Waving them over, Theus had returned to his corner alongside his new acquaintances, it was the only spot left on the Stellar Pioneer's flooring that wasn't occupied by a sleeping person. The eight of them huddled together in a circle on the floor, feeling rather tired, yet staying awake in order to discuss with one another.
Theus was the first to speak, looking at Mono, who slowly appeared into existence once again. He was agitated.
"You gonna tell us why you just ditched us, Mono? I was really expecting some form of sneak attack or something-"
Ronan, who was sitting next to Theus, put his left hand on the boy's shoulder, his right wrist still recovering.
"Kid, it's not a big deal, really. The Pilot probably scared the boy is all it is. Hell, I'd be scared shitless too."
Theus turned to face Ronan, tears welling in his eyes slightly as he rebuked.
"Yeah, but he abandoned you still! You needed help and he just…"
Theus looked at Mono again, who had tears forming in his own eyes as well while visibly shaking. It was evident Mono was scared as well.
"Uhm, damn, I'm sorry, Mono. I really gotta get a grip on myself."
The conversation dropped and fell quiet for a short while. Talia, growing bored of the silence, rolled her eyes and leaned forward, darting her eyes around the group while breaking into a loud whisper.
"So, we've already seen three of you all show off your powers, what about the rest of you?"
Talia waited while leaning forward still, staring at the rest of the group who remained unresponsive and blank, she grumbled.
"Are you all dead or something? Fine, I'll go first."
Pushing herself up from the ground, she dusted herself off and stood there, gaining an idea. She grabbed at her number tag on her shirt and began tugging at it, ripping it off shortly after. She then balanced it on her hand.
"Alright, place your bets! Number side or not?!"
The other seven looked around at one another, confused. Mono raised his hand shakily, with Talia pointing at him in return, prompting him to speak.
"Uhm, w-what are we placing bets on, miss?"
Talia pointed at the tag in her hand, then continued.
"When I throw this tag in the air and catch it, will it land on the number side or not?"
Studying the tag with her cat-like eyes, Irene confidently answered in response.
"It will land on the number side, the letters on the front side will naturally draw more of a force than the back ever will."
Everyone else shrugged and agreed, turning back towards Talia, who grinned.
"Then I'll say it's the back."
Without giving time for any questions, Talia threw the tag up in the air… and didn't bother catching it.
Ronan rolled his eyes detestably, already knowing what the outcome of the flip would be.
Leaning into the center of the circle, where the tag fell, everyone saw which side it landed on.
"What? But logically-"
Cutting Irene off by picking the tag back up, Talia smiled at the dumbfounded girl?
"Logic doesn't apply when it comes to me. You wanna go again?"
With her stubbornness to win and be right, Irene nodded.
"Sure, I bet it's the number side again."
*****
A few minutes later, Irene was holding the tag in her hands, inspecting it to see if anything was tampered with while holding back rage.
About five more rounds had gone by since the last, and everyone was still astounded at Talia's wagers always being right. Everyone besides Ronan and Theus, of course. Theus was simply growing impatient and wanted to know the answer already.
Snatching the tag from Irene's hands, Talia laughed and put the tag in her pocket, putting the bets to a close.
"Eh, I think that's enough for you to get it now, mine is the Desire for Fortune, which- as far as I know I mean, I've got insane luck in literally anything. Crazy, I know."
Irene snapped, trying to get up in order to lunge at Talia, who held her hands up jokingly in response.
"You… You're the reason my entire family fell apart! It was you and your shitty scams! You-"
Caylie put a hand on Irene's head, rubbing it softly and causing Irene to break down, her head falling on Caylie's lap as she began crying.
Talia inhaled sharply, staring at the ground with a sad smile on her face.
"You really think I meant to ruin someone's family, girl? It was either use my Desire to its fullest or become another labor worker and wait until the day my brain rotted away."
Attempting to change the topic, Freya butted in, causing Irene's crying to slowly diminish and Talia's guilty expression to dissipate.
"Might not be the best time, but what's really the point of this meetup? We're all leaving this ship as soon as we land on Europa, right?"
The group was lost in thought, forgetting the compromise that the Pilot had given to the passengers of the ship. Nobody had thought much about it besides Theus, who spoke up.
"I don't think I'll leave."
Everyone's heads turned towards Theus, some who were confused with his statement and some who were shocked. Caylie nodded her head slowly while staring at the ground, agreeing with Theus.
"I don't have much to stay for, that's my reason why."
She looked at Theus and continued on.
"What's your reason-"
"Could you take off that stupid veil?! It's really pissing me off not being able to see your face, y'know."
Everyone blinked awkwardly, staring at Caylie to try and get a read on how she'd react to Theus' rude remark.
Ronan leaned over, whispering into Theus' ear as quietly as possible.
"Kid, where the hell were you raised? Try to be polite once in a while."
Theus ignored Ronan's words, mainly because he didn't understand what the word 'polite' even meant. He continued eyeing Caylie, then sighing shortly after.
"Whatever, everyone's got their reasons for secrets, I guess. Sorry."
Laying down and getting comfortable on the rough metal floor, Theus gazed at the roof of the hull, resting his hands behind his head while continuing on.
"I've got a ma back on Deceased Earth, but she's not really my ma. She told me my original parents had left for a flight to one of the safe planets, but after hearing what I know about Mars, I don't think they're there."
Theus sat up and continued speaking, staring at the center of the huddle circle.
"I'd always overheard her talking about the Thoughtless, and how she wasn't far from becoming one of them herself, yet she always acted like she was fine. I guess that's why she constantly urged me to seek a better life elsewhere."
Theus looked at Freya, thinking about what her untold past must have been like, then darted his gaze around the group, until landing it back on the floor once again.
"I don't know a lot of things, but what I do know is that there's a good reason behind everything, and I wanna know the reason why we- humans, I mean- turned out this way."
He finally stared at Caylie again, his lips quivering slightly.
"That's why I want to stay. I don't see the reason in seeing my original parents who abandoned me. Oh, and before anybody says anything, just what the hell is a Thoughtless anyway?"
Freya's eyes widened in subtle sorrow and sympathy before she began explaining.
"It's the fate of everyone who grows old alongside the Mutation."
The group fell quiet once again, a wave of dread enveloping the others who knew what they were already, causing them to look away.
Theus didn't stop however, instead he waited for Freya to continue.
"When someone's mind is stagnant, forever doing the same thing over and over again and never learning something new, the Mutation feeds off of that laziness."
Theus continued staring blankly at Freya. Not a single word of hers processed in his brain whatsoever.
"Putting it simply, if you're not feeding your brain something new every day, the leech is gonna feed on you instead. It'll do that until your brain is gone, making you a Thoughtless."
Theus weakly smiled at the realization, now knowing that his mother, Soteira, had been on a timer all his life.
"There's no way to reverse it, is there? She'll be gone before I'm back?"
Isaiah shook his head, resting it on the palm of his hand while he sat there.
"Nope. None that we know of, at least."
Theus laid back down on the floor again, closing his eyes with a somber expression.
"Hey, when we get to Europa, could you all show me around before we leave each other?"
The others, who were still thinking about their decision of staying on board the Stellar Pioneer, or leaving to live on the last safe haven alive, all remained silent.
"Of course, Theus."
Theus knew it was Caylie's voice that responded. Rolling on his side and using his hand as a pillow, Theus began to drift off, but not before hearing a mumble come from Talia.
"Kinda unfair that I was the only person who showed my Desire, by the way. Whatever."
Everyone laughed slightly as they all began to find their spots on the floor, laying down.
On the cold, scrap metal lining of the hull, Theus had lain down. It reminded him a lot of what his old home once was.
Now, he was planets away from home, his place of false safety.