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It had been a few weeks since the crew of the aurora had landed on the planet they were currently docked at, and Nastya had caught wind of some sort of fire festival that she really hadn’t bothered to learn the name of.
That being said, she was moving through the halls of Aurora looking for her fire-loving crewmate. Her boots tapping in a rythmic motion thoughout the halls. Thankfully, she didn’t have to search alone, as her girlfriend happily provided the information about where Ashes was, and what they were doing.
She found them relaxing on one of the sofas with a clipboard in one of their hands and Tims head in their lap, her hair sprawling around her, hiding most of her face from view. They seemed busy, so she lurked in the doorway until they acknowledged her presence. It didn’t take long for Ashes to notice her presence.
“Need Something?” They said as they glanced up at her, they threaded the hand not holding the clipboard through Tim’s hair, and if Nastya was correct, she thought Tim might not be awake anymore. Nastya rolled her eyes at the PDA.
She hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was maybe something Ashes would prefer to go to with one of the other Mechanisms, but ultimately decided that it was her idea, and she absolutely refused to let someone like Jonny or Tim take credit for it. They had both done that far too many times.
“There is… some fire festival I didn’t bother to read the name of happening tonight. I thought you might want to accompany me.”
Ashes fixed her with one of those looks that she never could learn to read (much to her displeasure) for a moment, before a grin spread across their face.
“Oh absolutely, sounds like a hell of a time.” They paused, glancing at the time “How long before you want to set out?”
“A few hours? Maybe? Or whenever it gets dark, really.”
Ashes’ grin only grew as they appeared to realize that Nastya definitely had no idea about what time it currently was, nor the time customs of the planet.
However, they seemed to take pity on her and nodded in agreement, going back to whatever it was that they were doing.
Nastya awkwardly lingered in the doorway for a few moments as Ashes began to run their free hand through Tim’s hair again before she decidied it best she left.
She returned to her own room, trailing her fingers along the walls as she did so, a small gesture of affection she knew Aurora was likely to pick up on. However, it didn’t take nearly long enough for her to arrive, and at that moment she realized that she had no idea what to expect at this festival. Something she really didn’t like.
A fire festival sounded simple enough, but there was also the fact she had absolutely no idea of any of the customs in the system they were in. She continued her thought process until Aurora gave a louder hum, attempting to catch her attention.
Nastya looked up from where she was messing with her hands to the screen on the wall that had lit up, and after scanning the words displayed, a short list of customs were displayed to her.
She gave a small smile to the screen and whispered a “thank you” to her girlfriend before busying herself with getting ready for the festival. Aurora hummed in response.
It took nearly no time to get ready, aside from locating her coat ( which Jonny had recently stolen from her, the little shit) and quickly brushing out her hair. It did however take a long time before Aurora beeped a warning that she should go to retrieve Ashes for the festival. Where would she be without her girlfriend, she absentmindly wondered.
She followed her girlfriend's guidance towards her aforementioned crewmate for the second time that day, finding them waiting by the entrance, looking bored out of their mind.
“Took ya long enough” Ashes grinned at her. They were definitely dressed for the occasion, wearing a matching dark red blazer and slacks over a dark dress shirt. Nastya felt far underdressed in her everyday clothing, suddenly.
Instead of voicing this thought, she rolled her eyes and gave a small laugh, signaling for Aurora to open the front door.
She glanced towards Ashes, meeting their eyes as they beckoned for her to take the lead, grinning with a “ladies first”
Nastya rolled her eyes again and began to walk. She heard the door to Aurora close as Ashes presumably followed behind her. She took a breath of the cool, crisp air as she looked around at the land before her.
She was originally worried that she wouldn’t be able to find the festival in the darkening landscape, but her worries washed away as the sounds of music and laughter drifted from the very lit up town center. Not at all subtle, it seems.
Ashes had quickly caught up with her, walking silently by her side as they neared the festivities.
The evening air chilled Nastya’s skin, causing her to tuck her fingers into her coat pockets to keep warm. Ashes, however, didn’t seem to share her problem as they walked, pushing their sleeves up slightly. Nastya tried not to feel jealous of her crewmate’s apparent disregard for the cold. The benefits of having organic blood, she supposes.
Seeming to notice her chilliness, Ashes had migrated closer to her side, brushing arms with her as they walked.
Nastya pretended not to notice, glancing around until her attention was drawn as Ashes cleared their throat, and she stared down at Ashes’ palm, which was offered out for her to take.
She must have stared for longer than Ashes deemed socially acceptable, as they began to pull their hand away until she snatched it, deeming the touch acceptable as long as it brought the warmth they were rather known for around the ship.
Ashes chuckled slightly, causing her to glare at them until they raised their free hand as a form of apology, Nastya assumed, even if it wasn’t it was still a victory in her eyes.
As the duo passed through the entrance, the air felt warmer, and the atmosphere more cheerful.
At the center of the place, people clad in what appeared to be the traditional cultural clothing of the planet, danced and laughed around a bonfire, whilst towards the edges of the clearing vendors and carnival games alike seemed to be happening.
She was being guided towards the edges by Ashes, who seemed a little more than interested in a game about setting the most things on fire with a single match. Nastya didn’t see the appeal, but to each their own. She was more thankful for the lesser amount of people the game was set in. She never has and never will be a people person.
Ashes of course did extremely well in the game (Nastya didn’t catch any cheating, but she also didn’t know the rules or goal of the game), and was rewarded a large cartoon flame plush as a reward. They seemed to not have any idea to do with a plush half their size, so settled on dumping it on Nastya instead.
“I didn’t play for the prize anyways, I just wanted to set shit on fire” Ashes shrugged after she cast them an accusatory glare. The ridicious plush was soft and made of a fluffy fabric, so at least the texture wasn’t as horrid as it’s cutesy child-friendly eyes.
Nastya rolled her eyes, but held on to the oversized thing. She continued to follow Ashes from game to game and being dumped with the rewards as they excelled (and likely cheated) at each one.
She luckily was able to pass off the huge plush to a child who looked at it a little too longingly for a little too long. The kid was now much happier, carrying around the giant thing, and she no longer had the burden of carrying it around, which made her even happier than the child.
After what was easily an hour, Ashes had made their way through the games they wanted to play, glancing over at Nastya who still held the few rewards she hadn’t given away.
“Hungry?”
She thought for a moment and then nodded. Ashes smiled slightly in response, and began to make their way to where all the food vendors decided to station for the festival.
There was definitely food back on Aurora, but in the moment neither of them cared. It wasn’t like their money wasn’t stolen to begin with.
Afterwards, snacks in hand, they began to make their way towards the makeshift shops set up a little farther away from the festivities, tents glowing bright in the darkness. Each one seemed themed of a certain good, with some much more intricate than others.
Jewels and candles lined the first tent, a kind looking woman grinning at them and gesturing for them to take a look at her stock.A silver dagger embedded with ruby near immediately caught her attention, and she picked it up to begin observation. She had something in her collection similar enough to it already, however…
It was very well made, the handle being smooth and comfortable to hold despite the detailing. She grabbed the covering as well and continued to look. She had always found blades much more aesthetically pleasing than guns, and this one had hours of love put into it. And it showed.
The only other thing to catch her eye was a small pendant with a sapphire gem, something very similar to a necklace she had lost a few thousand years ago.
Upon closer inspection, it was near indistinguishable, aside from the fact her old one had a few nicks in it from getting caught in her work. That also made its way into her hand. It was placed carefully alongside the dagger, Nastya took care to make sure neither were damaged or roughed up upon the other.
As Nastya approached the counter, Ashes held a ring, and seemed to be talking to the woman about it. The ring was beautiful, and from the bits of conversation she could overhear it was headed to the hands of Tim soon. She rolled her eyes.
She placed her own items on the counter, and Ashes shot her a strange look, eyeing the dagger. It took a moment for Nastya to register the look as query into why she was getting a dagger.
“Jonny.”
That was all it took for them to nod, making a quiet noise of approval.
They paid, a strange thing for them, (considering the shopkeeper was kind, and all her items were handmade, it only seemed right) and left. Nastya put the remaining prizes she carried into the bag containing the goods bought. The cool wind hit them as soon as they had left the shelter of the tent.
The festival had died down, and most vendors were closing up. So, with a glance at one another, the duo began to head back to the ship. Both satisfied with the haul they had aquired.
The walk was quiet, but not awkward as both parties enjoyed the silence and one another's company more than trying to small talk. If Nastya scooted a bit closer to Ashes as a particlurly bitingly chill gust of wind hit her, then she would kill anyone who acknowledged it.
As they approached the door, Ashes whispered a “Thank you” to her, and Nastya nodded with a smile back. She had more deemed the outing as a success. She had forgotten how much fun interacting with her crewmates can be, especially outside of the safety of Aurora’s walls.
That being said, Nastya was definitely going to hide in her room for the next week.
(If a small, mass produced toy of a fire lizard ended up on one of her shelves, no it didn’t).