revivalproject | I Know What You Did Last Summer

Entry tags:

I Know What You Did Last Summer

WHO: Echo et al. (you)
WHERE: Wherever everyone is at the time, Temba and/or Sh'Ka
WHAT: Echo has Thoughts™ and Feelings™ about the recent storm but is going to do more than just a check-in over the communication devices.
WHEN: Some time after the storm
WARNINGS: N/A unless there's something really specific that comes up, we should all be good

= = = = =

A. For the Sh'Ka Demolition Group

Despite keeping Omega company and having the distracting security of a curious mothkitten climbing all over him, Echo had concerns. Legitimate concerns. The storm should have brought about some relief in its passing, but the cloud was still there, playing over again in the back of his mind. Finally seeing what Cayde saw in the blizzard forced the clone to think back on what the specter meant by its cryptic message. And the longer he did that, the more he wasn't getting any better answers on his own.

The 'We Need To Talk' look was clearly written upon his face when he sought out the others - Tony, Jon, Billy, Soldier, and Cayde - dropping by their usual haunts (if he could find them) with a child by his side and a mothkitten riding his shoulder, patting at his armor. Even with the two softening his grizzled soldier demeanor by a few degrees, his brow furrowed to the point where the lines had distinct memory of the creases he collected over the years.

"We may have bitten off more than we can chew."

B. For Everyone

Normally, Echo would have called for a head count over the comm device to see if everyone was still alive. This time, however, he made it a point to be more direct in regards to the weather, searching for people to help where he could.

Even after working so hard, he took some time to rest, staying where everyone tended to gather. Omega was a constant presence somewhere nearby, and the mothkitten preoccupied herself by sniffing and squeezing into his removed helmet.

Little things. That was enough to keep him grounded in the present.

OOC Notes:
1) We can assume the characters have met briefly.
2) Prose or action poses are fine, I'll do whatever you're doing 👍
3) Need to handwave? That's cool with me, we can just make a note of it ahhh

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The visit to Cayde might have been the closest from Echo's front door, and came with the extra efficient inclusion of Tony, who stopped his kicking at the air to pout innocently at Echo as he announced himself. The clocktower had been quiet on Echo's approach, but by the time he made it up to Cayde's nest, Tony was out the window and bouncing precipitously on the zipline, not flying away toward Echo's tower but slowly sliding back with every bounce. He had been trying very pointedly not to talk (about anything terribly serious, at least), so that look on Echo's face was a direct threat that had him considering releasing the breaks on his new handles to go whizzing away. Dangling with his arms stretched up around his ears suddenly felt vulnerable. "Cayde didn't tell me you had a date," he called back in through the window.

Cayde glanced down from the zipline launch point, casually leaning with his arms folded like Tony dangling some several stories up between two towers was a normal occurrence.

"I didn't tell me either, apparently," he said as he gave Echo and his little tagalong(s) a wave.

"You don't look like you're choking if you're still able to talk."

Echo sighed, continuing on without skipping a beat. "Get down before you hurt yourself, Tony. I need the both of you to focus," he frowned, motioning to Omega as he kept his eyes on Tony and Cayde.

For his comment, the Exo received a pointed look. "You know what I meant."

Echo was not going to get what he needed any time soon, because he wasn't even finished talking before Tony was muttering to Cayde, "It's nice that you can still surprise each other." He did, at least, dutifully try to make his way back in, kicking out toward the wall to try to hook a heel and drag himself back off of the wire. Echo might have manufactured his own downfall, too, because as soon as Tony was steady and had spotted Omega, he brightened and suggested, "Hey, Stardust, you try this thing yet?," with a thumb back out the way he had come, looking very innocent and not at all like he was creating a distraction.

"I'm always focused!" Cayde insisted. He reached out to help Tony back in, absently wondering how long Echo would permit this long-range conversation. He did know what the guy likely meant to talk about, but Cayde was still trying to debate whether he felt it was a win for them or not. He liked to keep positive.

Below, Omega smiled, giving a nod. "Lots of times. They made sure there was extra padding for the landing," she added.

Meanwhile, Echo fell silent. He did set himself up, and thanks to Cayde and Tony being who they were, they were doing their best to meander about to avoid the topic he confronted them with.

When he had enough of it, the glare cast up their way intensified.

There was no hesitation in the way he suddenly leaned forward, dashing straight into the tower to charge up the stairs. Dart - the poor mothkitten - was left in the wake of where the clone trooper once stood, twirling in the air before fluttering back into Omega's arms.

Tony was on the precipice of gleefully inviting Omega up to show him how fast they could go now, literally as he hung onto the front of Cayde's cloak to lean out over the window, only for his mouth to snap shut at Echo's energetic burst. He raised his eyebrows at Omega instead, and lifted his free hand in something of a farewell for clearly he was in trouble and might be in the grave by the end of this conversation.

Not that this stopped him from dropping into the room to look incredibly serious when Echo did appear and cut him off, "You're right, this one's been a long time coming and it's something I really should have brought up before." He opened his hands apologetically, showing the palms of the worn black leather gloves he wore, to accuse, "I really don't think you've been feeding her correctly. It's good that she's enthusiastic about the local cuisine, but I think she's developing some kind of complex."

Omega only shrugged from down below once she caught Tony's eye. She'd been just as surprised as Dart when the other clone took off. That was the fastest she'd ever seen him move outside of battle.

Cayde saw the look and was half ready to bail out of the tower by pure reflex. He half expected Tony to be going first, but instead stepped back as the man came back inside. Oh, were they going to get down to business already, then?

....he found his mouth quirking as Tony went to address Echo. Nope, guess not.

"You two are impossible," Echo shook his head with a scowl as he caught his breath at the top of the stairs, staring them both down. He half-expected Tony and Cayde to zipline their way to freedom, seeing that they were both still by the ledge. Since they didn't, it meant they understood the seriousness of the matter.

His left hand clenched, loosening again as he approached them. "I saw that thing in the storm. The one you saw," he continued without replying to Tony's deflection. A finger briefly pointed at Cayde. "I'm going to assume we all saw it."

The immediate failure of the diversion was obvious enough that Tony pursed his lips and started to turn an accusatory frown on Cayde for not backing him up, only to freeze up anxiously with that sidelong frown on Echo instead. He knew he wasn't the only one manifesting guilt now, but he hadn't had the chance yet to shake the shame of it that he had been carrying around and hoping nobody else noticed. He pushed his sunglasses up with a cough and replied very casually, "Great, as long as we're all good with assumptions, then that just means it worked. Good talk." Maybe Echo would be kind enough to actually check that assumption, in case it was true and the others were feeling similarly haunted in isolation. Tony didn't have to do it, right?

Weirdly enough, Cayde beamed at that. "See! I wasn't crazy after all!" he said. He snap-pointed at Tony's input. "Exactly!"

Were they supposed to be worried about this? Maybe. Possibly. But Cayde still homed in on what he felt was the point of the matter, a conclusion he'd come to the moment the thing had showed up in the blizzard and made threats. They were getting somewhere. Or at least, they'd gotten someone's attention.

Edited 2023-02-25 23:52 (UTC)

It was hard to keep from sighing. The combined energy of Tony and Cayde just did that to him. "And now that we know it worked, we've been warned." Of course he had to do the work for this leg. Slight frustration was vented as Echo did what he did best: repeat the message so that things could be a little more organized. "'You know what you did, and your punishment has not yet come.' How exactly are we preparing for that?"

While he could agree that it was finally getting somewhere, they had no idea what to expect. That was the part that worried him.

Tony had to give his own sigh at Echo's insistent pessimism, because he didn't have a great argument or clear enough vision of the future to be entirely optimistic himself. Knowing something was going to happen was something of an improvement over having no feedback whatsoever, but he didn't have any parameters for what that something was. He took a beat to gently touch Cayde's arm and assure him, "You're still crazy," before he had to work up a proposal.

"If they could actually do something, they would have," he produced. The stillness of his hands one held grasped before him like he really had to nail down this thought, betrayed his lack of confidence. "Instead, when we're at our most vulnerable, the send a ghost. Should we really be that worried?"

Cayde's smirk still didn't fade at Tony's assurance. He shrugged, supposing he couldn't really argue that point.

"Look, preparing for something that we don't know how it's going to be presented is just going to make us paranoid. That's probably what they want." He nodded at Tony then. "Why warn us? That's like a slap on the wrist. The intent there was to try laying on the build-up. They seem to like the mental games. We just don't have to play them. If they wanna do something, they can bring it, but I'm not expending any worries on waiting."

The muscles in his jaw twitch as they set, tensing as the two say as much. It wasn't difficult to tell that Echo didn't like their answers. The play was similar to Hunter's aimlessness; instead of laying low, however, they were still exposed and out in the open, brushing off the crosshairs that were now trained on them.

And honestly, he should have expected as much.

The fist he formed earlier didn't uncurl fast enough. "You sound confident," Echo rasped, his frustration palpable as he kept his arms close to his sides. "If that's how we're approaching the situation, then that is what we'll do. I just want to remind you we're not the only ones being threatened."

Not needing to stay any longer, he turned away to cut his withering look short, heading back down the stairs before anything else happened. "...We have to tell the others about this. They won't like it either way."

It was never going to take much energy to keep Cayde unruffled, so perhaps Tony should have tuned his effort better to suit Echo. If he could ever figure out what didn't annoy Echo. Tony frowned after him, a similar tension in his shoulders to stop from arguing Cayde out of the misguided position that they shouldn't be prepared for all possibilities--they didn't have to, as long as Tony did--but he couldn't hold his tongue long enough to stop, "What if that makes them complicit?" He wasn't sure if Echo cared to listen anymore, so after a beat he turned the question on Cayde instead, with an anxious drop of his shoulders. It wasn't clear how many degrees of separation actually mattered to their manipulative captors. It was Tony that told Echo to press the button, after all, and now he was seeing spectres.

Confident is a default setting for the Hunter. But he's not blind, and he knows not to push Echo any farther. Still, he won't go back on what he's said either.

He does frown at Echo's parting (?) words, looking to Tony as he makes a very good point. "...sounds like just the sort of drama they might go for if they're still all in it for the entertainment. People'll probably find out one way or another. Either by telling them ourselves we stir things up and possibly get them involved. Or things happen and they find out that way and then the fingers start pointing. It's going to be a mess either way and we'll just be giving our watchers a free show."

Dustin has done a pretty good job so far of keeping his little hideout in the strip mall secret. Omega is one of the tiny handful that knows it exists and where it is; perhaps she decided that the situation was dire enough to tell Echo about it, so that he could hunt the elusive teen down and make sure he hadn't turned into a popsicle in his unheated shop. Or maybe he just followed the sound of hacking coughs echoing around the south side of Temba.

Either way, Echo and Dustin end up staring each other down on the street in front of the strip mall past city center, Dustin doing his best deer-in-headlights impersonation as he freezes in place with his head still bowed into the crook of his arm. He waits for Echo to move along.

...He's not moving along. Shit, he actually wants to engage with him? Fuck. With a deep sigh, Dustin straightens and fixes Echo with a wary glare.

"What do you want?" he groans, hoarsely.

While Omega could have easily told him about Dustin's situation, she kept her end of the promise. Since she was busy tailing Dart, the coughing was most likely the culprit.

Echo stands there, just as still as he slowly relaxes his stance. He doesn't want to scare Dustin off, waiting to see what his next move will be before saying anything. And to be fair, the teen's reaction is a lot more tolerable than he expected.

"Couldn't help but overhear, but that sounds concerning," the clone says with a frown. "Is this your place?"

The storm has done an excellent job of draining the fight out of him, yes. Not all of it, but most of it.

"It's getting better," Dustin mumbles. Which is true; his fever broke within minutes of his powers coming back, so what remains is just the fluid stuck in his lungs and an incredibly sore throat. He estimates it will be at least another week before that sorts itself out. "This..."

Dustin pauses, shuffling his feet in the snow. He really doesn't want to tell someone else where he lives, but he also can't bring himself to lie, so, here we are.

"...Is close," he eventually compromises, raising a suspicious eyebrow, and leaves it at that.

"Right." Although very worn out, Echo still holds onto a bit of that gruffness he usually has about him. But he takes the answer for what it is, pausing to remove his helmet once the back unlocks from the implant band that wrapped around the back of his head.

His brow furrows, holding onto an unspoken worry as he goes about asking more generalized questions. "Do you need any help clearing the snow? Or getting supplies?"

At least he doesn't follow up for more details. Dustin releases a breath that comes out haggard and ends in a suppressed, wheezing cough.

"Managed fine on my own so far," comes the hoarse reply, along with a narrowing of his eyes. He doesn't ask why he cares - Echo's already made it clear to him what his answer will be after the last storm - so instead, Dustin goes for a redirect. "You don't have anyone else to go bother?"

"So far," Echo echoes unironically. Not that he doesn't believe Dustin can do things in his current condition. Not that he wants to leave him alone to do everything himself, and that goes for everyone else in Temba as well.

Maybe he is overthinking it on his part.

So of course he tries to ignore his leftover paranoia to answer the question.

"At the moment? No. I don't." Just as succinct as his last answer, but lacking the harshness he has whenever his patience is tested. "Look at it this way - with Omega's help, the faster we finish here, the sooner we'll be out of your hair. Would you be okay with that?"

Dustin rolls his eyes, even before Echo has the opportunity to follow up on his reasoning. Of course he doesn't have anyone else to go bother. Setting himself up for that answer, wasn't he? Could offer another target, possibly, but--

Well he has a point. Dustin's gaze flicks to the ground and a hand sweeps through his bushy, irritatingly tangled and unwashed hair, as if unconsciously trying to pull Echo and Omega out of it. That gives him an idea, actually.

"--The Hangar," he says suddenly. More of an implied answer to Echo's question, but it's not a rejection, right? "Need to get to the Palm Cottage, but the snowdrifts leading up to it are...deep. Clearing a path would be beneficial for everyone."

Dustin's not the only one that's spent the last four days without access to plumbing, after all. A nice, warm shower sounds like an absolute luxury right now, and would probably do wonders for his lingering congestion.

It's better than having nothing. It's something he can work with and a small step in the right direction.

A faint smile sneaks its way onto Echo's face as he 'perks' a bit, nodding in understanding to the request Dustin makes. "...All right. I'll let Omega know and we'll get started," he says after making another snow observation. "It may take some time. However, if we get more hands on deck, the faster the work will go." Shouldn't be too difficult wrangling in other people to do that much, right?

(He can always go drill sergeant on the others if it comes down to it, but a firm-handed approach seems to be the more acceptable way of going about these things.)

Jon is, as usual, to be found around the library, very much busy clearing away the lingering masses of snow in front of the building but also around the fountain. Work that very much needs to be done, and yet given that it's Jon doing the work, the progress isn't the fastest. Especiaslly since he pauses yet again once he notices Echo's approach.

From the looks of it - mothkitten aside - the matter seems to be serious. And it's not too hard to figure out what the man is talking about. Jon simply frowns. "But it worked. That was the goal of the entire mission." There hasn't really been much of a plan what they would do once they have the attention they were aiming to get.

"Yeah. I remember that much." Since removing his helmet to look Jon in the eye, Echo removes a furry paw that tries to grab his nose, resting his hand on the mothkitten so that she behaves herself. "But you heard what that thing had said. 'You know what you did, and your punishment has not yet come.' Aren't you even a little worried?"

"Not any more than I was when we headed out to Sh'Ka." Jon admits. "A little less, even, now that we have confirmation that it did work. They are watching, but they apparently can't keep an eye on everything at the same time. We learned a few things and-" He raises a brow at Echo. "-I don't think any of us are unfamiliar with being threatened. Am I afraid? Of course I am. But I'm also excited. And curious. Very curious."

Echo was glad one person out of their tiny explosion party felt some form of fear among them. However, he also forgot that he still kept company with more curious minds.

Feeling a little defeated, he sighs, pulling what little relief he can take from Jon's admission and findings. "Right. So we're just going to see what happens next." Several different outcomes come to mind while saying so, but he voices none of them. "Do you have anything else planned until then?"

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I Know What You Did Last Summer

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