bsumone | ❝ The moon is a friend ❞

There's very little out there (on Earth, anyway) that's new to Laurent. In his very long life, he's done and seen so much (and most all of it with his gumiho, whose presence now haunts his every memory). Leaving Earth? That's new. That's thrilling! Something he's never done before, something that, when he looks back, won't be tainted by the memory of his lost love.

Laurent's eyes are glued ahead. He can almost feel the moment when Earth's gravity tries to hold them back, but the ship finally breaks free. Or maybe that's just his imagination. Still, there's no hiding the awe on his face once they're higher than the clouds and the sky gets darker and darker, shifting from that deep indigo of night to true black.

And all the stars! Tiny pinpricks of light so very, very far away. It's enough to leave Laurent breathless (though he hardly has any need for breath).

And what's even more amazing? When Janus turns the ship to give him one final look at the place he's leaving. It's so different to see the whole (or rather half) of the planet hanging in the silence of space. Laurent leans forward in his seat, dark eyes wide and fixed on that little blue-green place.

And if his eyes well up a little, well, Jan could always pretend not to notice, right?

To be perfectly honest, no matter how many times Jan has left a planet's orbit, there's always something absolutely beautiful about looking back at it. Earth is one of the prettiest, with its swathes of blue and white clouds coating the orb in the distance, and when he looks over his shoulder over at Laurent it's easy to tell that he feels it, too. A small smile spreads across Janus's face, soft and understanding, and he nods a bit to himself as he turns his head back around to let Laurent have this moment to himself.

"She's always so pretty. Like a perfect marble."

A couple more buttons are pressed and the engine whirs all around them. Jan angles the ship and bunches a lever forward, shooting them from 0 to Unnemurable in an instant. Space warps around them, disorienting at first before it seems to settle into something... natural.

They don't look like they're moving, but they're going faster than anyone or anything on Earth could ever even conceive of.

"Any requests? Unsurprising, maybe, but none of the other planets in the Milky Way are actually hospitable; we'll have to hit the next galaxy over to find anything," said like it's just a little jaunt to the next town, "but if there are any that you've ever wanted to see for yourself, we can do that." A pause, and he double-checks the shield surrounding his ship. "...We can get real brave and get as close to the sun as my ship can handle. Check the strength of my UV shields. Unless you wanna wait to test that theory out."

Oh, sure he's seen photos of Earth from space. And most of the planets, actually. They're quite lovely and Laurent has always enjoyed beauty in almost all its forms. If he still needed to breathe, he'd definitely be breathless at this sight. That perfect little blue and green world, dotted with brown and white from mountains, deserts, and clouds. Wondrous!

Even the change as they begin to move leaves Laurent in awe. The distant dots of the starts stretch into long lines as they move at speeds even he can't comprehend. For a split second, it makes him feel dizzy and he grips the arms of his chairs. But before he can even blink the sense of movement falls away. Smooth motion, unlike any train, plane, or ship he's ever been on (and oh, has he been on many! Long voyages across the sea in a time when there was no other option but to sail if he wanted to safely get from Orient to Occident).

The question brought a thoughtful look over the vampire's face. Where in all of known space would he even think about going? The silence stretches long, long enough that it seems like maybe Laurent doesn't have an answer. Until finally, he fixes his eyes on Janus. If he happens to look, he'll see more life in them than anyone has in nearly a century.

"Take me somewhere beautiful."

Jan glances over his shoulder when Laurent finally answers him and he smiles, bright and wide, before nodding. "I know just the place. It's probably one of my favorite ports to hit up, just because it's fun, and it's just super pretty to get to, too." He turns back around and punches forward, popping in some coordinates and promptly turning his chair to face Laurent with a laugh.

"This is where I'd normally get up and head back to the mess to just chill while the autopilot gets us closer, but this isn't a long trip. I mean, not comparatively, anyway." Jan stretches his leg out and lightly nudges Laurent's with his foot, still smiling. "You look excited. That makes me excited."

He turns back around again as a monitor beeps at him to take hold of the controls, guiding them through the mentioned debris; they're still moving too fast for any of it to be seen through the window, but everything is so far apart that it's easy to make it through without trouble.

When they break through the other side, Jan slows the ship down bit by bit until a bright, vibrant expanse stretches in front of them. A planet sits in its center, looking calm and peaceful, and if Laurent looks close enough he'd be able to see the shape of another ship leaving its atmosphere to take off in another direction. "There she is. My second home."

Is he excited? Is that what this feeling is? That sort of fluttering anticipation growing in his stomach at the thought of seeing something unknown to him? It must be... It's been so long it's hard to remember what that feeling feels like. It's actually... amazing to feel something like that again!

"I am excited," he replied quietly, eyes still fixed ahead on all of space seeming to bend around them. It's all so... new to him!

He manages to tear his eyes away for a moment to watch Janus expertly pilot the ship. The ship slowing feels strange, but Laurent barely notices with that gorgeous sight just outside. Even from this distance, Laurent can tell why Janus would spend a lot of time here.

"I can't leave the ship until nightfall," he reminded.

❝ The moon is a friend ❞

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time for some Fake Space

I'm definitely not here for the scientific accuracy, be as fake as serves our purpose!