Private Fire and Water

[Makai Dashiell]

Scouting out a location for the next mining camp was supposed to be relatively easy. Map the planet, poke around the ruins, camp out next to the ship for two weeks, take core samples of potential sites. Nothing he hadn't done before, nothing that was hard or unusual, especially on a relatively temperate planet. As an half-aquatic, the humidity and afternoon rain was basically a vacation from the dry and cold regions of space.

Yet a wrench had been thrown into his plans. Best friend and love interest Myra Arceneau Dashiell had joined him on the trip and it had been on disaster after another. He had tried indicating they should be more than friends but the girl was quite hardheaded.Not to say he wasn't but how hard was it to just let go and be his girlfriend? He kissed her and expressed interest, what else was he supposed to do? Smoke signals? Take out holonet advertising? Get on bended kneee? Nothing in his life had been more frustrating than convincing Ellie that he was serious.

Getting closer to just plain giving up, Makai had escaped their now-cramped tent to brave the downpour to rescue the mapping drones that had got caught in the violent storm. Thunder rumbled overhead as he trudged through soggy jungle to retrieve them. Rain didn't bother him but the mud made for slow going. Ellie had protested his going out but the equipment was important and expensive. It was just wind and rain, nothing he wasn't born to handle.

Besides, it gave him a great excuse to get some space between them.

 

[Myra Arceneau Dashiell]

Makai Dashiell

Of course, Myra wasn't about to let Makai go out there by himself. Sure enough, soon as the younger Dashiell stepped a muddy boot outside into the rain, the lanky brunette would follow. At least she had the decency to remember to take a wide brim hat. Not that it was gonna do much in terms of overall protection in this rain.

With her chin jutting out and her eyes a tumultuous mirror of the stormy skies above, odds were that if Makai had any objection, well he'd only be taking the argument he'd been wanting to hit a pause from would travel indoors out.

As if she was the personification of a stubborn rain storm, Myra came behind Makai with purposeful steps. All legs and arms, she swung them mightily to try and catch up to his much longer strides.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Makai didn't notice Ellie at first. Being outside in the rain storm it was loud - rain falling, wind and the occasional rumble of thunder all made for a rather deafening experience. The young man was focused on not falling and slipping through the mud as well, not exactly prime conditions for keeping an eye out for his friend.

Taking shelter on under a large tree, Makai pulled out the datapad again to check his location and recalibrate as necessary. The equipment was still showing a signature on the map and it appeared he was roughly halfway there.

Iced blue eyes looked up from the equipment and spotted Ellie working her way towards him. She had been following this entire time? Why? Didn't he say stay in the tent? Had she suddenly become deaf?

"You shouldn't be out here! You'll get sick. Then what?!"

 

[Myra Arceneau Dashiell]

With the sound of the pelting rain and the wind, Makai Dashiell 's voice carried over to Myra, drawing her attention. She didn't pick up her head to face him though - oh no, she was presently most occupied trying to get those gangly legs of hers to not go slipping and sliding under her.

Bent over, using her hands, she did her best to retain her balance. Water was already saturating her shirt and pants, dribbling and trickling 'round the wide brim of her hat. Her eyes were spared the thick, fat droplets, but her cheeks and neck didn't fare any better.

By the time she huffed and puffed her way next to Makai, those stormy eyes managed to jerk up to bore into the half Galan. Don't do it Myra! Don't get all distracted by the way those silvery water droplets went carving their way over his speckled blue scales along his jaw and neck.

No! You are an Arceneau Kuhn who don't need no one telling her whether she can be out in the rain or not!

"I am here to help!" she cried out defiantly, lifting her chin, stomping her way around him as if to say that was that. Nevermind that she had no clue what she was supposed to help with but she was here and that was that!

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Makai wasn't sure what Myra Arceneau Dashiell was here to help with. She looked like a drowned rat stomping through the mud and water. Clothes were stuck to her small frame, hat had fallen and slumped a bit against her head, hair plastered against milk-white skin. Eyes had to quickly divert away in his appraisal though, blood rushing to his cheeks, highlighting bright blue scales more than normal. The green expanse of jungle seemed like a good fixture to focus on.

Ellie was stomping towards him and he reached out his hand, taking hers firmly. She may be infuriating him but he was no cad, no way was he going to allow her to fall and injure herself on the hike through mud-filled jungle. Makai bit the inside of his cheek, keeping quiet despite wanting to argue his case. How could someone so small be so annoying all of the sudden?

Without much fanfare, they started on the path ahead once again, this time Makai kept the datapad out with the location information. He had also marked their campsite before setting off, last thing he needed was to get lost with the heiress to the Arceneau fortune.

 

[Myra Arceneau Dashiell]

Makai Dashiell

Well at least Mr. Grumpy-McGrumpy didn't say anything else to try and deter me, Myra mused, although to be frank, between the pouring rain, slippery mud, and the growing chill of exposure, one could well concur with the younger Dashiell that staying out her was a recipe for disaster.

Of course, Myra was not going to admit that.

Instead, the girl would continue to take step by stubborn steps beside him, doing her best to try and keep up. Of course, she had no clue where they were going so now and then she had to adjust, bumping into Makai with her shoulder or half walking in front of him from time to time. If she kept on, odds were that she'd just trip him and they'd go tumbling down.

"Alright, so where we gotta go?!' she finally asked, that bottom lip still twisted outward in defiance.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Myra Arceneau Dashiell

Keeping the datapad in one hand, Ellie's hand was in his other, keeping the girl from falling too much. There were already some mishaps with her slipping and sliding, tripping on roots. It was a uninhabited planet as far as he knew, meaning no paths to follow or roads they could stick to in order to make travel easier and faster. It was slow going work not made any easier by the rain.

Well,the rain didn't bother him, it felt nice after being stuck in space for ages on end. Thunder rumbled overhead as Ellie asked her question, still looking quite stubborn in his opinion.

They were getting closer, he could see more evidence of ruins as they walked. He tugged on her hand, pulling her under some rocky overhang of some long abandoned citadel type ruins. Makai stepped back and released her hand, shaking his head like a shaggy dog before fixing his hair once more. Datapad was pushed in her direction, the screen easier to see since they were out of the rain.

"The red dots.Not much further now, we're the blue dots."

 

[Myra Arceneau Dashiell]

Makai Dashiell

Okay, so nevermind that having Makai's hand steady her was a reassurance that tickled Myra's belly and placed a damper on her grumblings. It was hard to stay upset and defiant when all Makai would do is well.. be rational and do what he could. Instead of taking the bait, he took on the classic Dashiell deadpan and cool demeanor, humoring her.

Myra wasn't sure if that should irk her more or take the wind out of her sails. At this age, the blend of hormones and emotions made it hard to have some sort of consistency when dealing with her crush.

Ugh, if only things were just easier!

As if her mother's flagship communication skills wouldn't help in figuring that out. Oh well, maybe she would eventually learn.

Peering closer to get a good look at the rain-splattered datapad, Myra caught sight of the screen. Yup. There they were. Red dots. About a few meters out. The shake of Makai's head sent more splatters of water around. At this point, it didn't matter. Myra would soon be drenched.

"Okay, let's go then!" she suddenly cried out, giving her rain wet cheek a good wipe to take the splatter of rain off her face. It didn't help. Never mind the slight shivering. Stubbornness was a great insulator, right?

The girl charged ahead, gangly legs and knees brushing past thick, green ferns and jungle leaves. A few times her arm went out, trying to push aside the scratchy branches from her path.

Great. Now that she made that entire hoopala, an awkward silence ensued amidst the rain. Now what was she supposed to say? She hadn't quite thought this out...

"So how do we fix them?" Myra would blurt out, asking. Her cheeks flushed, doing her best to just try and find where the stupid equipment would be.