On the Prowl

[beholding_archivist]

WHO: Jon & OTA
WHERE: Around the Agrii Ship
WHAT: The Archivist is hungry and prowling an alien space ship on the hunt for wild tape recorders and your fear
WHEN: Late September
WARNINGS: None yet.

Ever since the Agrii have been rescued and the Graq returned to their own home planet, things have calmed down more or less around the large ship the Agrii have been staying on and that is still on its way back to Agra 10, where, in all likelihood, they are expected to resume their rebuilding efforts.

And yet way too many questions remain, at least for Jon. The Archivist has spent a lot of time asking their alien captors all sorts of questions and not always has received satisfying answers. But as the weeks pass by and he finds fewer things to ask, Jon’s curiosity is slowly replaced by something equally nagging: Hunger.

It’s not an unfamiliar feeling for Jon, though it’s also not one he finds himself entirely able to ignore. He has lost enough weight as it is and while the turtlenecked poncho-like piece of clothing he has picked up on their brief stop and has come to wear around the ship to feel less cold makes these things less obvious, Jon at least remains aware that it’s not entirely healthy.

And so he is wandering the large ship, eyes and ears open for the familiar sight of an outdated tape recorder or the unmistakable whirring noise of one.

A - Mess Hall

The mess hall is a place for food, right. Not quite the food Jon consumes anymore, but he has tried a few of the offered items - Only to be met with an atrocious taste.

Though the mess hall is also a place where people met. And talked about stuff. So chances are that one of those curious recorders might be around, quietly recording away one conversation or another. Which means Jon is more or less prowling around between the tables, head cranes forward to peek under the various tables and benches and counters.

“Excuse me...” He mutters distractedly while moving past someone with their tray of food.

B - Medbay

Another place Jon suspects, or at least hopes, to find a recorder in is the medbay. It may not be as much of a social place as the mess hall, but people still pretty much talk in there. And that’s not rarely important talk. And probably quite to the liking of those curious little devices.

So he pushes the door open cautiously and peaks as well as listens around for a moment before stepping inside and into the center of the room, simply letting out a sigh at the lacking presence of a tape recorder.

C - Engine Room

The engine room is an unusual place for the Archivist to show up in, and it’s not entirely intentional to begin with. He just finds himself wandering in, then notices the large core set in the middle of the large room and stops short, staring for a couple of moments in blinking silence.

“.....Jesus Christ.” Is all he utters before slowly backing towards the exit again.

D - Anywhere Else?

[[ Basically your wildcard if you want to hit me up on Plurk or Discord. ]]

Comments

D; because I DO WHAT I WANT

[sinistral]

The cargo bay seems to vacillate between busy and not; at least, for the times the Soldier visits, it's either bustling with activity of people working on the ships or shuttles, or quiet and all but abandoned. While able to fit himself well enough into the first — there is a plethora of work available for a man with enhanced strength — he prefers the second for his own purposes.

Currently it's quiet — a "night" cycle, or whatever passes for night on the ship — and the Soldier has commandeered the cargo bay as a workout station. Running laps, doing pushups, practicing knifework; with neither sparring partner nor proper equipment there's only so much he can do, but he's determined to make it work.

He'll not stop Jon from entering, but he'll also not stop his own activity until or unless Jon makes to talk. After all, the man could be deep in thought, or just wanting quiet, and he'd hate to interrupt that.

That's what it's there for!

[beholding_archivist]

Night or day aren't things that matter much to Jon anymore either way. Not when he hardly sleeps as it is.

Heading into the cargo bay is, admittedly, a bit of a long shot. But without any luck elsewhere, it's where the Archivist eventually ends up. Initially, he entirely ignores the presence of the only other person in the place. Which is less because he's intimidated by the man, but rather because Jon isn't very inclined to disturb him.

Jon's way brings him straight up to the shuttles they have initially arrived in and he spends a good amount of time strolling around each of them before doing the same with the consoles set up throughout the room. To no avail, unfortunately. The Archivist is left as empty-handed as he has been upon entering the bay.

With a quiet frown on his face and his hands tucked away in the pockets of his pants, Jon makes to leave the place again, but then stops, casting a quick glance over to the other man - It can't hurt to at least ask, right? Right.

"... Excuse me?"

Since when do I play by the rules?

[sinistral]

He's pretty sure that Jon is just going to go about his business, take a tour through the empty space and leave again, so he's rather surprised when the other main hails him. The Soldier flips the knife over the back of his palm, catching it and stowing it in its sheath before straightening and looking at the other man.

"Yes?" he replies, rolling his shoulders back and forcing himself into a more casual posture.

[beholding_archivist]

Despite some less than pleasant encounters with knives, Jon manages to ignore the small weapon and approach with steady footsteps.

"You don't happen to have seen any tape recorders lying around, have you?" The question is presented carefully and without any compulsion to it.

[sinistral]

Fortunately, the knife certainly isn't meant as a threat to Jon; the Soldier sheathes it smoothly moves his hand away, running fingers through his hair instead.

"Don't think so," he replies, frowning thoughtfully. A strange thing to ask about for sure, considering the apparent prevalence of technology. But then again, he hadn't exactly been looking for a tape recorder, or any sort of recording device. "Do you need help looking for it?"

[beholding_archivist]

"Oh, I... I believe you would have noticed it. They tend to be bad at hiding their presence." Jon replies with a little sigh and another quick look around. It's true enough, though. Those old recorders aren't just obviously chunky, but also noisy in their presence alone.

He makes a short gesture at the Soldier's little training setup. "You are keeping yourself busy, I see."

[sinistral]

"Tape recorders that are bad at hiding?" Clearly a new concept for the Soldier, he looks around as well. Nothing obviously tape-recorder-y sticks out, but that might not mean anything. And with the Agrii so obviously present, he can't rule out their influence. "Or perhaps someone could have hidden it?"

His shrug is a little self conscious; he's been told by a few people that he doesn't need to train as much as he does, and for various reasons. Nevertheless he finds keeping the routine important to him. "I don't trust the Agrii, or anything about our situation. Training to keep myself sharp seems the best course of action."

Nyooom Medbay

[in_extremis]

This was an unusual place to find Tony. It wasn't somewhere that he was much help, either to anyone looking for medical care, or for the people stressed about their suffering; he was not a caregiver, in either sense, and he had his own role to put together the puzzle of the mystery of the engine, and their greater purpose here, to help ease that stress. He was solving the problem, just not here.

After Bucky woke up and Cloud didn't, though, and after Reeve expressing how disconnected he was without his friends, Tony was sitting on an empty bed, legs crossed and chatting idly to Cloud's still form, his hands working meticulously in his lap at something he clearly didn't have to focus very much on. It was Tony that was talking in the medbay, his voice carrying across the room as Jon peeked in, but it wasn't particularly important talk, he would say; he was barely listening to himself. "And, listen-" he was mumbling, not quite looking at Cloud across from him, "I'm saying all this, but don't take it the wrong way, I'm not trying to guilt you into waking up. Unless that works, in which case, you're welcome. I'm just saying, he's not crying about it or anything, but it's hard to admit when you're lonely. Especially when you're a billion years old like he is, he's supposed to be used to it, life is lonely, don't be a pussy about it. If you could get over whatever this is, your little hibernation cycle, what are you, recharging that dim bulb? Are you going to wake up and be able to carry a conversation? Please."

Jon just came waltzing into the middle of the room, and Tony stared at him, voice slowly petering out, busy hands slowing, then shot a look Cloud's way again like he was commiserating with the comatose man over being so rudely interrupted.

[beholding_archivist]

Tony certainly was the last person Jon had expected to find in the medbay of all places. And he didn't even notice him right away, having deliberately tried to tune out any other noise than the one he had hoped to encounter.

Only having heard part of what Tony had told Cloud, Jon cast a look from Tony to the yet unconscious body and back. "He still hasn't woken up, has he." Jon observed pensively. He had yet to figure out how Cloud could simply vanish from the bridge with everyone including Jon himself in the same room.

He remained where he stood for a moment longer, fidgeting a little at the awareness that he was clearly interrupting something. "-I'm sorry. Didn't mean to--" He gestures vaguely towards the two men. "I'll be on my way."

[in_extremis]

All of Tony's combined medical expertise had got him as far as no, still not awake, so he didn't have anything else to offer to Jon's observation but a pout Cloud's way, dropping his head in his hand with his arm propped on a knee like this was exhausting. That Jon had found Tony talking to nobody present and decided that meant he needed the privacy to do so wasn't surprising, but still made Tony snort fondly, then continue in Cloud's direction, "Now, Jon, opposite problem." He was just keeping Cloud abreast of the important news aboard the ship. "Look at him. Adorable, obviously, and thinks we all don't notice, then takes any opportunity to sneak off on his own and get into trouble. The second you weren't looking, just about got himself killed."

Glancing back in Jon's direction with a slow smile, sure that wasn't enough to keep him from slinking away to be distractingly weird around someone else, Tony added, "Hey, boss, been looking for you," as though there was any way to pretend he had been conducting a search from this hospital bed. "I have something for you," was a more reasonable statement.

[beholding_archivist]

That wordless response at least has Jon look over to Cloud once more before he makes to turn around and leave as promised - Only to be stopped by Tony very deliberately talking about him. It's with a deep frown of disbelief that Jon turns back to him. "Adorable?"

And that's as far as his indignation gets and Jon is left halfway through a pouting expression at being accused of getting himself killed. Okay. Maybe it's not quite an accusation, but- Jon doesn't have to acknowledge it as undeniable truth, right?

Tony manages to morph that pout into mild confusion when he addresses Jon directly and Jon blinks once and slowly walks over rather than leaving. "...for me?" Has he possibly found one of the recorders while sitting here, talking to Cloud?

[in_extremis]

That was easy. There was this new development of people insisting Tony didn't have to give them things, but it continued to be incredibly effective, making Tony sit up straighter again with a smile as Jon slinked around and was transformed by curiosity, like a fickle cat. It might not have been nearly as welcome as a treat, but Tony brandished what he held in his lap with a practiced grin--that fell into a frown as he quickly retracted the offer to blow the fine dust off of the gift from the careful sanding of the connection points he had just been doing with the paper in his other hand--salesman's dazzle back, offer flat in his palm, Tony excused, "Piping hot, fresh off the production line." It was a slightly domed disk that fit easily into his hand, ringed with plastic tubing that was filled with a liquid casting a familiar green glow. When he gave it a shake, it completed the connections to the meticulously knit array of LEDs under the tinted casing and threw a surprisingly potent green radiance up to the ceiling. "It's a--" Nightlight sounded condescending, right? But it couldn't exactly be called a flashlight, it wasn't nearly strong enough. "Reading light," Tony settled on. "For when you're doing whatever it is you do down in that basement."

[beholding_archivist]

And Jon has been among those reminding Tony that gifts aren't a necessity. That he doesn't need to try and buy him. And yet there are different types of gifts as well as different ways to interpret them. Which is one reason for Jon to at least give whatever Tony is presenting to him a look. And at first he has no idea what he is even looking at. It's certainly not a tape recorder. "Uh..."

But then Tony shakes it, causing Jon to take a step back at first, then looks up at the sudden light in surprise. In a good way. "Oh- That's--" It's a light, indeed. Jon has to give a little laugh as he catches himself again and tips his attention back down on Tony, maintaining a small, bemused smile. "In case you knock out the entire city's energy again? Not that I hope you do, but... That's very thoughtful of you." Tony yet remains one of the very people that are aware of how Jon feels about being stuck in complete darkness. And darkness as it is isn't necessarily bound to blackouts. "Thanks. I appreciate it." Jon says, now moving closer to stand before Tony to reach out and lightly touch his chin to allow himself to press a gentle kiss to the Tony's cheek.

A

[wearingthestars]

Jon's behavior is often a little bit weird, but this prowling is a little more unusual than normal, and Billy's arches a brow with an amused look.

"You good, Jon?" he asks, sure the man had barely even taken note of of when he muttered his apology.

[beholding_archivist]

"Oh, B-Billy!" Jon exclaims, turning at the familiar voice with a look of surprise on his face. Surprise mixed with a hint of embarrassment. He really hasn't recognized Billy - At all.

"I- I'm... Good. Yes. I'm good. Just..." He gestures around vaguely. "Looking. You know..."

[wearingthestars]

"You hungry?" he asks automatically, nodding to his tray to welcome Jon to join him before remember with a flush of his own. "Or uh- something more to your taste," he amends with a fluttered laugh. He had made the offer to keep him fed, though Jon had yet to call on it.

[beholding_archivist]

Jon fidgets a little at the question, then glances down and gives a little shrug. "A-actually... I am, yes..." He's a little uncomfortable with openly admitting it and the shoulders that just shrugged drop visibly. "I'm looking for tape recorders. But... Doesn't seem much happening here they feel like recording these days."

[wearingthestars]

"I can um-" Billy mirrors a bit of that fidgeting and flushes, "I can help you out if you want. Offer still stands. Plenty to choose from up here, trust me," he adds, gesturing at his temple with a small smile.

[beholding_archivist]

"I was.... I was hoping I could avoid that. You know..." Potentially hurting a friend, that is. Though his shoulders drop a little as he speaks, making the lack of success in his search apparent. About as apparent as the fresh pang of hunger making him wince notably.

He sighs and glances up at Billy, frowning uncertainly. "You... You really wouldn't mind...?"

B

[plate_builder]

People indeed talk. One of those people being Reeve Tuesti. When he wasn't caught up in different engineering and piloting systems he was here, at Cloud's bedside, monitoring him with the nervous energy of a friend who was losing someone they cared about. With more nervous and fearful energy than he'd have for someone who was just in a coma, which made sense given Cloud's condition.

And Reeve? He had any free moments at Cloud's bed, waking or otherwise. Not like he wasn't used to sleeping in uncomfortable chairs.

What time he was there and awake, with Mini lying at Cloud's side, he dedicated to talking. To sharing all the secrets and suffering of their world that Cloud was still in store for. The fears, the guilt. So yeah, there was no doubt a tape recorder in here somewhere, a bountiful feast of Reeve's history and pain. But the question was whether Jon was willing to brave it.

Because Jon walked in and Reeve looked up. And he just looked... sad and lost and lonely.

"Ah. I... can leave if you need to be here for a bit."

He was too tired to argue with the man over who was responsible for what. He was just too tired and too lonely and too sad.

[beholding_archivist]

Jon is well aware that Cloud remains in the medbay, but he sure hasn't expected the presence of Reeve, whose sight makes Jon stop abruptly, eyes narrowing at the man before briefly shifting to his doll.

"Just passing through." Jon remarks coldly and turns on the spot with the intention of leaving again right away. It's that traitorously familiar whirring noise he picks up that stops him from doing just that. So he remains rooted in place a little longer, casting hurried glances around in search for that insidious little device that of course would be there when he crosses paths with this person again.

[plate_builder]

You're going to have to look under the bed, Jon.

"Can you spare a few moments to talk to me? I understand if you do not wish to, but I find myself wishing there was some way to clear the air of misunderstanding between us."

He will not stop pointing out that Tony lied to him, thanks.

[beholding_archivist]

Letting out a sharp exhale, Jon casts an icy look over at Reeve. "I don't find it very hard to understand that I can only trust you as long as you don't feel the need to feel something."

And that's as much as Jon feels necessary to say on the matter.

[plate_builder]

Really? Reeve turns his full attention on the man, and there's a pitying look on his face.

"What part of Tony lied to me can you not fathom? Have we not known the same man? Must you make this a willful and deliberate action, committed with malice of aforethought? Have I wronged you so strongly when it's you that he looks to and worries over and dedicates himself to? I do not want to be with him, Jon. I feel guilty for even being his friend at this point. Is that not enough? Or is there some penance I must offer you, some lofty quest to earn forgiveness for an act I didn't know would hurt you?"

[beholding_archivist]

Jon all but snorts. "Right. Tony may have lied to you, but it has been your decision in response to this misinformation to deem the information I foolishly entrusted you with as irrelevant in light of your physical urges. Despite knowing how I felt about Tony, you didn't care about how I would feel regarding your selfish actions and this betrayal of my trust in you as a the friend you presented yourself as."

He pauses there, then crosses his arms. "Just to spell it out again: I feel betrayed by you, Mr. Tuesti. I trusted you, but obviously that didn't matter to you. I didn't matter. If another man's wrongdoings are enough to justify being inconsiderate of a supposed friend's feelings, I'm afraid you don't get to try and portray yourself as the victim."