Spinning Wheel Got To Go 'Round

[on_repeat]

WHO: Echo, OTA
WHERE: Various
WHAT: Soul-searching Something to keep him occupied
WHEN: Latter half of April
WARNINGS: N/A


> Option B (For Cayde)

Echo meant to go to the meeting.

Meetings are important. Like mission briefings, it catches everyone up on the intel they need to know and brings up new information if several of them have been unaware of such developments.

Currently it's another bullet point on his growing mental list; while he has every intention of listening and participating with others in their collective, this particular bullet point decides to stack sideways instead of from top to bottom, creating a more complicated web of thoughts that constantly shift on the way toward the amphitheater.

He barely gets to it when Cayde-6 interrupts, almost taking a step back with the Exo suddenly there. "–What, is it over already?"


> Run It Off

Restless wasn't a word the ARC Trooper uses frequently – maybe in describing other clones whenever they were in that state of mind before and during missions, but never really for himself. Not until that nervous energy slowly built up long after the return from Coruscant.

So he ran.

It was one of the quickest ways to burn it off. It also killed two birds with one stone, keeping him on track with his training. And it worked...for the most part. His mind continued at a clip, never stopping when he did along the available routes, never resting whenever he tried to distract himself with other things that needed to be done.

Which led to the third metaphorical bird: he could still check in with everyone on the way around. See if they needed any help.

If all else failed, he'd try target practice near the outskirts as a means to keep his skills sharp. And to blow off steam.

Comments

I'm SAVING YOU

[deal_me_in]

Cayde sweeps past the ARC Trooper with a grin, hooking an arm around Echo as he does so.

"Nope, been going on some, still going. You're not missing anything," he says by way of explanation, threatening to drag the clone along if he doesn't keep pace.

Are you? ARE YOU??

[on_repeat]

A soft 'oof' filters through the helmet's vocabulator as the Exo's arm connects, forcing Echo to shift his own momentum to keep his balance. Which also means going with Cayde.

"How can you be so sure?"

AT LEAST I THOUGHT SO

[deal_me_in]

"Trust me, I know how these things go. In circles. With lots of words. Very sensible words, mind you, but still, a lotta words. Could just cut out the words and do stuff, then if people aren't happy with it you can apologize later." It certainly sounds like he speaks from experience, especially in the latter.

Cayde continues onward without a glance back. "The Agrii brought us on to solve their storm problem. If people want to make themselves comfortable while we work on that then that's completely understandable. Who knows how long it'll take? Easiest way would be if we could get to whoever's pulling strings, then-" Here he lifts his free hand, miming pulling a trigger. "Problem solved."

[hooliganstatus]

As he rounds a corner, Aeon drops down from a girder and starts running beside him, smiling.

"What're we running from, today?"

WELL MAYBE YOU ARE

[on_repeat]

"It's all laid out for us," Echo agrees. He remembers the reason, but he also understands the need to have something a little more substantial than what they've been given while they're working it all out.

The helmet shifts, following the invisible shot. "So long as the other projects don't distract us from our main purpose, there shouldn't be too much to go over." A beat. "Unless things are more complicated than they seem?"

[on_repeat]

She kind of catches Echo off-guard, forcing him to look over his shoulder as he gets back into stride. But he's fine with having more running buddies.

"Oh, y'know," he says casually between controlled breaths. "The usual."

YEAH TAKE THAT

[deal_me_in]

The Hunter shrugs. "It always gets more complicated when you've got so many people trying to work things out. Everyone's got different priorities. Of course not everyone's gonna be on board and sync up with the same ideas."

He lets Echo go to walk on his own since the Trooper's not fighting him about it. Besides, it's awkward keeping pace like this.

"-where're we going anyway."

[hooliganstatus]

She thinks about what he'd shared with her in the hospital, knowing he means his usual, not hers - clearly, because there's no gunfire or bomb countdown.

"Boredom, then. I'm good at outrunning that."

[rage_on]

There was an unusual shape perched at the corner of one of the old buildings. Raphael glanced down at the sound of someone coming down the path, brow furrowing beneath his mask before he blinks in vague recognition of the armor. He tensed a little, a brief mental deliberation quickly abandoned with a shake of his head before the turtle teen dropped down to the ground once Echo neared. At least he didn't look hostile.

[on_repeat]

Released and rolling his shoulder, Echo straightens up again. "Part of me wants to say that's how it usually goes, but it shouldn't be that way."

And he could have gone back at this point, but his own priorities are shuffled around again. "–Scouting for an outpost, apparently."

[deal_me_in]

"Ooh! Outpost scouting! I'm game," Cayde pipes happily, bouncing ahead. "What do you need an outpost for? Bracing for an invasion?"

He looked this way and that, spinning around so quickly that his cloak was still going one way when he turned the other. "That way's the beach so maybe kind of pointless putting an outpost on that end unless we're expecting, I dunno, pirates or something. But then that leaves three giant swathes of space that's wide open so..."

[on_repeat]

Echo had clear visual on the individual, still surprised by the way the turtle dropped in, faltering in his steps as he began to slow down. While it was hard to ignore the sudden flashbacks to when he last saw Raphael, he saw no evident threat in the stance taken.

Habit however dictated he still be on his guard upon approach, one arm rising halfway to wave. "Hey."

[rage_on]

The hesitation wasn't something that had gone unnoticed. Raphael inwardly cringed; the man was hardly to blame for being wary around him. That he got around to wave at least was a good step in the right direction. Straightening up from his slight slouch, the turtle lifted a hand in an awkward sort of greeting back.

"Er...hey..."

[on_repeat]

An internal sigh of relief welcomed the awkwardness of the situation. The clone's shoulders relax as he let his hand drop back to his side. "Haven't seen you in a while." Which was true – going to Coruscant wasn't really planned, after all.

[rage_on]

That was definitely a good sign. Raphael held back a sigh in relief, moving his own hand to scratch the back of his head as he glanced off to the side somewhat awkwardly. "Yeah..." There'd been ample enough time even before then to try and make amends, but he hadn't really followed up on that himself.

"That last planet was kinda wild. Still one of the better places I've been to." He mentally kicked himself to stay on subject. "So um. How've...you been?"

[on_repeat]

It's basically that. Plus it never hurts to stay on track with his training.

"What, nothing else keeping you busy lately?"

[on_repeat]

"Coruscant's not for everyone, but it has its merits," Echo admitted with a soft sigh. "More resources, for one. And it would've been harder to leave if we overstayed our welcome."

But yes, back on-topic. "I'm doing fine. Mostly fine." Mentally busy, but fine. He seemed to have a better grip on small talk and was open to having it. "How are you?"

[rage_on]

"Guess I can see that. I mean, between here and there, it's kind of a no-brainer which place is better to be stuck at." But that would have defeated the purpose of their being where they were now.

Raphael nodded, folding his arms. "Only mostly?" He managed a smirk at that. "I'm all right I guess. Hard getting back into whatever it is we're expected to do here after being gone for a month." There were less distractions here, so it was easier to be homesick, for one.

[on_repeat]

"Yeah," Echo halfheartedly chuckled. "Ga Re' meant well, but waking up en route to the planet wasn't ideal."

The turtle's smirk was mirrored under the helmet, relating quickly to what he said. "You're telling me. Productivity has been coming along, but it feels like the going's slow. Then again, being interrupted by those ghosts and giant arachnid attacks didn't help much either."

They temporarily filled in as distractions, but they (fortunately) didn't last too long. The lull they were in now brought back stray thoughts and slowly built anticipation for anything out of what was considered ordinary at this point.

[on_repeat]

Echo almost shakes his head, laughing under a breath as he watches Cayde bound off. "You never know," he says, striding after him so that he doesn't get left behind. "Especially with this place..."

The Exo's company diverts another train of thought about how unprepared they've been in the past. After glancing in the direction of the beach, he turns his head to look at Cayde. "Although pirates seem like a stretch, we'll leave that option open." His brow furrows. "Did Temba even have defenses when the Agrii used to live here?"

[rage_on]

It wasn't hard seeing the grimace on the turtle's face at mention of the arachnids. After all, that had been the same time that sound had been driving them all crazy, himself included.

"Yeah...that," Raphael muttered, looking away again. "...look, about what happened then, I know I wasn't in the right mind and people keep saying it's not my fault, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it, 'specially knowing what could've happened." And he didn't remember everything clearly, but there were some things that stuck out. He remembers the face that was under the helmet after he'd ripped that helmet off.

[deal_me_in]

"Very true!" In which case Cayde isn't so sure one outpost will really do a whole lot of good, much less their handful of displaced residents, so he rather hopes it doesn't come down to that, especially after talking about war with Jon.

The Exo had stopped running about in circles to reconsider the layout of things from a more stationary point of view while waiting for Echo to catch up, standing with arms akimbo. "Not sure. I mean, they've got their 'death tools' and a security point, but those are the only weapons I've seen around here, and you know I've looked. No tanks or turrets. I don't think they ever expected trouble, even when people came by for supplying."

[on_repeat]

Echo huffed a laugh, running a gloved hand along the edge of his bucket as if he was remembering a sore spot along his jaw. "It happened. And you weren't pulling any punches." An obvious statement, but also a compliment of some kind. "You're fast. It was different from fighting with my brothers. I also didn't expect the amount of force behind each swing."

[rage_on]

"For the record I don't usually pull my punches," Raphael said, but there was a faint quirk of his lips. "We're ninja. My father trained me and my brothers to be fast and make every move count. Aaand unfortunately for you I probably hit the hardest of my brothers."

[on_repeat]

"...Doesn't make any sense to have what they do have on hand and not make use of it."

After knowing Cayde for a while, Echo believes him. An invisible frown can be heard in his words once he gets close, his own arms folding over his chestplate in thought.

"Then again, the Agrii are very trusting considering they have us trying to solve their problems for them. And awfully friendly."