Gaia & Hank | Stargazing
Jul. 2nd, 2025 11:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsTwo mansion residents commune with the stars.
It was a quiet night.
Exams were finishing up, and although Hank always had several projects on the go, it was important to (occasionally) step away from the microscope and breathe fresh air.
Of course, he wasn't going to go wild with that. He may be literally touching grass with his bare feet, but his eyes were still firmly affixed to another lens -- a telescope this time.
The sky was clear, no visible clouds, and it let him gaze out into stars easily. He wasn't looking for anything in particular but there were moments when he missed the vastness of the galaxy. For so long, the black vacuum of space was his only companion, the odd bursts of light from stars... it all seemed so long ago and so far away but with his telescope, it was less so.
A loud slurping from a straw interrupted his reverie.
One of the mansion’s pink haired mutants watched him curiously from a few feet away, slurpee in hand from a late night trip into town. “What are you doing?”
Brow furrowed, Hank lifted his head and stared for a while at the student. It was someone he hadn't met before (which considering he only knew a handful of residents, wasn't surprising) so he wasn't sure if this question was sarcastic, sincere or politeness. It was hard to gage at the best of time for him but considering he had a telescope pointed at the stars.... it was sarcastic, it had to be. Unless it wasn't. Play it cool, Hank.
"I am looking into space."
Gaia looked up as if she hadn’t realized that there was anything of interest in the sky. She squinted at the moon and considered it for a moment. “What is this… space?”
Was this a 'commitment to the bit' thing? He'd heard of such things.
Hank responded slowly. "Space...is the final frontier. Or so they say. It's ... all that. Up there. With the planets. And stars. And no one able to hear you scream."
He could be witty too.
That earned him a blank look. Apparently there were still those in the mansion who knew not of her. “Where I am from, there is no such thing. To go beyond the limits would be to disappear into nothingness.”
"There is such a place?" Cue his immediate curiousity. "Please expand. How can there be nothing when at a base atomic level, there is everything."
Gaia shrugged. “There just isn’t. I am not from here.. May I look in that?” She asked, pointing to the telescope.
Was there anything he could say in response? How did he truly unpack what 'not here' means? This was beyond his capability, considering he still had no idea who this person was. Instead of speaking, he simply nodded and stepped away from the telescope. He motioned to the knobs, gave a quick over view and stepped back before hesitating a little.
"I recommend aiming a little more to your left. Venus is particularly bright tonight."
The telescope adjusted itself slightly as Gaia peered in with curiosity. It was just a slight blurry shape, yet its beauty could not be understated.
“Venus. Like your goddess.” She had read of her in one of the books from the library.
"Oh, I'm agnostic," he responded. "Besides, if I wasn't, the goddess of love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory is hardly the diety I'd worship."
“No? Then perhaps her husband, Hēphaistos, an inventor.” Gaia angled the telescope again, eye pressed against the scope. “Tell me more about this space.”
So Hank did what he did best -- lectured on a topic with entirely too much detail. He started with the Mayans and their fascination with the stars, with their calendars, and their uncanny sense of celestial activities. He explained how Copernicus was convinced the Earth was the centre of the universe and how it helped frame early astronomy. He discussed how less than a 100 years later, Galileo Galilei turned the very notion of space upside down by stating no, it was the Sun that was the centre, and the Earth revolved around it. There was talk about telescopes, and how using an intricate mirror system allowed them to see in the distance. He expanded on time dilation, staying far away from his own experiences and instead focusing more on the concept itself. "So in essence, what we are seeing isn't a true reflection of the night sky rather an impression of a moment in time, long ago. It's very poetic when you think about it."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
" But outer Space,
At least this far,
For all the fuss
Of the populace
Stays more popular
Than populous ... Robert Frost."
The girl followed along with him, adjusting the device when advised and setting her sights on the heavens. She had a long attention span, after all, and didn’t mind the stream of information she was being fed. It got soaked up greedily.
“Thank you,” Gaia said quietly once Hank had finished. “To think that this world holds so much beauty, and yet there is more beyond it.. it is incredible.”
Hank cocked his head in surprise. He was well aware of his proclivities to ramble, and yet this person was thanking him for it. "You are very welcome. I have been to space. It is a beautiful, majestic experience that I could never begin to replicate here on Earth."
Her eyes softened slightly at his confession. “Ah, you are… I believe the word is ‘homesick’? That is why you are out here many nights.”
Homesick..... he hadn't thought of that concept before. Had he ever experienced it? Not on Earth, certainly but homesick for the stars ..... "Yes. I can agree that there are parts of the celestial realm that I highly miss and yearn for. Please feel free to join me anytime. Thank you for being here tonight."
It was a quiet night.
Exams were finishing up, and although Hank always had several projects on the go, it was important to (occasionally) step away from the microscope and breathe fresh air.
Of course, he wasn't going to go wild with that. He may be literally touching grass with his bare feet, but his eyes were still firmly affixed to another lens -- a telescope this time.
The sky was clear, no visible clouds, and it let him gaze out into stars easily. He wasn't looking for anything in particular but there were moments when he missed the vastness of the galaxy. For so long, the black vacuum of space was his only companion, the odd bursts of light from stars... it all seemed so long ago and so far away but with his telescope, it was less so.
A loud slurping from a straw interrupted his reverie.
One of the mansion’s pink haired mutants watched him curiously from a few feet away, slurpee in hand from a late night trip into town. “What are you doing?”
Brow furrowed, Hank lifted his head and stared for a while at the student. It was someone he hadn't met before (which considering he only knew a handful of residents, wasn't surprising) so he wasn't sure if this question was sarcastic, sincere or politeness. It was hard to gage at the best of time for him but considering he had a telescope pointed at the stars.... it was sarcastic, it had to be. Unless it wasn't. Play it cool, Hank.
"I am looking into space."
Gaia looked up as if she hadn’t realized that there was anything of interest in the sky. She squinted at the moon and considered it for a moment. “What is this… space?”
Was this a 'commitment to the bit' thing? He'd heard of such things.
Hank responded slowly. "Space...is the final frontier. Or so they say. It's ... all that. Up there. With the planets. And stars. And no one able to hear you scream."
He could be witty too.
That earned him a blank look. Apparently there were still those in the mansion who knew not of her. “Where I am from, there is no such thing. To go beyond the limits would be to disappear into nothingness.”
"There is such a place?" Cue his immediate curiousity. "Please expand. How can there be nothing when at a base atomic level, there is everything."
Gaia shrugged. “There just isn’t. I am not from here.. May I look in that?” She asked, pointing to the telescope.
Was there anything he could say in response? How did he truly unpack what 'not here' means? This was beyond his capability, considering he still had no idea who this person was. Instead of speaking, he simply nodded and stepped away from the telescope. He motioned to the knobs, gave a quick over view and stepped back before hesitating a little.
"I recommend aiming a little more to your left. Venus is particularly bright tonight."
The telescope adjusted itself slightly as Gaia peered in with curiosity. It was just a slight blurry shape, yet its beauty could not be understated.
“Venus. Like your goddess.” She had read of her in one of the books from the library.
"Oh, I'm agnostic," he responded. "Besides, if I wasn't, the goddess of love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory is hardly the diety I'd worship."
“No? Then perhaps her husband, Hēphaistos, an inventor.” Gaia angled the telescope again, eye pressed against the scope. “Tell me more about this space.”
So Hank did what he did best -- lectured on a topic with entirely too much detail. He started with the Mayans and their fascination with the stars, with their calendars, and their uncanny sense of celestial activities. He explained how Copernicus was convinced the Earth was the centre of the universe and how it helped frame early astronomy. He discussed how less than a 100 years later, Galileo Galilei turned the very notion of space upside down by stating no, it was the Sun that was the centre, and the Earth revolved around it. There was talk about telescopes, and how using an intricate mirror system allowed them to see in the distance. He expanded on time dilation, staying far away from his own experiences and instead focusing more on the concept itself. "So in essence, what we are seeing isn't a true reflection of the night sky rather an impression of a moment in time, long ago. It's very poetic when you think about it."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
" But outer Space,
At least this far,
For all the fuss
Of the populace
Stays more popular
Than populous ... Robert Frost."
The girl followed along with him, adjusting the device when advised and setting her sights on the heavens. She had a long attention span, after all, and didn’t mind the stream of information she was being fed. It got soaked up greedily.
“Thank you,” Gaia said quietly once Hank had finished. “To think that this world holds so much beauty, and yet there is more beyond it.. it is incredible.”
Hank cocked his head in surprise. He was well aware of his proclivities to ramble, and yet this person was thanking him for it. "You are very welcome. I have been to space. It is a beautiful, majestic experience that I could never begin to replicate here on Earth."
Her eyes softened slightly at his confession. “Ah, you are… I believe the word is ‘homesick’? That is why you are out here many nights.”
Homesick..... he hadn't thought of that concept before. Had he ever experienced it? Not on Earth, certainly but homesick for the stars ..... "Yes. I can agree that there are parts of the celestial realm that I highly miss and yearn for. Please feel free to join me anytime. Thank you for being here tonight."
