Stow away

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"Thanks." Ceph muttered, setting the lamp on the ground so he could get better situated. He was in the middle of gently kicking some things out of his footspace when he heard Nerys call him and his brother 'nasty boys'. Oi! Andy, maybe, but Ceph was a perfect gentleman!

Ceph really couldn't help himself, and gave Nerys an annoyed look as well, which was almost a perfect copy of Andy's.


The little girl scrambled to her feet and looked at Nerys, her rather abused looking leather shoes tapping against the wooden floor. Tangled blond hair fell in front of her face as she looked at Nerys, wide blue eyes open in fright.

She looked between the two men and Nerys, not really seeing anywhere else to run. Well, better some chance than none. Gingerly, she'd move close enough to Nerys to accept the woman's hand in her own smaller one.

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<sub>Nerys giggled when she looked up to see the identical irritated faces of the Callidum Twins in action. Of course, she would put all her focus on the young girl in front of her. She seemed a lot like her. Shy, quiet... though at least she took Nerys's hand and the woman stood up.

"You'll love Daniela. She's really nice~." Nerys smiled. She'd walk out of the engine room, heading to the kitchen. First of all, to get a child to like you... you give them free food. That trick always works.

Daniela was in the kitchen, and she looked around to see that Nerys came in with... a little girl! Aaaaw... Dani grinned and then looked over to Nerys.

"Apparently our little stowaway is a cute little girl~! Aw she's so dirty, and I bet she's hungry~!"</sub>

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<sub>Andromeda helped his twin up, and saw that Nerys completely ignored them in favor of doting on the little girl. Half of him told him that the girl did look like she needed some attention, but half of him felt kinda mad that she ended up in this ship and jealous that the girls were paying attention to her.

"... Seriously? Our stowaway is a scrappy kid?" He muttered to himself, and mostly to Cepheid. And no, he was just as much of a gentleman as Cepheid, damnit! Stop insulting me you both!

"... Well we got nothing else to do." Partial sarcasm there, Andromeda would walk out of the engine room and sulk by the door.</sub>

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Ceph's expression of irritation turned to one of unamusement as Nerys giggled at them. Was this any way to treat your suitor? You cruel woman.

He sighed, defeated and insulted, Cepheid followed his twin and joined in on the sulking. He really didn't care one way or the other if the kid remained, but he knew that Andy would be fighting to get rid of her, the girls would be fighting to keep her, and he'd be stuck right in the middle. His arm wasn't hurting too bad, maybe he should abscond to the Super Arrow for a month? Might lengthen his lifespan, at least. They were in for waaaaar.


The little girl walked alongside Nerys, casting a nervous glance at the two unhappy looking men. Wow, the one with the sling seemed nicer than the other one, but they both looked kind of grumpy.

She squinted lightly as she stepped into the lit halls, and followed after Nerys until they reached the kitchen, where she was suddenly met with other people. Letting out a small squeak, she jammed herself firmly behind Nerys, though when food was mentioned, she did peek out slightly.

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And who of all people to so graciously appear all of a sudden?

Loki was done with her nap. She had come to see what all the fuss and searching was about.
"What about scrappy kids?" Loki yawned, slinking in through a gap in the door, seeing the other girls cooing over a small child.

"Where did that come from?" Loki asked, looking at the two men, who looked very displeased while the other girls headed for the kitchen.
"I go to sl- sweep the deck for five minutes and we're spawning small children from nowhere. Huh..." she murmured, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

Loki looked between Cepheid and Andromeda, to say the least, she looked confused.

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<sub>Completely ignoring Andy and Cepheid just for the laughs, Nerys would pull out some bread and butter, something simple for the girl before getting her a glass of juice and sitting her up at the table. Cepheid's intuition might be right, as Nerys and Dani intended to keep the poor girl.

"Aww she's so shy~." Dani was just oogling over the poor girl. "What's your name~? Nerys would smile down at her as she handed her the buttered bread and drink.

"We found her in the engine room.

Yes, the girls were just too happy to keep her.</sub>

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<sub>"Yeah. Basically she's not supposed to be here." Andromeda explained, hissing slightly. Yeah he was talking to both Dani and Loki over this. Unfortunately Loki and Ceph were going to get themselves involved in an eternal war over a little girl.

"As soon as we get to Truesdale or Seria, we're leaving her, understand?" Andromeda crossed his arms. Nope, you are not keeping a little child, Nerys. Neither are you, Dani. Andy had enough people on this ship which he expected to work. A little girl is NOT one of them.</sub>

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Cepheid decided that his time would best be spent on the sidelines, well away from any potential being dragged into this. Slipping to the back of the room as subtly as he could, he just tried to play the part of the swedes and stay out of this.


The girl hesitated for a moment, then accepted the bread and butter and after a moment, downed it rather quickly. Yes. She was rather hungry. Sitting at the table, she shifted her gaze quickly over every person in the room, before focusing on the juice put before her.

She looked up to answer with her name when Andy spoke, and she shrank slightly in her seat, looking as if she was about to be whipped. If she shrank down any farther, she'd be under the table!

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Loki followed to the kitchen, and watched from the sidelines as she leant against the doorframe. She took a closer look at the child.

No wonder she had hidden so well, the child was tiny. Then again, that could have been because she was cowering at Andromeda. The man had potential to make small children cry from a distance.

She reached over to the side, plucked a grape, and flicked it in to her mouth while no one was looking.

"At least give her a chance to explain herself. The kid must have come aboard for a reason." She said from the sidelines, wondering if there was a possibility the girl had been running away from something, or someone.

Loki was going to remain fairly neutral on this one. She plucked another grape, not being so subtle this time.

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<sub>Nerys would stay quiet as she wanted to hear what Lapis was doing here, what her name was, and all that. Of course she shrunk when Andy spoke up and she just gave him a sharp glare. Seriously, Andy? Dani reacted the same way and then would sit down, reach over to offer her hand to Lapis, and smile.

"Don't be shy. I got your back. What's your name?" She'd ignore the others for the moment. Nerys herself seemed happy that Dani was comfortable with the girl and she'd leave the girl in Dani's care, slipping to the back as well.

"... Loki is right. There must be a reason." Nerys was watching Lapis though, smiling at her.</sub>

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<sub>Andy was a dick, if that didn't spell it out to anybody. Not only that, this wasn't a children's boat. She could fall off the ship, or get in the way, or get herself killed or associated with in an excursion. Worse? People could accuse him of kidnapping as well, when it was a complete accident. Andy folded his arms and then took a deep breath.

"That is not what the authorities would think." He spoke under his breath. "That girl is trouble, in and out."

He'd catch on the corner of his eye Loki was swiping grapes, and as soon as the second one was close to her mouth, he'd swipe it as well and eat it. Gosh your so mean, Andy.

"But why not? Let's hear what she has to say." If she's even able to talk.</sub>

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Cepheid agrees with you on the crying children remark, Loki.

Lapis was shrinking in her chair, but looked up at Dani as she was smiled at. She cast a scared glance at the mean looking man, but it looked like they just wanted some questions answered.

Well, a name is a good start.

"My name is Lapis Shard." She said quietly, sitting up a little more. "I'm sorry. I was hiding. I was taken from my daddy and tossed in with a lot of other children about a year ago." She said quietly. "I got away a couple months ago and they were after me. They found me and I had to hide. They chased me to the docks and I just hid on the closest ship I could find. No one was on board, so I just hid where I didn't think I'd be found."

She was now staring at the floor, feeling more than a little scared. What if they took her back to those men who stole her?

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Loki frowned and stared longingly at the spot her grape once was. She rolled her eyes and sighed while she put her hands in her pockets. Snack time could wait until later then.

She listened in quietly as the young girl spoke up, and explained herself. Loki blinked, before glancing at Andromeda. That story sounded very familliar, though she wouldn't speak up just yet.

Who had been after the girl? Loki mused quietly. She grimaced at the variety of potential culprits that could have been to blame for the girls taking. At least she'd had the sense to escape...

As Loki thought, she took another grape, though this time she was ready to slap away prying hands.

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<sub>Nerys went quiet as the kid spoke up about her situation. Hold on a moment, Dula had a habit of taking their own children, was it possible children of other countries were victimized too? It seemed possible, especially since Lapis ended up in Dula.

".. Where's your mother?" Nerys had to ask. She mentioned her father a lot, but not her mother. It seemed a bit odd. Daniela herself found it odd too but she didn't say anything about it, just listening to the girl. She'd look at Andy for his decision.</sub>

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<sub>Andy folded his arms as the young girl spoke up, not really minding Loki and her unhappiness at him stealing a grape and popping it in his mouth. He'd frown when Lapis spoke up about her being kidnapped. ... Sounded a lot like him. He glanced over to Nerys, Loki, and the others when she mentioned that. Andy put his hands in his pocket.

"Sounds like the head Dulans didn't just steal children from their own home country." He spoke up, venom in his voice. he knew Dani was challenging him about leaving her back in Dula, and there was no way in hell he was going to meet up with that challenge. Hell, what challenge? "If you have anything in Dula, say bye bye to it, Lapis Shard. You are never going there again."

His expression actually softened when She said she ran away and hid. What a smart and resourceful girl, he had to admit. It took a lot of guts to escape into unfamiliar territory.

"... You're the bravest child I met."</sub>