driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: Zhas & You!!
Broadcast: None (probably)
Action: Planetside OR Red Fish
When: Forward dated to the 31st, late at night

► PLANET-SIDE

[back home, Zhas had a long-standing tradition of not working on Halloween. he gets totally into it. he puts on his best "normal person" costume and goes out and parties and drinks and talks to the locals like he actually belongs there. it's the one day a year he doesn't obsessively hunt down monsters or worry about his slowly-decaying family.

he may be lightyears away from home, on a planet with no vampires or any proper Halloween festivities, but like hell he's going to let that get in the way of his traditional day off. he can be found hanging around town, dressed in a nondescript black shirt, not covered in weapons, and not wearing any facepaint. he might be kind of hard to recognize--though his eyes are still glowing an unsettling, jack-o-lantern orange under the dim, clouded night sky.

oh, and there's blood on his face. his nose was bleeding, or something. he apparently hasn't noticed. actually, to be completely honest, he's kind of having trouble noticing that he's going to run into things until he nearly stumbles over them. once or twice he has to like, hold his hands out to navigate around a lamp-post. dude's pretty drunk.]

► RED FISH

[...unless you're on the Red Fish. he's cleaned up his face, but he's sort of tipsily putting ingredients together in the kitchen and messing around with the microwave? seriously, he accidentally brushed flour off on his shirt, like, what is he even doing. this is probably how fires start.]

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[another frown, and he self-consciously drags a hand down the back of his own hair. like maybe he can hide it.

he nods, though. he's not happy with it either.]

'Who cut it?

[they must have known what they're doing. maybe that's what's throwing him off--Coil could almost be confused for a normal person, with hair cut like that.]

[he's been cleaned up, which is something he wouldn't have asked for--out of convenience or any other reason.

he shrugs one shoulder, and only offers vague signs]

'some guy'

[that's a pain. he rolls his eyes, looking back out at the crowd to try and think his way through it. social finesse was not his strong suit before he got drunk. all the same, eventually he looks over for one more question.]

'Is there anything I need to know?'

[he doesn't want to show how uncomfortable the question makes him, but there's a delay... and in that delay, he's caught rubbing the back of his neck for a second. he's more expressive now, whether he likes it or not.

it isn't a big change, but it's enough to notice.

so, when he shakes his head, it's a clear lie to Zhas.]

[he'd relate to being more expressive; having crewmates he has to interact with has done a number on him already. it betrays Coil here and now, though, and Zhas sets his jaw against the obvious lie.

he stares at him just long enough to let him know that he's not convinced. at all.]

'It's my birthday. You can tell me later.'

[he busies himself with his coat, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. he signs with one hand still holding it.]

'Work on your face in the meantime.'

[it's not like him to make excuses, but he feels justified in this case. complaining about someone else makes him feel a little less at fault with everything.

with his face set with a touch of defiance, he just signs out--]

'they didn't know signs'

[and hopes that explains it]

[he makes a noise--one of his little growls that substitute actual conversation. he lights his cigarette, manages not to burn his fingers. when he's done, he signs again.]

'They're very irritating.'

[the words are an understatement, but it's the closest thing he's got.]

Edited 2014-11-10 06:53 (UTC)

[the tone behind the sign fills in the blanks. he gets it, and it's nice to be on the same side on something. he'll ride that as long as he can.]

'I need paper' [he complains. this miming thing is driving him crazy]

[he... mimes texting on one of the communicators, with a slight tilt of his head. he thinks he knows what Coil thinks about those little keyboards, though.]

[he gets one fairly expressive eyeroll for the suggestion.

yeah no... if anything, he's gotten more out of practice and awkward with texting since he's been gone. he's very ready to go back to pen and paper thanks.]

Hm. [where do you get pen and paper around here, where everything's digital? he makes a note to ask Nunnally if there's a stylus option on their communicators. she'd know.

in the meantime, all he's got is a shrug. sorry, man.]