Action/Video

[kill_switch]

Who: Furiosa and you!
Broadcast: Scenic shots
Action: Planet - Beachside
When: Today

It was almost too much to believe.

An unspoiled planet, clear blue skies, water as far as the eye could see. She pans the camera around to catch the expanse of beach with the ocean stretching out to the horizon, the sun glinting off the waves, a few puffy clouds wafting their way past.

"I will never tire of this."

She'll be on the beach, just walking along and taking it all in. Trudging through sand is not unfamiliar with her, but the sound of the waves is intoxicating and foreign.

Comments

[kill_switch]

[She nods, looking out over the waves.] Lots of things. Big things. About the size of the War Rig.

[iamawaited]

What? No, the one I saw was--

[He holds up his hand, holding his fingers apart to indicate the size of a goldfish.]

Man said it keeps him company.

[kill_switch]

[She looks down to see what he's indicating, with a perplexed grunt. It's not the size that's surprising her, but the fact that someone keeps it as company?]

Does it talk?

[Given her experiences with a certain pony and penguin, that wouldn't surprise her at all.]

[iamawaited]

That's what I asked -- he said no. I thought maybe it was like Coil, but he said it doesn't do anything.

[Seriously, he still finds that whole thing completely bizarre.]

Can't even eat it.

[kill_switch]

[She frowns at Nux.]

That doesn't make any sense, what use does he plan to get out of it?

[iamawaited]

He said he talks to it.

[Seriously. Baffling.]

[kill_switch]

[She snorts, and moves to sit on the beach and watch the waves roll in.]

Well. I guess everyone deals with madness in their own way.

[iamawaited]

He didn't seem crazy. Not feral crazy.

Guess if you start talking to animals, though--

[What's next, right?]

[kill_switch]

[Furiosa shrugs; it took all kinds.]

There are worse ways of dealing. It's not like there isn't enough food here to go around.

[Which brings her to the uncomfortable part of the conversation. She'd been meaning to sit down with him and discuss what had happened during their first outing, and this seemed as good a moment as any.] Take a seat, Nux.

[iamawaited]

[He'd been starting to move back towards the water, barefoot now and rolling his BDUs up to his knees, but he pauses mid-roll and glances back at her questioningly.]

Was gonna go in the water -- see if I can find one.

[kill_switch]

You'll have time later; I won't be long.

[Hopefully.] I wanted to talk about our little joyride earlier. Think you're up to that?

[iamawaited]

...why? What about it?

[Is everyone seriously not past that yet?]

[kill_switch]

[She watches him carefully, then looks out over the waves. She's not mad, and she's not going into a lecture.]

I'm proud of you. For turning it around; I know it had to have been hard. [Warboys were built for the chase; it's as natural in his foul blood as it is in a plant to struggle toward the light. The challenge here would be finding an appropriate outlet.] It's not like home, here. I don't know how you're alive, but you are, and that's the important part. The way everything is set up? It's best to keep it that way.

[She turns to look at him, stone-cold serious but with a warmth of understanding. He'd proven himself to her, and she saw his well being as her responsibility here, as much as she'd finally taken the Wives under her care.] Can you do that for me?

[Not to say they'd never have their adventures; she wasn't much a fan of stagnancy, but rushing headfirst out into trouble didn't make sense if otherwise survival was easy.]

[iamawaited]

[I'm proud of you, she says, and that alone is a lot to process. He sinks back down slowly onto the sand and listens to the rest with slightly wide eyes and enough written on his face to be a History Man -- some of it good, some bad, mostly unsure.

He still wants her to be proud, he realizes, as much as he ever might have back when she was the top Imperator and he was a die-hard War Boy; her saying that she is gives him a rush like a spray of chrome, almost as much as the Immorta himself saying it once would have, so strong that it chokes him a little. But what she's telling him, what she's asking of him-- He licks his scarred lips, mouth suddenly gone a bit dry, eyes somber.]

Don't know how long I've got.

[And she wants him to stop, when all he's used to doing is speeding forward. To live, when he'd only ever expected to make anyone proud in death. She's the only one here who knows just much that really is to ask.]

[kill_switch]

[She knows; she's asking him to do the opposite of what he's been raised for. She also understands all the advanced technology and whatever brilliant minds they might be sharing residence with aren't a guarantee stop for the diseases he's riddled with. But, here, far more than anywhere else on their own world, there's at least a chance, and if she can get him to stop for just two seconds to consider it, she'll take that as a win.]

Longer than home. [She gives him a small, dry smile.] Nothing is actively trying to kill us here. The organ mechanics are better equipped. I'd say you get to focus on your life here, instead of the manner of your death.

[iamawaited]

[He doesn't even really know what that means. He's not sure it means anything to him, and he squirms a little under that confusion, distress and anger flickering over his face.]

And end up going out like some runted little War Pup?

[kill_switch]

[Furiosa is not the least bit surprised by that flickering of anger, and counts herself luck that that's all it is right now.]

[She does try to answer carefully, though.] Isn't that better than taking innocents with you on the way out?

[iamawaited]

[He stares at her, a little blank and still a little angry. He's not wearing his war paint now, but his eyes look shadowed and dark. Innocents: that's another word that barely has a meaning in Nux's world. It's a Capable word, a Wives word. He takes those seriously, but it's hard to understand how to apply them to himself.

Who killed the world?]

Then-- then I'll get on the right kind of ship. Crew up with others that wanna die the right way.

[And part of the anger has nothing to do with Furiosa at all, because if he does... His jaw tightens, scars standing out red atop a sudden flush.]

Even if there's not... [Valhalla.] ...I'm still not just wasting away for nothing!

[kill_switch]

[She sighs and focuses out at the ocean for a moment. She at least had the benefit of having grown up in a living, sustaining environment. He can't help feeling the way he does, and she realizes that, but it makes her job of protecting him that much more challenging; it's not just outside forces she has to shield him from, but the lingering toxic environment they both just came from.]

[She needs to save him from himself, to try and give him some greater purpose in life]

There's no conflict here. There's no greater goal. Flying into the sun would have been killing yourself for nothing. Or, you could live as my Warboy. [Live for me instead of die for him. It stirred a fire in her thinking about it, edging out in her tone and her eyes.]

[iamawaited]

[The fire in Furiosa sparks a small one in Nux, too; he feels it flickering to life in his belly, a renewed energy that cuts into the heavy, murky darkness muddying his thoughts. He draws in a deep breath and sits forward a little, hugging his knees loosely.]

What are you gonna do?

[kill_switch]

[That's a good question. What can she do? What should she do? Her main priority as it stands right now is learning about their new environment and the people sharing it with her, and keeping Nux from chasing Valhalla.]

Get familiar with my Rig. Make it better. [Make and hide weapons for easy access because, you never know.] I suggest you do the same and keep me updated with the progress.

[That should at least keep him busy for a while.]

[iamawaited]

And then?

[It's a start. He's already had an eye towards improving his rig; there's a distinct lack of skulls decoration, and even if he was going to ride off into death, he wouldn't want to do it on something boring.]

We gonna raid?

[kill_switch]

If there's someone worth raiding; we're pretty well set up with supplies.

Protect the fleet, protect our crews. That's our top priority. We'll deal with whatever comes up as we have to.

[iamawaited]

[...This is also starting to sound boring. He squints at her.]

Thought you said there wasn't anything coming for us out here.

[kill_switch]

[A Warboy's attention; easy to grab, hard to hold.]

That we know of. We don't know this road, we don't know the bandits. But where there's a road ... [She shrugs. She's not expecting a smooth ride.]