Chronos

Chapter Thirty-five

The crew settled back into their little routines, having now adjusted to Citra's ship, and were working towards finishing up what tasks were left before they got to Spectra - the IDs were well underway, and there were only a few kinks left to iron out in their plans to smuggle Vicidia past the checkpoints. So, all things considered, the trip was going fairly smoothly.

Vicidia stretched as she woke up, letting her legs kick out to the sides and curling her arms above her head. It was enough to send Avelus tumbling over the side of the bed, and the yelp that came after told her it hurt, too. It took her a second to register what made the sound, and she shook the grogginess away, clambering across the sheets to check on him. "A-Avelus! Are you okay?" she hurried, looking over the edge.

His tail lashed between his legs as he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, running his fingers through messy, disheveled fur. "Jeez," he groused, sending her a miserable look. "Since when do you kick so hard?"

"Sorry!" She offered a guilty grin, resting her head on the edge of the mattress. "I forgot."

Vicidia didn't complain when he stood and tossed the blanket back on the bed, stretching out his back with an audible pop. "God, my back," he muttered, wincing. "These beds suck. No wonder the crew mutinied."

Her eyes raked over his body as she leaned on her elbow, admiring the way his fur fluffed up with the stretch. "You don't hear me complaining," she chuckled, tail wagging lazily beneath the sheets.

"That's because you weren't hanging off the edge half the night," he retorted, arching his shoulders and turning to dig for something to wear.

She found it in herself to get out of bed, her paws landing on the floor with an unceremonious thud as she reached for her bag. "You're the one who insisted on sharing," she pointed out, pulling a tank over her head. "How about you try actually sleeping on the bed next time?"

Avelus twisted to snag a glance behind him. "Bed's not the only reason my back hurts, I'll have you know," he jabbed, sliding on his pants. "But that always goes without thanks, so..."

Bastard. Vicidia averted her gaze, pinning her ears back as a flush crept to her cheeks. "As if you do it for the thanks," she rebuked, pulling on her own pair of pants.

"It's okay, Vee," he said, stepping over to her. She could read right through that grin of his, the little light dancing in his eyes; there wasn't a trace of guilt in that obnoxiously seductive expression. "Lucky for you, I'm the forgiving type."

Vicidia gave a playful sneer, poking him in the stomach and sidestepping him on her way out the door. "And you're lucky that you're a comfy pillow." She gave him a wag as she slipped out of the cabin, winking with a toothy grin as he stuck his tongue out at her.

* * *

After cleaning herself up and waking up a little more, Vicidia headed off to the med bay. Today, they'd finally get the rest of her biometrics and scans complete and uploaded for her new ID. She got a bit lost on her way, but she found it eventually - well, not the room itself, but she found Livi, and by extension, her destination.

"Morning," Livi greeted, stepping up to meet her. "We've just got everything set up. You can go ahead and sit here," she instructed, leading her into the room.

It looked about the same as any medical setting - familiar, not as sterile or clean-looking as Faust's, though. Elina already set up her various machines here, at least she assumed; all of them looked more or less like ones she'd already seen. Livi's setup was haphazardly arranged opposite of Elina's, complete with a rudimentary control pad and cords lining the floor.