The Thirty-Sixth Day of Dark: 9:00 AM: LOG 0036
Despite the fact that your usual time for waking up is around 10:00, you found yourself unceremoniously roused earlier by the sounds of jovial conversation. Earlier, in the car, it had been cute. Charming, even. Now, though, it's a source of annoyance. How darethey wake you up now, and after all you've put up with? The fucking nerve of some people.
Nonetheless, you feel vaguely obligated to follow the sounds. You wander down carefully hewn wooden stairs and into a room with walls literally covered by vines. Plants and wildlife are rare on many planets, especially colonies such as this, and it's a startling sight to see. Honestly, you've never seen so much indoor foliage, aside from specially designed buildings.
Clearly, this Jade character is quite the gardener.
In fact, you find her and the others gathered around some sort of odd, flowering plant. A tooth-studded head pops from the top of a thick vine, and the leaves are large and wide.
"It's from Earth, actually. It's called a Venus flytrap, and I got the seeds off of some kinda' shady guy at the market a few years back," Jade's voice is as chipper as ever. When she speaks, her eyes light up with enthusiasm. It shocks you that the planet's best marksman is such a carefree person, but you suppose you shouldn't judge people by their occupation. You, after all, are a pretty soft guy to be a killer-for-hire. "It's a pain in the butt to keep here, seeing as the planet doesn't have its native dietary needs. It eats insects, though, so that's pretty cool. They get stuck on the tongue and melt away."
"That's pretty fucking hardcore," Dave hums, nodding in some sort of strange approval. "Earth is weird as hell, isn't it?"
"I wouldn't know," John shrugs, running his fingers through his thick, wild, black hair, "I've never been there."
Dave snickers. "None of us have been there, you nerd. Fuck off, twit."
Despite your initial annoyance, you have to smile. An odd warmth stirs within you. It's not the same as the wild, burning, radiating feeling you get when you're around Dave. Instead, it's more pleasant. It's mild and comforting, not overpowering and passionate.
And, as this feeling rises within you, Dave's eye catches yours. He smiles. "Well, it looks like we woke the goddamned dead! Get in here, you lazy asshole. You missed breakfast, but I saved you a plate. It's in the kitchen."
"Yeah?" you scoff. "And where the hell is the kitchen?"
"It's through the archway. Pink Galaxy Moths all around it." Jade motions to it and, through dense leaves and interwoven vines, you can see crudely shaped metal supporting its form.
"Lovely," you say, your statement sincere. To offset this sincerity, you immediately add a jab at Dave, saying, "You think you can come decorate Dave's house? It's fucking ugly."
"I prefer the term 'fugly' to be used," Dave interjects.
Both John and Jade laugh.
John punches Jade on the shoulder, slipping his own comment in before she can begin hers. "I told you. Karkat's a cool guy."
She responds by shoving him aside, snickering as she does so. "You have a point, good sir, but it unfortunately cannot be done. I must maintain my lovely garden with the utmost care."
By now, you've entered the kitchen. Like the main living area, its walls are covered in lush greenery. The entire place inspires you, and reminds you why you took up this job in the first place. With the money you'd make from it, you'd have certainly been able to afford property on Earth. Of course, you're probably fired at this point, so there's no point in lusting after something you can't have. Instead, you continue to listen to the conversation as you eat a plate of odd, red, juicy plants.
Dave gags. "You sound like Rose. Quit it. I've already had enough of my dear cousin for a month."
"You're right. I'll cease and desist." Jade chuckles. It's a light sound, something like the tinkling of bells. "Hey, Davey, you said you asked the bodyguard out, right? How'd it go?"
When the reply comes, it's dripping with discomfort. You can see him in your mind, rubbing the back of his neck and turning his head away from the Jade. From experience, you're guessing the fingers of his right hand are starting to involuntarily twitch; it's an odd, unconscious indication of nerves. "It was only once, and it didn't go anywhere." He forces an unconvincing laugh. "I'm too busy with the whole rebellion deal to work it out, anyhow."
"You've got enough time to drop by here and dick around, though," Jade says. Her voice is confident—the sort of voice a person uses when they know they've got you cornered. "But, yeah, sure. All that blah-blah-blah shit about the rebellion is a nice cover story."
"Aw, Jade, don't tease him. Little Davey has a crush," John snickers.
Dave groans.
"We're just trying to help you," says Jade. "Besides, from what you've told me, he's got some neat tricks up his sleeves. And he seems interested in you, too."
You almost choke on one of the odd fruits you're eating. After some quiet sputtering, you regain enough composure to resume your eavesdropping.
"He's sointo you, Dave," Jade says, presumably having been asked for the reasoning behind her comment. "He does that dreamy-eyed stare whenever you're around, and he only seems to smile when you're around. I mean, I've only been around him some, but John's reports back me up."
"Ugh." Dave's sentiments echo your own, and you're on the fence about if you're relieved or frightened by this fact.
"Just ask him, dude." Here, Jade lowers her voice. You're guessing that she's trying to whisper, but, like you, she's awful at it. "I left you some flowers on your bed. They're super pretty, and you should totallyuse them."
"Fine! Fine!" Dave huffs. "I'll think about it." There's a quiet whirring noise, and it dawns upon you that it's the sound Dave's chair makes when it moves. It also hits you that this sound is growing louder.
You hastily down the last few odd fruits before feigning interest in the prickly green thing on the windowsill.
And, just as your faux interest reaches its peak, Dave enters the kitchen. He begins rummaging through the fridge, an action he continues as he speaks to you. "They're good, huh? Another freaky Earth thing Jade picked up from her shady market buddy. She says they call them strawberries, and they taste fucking delicious, right?"
"Mhm," you hum. You nod. You know it probably looks fake as hell, but you're also certain that Dave isn't paying much attention.
"Anyhow," the fridge door slams shut and, when you turn, you find that Dave has emerged from its depths with a bottle of apple juice. After downing a few impressively large gulps, he continues, "We'll be leaving tomorrow. I love staying with Jade, but we've got to get back home. Lots of rebellion bullshit to sort out, y'know?"
"Mhm."
"Is that the only word you know today?" Dave laughs.
"Mhm." You're not trying to be funny. You're just unsure of how the fuck you're going to handle when and if he follows up on Jade and John's advice.
You guess you'll do what you're best at and go with your gut.