A Festive Farewell: Between Friends or Family?

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #8

Gabriel´s focused expression softened when he saw the hint of embarrassment on Danielle´s face as he always considered his puppy to be especially cute when blushing. However, he wasn´t allowed to cherish that sight for long, as his own taunt worked especially well, pushing the young treasure huntress over the edge so she finally started giving it her all.
“Whoaaa”
He gasped as Danielle´s next strike passed dangerously close to his arm.
“Mirrored Moon”
Relaxing his whole body to make it completely limp and flexible, the Professor danced between her attacks like a leaf in the wind, letting her own strength guide his defence. Then suddenly his face was hit by a gentle breeze as Danielle sidestepped and moved behind him for another strike, leaving an afterimage for him as a decoy.
“Stalking Moon”
It was a well-executed technique, fast and sharp, build upon blocks he and Namkhai taught her in the past. Gabriel was sure, it would catch any normal fighter off guard, but not him. Not because he would be so much stronger than his student, but simply because it was he who designed it and so he had a greater understanding of its working than anyone, Danielle included. So when he noticed the right signs, the Professor ignored the afterimage in front of him and relaxed his body again, letting the power of her real strike guide him into a rotation that spun his body alongside her attacking arm, until he found himself behind her.
“This was perfect!”
Gabriel smiled, applauding his student with the face of a father who was proud of his daughter´s accomplishment.
“Now, please try to remember the feeling you had and apply it again. We will try it a few more times before I´ll make sure you are able to execute it at will.”
He paused before adding.
“Oh, and please try to take it seriously. It’s your last day with us. I don´t want to spend it taunting you into anger.”

[Bobbie]

The blonde’s fist never met its target, and Danielle staggered for a moment with her own momentum. Suddenly, Gabriel was no longer anywhere in her sight, his voice coming from behind her.

Regaining her balance, she swiftly spun around to face him.

“I had no idea that was possible! Let alone for me to…” the fighter was clearly awe-stricken by her newfound ability, all thanks to Gabriel’s manual and his training. With an eager smile, she nodded to his instructions that followed.

Remembering the feeling was quite easy - it was one that she felt very frequently: frustration. However, knowing that such an emotion could be an obstacle as well as a tool, she wasn’t quite sure how to distinguish between one or the other as the line between using her anger and being blinded by it was incredibly fine.

“Alright, a few more times…” she repeated after him, though his final comment made her frown. “I am taking it seriously.” She replied in a bitter tone, the simple reminder of that fact enough to dull her mood.

Danielle launched her attack, that frustration lingering, though her focus was at times divided. She did have a lot on her mind and there were moments when it showed as she made a strike at an awkward angle and hopping to one side didn’t seem to do anything. Eventually and with some guidance from The Professor, she was able to learn from her mistakes and succeed at the same technique several consecutive times.

This was followed up with some other unique swipes and sweeps that Gabriel offered to teach her, one in particular causing her blade to heat up and gain a golden shimmer to it that she had never noticed before. After completing a Burning Slash, Danielle was once again left quite astonished by the burning trail that lingered in the air for a few seconds in the path her scimitar followed.

She could hardly remember the last time she felt anything so rewarding - it was a sensation that even surpassed the success in acquiring the golden treasures she had been hunting. With a rare smile, she looked at Gabriel like a pupil seeking out a glimmer of pride in her sensei’s eyes.

“Okay, what’s next?” She paused to look around her for Hariyama. She could smell the herbal aromas in the air from his cooking, but she assumed it wasn’t ready yet. Turning back to The Professor, she hoped they could fit in one more technique before the party.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Hayden: #c3f8fa

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #9

Seeing Danielle genuinely awe-stricken by the result of her training made Gabriel happy, as there was nothing as rewarding for the Professor as seeing his puppies grow.
“Don´t underestimate yourself. You have the talent to become an excellent martial artist.”
He encouraged her as they went for another round of their training. And at the beginning it wasn´t perfect, but with every other repetition Danielle improved her timing and speed until Gabriel felt confident she will be able to use her Hop in an actual fight.
“Great job, now, take ten minutes break and we will continue at page 37.”
Giving her enough time to catch her breath and fetch some water, the Professor waited for Danielle to be ready again, before proceeding with actual swordsmanship. And when she managed to lit the air with golden light and heat it filled him with pride that almost overcame the fear he felt of her.
“I am so proud of you.”
Overcame by fatherly feelings, Gabriel pet the treasure huntress´s head, without even realising that she probably won´t appreciate such gesture.
“Well, now…”
He wanted to say that the plan was to let her train with Namkhai now, as the wrestler was more suited for the following training than Gabriel, but after that kiss…”
“Now you will train with me.”
Said the Titan, who appeared in the entrance to the lower deck, with a wide grin on his face.
“Basically all you have to do is to punch me with everything you get. I suppose it won´t be a problem? Well unless I wasn´t mistaken and you really…”
He fell silent, only mimicking saying these words, but even from the movement of his mouth it was clear what his taunt was all about.
Kissed…me…back…!
Three words, courageously hinted by a man who had one of his arms broken and the rest of his body bandaged because of all the injuries he sustained.

[Bobbie]

Danielle was filled with pride herself. It had been some time since she could see much of any positive turn in her goals, so seeing that she was able to progress in her training brought her a bit of joy as well. It was unfortunate that all the other things became so twisted, but this was one she could celebrate.

Her smile, however, disappeared when she felt Gabriel’s hand on her head. Immediately, she was taken back to the incident in the cabin and the most uncomfortable snuggling that she had ever endured. Trying to be gentle, she couldn’t stop the automatic movement of her hand rising and pushing his away. The sentiment may have been appreciated, but his gesture was not, which was clear from the frown on her face that replaced the beaming expression from earlier.

Before the professor could finish his sentence to state what would come next, Namkhai interrupted him.

The wrestler’s voice filled Danielle with unease and discomfort as she turned to look at him and felt a pit in her stomach. His recent stunt caused a lot of conflicted feelings within her that she couldn’t quite explain, and she resented the implications of that. Taking a moment to watch him, she silently asked herself why she reacted the way she did when he kissed her - there is literally nothing about this man that draws me to him, she thought to herself, her eye narrowing slightly. The more she racked her brain trying to figure it out, the more frustrated she felt and the sound of his voice was akin to nails scraping down a black board. Finally she came to the conclusion that it was simply an emotional moment. Overwhelmed by having to break the news to the crew and what led to it, she wasn't thinking straight and her body simply acted on its own.

The frown on the treasure huntress’s face quickly became a glare as his proposition for their training was followed by confirmation that what happened was not missed on him. Of course he has to bring it up... It was true, he didn't have to mention it, but a part of her didn't really blame him for that part. She also blamed herself for allowing this to happen when she shouldn't have - her heart has always only belonged to Rosalina and that will never change. This shouldn't have happened.

Watching him mouth those three words, her face reddened with equal parts embarrassment and rage as her jaw visibly clenched, her lips pursed. She could understand them perfectly even without a voice to pronounce them and she shook her head in response as if to deny that fact.

“Easily…” she hissed through her teeth, winding her arm with a tight fist, before hurling it at him as hard as she could. Blinded by her anger toward Namkhai for a multitude of reasons, she threw all her weight into that one single punch, aiming at his face - more specifically, his jaw, where the dreaded words were coming from for not only her to lipread but everybody else on the deck as well. Fully intent on slamming her knuckles into his face with no regard for the wellbeing of her own hand, Danielle had never swung harder, even when wielding the mighty skillet.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Hayden: #c3f8fa

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #10

Seeing that Danielle was more than willing to train with Namkhai, the Professor stepped back to make a room for the two of them. Taking a cup of water for himself, he realised he got lost in his own thoughts. Strictly speaking, Danielle was strong, and he was very proud of her growth as warrior although she never really embraced the life of martial artist. Judging by their previous training she probably had the skills to go toe to toe even with someone as powerful as Namkhai, the problem was, that no matter how much he tried to be rational about it he simply couldn´t accept the fact that he was supposed to let her face the dangers of this world alone.
Meanwhile Namkhai watched as his taunt pushed Danielle over the edge, raising his single healthy arm in defence.
“Mushgikh”
Capturing her arm few centimetres away from his face, the wrestler used gentle, circular motion of his arm to turn her own force against her, throwing the treasure huntress high in the air. However, instead of slamming her against the ship´s deck head first he pulled her further, so she would fall on her back, slowing down her fall to prevent any serious injury.
“That was a terrible strike and even worse strategy.”
He chastised her, for once looking dead serious in her presence. After all, Gabriel wasn´t the only one who cared about her safety and the more she would learn from them the better were her chances of survival on her own.
“Never let your rage to blind you, especially against technical fighter like me.”
Still holding her wrist, the Titan pulled her back up on her feet, before releasing her arm and taking few steps back, this time respecting her personal space.
“Again.”

[Bobbie]

Danielle’s eye widened as she instantly regretted her approach and found herself thrown into the air. She felt the wind rush through her hair and against her face as her body rose and then dropped down once more, her back slamming hard onto the deck.

It didn’t hurt at all, thanks to Gabriel’s recent mistakes with his acupuncture methods, and for the first time she was quite glad for that. That didn’t prevent the wind from being knocked out of her with the harsh thud, however, as she looked up at Namkhai while trying to catch her breath. She didn’t last long looking up at him and soon looked away as he chastised her, her lips curling into a sulk of shame.

She knew he was right and she should have done better than that. Her brother's words came to mind as he had always warned her that her temper will lead her to another dreadful accident one day. One might think she'd have learnt...

Lacking in bodily awareness, she seemed to completely miss that her wrist was still in his grasp, perhaps the knowledge that she was among friends making her a bit too relaxed in that regard. As he pulled her up, she scrambled to keep up, feeling herself as light as a feather compared to the man's strength. “Hard to do when up against a frustrating opponent…” she grumbled as she was now on her feet and her wrist released.  “I suppose that’s a learning moment in itself.” She continued, as she found that it wasn’t a valid excuse, considering many opponents may try to taunt their enemies. The blonde fighter took a step back and dusted off her clothes as she readied herself for a second try. It was at this moment that she realised how challenging it was to fight in a suit, which she hadn't actually had the chance to change out of and back into her usual, more comfortable attire. Taking off the jacket, she dropped the finely tailored garment onto the deck, throwing it some distance away from them where it wouldn't be in the way.

Danielle couldn’t help but glance at the Professor for a brief moment, slightly embarrassed to have made such a foolish charge at Namkhai after she seemed to make him so proud only moments earlier. Resuming her fighting position dressed in neat suit trousers and an untucked shirt that hung loosely enough over her concealed vest and around her form to allow for easier movement, she calmed her breathing, and then ran at her target once more.

This time with a clearer head, the trainee made swift jabs at her sparring partner, trying her best to be aware of his counter attacks as well so as to avoid a repeat of her last failure. Once she built up enough momentum in her punches, she decided to put what she’d just learnt in her training with Gabriel into practice and Huntress Hopped in another direction to strike from a new angle with a quick burst of energy.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Hayden: #c3f8fa

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #11

As he was called frustrating, Namkhai showed his teeth in a wide grin revealing how good his mood was.
“Well, that means I am doing my job well.”
His voice was overflowing with confidence, but truth to be told, he had his own problems with focus. Not only because he was a walking collection of injuries held together by a duct tape and bandages, but because Danielle looked really amazing in the suit Gabriel bought for her and the fact she took the jacket off wasn´t really helping in that matter.
“Come on, are you some love-struck teenager?”
Shaking his head, the Titan forced himself to focus again, dodging the incoming jabs with grace born from the combination of his incredible speed and reflexes.
“Better, much better but…”
He paused as Danielle hopped into different direction, lowering his centre of mass enough for her fist to harmlessly pass above his head, before lunging in her direction to push her away with the shoulder of his healthy arm.
“you should probably try something new. I saw you using this technique dozen times already today. It won´t take me by surprise.”
He smiled, turning around to face her again.
“Page 38 has quite nice hand to hand technique.”
The Professor advised his prized pupil, while scratching Beast behind her ear with his healthy arm, leaning against a nearby taffrail. Seeing these two sparing, he couldn´t but think how good these two looked together. There was hardly a better match for the headstrong and impulsive Danielle than someone like Namkhai who had the ability to take her angry jabs in his stride without taking them personally. It was such a shame she didn´t see it and insisted on pursuing Rosalina as the Professor was sure not only in his assessment of her qualities, but also by the fact that she mistook his puppy for a man. And he dreaded the consequences of Rosalina realising her mistake.

[Bobbie]

While facing Namkhai, Danielle noticed that he seemed a little distracted, though she assumed that it was due to his injuries. Unlike when practising against the Professor, however, she didn’t feel obliged to hold back against him. She didn’t feel she needed to, and, perhaps more so than that, this man made her blood boil.

When she used her newest technique, she was sure that she had him and a trace of a smile already started to appear across her lips. That soon disappeared when her fist flew right over his head and she missed her target entirely.

Learning from her previous mistake, she didn’t put all her weight into this punch so that her balance wasn’t completely off, but it was enough for Namkhai’s shoulder to ram into her and send her into a stagger. Her arms flailed as she took a few steps in an attempt to prevent her body from toppling over, until she swung one foot back and tensed her body to steady herself. Glancing back, she could see she was close to the taffrail but hadn't reached it, then she looked at Gabriel.

“Care to summarise?” His pupil asked, no longer having access to the book since she had to let go of it to fight. She then looked at Beast and a smile came to her face, before turning to face Namkhai again, that smile fading once more.

Taking a moment to watch him and consider what she knew about his fighting style, she let out yet another frustrated sigh. This proved to be more difficult than she anticipated, but she had the stamina to keep going. It was difficult to focus with him just smiling at her like that and it somehow only made her angrier.

While she hoped Gabriel would explain what was on page 38, she tried to put her time to good use and ran at Namkhai once more, paying more attention to his movements in response to her own.

She knew it was a gamble, but this time she decided to throw in an elbow strike and a swipe amidst her punches.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Hayden: #c3f8fa

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #12

“Just punch him really hard!”
Beast yelled back at Danielle, earning her master´s sigh together with a scratch behind one of her pointed ears.
“It´s called a Golden Palm, well, I call it a Golden Palm…”
He corrected himself, still remembering how “happy” his protegee was about the name he created for her last technique.
“It´s very similar to your usual swordsmanship techniques, just applied for an unarmed attack. So, strike him twice in quick succession, with your open palm so you won´t hurt your knuckles but instead of pulling right away, let the recoil hit you, absorb it and channel through your body into the third strike.”
Since this technique was basically copying what she was already doing with her sword Gabriel didn´t feel the need to explain it into too many details and decided to let her body to figure out the rest.
“Well, isn´t it the same what I said but with more words?”
Asked Beast with a wide smile on her fluffy face. Rising his eyebrow, Gabriel looked at his doggo, wondering if he wasn´t a bit happier when she couldn´t speak, but than decided that he will take her as any other curious beginner.
“Not really, just watch and learn.”
He smiled, scratching her chin.
Meanwhile Namkhai was defending to her attacks in rather unorthodox manner. Being limited to just one arm, he stepped into her elbow, headbutting it before it could gain a sufficient momentum, stepping to the side to dodge another punch, when he suddenly realised, that she hooked his leg in an attempt to sweep him of his feet. With their weight difference and insane stability he would probably be able to withstood such a simple attempt, but decided to reward her progress by playing along. Curling his body to break the fall, his healthy arm shoot forward, grabbing Danielle´s wrist as he headed to the ground in an attempt to pull her down with him.

[Bobbie]

While The Professor explained the technique, she listened without commenting on the name this time. Golden Palm didn’t sound too bad, at least there was something of value in the name and it didn’t make her sound like a defenceless rabbit hopping about.

Danielle decided to give it a try as she timed her attacks and counted her strikes. Since her last attempt to do something Namkhai was aware of failed, however, she deviated from that plan to adapt and make use of different strikes to different parts of his body to be less predictable. Once her leg sweep worked, she could focus on this Golden Palm technique. Either overestimating Namkhai’s ability to block it or his ego, she was quite surprised when he actually fell to her leg sweep, which threw her off slightly as well.

As a result, she relaxed just enough to completely miss her wrist being caught. Her body lurched with the sudden downward pull and she tried to resist his strength, digging her heels into the floor of the deck. To her surprise, it seemed like she might succeed for a moment, until she ultimately lost her footing and went down with him.

While it was quite nice to have her fall broken, she didn’t particularly enjoy landing on top of Namkhai. Immediately, her mind went back to the last time she was this close to him and she could feel her cheeks flush. Mentally scolding herself for allowing herself to get distracted, her thoughts were quick to return to the matter at hand as she realised that her current predicament was his forte. She knew she couldn’t waste a single second while being so close to him, aware that at any moment, he might decide to pull off some twisted wrestling grapple on her. Swiftly moving away from him, she rose to her feet again while she rolled her wrist to try and pry it out of his grip, feeling a little bit more flustered than usual.

“Another thing to look out for…” she quietly grumbled to herself with a soft sigh and stood her ground while she non-verbally cued him to get up and resume their training.

“Come on, get up.” The blonde could hear the aggression in her tone as her temper once more threatened to form a brick wall between her and logic.

Glad that she caught it, she tried to shake it off as Danielle realised that she could never afford to let her guard down against somebody like him, a technical fighter, as he described himself to be. It was exhausting and irritating, but not unrealistic to find such an opponent in the future. Seeing the challenge in their practice, she could appreciate its value and would be more annoyed if she learnt he had been holding back in any way.

Convinced that she would be ready this time around, she waited for the moment they were both in a position to continue and then launched a quick but varied combo of two blows to his torso, followed by a third strike to the man’s flank with her open palm.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Hayden: #c3f8fa

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #13

Listening to hers dad´s instruction, Beast watched carefully the sparring between Namkhai and Danielle, trying to sprint towards them when both fighters fell to the ground.
“No…”
Muttered Gabriel, grabbing her by the fur behind her neck to stop her.
“But…but…they are playing! I want to play too!”
The bored puppy protested, trying to break his resolve with large puppy eyes, but the Professor shook his head in disagreement.
“Yes, but it´s a game for the two of them only.”
Beast paused as if she was thinking about something before asking with a wide grin on her face.
“Like courting?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Yes, like…wait what? No! Danielle is learning how to fight properly, so she could defend herself when she…you know.”
The Professor muttered, suddenly losing his cheerful mood again.
“Oh…”
Beast whined, sitting down, suddenly sad as well.
“But she will be back right?”
The fluffy wonder asked out of nowhere.
“Yes she will be back, but we have to make sure, she will be strong enough to beat every bad guy she´ll meet in a meantime.”
To that Beast didn´t answer with words, just deep snarl, that could mean anything between agreement to a threat for anyone who would dare to hurt Daniele.

---

Namkhai´s fall to the ground was painful. Not because a wrestler of his calibre wouldn´t know how to break a fall, but because Danielle dropped directly on him, irritating several of the many bruises and chipped bones got from the not so friendly giant captain. Still, he couldn´t but a smile, truly enjoying the time they were spending together.
“Indeed, for a stand-up fighter like you being pulled to the ground is death sentence. Learn to fight there or avoid ground at any cost.”
He nodded, releasing her wrist as there wasn´t enough time to cover this specific discipline of combat.
Following Danielle, the Titan climbed back on his feet, getting ready once again for her offensive. Knowing what´s coming and that he should keep an eye for the third strike, Namkhai managed to block the first two used to gather momentum, but even he had to admit, that if she didn´t know Danielle and her style for so long, he might get into serious troubles there, especially in his current condition.
“Bambai!”
Seemingly going with force, against force, Namkhai intercepted the third strike with his own, sending a gentle ripple through Danielle´s body to forcefully relax her muscles and negate the power behind her blow, before sliding alongside her hand to grab her forearm for a full body throw. There was a delay, however. Intentional one so the relaxing effect of his technique would wear off and she could defend herself against his throw getting hurt.
“FOOD IS READY! TIME TO ROLL OUT THE BARRELS AND START THE BARBEQUE!”
Yelled Hariymama from the downstairs.

[Bobbie]

Beast’s movement caught Danielle’s eye, but she didn’t let it distract her from her training. Again, it seemed like she was about to get the better of the Titan she was up against, as she grew more confident in her abilities, only to be struck with another surprise from Namkhai.

After the first two blows, her Golden Palm technique was countered perfectly as her opponent fought back with a force of his own. Immediately, the trainee felt her energy completely drain from her body as her muscles relaxed against her will. Confusion was written all over her face for a brief moment as her limbs refused to obey her commands to attack.

Soon, however, she started to connect the dots as she had seen Namkhai use a similar trick before when striking at his opponent’s hips to temporarily immobilise and then throw them. This must be a variation of-

Her thoughts were cut off when Namkhai grabbed her forearm and she looked at him, helpless to the situation. That would have been the case, at least, if he had thrown her straight away, but he waited until the effect of his technique started to wear off and she regained more control over her own muscles as if they were just waking up.

While this all felt like several minutes it all happened within a split second, and before she could protest against his hesitation, she felt him pull her arm with full force to throw her over his shoulder.

Danielle made a sharp gasp and pressed the soles of her feet into the deck, tensing her body and pulling in the opposite direction that he aimed to throw her with all her might. Following something similar to what she had previously seen Namkhai do on several occasions when she tried to trip him, she made her posture more rigid to manipulate her centre mass and stand her ground against him.

With a look of intense focus, she snickered. “Avoid going down at all cost, right?” she asked, though didn’t try to break her arm free of his grasp, fearing that if she did so she would lose her focus and ultimately her footing.

The blonde fighter herself was quite surprised by her success, but doubted how long she could keep it up against someone wth Namkhai's strength and wrestling expertise. Thankfully, it seemed that wouldn’t be put to the test as Hariyama called that the food was ready and it was time for drinks and the barbecue.

Had they been given more time, she might have considered asking for some guidance on how to get out of a chokehold or armlock, as she was very well aware that he was well-versed in such techniques, whether on the ground or standing. Making a mental note, she thought about asking later after everyone ate. Simply the beckoning of food alone was enough to remind the treasure huntress that she was hungry and she assumed she was not the only one, as she finally relaxed. “So are we done?”

Looking past Namkhai to Gabriel, she gave a grateful nod, "This was helpful. Thank you."

Hayden soon popped his head out from the cabins to surface once more from the dark dwellings beneath the deck. He had endured no training, but looked equal parts exhausted and shocked by the recent happenings. His stomach contents having been emptied long before he even made it to the ship, he was hungry.

The twin emerged and looked around for the man he was searching for. Spotting the Professor, he made his way over to him. "Eponine is awake, but hasn't responded to anything... I hear there's food. Would you mind me eating in the infirmary, or will someone swap with me for a few minutes?" He hoped for the latter as he needed some fresh air.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Hayden: #c3f8fa

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #14

Namkhai felt a hint of disappointment when Hariyama announced that his preparations are done and the party is ready, as he wished for more time with Danielle, but nothing could do.
The disappointment however quickly changed into surprise and a proud smile when he realised, that the blonde treasure huntress countered his throw attempt nearly perfectly. He probably could throw her if he really tried, but that would leave a bad taste in his mouth especially when she showed such an amazing progress and so the Titan released her arm and turned around, getting both of them into rather awkward position as he didn´t realise how close they were standing to each other because of his throw attempt.
“Yeah, looks like we are done, at least for now.”
He nodded, taking few steps back to give the treasure huntress some personal space.
“The honour was all mine.”
The Titan smiled, trying to hide the hint of melancholy that appeared in his voice.
“Well I still think you should stay with us and learn more. You have such natural talent for Martial Arts…”
Muttered Gabriel, but it was written all over his face, that he wasn´t upset, but rather incredibly proud of his puppy´s achievement. That was however only until Hayden appeared on the upper deck saying that Eponine regained consciousness.
“Really? That´s a great…!”
The Professor started excitedly, but paused as he realised the broader context of what Henry said. She was awake but unresponsive, she was injured by blade a knife probably. Her brother was killed by knife and there were no other enemies around. And now she was left alone in room with many sharp objects.
“Sh*t…Phantom Step!”
The curse escaped from his lips as Gabriel sprinted around the clueless twin with a blinding speed, appearing on the infirmary few heartbeats later, only to find Eponine standing near her bed, facing him with her injured side, eyes focused on a scalpel in her hands.

[Bobbie]

When Namkhai turned around, Danielle suddenly found herself uncomfortably close to the man. Her heart was pounding from the adrenaline of their training and the excitement she felt about successfully defending herself against a throw by such a skilled wrestler. She was quite convinced that those were the only two reasons her heart raced, but was relieved when he’d finally move back and give her more space. “For now…” she muttered after him and cleared her throat.

Hayden’s gaze drifted away from the Professor for a moment and he saw the pair stand so close to one another, his sister looking flustered and Namkhai with a smile on his face. “What on earth is going on between those two?” he wondered out loud in the short amount of time he was granted before Gabriel offered a response.

Turning to the Professor once more, the young man nodded and was about to say something else before Gabriel suddenly sprinted past him at such intense speed that his eyes couldn’t even track the man’s movement. As a gust of wind blew past him, Hayden staggered and leaned against the wall in confusion, as he didn't immediately understand what the rush was to go and see Eponine.

Seizing the opportunity to avoid addressing the elephant in the room - or, more specifically, the one that seemed to circle herself and Namkhai - Danielle turned to Hayden with a look of genuine concern. “Hayden, what did you do?”

“Why do you instantly assume I’ve done something?” With a frown, he crossed his arms in defiance of the implications in his sister’s words. At this point, Hayden looked away from Danielle and directly at Namkhai with a suspicious look, his curiosity once more bringing back his previous thought about these two.

Having a target for her frustration that wasn’t Namkhai, she narrowed her eye and proceeded to lash out as she so frequently does when at odds with a situation or her own emotions. “The Professor rushed past you to get to Eponine, I presume, so what did you do? Leave a traumatised young woman alone with deadly and dangerous instruments or something? Did you cover any reflective surfaces?” Danielle had no idea of what actually happened to Eponine while she was in the cave with Beast, but she was familiar with the rollercoaster of emotions that one might go through upon waking up with serious injuries to the face and the regrets that may come with acquiring said injuries, whether they were acting to recklessly or failing to fight off an attacker.

Her lookalike stared at her in silence for a long moment, his face growing paler by the second. “That’s… how could I have known?” he asked with a slight stammer as his brow twisted with worry at the huge mistake that he had just made. “I was just really hungry, and I heard that there was food… oh no…” Filled with guilt, the young temporary medic turned and disappeared down into the infirmary once more to check that everything was alright.

As quickly as a distraction had appeared, it now disappeared as Hayden was gone and Danielle found herself alone on the deck with Namkhai again. Sighing, she felt for Eponine, imagining at least some fragment of what she must be going through, but assuming that Gabriel either had the situation downstairs handled or he didn’t need her help, she chose not to intervene and turned to look at the Titan instead. “We should help Hariyama set everything up…” she muttered and turned to promptly get away in search for anything to do and busy herself with and escape the awkwardness that filled the air between them.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Hayden: #c3f8fa

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #15

„Don´t.“
A single word resonated through the otherwise silent infirmary, with a mix of firmness and kindness, starling the young woman who up until now was lost in her reflection on the blade. Jumping out of her skin, Eponine turned too Gabriel, quickly hiding the knife behind her back as a kid that was caught by her parents.
“G…Gabriel?”
She whispered, backing away from him as the Professor made first few steps forward.
“No, don´t…STAY BACK!”
Breaking into tears she whipped her blade forward, pointing it against the approaching man with shaking hand.
“Leave me be…please…”
She cried, large tears running down her face, each one of them tearing Gabriel´s heart into thousand pieces.
“It´s alright, you are safe now. No one is going to hurt you.”
He said kindly, hands raised in front of his body not in a defensive position, but rather in a reassuring gesture.
“No…you…you don´t get it, I…I…I killed him.”
The last dam broken as she felt his touch on her wrist Eponine dropped her weapon and fell down, hiding from the world behind a barrier of her knees and long hair.
“I killed him, I killed my brother.”
Following her to the ground Professor embraced his puppy, petting her head. She relaxed eventually, hiding in his arms, crying her pain into his shoulder.
“He…he was afraid of you.”
She whispered after a time that could be few minutes, just as several hours.
“Henry…he told me you are dangerous, that you will get us killed. He contacted the Marines and told them where we are heading, that´s how they get there so fast. I didn´t know. I should have, but I didn´t know.”
Her words disappeared in sobs for a time, before she managed to continue.
“He grabbed me when the marines came, told me he made a deal with them, that we will be free. I wanted to warn you but…he was afraid, afraid that you would kill him. Pulled a knife and…and…I killed my own brother.”
Gabriel gave her a moment to be with her grief, before speaking up with strength and resolve he could muster.
“You did not.”
He refused her words, making the young medic paused.
“They did, back at Mirrorball, Henry died in that room where they questioned him. What you killed wasn´t your brother.”
She took a moment to think about his words, before rising her red, teary eyes to him.
“Are you sure?”
It was a faint hope a lifeline she could use to escape from the suffocating guilt that was drowning her and she grabbed it.
“Yes, I am.”
There was no place for doubt in Gabriel´s voice or eyes.
“I hate them, I hate them so much.”
Eponine growled showing fury, that was slowly replacing her sorrow.
“So do I”
Said the Professor and there was no lie in his word.
“We´ll bring them to a justice together.”
He promised.

---

Watching his boss disappear in such hurry made Namkhai frown. Unlike Hayden he wasn´t entirely clueless abut what happened on the ship, but just as Gabriel lacked any proof that would confirm one of his many assumptions. Still, despite his curiosity, he decided to leave it to his boss as if what he thought that happened turned to be right Eponine would need as little people present as possible and despite all of his quirkiness, the Titan couldn´t imagine anyone more fitting for that role than Gabriel.
“Yeah, not sure I will be of much use, but we should go.”
He nodded, trying to wave with his broken arm in a joke that kicked him right back with a sharp pain that shoot through his whole arm.
Luckily for him, there wasn´t much they had to do. Hariyama carried out most the grill he found, together and then with Niko´s help brought a table and chair, and Sigrid loaded most of the food and drinks through kitchen window. And as it turned out the Marines left them with rich supply of everything they could need for a proper barbeque.
Even so, the wrestler disappeared for a moment for his bag he rescued from the wreckage of their previous ship, bringing out a sole bottle that survived the crash.
“So…”
He addressed Danielle, waving at her with his liquid treasure.
“Did you ever taste a mead?”