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[ He's startled for a moment because when he said "she" he'd meant in general, but Natasha brings up Daisy and he's not exactly sure how to respond for a moment. It's not because he feels he's done something wrong but because he knows he'd have to have this conversation at some point and he's just not good at speaking these sorts of things aloud. ]

Yes. That is to say she and I enjoy each other's company, but we've never spoken on what we are.

[ A hand lifts under his hair to rub at the back of his neck as he feels unsure of himself. It's not a great feeling and he'd rather he felt confident about all this. ]

But I plan to, before you and I... see where this goes. I want to be sure she won't be hurt.

[Natasha nods at the confirmation. Daisy hadn't come out and said they were sleeping together, but she'd implied something between them, and she hadn't been good at keeping her feelings off her face.

When Joric had said he was sleeping with someone, it hadn't really been connecting the dots so much as giving her an idea how far the line went.]

That's a good idea.

[As though Natasha has been especially good at communication. Ha.]

It doesn't bother me. [Studying his face.] As long as it wouldn't hurt her. She's nice, and I don't want to step on any toes.

All right.

[ He finds any sort of conversation about this topic hard to have, but it is made easier by her direct manner and easy going nature. ]

I will let you know when I know for sure.

[ Granted, at this point he doesn't know how he'll respond if Daisy says she'd have a problem with this. He'll have to cross that bridge when he comes to it. ]

[How he wants to handle that is entirely between him and Daisy.

It just seemed like a good time to be upfront, both about that, and the reciprocal.]

I think it's only fair to say you wouldn't be the only one. I'm not really...

[She trails off, not entirely sure how to put it delicately. Finally, she shrugs.]

I'm not in a place where it would be fair to anyone to let things get serious. But something for fun?

Right. I get it.

[ And he's thankful she's being clear about it. ]

Our being here is not permanent. And when we go home we won't even remember each other. That is already a blow to lose friends, but if someone was more...

[ He trails off, shaking his head. Joric can only imagine it, since he's never been in love before. ]

Something like that.

[It's certainly true, and close enough to the whole truth that she doesn't see a need to clarify.]

It'd be a shame not to use the time we have, but all the same... we know how the story is going to end.

[She nudges his elbow lightly with her arm.]

Enjoy it while it lasts?

Mm hm.

[ It should be looked at as a good time in between dangerous missions, and something to savor while they can. ]

I think what we witnessed of the former crew makes that point all the clearer.

It's easy to sympathize with them.

[Even with some of their mistakes, if you want to call them that.]

Yes. We walk in their footsteps.

[ He knows that there were probably a lot of quieter moments that weren't shared when they collected information on the previous crew's memories. What was shared showed a cohesive unit working together towards the same goal; just like they are today. ]

I imagine they all had regrets similar to ours. And they formed bonds while they were here together that are now gone. [ A pause, then a smile. ] I'm sure some of them had fun too.

[ Then of course there are Viveca and Degar, who were more than that, because when it came down to it, Viveca refused to be parted from him. ]

They certainly seem to have formed bonds. Had game nights or what have you.

[She won't dwell on what happened with Degar and Viveca—there's too much to unpack there, among it all the fact it had ended strangely.]

It's hard to spend so much time with people not not have at least some people have a little fun. Only human.

Or elves, or... whatever some of them were.

Right.

[ He thinks back to the group meeting his witnessed. ]

If anything, more of them were non-human than were. It doesn't seem to be that way with us, for the most part.

I wonder about that sometimes. If there's a reason so many of us are human.

[Crew dynamics? Because of Viveca and Degar? Something else?]

There used to be more robots, but only one's stuck it out.

Mm, that's the man made of metal?

[ He can't guess at the reasoning. ]

I would think chaos would pick people other than humans all the time, but I don't pretend to understand the orbs at all.

They cause chaos, but I'm not sure that's the same thing as being chaotic themselves.

[She's put a lot of thought into this, but can't say it's ever led to a conclusion.]

If it were as easy as that, I'd expect them to be more self-defeating.

[ Those are big brain thoughts and it takes him a moment to understand her meaning. ]

It's more like they have a task they feel compelled to complete, but if they were chaotic they would never be able to achieve it.

[ He blows out a breath before smiling. ]

You are wise.

[Natasha laughs at that, not exactly self-deprecating. More... flattered? It's not something she's told a lot, despite the fact she's very confident in her intelligence.

Maybe it's just nice to hear someone else say it.]

Something like that. It's something to think about at least... or maybe not, since I'm not sure worrying about it accomplishes much.

Mm. I have noticed that too, about how I don't know whether to think on these things or let them go. Such is the way of the orbs. They probably like that we don't know how to react.

I think you're right about that. They probably enjoy watching us squirm.

Stupid things.

[ He shakes his head. ]

But at least some good things will come out of all this. Regrets undone.

There is that. And you know, all things considered, I'm not hating this.

[She tilts her head toward the scenery around them: the station, the missions, all of it.]

No. This part is good too.

[ She'll find he's no poet who can describe the sights or his feelings eloquently. He just sticks to the simple. ]

Maybe chaos isn't just things being in upheaval. Maybe it's a mix of the good and the bad and weighing them against each other without knowing if you should bother thinking on it too hard.

[Simple gets the job done, sometimes better than poetry.]

You know, that sounds pretty wise too.

[ That stirs a laugh from him. ]

I won't make a habit of it. I am unwise far more than wise.

I won't hold it against you, either way.

[Not that she was going to. She likes to stay open to who people are.]

[ He chuckles. ]

My thanks for your understanding.

[ Looking out at the landscape around him, he pauses to admire it. There is still some sense of calm and beauty to be found in it, even if the false can never compare to the real thing. ]

Are you much of an outdoors person?

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