trans_9 | Out For a Ride [open]

On his last visit, Zouichi had visited the remains of one of the locked-down cities he'd passed through in the course of carrying out his missions. This time he wasn't particularly in the mood for a fight... but maybe he was in the mood for a ride.

The environment had taken on the form of the structure he sometimes saw in his dreams, an interminably long organic expanse. Sometimes the landscape grew upwards, into a mass of domed, seemingly alive city buildings. Sometimes there were portals underground, passages that delved deep into its core, whose walls were lined with the unidentifiable biomechanical innards that pulsed with the alien life of this place.

Actually, come to think of it, it reminded him a little of Stacy.

The area he was on now was a vast expanse of some unrecognizable material... but it was flat and solid, and therefore perfectly fine terrain for the XLA. Around it was not a sky, but the emptiness of open space. Whatever strange atmosphere surrounded this place was completely transparent, allowing anyone present to simply stare out at the stars.

He eased the motorcycle forward, with Fuyu hovering over his shoulder like a pale ghost.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Unfortunate. I was also hoping to glean some more information on human interaction from them, but it seems that fictional film is not a strong indicator of how most people act.

It seems that the same holds true for novels. I picked one up to try and understand the criminal element, but it was... terrible.

Alex laughed a bit, "D-don't even bother t-touching video games f-for that purpose. The designers a-are usually n-not much better with social situations than me."

Zouichi looked at him.

Are you saying I can't resolve interpersonal disputes by hurling barrels at my adversaries?

Yeah, that was totally deadpan.

Alex blinked.

Even he knew that.

"No."

Have an awkward silence.

It was a joke, said Zouichi.

Maybe he needed to work on his humor. Howard was the only one who seemed to pick up on it.

Alex laughed, relieved. "I w-was a bit w-worried. I've n-never been g-good catching sarcasm."

Zouichi tried his best to look wounded. I hope you don't consider me that lacking in tact.

Alex was totally taken by that too, and he began waving his hands to indicate that it wasn't true. "N-no, I th-thought that it was odd!"

Alex... wasn't kidding about not catching things in conversation.

Zouichi smiled reassuringly. It's all right. I wouldn't be surprised if you took me literally, anyway; many people on the ship seem to.

In fact, a lot of people seemed to be under the impression that he was some sort of robot or clone soldier or something.

"Really...? Usually I'm s-sorta alone on that... I've gotten b-better over the years, b-but... Y-yeah." He rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. At least he didn't think that Zouichi was a clone soldier or robot.

Yes. I suppose I strike people as the serious sort. So you're in good company. Heck, Anwei almost never picked up on his humor.

Have you been here for years, then?

He thought for a moment. There was no way it had been years, but it had been a long time. "N-not quite a year n-now... B-back home there's a g-girl, Amanda. I h-had ta work hard t-ta get used to her h-humor. I'd m-much rather y-yours though." He didn't seem too happy talking about Amanda, but he didn't seem to have any hatred towards her either. He smiled again, mentioning Zouichi's humor.

You've been here for almost a year? Alex must be sturdier than he looked, to have made it here for that long.

Ah, at last some appreciation. Did she have to explain her jokes often?

Alex nodded, "U-usually Mikel explained th-them though. I-it's been a long y-year though, b-but it's g-gone fast t-too..."

He nodded. Mikel sounds like a good friend. Do you know if he or any of the others are aboard the ship?

Alex sighed and shook his head. "N-no... Unless they decided t-ta hide from me, and I d-don't think they'd do that.

"I-I'm p-pretty sure I'm the o-only Shadow Eater on the sh-ship..." It was one of the things that made him feel so alone sometimes, even with the new-found abundance of friends. There were just the occasional emotional complication when your friends aren't Shadow Eaters. If they have shadows of the wrong strength, then you couldn't sit next to them and console them.

Unless the rest of them are asleep, correct? They might just be in the pods somewhere, waiting to come awake again.

I mean, some hope was better than no hope, and Alex looked pretty glum. If it makes you feel any better, there seem to be a lot of people alone on the ship.

He smiled a bit, thankful for the encouragement, "Y-yeah. It's different, but th-there's something t-ta be said about b-being alone together. I th-think my f-friends m-must be asleep. I-if anything, th-they were the h-heroes th-that were written about in other worlds. I m-might've gotten a f-few sentences a-at best."

I wouldn't sell yourself so short, said Zouichi. If nothing else, you were important to them. And will remain to be, when you see each other again. And you still have Luna, do you not?

He smiled a bit more, looking off more into his own memories than into the distance. "Y-yeah, I think being i-important ta them's why I'm h-here. And I d-do have Luna." He ignored the voice of doubt that added for now. He wasn't going to think about if she went to the pods again.

Out For a Ride [open]

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