home sweet home? (closed)

[bloodbathing]

Who: Leonard Church and Agents Washington, Texas, and Maine
What: Meetings, reunions, and definitely no awkwardness.
When: shortly after the April intro log
Where: Islet #4, Cottage #3
Warnings: canon typical language


[ What's better than a group of space marines with lots of interpersonal baggage? Plucking them all from different points in time, then shoving them in the same house and seeing what happens.

MINGLE POST. Make your own top-levels, tag around, go nuts. ]

Comments

[a_shadow]

[ She turns. She's heard a low voice like that before before, but she has no way of knowing otherwise who this person is. She has her suspicions—that it's Maine—but she doesn't consider treating him harshly. He had been the one to throw the grenade during her match with him and Wyoming and York, but the Director had been the one who had provided the ammunition. He had been the one to turn into the Meta and start hunting her and the other AIs, but if this is him, he's obviously not the Meta now. She turns back to what she'd been doing. ]

I need breakfast. Don't you?

[ Tex herself is in a T-shirt and shorts that Church had obtained for her somewhere. She feels sort of under-dressed now. Funny how that can be when someone is just in the armor's undersuit, but that has come to feel like a uniform for her. ]

[bloodbathing]

[ Even without the distortion caused by a helmet, it's easy for Maine to place that voice. It's the same one he heard during that training match. The same one that shouldn't have been able to overhear York if the match had really been intended to mimic combat against an enemy — but Maine knows damn well it was no ordinary training exercise.

The big Freelancer stiffens. Unconsciously draws himself up straighter, his expression shifting from puzzled to guarded before slipping into a practiced neutral. This is Agent Texas. This is the new recruit that thoroughly kicked the collective asses of himself, Wyoming, and York.

When the fuck did she get here? ]

Ate.

[ Said with a pointed look outside the nearest window, indicating the time of day. Maine ate his breakfast well before sunup. ]

[a_shadow]

[ She sees his affect change and it immediately changes hers—she becomes more guarded and therefore more sarcastic. She knows it's Maine now. Who else is that big? ]

Oh, good for you then. I haven't.

[ She frowns a bit as she finds some fruit and she sits down with it to munch. ]

I suppose you got here yesterday, too.

[bloodbathing]

[ The shift is apparent and not unexpected. Maine is on friendly terms with very few of his teammates. Civil, sure, but not friendly. Texas is practically a stranger. One that, last he knew, he and Wyoming seemed to have pissed off.

Maine issues a low affirmative grunt; yes, he got here yesterday. Studies her for a moment longer before speaking again. ]

Didn't see you.

[ Yesterday? Last night? This morning? Didn't see her around on the Mother of Invention, and certainly not out of armor? Who knows. Maybe all of them. ]

[a_shadow]

I came in early last night and fell asleep right away. That's probably why. And I just got up.

[ The fruit is good. Citrusy. She takes a bite, chews, and swallows. ]

I'm recovering from an injury. And I worked really hard yesterday, helping rescue people from the rock slide. So I overdid it.

[bloodbathing]

[ Maine casts another look out the window, trying to judge the time of day based on the position of the sun. Difficult, when he doesn't even know how many hours are in a day on this planet. He didn't take Texas for a late riser.

(Of course, Maine's definition of a "late" riser is extremely skewed.)

He gives Texas a quick once-over but sees no visible sign of injury. So he finds himself speaking again: ]

Injury?

[ Wouldn't have been from him. Wyoming, maybe — if she's even from the same point in time. ]

[a_shadow]

[ She had left it vague on purpose. Being pressed for more details is a bit aggravating. ]

Yes.

[ She starts to leave it at that, but then she sighs and slowly stands. She had noticed the once-over. ]

Look at me. Knowing what I can do, wouldn't you expect me to be more muscular? Stronger-looking?

[bloodbathing]

[ At her prompting, Maine takes a closer look. Texas' arms and legs do look slim; she has distinctly less muscle than women like Carolina and C.T. But honestly, Maine has no idea what he should've expected from her build. He has no idea how someone could hit as hard as she did without being built like … well, like him.

Texas' strength had been bewildering. Maine had never encountered anything like it. Not in a human, at least. And, having no idea how the fuck to counter it, he'd performed miserably. So had Wyoming and York. But, judging by Maine and Wyoming's current standings on the leaderboard, the Director had anticipated that.

The three of them were supposed to be outmatched. They were supposed to have to adapt. Two of them had done just that.

Not for the first time, Maine wonders what armor modification Texas had been running. It's the only explanation he's been able to come up with that makes a bit of sense.

To her question, Maine raises one broad shoulder in a half-shrug. It's not dismissive; he honestly doesn't know. ]

Maybe.

[a_shadow]

Maybe?

[ She raises an eyebrow at him, then at her slender bicep as she flexes it. ]

I look like a model. I'm all...what's the word, willowy? Well, this body spent a year in a coma, that's why.

[ The phrasing isn't deliberate. In fact, she meant to word it as something she had gone through. But she's so used to thinking of her body as something separate from herself that it just comes out that way. Well, she can fix that going forward. ]

I fell out of a spaceship in a malfunctioning escape pod. Crashed to the ground.

[bloodbathing]

[ It's a weird turn of phrase. One that Maine may turn over in his mind later, trying to figure out its meaning. Right now, he's caught up on the idea that she spent a year in a coma.

The big Freelancer frowns in confusion. When the fuck did that happen? Then she says she fell out of a spaceship, and his confusion clears. ]

From future.

[ Said with a little jerk of his chin, indicating "you." He sounds more resigned than annoyed by the idea. ]

[a_shadow]

Yeah.

[ She doesn't explain further, though there's a lot more to it than that. She sits back down gingerly. ]

I'm sore as hell. I feel like someone beat every part of me with a sledgehammer.

[bloodbathing]

Stretch. Keep moving.

[ The advice is immediate. Maine is very well acquainted with sore muscles. He knows how to treat them the day after an intense workout. ]

[a_shadow]

I know. I will after I'm done with this.

[ She indicates the half-eaten fruit. ]

[bloodbathing]

[ The big Freelancer nods. Then, deciding that he's done his part, he starts moving back into the room he's currently calling his own. ]

[a_shadow]

[ Tex raises an eyebrow but doesn't prevent him going, doesn't say anything else to gauge his feelings on her being here, or anything else. She had, after all, been minding her own business when he had come out to investigate the goings-on in the common area. They may need to communicate more, but Tex is often as reticent as he is to speak up when it's not completely necessary. So she takes a bite of her fruit and watches him go. ]