[GP/EP] Check-in Day

[st_oneswidow]

The woodwinds in her collection were for noodling mostly, and the violin was for memory of her family, but when Curnen really wanted to play she turned again and again to her guitar. This would probably always be her best instrument. It was the first of the month, she’d been here over a year, and it was probably a check-in day. So she sat on the lawn with her instrument in her lap, sending out a subtle magic to call anyone stranded in their little world this way.

At one point, though, she set aside the guitar and turned her face to the sky. For just a few minutes she required a different kind of magic.

It had been a week now since Scanlan had vanished in the battle. And Pike, too, though Curnen honestly couldn’t have cared less about her going away if she tried. Still. The two of them were family to people very dear to her, people who missed them. And Scanlan had been her friend. You marked something like that with a song.

Of all the money that e'er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm that e'er I've done
Alas, it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all

It was a traditional Irish goodbye, a farewell to friends said with love, drinking, well wishes, and the hope of meeting again. She couldn’t think of a better one for the occasion. And as she sang she twined her magic into her voice in a new way, sending the song to any ears that needed it, ears of those who knew and missed the departed. Not all of them might understand it, not all of them knew what she was, but she didn’t particularly care about that right now. The song was more important than the hiding.

Once the last note had dissipated she picked up her guitar again and resumed her work. If there were anybody out there, they had to know where to go.

Comments

Re: OTA

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony cracked his first small smile of the night, wry as it was. "Was wondering when I could start cashing in my age for wisdom points."

He didn't feel the part. At all.

"I can't picture you as the warmongering type. This suits you." It was easy to forget Xavin lived a lcomplicated life with the peaceful aura that surrounded her.

Re: OTA

[st_artliving]

"I prefer this, since I cannot be the diplomat I wished to be." Xavin flashed a smile. "I was raised to war. Not with the Kree, directly, but with the inhabitants of a world called Majesdane. Another long-term war. My father was... especially enthusiastic. Both of my parents were very proud when I qualified for Super-Skrull alteration and training. They thought I would crush all before me."

Re: OTA

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"They did their job." Tony nodded at his drink. "You grind those beans beneath your heel like an absolute goddess."

Re: OTA

[st_onecoldfox]

Most check-in days, when he wasn't helping out in the kitchens, Mildmay tried to stay outta the way while keeping an eye on things, which wasn't much different from any other day at the inn. Except for the weight pressing on him, sometimes making it hard to breathe, like a echo of the obligation d'âme. Only this time it wasn't no spell, just hope he hadn't been able to shake, that this time, Felix might show up. Although powers help the people here if he did.

About the only the thing new guy walking down the corridor had in common with Felix was being a guy and the corpse-white skin that'd made Mildmay and Felix both stand out Mélusine, but was the norm around here. If anything, he reminded Mildmay more of himself when he got spooked. Trying to watch out for everything at once, braced for something bad to happen at any time.

Looking up from the atlas in his lap, he didn't smile – the scar running the left side of his face from lip to hairline meant he never smiled – but he was relaxed at least. "Learning your way around?" he asked, the words slow, careful not to slur too much to be understood.

Re: OTA

[st_artliving]

She laughed and passed the drink, now complete, to him. "Not what they had in mind, I promise you! They died before I truly disappointed them, though. I ran away from my training to find my arranged fiancée and convince her to marry me. I thought a marriage between Skrull prince and a Majesdanian could cement a peace treaty."

Re: OTA

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony drew the drink in, letting it warm his clammy fingers. Parental disappointment was a familiar beast that transcended interstellar systems, apparently.

"Political marriages at your age...well, historically on Earth that's not so unusual."

Re: OTA

[st_artliving]

"Karolina, my ex-fiancée," certainly that, as there was virtually no chance they'd ever see each other again, "her parents desired that my father not attempt conquest of Earth. He was not inclined to curb his plans, but in exchange for the coordinates of Majesdane itself and their daughter to marry me when we came of age, he did. I was very much a hatchling at the time."

She took a cookie for herself - oatmeal raisin, because few people wanted those and it was a shame to waste them. "I believe they assumed my father and I would both be dead before the marriage part of the deal could take place."

Re: Allison & Snow

[st_alkingherprey]

The idea that this girl--Snow--had named her gun was fun. It made its own sense, too, she always felt like her bow was an extension of herself...she just never gave it enough personality to name it. It was more some unnamed limb or digit that extended from her hands and her fingertips. It was the same way with her knives.

Yeah, Allison definitely liked this girl.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both--or will be, if you ever feel like swapping friends." she offered, then in the interests of safety leveraged her crutches so she could turn to the side before she reached back to unclip her sheath from the back of her cutoffs in order to show Snow her ring daggers.

Weapons were useful, interesting--the thought of never seeing her uncles and friends ever again after losing the boy she loved? Useless. Weapons were better.

"And I'm from a city called Darrow--not Gotham." she added, sliding her daggers out just enough to give Snow a good look at the gleaming blades. "My boyfriend was from Gotham--is from Gotham."

It only felt like a death in the family, but Jason had just gone home. That was all...taken from Allison and sent where she couldn't follow.

"But before Darrow, I was from Beacon Hills." she went on, making herself look up from her daggers to meet Snow's eye again. "Home is home, but Darrow had better places for target practice, you know?"

Re: OTA

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony played with a piece of the chocolate chip in his fingers as he listened. Xavin's story was exactly like the kind of sci-fi tales he'd latch onto as a child--though more to imagine himself as a brave space pioneer than the interpersonal intrigue.

'You get to live that dream yet, Iron Man. Most people wish they could go out in that sort of blaze of glory.'

His internal monologue was a poor soother. He lowered the snack and rubbed his face, reminding himself to stay anchored in the here and now. Xavin's story was as deserving of a listening ear as any other.

"Enemy's first mistake: leaving someone only presumed dead."

Re: OTA

[st_artliving]

“Not their first mistake. I would judge that to be ‘Prince Xavin will be his father writ small’.” It was often wrong to judge this Tony Stark by the one she knew of from her Earth, but surely some things were congruent. “I... imagine that many of your enemies made similar early mistakes.” The Howard Stark of her Earth, to her limited knowledge, had taken what amounted to the easy path, the simple service of war. This Tony, by the evidence, right or wrong, chose harder paths.

Re: OTA

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"I could be making that mistake right now, myself. Who knows?" Tony finally partook of his drink, but only a sip. The warmth was soothing.

"This one--he's not the first enemy I've spared, even just counting my tenure at the hotel."

Re: OTA

[st_artliving]

“Do you regret it?” That was the important question, she thought. People tended to think that mercy was its own reward, but it could be a punishment too.

Re: OTA

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"I would have regretted the alternative more." Tony didn't have a good "yes" or "no" to give, he himself didn't know, but he knew himself well enough to say that much for certain. "Maybe less 'sparing' and more...probation. Sparing with a caveat. Delayed Murder Response."

Loki and Bucky were either demons that'd crawl back to bite him or blessings in disguise as far as his plans for escape and Thanos Thwartation went. Whatever the case ended up being, he knew he'd have to live with his decisions and stand by them if someone had something to say about it.

Re: OTA

[st_artliving]

“Trust, but verify.” Xavin quirked a little smile. “Without the trust.”

Re: OTA

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

If it were anyone else, Tony would have jumped to his own defense. Xavin simply called things as she saw them.

Tony took a long swig off his sweet, blended drink and tapped the counter. "I let them go. If someone gets hurt, that's on me. Just sitting back and letting things play out--I can't do that. Extra accountability has to come in somewhere. Even if it's just making yourself a friendly face to dissuade any...ugliness."

On both sides. His chipperness with Loki was still largely performative, but it was steadily growing less so.

Steve and Bucky

[st_evengrantrogers]

It’d been a whirlwind couple of days for Steve. Peggy’s funeral came and went, and before he’d had a chance to figure out those feelings, he’d met up with Sharon Carter again. The pretty nurse who lived across the hall. Turns out Agent 13 was Peggy Carter’s niece? Steve had taken the weekend, flown back out to California, and gone on a road trip to clear his head. But that road trip ended in a strange imprisonment, as he’d nearly ran out of gas and stopped to ask for directions. What sounded like the start of a strange horror film, was actually the next adventure in Steve Rogers’ life.

After a few conversations with the local residents, and spending part of the day walking as far as he could in every direction, Steve had started to come to terms with his current situation. As much as one could. He’d tried getting his cell phone to work, but having left the charger back at his motel in Los Angeles, he was rapidly running out of batteries. There were phones at the hotel, but none of them connected to any numbers he remembered.

Steve had to figure out what to do. But he also had to survive. Eating, sleeping, and connecting with other people were his top priorities while he wrapped his head around this new, whole mess.

So he was outside the restaurant looking at the day’s specials. “Roast chicken,” he read aloud. He wondered if there were vegetables available. Or bread. Or anything besides chicken. Then the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and a shiver went down his spine.

[st_arkintern]

On some level, Peter understands not wanting to go up to his room; he didn't particularly want to when he first arrived either, because a small part of him felt like the second he turned that key was the second time he was committing to making this his home.

He was right on the verge of empathizing when Bucky asked why he was in Berlin, and suddenly, Peter felt embarrassed.

"He didn't drag me," Peter says. He's clearly on the defensive. "I went to Berlin because I wanted to. Mr. Stark needed my help."

Re: OTA

[st_artliving]

“I meant no criticism.” Xavin took a bite of her cookie. “One of my instructors - a cultural instructor, not combat - used to say that we destroy our enemies by making them our friends as much as by killing them. I believe he picked up the saying on Earth.”

[st_ranger]

The soldier frowned. "I... Sorry?" Bucky shook his head. The kid reminded him of Steve in a lot of ways. He didn't even want to fight, but Stark had needed him, so he went. Just like Steve. "I... I don't want to fight you," he said softly. He paused, his shoulders slumping and he took a step back.

"This place," he said with a sigh. "Can you tell me more about it?" Turning away from Peter, Bucky looked around the room. He felt slightly awkward about putting the kid on the defensive. And honestly, he didn't really want to talk about Tony Stark. The man had almost shot him just today. "It looks... Big?"

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

Bucky shook his head, knowing the new person beside him would not get the reference. He frowned, turning to look over at him. Had he even given the man his name? Or got his? He wasn't exactly sure. His good hand reached up to scratch at his head as he tried to remember. "Just too, eh, much? In here..."

Bucky shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Loki. He didn't know his name, but he was struggling not to call him cat man in his head. Or kitten man. Some sort of superhero moniker. "How long have you been here, then?"

Re: OTA

[st_ranger]

Bucky turned, glancing at the man who had called out to him. If he was shocked by the man's visage, he didn't show it. Dark eyes looked down at the atlas, before back up at the man's face. When he spoke, his words were soft, murmured just loud enough that someone could hear him.

"I am." He blinked, giving a small shrug of his shoulders. "This place is... It's off putting. Or the... Situation is?" He still wasn't sure about it all, but he was trying to get there. The idea that he couldn't go home again gave him the most pause.

"Looking for something," he asked, motioning to the atlas.

Re: Steve and Bucky

[st_ranger]

Bucky had to admit, he was exhausted. His day here had been full of interactions with people he'd never met, including one who wanted to shoot him. He'd shared words with the young girl, River, over coffee and sweets. Slowly, he felt like he was starting to understand the place and the predicament he was in.

He froze when he saw him there as well. Why did he think he would be able to escape Steve Rogers?

Bucky stared, not sure if he even wanted to approach Steve. He knew that Steve was Steve and he was almost like a mountie or ranger, someone who never stopped until the got their man, regardless of his innocence. He'd been hard to avoid, stepping left and right, trying to give Steve and the others the slip, always moving to another safe house before Steve and his falcon could find him.

Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be able to get away this time. So he stood there, waiting to see what Steve would do. He really didn't want to make the first move. A part of him still really wanted to run.

[st_arkintern]

Peter relaxes just as Bucky's voice lowers.

"I don't want to fight you, either," Peter says, scratching the back of his head. He looks around, taking in the sight of the foyer and remembers that at one point, this place that seemed so small to him once seemed really large.

"People think this place might be a pocket dimension," he says. You can go four hours out before you start heading back, no matter what direction your start running from. That's four hours. It doesn't matter how fast you go. Four hours, you always start coming back."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

That wretched clinic and the hours per day three-quarters pretending to be some kind of healer were obviously doing something to him, because Loki’s instinct was to offer to help. Minds, he could handle. If he could twist them to his purpose, exploit fault lines until they cracked, he could surely smooth choppy mental waves or blunt sharp edges. Much closer to his actual expertise than the messy physical.

But he kept his mouth shut. Let me play with your brain was not initial-conversation appropriate. And the other man’s outright fear and anxiety seemed to be ebbing, ratcheted down to a simpler aura of wariness and uncertainty.

With some sparks of curiosity evident now. Good. Loki smiled. “A month now. Apparently long enough to forget my manners.” Not forgotten, just ignored when they weren’t useful. He offered a hand to shake, seemingly-thoughtlessly offering the hand that would ‘match’ with the metal. Either it would work out, the man thinking that to Loki the metal was inconsequential, or it would not. Interesting either way. “I’m Loki.”

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

Bucky sighed. Slowly, he rose to his feet and paced around the room, taking it all in. The colors. The two beds. It was as if the hotel was mocking him that Steve wasn't there beside him. He really hated it. He knew he couldn't lose his composure, especially after what happened with Stark, but he really hated it all the same.

The man there with him was one that he didn't know, wasn't even sure he could trust, but it was better than being alone. Wasn't it? He'd been on his own for so long that he wasn't sure he knew how to deal with anything else.

Looking over to Loki, he nodded his head slowly. "I... I have them, but they're a bit rusty," he said with an awkward smile. He watched as Loki lifted his hand to shake. Bucky did hesitate, before reaching his metal hand out and shaking Loki's. He made sure to keep his grip gentle and not squeeze too tightly, not wanting to hurt the man in front of him. Metal or not, it was better than being one handed. Bucky really didn't care too much anymore, long since passed the point of missing his own arm.

"I..." He paused. "I'm James Barnes. People call me Bucky. It's a nickname."