Dallas | Boatswain | M: Flux, Shai, Ambrose, Javalasii (indir: Yutaka

~

Dallas was trying his best to focus on the immediate task at hand—getting to the top deck, finding Ambrose, getting the whole group in the air, and, ideally, not making a complete fool of himself. It should’ve been simple. It should’ve been.

But then Flux did that whole dramatic thing again. The fake pout, the batting of lashes, and the over-the-top hand on his chest as if Dallas had just accused him of murdering puppies or something. It wasn’t that Flux was a bad actor, it was that Dally knew he was playing him, and somehow that made it even worse. His stomach did this weird flip at the thought, at the way Flux turned everything into a joke. He felt the sharp tug of annoyance mixed with something he couldn’t quite name, but it didn’t matter, right? He was supposed to be ignoring that feeling, focusing on the task.

But—God, the way Flux had just looked at him.

Dally just kept his eyes focused on his feet as they climbed, resisting the urge to keep glancing sideways at Flux. He didn’t want to let on that Flux’s teasing was hitting a little too close to home. So instead, he played it cool, trying to match Flux’s banter with his own edge.

“I don’t take you for anything,” Dally shot back, the teasing edge in his voice a little sharper than he meant. “Just—don’t go picking up anything that'll explode and take us all down. Maybe leave the ‘sordid’ purchases for another time, yeah?”

His smirk widened as Flux threw out that pout, feeling a strange sense of victory at the playful back-and-forth. It was just... so easy to bait him, even though Dallas knew Flux was a master at it himself. The little jabs were starting to feel more like a game than an annoyance, and it caught him off guard. He wasn’t used to this, but damn if it wasn’t fun.

Dallas shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on the ground as they climbed. He didn’t want to look too eager, didn’t want Flux to catch onto how much the playful back-and-forth was... well, working.

“I’ll make sure I grab some high-tech gear too,” he added with a grin, “so we can have a proper tech showdown, right? Maybe I’ll pick up something that’ll make you regret calling me ‘Toffie’.” He glanced sideways, letting the words hang in the air, then shrugged like he didn’t care all that much.

At the sudden landing of Ambrose, Dally was jerked from his own teasing thoughts, and he barely suppressed the urge to flinch at the thud. He let out a small laugh, brushing off the unexpected reaction as he turned toward the dragon.

"Right, Java’ll be along in a bit." Dallas nodded, his hand absently smoothing back his hair. Ambrose was one hell of a sight, massive and intimidating. But Dally wasn’t intimidated—he knew how to handle his dragon.

When Shai mentioned Yutaka tagging along, Dallas shot Flux a sly look, raising an eyebrow. “Are we waiting for Yutaka, or are you planning on making him chase us down?” he teased, feeling that familiar warmth creeping up at the thought of Flux’s attention. Dammit, why did it have to be this hard to play it cool?

Flux, of course, was back to his usual self, throwing out more jargon that Dally barely followed. But he didn’t let it throw him off. Instead, he leaned in a little, giving Flux a look of mock sympathy. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to pick up something sensible so you’re not drowning in Boze-Einstein whatever-it-is tech that only you can understand.”

Then, with a quick glance over to Ambrose, Dallas reached out and gave the dragon a friendly pat on the side, pretending to focus on the huge creature as a way to distract himself from the growing tension between him and Flux. He couldn’t deny that he was enjoying this—more than he should be.

He turned his attention to the deck, his gaze flickering over the other dragons before he spotted Javalasii, sat away from the others—of course—, looking up at the sky. “Java!” He yelled in Human, and then switched quickly to Dragon as he watched her arch her head towards him. “Get ‘yer ass over here, we’re going shoppin’!”

-

-

Javalasii | Chaperone | M: Dallas (indir: Vasilios, Shai, Flux, Ambrose)

~

The shout of her human startled her slightly, the spikes she had just managed to flatten raising slightly and poking out from under her fur. Java turned her head, flaring her wings slightly in irritation as she glared at him with icy, pale blue eyes. She rose to her talons, much to her disdain. Natural of him to order her around, but she’d gotten used to it. She’d do it to make him happy.

Javalasii stalked over to Dallas, eyeing him. “Bandage?” She growled, nodding at the poorly wrapped garment. “Did you go to Vasilios, or did you do it yourself?” She already knew the answer to that question. Vas would never dare wrap something that bad, and Dally would have been in the medbay longer than he was. Java fluffed up her fur. “You’re an idiot. You should still be in there.”

She turned her head to look at Shai, then—Flux. Oh, Flux. The poor man. If Java could feel emotions strongly, she’d feel horrible for him. Having Dallas attached to her side was bad enough—she couldn’t imagine how he felt. Then she turned to look at Ambrose. She’d never been fond of him. A small tip of her head in greeting was all that was needed.