Reunion

[not_the_philistine]

Visitation Day came and went and Goliath still had not seen any of his clan in what felt like, and might have been, years. He still had not seen Elisa since she was nearly killed in his sleep, then vanished angry at him. There had been several times like these before, when the gathering of new crew members has been too painful for him to attend, knowing that his clan would come from elsewhere and at other times, and so podpops offered him only one chance at reunion with a loved one.

Disappointment had settled on him again, and he warded it off with productiveness. Elisa's car shone with the evidence of regular care, but the rest of the castle needed maintaining. He would invite more people in to work in the gardens, dispose of more of Xanatos' things - but first, he felt there was more still to gain by researching the Mayan sun amulet that he hoped could give him control over his waking and sleeping. It would be a good idea to contact Lupin again, but at the moment, it it pleased Goliath to conduct his research in solitude.

Deep in his reading in Castle Wyvern's library, he didn't hear footsteps until the door had already been opened behind him.

[EDIT: Subthreads now open for other characters to comment, starting with the Drunken Dragon]

Comments

The Drunken Dragon [Open]

[not_the_philistine]

The Drunken Dragon was a good social hub, and Goliath had a feeling he owed Kang his thanks (again). He lead Elisa there first, on the principal that she should know where the crew's main social hub was.

This was the first time (that wasn't Halloween) that he'd been able to walk down the street with her without worrying about causing a commotion. When he opened the door to the tavern for her, it was also the first time they'd been able to go anywhere populated by other people before, together, for no other reason than that they both simply wanted to go, where they would both be welcome.

There were so many things about sharing time on this ship that were going to be different. Things he hadn't considered before, that didn't look like they were going to get old fast.

All the antisocials to the left! XD

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

Ronnae didn't mind the Tavern, it had been a nice place for many and a great place for people to meet. She just didn't drink... Well she had drank alcohol before but she just didn't handle it well. But considering that they had just gotten a new load of crew members, she decided that the least she could do would be to make her presence over at the Dragon, if at least for today.

With that in mind, the young, half orc girl was tucked to the side with her laptop on the table, a spread open schematic and a few rolled up ones as she tapped her chin in thought. If she was going to hang around, she might as well get some work done. She was just as bad a workaholic as Billy sometimes, she was just a lot shyer and often stayed away from public view.

As the new people entered, she always greeted them with a timid smile and a lax wave before going back to work, regardless of new or old crew members. They all deserved a smile right?!

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

Elisa returned the smile and the wave when she entered the tavern and, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, headed across the room to greet the green skinned girl properly. (She wasn't phased by her appearance, which was unsurprising given that she'd been brought to the tavern by an eight foot gargoyle with wings and talons.)

"You look like you're at home here," she said, noting the laptop and the schematics that covered the table. "I'm going to guess that you're not another new arrival?"

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

Ronnae looked up at Elisa curiously, offering a timid smile.

"Ah, y-yeah, sorta. I don't usually come here, but I figured it'd be nice to see some of the new arrivals mingle and such."

A small laugh escaped her lips as she moved one of her bangs behind her ear. "Nope, been here for a long while now. You sorta lose count after a while, but it's not that bad once you get used to everything really."

It also helped to have people around who you've grown to care about.

[not_the_philistine]

Goliath could say the same, if that last thought had been spoken. He came up behind Elisa, resting his hand on her shoulder and nodding back to Ronnae.

"I would introduce you, but we have not met yet." Though he's seen this young female around before.

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

Now there was someone she'd seen from afar but never got the chance to really approach, then again, this ship was so huge, it wasn't surprising that there where people who have never met, no matter how long they have been on board!

Ronnae smile timidly and nodded, "I think this ship is designed to keep surprising you, even when you've been around people for a long time."

She stood up and faced the two, taking a quick bow while making sure her long ponytails didn't drag on the floor from the action.

"Ronnae. Ronnae 'Mash Belore Ryllos. A pleasure~"

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

"That's a good idea. You never know who you're going to meet."

Elisa knew from experience that you often found the best friends in the most unexpected of places. Like on the top of Manhattan skyscrapers in the dead of night. Or in a tavern on an alien space ship.

The bow was surprisingly formal, but Elisa inclined her head in a suitable approximation of her own.

"Elisa Maza. It's nice to meet you."

[not_the_philistine]

Goliath dipped his head in a similar bow. "Goliath. You are a member of Engineering, if I am not mistaken." He squeezed Elisa's shoulder gently. "I have a friend there I must introduce you to."

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

Ronnae smiled and nodded, "Elisa, Goliath. I'll remember that~ And yes, I am. Been part of it almost since I arrived on the ship. Not that I'd complain, I've always loved technology and building."

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

"It sounds like the perfect place for you to work."

The crew seemed to be made up of people from every imaginable walk of life and every conceivable discipline. It was a comfort to know that there was a position on the ship for all of them.

"I'm starting to think that we're going to need more than one tour," she added to Goliath. They only had a limited amount of time before he had to sleep, but there was a lot that they needed to see.

[not_the_philistine]

"That's entirely possible."

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

Ronnae nodded in agreement.

"The whole place is way too big to check out in one day, specially if you decide to speak with all the wonderful people that make up the crew. There's members of all kinds, and it'd be good if you got to know a good few of the one's you might be working with. Like from Command, the Council, Engineering, and Medical. And all the other departments too! Those are sorta the first ones that come to mind."

She admitted with a small blush, not wanting to seem as if she forgot the other departments.

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

"Then it's a good job we've got plenty of time," she said, smiling at the genuine enthusiasm in Ronnae's voice when she described the wonderful crew. A detective was a good at reading people and there was no doubt in her mind that the girl meant every word.

"What about security? On ship security? It must take a lot of work to keep this place running smoothly."

In terms of people as well as in terms of technology.

[governorkang]

Kang had been hoping that he'd be one of the few to have his person come back, but no luck. He hated that it was only one day, but at least he did know that his mate and two out of four children were alive; that was something.

So, after assisting with questions in the Observation Deck, he'd gone down to the tavern to keep himself busy. Kali was running around on the ship somewhere, probably off playing with Age or practicing her archery, and if his cheerful human barmaids were in the immediate area, he hadn't seen them.

When Goliath and Elisa came in, he smiled, and moved from behind the counter, "I see you managed to drag him out for a while."

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

Elisa wondered, briefly, how you were supposed to greet somebody who had saved your life during an attack that you couldn't actually remember. There wasn't exactly a lot of precedent. In the end, she settled for a warm smile and waited for a better chance to thank him for what he'd done.

"Actually, it was Goliath's idea," she corrected, "He's giving me a tour of the ship."

She'd been so eager to see her friend that she hadn't paid enough attention on her way to the castle. From a practical point, she was going to have to get to know this place as well as she knew New York in order to protect it. And getting to know her crew mates was probably even more important.

[not_the_philistine]

Kang's snideness gets a dry smile. "The need has passed, but I wanted to introduce you formally. Elisa, this is Kang. Kang has been a friend to me for much of my stay on this ship. I trust him more than any other member of the crew. Kang, this is Elisa."

It was more of a challenge to introduce her, with so much about their relationship still deliberately unspoken to them, much less anyone else.

Goliath settled for, "she is one of my clan."

His deeply contented smile as he looked at her said the rest.

[governorkang]

That got a look of pleasant surprise from Kang. It was good to see Goliath happy and being sociable. He didn't miss that smile, either, though he didn't comment on it. At least, for the time being; teasing could come later. He'd let his friend have this day. "We met earlier."

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

Elisa had paused when it was Goliath's turn to introduce her, wondering exactly what he was going to say. The answer that he settled on managed to say a lot without saying anything. It was enough for now.

They'd have to have a proper conversation about what had transpired - finally transpired - on the roof of the castle at some point, but it wasn't the right time for it. It had been hours for her, but it had been months for Goliath. She had to give him time to adjust to the fact that she really was on the ship with him.

"If we hadn't, I'd probably still be exploring the observation deck."

[not_the_philistine]

"I continue to owe you my thanks."

They didn't have a lot of time to explore the entirety of the ship before Goliath was scheduled to sleep again, but they still had Kang's Visitation Day surprise to discuss.

"I had hoped to hear that your mate and children had awoken to stay this time. Was that good fortune with you?"

[governorkang]

"You'd do the same for me," Kang shrugged, still smiling. He didn't consider just anyone a friend.

His wings rustled slightly, "No, not this time. At least I know they're alright, and that increases the chances of the other two being alright as well."

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

Of course he would. Goliath's sense of nobility and justice meant that he always tried to do the right thing. No matter what.

"Wait, you mean people don't wake up just to join the crew?"

Elisa hadn't intended to interrupt, but that was yet another piece of perplexing information for her to file away. She wanted to make sure that she hadn't misheard.

[not_the_philistine]

"There was an event -"

How to explain Visitation Day when he didn't entirely understand it himself?

"Stacy released people from the pods who were not ready to be released, only for a day, to visit loved ones. Something to do with their souls being unprepared."

Which reminds him. He should explain about GLaDoS at some point.

[governorkang]

Kang nodded. "She was attacked by pirates, and got damaged; among other things, she had no access to records of people still in the pods. She made an effort to try, though, and managed to find a few." It hadn't been fair, but it had been something. "They couldn't stay longer than a day. My mate and one of my children were in the group."

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

So there was no way of knowing that the rest of her family - the clan, Talon and the other mutates, her parents, her sister, her friends on the force - were actually in the pods. They were fighting for a hope.

"Souls again." Or avia. Or whatever they were called. What else could they be? "At least you got that day."

It wasn't enough, but it was better than nothing.

[not_the_philistine]

"I am glad for you, my friend. One day I hope to meet them properly."

There was always the hope that a short meeting was a precursor to a longer reunion. At least they were alive and on board.