iiiiiit's a mingle

[sinuosity]

Who: Red Fish crew and visitors.
Broadcast: none.
Action: On the Red Fish and waystations.
When: After returning from the Marsiva.

Comments

[mortalcoil]

[the pile of books is startled, and an eye-patched face tries to peer around it and up into the hall-- but the papers start to slide.

so, he has to lean forward against the ladder to take the hand that isn't holding the books off the rungs, and try and catch them.

yeah. it's not going well. he might need some help.]

[collegedropout]

[OH. He steps forward with his long-legged stride and puts a hand out, supporting the man's back as he recollects the papers into his grasp. He's got a strong hold, sturdy and unwavering. It helps that he's tall as fuck.]

Sorry — you got it?

[mortalcoil]

[he still seems surprised--and a little alarmed, honestly--but he doesn't say anything. he only diligently gets his papers in order, offers a quick nod once they're finally steadied, and continues his way up the ladder.

he can't really hurry, but he's trying... because there's a stranger on his ship.]

[collegedropout]

[Okay, um. He steps back, lets the guy have space. Don't be alarmed that he towers over things, that's just how he does. He's really just a big marshmallow (that stabs things a lot, but it's for good reason).]

There was a Drift Shuffle — that's what they called it, anyway.

I was assigned to this ship.

[mortalcoil]

[once he's on his feet, Sam can get a good look at his new crewmate-- somewhere in his late teens, missing an eye, and with a good assortment of scars on his face --and the kid huffs under his breath when he looks up at the near-foot of height difference between.

he seems so thrilled about the whole thing. really.

and he looks around for a second, but the nearest surface to put these books down is in the kitchen, so... he starts to head in that direction, nodding for the guy to follow him?]

[collegedropout]

[... Quiet type. Sam's not usually surrounded by those. The closest he can think is Cas, who can appreciate silence. But even then, they usually fill up the air with casual conversation here and there. Unless perhaps this kid's mute? It's a possibility. He nods shortly and follows, eyes unable to focus on any one part of the ship. So much to memorize around here.

But since words aren't apparently a big thing, he keeps his mouth shut in the meanwhile.]

desperately sneaks a tag at work!!

[mortalcoil]

[luckily, the easiest thing to find in the ship aside from the bridge, is the kitchen. the chairs are kind of scattered around, though. seems like maybe some of them have been moved to other parts of the ship or something. and none of them match.

it couldn't be because furniture has a history of being dramatically broken around here or anything. nope.

and once at the table, he sets his things down so he can fish out a pen and a small notebook from his sweatshirt pocket. after scrawling out the word 'Coil' in nice, neat letters, he holds it up for the new crewmate to see, and he points at himself.]

[collegedropout]

[... Well that's weird, but okay. Sam's used to weird enough that he can just roll with it; it's not like the Bunker is the hub of all things logical despite the Men of Letters' name on the tin. He's patient as Coil writes up his own introduction, and Sam can confirm at least that the boy is definitely mute. Not deaf, though, it seems. Maybe his muteness is the result of torture or some kind of inflicted injury; he seems littered with scars.

Sam has them, too. Faint, most of them washed away when he was resurrected by Castiel. He does still have a few faint white lines on his inner arm or on his palms that would imply self-harm, though Sam's never been able to actually explain that it's for testing if one's human or not. Complicated shit. He still has the thick, ugly scar on his palm that is at least mostly his own fault, re-opening it again and again back in the day to cause himself pain.

... Once again, not as it seems. Pain was the only way to drive the devil out of his head.

...

Yeah, this is why he doesn't talk much about that.]

I'm Sam, uh. Sam Winchester, from earth.

Is there a captain in charge around here? Anywhere I need to settle in specifically?

[mortalcoil]

[and this kid is one to take careful note of scars-- little things that he tucks away in his head to dissect later. taking a minute to think over the question gives him a snip of time to spend on observation. then, his attention is on the paper again, writing a note for the new recruit.]

'Zhas = captain
What do you do?'

[collegedropout]

[He takes that to mean what he's capable of, both in augment and in normal day-to-day ability. He taps his finger on the edge of the paper, considering what the augment's done.] I'm technically just a tactical support. Back home I'm a hunter of sorts, so I'm well-versed in fighting, typical weaponry, information gathering. Things like that.

[mortalcoil]

[he listens, he nods in a way that seems approving, and then his eye belatedly narrows. 'hunter' means something to him that it usually doesn't to most others, so he has to stop and revise his interpretation of Sam's explanation.

...but, when he does, the rest of it doesn't make as much sense as it should. unless Sam is gathering intel on some particularly clever deer, something doesn't add up.

this time he writes and underlines 'hunter?' along with a raised brow.]

[collegedropout]

[He bites his lip, considering how to answer.

It's awkward and concerning to do face-to-face, because... well, this guy may not be human. Sam's grown to understand how these strange new universes work, but he's also never had the negative effects of admitting what he does for a living. Yet. Even so, he'll just have to roll with it.]

I hunt supernatural creatures who kill people across the U.S.

[mortalcoil]

[with the way the kid's eye glows in dim light, it's more than fair to wonder how human he is. however, it turns out that he is human, and also has a much deeper understanding of that explanation than the average Joe might.

his brow raises in a look of stark surprise, but it's maybe not of the confused sort. it might not look much different than anything else, but this expression of shock happens to be because of coincidence.

he doesn't even gesture for elaboration. he just stares at him for a minute.]

[collegedropout]

[Careful with that creepy eye stuff or I'll try to liken it to a monster type ok. He pauses, looking at Coil with a puzzlement before he gets the idea behind the look he's receiving. Right. Um.]

Usually my brother and I, we look for strange or questionable deaths in papers, or on television. Or radio. Sometimes just a pattern at truck stops, or circumstances with a family suddenly dead. You know. Vampires, wendigos, werewolves, rugarus — there's a long list of creatures that could have been the cause.

Our job is to stop anymore people from getting killed.

LATE I AM SORRY you can ignore this if you want

[mortalcoil]

[really, all he can do is suddenly nod, and point between himself and his new crewmate with a sort of incredulous, emphatic look on his face.

he doesn't even think about it--the notion of hiding certain vampire-hunting habits kind of goes flying right out the window.]

[collegedropout]

[Oh — oh! He's got it.]

I gotcha'. You're a hunter, too.

Kind of intimidating to admit in a place where there are plenty of other species around; it's a little hard to convince them you don't have any intention of hunting anything out here.

well unless they're murdering people left and right

but that is usually a universal reason to stop someone]

[mortalcoil]

[there's some sort of hesitation, but he nods--after maybe a short glance to the side.

right. he wouldn't hurt anything out here. no way. nope.]

[collegedropout]

[He raises his eyebrow.]

You didn't seem to sure of that.

Had some problems in the fleet?

[mortalcoil]

[he nods, but he doesn't seem quick to go into much detail. he only thinks on it for a minute, before finally returning to his notepad to write 'the audience loves it.'

because what's better than drama? supernatural, violent drama.]

[collegedropout]

[... Hmmm.

That's not exactly a good thing.

He gives pause for a moment.]

If anyone tries to hurt anyone else, it's good to take them down before someone gets killed... But we're all kind of stuck here. For better or worse.

[So, you know. His own tame way of saying please try not to kill anyone because there's no other states to escape an angry mob from.]

But I guess it's, um. Crossing the bridge when you get over it... Settling's probably a better plan right now.

[He gives a nod goodbye before he turns to start leaving. But after a few steps, he turns slightly, back toward Coil. Then moves his hands up — hesitates out of sheer uncertainty and disuse — and signals.

NICE TO MEET YOU.]