Brynn Phytrelia 03

Chapter 03

Brynn was stunned into silence. It was a lot of information to take in. Staring at him, she just focused on her breathing. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in...she needed something simple to focus on. Something that would keep her head from spinning off into a whole other universe. Very slowly, Brynn stood up, arms hugging herself tightly, and she walked to the door, then turned to walk back, then back to the door, then towards the closet in the room. It was an endless, circular pace that she started up, staring at the ground. She needed to just focus, to process everything that had just been thrown at her. Finally, she disappeared into the refresher and emerged with a few tissues, walking over to him, and without a word, or a change in her stunned expression, wiped his damp face tenderly. Biting her lower lip, she continued to clean him up 'til he had a dry face, then she gently backed away, disposing of the tissues. Walking back to him, she stood in front of him, staring down at him.

"...Idris. I'm sorry. That is the only thing I can think of to say to you right now. I...you had so much pain. I...I understand, but I also understand that if you want to let someone in, you let them be part of all of you. Future, present...past."

Brynn knew that was a direct contradiction for herself. She had never told him about where she came from, what her childhood had been like and yet...Shaking her head she reached out and gently caressed his face. "I have no more words, Idris. I just...I don't."

And then she stepped away again beginning her pace, still not sure what to do with herself. And because it calmed her, because it helped even more than focusing on her breathing, she held up a hand as it became engulfed into calm orange flames. And she stopped walking, stared at the flames watching as they changed colors - orange, red, blue, orange...and she felt herself begin to settle down with the information.

He went to reach out for her, to take her wrist and bring her back to him as he watched her pace, panicked all the more by her unordinary reactions. When his hand went to grasp her, however, he thought better of it, because just at that moment, he watched the flames come to life in her hand. He frowned at her and exhaled through his nose.

"I...I'm sorry, Brynn. I just...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." He shook his head and stood, waking into the refresher chamber again.

He shut his eyes, leaning his head against the wall. His forehead sat there a long moment, as he chided himself for being so selfish. He shouldn't have told her. It wasn't his place to do that to her, and he had no right.

"I'm so sorry..." He said softly, his hands up on the wall, holding it as he just stood there. He was trembling now, so afraid that he had put their...whatever they had...on a road to destruction. He didn't want to lose her, and he'd practically blown down the door to her out. If she wanted out, she certainly had one now.

The flames vanished and Brynn slowly followed him, leaning against the doorway of the refresher. Eyes remained locked on him, shaking her head slowly as she realized the pain he was in.

"You're wrong, you know. You had to tell me. I wanted to know. But what I don't understand is...why are you sorry? What the hell is there to be sorry about?" Despite the tone of voice she should have had, or what he expected her to have, possibly angry, or frustrated - she spoke calmly. On one even level, never altering. She needed to stay calm right now, because he was hurting, he was in distress, and if they were both panicking then only bad would come of it. More tears, more things on fire.

He looked at her, his voice breaking as the tears streamed down his face. "BECAUSE, Brynn. I...I don't want to lose you. I don't want to wake up one day and find you...just missing. I don't want SI to find out about you, or these harvesters that they are fighting. If THEY find you..." He shook his head, running his hands over his face and sniffling. "It's only by a sheer miracle that I've evaded them. And I know they want me. Dead or alive. Because, I chose a side, and as far as they are concerned, now you have too! And it's not even our fight! You...you shouldn't..."

His hands were moving like he wanted to hit something, rising and falling, balling into fists. "You should be safe, and I've jeopardized your safety. If SI can find me in antispace...then they can find me anywhere. And it's only a matter of time before..." He exhaled a long breath and balled his hands into fists.

He swung at the wall and obliterated one of the tiles. The dent in the wall was about the size of his fist, but his fist had only bounced off of it. His hand had not been as lucky, as the fingers of his left hand no longer looked very straight. The skin on his knuckles had been broken and were bleeding, but not much more than to shed a few drops on the floor. The purple and black in his hand only lasted, however, for a few moments. He gasped, and turned away from her. He cried out and swore loudly, holding his broken fist with his right hand. He shut his eyes as he turned away from her.

She'd heard the crack of his bones as he'd lost the fight with the wall, but now he was trying to hide it from her. Blood continued to trail on the floor as he walked away from her. He grabbed a towel and wrapped his hand in it. He sighed and shut his eyes a long moment before he looked at her again. He was at a loss as to what to say, his face paled as he occasionally shut his eyes, holding his hand in the towel.

A little cry escaped her as soon as she watched his fist come in contact with the wall. Even though he turned away from her, tried to hide his hand she walked up to him, grabbing his shoulder to spin him till he was facing her.

"Stop it." She ordered, her voice suddenly low and intense like he probably had never heard from her.

"You stop it right now, Idris!" Reaching for his hand, not wearing the expression of a woman who wanted to be told "no" right now, she slowly moved the towel to the side. Eyes studied the wound and she nodded. "Lead me to your medical supplies, I can fix this. DON'T argue with me, please. I'm going to take care of you."

And with that, she stepped back to allow him to lead her. She was still calm, despite the intensity that had been in her voice. She was realizing so many things, in this one moment, that she could barely keep up, but for Idris' sake, she was going to take one thing at a time. And right now she wanted to focus on fixing his hand.

He shook his head, trying to pull his hand away, but she managed to get the towel. He covered his left hand with his right, trying to hide it from her. He was adamant.

"No, it's ok. I just...it's...it's not that bad. I just..." He tried to turn away from her.

"I don't need any medical supplies. I just need to..." He pulled his hand apart. He took his hand in his right, deftly, and she could hear the crunching as he set the bones straight. He cried out softly as he did each one. The purple had already faded to a red and his skin was no longer bleeding. The tones and colors seemed to shift about on his hands, like the silhouette of a swarm of bugs. He sighed and went to hide it from her again. When she'd get his hand again, she'd see that the purple had faded completely and that his fingers were only covered in dried blood, the red in his hands having shifted in their deepness, obtaining a lighter tone until it was only a pale red. He sighed and turned to her, his expression blank and his mouth wordless.

"You just...Idris!" She frowned as he proceeded to crack his own bones, and she felt her stomach turn slightly. What was he doing to himself? She stepped forward immediately after he was done, and found herself once again in shock.

"...Idris? Wha...I..." Quickly, she turned his hand over, then back again as if she might find some sign, besides the dried blood, of his fist being broken. Dropping his hand, she stepped back to stare at him. "What happened? What is this?"

He felt an opportunity present himself, an opportunity to lie, but he only considered it for a moment...or maybe a few moments. He sat there a little dumbfounded, not immediately answering her question. He opened his mouth to speak, and then stopped, his gaze shifting as he avoided her. He allowed her to see his hand, letting her look at it, but he couldn't look at her as she did. He frowned and sighed. He was unable to respond, however, as he tried to continue to avoid eye contact.

"I...it's...not anything, Brynn. It's...it's just a hand." His voice sounded sad and disappointed. He sighed and slowly walked over to the sink. He washed the dried blood from his hand and then looked at her in the reflection of the mirror.

"It's a hand that was broken, and now isn't. Explain this to me Idris!" Her voice rose a level and an angry red began to flush her cheeks. "Stop lying to me, just stop it! Just tell me the truth, please!" She hit the wall herself, but only with the palm of her hand, not breaking anything, or really hurting herself. But it looked little more adult than stamping her foot on the ground.

He sighed and shrugged, slowly. "I..." He scoffed and then made a kind of groaning noise. "OK! Ok..." He sighed again. "Alright. Sometimes when I get hurt, for some reason, I don't stay hurt for..." He exhaled through his nose, his shoulders dropping. "For as long as I should, I guess. It's not very reliable though, and it only seems to happen when I get worked up, like if I am angry or upset or...um..." He seemed to search his mind for the right word his voice trailing off as he got a little uncomfortable. "Active...I suppose is one way to put it." He blushed a little, and continued to shrug and meander. "I...I kind of...also have this...this thing...because of Aria, I think...where I can...I can stop things?"

He looked unsure, his forehead kneading. "Like...I've been able to...to harness the kinetic energy of objects...like...projectiles. I can only absorb some of it though. After it gets to a certain point, the friction...I guess, of me absorbing the energy...can leave its mark on my body in a less than...conducive manner."

He exhaled a long breath and shut his eyes. "There...that's everything...pretty much. You know...everything."

Calm was no longer something that Brynn was able to keep a handle on. As soon as that red had flushed across her cheeks, she had crossed a line, and there was no going back 'til it was out of her system.

"Active. Right...Because of Aria...Right." She knew, even in her angry state, it was wrong to be jealous of a dead woman, someone who meant something to Idris, but she couldn't help it.

"So I know...everything. Wonderful. I'm so glad I've found out now. Thank you so much for being so honest. I only had to beg, and scream, and practically threaten with fire!" Walking up to him, she grabbed onto his shirt sleeve.

"My turn..." And with that, his sleeve began to smoke, and there were flames suddenly growing on the fabric. Turning, she quickly left him there, heading quickly towards the Galley. The flames probably wouldn't burn him. It would take a little bit to eat through the fabric of his clothes, that, and he was in the refresher. All he had to do was go to the sink or shower. Brynn entered the Galley, leaning against a wall, and slowly slid down it 'til she was seated on the floor. Her heart was pounding painfully hard.

"Ophelia, I'm not much of a drinker, but if there is alcohol on this ship I'd like a small glass of it."

He watched her, a little worried as she started to react. He felt himself wincing, the more she spoke, feeling his muscles tighten defensively as she continued to erupt. Then, unexpectedly, she lit his shirt on fire. His eyes almost popped out of his head. He scoffed and patted out the fire. To his disappointment, the fire had managed to taint his skin a nasty red color. He frowned as he watched and the skin remained the burned shade of red.

"Oh right, now it doesn't work!"

He groaned and scoffed, moving to the sink to run some cold water over the burn. He went to follow after her, but she was already way ahead of him.

The little image appeared on top of the dispenser. "I'm afraid Captain Chariton has not allowed me to distill any kind of alcohol for as long as I have been in his care. Would you like a sedative, instead? I am sure I can even try and see if we can get the dispenser to give you a strong drink if you're in the mood for that kind of thing."

Almost on cue, Idris came into the galley, still holding his arm. "No beer, Ophelia. You know the rules. No beer, no wine, no ale, no alcohol. Give her some fire brandy, if she wants it, but that is all."

"But, Captain, Fire Brandy doesn't even have alcohol in it."

"No, worse: it has Althean mushroom extract. It's not as harmful as alcohol, but it'll knock the poor girl on her ass if she starts drinking it. Plus it tastes a little better."

"But, Captain, Althean mushroom extract is known to have more side effects, like amor-"

Idris cleared his throat, interrupting her. "No, it's ok. Just fill up a few glasses. I think I'll have one as well."

"He doesn't allow it? Are you...of course not."

She grumbled unhappily from her spot on the floor. Listening to the two speak, she scoffed a little, not adding anything to it. Just scoffing, shaking her head, not even bothering to look up at him.

"Fire Brandy. Ophelia, before I go throwing back whatever it is, will you explain it to me? If it packs a punch, I want it. And..." Eyes went to Idris for only a moment. "I'm only addressing Ophelia."

Eyes stared back at the floor as she sat there and basked in her full blown sulk.

Idris raised his hands in the air, wide-eyed. "Fine, fine, whatever." Then he looked over at Ophelia, but his look was filled with something, something out of the ordinary.

The image looked over at Idris, making eye contact with him for a long moment before its gaze moved to Brynn. "Fire brandy was first brewed on Althea, by a group of nomadic herders. They found that the mushrooms had a very strange taste to them, and upon eating them, they discovered the chemicals made them inebriated, the same way that alcohol seems to do to most humans. The found a way to extract the chemical from the mushroom directly, because Althean mushrooms taste like Ylesian fowl dung. They named it fire brandy because it's usually mixed with a carbonated elixir that can sometimes burn the throat on the way down because of how 'fizzy' it is."

"Good. Sounds perfect."

Drawing her knees up to her chest she continued to stare at the floor, not sure how she was going to go about sorting her emotions, or if she even wanted to yet. Coming out of being mad, and seeing things rationally was not something she wanted to give a shot right now. "At least Ophelia is honest."

She grumbled, the words spilling out without her meaning too. A flash of guilt crossed her face but she continued to just stare, trying to resist the urge to look up at Idris.

He went over to the dispenser and obtained the two glasses, handing one down to her. "The faster you drink it, the more fun it is to drink."

He kicked back the glass and swallowed it all as fast as he could. It had a little bit of a foul-smelling aroma to it, but there was a hint of citrus and a salty smell to it as well. Idris smacked his lips and went to fill his glass, drinking the second as fast as he had the first. He sat down at the table and looked over at her, watching to see if she would drink it.

Looking down at the stuff, she only considered it for a moment, before she brought it to her lips and threw it back just as fast as Idris had. Standing up, she winced a little as it burned down her throat. Walking to the dispenser, she poured herself a second, bringing it to her lips immediately as she swallowed it. Then she filled up a third time not drinking it yet. Walking back to her spot on the floor, she sat back down, apparently trying to remain a good distance from Idris, still not trying to make any eye contact with him.

Idris watched her from across the floor, and frowned when she went to sit on the floor again. "Brynn, please. At least come sit down with me. I promise, you'll enjoy drinking with me at the table a lot more than you'll enjoy it on the floor by yourself."

He looked at her, a longing look in his eyes, as well as a concerned gaze, worried for her along with it.

"I like drinking on the floor. The floor is steady, and sure, and honest, and doesn't tell lies, or hide things. So...I will stay on the floor. Or if I must not drink alone I will go to the cockpit and drink with Ophelia. Or rather Ophelia can watch me drink."

Shrugging, she set her cup down to the side, not interested in downing the third one yet. Stretching her legs out in front of her, she sighed softly.

He sighed and stood up, walking over to her. He sat next to her, his gaze forward a long moment. He reached over and snatched up her glass, drinking it. "That's ok, I understand if you can't hold your brandy. I know when I had my first helping, I didn't last very long either."

And with that, he cunningly leaned in and kissed her cheek long before she could protest. He moved to stand again, taking both their glasses to the dispenser, refilling them both. He only sipped his, leaving most of it in the glass. He went and sat next to her again, smiling a little. With his empty stomach, the effects were a little accelerated as he wobbled a little and looked over at her, smiling confidently.

Glaring at him, she scooted away from him, after he kissed her cheek, and then even more so as he commented on her inability to hold liquor. "Don't make me set you on fire again, Idris. You may not be able to do that little healing trick again."

Not caring if he was wobbling or not, she stared straight ahead, sitting very still, very tense, looking as if she could explode any second. The brandy was making her body feel heated, her head a little fuzzy, but other than that she was fine, or so she figured.

He laughed, a silly giggle as he grinned at her. "You're so cute when you try to be mad at me. I think it's so funny how you think that...that you can somehow over power me. I bet I could out drink you, Princess. Besides, one nice up about fire brandy is that it doesn't catch fire."

He winked at her, grinning and arching his eye brows at her suggestively.

"You're...you're already drunk you big idiot. Go..." She jumped to her feet, realized that it was probably a bad idea, and grabbed the nearest counter for support as she glared down at him.

"Why am I even here with you? Why do you even want me to stick around? So far, that hasn't been very...apparent. You just want a girl around, don't you? You don't want to talk, you just want to roll around in the bed..." Apparently when she drank, she also got quite the mouth on her.

He wrinkled his forehead, all of his reactions exaggerated by the brandy. "What? That's silly! That-That is...the silliest thing, I have ever...that's just silly. You're silly."

He shook his head. He went to stand to follow after her, but he didn't even manage to get to his feet, falling onto his back. He looked up at her and started laughing, incessantly. He pointed at her.

"I think you're projecting, Rho'n. I think...you like how it feels when I..." He grinned wickedly and made a suggestive face at her. "Besides, I love you, because you're so special. You're a beautiful, smart, attractive, smart, special, cute, beautiful, delicious, attractive young woman. Plus, you do that...that thing I like."

He started giggling again, smiling stupidly at her as he lied on the floor.

A sigh was heard from the dispenser unit as the image showed itself again. "Captain Chariton, I think this would be a prudent time to notify you that I may have disclosed a few details that you've seemed unwilling to share with Brynn."