Summary: During the uneventful trip to Harvest, Kasai practices some meditation type stuff when Ori runs into him. The two mercs have a conversation, and Kasai waves around some pretty armor.
Kasai had been keeping to himself for the trip so far, staying confined in his room or silently exercising in the cargo hold. Currently he was positioned in the latter, clothed in a short-sleeved grey jumpsuit and in the middle of one of his exercises. Less for his body and more for his mind, the merc stood still, almost statuesque if not for the slight heave of his chest with his breaths. His eyes were closed, and his mind was silent. His arms protruded in front of him, he was standing in an archaic martial arts stance. He seemed so peaceful. Nearby on a makeshift work table of crates were a large briefcase-like container accompanied by a smaller one, and one of his katanas. He was planning on sharpening and polishing the blade but had gotten sidetracked in his exercise.
Oriana had just finished a small and pleasant meal, consisting of a rather good batch of rice and protein something or other. After cleaning her dishes and replacing them, she poked around the ship looking for entertainment. Supposing everyone else was busy (the captain seemed especially preoccupied), and not wanting to intrude, she passed most rooms with merely a glance inside. She found her wandering had led her to the cargo bay, where Kasai was standing perfectly still. Again, not wanting to disturb, she attempted to creep past him; she couldn’t help slowing down and waving a hand in front of his face as she passed, wondering if he would notice.
Kasai had been focusing outwards, and in his current calmness could almost feel the woman try to sneak around him; he could almost see her form as she waved her hand at his face. He spoke, his tone calm and detached, barely moving with his words. "You know, a key to maintaining stealth is not to make an obvious motions." He lazily opened his left eye, watching Ori calculatively. "Been staying busy on this long trip?" He slowly moved his body, flexing his muscles and tensing his body before relaxing at an achingly slow pace.
Oriana didn’t start at Kasai’s stirring, although people attuned to her mannerisms would notice a slight increase in the shaking of her hands. Otherwise, her reflexes kept her surprise in check. She gave Kasai a small, embarrassed smile at having been caught, and watched him slowly relax with a raised brow. She had never been able to stand that still in her whole life; she was the type to dart around and stick her fingers in everything. “Not as busy as you,” she replied, leaning slightly on the crates, more for the action of looking relaxed rather than the need to lean. She made sure to keep most of her weight off the crates, so as not to topple it and, she assumed, piss off her fellow merc.
Kasai thought for a moment to himself, quirking his head to the side. "I suppose I may have been a little over zealous with the cleaning of some of my belongings so far..." He paused, resting his head on his chin. "But you meant the exercising..." He shook his head to himself, moving over to his things on his crate-table. He moved the sword away, placing the smaller briefcase with it, then slid the large briefcase around so he would be able to open it. "So, Miss Scott. You're quite good with your pistol." He paused, eyeing the almost girl-like figure besides him. He didn't get the feeling she'd had any real training, he could almost smell military training on people. "Had a lot of practice?"
Oriana glanced down at her pistol, fingering the strap that held it in place absent-mindedly. “I only use it when I have to,” she answered after a small pause. “So I guess you could say, no, not really.” She watched Kasai move his things around, only half interested. “Where I’m from half the people haven’t… hadn’t even seen a gun. Not much need for practice.” She stared off into space for a moment, the memories of her home planet washing over her. She hastily pushed the thoughts away before tears came to her eyes. That was a long time ago, she scolded herself. Keep it together. “Why do you ask?” she inquired, turning back to Kasai.
Kasai turned his eyes back to the case in front of him, running a hand over it. "Such a natural talent is rare, to have such steady and precise aim with so little practice." He paused, but only momentarily, not letting any pride wash over the smaller mercenary. "But I don't like natural talent. When it's not backed by practice it can fail you when you least need it to." He glanced around the bay, shaking his head and smiling. "But the black ain't such a great place to practice gunplay, so forget I said anything." He tapped the case his hands were resting on. Glancing once again to the woman beside him, he spoke again. "I know I'm just a passenger, but I feel like I'm going to be stuck on this ship for a long while. So I figure I should be getting to know the crew, if only to ease tension." He paused, looking away for a moment. "We haven't really had a lot of time to chat, but now seems as good a time as any, don't you think?"
Oriana felt proud for a moment, indeed… Until she was shot down. She made a face at Kasai while he wasn’t looking. What did he know. “I practice when I can,” she said defensively. She gazed at a point above his shoulder as she spoke of wanting to get to know the crew. “Not sure how long I’m gonna be here either,” she replied. “Dunno if the captain and Shai wanna keep me around for very long. But if you wanna chat, sure.” She took an unused crate, set it by the makeshift table, and sat on it, folding her arms in front of her chest. “What d’you wanna chat about?” she asked cheerily.
Kasai chuckled slightly at Oriana's assertion that Quinn might not keep her along. "Don't be silly, Ori. The capitaine is basically infatuated with your willingness to do your job." He shook his head at the thought of it. He had once been so fervent in his execution, but for far less deserving leaders. "Anyways, I just want to get to know the people I've been on this boat with for a little over a month now." He clicked the briefcase in front of him open, slowly pushing the top open and revealing it's contents. Inside was what looked to be a set of, armor? But who kept armor in a briefcase? It was all neatly packed into form-fitting foam, keeping it from jostling around. The entirety of the breifcase, both outside and inside, looked to be very expensive, and the armor it contained was no exception. Who was this quiet traveler, and why did he need so many weapons? Why did he need a set of armor? "You have any hobbies?" He quickly shot the question Ori's way as he ran a hand over a bracer inside the case.
Oriana frowned slightly at Kasai’s comment. Who wouldn’t be willing to do their job? Especially in a place where people could throw you out the airlock without a second thought if you didn’t shoot who they wanted you to. Although, now that she thought about it, Quinn didn’t seem the type. Her former captain, racked with paranoia, certainly would have tossed her into the black had she given him a reason. She was lucky he’d deserted her planet-side. She gave an interested glance into the briefcase as Kasai opened it, confusion marking her gaze. The question startled her, so absorbed was she in peering at the armor. “I, um, hobbies?” She thought for a second, then mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like “I like to knit.” Flushed, and looking to turn the conversation away from herself, she asked, “What’s in the case?”
Kasai smirked. "You knit? That's an interesting skill to have." He looked at Oriana when she posed her question. "This?" He paused for a moment, looking the armor over for a moment. It was a bit strange to explain. What would he say? Oh, I keep a spare set of armor around in case I can't get to my main set. Or maybe: Oh this? I keep this around in case the Reaver's attack. Always be prepared and what not. Neither seemed like a good answer. "Well... It's some light field armor. It can take a shot or two, but it was designed to protect from blades, mostly." He paused again, knowing how odd it might sound to a normal person. He turned the attention back to the girl, "So can you make cool hats 'n stuff?"
Oriana gazed at Kasai for an extended period of time, a little longer than was comfortable. She couldn’t figure him out. Not that she had met many people outside her colony, but he seemed especially out there. During the time she stared at him, she was asking herself, why did he need armor that protected from blades? Who used blades anymore? She could tell, the way he posed his question, that he probably didn’t want her to press the issue, so she resolved to ask him about it later, when she got to know him. If she got to know him. “Of course I can make cool hats,” she laughed. “Depends on how much yarn I can get my hands on. I can make hats and sweaters and gloves and all sorts’a stuff.” She seemed distant for a moment. “I grew up around wool.”
Kasai looked to Oriana during the pause. He almost felt like making a ridiculous face, but instead just blinked, and made eye contact. He maintained that eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time, on purpose. He tapped on the chestpiece a few times while staring back at the woman, and when she finally spoke he broke eye contact and looked inside the case. "I haven't had a cool hat in a long time, my head can get kinda cold with this haircut." He ran a hand along a side of his head, where his hair was buzzed short. "So, didja just grow up around wool, or some sheep, too?" He'd prod until she changed the subject again. In the meantime he carefully lifted the chestpiece from it's case and started to look it over. It was actually some kind of polymer mesh shirt, with thin alloy plating on the chest, back, and shoulders. He turned it around, slowly examining each piece of plating.
Oriana pursed her lips in exasperation. If he didn’t want to talk about his armor, why was he waving the gorram thing around? “Maybe I could make you a hat,” she said, sounding more annoyed than she meant. “That is, if we get to a place that has some yarn. The only stuff I got is blue. If it’s your kinda color, I could knit one up right quick.” Her hands shook more intensely and she jiggled her leg with slight impatience, watching him mess with his armor; finally, being unable to stand not knowing, she blurted out, “Where didja get such a shiny thing anyway? And what’s it for? Pretty sure no one uses swords anymore, Kas.” She briefly considered calling him something ridiculous, like Kassy, but she was actually enjoying the conversation despite her apparent annoyance, and didn’t want him to shut down.
Kasai had been watching the jittery merc in his peripheral vision ever since she'd walked in front of him, always watching her shakes and how they changed. His thoughts mused for a moment on how opposite they were in idle motions, his being calm and smooth, hers being shaky and somewhat impatient. And yet they still held similar professions. He was about to respond to her about the hat when she just about burst at him about his armor. He blinked, and slowly placed the chestpiece down on the case. He took a moment, tapping one of the bracers. Then he spoke, "I've had it for a long time, actually." He paused for a moment, deciding to go the truthful route. He looked up from the case and stared out into space. "Reavers use swords, Oriana. And axes. And knives. And spears." He spoke plainly about it, almost too plainly. Each break in between words fell from his lips with a weight, as if he was spitting out anvils. At least that's how he felt. A silence fell for a moment, but he broke it by stating; "You'd have to <c>
shoot the armor plates a few times in the exact same place to make them break, too. It's just extra protection in case of a dangerous mission." The words came just as plainly, but fell with less weight than talk of Reavers did. He began to unzip his jumpsuit, slowly pulling his arms from their sleeves. After an awkward pause he picked up the chestpiece and slid it over his head, pulling the fiber mesh tight over his skin. "I like blue, typically in the darker shades."
Oriana was silent during Kasai’s explanation, still except for the constant, low shaking of her hands. Reavers. She’d heard of them, whispered behind teacher’s backs in school and used to get smaller children to do what the bigger children wanted: Go knock on old man Fisher’s door, or I’ll get the Reavers to come eat you while you’re sleeping. She averted her eyes as Kasai put on his armor; it made her uncomfortable, for some reason. Or maybe it was Kasai that made her uncomfortable. She felt like he was analyzing her, which she didn’t appreciate unless that analyzing was being done out loud. “Pretty sure it’s dark blue,” she murmured. What was she doing here? She would never have talked seriously of Reavers, nor ever have shot a gun, had she left the colony under any other circumstances. In fact—she glanced quickly back at the merc—though she was little experienced with the ‘verse, she’d never met a man like Kasai.
[Kasai] "Don't worry. You just have to not be afraid, is all." He spoke as if to no one in particular. He plucked a gauntlet from the case, and pulled it onto his left forearm. It was made of the same mesh-plate combination, the mesh glove going up to his elbow. There was a large plate along the forearm along with smaller ones beside it, and sections covering the back of his hand and each finger. To any knowledgeable party it would be obvious that the armor was custom-made and fitted. He spoke as he picked up the second gauntlet, "So, my normally eager merc friend, have you ever been in a fist fight?"
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