I Know What You Did Last Summer

[only_an_echo]

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

Comments

[only_an_echo]

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.

[in_extremis]

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."

[deal_me_in]

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.

[only_an_echo]

"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."

[in_extremis]

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?

[deal_me_in]

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.

[only_an_echo]

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.

[in_extremis]

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?"

[deal_me_in]

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."

[only_an_echo]

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."

[in_extremis]

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.

[deal_me_in]

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."