The dinner was good.  Peaceful.  Afterward, he paused to watch Urudal for a few moments as the man went about setting up sleeping arrangements.  The thought even occurred to Ilion to join him, but was dismissed a beat later.  Nothing good would come of getting too cozy.<br/><br/>He slipped back into the Sidriel and started going through the mess.  Seraph could analyze things that were still connected to the ship and perform scans for a bulk of their inventory, but he had no way of sorting through and organizing the way a pair of real hands could.<br/><br/>«I have made an assessment of our mechanical needs.  Scans of Urudal’s ship confirm that it may contain what we need for essential repairs.»<br/><br/>“Good,” Ilion uttered as he kicked around the blackened room where the fire had started.  It was weapons storage, which was both a blessing and a curse.  It seemed to have taken on a lot of the damage from the fall, and the fact that it was reinforced had saved them a great deal of trouble.  However, it also meant that there were now fewer weapons.  The destruction inside was extensive.<br/><br/>Ilion came across a ruptured charge for a plasma rifle and sighed, looking it over and tossing it onto the growing pile of useless debris in the far corner.  He finally sank down on the ground, leaning back against the wall opposite, and stared at the junk.  It was hard not to draw a parallel.<br/><br/>There was a great deal of silence, then the faintly robotic voice that gave him comfort.<br/><br/>«What is it?»<br/><br/>“Nothing, Seraph.  Get back to work.”<br/><br/>«It doesn’t seem like nothing, Ili.»<br/><br/>“Seriously?  You’re worse than Mother,” he scoffed, then stared at his pale hands as he rubbed them together.  There was hesitation before he continued, but Seraph knew his creator well enough to understand his subtleties.  A sharp intake of air signaled his determination.  “I don’t like being manipulated and used, Seraph.  I told myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t go back down that road.”<br/><br/>«And you think Urudal is using you?  More than you’re using him?»<br/><br/>“Feigning interest in me is a low blow!”<br/><br/>«Who says he’s feigning?  I may be a poor judge of fleshy beauty, but you’ve used your looks to get what you want before.  You can’t be that hideous.»<br/><br/>Ilion blushed with that.  Yes, he’d used his appearance before.  It didn’t typically work on someone like Urudal, though.  Warriors preferred those who weren’t seen as weak.  Small, frail, disgusting…  Those were all words used to describe him by a couple other warrior races out there.  Besides, the very real conflict of interests was what made the situation unlikely.  A guy like that wouldn’t sully himself with a criminal, would he?  Certainly not.  Not for more than a fuck, anyway.<br/><br/>“Well.  Whatever.  If he thinks he can distract me by flexing some muscles, he’s got another thing coming,” he grumbled under his breath, getting up and dusting himself off.  “I’ll shove that ship of his right up his ass.”<br/><br/>It wasn’t convincing, but Seraph didn’t point that out.  They worked for a few hours on cleanup and compiling information before it was time for rest.<br/><br/>The next day brought a bright sun and maybe even some renewed hope.  The time for waiting around was over, and they could finally get to work on patching up the Sidriel and getting the hell out of there.  That’s all Ilion could think of as he got ready, donning his hooded cloak before he went out into the bright light of day.<br/><br/>The first thing that hit him was the smell of food.  He made his way down to the ground and looked around Urudal’s camp, his pale gaze finally settling on the fresh meat cooking in the pan.  His eyes narrowed and shifted to the man.  So much for not pushing himself before he was ready.<br/><br/>“Just couldn’t resist, could you?  Idiot…” he sighed, settling under the protective shade of the Lily overhanging the camp area so he could flip his hood back.  “Looks like you’ve been busy.  You should’ve used your time to sleep.  We have work to do.”