The waking nightmares aren't as bad as dreaming I suppose

[demjiin]

WHO: Kaz Brekker, Alberto Scorfano, and Drake Riley
WHERE: Drake Riley's 'lab'
WHAT: Reveals and Bad Reactions
WHEN: Latter half of September
WARNINGS: Violence, and a severed finger



Kaz followed Alberto with the usual 'thunk' of his cane punctuating his steps. The building Drake had taken over to use as his lab was a bit better looking than some places in Temba but not by much. It did have working electricity, which many of Drake's machines that Kaz had no clue to the purpose of were using, but the plaster was crumbling in places and it looked like a part of the ceiling already had significant water damage. There were places where exposed wires were wrapped in only electrical tape as it looked like Drake had jury-rigged a place for his tablet. In the corner were what looked to be scavenged or repurposed building materials. Drake was making it work with some ingenuity but it was very apparent the building was in rough shape when he moved into it.

Kaz was only with Alberto because the boy had volunteered to help out at the Sh'Ka powerplant, which was the next stop. Kaz really didn't like the idea of being unable to send or receive messages outside of Temba, nor did he particularly like talking to Drake so he was letting Alberto lead on that.

Comments

[silenziobruno]

While Alberto was familiar with the research building, Drake invited him a few weeks ago to stay there when it got cold at night, he was less familiar with the place the scientist called his domain. It was more or less in the same half-ruined state as the rest of the building, but it was also clear that Drake had done the best he could to make his lab as practical as possible. Maybe too practical, in Alberto's opinion, it lacked a little something...like ambient light and company.

That was the reason why before leaving with Kaz to Sh'Ka, Alberto wanted to pay Drake a visit and bring him something. He was carrying a large glass vase filled with salt watered, careful not to spill it on himself as he moved. Inside the vase, there was a little jellyfish-like creature that emanated a dim light as it moved around: a Chrysaio.

"I can get one for you too, if you want." The kid said, looking up at Kaz with a smile as they finally reached the door of the lab. "They just need salt water to live, and they are very good company. The adults get very bright, too, when they're happy."

[dr_riley]

It'd been a productive day. Drake had gotten up at whatever time counted as around 4am on Temba, poured himself a cup of whatever it was the replicator had given him when he'd asked for coffee, and gotten to work testing and identifying whatever equipment came with the building and still seemed to function. And that was in between seeking out metals and materials to try and build tools he could use to further build other things. (Like say a soldering iron to assemble say a circuit board for say a drill.)

He wasn't expecting or particularly in want of company when he finally took a break. What he'd have liked was a comic book or a television or even just a glimpse of his wife, but having none of those things, Drake settled for a few minutes of creativity as he wrote and doodled musical notes on the back of some scrap paper. He was just imagining it would sound nice on a piano with guitar accompaniment when he heard Alberto's voice outside, frowned in confusion, and got up to open the door.

"Oh..." It was that weird dodgy kid with the ugly voice.

"What d'you want? And what is that?" He drew away from the vase Alberto was carrying with a grimace and a little bit of a shiver.

[demjiin]

Kaz just rolled his eyes.

"Yes, hello Riley. And you still have no people skills, I see."

The only reason Kaz was here was Alberto. Sure Kaz was rude much of the time, but Riley was worse, in Kaz's opinion, because he was a spectacularly loud idiot. Why Aberto was being nice to Drake at all was beyond him.

[silenziobruno]

Waking up at 4 am should be illegal, in Alberto's opinion. That was the middle of the night, no matter what planet you were on. How was anybody going to get some necessary beauty sleep if they started doing things at that hour? No, just no. Props to Drake for being able to work so early and not be a zombie by the time it's 5 in the afternoon.

Alberta gave Kaz a sympathetic look. Even he could tell that the adults didn't seem to particularly like each other much. Oh well. He then moved closer to Drake, trying to avoid stepping on anything that looked breakable, and held the base up, so the blond could take a good look at the Chrysaio. The floor still creaked under him.

"This is Botticelli. I guess you could name him something else if you wanted, of course. It's a present for you, a pet that is also a very useful lamp if you are nice to him. This place is a bit dark."

The creature inside floated closer to the glass as if it was giving Drake a look, but it was hard to tell where the little black bead eyes were actually staring at. "What are you working on?"