Carpathia IV: Episode 10 - Comics and Undies
Space, Polaris Deep, NCCS Shadowdancer
As Adell turned away, he glimpsed out of the corner of his eye Aire and the other bridge officers and new cadets already moving in close to each other, with Aire going directly for his new chair to try it out. Adell tapped a button next to the door of his ready room and it slid open.
Adell: After you.
Ryuu entered the ready room, followed by Adell, and the door slid shut behind them. Rounding his desk, Adell took a seat in his chair.
Ryuu: Did we have a meeting scheduled today?
Adell leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
Adell: Nope. Have a seat. There's something I want to ask you.
Ryuu sat in a chair opposite Adell and leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk.
Ryuu: What's up?
Adell held out his hand, pointing his palm at a small, polished stone paperweight sitting on his desk. Suddenly, the stone zinged from its resting place and hovered several inches above his hand.
Adell: Over 20 years ago, we met Hades. He gave me the power to manipulate stone like this. I've also noticed that, since then, I've never been sick. More to the point, it's becoming more obvious now that I don't seem to be aging at all, and the same is true of the others. Artemis, Jaze, Toma, Kaoru... all the others look exactly the same now as they did when they met Hades. Even Reuli and Wolfram grew up normally and then just stopped getting older. The dragons know a lot about the demigods. Did Hades make us immortal?
Right away, Ryuu shook his head.
Ryuu: That would be impossible. Nothing, as far as we know, can do that.
Adell flicked his fingers, making the stone spin merrily above the palm of his hand.
Adell: Any guesses what this is all about? I've been complimented on my youthful appearance before, but it happens more and more as I get older.
Ryuu touched his finger to his lips and sighed, thinking carefully.
Ryuu: Hard to say. Demigods like their secrets and Hades was no different. He could have granted you a life-long youthful appearance or he could have passed a small bit of his own life into you. If it's that, then you might live several decades longer, maybe more, than a normal human.
Adell grimaced as he now made the stone orbit his hand like a tiny planet.
Adell: I should be happy about that, but I can't help but wonder what other weird surprises could be waiting. Do you think we'll meet any more like him?
Ryuu shrugged.
Ryuu: Yes and no. Hopefully the evil ones are dead. As for the others, they could be anything. Amenaru's cat could be a demigod, but we'd never know that unless it decided to make itself known.
Adell snatched the stone from the air and placed it back on its cradle on his desk. With a tug of his uniform, he stood and rounded his desk.
Adell: If we do meet others out here, let's hope it goes better than with Wishmaster.
As Adell passed, Ryuu grabbed his arm.
Ryuu: Since the formalities are done, I'm going to transform, if you don't mind. I'll catch up in a minute.
Adell: Just don't forget to take your uniform when you go back to your quarters this time.
Adell patted Ryuu on the back before heading out the door to join the others. As soon as he was gone, Ryuu immediately began removing his clothing, which he folded and stacked neatly on Adell's desk. When he was finished, he kneeled on the floor and cricked his neck. In a few short seconds, his red skin transformed into scales, his hair into spikes, and his hands into paws. Feeling more like himself again, he did a hearty shake like a wet dog.
Ryuu: Ah, that's better.
Fully dragon once again, Ryuu trotted out the door of Adell's ready room to join the others on the bridge.
Later that evening, Amenaru paced nervously in the corridor near Kit's quarters clutching two small, neatly wrapped packages and occasionally wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. Sometimes he paused and stared longingly at Kit's door, until he inevitably resumed pacing.
Amenaru: This is stupid... This is stupid...
Amenaru held up the two small packages cringed at them.
Amenaru: These are stupid...
Amenaru threw his head back and grumbled before pacing again.
At one of the many times he paused and stared at Kit's door, he finally summoned up enough resolve. Placing his hand on his chest and taking a deep breath, Amenaru stepped forward and pressed the door chime.
Kit gently pushed his carving blade across the soft wood sending yet another chip into the already voluminous pile. Each pass over the sculpture with the well-sharpened blade was buttery smooth and released just a bit more of the natural, woodsy scent that helped focus his mind and forget about the anxieties of the world. After an hour of carving away paper-thin chips, the sculpture didn't look much different than before, but it gave him great satisfaction nonetheless.
Of course, one will get used to a fresh, cedar scent upon continuous exposure, and Kit was no different. Occasionally, he would put down his knife and pick up one of the chips, holding it under his nose and breathing deeply.
It was in the midst of this that Kit heard the soft tone of his door chime. Kit paused, as it took a moment for the sound to register in his now chip-scented brain. After pushing away the sculpture and putting his knife down, Kit stood and brushed the wood bits from his shirt before stepping toward his door. Upon pushing a button on the control pad next to the door, it slid open, revealing a very flustered Amenaru with his hands behind his back.
Kit: Amenaru?
Amenaru reacted with alarm, stepping back and eyes widening, as though he didn't expect Kit to open the door. Kit watched in both confusion and amusement as Amenaru's ears first shot toward the ceiling and then fluttered around like a pair of antsy birds glued to his head. It took him quite some time to recover, for after the initial shock, Amenaru's eyes traveled from Kit's face, down to his loose-fitting t-shirt and finally to his tight little shorty-shorts.
Amenaru: Um...
Kit blinked several times in befuddlement as Amenaru looked away, his face turning redder with each passing second.
Amenaru: I'm sorry um... for being late when we... um... instilled the modulation commubibls...
Kit tilted his head and wondered if Amenaru was feeling okay.
Amenaru: I mean, installed the communications modules...
Amenaru's voice trailed off, leaving kit to wonder if he was supposed to say something now of if Amenaru wasn't finished yet.
Kit: That's okay. We weren't that busy.
Amenaru: Anyway!
Even Amenaru seemed to be surprised by his own nervous outburst, leaving both momentarily stunned. Amenaru scratched the back of his head and then, with his ears suddenly going flat on his head, thrust the two little packages at Kit.
Amenaru: Please accept this as apology!
Though it seemed clear enough to Kit that he was meant to take the packages, he hesitated, as many nuances of Carpathian culture continued to elude him. Slowly he reached out and gently pulled the items from Amenaru's hands.
Kit: Thank you.
Amenaru took a step back and rubbed his hands together.
Amenaru: I didn't know the... um... sorts of things you like, so... um... I was hoping... maybe you might like some of the things I like.
Kit said nothing and only watched Amenaru, blinking curiously and guessing that he must be witnessing some sort of elaborate Carpathian apology ritual. Amenaru continued back-pedalling
Amenaru: Well... that's all... Um... I suppose I should go now.
After a brief pause, Amenaru suddenly turned and strode rapidly away and disappeared down the corridor. Kit stepped back, still confused, and tapped the door control, closing it. As he meandered toward his bed, he examined each of the small packages carefully, turning them over several times in his hands. Kit at least knew the concept of a wrapped present, which he understood to be a human custom that was also adopted by the nekomi, though he had never seen one in real life before.
Kit sat on the edge of his bed, placed one of the gifts on his lap, and held the other up. Again recalling his knowledge of Carpathian media, he tucked his finger into one of the folds of the paper and tore it open. It seemed a bit of a waste of paper to him, but found the action strangely satisfying at the same time. After removing the paper, he examined the result, which was a graphic novel called "Little Butterfly." Kit quickly flipped through the pages before setting it aside and picking up the second package.
Kit slid his finger into the fold of the second package and ripped it open. Inside was a little box featuring a picture of a buff guy in little bikini underwear. Sure enough, upon opening the box, there was indeed a pair of little underwear inside.
Kit pulled the silky, red underwear out of the box and examined it for awhile. He knew that gifts often meant something in Carpathian culture, but he wasn't sure what to make of this. The comic seemed somewhat promising, however, so he set the underwear aside and laid on his bed, opening the book to page one.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
Jenova87
Zelbunnii
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
All city pictures from SimCity 4
