[ Their circumstances are intrusive to her sullenness. Bright and piercing, concern and rage and determination. She would almost rather not care, but then the thought of something happening to them makes me want to be sick. She reaches first for Steve. ]
( You've found trouble? )
( You've found trouble? )
Edited 2016-04-15 03:48 (UTC)
[ There's a brief spike at the sudden, direct mental contact on his end, a flicker of surprise. A worded response takes some minutes to follow. ]
( A merchant. Said we stabbed one of theirs. )
[ His communications are brief, clipped and unpracticed. ]
( A merchant. Said we stabbed one of theirs. )
[ His communications are brief, clipped and unpracticed. ]
[After this.]
Go to her. [Petulance keeps him from stating her name outright, but it comes through in the thought itself alongside the location she'd given him: Ilde.]
Go to her. [Petulance keeps him from stating her name outright, but it comes through in the thought itself alongside the location she'd given him: Ilde.]
[ He bristles against the mental contact. ]
Why? [ She's just spoken to (argued with) him. There's concern now that something else has happened: ] Is she OK?
Why? [ She's just spoken to (argued with) him. There's concern now that something else has happened: ] Is she OK?
[ There's a flicker of acknowledgment, he felt it too. He means to go look for her soon. ]
[A shiver. Paint peeling. The corner of a strip of wallpaper coming unglued, fingernails sliding under and stripping it back; there is something different underneath - more paper, more patterns. Two pieces part ways. Cathaway calls between the two:]
( We would like to speak with you. Would you prefer it this way or would you prefer we came to you in person? )
( We would like to speak with you. Would you prefer it this way or would you prefer we came to you in person? )
[ His teeth clack together, palms sweaty. ]
( In person. Please. )
[ If it'll be a long conversation. He hasn't exactly been going out of his way to seek her out since that first call on the Nesting Deck that he'd ignored. ]
( In person. Please. )
[ If it'll be a long conversation. He hasn't exactly been going out of his way to seek her out since that first call on the Nesting Deck that he'd ignored. ]
[ It takes a few tries, as he looks for Steve the usual way. Meaning: not prodding into his mind. Eventually, he passes by his room, knuckles rapping against the frame. It's still too weird that there aren't any doors. Aren't they exposed enough with all of their mental barriers down? ]
Do you have a minute?
Do you have a minute?
[ Steve's seated on the bed in his pocket of a room, lacing up his boots. Training's on his mind. They'd done a lot of running around on Avera, but he's ready to get back into the rec wing again.
He glances up at Hux, head cocking slightly to one side. ]
Sure. [ With his laces tied he stands, straightening. ] Need something?
He glances up at Hux, head cocking slightly to one side. ]
Sure. [ With his laces tied he stands, straightening. ] Need something?
[It is unlike him to do this in this fashion, but he recognizes the necessity of it. Still, when he reaches out it is unlike the gentle brush of Cathaway, uncolored by emotion, an empty space that seemed to gape, somehow nearly as unsettling as a mind too bare. His words are preceded by the obviousness of his attention, an anticipation, the mental equivalent to clearing his throat. And the words- stony and without warmth or comfort, unyielding and stern. He will not react to interruption. He won't even hear it.]
There are many things to discuss with you. [You- you, all of you, everyone he addressed- the clear knowledge that it was not a personal message, but a shared one.] This mission was a failure. Do not think to see it as anything less. The simplest of exercises intended only to allow those unaccustomed to gain some small experience with unfamiliar places. A harmless excursion.
[There's a pause, like a breath, a cold wind going colder.]
It was my failure that I saw you as anything but children, incapable of understanding that your choices have consequences. It is not a mistake I will make again. Your actions have proven you to be irresponsible, dangerous, and foolish. And as a result one of your own has died, for nothing. Those in his brood have now lost something irreplaceable. Do not imagine this feeling will go, do not imagine this emptiness will be filled by another. It will not. You will never be as strong as you could have been with him.
[It is simple fact, even as they grew they would lend each other strength. Now they had one less to draw from. There was a potential they would never reach.]
Hosts are lost. This is the reality of our situation, but Adam Parker did not die because we sought to strike a blow against the ones who hunt us. He did not even die because he made a foolish mistake. He died because you made a selfish choice. Remember this, your decisions effect more than you. Even your own life is not just yours any longer. You should be at least responsible enough not to drag those who should be able to rely on to their death.
[There is little point to this, he knows. Those that had behaved poorly would not listen to words, and if they had not yet learned a lesson there would be more loss and more suffering before they did. Still, this is too soon for this.]
There will be some time before you will be sent on your first true mission. I suggest you use it to better yourselves, for all of your sake.
[And the connection drops- cleanly as if he had flipped a switch. His mind was still there, as it always was, but distant, uninviting. This was never meant to be a dialogue.]
There are many things to discuss with you. [You- you, all of you, everyone he addressed- the clear knowledge that it was not a personal message, but a shared one.] This mission was a failure. Do not think to see it as anything less. The simplest of exercises intended only to allow those unaccustomed to gain some small experience with unfamiliar places. A harmless excursion.
[There's a pause, like a breath, a cold wind going colder.]
It was my failure that I saw you as anything but children, incapable of understanding that your choices have consequences. It is not a mistake I will make again. Your actions have proven you to be irresponsible, dangerous, and foolish. And as a result one of your own has died, for nothing. Those in his brood have now lost something irreplaceable. Do not imagine this feeling will go, do not imagine this emptiness will be filled by another. It will not. You will never be as strong as you could have been with him.
[It is simple fact, even as they grew they would lend each other strength. Now they had one less to draw from. There was a potential they would never reach.]
Hosts are lost. This is the reality of our situation, but Adam Parker did not die because we sought to strike a blow against the ones who hunt us. He did not even die because he made a foolish mistake. He died because you made a selfish choice. Remember this, your decisions effect more than you. Even your own life is not just yours any longer. You should be at least responsible enough not to drag those who should be able to rely on to their death.
[There is little point to this, he knows. Those that had behaved poorly would not listen to words, and if they had not yet learned a lesson there would be more loss and more suffering before they did. Still, this is too soon for this.]
There will be some time before you will be sent on your first true mission. I suggest you use it to better yourselves, for all of your sake.
[And the connection drops- cleanly as if he had flipped a switch. His mind was still there, as it always was, but distant, uninviting. This was never meant to be a dialogue.]
Edited (bet u thought u got out of ur spankin) 2016-04-28 03:56 (UTC)
( You know, if the recruiter had told me I'd be sharing mind-bunks with a psycho, I think I'd have taken my chances with certain death, rather than listen to Kylo Ren talk. )
[ sup, bro. you're the most normal seeming out of everyone. ]
[ sup, bro. you're the most normal seeming out of everyone. ]
( What happened? )
[ Concern laced with frustration. ]
[ Concern laced with frustration. ]
late day 165, i decided to send it to everyone anyway, yololololo
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frakkincylons
2016-05-05 09:32 am (UTC)(link)
( I'm about to do something that'll be really loud and probably not fun for you guys. Just a warning, probably want to block me out the next few hours. )
[Long time, no talk, Steve! This is a very important mental message from your favorite shapeshifter buddy. SO important.]
Knock knock.
Knock knock.
[ you're a shapeshifter ???? ]
( Who's there? )
( Who's there? )
Edited (changed my mind) 2016-05-06 15:09 (UTC)
[ A flicker of confusion, then quiet. An image comes into focus - a small, closet of a room, just enough space for a small cot and a mat on the floor. ]
( My friend arrived from the Station. ) [ By friend there's an understanding that he means from home, back on his Earth. ]
( He can't stay at the Bearings. ) [ Can't might be interchanged with won't. ]
( My friend arrived from the Station. ) [ By friend there's an understanding that he means from home, back on his Earth. ]
( He can't stay at the Bearings. ) [ Can't might be interchanged with won't. ]
You've been distant.
[Captain America, meet Captain Obvious.]
[Captain America, meet Captain Obvious.]
[ oh ]
I've been busy. Do you need something?
I've been busy. Do you need something?
[ Steve appreciates the direct approach, at the absolute very least. He sends back a picture of his room - the actual room he first claimed, not the one he ends up sleeping in.
You can come to him, buddy. ]
You can come to him, buddy. ]
( Do you have a moment? )
[ So far he's only gotten snippets of what happened, regardless of how linked everyone was, mentally. The chaos at the explosion site had been enough to scramble everyone. ]
[ So far he's only gotten snippets of what happened, regardless of how linked everyone was, mentally. The chaos at the explosion site had been enough to scramble everyone. ]
( Yeah. What is it? )
[ Well, he can guess. ]
[ Well, he can guess. ]
after all that kylo ren nonsense idk i wanted a steve and sam thread
frakkincylons
2016-08-11 10:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ For the time that they're still passed out after the disastrously failed mission, Sam's going between the three rooms like a pin ball, peering in on Ren still passed out, on Ilde as she naps, and on Steve as he heals.
Once he notices Steve's awake, and likely after giving him time to sit and talk with Barnes (well aware of the bond they share), Sam shuffles his way over, lifting a hand to knock at the door frame as he leans in. ]
Hey, champ. How's the battle wound doing? [ Or, multiple wounds, but whatever. There's fondness in his voice, and in the mental link surrounding it, as well as admiration, for how he'd stood up unwavering. ]
Once he notices Steve's awake, and likely after giving him time to sit and talk with Barnes (well aware of the bond they share), Sam shuffles his way over, lifting a hand to knock at the door frame as he leans in. ]
Hey, champ. How's the battle wound doing? [ Or, multiple wounds, but whatever. There's fondness in his voice, and in the mental link surrounding it, as well as admiration, for how he'd stood up unwavering. ]
[ Inside the room Steve can be found sitting up on the bed, back pressed against the wall and his body curved as his fingers drift across some unseen screen in front of him, sorting through news story after news story projected from the device at his ear. He looks up, blinking owlishly at Sam for a second, if mostly with a single eye. One side of his face is bruised and swollen, hair flattened down by a bandage that wraps around his head.
His hands lower, attention focused. ]
I've had worse. [ The humor is strained, his mental walls fortified. Sam's brain blast was a hell of a kick in the head, but it did the job. ] How're the others?
[ He reached out for Ilde when he first regained consciousness. Ren - he hasn't decided when and how to approach him yet. ]
His hands lower, attention focused. ]
I've had worse. [ The humor is strained, his mental walls fortified. Sam's brain blast was a hell of a kick in the head, but it did the job. ] How're the others?
[ He reached out for Ilde when he first regained consciousness. Ren - he hasn't decided when and how to approach him yet. ]
( Kylo Ren believes he could have found something at the parlor if he wasn't stopped. What do you make of that? )
[There are times to be indirect and there are times to be direct. She decides that it is better to skip to what would be her final question here, and then work backwards should things come to that.
Her impression of the scene of the bombing is very different, after all. But she did leave through the back to set up certain meetings. She can't really say that she saw everything.]
[There are times to be indirect and there are times to be direct. She decides that it is better to skip to what would be her final question here, and then work backwards should things come to that.
Her impression of the scene of the bombing is very different, after all. But she did leave through the back to set up certain meetings. She can't really say that she saw everything.]
[ Somewhere, his jaw tightens at the question. ]
( Cost of letting him go for it would've been too high. )
( Cost of letting him go for it would've been too high. )
( Yeah, I do. ) [ a flicker of caution-concern ] ( Why? )
[ He'd felt a little guilty as soon as Steve broke contact with him the night before, but he wasn't gonna chase after him. It was a lot, even without the incredible weirdness of the future shit. And Sam knows what it's like to need some time to process, get your thoughts in order.
That doesn't mean he isn't itching to check in with Steve, though, especially when he's pretty sure that things aren't fine.
So he waits until the next morning, but then he reaches out across the mental link to Steve, gently nudging to get his attention. ]
( Hey, man, you got a minute? )
That doesn't mean he isn't itching to check in with Steve, though, especially when he's pretty sure that things aren't fine.
So he waits until the next morning, but then he reaches out across the mental link to Steve, gently nudging to get his attention. ]
( Hey, man, you got a minute? )
[ His attention is easy to draw. ]
( Yeah, sure - ) [ A pause, and something like an exhale. ] ( If it's about what we were talking about yesterday - I should've pulled Barton aside if I had questions. )
[ Having that kind of conversation in brain space hadn't been a great idea. Not just what he'd said to Barton, but what Sam had said to him. When he talked about trust. ]
( Yeah, sure - ) [ A pause, and something like an exhale. ] ( If it's about what we were talking about yesterday - I should've pulled Barton aside if I had questions. )
[ Having that kind of conversation in brain space hadn't been a great idea. Not just what he'd said to Barton, but what Sam had said to him. When he talked about trust. ]
Edited (html mess) 2016-10-07 15:24 (UTC)
[ Ultimately, for her, the party is just - work. A different kind maybe so far as it's for once personal to her usual business done for Jack at an arm's length to the people's whose lives she's often destroyed. By the time the night is done, she'll have fangs to match her broodmates viciousness in - disgust for it all. She doesn't like being what she's best at, and the only thing she loathes more is the people that function that in such delusion what kind of monster they were. ( If there's a difference between her and her father and those like him, is that she rules illusions but she has never had any about herself )
But for now, when she comes knocking on his door with a bundle of the long lacing white skirts and gold embroidery in her hands to stop her from tripping on them. Markings dull and flat and blue where they're exposed. She's not as done up as she will be later, either. All bedecked, but she's - barefoot as always, contently smoothing her fingers over the soft material and humming whilst she waits for him to open the door. Her mind loud, clear enough that it's her when she wants to be, flung open happily to him. ]
Steve, you have to tell me how I look -
[ Because - it's selfish, it's so selfish - she won't like how anyone looks at her otherwise when the night comes and nor does she care really, she likes these clothes because she feels as close to floating once more in them as she can. Dressing herself the way she likes, owning this flesh and bones is important to her. More so than most people's opinions.
But she's found she so very much likes how he looks at her, too. ]
But for now, when she comes knocking on his door with a bundle of the long lacing white skirts and gold embroidery in her hands to stop her from tripping on them. Markings dull and flat and blue where they're exposed. She's not as done up as she will be later, either. All bedecked, but she's - barefoot as always, contently smoothing her fingers over the soft material and humming whilst she waits for him to open the door. Her mind loud, clear enough that it's her when she wants to be, flung open happily to him. ]
Steve, you have to tell me how I look -
[ Because - it's selfish, it's so selfish - she won't like how anyone looks at her otherwise when the night comes and nor does she care really, she likes these clothes because she feels as close to floating once more in them as she can. Dressing herself the way she likes, owning this flesh and bones is important to her. More so than most people's opinions.
But she's found she so very much likes how he looks at her, too. ]
[ As usual he's busying himself on the Extranet. The tech folks have more efficient methods of searching the net for keywords, but he likes to check it himself this way, manually keeping tabs on the news and for anything that might seem off. The openness of her mind pulls him from his focus a split second before the knock on the door and he's quick to jump from the bed to his feet, nearly tripping on too-large wool socks covering them.
There's already a smile on his face when he opens the door, but his eyebrows jump , his lips left parted - in that open moment between them she can catch a glimpse of herself in his mind, outlined in white and gold like she just stepped out of what Klimt's imagining of Snow White might have looked like. ]
You, uh - you look beautiful. [ His eyebrows still haven't traveled back down, gaze fixed on hers. ]
There's already a smile on his face when he opens the door, but his eyebrows jump , his lips left parted - in that open moment between them she can catch a glimpse of herself in his mind, outlined in white and gold like she just stepped out of what Klimt's imagining of Snow White might have looked like. ]
You, uh - you look beautiful. [ His eyebrows still haven't traveled back down, gaze fixed on hers. ]
[ When Bucky’s absence had sent Sam briefly reeling, he’d had Clint to shove him back into place - and he hadn't known if Steve would be okay with Sam looking to him. He still doesn't know, really, but Steve’d said he'd be there if Sam needed him, so he lets himself reach out. There's an attempt at a quiet nudge, the way Sam usually gives a mental knock before attempting a deeper connection. This time he fails, and the brush of his mind against Steve’s is accompanied by a jumbled sense of distress and loss. ]
( Steve? )
( Steve? )
( Yeah - I'm here. )
[ His reply is more distant than usual, Sam's knock answered with only the barest connection, little more than a pinhole. He's holding back. It's only through a closer look that Sam might sense the loss, a sinkhole. ]
[ His reply is more distant than usual, Sam's knock answered with only the barest connection, little more than a pinhole. He's holding back. It's only through a closer look that Sam might sense the loss, a sinkhole. ]
[Waking up is always a bit of a challenge for Bucky. Too many bad wake up calls over seventy years leaves sleep low on the priority list. Since regaining consciousness from his coma a handful of days ago, his working memory has finally started kicking back into place, including pieces of his fight with Sam in his room, the consequent promise, and of course the challenge coin.
Sam's missing his now, since giving it to Bucky as a grounding tool, and Bucky wants to remedy that, so he reaches out to Steve. He tugs on his link with Steve, a bit clumsy, but still the rough equivalent of a knock on the door.]
( Busy? )
Sam's missing his now, since giving it to Bucky as a grounding tool, and Bucky wants to remedy that, so he reaches out to Steve. He tugs on his link with Steve, a bit clumsy, but still the rough equivalent of a knock on the door.]
( Busy? )
[ A flicker of surprise that's quick to even out, meeting the contact with an easy welcome. ]
( Nope. ) [ There's a wordless explanation, a sense of place - he's in the living area flipping through the news on the screen. ] ( Need something? )
( Nope. ) [ There's a wordless explanation, a sense of place - he's in the living area flipping through the news on the screen. ] ( Need something? )
[ Sam's brush against Steve's mind is a not quite playful nudge for attention. There's no words to follow, just a tendril of gratitude, warm and almost tentative, and the impression of the coin that Bucky has just given him. It's accompanied by a surge of confidence and a touch of protectiveness, equal parts belief that Steve can do anything he sets out to and urge to be careful, anyway. ]
[ The touch is met with a flicker of surprise, mind hyper-focused on the task to come. His thoughts shift to re-order, giving Sam his attention for a second as he returns the warmth, almost sheepish where Sam had been tentative, self-aware without embarrassment: you'rewelcomethankyou as a single, wordless sentiment, a steady ghost-hand against Sam's shoulder. ]
[ Sam may have joked with Misato about being glad they don't get cell service up here - but they have the symbiotes, which might be even worse. He's decidedly tipsy when he reaches out to Steve, and though it's clear he's attempting his usual polite "knock," it's, uh. A little more enthusiastic than normal. ]
( Hey. Steve. What're you doing, man? )
( Hey. Steve. What're you doing, man? )
[ Now that things have settled? Moping over Angel would be the honest answer. ]
( Reading. You? ) [ Just as honest an answer, he figures. There's a wry, curious edge to his thoughts as he picks up on Sam's current state. ]
( Reading. You? ) [ Just as honest an answer, he figures. There's a wry, curious edge to his thoughts as he picks up on Sam's current state. ]
[ Oh. A flicker of surprise. ]
( I'm here.
Why? )
( I'm here.
Why? )
[ right after agreeing to this.
Sam's gonna try to be careful, to make sure nothing goes wrong - but part of that is making sure someone knows what he's doing, and can move in if things go bad. There's not a lot of people here that Sam trusts for that. ]
( Steve? Can I ask you a favor? )
Sam's gonna try to be careful, to make sure nothing goes wrong - but part of that is making sure someone knows what he's doing, and can move in if things go bad. There's not a lot of people here that Sam trusts for that. ]
( Steve? Can I ask you a favor? )
Rogers.
[A whisper at the back of his skull. Dark and eager and oh so familiar.]
[A whisper at the back of his skull. Dark and eager and oh so familiar.]
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