funky station

You're leaned against the wall, side by side with someone who's been on this station with you long enough that you've stopped counting shifts. Long enough that you don't need to fill every silence. The two of you are watching the usual parade... an assistant sprinting somewhere they definitely shouldn't be, a security officer chasing with the particular exhaustion of someone who desperately needs a break.

They nudge your shoulder with theirs, not hard. Just to get your attention.

"Hey."

They don't look at you. They're taking a sip from a soda they'd just gotten.

"Random question."

A pause. As if they're considering whether it'd be too awkward... or intrusive to ask.

"Where'd you grow up? Like, actually?"

They glance at you now, just for a second, a tired smirk pulling at the corner of their mouth.

"We've been on this floating trash can together long enough. Figure it'd be good to know you better at least."

TrixxedHeart wrote: Mon Mar 23, 2026 6:21 pm

You're leaned against the wall, side by side with someone who's been on this station with you long enough that you've stopped counting shifts. Long enough that you don't need to fill every silence. The two of you are watching the usual parade... an assistant sprinting somewhere they definitely shouldn't be, a security officer chasing with the particular exhaustion of someone who desperately needs a break.

They nudge your shoulder with theirs, not hard. Just to get your attention.

"Hey."

They don't look at you. They're taking a sip from a soda they'd just gotten.

"Random question."

A pause. As if they're considering whether it'd be too awkward... or intrusive to ask.

"Where'd you grow up? Like, actually?"

They glance at you now, just for a second, a tired smirk pulling at the corner of their mouth.

"We've been on this floating trash can together long enough. Figure it'd be good to know you better at least."

Bites-the-Air

He leans against the wall as well, keeping relatively shoulder to shoulder between the two of them. Taking a bottle of water out of his bag, he chuckles.

"Before NT? I wass on my home planet. A little arid oassiss rock, mosst treess being relatively thorny, with fruit growing on them between the sseassonss. Lived pretty nomadic with my clutchkin ssince it was just uss. There were beautiful flowerss that would be near the oassiss. Flower that would sshimmer with the prettiesst sshadess of blue."

He turns the bottle in his hand.

"After that, I was recovered by an NT research vesssel. Jusst me."

He sighs, staring at the bottle before looking over.

"Sstayed in a corporate ssponssored houssing, more like an orphanage. There were a few otherss but we were never close. I wass at least treated well enough. Asss ssoon asss I wass 18 in Terran yearss, I worked at NT since then."

He uncaps the water and starts slamming it back before taking a pause to breathe, smiling.

"What about you?"

All scrams born in tube! Sometimes tube at CC, sometimes tube in void, sometimes tube in planet, sometimes tube in bluespace, sometime tube in plant, sometimes tube in worm, sometimes tube in shuttle, sometimes tube in house, sometimes tube in meat dimension, sometimes tube in tube... last one really weird... but yea many tube for scrams, many places!

Scrams grow up many times, many place. Scrams grow up when universe was candy, scrams grow up when universe was Scrams, Scrams grow up when universe was knives, Scrams grow up when NT grow up! Was... Was not enough difference on last two...

First time grow up though was... Uh... No... Tube? First time was with scram mom! Scram mom was nice... Scram never going to mom again... Scrams not want to talk about this any more... Scram not thing about in long time... Liked better when you keep wiping Scrams memory...

UNIT IS UNSURE HOW TO ANSWER, THE PERSONALITY MATRIX UNIT WAS GIVEN DID NOT INCLUDE THE HUMANS MEMORIES, NOT TO MENTION THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THAT HUMAN WAS "ME"
THIS FORM OF THIS UNIT WAS CREATED AS AN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL SO IT GREW UP AMONGST SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS ABOARD A NON NT STATION NAMED (INFORMATION RESTRICTED) THE EXPERIMENT WAS DEEMED A FAILURE DUE TO THIS UNITS PERSONALITY ..... QUIRKS.....AND UNIT WAS SOLD TO NT......

ALSO AAAAAAA WHY AM I IN A CRYO TUBE HELP WHAT THE FUCK

AAAAAAAAA WHAT AM I

Bound Curiosity grins, flashing a mouth full of shark-like teeth. She giggles before speaking, her words in a teasing sing-song

"Awww don't look so worried boo! You know I can't get mad over a question~"

She reaches into her satchel, pulling out an engraved silver lighter. The flame ignites with one sharp click and she raises it to the cigarette already between her lips, holding it there until the end glows orange. She takes a long drag, leaning her head back against the wall and blowing smoke towards the ceiling.

"Sooo....I was born on the Thaven homeworld in a small coastal commune. We lived on these little stilt houses near shallow water reefs, 'cause I'm a reef Thaven, not one of those deep-water ones. It was like...a real commune, super fuckin hippie shit ya know? Getting our own food, making our own furniture, not wasting materials on certain things 'cause its a tropical climate. I didn't have any siblings, but there were lots of other kids, and everybody acted like family anyways. As soon as I could crawl I could swim. I learned how to dive before I could talk. My mom taught me how to fish and weave, and my dad taught me to sail and use the stars as a map. I was always happy, and even during the storms I always felt safe. It was beautiful...and perfect."

She sighs, her shoulders slumping and pink hair covering her face as she turns away a little. Her voice grows bitter, but not quite angry. She flicks the lid of her lighter open and closed, over and over again

"I was ten when...my parents decided to leave the planet. Everything we had, everything I loved, just gone on a fucking whim. Then..some shit happened, and I found out what it really means to lose everyone. she sniffles I..I don't wanna talk about this anymore. I need...I'm getting a drink"

Relilikav sighs gently.

"I don't like the idea of 'getting close' to people," he admits, "But I suppose I can answer this."

"It was a tiny little clutchship called the Vulture," he begins, "Split off from some larger one before I was born. So tiny, it wasn't more than my immediate family. We were scavengers, mostly. Fought for every scrap we had, it seemed."

For once, his perpetual scowl has seemed to soften as he thinks on that. It hardens again as soon as he finishes.

"If I know one thing, it's this: I am never going back to that."