driftfleet | Open Action: Fleet Wide

Entry tags:

Open Action: Fleet Wide

Who: Cole and EVERYONE
Broadcast: No
Action: EVERY ship in the Fleet, bar Marsiva, Three Twins and Tourist (Though you can easily find him on another ship if you're from one of those)
When: First week of the month?

[This is a thing Cole does.

He travels the Fleet a lot, from ship to ship, meeting people, talking to people, hanging out. He sees people he knows and meets new ones, or ones he just didn't encounter before

He wants to help everyone. Which means meeting them first. Or finding them. Doing that might involve poking through the ships, even if he really shouldn't. Or going through personal belongings. Sorry about that. He's curious.

And armed. It is worth mentioning he's got a pair of wickedly sharp fighting knives on his back. Sorry about that as well.]

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[ She leans forward, reaching out to tangle her hand in the string. She can't crush it but she doesn't want to see it anymore. Stupid metaphors. ]

Seeing the real person doesn't help.

[He looks up and his face softens with something that is almost a smile.]

Hello, Emily. You have very nice eyes.

[He lets the string loosen so she can pull them in her fist.]

Yes, it does. It helps you. To accept you. And that it wasn't your fault.

[ She scowls for the comment, halfway to insulted and almost sick from nerves. It feels bare, it feels raw, and her witty and powerful comeback has already backfired. Her hair is long, untied but thankfully not wild, down her back. She's been growing, alive inside of herself while hiding. This is new for her, it's been years, and she takes the string to sit back and pull into herself and try taking the knot apart just to retain some kind of control.

They're done with cat's cradle. ]

We're not talking about fucking fault, we're talking about surviving. Being me reduces the chances of staying on my own to nil.

[Cole lets her take the string. It will help her, make her feel a bit more in control of herself and this if she can have it to occupy her hands.]

You're not on your own here, anyway. There's people with you. And I'll be here if you need me again.

It's not like there. No one's going to take you away if you make friends, or start to like people. And if anyone hurts you, you know how to hurt people. And I'll stop them hurting you.

I've killed people for hurting others before. Sometimes, it's the only way to stop them. I killed my Father because of that.

Are you kidding? None of those people like me. They're all assholes, too. What's to like?

[ That gets her quiet for a moment, where she pretends to be working on the knot rather than listening. There's no intention, but memory and fear. It isn't regret, but acknowledgment that she doesn't do nice or good things to the people around her. ]

And would you kill me if I've hurt someone?

You work hard at making them not like you. If people don't like you because you make them, then it's safe. It's better than trying to be liked and being rejected.

No. I kill people for hurting each other. People hurt each other a lot, without meaning to.

I stop people who like hurting others, who won't stop hurting others. Like the templars who hurt the mages. And the mages who hurt the farmers. They liked hurting people. They wanted to keep hurting people.

You lash out, because you hurt. But you want life to not be like that.

[ That knot isn't working out for her. She glares at it, then it begins heating up. Her hands stay cool, but the string begins to fizzle and burn away. Not hot enough to go alight, but hot enough to fix the problem. ]

You say a lot of shit like you expect me to know what you're talking about.

You understand the part that matters. You lash out, because you hurt, but you want life to be different.

I'm not going to kill you.

If you didn't hurt people, they'd like you more. I know that's frightening.

[The display of pyrokinetics doesn't bother him in the slightest. His formative years were spent in a mage tower.]

[ She keeps going. The knot is gone, but the string is still there and still tangled up, and she moves to each clump and keeps singe after singe until it pulls apart at each joint. ]

No one's going to like me. I steal their fucking powers and I steal their faces, and I'm not gonna stop that. They'd just... put me in time-out or in jail or try to make me do what they want.

[ This tangle catches fire, just for a moment before it smothers in a sudden brush of cold. She pauses, fingers going tense. ]

You — you're doing it too.

No.

I won't try and make you do anything. What you do is your choice. I'm not your parent, or guardian or babysitter, I don't know why you'd sit on babies anyway.

But I'll talk with you about it. I understand why you do what you do. I might not always agree, but I understand.

[It's a bit of revelation moment. This was how Rhys felt. Rhys understood, but he didn't agree. Cole understands, even if he doesn't agree.

He's going to need to find another bit of string, but it's a worthwhile loss if it's helping her stay here with him.]

Not on babies, with them. Are you just stupid or do you get really selective in what you read off people?

What's it matter if you understand but you don't agree? That's not being a friend.

[ It's how you be a manipulative dick, really. She might not be the most educated, but she has a surprisingly good grasp on people... herself excluded. It's another part of survival. Understanding something is the first key in figuring out how to break it for your own benefit. ]

It jumps and flickers and flutters. It's hard to see anything but the hurts on you.

[He cants his head.]

Friends don't always agree. Friends like each other. That doesn't mean always agreeing.

I am not that bad!

[ TAKE THAT BACK. ]

Now you sound like Jace.

You're not really bad. You're young and hurt a lot.

You liked Jace.

I hurt others a lot, too.

[ And that's... pride? Satisfaction. She goes on the offensive to keep bigger hurts away. That much is cliche, but entirely true. It works well enough. ]

He's a jackass. Some kind of stickler prude who won't even lend me his powers when I need them.

Yes. If you hurt them first, they can't hurt you. And they've already hurt you so badly, the people and world out there. You found a way to protect yourself and you're proud of that.

[And Cole cuts straight through it again. He doesn't mean to, not really.]

You still like him, because he looked out for you.

What's not to be proud of? They won't catch me. I'm uncatchable.

[ As long as she keeps up what she's been doing. ]

He's... consistent, anyway. And you—you want to be the new Jace?

They aren't here.

[They are far from here and there's only the small group of them, travelling the stars.]

No. I don't want to be Jace. I'm Cole.

They could be.

You couldn't be Jace, anyway. [ And here's an example why. ] You don't have the jaw for it.

But they aren't. I'd be able to sense them through you.

[He feels his jaw and chin. Someone described him as havign a weak jaw, but it did just fine for holding his teeth in and biting, so he didn't think it was fair to call it weak.]

I don't want to be Jace. Being me takes all my will.

Wait, what? You could do that?

[ That gets a grin, and he stays as he is for now. ]

Nobody wants to be Jace. Don't be a Jace.

Yes. People echo off other people. If they were here, I'd hear them through you.

[He actually pushes his hat up a bit.]

What is a Jace?

You'd tell me, right?

[ That gets him ducking down to see the face underneath the hat. Aaron is nothing if not opportunist and he's memorizing those looks. ]

A nag, a nitpick, a party-pooper, someone who's around all the time even if you might not actually want them around...

Yes. I'd tell you.

[He's not handsome. Never will be. He's too thin, too pale, veins marking his neck and cheeks. Eyes blue. Too blue. Something slightly unworldly.]

Someone who cares, tries to set limits because they don't want to see you hurt more. I understand.

Would... you be able to tell if Jace came here?

[ Not really someone directly connected to the hurt, but Jace is one of The Man's dealers. Who knows? It isn't as if Aaron understands what the hell Cole's power really is. ]

That is not what I said. Don't be a Jace!

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oh my gosh, she's *adorable*

SHE IS and that's half her problem |D;

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oh my gosh, she's adorable