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A strange sound woke former inspector second class Lyfrassir Edda from uneasy sleep.
They swung out of the unfamiliar bed, and blinked away the sleep as they tried to orient themselves. They'd only just arrived aboard this lunatic vessel, after two years hurtling though space in a tiny shuttle. When the crew had found them and reluctantly offered them board (at the insistence of a certain Von Raum), they'd chucked them in this room just off Marius'. Lyf suspected that was more to get rid of them for now, but supposed they couldn't complain. At least they were alive.
Oh Azathoth. did this mean they owed Marius? That man was insufferable at the best of times, there was no telling what he'd do now.
Their bones creaked as they stood. It may have been some unknown time in the night, but they weren't going to stay in the cramped cabin like some glorified prisoner. Lyf wanted to walk, and eat, and they would.
Still, Lyf wasn't stupid. They opened the door a crack, peeking nervously to avoid any of those.... mechanisms. No one. The coast was clear. They darted out into the metal corridor. If there was nothing there, than what made that noise?
The sound rang out again, above them. Above, a narrow series of cracked vents. Was there something else aboard? perhaps rats, or maybe cats or spiders? Or hell, cats crossed with spiders? With a little huff, they shrugged off their flight of fancy, and quietly moved down the corridor, following the sequential sounds leading down the vent.
And fell. The sounds stopped abruptly, and Lyf swore silently. They stayed motionless, holding their breath until the mysterious vent crawler began moving once again. Lyf followed, making sure to roll up the overlong pants that they'd 'loaned' from Marius (They were a very pretty blue and extremely comfortable to boot; he was never getting them back. After all the mechanisms had done to them, Lyf deserved this at least.)
The sounds continued for a while, with Lyf trailing behind as quietly as they could. Through the passenger cabins and down the hall beyond the sounds went. They turned abruptly, and Lyf followed. Whatever was making the noise, they were choosing directions far too quickly to be lost. Their muscles, long since atrophied the cramped shuttle quarters, began wailing at even this moderate exercise, but Lyf fought through the pain. There was a mystery here, and Lyf loved mystery. Well, when it lacked eldritch horrors and arcane gods, they did.
A loud, sharp thud sounded just to the left, and they jerked back to themselves. Lyf followed the corridor, looking desperately for an opening or doorway in the corridor. Anything to lead them to the source of the noise.
A yawning mouth opened in the wall.
Reaching.
Clawing.
The gaping teeth of midnight stretched from the void, and Lyf scrabbled back from the blackness, pressing themselves against the right side of the wall. Then blinked. Looked, and blinked again. Just a doorway. Just a doorway and a malfunctioning light.
It took a good minute, perhaps two, for lyf to regain their breathing, pull back their heartbeat from the rushing madness. Why were they here again?
In the void, the tiniest glow began to shine, and they remembered. Right, the vent crawler. Slowly, Lyf hauled themselves up against the wall, till they stood, facing the door.
The light was dim, even as they approached the threshold. Lyf stuck their second for a split second, then withdrew. Steeling their nerves, they stepped in. It was hard to see, but it seemed to be some sort of... galley? Long rows of dull benches spread across the room, their color indistinguishable in the dark. To the left, in a far corner, the light shone from beyond a set of dull serving tables.
Lyf snuck towards it, dropping into a crouch as he did. They craned their head, trying to see what was beyond. Stretching to the left revealed a large wooden crate, and a low scraping as, something dragged it slowly along the floor. What was pulling it was obscured by a tall pillar, but Lyfrassir could clearly see an open freezer, the edge of the crate still balancing off it. They advanced, and craned to the left.
And beamed themselves on a table edge. The shock of the impact left them reeling, and Lyf couldn't prevent the involuntary groan that escaped them at the pain. Instantly the scraping stopped.
Subtlety lost, They scrambled up and sprinted to the kitchen door before whatever was raiding the freezer could escape back into the vent. With a crash, they knocked through the door. And stopped.
In front of them stood a small child, her chubby face plastered with guilt and ice cream. the open crate lay behind her, stuffed to the brim with the frozen snack.
"What."
"What?" They repeated dumbly. The girl looked at them dolefully, the beginning of tears pooling in her eyes.
"Sorry. Sorry. Hello, My name is Lyfrassir Edda," they fixed on a kind smile as they began, and outstretched a hand for the girl to take. "Whats your name?"
She stared warily at him, but eventually accepted the handshake.
"I'm Lily D'ville Rasputina Aurora Drumchild Alexandria O'reilly La Cognizi Von Raum"
"...Right." A still befuddled Lyfrassir withdrew their hand, and wiped off the sticky mess of ice cream on the seat of their pants. Maybe they would give these back to Von Raum after all.
"Can I just call you Lily?"
At the girl's nod, Lyfrassir stood, and looked around at the kitchen, bare but for the girl and the open crate. A cracked vent opened out above the oven, where the girl had come in.
"What are you doing here, Lily?"
"Hungry. Wanted ice cream." Well, that answered none of their questions.
"Don't you have a spoon?"
"No spoons."
"Really?"
"Ashes burnt them, not me!" She insisted.
Lyf sighed. Playing responsible adult to a child want how they'd seen their night going, but they supposed it couldn't be helped.
"How about you put away the ice cream, and we get you something proper to eat?" They asked, rifling around in the cupboards for something, anything, that a child could reasonably eat.
"I suppose" The petulance was audible, as behind them the crate began to scrape once again, the sound occasionally interspersed with furtive gobbles.
The lower cabinets held nothing but bottle after bottle of whisky. Something that claimed to be milk nestled in the corner, and they grabbed it, then opened and sniffed. Nope, also whisky. Lyf returned it to the cabinet, then turned to help Lily with the crate. Together, they returned it to the freezer, and with a final longing stare it was safely away.
The upper shelves were laden with sugar and sweets, and Lyf shook their head. How long had this girl been eating like this? Still, a half empty pouch of flour and a single yeast packet languished in the back, and Lyf grabbed them, considering. It would take a long time to make, and the oven looked strangely charred.
Lily looked up at them, her head cocked inquisitively
"What are you making?"
They considered. Outside, the galley was still pitch black, the night lurked beyond. And besides, Lily did need to eat.
" just some bread. Want to help?"
Lily smiled in agreement, and they answered in kind.
And together, Lyf and Lily D'ville Rasputina Aurora Drumchild Alexandria O'reilly La Cognizi Von Raum Edda got to work.