'What time is it?' Alex suddenly thought. He then raised his head up and glanced at his XOC. 'Five forty-eight.'
With a heavy sigh, Alex lowered his head. 'What am I even doing here?'
Alex squeezed his hand into tight balls. 'There are none of the answers I was promised, and the only people that are here are just as clueless as I am.'
His gaze turned upward and far out to sea, revealing the imminent descent of the moon toward the horizon.
'And day is soon going to break. Just wonderful.' Alex sighed for the second time in less than a minute. 'I've only been trapped for one month, what's one more night?'
With nothing better to do, Alex turned his eyes across the deck, cataloging both familiar and unfamiliar faces. 'That one is number two hundred and eight,' he noted, then shifted his attention to a figure who looked especially gloomy and moody. 'He's two hundred and fifty-eight.'
Finally, his eyes landed on Azura. She had Han's head resting on her lap, her fingers gently stroking his hair as a look of concern softened her features. 'Looks like Han hasn't recovered yet.'
Leaving it at that, Alex turned his head to his left, his eyes fixing on Alistair. "Hey, do you know why we're waiting here?"
For a few moments it appeared he wouldn't bother responding. The silence stretched on, leaving Alex to wonder if he'd get any answer at all from his brooding companion.
Just as he was concluding that Alistair wouldn't break his contemplative stoicism, a heavy sigh escaped Alistair's lips, and he dismissively shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. When I got here everyone was waiting around, so I just went along with it."
Alex raised an eyebrow in at the response. "That doesn't sound like you. Normally you would have asked around to at the very least gain a basic understanding of the situation."
Alistair closed his eyes and began rythmatical rapping on the deck below. "I'm sure you can understand that I wasn't in the right frame of mind to start chatting with anyone, in fact, I'm already extremely surprised that you have it in you to do anything other than brood."
Alex turned to Alistair and found his glasses covered eyes now fixed on him. "I can see it in your eyes, a hollow, crazed look buried deep within. Precious, scarce moments away from flipping out and losing your mind."
Alistair leaned closer and gazed searchingly into Alex's eyes. "I can tell, The Senseless Coast really did a number on you."
His non-carish face reappeared and he back away. "Perhaps even worse than it did me."
Alex opened his mouth, however, nothing came out, leaving Alistair the chance to continue. "I won't ask what happened to you in there, and honestly I don't care to know, I have enough shitty experiences and memories occupying space in my mind."
"I never sai..." Alistair raised up a hand to silence Alex.
"I didn't say I was done." Alistair calmly and emotionlessly stated. He then thought for a moment before continuing his previous line of thought. "What I will say is that you shouldn't assume our relationship is one where we can chat about our feelings. As long as you remember that we won't have any problems."
As the last word left Alistair's mouth, a dense and heavy atmosphere descended between both of them. However, this tense silence only lasted mere seconds before Alex broke it.
"You know, it's not that I don't understand your perspective," Alex said, narrowing his eyes and clasping his hands together. " But be that as it may it's crucial to remember our roles here, it feels like you're forgetting that I'm your superior, and that demands a certain level of respect in our interactions."
Alex then chuckled humorlessly. "Or perhaps I'm mistaken, and it's your name that's recorded as the leader of Hydra?"
A steely and dangerous look flashed past Alistair's eyes and he opened his mouth to speak, however, Alex's upraised hand quieted him.
"Let me finish." Alex sharply replied, he then cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I'm not the same person from a month ago, and you would do well to remember both that and our relationship when you address me from now on. Is that clear?"
Alistair's frost eyes made and held contact with Alex's, resulting in a minute long faceoff. Then the look abruptly disappeared and he smiled at Alex.
"Yes, crystal."
With a sigh, Alex wearily leaned back against the rough, yet polished wooden railing. "It's not like I even wanted to be the leader of Hydra in the first place; you're the one that dragged me into it," He tuned out the bustle around the deck, allowing his mind to drift back to his final year in the Primary Section.
"Factions are only allowed to register at the beginning of the school year." Alistair said as he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. "Ohhhh, and if you don't graduate, you won't be joining the faction I'm creating."
"Wait, why?" Alex asked with confusion, dropping his sandwich.
Alistair uncrossed his legs, folded his hands, and ran his gaze around the hectic cafeteria. "The leader of the faction can't be in a lower class than the vice leader, don't you agree?"
"Yes, that makes sense." Alex nodded his head in agreement. However, moments later, Alistair's words sunk in causing his head to shoot up. "Wait, what did you say?"
Alistair had been looking elsewhere in the cafeteria but turned back to look at me.
"Huh, didn't I tell you that instead of me, you would be the leader of the faction?" He asked looking surprised.
"No you never mentioned anything like that." Alex replied, an eyebrow twitching.
"Oh," Alistair replied dismissively. "Well now you know."
Alex sighed as the memory faded from his mind and he returned to the present. "Almost four years ago now."
"What did you say?" Alistair asked.
Alex shook his head, clearing his last lingering retrospective thoughts. "Nothing."
The conversation between them seized, with both now passively observing the going ons around the deck.
However, several minutes later, Alex abruptly spoke up. "You know, I've been thinking this for a while but why isn't anyone trying to enter..."
He then pointed at a hatch located around the center of the ship. "There, or," Alex gaze travelled to a door leading to a cabin located below the quarterdeck. "There."
Alistair briefly glanced at the locations Alex had been referring to before resuming his people watching. "I can only speak for myself, but since I've been here I haven't seen anyone here before I was so much as glance in in their direction."
"This might be me being paranoid, but if there is a reason it's being avoided I don't want to be the idiot that'll mess up."
Alistair then inclined his head toward the Uppers. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure they were the first people here and they don't seem to be worried or stressed. Most of all, if they haven't done anything then neither will I."
He closed his eyes and breathed out deeply. "Again, this is just my opinion and others reasons might be different."
With a contemplative look on his face, Alex nodded his head in understanding. "I guess that makes sense. I'm also going to assume that's the same reason no one seems to have gone to check out those warehouses down at the dock."
He paused as his gaze briefly landed on Leon before moving on moments later.
"However," Alex continued as he glanced at his XOC. "If by dawn nothing changes I'll have to explore those places even if no one else does."
Suddenly, just as Alistair was about speaking, the sound of multiple footsteps walking up the gangplank came to Alex's ear.
"Sounds like this is the biggest amount yet." Alistair commented, he stood up and looked over the railing at a group of wide-eyed, shaken looking students. "These ones don't look as terrible as the last few ones that came. Perhaps it's because they're in a group?"
He watched for a few more seconds before turning back to Alex. "Anyway, as I was about to say earlier..."
The bevy of surprised sounding words, exclamations and swears came from the gangplank as the first of the newcomers reached the deck. However, both Alex and Alistair ignored those distractions and without pausing, continued their conversation.
"Better start preparing yourself to explore." Alistair gazed up at the faintly brightening sky. "The day is breaking and I doubt anything of note will happe—"
"HELLO STUDENTS!"
Suddenly, a booming voice rang out, scaring and startling many aboard the ship.
"Where did that come from?" Alistair exclaimed, his face slightly pale.
"I do..don't know." Alex replied shakily, breathing hard to calm his racing heart.
"I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT YOU'RE ALL DOING WELL!"
Despite his best efforts, Alex heart rate stayed as high as before. 'Where is it coming from?" He thought, frantically glancing everywhere.