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Niko actually does wake up this time, carefully shifting away from you before
he peers at his chrono. "That all?" he mumbles. He muffles a yawn, and moves
over to the chair again.
The movement startles Elasia awake, although she's still very zoned and not really all that aware. She rubs at the back of her head, "Y'okay?"
Niko nods, with a quick, reassuring smile. "Just awake, hon. It's okay. Go back
to sleep."
Elasia tugs herself to a seated position, pulling her hair back once again into its tail. She peers at the time a moment, trying to reconcile it. "Short nap."
Niko looks decidedly sheepish. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. Really,
you can go back to sleep, it's okay." He locates the bottle of water, left
from dinner, and takes a drink. "See? I'm set."
Elasia doesn't appear likely to go back to sleep. Instead she slips from the
bed, gathering the blankets and sheets. She goes to the closet and pulls down
others. "I'll fix the bed..."
Niko remains in the chair so that you don't have to tell him to get back in it,
but does inquires, "Can I help?" He really is itching for things to do, isn't
he?
Elasia is rather efficent at fixing the bed, "Nah, got it, thanks though. Not
real hard." She finishes getting it arranged and drops back onto the edge.
"Just taking advantage of it being empty while I thought about it." She rubs
at the bridge of her nose with the palm of one hand. "I oughta haul out the
chess set at this rate."
Niko's expression is a mixture of abashedness (is that a word?) and interest. "Sorry. I know I'm being a pest." Of course, you could let him get up and entertain himself... but he knows better than to suggest that.
"You're not a pest," Elasia offers a chuckle and a grin. She lies down on her stomach, resting her chin on crossed arms and regarding you with a fond smile. "I just know you've got to be going stir crazy. I just can't think of anything entertaining for you I'm afraid. Brain's a bit scrambled right now."
Niko abandons the chair in favor of sitting next to you on the bed, gently
rubbing your back. "Don't worry about it, hon. I can keep myself entertained.
I'm good at that. Just let your brain rest. Maybe we can upgrade it to
poached soon."
Elasia's eyes sag closed and she relaxes into the bed. She does protest
however, "Shouldn't be doing that... You're supposed to be relaxing." She
pauses a moment, murmuring something that sounds decidedly pleased despite
her complaints. "I do have a set though. In the still packed box. Or could
snag a movie or something."
Niko does not stop the backrubbing. "I think chess would be a little beyond me.
The drugs haven't been turned down enough yet. And I'm relaxing. This is
relaxing. Lots of fun. But if you'd rather snag a movie or something, that's
fine with me." He pauses a beat. "Someone told me that I'm indecisive. I'm
not sure."
Elasia all but melts into the bed as your fingers work on the mass of knots in
her back. "Ohh, should play then. Might actually win for once. Just trying to
keep you from going nuts. Whatever you want to do." There's a pause, "Need to
remember to write home. Forgot yesterday."
Niko finds one particularly stubborn knot and gently smooths it into
submission. "I should do that as well," he murmurs, with a bit of contrition.
"It's been far too long. I'm surprised Losi hasn't stormed the Complex or
something."
Elasia is quiet a moment, all but falling asleep again as the knot is released. After a moment she regains some coherancy, "I'd offer to write yours and have you write mine, but I think yours is gonna be wilder."
Niko considers that for a moment, with a low chuckle. "Dear Mom, Remember
Terrence Veruzac? Well, he liked part-Edreeni ladies, too. Also, beware of
ticking pudding." His hands pause a moment as he fights back a stronger
laugh. "Uh, yeah. Just a little."
Elasia snickers softly into the comforter, "Poor Niko... Heck, poor your family. I'm sure they're going to have a cow. Mine will be plum bo..." There's a pause as your hands find a tender spot, "Boring in comparison."
Niko edges around that tender spot, shaking his head slowly. "Riley said he
could spare me to go back to Hellas, to talk to them in person," he says
slowly. "I don't know. Maybe that's the way to go. Clara's likely not going
to let me go back to full duty for a while. If only it didn't take so long to
-get- there..."
"I don't know if I should be sympathetic or jealous," Elasia says quietly, "That's likely to be a tough visit. Still, it might be a good idea..."
Niko starts to rub your back with the flat of his hand, rather than using his
fingers. "I'm still not sure if I want to go," he admits. "Maybe I'll see if
I can get Aunt Thalassa on subspace, maybe sound her out without letting her
know I know, if I can."
Elasia considers a moment, "You could take a translation ship? Be there in
what, four hours? The AF's got some of those right? If one happened to be
going that way..."
Niko's hand pauses. He can't think and rub at the same time, see. "Well... yes.
That would work. That would work well, actually. They pop in and out of here
all the time, heart of the Alliance, all that. Whether or not they'd be going
to that area, though, that's another question."
Elasia is rather zoned, she's been having a stressful week, so her reply has
kind of a fuzzed quality. "Bet Riley could find out for you, maybe arrange
something even. Being an Admiral and all..."
Niko starts to rub your back once more. Apparently he's stopped thinking. "Anya could probably find out, too. Maybe I'll bug her about it." Matter of fact, from the sound of him, he's itching to do just that.
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
"You could comm," Elasia offers quietly, "If either of them would be available
at this hour."
Niko squints at his chrono. "I'm not going to comm Riley now. He's likely
asleep, and somehow I don't think Clara would be too thrilled with me if I
woke him. Anya... maybe."
"You could comm Clara and ask," Elasia, random suggestor of options. "Maybe in
the morning. You could use sleep."
Niko considers that for a few moments, discarding most of his own suggestions as unlikely to receive the Ela Seal of Approval (tm). (He doesn't think you'd approve of him jaunting down to the Spaceport, for example.) "I should sleep," he agrees, "But I'm really awake, for whatever reason." And he sounds almost apologetic about that. "Maybe I will comm Clara."
Elasia is sleepy enough for both of you, so it all evens out. She's -really- zonked. She would object however to jaunting, yes. "Can it hurt?"
Niko considers that. "I guess not." He peers at you for a moment, then suggests, "Why don't you go back to sleep, hon? I'll be fine. Really."
Elasia shakes her head slightly, "M'fine. I'm not the one with holes all in me."
Niko chuckles very quietly. "No, you're just the one who's been taking care of
the one with all the holes. Sleep. It's okay. I don't want to have to haul
Clara up here for you, after all."
Elasia twists onto one side, reaching over to pat at one of your knees carefully. "I'm fine, go ahead comm Clara and ask about your ship."
Niko mumbles something about stubborn women, but lifts the comm-unit
nonetheless.
You say "*quietly* Clara? Niko here. This a good time to nag you?" into the
communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "Depends on what you're nagging me for, Niko." She sounds faintly amused. "What's up?" in Clara's voice.
Elasia's eyes close and she curls up in something of a ball, half listening to
the half-heard voices.
You say "Is Riley awake? I've got an obnoxious question, and he might be able
to help." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "He says he is, yeah. What's the
question? And of course, according to Giani, aren't you always obnoxious?" in
Clara's voice.
You say "*muffled laugh* Does Giani fall into the always-right category? I was
just wondering if he knew where I could get hold of some sort of schedule for
translation ships. Other than going down to the Spaceport, which I don't
think y'all would let me do." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "*pause* Translations ships? You
mean, FTL translations?" in Clara's voice.
You say "Yeah." And if he sounds vague, that's because his player is. "The new
ships." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "Riley says he can poke around and
get one coughed up," she repeats dutifully, still sounding confused. "Niko?
You're not going to risk that sort of displacement factor right now, are
you?" in Clara's voice.
You say "I'm just checking out options, Clara. *pause* Uh, what would it do?
Just so I know." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "Oh, Niko..." She sounds a hint
dismayed. "I know the older ships would tear that wound in your abdomen wide
open. I think the new factors would too...at least for the next week or so.
But I can still ask Riley to poke around and get someone to bring you a
schedule?" in Clara's voice.
You say "*quiet sigh* Yeah. I'd appreciate that, Clara. Thanks. Say hi to him
for me?" into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "I will...I certainly will.
Uh...Niko?" in Clara's voice.
You say "Yes?" into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and says "Maybe this is none of my business, but
I hope you're only asking for vacation. It wouldn't be the same here without
you." in Clara's voice.
You say "*confused, then speaking quickly* Oh, of course, just a vacation--to see my folks, to get this whole Veruzac issue straightened out. The transit time worried me, but this could make it feasible, if we can swing it. That's all. I wouldn't leave permanently. Not now." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "*extreme relief* Okay. Okay, that's
good. Yeah, good idea. A vacation would do you a world of good. Okay, I'll
turn my comm over to Riley now and let him rustle up someone to get you that
schedule." in Clara's voice.
You say "Thanks a million, Clara." into the communit.
Niko puts down the comm with a sigh. "Well," he says slowly. "Riley's going to
get somebody to look into it for me." He grins rather wryly. "What do you
want to bet that there -is- one, but it leaves tomorrow, and there'll not be
another for months?"
Elasia turns a bit to peer up at you, smiling a bit sadly. "It will work out,
it always does. Just relax, you can't go just yet even if there were a ship,
could you?"
Niko shakes his head. "Not for another week, Clara said, if they're like the older ships." He catches that bit o' sadness to your smile and inquires softly, "What is it? If I go, it won't be for long."
Elasia looks a bit rueful and embarrassed, "Sorry, jealous I guess. And I'm worried about you going off the deep end waiting around."
Niko suggests, with a smile, "Maybe you could come with me? Bet we could get
something official from Clara saying that I shouldn't travel alone or
something." Especially if he goes as soon as he'd like, which isn't likely.
"And I'm still a ways away from the deep end. The phrase always struck me as
odd, though, 'going off the deep end'."
Elasia pauses a moment, considering it, "I don't know if we could swing that. Those are AF ships... And work..." Oooh, but the sheer idea of it obviously appeals it would seem from the wistfulness in her expression.
Niko says, with a crooked little grin, "I'm perfectly willing to ask Riley to
pull strings. Goodness knows I can't be trusted to handle the trip on my
own," he adds, with a hint of humor. "Besides, if I go, I'll need buffer from
my family. And we could drag Aspasia home from school, with us. She'd love
it, meeting a real, live -diplomat-, from the Complex, even." He's really
trying not to snicker at that.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "Hey, Niko? It's Clara. Riley
found you a transport to Hellas, leaving in eight days, if you can be ready?
I'll clear you medically for that, too. The ship has a four and a half hour
jump, so it's a short hop."" in Clara's voice.
Elasia rolls her eyes at the last, "If you want to show off a diplomat, you
should borrow a Zaeltan or something." She pats absently at your leg, "Don't
worry about it, the less trouble the better."
Niko wrinkles his nose at that. "I'd be on tail-guarding duty, and the fur... besides, a Zaeltan isn't -you-." At the crackling announcement from his comm-unit, however, he looks all kinds of delighted.
Elasia is quiet again, listening.
You say "*delight* Great, wonderful, super. I can be ready. Thank him for me, please? *pause* Uh, he didn't happen to see when return trips would be, did he? Just to have an idea how much time I'd have." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "Not long, Niko...I'm sorry. I wish I had better news, but 45 hours. Will that work?" in Clara's voice.
You say "*pause* Well, it'll have to, hm? I can swing it, sure. I'll have to
snag a skimmer, and scandalize the folks at Mathraki, but... yeah. It'll
work." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and says "Stay safe? We'll hold down the fort
while you're gone, but you have to come back in one piece. Why don't you come
down here tomorrow afternoon and pester the details about the ship out of
Riley?" in Clara's voice.
You say "Sure, that sounds great. Hey, can I be a little more mobile, Clara? I
think I'm making poor Ela nuts, trying to keep myself busy." into the
communit.
Elasia drags a quilt over herself, curling up beneath it. And the bed
rearrangement begins anew.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "More mobile? How do you mean more
mobile, Niko? If you're asking to get out of bed and walk around, I'll leave
that judgement to how bad it hurts to do so. Any pain, back in bed with you."
in Clara's voice.
You say "Uh, okay." He guesses now isn't the time to mention that he's been
walking around some, hence the 'more'. "I'll bear that in mind." into the
communit.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "Okay? You don't sound happy about that...what -did- you have in mind?" in Clara's voice.
You say "Never mind. The walls are just shrinking some, that's all." into the
communit.
Niko glances over to see you curled up under the quilt, and smiles fondly. "Sorry," he murmurs. "I'll try to be a little quieter."
Elasia doesn't reply, which is unsurprising seeing as she's out cold. The
combination of being very tired indeed and the half heard conversation was a
bit too much.
Your communit crackles to life and says "Oooh, you mean out of the quarters? *pause* Not alone, Niko. I'm sorry. If you and Ela want to wander like down to the Atrium or something...-slowly-, I'll allow that. You have to understand that those abdominal muscles are still pretty fragile right now. I really am sorry." And she sounds it too, actually." in Clara's voice.
You say "No, it's okay, I understand. I do want to get better and all, and I'm
still not allowed to think about that aspect of it, right?" Yes, that's
definitely a note of humor. "I'll not go out alone. It'll be more fun with
Ela there, anyway." There's a pause, something not quite enunciated, then,
"Thanks, Clara." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and says "Hey, it's what I'm here for." Her tone
is understanding. "If I remember right, you still owe her a sunset. Just take
it easy, okay?" in Clara's voice.
You say "Hey, that's right, I do. And I'll be careful, sure. She won't let me
do anything else." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "Good. That's good to hear. I know
she'll take good care of you. I'll let you get back to that, then. Give her
my best, will you?" in Clara's voice.
You say "*quiet chuckle* Maybe tomorrow, when she's awake, but sure. Same to
Riley?" into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "Ack..sorry. I didn't realize she was already asleep. I'll tell Riley, though, yes." in Clara's voice.
You say "S'okay. She needs the sleep. I'll likely join her, soon. Thanks, Clara, and have a nice night. Casymed out." into the communit.
Asleep? Who's asleep? Ela startles awake again, rubbing sheepishly at her eyes.
Realizing you're still talking she stays quiet.
Niko sees your movement as he lowers his comm-unit. "Clara sends her best," he
says softly. "You can go back to sleep if you like, hon. I think we've got
some details straightened out, though."
Elasia cannot take care of you if she's asleep, and so keeps her eyes open. She does however remain in her tightly curled position. "There's a way then?"
Niko nods as he shifts closer, the better to curl around you. "Not sure how
much of that you heard," he murmurs, "But there's a ship due to leave in
eight days, with another coming back in forty-five hours. I'm going to get
more details from Riley tomorrow."
Elasia edges up the side of the quilt, tugging it so that you share it.
"Wonderful news... Then you can talk to your family in person. Get it all
sorted out."
Niko murmurs his thanks for the quilt-tugging, then nods. "Yeah," he agrees,
though not without a hint of trepidation. "Should be an adventure. I'll have
to get a letter to them, when I know a little more about times and such. Not
that they'd be anywhere else, but giving warning's considerate and all." He
bites back a yawn, adding softly, "Wish it were for longer, but I guess that
can't be helped."
"Maybe more time another time," Elasia suggests quietly as she snuggles in
close. "Why don't you get some sleep? You sound tired... And if you're going
to be venturing downstairs tomorrow..."
Niko agrees, draping an arm around you, "Sleep. Tired. Yes." He does struggle
back to alertness long enough to note, "Clara said I could walk around
outside of the room, long as someone's with me. So we can leave the obnoxious
chair at home, huh?"
Elasia considers that a moment, and doesn't sound real convinced, "Niko, you
could hardly walk to the kitchen and back..."
Niko is sleepy, and sounds it, but is still stubborn. "If I'm going to go to
Hellas in eight days, I've got to start doing more. If I get there and fall
over, that'll make the trip kind of a bust."
"Doing more too soon is only gonna cause problems," Elasia offers with tried patience, "If you don't it -isn't- going to make it worse."
Niko has a brilliantly logical reason why he should be allowed to do what he likes, one that will surely convince you, only he's too tired to elaborate it. Really. That's it. "Can I try?" he asks. "Please? You can bring the obnoxious chair, if you like, but I'd like to -try-, at least."
There's a pause and then a sleepy affirmative, "Walking down you can try. We'll take the chair for back up, since you'd be more tired then, yes?"
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
After a pause of his own, Niko nods, figuring this is about as good as he's going to get. "Thanks, hon," he murmurs. "That makes sense. Sounds like a plan." He muffles a yawn, then suggests, "Maybe a nap. An extended one."
Elasia sounds more than a bit relieved at this suggestion, she's all but quivering with the need to sleep. "Naps are good. Sleep well?"
Niko mumbles a vague affirmative. "You too. Love you. All that good stuff."
Elasia mmhmms quietly, "Love you too." Thunk. It's almost audible so fast does she fall asleep. And as she does so she curls in as close as she possibly can.
Niko doesn't take all that much longer to sleep. And it would take some form of crowbar--well, or mention of regenerating a limb--to get him away from you. With a soft, contented sigh, he finally drops off. Aww. Somebody get a camera.
*click* Kodak moment. ;)