02. | All lies and jests; still a man hears what he wants to hear

[sinistral]

Who: (Winter Soldier) Bucky Barnes (sinistral)
Broadcast: No
Action: Yes; SS Starduck, SS Iskaulit, B'lire
When: From the start of the post-calibrations drift to visiting the new planet

---

SS STARDUCK
→ Reacclimation;

The time spent aboard the Marsiva had been uncomfortable, to put it politely. Bucky still doesn't believe it, not really, when they're returned to their own ships; it comes with staying awake for the first twenty-four hours just to make sure this isn't a dream or a trick of the mind. Considering the state of his mind, he's not entirely convinced, but it does seem a little bit elaborate to just be a part of the Calibrations.

And if this is truly the ship, if they are truly back to what passes for daily life around here, then it has to start with checking over everything. Maybe he's taking the whole idea of Security a bit too literally but now that he's had some time to think about it, he can only conclude that his presence and assignment here is due only to what he is. What HYDRA turned him into has made him valuable; if he performs his role well, perhaps the switch inside his brain won't be flipped. So for that reason he's combing all of the ships nooks and crannies, looking for anything that might be out of order or out of (what passes for) the ordinary. He won't enter a crewmate's quarters without being asked to do so though; he sees it as too much an invasion of privacy.

When he's finally satisfied and no longer has that activity to occupy his mind, Bucky heads to the workout area in the cargo bay. He doesn't know which former crewmembers had seen to the upgrades of the equipment there, but he's thankful to be able to take advantage of it once more. And, judging by the force behind his punches, to do his best to attempt to break it. There's a lot of frustration to work out, enough so that it's definitely palpable. Call him out on it? Try to keep up? Pity the amount of protein solid he's going to have to consume to compensate for all those burned calories?

SS ISKAULIT
→ Work It Out;

Bucky really only has one goal in mind in coming to the Iskaulit: to push himself in a way he can't with the limited facilities on the Starduck, to force the body into exhaustion since the brain won't accept any other sort of quiet. That it's not the healthiest pursuit doesn't matter. As long as it works, it's fine. And he'll make it work.

He tries to choose odd hours if possible, hours that coincide with the times he'd expect most people to be sleeping and the facility to be empty. It doesn't always work in his favor but as long as there's a heavy bag or a speedbag available he stays, alternating time spent against the bag with weights. And if the facility appears too busy for his liking, he simply leaves with the intention of returning later.

→ Art Appreciation;

Though most of his time spent aboard the Iskaulit is spent in the gym, it's not the only reason Bucky visits. He hardly appreciates heavy-handed attempts at steering his actions but whether it had been the Vision, or the Atroma acting through the Vision, the scene he'd been shown of the mural aboard the Iskaulit has not faded from his memory. That in and of itself is significant enough for him to seek out the mural he'd been shown, to find its location and maybe figure out why it's so important.

Seeing it doesn't bring him any answers.

It's a nice enough work of art he supposes; he's not one for appreciation of the arts, and he's got no skill in them himself. He can draw a rough map though, so the next time he visits, he brings along a journal and starts copying down that section of the wall he was shown aboard the Marsiva, mapping it out in rough lines on the paper. It's not a good drawing, more a diagram than anything else, but it's good enough for his purposes, good enough for him to write down his thoughts (questions, mostly) on the next few pages. And it's a good enough place to sit quietly, back against the wall because even here, in a place that's supposed to be peaceful, he's defensive and closed off more than anything else.

PLANETSIDE
→ Hunting;

It's more than a literal breath of fresh air to get off the ships and onto solid ground again. It's not that Bucky doesn't do well with being cooped up; it's more that the close quarters with others — even his shipmates — and the happenings on board the Marsiva have him feeling like a caged animal. And like a caged animal, his first instinct is to lash out; fortunately, the punching bags have held up against such expulsion of energy. So far, anyway.

Fortunately, this system's planet seems well suited to his kind of stress relief.

He's a regular in the wooded areas both for the exercise of hiking and the action of hunting. Ghosts or supernatural beings or whatever, he'll keep an eye out for them just fine, but it's the more substantial creatures that he makes his prey. People are willing to pay both for pelts and for the meat from carcasses; it seems a good use of his time.

→ Shopping;

Man certainly can't stay in the woods all the time and while Bucky's no stranger to wilderness survival, it'd be foolish not to take advantage of the offerings available via trade. And not all goods are physical; there's certainly something to be said for the pursuit of information, even though little enough of it seems to pertain to anything outside of this world's particular customs. Still he asks, here and there, unsatisfied by the answers but unwilling to stop trying.

He's examining wares at a particular establishment, carefully testing the weight and balance of a hunting knife while keeping half his attention on the conversations of the building's other occupants. It's when he overhears stories of a metallic man that he decides to take his leave; local legend or not, it definitely sounds like something he'd rather avoid being tangled up in and he's glad to have kept the habit of wearing long sleeves and gloves when going planetside. It's just easier to avoid the questions that he doesn't want to answer.

WILDCARD
→ Elsewhere;

Did we discuss something and I forgot? Have another idea? I'm open to almost anything, hit me up via PM or at sometimesamuse and we'll figure out out. I do write starters in prose but if you prefer brackets I'm happy to match.

Comments

[sinistral]

[It's actually a pretty nice day for being outside; the weather is cooperating, the air is fresher than on the ships, and it's nice to have a chance to stretch the legs. Really, it's unusual to not run into more people, but then again, it's a big planet.

A big planet with talking trees apparently, and that actually brings a small smile to Bucky's face. The voice is familiar but what the hell, he'll play along.]

Don't know that I've heard any tales about a talking tree.

[Heard plenty of other weird stories though.]

[passingthrough]

[She's pretty sure she knows that voice.]

That displeases the talking tree of B'lire. Not a single campfire song about me? Leaf it to them to mess this up. [The bad pun-telling tree of B'lire. She shakes a nearby branch to show her fury. And also, to point out her location though she imagines he's already clocked it.]

[sinistral]

Campfire songs about a source of firewood? I don't know if I'm brave enough to risk even more of your wrath.

[Somehow, he's keeping a straight face. And that branch shaking only confirms her position in the tree. But if this is who he thinks it is, well, she'd shown him kindness and hadn't pried too much. That means something.]

[passingthrough]

Yes, be wary. I'm a Douglas Fir-ious. [The tree is nothing like a Douglas Fir.] But my bark is worse than my bite. How many more puns are you going to take before you stop me?

[sinistral]

[Maybe the tree Douglas Fir-got what it was.] I didn't think you'd let me leaf without at least a few more.

[passingthrough]

[She laughs in a very non-tree way and then steps out from the leaves. She appears to be walking out on an ever thinning branch, but she isn't weighting it down at all. She's also wearing her X-Men uniform. It seemed like her most appropriate hiking apparel.] I think I'm all out. Hi, again.

[sinistral]

[Well that's a neat trick. He wonders if it's related to the way she can phase herself through things, but there doesn't seem a polite way to ask that at all. He is taking in that uniform though; the design may be unfamiliar but he's very familiar with how one wears a uniform to know how to spot one.]

Finally got to the root of them all? [Bucky, apparently, has a few more in him.]

[passingthrough]

[He gets a laugh from that.] I am clearly a bad influence on you. I'm sorry you followed me down such a sappy path. If only I hadn't gotten stumped. [Maybe she had a couple more in her. She takes a step off the branch and instead of any kind of plummeting downward she simply proceeds to walk down to the ground as if on some kind of invisible staircase. He's right in considering it's related to her powers. It very much is. It's not an actual invisible staircase. Nothing but air molecules over here.]

[sinistral]

You are the worst influence.

[He agrees completely cheerfully, and with nothing of vitriol. And he can't help the amusement as she descends her staircase of air, making it look like it's the most natural thing in the world.] If you're not careful, you're going to become one of the urban legends in this place.

[passingthrough]

[She stands in front of him, finally on the ground.] And yet neither of those things bothers me. Legend of the Shadowcat. Feel free to pass it around. [She hasn't used her codename much in a very long time, but Vision was recently mentioning that there is a legend of a Nightcrawler on the planet and it got her thinking about it again.]

[sinistral]

Well, as long as you're unbothered by it.

[One eyebrow quirks up at her name — codename, nickname, designation, it's all the same — and he smiles a moment afterwards.] But here's a question: do you actually cast a shadow when you're phased like that? Otherwise I might have to stretch the truth with these legends I'll be passing around.

[passingthrough]

Well, I stay visible. I reflect light and block it, so I should have a shadow, but I've never actually checked. [Although the question does make her wonder for a moment if it would be possible to phase at such a level that she was phasing light itself and what the results of that would be. Invisibility? It was a fun physics problem for later. That's right, Bucky, you're with the kind of nerd who has fun physics problems.]

I wouldn't want you to have to stretch any truth. It might snap back at you.

[sinistral]

With all these trees around it doesn't seem to much matter if you do or you don't, since their shadows kind of overpower our own.

[An open field might be a different story, but not a forest. Still, it does pose an even more important question: is there such a thing as a not-fun physics problem?!?]

Oh, that's why I only base my legends on elastic truths. Much easier on the rebound.

[Someone stop them.]

[passingthrough]

[Of course not. All physics is fun!

She just laughs at his punified rebuttal.]

So, what are you up to in my neck of the woods? [Not quite a pun. Stepping away from them slowly.]

[sinistral]

Heard there were some tall tales out here, but mostly I'm just seeing deadwood.

[Until they pull you back like rubber bands...]

[passingthrough]

Oh no, I officially broke you. I hope that doesn't mean I have to buy you now, because that seems really awkward.

[sinistral]

Nah, just put me in the back with a tag on, no one wants damaged goods.

[It could probably be quite the morose thought if he hadn't said it deliberately lightly.]

[passingthrough]

[She could follow him along his supermarket metaphor journey and she does somewhat, but she also wants to let him know that's not the case in a hopefully low-key PSA way.]

You know, I've never found that to be true. People seem to enjoy my company despite all my dents and dings. Of course I pay them to, but not that well.

[sinistral]

I suppose there's little enough left after the hazard payments have been made.

[Or, in other words: thanks.]

[passingthrough]

I can't be giving people around me hazard pay. I'd have nothing left. Far too many hazards and only so many people who want a nightclub over a dive bar in the fleet. [Although she makes most of her money by being entertaining. She just likes to not think about that part.]

So, out exploring, hunting, weird unspeakable things?

[sinistral]

Well, if it ever comes down to a vote, I'll cast mine for yours. [Not that he thinks it would be a thing, or that he's big on a club atmosphere anyway, but she's been kind to him (and truly, he has no use for a bar either).]

Yes, yes and yes. Sometimes even in that order too.

[passingthrough]

[She smiles at him. It's never coming to a vote for any reason she can reasonably imagine, but it's a sweet comment anyway.] I'll hold you to that.

And wow. I'd ask what the weird, unspeakable things are, but I guess the unspeakableness is right there in the title, huh?

[sinistral]

You better. [It's an inane little conversation but that's okay. Sometimes that's better than the deeper things, the ones they all avoid.]

Yeah, it was in the rules, you absolutely cannot speak of them. Sign language or interpretive dance are okay though.

[passingthrough]

[She is enjoying this. Definitely worth coming out of the tree. She prefers company to solitude anyway. Less time to think thoughts she'd rather not think.] Oh, see, now you're in trouble because my first life was as a tiny ballerina, so I've got the moves.

[sinistral]

I think I can have the sign language covered, so I guess we'll call it a complete package. [A sign language interpretation of a ballet dance is an amusing mental image as well.] So. Ballerina, huh?