Don't Touch My Stuff

[cherry1]

Raven’s rooms were basically empty because she spent most of her time in her workshop. All her stuff was there since it was more practical that way. And everyone knew not to touch any of it. At least that’s what she thought. It was an unspoken rule. If Raven wasn’t in there then stay out. Not too difficult to understand. While usually she even slept in there, last night had been different. Her leg had been more painful than usual so she’d at least tried to lie down in her actual bed and get some sleep. Easier said than done. It was early morning when she finally gave up on that idea, having only had a couple hours sleep, she got up. A little crankier than usual but hey a couple hours sleep was better than no sleep at all. And it was enough for her to function so Raven couldn’t really complain.

Just before she got to the door of her workshop, Raven noticed a shuffling sound coming from inside. Great, an intruder. Just what she needed this morning. If someone was here to steal something, they’d have to go through Raven first. Slowly she quietly moved inside. Still unable to see anything apart from the top of a black haired man. Grabbing a pipe from one of the desks, she lunged forward towards him. “Put everything down!” she yelled, the pipe held above her. Only when she finally saw him, Raven lowered it. Because it wasn’t a black haired man. It was a black haired boy. He was just a kid. Sighing, Raven rolled her eyes. “You know half this stuff could kill you right?” A bit of an exaggeration but she went with it. “Probably not a good idea to play with any of it.” At least that was true. “What are you doing here, kid?”

Tag: Hunter Solomon

[Hunter Solomon]

Even back on the Ark, Hunter had often made his way to Mecha Station to watch the engineers and mechanics working on parts, keeping everything going. It had always fascinated him how fastening one screw could change a whole construction. He would sometimes „burrow“ small parts to study them and find out how they worked, see if he could take them apart and later put them together again. Once he'd been caught by Sinclair, he'd had to stop doing that though. Still, he would visit the station whenever he could and he heard about a young mechanic called Raven Reyes, the youngest Zero-G mechanic in 52 years. Hunter would take any chance at seeing her at work and he was impressed with how much ease she seemed to complete her tasks.

Since being back on earth, he'd heard many stories about how Raven had saved the arkers with her work, defeating their enemies mostly. Although he couldn't be sure which ones were true and which weren't because some sounded almost too crazy. He wondered if she'd really build a bomb that had wrecked a bridge and if she'd actually killed 300 Grounders with one blast.
The boy had never dared to approach her though, feeling too nervous and scared that she might just call him a stupid kid and send him away. He had only ever watched her work from around the corner and had almost been worried about the amount of hours she put into her work, wondering if she ever took any time to rest and get some sleep. Especially with her injured leg, Hunter has seen her wincing whenever she thought nobody could see her.

He was glas when she finally decided to get some real sleep instead of an occasional rest on the chair in her workshop. It also gave him the chance to check out her worhshop up close. This was a rare opportunity and he was determined to make the most of it. He marveled at all the parts lying around and the glass board filled with complicated formulas.
He was so engrossed in the studies of all the tools and material that he didn't notice someone creeping up on him. When he heard Raven yell at him, he turned with a yelp, holding his arms in front of his head protectively, a reaction he had learned from his father's beatings. His back was pressed against the table behind him and he looked at the woman with big eyes, widened in fear.
Hunter needed a moment to slow his breathing again, stop his chest from heaving up and down so much once he realized that he wasn't going to be hurt.

„Um..I'm...I'm sorry! I just wanted to check out your workshop!“, he stammered, his cheeks flushed in embarassement. He couldn't help but let out a short laugh when she warned him about getting killed. He might not have known every small part that she was keeping here, but he knew enough to be sure that none of the things she was leaving around in the open were lethal in any way.

Tag: cherry1

[cherry1]

Raven flinched at his reaction, immediately feeling guilt and shame at her harsh introduction. Not exactly a great first impression. But she couldn’t have people just strolling in here messing with her things, kid or no kid. She did recognise something in him though. Something familiar. That look in his eyes, of wonder and fascination with her little workshop. Well, it was a look she shared with him. And Raven would be one colossal bitch if she decided to snuff it out. Especially living in a world where every day was a fight for survival. Maybe she didn’t have to kick him out. Not yet anyway.

“You can’t just come in here kid, you gotta ask first,” she sighed, no anger in her tone this time, putting the pipe she’d been clutching down on the desk in front of him. “I’m afraid I can’t just let this slide,” she continued, raising an eyebrow at him. The beginnings of a smirk threatening to give her away. “You’re gonna have to do something for me.” Raven was unable to hide the smile this time. Because who was she kidding, Raven couldn’t stay mad at him. Not when she’d done the exact same thing countless times to Sinclair on the ark. “You up for it?” She asked, because despite her words suggesting otherwise, Raven wasn’t actually going to force him to do anything he didn’t want to. But something about him having the guts to sneak in here softened her stance. Perhaps it was because he reminded her of herself, or maybe she could just really use the distraction. This would probably prove to be a really bad idea, but who was Raven Reyes if not a risk taker.

Tag: Hunter Solomon

[Hunter Solomon]

Hunter relaxed a little when he thought the anger disappeared from Raven's face, but he still felt a bit tense at being caught and kept to his corner. The Arkers' laws were so confusing these days and if punishment was handled anything close to how it was back at the Ark, he didn't want to be caught doing anything even close to a crime.

„Sorry!“, he said barely louder than a whisper and looked down at his dirty shoes. He drew in a sharp breath when the mechanic told him she couldn't just let him go and his blue eyes were filled with fear once more. The memories of seeing Dr.Griffin be whipped came back to him and his fingers tightened around the edge of the table behind him.
Hunter frowned as he saw the smirk on the girl's face and had no idea what she was getting at. He had learned to be suspicious of other people's intentions towards him, usually suspecting that they would want to hurt him. His father never thought he deserved anything else and the boy was still starting to learn that not everyone was out to harm him and that he was worth more than being beaten.

„I'm so sorry...I'll..I'll never come back in here again! Just don't tell the guards about this, please!“, he pleaded with the young woman, his eyes swimming with tears. How could he have been this stupid? Only he would be able to make such a big mess out of a little curiosity. He should have just sticked to helping the farmers with their plants instead of sticking his nose into things that weren't his business.

Tag: cherry1

[cherry1]

Oh shit. The fear in the boy’s voice only proved to make her feel even guiltier. Perhaps she’d picked a poor choice of wording now that she thought about it. They did live in a society where until recently every crime was met with death after all. Seeing the tears in his eyes wiped any sort of smile off her face. Great, Raven could cross that off the list of things she’d planned to do today. Work on the engines; finish the plans for expansion and ah yes, make a child cry. This was why she’d made an effort to stay away from kids. She always managed to say the wrong thing. This case being a prime example.

“Wait, it’s okay,” she said quickly, awkwardly laying a hand on the kids shoulder as some form of comfort. Something she’d never been very good at it. Another reason Raven wasn’t great with kids. “I’m not going to tell anyone I just meant…” she deliberated in her head whether she should continue with her plan or just let the kid go. He was traumatised enough as it is, keeping him would only give her more opportunities to screw up…further. Which she really didn’t need. That being said though… “I just meant you owe me a favour now.” Raven withdrew her hand and continued, "Didn't mean to scare you kid," She was hoping to somehow put him at ease. “Let’s start over.” Holding her hand out, Raven introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Raven, the best mechanic around,” she added with a chuckle, easing the tension. “Your turn.” It was probably about time she learned the name of the kid she’d almost brought to tears in the span of five minutes. New record, she thought wryly.

Tag: Hunter Solomon

[Hunter Solomon]

Hunter tried not to flinch when Raven reach her hand out to him and lay it on his shoulder. He looked down at it and resisted the urge to shake it off. He really needed to learn that not every form of touch was bad, he thought to himself. He still wasn't sure what the girl's intentions were though and it left him feeling nervous and cautious. He was relieved to find out that she wasn't going to tell on him, but wondered why she hadn't kicked him out long ago if that was the case. He was just some stupid kidgoing through her stuff without permission, something he didn't think she would tolerate without some sort of payback.

„A favor?“, Hunter asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion, not sure what he could possibly do for Raven. It wasn't like he had any special skills or as if he could do anything particularly well that somebody else couldn't do better.
He looked at the mechanic's held out hand, that frown that had always made him look so serious, even when he was a little kid, on his face and the space between them almost stretched into an awkward silence before he took the offered hand and shook it.
„I know who you are, I've heard a lot about your work!“, he admitted, one corner of his mouth rising slightly into an almost-smile. „I'm Hunter“, he finally introduced himself, although he couldn't add any fancy title like Raven did, since there really wasn't anything special about him.

Tag: cherry1

[cherry1]

“Oh really, what have you heard?” she asked, unable to resist the urge to. The boy seemed a little more at ease, though the tension in his posture was still there. It seemed her little change the subject tactic actually worked. Who knew? Maybe she wasn’t so terrible with kids after all. Still. It was probably a bit too early to make that assumption. “Hunter, huh.” She repeated, her expression thoughtful. “Cool name.” She consciously chose not to ask about his parents like a more responsible adult would, because round here most people didn’t have any. And she’d only just got the kid to stop looking terrified, Raven wasn’t about to open any possible wounds by mentioning his possibly deceased parents. A selfish decision? Maybe. But she had no problem admitting to being selfish sometimes.

“You know how to strip wires kid?” she asked innocently. Starting with basics. There was a lot about Hunter that Raven didn’t know, but she could at least see that he’d been through a lot. Hell everyone who’d survived this long had been through a lot. So maybe he could use a distraction as much as Raven could. And hey, if Raven got some free labour out of it, that’d be a bonus. She’d never been one to ask for help with anything. But Hunter looked like he needed it. Raven was perhaps the wrong person for the job…or definitely the wrong person for the job, but she refused to kick him out. Maybe a while ago she would have. But now with Sinclair gone…well. He’d never kicked her out…

Tag: Hunter Solomon

[Hunter Solomon]

Hunter started to feel a little more at ease as Raven treated him different than most people would. All the other adults seemed to just want to wrap him up in cotton wool, constantly asking him if he was alright and forbidding him to do almost anything because they wanted to protect him. The young woman just handled him like she would anybody else she might catch going through her stuff, or at least that's what it seemed like to the boy. She didn't talk to him in that voice that most of the other Arkers used when they spoke to him, overly careful and gentle as if he might break at any harsh soound.

He shrugged his shoulders when Raven wanted to know what he'd heard about her and looked at a broken powerdrill that had been salvaged from the wreckage of Farm Station. „Nothing luch, just that you're the youngest Zero-G mechanic in 52 years.“, he said in a playfully mocking tone. He couldn't help a grin from crossing over his face as she complemented him on his name. This moment still felt a little surreal to the boy since he'd always seen the young woman as a sort of rolemodel since finding out about her. He didn't mind helping the farmers of Arkadia grow vegetables and such, since he'd always liked studying plants and actually getting to see them grow was fascinating. But what he'd really always been pationate about was getting to know how the things around him worked, how every little piece fit into each other and seeing what happened when you removed or added certain parts.
Raven's question threw him a little and he stared at her with confusion. „Strip wires? Why...I mean, sure...yeah, I know how to do that!“, he stuttered, still not sure what she was getting at.

Tag: cherry1