(no subject)

[mortalcoil]

Who: Coil Lenn and any innocent bystander
Broadcast: Audio and video - Fleetwide
Action: Aboard the SS Red Fish
When: Shortly after the Shuffle

→ action
[there were too many new people on his ship; too many unfamiliar faces were making him feel anxious within the halls of what was supposed to be his home. he has been deflating under the pressure of trying to meet them all and keep track of them, wondering where they all fit and wishing that Zhas would just step up and take over like he's supposed to. he just wants to be able to stop worrying about it and get back to work. so, when the skullfaced man continues to make himself suspiciously scarce, Coil finally goes to seek him out... and his search ends in what is supposed to be Zhas' bunk.

for a minute, there is that awful sense of vertigo that comes with wondering if he's somehow gone into the wrong room. but the minutiae left behind--all of the little things that he couldn't possibly care about because none of it adds up to him--is familiar. it's the random remnant of Zhas' things, and a desperate search of the Network quickly confirms his fears.

when it does, something inside of him that still feels recently healed simply breaks apart without effort, and the rest of his crew manages to miss most of what immediately follows. the pacing and clawing and breathing so fast that he almost makes himself sick is quiet enough to go unnoticed. but anyone who happens to be home at the time might notice the eventual banging on the empty bunk walls, and the yell of voice that has never been heard on the ship before.]

→ broadcast
[and, since there is supposedly an eager audience somewhere, hungry for drama, of course the communicator turns on when it crashes into the wall.

so, after the image on the screen bounces around crazily until the device comes to rest in some corner of the room, anyone tuned into this particular frequency can catch the sounds of someone more or less losing their shit. the sobbing sounds of sheer, heartbroken frustration are muffled through something... probably clenched teeth and buried in arms or a pillow... but they're definitely very public.

someone is having the worst day of his recent life.]

Comments

[So actiony]

[child_of_bhaal]

[She hears the banging two fold, from her communicator and in person. She shuts the bit of technology off and tucks it away, before going inside the room.

She'd been going to talk to him as it was. She'd not been able to find Zhas either, and had been hoping Coil would have a clue to their taciturn friend's whereabouts. Sadly, she wishes the answer was different. Because there's only one thing to cause such a reaction like this.

She comes inside quietly, but not trying to hide either. She'll keep a polite distance, because they aren't that close. But she's there for him.]

Coil... I'm sorry.

[It's a lame offering to someone in such pain, but it would be worse to give him pretty lies, even in an attempt to comfort. Truth is always best, and the truth is she's sorry Zhas is gone. She's sorry to see Coil hurting so much. She would change it, if she had the power.]

[the actioniest]

[mortalcoil]

[by the time she reaches him, he's balled up in the middle of the room, surrounded by the meager destruction he was able to cause. there wasn't even any significant furniture left in the room to upend and throw around--only the scant, random belongings that hadn't disappeared with the rest of the absent captain's things. that's why he'd thrown the communicator. there hadn't really been anything left to take his rage out on.

which is probably why hearing Syeira's voice causes an immediate reaction in him, long before he has time to think about it. it's more longstanding habit than anything else that has her instantly grating on his nerves, and he turns to give her a scathing, vicious look over one hunched-up shoulder.

but, incredibly, the scorn doesn't last quite as long as it usually does. sure, he hates her for staying here when the most important person in his world disappears instead. but she's also the sole remaining familiar thing on this ship... and that maybe strikes him then.

he can't hold the wicked look for long. tears are still sliding down one half of his face.

after a moment or two, he just hugs his knees tighter to his chest, and presses his face down on top of them again.]

[actionapalooza]

[child_of_bhaal]

[That pointed, hateful look makes her feel overwhelmingly guilty. As if this is somehow her direct fault. And she'll accept that blame; it feels natural. It's actually very plausible that this happened just because she existed near them.

She moves to him, and drapes her cloak around his shoulders without a word. It's still warm from being on her, and it's a good stepping stone towards some kind of direct, physical offer of comfort. She sits down next to him, close but not touching unless he gives her a sign that it would be accepted. She says nothing, because what else could she say?]

[mortalcoil]

[at first, he bristles at the touch on his shoulders, recoils from the weight draping down to hang on him. it's claustrophobic and invasive, and the last thing that he wants right now is to have contact with anything existing in this horrible place. he's desperately wanting to be anywhere else right then--he wants to be home--and this is just helping to pin him right in place and root him in the present.

and then the significance hits him, striking him right in the middle of his chest.

Zhas is gone, but she remembers. this gesture might be coming from a different source, but the message is the same one. the memory falls on him and drapes around his shoulders.

so, after a minute, he crumbles under the weight of it. jamming his face down to hide his tears, he sobs into his arms--the sound tears itself out of his chest, despite how much he tries to muffle it.]

[child_of_bhaal]

[She draws up her knees, folding her arms atop them and rests her chin on them. And that's the position she maintains while he cries, eyes looking ahead and not at him. She wants to comfort him. Seeing someone so in pain brings up the need to help in a desperate way. Still she quells it, out of respect for the distance that remains between them, philosophically.

But she won't leave him to his suffering either. She'll stay there beside him. Though she can't stay silent for long, and eventually caves to the desire to soothe a little more. She hums, softly, a melody that she would call calming.]

a....ction.....????? inaction?

[droprate]

[ okay great there is a chance they are in one of the bunk rooms for this, and now they are absolutely trying to like...slide...out the door.......with an armful of bedding off of one of the empty bunks, without being noticed.

Alternatively, someone else has decided that the new counselor office is
a.) a great place to stick Coil
b.) a great thing since Coil needs some help

--neither of which are...probably right. That's okay! ]

[mortalcoil]

[Coil doesn't do well when he's surprised. it's because he often isn't surprised, and the things that do surprise him are usually in the process of trying to kill him. there are a lot of instincts and deep, expertly-trained habits rooted there.

so, when he suddenly realizes that someone is there sneaking around behind him-- especially when he is in such a high-strung, vulnerable state--he whirls and lunges without even thinking about it.

unless they do something fast, the Red Fish's newest crewmate might end up slammed against the nearby wall with a forearm jammed at their throat.]

[droprate]

[ They probably should've expected this, but they were focused on trying to get out, instead. So when they hit the wall, it's definitely a surprise.

They knew monsters weren't actually trying to be dangerous, they weren't trying to hurt others. It wasn't so bad, when it was them.

But humans...they always meant it. Which is why, when their back meets the wall and that familiar panic grips them, they completely forget every bit of progress they'd made and return the favor by trying to punch Coil in the face. ]

[mortalcoil]

[even if it's just on an instinctual level, Coil is expecting to be attacked... but, he is also very good at being hit. he doesn't even attempt to block this one.

so, the new crewmate gets their strike in, and Coil's face snaps to the side as he's hit right in the mouth. but he just keeps moving.

he goes for that striking limb next, grabbing right for the wrist and all of the sensitive nerves wrapped around the bones. he wants to grab and twist the joint in the way that will hurt the most, trying to grapple the intruder still.]

video

[kill_switch]

[Seeing anyone so undone isn't easy, but knowing he had been Nux's crewmate didn't hel either. Furiosa doesn't know Coil that well, except that he'd been on Nux's ship from the Warboy's exciting start, but he'd been there for her Warboy and she was grateful for it.]

Hey. You going to be alright?

[mortalcoil]

[and the fact that he doesn't even have the Warboy--the other resident skullface who might have eased some of the edge of this loss--isn't helping him either.

there's a bitter hiss between his teeth when he hears a voice coming from his discarded communicator, and it takes him a minute to finally reach over and drag the bit of technology toward him. avoiding actually looking at the screen, he scrubs a hand over his face, and he nods. but the look in his eye is a vacant one.

it's pretty clear he doesn't mean it.]

[kill_switch]

[She can tell that's not a wholly accurate answer. She gives a short nod. He had crew that was there and could hopefully attend to things in the immediate, but she wanted to do her own part to help.]

I'm going to come visit later.

[mortalcoil]

[regarding the communicator a little more directly then, he focuses and shoots her a questioning look, brow furrowed. he almost seems suspicious about the whole thing... since he can't imagine why in the world she would want to visit this ship.]

video;

[fishwife]

[Undyne had been halfway through a glass of that DISGUSTING SYRUPY yet amazing orange drink when she caught... this. She stares, and stares, and stares some more. And then, very quietly:]

Uh... hey... there.

[mortalcoil]

[the sounds of sadness and frustration get quiet, for a minute, as he realizes with a pang that the communicator has switched on. and since he can't exactly hide from it now--especially with another little anguished sound hiccuping out of him--he finally reaches over to drag the device toward him.

as the view on the screen bounces around until his face is halfway visible in it, and eventually even right-side-up, he just sighs.

he's temporarily calmed the surface of the storm, but he's still crying. and he doesn't look directly at the screen.]

[fishwife]

[Her expression softens when a face appears. Coil doesn't appear to be a kid but the sobbing... yeah, she understands. She gets it. And he's not exactly 100% human looking either, not that she's really concerned about that sort of thing anymore. EYEPATCH BUDDIES. SCARS. YEAH!!! HE COULD BE AN HONORARY MONSTER!!!]

Hey.

[She smiles a little, and it's awkward and probably full of too much teeth.]

What's wrong?

[mortalcoil]

[he's not a kid... but he's definitely still somewhere in his teenage years; the crying brings out the youth in his face. and calling him an honorary monster is really quite apt.

just a sad, grubby monster boy.

and though he eyes those teeth a little too long when he catches sight of them, he... can't bring himself to care like he should have. Zhas would have honed in on it in an instant, and that thought just makes him sink a little further.

halfheartedly, he signs something, not caring that the creature on the other side of the screen probably can't understand him.]

video;

[unbearablynaive]

[The message is clear, even if the scream isn't broadcast; this is far more vocalization than Coil makes under normal circumstances. So, leaving a message for Coil once he gets a chance to check the device, he signs rather than texting or talking.]

What happened? You hurt?

video;

[mortalcoil]

[by the time he retrieves the device and notices that it's on and broadcasting, he has managed to at least catch his breath, if not calmed down much more than that. his face is still wet and miserable, and the pain becomes a little more visible when he realizes that the person on the screen is familiar and signing.

'gone,' he signs back. it's the only thing he can think to say.]

video;

[unbearablynaive]

["Gone" - loss. Grief. That would do it. And, alas, not an uncommon occurrence in the Fleet. In his more suspicious moments, the Vision wonders if it's all for ratings.]

Friend? [And then, assuming the response to that will be affirmative,] Want company? Want alone?

video;

[mortalcoil]

[if this has been done for ratings, there is probably some audience out there avidly wrapped up in the kid's dramatic display of despair.

and he just shrugs, because he doesn't know how to answer. he doesn't know what he wants. he doesn't know where to go from here-- even in trying to decide something so simple.]

video;

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[he doesn't want to use video, but text doesn't get his attention and voice would be silly with Coil unable to use it back himself. besides... he doesn't know what's going on, but it sounds like Coil might want to see a familiar face.]

Hey, kid.

video;

[mortalcoil]

[he winces when he hears the voice coming from the communicator--an audible hiss between his teeth. and he keeps the voice waiting for a minute, dragging in a slow breath and wiping his face, before finally reaching for the device.

apathetically pulling it into his lap, the screen comes to rest with only some of his face visible. it's enough to see the abject misery, though. it's a look that Robin has probably been lucky enough to see on a few rare occasions, years before.]

video;

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[oh... buddy. he shouldn't go making assumptions, but there's only one thing Coil's seemed to care about here in the Drift Fleet, and the usual round of gains and losses wasn't very long ago.

so he smiles, small and sympathetic. it's not a look of pity so much as understanding.]

Hey. Would you like me to come over?

video;

[mortalcoil]

[there's a short hesitation in everything--breath hanging on a moment spent to think. he evens out long enough to look around the room, try to dig in and measure what he wants. decisions are especially hard to make right now. his compass is gone.

he'd like to say that he doesn't want the other man to spend time here. he doesn't even want him to see this room. those two worlds should remain separate... out of a strange, funerary respect, if nothing else. but he can't talk to him in the direct way that he can communicate with a few of the others here, so he just nods. he can attempt to get across the fact that he'd like to go somewhere else once Robin is here.]