driftfleet | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: Sam Wilson (AU)
Broadcast: yup!
Action: aboard the Bishop
When: before the Hessia-Helix system, during the drift

[ TEXT ]

Bucky - the one from Panem - he's in a coma. Has been for a while. He's in my room on the Bishop if anyone wants to visit him.

[ Like he doesn't exactly how long it's been, like he hasn't been counting each day as it goes by. Pretending it just now occurred to him that there's people who might want to know that is a hell of a lot better than admitting he's barely left his room out of paranoia that something might happen to Bucky while he's gone.

Or that it's only just now that he's calmed himself down enough that he thinks he's okay to actually invite other people to come in. ]

[ ACTION ]

[ And his door is actually open for a little while after this message, if anyone wants to stop by. Sam himself is restless, edgy, but he mostly doesn't look like he's ready to stab someone for moving wrong. ]

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I'm sorry to hear that, Sam. Though as you're probably aware, these things tend not to have any long-term effects here.

[Unlike, say, a coma in the real world. Though it's often enough that people wake up from them with new memories, and with Natasha recently pulled forward he wonders if Bucky will do the same.]

Are you all right?

Edited 2018-08-22 16:13 (UTC)

A lot different from where I was before, but yeah. It's good to hear confirmation.

[ And he considers, before replying to that last one. He isn't, but he both doesn't really want to admit that and doesn't want to pretend like he is. ]

More than I was when it first happened. I'm not always the best company, these days, and he makes me a little better.

If you feel comfortable leaving him, Wanda's recently discovered a meditation room about the Iskaulit. It brings her a measure of peace, and I'm sure she'd welcome your company.

If you don't, perhaps I could borrow one of the fluff slugs for you.

[ The meditation room sounds - tempting, actually, really tempting. It's always been something that'd brought him peace as well, and he wouldn't mind Wanda's company, either.

But the thought of being that far from Bucky while he's vulnerable is too unsettling, even if he doesn't want to admit that. So he focuses on the second part of that. ]

We've got fluff slugs?

Yes, they're souvenirs of a certain planet we visited. Their presence is a calming influence on most people, although some seem to be allergic for unknown reasons.

[attached file: Fuzzball.jpg]

They're about the size of a hamster and seem to exist solely to be comfort animals.

I'm not gonna lie, that sounds pretty damn good right about now.

[ He's not crazy about the idea of an outside calming influence - but he kind of needs something, and it's not like it's the strangest animal he's seen. It beats the hell out of a lot of the things that the Capitol'd dreamed up. ]

What kind of affect do they have on you?

[He starts gathering up a travel case for both Fuzzball and Pickles, along with a packet with their lichen food that should last a week or two.]

They help me to concentrate on my work, primarily. And they do soothe me when I'm in distress, though that isn't terribly often here compared to at home.

Is there anything else I might bring you? Otherwise, I'll be on the Bishop shortly.

That seems to be kind of a common theme here.

[ Being less stressful than home, anyway - at least taking out the fact that being here is stressful enough, which seems to bother most of the people less than it does Sam himself. Although admittedly, he can't be objective enough to say that's not just because of his current situation. ]

That's more than enough as it is. Thanks, man, I really appreciate it.

[For the Vision, it's the oddness of having lived half his life here the first time and then suddenly regaining all those memories on his return. The Fleet is as much home as the Avengers compound - sometimes more of one, since he has more friends here and there isn't a terrible rift between them.]

It's my pleasure.

[And after a short while, a visitor is poking about on the Bishop, trying to find the right room. It's not a ship he's spent much time on, but then, none of the ships are really that big.]

Sam?

[ Sam pokes his head out of his room when he hears his name being called, and though he can't quite manage a smile when he spots Vision, his shoulders definitely sag a little in relief. ]

Over here.

[ He steps back into the room, gaze darting briefly towards where his parrotlet is perched by Bucky's sleeping form before looking back over to Vision. ]

Guess I shouldn't be all that surprised that some planets give the weirdest souvenirs.

[The Vision enters after Sam and holds out his free hand for a shake.]

I regret the circumstances that led to this, but it is still good to see you.

[And then he opens up the little box to grab the white fluff slug. It seems to nuzzle up around the Vision's hand and extends itself over toward Sam curiously.]

This one is Fuzzball, and the shy one is Pickles. I've brought a week's worth of food, and they don't leave any waste to speak of. Would you like to say hello?

[Both of them are warm and chinchilla-soft to the touch, mostly made out of fur and not at all slimy as the "slug" name might suggest. And, as advertised, they have a calming effect on most people who touch them, helping to ease a little bit of the tension. A couple of totally scientific and not at all subjective tests in his ship's lab came to the conclusion that it's a psychic effect.]

You, too.

[ Sam hesitates for just a moment before shaking Vision's hand, but when he does, he lingers a little bit longer than he might usually. It's been a long time, and Sam's missed him. ]

Were you the one who named them? [ He reaches out to the little white fluff ball, though, and then he does smile a little when he makes contact. Not what he expected at all, but in a good way. ]

I promise I'm still normally a little more fun than this.

[He smiles warmly both at the handshake and when Sam picks up the fluff slug, glad he's not one of the few people who reacts negatively to them. It's been a while on his end as well, though for very different reasons, and it's good to see Sam again.]

Oh, goodness, no. My former first mate, Wrath, got first crack at naming all the pets; I've left Duchess Fabiola Fluffbottom in the aquarium back on my ship as she's one of the aquatic ones. We also had a pet fox named Officer Snuggles, though I've no idea where he ended up during my absence.

[He starts to coax Pickles out of the box, and after a few moments the brilliantly green slug inches up onto his hand.]

No, it's quite all right. You don't need to apologize for showing empathy for a friend.

Keep an eye on him. Waking up from those can be rough.

I'm guessing you know from personal experience. How're you doing?

Getting by. Don't I always?

Guess that's my cue to assume you don't want to talk about it?

Probably better if you take it that way. Then I don't have to come up with a reason not to tell you.

Wouldn't want to ruin that whole mysterious vibe you've got going on, anyway. You ever want to not talk about it with a bottle of something good or a decent punching bag, just let me know.

You'll be top of the list.

Really, you're slinging me all the way to the top? I'd have been flattered just to make it.

[ Is he just keeping this up half to give himself something to occupy his mind? Maybe, but he's not going to admit it. ]

Top four, at least.

[He's not the only one. And the fact she plays fast and lose, even with a joke, that she doesn't really intend to spread her intel further than she has to. But here they are.]

Still an exclusive list.

Still pretty damn good.

[ He's not gonna push her for it. He still trusts her - mostly trusts her, but that's about as good as he gets these days - and he's willing to go along with whatever call she's making about whatever intel she's got. Long as she knows the option's there. ]

The people who go down like this - how long are they usually out?

A couple of weeks usually, maybe a month. Not much more than that.

[ That's... both really good to hear and just makes him a little more tense. They're close to that now, but Sam's not sure he's optimistic that means Bucky's gonna wake up soon or if he just has something else to worry about. ]

I feel like I know the answer, but I got to ask anyway - we got any idea why or how?

I could make a guess, but no one knows for sure.

If you believe in the reality TV show line, then the obvious answer is for drama.

[ He sees the network post, of course he does. But he doesn't want to leave it to a simple text- it can be as jarring witnessing someone in a coma as it is waking up from one. Instead, he takes the time to visit the Bishop. It's a ship he's pretty familiar with, though they all look pretty much the same.

Approaching the bedroom, Bucky raps his metal knuckles on the door frame lightly. ]

Hey.

[ Sam tenses, briefly, at the knock on the door - despite expecting that someone'd come by after his network post - but he relaxes when he sees who it is. ]

Hey. Come on in. You, uh. You want a minute alone with him?

[ He probably wouldn't have offered if it was anyone else, but Sam figures if there's anyone that he can trust around his Bucky like this, it's another version of him. That, and, well. He's got his little parrotlet from a few systems ago perched on the bed to keep an eye on them. ]

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sorry this is so late!

never a problem!

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action;; because I can

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