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

[videointhenoise]

"Let's get you clean and dry," he says with a nod. "And you need to rest."

That was - a lot. Not just for their body, which is probably crying out for relief, but their mind, too.

[getfeldsparred]

They probably do need to rest, especially now as that spike of adrenaline is starting to die down. They nod slowly against his shirt. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Feldspar picks their head up and looks around for Lapis, the one they’re really worried about.

[videointhenoise]

Lapis is walking away, towards the entrance to the ceremonial fire. They need to check on them. They need to see them.

Kent squeezes Feldspar's hand. "Come on," he mutters.

[getfeldsparred]

Knowing Lapis has left precisely to visit their love calms Feldspar a little. Lapis will be okay, they stabilized the power.

They take another long look at them as they walk away and nod softly, allowing Kent to pulling them towards their room.

[videointhenoise]

Kent leads them not to their room but to the little shower area. He turns the water on and finds a warm towel left by one of the more hospitable Heartheans. Or maybe just Lapis. He's memorized this room well enough, so he navigates it with ease.

"Shower off."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar immediately begins to strip. There’ll be no pushback from them - they do the crazy stunts, but Kent rules the house and always has.

Once the shower is on and steaming they step inside with a couple of quiet splashes. They sigh, low and contentedly, as the warm water runs down their shoulders and back. After a moment of just silently enjoying the feeling of the water on their skin they pick their head up and search for Kent’s face.

“Who was the hatchling in the water?”

[videointhenoise]

"Galena. They like to help me with the radios and the signalscope," he explains, sitting on a bench nearby. "They're so shy."

[getfeldsparred]

“Galena,” Feldspar repeats. One of the hatchlings who were hatched after they’d disappeared.

“I hope they’re alright.”

[videointhenoise]

"I think they will be. I'll check on them tomorrow," he assures them. "Don't worry. They're resilient."

[getfeldsparred]

“Yeah, just…let me know how they are.” They’re still thinking of the way Galena had clung to them, whole little body shaking.

They scrub themselves with some soap and reach for the towel. “Alright, I’m done.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent holds out the towel to them and nods. "You should talk to them yourself." He smiles. "They're so bright. Clever."

[getfeldsparred]

“I will,” they nod. “They’re like you. You must have taught them with the others.”

[videointhenoise]

"No," Kent laughs. "They never wanted to come to school. They liked to sit in the back and not really participate until I started talking about the radios. And they had a friend, too. Mm...Tephra, actually. They are like our Lapis and Hal. Inseparable."

[getfeldsparred]

They know they should have asked before hadn’t the new hatchlings, but it really hasn’t occurred to them before today to even inquire as to how many had been hatched after they left. “And the other ones? There were two more I saw.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent stands up and helps them with the towel, bringing out clean clothes for them from a shelf. They all share, so hopefully something will fit.

"Mica?" he wonders and nods. "They're a little older, unless - oh. Arkose." He laughs again, this time fond. "They don't like to show up to school much, either. Mostly because they're causing trouble somewhere."

[getfeldsparred]

They nod softly. Maybe Arkrose is Slate’s - it’s entirely possible that some of their friends had hatchlings of their own while they were gone.

“I remember Mica. They’re so big now.”

They pull on the shirt and pants handed to them, staring down at the baggy waist and loose sleeves. They really need to gain their weight back.

“That’s a lot of hatchlings. It’s good to see it.”

[videointhenoise]

He takes their arm and holds them close, letting them lead the way back to the room. "They're a pain in the ass," he mutters fondly, because all of the hatchlings have a special place in his heart. He loves them all. Lapis might be his, but they all belong to everyone. And Kent does feel a part of that now.