♤ More Than Fine, More Than Bent on Getting By

[deal_me_in]

WHO: Cayde-6 and all'a you
WHERE: IN YUR SPACE Here, there, anywhere! Ugh, just tell him to go home
WHAT: Someone is totally not having attachment issues and just wanting to hang out because that what u do
WHEN: Post-Billicity, through June
WARNINGS: N/A I think
NOTES: Prose to start, will match as preferred.



♤ Fancy Meeting You Here!
For the lack of adrenaline Cayde had still found himself able to go along as though nothing had happened, because things being 'normal' acted in its own way like an energy boost, just being in familiar territory with people whom not only did he know, but that knew him back. He knows it's not nearly so simple, of course, but that's a different sort of problem that he knows he can't personally fix for everyone. Not that it means he won't try to make things a little better.

He certainly hasn't been particularly shy about popping by the more frequented places of the town to begin with, and now it's like he's doing so with a vengeance. The greenhouse, sure. The diner? Of course. The hangar? You bet. The Deep End? Absolutely. He may even be there more often than usual, if only because he knows it's a sure place people come by, if not for the hard liquor then maybe for some coffee. Thought you were about to have a quiet drink? Well, look alive, you've got company. Maybe he'll even try picking out a tune on that guitar there that's practically become a communal instrument. And then there's the amphitheater, because he knows some people use that as a place to blow off some excess energy.

For people he's more familiar with, it shouldn't come as a surprise to find him just there in their space at some point, invited himself in, made himself at home. It's fine, we're all fine. Yes, he's terribly clingy (even though he will attempt not to make it obvious) because being in a busy city and yet finding yourself able to still be isolated is an experience he could have done without. No, he's not going to outright admit it, but it's been a long month. Let him have this. Please.


♤ Great Googly Moogly!
It never fails; you're just going about your day like usual and then you turn and suddenly find yourself startled by a pair of googly eyes staring at you. Unless you're Ikora, in which case this will probably not startle so much as prompt an arch of a brow. But there they are.

Helmets are a prime target, especially on the back. Doors, trees, Jon's chair, someone's mug, a random wrench, Ophiuchus, glasses (I mean, how can you not?!)- free game. Sky's the limit- although if Cayde had the means, he might have very well tried that too.

Not to worry. This too shall pass. Probably.

Or at least it will when he runs out of googly eyes.


♤ Not-Home-Away-From-Not-Home-Away-From-Not-Home
The days and nights in the city facsimile had been more like regular days back on Earth and yet they still had felt incredibly long. Staying awake most of those nights just lent to the impression. He's sure that the exhaustion he feels is more mental than physical, but he's been most determined to make his rounds.

The old Agrii furniture store is one of Cayde's more random haunts, a place he enjoys poking around for supplies and random knick-knacks when he's bored or to sprawl out on one of the many beds. At the moment it's the latter, and should anyone happen to wander into the bed section, they'll find the Hunter lying across the end of a bed on his side, an arm tucked under his hooded head, optics shuttered, hand cannon still holstered at his side. Exos don't need to sleep, but in keeping with the habits of their formerly fleshy selves they can if they wish, and low and behold, it looks like he's doing just that, finally given in to all the running around.

Hovering watchfully nearby is his Ghost Sundance, and should they suddenly find themselves with company she'll swivel around to look at whomever might come upon her sleeping Guardian.


♤ Aces Wild
((AKA if you have any other ideas or something you want play out, toss down a starter or bother me to hash out some deets, whichever!))

Comments

Not-Home, to be contrary

[in_extremis]

Sundance was not a surprise. Not visually, anyway, though Tony did give a start when something in the room suddenly moved and she turned her glow on him. That it was just the Ghost was a relief enough for him to sigh a noisy breath, hand on his heart and shoulders dropping, tongue to his teeth ready to chastise her for abusing a man with a heart condition. His gaze had darted expectantly, though, knowing Cayde couldn't be far, and anything he had to say was reduced to a tsk as he raised his eyebrows at the sleeping Exo, then at Sundance inquisitively. That was weird, right? Finding him like that and up for auction was definitely worse, but the similar scene still made Tony slightly uneasy.

Slowly, he raised a finger to his lips to signal to Sundance that he would be absolutely respectful of Cayde's rest, then offered her a kiss of greeting and a small frown of concern for what had become of her all month under Billy's new rules. Of course, Tony wasn't going to be that respectful. He did sneak carefully as he approached the bed like he was trying not to disturb Cayde any further, but once he got there, he made the clearly deliberate choice to ignore any other avenue and clamber over Cayde, all knees and elbows, to get himself up and over the Exo and flop just as gracelessly down onto the bed against Cayde's back, one arm left behind and draped like it had been forgotten.

[deal_me_in]

Sundance seemed to relax once she saw who it was, her back half twisting half-way around before spinning back as she watched Tony's approach. She remained silent to the implied inquiry. It wasn't such an unusual thing. She was just thankful he was on a bed and not on the edge of a cliff.

Getting kissed wasn't something she was accustomed to, her points fidgeting just slightly, but given how much she'd come to know about Tony, she supposed it wasn't completely strange, coming from him at least. She hardly believed that quiet signal, and would have bet glimmer that it wouldn't have held up as she continued to observe the man's approach. Her vertices fanned in something that might have been a shrug or a sigh, accompanied by an eyeroll as her glowing core skipped upwards in that moment.

Blue optics flickered open just as Tony went flopping over his body, but since Sundance hadn't sounded any alarms he hadn't bothered to pull his gun. He closed his eyes again,

"...just had to go over instead of around, didn't you?"

[in_extremis]

Since he was be so incredibly respectful, Tony didn't immediately have ten answers prepared to spout and instead drew in a slow, contemplative breath to sigh again before muttering, "You know me, always very direct." That was supposed to be kind of funny, but Tony gave his own twitch of dismissal with his hand dangling over Cayde's side before either of them thought too hard about the games that very familiar version of himself was capable of playing. Maybe it was a mercy that he hadn't recognized Cayde and drawn him into more of them. "Do you always sleep in your clothes?" he asked abruptly so they didn't linger, "Or were you hoping a charming prince would show up and kiss you? I think Billy's out of commission for a bit, you'll be waiting on a prince for a while, maybe set your ambitions a little lower."

[deal_me_in]

Tony was Tony, whether it was here or some fantasy city. Dwelling on what had happened just seemed like an exhausting thing, and Cayde was quick to dismiss those thoughts, snorting lightly at his friend's response. Well, there'd be no more napping in the meanwhile, that much was certain.

"You get used to it," he said, rolling with the subject change like a gambler's dodge. His eyes were open again, but he wasn't feeling very inclined to move from his spot on the bed right then. Much more comfy than the ledge of a cliff. "No beds out on the moon, or the EDZ. Not many walls either. Also, I like being fashionable even when I'm taking five."

His jaw twitched in something of a grin, sobering quickly for mention of Billy, the poor kid. Cayde turned his head as far as he could manage without having to roll completely over, not that he could see much from his current angle. "I'm already awake 'cuz someone crawled all over me like an overgrown cat. Plus you already kissed my Ghost."

[in_extremis]

That produced more questions than answers for Tony, who frowned at the back of Cayde's head as he was left not only wondering about Exo sleep habits but also what happened to the moon. Or the whole star system? It was difficult enough to read what Cayde's actual life was like through his jaunty countenance.

"Did she tell you that? You know, lying to each other is a major sign of an unhealthy relationship," Tony insisted, like he wasn't likely to go around kissing Ghosts. "Anyway, you can get used to plenty of things. I'm used to barbecuing my hands every day, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't prefer a few less blisters. Hey, if you're up, you can help me move some stuff." How convenient.

[deal_me_in]

Oh, he would gladly regale Tony in tales of his explorations before he got chained to the Tower with Vanguard duty. Prior to that, the City was just a place to return to, and he considered home every open space he could possibly traverse.

Cayde's shoulders shook in a quiet laugh, and he nudged Tony as he tried to negotiate some space to roll onto his back, not that he wasn't against simply flopping back against him to use as an awkward pillow. "Barbecued, blistered hands are completely unrelated from wearing your gear to bed. Also, that just sounds terrible- don't they have like...welding gloves or something so you don't keep roasting yourself?"

The full-bodied sigh he emitted was pretty believable for how much he sagged along with it, making for a brief Tony-sandwich press depending on how stubborn the man had proved earlier on. "So that's what this was all about? Fiiiine. What're we moving?"

[in_extremis]

Tony was stubborn, but relented about when Cayde squeezed a helpless wheeze out of him and wiggled back enough to give Cayde's shoulders their room, propping his head up on a hand to look down at him instead. If Tony was pale and feverish looking, he would gladly blame the unforgiving lighting in the bed section. "Sure, probably," he allowed. "They keep them near the pyjamas, I think." See, exactly the same thing.

"Listen, if you need your beauty rest, by all means," Tony said graciously, hand to his heart like this could have even been an option now that Tony had crawled all over Cayde and made his demand. He would not be above making far too much noise to nap through on his venture if Cayde wasn't going to explain what a synthetic body needed sleep for. That would be one of the first inefficiencies Tony designed out, anyway. "But I was looking for some washing machines, or parts to make them, to put down in Sheriff's Suburbia. I haven't seen any in any of these buildings, so we might have to get creative, but I don't think ripping them out of the ships to make them more convenient is going to work. Just a hunch." If Cayde could be slapped out of the sky for getting too close to what he wasn't supposed to, Tony was sure those ships had their own defences.

[deal_me_in]

Had he even fully recovered from his disastrous attempt at a stratospheric breach? Cayde hadn't been able to really check given how everyone took a sudden vacation no one had asked for. He still allowed himself a brief laugh as Tony insisted on staying the course, apparently having some definite issues with his choice of sleepwear.

"You sure you're not the one who needs the beauty rest?" he teased, smiling crookedly as he pushed himself to sit up. It was obvious he wasn't going to be allowed the peace and quiet, but he felt better at least. "Washing machines. Huh. I guess old-fashioned scrubbing down by the lake's out of the question when there's things that wanna eat you swimming in there."

He gave a bounce, and then another to edge himself closer to the bed so he could hop to his feet, and he held out a hand for Sundance, allowing her to decompile before he turned to Tony, holding out a hand. "Creative's worked so far, but you're gonna have to tell me what all we might be keeping an eye out for because washing machines are outside of my expertise."

[in_extremis]

Offended that Cayde didn't recognize Tony was already the most beautiful thing in Temba, he pouted until Cadye was up on his feet and by then was nodding sagely, eyes closed. "Some of us occasionally change our socks, so having options other than going all the way back to the ship and hoping its still there, or getting Jonah'd, I think will make everyone more productive." The need to focus so much on food was also slowing them down considerably, but Tony was up against far worse barriers than not being able to find an existing washing machine when it came to automating that process. It was like the plants defied logic to him. They might as well have been magic.

"None of those on the moon, either?" he asked as he dragged himself out of the bed with Cayde's arm, then briefly leaned on him like that had taken all of Tony's energy reserves to manage. "That place used to be a palace, must be some lying around." With a deep breath, Tony considered the furniture store and their task, and produced as much guidance as he could manage, "Anything big and metal." If it couldn't be used as is, it could be fired.

[deal_me_in]

"Oh, socks- very understandable. Nothing like fresh socks," Cayde nodded. "Maybe that's why some people decided to live on the ships. Huh."

He looked down at Tony as the man used him as support once he'd gotten free of the bed, reaching over with his free hand for a light pat on the guy's shoulder. "Nah, the moon's just craters, abandoned research facilities and Hive nests." He considered the area they were in, calling up a mental image of the section maps in his head for all the scouting and poking about he'd done.

"Big and metal. Well, we can start with the appliance section either way, I believe that is over that-a-way," he indicated with a nod.

[in_extremis]

Definitely for the socks, because there wasn't much else about the ships that was inviting. Maybe that was just Tony's ship, though. "Huh," Tony agreed, and went meandering in the direction that Cayde had indicated, starting to snicker at the idea of Cayde settling into customer service job at the furniture store once anyone else figured out that he seemed to know his way around.

"Hive? Like the Brood?" he wondered absently, sure that Cayde had mentioned something like this before. "Look like big bugs, all they do is eat," he elaborated with a hand twisting to make sure they were on the same page as he wandered through the dusty displays. Things that could have been fridges and environmental control devices slouched around them, looking pathetically abandoned and in need of being treated to new lives.

[deal_me_in]

That snicker got a look, not that Cayde expected Tony to explain himself and his random thoughts as he propelled himself off in the aforementioned direction. The Exo trailed after him.

"There...are some kinda bugginess to them? But not really. More like...skeletal, kind of undead things. No eating, they kinda just...well with them it's all dark rituals and trying to claw your face off. Leave gooey, sticky messes of places wherever they decide to move in."

The section of supposed appliances had been looked through, dusty handprints along the sides of every possible hinged opening available as someone had undoubtedly looked inside to see if anything fun or interesting (read: valuable) was hidden (spoilers: there was not). Given that Cayde was no expert in Agrii tech, he hadn't spent too much time here otherwise.

"Brood with a capital B, I'm assuming? Sounds like something unpleasant. What exactly do they eat?"

[in_extremis]

That didn't sound so bad. Not a mess Tony would want to clean up, but basic face-clawing wasn't the worst thing that could happen, and a reasonable problem to keep isolated on the moon. "That's not what ruined everything, then," he clarified, hand out flat, not hearing the apocalyptic possibilities from this brief description. Imagining they were more like the Brood had made the Last City thing make a lot of sense.

Tony rattled a few displays and considered what looked like a waffle-maker briefly before crouching in front of a glass-fronted box that squatted heavily on the ground, regretting the move instantly and wavering slightly but still staring curiously at his find. "Brood eat everything, and what they don't eat, they turn into one of them. More of them, less to eat, really gets out of hand fast," he explained. "They're not even really from our universe so--maybe you're lucky, they never made it to you. Or they're your Hive, who knows? Maybe Brood is just what you call mosquitoes. I guess you know a lot of that kind of stuff now, huh? It's weird, I had a whole life...It's hard to tell the difference, kind of. Hey, do any of these toilets work?" He ended airily, and sat abruptly on the ground where he had bent down, taking a steadying breath.

[deal_me_in]

"No, although I wouldn't be surprised if there was a connection somewhere. All these summoning ancient dark gods or something from other dimensions can't really be good for anyone."

Cayde made a face as he heard Tony out on the matter of the Brood. "Yuck. So do they like...end up eating each other once they run out of things to broodify?" No matter how you split it, that sounded like an awful mess, especially for an Earth that was still scratching the surface of space travel. "Think we got enough problems to deal with, without having to worry about this Brood business."

While he wasn't hovering about Tony- he'd seen that unsteadiness there- the Exo lingered in the general area, looking at some cylindrical contraption that he wasn't sure was just a fancy barrel or a dryer for Agrii bikinis. "I'm not sure that I actually know anything so much as am more confused," he chuckled, but his heart wasn't quite into it. "Should you even be up?" By then he'd turned to see Tony flop down to sit, crossing that space in a couple of strides.

[in_extremis]

"Hey, they sound like they might know how to get us home," Tony pointed out, not particularly enthusiastic about the idea even if he did have the energy. Maybe he would take a magical summoning circle to start getting people back to their own dimensions at this point, though. In theory. "Brood're actually similar, kind of answers your question--they eat their way into a different dimension, that's how they become your problem. Wouldn't count on them to hitch a ride, though."

He slouched, letting his leg splay out on the cool ground and hugging himself around the middle, not looking particularly good but shrugged nonetheless. "It goes away, just have to wait it out, and I'd rather be..." he muttered, and flicked one hand free to gesture vaguely at anything else. As though it was a natural thought to follow, he continued, "I guess it would be confusing. Those guys who aren't even from Earth, that's got to be weird. Nothing like that survives? Not even the shitty traffic?" He did know that Cayde was basically an alien, even if they shared a planet in name, but that didn't make it any easier to process this possible future if they really started from similar places.

[deal_me_in]

"Eating their way into a different dimension. That just brings up all sorts of questions." He'd rather let a Warlock wonder those sorts of things.

Cayde looked down at Tony, not much convinced about the whole waiting it out thing. Waiting was never his strong point, and if this was a repeat occurrence, then surely that was something to be concerned about. He took a knee beside him.

"No sparrows, no giant wall on the horizon, no jumpships in the sky? Yeah, weird stuff. Cars that actually still run and come careening out of nowhere at people? -is that an actual thing, by the way? And they said my tank driving was reckless..."

[in_extremis]

Tony started to laugh at the image Cayde had unwittingly presented him with, then quickly sobered because if it was anyone else that wouldn't have been funny at all, but he couldn't entirely keep from looking amused as he accused, "Did you walk into the street?" That was likely more dangerous for the traffic than it was for the Exo, and hopefully none of those people that Billy had imagined were too rattled by it. "Yeah, most days. Cars hitting people, cars taking out bikes that are going too slow, car on car action--that's an actual sport, actually. Monster trucks. Put them in a big arena just to smash into each other, everyone goes nuts, drinks too much, fight each other in the parking lot and piss in a big trough together, real bonding experience. I don't know if that one ever made it out of America, honestly, so as long as it didn't make it to your future, I guess now you know it could have been worse." Was he still talking? It was possible he could stop now. Possible. "D'you think you can lift that?" he continued, gesturing to the box that he had been considering that could have been a very high end dishwasher.

[deal_me_in]

Cayde scowled as Tony laughed. "When I was supposed to! When the sign thingys with the walky man came up!" he protested. "Only reason I got hit or near hit was because I was pulling someone out of the way!" News flash, cars hurt. Although there was also that near-incident with the truck but he's pretty sure he still had the right of way.

"Smashing cars. Sounds like a waste though, no?" He could see the potential entertainment value of demolishing things though, so maybe it wasn't too far-fetched an idea.

Cayde looked over at the indicated box, stroking his chin. "Probably," he decided, unfolding to stand so he could give it a try. It looked pretty solid and had the weight to match, but he managed to pick it up off the ground before easing it back down. "Okay. I can lift the thing but the size is gonna make it awkward to carry. Any progress on that transmat relay?"

[in_extremis]

Cayde being an incredibly law-abiding citizen and never breaking jaywalking rules in a city that behaved a lot like New York and collectively flouted them was just as funny as not understanding any road rules, so Tony was chuckling again at Cayde's impassioned defense. Plus, he made it sound like he was doing this traffic rescue more than once during his short stay. "You had a much more interesting couple of weeks than I did," Tony observed with a wry smile. He thought the bookends that he had caught glimpses of were interesting enough for Cayde, he didn't think the Exo was spending all of his time in between fighting vehicles.

As Cayde got the thing off of the ground, Tony twitched with some surprise as something dark darted away through the dust out from under it, and was slow to mutter, "Uh..." as he tried to spot whatever the thing was again, not really processing the question. There better not have been massive cockroaches in this place. When Tony did focus again, it was with a small shake of his head to rattle it back into place, and he said, "Oh! Yeah, the kid's a genius, rigged a whole power system for it. We can put her through her paces, load up the cart."

[deal_me_in]

"Absolutely exhausting. Maybe if I were caught up like most everyone else I might've had more fun," Cayde huffed, still not appreciating being laughed at for his hardships, or at least trying not to get caught laughing himself.

Once the appliance was set down again, the Exo looked curiously at Tony, head canting to the side as the man seemed distracted. It didn't seem to last long, and the news reported was enough for him not to dwell too much on whatever it might have been that had caught his friend's attention. He grinned.

"Great! That'll make things a lot easier, 'specially if you have any more washing machine scavenging in mind."

[in_extremis]

"Please, we can think big now. We might even do dryers," Tony pointed out, making his way to his feet with some scowling and patting down his hands and his pants at the dust, where he was less likely to encounter whatever was scuttling. His paranoia would have to pause for the moment, though, because he was looking at Cayde with his own scrutiny then, expectant and just impatient enough to press, "You got caught up by the end there." At least, Tony hoped he had.

[deal_me_in]

"Whoa! Don't get too carried away now!" Cayde laughed. That they were even having a discussion about appliances for clothing care was strangely amusing to him. Of course that amusement petered off rather quickly with that point made, and it made the Exo wince.

"Not my plan. This dark thing came out of nowhere and-" He shook his head, scowling again. It wasn't something he wanted to revisit. Having your emotions sapped from you was not at all pleasant.

"Look, that guy was not Cayde-Six. That was... I dunno. Maybe Seven, if I ever allowed myself another reboot- which I wouldn't, by the way- but that was not and will not ever be me."

[in_extremis]

That much had been clear, it just hadn't seemed to work that way for everyone else, making Tony slowly raise a lip in uncomfortable confusion as Cayde didn't really explain and took a route that Tony was generally unprepared for. "Yeah, he was an asshole," he could at least agree, grumbled as he tried to process what else Cayde was trying to tell him, but it didn't really work. "You don't think you would come back the same?" he had to ask. The whole production was alien to Tony, he didn't know what went into the resurrection or the reboot or any of it and generally it didn't sound like a risk worth taking, but at the very least it didn't sound productive to work backwards like that. Whoever designed what Cayde was...Tony's expression was briefly pleading in the knit of his brow as he scanned Cayde in what was by then a reflexively familiar pattern, sure he could figure it out if he had the chance.

[deal_me_in]

Deaths and reboots were separate. If Cayde counted deaths as reboots then he'd have lost count for what number he'd be. He'd probably even give Banshee-44 a run for his glimmer.

"I don't know what was worse, really, before Ikora tried to get through to me or the after. Either way-" he shook his head again, slicing both hands him in a definitive 'x'. The question had him sober a moment, and he folded his arms, shoulders lifting and dropping in one of those believable sighs.

"No, I wouldn't. See- back before we became Guardians, reboots were done whenever we'd start calling up our old selves. Memories we weren't supposed to be holding onto, people we weren't supposed to be. I don't remember when I started wising up to it, started writing things down, little notes to Ace sorta thing, but I did, because I guess I wanted proof I'd been someone before."

He tilted his head back, as though suddenly finding the ceiling lights very interesting. "When I became a Guardian, the Light brought more of that back- the memories, the things I thought I'd forgot, the things I didn't know I knew. Except it's not in any order, it's in fragments, like scattered puzzle pieces. And each time I'm brought back from death, you get these glimpses, more flashes of that past. I think that goes for the same for Guardians in general, not just Exos."

[in_extremis]

Ikora, the librarian--or, maybe not, but Tony had seen her around the library in Temba, too, so that was going to be a difficult association to shake, but she had known, too, Tony realized suddenly, asking questions just like Cayde had tried to shake Tony of the delusion. It was starting to feel like Tony was the only one who hadn't noticed, so susceptible to a little persuasion. How weak. He wanted to talk about it as much as Cayde did.

For once, Tony did actually manage not to interrupt Cayde with his own blustering, welding together the reality Cayde was sharing with him from the fragments he had already collected and watching Cayde intently. It didn't sound to Tony like it wouldn't be Cayde after a reboot--not in any way that mattered. When he did open his mouth to interject, though, Cayde managed to surprise him into asking instead, "What?" Tony had not figured out the death vs reboot problem. Tony generally understood that Cayde worked the way he did because he was an Exo, and the Guardian part was just some uniform. After looking mildly offended that Cayde would say something so confrontational to that understanding, Tony clarified, "What do you mean, not just Exos?"