Strange New Place [Tag Vila]

[mellanby]

Dayna was surprised when she opened her eyes. It didn't matter what she saw, opening her eyes, realizing that she was alive was surprise enough. It should have been impossible. She could still feel the heat in her stomach from the rifle blast

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[allergictofear]

It was the end.

Darkness had engulfed his vision and he could feel the life flitting out of his body. It was the end and what had he really done with it when he had it? Steal, eat, drink, drink, drink, be merry? Not such a bad life. Could of used more drink.

But as the silence passed into echoed footsteps, the kind you found on a station, people walking past you has you lay in a drunken coma on the floor kind sound, Vila couldn't help but squeeze an eye open.

The eye opened all the way as he heard the familiar female voice.

"Dayna? Is it over? Does haven have booze?" He looked around with his eye that was open and then opened the other. "This doesn't look like heaven..."

[allergictofear]

Vila glanced in the restaurants, not a bad place to stay for awhile though, however, he would need some form of currency. He picked the pocket of the next man who passed them, accidentally running into him.

"Opps, sorry there..." The person barely blinked and was on their way again. "Might at least want to get some dinner." After all, the places looked pretty inviting and he could FEEL the booze, it had to be there.

[mellanby]

Ah, well, for having just shot Vila was doing quite well! She was in a good mood herself, having escaped certain death hopefully, and she hooked her arm in Vila's.

"I don't recognize any of the local systems. Perhaps they renamed them under Commissioner Sleer's rule," she mused, thinking back to the information she'd collected from the computer terminal.

[allergictofear]

"Maybe...but that means they changed the money too." Why yes, Vila was in a good mood, he was digging through someone else's wallet.

"Was thinking we could get some dinner, nice place here anyway, might as well have a drink while we sort it all out, right?"

[mellanby]

She shot him a bit of a look. But you had to admire his determination. Blake had wanted to conquer the Federation. Avon had gotten foolishly obsessed with Blake. And Vila? Must have been made of rubber with the way he ceaselessly attempted to wine and dine the right girl.

The "right girl" of course being the one that accepted.

"All right, Vila. But be on your toes. I don't want to let my guard down completely, and as much as I'm ashamed to say it we could really use Avon about now."

[allergictofear]

"We'll keep an eye out. I don't think well on an empty stomach." Or sober. He led her into one of the restaurants, where they were seated immediately.

"I'll keep an eye out for him. I'm sure their around."Meaning of course Tarrant, Soolin and Avon, hell maybe Blake had made it as well. "Pretty snazzy, haven't been anywhere like this in awhile." Or ever.

[mellanby]

Vila was more capable of relaxing than her at the moment. She settled into a chair, but still watched the waiters and other patrons with wary eyes. Waiting for one of them to raise their voice and shout out that they'd found the rebels. Or for a bounty hunter like Cancer's lot to come trapsing through the door.

Cancer. She could be alive if they could be, she suspected. It wasn't a fond though. But no, they'd disposed of her body. There was no way.

"I hope so. If not here then somewhere else." She knew Vila wasn't fond of Tarrant (though Avon had probably reached Tarrant's level in his book with his recent foolishness). But as far as she was concerned she was still responsible for their safety. They were the only family that she had left.

This was forgotten for a microsecond as she opened the menu. "I think they have real food here..."

[allergictofear]

It was odd, to be on the brink of death one moment and then relative safety the next. Vila was just happy to be alive for the time being and he was going to enjoy what life he had left, whether that be five minutes or five hundred years, he didn't mind which, so long as he had something alcoholic in his system. Which he ordered immediately.

"I'm sure they made it out if we did...somehow." Avon wasn't his favorite person right now and Tarrant had never been, therefore, he wasn't overly eager to see them. "Try to enjoy yourself. You've not gotten to go many place like this. Might be our last meal for all you know. Hope they keep their shooting at is until after dinner."

[mellanby]

"How do you do that? Just... accept in the face of everything?"

She didn't say it in offence, nor did she allow how impressed she was with him for it show through. It had been one of his more admirable qualities. The fact that he could just take what occurred to him and work with it. A strange new place? An uncertain fate for their colleagues?

Dayna looked down at the menu, seeing food she couldn't recall even having. Or hearing of outside of ancient literature. The idea of it made her mouth water, but again it was another case of minding her emotional displays. One didn't expose their excitement.

Her time aboard the Liberator and Scorpio taught her some bad habits.

[allergictofear]

Vila looked up as she spoke and shrugged, glancing back down at his menu interestedly.

"I figure that we just escaped death or near enough to it to give me a rush and I want to ride it out. Plus I'm hungry. Aren't you hungry? We haven't had a proper meal since...god knows when." Vila always thinking of this moment and not really worrying over the next. Really, he just hoped they would wait till after dinner to kill them, who ever they were.

"Plus I got a good feeling."

[mellanby]

"You've got a good feeling?"

Somewhere in her mind Avon's voice chimed something about him having a primary school education and his judgement didn't count. Can't even escape your sentiment when you're not even around, she lamented internally, rolling her eyes (though it could have been construed as having been at Vila's optimism).

"At least it's better than nothing," she admitted. Nothing being death. And it had been a while since they had food. And everything looked so good. And the waiter who came up seemed to be willing to pay attention to them enough to take a drink order.

"Wine. This one... and do you know where we are?"

The waiter nodded to the order, but shrugged at the question.

Maybe the other people here were just as lost.

[allergictofear]

"Yeah," and Vila knew better then anyone, his feelings were usually misleading, but hey, he was going to have real food in his stomach and by the smell of it, real booze! It was a good feeling. "for now anyway..." Which was the best he could hope for after nearly dying.

"Silent and polite types, maybe their robots? Only programmed to tell us some things or just to serve. Maybe they can't talk. Just here to make us feel comfortable. Who knows why." He figured if someone was going to kill them they wouldn't of wasted the resources to transport them wherever and do it. Could of just left them where they were.

"I'll take one of these and some of this." Vila pointed out to their silent waiter who then was off like a shot to get their drinks.

[mellanby]

"Or maybe they get sick of people asking. Maybe they're all trapped here too." Though she didn't know any criminals or had been in any prisons. Unlike the original crew of the Liberator, Dayna hadn't committed any crimes to speak of.

Not that she regretted having picked up the habit.

But it did seem a little like people were just milling about finding something to do. The way she did on Sarran, when she couldn't necessarily go anywhere so she just chased natives. She pointed toward what she wanted on the menu, offered a brief, kind smile, and handed him the menu.

"...I can't believe he shot him," she muttered. "After all that time obsessing."

[allergictofear]

"Maybe, could be, who knows. The point is. We're alive..." And hopefully soolin and avon were as well. All right and Tarrant. But he wouldn't like it. He smirked as the drinks were brought and the orders for food were taken. He took up his drink and sniffed it, oh yeah, that's the stuff and down it went in one gulp.

His face faltered a moment as Avon was brought up again. "Avon's gone off the deep end, Dayna. He's crazy and there's no telling what he'll do to get his way. Who knows what he was thinking..." Though, Vila had a pretty good idea what he was thinking, it was amazing how well you could know someone when you had been trapped in space with them long enough.

[mellanby]

"Oh yes. Very much. Right off the deep end..." she observed, sadly.

"I remember when we first started to travel together. When he crashed on Sarran. He was so brave and so confident. He didn't allow me to wallow in self pity. At the time it hurt, but at the same time he wasn't about to let me remain alone there...

"Now he's... He's not the same man. He's delusional. I almost feel as if our lives were handed to that witch in his pursuit to find that man. What was Blake's initial appeal anyway? You would think if he cared so much he would have come looking," she complained, sloshing her drink around in its glass.

[allergictofear]

"Blake was all we had. For a long time. It was Blake or end up back where we started. We felt safe knowing he was there." Vila sighed. "At least sometimes. Blake was always crazy as well. Jumping into danger. With The Liberator we could of gone anywhere, hidden, ran away, but he jumped right into the thick of danger." Which had ended up costing his friends their lives. Lives Vila didn't feel were worth losing, especially that way.

"I guess Avon thought he was solid. Like we all did. He was a constant in a world of inconsistency." The more Vila drank the better his logic became. "I think Avon missed the stability and he felt our new quest should be finding Blake." Vila hadn't thought much on this topic. The past year or so without Blake had been a blur of emotions for him that he had watched through a haze of alcohol and fear induced panic.

Vila downed his next drink with relish.