Kent/Feldspar

[videointhenoise]

"Just once more," they had said when Ellie's team petitioned for it. She was busy with Palmer, falling in love with science while he fell in love with God, and Kent was left to pick up the pieces. He wanted another damn go at it. The Machine had a pricetag in the billions; it was begging to be used again.

But they wouldn't let Ellie go. They wouldn't let just anyone go. They wanted someone who knew how it worked, who had been there from the beginning, but someone who isn't completely taken in by Ellie's words.

That leads them to a dozen people and they end up with Kent. He's blind, but that's not what decides it. They claim that he wouldn't hallucinate the way Ellie did. That he has a unique perspective.

And, he's already proven himself steady and loyal.

He experiences it all the way that Ellie does, but something goes wrong on the other end. Maybe another terrorist attack. Maybe not. All he knows is that he's in the sphere and then, suddenly, he's floating, unable to find his footing until a great crash and he slams into the bottom of the machine.

He groans, pulling his helmet on with a grunt and a wince.

"Fuck this," he mutters, finding the edge of the sphere with his hands. There was a door there somewhere. He just - has to find it.

Comments

[getfeldsparred]

“Hmm. If it means I get to spend more time with you, then yes, yes you do. Although I’m pretttttyyyyyyy sure that we already have this sort of thing here. Give the hatchling to the next person so you can get a break is not a new thing on Timber Hearth.”

Feldspar hears the faint plucking of Gneiss’ banjo and grins. They’re always happy to see their Gneiss.

[videointhenoise]

He laughs. "It's a little more involved than that," he teases and tilts his head.

"Is that Gneiss?"

[getfeldsparred]

“You can’t tell by the banjo?” They grin as Gneiss finally spies them and sets down their instrument to climb to their feet.

“Feldspar! Kent! Little Lapis too - all on a walk today?”

Gneiss rushes forward, giving a little kiss to Kent’s head and then ignoring Feldspar altogether in favor of looking at the hatchling.

“You’ve done wonders, Kent. They look so strong now.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent lets out a breath. "They did all the work themselves."

He reaches over and finds their little head, gently brushing his fingers against their ears.

"I thought since they're out of danger that they might like a little change of scenery."

[getfeldsparred]

Lapis yawns loudly as Kent touches their ear, and Gneiss chuckles fondly. “You certainly helped,” they chide him gently.

“Do you want to hold them, Gneiss?” Feldspar asks, holding them out to the older Hearthian confidently.

“Only if it’s okay with Kent. These two have been inseparable.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent laughs sheepishly. "Yeah, go ahead. I think they'd like to meet the rest of the community."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar is confident in Kent’s ability to let go for a few hours. Lapis is safe and steady now, and the elders know what they’re doing if anything does happen. They’ve been raising hatchlings for a long time now.

“I’m sure Tektite will be excited to see this little one. They’re tough.”

[videointhenoise]

"My little gemstone," he mutters and leans over to press a kiss to their head. "Take them for the night if you want. I think they'd like new attention. But - they don't like the cribs. And the paste is too thick, so I add a little water to it. And - they like when you sing to them."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar exchanges a glance with Gneiss.

“Kent,” Gneiss says, gentle as gentle can be. “Are you sure you want me to take them for the night?”

[videointhenoise]

"Yes, Gneiss. It's good for them." It's good for him. He reaches down to take Feldspar's hand in his own. "I promise I'll be alright."

[getfeldsparred]

When Kent takes their hand Feldspar steps up closer to him, sliding their arm around his slim waist. They nod to Gneiss - if Kent is insisting then it’s fine.

“Let’s finish our walk though,” they suggest. “I want to see the look on everyone’s face when they see Lapis again.”

[videointhenoise]

"As long as you describe it to me," he remarks with a laugh, leaning against them as he turns and starts down the path again.

[getfeldsparred]

Of course Feldspar can describe it to Kent! They’re a great story teller, although to be fair it’s pretty easy to hear the adoration and happiness in their voices when Lapis comes around. They coo at them - all of them, Spinel included - lavishing praise on how well they’re doing since they were first hatched.

After a while Lapis wants to eat again, and Gneiss takes them into their cabin for some watered-down paste.

[videointhenoise]

Once Gneiss has Lapis, he clings to Feldspar's hand and leans against them. "Ready to enjoy a few hours of quiet?"

But really, he just needs to be distracted.

[getfeldsparred]

“I dunno know about quiet,” they grin, tilting their head up to Kent’s. “I haven’t even had a real kiss yet since coming back, y’know?”

[videointhenoise]

"Oh yeah? How have you been coping?:

He starts to lead the way back to their cabin.

[getfeldsparred]

“Staring at your butt mostly. It’s been difficult, as you can imagine, because you’ve spent a lot of time sitting or lying down.”

[videointhenoise]

"You are a pervert," he remarks lightly, playfully. "Do you have those? Perverts?"

[getfeldsparred]

“We have perverts, Kent.”

And they are one for Kent. They casually bring their hand down to rest on the curve of Kent’s ass as they walk.

“I’m okay with letting everyone see me being a pervert.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent jumps a little, cackling to himself as he recovers and nudges them with his elbow.

"I'm so tired. Maybe I should just sleep."

[getfeldsparred]

“You can sleep, sure, I’ll just keep looking at your ass while you do. I have needs, you know.”

[videointhenoise]

"Yeah," he laughs. "I know you do."

He leans his stick against the door and opens it for them. "You know we have locks on our door? At - on Earth?"

[getfeldsparred]

Well that sounds strange. Latches - fine. But locks on the front doors? “Locks? Why?”

[videointhenoise]

"Hm, remember how I was telling you about private property?" Instead of communal, which the Heartheans seem to enjoy. "Sometimes people don't respect private property and they take things that other people work for. And not because they need it, but because they want it. So we have to have locks."

[getfeldsparred]

It doesn’t seem like such an odd concept to Feldspar - Hearthians still covet each other’s stuff, they still want and get jealous and sometimes steal, but those are things that happen with the hatchlings. The elders just don’t have time for petty nonsense.

“I get it. And we have those latches on our doors, but it’s more to keep the wind from blowing everything open. And sometimes to keep others out. I mean, we’ve all been there…”