Taimdala at 06:57, 9 February 2011

2011-02-09T06:57:16Z

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Taimdala at 23:06, 27 December 2010

2010-12-27T23:06:43Z

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Taimdala: Created page with 'WHO: Arden and Nika
WHEN: Day 2 of confinement-ish

Sitting in the darkened generator shed, everyone should have been asleep. Maybe they were and maybe they weren't…'

2010-08-22T20:51:49Z

Created page with 'WHO: Arden and Nika WHEN: Day 2 of confinement-ish Sitting in the darkened generator shed, everyone should have been asleep. Maybe they were and maybe they weren't…'

New page

WHO: Arden and Nika 
WHEN: Day 2 of confinement-ish 

Sitting in the darkened generator shed, everyone should have been
asleep. Maybe they were and maybe they weren't; Nika couldn't tell. But
she'd been laying there for several hours already and everyone else's
whispers had already drifted off. Her leg was throbbing mercilessly and
she doubted tomorrow would be a lot better. Knowing no one was more than
a few feet away and with a mental map of Arden's location, she moved
cautiously in the pitch black to scoot across the ten feet or so to
where Arden had lain down to sleep. Her hand slipped out and touched his
side -- or perhaps it was his arm or even a leg, she couldn't really
tell immediately in the darkness -- and whispered, "Arden, wake up a
minute." 

Arden comes instantly awake, "Nika? You okay? Need some pain killer or
something?" He yawns as he sits up stretching and cracking the overused
muscles from their work in the forest. 

"Actually, I could kind of use a painkiller," she admitted. Nika
was not one to gripe, so it must be bad if she woke him to try to find
the stuff in the pitch black generator shed. She was quiet as he
rummaged in the dark, listening to the sounds of the others sleep... or
at least lay there silently. It's at least an approximation of privacy.
"Why did you do that?" she asked finally. It took her two days to
finally bring up the incident in the underground bunker, and she wasn't
sure she *wanted* the answer, but it was driving her nuts. "When I took
your pistol," she clarified, in case he didn't know what she meant. 

A low chuckle is the first answer she gets. Then a soft "A-ha!" He
slides over to her and shakes two capsules out and hands then to her,
passing them from his hand to hers. Finally he says, "Cause you were
taking me too seriously. yes, I don't trust Schweiss. And yes, I was
fairly sure he was bluffing. But I wouldn't have pushed him so close to
the edge that he would have gone over." 

He pauses and sighs, "Lately I been finding myself taking the Devil's
advocate role. Seems like whenever we try to do "good," the "good" that
happens is we get "good" and screwed. So I decided, not consciously,
that someone has to put his thumb on the balance so we say centered." 

Nika took the capsules and dry-swallowed them. She'd get her water
bottle, which was back over by her sleeping spot ten feet away, when she
scooted back over there. In the meantime, she simply remained within
touching distance of the doctor. "I don't trust the doctor," she said
quietly. "Quite frankly, I don't blame you for not trusting anyone. But
we have *got* to get out of siege mentality, Arden." 

She paused, silent in the darkness. "It's gotten to the point that
we *assume* that everyone we meet out there is out to get us. We cannot
keep doing that. I can't handle this job if I have two of you paranoid
to the extremes. I *won't* do this job under those conditions. For a
long time, you and Rina were a lot alike in that I could take whatever
you said at face value and work with it. Playing devil's advocate is
fine, but I can't tell when you're being sarcastic and when you're being
serious anymore," she admitted softly. "It hampers my ability to weigh
your arguments when you make them. I have to first figure out if you
actually mean what you said." 

"Point," Arden says. 

He doesn't say anything for a long moment, then begins, "You know ever
since Kiera came aboard I've felt a bit... isolated. I like Keira and
all, but she seems to bring a competitiveness to the crew that I don't
know if I like. I feel lots of times like its the girls against me.
Joshua is neutral -- so damn neutral that it hurts. I don't know if
that made any sense," Arden rushes before Nika could say anything, "But
since we're sharing feelings." 

Funny how some conversations were just so much easier in the dark
where you couldn't see the face of the other person. There was silence
from the blonde as she thought about his words, considering them from
all angles. "I'm not sure what you mean by competition," she finally
said. "She's called you on a few things, for certain. But I've called
you on things the whole time we've known one another." She paused and
asked, "Is it the *girls* against you, or is it the dynamic between you
and me that's causing the problem?" 

"Maybe both," Arden says. "I didn't realize it at the time, but I know
now that I relied on you to soften the harder edges in my life. Our
relationship felt so natural, so... well, good, that I, unfortunately
took it for granted." 

He sighs, "And now I miss it. A lot." 

Nika was quiet in the darkness once more. When she spoke again, it
was to string together perhaps more words than they've really shared in
a year. "I do too," she admitted softly. "Not just the sex part, but
just the... companionship. It just wasn't as simple as I thought it was.
I care about you, and I don't want you to think you're second best
somehow -- trouble is, he still holds a big piece of my heart. And after
what happened, it sort of hit me that... I could really hurt you. If I
took up with you again at that point, it would have just been using you
to run away from what happened with Brian. But that was a year ago, too." 

She sighed quietly, shifting her weight to try to find a more
comfortable position for her leg. "I can't say I *will* ever sort things
out with Brian, Arden. I can't even //begin// to guess what's going to
happen if the man ever shows up. Maybe nothing. I always believed that
if something was meant to be, it'd work itself out in the end. But
sitting around waiting on it to happen ain't exactly my style either."
She paused. "Aside from the two of you, I've never had a long-term
relationship, Arden. I'm pretty much clueless about how to go about not
hurting everyone involved." 

In the darkness silence falls between them. But is more of a
companionable silence than an awkward silence. 

Arden breaks it saying, "I understand. Actually you're my longest
relationship as well... well, romantic relationship. I have no idea
what I am doing, how to behave, what to say, or anything... But I'm trying." 

"As for now," he finishes, "I am your friend and your doctor. So you
take care of yourself, and I will do whatever I can to help." 

Though he can't see it, the smile is evident in Nika's voice. "I know
that you're my friend and my doctor. Trouble is, I'd really like it to
be more again. And that's about as selfish as it gets." She reaches out
in the darkness and puts a hand on his arm, sliding it down to his hand
to squeeze. "I stay away because I figure it's takin' advantage of your
feelings to make myself feel better." 

"I know and understand that," Arden replies, "logically. But whoever
said that feeling were logical?" he chuckles. "I'm fine, I appreciate
your concern. 

"However, I am serious about Keira..." 

He pauses, "There is something mercenary about her. I get the feeling
that if the price is right, she would sell us all and whistle as she
walked away counting her credits. Can we trust her? Can we *afford* to
trust her?" 

"Would you rather I said the hell with it and shared your bunk
again, even knowing that I might never figure out the rest of it?" Nika
asked seriously. He's an adult, he can make the call for himself. 

"As to Kiera," she added quietly, "I don't know. I've gotten the
impression that even if she were going to sell us out, she's got *some*
kind of code. And if she sticks to it, I think she'll at least warn us
first." Nika shrugged. "It's about all we can hope for, honestly." 

"Do you think you could do that? I don't," Arden answers her. 

"Actually the best case we can hopeful is she actually becomes part of
our crew, our family, and we can trust her. Right now I don't think I
could trust her," he says. "She hasn't given me any reason *to* trust her." 

Nika was quiet for a long time, finally replying to him honestly.
"I don't know. Which is why I haven't asked you to take back up with me,
Arden. I'd rather have your friendship and your camaraderie than have
you in my bed for now and hating me later." Her snort was derisive.
"'Course, I suppose you might hate me sooner, since takin' up with
someone else for a nice casual thing seems like rubbin' your nose in
this situation too. Sheesh. I do know how to make a mess." 

She shifted her weight again and urged quietly, "I need to lay back
down. And you need sleep. Go on. The painkillers are starting to kick
in. I don't know what to do about Kiera, but so far... she's pullin' her
weight. We'll just play it by ear, same as we did with Jake and Rick." 

Arden says, "sure. Sorry I kept you up. Rest. You need it." 

As she moved away in the darkness, Arden settled back down as well. But
it was a long time before his breathing became soft and regular and
sleep took him once more. 

Go back to: '''[[Mutineers Timeline, Season Four | Timeline Season Four, April 2521 to -- ]]'''

Moments In The Dark - Revision history

Taimdala at 06:57, 9 February 2011

Taimdala at 23:06, 27 December 2010

Taimdala: Created page with 'WHO: Arden and Nika WHEN: Day 2 of confinement-ish Sitting in the darkened generator shed, everyone should have been asleep. Maybe they were and maybe they weren't…'

Taimdala: Created page with 'WHO: Arden and Nika
WHEN: Day 2 of confinement-ish

Sitting in the darkened generator shed, everyone should have been asleep. Maybe they were and maybe they weren't…'