now I ain't tired of sweating for blood and dirt ( OPEN )

[galrarm]

Who: Shiro and YOU.
What: re-arrival.
When: End of September.
Where: Enso
Warnings: None now, will update if necessary.

[ Well, then.

When he wakes, there's a sense of peace--one he, truthfully, has felt little of here. That's his own paranoia's fault, really, but it's still odd. He's aware that he's likely been gone for some time--since it moves differently, here. It's hard to tell, exactly, how long it's been. Shiro hopes it hasn't been very long, but until he finds a certain someone, he won't know for certain.

So. Shiro looks, and until he's finished that task, he won't really be talking or interacting with anyone. It's remarkable how much of a one-track mind the man can have. The first place he searches is the house, which seems...

Hm. Still. He hopes Keith's here; otherwise, it might take some more effort to find him. Not that he'll complain about effort when it comes to Keith.

After that, though, he's free game--probably a day later, to be honest. Either way, Shiro's around all of Enso, re-familiarizing himself with his surroundings. Anyone he sees, he'll raise a hand in greeting. ]

Hey.

[ And those he does know, he gives a broad grin. ]

Long time no see.

Comments

[thermalwind]

[Keith repositions the bucket under Kaltenecker and pauses. He had heard a sound from the house. He drops his hand to touch the hilt of his knife and glances at Kosmo.

The wolf lays on his side with ears perked but otherwise seems entirely unconcerned. Until they both hear another sound. Keith frowns and Kosmo sits up and whines loudly. Keith blinks. He pats the cow as Kosmo whines again.

He tucks his knife back into the sheath on his back and tells the wolf to wait for him as he walks back around the side of the house. Kosmo has only whined for one person other than him and he doesn’t dare hope.

Keith pushes open the door of the house and stops cold. He looks shades older than he did with less of his Galra heritage hidden. Ears a bit more pointed, closer to his self of ten years in the future and pupils more cat-like. His eyes widen and he says softly.] Did you...come straight here?

[galrarm]

[ Ah, there he is.

He hears the whine--good, that means Keith is definitely still here. Though... god. He left Keith again. Shiro knows it's not his fault, but he still can't help the guilt that flares up. He'd promised to himself that he wouldn't leave, and yet...

Maybe this time around, he'll keep that promise.

The guilt subsides when he sees Keith, though, and he wastes no time in pulling Keith into his arms. For a long time, he says nothing, just-- holds him. Buries his face in his hair, heart beating steadily. Then-- ]

What else would I have done first?

[thermalwind]

[He doesn’t know what to think until Shiro closes the distance and holds him. His heart remembers to beat again. He wraps his arms around his neck and presses his face agains this neck. He breathes in deeply to catch the familiar scent and the world stops being so cold and dark.

Keith takes in a slow shuddering breath.] I don’t know. [He reaches up and drags his fingers through Shiro’s white hair and says softly,] But I’m glad you did. It’s not home without you, Takashi.

[galrarm]

[ He leans into the touch easily. It's always easy with Keith, no matter what; Shiro never has to worry about that. He just wonders how long it's been. ]

I'm sorry I left. [ It's not his fault, they both know that. Still, Shiro pulls back, just enough so he can look at Keith. ] How long has it been?

[thermalwind]

Months. [He says as he leans most of his weight into Shiro. He hasn't gotten drunk in a while but, breathing in Shiro's scent and knowing he's in his arms makes his head spin. And he knows how bad things must look that his stressed state is on display.

He looks pretty close to the self of ten years ahead. His ears come to a tampered point and his eyes are too yellow. Keith closes his eyes and breathes in. There's just him and Shiro.

It takes a visible effort to return to looking just as human as his fiance. Stress does that to him. He's been on edge for ages.] It's okay. Leaving wasn't your idea and things seem to be cooling off right now.

[galrarm]

Months.

[ Can Keith hear the distress in his voice? He must. It’s not even that Shiro’s so transparent, sometimes, in his grief. He is. But it’s more that Keith knows him better than anyone. He’d know even the most subtle shift in Shiro’s body language. The tiniest change in his voice. With Keith, Shiro wears his heart on his sleeve. Why wouldn’t he? He has no reason to hide things from him.

Not after everything, after all.

He holds Keith a little tighter. He never wants to let go. ]

Still--my being gone that long, it...

[ It’s clear in the way that Keith is physically different. Gently, Shiro drags his fingertips along the side of Keith’s face. He’s still Keith, and no matter what he looks like—hell, he could turn into a potato and Shiro would be stupidly in love with him--he’s still Shiro’s Keith. ]

It’s been tough, hasn’t it?

[counterblows]

[So he's seen Shiro before. He's seen Shiro come, and he's seen Shiro go, and he's seen Shiro come back and go back and at this point, he's lost track of what color Shiro's hair is supposed to be. Wash doesn't even know him that well as a person. He just knows that he's ostensibly important to Keith, but beyond that?]

[Wash straightens, removing the last of his armor with an unlocking of latch mechanisms and dropping it onto the carefully assembled cairn of the stuff stacked beside the nearby mana pool.]

[He regards Shiro silently for a full ten seconds.]

All right, are you the same one that was here last time, or not?

[galrarm]

[ It’s a valid question. Honestly, Shiro is expecting to have to answer it more than just this once. As it turns out, no matter what version of him it is, he has a chronic problem of disappearing, then reappearing. Sometimes with long stretches in between. He’s not bothered at all, then, by Wash’s question. ]

Yeah, I’m the same one. [ A pause, and he offers a grin. ] Good to know some things never change.

[ As he says it, he gestures to the mana pool with his Altean arm. It still seems so weird that he should have to charge a magic arm but, then again, stranger things. ]

[counterblows]

Sorry. You've...shown up a few times now. Pays to keep these things straight.

[Which is funny, 'cause neither of them are. yuk yuk.]

[He glances at the neat little tower he's made of his armor and scowls, briefly, before glancing at Shiro's...obvious prosthetic. It floats. That's pretty advanced.]

Yeah, this place is still the worst kind of backwater planet.

[galrarm]

[ ayyyyy ]

No, it's alright. I'm not bothered by it, especially considering how often I've come and gone.

[ It sure does float. Space magic, man. ]

Well, at least the company's good. [ A pause. ] How've you been?

[counterblows]

Uh.

[There was a dragon last month, and then before then he died, and things just are finally seeming a little bit calm so they're not bad, he guesses, but that turns out to be a pretty complicated question.]

What's the last thing you remember about this place?

[galrarm]

[ ..... Well. ]

The last big thing?

[ .... ]

That Clown Box attacked.

[atailoftwoworlds]

[Zidane did not know Shiro very well. However, he did find out that the guy was from the same world as Keith. And that the two of them were engaged. It must have been a comfort to Keith, having not someone whom he knew of back home but also someone who was almost certainly the home he belonged with. In a way, Zidane could not avoid being a tiny bit envious even though he wouldn't want the girl he loved dearly back home to suffer in a place like this.

Zidane could not help but notice the recent change in Keith, though. As if something terrible had happened that had affected him and he wanted to stop it from happening again. Or acting more serious and solemn than before as a way to cope. And while he wasn't going to force Keith to talk unless he was up for it, it did later occur to Zidane that he had not seen Shiro for a while. And while there was a small chance he could be wrong in thinking what that meant, but he thought he would have run into the guy at some point.

Seeing Shiro greet him took him by surprise. However, that surprise was quickly replaced with a good natured smile and a wave.] Heeeeeeeey! Likewise. [And he jumped off the rock he happened to be sitting on where he was reading something he had picked up from the library.] I guess you went back home, huh? [It would certainly explain Keith’s demeanour.]

[galrarm]

[ He returns the wave and the smile. Honestly, he... wouldn't be surprised, if Zidane told him all that. Still, he hopes that with his return, things are gonna be a lot better for Keith. Solitude... really doesn't do him well. ]

Yeah, for a little while. I'm pretty glad to be back.

[atailoftwoworlds]

Hmmmmm. I thought that was probably it. [He's not gonna say it out loud but, well, explains it. No wonder Keith was so gloomy. The guy was so determined to keep going and protect everyone but the loneliness and pain he must have felt inside...]

Anyway, good to see ya again! Do any of the others know that you're back yet? You should probably let 'em know if you haven't.

[galrarm]

[ He can guess as much, really... Part of him's thankful that Zidane doesn't really elaborate, though. He's dealing with a lot of guilt over his leaving, even if it wasn't his fault. ]

Good to see you again, too. Hopefully you've been keeping out of trouble. [ A grin; as if Shiro has any room to talk about trouble. ] I've seen a couple people so far, but I'm taking the whole "settling back in" easy.

[atailoftwoworlds]

Heh. I'm more powerful than I look. [Self-sacrificing big damn heroes who put others before themselves unite!]

Yeah. I dunno what you last remember but I bet you'll have a lot to catch up on if you haven't already. At least things to have settled down a little though......[A short pause. There really WAS a lot in the last couple of months.] Let's hope it stays that way for the moment.

[deathfindsaway]

[Kravitz is also prone to spending much of his time on Enso, between his work at the Library and being one of the few people who still primarily reside there. Sometimes, it means he's less likely to find people going about their business when things are calm- but at other times, it helps him find new arrivals and lost people before much else. Kravitz notices him first because of this, not used to seeing others out in the woods, but lingers a moment at an almost misplaced familiarity. Has he met this man? Hm.

Kravitz shakes his head a bit when he's addressed, snapping from his thoughts to actually address him.]

Oh, uhm, hello to you as well. Are you lost or anything...?

[galrarm]

Far from it, actually.

[ He offers a friendly smile and gives a little shrug. ]

Just re-familiarizing myself with this place. But things haven't really changed, at least from what I can tell.

[deathfindsaway]

Oh. Well, welcome back, insomuch as it's a welcome.

[He couldn't be expected to know everyone on the island, but it does make him feel a little better for thinking it. Maybe he'd seen him before.]

I had the feeling I might have seen you before, but not recently, so that would explain it. Regardless, it's nice to meet or, uhm, re-make your acquaintance. I'm Kravitz.

[He'll even hold out his hand for a little shake.]

[galrarm]

It's pretty welcome, to be honest, even if it's just the people that make this place bearable.

[ Ah, he grasps his hand and gives it a lil shake. ]

Nice to meet you too, Kravitz. I'm Shiro.

[deathfindsaway]

[His eyebrows actually raise at the name, which slots a couple of things into place for him as he takes the other man's hand.]

Oh, I... think I understand why I thought I knew you. I've heard much about you from Keith, in the time he's been here.

[He'd like to think they're pretty good friends, at least, but it feels weird to... say that, for some reason. Kravitz knows Shiro is possibly Keith's most important person; to say to him they were 'friends' feels like something he absolutely doesn't have the credentials for.]

[semistableman]

[Shiro was someone Bucky had only run into a handful of times. After he'd vanished... well, it was easy enough to assume Shiro had vanished, off to... wherever it is people end up when they vanish off of the islands.]

Shiro?

[Close behind him is a... well, probably a sheep, covered in flowers, which bleats in greeting, immediately trundling up to Shiro for pets.]

[galrarm]

Hey, Bucky.

[ He raises his hand in a greeting... and then, oh no, how cute. Look, Shiro is just one man, he can't resist cute. He'll gladly oblige the sheep. ]

Looks like you made a friend, huh?

[semistableman]

[Look at that, that is the happiest sheep! She nuzzles against Shiro's hand.]

I guess you could say that. Met her a while back, on one of those islands that have since vanished. Her name's Petunia.