There was hardly a time when the O.R.C.A wasn’t bustling but in recent days the noise had become nearly intolerable to Pearl, who was used to the silence associated with being underwater or entirely alone in the world. Her solution had been to stay in her rooms unless she was called out to do something and as a result the space had become more like a private makeshift laboratory - odds and ends gathered from around the ship for her purposes.

Olaan’s bunk had slowly been filled with a variety of things Pearl felt she needed or might need at some unspecified future date and her own was becoming similarly overrun. It was in this state that Hakeem opened the door without so much as a knock, leaning against the empty frame so it wouldn’t close again. 

Pearl shrieked a greeting to him without thinking of the Human equivalent ‘Hello’. She was too immersed in her work which was currently ignoring a compiled list of several requests the crew had made in favor of creating a sandwich which could not be chewed by Human teeth. 

"‘Ek’ yourself. Was wondering where you’ve been holed up. Feels like I haven’t seen you in a month,” Hakeem said in his typical lackadaisical drawl. 

Pearl didn’t reply because he hadn’t said anything that necessitated it. Instead she cut off a section of the bread she’d created and dug her nail into it. The surface was indented. She brought it up to her teeth and attempted to bite it. There was give now (previous attempts had not managed to achieve the same consistency as normal bread) but whenever she attempted to break through completely she was met with extreme resistance. Satisfying.

“What’re you up to?” Hakeem asked.

“Up to?” Pearl asked, one hand in the air.

“What’re you working on?” Hakeem clarified, wandering into the room. He whistled when he saw the beds. Pearl, having no context for the noise, ignored it for the time being.

“I believe I have just created a sandwich which is unable to be chewed by Human teeth,” she said, offering the plate to him. 

Hakeem, looking immediately interested by the concept, attempted to take several large bites and was thwarted at every turn.  “You did it!” he said with a grin. “But why?”

Pearl gestured vaguely. “Curiosity.”

“The best reason to do anything,” Hakeem declared. “Other than love.”

“They are one in the same,” Pearl said, taking the plate and wrapping the sandwich in foil where it joined the others in a bag she would dispose of later. “Why are you here?”

“Didn’t I say I was wondering where you were?”

“You found me.”

Hakeem anchored his hands on the back of Pearl’s chair and leaned over her, peering at her various in-progress experiments. 

“We can’t talk? I wanted to know if you were doing anything at our next stop.” 

Pearl began the process of creating another inedible sandwich. “Is that soon?”

“It’s today!”

“I see.” Pearl said, unbothered. She was not in the mood to explore and hadn’t been for several weeks. She was in the mood to be alone in her room for hours, saying nothing. 

“I knew it, you’re not planning on doing anything.” Hakeem sighed. “You need to go out and get some sun on your face, it won’t be around for much longer!”

Pearl blinked, looking up at her friend imploringly. Her wordless question, indicated by an open palm, was answered incidentally.

“Aogalia’s slated for extinction. Hundred years or so from now the planet’ll be nothing but memory.” 

“They haven’t evacuated?” Pearl asked. She’d heard of planets dying, it was a fairly common thing. With the U.U.C established it’d become routine to save entire populations that way, finding another, similar planet for them to call home.

Hakeem shook his head, the curtain of his beaded locs shading Pearl. “Nope. And they ain’t gonna. The way I hear it, the ones still there want to stick it out ‘till the end. Cohen was going on about how it’s crazy.” 

“It is foolish,” Pearl agreed, reaching out to play with one of the glinting beads in front of her. 

“Isn’t it kinda romantic, though?” Hakeem asked.

“No.”

“Isn’t it kinda interesting, though?” Hakeem amended in the same tone.

Pearl considered. “...Perhaps.”

“And if you had the chance, wouldn’t you want to ask-”

“You want me to leave the ship,” Pearl guessed.

Hakeem grinned, making a clicking noise with his tongue. “Bingo.”

Pearl considered her options as she considered the bead. She didn’t have any desire to leave her room let alone the ship. Even Hakeem inviting her out was only pulling languidly at her motivation, as much as she enjoyed his company. It was as if a cloud had descended over her, sapping her of energy, and though she knew she wouldn’t find the cure to her mood holed up alone in her room - there was nothing else she wanted to do.

Then, suddenly, her thoughts turned to Olaan. The two of them had begun talking more regularly after what Pearl had started to think of as the adjustment period had passed and they’d both settled into their routines. It’d been a relief to establish that contact again but despite several months passing since they’d boarded the O.R.C.A, Olaan remained distinctly unhappy. 

Pearl, having never seen Olaan in a similar mood, had no clue what to do to help co out of ceir ‘funk’ (as Hakeem had once described it). She was typically the inconsolable one of the two, lying on the floor and having to be dragged out for the fresh water and exercise. 

She paused her twirling of the bead. Ah, that was it. She would invite Olaan out to see Aogalia with her. Co was always making little comments about the two of them not spending much time together anymore and she had missed ceir as well. If there was anyone who could get her to leave the house even in the worst of moods, it was Olaan - and again her friend spurred her to action, this time for ceir sake.

“I will go,” she said, watching Hakeem pump his fists into the air. When she did the same, he bumped their knuckles together and she flinched, examining them as he began to speak.

“I’m meeting with a girl once we get there. Aogalia’s supposed to be beautiful this time of year and her ship just so happened to-”

“A mate?” Pearl asked, honing in on what interested her.

Hakeem laughed. “Mate…I guess! She’s a girl. She’s…” He made a noncommittal motion with his hands. “We’re dating,” he said, seeming to settle on the oft-used term. 

“I was not aware you had a girl,” Pearl said, letting Hakeem spin her slowly in her chair.

“I’ve got several,” Hakeem winked. 

“You are a cad,” Pearl asserted with a bit of awe, curious. She didn’t view having multiple partners as strange but it seemed Humans did and it was frequently a point of distress within relationships. It would be interesting if Hakeem were that sort of person. She’d like to ask him a few questions about it.

Hakeem laughed again. “Cad? What is this, ancient greece? No, it’s all casual. Or, as casual as love gets.”

Pearl looked up, taking in his expression for a moment.

“I don’t understand but I don’t have time for an explanation right now,” she said a few seconds later, standing and losing her balance a bit before straightening. “I have to find Olaan. Leave my room.”

 Hakeem sat in the still-spinning chair, giving her a mischievous look. “What if I just stay here and try my best to eat that sandwich of yours?”

“Leave my room,” Pearl said again, taking his wrist and ‘pulling’ him up. 

Hakeem laughed, letting himself be dragged from the room and watching as Pearl immediately let him go and walked down the hall with her strange gait, arms held at her sides and head bobbing as if being held above water - or listening to some silent song.