#stranded verse

Climbing down from the bed of the truck, Freya took a quick moment to gather her bearings; this was Prairie Outpost? Didn't look much like an outpost; it would be impossible to fortify and defend with a road running right through it and only a few wooden huts. And a stone's throw away from an imperial garrison.

Talk about treading a fine line.

The other hunters all seemed to be checking details with one man before going about their business. Of all the hunters here, she presumed this was the guy Jeanne had told her about; the head hunter's best friend and the guy overseeing the new recruits in this region of Lucis. Tall, dark hair and a few tattoos. Matched the description she'd been given.

Joining in with the flow of the other hunters, she waited her turn until the man looked to her, waiting for her query.

Dave was her dad's friend. Her dad's best friend ... they guy who had taught her father how to be a hunter. She had only been a little kid way back when, but she had vague memories of her dad arriving back from being gone for a long time, and dave and him laughing and eating at the dinner where her mom had worked.

She also remembered the night he had come to their front door, a long time after her dad had started to sleep on the couch or over at Granny and Grandpa's house - when Ramuh and Leviathan had argued into the late night, the rain lashing the glass panes of her bedroom window, little Selena had been awake, counting how many times old Ramuh had tossed a lightning bolt towards the sea to quieten Leviathan's thrashing when she'd seen Dave walking up the worn path to her Mama's front door.

He was a good man. He had welcomed her into Meldacio. He had made her feel at home, even when she had been sleeping in what she could only surmise to be his old bedroom at Miss Ezma's house before her Dad had finished fixing up their new home.

But ... but he had known about Reno. Known about Reno and Loqi and Miss Ida. He knew ... he knew. He knew who they were and where they were from and he had kept that from them? He had kept that from her and her Dad. So was he keeping that from Miss Ezma and the other hunters too?

Tugging her arm free when Dave steered her into the Intel hut, Selena reeled, spinning on her heel and taking a few steps towards the door before she realised he was standing with his back against the door and blocking her exit, his hands raised in submission though, and his voice sounded soft and maybe a little sad.

But he had lied. So did that mean he was somehow under pressure from the Empire? Or did they have their claws in here too? This was ... this was too much . She needed to leave. She needed to get her Dad and they needed to leave ... go to Insomnia? Nyx was there. Nyx and Libertus and Luche. They'd be safe there, safe behind the King's wall and safe from the Empire's reach.

Shaking her head, Selena backtracked across the small office, her hands coming up to rake through her ebony locks,

"No ... no, I-I don't think so. You knew. You knew ... Reno told me. You've known all along and this ... no Dave. No. I-I want my Dad. I want my Dad now. I don't want to be here."

She didn't get lost here anymore. She knew the door at the back of the store was a false door now, though that had been embarrassing the first time she'd rattled the door handle.

She now knew that all the animal horns, whiskers and bones got stored by the decking up by the entrance to the tunnel, or behind the faded billboard sign if the area was full.

Good weapons went on the porch outside the store, broken weapons went over by the side of Dave's house for the Culless truck to haul back to Lestallum.

Meldacio felt familiar now, but Selena still felt like a blow-in. Her and her Dad weren't staying with Ezma anymore, they had their own little home in Meldacio, so she didn't feel so much like a burden. And her shoulder and collarbone was finally healed, save for the odd ache and pain, but at least she could actually do stuff around the headquarters now.

Blowing out a breathy laugh at Dave's quiet jibe; her Dad was on a hunt, so that meant Dave had promise him that he'd keep an eye on her. Scrunching her nose, Selena shook her head, staying where she sat on edge of the raised porch around the front of her new home.

"Today's Nyx's birthday - I always used to write him these silly little notes for his birthday ... it's weird not being able to do it this year."

Send in ❄️ for my muse to find yours in a snowstorm!

If there’s anything she needed to be, cautious was the key thing. The snow had been falling for more than a week, and didn’t look like it was going to let up any time soon. She just wanted to get back to her safe area and rest. Next time, she figured, it wasn’t worth it to go check on the traps.

Or was it?

The third trap had something in it. However it wasn’t one of the animals that roamed the planet normally. It seemed... human?

Send (☉_☉) and my muse will have to explain why they have no clothes on.

He ran through the corridors, using the Sonic Screwdriver to follow an intangible trail. He just couldn’t resist looking into something which screamed unusual to him. It was something he could blame on his genetic makeup, picking up on something completely unusual and then investigate and try to keep people safe. It was just something he did. 

He stopped at a corner, knowing that there might be a sentry out, waiting and watching. He looked around the corner, doing his best not to be seen.

[prologue – Working Rough]

He needed to accept that this would be awkward, no getting around it. Med Bay visits always were but this one...

He wasn't particular close to Phobos or Deimos. Only small size of the Kelper forced their paths to cross originally. On the Slepnir, the social stratification pulled him in a very particular direction, the undertow of the Lower Decks nigh inescapable. He still saw Deimos on occasion just via proximity to Cain but there remained a distance he couldn't bridge. As for Phobos, Helios was thankful that the Navigator had his own pursuits and preferred different prey now.      (Both he and Selene sensed something strange happening in the Slepnir's shadows, but knew better than to pursue the monsters lurking therein. Between the cover-up of his sister's disappearance and Phobos' own advice regarding command and their interests, Helios found it smarter to remain a safe distance away. Better to stick to the outskirts and cautiously observe for now.)

But none of that changed the simple facts of the matter – they were his comrades-in-arms and Helios had failed them. And self-improvement couldn't be limited to just the physical. It also meant owning your mistakes and doing right by those you had wronged.

He hesitated on the edge of the door, acutely aware of the flutter in his stomach and the guilt gnawing at the back of his mind. Even if he learned to better cope with his insecurities, a few fundamental structures of his personality remained unchanged. He worried if they would even want to hear him out. Helios had heard about Cain's outburst through the churning rumor mill. If a rift now existed between Deimos and his closest companion, what chance did he really have to make amends?

Still, what could he do but try?

With a steadying breath, he stepped inside the Med Bay and easily spotted the pair in the beds nearest the door. Finding Phobos absorbed in a datapad wasn't surprising. But seeing Deimos fast asleep, appearing so small and fragile came as shock...

Luna hated being out on the ocean more than he hated being on land. Not because he got seasick or anything like that, but because he knew that there was less land to protect them. They were currently in the middle of the ocean on a cruise and while he was glad he had Hunter with him, he knew that his brother couldn't always be around to hold his hand and wipe his nose. He was often made fun of because he clung to his older, by a few minutes, brother. He was dubbed "cockblocker" by Hunter's friends though they would never dare say it in front of Hunter lest they feel his wrath. He wasn't particularly sure what that nickname meant, to be honest, considering Hunter didn't own a rooster and he most certainly wouldn't block it from doing whatever it was that roosters did.

His feet padded slightly on the deck, hand up as he rubbed his eye and tried to find his way back to his room. He'd gone out for a stroll since it wasn't often he saw the ocean at night, but he realized how much he disliked the darkness of the sea and how it looked so eager to gobble him up like a fresh meal. He yawned, continuing on his merry way to the room before he felt himself jerk forward as if he'd been pushed. He grunted as he landed on the deck, fully aware now, before getting back up to his feet quickly and making his way into the room. "Hunter!" he hissed, scurrying over and shaking his brother awake. "Hunter, please wake up!" It was then that the alarm sounded and Luna's worst fears were recognized. "Hunter, please! You need to get up now!"