The outpost provides plenty of peaceful sounds to fall asleep to as its inhabitants go about their lives outside, the thick layer of canvas dulling it into soft background noise. The occasional sharp cacophony of chimes rings out in a musical jangle whenever a gust of wind rolls through the Gorge. With the guest house to themselves, the only sounds within is the even breathing of the slumbering pair. That is until their peaceful nap is
#Traveler'sGorge – May 25, 2021
Jessica stirs, but doesn't immediately wake, arms snaked around Yan Sun and one leg slung overtop of her as she continues to hog most of the pillow.
Yan Sun sleeps soundly, glad to be back in a bed, even if it's a simple one. She was pretty exhausted, and a heavy sleeper to start with, so not even Jessica's pillow-hogging can interrupt that sweet, sweet sleep. That is, until the sudden roar snaps her awake, shattering hazy dreams as she jerks, startled, no doubt disrupting - and probably elbowing - Jessica in the process, considering how tangled they are. Her eyes fly open, gaze darting
The roar rises in volume, drawn out for a number of seconds before it erupts into distinct, throaty, batarian growling that's soon joined by a quick drum solo. The culprit- Jessica's muffled omni-tool in the pocket of her jacket that's laying discarded atop the table across the room- soon becomes apparent as the alarm continues to flood the tent. The light that once flooded through the scratched up, dirty, plastic window is replaced by a thick
Jessica's good eye snaps open when a rogue, flailing arm thwaps her. "Gah!" she grumbles, instinctively swatting a hand ineffectually against Yan Sun. "Why-... why you are-..." she starts and stops in a half asleep, gravely voice, raising her head slightly so she's not speaking into a pillow. "...the fuck is wrong with you?!" she growls, blinking hard at the lingering sleep in her eyes as she attempts to get her bearings.
Yan Sun raises an arm to defend herself against the retaliatory swipes, ignoring Jessica as her gaze sweeps the tent, vision still blurry from sleep. As she zeroes in on the culprit her eye lights up with a glare as she remote-accesses Jessica's omni-tool and cuts all audio. It's sloppy work but it's the sort of thing she can do in her sleep - or, close enough anyway. "Your stupid omni-tool just woke me up."
Jessica continues to fight off the sluggishness with a series of rapid blinks, propping herself up with one arm and causing her to hover partially overtop Yan Sun thanks to the leg that's slung across her. "Is my alarm you fool! I set it for-..." she grumbles before being distracted when the music suddenly dies out, her gaze quickly affixing to the glow in Yan Sun's eye as she realizes what just happened. "Do not hack my fucking
omni-tool!" she exclaims, a scowl crossing her face. Her free hand shoots up and she gives Yan Sun's nipple a sharp pinch in retaliation.
Yan Sun looks back to Jessica, opening her mouth to respond only to be interrupted by the nipple pinch, which makes her let out a loud "Aaaow!" as her back hunches and she winces, hands quickly shooting up to form a protective cover over her boobs. A betrayed glare is aimed at Jessica. "If you don't want me to hack it then... don't put it all the way over there! And change your alarm!" she exclaims grumpily. Her hair is tousled, and a few
strands are stuck in the corner of her mouth, but she doesn't dare move a hand to fix it. At least the pain has jump-started her wakeup.
Jessica goes in for a second pinch just a second too late, leaving her with her hand cupped over Yan Sun's hand. She draws in a breath as she sits up a little straighter, gaze briefly traveling about the tent as she tries to wake up. With the heater left on during their nap, the tent is actually rather cozy by this point. "I didn't put it all the way over there." she grumbles. "I leave it all the way over there. I was having-...
more important things on my mind." she explains, her scowl shifting into a grin that's more audible than visible given the dark tent.
Yan Sun gains a small grin of her own, shooting Jessica suspicious look before hazarding reaching up to brush the hair out of her own face, leaving one arm draped defensively over her chest. "You fell asleep on me." she laughs, suddenly recalling the abrupt end to their fooling around before the nap.
Jessica pushes herself up a little with her forearm, her leg slipping further across Yan Sun as she rises into a sitting position- displacing the blanket in the process- straddling her midsection. Moreso because there's just not a whole lot of room to maneuver into a better position in the small, single-person bed than any nefarious reasons. "Maybe this was just part of my plan." she muses through the tail-end of a yawn as she arches
her back and gives a little twist of her waist in an attempt at stretching out some of the stiffness that has settled in.
Yan Sun looks unconvinced, rolling her shoulders as she too sits up more. "Uh-huh..." She pulls her tanktop back into place before letting her hands rest lazily on Jessica's hips, a smile crossing her lips as she watches her stretch in the dim light. "Well, whatever it was it was very cute." she comments, tone teasing as she leans in for a lightning-quick kiss.
Jessica gives a roll of her eyes, though her grin remains. At the very least, it seems that the less-than-ideal circumstance that she woke up in hasn't done much to damage her pre-nap good spirits. She doesn't so much return the quick kiss as she just lazily purses her lips and makes a kissing sound at the air. "You see, kitty cat? My plan is working." she brags, still sounding a little hoarse.
Yan Sun snickers, smile widening. "Mm... you're a real mastermind." she agrees, lingering close. The familiar circuitboard pattern starts to light up her arm in electric blue, casting a bit of additional light on their surroundings. She doesn't seem in a rush to get dressed and ready, so being stuck where she is is just fine by her. Her non-cybernetic hand reaches up to rub at her eyes, aiming to clear the lingering spots of fogginess and
Jessica gives a quiet hum in affirmation. She certainly doesn't seem to be in any more of a hurry than Yan Sun is. She brings her right hand down, lazily tracing her thumb along a path of blue light that filters through the pattern on Yan Sun's arm. "How did you sleep?" she asks, gaze briefly turning to Yan Sun's face before settling back on the path her thumb is following, "...Good?"
Yan Sun closes her eyes for a moment, just focusing on the thumb tracing her cybernetics. "Mm... very good." she says quietly, leaning in to plant a kiss near Jessica's left ear. The words are quite honest - the nap was much needed, and there's something comforting about being lulled to sleep by the sounds of life and activity outside the tent, instead of the howling wind and the distant cries of animals. More familiar. "What about you?" she
asks before resting her chin lazily on Jessica's shoulder, arms wrapping around her back in a hug as she looks out across the tent behind her. "Looked like you needed it..."
Jessica's gaze remains on the lines of blue light, her only acknowledgement of the kiss a slight tilt of her head to lean into it. It's not until she's wrapped up in a hug that she gives up on navigating the blue maze. "Mmm." she admits. The nap may have only been a few hours, but a few hours in a cramped bed certainly beats a full night of tossing and turning and struggling to get comfortable in the cabin of Kirill's truck. With a tilt
of her head she plants a pair of kisses against the side of Yan Sun's head. The bed- being lower to the ground than the window- allows Yan Sun a nice view of the stars that dot the clear night sky beyond the dirty plastic window.
Yan Sun 's eyes turn to the stars -undoubtedly one of her favorite things about Aite. She lingers like that for a little, just enjoying the warmth of Jessica's body in her arms and the atmosphere of the dark tent. As silence settles she listens for sounds outside the 'guest house', but she's almost immediately met by her own stomach growling. Causing her to let out a snort and mumble "I am starving..." as she nuzzles the crook of Jessica's
Jessica's lips remain pressed against against the side of Yan Sun's head, slightly parted as her eyes drift closed once more. Voices can just barely be heard, too distant to make out what they're saying. Far off laughter. A conversation as a pair pass by just outside of the tent. Thankfully Yan Sun speaks up before Jessica manages to fall back asleep sitting up, nearly lulled back to slumber by the comforting sounds of the remote
outpost. She gives a low snort, her left hand slowly caressing up and down along Yan Sun's side. "We should get ready." she sighs, having to fight back the desire to remain in the cozy tent and drift back to sleep beneath the warmth of a blanket. She shifts a little to press a kiss to Yan Sun's forehead. "They will have food." she assures Yan Sun before correcting herself as she feels her own stomach begin to toss and turn,
"They better have food." With another quick peck against Yan Sun's lips, she slowly begins to climb off of her.
Yan Sun lets out an amused snort at Jessica's words, smiling against the quick kiss before watching her climb off of her. "I'm sure they will." she agrees, standing up to stretch once she's free, and looking around for her jeans. Once they're in hand she takes a seat again on the edge of the bed to start putting them on. They're tight enough that it tends to take a bit of wriggling.
Jessica winces as her feet touch the cold, hard floor and she rises onto the balls of her feet as she quickly scoops up her clothes and darts over towards the table to take a seat. The soreness that shoots across her body is a harsh reminder of the tumble she took a few hours ago and she sharply sucks in a pained breath, hand briefly coming to her side. "I am still going to kick your ass for falling on me..." she threatens without a
Yan Sun doesn't look all that worried by Jessica's threat - in fact it mostly just makes her smile again. "Sorry..." she says, although it's a bit undercut by the laughter that accompanies the word. Once she's maanged to get her pants on she's quick to move on to socks and boots, eager to shield her bare feet from the cold floor.
Jessica is unable to muster up too much of a scowl at the laughter, and it quickly slips into a grin of her own, culminating in a dismissive eyeroll. "Mmm..." she hums, about as much of an 'apology accepted' as one might get from Jessica. Pants and socks dealt with, she brings her feet onto the nearby chair as she tugs her boots on. Her loose-fitting pants having taken far less effort to pull on than Yan Sun's, she finds herself
finished first. She remains seated at the edge of the table as she waits for Yan Sun to finish, body twisted at the waist so she can watch out the window. Something quickly seems to catch her attention, causing a loud snort to slip out and a smile to spread across her lips.
Yan Sun casts a curious, but fruitless look towards the window. "What?" she asks, getting up from her seat to try and get a glimpse of whatever Jessica is looking at as she slips her hoodie on and zips it up.
Jessica casts a quick glance Yan Sun's way before looking back to the window, indicating it with a nod of her head. "Look." she says, gesturing out in the direction of the gate they arrived from and leaning to her side to give Yan Sun a better look.
The main gate they entered the Gorge through is a good 50 yards from the 'guest house'. On the same side of the road as the 'guest house'- near the gate- is a single, large tent. Even from here the flickering of a fire is visible. But that's probably not what has Jessica's attention. Colorful Christmas lights are draped along the canopy of the tent and portions of the backside of the wall that boxes in the Gorge. Yan Sun may have noticed
similar lights strung along a few of the tents' canopies during her earlier walk around the settlement. Now that nightfall has descended on the outpost, it seems that they've been turned on. There's not much in the way of reliable light sources all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. No neon signs. No well-lit skyscrapers or street lights, and the bright headlights of vehicles passing through are few and far between. Just crates that dot
the side of the road every so often, their lanterns doing just enough to keep the place out of total darkness. It makes the colorful lighting all the more striking against the night sky.
Yan Sun smiles, stopping to watch the light for a while. It barely exists in the same reality as the bombastic holiday lightshows of Hong Kong, but the small, simple display has a different sort of appeal, especially when contrasted with the starlit darkness that engulfs the wild lands around the Gorge. "This place is pretty cool." she muses quietly while running her hands through her hair to make it settle down on the right side. She should