revivalproject

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WHO: Tony and Jon
WHERE: The Warrens
WHAT: A...reunion...?
WHEN: Shortly after the evacuation
WARNINGS: Tony's pretty depressed.

The way to stay distracted was to stay busy, and to stay busy meant tracing the cascading problem of resources down to a source point and working methodically back up. Tony couldn't just build a percussive drill to break through the earth, he had to forge parts, and produce materials before that, and manage to set a single thing on fire before that. In its own way, the whole maddening process was keeping him from the humiliating urge to ask a fruit to take up valuable space in their resource delivery for a bottle of scotch. He would still stop his work and tap out careful messages to the Barrys, explaining that he was building a stove, what each part did, and what the logistical problems were, and maybe, if he needed it, he would be able to ask a favour of them. He was absolutely rich in owed favours; one more couldn't hurt. And sure, the stove would be a good source of heat and way to manage the waste, but it was also going to help them stretch their food rations more efficiently, making the Barrys' job easier. That must have been worth a minibar vodka at least.

When the work was too repetitive and not challenging enough, the risk of an outburst of frustration or melancholy increased. Frustration could be productive, like the signboard that Tony had erected where the traffic was high, ostensibly for, as the rough title he carved into the top of it read, 'COMMUNITY'. Functionally, it was a place for him to post a message,
'SEEKING SCISSORS
LEAVE THEM'
How anyone else made use of it would be up to them, until Tony managed to build a radio.

The melancholy was more difficult to manage. It was quieter, and lasted longer. It left Tony sitting in a dark tunnel, listening to the rhythms of a machine he didn't understand, staring at it from the floor with the parts of his project scattered around his feet, his head tipped back against the wall and telling himself he was trying to find some pattern in the vibrations or cycling of fluids. It was about as effective as some stone age priest divining the meaning of life in the stars.

Stars would have been nice.

Mostly, it reminded him how stupid he actually was. Maybe it was a fluke, when he used to look at an alien engine and know how to replicate it in minutes. Some trick of the environment, encouragement from friends he had finessed into believing the image he had crafted for himself, arrogance. Definitely arrogance. He was definitely wrong about this stupid stove, too. The piece he had been carefully forming made a weird, dull sound as it bounced off of the alien machine, hitting that strange cushion before it could even leave a mark, the metal resolutely silent as Tony's part clattered noisily back to the floor.

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After listening to Tony’s answer, Jon picks up a different piece to inspect it between his fingers. “If you haven’t explicitly requested these, then I am wondering how they would know about bits and their different types.” Their little plantain hosts don’t seem like the type to use screwdrivers. Unless they are all severely misjudging these little guys.

He ends up with a shrug. “I don’t know.”

That wasn't a vector that Tony had considered, making him cock his head, not sure yet if it was a valuable one. Of course they knew about screwdrivers, otherwise, "How do you think they build?" They had managed to make these, after all, with some expertise. They were very industrious.

There was a time that Jon had been strangely excited to report that he didn't know something, making Tony watch him curiously again for another beat at this noncommittal shrug, now an exhausting constant even after whatever Jon had done to his brain. Tony shouldn't have asked. "I'll--" he started to say impulsively, immediately regretting it, already sorting it into his bloated list of failures as he finished reluctantly, "...figure it out." So he didn't have to meet Jon's eye for this lie and to have some tiny facsimile of control, he shifted up to his knees to start gathering all of the little screwdriver heads carefully into his pocket.

"They don't seem to be using screws and screwdrivers to me." Jon argues mildly, gesturing with a single hand. "You remember how the Graq used their spit to craft and build?"

He uses the same hand that has been moving to reach out and place it on Tony's shoulder to pull him back. "What do you need the screwdriver for?" He had asked for one after all.

"Okay, but these guys have tools, they're always carrying them--," Tony was eager enough to debate, until the unexpected touch made him flinch and start to drop his shoulder defensively. It took a glance back at Jon to shake that off and try his best to look carelessly cool and drape himself back against the wall while he felt like an open wound.

Talking through the problem always helped, even if that meant Tony was talking to himself in his workshop, and maybe eventually he would have asked himself a good leading question like that. If he knew what the Barry's meant him to use the screwdriver for, he might have a better idea of their greater purpose, or at leas that was what he thought Jon was pressing. "I was trying to explain this thing to them," he ventured, plucking up one of the scraps of his stove, another way he was talking through a problem and not expecting anyone else to answer. "They wouldn't have to work so hard, if we could stretch our food more. They don't have to work this hard in the first place, though, they could just leave us here. They also need a stove." No, that didn't seem right. They looked like they photosynthesized.

"I have been wonderin why they are helping us in the first place." Jon has to admit, letting a frown settle on his face. "They don't gain anything from doing any of this. All this ends up in for them is more work." Dustin really must have made an impression on their hosts which they all should be thankful for.

Jon lets his eyes wander over the pieces once more. "They don't really seem to need anything from us. But maybe... Maybe there is something you could build for them that they can simply enjoy?" It's a thought.

They must have needed something, and that need must have been new to them, too, after watching this community from afar for so long and not intervening until now. Either the activities of this new population were having some unknown effect on the Barrys, or the changes to the environment weren't only torturing the imports. Besides, "That's not really my area," Tony had to point out, tipping his head to give Jon a sidelong look with a wry smile. He was an engineer of destruction. Trying to work against that programming so far had produced a backlog of failure. "Maybe they're trying to impress you," made a little more sense. An offering to a holy being, after a fashion. "You're stronger now. They noticed." Tony not understanding what that meant didn't preclude the Barrys from sensing the change.

Jon raises a brow at those words, unconvinced. "I don't think this is about me, Tony." If anything it would be much more plausible for any of the plantkin to have observed Tony's talent in creating and building whatever comes to mind. Though he still doubts that the Barrys actually need anything built for them.

"So how difficult would it actually be for you to build them a little merry-go-round?"

Jon had a lot more to offer, so it was a much more workable theory to Tony, who challenged Jon with an inquisitive expression, are you sure?, and gave another illustrative tap at the simple device he was failing to build. Maybe they just felt sorry for him. Jesus.

At least he couldn't linger in that humiliation for too long before he was giving a short laugh of surprise at Jon's first impulse for 'simple enjoyment'. "Very evocative imagery," he had to admire, "I'm really enjoying that." It might dampen the Barrys' spirits to know that Tony thought their tiny berry ride looked ridiculous, so he schooled his expression to nod more seriously like he had been presented with am enriching neighbourhood development proposal. "I'll keep it in mind. It'll be a good proof-of-concept, for when I have to convince everyone to pool our resources down here so you can have one."

That laugh earns Tony a half-hearted slap to his leg and a quick pout. "It's not a bad idea!" He protests. Their plantkin friends don't exactly seem like they know the simple joy of riding a carousel.

Jon crosses his arms and huffs, though his expression softens again quickly. "What would you suggest to show our gratitude to them?"

The huffing and pouting was enough to evoke a fond smile that actually lingered, despite the theatrical flinch Tony gave to the slap, wounded hand to his heart. He might have even provoked Jon further, into a proper argument to keep his attention, except that 'showing gratitude' felt like a monumentally different question than satisfying some need, and Tony needed to rewire. "They're a little small for that," Tony started, though his focus was clearly elsewhere and not on a teasing smirk. "Funding an expansion for their kids' school probably won't sound very appealing. Do you think they have schools? A car has got to be the next best thing." Rhodey always appreciated another vehicle. He huffed and wouldn't talk to Tony for a little while, but he'd always be in that helicopter eventually. "That would make them faster. They like efficiency," Tony concluded, looking quite confident about something finally.

Jon blinks at Tony for those suggestions. "I don't think a car is a good idea, Tony." He says frankly, then considers his next words for another moment. "What I mean is- When you need a gift for someone that doesn't need anything, you just... You gift them something they can enjoy. A nice bottle of wine, chocolates..." And he trails off with a small shrug. He isn't someone that really ever bought many gifts. And he was always fine with being gifted something he could eat and that wouldn't clutter up his small apartment.

The confidence drained out of Tony, not all at once but a steady release of pressure that incrementally dropped his shoulders back down, then his head to consider his restless fingers again with a frown. If the Barrys even ate, Tony wasn't sure giving them some kind of food when all of the food they had down here came from the Barrys would be particularly welcome. He clearly didn't understand, though, because he still thought a vehicle sounded perfectly rational, so he muttered, "I'll ask if they prefer something fruity or dry the next time they pop out." Getting another still set up down here probably wasn't the best use of their resources, but if Jon thought it was a good idea..."Cayde has a pretty good idea by now of what's going to render well," he was willing to explore, you know, for the Barrys.

"You are making it sound as if you want to turn them into alcohol." Jon frowns while casting a somewhat concerned look at Tony. "I- I feel like you are overthinking this. Do we even know if they aren't already gaining something from our presence in Temba and Sh'Ka? It's possible that they are acting in their own interest in helping us." Which is just as possible. Jon shrugs, if a little helplessly. Not simply knowing for sure may be exciting in some ways, but frustrating in other very realistic ones.

"How about we ask them? Why they are helping us as well as what they enjoy."

That had not occurred to Tony, but now that Jon had said it, he muttered, "D'you think that would work?," if only to turn Jon's expression back to exasperation. He was at least aware that, as a group, if he wasn't trying to figure out what a Barry would want out of him specifically, they might have had some value and could answer, "They are. Kind of. I don't know what it is, but Dustin's been jerking them off for months, something about putting spores in our brains. Kid doesn't trust anything as much as he trusts them." Probably because of the spores.

With a glance back up toward the vent, Tony invited, "He might still be up there."

Jon grimaces at Tony's words. "Jerking them- Tony, please! Can you maybe not phrase it like that! I'm sure Dustin isn't- How would that even-- I don' know of any spores!" Tony made this all up, didn't he? Jon at least sure hopes so.

Though his eyes do flick up to the indicated vent. Not without concern, however. Should they ask about the spores first?

Jon knew about anything important happening in the city around them, so Tony was probably wrong again, and had misunderstood or was easily misled when he had followed after Dustin. He frowned, eyes down on his lap again, and mouth open like he could defend himself, only to nod without a reasonable justification or alternative explanation at the ready. He shouldn't have said anything. Obediently, he pushed himself up, finally leaving aside the abused fruit with the rest of his scraps, to rock up on his toes and try to spot any movement in the vent, then to give an experimental tap at the metal. "They'll bring more food eventually, right?" he said when he didn't get an immediate response. "There's a few of them hanging around then, you can probably just say hello. Nobody needs too much convincing to slack off for a pretty face."

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