And soon enough, there's porridge.

Assuming that clanking was Walta, she'll probably want to know breakfast is ready. (Lilith isn't allowed in the engine room, but she can stand in the doorway and talk, right?)

There she is, in the workshop, working with a... Metal thing. "Ah, good morning. Ya need anything?"

"Morning. I made porridge."

"Oh sweet. I was going to nom on fruit or something real quick after this, but porridge is much better."

She arranges tools back to their holding spots briefly. "I'll just go wash my hands then. And thanks!"

She grins. "No problem!"

And heads back to the kitchen to serve it out into bowls.

"Captain Vauners! Lilith made fooood if you want it!"

The response is too muffled to understand. "Sure thing!"

"I'll bring him a bowl when we're done... How are you, uh, coping?"

"..."

Wow, that's a question. That she had not considered.

"...I think I'm doing okay? It's kind of refreshing. A clean start. Like cold water, a shock to the system, you know? I was sort of... stagnating... and, well, adventure called and I jumped at the chance.

I think this might turn out to be just what I needed.

Or it might be one of those things where it feels great at first and then –" She makes a helpless gesture. "I don't really know what the thing is that happens. Run out of energy, maybe.

But right now, I feel good."

"Yeah. If it feels good now, keep going, right?" She looks nervous. "Stagnating. How do you tell you're stagnating?"

"It's... pretty obvious." But – that didn't sound like a question about Lilith. Hmm.

"I guess... Are you the same person you were a year ago, or five? Have you stopped getting enthusiastic about things? Did you give up on your dreams? Do you notice yourself forgetting what it was like to have dreams?

Does it feel like you're already dead?

...That was overly melodramatic, I think. It wasn't that – severe. But that's more or less the – the shape of it, if not quite to scale. If that makes sense."

"I don't think. Uh. It's not that bad for me. I think there's some of that. It's not quite the right thing though. I want something I can't have and it gets a little more bitter every day, I think. I still enjoy things here and I'm learning useful stuff and getting paid. It just... It's getting there, and I'm kind of worried about that. What I'll do when it does get there. You know?"

Nod. "Yeah.

...do you wanna talk about it?"

"Probably be good to get it off my chest. We hang out in towns sometimes, but it's not the same, somehow. Even though I only met you last night just the same."

...she can't tell if that's a yes or a no.

She nods. "Mm."

A thought occurs to her, belatedly. "I suppose I know something about wanting something one can't have," she adds softly.

"Yeah. I just... I guess I have to work up to saying it?"

She nods. And has some porridge.

Walta has some porridge too. With a few blueberries mixed in.

"...I want a romantic relationship with Captain Vauners. He, uh, doesn't. I actually, er, tried a couple of months ago. I wanted to run off in shame at the next port at first and I almost did but. I came back. And we've been pretending that didn't happen and went back to just sailing the ship and me learning things."

She winces a little, sympathetically. "Well. I'm glad I got to meet you, at least.

Is it your first – romantic disappointment? It does get better. And if you still get along – that's better than it could've been."

She smiles. "He is cute, isn't he?"

"It's the second time technically but the first doesn't really count? And he is, plus he's smart and actually kind underneath all the gruff."

She grins for a moment, before she remembers and her smile is sad again.

Sigh.

"When there's something I don't like and can't do anything about, I mostly try to avoid thinking about it. Not necessarily a good approach, but," shrug.

"Sorry I don't have better advice."

Porridge.

"I'l probably leave eventually. Find another ship maybe. It's just... Not sure when would be best, I guess. And talking about it helps, yeah?"

Smile. "Yeah.

One thing you might do is sort of, keep an ear out for places you might want to go next. See if anything catches your interest. It's easier to think about if you know where you're going to, not just going from."

"It can be hard to plan ahead more than a couple of weeks. You can't tell where were going next half the time. But, yeah. And thanks again for cooking. Should I show you around the greenhouse soon?"

Walta finishes her porridge and brings some for the captain.

"Sure. – Oh, and thanks for the change of clothes, I didn't even think of it till this morning."

She gives their bowls a quick rinse and leaves them in the sink; she can wash them properly later.

The captain wanders in a minute or two after Walta leaves. "I think it will actually be very easy to make a charger for your phone thing. Having an oscilloscope is occasionally useful. But there's a chance I'll just destroy it instead if I do it wrong - does that sound like a thing that happens regularly where you're from? Do you want to risk it given the alternative is to let the battery die forever?"