Just ask him. It wasn't that difficult, Abel was nice, just ask him what he knows about Praxis and see if he can help at all. Except everytime he found Abel, Cain was there, and he was avoiding a run in with him again at all costs, there had already been too many.

That's what he was thinking until something caught his foot the the floor sped up to meet him, just like the first time he'd set foot on the Sleipnir. Like, congratulations! You're a real navigator now! Have a hi five! To your face. With some reinforced space metal.

They didn't teach navigators how to defend themselves, and Andy had been naïve enough to think that he wouldn't have to, but of course that was a stupid notion – going into a war not knowing how to fight! Never had a punch throw in his life. So this time when he tripped he used his hands to break his fall, never learning how to fall properly, and ended up twisting one of the painfully and knocking the side of his face hard enough that he tasted blood once everything stopping spinning.

Andy didn't have to open his eyes to know what had caught his foot, and the voice the laughter was coming from was all to familiar, the only person in this place who really had it in for him. When Andy cracked open an eye, groaning, Cain was crouching down and grinning snarkily at him.

"All right?"

Blew more cigarette smoke in his face than was really necessary.

"Yeah you're just fine, aren't you? Little bitch."

Andy yelped a little when Cain pulled him up by the hair, not partially up, but all the way onto his feet and shoving him roughly against the back wall. If he looked amused before, he was pissed now. This wasn't how it usually went, normally he'd trip Andy and laugh at him then piss off, but for some reason now he was taking it further.

"So, tell me, little cyclops – what the fuck you following Abel around for? After a fuck?"

Andy's eyes widened, he hadn't thought anyone had noticed. Had it been that obvious? He'd only been after some answers, didn't mean to get Cain jealous. This wasn't good.

"N-"

"Don't fucking lie to me, you've been shadowing him all week, hovering at every fucking corner. What the fuck do you want? You on some little mission for Praxis? Because I'll fucking blind you if you are."

Cain was holding onto Andy's shoulder too tight now, he could feel the bones slipping and whining under the pressure, threatening to snap, his eyes tearing up with salt water. Navigators weren't built for fighting, and that's why they never learned.

"Cain? Cain, you around?"

Cain let go suddenly, slipping an arm under Andy's and pulled him forwards, stumbling and tasting metal in his mouth.

Abel rounded the corner then, face flitting from surprise to worry at the sight in front of him.

"Cain! Someone said they saw you ar- Oh! Oh, what happened? Are you okay?"

Abel hurried forwards, inspecting Andy's face while Cain talked over his fussing; just had a nasty fall, going to take him to medical.

"Oh, um, Encke was looking for you, I can take him down there," peered into Andy's eye, searching for concussion or something "if you're okay to walk?"

"He's fine. Just needs to fucking watch where he walks. Isn't that right?"

Abel gave Cain a funny look, leaned over to kiss him before taking Andy's arm and helping him hobble down the corridor, chattering in his ear about something. Andy caught a backwards glance at Cain, scowling at him darkly with cigarette smoke hazing around his head like he was up in a cloud bank. He shivered a little at which Abel pulled him a little closer and hurried them along faster, realising that now he had Abel alone he should just ask him about Praxis, but holding his tongue, not wanting the conversation to get back to Abel's fighter.

What the heck was going on?