a brand new stray

[worn_wings]

Who: Daryl Dixon + open
Broadcast: Not intentionally but maybe you'll get lucky channel surfing sometime?
Action: The Tourist, assorted planets thereafter
When: 5/5 and onward

1. tourist arrival

He doesn't get his bearings at all. Everything when he wakes up is shining and unfamiliar and the only comforting thing is it's definitely not the Sanctuary, as surely as it's not any of their familiar settlements. He gets his back up against the wall, and then he's somewhere else.

The burst of confetti and music just suffices to confuse the hell out of him, so he ignores the chocolate pudding and ducks back against the wall, dead silent and kind of panicked and doing his best not to show it.

Left to his own devices, eventually he'll slink off into the rest of the ship-- looking for anything he can use as a weapon and watching for threats.


2. planetside in the yadrolla system

It's been literally years since he saw a functioning city, and the first time he touches down on one of the more populous planets, it's totally overwhelming.

The upshot of this is he'll be a little friendlier to Fleeters, because at least if someone's vaguely familiar they're closer to being a known, safe quantity. Mostly he stays to the side-streets, watching like it's all new.

Eventually he manages to get a lift to one of the wilder worlds-- not because he wants to sight-see, though incidentally he might end up spectating some of the outdoor events-- but because it's better than being stuck on the ship. Feels too much like a trap-- nowhere to run.

Later in the month he'll take up fishing and hunting-- there may be food on the ship but he's not sure how far he trusts it. Besides, he's good at this, there's some comfort in grounding yourself.


3. choose your own adventure

[ want something different? We'll make it work! ]

Comments

[worn_wings]

Think they put us on different ones on purpose?

[ Probably, he figures. Divide and conquer and all that bullshit. Obviously he'd be a lot more comfortable if they were all in the same place. ]

[postocular]

It seems pretty random when they do it, though Maggie transferred to her original ship when she came back.

[ There are pros and cons to being separated. He and Maggie never gave it much thought transferring to be on the same ship, their crews became family, too. ]

[worn_wings]

[ Thus far, Daryl doesn't feel much loyalty to the strange crew-- maybe there'd have been a time when it would be easy to adjust to all these new people, but they've been stung too many times of late.

He's not sure yet how to feel about any of it, so he grunts thoughtfully. Seems like it'd be better all being in one place-- but at least they're not too far. Like this they have access to more resources, probably. ]

[postocular]

[ It took Carl a great deal of time to consider the Red Fish crew to be family, but now that he does, he knows they have his back and his best interests at heart. He remembers how he and Maggie felt when they first got here- wanting to take advantage of things, but still not trusting it. ]

I'm thinking about grabbing something to eat. Want to come with? See what the planet has to offer?

[worn_wings]

[ Thank God it's not just Daryl here, he'd probably still be holed up half-starved in whatever corner of the Tourist he felt was most defensible. ]

Yeah. Sure.

[ You're buying though, kid, Daryl has not yet remembered how to deal with money. ]

[postocular]

[ Fair enough. He's the one that offered, anyway. He doesn't expect anything of Daryl, but he knows that having a full belly makes things a little better in the beginning. ]

What do you miss the most? I saw a few diners down the street, and there were some food carts.

[worn_wings]

[ It's a fair point. Even on the ship he'd been convinced, if only out of necessity, to try the food-- and at least the weird protein slime was edible and plentiful. On his own he's not sure he'd be trusting enough to try space restaurants. ]

Anything I ain't gotta catch sounds good. [ Though he'd hunt too, if it came to it- of course. If he was alone that's probably how he'd get by. ] I dunno. French fries?

[postocular]

[ Daryl has always been super capable, providing for their group at every turn, especially when it mattered. If it weren't for him while they were traveling, they might have starved. Carl nods, stepping toward the main street. ]

I can do french fries. Do you want 'em loaded with stuff or plain?

[worn_wings]

[ This is basically the most surreal experience of Daryl's life, which is saying a lot because, you know, apocalypse and all. But he's trying to roll with it.

He huffs, the closest thing to a laugh since he got here, probably. ]

I wanna see what they got. Load it up.

[postocular]

Right, okay. The place I saw was down this way.

[ He points down the street, walking side by side with Daryl. It does feel a little weird, that they're sharing this in the middle of actual civilization, not on the run from walkers or the like. ]

Have you had a chance to look around your ship or the Iskaulit, yet?

[worn_wings]

Ain't much to see on mine. What's the other one?

[ Ship-to-ship travel didn't seem very appealing, not in comparison to the promise of real dirt underfoot... though this is all a bit much. It's extra strange, how well-adjusted Carl is to it. Maybe that's time, or just the resilience of youth.

Still, he was so young when everything went to shit... it makes it extra weird. ]

[postocular]

It's the bigger ship. There's a bunch of different places. Two bars, a gym, an interfaith center, a library, a diner.. there are probably more that I'm forgetting.

[ He's had long enough to adjust to the fleet- he's been there almost as long as they've been in a world full of walkers. There are still things he prefers, like being on a planet and not cooped up. Some habits are hard to break. Carl has always been quick to rebound from situations. Some of it is the will to move on, and the other is the feeling of not wanting to be left behind.

He leads them down the road and stops in front of one of the many food trucks. It's brightly colored for one of the teams, but then all of them are. ]

Pick whatever you want. [ He has to take a minute to survey the menu, there's a lot to choose from. ]

[worn_wings]

[ It's impressive, and he hums thoughtfully acknowledging that. A gym and a bar and all that in a spaceship, it sounds like the kinda bullshit T.V. show he only ever saw on in the middle of the night and never followed. Decent distraction if you're drunk, anyway. ]

Rather be on the ground, [ he murmurs, but then gets distracted by the menu. Even the goddamn concept is weird. He discounts everything with ingredients he's never heard of, then a few whose themed sauces are too annoying, and settles on something that sounds extravagant but still edible. ]

Least there's lots to eat.

[ And no one murdering you if you don't give them seventy percent of it. Or if they feel like it. ]

[postocular]

There's always plenty to eat when you get to the planets. In between is kind of a toss-up depending on what you want.

[ Carl hands the vendor a handful of credits, taking their food and holding Daryl's out to him. He moves away from the stand and toward one of the areas that's less congested with people so they can actually sit and eat. ]

It's kinda nice.. not having to worry about where everything is coming from. [ Not having to fight for it is also a plus. Nobody has to worry about losing their home or about starving. ]

[worn_wings]

[ Yeah, food is amazing. Daryl can't argue with that. He doesn't even wait to pull out a fry and pop it in his mouth as they walk. ]

Just kinda hard to believe.

[ To believe, and to trust. The latter is a little easier because he trusts Carl not to steer him wrong. ]

Seems like you like it here.

[ Which is understandable... though Daryl's not sure he can get there himself, not when being cooped up on spaceships is so unpleasant, not when he's as consumed with wanting Negan brought to justice. ]

[postocular]

[ Hey, Carl can't even be mad, because he's basically doing the same thing. ]

It takes a while for it to sink in that this isn't some dream.

[ He thinks about it and offers a shrug. It's a complicated answer, but there are things he enjoys about the fleet, and others that he misses from home. ]

It's not a bad place, and the people are all supportive.

[worn_wings]

[ That gets an agreeable grunt. So far everyone's been pretty nice... too nice, really, for him to be comfortable with it. Generosity's hard to trust.

But anything else he might say kind of falls by the wayside, too complex to be voiced yet. And besides, they got food. They've got better things to do than talk.]

[postocular]

[ The companionable silence is nice as they eat. He doesn't feel like he has to talk with Daryl, and that's something he hasn't really felt in a while. It's a nice change.

He seems more mellow since the last time he saw Daryl, and that's nice, too. He still worries, though. He doesn't know how long Daryl's even been here, so as he's finishing up the last of his fries, Carl digs through his bags and pulls out a spare knife. It's not anything impressive, but since giving his own to Loki on the abandoned planet, it's nice to have a backup in case someone needs it. He sets it wordlessly next to Daryl's leg. ]

[worn_wings]

[ It's the kind of gesture that means everything for people like them. Daryl honestly just can't be comfortable when unarmed, not here and now. ]

They got me on security.

[ So he's good, though he'll take it-- he just doesn't want Carl stuck without something himself. ]

[postocular]

[ Carl's been in the fleet for two years and still sleeps with a knife on his bedside table. Even though he feels safe enough with his crew, he doesn't think he'll ever be able to shake the need to be ready in the moment. He nods at Daryl's confirmation, glancing at him. ]

Take it until you don't need it. I have a spare.

[worn_wings]

[ As far as he's concerned it's a good habit, not one worth breaking. He can't imagine ever getting over it. The safer things seem, the less inclined he is to trust them. So he nods his thanks, picks up the blade.

They'll get by. They always manage, so far. ]

[postocular]

[ They've weathered worse, and they'll continue to take on whatever comes at them. They'll do it together, now that their small family is starting to grow a little bigger. He gives Daryl a nudge with his elbow just because. ]