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 opens her eyes again and her forehead crinkles apologetically.]

I'm sorry.

[And she is, truly. Normally her inclination is to try to make people feel welcome.]

But can I ask... are you an empath?

[He's already heading for the door again when her voice stops him.]

Empath? Yes, but not like her. I know what hurts and what helps the hurt.

[By "her," Beverly assumes he means Deanna, since she was thinking about her a moment ago. He probably knows then, too, how much she misses her friend.]

She helps too.

[Deanna helps a lot.]

Yes. She helped others.

I try to help people.

You help people as well. I'm sorry that they're not here. Being here alone must be very difficult for you.

[She simply nods in response. It's harder for her than probably most other people in the fleet realize. Maybe Hawke knows, after everything she said about Jean-Luc, but for the most part, she doesn't want her crew to know. They're just kids and they don't need to be worrying about her. And she will be fine, she knows she will, but there is always that fear, ever since Jack's death... aaaand of course you're probably reading all of this, aren't you Cole? One day she'll learn.]

[He watches her, the emotions and memories rolling and shifting through them.]

It's admirable. That you want to protect them from your hurt. But they're not Wesley. They're not children. Not all of them.

And there's always me. When you need to talk. I know. It won't hurt me.

I know they aren't. But it's still not their job to take care of me.

[She then gives him a wry smile. It's ironic, how empaths and telepaths always seem so intent on getting her to talk. Even though it was only a brief time she and Jean-Luc could read one another's thoughts, she soon became comfortable with not talking out loud, and simply communicating directly with their minds. It was more appealing than she would have ever suspected.

Still, she appreciates the gesture and perhaps she will take Cole up on it.]

Thank you.

You don't care because it's a job. You do the job because you care.

[And isn't that true of so many things? Doctors becomes doctors because they want to help. Knights want to protect, teachers want to help others learn.

Beverly cares, not because her job makes her, but because it is who she is.]

You're not giving them choice. If they find out you hurt and they didn't notice, they'll think they let you down.

[Beverly looks down and away from Cole. It isn't as if she hasn't heard some variation on this before. She's never been very good at letting someone else take care of her, except maybe Jack.]

But they haven't.

But they will.

[His voice is soft and even and certain.]

What am I supposed to say to them?

[Hi kids, I am a grown woman and accomplished surgeon with mild separation anxiety and emotional constipation, give me a hug!]

I feel a bit homesick today, do you think I could have a hug?

[She bites back a grin.]

Well when you put it that way, of course it sounds reasonable.

[One corner of his mouth briefly quirks up before his face goes still again.]

It is reasonable.

Maybe so, but I don't think I've reached the point where I can be reasonable just yet. It's a human folly, you know.

[Her tone is light, joking, but what she's saying is true. Reaching out so directly to anyone here is going to be difficult for her.]

Not just human.

I know an elf who is the same. I've tried to be subtle about it.

[He hasn't. He's tried to get them to fall into each other's arms, literally, and told both they should spend more time together because they make each other happy.

Which is... subtle for Cole's conversation skills?]

[She raises an eyebrow.] I guess you're telling me that I can't really blame it on my species, huh?

[Though she has to wonder how Cole would react to a Vulcan. Or more accurately, how a Vulcan would react to him.]

No. Just... most mortals are pretty similar to each other in that way.

["Mortals?" That'sinteresting.]

I promise, I will at least think about what you said.

Thank you.

I don't want you to hurt.

[She doesn't want to hurt either. If she's not careful, this place will drive her crazy.]

What about you? Is it difficult for you here, reading everyone? There's so much anger and upset floating around, considering our situation.

No. There's a lot less hurt and anger and suffering than in Thedas. No one's dying of cold or hunger or infections. There's much fewer people as well. I can only feel the people on each ship I'm on, not everyone.

Oh. I'm glad you're not being overwhelmed.

[She's all too aware of what can happen to Deanna if she is too overwhelmed by everyone else's emotions.]

I've always heard everyone around me.

The only time I really struggle is when I remember Cole's emotions and then I feel them like they happened to me. I don't like that.

When you remember ... but you are Cole?

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