Hatchlings shrieking at each other. The comforting bubbling of geysers. Why would anyone want to leave all this?

But they did, again and again. It was like some Hearthians were pulled by an invisible thread skywards. Even people you wouldn't expect, like Gabbro.

Gabbro... why on Hearth does Hornfels think they'd know anything about Rhy? They scanned through the overheard argument in their mind. The details felt hazy. Damn sapwine.

That was how they found themself standing at the bottom of the stairs in the museum. They drummed their fingers on the railing, hesitating before the first step. Something itched at the back of their mind - something they weren't ready to think about.

"Is someone there?" Hornfels' head appeared at the top of the spiral staircase. Hal jumped and made a faux-grin up at them. "Oh, Hal! Fancy seeing you here. Come in, please!" They motioned eagerly. Suddenly, taking the steps was easier.

"So, what was it you needed?" Hornfels motioned to a stool that had been positioned near the monitors. It was an aberration that showed just how many hours they had spent here since Rhy...

Either way, someone had clearly decided they needed somewhere to sit if they were going to monitor things an unhealthy amount. Hal declined to sit, choosing to lean over in mock interest to the solar system map in the center.

"I had a couple questions."

Hornfels shifted around to be in their field of view. "Well, spit it out! It's not like you to be cryptic." Their false cheer was kind of grating. Hal probably wasn't much better. They swallowed.

"I... told you I was gonna run some calculations, remember?"

"Right, right, of course." Hornfels leaned back against the curved wall of the observatory, as if bracing themself.

"I was wondering if... There was any way..." This was so stupid. They knew the answer. "If there was any way they packed extra water or oxygen and didn't tell anyone."

Hornfels wilted visibly. "Ah... no... The shipping manifests were... specific... and Rhyolite is not the type to just... go off-paper. Not on their first launch, especially."

"And... There are no planets we know of with liquid drinkable water?"

"We don't know... everything," Hornfels looked distinctly uncomfortable. "but... yes... we have no reason to believe even if there was meltable ice it would be safe to drink." and that was if they survived the landing if they lit a fire if they were able-bodied enough to chip away blocks of ice just to make water. And it didn't solve the oxygen problem either. "Especially if Esker calculated their trajectory accurately."

Hal squeezed their primary eyes shut. "You're going to tell Riebeck and Chert to stop looking." It wasn't really a question. Hornfels averted their gaze.

"I... yes..." They inhaled deeply. "I'm giving them the same amount of time I gave... That we gave Feldspar. It. Only felt fair." Their face scrunched up in a strange way. "So, three days from now. Yes."

A horrible new tradition. It was almost enough to make Hal laugh. Their throat hurt. Arms closed around their shoulders. They turned their face against Hornfels' rough-spun shirt. "This isn't fair" is what they tried to say. It was garbled beyond recognition. Hornfels squeezed their shoulders. They felt so much like a hatchling again.

"I... I'm so sorry, Hal." Hornfels' voice was barely above a whisper. Hal panted. They needed a way out of here.

"Why won't Gabbro fucking help?" The words welled from somewhere deep within them.

"I don't know." Hornfels shifted. Hal blinked away tears enough to follow their line of sight, which was settled on the console connected to the communications array. "I... I can't get any sense out of them. All they do is garble the same nonsense as always. It's as if they don't..." Hornfels took a deep breath. It's as if they don't care. "Your guess is as good as mine, Hal."

"Did they... Did Gabbro hurt them?" A sleeping, ancient emotion stirred at the thought. Something much more than anger.

"What- you heard that?" Hornfels looked startled. "I- No. No I don't think so. I admit, I let anger get the better of me. I just don't understand..." They continued before Hal had a chance to make a snide remark. Hornfels pulled away from the embrace to rub their brow with forefinger and thumb. "I don't understand Gabbro. If I'm being realistic, there's just no way they could have gotten to Ember Twin without Chert seeing them. And even then... to harm another Hearthian, much less their hatchmate... it's unthinkable."

Hornfels started pacing. Hal scrubbed their face, as if doing so could remove the swelling emotions. Hornfels turned to face Hal again. "There wasn't... anything between them, was there?"

Hal frowned. "No, nothing as far as I can tell. I don't think they even ever really talked much after Gabbro left."

Hornfels settled back on their stool and put their head in their hands. "Yes, well I suppose you would know." Hal tilted their head.

"I was their cabin mate."

"Yes- sorry, that's not what I meant." Hornfels wheeled around to study the monitors, as if they would hold the answers. "Still there's something... odd... with Gabbro. More than usual, I think."

I kinda don't give a shit. Rhy's gone.

"You should talk to Gossan." Hornfels glanced back over their shoulder.

"You're the third person to tell me that." Hal responded numbly.

"Yes, well, they were your caretaker. Not to mention, they might know how to... handle this."

"Shouldn't all of you?" Hal snapped. I feel like I'm drowning.

"Some of us handled it... better than others."

Hal threw up their hands. "I guess I better go do that then." As if.

"Good." Hornfels returned their full attention to their monitors. "I'll radio them and tell them you're on the way." Well shit.

Chapter 3 >>>