Pheligian Falcon: Prison Break

Kazimir was mulling over how useful it would be to be able to “turn off” different senses when a clumsy newbie stumbled over to their table. He was going to be miffed about new people bothering them until the skinny grey kid popped the question.

Hm. So, someone wanted the Kavi dead? There were a lot of people in this prison in the same boat.

“Here,” Kazimir said lowly. “They’d rather watch you die slowly. If another inmate gives you too much trouble, they’ll put an end to it before lives are lost.”

A beat.

“At least, if they’re fast enough.”

Ace blinked at the man. If they'd known he was going to speak in riddles and ominous answers, Ace would have asked someone else. They gripped their head with their hands, worry strewn across their face.

"What does that even mean?!" they cried. "Who is 'they?' The guards? The people trying to kill me?"

Ace glanced over their shoulder one last time before leaning forward, their tone suddenly serious. "Are you telling me I'm going to die?"

Okay. So, the kid was stupid. Kazimir almost felt bad for him.

"The guards don't care about you," Kazimir said. "But they'll keep you from getting killed. Probably."

He shrugged.

"Who's trying to kill you?"

Eclipse watched everyone, calculating, watching. While she couldn't pick out emotions anymore, she was able to pick up visual ques just as well now. It had taken some time to develop such a skill but now it felt just as natural as her dimmed ability.

She watched the skinny, grey skinned inmate who had almost approached her with careful calculation. They looked as if they were hiding from something, or running from something. She could read the fear and nervousness in their eyes, almost enough to feel it. The dimmer however made that impossible.

Eclipse slowly glanced around the room. What were they running from? What were they scared of?

Her eyes landed on a group of inmates who seemed to be watching them and the corner of her mouth quirked up, not quite a smile but more like a ghost of a satisfactory smirk at having found her answer.

So that's what they were afraid of.

How curious...

"Who's trying to kill me?" Ace repeated incredulously. "Oh, I dunno, maybe the people right behind me who look exactly like I do." Ace pointed wildly over their shoulder. The group of Kavi seemed to be retreating now that Ace wasn't alone. Reluctantly, but the group was still backing off.

Ace didn't dare look behind them again. They leaned forward and lowered their voice. "Are they gone yet?"

Kazimir wasn't inclined to think that everyone who looked alike was out to kill each other. Usually, it was the other way around.

Kazimir glanced at Marius.

"...Stay here for now," Kazimir muttered. "Looks like they're just waiting for an opportunity."

Ace let out a long sigh, resting their cheek on their palm. They hoped the other Kavi would leave them alone. For good. In fact, they hoped they'd never have to see any of them again. Luckily for them, the group finally retreated back to their own table, still glaring daggers at Ace.

Ace decided they might as well try to eat, as unappetizing as the food was. If they could even call it that. It was more like a strange substance. Either way, they were not excited to have to eat the slop for the rest of their life.

They spooned out a small portion and stared at it with distaste. They had to close their eyes to even eat it, but they quickly opened their eyes in surprise as they chewed. "Hey, this isn't too bad!"

Poor kid. Marius felt bad for them-- everyone had been new here once, but usually they didn't seem quite as out of their depth as this. He offered the newcomer a pacifying, encouraging smile.

"Glad you think that," Marius said. He wasn't about to tell them the food would get old very soon. "Normally, it's an acquired taste, but the sooner you acquire it, the better."

He had his eyes on the retreating group for a few seconds longer before he looked back to Kazimir and shrugged. It seemed like the two of them had someone to protect now, at least for this meal break. Alright. He could handle that.

Helrock sat at the end of the table that was starting to collect people. Not that he was fond of talking with people- a lot of them annoyed him- but he did enjoy taking amusement from the interactions of others. What drew him to listen here was the one skinny grey inmate being loud and taking safe harbor with a few others of mixed species.

The same slop was served daily: red and chicken tasting. Since most inmates knew what chickens were, he guessed that most planets had chickens, for whatever reason. It was a universal constant, mostly. He stabbed at it viciously as if he could kill it, scowling.

Rhea watched the interactions with wide eyes, already feeling bad for the poor kid. When they said that the slop wasn't too bad, Rhea laughed and raised her spoon in a toast. "You should eat it when E-17 brings out the spices. That's when it's really good." Her gaze flicked to the Xulian at the edge of the table, her curiosity piqued by the lonesome, brooding fellow, before returning to the kid.

Ace's face scrunched up in confusion as they took another bite. Unfortunately, they bit the flimsy plastic spoon they'd been given too hard, because when they went to scoop up another spoonful, all that was left was a plastic stick. Ace frowned. "Aw, Kavi," they muttered in disappointment, their shoulders slumping. No more slop for them, they supposed.

"Who's E-17?" they asked with a tilt of their head. "And who are all of you guys, too?" They gestured to the group with what was left of their plastic spoon.

Rhea laughed and brandished another spoon from her tray, handing it to the Kavi beside her. "E-17 is one of the cafeteria monitors and cooks. They're fun to be around before their memory is wiped. And I'm Rhea." She said with a crooked grin.

X'lian stared down at the red slop with distaste, happy by the fact she didn't need to eat for another four days and disgusted with the fact she still had to deal with picking it up. It was like gloop, something that shouldn't even have a right to be called food.

She pocketed the plastic spoon though after licking the chicken-tasting slime off and spitting it out. The R'lin'x'a scanned the cafeteria with shrewd eyes before ghosting after her roommate with a faint sigh.

"Here, Rhea." She set the food down next to the hybrid Tertian, casting a critical gaze across Rhea's newfound companions before sitting on the other side of Rhea and propping her chin up on her hand.

They looked like trouble.

Rhea's eyes brightened at the sight of her roommate, and a brilliant smile split open her face. "Thanks, X," she chirped at the sight of the food. "Here, mine has a few spices E-17 snuck me a few days ago. You can try it and see if you like it better than the regular slop, okay?" she suggested to her friend in a lower, warmer voice. "Just because you don't have to eat doesn't mean you should deprive yourself of it."
Rhea turned to the Kavi who had expressed an interest in getting to know their fellow criminals and introduced her friend with a fond glimmer in her eyes, "This is X'lian."

Ace's eyes lit up as they took the spoon from Rhea. They waved at the newcomer with the spoon still in their mouth. Maybe prison wasn't going to be so bad.

"Alright, so...Rhea and X'lian," Ace repeated, pointing to each person as they listed their names. "I'm Ace!"

Ace turned to the two human-looking men in front of them, gesturing to them with their new spoon. "What about you two?"