Icecubes and Daredevils

Thank you Terri! Always fun to square off with the warrior queen! You rock!

November 20, 2521
Outside the Johannsen House
1740hrs, Boros time

There was comfort in the gathering darkness, a sense of a gentle blanket falling over the scenery as the stars began to twinkle in the sky. Kiera paused in her journey to the farmhouse, stopping to look at the night sky. If Joshua watched her from the fence where she'd left him, she didn't want to know; the peace between them might be temporary and she was afraid to hope that it might stay. Therefore, it was a moment, a moment of understanding shared, maybe a step towards something that might one day be called friendship. Maybe. There were a lot of days between now and forever.

Her mouth became a grim line as she focused on her destination, her gaze falling from the sky to the house again. The sky that had been Nika's and wasn't anymore. She had to fix that. She quickened her steps and went onto the porch and knocked on the door.

The door to the house is opened by Larry Johannsen -- and he raises a brow at her. She's the one member of the group that he's not entirely sure of, having noted the tension between the crew and the way the rest of them act toward her. But she's done nothing to him and Nala's treating her as she would any other guest on the ranch. "Evenin'," he drawls mildly, stepping back to allow her entrance. "You lookin' for Nala or Nika?" he asks -- they're the only two in the house at the moment besides Kev, and the woman can't want to talk to the boy, right?

Despite the twist in her gut, she can't help but smile at him, warm and genuine. "No, the woman don't want that. Is Nika near? If you could tell her that Kiera is here as she asked, I'd appreciate it. I'll wait out here. She might not want to see me tonight. I'll go if she wants me to. I just want her to know that I came.'

That seems an odd request to Larry, but the man's learned one thing knowing Earhart women their whole lives -- sometimes he just doesn't want to know how a woman's mind works. "Sure," he replies. "I'll be back in a shake." He turns and walks up the stairs, and it takes several long minutes before he reappears, a blind blonde behind him. There's a low murmur of voices at the top of those steps and he descends alone, shrugs to Kiera, and says, "She's on her way." He heads back into the parlor, slanting a glance at his sister-in-law as she begins her descent. Perhaps lingering just a hair too long in case she trips on the steps or something, but by the time Nika reaches the bottom he's closing the parlor door behind him so that the women have some modicum of privacy.

Nika's movements are ... surer than they have been. She knows this house by memory, by feel. She stops at the bottom of the steps, her face turned toward the front door but her eyes very clearly not taking it in. "What is it?" she asks in a neutral tone. There's no hostility in her expression or her voice, but there's some amount of.... caution.

"You asked Joshua to tell me that you wanted to see me. I'm here." Kiera studied her, taking in her surety and her caution. "Do you want to talk to me on the porch or would you rather talk inside?"

Ah. Nika's expression clears. She hasn't forgotten, but she wasn't entirely sure Joshua hadn't opted to sit on that for a while. "Outside," she replies. With one hand outward to feel for the doorjamb, using Kiera's voice for guidance as to the door's exact location, she encounters the coat rack next to the door easily. She shuffles through the coats by feel and takes down one that is clearly her sister's, throwing it around her shoulders and then stepping out onto the porch. She leaves Kiera to close the door behind them both. Making her way to the railing carefully, she turns to face the redhead. "Why are you wiping out your resources for this?" she asks with no lead-in. The tone is one that Kiera's become mighty familiar with over the months, though rarely is it used. It's the I Will Have Answers tone.

Kiera shuts the door and turned as the question hit the cool night air. Her mouth opened and then closed, a huge grin spreading over her face. That's the old Nika, she thought and fought the urge to laugh. Leaning back against the house, she crossed her arms. "'Cus I wanna. You can't stop me."

Blue eyes narrow, and if they could focus on Kiera there would be LaserBeamEyes going on. But she can't -- the expression in the blue eyes remains blank, only the facial muscles respond. "No. I can't stop you," she agrees tightly. "But what I can do is stick a boot up your behind if you ever think to ask a member of my crew to lie for you again. Ever. We're done with that shi, my dear. I don't care what agreement you've made about bein' on that ship; you ever lie to me or ask one of them to lie for you to another one of the crew again, you're gone."

She fought the urge to snap to attention. "Yes ma'am." Her head bowed. "I didn't think that you'd take anything from me. I've got the funds and maybe an icecubes chance in hell to help you, but it's a better chance that any other. I just didn't want you to say no knowing that I was gonna be involved. I don't want to get your hopes up, Nika. I've got to chase Hannibal down. It's been a while since we've run into one another." She looked up again, studying Nika's eyes, still blue, still gorgeous, still broken. "But I'm gonna do whatever I can to get to him and get your sight back. That I can swear on. No lie."

"I don't want to take anything from you," Nika admits, her anger still evident. "But I'm not stupid enough to cut off my nose to spite my face either. I don't trust anything you have to offer except maybe your medical skills. Joshua's vouching for what you say you can do, and ... " She hesitates. "As selfish as it is, if I go on the transplant lists, it will be years Kiera. You and I both know it. Arden knows it." She shakes her head. "I'll take the ice cube's chance."

"I tried to get you moved up. I know what your chances are, Nika," came the soft, serious answer. "And I know you don't wanna take anything from me. I wouldn't either in your shoes. I know that you probably feel as if you're dealing with the devil and it's gonna bite you in the butt. I won't lie. It may. I can't guarantee anything. I'm gonna try. I owe you my best effort and that's what you're gonna get. I asked Joshua to lie because I was afraid that you wouldn't say yes but he did say that he wasn't gonna to do that. I told him to do as he saw fit. I trusted his judgement. And I do." She shifted, pushing herself away from the wall. 'Thank you for taking the chance. I appreciate it. I'm just praying that I can get the job done." She smiled gently. "You oughta go back inside. The sun's burnt down and it's a bit chilly out here. I'll get the door if you want."

"I don't," Nika replies. "I was planning on sitting out here for a while anyway." She moves from the railing toward the bench situated next to the door. "I'll see you later, Kiera. But don't forget what I said. Lyin' ain't the way to get along in this group for you right now." She finds the bench with her shin, wincing deeply but lowering herself to sit. She has some thoughts to deal with.

The redhead watches silently but doesn't interfere as Nika bumps herself. Wincing, she looks out into the night, knowing that any offer of help will be bitterly and angrily rejected. Nika took the one offer that Kiera would have sold her soul for her to take. It's all that she could have asked for; to expect more was unrealistic and unfair. "Goodnight Nika," she states, stepping off the porch. "Thank you." She walked off into the night, her steps light. Halfway to the ship, she found herself humming, the song breaking through her. Guilty, she turned to look at the house. Not time for music yet, Kiera cat, she sternly told herself. But the tune carried on in her head as her soul let out a great sigh of relief. Hannibal, I'm coming and you better be ready to do the best work you've ever done!

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