ataraxionlogs | thirty-fifth jump;

CHARACTERS: Any and all.
LOCATION: Gravity Couches and beyond.
WARNINGS: Maybe some swearing, or even some violence, and more than likely some implied (and possibly explicit) nakedness.
SUMMARY: Another month, another jump, another round of new faces.
NOTES: You wake feeling cold and alone. There is a strange sense of emptiness, and the jump holds no surprises for you. There is nothing buffering the jump sickness and disorientation for you this month, and those still suffering the lingering effects of August's plot may find it more difficult than usual to get through the post-jump routine.

New arrivals will find messages spraypainted across their lockers telling them not to follow their tattoo numbers, and instead to find a room on Floors 001-010.

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You wake up in darkness.

There's a breathing tube jammed down your trachea, and you're suspended in a tube of clear blue fluid. Upon registering your level of consciousness, the gravity couch drains the fluid surrounding you and retracts the breathing apparatus; the doors in front of you open, and you're deposited on the floor of a stark, sterile medical bay.

You are not alone.
There are others who have come before you, others who are awakening beside you. Some may be familiar to you, perhaps even friends. Others have much less amiable plans. Some are merely alien and inexplicable, but there are always those who might mean you harm.

After you catch your breath and your vision returns, you notice a number on the inside of your forearm. Maybe it's a familiar number. Maybe it means something. Maybe it's just a number. But the number—completely unique to you—is a tattoo, and it does not come off.

If you enter the room adjacent to the medbay, you will find a small locker with your number on it, surrounded by rows upon rows of identical lockers. Inside, you will find a few of your personal items, a communications device, and a ship's uniform in your exact size. The comms device is fully powered and connects directly to the ship's network; it's your only means of communication beyond physical conversation. Upon turning the device on, a neutral, automated voice will say, "Please take the blue lift to the passenger quarters." Any other attempts at communicating with the rest of the network are met only with static.

This is your welcome party.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He's dangerous, Seraphim.

[an understatement, of course. and doubtlessly something she's already well aware of. humanity itself knows how big of a threat lucifer can be. but his reasons go further than just the stories shared in the bible. he still remembers how it felt to be torn apart; to see the face of a friend holding the grace of an enemy. the brothers had suffered. heaven had been torn apart. and now--

lucifer. he's aboard the tranquility too.]

Does he know what you are?

[She closes her eyes for a moment, because, well, that's complicated.]

He knows I'm the Throne. He doesn't know about God.

[She has tried to keep that from him, and so far she's managed. It's been more than just a matter of keeping her mouth shut.]

He turned my violin to gold.

[it's a reference he doesn't get, so the violin only earns a look of confusion. he'd assumed that was how it'd arrived. the idea of lucifer having changed it to this makes no sense. but the questioning can wait. there are more important things to take care of first.]

Lucifer is stronger than I am. [he was an archangel afterall] If he chooses to come after you--

[well, he'll do his best to protect her. but he knows that he wouldn't last long in that fight.]

There's a way to hide you from him. But it's painful, and it would hide you from all angels. [himself included. it may be selfish, but he doesn't want that]

[The look on her face, suddenly almost - afraid - or maybe just unwilling to accept that, is there for an instant before she's frantically writing a reply]

No, no, I just got you back!

[And then she goes quiet, closes her eyes.]

Would it even work on me? I have God inside me.

[there's a hand on her shoulder, another cupping the side of her face. while he may have only just returned, there's one promise he can still make. one he can stick to, indefinitely.]

As long as I'm here, I'll hear you. I'll always be able to find you if you call for me.

[because she's impossible to ignore, even if he tries. even when he wanted to keep that distance all those months ago.]

I don't know if it would work. I don't know if He'd let it.

[She shakes her head, and she's looking up at him, and moving closer again, moving in so he can't possibly push her away.]

Please, stay, please don't make it so I have to call you for you to see me.

[as much as he wants to promise her that she won't, that he isn't going anywhere, he can't. not while lucifer is aboard the ship. not when he knows that the two of them will have to speak at some point. he can't put seraphim in harms way like that.

and then there's the tablet--]

I want to stay with you, Seraphim. But there are times when I won't be able to.

[he had been a member of security before he left too.]

[She knows that, she does. More than just intellectually. But sometimes, she just-

She nods once, just once.]

But you won't abandon me again, right?

As long as I have a choice, I'll always come back to you.

[a variation on his previous promise, but one he'll do his best to stick to. he doesn't know what's going to happen during their stay; there's no way he could. but he can at least try to stay by her side.]

[She looks at him a long minute, like she assessing how true this is, and then she nods one and rubs her eyes.]

Okay.

Okay, I believe you.

[there's a tension released at those words that castiel isn't aware he was holding. a relief at the fact that she really hasn't given up on him yet. easing the gap back between them again, there's an almost serene smile on his face as he wraps his fingers around the slate in her hand.]

We both need to rest.

[because there's nowhere else he'd rather spend the night than resting alongside her again]

[Predictably, Seraphim has not been sleeping more than a few minutes a night, ever since she got sick. The Jump helps a touch, but not enough to make it worth her while, and she sets her slate down. Castiel knows her. He knows her well enough to know that she is exhausted.

So she takes his hands, too, and presses close to breathe in the smell of him, and then her arms are around his neck for a hug, before she's tugging on his coat, to get it off so he can lay next to her.]

[the prompt is more than enough to get him moving, stepping away to take off his coat. despite physically removing it though, it's between one blink and the next that he's instead clad in the clothing he'd taken to wearing to bed; white scrubs that'd come from his stay in hospital. ones comfortable enough for him to relax in, despite the connection.

there's a moment spent looking between seraphim and the bed, before he's rethinking his plans.]

Do you need to go back to your room first?

[for something to get changed in to.]

[She's wearing her jumpsuit - it's not her usual attire but she's been using it more and more post jump, because it's just simpler, especially when usually she just heads back to her room to try and sleep.

And she can sleep in it, so she shakes her head, and reaches for him again, to tug him onto the bed with her, to try and shape her body against his, in a way that's comfortable. She just wants to sleep. It's been a long time since she's had someone to watch her do it.]

[he doesn't fight her prompting; let's her move him around until he's in the best position for her. his comfort comes from being in her presence above all else. comes from being able to drop his guard and curl up around her and keep her close. to be selfish in his own way.

his arms find their way around her, covers pulled up to protect them from the outside world. to keep them hidden from the trouble that's undoubtedly waiting for them on the other side of the door. they can deal with the ship in the morning though. for now, he has everything he needs.]

thirty-fifth jump;

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