The hand in his is roiling. Squirming beneath his touch. It does not pull away immediately after the handshake - he does not think that this Cassius knows to do that, maybe has never been allowed close enough to a human being to do it at all with the way he looks and acts - and neither does Hugh, pushing that phantom of putrefaction to the very back of his mind.
It will be dealt with. Or not dealt with, likely. But it will have to wait.
"Oh no, we don't use money anymore. No point up here, hm?" Hugh gives a firm shake and then loosens his grip from Cassius', gently. Coaxes his hand back, ignoring what it feels like to feel all those little bodies piling into the warmth of his hand, humming. He resists the urge to wipe that hand on his thigh. It would be rude. "I keep this sack - hunk of bolts running at this point, you won't have to pay anything. No need. You're a guest of the esteemed Senior Engineer Argyros now, you know, nothing to worry about. Only follow me, I'll find you a room myself."
Upstairs. Near Hugh's little nook of Engineering, where he can stay close by and keep things monitored. One of the secure containers, likely. Those rooms they use to quarantine and observe on the odd chance illness comes through. (The ones they used to keep all of YS' dead-eyed hulls in, poor bastards. Before they'd airlocked them. Some of the families had insisted on going with them, and that had been the hardest part - deciding whether or not to let them. They'd let them.) Safer for everyone involved. The rest of the ship won't be thrilled to have Cassius on board, and even less thrilled with Hugh for having him.
Hugh lets on to absolutely none of this. His smile is a bit fixed in place, but charming enough. He can play a role when he cares enough to. It's just so rare that he cares enough to, is all. He only steps back, arms spread theatrically as he backs to the door.
"Now, tell me about yourself, my friend. Did you come from another ship? Another world, maybe? Unless you've been mixing it up down on Earth with all those--"
no subject
It will be dealt with. Or not dealt with, likely. But it will have to wait.
"Oh no, we don't use money anymore. No point up here, hm?" Hugh gives a firm shake and then loosens his grip from Cassius', gently. Coaxes his hand back, ignoring what it feels like to feel all those little bodies piling into the warmth of his hand, humming. He resists the urge to wipe that hand on his thigh. It would be rude. "I keep this sack - hunk of bolts running at this point, you won't have to pay anything. No need. You're a guest of the esteemed Senior Engineer Argyros now, you know, nothing to worry about. Only follow me, I'll find you a room myself."
Upstairs. Near Hugh's little nook of Engineering, where he can stay close by and keep things monitored. One of the secure containers, likely. Those rooms they use to quarantine and observe on the odd chance illness comes through. (The ones they used to keep all of YS' dead-eyed hulls in, poor bastards. Before they'd airlocked them. Some of the families had insisted on going with them, and that had been the hardest part - deciding whether or not to let them. They'd let them.) Safer for everyone involved. The rest of the ship won't be thrilled to have Cassius on board, and even less thrilled with Hugh for having him.
Hugh lets on to absolutely none of this. His smile is a bit fixed in place, but charming enough. He can play a role when he cares enough to. It's just so rare that he cares enough to, is all. He only steps back, arms spread theatrically as he backs to the door.
"Now, tell me about yourself, my friend. Did you come from another ship? Another world, maybe? Unless you've been mixing it up down on Earth with all those--"
An offhanded wave of his hand.
"--you know. Creatures."
Don't say zombies. Don't say zombies.