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The silent hum of air conditioning across the hallways, the quiet steps taken by the dozen hundreds that go through them everyday, the ambient sounds of Rhodes Island on a lazy Sunday afternoon can lull anyone into a wonderful nap. It just so happened that the Doctor was one of those people.
A small creature skittered across the halls, followed closely behind by slightly more pronounced footsteps. The one who trailed the creature did so with curiosity, as if they were simply taking their pet out on a walk. The creature, a sandbeast, had other plans. Upon setting their sights on an open door, they immediately bucked inside, much to the surprise of its owner, Ray.
“Sandbeast, wait!” She followed after her friend. The open door gave way to an office space, where on one side lay a small vivarium which bore a strange resemblance to the scenery of Rim Billiton. As Ray grabbed Sandbeast and pulled them away from the vivarium, she let her mind linger on. She tried to remember what exactly this room was for, though the answer was clear to her now. Someone quietly slept on the table near the end of the office. Their head firmly down, yet enshrouded still by a hood that they never seem to take off.
The doctor of Rhodes Island, an enigmatic man through and through. She couldn’t help but be curious about him, no one could, really. She tilted her head and slowly inched towards the doctor’s sleeping visage in an attempt to get a clearer look, a sharper glance. Then, he slowly roused awake, and Ray could do nothing but step back with Sandbeasts in her hands.
“Hm? Oh, Ray. Good afternoon, what brings you here?” The doctor greeted, as welcoming as ever. He tilted his head behind her, towards the door which lay open towards the hallway, “Oh, did I leave it open?”
Ray nodded, “Sandbeast came in and started gnawing through the vivarium, I’m sorry for that.”
“It’s alright, little guy’s longing for that environment is he?” The doctor couldn’t always read Ray’s thoughts from her mostly flat expressions, but at the very least he could read what Sandbeast was going through, “Those creatures need their environment to thrive. Some of our slug and crab pets here have habitats built for them.”
“I see. Maybe that’s why Sandbeast doesn’t like the little sandpit I made for him back in my dorm,” She said, nonchalantly. The doctor smiled at her, realizing that the recent issues with the ventilation system may have been caused by the unauthorized sandpit that Ray built in her dorm.
“If that’s the case, then do you wanna head on over to the botanical garden? They might have some useful supplies there that we could use for Sandbeast’s habitation.” He offered, gesturing with his hands towards the small Rim Bilitonian Vivarium that set over on the right side of his office.
Her eyes glazed over him with some form of curiosity unfounded, “Are you not busy, doctor?”
The doctor scoffed, “Not at all, that’s why I’m napping in the first place.”
“I see,” Her hand automatically petted the sandbeast, as its soft rumbling noise filled the silence in between their dialogues. She smiled, “Lead the way then, doctor.”
The two walked around the landship. There wasn’t much in the way of people, most operators at this hour were busy with their own missions, while the few that remained seem to just be doing routine maintenance work to pass the time, “So, Sandbeast, tell me about him,” The doctor started.
Ray looked at Sandbeast as her hands methodically caressed its soft, furry head, “He was the first one I got, for Pitsinking. Sandbeasts are highly sensitive to changes in air pressure and quality, that’s why they’re used there, but because of that sensitivity, it affects them harder.”
The doctor reached for Sandbeast’s head, which growled for a moment, yet in reluctance, allowed the doctor for a light touch, “I see. Was that why it was so weak when it came here?”
“It was near death, always near death. They’re not like burdenbeasts or even fowlbeasts which people nurture and grow. The purpose of a sandbeast is to alert people about toxic gases inside mines.” She traced her fingers between the holes over the sandbeast’s body as it shuddered with her touch.
“Despite that, you nurtured and cared for this one, when you could’ve gotten a new one?”
“It was… it could still handle things. I feel like I pushed it too far sometimes, and I thought it died once,” She breathed out, letting the memories that played in her head cease to be, “If they keel over, you get a new one. That’s what they always say.”
“Why didn’t you get a new one then?” They stopped in front of the Botanical Garden. They could hear the rustling of the many leaves from the garden’s artificial wind circulation.
“It was the first one I bought. I don’t think they should be shackled to that role forever.”
“I didn’t take you to be someone so sentimental.” The doctor rubbed Sandbeast’s chin, as it came to somewhat accept him. Not fully, still. It bared its fangs a moment too soon, and the doctor calmly backed away.
They entered the Botanical Garden. There, they immediately saw its primary guardian and gardener, Perfumer. She walked right beside a Flamebringer who struggled to carry a potted tree a couple times larger than him. She looked back at the two and waved at them, “Oh, doctor! And--”
“Ray,” She introduced herself.
“Ray. Nice to meet you,” The smile of Ms. Lena immediately calmed the scowling sandbeast. Her eyes glanced towards the creature and patted its head, “So what brings you two here?”
“We were wondering if you have some materials here that we could use for the sandbeast’s habitat.”
Sandbeast and Ray both nodded in response to the doctor’s statement. Perfumer tilted her head at this oddness, yet brushed it away. She wasn’t the oddest person she met in this landship anyway, “Follow me, then. Oh, wait. Flamebringer! Could I trust you to bring that pot where it’s needed?!” They only heard a somewhat annoyed grunt, before Perfumer started to walk with them towards the garden's storage room.
“Say, Ray. What do you think Sandbeast needs for his habitat?” The doctor asked.
Ray quickly responded, “Sandbeasts are native to the lands of Rim Billiton. They’re sandy, devoid mostly of plant life save for a few native species. While they thrive in sandy environments, they nonetheless need a place to cool over to survive. That’s why you’ll mostly see wild Sandbeasts around small, isolated oases.”
Perfumer, who was listening on, responded, “Getting a pool for the little guy might be difficult, but I feel like we can manage. We have enough sandy soil here for what you need, and,” She approached a terminal and started to type out keywords as numerous data emerged from the screen, “There’s plenty of seeds here native to Rim Billiton, you should just pick and choose which you’d need.”
“Thank you, Lena,” The doctor shook her hand as Ray watched the gesture unfold. It was a sudden feeling, one she couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for. Her eyes went over to the doctor and, despite not being able to see his features beneath the hood, felt a smile coming from him.
Lena nodded, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to see what Flamebringer’s up to.” She left the two behind, soon, in the distance, Ray and the Doctor could hear the soft voice of Perfumer followed by the loud, abrasive yelling of the Sarkaz. This then gave way to a softer, more pronounced apology coming from him.
“In any case, we should get a seed that’s quick to grow in this environment,” The doctor said before succumbing to a short lived laugh, “I didn’t realize we were making a vivarium until now. If I knew that was the case I would’ve just sent over the one in my office.”
Ray and the sandbeast shook their heads. The doctor wondered if this pet-owner telepathy was inherent to everyone with a pet, and that he should ask about it from Beanstalk, or Vanilla if she comes along, “That won’t do, doctor. That’s Amiya’s gift for you.”
“Well, let’s make sure this home for Sandbeast is of equal quality,” The doctor grabbed the seeds, while Ray carried the sacks of sandy soil on her back.
They signed the records with Perfumer before leaving the Botanical Garden, “--It’ll be fine if the water pumped into the vivarium would take a while, Sandbeast can hang around on my sink anyway.” Ray said, Sandbeast rested on top of the sacks of soil that she carried.
“It might clog up the sink,” The concern on the doctor’s voice was clear to Ray. After all, Rhodes just had a bit of a problem with excess hair getting caught in the plumbing all around. He shuddered at the thought of what those maintenance people had to go through.
“It’ll be okay,” The numerous metallic tools hanging all around Ray’s clothes jingled as if to make a scene to emphasize them, “I’ll just fix it myself.”
They eventually arrived in front of Ray’s dorm room. It was a former storage facility. HR wished that they could’ve given Ray better accommodations, but she didn’t mind it due to the extra space allotted there. In fact, she found the space perfect for Sandbeast’s dwelling. The two set off to work, with Ray doing much of the manual labor and the doctor sitting around the bed planning the vivarium out with her.
Every now and then, some other operator would come by and greet the both of them. They would return the greeting, and oftentimes do so at the same time. Even as the room turned dusty, and they had to open the windows and let the sunset winds enter through, they still enjoyed this brief moment they had together.
At the end of it all, all three of them sat on the artificial sand pit. They played with Sandbeast, as it burrowed all around the little vivarium inside the dorm. There was a rare, subtle smile that appeared in Ray’s otherwise pokerface which quickly disappeared as she glanced over to the doctor, “Is something on my face?” She asked.
“Plenty of sand, if that’s what you’re wondering,” The doctor carefully reached out with his gloved hands to brush the sand off of Ray’s face. It was worrying at first, he didn’t know if this was an obscene breach in privacy from someone whose emotions they never show on their face. Ray, however, just nodded. An acceptance that the doctor took, as he gently brushed some of the sand away from her face. From her cheeks, to her brow, and some nearer her lips. Delicate touches that they wouldn’t put against each other, ones that Ray wanted in contrast to the rough sandstorms which blasted her for most of her life. She closed her eyes, and after a few moments, that brief show of physical affection was done, “You should take a bath, still.” The doctor remarked as he brushed himself off.
“Of course,” They stood up as the doctor started to head out of the dorm. Before he could leave, Ray tapped him, he turned around and saw her with Sandbeast on her arms as it purred all around. She smiled, “Thank you, Doctor. I can tell Sandbeast appreciates this a lot.”
The pet, like its owner, smiled towards the doctor, “You should tell me more about Sandbeast sometime,” The doctor patted the small creature, as it started to feel more comfortable with his touch.
Ray nodded, “Sure, doctor. See you next time.”
“Be seeing you.”
The dorm’s door closed with a silent hiss. On both sides were two people that relished the small connection they’ve made, born from a cosmic coincidence stretched over the span of a decade. Ray whistled, and let Sandbeast off her arms as she went off to take a bath. The doctor made his way back to his office, unaware of the stacks of papers he’s going to have to go through once more.