Escape [PSL]

[wicked_west]

Elphie had been asleep without Ford or the Chistery. Once she'd disappeared from him that one day, she stayed away. But today of all days, he was banging on her door. Him and the monkey. And he was hollering something about a ship and if she wasn't the witch anymore to follow him.

Elphie threw on the nearest dress... her flowered one... and grabbed all her scarves. She left the broom behind.

"What do you mean a ship?" the former witch asked as she opened the door.

Comments

[wicked_west]

Elphie looked at the switches, and then watched Ford. He was so fascinating to her. So interested in the little things: switches, buttons, sounds. She wondered how one became like that.

“I’m glad you found it. The ship. It’s very… very hoopy.”

[got_his_towel]

"You should try the switches," Ford advised. He quickly pointed at one in particular. "Not that one!" He gestured to the console in front of them. "Try a few of these ones." Like he was offering her a selection of chocolates.

[wicked_west]

Elphie was learning that this was Ford being sweet. This was exactly what he though she would like. And in the grand scheme of things, switches were much better than gigantic ballgowns.

She leaned forward and flipped one or two, ooing and ahhing to make him feel OK. Chistery decided it was a great game and started flipping every switch he could find. All good until an alarm started sounding.

"Chistery!"

[got_his_towel]

"Umm..." Ford started reaching for switches, flicking off the ones on the 'do not touch' side with a nervous glance at the monkey. "Not that one," he said firmly, pointing. He pushed some buttons and the alarm stopped. Because if they were going to depressurize or explode, at least it would be quiet beforehand.

[wicked_west]

"Switch swatch swootch!" the monkey chirped as he tried to get away from Elphie's hands to flip more.

"Chistery! Stop it! You're going to kill us. Are we OK Ford? Is death going to happen?"

[got_his_towel]

"Umm..." He held his hands above the console, ready to counter any further flashing lights, then, satisfied that it was under control, glanced at Elphie. "I suppose that'll depend on the monkey."

[wicked_west]

“No touching,” she told Chistery firmly. “We’re not in the hotel anymore. Keep your hands to yourself.”

Not that it’d keep Chistery happy for long. He needed to be doing something. Finally she sighed and untied her least favorite scarf from around her waist. “Here Chis… Play with this.”

The monkey chattered delightedly as he took the scarf and began wrapping it around things, and tying it up in knots.

[got_his_towel]

"The monkey might be a problem at some point," Ford pointed out. "We might have to get some sort of restraining system." He was pretty sure she'd be opposed to using him as barter.

[wicked_west]

"What happened to 'everyone likes monkeys?'" she asked slightly resentfully.

[got_his_towel]

"Everyone likes monkeys that aren't trying to kill them!" Ford shot back. "Tell the monkey to be funny in the back!"

[wicked_west]

"He wasn't trying to kill us. He just wanted to push the hoopy buttons and switches!"

[got_his_towel]

"Good! I'll remember that when we're decompressing in the vacuum of space!"

Ford turned in his seat to look at the monkey. "See those switches? You can press those switches. That's the food replicator. See how long it takes you to come up with a banana."

[wicked_west]

Elphie grumbles something incomprehensible and turns back to the monkey.

"Are you sure he can touch those? There's no way he can blow off a door or anything?"

[got_his_towel]

Ford gives her a look. "With the food replicator?"

[wicked_west]

She rolls her eyes.

"Go play Chistery. Don't kill us."

And with that the monkey happily gets to work making gray sludge with the replicator.

[got_his_towel]

"See?" Ford said after a few moments, glancing back at the monkey making a sticky mess. "This is when people like monkeys: when they're quietly and harmlessly throwing shit everywhere. It's funny."

[wicked_west]

"Hysterical," Elphaba intones.

She's honestly very tired. She's been sleeping a lot today, and suspects it has to do with the vast differences in... everything.

"Wake me when we land. Or if I need to deal with Chistery again."

[got_his_towel]

Ford couldn't understand why she'd want to miss her first real flight, but he shrugged and flipped a few switches and settled in for the journey.

They landed, after a time, on a planet covered almost entirely in stone to refuel, on the outskirts of a city built right into the rocks.

[wicked_west]

"Mmmm, where are we?" Elphie asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting up straight. She'd never seen a city carved into a rock. Cities in trees, cities in tents, hovels... but never rocks.

[got_his_towel]

"Farlon Six. We need fuel." He hopped out of his chair and started rummaging in the back of the ship.

[wicked_west]

"Refuel?" she asked. "Oh... it runs on... something like the cars at the hotel did. Right?"

[got_his_towel]

"Except far more unstable and explosive!" Ford declared happily. He continued his rummaging.

[wicked_west]

"That's comforting," Elphie muttered to herself. "And what are you looking for so eagerly back there?"

[got_his_towel]

"A fuel container. You can't just pull up on this planet. It's all...nestled. Nobody flies that fancy." He looked back at her. "You need a special container so it doesn't explode."

[wicked_west]

"Oh," she replies, as though that makes all the sense in the world.

Elphie thinks about sitting back and going back to sleep, this is just a pit stop after all, but then realizes that probably will seem crazy in Ford's eyes.

"What can I do to help?"