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Wandering through the endless aluminium halls of the Tulpar, Mira questioned everyone on board where Curly had been.
“Mmmm…Medbay?” Daisuke hummed, tongue slightly sticking out as he focused on tightening a screw. Mira shook her head. She'd already checked there multiple times.
“Maybe he's in his sleeping quarters, sometimes mid-day naps are just better!” Anya grinned as she prepared a cup of coffee for herself. “Nope, not there. I knocked a bit ago.” Mira admitted, chewing on her nail. Anya shrugged. Her attention was primarily directed towards the porcelain cat mug holding her peppermint latte.
Mira already knew Swansea wouldn't have a clue, and Jimmy would just be sarcastic.
“How does everyone somehow manage to not know where Curly is? He's the captain, for Christ's sake!” Mira grumbled to herself as she checked everywhere again. Supply closet? Nope. Utility room? Of course not. The only person in there was a crouched-down Daisuke, humming along with whatever song was blasting from his CD player. Mira could barely transcribe any semblance of lyrics from it, but at least he's doing what he loves, right?
She walked back upstairs, unlocking the door to the med-bay. She knew this room like the back of her hand. It was the medical room, and people like Mira and Anya knew how to supply it accordingly. She knew where to find anything from antibacterial liquids to (slightly expired, admittedly) eye drops.
Everything was in there. But…Curly wasn't. Just Jimmy, erasing Anya's perfect script on his psych eval, changing things like “May need further examination and medication,” to “Perfectly stable. He should be captain, too! :)” in his scratchy, shaky handwriting. When he took note of Mira's presence, he stared at her with this dull, annoyed glare.
Nope. Time to leave. She immediately shut the door behind her.
Mira was getting fairly desperate. “Swansea? Swansea…? Helloooo…?” Mira questioned as she knocked on the shared sleeping quarters between him and Daisuke. Once she heard an annoyed, gravely “What?” From the living area of the Tulpar, Mira sighed in relief. Curly! She dashed over to it and opened her mouth to talk to…
Swansea?
He raised a bushy brown eyebrow, looking at Mira questionably. “I mean, I know how good I look, but I ain't no Captain.” Swansea chuckled, sipping on a mocktail from Curly's birthday party earlier. Mira did admire Swansea's aversion to drinking, while Daisuke took it as an opportunity to let loose a little. It was respectable.
“Don't you at least know where Curly is?” Mira sighed. She was tired of searching, but she desperately needed to know where Curly was. “Probably in the Cockpit. Not many places you could lose a brick wall like that guy.” Swansea's chuckle forced a small grin on Mira's face.
He wasn't lying. Curly was exceptionally tall for some odd reason, even taller than Jimmy.
Mira began her trek down the halls, downstairs, and to the cockpit. It's like the ship was endless, but intensely cramped at the same time. She'd read online that it would feel tighter day by day once you get used to the layout and see it daily.
Upon opening the second door that led to the cockpit, Mira heard a loud snoring sound arise from the dark room. The cockpit was otherwise pitch black and quiet, aside from the quiet buzz of the directory panel, and the neon green lights that came from the same machine. She couldn't blame curly for sleeping. It was pretty relaxing there.
“Curly? Captain? hellooo?” Mira asked, flicking on the light of the cockpit. The sudden flash drew an exhausted groan from Curly's lips. “Mira, Jesus! Are you gonna turn that light off anytime soon, or what?” Curly asked, now sitting up while shielding his eyes. Was she trying to blind him, or what?
“Go to bed, Curly. How long were you awake before you fell asleep?” Curly sighed. He was ashamed to admit it. “A few hours.” Mira shook her head. That just wasn't a good enough answer. She remembered reading about his insomnia in his file, and she didn't want to be too harsh on someone who couldn't help it, but she was frustrated.
“And how do you define a few hours?”
“…7.”
Curly buried his face into his steering wheel. He was exhausted, working himself into the ground just to keep the ship running. A look of empathy flashed across Mira's face.
“You need to st-” Curly cut Mira off. “Stop staying up so much? Believe me. I already know. I never stop hearing it from Swansea, Jimmy, Anya, hell, even Daisuke. Who knew that he even had any idea of what a good sleeping routine is. He's always up when I see him.” Curly squinted as his eyes still tried to focus on Mira.
“Just go to bed, Captain. Please. I'm sure Jimmy would be ecstatic to play captain for a while.” Curly let out a dry laugh. “I'll be fine, Mira. I'll just drink some…” Curly paused his speaking to let out a yawn. “...Coffee.. I'll just drink coffee.”
Curly blushed at the irony of his yawn and earlier statement. How embarrassing.
Mira shook her head. Absolutely not. Daisuke had described Mira as the “Queen of Gentle Nagging”, and Mira definitely stuck to that title. She was good at nudging you enough that you just got tired of it and went along with whatever she wanted you to do. Curly was a little more stubborn, though.
“Before you try and convince me… no. I'll be okay. Just.. give me 20 more minutes and I'll go to bed.” Curly nodded, but he slowly drifted off into his palm. Mira huffed.
“Curly. Captain. Cap. Please, just go to bed.” Curly grumbled, but he listened. Mira was happy about that. “Okay. Fine. Tell Jimmy to cover for me, please?” Mira nodded. She'd be perfectly okay with that.
She walked Curly up the stairs of the Tulpar to his sleeping quarters, where he collapsed in his bed without much more of a huff.
Perfect. Mission accomplished. <3