"What?" This time Stanley does turn, looking surprised and instantly, honestly concerned. "Why?"
His concern is honest, and it is total. The grip he doesn't think about, the one that comes from his inside and goes out, somehow, with no muscles or bones or fingers or anything to reach out with, Stan sort of expects it to stay tight around the kraken's more vulnerable meaty bits even if he's not paying attention. If it didn't he wouldn't know, though, because as it happens he ain't really paying much attention, because he turned, because he's taking a couple steps toward Ford and trying to look him over. Stan's hand isn't a fist anymore, it uncurls to reach out toward Ford, and then to reach out for the railing when the ship starts to rock, probably in those big waves. His voice don't lose that weird, flat quality, that feel like the sound waves are moving straight from Stan's lips to whatever ear he wants them to and just decided to skip that boring acoustics bullshit in between, but it's a little quieter, there's a little more actual voice behind it.
"Shit, sixer, she didn't really hurt you, did she?" What gets him is Ford's voice, something in it. It's something like fear- or pain? It's gotta' be pain. And Ford- hearing either used to be real rare, back when they were kids, and it's even rarer now. If anyone else sounded like that Stan might just think they were a little nervous, but Ford, hearing Ford like that shifts the gears inside him in some way he don't really understand or think about. If Ford sounds like that something's got to be up, that's all that's going on inside Stan's head for a second. Just that, and nothing else.
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His concern is honest, and it is total. The grip he doesn't think about, the one that comes from his inside and goes out, somehow, with no muscles or bones or fingers or anything to reach out with, Stan sort of expects it to stay tight around the kraken's more vulnerable meaty bits even if he's not paying attention. If it didn't he wouldn't know, though, because as it happens he ain't really paying much attention, because he turned, because he's taking a couple steps toward Ford and trying to look him over. Stan's hand isn't a fist anymore, it uncurls to reach out toward Ford, and then to reach out for the railing when the ship starts to rock, probably in those big waves. His voice don't lose that weird, flat quality, that feel like the sound waves are moving straight from Stan's lips to whatever ear he wants them to and just decided to skip that boring acoustics bullshit in between, but it's a little quieter, there's a little more actual voice behind it.
"Shit, sixer, she didn't really hurt you, did she?" What gets him is Ford's voice, something in it. It's something like fear- or pain? It's gotta' be pain. And Ford- hearing either used to be real rare, back when they were kids, and it's even rarer now. If anyone else sounded like that Stan might just think they were a little nervous, but Ford, hearing Ford like that shifts the gears inside him in some way he don't really understand or think about. If Ford sounds like that something's got to be up, that's all that's going on inside Stan's head for a second. Just that, and nothing else.