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“Are you sure this is the right place?” Mercenary questioned. “What if we show up to the wrong building?”
“I’ve already triple checked the coordinates,” Seeker assured as she led him over to the front door. “Right place, right time.” The assassin just nodded anxiously.
Upon entering, the pair walked down a small hallway into a room that can only be described as cozy. A loveseat sat facing a small wooden table with a tablet perched up, several pillows and a blanket at the ready for any comfort need. “This.. isn’t bad,” Mercenary commented. “A bit bright.”
He jumped at a hand on his shoulder. “Good, you two made it!” A person stepped around to face them both. “I’ll be conducting the interview. On the tablet, questions will pop up. Take turns answering. Don’t get too stressed, it’s casual. I’ll be in another room.”
“...okay,” the assassin confirmed, a little overwhelmed by the situation, but a familiar hand slipping into his helped calm him down. “We’re ready then.”
With a confirming nod from Seeker, the interviewer led them to sit down on the loveseat before leaving. “See?” The monk commented. “They won’t be in here. It’ll be alright. We’ll leave if you need to.” Mercenary just nodded, grabbing one of the pillows and clutching it close.
The tablet screen began to change. It read “Hello! Over the course of this interview, we’ll go through 40 questions. Please answer truthfully.” It then changed again to say “First, what is your name?”
“Seeker,” she answered calmly, “and this is Mercenary.”
After a pause, the screen changed, reading “What is your real name?”
“We, uh, don’t use them,” the bladesman responded. “You can call us by our aforementioned titles.”
A change again. “What is your age?”
The pair looked at each other. “I.. don’t remember,” the monk said.
“Can’t really keep track in space,” Mercenary agreed.
“Are you an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?”
A pause. “That’s social level, right?” Seeker asked.
The bladesman nodded. “I’m an introvert, Seek’s probably an ambivert.”
“Are you left- or right-handed?”
“Ambidextrous,” the pair answered at the same time.
“Are you an early bird or a night owl?”
“I think I’m turning Seek into a night owl with me,” Mercenary responded with a small chuckle. The monk just playfully rolled her eyes and smiled at him.
“Do you prefer the indoors or outdoors?”
“Outdoors,” Seeker said with a smile. “I loved the sunlight back on Sol III, the sounds of the birds-”
“More places to hide,” the assassin mentioned. “And, well, sunlight too. I like being in the trees.”
“Do you have any hobbies?”
“Seek collects a buncha different shit. Animal bones, rusty knives, big broken screws. I donate to the collection occasionally. Me personally, ..I like to read, I guess.”
“Do you have any pet peeves?”
“People who think they’re entitled to everything,” the monk answered.
“And when people are too friendly,” Mercenary added. “Pisses me off.” The other nodded in partial agreement.
“Do you play any sports?”
“I actually used to play volleyball! Back on Sol III, I was on my highschool’s volleyball team.”
The bladesman looked over at her. “Really? You never told me that.” After a confirming nod, he huffed. “When we get back to Sol III, you’re showing me.” He looked back at the tablet. “But, uh, I was never into sports. Closest I got was throwing a ball at the wall with my mentor.”
“Do you speak any other languages?”
“I tried to learn Latin once,” Seeker mentioned. “Never really stuck.” She looked over at her rosebud, who just shook his head no.
“Now we’ll be getting into favorites. First, what’s your favorite color?”
“Yellow and green,” the monk responded before glancing over again. “Yours is.. black and blue?” That earned her a nod.
“Favorite animal?”
“Uh, birds are cool,” Mercenary answered. “Flying up there, constantly moving. ..sharks and manta rays are cool too.”
Seeker nodded. “I like birds too. And echidnas.”
“Favorite food?”
The assassin shrugged. “I never really tried different foods. I suppose.. beans and rice. It was a good day when me and my mentor could eat both at the same meal.”
“I like fruit and vegetable dishes. Haven’t had them in a bit. Hydroponics can only do so much.”
“Favorite quote?”
“Uh,” Mercenary tried to recall, “it went, uh, ‘it isn’t in the stars to hold our destiny, but ourselves.’”
The monk smirked and looked over at him. “Is that Shakespeare?”
“No,” he answered quickly and fervently.
She just chuckled and waved him off. “My favorite was what one of my highschool teachers once said. ‘If you keep looking in the toilet, you’ll keep finding shit.’”
“Favorite story?”
The pair looked at each other and shrugged. “Never thought about it, I suppose.”
“I guess..” The bladesman began. “.. I liked The Handmaid’s Tale. I keep meaning to find it so Seek can read it.”
“Favorite day of the week?”
“We don’t know what day it is,” Seeker mentioned. “When I was on Sol III, though, I liked Sundays. Nice and peaceful. ..not my favorite anymore, though. I won’t get into it.”
“Favorite number?”
“Seven,” the monk quickly replied. “It’s a good number. Merc doesn’t have one.”
“Okay, moving on to more personal stuff. When was the last time you cried?”
The pair glanced at each other, silence stretching. “. . . of sadness, it was when I got drunk that one time,” Mercenary answered.
“I about cried then too,” Seeker added.
“What is your greatest weakness?”
They just looked at each other, offering no further response.
“Do you have any phobias?”
“Being trapped,” they answered simultaneously.
“What is your greatest fear?”
“..losing what’s important to me,” the bladesman responded.
Seeker chuckled nervously. “Getting found by the High Court, I suppose.”
“What smells remind you of childhood?”
“The ocean,” the monk answered. “Salty breeze, seaweed, the like. Merc?” She turned to him.
Mercenary just shrugged. “Dirt. ..a bit of aloe vera, but mostly dirt.”
“What advice would you give to your younger self?”
“Keep your chin up,” the assassin offered. “It’ll get better. I’m proof of it.” Seeker didn’t answer, though, and he turned to her. “You got something?”
Seeker thought long and hard. “... don’t lose your values. You can bend, but don’t you dare break.”
“If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?”
They both took a moment to think. “... nothing,” the monk answered. “If changing something led to me and Merc not meeting, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Mercenary nodded. “Agreed.”
“Are you religious?”
The bladesman looked over at Seeker, who just shook her head in denial and offered no further response.
“Do you believe in an afterlife?”
“I don’t- fucking know!” Mercenary spat defensively. “No one knows, what’s the point in thinking about it.”
“What do you think Heaven is like?”
He grumbled angrily and stood up. “If you keep asking these stupid questions, we’re leaving. Move the fuck on.” He looked over at his lotus and scowled at the incessant questioning. No one, especially not some rando, should be allowed to make his lotus frown.
“Okay, let’s take a break for a few minutes. Down the hall and to the right is a kitchenette, there’s water in there if you’d like.” And the tablet screen swapped to display a calming scene, coupled with relaxing music. The pair looked to each other and agreed that they could go for a break.
After a bit, the music cut off and the screen changed. “How do you display affection?”
Seeker slowly blinked her eyes open. “Wha happen..?” She drowsily asked, sitting up to find she was laying on her rosebud’s shoulderblade, who was laying in her lap. A smile graced her lips. “Merc, bud, c’mon.”
A couple soft taps to his helmet caused a small jolt to overcome him, sitting up and blinking away the sluggishness. “Oh, it’s time to go again?” He looked over at the tablet. “.. that kind of got answered already, don’t you think?”
The monk just shrugged. “Well, Merc likes reassurance and cuddling. He also leaves little presents in my room sometimes.”
“W- well-” Mercenary stuttered, “Seek, uh, pats my head and hugs me. Yeah.”
“How do you react to praise?”
“What are these questions,” the assassin spat, definitely not blushing under his helmet. “They’re so stupid.”
Seeker giggled. “He reacts similarly to that, I suppose. It’s a toss-up on whether he freezes or stubbornly denies.”
“I don’t like this interview anymore, next question.”
“What was your first kiss like?”
“Oh come on!” Mercenary stood up. “Can we move on from this shit?”
The other grabbed his hand, still sitting. “Come on, bud! It’s a harmless question, yeah?”
He huffed. “But it’s- private, y’know? Not something I go around telling everyone.” He glanced down. “It’s our little thing, our private life. I don’t want anyone just- knowing everything; especially since I don’t know who all will know this.”
“..I suppose that’s fair,” she agrees, looking to the tablet. “Let’s move on, yeah?”
“What’s sitting on your desk right now?”
“Let’s see,” Mercenary mumbled. “Other than a computer, keyboard, and mouse, I have a stack of paper, two pencils, three pens, and probably an empty wrapper.”
The monk chuckled. “Mine is probably the same, except some unsorted trinkets and I keep losing my pens. And I have my water bottle.”
“What do you normally do on a Sunday afternoon?”
“Well, again, we don’t know dates,” Seeker pointed out. “But when I was younger, I rested. Sunday was always a day for me. I’d occasionally practice my volleyball, but I mostly rested.”
She looked to the side to acknowledge the bladesman. “Uh, well,” he began, “I didn’t do anything certain on any certain days. I didn’t have a structured week.”
“What is your most treasured possession?”
“Other than Seek?” That earned him a giggle. “Uh, my laser sword. It holds a lot of value to me. And it was really expensive.”
“Me, ... I, uh, lost most of my possessions, when I went AWOL. It used to be my volleyball. It was the same ball my team used when we went undefeated champions my last year. Now.. probably that display case you made me for my rusty blade collection.” He smiled at that one.
“Are you a minimalist or hoarder?”
“Seek’s more of a hoarder. Me, I’m not used to keeping a lot of belongings around, so I end up being more minimalistic.”
“What are your eating habits?”
The monk elbowed the person beside her. “Well, I know that he used to not eat on the Safe Travels because he was nervous of all things. Now though, we have structured meal times. Merc still snacks a bit, though.”
“What is your drink of choice?”
“Water,” they both answered. “More reliable.”
“What is your alcohol of choice?”
Seeker looked to the bladesman, who just sighed. “I didn’t care for the taste, I just wanted to get drunk. Aside from that, me and Seek don’t drink.”
“What are you most likely to be remembered for?”
“Going AWOL,” the monk replied. “They’re probably really mad about that still.”
“Me, killing that guy back on Europa, the fourth largest moon of Sol V. They didn’t know it was me, probably, but that was big news.”
“What is your view of freedom?”
The pair looked at each other. They didn’t expect such a deep question. “...well,” Mercenary tried to start, “true freedom is impossible. But I think certain parts of humanity have gotten much closer to it than others.”
“Well stated,” the other agreed.
“What is your view of redemption?”
“Do you plan to say something else philosophical?” Seeker asked, glancing at him from the side.
The bladesman chuckled. “I can only be so philosophical in one day. And honestly? I’m still figuring it out. Since you came around, my opinion’s gotten flipped on its head. Uh.. I see redemption as very subjective. Who’s to judge, in the end?”
“Lastly, what is your philosophy of life?”
“Ah, that’s a good last question,” the monk acknowledged. “Me personally, I follow my morals and my gut. Merc?”
Mercenary just smiled. “I protect those who I care about with the abilities I have. That’s the most noble thing I can do.”
“Alright, that is all! Thank you for being here, and you may exit out the way you came.”
The pair nodded and stood from their seats, stretching and walking out. A sense of peace hung over them both.
“There was actually 42 questions,” the bladesman added. “While you went to grab water during our break, I told the person to add two more.”
Seeker giggled. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He shrugged. “That’s the point. I didn’t. But I did.”