driftfleet | Edgelord classic rock reference goes here.

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Edgelord classic rock reference goes here.

Who: Wolfwood and you!
Broadcast: none
Action: Getting used to space, still on the Marsiva, and later on the Huntress.
When: 8/11 and until the shuffle, and then on the Huntress 8/12

[Wolfwood's decided to poke around the new technology, and find out how more than the showers and food processors work. He's really been taking it all in, and trying to absorb all of it, all the novelty and newness of his surroundings. Listen, the guy's been living in Steampunk Tatooine his whole life. He needs to get adjusted to the things he suddenly just knows. He's noticed the implant, the weird little nub behind his ear, and figures, hey. A life for a nub, he's not going to argue.

So far, he's poked around the medical equipment, the food processors, the communications equipment, he's seen if he can make the lights shut off or dim, and has really just been obnoxiously soaking in the sheer amazement he has over what he considers Lost Technology. Come tell him to stop messing with the gadgets, before he does something stupid.]

[... Later, though, he's over it. He lights up one of his last ten cigarettes in the pack and looks out the observation window from a sofa, gathering his thoughts. He has a sinking feeling about all of this, but really can't put his finger on just why he feels this way. It all smacks of semi-malevolence. Nothing as severe as he's dealt with in the past, but he's got a hairy suspicion that as great as it is that he's alive, he's not going to be let to retire so easily. So here's a scowling ex-dead-guy just glaring at the huge window looking out into space. Pensive, and probably looking fairly owly, but still approachable.]

[He's still pretty impressed by the whole I'm in SPACE thing, but it's died down a little, and he's starting to look around the quarters he's been assigned. He rubs his face and then shrugs. It's pretty all right, but something big, weighty, and full of weapons was missing. It just didn't feel like home. Oh well, he figures. He'll just have to make do. He notices that he's not the only one with the security augment on this ship, and he decides, well heck, time to meet the other crew.]

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[Vash had been waiting for the crew rosters to be updated. Anxiously waiting might have been the better term. Ever since he had heard his best friend's voice come over his communicator. He just had to see him in person to really know for sure.

Which is why Wolfwood better eat that pudding he gets as a welcome gift to the Huntress quickly. As the moment Vash gets his hand on the updated list and finds Wolfwood's name he's taking off in his shuttle over to the ship and waste no time coming aboard.]

Wolfwood, you around here? [His voice sounds calm and his body language may seem relaxed, but on the inside? He was a mess. Still waiting for this to be some memory or cruel prank for a ratings spike. He had no idea how he would really act once he saw Wolfwood again. He kept telling himself over and over in his head to play it cool. To stay calm. This is normal. This everyday normal kind of thing. Wolfwood wasn't dead. He was alive. This is how it always has been. This is fine. This is normal.

This is fine.
This is normal.
This is fine.
This is normal.]

[He finds the pudding and takes bite after savoring bite of it, immediately, instantly reminded of Milly, and smiles, bittersweet as he walks through the ship. Then he hears that familiar voice again. He turns around the corner and there the big red-coat doofus, the best friend he'd ever had and the actual worst enemy he'd ever faced, and he sets the cup and spoon aside.]

Christ, I can't believe it. Actually, yeah I can; you're entertaining as hell. you must make tons of dough for ratings alone.

[He approaches Vash. He's looking too calm, too composed. He wasn't weepy at all. God, handshakes don't seem appropriate right now. He goes in for one first, but yanks Vash forward into a big bear hug. C'mere brother.]

Edited 2017-08-13 00:42 (UTC)

[This is not fine. And this was not normal.

Well, he knew what he was going to do now that he saw Wolfwood. Moving. Talking. Breathing. Living. He was going to stare in stupid silence and completely lose his voice. Congratulations, Wolfwood, you have found what no one else could. How to shut up the Humanoid Typhoon. He can't even come up with a counter for the jab at his normally crazy antics.

Then he's touching Wolfwood again. It didn't even matter that he was already on the verge of tears when he saw Wolfwood. Now that he could hug his best friend again the waterworks had started and they weren't likely to stop.]

Wolfwood! I- I still can't believe it's really you. I-- [He hugs back tight. Knowing Wolfwood can handle the squeeze as the words: I thought I'd never see you again hang in the air.]

I know. I wish I could say I missed you, but it's only felt like a few days for me, not a few years.

[Wolfwood's hug is genuine and firm, and soothing when he pats his friend's back]

C'mon, let's do this anywhere but the hallway. Big baby.

[he pulls away and nudges Vash's shoulder with his own. He finds a small lounge area, and holds back remarks about how the place looked like a secondhand store got robbed. But he doesn't mind. He takes a seat in an armchair and laughs, a little incredulously]

Sorry it took so long to get over here?

[Like it was any part his choice.]

[Vash rubs at his eyes, but still can't stop the tears. They were at least calming down a little bit in terms of intensity.]

That's okay. I'll just assumed you got lost when your bike broke down on the way here. [Vash finds himself a seat and can't take his eyes off Wolfwood. The man moved just the same as he remembered.]

[The tears are a relief, honestly. Even though it had only felt like a few days for him - and those few days started when he woke up on the main ship - he knows it was likely years since Vash really let himself let out the pain of loss. He doesn't know what happened after he blacked out in the church, but he knows he'd died. There's no way he hadn't. He felt himself lose consciousness after there wasn't enough blood to keep him from passing out.

But he'd thought that over for the past three days. Mindfucked it, actually. He just wants to listen to Vash for a while.]

Definitely sounds like me. Rode straight into the sunset and broke down five hundred iles from anywhere.

[His tone went sympathetic.] I'm here now. I'm sorry it took this long. Three years, you said. That's way too long to leave you to your own devices.

Hey! I'll have you know I've been very good! I've only set one kitchen on fire since coming here! And it was a little fire!

[A beat.]

Oh, and a birthday cake, but that wasn't really MY fault. I didn't ask for that cake.

Only two fires in three years? That's a record for you. You have been behaving.

[With a moment of thought, he remembered what he wanted to ask]

How much do they know about your past?

For some reason it's been a bit easier without a bounty on my head.

[Vash shakes his head lightly.]

Almost none of it. I've never been one to talk much about myself anyway. Some have recently learned a bit more than I probably would have liked, but they seem to be taking it well.

[But before he elaborates on that.] What about you, Wolfwood? How much do you know? How do you know about Knives? I never said anything about him.

[Three years was nothing to Vash. Those thoughts he had the day Wolfwood died was still fresh in his mind.]

Shit.

[Caught out. Here goes. Where's a bottle of booze when you need one?]

I was press-ganged into following you. Before we even met, actually. About eight weeks before you found me on your way to May, I got a little visit from Legato and his friends. Now, you know my ties to Chapel. He was my mentor, and my adoptive father. I wasn't aware that he was a follower of Knives and one of Legato's underlings. I mean, I knew? But I wasn't aware of who Knives was, or what Legato was looking to do. Not until they came to the orphanage.

[he pulls out his pack of cigarettes, notes how few he has of them, and deliberates the wanting of one. He scowls and puts them back in his pocket.]

Legato told me I had to find you. Tail you and give them frequent updates of your whereabouts, what you were doing. If I didn't, he'd kill every last one of the kids. He... made his point.

[The way he paused in that was telling. It was a painful memory. Two of his kids were already dead before he set out on that journey.]

So I did what they told me to do. I kept my part of the deal. But then they changed the rules. "You're a shepherd," he said, "lead him into the mouth of the wolves." So... I don't know. I didn't want to. By then, I knew you. I knew who you were. What you are. And I knew that you wouldn't... didn't deserve this. I tried, but by then, the others that Legato employed were up your ass. And then Augusta. Shit.

[he shakes his head ruefully.]

You didn't deserve any of that. Not a moment of it. Honestly? I was kinda glad. Glad that I didn't have to do that to you anymore. Glad that I didn't have to see it through to the end. That it didn't come down to your life, or the life of the children. Someone in the equation did have to die.

[He's too damn sober for this.]

Edited 2017-08-13 04:35 (UTC)

[Vash runs his fingers through his hair and let's out a long slow breath. It was a lot to take in. For years now he had assumed Wolfwood had known more than he first thought, but hearing it was another thing entirely.

As Wolfwood continues Vash pulls a flask out of a jacket pocket. A left over from his attempts to sleep around the anniversary of Lost July. He holds it out and offers it to his friend.]

I'm sorry that you had to carry all that pain for so long on your own. [Was there no one his brother hurt?] But why didn't you say anything to me? We would have thought up something together so no one had to die.

[He still believes that. Even after Legato.]

Thanks.

[The word is hollow as he takes the flask, and takes a swig of it. God, Vash is such a good friend. Why the hell could he still be so damn kind after hearing about this kind of betrayal?]

I told Milly who I was. What I was doing. I told her, because she deserved to know. I couldn't bear to tell you. I figured, if what happened wound up happening, she'd tell you in time. I guess she never did.

[Another swig from the flask, and a rough sigh at the burning of the whiskey. He hands the flask back, because good friends drink together.]

I couldn't tell you. Not without them finding out. If you found out, those children would've died. If I spoke about any of it, you would've done something stupid and heroic and ultimately would have given away that you were onto their plot. And how would you have known, if you didn't have inside information? We were all sworn to die before letting it slip. Only Legato could pull those strings. Fucking theatrical bullshit. I hated it, hated them. And the more I realized how wrong things were, the more I felt conflicted.

[Okay no NOW is the time for a cigarette. Forgive him, crew of the Huntress, he needs this.]

[Vash takes his own swig when the flask is handed back.]

She didn't get a chance to tell me. [They had been too busy with his recovery after... no, he didn't want to think about that right now.]

But basically, what you're saying is that you didn't trust me. [It's a bit more bitter than he actually intended it to be. Wolfwood had valid reasons to not trust Vash when it came to Legato. In the end he had failed when trying to stop the madman.

Even so, he was still bitter. Bitter over the fact that he had lost his best friend without even really having a chance to save him. So it comes out in his words.]

No, I suppose I didn't.

[A lot happened in the last five minutes of his life. The trust was there. But damned if he doesn't still feel stung by the words. It came off more remorseful than bitter to him, though. He gathers his thoughts, and then breathes, and starts again.]

I would though. I will. But this is far away from all that, isn't it? A new start. A clean slate. There aren't underlying circumstances that we can do anything about, no puppetmasters or generations-long baggage between two messed up brothers. This isn't Hell. Call me sentimental, but I prayed for Eden. And I firmly believe this is where Eden will be found for me. And for you, if you let it.

[Remorseful is a good word to describe Vash's feelings as well.]

You're right, this isn't hell. Not by a long shot. [He spent time in a living hell so he knows at least that much.] As for puppet masters? [Vash shakes his head.] Some other time.

[Sometime when they're not on the ships.] But I can't let this be Eden just yet. Most are pretty sure that time does stand still back home as our hosts have said it does. Even so, I can't stop trying to get home while Knives is still out there.

But your job is done. If you can make this your Eden then that's how this place will become mine.

[Oh good, that's not paranoia-inducing at all! Nicholas, though, tucks that away into his mind for later ~~interrogation~~ query when it's a more comfortable and safe place to talk.]

My job there is done. Sucks, but now I can look forward to when yours finally is put into good hands, and you can retire a little less severely than I did.

[Gallows humor is how he's coping with this.]

[Vash clearly get the joke, but doesn't find it overly amusing. The emotion of Wolfwood being gone even years later a still a bit too soon for him.]

Yeah, I hope so too.

[He doesn't want to focus on that so he goes back to the ordinal topic.] Well, since you know I can skip over the whole: surprise! I'm not exactly human!

I haven't hidden that fact here. I guess I assumed being out in space and travelling to different plants people would be a bit more open minded about the not human thing and they have been!

A few people on the fleer know what I am, but most don't really care and haven't asked.

Almost no one knows about my brother or the fact that I'm actually an outlaw.

You know, even if I hadn't known that from the beginning, you wouldn't have had much trouble convincing me of it. You're too weird.

[he's savoring his cigarette now that it's lit, knowing it may be one of the last he'll have -- at least for a while.]

I'll keep the outlaw part of it hush hush. It's not like you fully deserved that title anyway. A lot of why you are ties into Knives' campaign to show you that humans are wicked.

[He puts on his Sober Official Face, one he's perfected after a dozen years of having to look FAR more serious about official business than he ever could be.]

As the only other person here from that godforsaken planet? I exonerate you from the charges of the thousands of deaths you've been accused of. That of course, only works out here. If you ever go back, it's out of my hands, buddy.

[Smirky priest.]

Of course, if you want me to keep it quiet that you were wanted, you'll have to do me a favor in return. Don't let them know my real job. I don't know these people, they don't need to know I'm a mercenary.

[Vash smiles and chuckles at his exoneration. If only it was really that easy.]

Wolfwood, I wouldn't have done that even if you didn't ask me to. If I get a new start then the same goes for you.

Although, I reserve the right to warn them that you're a terrible priest.

I suppose that's fair; I think I'm going to retire from that, too. No need to pray when you're so close to God up here, anyway, right?

[To be honest, if he'd had his way, he would set aside his entire past and start life anew. But Vash is sentimental. Loves the good times of the past. He figures he has to compromise.]

[ While he's wandering around, at some point, he'll hear someone playing a harp. Yes, an actual harp. The sound ripples lightly, and the more he listens, the more it sounds like rain on a moonlight lake. Following the sounds will take him to the bunkrooms, and eventually, to Maglor's room, where he's forgotten to shut the door and is, indeed, playing a silver lap harp. On his bunk.

Maglor looks up at the footfall and blinks at him.

Also, he didn't turn on his room light, so he's clearly glowing slightly, as if there was a moon directly overhead. ]

Ah... sorry, did I disturb you? I don't think we've met.

[Glowing people. Well, he'd have to assess later if he's seen weirder. But the music is nice, and it's beautiful - not like the guitar he's used to. It's sweeter than that, and more like moonlight than anything. And so is its player.

He's just a little astounded.]

Oh, not at all, it's beautiful music. Keep playing if you'd like, don't let me disturb you.

I'm Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Security.

[In lieu of letting it seem like he doesn't want more music, he waves, instead of extends a hand.]

Ah! Then you will be working with my brother Maedhros.

[ Maglor smiles and bows politely ]

Well met, Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Maglor, at your service. You must be new then, I assume? Welcome to the Huntress! Come in and sit, if you like - there isn't much space, but I always feel a little rude, if I don't at least make the attempt.

Really? Because I don't think you'd have much competition out here. [Vash shrugs as he's not too surprised by the idea. Wolfwood would always be in his mind a friend first and a priest last.]

Going to steal my style of being a lazy drifter? Because I'll be honest, it certainly has its perks.

Maedhros. Maglor. Huh, interesting names.

[He's used to more common names like Tonas and Hoppard. He slips further into the bunk and settles against the wall, leaning and sliding down to listen, head tilted a little.]

I'm pretty dang new, yeah. Only just woke up here about a week ago. I dunno if I'll be staying here on this ship, though I'll definitely like to meet everyone here. Offer my hand if and when it's needed. Thing is, I found out my best friend is apparently captain of the Twin Roses. And he'd probably cry his eyes out if I decided to stay, no matter how good the company is, and how good the music seems to be. I dunno. Maybe I should stay just to see how long it takes for him to break down and ask.

[big grin. He's fully kidding.]

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