Working It Out

[Arlo Creede]

Cylus 30, 718

"Morning," Arlo said cheerfully, suspiciously, overly cheerfully maybe as he strolled into the cabin where Vega was resting, for the second time that morning. Or what seemed to be morning anyway. You could never really tell in the middle of Cylus. The first time he'd come in he'd been carrying a tray with their breakfast on it. Cups of tea, bowls of oat porridge with berries, brown sugar and cream, thick slices of crisp bacon and poached eggs. That was a full break ago though, and now he was back, hauling a leather duffel in his hand. "I've got some things for you," he said as he put the bag down on the floor. "Idle hands are the devil's work, or at least that's what my mother used to say."

His mother had said it, any number of times. And each and every time she had, Arlo had been suspicious. And for good reason. Usually it was because there was some chore that needed doing. One he in no way wanted to do. So he'd learned from a very early age to appear busy at something, even if he genuinely wasn't. And there Vega was in her bed, and from his perspective she looked idle. Perfect timing then.

"We've got to keep moving," he explained while reaching into the bag and pulling out a narrow metal bar. It looked to be in one piece with knobs on the end, but was actually made in two parts with a spring secreted somewhere in the middle. It allowed Arlo to wedge the bar in the open door at the top, where there it stayed. Even when he grinned and used it to pull himself up, feet off the floor, several times in a row. It didn't suit him to stay idle either, and the weather up on deck wasn't fit for anyone with good sense to be out in.

Besides, he told Vega as he reached into the bag once again. Doctor's orders. It would be some time before she was up on her feet again. But the longer she was idle, the more her muscles would atrophy, the more difficult the healing process overall. "You need to get your blood pumping too," he said, holding up to leather straps with rings on each end. "Good for the body, good for the spirit."

Grabbing a couple of tools and some screws from his sack, Arlo climbed up on a chair beside her bed so that he could reach the ceiling. It took a few trills to get his measurements right, the length just so, and so on. But when he was done, one to each side of Vega, one metal ring dangled down for each hand, suspended on leather straps with just enough give, that she could use for upper body exercises to help keep herself fit. Arlo had more in that sack, but for now? The rings.

[Vega]

She was snoozing, having eaten a good breakfast, and her dreams were filled with flowers and grass, laying down and looking up at the clouds. Lifting her head from the pillows where she was propped up with a frown, she looked at him suspiciously. "Mornin', again." she said, "what's goin' on?" He had that look on his face which told her that he was pleased with himself, happy about something and which, furthermore, she wasn't going to like. One eyebrow raised as he spoke of idle hands being the devil's work. "I was just snoozin'. I'm not idle, I'm bed bound. Shurrup." She sighed, well aware that she wasn't getting back to sleep. "Can we get a dog?" Vega asked, wondering if she could distract him. "I was dreamin' about layin' in a field, with a dog. Right beautiful she was." Good company, too, she said. Dogs. So she'd been told. Company for her, company for him too, though she didn't add that.

Then, he started pulling things out of the bag and Vega groaned slightly. "Arlo, why are you bein' like this? I was just comfortable. An' why have 'we' got to keep movin'? Right now, for me, still is where no pain lives." Then he started messing around in the door frame and Vega rolled her eyes. "Go away, an' let me sleep, Arlo. I'm warm an' I'm fed and I'm comfortable for the first time in I don't know 'ow long. Stop it." He didn't, wouldn't and wasn't going to of course and Vega sighed. "An' stop showin' off, too. No one's impressed." Except damnit all, she was and her traitor eyes told as much, she knew. "Immortals Arlo, cut it out. It's like I'm not allowed to do anythin' except look at the chocolcate. Admire it. From a damn distance too." She grinned, but was more than half serious. "Yer dangling a full meal in front of a starvin' woman, an' it's jus' cruel."

He wasn't going away, though, and he wasn't stopping. Doctors orders? Which one? No one had told her she was very quick to inform him and when he said that she had to 'get the blood pumping', she barked a laugh. "Yeah? What kind of doctor you take me to?" She grinned and then looked at what he was holding. "Arlo what, in the name of all the stars in the sky, are you doin?" When he explained that the more her muscles atrophied, the longer the healing process a deep frown crossed Vega's face. "You use the word idle about me one more time an' I'm gonna be shovin' that metal thing somewhere where it'll atrophy. I am not idle, Arlo Creede, my legs are smashed. There is a difference, an' yer startin' to really flibberty my gibbet with that." Good for the body, good for the spirit? She sighed and closed her eyes, lowering her head back down to rest on the pillows behind her.

"You're like a little bundle of rubbish sayin's to-trial, you are. Idle hands, devils work. Good for the body, good for the soul. It's almost adorable, or it would be if you weren't so annoyin'. And gerroff!" She waved a hand in front of her face as dust from his actions up there on the ceiling fell on to her. "Arlo, are you tryin' to annoy me?" It was working, evidently and her frown deepened as he gestured to the pair of rings which he'd put in place for her. "You," she said, closed her eyes and rested back with no indication that there was going to be any use of said rings. "Have I ever told you that yer dead weird? I mean, I thought I'd seen it all. But this is our bed, an' you're hangin' things off the ceiling for you to dangle on?" A smile lifted her lips even though her jaw had a stubborn set to it, no doubt. "Kinky. I'm gonna get some sleep." But he knew her far too well to doubt it for a moment; she was amused and, since he'd seen fit to come in and start laying down the law? Well, he was just going to have to work harder than that. "Close the door on yer way out, would you? Thanks."

Boxcode: Thank you, Rose!

[Arlo Creede]

"Bed bound and idle needn't go hand in hand," Arlo argued while he went about rigging the doorway and the ceiling too. He said it cheerfully though and it was as much a put on as not. Truth was, it did cheer him a little to learn this early on that his ploy seemed to be working, just as planned. He could see in in Vega's eyes, her posture, hear it in her tone. He was already starting to get under her skin. Mission, well on its way to accomplished. "What do you want a dog for?" he asked as he dropped down from his last pull up from the bar in the thresh hold.

Wouldn't you rather have a cat?" he asked, even while he'd climbed up on the bed to attach the rings to the ceiling, and with one foot planted on each side of her in order to hold his balance. "Less needy than a dog, smarter and isn't there something about every vessel needing a ship's cat? Keep the mouse population under control." And the longer she was still, the stiffer her muscles would become, the greater the pain, he pointed out. "That's why." She had to keep moving, and being confined to her bed was no excuse.

And when she complained about him showing off, Arlo grinned inwardly but otherwise feigned ignorance while peeling off his shirt and dropping down beside her on the bed. "Little warm in here, don't you think?" he said, and kissed her. What Vega wanted, Arlo reminded her, was to be mobile again. To be able to do what she wanted to do, when she wanted to do it. And the only way that would happen was through healing. And healing wasn't going to happen all by itself. "And your legs aren't smashed. They're broken, and you're right there's a difference. They'll heal with or without your help. The question is whether or not you'll be able to actually use them when they do. At the rate you're going, you won't."

When she asked if he was trying to annoy her, he grinned and snorted. "I'd say I haven't got to try. Appears I'm a natural." And he didn't appear close to apologizing any time soon. "You can sleep if you like," He told her. But Vega would know better than to think it was that easy. "Before you do I thought you might like a treat." Her favorite, in fact, and grinning as he got up off the bed, he took hold round her waist gently, and tugged her down so that she was laying flat. The dangling rings were there, all for the taking should she reach out and use them to pull herself up.

In the meantime? Arlo stepped out in the hall and returned with a tray. On it was a mug of hot chocolate with a creamy topping dusted with cocoa powder. And next to the cup was a little plate containing an assortment of her favorite candies. "Here you are, just in cast you'd like a little something to help you sleep better. I love you and would do anything for you. Just remember that." Anything, even invoke her fury with him, if that's what it took.

Then, as tempting as the treats were, Arlo placed them on the small bedside table, just out of her reach in her current position. The only way to get at them would be to use the rings to pull herself up. Just a few inches was all it would take. Start small, Arlo figured, with something he knew without question she'd be able to do. Easily, so long as she wanted to.

Of course she could always call on her father or cousin to come in, pick her up and put her back in an upright position. If she did, they'd have to pass by him to do it. After smiling and giving her a kiss after all, Arlo didn't go far. Only the end of the corridor where he sat on the bottom step, hoping that angry as she was it him, Vega would at least try. And if she did, then he had more surprises for her, stored in his sack.

[Vega]

"I hate cats. Mewlin' sly things." Indeed, every vessel had a cat to keep the mouse population under control. But she'd never had a dog, she said, and in this dream she'd just had, her and the dog had gone walking along this cliff path and it was nice. "Why does it matter why I want one?" He was being dreadfully contrary, she pointed out and suspicion swirled in the colours of her eyes. But then, he moved from the chair and stood, on the bed, one foot either side of her. Vega's hands, apparently of their own accord, trailed over his legs and she looked up at him with a wide eyed expression. "Arlo. Oh, that isn't fair," she said as his shirt dropped. When he kissed her, she pulled him close and pulled herself up to him in the process. "I miss you," she whispered, "so damn much." At his reminder, though, she shook her head. "No. What I want is you. Danglin' on those rings if you must, but in this bed an' both of us able to get out of it." She scowled, though, when he spoke about the difference between smashed and broken, and the rate she was going. "At the rate I'm goin'? Arlo, it's been two trials. I was in surgery for breaks. One of these injuries is bad, you know that. Both of them is agony an' the surgery scars too. I'm not fakin' it here, is that what you think?" She didn't like that idea, not one bit. Equally, though, she looked at him with a serious expression in her swirling eyes. "Don't say that, it isn't true!" That, she said about his suggestion that he was a natural at annoying her. "You say that, an' it's like it's cos I'm the most unreasonable person in the world, an' it isn't true Arlo, an' I don't like it." He was teasing her, she knew, tormenting her, even, but she didn't like it, it was true.

No more than she liked it when he took hold of her waist and pulled her down. "Stop that!" She punched him but there was no leverage to it, he had hold of her and that was that. Her eyes flooded red and she grabbed him on the upper arm and pinched, hard. "I'm not a doll to be pulled around without a by yer leave, don't you do that!" She watched him incredulously as he walked out and came back with a tray. Which he promptly placed out of her reach. Looking at him, Vega's eyes were a deep crimson and if he came near enough to try and kiss her, he'd get another pinch for his trouble, this time on his chest. But then, he walked out. "Are you serious?" Vega asked his retreating back. "Are you actually, genuinely serious? 'Cos if you are, you know, yer's a right..." The stream of Rakahi which she yelled after him didn't abate for a good few bits.

During which time, Joq'an walked up to him and leaned against the pillar of the stair where Arlo was sitting. "Do you speak Rakahi?" When Arlo told him not, he nodded. "Maybe it is as well you do not learn. But if you wish it, I will teach you. She's up, apparently. It is probably best, though, to let her at least run out of steam." He glanced at the door down the corridor and he smiled. "It is good to hear. Although it might not be good for you, it brings me more pleasure than I can tell you." At a particularly virulent yell from her, he breathed out and almost sagged for a moment against the pillar. Running a hand over his eyes, he pulled himself together quickly, but there was no doubting the worry he was working under. "She died," he said and it wasn't a question. "I can not begin to tell you.. but I do not need to, because she is obviously in fine working form." He put his hand on Arlo's shoulder and squeezed, gently. "Thanks to you. I should not tell you this, Arlo, but I feel you have earned it." He looked at Arlo with serious eyes and said, calmly. "I will mourn you if my daughter kills you. But all you ever have to do is ask her if she would, and she will. For you." Glancing at the door behind which he'd left Vega, he shrugged. "Even now."

"Arlo, if yer out there... well you are out there, aren't you? Waitin' to see if yer clever trick worked on me. Well, it did. I'm up, will you please come in 'ere?" Joq'an grinned at him and turned without a word, evidently glad not to be the one who was called. He didn't even pause when she added, "An' I know yer there, Papa! I know it!"

If Arlo went in, Vega had, in fact, pulled herself up without concern. She'd done more than that, though, out of sheer bloody mindedness. Having pulled herself up to a sitting position, she had held herself up, lifting her bottom off the bed and swinging her top half to the point that she was more over towards the edge of the bed. Her legs were splinted together, so she knew that they weren't moving. Which meant that, when he came in, she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her splinted legs on the chair he'd used to climb on at the side of the bed. He knew her too well to think it had been easy lifting them over to rest on the seat of that chair, she looked pale and was sweating and trembling visibly.

But as he walked in, probably the first thing he'd notice was the (empty) mug flying straight at him. Followed by a small ornament. "You pull that shit on me again, Creede, an' I'm gonna get really annoyed," She wasn't pulling her throw, but either her aim wasn't as good as it could be, because of the shaking in her hands, or her aim was just fine and she wasn't so angry. Either way, they'd miss him by less than inch, even if he didn't move. Looking at him, the flecks of red in her eyes were very much there, but so too were pink and blue swirls of colour. "I can't get back." Her legs were on the chair and comfortable enough, she said. And, in fact, it was nice not to be all of her in bed, but she didn't trust herself to lift her legs back on to the bed without dropping them. She held out a hand to show him and the trembling was obvious and she was sensible not to try and move her legs at that point. "An' for the record, I love you too, an' I'll do anythin'. Right back at you. So don't try an' trick me, Arlo. Don't treat me like a child or a pet. Tell me, talk to me, an' we'll do it. An' while I'm makin' that point," she said and flung one of the uneaten candies at him, aimed perfectly at his forehead. "The thought of you bein' able to sit next to me an' kiss me is what got me here. Not the stupid chocolate. But bring that with you, an' I'll eat it after." She grinned at him and the look on her face was clear. Success. Determination. She could do this. "Stop lollygaggin' Creede, an' come here."

Boxcode: Thank you, Rose!

[Arlo Creede]

"It's a big enough ship," Arlo had argued reasonably when Vega informed him she didn't like cats. Meaning he didn't particularly care for them either. But they were good at keeping the rat and mouse population under control. And some sailors swore that the things were also good luck. He'd question one of those, in fact, pointing out the contradictions about black cats and bad luck, but his arguments had fallen on deaf ears. After all, there was nothing logical about superstitions. "We can get a dog if you want one," he agreed. Better to find some points of agreement after all, during a time when he was going out of his way to get her riled up. "But first time it gets seasick and throws up on the bed, I'm going to say I told you so."

It might have been a miscalculation on his part though, when he straddled Vega on the bed and she trailed her hands up and down his legs. Right. He hadn't really thought that one through and when they kissed, it took all he had in him to stop there. It was all he wanted as well. Her. And better he put some more space between them for now. "Of course you're not faking it Vega," he said, gently untangling himself and getting back up off the bed. "I've never thought that. But it's going to hurt no matter what. And it happens that the longer you wait, the more it'll hurt."

But then? Vega responded exactly like he'd thought she would when he pulled her into a lying down position, and left the chocolates for her, just out of reach. At the end of the hallway, at the bottom of the stairs, he didn't need to understand a word of Rakahi to know that he'd invoked a great deal of Vega's wrath. Of course it's exactly what he'd intended to do and he couldn't afford to feel guilty about it. She'd forgive him eventually. And even if she didn't, he hadn't done it for himself. He'd done it for her.

It didn't surprise him that Vega's shouting drew a crowd. Even a crowd of one, and even less surprising that it was her father. Parents were attuned by nature, Arlo figured, to sense their children's every mood and whim. "Not much," he muttered when asked if he understood the language. "But I don't need to. She's speaking volumes, no matter the language." And clearly, though he didn't enjoy the idea of Vega struggling, far from it, he also wasn't having any second thoughts. "I've known 'er over an arc and she hasn't run out of steam yet," he argued and looked up at her father with a grin. "You think that time's coming any time soon?"

She might yet, he added when Jo'qan said he'd miss him, was Vega to be the death of him. But not this trial, he didn't think. At least it didn't sound like it as she called out. There was always that chance though, and Arlo intended to proceed with a great deal of caution. A very good thing, since that caution enabled him to as good as see that empty mug coming and duck out of the way, leaving it to crash against the door frame and then bounce right out into the hall. "Missed me," he said, grinning at her, but still watchful.

And what he saw, pleased him more than he could say. She'd not only pulled herself up, but had gone farther than he'd expected her to. Arlo knew that Vega was perfectly able, even now. It was a matter of wanting to. He wouldn't exactly promise not to do it again, although she knew that he probably wouldn't. Still, "Would you have done this if I hadn't?" he asked. There'd be a time, soon, when she could get back on her own. But it was too soon after the injury, too soon after being put back together. And so gently he scooped her up and moved her back fully onto the bed in a seated position with plenty of pillows to prop her up.

"We'll do it together then," he promised when she pressed him again not to do it the way that he had. He'd felt he'd had to then. But now? It wasn't necessary anymore. Ducking was, though he did it too late to avoid a chocolate candy bouncing off his forehead. "Just for that I should eat it myself," he warned as he plucked the thing up out of his lap, but then handed it to Vega when he joined her.

"I will sit with you anytime, any place, for any reason," Arlo added and kissed her before settling in and wrapping his arms around her. "I've got more in that sack you know." Barbells made of wood and metal, and so on. Although she'd probably had enough for one trial and the last thing he wanted, once he'd gotten her moving, was for her to overdo it.

Off Topic

10gn for equipment

[Vega]

When Arlo asked Joq'an if he thought that Vega was running out of steam any time soon, the older man smiled at Arlo and a deep baritone chuckle escaped him. "I would worry if she did." He did not stay long, but long enough to give Arlo's shoulder a squeeze and leave the boy in the tender clutches of his only daughter.

Vega, meanwhile, had kept herself going on anger and determination. Lifting herself up by wrapping her hands around the rings and pulling, gently and evenly, she had got herself into the position on the edge of the bed. That wasn't really the issue. It was important she didn't jar her legs she knew. As the small movement had started, she felt her legs light up in pain, but she was damned if she was going to let it beat her. So, she shouted in Rakahi to him, paused every now and then to drink some hot chocolate, and got herself over to the side of the bed. That, in and of itself had been quite an exertion and she knew that should stop, but equally, Vega needed to be not trapped in this bed and she wanted to make him proud, to exceed his expectations of her. She was angry at him, there was no doubting it, but she was amused, too. He was right and as much as she hated to admit it, she knew he was. She had to get moving and stop this nonsense. Yet, still, she shouted at him and entirely meant it.

Pulling the chair just a bit closer, she looked down at her legs and she nodded. "Come on, then, an' up yours. You 'ad yer chance, an' I'm still here." The yell which was particularly virulent happened as she grabbed on to one of the many bandages wrapped around her legs and lifted them, splinted as they were, so that she could twist around and then lower them.

She gave herself a moment just to get her breathing back to normal and called him, then. When he quipped oh-so-cheerily that she'd missed him, she flung the ornament straight after the cup. That, too, shattered and she informed him in no uncertain terms. "I hit where I meant to hit. Next one, it'll be yer head." But would she have done this if he hadn't done what he did? Well, she had to admit that no, she wouldn't. Nowhere near. "Of course I would," she answered, but they both knew the truth. As he scooped her up into his arms, she leaned against him and he could feel that she was shaking all over. Not all of it was the pain, either. But she wrapped her arms around him and held on, feeling herself relax as he propped her up.

She grinned when he threatened to eat the confection and shrugged. "You'd buy me another if you did. You're good like that." Having returned his kiss with the same passion and need that she always felt, along with a good deal of frustration, she leaned against him and sighed contentedly as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm scared, Arlo," she admitted, held there safe. She'd never admit such to anyone else. Ever. "An' I might need you to do that again, I dunno. I feel like nothin's movin', everythin' in my life's jus' stopped an' is waiting to see what happens now." It probably sounded foolish, she said. If she remembered her dream, she hadn't mentioned it and that would be unlike her in the extreme. "An' in all this sittin' still an' not movin' an' not doin', all I can do is worry, an' be useless an' need help an' get scared." Nestled in his arms, though, she smiled slightly. "I've gotta get movin', Arlo. I'm gonna turn into a total nutjob if I don't."

So, she suggested, could she rest now for a break or two and then, they could get going on what else he had in that sack. If he was good with that, sitting there in his arms, she'd turn her head so that her nose was against his neck, held in the crook of his shoulder like that she'd be asleep within trill and would sleep more deeply than she ever could on her own.

Boxcode: Thank you, Rose!

[Muse]

Your review is ready!

Whew. Recovery things. I think this is telling of the quality of Vega and Arlo's relationship, however. This sort of thing requires actual commitment. Go, team!

Vega

Points

XP:
15 | These points cannot be used for magic.

Fame:
N/A

Loot

N/A

Injuries + Overstepping

Nothing that's not already injured for you!

Knowledge

Skill Knowledge:
Discipline: Making yourself do something that you know is going to hurt.
Discipline: Anger can be a fuel, if focused.
Discipline: Admitting weakness
Endurance: Moving when movement hurts.
Endurance: Pushing yourself to the point you are trembling.
Endurance: Emotional state impacts physical endurance.
Strength: Pulling self up with upper body only
Strength: Holding body weight on rings and swinging self to move.

Other Knowledge:
N/A

Arlo

Points

XP:
15 | These points cannot be used for magic.

Fame:
+5 That Arlo's a decent gy'at, he is.

Loot

N/A

Injuries + Overstepping

N/A

Knowledge

Skill Knowledge:
Construction: Constructing body building equipment.
Deception: Overly cheerful.
Discipline: Purposely irritating someone you love.
Discipline: Dishing out tough love
Discipline: Putting what you want in second place to what she needs.
Persuasion: Use short catch phrases.
Strength: Using your upper body to lift your own body weight.
Strength: Use of equipment to help build strength

Other Knowledge:
N/A

If you've got a question or concern or if I've missed anything, don't hesitate to PM me!

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Muse

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