(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

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[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.]

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[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

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.]

video;

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[if he reads anything out of the silence and the way Coil looks around, he doesn't mention it. he simply nods and moves them along.]

Okay. Give me twenty minutes or so, and I'll message you again when I'm there.

video;

[mortalcoil]

[he doesn't even nod before switching off the device.

in those twenty minutes that follow, he manages to leave the empty room behind, but doesn't get very far beyond that. he just finds a chair in the hallway and parks there to wait.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[and for all of his awful habits and bad ideas, he at least knows that this is a time to tread lightly. he docks without making a racket, and he's already messaging Coil about his arrival before the doors have opened.

once they have, he waits in the cargo bay. it's gotten... spikier, since the last time he saw it, and that'll hold his attention until Coil can get there.]

[mortalcoil]

[it's a fitting look for how much pain and useless, sharp-edged rage the kid has been feeding into the bones of this place. if there is indeed an audience watching, it's a wonderfully-crafted backdrop for the scenes that take place here.

it all compliments Coil perfectly when he finally shows up, looking all hollowed-out like he does.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[uh huh. good of him to pull himself together, he supposes.

Robin gestures to him to come over towards where he's standing, near his shuttle.]

[mortalcoil]

[he listlessly obeys without much hesitation. the reservation is there, but he's too worn out to really put up much of a fight.

he's mostly watching the ground as he heads over--avoiding Robin's eyes in order to keep everything at a nice, numb distance.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

["nice and numb" can come later. after all, Robin is a mastery of agony, not comfort. he'll give him all the apathy he wants, once Coil has room for it.

so he closes in the distance with a couple of easy steps and pulls him in for a hug. he's gentle about it, but insistent none the less. Robin doesn't know a whole lot about what things were like between Coil and his guardian, but he knows the boy won't find many other people who'll care enough to do anything--good or bad--to be nice to him.]