driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: The new weirdo on the Marsiva
Broadcast: Network-- fleet-wide
Action: Aboard the Marisva!
When: Oct. 22, nighttime

→ [network - audio, then video, and then text]

[at first, there's just the sound of someone fiddling with the buttons on some network station. technology is difficult, okay.

then, the camera turns on, and everyone watching will be treated to the sight of a raggedy, scarred-up teenager blinking in surprise at the screen. or... maybe it's not technically considered blinking, because he only has one eye.

he frowns hard when he realizes that he's turned the video on. that's not what he was aiming for. a second later, the video cuts off... and several seconds after that, a text transmission is sent out.]

hello.

→ [action - aboard the Marsiva]

[for anyone awake this late on the Marsiva--or awoken by the sound of someone angrily messing around with the buttons at a nearby network station--they can find this guy failing at technology.

I'm sure he's very friendly. you should say hi.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[it works as it always does, with the speakers turning the sound into an extra sharp pop. he flinches a little, but obeys. taking a deeper breath before he tries again.]

'I have not been home since I left.'

[and then comes whatever isolated words he can think of that might convey his confusion. he doesn't understand what's going on.

he can only think of one thing to say after that, and it's hard to struggle through the signs.]

'It's been a long time.'

'How long?'

[that's the only question he can ask. now that he thinks about it, does Coil look different, at all? a little older? eyes sunk deeper, new scars? or is he just imagining it?]

[he has to think about it, his eye skirting around while he tries to count or quantify, thinking back.

it's seemed like so long.

eventually, he gives up on specifics and just gives the single sign for year.]

[but that's--impossible?

he lives in a world full of ghouls and ghosts and creatures that can survive for an eternity, but he still has the gall to get mad and disbelieve the idea of Coil somehow living a whole hidden year away from him. impossible is the word that keeps stumbling around in his head; it almost makes it out of his mouth, it's so rhythmic and persistent.

but Coil's not a liar. not to him. not about this. he runs his hand over the back of his neck, thinking, trying to figure out how to ask everything he wants to know, but... eventually his hands come up again. very simple.]

'Where?'

[he signs 'tower', but it mostly turns into a hanging, wandering moment while he tries to think of how to better describe it. something more helpful. but there had been so much and he'd spent that whole time trying to make sense of it and failing.

ultimately, it's the helpless shrug that really conveys anything. just looking utterly lost over it.]

[it doesn't clear up much; he thinks of the tarot card and the fairy tale symbol and the image of a lighthouse comes to mind, but neither of them fit easily. there's not enough framework. he wants to ask for more, but... he shakes his head.]

'We will talk later. You can explain when we are together. You have time.'

[to further cement this, he adds:] 'I am not going anywhere.'