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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 1, 2009 23:13:41 GMT -6
Sol had spent the previous evening scouring the ship for possible bugs to ease his mind. He'd tried his best to do it as discreetly as possible so as not to worry the rest of the crew, but if any had noticed it and figured it out, they hadn't said anything.
After everyone had gone to bed, he'd lain in bed unable to sleep. Too many things were racing through his brain at a speed he was having trouble keeping up with. One thing was for sure, however: He needed to say goodbye to Olive. She was far safer staying with her family here on Antheia.
And so this was why Solomon found himself trudging through the fields towards the meadow that Olive's family called home. He hadn't gone there often, not being much of a social fellow and always feeling overwhelmed by the Fauns and their friendliness and fondness of partying, but he was familiar enough with it still to easily remember his way there.
He was trying his best to run the right words through his head, practicing them over and over in order to really get something proper to come out. He'd already attempted to say it once and clearly it hadn't gone over properly, when she'd decided to invite herself along. It was difficult to figure out how to say it a second time, now with the new twist being that instead of simply saying goodbye, he was saying goodbye and crushing her excitement and expectations of traveling the stars with him.
He wasn't looking forward to it, but it seemed like the only option. He sighed, looking forward to it even less when he finally saw her beaming face as he approached them.
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Olive
Junior Member
Faun
Posts: 129
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Post by Olive on Oct 2, 2009 20:15:14 GMT -6
Olive had noticed one major difference since she'd been back to Antheia: She was completely bored.
Since she'd been off planet, discovering the sights and sounds of Terra and all of the vast things the humans had to do and see and experience, suddenly Antheian activities were mundane. She'd done them all her life, and what was once fun was not enough for Olive. She had gotten a taste of the rest of the universe, and she definitely wanted more.
When Sol came wandering up to the early morning fire her family had going for breakfast, Olive felt excited once more. He was coming to collect her so they could go! Finally!! She leaped up from where she'd been sitting, beaming at him. "Is it time to go??"
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 2, 2009 20:21:07 GMT -6
Sol quickly put out his hand, motioning for her to slow it down. "You'd better sit, Olive." She was looking so happy. He hated this.
He sat down on one of the nearby logs, glancing at the fire. He wasn't sure what the fauns had cooking over it for breakfast, but it smelled like it would probably taste better raw. He glanced over at her again, dreading what he had to tell her.
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Olive
Junior Member
Faun
Posts: 129
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Post by Olive on Oct 2, 2009 20:26:51 GMT -6
She frowned immediately as he quickly told her to sit down. She knew that look on his face. It was the look he always wore when he was about to say something he was dreading. She sat down quickly, looking at him a bit worriedly.
"What's going on?" she wondered. "Can we go back to the ship yet??" She sure hoped so. She was ready to see another planet. In fact, she hadn't even seen nearly enough of Terra, in her opinion.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 2, 2009 20:35:47 GMT -6
Sol sighed. "There's been, uh... a problem. Cassandra had a bounty on her, apparently. And some men are looking for her right now. They've been all over our ship, and they're guarding it, watching and waiting for her. Cass is hiding right now, and we're hoping to get it sorted out, but..."
Sol still hadn't decided how he was going to say it. Every way that came to mind seemed rather blunt, and there just seemed no way to make it seem any less so. His headache from last night was really starting to come on again.
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Olive
Junior Member
Faun
Posts: 129
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Post by Olive on Oct 2, 2009 20:39:08 GMT -6
Olive wasn't completely sure what a bounty was, but it didn't sound like a good thing if men were after you because of it. Poor Cass! How could anyone want to hurt her? She seemed so nice, even if she was shy and didn't like to talk to the crew that much. It didn't seem very fair, really.
She couldn't help but notice Sol trailing off. He was probably reaching that part he didn't want to say. Olive frowned. "But... what?"
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 2, 2009 20:42:15 GMT -6
"But..." Sol continued. "well... this means the ship is in some trouble right now. Even if we manage to leave the planet okay... some military men will probably keep an eye on us. I don't know how safe it's going to be on that ship anymore."
Here it was, finally the line he was dreading: "Olive, it's not safe for you. You're completely innocent of crime, and too many of us have records. We're going to get you into major trouble if someone keeps gunning for us. I... I want you to stay here. On Antheia."
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Olive
Junior Member
Faun
Posts: 129
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Post by Olive on Oct 2, 2009 20:47:00 GMT -6
Olive was definitely not expecting that. Hadn't they already sorted this out days ago?? She didn't care if they might get in trouble. It wasn't an adventure if it was easy.
She frowned at him, crossing her arms. "No way, Mister, I'm still coming with you, and you can't tell me any differently. I'm not a little kid, you know. You're not the boss of me."
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 2, 2009 20:51:01 GMT -6
Sol couldn't help but smile a little. It was exactly the kind of response he was expecting from her. Too bad he wasn't planning to budge on his stance.
He stuck out one finger. "Okay, Olive... One: I know you're not a kid, but you realize only little kids use the phrase 'You're not the boss of me', right?" He stuck up a second finger. "Two: If you're on my ship, which I currently captain... this actually does make me the boss of you."
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Olive
Junior Member
Faun
Posts: 129
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Post by Olive on Oct 2, 2009 20:57:49 GMT -6
Olive felt a little annoyed that he was right. But at the same time, she was still right. Right? "You know what I mean."
She stood up, pacing a little bit anxiously now. "I'm bored here now. I want to see the other planets and people! I want to do cool stuff! I want to get caught if we're gonna get caught, cause it'll be something cool and new! I want to learn stuff and have experiences like you're gonna have! And darn it, Sol! I will just sneak onto your ship whether you want me to or not, and you know it!"
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 2, 2009 21:02:41 GMT -6
Sol pinched the bridge of his nose. She was right, she was right. She had every right to choose her own path. But still, he had every right to say who went on his ship.
"Olive, you could get hurt. I don't want to see you hurt." He knew she was going to continue to press the matter anyway, but he could at least try to get her to understand what he meant.
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Olive
Junior Member
Faun
Posts: 129
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Post by Olive on Oct 2, 2009 21:06:21 GMT -6
"Fine!" Olive replied. "If I get hurt, then I get hurt! And it'll be my fault cause I decided to come on my own free will, right?"
Boy, Sol sure could be stubborn. Besides, she wasn't going to say goodbye to her best friend. No sir, not now. He needed her around to help him make new friends anyway, cause boy was he bad at that.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 2, 2009 21:09:28 GMT -6
"Fine," Sol grumbled. "But I'm still going to blame myself for giving in to you."
He stood up, dusting off the back of his pants. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but if you're coming along then you need to come now. I don't want any surprises for the guards when it comes time to leave in a few days, so I want all crew and passengers accounted for. Do you have your stuff ready to go?"
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Olive
Junior Member
Faun
Posts: 129
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Post by Olive on Oct 2, 2009 21:17:52 GMT -6
"You do that, you grumpy bum you!" she grinned. "I'll be right back!"
Olive hurried off to retrieve the few belongings she wanted to bring with her. She hadn't had this opportunity the first time, since she'd decided last minute to leap into Sol's shuttle, so she was happy to grab a few of her other dresses and other personal things from her place in the trees where her family slept at night.
After she had an armful of her things, she sought out her parents, giving them quick goodbye hugs--as well as she could while holding her stuff--and then hurried back over to Sol.
"Okay bud, let's go!" She motioned in the general direction of the space port. "Oh, by the way, I think you should shave."
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 2, 2009 21:21:01 GMT -6
Sol waited patiently as Olive hurried off to grab her stuff. He wasn't totally sure what she actually owned as Fauns didn't really collect a ton of possessions or extra things besides some garments, but he knew she'd want the chance she hadn't given herself the first time she'd left the planet.
She finally hurried back with an armful of stuff. "What is all that?" he barely asked before she suddenly blurted out her other comment, taking him off guard. "Huh? Why?" he rubbed his beard a little in confusion.
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