Foxete's POV:

Filling time is one of the hardest things to do. I don't have any work to do, and I don't want to be left alone with my thoughts. If I get left unchecked I feel like I'll just sink into a massive hole of worry. Worry for Foxy and Bonnie, worry that I'm being a crappy girlfriend, worry that I'm a worse captain than Bonnie... This 'responsibility' stuff is really stressful. Who knew? I groan and sit at my computer.
"You okay?" Keori asks.
"Yeah, fine." I smile, "Just bored."
"I think a break would be good for you." She shakes her head, "Maybe talk to Icey? I know she's been meaning to talk to you."
"I think that's a good idea. I haven't really been paying much attention to some members of this crew..." I stand up, shutting my laptop.
"Yeah you haven't, stop worrying so much about Illoha and focus on the crew for a bit. Talk to Icey first, but talking to Isel after yesterday wouldn't be a bad idea." Keori shrugs.
"Sounds good, thanks Ke." I smile and walk out of the workshop.
Where would Icey be? I walk into the kitchen Malra and Icey sit at the island in the middle. I'm glad Icey made a friend. I smile and sit on Icey's right side.
"Wassup people?" I ask.
"Oh! Hello Foxete!" Icey smiles.
"Hey, Fox." Malra nods.
I look at what they're eating. Some sort of soup. It looks... odd. Not my business.
"What's that?" I ask.
"Ah! It's Rauru!" Icey grins.
"I made it." Mal nods, "It's from my home planet."
It's blood red.
"How did you get the supplies?" I ask.
"On Veemos." Mal shrugs, "They had most of the stuff."
Interesting.

"Cool." I try not to think about Veemos too much. No need to worry about that place.
We all sit in silence.
"Imma go change my clothes. You and Icey haven't talked much, right Fox?" Mal starts our conversion and leaves.
This may be awkward.
"How have you been?" I ask, hesitantly. If she's been doing badly then I don't know how to help. I'm horrible with emotions.
"Alright." She smiles, timidly, "You?"
"Fine." I say bluntly.
We sit in silence.
"When are we going to check on my planet... you said we would..." Icey bites her cheek.
Crap, I forgot about that.
"Well..." I bite my lip.
What am I supposed to say? I have no plans to go to her planet! I don't even know where it is!
"We don't have plans to, do we?" Icey sighs, almost with relief.
"Well... um... yeah.... we don't have plans to go right now." I shake my head.
She smiles a bit, "That's fine."
What are you hiding? She's been on our ship for a year and I know nothing about her.
"So... how are you liking the crew?" I ask.
"It's alright. We don't do much other than... fight..." Icey frowns.
"Yeah." I cough.
This is so awkward. I really am horrible at smalltalk.
"What is next?" She asks, "What should we do?"
Finally, something I can talk about.
"We're recruiting on nearby planets. Dex says they're called Latoshia, Macola, Tribila, and Skalia." I inform her.
She stays quiet, her mouth in a tight line.
"Icey? Are you alright?" I ask.
"Skalia?" She asks.
"Yes? What about it?" I ask.
She sighs, "That's where Malra is from."
Oh.
"So that means..." I trail off.
"That Freddy man has taken it over." Icey frowns.
At least we knew before we went.
"Thank you for telling me." I nod.
Imagine we went in blind. We would die before touching the ground.
"Yeah..." she hesitates, "Could you... tell me why we're doing this? What... happened?"
"Of course." I sigh, "How do I even begin?" I laugh slightly.
"With your story?" Icey suggests, "How did you end up here?"
Do I tell her the real story, or the story I told other people? I shouldn't lie if I want her to be honest with me. I'd be a hypocrite.
"Well, Bonnie wanted to go on an adventure. To space..." I start, "He asked me to go with him. I thought he would die without me there, so I went with him."
She nods intently.
"He built the spaceship, I just did the codes. We launched and started our stupid adventure. We first met Toby in space, and then Foxy and Acron on Toby's planet. We met Illoha soon after. Bonnie made a massive error which cost 20 people their lives." I explain sadly, "Then we went to Keekos, Illoha's planet, and met Keeva. Then, we got attacked, again. We ended up on the big ship you were on before. After that, we found you." I finish.
She nods again.
"As for Freddy," I sigh, "His story is patchy and unimportant. All you need to know is that he's dangerous and un-negotiable."
I'd rather not try to explain the multiverse right now.
"Enough about me." I try to smoothly transitory this conversation over to her, "What about you?"
I'll be lucky if I get anything out of her.
Icey's eyes shift away from me uncomfortably.
I'm about to tell her that she doesn't have to tell me, but she starts.
"I used to live on a beautiful planet, with lovely people. Actually, thinking about it, they were more than just people: they were my best friends. However, something awful happened..I uh..had to leave because I was in danger." She reminisces.
And that's better than nothing.
"Right," I nod.
"Thank you, for telling me." Icey smiles lightly.
"Likewise." I stand up, "If you want to talk anytime soon, I'll be in the workshop or my room." I begin walking out.
"Foxete!" Icey calls out.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"I hope everything is...well... with Illoha." She sighs.
"Yeah, we're good...thanks..." I walk out, confused.
Did Illoha talk to her?

(990 words)