âź Oh, hey. I didnât expect anyone else to be up.
[divebomb the other couch]
Oh, youâre definitely not wearing a shirt.Â
[Emerson]:Â âHey, morninâ Azeran. Youâre up on the early side, huh? You want to come join me? I was just havinâ a bit of coffee. You want some?â
Uh, sure. [tentatively try to sip from her cup]
âź Iâm good on the coffee, but I never say no to good company.
What?
[Emerson]: She scoots over to ensure thereâs plenty of space, but there already was. As you take a seat, she flashes a smile. âYou settlinâ in okay? It was nice hanginâ with you guys last night, seems like the others are all makinâ themselves at home. But are you findinâ it alright?â
Actually, I do have a complaint. Evan and Mena were up super late talking about the planets theyâve been to, it was really annoying.
âź Itâs good so far! Boomer snores like a chainsaw, so having a bunk right next to hers isnât the most ideal but hey. Everything else is great.
I think Pholy might have had his finger under my nose to see if I was breathing...
[Emerson]: She laughs at that, nodding. âWell Iâm glad that, aside from the snorinâ, itâs been good. Nice havinâ you here. ... all of you guys, I mean. It gets lonely in crew turnover. âCourse, I love Ty and them, donât get me wrong. Just... nice to have some new faces.â
âź You and Ty are pretty close, huh? Are you like... a couple?
Crew turnover, thatâs pretty huge isnât it?Â
Iâll bet it does get lonely up here. Bet it gets lonely all the time.
[Emerson]:Â âOh, jeez, no. No, not at all. Not that I- heâs a good-lookinâ guy, you know, just... heâs like a brother to me. Not tâ mention heâs definitely gay. But weâre real close.â
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
How close is âreally closeâ exactly?Â
âź How long have you been working with him?
[Emerson]:Â âUhh, Ty started here... two years ago? And we just hit it off. Like, instant best friends. But weâre the two youngest crew members, the others are all a lot older than we are. I mean, Rikerâs in his, like... thirties.â
âźÂ ... Iâm in my thirties. But like, young hip thirties! Cool thirties.
This is a little bit awkward.
His thirties? Ancient. Iâm nineteen!
[Emerson]: She flushes at the realization, laughing shortly after. Probably to relieve some embarrassment. âIâm sorry, I didnât mean it like that! It ainât a bad thing, itâs just- itâs... I guess I really ainât got anythinâ to say to dig myself outta this one. But you anâ him are nothinâ alike. Age donât mean as much as personality, you know? And I like your personality.â
You donât have to placate me.
No, itâs fine, Iâm super old. You can say it.
âź Hey, thanks. Thatâs sweet of you. So, how did you end up here?
[Emerson]:Â âWell, I been on the Zenith for... fooouuur years now, I think? I got my license when I was nineteen to fly smaller aircrafts, and I wanted to go to school for the big rigs, but my ex-husband wasnât really into it. But when we got divorced I said, yâknow, fuck it.â
Wow, you got your flying license really young, huh?
âź Wait, youâve been married before? How... donât answer if itâs invasive, but... what?
Good for you! âFuck itâ is my life motto!
[Emerson]: She sighs, tapping the rim of her mug. âAw, it was nothinâ. You know, grew up in a small town, we went to high school together. He was some big strappinâ football guy, his parents ran a wheat mill a few blocks down from my daddyâs farm. We went together all through school, got married at eighteen and- I mean, that was a mistake. I know that now. You donât stay the same between eighteen and twenty-two. I donât know if it was my fault, if I changed or he did, or if maybe we wasnât ever the way we thought. But he got... real mean.â
Thatâs a lot of information.
Give me this guyâs holopad number. I just wanna talk, itâs cool.
âź I wasnât there, I can only speak for the you I know. Nobody has a right to treat the Emerson I know poorly. Iâm sorry that happened to you, Em.
[Emerson]: After a moment of appearing distant, she returns to the present with a smile. âThatâs sweet of you, Azeran, but it was a good while ago. And anyway, thatâs-- thatâs a lot to dump on you. Iâm sorry for gettinâ all...â She gestures, searching for a word she doesnât ever find. Itâs clear sheâs embarrassed about how much sheâs shared.
âź You donât need to apologize to me. Honestly. Hey, if anything I owe you thanks for trusting me this much.Â
Yeah, it was a whole lot, but Iâll be okay.
Clearly it wasnât all that long ago.
[Emerson]: There might be more to be said on the subject, but for now she seems eager to leave it behind. âThatâs what friends do, right? So hey, whatâre your plans for today? Up ta anythinâ fun?â
Nothing at all, actually. Iâm looking forward to kicking back, maybe having a nap when Boomerâs up.
I thought I might go hang out with that tour bot some more, she was kinda hot in a weird way?
âź Actually, I was thinking I might play some Super Punch Twins. I want to try to get really good. Would you be into coaching me or something?
[Emerson]: She laughs warmly, clearly not at the idea but more at your sincerity. âIâm not anywhere near as good as Ty at it but... yeah. I could handle clockinâ a bit more time with you.â
Azeran Snyder has gained 2 â€ïž with Emerson!Â