There was something different about the tavern. Typically, the mood in it was cheerful, almost homey; for the past few days, however, it had been... solemn
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Between the situation with GLaDOS, Cassie's death and the news Rose had been hurt, you couldn't really blame Jamie for wanting a drink. Funny thing is, Jamie actually has very little interest in drinking at the moment. He's at the tavern anyway, because he knows the Draconian was on the mission Rose was on. Maybe Kang'll be willing to talk...or maybe he'll throw Jamie out on his ear, but Jamie figures the risk is worth it if there's a chance he can get a straight answer from someone.
Settling on a stool, Jamie adjusts his kilt - fiddles with it, really - while trying to decide how he wants to phrase the question. Finally he decides to just spit it out and be done with it.
"Look, ye went down on the mission with Rose and the others, aye? What happened?"
"...you're probably going to want something to drink after this," Kang sighed, bringing Jamie a tankard and refilling his own. "We got bad intel. The miners hadn't all left; they'd been used by these creatures as incubators for their young, and we ran into a bunch of them. Rose - and Hiccup - got infested."
Jamie takes the tankard automatically, not lifting it just yet. That may change in a few minutes, as Kang's news is definitely unsettling - to put it mildly. Right now, though, he's just gone rather wide-eyed and swallows heavily.
Somewhat nervously, he asks, "Infested? Is Rose...are they going to be okay?"
That's a relief. If Rose didn't make it...well, Jamie doesn't care to think about it. She'll be fine, and he doesn't have to worry about her as much. He would relax, but there's something in Kang's voice when he mentions Hiccup that causes a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Out of his stomach?" Jamie looks more than a bit horrified for a moment - he's seen enough to get a fairly accurate picture of what the aftermath of that happening would be, even if he doesn't know what the parasite looks like.
"Och, the poor lad." First his leg, and now this? "At least he's here, and not back in his village, aye? He has a chance here." Never mind that if Hiccup wasn't here, he wouldn't have had a chestburster in him in the first place.
"Aye. That's something, at least." Without looking at the tankard, he picks it up and takes a drink from it, his attention fixed on a point somewhere just past Kang's head. He's having a little problem getting rid of that mental image.
Shaking his head after a moment to clear it, he turns his attention back to Kang. "I'd ask if ye know about what happened here, but I've got the feeling ye already do."
"Aye," Jamie repeats, sadly. "We had just seen Cassie not long ago, too." There's some regret there over the things he'll not get to say, but he's somewhat more accepting of the situation than some of the others. "She must have known there was a risk, though."
He doesn't know if Kawalsky even had that much of an idea, what with that...thing in his head. "Ye knew Kawalsky too, did ye not?"
"I have no doubt she did, and it was very brave of her," Kang smiled to himself. He hadn't known her very well, but she definitely deserved some respect for what she'd tried to do.
"I did. At least, I think I did. I'd like to think that what I knew of him before was true."
"She had a lot of courage, that wee lass." Jamie says firmly as he goes to take another drink. In this, he's in complete agreement with Kang. He's curious, however, to see what Kawalsky was like. Was it really a part of him that Kang saw? Or was it some sort of cover?
"I'd not really gotten to know Kawalsky, though," he admits. "I saw him a few times here, and around the ship. What would ye say he was like?"
Kang paused for a moment, thinking. "He knew how to have fun, but he also knew when to be serious. Liked his ale, too; though, I'm not in much of a position to say anything about that."
"Kang? Do ye have a moment?"
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"Look, ye went down on the mission with Rose and the others, aye? What happened?"
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Somewhat nervously, he asks, "Infested? Is Rose...are they going to be okay?"
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"How bad is it?"
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"Och, the poor lad." First his leg, and now this? "At least he's here, and not back in his village, aye? He has a chance here." Never mind that if Hiccup wasn't here, he wouldn't have had a chestburster in him in the first place.
"You're not hurt, though?"
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"No, I'm fine. Some scratches, and I twisted my ankle, but they're already almost gone."
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Shaking his head after a moment to clear it, he turns his attention back to Kang. "I'd ask if ye know about what happened here, but I've got the feeling ye already do."
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He doesn't know if Kawalsky even had that much of an idea, what with that...thing in his head. "Ye knew Kawalsky too, did ye not?"
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"I did. At least, I think I did. I'd like to think that what I knew of him before was true."
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"I'd not really gotten to know Kawalsky, though," he admits. "I saw him a few times here, and around the ship. What would ye say he was like?"
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