The Ashlanders - Chapter 6: The Blind Man's Last Gambit (Closed, Started)

[Daystar Clarion]

Spoiler: Play da track

Lilith hadn't slept or eaten very well the past couple of days. The morning after her piss up with Pixie was a haze of pain from her injuries, a hangover that could kill a horse, and the reality that her time on the Maiden was coming to an end.

Pixie had excused Lilith of all her duties on the ship, and was given the order to 'Sit her purty lil' ass down fer a few days. Get a manicure er' somethin.'. With little sleep, and nothing to distract herself with, she spent the last 2 days locked in her room feeling sorry for herself. She tried to recover her scarf, see if she could salvage it, maybe stitch it up, give it a good scrub, make it good as new... almost, but it wasn't in the med bay when she checked, and she couldn't be bothered to go asking around for it.

Lilith woke up in the wee hours of the morning, spending the next few hours just staring at the ceiling. So, my luck has finally run dry. Hell of a way to abandon me now. She quickly felt a pang of guilt. But nothing compared to what Meredith's had to suffer. I'm not even half the woman she is.

Lilith breathed in sharply through her teeth as she bathed in the shower, the hot water stinging the cuts and bruises on her face and around her upper chest. Thankfully, nothing was broken, Pixie made sure about that, giving her an examination that could be widely considered a form of sexual assault in most places. She smiled slightly at the memory.

She stood in front of her mirror, hair dripping wet. Update on the damage. The swelling had all but disappeared, and her cuts had scabbed over rather well. There was a pretty big one on the left side of her upper lip, and a rather large one on her left cheekbone where the skin had just split wide open, that one had needed stitches. She figured that was from the first punch. There were also a number of smaller cuts and bruises, but the biggest offender was her right eye, the bruising was substantial, and had begun yellowing around the edges. She wasn't winning any beauty contests any time soon, but with all things considered, she was lucky. S'pose that counts for something. She tried to force a smile, looking fake as hell. Her heart just wasn't in it, not today.

Packing all the stuff she could reasonably carry the night before, including a carton of mighty fine cigarettes that Aesop had taken from the train job loot. She slipped on the clothes she had left out for that day, a dark blue, collarless, long-sleeved linen button shirt, her trusty googles, and a pair of jeans, worn considerably on the knees, the left knee in particular being torn open. She also wore a long, baggy poncho, dark brown, with a simple, symmetrical intertwined line design. Today, her breathing equipment would be housed in some crappy black scarf that she didn't recall buying. It just wasn't the same. She missed old Red Scarf.


Lilith looked around her room. Her record player, her chaise longue, her liquor, these things she would have to leave behind. She had emptied her fridge, placing all the sodas she had stolen from Ruffles over the years on the coffee table in the centre of the room. She had laid them out in the shape of a sad face, a small note in front of them.

'Jake

Sorry.

Not about the sodas though, the only thing I regret is that I didn't take more. Also, I rearranged your tools on several occasions, that wasn't you going crazy like you thought, that was the sound of me laughing at you. You fucking clown.

<3

Lil

XXXXX
XXX
X

P.S. Warren drank the blue ones.

P.P.S. Please tell the others I'm sorry.'


Lilith spent the time saying goodbye to her room, and smoking, then smoking some more. Her heart sank as Pixie's voice echoed over the PA.

"P.S. I love y'all."

"I love you too."

She slipped on her boots, put on her backpack and holster, strapped her rifle over her shoulder and left, spending a few moments under the door frame, she said farewell to the place she called home for the last seven years.

 

[Fappy]

Lilith nearly tripped over Cranston as she turned to leave her room for the last time. How long had he been there?

"Trying to sneak out without saying goodbye?" A warm smile shone on his face. "It's okay, Meredith told me." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Sprout's still getting ready to leave in his room, so you have some time to kill. Pixie'd be more than cross if you were to leave without saying goodbye to her. She's on the bridge"

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************

Sprout was never any good at packing. He'd been awake a full hour before the PA announcement and he was still trying to figure out what he needed to bring, "Fuck me! How much ammo's too much?" He questioned himself, grasping fistfuls of shotgun shells. In truth, his indecisive nature was only partially to blame for his inefficient packing. His mind was elsewhere, it seemed.

As he would expect before going out on a mission without her, his mother had spent a great deal of time with him these past few days. Eating meals with him, telling him stories... giving him advice. What was concerning was a distinct sense of sadness she had in her words, and in the way she looked at him... almost longingly. Maybe she still felt some regret for what she had done to Lilith, but they'd made up. No, this was something else entirely.

As he sifted through dirty cloths to throw into a duffle bag, he came across a folded up photo in one of his pockets. The old polaroid depicted a scene he'd committed to memory. His mother, standing tall and proud before the Iron Maiden in all its glory. Cranston was standing beside her with Sprout on his shoulders. A stupid grin encompassing the majority of his small, seven-year-old face. You could even make out Ruffles in the background, working on the ship.

Sprout smiled, silently hoping things would never change.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith nearly had a heart attack as she turned, almost getting a face full of Cranston.

"Trying to sneak out without saying goodbye?"

"Cranston, I..." Her voiced cracked.

"It's okay, Meredith told me."

She smiled weakly, "Really?".

"Sprout's still getting ready to leave in his room, so you have some time to kill. Pixie'd be more than cross if you were to leave without saying goodbye to her. She's on the bridge"

Lilith stood silent for a moments, before suddenly wrapping her arms around the old man's neck, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll miss you." Her eyes welled up. "Thank you for everything."

Without waiting for a response, she quickly rushed over to the bridge, wiping her eyes.

 

[Fappy]

Spoiler: Lyrics OP

Pixie could hear the heavy footfalls of an emotionally tormented youth staggering down the hall, getting louder and louder as they approached the bridge. She couldn't help but smirk to herself as she felt Lilith enter the room. Like a villain out of a spy movie, Pixie spun around in her captain's chair and set her gaze on Lilith. As she slowly approached Pixie leaped out of her chair to meet her halfway. She was hiding something behind her back, "Yer up early." She said, teasing Lilith with a mysterious smile.

Lilith had her eyes on the ground as Pixie approached, looking up slightly when she addressed her. "Yeah, haven't slept much lately..."

Pixie grunted as a sign of sympathy. Whether Lilith realized it or not, Pixie knew exacty what she was going through right now. She'd been there herself, "Hey, cheer up." She suggested, running her fingers through the hair hanging in front of Lilith's face. Her other hand remained hidden behind her back. "I gotta lil' somethin' fer ya' before ya' go."

Lilith smiled slightly, "It's not another 'examination' is it? 'Cos I gotta say, I haven't been touched that much in a looooong time."

Pixie laughed, "Girl, you have no idea! I think I'm startn' ta' form cobwebs in there!" After the two laughed it off Pixie's smile softened. It was a sad smile, but still warm.

After sneaking a quick peak at what she held in her hand she shot Lilith a grin as one last tease before revealing her parting gift. Lilith's scarf--expertly sown back together--sat in the palm of her hand, folded with the neatness of a caring mother. "Not quite as good's new but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Lilith stood silent for a few moments. She looked up at Meredith, her chin began quivering as she struggled to keep back the tears. She failed to speak a couple of times before she finally got the words out. "Mer... Meredith, I can-I can't do this." tears began rolling down her cheeks.

Pixie giggled as she placed the scarf in her hands, "Now don' go an' get all sappy on me just yet, Lily. I've got more where that came from." She took a second to watch Lilith paw her newly revived scarf before reaching into her pocket.

Moments later Pixie produced a necklace and after taking a second to look it over, she hung it up for Lilith to see. An emblem depicting twin cherries hung from the bottom of a beautiful silver chain, "This was Cherry's. I've hung on ta' it ever since the day she died. It's yers now." Her lips quivered ever so slightly as the words left her mouth.

Lilith held the scarf close to her chest, her eyes widened as Pixie revealed the necklace. "Meredith, I can't take that from you!" She loved it, but she couldn't part it from Pixie, it wouldn't be right.

Pixie's brow furrowed and her smile twisted into a frown, "Your ass' gonna take it an' yer gonna like it!" She lunged forward, forcing the necklace down around her neck. Standing back to get a better look at it, Pixie nodded in satisfaction. "It look's great on you!"

"Merry, I ca-" She squeaked as Pixie came at her, fastening the twin cherries around her neck. It hung perfectly, bumping up against the poker chip. She blushed as Meredith complimented her. "Th-Thank you. I'll take good care of it." She was silent for a moment. "She deserves to go on a trip with her son."

Pixie lit up with an enormous grin stretching from ear to ear, and embraced Lilith, squeezing her tight, "Keep 'er safe."

The two stayed together on the bridge, waiting for Sprout to arrive. Not much else was said between the two. Not much else really needed to be said.

 

[Ruedyn]

Kayneth

"Due to the heist railroad traffic has be suspended for security reasons. I managed to get us two tickets on a previously booked trip, though. Two days from now. It's not ideal, but I know Pixie and I know she doesn't like going into any operation unprepared. We have time... might even beat her men there."

"More reason to hunt them down, I suppose." Kayneth shrugged, annoyance washing away. Wasn't too much time, but he still couldn't feel like he could trust the guy. Something about his background, perhaps. Too much checking his pockets, worrying he was gonna mug some dude for carbon...

"We might as well make preparations of our own in the meantime. Get stocked up. Get drunk. Get your dick wet. You know, whatever you need to get your mind ready for war."

"Gross." He replied, looking at his dirty revolver. Who wanted to have sex with a prostitute? They mostly didn't come in his type anyway, though honestly the fact it's a used hole was just a disturbing thought in general. Perhaps that made him elitist, he thought it was something closer to class.

"'Cause I won't lie to you: if she really is sending her best men we're gonna need to be fuck'n sharp."

Kayneth shook his head, smirking and walking off. He had surprise, skill, and training on him. Not to mention equipment, he doubted a bunch of bandits could barely afford a decent pistol. Just look at Bennie... He decided to go get a bite to eat, for now. Then, he'd find a mark.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Warren

"P.S. I love y'all."

"Love you too..." Warren groaned to himself, sitting up on his bed. Yesterday he pretty much just listened to her little tirade and went to go take over for poor old Lilith. By the time he was there, she was out like a light. Signs of tears, must've been too much. Maybe if Warren was there, he could've stopped it? Something at least...

Was that his pitiful reason for avoiding her for two days? Perhaps. Sloth, he'd say, that was all. Him and his sins, spending time in his diseased little head, watching the time tick by before he had to go on his way. Boomhower. He'd been there, once. Killed a man with a claw hammer... why did he remember THAT? He rubbed his temple, trying to remember more...

'I was paid for it? I got 200C. My scarf got ripped in a doorway, a little girl asked me about my face. Things happened besides murder.'

Warren felt a sudden wave of wrath fall over him, and exit with a shudder. He's always been losing it, he knew that. Too gradual a slip, though. It would be best to avoid things today, stay hidden, talk to no one. He was leaving, though. Smiles wondered if that girl was still there, the first time anyone bothered to ask. Everyone else turned, whispered to their friends 'Just the world we live in' without a thought of trying to change it. Blood changed things, whether people cared to admit it or not. A loud bang or a quick slice and the status quo did cartwheels.

"That makes me quite the mover, huh?"

The question hung in the air, Warren looked at himself in an old mirror he moved back into his room. He'd spent a lot of time in the storage room, finding some knickknacks to decorate his room. He looked a bit more haggard than usual, lost sleep. Why? Lilith, an easy explanation, perhaps digging around in his skull and not liking what came up. Was that a step towards improvement? Maybe.

He finally hopped out of bed, slowly taking to the hallway. Nobody really around, he decided to just make his way to the bridge. He wasn't very much hungry lately, he could skip another meal. Seemed most were though, he didn't really run into anyone else on the way. He preferred it, he supposed. No one to try to talk to him, though no one did that anyway. How strange, to want to see no one yet want someone to see? Depression, he believed it was called. How long had he been carrying it? He pushed it out, as far as possible. He wanted to kill something. He needed to hollow his mind for now, he'd be alerted when people were around.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Vergil

'That was easy.'

It was easy talking to a junkie, what's his name. Gave him a bit of Carbon without even seeing his face, and in return? Info. Sweet, sweet, invaluable knowledge. Boomhower is where he pointed, and well, it was easy getting there. A few rides with a few contacts, a bunch of people'd show up soon. Tough guys, not high on brains. Perfect for infiltration, he always resembled Lilith a tad, it was mostly in the hair he supposed. Could trick em into letting him on the ship, then he was a step closer.

Plans were to be a secret for now, though. Think about it little, enjoy the damned food. Couldn't get into a bar. Fucking wankers, 16 was old enough for a fucking drink. Certainly old enough to pay for food, old enough to nearly get mugged on the streets. Luckily, title means reputation, and that worked better than knives. Good thing, too, he didn't like killing... He was odd like that.

He hated this town, though. Anonymous, but dangerous, and run by bandits who liked to play Noble. The differences between the two were certainly few in the first place, but at least one of them moved on after they bled the people dry. He was following one now, right? And more than a few people had tried to give up on honesty and integrity, to join into these fucking gangs in the sky. Pathetic, in a way, but Carbon was Carbon to most, wasn't it? He sighed, finishing off his sandwich and leaving the store. They'd be here soon. He had eyes watching and ears listening. It was only a matter of time...

 

[The Funslinger]

Ruffles had already been up a few hours by the time Pixie's voice rang over the intercom. If he was leaving the ship for a while, it was going to be in damn perfect condition for his time away. After replacing a somewhat battered fluid valve, screwing in its new replacement, he straightened up, and wiped the dirt from his face with a rag. Time to go see the kid.

As per his custom, he barged into Sprout's room without announcement. "Hey kid, good luck on the ransom deal today. Be sure to check the money's real and weigh it ASAP."

==========================================

Whiskey sat at her desk, finishing a cigarette. Her coppery hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she wore grey jeans and a grey tank top, with her black military cut wool jacket on the back of the chair. Tim and Jim were holstered at her sides, and The Persuader was propped against the desk with its bandoleer of cartridges hanging off the stock. In front of her was a large box, containing ten kilograms of Carbon. She glanced at it as she scribbled furiously on a scrap of paper. Just tie up this loose end, and then she could hand the box over to one of the four heavies Bart's family had sent to accompany her. Four was a little much, she thought, but whatever made them feel better.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

It had been roughly three days since the meeting with Whiskey, in that time Viola was busy preparing for the trade off, making sure her father's revolvers and her lever-action rifle had been cleaned and loaded; whilst she didn't expect for there to be a firefight, it paid to be prepared for such an occurrence.

Viola also paid out for a refurbished antique handheld tape recorder and a handful of blank cassette tapes, with the reasoning that it might be useful to record the information she got from either of the Maidens she managed to question, and also for any other "evidence" that she might come across in the midst of this mission, as the whole rivalry that Dio mentioned he had with Pixie made Viola think there was more to this then at first glance.

With everything taken care of, Viola filled her bandoleers with ammunition, gathered the rest of her equipment, and headed out of the room she had rented, and made her way towards Whiskey's apartment building, where she would wait for the bodyguard to lead her towards the grove, albeit she would tail her from a distance.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

The Gentleman waited patiently in the doorway as Meredith and Lilith embraced, his face blank of any emotion. When they broke apart, he stepped into the room and bowed respectfully.

"Is everything ready?" He asked Meredith.

===========================================================================================================================

The message had arrived at her penthouse suite two days ago. Amy had gone straight to the shower after arriving home, as was her custom. She liked to wash frequently. When she had gone into the bathroom, the coffee table had been bare. By the time she was out, a letter had been placed on it. Such might have been a cause for panic for anyone else, but when Amy saw the letter, old fashioned parchment sealed with black wax, she had smiled. A part of her that was only ever revealed when she was alone always enjoyed his visits. The Gentleman himself was pleasant enough, false as he may be, but in truth it was the mystery that pleased her. He would not come in person unless he had something special for her, something outside her normal routine; and for a woman for whom vice was in itself business, these occasional changes of pace were a rare pleasure.

So Amy stood waiting at the docks, waiting for whatever gift he had chosen to bring her this time.

 

[Fappy]

Sprout had just finished zipping up his dufflebag (a 5 minute process considering how full it had become) when Ruffles dropped in on him.

"Hey kid, good luck on the ransom deal today. Be sure to check the money's real and weigh it ASAP."

His face lit up, "Hey! Don' worry, Jake, I'll be sure ta' check dat' shit right away!" Sprout plopped himself down on the side of his bed and signaled for Ruffles to take a seat next to him. "I reckon yer gonna have'a mighty fine time in Boomhower! Wish I could go... it's been awhile since I seen it."

Sprout appeared nervous, but excited all the same. He was going on a trip with Lilith... alone! What sane, heterosexual boy wouldn't be stoked about that?

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Is everything ready?"

Pixie gave Lilith's shoulder a quick squeeze before brushing past her to speak to the Gentleman. Her eye brow cocked, Pixie put her hands on her hips as she addressed him, "Didn' yer ma' ever tell ya' not ta' go spyn' on girls? To answer yer question, yes, everythin' is in place. We just gotta get there 's all."

 

[Dogmatic99]

The next few days more or less blurred together. Time developed this annoying habit of flying by and then running out of breath and diving into a trough of slow, dragging on until it managed to claw its way back onto the fast track. Florian spent most of his time looking after the nobles and making sure they were kept healthy. He'd even took a few meals with Elizabeth and Josephine. The two of them had some interesting tales to tell, it was rare that Florian got a window into the lives of the people they robbed. He gave a halfhearted attempt at starting a conversation or two with the fat man as well but he didn't seem very social, in fact he seemed to flinch every time Florian moved too quickly, what was that about?

It was on a similar day, after Florian was done delivering breakfast to the inmates, that the PA rang out with the captain's summons. It seemed she'd regained some of her energy, that was something at least. Today was the big day, no slip ups allowed. Of course it was around this time that Florian was left to wonder what he could possibly add to an operation, perhaps he'd have to play babysitter to the nobility.

Florian arrived on the bridge with his usual lack of flare and gave a quiet nod to all those gathered.

"You are healing well." He said to Lilith by way of greeting.

 

[The Funslinger]

"Wish I could go... it's been awhile since I seen it."

"Yeah, that'd be awesome. Maybe after, though?" Ruffles replied, sitting down. Punching Sprout lightly on the shoulder, he said, "Jesus, this is your first like... real assignment where you're not a small cog in a larger group, isn't it? Your time to shine, buddy."

Getting up, he said, "I'mma go get some breakfast. Meet me down there if ya like." At the door, he glanced back. "Stay safe, man. It'd fucking suck if I never saw my best buddy again." With that, he was gone, to fill up on bacon.

==============================================

Whiskey's elevator hit the ground floor, and she strode through the lobby, where four men in Kevlar were waiting for her. Out the other side, they got into a sleek silver transport, merely good for travelling around the domes, and along the smoothest, most direct routes between them. Once in, the men took up folding stock assault rifles onto their laps. One man glanced at Whiskey. "The meet's not for another four hours, so why you got us here so early?"

"Because the early bird catches the worm. Don't tell me how to do my job, biatch."

That settled, the transport moved off at a leisurely pace.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith smiled at Pixie as she brushed by her to deal with The Gentleman.

Leaving them to it, she took a moment to look at her new necklace. It was beautiful, simple and elegant, her favourite kind of aesthetic, although she didn't trust the fragility of such a thing. She'd have to do something about that.

She swung her backpack off her shoulder and dropped to her knees, placing the bag on the ground. She unwrapped the black scarf from around her neck, removing the breathing equipment from it. Unbuckling the backpack, she stuffed the scarf inside, smiling as she unfolded her red scarf. Pixie had done an amazing job sewing the thing back together, she never knew Meredith was capable of such a delicate touch, there were no stains or anything, hell it was even cleaner than before. She raised it to her face, rubbing it gently against her cheek. It even smells like her.

Lilith wrapped it around her neck, placing the breathing mask back in its proper home. She got to her feet, and slung the pack back over her shoulders, just as Florian entered, she smiled as he approached.

"You are healing well."

"You think so?" She raised a hand to her cheek, touching the stitches. "[Bullshit]" she swore in Northern, grinning slightly.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Spoiler: Flashback to two days ago

Aesop got out of bed the next morning, after telling the crew of his embarrassing exploits in the cargo hold the night before. He went to bed that night with a belly full of meat and a head full of fear. He had no idea what was going on, his possible saviour Meredith beating one of the women who meant the most to her to the point of needing to be put in their makeshift hospital? That was awful, dreadful, no one could have seen something so horrible. He didn't sleep that night, one good side effect being he didn't have the nightmares, but he preferred the nightmares of his old life rather than ones to his new life. Getting up out of bed he didn't begin exercising, he just sat there sadly. He didn't fix up his hair into a ponytail, he just contemplated his life and whether he was on the right track. To answer that question he would need to go down memory lane, and that was a dangerous lane to take. At some point in the morning he decided that it was time to find answers as to how everything had gotten so fucked up the day before, and to visit a friend he was worried for. Without bothering to give himself the look he always strived for he left his room and headed for the cargo hold. Carrying the cigars from his own room he set upon grabbing a couple gifts for Lillith, one he knew she'd like, one she might like, and one that tested Aesop to even pick up. Once he had them all he put them in a fancy bag and set towards her room.

Spoiler: Loooooooooooooooooooong conversation

Aesop knocked on Lillith's door lightly, "um, I come bearing gifts."

Aesop could hear a panful groan, a few moments later, Lilith cracked open the door. "Shhhhhh, not so loud." She whispered

Aesop winced hearing her groan, must have been from the beating, the door slowly cracked open as he replied to her quietly, "Sorry, I um... thought you might need a pick me up?" He showed her the bag in his hand. "Can I come in or should I leave it here?" he continued.

She pulled the door open, a hand on her forehead, "No, no, come in, come in." she made her wat dizzily over to the chaise lounge, sitting cross legged. "Please, sit down, I don't have any crates lying around, so this will have to do." She forced a smile.

As she opened the door Aesop could see the extent of the damage done to her, more than just scratches and bruises, and she must have a massive headache from the beat-

'Wait is that scotch on her breath?' He suddenly remembered Pixie carrying scotch and two glasses, hopefully they had talked. He walked in and chuckled at her statement. "Yeah, I wonder how the hell I'm even allowed to carry a gun sometimes." He pulled up a chair to sit opposite from her, his hair hanging lazily over his shoulder, odd considering he always wore his ponytail proudly. "So um... how are you?"

Lilith closed her eyes, rubbing her temples in a circular motion with her index fingers. "All things considered." She thought for a second, "I'm doing fine." She didn't have the heart to tell him, or maybe she was just a coward, she hadn't decided on that part yet. She looked up at the man, noting his uncharacteristically scruffy appearance, "How about you, are you okay? You look a bit... dishevelled."

She didn't look good, Aesop assumed that it was because of what Pixie had done to her. "Oh me I um... I just..." he stumbled with his speech and looked to the floor. "Well I'd say I had a bad night but that would be dumb considering, sorry I'll shut up." His voice petered off pathetically.

She smiled slightly "Where you worrying about me?"

"Um, well yeah. I spent most of my time in my room and in the cargo hold yesterday. First stuck in a crate and then resting from the wounds of the crate... splinters" he chuckled, anyone else he'd worry he was too vulgar.

"Awwwww" She held out her arms. It was the kind 'aww' reserved for the sick, stuffy nose sounds and everything. "You were worried about meeeeeeeeee." she giggled, her voice cracking. "Give me a hug." She used both hands to beckon Aesop towards her.

Aesop's eyes went wide for a moment as he reached in for a hug. Aesop wished he hadn't found her so attractive, he hoped that his embrace of her didn't feel suspect or anything. He tried to hug her tightly but not so much that he would hurt her wounds. Even with all of these injuries she still managed to be beau-

'FOCUS YOU FUCK!' His mind yelled at him to get back on topic.

He pulled back slowly from the hug. "I don't wanna press but, why did she do this?"

Lilith silently thanked Aesop for his gentlness. She was pretty damn tender all over at the moment. Then he asked the question she'd been dreading. "Err, I umm..." after everything Pixie had told her, she was loathe to paint her in a bad light. "I umm, questioned her authority, and she punished me for it." Christ, that sounded terrible even to her. "But's okay now!" She quickly added, "We talked things out, and everything's okay!" She tried to make her voice sound as optimistic as she could.

Aesop was somewhat speechless at her statement, mouthing the beginnings of words without saying them. "Bu- Lil- She... Lil I can't think of anything that would excuse this? Some things maybe but questioning authority? What the fuck?" Concern was painted on his face.

Lilith winced, "She may have been a bit... over zealous, but she had a bad day, and I only made it worse." Keep diggin Lil, jus keep diggin'. She quickly tried to change the subject. "Anyway, you said you had a present!"

Sighing he said "Yeah I do... a couple," he reached into the bag and grabbed a large carton of ciggarettes. "I figured you needed them"

Lilith's eyes lit up as Aesop produced the carton of cigarettes. "Wow, those look real fancy!" She gently took them from him, "Thanks!" She looked over the carton then glanced upwards, "From the train loot, yeah?"

Aesop smiled as he saw her eyes light up. "Yeah, there's a lot of real good loot in there, got some of these too but I'm not sure you like them." He reached in and pulled out the cigars he had stashed for himself, she needs them more than him.

"I've never really tried smoking cigars before, but I'll take 'em if you're giving them away." She smiled weakly.

He smiled and parted with the cigars, pulling out a match box from the bag as well. "Just let me keep a couple, I haven't smoked since I was a teenager but damn it calms my shit down, mind if I light up?"

Lilith crossed her arms across her chest, an amused expression on her face.

He blushed and said "Right, dumb question." He put the cigar between his lips and lit the match, lighting his cigar smoke bellowed out uncontrollaby, hiding his face for a moment. "Want one?"

Lilith smiled as she leaned forward, gently grabbing the already lit cigar from Aesop's mouth. "Don't mind if I dooo." She placed the cigar in her mouth, well, there's a first time for everything. Her eyes widened as she took a drag. It was much stronger than what she was used to, but it was good, damn good in fact. She removed it from her mouth, blowing a long plume of smoke. "Wow, these are awesome!"

Aesop was surprised as she took the cigar from his mouth and grinned as he saw her not being custom to the cigar. "Well well I can handle a cigar better than Lillith, yippee me." He smiled proudly through the smoke.
Lilith stuck her tongue out cheekily, "Fine, I'll let you have that small insignificant victory."

"Fuck yeah insignifigant victory!" He yanked the cigar from her hand and took a long drag, smoke covering his face as he chuckled.

Her laugh was cut short, as a stabbing pain shot across her shoulder. "Christ, I feel like shit." She smiled weakly, her eyes were bloodshot and tired.

Quickly he reached over and put his hand on her shoulder, not thinking and putting it on the one that hurt. "Are you alright?"

Lilith smiled, wincing slightly as he touched her shoulder, "Ah ah, not that one."

"Fuck fuck sorry," he went to put a hand on her other shoulder before resting them by his side, reclining to just leaving her alone. "Best just not do any touching at all, I don't wanna hurt you any worse... Please Lil just tell me what happened..." Considering that Lillith was closer to others in the crew than him this next sentence came as somewhat as a surprise.

"I hate seeing you like this."

Lilith looked at the ground, wringing her hands slightly. "I know this isn't what you want to hear, so I'm sorry." She couldn't tell him, not in way that didn't undermine Pixie, "You'll have to ask the captain yourself."

Aesop sighed and looked to the ground before standing and kissing the top of her head. "You don't have to say anything Lil, and you never have to be sorry. I just-" he clenched his fists and face for a moment before continuing. "This just seems like abuse you know, and I'm sorry I don't wanna make you feel bad but..." he sighed, knowing that to her he was going to sound like a complete insensitive asshole. "The way you're acting about what she did to you, its like that of a victim of domestic abuse. Defending her after nearly killing you... we all have problems, and I'll admit mine I brought on myself, but this was just sadistic."

She smiled slightly as Aesop kissed her head. His reaction was understandable, he didn't know Pixie's reasons, and even then, it still wasn't something she could be excused for doing, but it did make it a lot easier to understand why. "Believe me when I say that this has no chance of ever happening again, this was a one off." She thought for a second, "If you see me in this state again, then yes, you can start worrying, but until then, there's really nothing to be concerned about."

Aesop sat opposite her with his hand on his forehead leaning into it, his eyes closed and looking stressed. "But I'm already concerned Lillith. Fuck I'm not sure if I can trust her if she can do this to someone she supposedly loves. She's kicked my ass before but I deserved it every time, I was either doing something fucked up and evil or I was trying'na get drunk, but this is so fucking wrong. You couldn't have done anything as fucked up as I did and even then, she never went to town on me like she did to you." His voice creaked, he was clearly getting upset. 'This wasn't the woman who saved me from being another scumbag with no morals...' He took an incredibly long drag of the cigar and rested it between the fingers of his other hand.

Lilith was beginning to run out of ways she could end this topic of conversation. "There's nothing I can say that will change your mind, nothing I'm at liberty to discuss, any way." She painfully got to her feet, resting a hand on Aesop's head. "Trust me, eveything is fine, it will all be made clear in time. It's just not something I can talk about right now." She decided then and there that she wouldn't tell anyone about her and Sprout leaving the Maiden for good.

Tears were brought to Aesop's eyes as she touched his head. He sighed and blew out even more smoke as he said with hurt in his voice, "I'll trust you Lillith, I will. I'm just upset at her, sorry about all this I'm just making you feel worse." Standing up he gave her a breif hug. "I'm sorry." Pulling away he reached into the bag. "I had another thing to give to you." Silently and slowly, Aesop hesistantly reached into his bag. The thing that terrified him the most in this world, what could ruin him, kill him, turn him into the piece of shit that Pixie had killed a long time ago.

Slowly he pulled out a large bottle of whiskey and placed it on her table.

"I gotta go do my workout routine. Keeps me focused y'know."

Lilith smiled sadly, "Thank you Aesop, I know this is hard. It will all make sense to you in a couple of days, I promise." Too bad she wouldn't be around to see it happen.

"I know. I trust you Lillith." He said sadly as he made his way for the door. "See you around." he said, leaving.

Lilith waited until he closed the door behind himself, a sad look in her eyes. "I'll miss you too, you big oaf."

Present day. Aesop got some sleep finally, never a good night's sleep for him but sleep was sleep. It was the best he could hope for with today being what it was. He was being sent off with Team Minority (they would accept the name and like it) off on a mission and away from the ship, with no idea how long they would be gone. Beginning his routine of pulling his hair until the nightmares were gone, exercising until he was exhausted and washing himself up he left his room. Maybe today he would finally asked Meredith about what happened. He really didn't know. His body was on auto pilot as he began walking in... he didn't even know where he was going.
========================================================
Hannibal had spent the past 3 days inside the thug's workshop, badly working on a bomb he had no idea how to work. The nearby storage units had been invaded by a gang for drug labs, luckily they left his alone. Every second he was scared that he would put in the wrong part or chemical and everything would go up in smoke. He was confused, scared, and dizzy from the fumes. He had survived the past few days on the downright disgusting junk food McGregor had stored there. He hadn't gone out through fear of being killed by the nearby gang. He was so over his head.
========================================================

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

The Gentleman smiled to see her tease him.

"She may have done." he replied "My mother would say a lot of things after she'd finished the night's bottle, and I have strived to disappoint her all my life. Regardless, I hope we can proceed swiftly. I have my own people waiting on the other side to aid us. I'll explain the specifics of the plan once we are all together. In the mean time..."

The Gentleman's smile faded as he spoke "You sent her away. The boy as well."

It was a statement, not a question.

 

[Fappy]

"Stay safe, man. It'd fucking suck if I never saw my best buddy again."

"W-w-wait fer me!" Sprout shouted as he hefted his overfilled dufflebag. After only a few steps he'd lost his balance and would have busted ass if Ruffles hadn't stopped his exit. Grasping Ruffles' arm, Sprout steadied himself and laughed. "I'm totally gonna die..."

The two of them left together down towards the mess hall. Sprout figured he had time for a quick bite. Alas, Cranston came around a corner, intercepting them before they could reach the dining hall, "Where do you think you're going, kid? Lilith is waiting for you on the bridge."

Sprout pouted in disappointment and turned to Ruffles, "Well... I s'pose this is goodbye. Give 'em hell out there!"

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

"You sent her away. The boy as well."

Pixie's cheerful disposition vanished.

"Kill your heart or you kill the girl..."

"This ain't their battle. I never wanted this life fer him an' after watchn' the girl grown into'er own... well," Pixie glanced back at Lilith and Florian. "I look at 'er now an' I see a lil' bit a' myself. If there's any chance she can find another path I'll do everythin' in my power ta' make sure she finds it."

Still looking at her, Pixie smiled, "I'd do anythin' fer the two of em'. Anythin'. An' that's exactly why they can' be here any longer. In times'a war I can't afford the distraction. I can' put anythin' before the good'a the crew." When Pixie looked back to the Gentleman her smile had vanished once more. "I'm sure y'all had ta' make similar sacrifices in the past. I can only imagine the kind'a man you were before you joined us on the other side. We made 'ar choice long ago an' it's my hope they're never called on ta' make it themselves."

 

[The Funslinger]

"Well... I s'pose this is goodbye. Give 'em hell out there!"

Ruffles tousled Sprouts hair and clapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah, boy! Those banditos are about to get their fucken feathers Ruffled, I tell you what."

To Cranston, he said in a more serious tone, "we'll find whoever dicked us over. They won't have the chance to do it again."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

The Gentleman considered what she had said for a few seconds.

"Your actions are of a woman who doesn't expect to survive." he said quietly. "That much is clear. My question is, do you even intend to?"

His icy blue eyes were as piercing as ever when he looked into her one good one.

"Think carefully before you answer."

 

[Fappy]

"Yeah, boy! Those banditos are about to get their fucken feathers Ruffled, I tell you what."

"Good ta' here!" Sprout announced with a dumb grin.

"They won't have the chance to do it again."

Cranston nodded, "I don't doubt that. Good luck, kid."

After one last high-five, Sprout turned away from Ruffles and walked the opposite way down the hall with Cranston. He had a beautiful girl looking for him on the bridge. It'd be rude to keep her waiting.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Your actions are of a woman who doesn't expect to survive. That much is clear."

Pixie didn't react to his words, not on the surface anyway.

"... My question is, do you even intend to?"

Her pupil sharpened, though she remained completely still.

"Think carefully before you answer."

She grunted in amusement, a mysterious smile appearing on her face as she spoke, "I've done more think'n on this than you'll ever know, Gents. Do I expect ta' live ta' see my boy grown 'n ta' the man I know he's got inside 'im? Not especially. Do I intend to?" Pixie crossed the gap between them, her face mere inches from his own. Though she stared him down with a ferocious intensity it wasn't all-together hostile. Her eye was piercing, all the same, "You bet yer wrinkly ass I do."

 

[Dogmatic99]

"[Bullshit.]"

That's what I get for teaching her rude words. It might have been for the best that Florian would never be a parent. Lord knows what he'd end up teaching children. Still a silent part of him couldn't help but glow with a faint feeling that could be surmised as something along the lines of AAAAaawwww.

"Nonsense." He chided Lilith. "You will be busting heads and hearts again in no time." It was nice to have a little light conversation after the last few days. Though Florian's brief buzz came to a cold end once he saw the piece of jewelry barging for space next to Lilith's signature poker chip.

"This one." He motioned towards it. "Is it new?" It rang a bell but not because of Lilith.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"You will be busting heads and hearts again in no time."

Lilith smiled, "Oh you." She waved a hand limply at him in mock response. "You know just what to say to make a girl feel special." She was glad she got to speak to him one last time.

She noticed his gaze shift as he raised a hand.


"Is it new?"


"Err, yeah, Meredith just gave it to me." She paused for a moment, furrowing her brow, a look of fondness in her eyes. "It used to belong to someone very special." There, that was vague enough.

It's not like Florian knew about Cherry any way.