(no subject)

[aberrant_type]

Who: HANGE!!! GArak, Coil and Zhas
Broadcast: none
Action: closed to Red Fish crew
When: sometime... when they're in range of the planet... after whenever the waystation mingle goes up...?

[She'll take a look at the spa later - after slowly going a little stir-crazy on the ship, Hange wouldn't close herself in another building (no matter how luxurious) by choice.

Now, just as she's been, she prowls and paces along the edge of the forest, looking in. She looks excited: her eyes wide, pupils dilated, grinning absentmindedly. The movement never quite stops. The whoops and cries of distant birds or other, more alien things; the smell of wet ground and the rustle of leaves... it's like home, just like home, just like being at home, all she needs is her 3DMG and her horse and her squad. If only.

Hange will head in soon. She's seen that path and - it could be a trap, but her nature is way too direct to pass up so courteous an invitation. Soon enough...]

Comments

TALK TO YOUR CAPTAIN BEFORE SHE GALLIVANTS INTO THE FOREST???

[aberrant_type]

[Hange is on board the ship. Paranoia that spikes up sometimes has her in their little armory, digging out her gun and slinging it over her shoulder before she turns back towards the woods.]

[theboogieman]

[somewhere outside... while she's prowling around with a gun and an anxiety problem, Zhas catches her and taps her on the shoulder.]

[aberrant_type]

[And she wheels on him. Eyes frigid and her gun is off her shoulder before she realizes what's happening here and jerks it up again, out of the danger zone.]

Don't do that!

[theboogieman]

...

[there's tension in his shoulders, and he lowers the arm that'd quickly turned ready to redirect--but you know, she did almost just point a gun at him. his judgmental lineface is probably kind of deserved, at this point.]

[aberrant_type]

[She visibly shakes herself. And then repeats herself.]

Don't do... that. [WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT ZHAS. Christ. Don't sneak up on people with guns, basic life safety, lordy.

All right, fine. She steps back and slips into signs - just the alphabet, spelling things out. Slow but maybe they could all slow down here.]

Whats it?

[theboogieman]

[he'll pretend the thought to shoot her in the chest never occurred to him. he reads her signs, but doesn't really sign back--he just points at her, points towards the entrance, and tilts his head.]

[mortalcoil]

[he has been set straight--or at least reassembled back into the shell that he's supposed to be in--since their last talk, so he's properly quiet and controlled again. a grey little ghost watching and waiting in the wings.

so, spotting her on her way out from the ship, he sort of automatically gravitates towards her and sticks along like a shadow. automatically moving more silent than is necessary for the situation, he makes for a small presence approaching her heel... save for the slight bit of subconscious haunting that the upgrade to his augment provides.]

1/2

[aberrant_type]

[Hange has been a soldier and a scientist for most of her adult life. She is not much for motherliness, or for what people like to call "women's intuition."

Scouts as long-lived as Hange are a bit of an anomaly, though, and she hasn't come this far by ignoring when her gut tells her something is off. There's only the slightest warning, a brief pause in her step, before she whirls on him, the muzzle of the gun dropping towards him and eyes flashing icy -]

[aberrant_type]

[Before it registers exactly who it is and she's jerking the gun right back up, finger twitching, snarling at him in a far cry from Hange's usual amiable tone. This is the leader-who-expects-to-be-obeyed tone:]

Don't do that!

[What is wrong with these boys? WHO TAUGHT THEM GUN SAFETY]

[mortalcoil]

[and Coil, just as quick, falls back into an instant high-tension pose to fight and defend. especially considering their last encounter, the switch is instant.

it takes all of his willpower not to automatically snap out an arm to slap the gun away from leveling at his face--whether or not that would actually be a good move in practice. it's just a reflex, and it's one that he only barely catches.

he'd love to be able to snap something back at her, but all he has is the glare that he shoots at her and the sharp huff breath as he struggles over the unwelcome spike of adrenaline. good lord.]

[aberrant_type]

[By the time he wants to slap it back she's already pulling the gun up. He's safe. She's looking at him looking - kind of horrified?]

Make some noise, kiddo.

ROUND 1

[aberrant_type]

[Fuck waiting around let's get this party started. Hange takes the path because why not, moving briskly, but also smiling very cheerfully. Quiet, for the moment.]

[parricida]

[He walks quickly behind her, making noise to let her know she's being followed. Not running after her, per se-- but when he saw their captain heading into the forest, he thought it best if he tagged along. It would be terrible if she were up and eaten by something, wouldn't it?]

[aberrant_type]

[Wouldn't it be terrible? Wouldn't it be terrible if she was eaten by something enormous and stupid and nonsentient and mindlessly cruel? Something that ate humans regardless of whether they were men, women or children? Something that vomited the remains back up once its stomach was full?

IT SURE WOULD BE. 8)

Hange pauses at the snap of a twig and glances back - then smiles.

She does have a gun slung over her shoulder. She's prepared for something, at least!]

Well, well, are you keeping me company?

[parricida]

A walk in the woods usually calls for company. Not only for the conversation, but for when the big bad wolf comes calling.

[With a gentle smile he comes to her side.]

[aberrant_type]

That's why I brought this little friend... [A shrug of one shoulder indicates the gun.]

Well, one more doesn't hurt. How are you settling in, Garak?

[theboogieman]

[normally he thinks that Hange is a capable leader, but right now he kind of thinks she's going to run off ahead of them and get eaten by bears.

keeping the robot's warning in mind, he gestures for Coil to go on ahead of him... he'll take up the rear, unless there are objections.]

[mortalcoil]

[despite missing an eye, he makes for a good scout, so he is so all over that. he is more than ready to range out and do something. just as hotwired as the other two, but undoubtedly more subtle about it.

...and he's definitely keeping Hange on his seeing side, even though that leaves his blind side a little theoretically unguarded.]

[aberrant_type]

[She's a little amused and a little irritated by the knowledge she's being baby-sat. In a way. But it's fine; she just lopes along, with the gun slung across her back. Nice and easy and good to be moving.

Really, this is homey for her. Familiar in more ways than one. Trees are good for scouts; they need vertical surfaces, ideally parallel, to make good use of their gear. If only she had her gear... a giant forest is really the most ideal place to use the 3DMG of all. Vertical surfaces all close enough that you can swing from one to the other, moving up or down as the situation requires it. She's automatically sort of cataloging how she'd work her strategies here.

Too bad it's worthless.

Regardless, she's quiet now, saving her breath for moving and scanning the forest around them steadily. It's harmless so far. Birdsong or something like it, insects whirring, leaves rustling... so lovely really.

Could that music really have come from here?

Anyway, the forest is going to let them get a little more comfortable and a little further in before it pulls out any big guns. Hange is already on edge; outside equals danger, equals being chased, at home. The woods will just let them move along further before it tries to discombobulate them.]

[theboogieman]

[hey, Hange is the one who suggested no one goes out alone.

Zhas is about as familiar with forests as he is with cities--it's not home, but it doesn't bother him. he knows where to look for danger, and to compensate for Coil's blind side. the place feels bizarre, but not any more threatening than any other forest.

he also keeps a forced calm around himself, maybe to compensate for Hange, as well. he doesn't doubt that she can keep herself together, he just... well, okay, maybe he does.]

UNRELATED...

[theboogieman]

[...but if anyone wanted to catch Zhas before all these forest shenanigans, he's hanging around outside the ship, smoking his cigarettes and staring despondently out at the forest. he's probably thinking all sorts of deep, angsty, skull-facey thoughts.

which is the perfect time to bother him!]

[parricida]

What a terrible vice.

[Emerging from the ship, Garak locks his hands behind his back and stares out at the expanse of forest. He'd still prefer a desert, frankly, but it's better than all the snow and ice.]

But I suppose it's better than drink.

[theboogieman]

[oh look someone's opinion he doesn't care about. he continues to smoke, fixing Garak with an unfriendly side-eye. then again, everything he does looks unfriendly. so maybe it's neutral. it's hard to say.]

[parricida]

[That's all right. Garak could talk cheerfully to a corpse if he felt so inclined.]

Now, I knew a man once who would overindulge in drink. A great man, a fantastic general-- but still, quite hampered by his vice. Of course, we all have vices, but I suppose the point is to not allow yourself to be taken over by them.

Why smoking, might I ask? It's always smelled far too terrible for me to even begin trying it.

[theboogieman]

[to his credit, at least he doesn't ignore him... he seems to be paying attention to everything that he says, and glances away to give the question a moment of thought.

his answer, though, is also a short test--he signs the letters W-A-R-M, clearly.]