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

[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?"

[piercetheheart]

The mound of the fire is burning nice and hot now and he's stoppering the ventilation holes at the bottom with some wet mud, the smoke from the top beginning to flood out even thicker. It will burn down soon enough and in the mean time he rinsing off the rather large basket of gravel he's collected.

"Kinda. Been here about a week. How long've you been here, Mira?"

[encircling]

It's a pretty incredible and ambitious project. Mira looks at it curiously, trying to figure out how it's put together, but her attention shifts to Gladio when he speaks.

"Quite some time, actually. Over half a year by now, I think."

[piercetheheart]

The guys trying to build a restaurant when there's no solid shelters, that's ambitious. This is just necessary.

"Damn." He cocks a brow, chuckling softly to himself. "You know Iggy and Prom then, don't you?" Because they've been here for a million years and everyone knows them apparently.

[encircling]

Gotta give them credit, though...! But at the mention of Ignis, she brightens up and nods. And if Gladio looks very closely, he might see the very faint outline of scarring around her eyes.

"Ah, yes, I know Ignis. He is... the closest thing I've got to family here." She smiles, pushing a bit of hair out of her eyes. "I do not know your other friend, though."

[piercetheheart]

"Bouncy little blond? Looks like a chocobo? Has a chocobo?" Probably often at Iggy's heels and well... actually Mira is pretty and if Ignis mothering her then no wonder he won't let Prom near her.

"Is there anyone on these islands he hasn't adopted?" Gladio grins, shakes his head. It's not until she brushes her hair back that he notices the scarring but even then he says nothing. He has plenty of his own scars as well, of course. If it caused her any problems she hid it well.

[encircling]

"Oh, I have seen him around." Talked to him, once, very briefly; he'd shown her his camera. Still, she usually keeps to herself--trust is a tricky subject for her, and she can't quite get out of her head often enough to reach out to others.

"Hm, I'm sure there are a few," she replies with a teasing smile. "It has been a comfort, all the same. I would be much unhappier here if not for him."

[piercetheheart]

Gladio nods, sighs, casts an oddly wistful look back towards their cottage.

"I'm sure he's been doing all he can to make things better for everyone. And I'm glad, don't get me wrong." Amber eyes flicker back over to Mira and he offers her a wry smile, unable to conceal his worry. "Just hope he's taking half as much care of himself."

[encircling]

Ah. He's worried about Ignis, and Mira offers him a quiet, reassuring smile.

"It is... hard not to worry about people you care about. But I have been making sure to do what I can, to take care of him. And others, too." She folds her hands behind her back, and she looks toward the cottage. "... But I worry sometimes that it... is far from enough."

[piercetheheart]

"Ig's always a tough case on that front. Too much time fussing and never..." A flicker in his expression, something that might almost be hurt, and he changes what he meant to say. "taking any time for himself."

Letting anyone else take care of him. Ah but this girl doesn't need to know any of his shit. "Prompto's as chipper as ever, though. There's that at least."

[encircling]

She catches it, but she shuts her mouth. They've only just met; she won't pry. Still, she nods and lets out a quiet sigh.

"I understand what you mean... He is stubborn, isn't he." But there's a fond smile, regardless, and she runs a hand through her hair. "Some things never change, I suppose, even here."

[piercetheheart]

"Never change..." He repeats it softly, looking away from her. If only she knew. 10 years into the future and Ignis hadn't changed, hadn't learned to let anyone in. Who could say, maybe it was better that way, if it let him get what he needed to accomplished.

"Yeah." And he casts around for another topic, anything to steer the conversation and his thoughts away from Ignis and lost opportunities. He finally nods to the bag she'd brought with her. "Whacha got there?"

[encircling]

"Oh--" She pulls her bag in front of her, opening it up and offering it for him to look into. Vegetables, of course. "A while ago, I received several sorts of seeds and gardening tools. I have been bringing Ignis a few things here and there."

She seems pretty proud of herself, actually.

[piercetheheart]

And Gladio's expression turns from somber to something like awe and glee all balled up in one, smiling up at Mira like she's some sort of deity. Fresh vegetables. Grown under the sun, in fertile soil. Not out of a can or grown under false lights in soil that had long been stripped out of it's nutrients.

"You-" He can't even form words for a moment, has to swallow back a surge of emotion, some strange mix of overwhelming relief and embarrassment at his own reaction. "You've got a garden?"

[encircling]

Under his gaze, her cheeks warm up a little. No one has ever looked at her like that, and she suddenly finds herself embarrassed. She composes her expression, at least, and nods.

"I do. I... made a wish, it seems, for fresh fruits and vegetables. I received much more than I thought I could." She watches him, then pulls out a bundle of peas still in their shells. "For you, if you would like."

[piercetheheart]

Normally Gladio would be all over the opportunity to make a pretty girl blush but he's honestly so genuinely floored by the promise of fresh vegetables that he can't help himself. He takes the peas, still not quite daring to believe they're real.

Not until he bites into one and it snaps, crisp and fresh and he closes his eyes to savor it, looking for all the world like he might cry. Legitimately cry. Just as he nearly had when he felt the sun on his face for the first time in a decade, it was like experiencing things all over again, relearning how to live, how to appreciate those simple joys that he'd taken for granted for so long.

"Thank you." Soft and painfully heartfelt. He doesn't have the words to explain how much this means to him.

[encircling]

"Oh--you hardly have to thank me," she says, a quiet smile forming on her lips. And he truly doesn't. Mira isn't sure what state his home is in, but... that he's so grateful and overwhelmed by something like this isn't very reassuring.

If she can make anyone on this island happy, too, she's glad for it. As lovely as it can be, it can also be horrifyingly painful. She flashes back for moments to the crystal caverns, the aftermath when she'd hardly been able to walk, to not long ago when she had been half-blind and terrified out of her wits because she'd been fool enough to go explore on her own, to a little further back when Karin had left.

Smiles are something she cherishes, and she'll do whatever it takes to draw them from the people here--because it's a terribly painful place, sometimes.

"Here." Mira kneels on the ground and rummages through the bag. She wishes she had a spare, but it's a lesson she'll learn later. From the bag she withdraws a few more bundles--lettuce, carrots, radishes. "For you, since you have been working so hard."

[piercetheheart]

He eyes the offerings, barely able to contain his excitement but he restrains himself. He's not going to take all of her hard work either.

"How about we see what Iggy can do with this and you have dinner with us?" As much as he wants to sit down and shove all of it in his face he has to think about the others. At least he doesn't have to worry about sharing with Noct.