[Bhujerba is, in a word, magnificent. After spending much of the first day ostensibly performing his warden duties through an astonished daze, Viktor can hardly wait to get back down there and see it again with fresh eyes. By the ship's simulated dawn, he's already washed and dressed and prepared a little bag (not the chicken one) and eaten just enough to keep him going until the marketplace. From there it's a matter of occupying himself (restlessly) until his inmate, Amanda, is up and ready (he waits at minimum a hundred years), and meeting her somewhere convenient so they can disembark (at last).
Which is what he's on his way to doing when he arrives at a scene that is, at first, difficult to interpret. After a moment's hesitation, as his face opens into unguarded surprise, he speeds up his approach.
Since his arrival, for his own comfort, he's taken to addressing everyone formally; this goes straight out the window as soon as he's near enough to see those creases of distress.]
Theo, what—
[Ah, says this sudden pause, something is wrong here. Maybe just as their eyes meet. Maybe this moment hangs, pulled taut, then snaps back into movement—]
no subject
Which is what he's on his way to doing when he arrives at a scene that is, at first, difficult to interpret. After a moment's hesitation, as his face opens into unguarded surprise, he speeds up his approach.
Since his arrival, for his own comfort, he's taken to addressing everyone formally; this goes straight out the window as soon as he's near enough to see those creases of distress.]
Theo, what—
[Ah, says this sudden pause, something is wrong here. Maybe just as their eyes meet. Maybe this moment hangs, pulled taut, then snaps back into movement—]