Bachelor #1: Thoughts on GLaDOS? [open!]

[enter_aeneas]

Today, amidst the turmoil that was the meatship and its wayward crew, three of its members found themselves released from GLaDOS's clutches in three separate corners of their domain. Following is an objective analysis of their respective predicaments, cool and unbiased as per usual:

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Aeneas (fluffy critter meeting take 2?)

[fluffyapartheid]

A smallish red creature with an godly amount of legs was lounging on one of the couches of the obs deck when Aeneas reappeared. Or it at least looked like she was lounging at a glance. She was actually looking over a map, and while her expression gave it a casual experience, she was intently looking at the thing, trying to commit it to memory. She was considering where to go first, but the ship was so large, it was hard to decide.

She was momentarily distracted when a... thing... appeared on the floor. She shook her head, trying to recall if it had been there before, or if it had walked into the room. She nearly brushed it off as her mind playing tricks on her, when the creature bolted up and made as though it was looking for something.

"Erm," she cleared her throat to get the attention of the creature, "do you... require assistance?"

[enter_aeneas]

Aeneas abruptly craned his neck, startled out of his...well, post-startled state. It was difficult to understand how such a jumpy alien might avoid having panic attacks every few minutes; somehow Aeneas managed, as he did now, with the aid of a some deep breaths, mental assurances, and a good massaging of his auricles.

The answering creature's origin was mildly confusing, once Aeneas tried to place her. The fact that she wasn't remotely humanoid was almost comforting, having not seen her before was odd but could easily be explained by his absence in the pits of mazes, and, like he'd done upon first waking up all those months ago, she appeared to be studying a map. If she were more proficient at this task Aeneas had yet to decipher. He focused instead on answering her question.

"Uhm-no. Sorry. W-Well, actually-" the nervous trill faltered for several unnerving seconds, like a chittering rodent with a stutter, "-How long have you been here? O-On this ship, I mean. Awake."

[fluffyapartheid]

Zhiai'kahn scowled a bit, annoyed that her question was being asked with another question. She'd always hated that, and hated it even more now that she was old and felt like she didn't have the time for answers that weren't straight and to the point.

Her long tail flicked in annoyance as she answered. "I awoke from the pods earlier. I'm not sure if it's been a full day or yet, the movement of time here is odd." She estimated it had been a little over a day since she'd woken, judging by the meals of that disgusting glop she'd eaten and that she'd only slept - on one of the couches in the obs deck - once. "And you? How long have you been in this place?"

[enter_aeneas]

If it was one thing Aeneas was good at, it was reading body language. That sort of thing was how, as he understood it from dreams and uncovered memories and the like, his species communicated the vast majority of the time. It certainly explained why this one was so quiet and outspoken-not to mention disturbingly empathetic.

There was annoyance there, Aeneas could tell immediately, along with a certain patience that he should have been thankful for but wasn't, thanks to the heat of the moment and his already tumbling resolve. The alien fumbled further. "Uhm, yes. It is. I..."

He pondered.

"...Months. Maybe a year. As you said, it is difficult to tell sometimes." Another pause as Aeneas remembered to pursue his previous tangent, starting it with a hopeful trill. "-When you woke up-did you, ah, wake up with many others? Was there a big meeting here?"

[fluffyapartheid]

The old Sansani had been doing a good job of keeping herself together since she awoke, but it was clear that his answer greatly disturbed her, her body tensing up and a look of panic entering her eyes. A year? She had possible years to look forward to on this vessel?

...But, no, of course. The green one had said that her world had been destroyed. Where else could she go? She relaxed slightly. She had no other options now, and would have to make due. Though, she was still a bit worried. She was well aware she was getting up there in years, and did not particularly like the idea of spending the end of her life on a place that wasn't her home world.

It took her a moment to respond to the question while she was lost in thought. Eventually she came back around, though. "Yes," she said, "there was a large group that exited from those pods. Most were 'human', or whatever they are called, though there were a few that didn't call themselves that."

[enter_aeneas]

Aeneas caught on fairly quickly, casting a sad, uncomfortable glance at the ceiling as he resumed kneading a webbed ear, more out of habit now than to show any real emotion. Such motions that would've been extremely significant earlier on had been steadily loosing their meaning, mostly due to the humans' curious dependence on verbal cues over visual ones. The common gestures-rubbing an ear, padding the floor, waving his tail-were little more than flourishes at this point, actions of impulse. It was disturbingly crude to think about.

Thus, Aeneas chose not to think about it.

The idea of living out one's life here hardly seemed out of place to the alien, even though he understood how others could find it unnerving. He'd never had a single place of origin, the only place coming close being Walrum, surrounded by the resident Awesonians rather than his own kind regardless; to end his time in such a state of transit was...almost proper. A wanderer among wanderers, forging an identity wherever he went. Perhaps that's the way it should stay

[fluffyapartheid]

"Hmm," Zhiai'kahn replied, scratching her neck as she thought out loud, "yes, it did seem that they are the majority species here. That alone would give them greater means of breeding, and keeping their numbers up despite their home world being gone. They remind me of larger Hoefeken, an rather prolific species in their own right."

She blinked, and shook her head. "Ah, I'm sorry. That is neither here nor there."

[enter_aeneas]

It was Aeneas's turn to do a bit of verbal thinking, showing a brief nod of understanding punctuated by a sudden trill, a revelation or quaint musing. "-Although-I think they are incapable. Of breeding, I mean...I know they still, ah, perform the act, but there is an interesting chemical in the food given here that makes them sterile. Or so I understand."

He glanced awkwardly at the ceiling.