Gatichan Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 Ethan gently pushed Nathaniel’s head off his shoulder and sat up. After so many weeks, he was much stronger and thankfully the pain in his chest had vanished for good. From time to time, he would still cough badly, but the moment passed quickly and he was really looking forward to working again. After the dramatic and tense weeks that had passed before, what with David Macer’s murder spree and the fact that over half the passengers on the Praxiteles had fallen space-sick, many passengers and crew members had asked for appointments and Ethan was more than glad to accept them. The side effect of having lain in a confined room had helped him get over his tranquilizing pill over-usage, even though he at times still felt slight waves of panic rising. He could cope a little better with them, but Ethan was no fool: he knew that if he wasn’t careful, he would fall back into old behavioral patterns again. Having had Nathaniel to fawn over had, however, helped to keep his mind off medication and it really had been a lovely experience to have grown closer to the technician. As he watched Bradley shooing Nathaniel out his medical room – it was true: Nathaniel had been attested and released as fully recovered the week before, but he had kept sneaking back in during his shifts to visit the psychologist – Ethan slowly swung his long legs over the side of his bed. Trying not to laugh at the already familiar sight of Nathaniel and Bradley bickering by the door, Ethan slipped into his shoulders. It was strange, but over the past weeks, his image of Bradley had changed. Perhaps before his loyalty to his dead friend David had clouded his vision, but he now really couldn’t say that Bradley was a bad person: he was dedicated to his patients and he and Ethan had had long talks in which they’d both probably been able to get rid of some of their biases. And judging by the way Bradley was obviously trying not to grin as Nathaniel stomped off grumbling, the doctor also had a soft spot for the technician. “So what’s this business about a new planet? I haven’t heard anything yet. What’s going on?” Ethan wanted to know as Bradley helped him stand up. As Bradley walked him back to his office, he quickly explained the latest developments. “By now, the Praxiteles has begun to cross the Andromeda Galaxy. In the year 2012, astronomers discovered the planet KELT-1 and KELT-1b. Since our technology has advanced, we now know that KELT-1b doesn’t have an atmosphere that would allow us to live, but KELT-1 looks promising. The Captain has ordered the Praxiteles to remain in orbit around the planet. After the dramatic turn of events recently, some of the crew members have begun to doubt whether it would be so wise to continue on to Phoenix Nebula and have asked that we try to find another planet possible to support us and create a new home. Many fear that the longer we travel through space, the more probable it will become that we lose our heads again. The mission will be a discovery and reconnaissance one: a group of you will descend to the surface of the planet – the Captain, you as a psychologist to help cope and decide how to handle possible contact with alien forces, myself as a doctor, we have Nathaniel and one of his superiors as techies to help us in case anything goes wrong, and naturally we have a biologist and some guards- look around, take probes, and decide whether KELT-1 might become a new possible home for us.” Ethan nodded before stepping into his old office that he felt he hadn’t been to in ages. “Sounds interesting. I’m definitely coming along.” And he sure hoped that Nathaniel would, too. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Nathaniel stomped off in a bit of a huff, annoyed at having been woken up after only a few hours sleep. Stretching out slowly he walked to his room, opening the door and stepping inside. Walking over to the mini bathroom, he opened the door, stepped in and turned on the water. Letting it run over his hands for a moment before splashing the refreshingly chilly water onto his warm face, shaking the water from his hands, he glanced up at the mirror and stopped. The person in the mirror did not look like him, they did, but they didn't. His hair had gotten a bit longer and seemed to somehow have gotten even lighter in color, his skin had become paler but not in an unhealthy way, even his eyes seemed brighter. LEaning against the sink he stared into the mirror, was he the same person he was when he started this voyage? So much had happened already, and that had changed him mentally, but lately it seemed that his almost happiness with life was showing in his physical features. Leaning back a bit, he smiled into the reflection,the Nathaniel when the voyage had started was sad, lonley, cold. Now, he felt like he had a family, the psychiatrists, both of them he had grown close to, and throughout his stay in the medical ward he had become friends with one of the nurses, and spending a lot of hsi free time in the library had also given him time to meet a few people. He was still quiet, and socally inadept, but he was at least improving. However, he still spent most of his free time in Ethans room, he would often bring Ethan food from the cafeteria, as well as eating most of his meals there himself though most of the food he ate consisted of hot coco and a bagel now, despite the time of day. His feelings towards the Psychiatrist were still unknown to him, he didn't know exactly how he felt, and had no intentions of acting on the feelings, reguardless of what they were. That girl, Traci, clearly had eyes for him and after finding out she was an ex he withdrew from Ethan a bit, once more in a pointless bout of jealousy. Walking back into his room, he began sorting out what he would be taking down to the new planet with him, completely unsure what exactly he needed to pack. They would be getting survival gear so new he didn't need much, he settled on a few pairs of black jeans and long sleep turtle necks, he climate on this new planet was said to be rather cold. ***** And there they all stood, Nathaniel stood close to Ethan as he usually did, someone had made the comment the other day that Nathaniel was becoming Ethans puppy, but he had disreguarded it as though it were nothing, paying it no mind. The captain of the ship, stood by the external exploration pods door as he began to usher those who were going, there were 15 people on the expidition, to which made the techie a bit unhappy in the claustrophobic mini-pod, he had improved a bit with his anxiety around people, but it was far from fixed. He tried to sit next to Ethan but his shoulder was tapped as he was asked to move to the front, he was to be the back up pilot in case something went wrong with the auto-pilot while the pod was heading in the atmosphere, or landing. Sighing he sat in his proper seat, put on his head phones, allowed his seat belt to buckle itself, and fliped the ship. A few bystanders watched from the main deck of the ship as the announcers spoke, 3....2.....1, Initiating Engines. And with that, a low rumble sounded through the pod, and they were off. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Ethan hadn’t wanted Tracy to come along and say goodbye to him, but regardless of his, granted, not very insistent attempts at trying to dissuade her, she had come along. Especially after the day before, where he, Tracy and Nathaniel had been fetching their trays inside the canteen and someone had cracked a joke about how well-trained Ethan’s puppy Nathaniel was, the psychologist had felt pretty uncomfortable standing between the two of them. While Tracy was definitely someone who belonged to his past, Ethan was hoping more and more than Nathaniel would be a part of his future. Unfortunately, however, the technician had started to close up around him and hadn’t responded as openly as he had begun to while the two of them had been sharing a hospital room. While on the one hand Ethan was proud and glad to see that his technician was starting to come out of his shell more and interact with other people, he had to admit that it made him a little nervous. What if Nathaniel found someone else to fawn over or, even worse…fell in love with someone else instead of him? So unhappily lost in his thoughts as he was, Ethan didn’t notice how Nathaniel kept trying to move to sit closer beside him. Tracy, instances after Nathaniel had been shown to sit near the front, waved wildly back at him. Through the window of the pod where he was sitting, Nathaniel smiled back at her and also waved. “Is she your girl, Burke?” one of the biologists asked him with a knowing nudge in the side. “Pretty little red thing. I wonder what your puppy’s gonna say when she tires of your little shadow and wants to spend some one-on-one time with you,” he snorted at his own joke. Ethan smiled blandly. “Against popular belief, Nathaniel isn’t my puppy, but my…” Friend? Boyfriend? I wish. “…but my…patient,” he finished lamely, sending a guilty look towards the cockpit of the exploration pod, praying Nathaniel hadn’t overheard. He sincerely hoped that Nathaniel had missed the rather passionate kiss that Tracy had given him moments before his name had been called out to step into the pod. It had been nice, sure, but…but not as nice as Ethan imagine it would have felt if Nathaniel had kissed him in that way. Blinking when the exploration pod began to rattle and shake, pressing Ethan deeper into his seat, the psychologist gazed out through the pod window again. The darkness and vastness of space had disappeared and now through the window all he could see was a swirling grey-white fog. Raindrops formed on the pane and Ethan glanced down at his small wrist computer, accessing some information on the planet they were about to land on. KELT-1 had an atmosphere similar to that of Planet Earth, so none of them would be using a gas mask. Little else was known, however, but it appeared that the exploration pod was set to land on the side of a mountain. When gasps and startled cries went up, Ethan’s head swept around to peek outside. His own mouth dropped open at the startling new sight that met his eyes, believing for an instance that he had fallen asleep and stepped into a dream. Down below, and all around him, all he could see was a blanket of white. Here and there, flecks of dark brown and ill-placed grey rocks would be seen, but sure enough, it seemed as if the exploration pod had dived under a foggy sky to hover above a white mountaintop. Snow…snow was white. Ethan swallowed past a lump in his throat that had risen when his mind finally made the connection. This was the first time that he was actually seeing snow. He had heard stories of the mysterious and cold water manifestation from his mother, but never actually seen it on his home planet. And now, here he was, surrounded by it. Ethan couldn’t help himself- a tear began to slide down his cheek. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Nathaniel sat in his seat, he had heard the comment and was seething, though he was unsure as to why. If she had one on one time with Ethan, what would come of it, would they have sex? The blunt thought echo'ed in his mind as he allowed his hands to rest on the autopad, glaring out of the head window shield in front of him. The kiss had not been missed at well, and as angry as it made him, it almost made him want to get closer to Ethan. Wondering what it would be if he could press his lips to Ethan as confidently as Traci had, it made him sad to know that he would likely never get that opportunity. He was pulled from his thoughts as he heard gasps behind him, glancing over his shoulder he saw the others staring at the oncoming planet. Once he saw it he also stared, white, it was all so white. Reaching up he touched his fair hair as well, white had always been his favorite collar, his hair was white, his skin was all but white and here was a white planet, it almost made him feel connected to it. Reaching up he flicked the clicker swatch, so that the cameras outside the ship would begin taking rapid pictures of the planet. However, as they were just about to enter the atmoshper, Nathaniel reached up and quickly began to slow the ship, sliding the reverse rockets into place with the flick of a switch. The layer they would have to go through, seemed almost thick, unlike clear like it should be. However the reverse rocks took a second to long to kick in, and the auto pilot took a second to long to kick off, and before he could react they were being sucked in by the dense atmosphere, his momentary wonder of the planet turning to a deep worry as he tried not to panic to alert anyone else. However, he could not hide that something was wrong when the ship begna to vibrate violently, throwing those hooked into there seats back of fourth in there seats. Nathaniel had grasped the controls as the pod began to circulate and before he could stop it they were spinning, the alerts were sounded as well as the green warning light. Ripping his seat belt off he flung himself t othe back of the pod, all but floating through the air as the pod hurdled through the air towards the ground. Slamming his hand into the glass case he pulled down the balence correcting devise, which quickly readjusted the ship to the correct level, and everything was once again calm on the ship, leaving only the gasping, frightened passangers. Stumbling back to the front he flicked the switch for autopilot once again and sank down into the chair, relieved that no one seemed hurt, leaning over the side of the chair he called back, "IS everyone okay?" He was incompetent in many ways, but he knew how to do a very good job when he needed to work. Even as he called that, his main concern was Ethan, looking him up and down from where he sat, making sure there were no injuries as the ship, true to it's reliable nature, landed itself on the side a very large, snow covered moutain with a loud thunk. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Too soon the beautiful white landscape began to rock out of focus and suddenly, Ethan was being jerked around wildly in his seat. True, his seatbelt held him mostly in place, but he hit his head against the window and let out a moan. Somewhere, one of the female crew members was screaming her head off hysterically, claiming that they were all about to die and Ethan gritted his teeth together, digging his fingers into the armrests of his chair. Nathaniel, do something!! his mind silently screamed. It was a good thing that his stomach didn’t easily get sick, but really, this ride was a little too rocky for his taste. Watching as the technician flew through the air and then out of view, Ethan gulped, but instances later the ship was back on course and relieved sighs and applause went up from the badly shaken crew as the exploration pod finally landed. “My gosh- where did those pilots get their flying degree?” a soldier behind Ethan muttered and his neighbor, a scientist, muttered something back accordingly. Ethan leaned back against his seat and let out the breath he seemed to have been holding since the pretty white had come into view. Safe, he was safe. Once the green light had been given to descend, Ethan unbuckled his seatbelt and heaving his heavy army rucksack onto his shoulders, pulled the zipper of his thick jacket up all the way to his neck. He didn’t miss the estranged looks he received from the botanist, but Ethan didn’t want to take any risks. He had read that during the night, the temperature on KELT-1 could sink several degrees below freezing and, after all the reports he had read before embarking on this mission, Ethan wanted to make sure that if worst came to worst, at least freezing would be one of the things he needed to worry about. Shuffling out the exploration pod between his neighbor the biologist and the soldier behind him, Ethan walked down the small ramp of the pod and jumped down onto the white surface. Fine white snow stirred and swirled up around his knees, making him shake his head in awe. Removing his right glove, Ethan crouched down to be able to touch the white. Brr, it really was cold, yet at the same time the psychologist smiled. This was the first time he had ever touched something that was naturally so cold- back on Planet Earth, everything had been dried up, shriveling and scorched by the strong sun. Standing up again, Ethan searched the crew for Ethan as the Captain crossed his arms on the ramp and opened his mouth, surely to tell them what the next steps would be. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Once he had retrieved rather shaky nods or verbal ackwknoledgments of everyones well being, he turned back around in his seat, leaned back, closed his eyes and let out a long, relieved sigh. He could hear everyone shuffling out of the pod but stayed in his seat, looking at the window, only he the captain and one of the guards where left. However, he was scared, he had never even set foot on earth for more than 15 minutes at a time, and while some people get sea sick because they were used to the steadiness of land, he knew that the lack of the artificial gravity would impact his walking, real gravity feeling much different. He stared at the open door for a moment longer before he felt a light hand on his shoulder, glancing up after jumping slightly at the touch, he saw the face of the guard, his face still showed the stubble from where he had lazily shaved earlier, the man smiled at him and motioned to the door, "Don't worry kid, we will protect you guys." Nathaniel sat, rooted in his spot for another moment in surprise but nodded solemly, standing and allowing himself to be led from the familiarness of ships and pods, onto the alien planet. Immidietly slipping on some of the condentation that had already gathered in the lowering ramp and falling back on his butt. The guard chuckled nd reached down to yank him up and help him out onto the solid land, the gravity definetly felt heavier than artificial gravity and not in a good way to him. He moved to stand beside Ethan, however, remembered the kiss that he ad traci had shared, and instead chose to stand by the guard that, after watching Nathaniel fall flat on his face into the freezing snow chose to keep his hand on the small of the techie;s back to steady him. The white haired boy shivered lightly at the unusually cold air and sneezed lightly as he watched the captain open his mouth, already knowing that he should not have come. But Ethan came, so how could he have refused. "Welcome, crew, to a planet that hopefully we will be able to one day call home!" To this many people rolled there eyes at the melodramatic captain, Nathaiel however was more focused at holding his hand out and after taking off his gloves, watching the snow land on it and melt. "Our first mission is to find somewhere to rest, we have the packs for inflatible, heat filtered tents and all of the fixings of olden time camping." Though he said this, the 'camping' he was referring to was much more advanced that the old tents and pots and pans. "I do not need to drill you on saftey instructions, you will pick one person, and that person will eb your life line, if your life line goes missing, you will alert the group, and vice versa. This is essential to our survival, and the survival of all those people waiting for us up on that ship." At the sound of a loud crunch everyone stopped and looked over to see Nathaniel, once again laying face first in the snow, a few making comments about why'd they bring such a clueless kid that he couldn't even stand, the guard simply wrighted NAthaniel back up and nodded at the captain to continue. "Right, so we will start, everyone find your life line buddy, you may pick your own, and we will be heading out, we will only travel 7 hours today, then rest. Remember, communication is key." Just as he finished, a loud sneeze was heard, and once again, they looked over to see a snow covered, fair haired boy vsitting in the snow, having fallen over and was looking clearly unhappy about it. Thsi time they simply ignored it with only a few chuckles,and began gathering there gear and looking for life line buddies. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 The first time that Nathaniel had fallen down, Ethan had missed it because he’d been studying the snow. But the second and third time had been rather comical and the psychologist hadn’t been able to prevent himself from giggling. But when he’d realized that he’d expected Nathaniel to come and stand by him, yet the technician hadn’t, Ethan’s heart sank. So maybe Nathaniel had really seen the kiss between him and Tracy…and had possible interpreted more into it than it really had been. And why, from all the crew members, did Nathaniel have to go and stand right beside the most muscular guard? Was it because Nathaniel secretly thought that muscular men were good? That they were more attractive than lithe men such as Ethan? The psychologist could feel his cheeks beginning to heat up. Unbelievable, he was jealous! But really, why hadn’t Nathaniel come to him? As the crew began to disperse, Ethan turned around to find Bradley looking at him with an arched eyebrow. “What?” the psychologist asked petulantly, not wanting to admit that he hadn’t heard a word of what the captain had said because he had been busy shooting invisible daggers at the guard beside his technician- yes; he considered Nathaniel to be his, even though the younger guy had quite obviously no interest whatsoever to be seen together with Ethan anymore once they had left the Praxiteles. Bradley rolled his eyes, probably already guessing his thoughts. “We’re supposed to find lifeline buddies. You’re going to be teaming up with Nathaniel, right?” Ethan snorted as he picked up his heavy rucksack that he’d placed on the unfamiliar white surface before the captain had begun his speech. “No, why should I?” he asked haughtily as he watched the guard once again help a sneezing Nathaniel back onto his feet. “Apparently monsieur has taken a liking in that bodybuilder and doesn’t need my intellect anymore,” he proclaimed, hating how he felt like a sulking child. Bradley shot him a look that clearly said are-you-kidding-me? For-real-now? “Ethan, just take a look at him, will you? The fist gust of wind that comes along will probably knock him over-” “Not if his muscle man will hold his hand, he won’t,” Ethan responded nastily, lowering his gaze with embarrassment- he hadn’t known that he had such misgivings about Nathaniel and other men. “Look,” Bradley said patiently, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’d love to be your lifeline buddy, but I think that from everyone here, Nathaniel would want to be yours the most. Just think about how close he is to you- would you really feel okay about someone else being in charge of him? Would you believe anyone of these strangers would be willing to seriously put their lives at risk to save Nathaniel if he were in danger?” Ethan looked around, but shook his head. “Exactly. So swallow your damn pride and go ask the kid, do me the favor.” Ethan nodded and trudging over to Nathaniel, cleared his throat uncomfortable. “So…want to be lifeline buddies?” Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Nathaniel chose to not move, standing still seemed to be the safest course for him, he would stand here, for there entire trip, yep, that was what he was going to do. Digging his hands into his pockets, he stood hauntily in his spot, destermined to stand upright for at least three minutes. The guard smiled and pat the white haired boy on his head and spoke, "You know, you remind me of my boy. Just as stubborn and childish it seems, though you are much older than him. Here," Reaching up he took the scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around the shivering white haired boy. "My wife made that for me, you keep it safe, when we head back up to the ship, make sure to give it back, okay?" Reaching up, Nathaniel tightened it around his neck a bit and nodded, smiling ab it back up at the man, "Thank you, i'm Nathaniel, the techie here, I honestly don't know why I am coming, I could just stay in the pod. I'm only really here for the pod and making sure it landed and takes off okay as well at mechanical issues with the equipment." He stumbled a bit after another large gust of wind, "I feel like i'm going to blow away!" He groaned as the guard reached down and tightened the gloves on the smaller boys hands, as he did, NAthaniels eyes glanced to the side as he saw Ethan, glaring at the solder helping him and frowned in confusion. Why did he seem so mad at the other? That is when he realized he did not even know the mans name, looking back over he went o speak but was cut off when the guard spoke first, "I'm Ryan, one of the guards here as you know,I would offer to be your life line but it seems that position has already been filled, "Ryan laughed, his voice rumbled as NAthaniel heard someone clear there throat behind him. Looking over his shoulder and turning slightly to face Ethan, he couldn't keep the smile from his face. He was going to be Ethans Life-support, meaning he could have time with just Ethan, no annoying Traci or anyone butting in. Smiling softly he stepped away from Ryan and nodded at Ethan, "I would really like that, but don't know how helpful I would be in this climate." He laughed rubbing the back up his head as he watched Ethan. Just as he spoke, a large gust of wing rushed in, and all but smacked them in the back, this time Nathaniel was not the only one, but two others also fell over. However Nathaniel had been to close to Ethan, so fell fact first into the others chest, knocking him down into the snow and falling over the psychologists chest. His cheeks went bright, as he found himself face to face with Ethan, opening his mouth to speak but quickly being pulled up by Ryan who seemed to be tickled by the entire situation. Ryan extended a hand to the fallen psychiatrist as well as he spoke to him "You make sure your life-line buddy keeps on that scarf, we were given all white gear, and with his white hair he is liable to blend in to the surroundings, so make sure he keeps that on so we can see him. Don't want anyone getting lost." He motioned to the red scarf around Nathaniels neck before making way over to the other guard whom was his life-line buddy. LEaving the two boys alone, after another, smaller gust of wing smacked him in the face, NAthaniel instinctivly shifted closer to Ethan, blowing warm air into his cold gloved hands, avoiding Ethans eyes all the while. When he thought of Ethan he thought of Ethan and Traci's kiss and it stung him to the core. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Well, maybe being Nathaniel’s lifeline buddy wasn’t such a good idea. Finding himself suddenly sprawled on his back with Nathaniel laying helplessly on top of him, Ethan began to doubt his own judgment. The guard, at least, didn’t turn out to be a cold son of a bitch out to steal Nathaniel away from him. Now, upon closer inspection, the psychologist saw that the man was older than he’d believed and as he was hauled back onto his feet and the guard explained that the scarf was special to him, Ethan took a closer look. Yes, the scarf around Nathaniel’s neck – the very act of having watched the guard place it around his technician’s neck had seriously pissed Ethan off – was bright red, but up close, it became obvious to Ethan that the scarf was more for decoration rather than for warmth. The material was thin, so it was probable that the scarf was of quite some sentimental value to the guard, possibly from his wife or girlfriend. Ethan nodded his thanks at the guard, wobbling a little as Nathaniel wrapped his arms around his right arm when the next gust of wind came. “Just hold onto me, Nathan- we’ll walk slowly until you get used to the gravity here,” Ethan reassured him, trying not to think about how close his and Nathaniel’s lips had been moments before. If it hadn’t been for that guard, Ethan probably would have fully overstepped the mark and leaned forward to close that distance… Shaking his head as if to clear it, Ethan looked around. He and Nathaniel were the only crew members left there aside from the Captain and the pilot, who were performing some last safety checks on the examination pod. Already the rest of the crew had begun to more or less clumsily make their way down the mountainside. “Come- we’d better get moving,” Ethan prompted, shrugging his shoulders so that the straps of his rucksack didn’t cut into his skin so much. Pulling his woolen hat lower over his ears, he confidently put his foot forward and bending his arm, hugged it closer to his body so that Nathaniel’s hands brushed the side of his chest. For as far as his eyes could see, there was snow. “Have you ever seen so much whiteness before in your life?” the psychologist asked the technician as they slipped down several meters. “Wo-ah!” This hadn’t really been intended, but then again, at least the two of them had caught up with the rest of the crew. His cheeks flushing when he heard the remarks thrown his and Nathaniel’s way, Ethan stood up and dusting his bottom and back off to clear them from the snow, he began to gently hit Nathaniel as well. His computer wrist beeped and glancing down, Ethan saw that the second-in-command on the bridge of the Praxiteles had finally sent them a map. Now they would at least know in which direction to walk in. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Nathaniel had not meant to be so forward with the other, but when the second gust of wind hit him and he nearly fell over again, he had no other choice than to grip Ethans arm, which turned out not to be such a bad thing. Even through all this gear, Nathaniel could tell that the psychiogist was built well, lean but strong at the same time. AS they made there way down, he tried to step in the foot holes of where those before them had left imprints. His ears went a bright hue of red when he felt his hand pressed against the others chest for a moment, when they slipped down the hill Nathaniel almost yelled, he was not used to any of this, always having been in the controlled, warm envirement of self heating ships, the col was unsual, the unpleasent wetness that had seeped into hsi socks from where the snow had fallen into his boots from there many times of falling. He was also used to being independent, and now he felt as though he couldn't do a thing without someone elses help. Even relying on Ethan to see becasue the wind hurt his eyes to much to look again, Nathaniel was never spoiled, but he was also unused to any of these ailments, and within 4 hours of traveling had slowed the group considerably. "Why did I agree to even come." He murmured while climbing up from the snow again. Each time it seemed to be harder and harder for him o get up, he was tired, cold, and just wanted to climb back in his warm bed. Worst of all, he was slowing down Ethan, to him, he was getting in the others way, being a nuisance. After about 20 minutes of walking he decided he had pulled Ethan down to much and chose to let go, and continue walking by himself, though after about another hour of that he ended up so he was basically crawling from exghaustion and trying to keep up. Not just him either, the girl that had shrieked earlier on the pod was also begining to drag her feet. While he was climbing back to his feet yet again, something caught the corner of his eye, some movement. Turning his head quickly he scanned the snowy, blurried horizon for whatever it was, however saw nothing so continued to walk. However after only a few minutes he heard the crunch of snow under someones feet and turned around again just as a creature collided with him, knocking him down to the ground, falling back to the ground he raised his arms protectivly as whatever had collided with him, jumped off of him, and run straight into one of the guards, before hopping back off. Looking after the creature in confusion most of the group stared as it dissapeared, the girl spoke first, "Was that a rabbit?" Nathaniel was laying back down in the snow and had not gotten up yet, laying his head back he closed his eyes, trying to gather the energy to stand back up but after a futile attempt he just fell back down, his arms and legs felt like jelly, his eyes hurt, he just wanted to stop, he wanted to go back to the medical ward where he and Ethan had been sleeping so soundly recently, he could relax against the others warm arms and sleep. Ryan spoke first as he knelt down by Nathaniel, then looked to Ethan before addressing the captain. "Sir, I know we are running late as it is, but this boy is going to freeze to death, "He pointed to Ethans cheek, "And he seems to have frost bite on his cheek so needs to be checked out immediatly, and a few others are just to worn down to continue." The captain growled faintly as he nodded, "We will walk for 20 more minutes then set up camp." He turned and continued as did everyone else, however the doctor of the group made sure to come forward and place a heated band aid on Ethans cheek, her cheeks a faint pink as she blushed as Ethans gaze, finding the psychiatrist very good looking, she even batted her eye lashes a bit. As she was fawning over him, Ryan was trying to coax Nathaniel back up, who was simply refusing to move, he didn't even care, he just wanted to go to sleep. He reached down and slapped the techie lightly on the cheek to wake up a bit before grabbing his arm and hauling him to his feet, however after Nathaniel just sunk back down again it was clear he needed to get otu of the cold, so Ryan slung the boy up bridal style, he would have piggy backed him but could not with all the gear he was carrying on his back. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 The trek down the mountainside was hard work. Ethan, though he regularly trained, was having trouble walking in a straight line. During the first part of the climb down the snowy mountainside, he had had Nathaniel clinging to him. True, it had slowed him down, but at the same time it had given him an excuse to gaze around at the snowy landscape. It didn’t matter to Ethan that everything looked the same – white everywhere – it was just so cold and different to his home planet that he couldn’t quite seem to get his fill. The crew members varied differently well on the descent, but gradually, the space between them became larger and more pronounced. “Come on, Nathaniel- we’re doing well,” Ethan tried to encourage his buddy, but it was getting harder to oversee the technician’s exhaustion. Falling so deeply into the snow and then lifting one’s foot up from the heavy snow was a lot of hard work and tiring. Ethan’s muscles were beginning to complain, so he could only guess how difficult it had to be for the smaller technician. Eventually, Nathaniel simply let go of his arm and fell into step behind him. This worried Ethan and every few meters he kept turning around despite the harsh win that cut at his skin and froze his nose and cheeks, needing to make sure that his buddy was alright. “You okay!?” he yelled, trying to be heard above the howling wind. The lower they had climbed, the less visible the world around them had become. They seemed to have walked into a low gray cloud hanging around the mountain. “Nathaniel, you okay!?” Ethan hollered again, noticing that the woman who had screamed before was falling back, but her lifeline was nowhere nearby- nice guy. Hearing Nathaniel’s yelp, Ethan immediately turned around. “NATHAN!” he cried out, twisting around and trying to run back towards his technician, who was once again sprawled in the snow. Something furry was hopping towards the other crew members, who let out tired exclamations. Falling down beside Nathaniel, Ethan shrugged his rucksack off and reaching to the side for his water bottle, unscrewed the lid and poured some hot coco into it. “Here,” he said, passing it to Nathaniel as he helped the younger boy up and laid him against his chest. “Drink this- you’ll need it.” Up close, Nathaniel’s exhaustion was obvious and Ethan bowed his head, leaning his face against the technician’s head. “I’m sorry- I should have walked even slower, Nathaniel. Why didn’t you say you were so tired?” he sighed, but nodded at Ryan- he was absolutely right, the really need a rest and badly. Shooing Bradley away when he made to come back to check on him, Ethan simply unzipped his jacket and pulling his scarf up higher around his face, re-zipped his jacket again. The second doctor of the group, however, stepped over to him and shyly holding out a heat pack to him. Ethan was forced to open his jacket again to place the pack on his cheek and he smiled his thanks, instantly feeling better when his skin felt the warmth. Turning around, he was shocked to see that Nathaniel was being carried away right in front of his eyes by Ryan, but the psychologist’s shoulders dropped: like it or not, right then, he was in no condition to carry Nathaniel. “Thanks!” he called over to Ryan, who nodded and him and gestured for Ethan to hurry up. Turning around and hooking his arm through the young female doctor’s arm when she almost fell over, Ethan tugged her closer and together they continued the way down the mountain. It was getting darker and colder the lower they went. The wind was howling so loudly that Ethan’s ears were beginning to hurt. While he and Cheryl, the doctor, had been talking to each other, encouraging and urging each other forward, in between Ethan slipping an arm around her shoulder to help her over a deep bit, now it was impossible. Cheryl pressed even closer to him and Ethan breathed in the faint perfume of her hair. It smelled sweet, like tropical fruit had in the holographic history book Ethan had once read, but Ethan would have given a lot more to have smelled Nathaniel’s hair. “I think we’ve made it!!” he shouted into Cheryl’s ear when up ahead, he saw a red flare light up and get waved in a slow arc- the head of their crew had reached the destination the Captain had settled for and where they would set up camp. Realizing that he had his and Nathaniel’s tent, Ethan urged the doctor to walk faster, reaching the group as third last couple. By then, Nathaniel was sitting up beside Ryan, who was busy building his tent. “Ethan- thanks. That last part was dreadful; I wouldn’t have managed without you,” Cheryl admitted, smiling at Ethan with gratitude. Rising on the tips of her snow-covered boots, she pecked the psychologist’s cheek. “You really are a nice guy.” Ethan blinked, reaching up to touch his cheek. Without realizing, he was smiling back- Cheryl was really pretty. Feeling warmed again, Ethan shrugged off his heavy backpack and unfolding the tent, activated the computer chip inside it. In under three seconds, the tent, including the two built in sleeping bags, had blown up and were ready. Waving at Nathaniel, Ethan tossed his rucksack into the tent before climbing in, groaning out in relief that he was finally out of the dreary cold. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Nathaniel was sitting, holding his and Ryans stuff as he watched the guard put up a tent. He sat, looking like a miserble little child, he was cold, and now he had no idea where Ethan was. However he certainly wasn't any happier when the psychiatrist came into view. Someone else was holding onto him, another girl was. Why, why were girls always in the way? He thought this but knew the answer, Ethan was good looking, reliable and intellegent, of course girls liked him. HAnding Ryan his gear, Nathaniel made hsi way into the tent quickly, heat blasted him in the face, causing him to close his eyes and sigh contently, quickly, without a work to Ethan he slumped into the bed and pulled the covers up over himself, he didn't want to look at Ethan, didn't want to talk to him, didn't want anything to do with him, if Ethan needed company he could just go cozy up with the medical girl. Of course he could like her, at least she wasn't so helpless, unlike him who couldn't make it more tha three feet by himself. He remembered the others frost bite and almost turned to ask how it was, but then figured if it was bad then she could come look at it. So he lay there, ignoring Ethan completely, he would have nothing to do with him. He was just a nuisance, and was assured of this when he heard a few people talking outside, about maybe sending the 'techie' back to the ship to avoid putting anyone in danger. Covering his ears as he burried deeper under the covers be nodded off finally. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Sorry is so short next one will be longer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Ethan sent Nathaniel a sour look. Honestly, what a jerk the technician could be at times. So he was giving Ethan the silent treatment now, just as he had when they had left the Praxiteles? And what the hell for? Just because Ethan had helped that doctor who, by the by, had at least seemed the tiniest bit interest in how Ethan was and had actually inquired about his frost-bitten cheeks? Making an exasperated sound in his throat, Ethan put his hat back on and crawled out the tent again. Nathaniel was so easy to read, it annoyed him- it was so obvious that he wished Ryan were his partner. Ryan, who could carry him around like a princess all the time and treated him like a doll, whereas Ethan had – the monster! – expected Nathaniel to have been old enough to open his mouth to say “Ethan, help me, I’m dying here”. As incensed as he was, Ethan didn’t even try to stick up for his lifeline partner when some crew members muttered that it would be best if “the techie” returned to their exploration pod. Padding over to the Captain, Ethan inquired what the next plans were. “Soon as we’ve all had a good night’s sleep, we’ll continue down the mountain. I’d like our biologist to figure out what those animals were and the botanist and other scientists to make a reading of the planet- we need to know more about KELT-1. You just concentrate on surviving with that partner of yours,” the Captain told him with a sardonic smile. Gritting his teeth and feeling as if he was about to explode, Ethan threw himself into his sleeping bag and curling up, tried to fall asleep, muttering as he did about what he really thought of their dear Captain. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. , don't worry, I tend to write too much, actually :hamtaro-005 (5): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Nathaniel groaned at the sound of beeping, hsi collar and Ethans wrist watch were going off, signally that it was time for them to get started. He quickly rose, and dressed himself, still giving the other the silent treatment while he pulled on the red scarf he became determined, he wouldn't ask for anyones help today, he would try harder and whine less, he would make Ethan look at him not as a nuisance but as a guide. As determined as the young techie was, he managed to get his foot caught leaving the tint and fell face first. He was never much of a morning person, but the ice cold snow certainly woke him up. He had his hands dug into his pockets as they began there long treck of the day, at one point he could have sworn he heard something crack under them, but when he tried to talk to the others about it he was ignored, even Ethan passed it off as nothing important. So in annoyance, he just continued to walk on, wanting this trip to be over. Then, the snow began to get heavier and heavier so the visibility was practically zero. Despite his still anger, out of momentary childish fear he took hold of Ethans hand, making sure he wouldn't loose the other. He heard another crack, and stopped, tugging Ethan to a stop beside him. "Guys! There was a noise, a crack again." He called out but those around them simply ignored him in annoyance, clearly his throat he began again, "Gu-!"The young techie was cut off by another louder crack, , and then another, the group got closer to each other as they heard cracking all around them, then all was silent. Nathaniel grasped Ethasn hand tighter, fear rooting him the spot the same as everyone else. Before anyone could react, a large crack opeed beneath the two boys, Ethan and Nathaniel in a split second where there and the next falling down into what looked like very black water, Ryan shot forward to grab them, but only grabbed ahold of Ethans arms, and Nathaniels scarf. Thinking he had them both he quickly pulled them back, he and Ethan toppling backwards onto the ice, and they lay there for a moment, confused and dazed, ryan held Ethans arm in his right hand, and NAthaniels scarf in the other, the techie had fallen in. He had not even had time to cry out, his grip was ripped from Ethans hand and he was plunged into the freezing water before he knew it. Having never been to earth, meant of course that the techie couldn't swim, and the water seemed denser somehow, than the water he was used to. So down down down he went, enhaling water in his longs, he was going to drown. Strugglign against the water, he felt himself sucked through a tight whole at the bottom of the lack, and shoot out, next thing he knew he was in the air, and landed painfully against a wall of ice, falling to the ground he lay on his back for a moment as everything grew dim. In his last moments of contiousness, he could see Ethan, sleeping right beside where he lay, and despite the fact that he knew if he fell asleep he would die, he fell uncontious from the impact of the ice and his body went into shock from the freezing water. The young, white haired techie lay now, in the base of an under water cave. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. You can never write to much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Ethan groaned when his alarm went off. Passing a hand over his sleep-drunken face, he sleepily watched as Nathaniel hopped up like a toy with batteries and began to dress. “Morning,” Ethan smiled, continuing to watch Nathaniel, but after a while he realized that he was purposefully being ignored and his eyes narrowed. When the technician left and fell flat on his face, kicking snow into Ethan’s tent, the psychologist gritted his teeth in annoyance, but finally got up…before Nathaniel did anything worse. Deactivating the tent, Ethan winked at Cheryl and loudly told her how pretty she looked that morning, hoping he was getting on Nathaniel’s nerves half as much as the other was getting on his. Walking off ahead of the technician, Ethan smiled and animatedly chattered away with the young doctor, who certainly looked pretty with her flushed cheeks. The psychologist’s mood had started to rise, but then Nathaniel began to comment from behind that he was hearing some strange noises. Ignoring him at first and expecting the others to say something, Ethan saw that none of the other crew members were paying the technician much attention. Seeing the annoyed glances he was being sent, Ethan sighed inwardly. “Nathaniel, leave it- it’s probably nothing. Now hurry up- you’re slowing us down,” he called over his shoulder, turning back to continue flirting with Cheryl. But all too suddenly Nathaniel’s small gloved hand slid into his. Without thinking, Ethan immediately squeezed it reassuringly, turning to smile at the technician. But when Nathaniel started up about some cracking noise again, Ethan rolled his eyes. “Nathan, there’s-” But this time he heard the crack and what was more, the trembling ground below his feet. Cheryl yelped and fell backwards onto her bottom. “What’s that?” “What’s going on!?” the crew members asked, trying to figure out what was going on, but it was far too misty to see clearly. And then, as Ethan gazed into Nathaniel’s eyes, the white ground beneath them cracked open and Ethan began to fall. “Nath-!” he started to call out, but all at once a powerful arm yanked him back up and Nathaniel’s small hand slipped out if his. Landing on his back in the snow, Ethan blinked dumbly up at the white swirling mist and the Captain’s shocked face. “Nathaniel?” he asked, shooting upright and crawling closer to the hole before anyone could top him, gasped when he saw the evil, dark water below. “NATHANIEL!! Oh no, we must have been walking across a frozen lake,” he realized, jerking backwards in alarm. “Everyone, back, back!” the Captain cried, trying to get Ethan to stand up, but the psychologist fought to free himself, beginning to take in deep gulps of air. “Dr. Burke, what the hell do you think you’re doing?! Leave him- the techie’s dead-” “No, he’s not!” Ethan yelled at the Captain furiously as Ryan slowly got to his feet, looking from the red scarf in his hand to the hole where Nathaniel had disappeared through with watery eyes. “You told us we had to get together with lifeline buddies. Well, Nathaniel was mine and as long as I’m still going, I’m not leaving him behind!” And with that, Ethan stood up and slipping a small oxygen mask that hugged his face protectively, allowing him to breathe, he jumped into the swirling blackness below. The current underneath was very strong, so Ethan wasn’t afraid that he’d find Nathaniel. Despite the small light that had gone on upon entering the water, the psychologist couldn’t see much. Not able to do anything but hold onto the straps of his rucksack, Ethan felt himself being sucked downwards. Panic began to take a hold of him and he began to struggle, attempting to rise to the surface, but he had no choice. Down, down- and suddenly Ethan was being tossed and turned dizzily. His stomach rebelled, but just when he believed that he was about to throw up, he was suddenly flying through the air. “Ouf!” Hitting a wall of ice, Ethan slid down, landing beside a prone Nathaniel. Needing a moment to gather his wits, the psychologist realized that his lifeline buddy was in acute danger. “Nathaniel! Oh no, no, no,” he gulped, shrugging off his rucksack. Warmth- Nathaniel needed warmth, otherwise he was going to die. Reaching down, Ethan began to yank, tug and tear off Nathaniel’s clothes, completely undressing him. Pulling out the two emergency blankets with the heating chips inside them, Ethan wrapped Nathaniel into them. By then, his lips were beginning to bump against each other as they shook. If he wanted to survive, he was going to have to climb into the warm blanket cave he had created for his technician. Using the last of his strength to undress himself, Ethan crawled in between the blankets and wrapping his arms around Nathaniel, lost the ballet against the darkness. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. *foxy3 have fun* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Dark....everything was so dark. The small boy sat in the middle of darkness, he couldn't even see the ground beneath him. His arms wrapped around his knees, with his head in his lap, quivering, it was dark, and cold. Then he heard a loud, echo'ing crack that rang throughout his head, looking up the boy peered into the darkness, then it sounded again, a loud crack. He stood as a pale light began to fade in, etching in the design of the landscape around him. A very young, child version of Nathaniel stood on a sea of ice, about 100 meters ahead of him he saw a group of people walking in one direction. Again, that crack sounded, and one of the people seemed to stop and look around, however was ignored. This felt so familar to him, he watched as the boy slipped his hand itno anothers, and as the other also tried to calm the boy, passing it off as nothing. Then, with another loud crack, the entire world began to shake, he watched as the smaller male began to fall back into cracked up, open area of ice. Before he knew why he was running forward, he watched as the smaller males hand tightened into a death grip on the larger ones. "Don't" The young nathaniel cried out, trying to make it in time. "Don't let go!" He yelled just as the smaller man fall into the water, sinking down, he mirrored the other, familar looking man. Both staring into the black water, Nathaniel watched the water as a small figure rose to just below the surface, he recognized this as himself. The body in the water was clearly dead, it's eyes half opened, it's lips parted just slightly. "No!" He cried out as he dove into the water himself. Nathaniels eyes flew open as he jerked up, probably would have jumped up had it not been for a heavy weight holding him down. He panted softly, trying to catch his breathe, a dream, he repeated to himself, it was only a dream, well, mostly. Warm, he felt so warm right now. Shifting slightly against the had ground beneath him, he became aware of the weight on him again, then he realized, that the weight was Ethans arms. Ethan was hear, did that mean that Nathaniel had died? Was this what his mind had created as his eternal heaven, to stay in the psychiatrists arms? If it was heaven, then it would make sense. Closing his eyes again, he burried deeper into the others arms as best he could, everything hurt so he tried not to shift to much. Wait, it hurt? If he were in heaven he wouldn't hurt, meaning that this, whatever it was, was real. His eyes widened then, and his entire face lit up in a bright hue, he had to bite his lip to keep from gasping to loudly, not wanting to wake up the sleeping boy who's arms he was currently entrapped in. There was skin to skin, he could feel the others very hot skin against his own, warming him up so nicley. In fact, Ethans skin seemed a bit to hot, shifting back a bit, he raised his hands and took Ethans face in his hands , tilting it down slightly he pressed his lips to the others forehead and sucked in hsi breathe. That was how hsi mother had taken his tempurature when he was younger, and to Nathaniel, Ethans seemed to be far above where it should. Then, he began to panic, they were trapped on a deserted planet, that wasfreezing, Ethan would need proper medical attention if he got any worse. He almost let out a chocked sob when he thought of what could happen to Ethan if he didn't get any medical assistance, but quickly dashed the thought from his mind. Ethan had clearly come down here, to save he, so he wouldn't let him die because of it. He felt the ghost of fingers on his hand and stopped, his mind going back to the dream as he stared at the others sleeping face, he murmured, "Why couldn't you just listen, you let me fall."Speaking softly he leaned forward kissed the others cheek, before struggling to climb out of the blankets, his back hurt so bad, as did his head, and his right right ankel was either broken or spranged. Without waking Ethan he was going to need to assess his damage as well. Tugging the rucksace that Ethan had broguht with him, he flipped open the water sealed top and pulled out some clothes, pulling on some of Ethans extras that were a bit to large for him, he reached up to try and shake someof the frozen water from his stiff hair. Then slowly crawled over and tugged the blankets off of Ethan, trying to gouge if he was going to be okay and to his relief the other seemed to be fairly unharmed ohter than a nasty cut to his shoulder which must have come from colliding with the ice. His face was pure red as he set about dressing the psychaitrist. After a few more hours of allowing Ethan to sleep, Nathaniel decided they needed to get moving.They were going to get out of there, they would escape ad find the others. Pulling out a cup of hot coffee that had bee in the bag in a secure mug he shuffled over to Ethan. Leaning over him with his ams braced on either side of Ethans head, he meant to wake him, but couldn't bring himself to it. Etha seemed to be sleeping so soundly, reaching up, he gently brought his hand to trace the back of the others cheek gently and couldn't help a smile from his face, the psychiatrust, even in this situation, was beautiful. Leaning down he closed the distance between his face and the others, however instead of kissing his lips, he gently kissed the top of Ethans ear before whispering into it softly "Hey, Ethan, can you wake up for me? I have coffee I know you want," He spoke as he gently shook the other away. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Such a nice rp .-. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Ethan was trapped inside a confusing, swirling world of white. Twisting and turning around as he might, he simply couldn’t find his way. He was disoriented, couldn’t pinpoint any exact markings in the unfamiliar world around him, couldn’t figure out where exactly it was that he wanted to or even needed to go. He only knew that if he remained there, something would happen to him, something bad. Glancing around, Ethan craned his head, squinting into the fog in front of him and desperately trying to find something – anything, that would give him information as to what he should do. Trying to lift his foot, he took a step forward, but it felt wrong, so he turned. But the direction he was looking in right then seemed exactly like the one he had been about to go in. He stopped, stunned. From far away, he thought he could hear someone talking to him, but the person was obviously far away. His eye began to play tricks on him and Ethan thought he could see a shadow brushing by, running, just out the corner of his eyes. But no matter how quickly he turned, Ethan couldn’t see it. A dream- he knew he was in a dream, but despite that, Ethan knew that the fear he felt was real: he needed to wake up, otherwise his physical body would be doomed. He didn’t know how he knew, he just did. Sitting down helplessly in the snow, Ethan tried to dig his way out the peculiar world, but his fingers kept striking freezing, hard snow, and his fingers and knuckles began to ache. White- how could he ever have liked this color? It was nothing- reflected nothing, gave nothing away and scared him. “…Ethan…” This time the voice sounded closer and when Ethan turned to the left, he felt something touch his face. “…coffee I know you want…” The voice was familiar, was good…was home. Swallowing, he closed his eyes, trusting the instincts that told him this was the way out of that hellish white nightmare. And indeed, when Ethan opened his eyes, he was no longer shivering from the cold, but he could feel heat- too much heat. And there, right above him, his brown eyes enormous they were so close, was Nathaniel. Nathaniel, who was cupping his face and alive…he was…Ethan reached out and clumsily, slapped the technician’s nose and lips, feeling them as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “You…you’re alive?” he croaked, but seeing the technician’s face, he hastily pulled his hand back, sitting up as his brain made the connection. “Nathaniel, you’re alive!” he cried out, overjoyed as he hugged the technician tightly. His brain needed a further moment to realize that while he seemed to be naked, Nathaniel was dressed…in his clothes. Not quite sure what this meant, Ethan hastily dropped his arms, recalling that Nathaniel wasn’t such a fan of body contact. “Erm…where the heck are we?” he wondered, tugging the blanket up under his chin. A cave…an underwater cave, opened on both sides…and which shimmered strangely. Blinking at Nathaniel as the technician recapped how he had probably got there, images began to invade his mind and Ethan nodded. Yes. Yes, of course, now he remembered everything clearly- the frozen lake they hadn’t realized was one, the crack, Nathaniel falling, the swirling water, Ethan jumping in after him… Holding his hand out, he accepted the cup of coffee. “Thanks,” he said, taking a grateful sip. He still felt uncomfortably warm and reaching below the blanket, lowered the temperature dial. Ah…much better. Nodding towards his rucksack, he coughed. “Mind to hand me my third set of clothes? I’d like to get changed. We need to start moving and get out of here. I don’t know if our collars and trackers will work, but the sooner we get back onto the surface to send a signal, the better for us. I’ve no doubt that the crew that landed here with us will have already given up on us,” he sighed, turning his back on Nathaniel as he began to dress, feeling a little embarrassed for his nakedness. If Nathaniel was up and about, then he’d probably already had a good look at him. The psychologist’s cheeks heated up as he stood up. There hadn’t been any boxer shorts in the bundle of clothes the technician had handed him and Ethan had been too embarrassed to ask the technician to have a second look. Feeling a little better, even though his wrist computer, as expected, had shut down and would need a while to switch on again after Ethan had punched in all the necessary passwords, he shouldered his heavy backpack again, handing Nathaniel his extra torch. Standing up after he’d packed the blankets neatly back inside again, he chewed the inside of his lips. “So…the question now is…in which direction do we go?” he wondered. Turning to Nathaniel, he smiled. “To quote a cat from my favorite book, “Every adventure requires a first step. Trite, but true, even here.” That’s quite true so…you decide. Which way should we take?” Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. .D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Nathaniel couldn't help but watch the other in pure shock, he seemed so at ease with there current situation, but he himself was scared. They could die in there, and no one would so much as bat an eye, he wanted to go back and say thank you. Also he couldn't help but feel upset with Ethan over something that wasn't evne his fault, he had let him fall. He had ignored hsi warnings, and continued to flirt with that girl, then let him fall. So he found it hard to smile at Ethan right now, even though he knew the other had saved his life, he couldn't squash the feeling in that dream. Why didn't he listen He shook his aching head as he took the torch from the psychiatrist and held if firmly in his pale fingers. Why didn't he hold tighter Looking from his right to his left he saw a small tunnel and decided that was the way to go, taking a step forward his face went shock white from the pain from his ankle, keeping his face away from Ethan he composed himself, and forced himself to walk towards it, only after closer inspection did he realize that Ethan likely wouldn't be able to fit in there, so he chose the tunnle next to them and began walking in silence, trying to gather his thoughts in his head. Ethan had even slapped his lips earlier, did he feel him kiss his ear? Maybe he didn't like that? the white haired boy began to wilt like a puppy that knows it has done bad as they walked. After a few hours of the silence, he began to ear a scratching noise, stopping, he leaned against a wall and began to look around, then out of the corner of his eye he saw it, holding out his torch for the other to take silently, Nathaniel knelt down, and began to crawl over to where there was a large rock glazed over in ice, he could see the tail of something, it looked like a solid white lions tail, fo a moment he considered that maybe he should be scared, but when he got close enough he knew it was fine. The creature was small, like maybe a large rabbit with long rabbit ears adn a long cat like tail, but other than that it resembled a rabbit to the T. He motioned for Ethan to be quiet as he held out a hand to it, he was bad with people, and it was this secluded aspect of him that made him good with animals, he had patience and was still very innocent, his lack of people exposure meant he rarely was never back stabbed before Ishmeal, or anything of the sort. He had a sense of naivness about him that animals seemed to relate with. So when he held out his hand, the animal sniffed at the air, turned towards him, sniffed at his hand, then hopped onto him, knocking him back and nuzzling his face, just like a cat might do to it's owner. He noticed how was it was, it seemed to give off heat which caused him to reaching up, laughing and hold the animal to him as he stood. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 And so the silent treatment continued. At first Ethan didn’t say anything, simply because he didn’t believe that Nathaniel would be able to keep this nonsense up. So instead of paying attention to the technician, who was probably entering puberty, judging by his moody phases, Ethan contended to studying the icy, faintly glowing walls around them. Even though it was likely that they were walking through underground caves that were covered with tons of wildly churning, deadly cold water, Ethan didn’t feel alarmed. Common sense told him that the tunnels were too smooth, too straight, too perfect to have been manufactured by nature itself without some help. These tunnels had probably been used by humanoids or some other intelligent life force of some kind. And as long as he and Nathaniel got out the caves before they met said life forms, nothing ought to go wrong. However, when Nathaniel pointedly kept up the silent treatment, Ethan began to seethe again. Who the hell did the stupid technician think he was?? He’d shot Ethan, treated him like dirt over and over again, had slowed him down up there on that mountain, had ignored him four times already now, hadn’t thanked Ethan for having plunged to sure death after him without even stopping to think, had saved Nathaniel from drowning and execution, and how had the techie repaid him?? By battering his pretty long lashes at a muscle mountain- this was seriously the height!! So when Nathaniel once again began to hear his imaginary sounds again and passed Ethan his torch, Ethan couldn’t bite back a sarcastic remark. “Oh, so I’m not good enough for carrying you around like Ryan and tying a scarf around your neck, but I’m okay to hold your Highness’s torch? Oh, what a relief: my life once again has meaning.” Glaring at Nathaniel when the techie began to laugh and turned to show him that he was holding something cuddly, Ethan sighed out in annoyance. “Could you please start thinking like an adult for a change? Instead of a stupid pet, we need to find the way out. And you can forget taking that rodent along with us- our food’s limited as it is, so there’s no way in hell I’ll be sharing my food with it, forget it,” he snapped aggressively. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Nathaniel was shocked to say the least, he was stuck in a cave after literally being thrown through the air, almsot drowned, and almost froze to death and this little fur ball was the first nice thing that had happened to him since he had been here, other than waking up in a blanket with the other, and here Ethan was sneering at it. He held it closer to him as it licked at his cheek and nuzzled into his neck. He couldn't keep the saddened look out of his eyes, to him Ethan was this soft, comfortable person, but he had never before been so curt with him. The animal in his arms could sense the humans distress and turned to hiss at the psychiatrist, it's hair standing up like a cats. He had had it with the others rotten tone, he went quiet to avoid conflict, but if Ethan wanted conflict then fine. "You never offered me a scarf, or to carry me. If you did I would have accepted or said yes, but you did not. No, and instead of focusing on the mission and watching your life-support buddy, you were flirty with the doctor lady, even though you kissed a girl on the ship before we came down here. What kind of guy are you? Kisses someone, then gues and flirts with someone else. If you were helping me like you were supposed to instead of fawning over a girl this never would have happened!" He yelled, this time getting louder, the creature in his flick it's tail as it watched. He stpped forward, and stumbled a bit on this bad ankle plus ice but steadied himself, then allowing the creature to climb up and wrap itself around the back of his neck so it rested on his shoulders he grabbed his torch and turned, "Sorry for making you hold this for 5 seconds, I know it must have been such an inconvience." He spoke then stormed off ahead." Tears prickled at his eyes, NAthaniel was always soft spoken, never before had he said anything like that to someone. What Ethan said about him being like a child however, hit him hard. "If he wants me to be an adult, then fine, I will be." He murmured to the soft creature around his neck, noting how heavy it seemed but content by the warmth it was giving off, he walked on. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 “Oh, oh- this is classical, just classical!” Ethan scorned right back. He had been prepared for anything but the lecture that Nathaniel seemed to believe himself to be in the place of giving. Stomping lividly after the retreating technician’s back, Ethan began to tick off everything that Nathaniel had thrown at him right back. “No, of course I never offered to carry you, because in case YOU forgot, YOU shot me not so long ago!! It’s thanks to YOU and YOUR past that I’m still not perfectly recovered, but am weaker than usual. Aside from that, Mr. Powell, why should I offer you my scarf? You’re old enough to pack on in yourself and anyway, what’s wrong with you? Cat catch your tongue? Can’t you just speak if you need something? I told you already- I’m a psychologist, not a MIND READER. Oh, he who lives in a glass house oughtn’t throw stones around! Focusing on my life buddy? Well, my lifeline buddy was giving the muscle-packed Ryan the eye and completely forgot me the moment he stepped off his little exploration pod! And last night, you also ignored me, even though I built up our tent, even after I gave you coco t drink, YOU just went off with your little soldier. And as to my love and sex life: that’s none of your business!!” Ethan yelled, shaking his fists childishly, completely forgetting all the communication rules he had learned at university. “Tracy is my ex-girlfriend and it was just a friendly kiss, nothing else. Aside from that, Cheryl actually even wanted to walk with me, since MY buddy was throwing his arms around a guard he’d only met for three seconds, but hey! Who knows? Maybe Ryan won’t be so bitter after you shoot him again in a bout of jealousy. I only hope Cheryl won’t turn out to be as psychologically instable and emotionally under-developed as you are, because you seriously piss me off, Powell!” he snapped, opening his mouth to hurl the final insult, but as angry as he was, he forgot to look where he was going and tumbled right down a steep, yet short downward decline, yelping as he went and his torch getting knocked out his hand. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. *drama baby, drama* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Nathaniels eyes went wide as he stopped where he was walking, he felt a pain in his chest, a pain he never thought the other would put there. He was right, he really was, his sex and love life was none of his buisness, and if it weren't for him, Nathaniel never would have been shot, because of his childish feelings of love that were clearly misplaced. He physically winced at the cat got your tongue, he knew he had social anxiety and issues talking but he never expected the other to point it out so harshly. Psychologically unstable and emotionally under developed huh? He laughed softly to himself, a bitter smile crossing his face as he nodded, sounded like him. "You let me go!" He cried out, yelling back at the other, however he was pulled from his admission when he heard the other cry out as he went down a steep decline, out of a reaction, Nathaniel dove backwards, sliding slightly across the ice as he grabbed hold of Ethans hand, his own torch went flying as well, he was holding onto a peice of ice with one hand and keeping Ethan from falling any further with the other. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to focus all his energy on not letting Ethan fall. The animal that had been on his shoulder had hopped off when he dove for the psychiatrist and was now sitting beside him, it's nose wrinkling as it watched. Letting out a string of curse words, he tried to adjust himself to tighten his grip but it only made it looser. He looked down straight into the face of Ethan, and knew there was no way he could let him fall, no matter how deep the hole was it was ice, so there would be no way to help him back up, he knew he couldn't pull Ethan back up, he just wasn't strong enough, so he did the only other thing he knew to, letting out a slow, shaky breathe he released his grip on the ice he was holding onto, and Ethans weight drug him over the edge as well. They boht plumeted down and slid onto a patch of solid ice, the creature slide down beside them and came to rest at there feet. Only after he was sure they were safe, he stood, took a step and fell back on his back again. Reaching over he picked up the ball of fluff and stood, it was almost pitch black down here, and both there torches had gone flying. Glancing back to the direction that he could hear the other in, he smiled to himself, I did not let go. His mind whispered as he began to walk forward, "Let's try this way, no way we are getting back up there." His tone was monochromatic, the words that the psychiatrist had said to him had cut him deep and after they got out of here, Nathaniel was certain he wanted nothing to do with him. At one point he knew that there was something special between him and Ethan, but he was sensative and the scuffle they had just had, cut him deep. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Ethan couldn’t believe that, after the words he had just thrown at Nathaniel’s head, the technician had actually dived to save him. And what was more, he had continued to hold onto Ethan’s hand, even though the exertion had been written all over his face. Ethan had tried to stop swinging, knowing that he had been making it even harder for Nathaniel to hold on, but when he twisted his head to glance over his shoulder, all he could see was pitch blackness. And that frightened him. Still, despite it all, he didn’t want Nathaniel to die with him. “Let go,” he gritted out, fighting against the tears and irony: he had come down to save Nathaniel, yet he was about to die. “Let go, it’s alright. I don’t-” he began to repeat, but just then Nathaniel really did let go…just not the way the psychologist had expected. Suddenly he was falling down again, but Nathaniel was falling down with him, as well as that silly fur ball that the technician had found. Yelling out, not knowing how deep he would fall, Ethan swore badly when he landed. The fall hadn’t been long, but he’d landed on his folded leg and that against a sharp jutting piece of ice. He needed a good while to catch his breath and assess that he was really alright and by then, Nathaniel seemed to have already got to his feet again and began to walk away. When he spoke to Ethan, it was rather cold. Ethan sighed, his shoulders dropping. “Nathaniel…wait,” he sighed, getting up. Pain shot up his leg, but he forced himself onwards. “Hey…I…I’m sorry, okay? About…about what I said to you. I was angry and…and what I said was harsh. I’m…I’m really sorry- I didn’t mean to hurt you…well, actually, I did, but only because I was mad, but now…” his voice trailed off, confused. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Key-Tokki Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Nathaniel stopped where he was walking, and glanced over his shoulder, holding the ball of fur, his face was cool and impassive, giving off nothing of what he felt. His gaze lowered to Ethans leg as he listened to him apologize, nodding slowly he changed his direction and walked back, kneeling down he murmured for Ethans foot, and brought it up into his lap, reaching up he pressed his hand where blood seemed to be coming from and withdrew his hand, seeing a sticky mess of blood on his hand he reached down and unzipped the jacket he wore, then ripped off a peice of the bottom of his shirt, which took a bit because of the strength of the fabric. Then he reached up and tie'ed it above where the blood was coming from, smiling to himself he leaned back, looking at his handi work, somewhere in his mind he said that he bet he did better than that frilly little doctor could, but kept that from his mouth. "It really is fine, I forgive you."Standing up, he turned and began to walk, the creature following after him. What he said was true, he understood what Ethan felt. Girls liked him and he liked girls, so his love life was none of Nathaniels buisness. Nathaniel knew he probably acted to much like a child as well, so he would stop, stop clinging to Ethan, stop basically climbing in bed with him to sleep, when they got out of here he would allow Ethan to follow whatever girl he chose, and Nathaniel would go back to his toys and trinkets. Tears prickled at his eyes but no, he knew he would not let them fall, not this time. The creature made a soothing purr as he danced around his feet, in the dark, neither of the boys could see that Naniels skin was already starting to pale, the creature on the other hand was begining to fade from the solid white, to a very light gray. Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatichan Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Ethan watched Nathaniel tending to his wounded leg. He himself hadn’t noticed that it was bleeding, but he saw it on the technician’s hand. Wincing slightly when Nathaniel tightened the makeshift bandage, he nodded when he walked forward. “Thanks- that’s much better,” he admitted, wishing Nathaniel would look at him and talk to him the way he had when the two of them had been up on the Praxiteles. Ethan sighed, thinking back to the star cruiser. It had actually become his home and he longed to return to its security. Even after everything that had happened on it, it felt to him as the best place to live in in the galaxy. Turning to Nathaniel, the psychologist made to ask him how he felt about the Praxiteles, but since Nathaniel kept ignoring him, Ethan shut his mouth and concentrated in at least not slowing them further down by falling into further holes. Luck seemed to be on their side, because after about twenty minutes they came to a wall that went up for as far as Nathaniel could see. Putting a hand above his eyes, Nathaniel roughly calculated that he and Nathaniel had to climb up about two hundred meters. Just then his computer watch beeped and he glanced at it. “Great! I have a signal here, but we’re still too weak to make contact with the Praxiteles. But if we make it up the wall, the signal ought to become stronger. Come on- let’s do this.” Kneeling down to open his trusty rucksack, Ethan pulled out climbing gear. The special shoes that he and Nathaniel were wearing were perfect for walking in this landscape and activating a special chip, spikes appeared on their soles. Pointing out to Nathaniel how to wear the climbing support, he tied a rope around his waist and dexterously tying the other end around Nathaniel, Ethan handed him a pick. “Watch me,” he instructed as he turned towards the wall. Kicking it, even though it hurt his leg, he dug his foot into the ice wall and heaved himself up. Swinging the pick, he heaved himself up, kicking his way into the wall to support his second foot. Repeating this movement over and over, Ethan climbed higher. Feeling the rope around his waist tightening, he knew that he had to pause and glancing down, saw how Nathaniel was faring. “You okay down there?” Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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