[closed] The Are Vee Bees are at it again...

[a_shadow]

Who: Agents Texas, Washington, and Carolina. Oh, and someone named Leonard Church, too.
What: Welcoming a new roommate
When: Now
Where: Islet #4, Cottage #3
Warnings: Canon typical language

[ Things have been changing a lot in the cottage, but one constant remains: Ami, the tigerlily. She's wandering in and out of the hut, as usual, investigating all the comings and goings of its residents. Meanwhile, said residents have much to discuss. Carolina has been invited to come stay in Maine's former room by Wash, and moving day has come. Besides this, the usual daily work of living has continued.

Living on an island in some kind of alternate reality Pacific tropical paradise does leave some things feeling unreal, after all.

So they might as well mingle. It's time to get to know each other again. ]

Comments

[motherfucking_ghost]

[So, it sure has been weird. Things get weird when you kill someone who technically caused your death but you're kind of on friendly terms with but it was already weird so now it's more weird, and also your girlfriend-ex-girlfriend-girlfriend-again-question-mark who's way too badass to be killed what the fuck. And also both of those people having death-induced memory issues. That's also weird. It's been weird. Fucking downright anxiety-inducing, and Church could really use less of that in his life. And fewer dragons! Maybe a couple less of those, thanks.

And then there's Carolina moving in, someone he has not exactly gotten along with. Carolina into Maine's room. Maine, who isn't here anymore. Maine, who, despite eventually becoming the Meta, is/was a pretty cool guy. Y'know, for a Freelancer.

So it's...weird.]

Do we throw a homecoming party, a-a housewarming thing? Is that a thing we should do? Can anyone bake a cake? Do we have ingredients for--do we even have an oven? Do we wanna make a plate of snacks?

Or, we could just pretend this isn't a thing and it's a normal day. That works, too.

[a_shadow]

[ The corner of Tex's mouth quirks up sardonically. She's not sure Carolina is entirely happy to be living in the same house with her, so she's not really sure how appropriate an event like that would be. Besides, it's not like anyone else ever bothers when people move here. ]

A party? That depends. You want to plan it? Because I am completely willing to put you in charge of that.

[motherfucking_ghost]

I mean...I could, just--uh. I don't think she--we don't--we sort of don't see eye to eye?

I think she tries but then I'm a flippant bastard and--I dunno, man, I don't know her, you know?

[a_shadow]

[ Tex's smirk fades. ]

That makes two of us, I suppose. She's a tough nut to crack and I think she's put some walls up inside to make sure it never happens.

[motherfucking_ghost]

I know she was supposed to be dead, York was her partner, annnnnnnnd that's basically it! And I don't really like Freelancers.

I can! I can get to know them and pal up with them; did that with Maine of all-- [He abruptly stops and looks toward what was Maine's room.] So I guess it's just a matter of time. She knows the guys. Back home. In the...future.

[And then his gaze is drawn more inward, staring into a middle distance.]

They're good. The guys. They're doing good.

[a_shadow]

[ There's something about hearing that that makes Tex's breath catch a little. She'd been sure Omega or Wyoming would have managed to do something to ruin their insulated little lives there in Blood Gulch. But she doesn't let her relief show. ]

She's the one who told you that? Nothing happened to them after I—

[ She pauses for a beat, speaks a touch more softly. ]

...after I left.

[ She breathes in a draft of air. ]

You think you'll be able to 'pal up' with Carolina, then? Sometime?

[ That's not something Tex thinks she'll ever achieve. ]

[motherfucking_ghost]

Wash also implied as much, but. [He'd make a little face if he could.] I guess hearing it from an outside source makes me feel a little better.

I mean, yeah, shit's happened to them. Magnets for trouble and all that they are. But it doesn't sound like any of them are dead or mangled or maimed or anything.

[But pals? With Carolina? He shakes his head.]

We'll see. We're not gonna go for each others' throats or anything. But I should probably make an effort with her if she's gonna live here.

[counterblows]

"Normal day" for us isn't really a thing anymore.

[He's got his memories back, though, so that's nice. That's one for the books. Because now he remembers exactly what went down and boy, does he kind of wish he didn't.]

At least, I don't remember it ever being one.

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Mm! Mm. Great fun. Not awful. Like, yes, good that Wash is back to relative normal! But also he remembers and it's like. It's just this awkward thing hanging between them now.]

Yeah, normal's not...a thing. Maybe back in the Gulch there would occasionally be days that felt normal, but in retrospect, still definitely not, uh, specifically normal, no.

[counterblows]

Well, no one's got missing memories anymore. At least, not ones that aren't supposed to be.

[Given Church's....everything.....that was maybe not a tactful way to begin.]

Or - ones that aren't. Usually. Missing.

[motherfucking_ghost]

...Really? That's where you wanted to go with that?

Ugh, I mean, yeah, I get what you mean, and that's incredibly preferable, believe me.

[counterblows]

Sorry.

[Credit where credit's due: he actually means it.]

Just, uh...don't have to worry about explaining anything else to me. That's all I'm saying.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Yeah? You sure there's nothing else I have to explain to you?

[I thought you were the enemy. I thought I hated you. I did hate you. I wanted/needed you dead. I was terrified. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.]

In case anything's...unclear.

[uptightness]

[There is a strangeness to it, mixed emotions. It's not like she's minded living alone, although she's also recognized that she might have become too comfy in her solitude. There's also the fact that Maine is gone, which is also mixed emotions. Being here is one thing, but the fate that awaits him when he returns... There's not much she can do, and learning to let go is one of the things that she has been working on. He may return, like her, or he may not, like CT.

Carolina's made a few trips already, stacked her items just outside, knowing that if anyone did lay a hand on them to steal, she'd track them down and break said hand. Of course, she doesn't have too much anyway, her armour being her biggest item. But she's back, and maybe all things do come around again, she thinks, pausing to scritch the tigerlily's head as she comes close, before entering in to the cottage with a bag of her personal items.

Someone, somewhere, is looking down on her and giggling.]

[counterblows]

Hey.

[Back to normal. Or as closest as he gets to it. Memories intact, as much as they get, anyway, and his inexplicable throat and head pain now fully evaporated. Regardless, he's not entirely sure how to handle this, as reflected in his loose stance, the way he doesn't entirely know which way he should be facing.]

You...getting squared away all right and everything?

[uptightness]

Wash.

[A small tip of her head as she offers a half-smile. There's a familiarity to the whole entire situation, and yet also a foreignness to it. They aren't back in their own world, after all.

He's better, at least, better than what he was.]

Mm. Bit of déjà vu, really.

[counterblows]

The good kind, I hope.

[...is there a good kind? It's probably a pretty neutral concept. He's just only every felt it in the worst possible sense imaginable. The impending dread of realizing you've crossed into someone else's memories, someone else's residual recollections of something, and it's bleeding into over how you see things now.]

If that's something that exists.

[uptightness]

[It is a contemplative moment that she gives his words. In all honesty though, as she thinks about it, it's not exactly bad. Different, anyway, but not bad. It's not like they're replaying the same battle scenario in a different time or place.]

Surprisingly, not that horrible... Although I reserve the right to change my opinion.

[Been a long time since she's been under the same 'roof' as Tex, and don't even get her started on Church.]

[counterblows]

You can say that it's a little weird, with the two of them.

[They're pretty weird about each other, on top of being the way they are with everyone else. Which is to say, rude as fuck, generally. They're marines - kinda? - so it makes sense, but it can be jarring for people who aren't ken to how things tend to run in the UNSC.]

[uptightness]

[She pauses a moment, blinking, remembering that they have more in common, given the AIs. Tex and Alpha. She gives a soft snort, lips curling lightly at the whole entire situation. Living with the Reds and Blues had been one thing. This? Another. Yet the thought doesn't truly bother her in the least.]

Not making a ruckus, are they?

[a_shadow]

[ Tex has just returned to the hut from foraging, following her daily routine, and she hears Carolina come into the common area from her room. She had been preparing to pull her armor off, but she peeks her head out after taking off her helmet, just to see. She might as well greet their new roommate. ]

Hey.

[ She doesn't really expect any kind of warmth or anything in Carolina's response, but as long as the other woman doesn't stare daggers at her, things should be all right. ]

[uptightness]

[A lot of time had passed where they had come from. Years since Carolina had last seen Tex in the flesh and blood, so to speak. Fought against her, had her AI ripped out, been on the wrong side of the battle. She has learned and grown, although it hadn't been an easy process. It is still something, seeing her here, for a variety of reasons. Their past. Her own past...

But it's not a competition anymore.]

Hey. ... just getting in?

[a_shadow]

Yeah.

[ That leaves things pretty cut-and-dried, which doesn't lead into much conversation. She pauses, then clears her throat slightly. ]

Did you want a mango? I just brought a bunch in.

[uptightness]

[A mango with Texas. There's likely no one from their Freelancer days that wouldn't have been shocked to see that. Then again, back then Carolina might have taken the mango and done something unpleasant with it.

The thing is, Carolina knows her mother is dead, had come to terms with that years ago. And her father... Is it a good thing that only Tex has a body, one that looks like a ghost to her? But she realizes that she's been standing there slightly awkward, and lets out a huff.]

Sure. Found a place that grows them, or?

[a_shadow]

[ Tex knows that Carolina taking one from her would be a big step. But she figures they have probably both decided to be mature about this, considering the fact that they both live here now. ]

I find them here and there. I go foraging for them pretty much every day.

[ Tex enters her room again and returns with a choice specimen of the fruit, handing it off. ]

Want to use my knife?

[ This is partly a question of practicality and partially just that Tex wants to show it off. It's a nice knife. ]