Even When We Win, it Seems Like All We Do is Lose

[deal_me_in]

WHO: Cayde-6 and you I guess
WHERE: Deep End and outside around the city like a maniac
WHAT: Paranoia? What paranoia? Also scooping out any stragglers stuck in this snowy mess
WHEN: During the Storm
WARNINGS: N/A
NOTES: Will match pose prefs


I. The Deep End

"I'm sure Europa gets worse," the Exo says as he tries shoving the edges of a mattress back into place from where the wind had attempted to blow it loose from the hole he'd accidentally blown out in the hallway outside of the bar. The tarp definitely wasn't doing anything but he's sure no one's using this bed anymore and it's done well enough for a quick fix.

"There we go," he says, dusting his hands off and looking rather proud of his efforts. So many things can be solved with mattresses! Who'd have thought?

He stops by the window that he usually leaves open as his choice entrance and exit, now closed against the flurries, squinting out at the whiteness before turning to step into the welcome warmth of the bar. "Lakes don't freeze all the way through, right?" he says, peering at the great glass windows across from him and the watery life beyond. The unsettling feeling that they might just burst and flood everything is a lot stronger with all the craziness. Maybe he just needs a drink.


II. Open Arms of the Storm

Somehow, being outside doesn't feel as bad as staying inside. Outside, you didn't have to worry about anything collapsing or caving in. You were already in it. Sure, it's a terrible idea but there's something about the wild winds and the frigid temperatures that stoke something in the Exo, a thing he can't quite explain, but it counters the unsettling and inexplicable sensations he's had.

Unfortunately it does nothing for the ghosts with a lower-case 'g', and he's learned from the first storm to save his bullets no matter how bad the visitors got. But then they'd only got sneakier since Taniks. The latest card played has been a low blow however, and not one he'll admit to anyone if he can help it.

Running? Is that what he's doing? No, he'll deny that too. No point in running from an apparition that can appear wherever, heedless of the churning winds. He needs to keep himself occupied, keep his mind busy. Find any other fools out here that're built less sturdier than an Exo, for starters. That's a good excuse.

Comments

II

[only_an_echo]

In Echo's current state, he doesn't consider himself to be one of the fools.

He's doing the same thing Cayde is: something to keep himself busy - something worthwhile to see if anyone else has been caught in the middle of the storm. Never mind the fact that the cold cuts through his armor and the worn makeshift poncho he threw on at the last minute.

Never mind the fact that he keeps hearing things, keeps thinking there's someone always watching him no matter how far he treks through the drifts, drawing in a sharp breath when he sees another shadow appear meters away from him.

Every time he unholsters his sidearm, it never deters the figures. Never scares them away. Maybe, just maybe with this one, it will. "Stay where you are!" he shouts against the wind, jerking his weapon upward in the Exo's direction. "This is your only warning!"

[deal_me_in]

The dark shape amidst the flurries is easier to make out, but unlike the paranoid trooper, Cayde amazingly doesn't bother to pull his gun. Ghosts can't hurt him, not with weapons. But words can pierce worse than bullets sometimes.

This voice is one he's pretty sure he knows though, and he wonders if the storm's shuffled its deck and has started a new hand with some more recently familiar faces.

"Aw, but I don't wanna!" he calls back out. Even if this might be a fake-Echo he's got no reason to treat him any differently. "I think if I stay in one place too long I'll become a snowman. I'm too handsome for all this to be packed under snow."

[only_an_echo]

A familiar voice. A different kind of familiar that Echo recognizes right off of the bat but somehow can't fully comprehend.

He should be relieved to hear Cayde. In his right mind, he would have called Cayde out on acting too carefree in bad weather. Would have told him to get his metal behind back indoors before he froze up like the ice on the lake.

Except that isn't coming to mind in the moment. The reply is silly against its harsh backdrop. He should have noticed that. But he's too wary, too hesitant to drop his stance as he takes a step, two steps to see if it really is the Exo. "Cut the chatter," he snaps, brow creasing behind the cover of his helmet. "I'll be the judge of that. You're gonna show me your hands."

[deal_me_in]

An offended gasp answers him. Cayde starts toeing the snow at his feet. "Wow, you won't even let me answer you? Just stand here and freeze, is that it? You're always so harsh! Or is it the weather rubbing off on you?"

Yeah, nothing'll make him shut up.

He shifts his weight from foot to foot as he lifts his hands up and then waves them around. "Good enough? Want a round of applause too?"

[only_an_echo]

The ghosts are good. This Cayde talks just as much as the real one. The trooper's posture doesn't change, but it doesn't keep him from letting out an exasperated sigh. "You never know when to stow it, do you?" He punctuates the air with the pistol. "Show them."

That response alone still holds weight to Cayde being the actual Cayde instead of another figment of his imagination. Holding his breath, Echo watches the Exo's hands as he complies, adding in one last quip in the clone's testy silence. He then quietly swears under his breath.

"...I can't believe this..." He finally, reluctantly, drops his stance, but doesn't move any closer. "Why are you out here, Cayde?"

[deal_me_in]

The shot that rings through the air has Cayde freeze, if not for long. Echo on edge means business. He waits, his hands still hanging in the air until he sees the clone lower his weapon. A brief if rueful grin flickers across his face at Echo's response. Hard to tell if the guy's angry-relieved or genuinely annoyed that he's the real thing. Cayde will choose to believe the former.

He rolls his eyes like some teenager caught sneaking out in the middle of the night when he's supposed to be on curfew, shoulders and arms dropping in a sigh. "Could ask you the same thing you know," he points out as he stoops down to quickly scoop up a handful of snow. He quickly pats it down and chucks the hasty snowball at Echo. Need any further proof?!

[only_an_echo]

The longer Echo stares at him, the more he believes he may disappear at any given moment. But Cayde remains, sighing and acting the way he normally does before moving all too quickly for his present lack of comfort.

Despite having protection, the clone sputters, turning his head away as he blocks part of the loosely-packed snowball. In a huff, he forgets about his missing right hand, thumping the scomp against his armor in an attempt to dust off the snow still gathering on his chestplate. "I'd ask why you're joking at a time like this, but the answer's obvious," he frowns, a touch more irritated than usual.

[deal_me_in]

"Who's joking? You're the one yelling at me- how else am I s'pposed to respond?" Cayde challenges, briefly eyeing the ground as he considers another snowball. Instead he steps closer now that he's sure Echo's not going to shoot him (hopefully).

"Sure you're okay out here buddy? I know you're like three-quarters of what I am but Exos came from an icy wasteland and I'm sure you did not."

[only_an_echo]

"I'm not- " Echo visibly flinches, steadying himself as Cayde approaches him. The movement forces him to keep his left arm down at his side. He's not ready to let go of the pistol, not yet. Taking in a few breaths, he reins his paranoia in as best as he can, lowering his voice. "Yelling."

His tone suddenly loses its edge in one single word, worn and weak and waning. An invisible weight bears down on his shoulders, keeping him rigid and restless in his stillness.

"...I'm fine." A lie. He's not fond of the cold. He can feel his metal joints stick, feel how cold they've become after trying to avoid his current problems for a time. "I've had enough experience to handle it."

I

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Lake can," Gladio answered as he came down the hall past the mattress and tarp creation. Not looking that great for the long run, and he has to consider it. "I ever ask how this happened, Cayde?"

At that he moves fully into the bar.

"Way I understand it, they partial thickness freeze, depending on depth and temperature, as well as winds. Why, you worried about the lake?"

[deal_me_in]

"Nope!" Cayde replied as he poured himself a drink. He made a face, looking back towards the windows before he shook his head, picking up his glass.

"Nah. It's been wintering for years before we got here so it should hold just fine, right? Right."

[ziedrich_bearer]

Well, maybe he'll ask some time. For now he moves through the darkened room and reaches for a glass. He could use a drink too. Damn he felt lucky that he had been home when the storm had started.

"You just seem a bit concerned about it. There something I should know about that lake? Beyond the angry scaly cat assholes?"

[deal_me_in]

The Exo had the bottle sliding in Gladio's direction by the time a glass was retrieved. He blinked as he paused from taking a drink.

"Wait, angry scaley cat what?" He squinted. "That's a new one. But no, I'm talkin' about this one outside the window," he pointed, tipping the glass back.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Good man, considerate like that. Gladio poured himself a stiff measure and then let his eyes turn to the tank.

"Yeah, something blue-green. Jumped at me out of the ice. Clearly a predator. Aquatic too. And I didn't realize this wasn't just some tank in the wall. Hmmm. Guess we need to come up with a way to help it. How big is this thing?"

[deal_me_in]

"Huh. Nope, haven't seen that one." Cayde smirked as he looked towards the window again, the expression faltering just a little at that. He gestured loosely.

"What, you never saw it from up top?" Cayde, you're the only one that goes roof scaling on a daily basis. "It's framed by all the buildings that make up this block. Pretty nifty."

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Nah, don't go up that high. Honestly, other than here and my apartment with Noctis, I don't spend a lot of time in the tower at all. Still..."

Gladio reaches out for a pitcher of water, dips his finger into it, and then starts to write on the counter with a finger. Maybe his math isn't the greatest, but it's still useful. He can do some math.

[deal_me_in]

The Exo squinted at the water-writing. Eyew, math? Why? Cayde shrugged and took another drink from his glass, optics sliding towards the ceiling because there was absolutely no reason that it was going to collapse in on them. There was at least another floor or two above.

He drained his glass and set it down, debating on another round, but he knew it wasn't going to do anything. Drumming his fingers on the counter, he stepped around the counter. Keep himself busy, keep his mind off things that shouldn't be bothering him. He went to poke around by the fishtank.

I

[sunglassesincluded]

"Only shallow ones do." Comes the response from the far side of the bar where Wesker had set up camp to sit out the storm. When he's not helping to keep the snow and wind out, he will sit on his chosen chair to brood, his long dark coat haing been left over said chair's backrest around the time Wesker had chosen to change into his old S.T.A.R.S. uniform.

How and when the chicken has ended up on the table in front of him Wesker couldn't say if he wanted to, but the bird is there, sometimes alternating to hopping on a nearby chair and back. Wesker doesn't necessarily mind the chicken, but he very much loathes the situation. He hates that he fails to understand what is happening and why. What's even worse is the feeling of the virus being seemingly turned off. It makes him want to run some tests that he cannot run around here.

"Does this happen often?" He asks in turn, referring to the odd storm taking place outside.

[deal_me_in]

No one likes being snowed in, but Cayde at least doesn't seem to mind the company and he's hardly going to turn anyone back out in this weather.

"Right, right," he says, trying to feel as reassured as he sounds. He doesn't usually feel so anxious about the old place holding up against the weather so what's the big deal now?

"Huh? Oh. Well not usually? This one's bad though, and it's hiding the capital 'S' storm behind it. And when those happen well, best you be on your toes."

[sunglassesincluded]

“…and just wait them out.” Wesker adds not without sounding displeased by that prospect. And yet it’s exactly what he has found himself forced to do. And with the network being broken down as well, the waiting part promises to be incredibly dull.

He tries not to focus on it. Instead, Wesker focuses on the Exo and the very obvious signs of mounting anxiety. Even without a human face the hunter’s body language is easy enough to read. It can’t still be about the lake outside.

“What about it is it that worries you this much?”

[deal_me_in]

He's very fidgety. That should hardly be the case when he's in his own abode, a territory he's carved out for himself and made to be a welcome space for all. There's only the slightest whistle of wind that manages to slip between his makeshift mattress patch. If the power were working he'd have the karaoke machine playing tunes like the old phonograph at that one bar back home...

Naturally Cayde laughs it off. "Worries me? Nah, not worried. Damn annoying, this whole thing, that's what it is. Same old tricks and we still haven't come close to figuring out what's happening here. I'm pretty sure the weather itself is a mask for whatever's been rigged to make things weird. Makes it hard to try tracking a source down when you're distracted by everything else."

[sunglassesincluded]

Wesker raises a single brow behind his glasses. "Not worried, I see." He says in a tone that makes it obvious that he doesn't buy Cayde's words but he doesn't dig further. Instead, he sums up his observations. "So people have been here for literal years and not been able to figure out how to deal with these events." Which isn't only frustrating but also adds an inconvenience Wesker isn't really interested in dealing with.

"Is there anything that has been found out yet?" If he doesn't have to gather all information himself, he can get to deal with the actual issue a lot faster.

[deal_me_in]

The Exo makes a face. "Pretty much," he sighs as he steps over to the bar. "Not like we haven't been trying, but usually we just end up getting caught up in the storm itself to really look, and even then we aren't sure where to look for a source."

He runs a finger along the line of bottles on the shelf behind the counter before picking one out. "Lately there's been a creepy lookin' moon hanging out over the city during these things. Seems it only appears over this one and not in Sh'Ka. Weird, right?" He holds up the bottle, a silent offer to see if Wesker's interested in a drink.

[sunglassesincluded]

The offer is accepted with a small nod and half of a shrug. Even his regular metabolism should be able to handle a drink.

“…and the ghosts are just another part of it.” He adds further, almost with a hint of resignation in his voice. As much as Wesker hates to call them ghosts, his first encounter with one of these apparitions before finding his way to the Deep End leaves little else to refer to them as. Though he considers himself lucky enough that no one has been around to witness his try and fail to punch the mirage of one of his former colleagues. It hasn’t been one of his most glorious moments.

“Is Sh’Ka equally affected by these storms?”

[deal_me_in]

Cayde pours two glasses, sweeping them up as he steps back around the bar and towards Wesker's table. He sets one of the glasses in front of the man, pausing to ruffle fingers through Colonel's feathers as the chicken wanders over.

"Yeah, seems they make appearances just to try tormenting us," he says, shaking his head. "I haven't been to Sh'Ka during a storm so all I've got is secondhand information. But it seems that sometimes there's been no effect on that side, but lately there's been something of a wash over and they do get some of the weirdness, but not as severe in some cases."