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]

Feldspar picks sparsely at their food as Lapis tells the story of the inhabitants and their fear of the Eye. When they start talking about the prisoner - about the trouble they went to find them and each loop that they ended themself - they reach over and rub Lapis’ back.

“It’s torture, is what that is,” Feldspar mutters. They’re honestly surprised they still had any semblance of themselves after being left to rot for hundreds of thousands of years.

“But we’re clever,” they quickly add. “We’ll find a way for our hatchling and this prisoner to spend more time together.”

The practicality of it is a hard thing to swallow; Lapis would have to spent more time asleep than awake. But love is love, isn’t it?

[videointhenoise]

Kent nods. "Of course. You deserve this, Lapis," he assures them. "You deserve to slow down a while and enjoy yourself. And they deserve to make choices for themselves."

Lapis nods. "That's what I told them, too."

Well. "told."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar couldn’t agree more. Lapis needs to take the time to be a young and dumb adolescent hatchling who doesn’t have to literally carry the weight of the universe on their shoulders.

“Alright, our plan of attack is settled. Now let’s eat, eh?”

[videointhenoise]

Kent nods. "It's already a little cold. Don't let it get more." He pushes a bit of the fish onto Lapis' plate before handing it over to him.

"Better?"

[getfeldsparred]

“Yeah,” Lapis says, smiling a little sheepishly. “Thanks, dad.”

Feldspar nods and eats their own food, sighing at the familiar Hearthian cooking methods.

[videointhenoise]

Kent keeps his head down, trading gossip he heard while with the others, People are opening up a little more, talking and chatting and fighting as normal. He even drops the bomb about Slate and Marl.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar is a little surprised to hear the news about Marl and Slate, but they did notice Marl making eyes in the general direction of where Slate was working today.

“And there’s Porphy and Gossan,” Lapis adds, and the gossip at the table continues.

Eventually Lapis raises their arms over their head and smiles. “I think I’m going to sleep in my own room tonight.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent grins. "Alright, kiddo. Are you sure?"

He does reach over to give him a tight hug. "I love you," he whispers to them."And we'll figure out more tomorrow."

[getfeldsparred]

Lapis hugs him back tightly. “Love you, dad. I’ll see you in the morning.”

They pull away and it’s Feldspar’s turn to give the hatchling a hug. They squeeze them tightly and give them a few affectionate taps on the back. “Don’t wander around tonight, okay?”