Anywhere the struggle is great

[piercetheheart]

Who: Gladio, residents of Isle 1, and anyone else that shows up
What: Guys, GUYS.... shower time
When: Evening of May 8
Where: Just offshore of the Cove on Islet 1
Warnings: Gratuitous use of a wet Gladio

Over the last few days, since arriving really, Gladio has been doing his damnedest to keep track of all the things he needs to do, keeping track of all the projects that need tending to. It really is something of a miracle that they've gotten by for so long with so little.

His very first project is to make tanks for fresh water. There are two and it does not take terribly long to build the actual tanks. Prompto helps him gather wood and in those first few days he has enough animal fat to melt down and protect the wood of the base for the one he means to be an actual storage for drinking water. Both tanks are squares, roughly 4x4 cubes built on the edge of the grassy area that slopes down to the beach so he did not have to build them on frames. The first lined with clay and filled with sea water (for now at least). The second was split in half, the lower compartment for filtered water, the upper awaiting layers he was still working on.

Both had bamboo pipes that fed out, the shower tank already set up so that one could stand at the bottom of the hill, beneath the the output above and... well... shower. Gladio had already moved a few baskets of gravel and stone over so that the area beneath the shower was no longer sand and would not wash away as easily. The bar of soap that had come to him in his knapsack was sitting on a rock he'd dug into the hillside as something of a shelf. Now that everything was assembled it was time to test his work.

The first moment under the spray had him cursing, the water far colder than he'd have liked. Which had him marching back up to the top of the hill, poking around at the violently smoking, extremely hot mound of mud where he was making charcoal to collect a few stones. Makeshift wooden tongs to pick them up, far too hot to handle with his hands, and immediately upon dropping them into the shower tank the water began roiling around the stones, spreading the heat into the water.

"Perfect!" And then he was running back down to the base of the hill to bask under the spray of warm water, leather pants and boots long since cast aside and now his boxers sticking to him but he wasn't quite ready to scandalize anyone yet.

Comments

[want_to_belong]

Prompto would have been willing to help either way, but after many months of roughing it he was ready for any modern convenience. He watched closely and tried to file away how it all went together, though his grasp of it was still fickle. At the very least he had knowledge of the land and some clue where to get everything, and he could still run around like normal. Once he had clear instructions what to do following it up wasn't too much of a problem.

There were tons of little things he wouldn't have thought of. He figured it would have to be cold showers. He knew nothing of melting animal fats. Gladio might have discovered he had a bit of a shadow, Prompto watching with more curiosity than he'd had at home. After all, at home there had been fancy hotels to stop at. He didn't need to learn this. By the end he has at least a rough idea of how it went together, though he wouldn't be confident about doing it by himself.

Once done, he was fairly pooped, but wanted to get in on some of that action for sure. He was up by the tanks and quickly ran down while stripping off his clothes. With how long they'd been camping together it wasn't as if he'd never seen the other guy's butts at some point. He didn't care that much that they were down to their undies. He kept a pair of stitched together underwear on - made from some clean loincloth fabric, he did get something done, Gladio - and hopped down to get some water on his hands and scrub them off.

"Man, when did you learn how to do this?"

[piercetheheart]

Honestly, if Gladio knew no one else was going to come around and it would just be the guys he'd have done without the boxers. Not like they hadn't all bathed in the Wennath before.

Gladio grinned, splashed some water at Prompto's face, and then bent down to let the water get into the underside of his hair, making a soft disgusted noise at how matted it was getting after only a week. "What? You think I only read romances?"

Which would be a fair assumption since he'd actually come to the island with one in his back pocket but that's not proof. Besides, once upon a time he'd had quite a lot of down time in a car and internet access. Instructional videos were the best and with how much camping they'd been doing he'd kind of always wanted to do more than just use Ignis' little camp stove.

[want_to_belong]

"I thought that was erotica!"

What else would keep him so interested in a book? An avid reader Prompto was not - unless it was an RPG. He turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut as water came flying his way, retaliating by gathering some water in his hand and platting it on Gladio's shoulder.

"Do you know how to build water pump things? A pump would be awesome!"

One of many things Prompto knew of but didn't know the mechanics of. His skills dealt more with cell phones and explodey machines, which weren't showing up that much on the island.

[piercetheheart]

Gladio laughed, swatting at Prompto’s shoulder.

“Erotica? Seriously?!” Okay to be fair some of those books were only barely not erotica. But mostly they involved swooning damsels and white knights. The pump question gets Prompto a look that clearly says he’s not thought through the question, another splash and a bar of soap tossed in his direction.

“First of all a pump needs a source. And metal pipes. I can make a lot of shit but getting metal ore? How the hell are we gonna do that?” The problem is not necessarily making the pump but getting the supplies to do so. But even then he’s not sure he could manage it.

[postictal]

Tim doesn't spend much time on the islet he doesn't actually live on, but lately he's been, uh. Needing to get away. For various purposes. To forget the shouting. To forget the wreck that's been made of the nascent garden. To forget the hole that was recently gaping open in his gut.

He takes walks without any real destination in mind, and he's fortunate enough to run across some fucking ingenious work of jerry-rigged island engineering, which is enough to draw his eye.

He folds his arms, watching the whole contraption at work with something like admiration, until he finally turns to the alleged constructor.

"You build this?"

[piercetheheart]

Gladio is honestly just glad to finally have a decent shower. He'd come to the island covered in soot from the Infernian himself. It's really a wonder it took him this long to get the whole thing working.

He's aware of Tim for a bit before he actually says anything, scrubbing the soap through his hair but still keeping half an eye on the other man, alert and aware of exactly how many steps it would take for him to get to Hyperion, the greatsword stored carefully a good distance from the dangers of the sea water.

The question makes him huff out a laugh, tilting his head back to scrub some of the soap out of his hair. "Well the birds sure as hell didn't do it."

[postictal]

"I have been here since August," says Tim, utterly deadpan. "And no one since then has built a shower in record time."

Granted, no one here knows much about surviving on an island with limited resources, he's pretty sure. Tim's knowledge of how to build shit is fairly limited, as evidenced by the slow-as-fuck progression he's been making with his single actual project.

That may have to do with the fact that he had to recover from being stabbed, which hampered his progress kind of significantly.

[piercetheheart]

He scrubs his hair one last time, slicks it back out of his face, and then shoves the plug back into the pipe to stop the water flow. Then he's tromping up the hillside towards the other man.

"You've been here about as long as Iggy and Prom then, huh?" Gladio just smiles, offers his hand. "Gladio. Yeha I kinda noticed that things are a little... sad, really."

Seriously, he's still amazed that they've all lasted so long. Especially Prompto. He's always been one to seek out creature comforts rather than rough it.

[alittleditty]

Guess who else lives on Island 1? Guess who comes out of her house to do some gardening, sees this work and... well she's seen it in progress over the past few days but today, today she can see what it's all amounting to.

And oh does that seem wonderful.

Six months, it's been at least six months since she's been able to do a proper clean.

"Twelve preserve," she breathes, staring at the shower like it's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen in her life.

[piercetheheart]

He's seen her coming and going, of course, but he's also been knee deep in mud and clay and buried under piles and piles of wood, chopping things down, chipping stone down into an axe, so on and so forth. The hardest part has, honestly, been teaching Prompto how to strip bark for lashing.

It takes a moment for him to realize she's watching, considering he's scrubbing a weeks worth of caked mud out from under his nails but once he does he flashes her a grin and waves.

Hmm... maybe he should make a pull string for the stopper? It'd make it so she could use it as well.

[alittleditty]

A pull string would indeed be helpful! Think of the children Gladio. The actual children. And Tataru, but Ren and Kidwun and the others. All that' by the by right now though. Right now she needs to sing his praises because cleanliness.

Once it's clear he's noticed her, she hurries over. "Did you make these?" she asks, awed and delighted all in one.

[piercetheheart]

Hey, he hasn't met any children yet. He'd be pretty upset to know there's children here, though really, the children wouldn't be as bad off here as back home.

"Mmmhmm..." Her enthusiasm is refreshing. He slicks his hair back and then reaches up to stopper the pipe so as to not waste any more water. "'s all salt water for now but we'll work on getting fresh water down here soon."

[scourgingstars]

"Good heavens, someone's been busy." Wherever he'd come from, Ardyn tilted his head at the whole setup in what might almost have passed for interest if it didn't come with that empty smile he so often wore. Beside him, a small adolescent black chocobo ruffled her short little wings and stretched her neck to get a better view.

"And here I thought you all brawn and no brains, as they say. I confess myself genuinely surprised."

[piercetheheart]

Ardyn barely gets the first sentence out before Gladio's spun around, eyes wide. He immediately drops into a defensive stance, the soft shatter sound of the armiger accompanying his shield materializing on his arm. Hyperion is set aside up the hill and for a moment he curses himself for not using the armiger more freely.

It takes a moment for him to think beyond the rush of panic, to really focus on what Ardyn's saying. Just the soft cloying tone enough to make him feel sick. Welcoming them to Insomnia, siccing that fucking beast on them. Cor-

"I've got brains enough." Enough to know not to trust a word out of his mouth, not to want to engage in the slightest. He knew Ardyn was here but he was trying so hard to pretend that he wasn't, that he could relax at least a little, enjoy the sunshine and not have to worry about the Accursed for a little while. Just a little.

"What do you want, Ardyn?"

[scourgingstars]

Ardyn raised an eyebrow at the shield and the Shield, his chocobo quickly skittering behind him.

"Now, that's hardly polite. One would think I'd already threatened you, with how you're acting. I happen to live on these miserable islands, for a given value of the word."

[piercetheheart]

This is not the Gladio from early in their journey, suspicious and displeased but grudgingly accepting assistance. Ardyn's very presence is a threat and he's had 10 years of ever increasing paranoia to get him to this point.

Complete strangers he's been wary of, keeping an eye on his weapon, hyper aware of how best to get to it and how long that would leave him vulnerable.

This is Ardyn. Of course he's going to consider him a threat.

"Not on this one, you don't." He made sure of that early on.

[shatteredlenses]

When Ignis found all that ready-to-harvest wood with Mira, it hadn't been something he really focused on too much. Not when they also found the mystery vines that may or may not have been attached to some kind of Malboro in the area too. Now, he can't help but be fascinated at how quickly Gladio has taken the raw materials and turned them into something useful. It's just a shame he can't do more than provide food for Gladio and Prompto as they work. His garden might be something he can figure out with trial and error, but building proper structures? Well, his and Prompto's poor attempts at a corral for the birds show just how badly that went.

The sound of falling water slows Ignis' steps for a few moments, before he harshly reminds himself that it isn't rain and this isn't Altissia. On his shoulder, Rory coos softly--something meant to soothe him--and he reaches out to run his fingers gently over the firebird's feathers, before continuing along to where Gladio is happily enjoying the test run of his shower.

"From the sound of it, I'm missing quite the show. How unfortunate."

[piercetheheart]

Gladio glances up as Ignis comes down the hill, confirming that it is his friend and then going back to scrubbing himself free of nearly a weeks worth of clay and mud and sweat.

He’s about to call out a greeting when Iggy beats him to it. On one hand the familiar sass is nice to hear again, on the other

Gladio chokes on his next breath.

10 years ago he’d have snapped off with telling Ignis he can see just fine, as long as he uses his hands. But it’s not ten years ago and now the very thought of that offer has him swallowing down a knot of emotions he doesn’t dare think about too hard.

“You can still use the damn thing at least. You wanna come down here and I’ll show you?” How to work it. Not the missing show. Gods. Gladio, stoppit.

Thankfully Ignis can’t hear a blush. He might be able to hear the tension underlying his cheerfulness though.

[shatteredlenses]

"If I come down there with a firebird on my shoulder, I suspect your shower is going to become a sauna in the worst way imaginable," Ignis pauses a short way away to lift Rory from his shoulder and then to send her off so she can find a new place to perch for a short time. Unsurprisingly, she perches nearby, still wary of the new arrival who is hanging around her human so much.

Look, she's willing to die for him. She just doesn't know Gladio is the last person who would put him in any danger.

Once Rory is settled, Ignis makes his way over to the shower, stopping to remove his shirt, shoes and socks before they have a chance to get wet. The pants can stay. They're due a washing anyway.

"All right, show me this wonder you've created," Ignis has a smile on his face when he speaks, but Gladio isn't the only one who has tension coiling under the surface of his words and actions. The Advisor lets his arms settle loosely across his chest as he speaks, but his right hand moves to rub at his left shoulder, unconsciously drawing attention to the faint patterning of white lines that still cover his left arm, shoulder, and the left side of his neck. The remains of the burns he got from the Oolicks are fading, but in the meantime, they still match unsettlingly well with the scars he has from wearing the ring.

[nightcure]

Noctis is impressed, but not necessarily surprised. Gladio's been damn hard at work, and he has always been the best of them at this kind of thing. He's not surprised, but he's extremely glad that his friend's gone to all this hard work.

"Look at that," he says, grinning a little. "You're gonna make a lot of people happy, big guy."

[piercetheheart]

"Yeah, Iggy especially." He grins, ducks out from under the spray long enough to snag Noct's arm and start to drag him down to the shower.

"If he could see the state you're in he'd be so pissed. C'mon princess." Gotta clean up the sad, shaggy, scruffy boy.

[nightcure]

"Hey--" Noctis grunts a little when Gladio grabs him. "At least let me take off some of these clothes! Anyway, I'm not that dirty," he says, and he almost sounds offended. Sure, he hasn't been able to wash himself or his clothes, but it's. It's fine.

[encircling]

She's just on her way to deliver some herbs to Ignis--as well as a few vegetables that have grown quickly--when she hears the water. She follows the sound, and before long, Mira comes upon a curious sight. It's... running water, warm, from what she can tell. Mira has hardly seen anything like it; back home, she had access to only washbasins and rivers and lakes. This, though, it's--

"Incredible," she breathes, eyes wide. She turns her head to see a man, heavily muscled, with an intricate tattoo. "Excuse me!" she calls out to him. "Are you the one who did this?"

[piercetheheart]

He's seen glimpses of her, of everyone that comes through this particular mana pool, and definitely been a little distracted from his project here and there. She's lovely and his grin when she flags him down says as much. If only things weren't so godsdamned complicated.

He waves back, gestures for her to come up towards the hill where he is working. "Yeah. That's me. 'm Gladio, and you are?" He can at least get her name even if he's not quite turning on the charm the way he might have back in Lestallum.

[encircling]

Bag still slung over her shoulder, she climbs up the hill to join him. It's a little hard not to stare at him, but she at least keeps her eyes on his face. Mira looks around at all the things he's doing, and this? Shows her that he could be a valuable ally, if he's so resourceful.

"My name is Mira," she says, setting the bag of herbs and vegetables down gently. "Are you new, Gladio?"