i hear the voices getting louder

[resleeves]

» WHO? takeshi kovacs + ota
» WHEN? throughout the weekend and next week
» WHERE? chapel, fitness area, bar, and various others
» WHAT? causing trouble
» WARNINGS? language but nothing else as of yet

001. chapel

[ he's not here to pray.

he's not here to do anything but sit in the quiet and think. it's been a few weeks since the arrival of the backpack (which sits on the bench beside him) and he'd thought, for a few hours, that maybe more things would arrive. maybe a gun or an oni or fuck, he'd take ortega herself showing up. but nothing else familiar arrives.

he's even started seeing less of quell. she's still there when he sleeps but the glimpses of her he used to catch from the corner of his eyes are happening less and less. he's not sure if that means his fragged mind is healing or getting worse.

maybe it seems she's alive somewhere. yeah right, what a fucking miracle that would be. he'd seen her explode and he'd probably walked on the ashes that had been her body as he'd tried to get off harlan's world.

while he's alone, he reads a few of the quotes off the wall and then reaches into the backpack to physically throw garbage at the ones he doesn't like (which is all of them). he knew that some of this shit would come in handy and making a mess was juvenile but he had fuck all else to do.

it wasn't like anyone would notice. this place was a mess anyway. ]

002. fitness area

Well, this is just fucking boring.

[ ever since the new sleeve, he's never really done a lot of solo training. quell's training two sleeves ago had stuck and from then on, a life spent being hunted and taking out those he'd been paid to kill had left him in decent enough shape.

then, there had been the life sentence and over two centuries spent on ice doing absolutely nothing. ryker's death had left a physically capable sleeve behind even if it was a sleeve that she had a fucking attachment to, unbeknownst to him until he'd been wearing the sleeve for awhile.

he drops the backpack on the ground and circles the room, staring down at the pool and making a face. didn't look like any place he wanted to take a swim in. plenty of people had probably pissed in that.

these facilities were a long way from even carnage's shitty little spectacle. at least he'd had a cheering section and some competition. ]

Ain't none of that here.

[ of course he'd think that. of course. ]

003. bar

[ even kovacs could tell the alcohol was running low. he kept expecting to stop in (during one of his daily walks through the station) and see more of it. but, that hadn't happened yet. bottles were half empty, knocked over and collecting dust.

kovacs spends some time behind the bar, remembering the one time he'd had a bartender who made some decent drinks before she'd up and disappeared. lucky fucker. if she wasn't here, she had to be somewhere better.

and yet, he's still here, stuck. one of the bottles he picks up and brings up to sniff is filled with something so strong that it burns the lining of his nose and actually makes him blink. ]

Smells like fuel.

[ which meant it was fucking perfect.

kovacs made his way over to one of the booths and laid down, long legs dangling over the side. the backpack was placed on his stomach and the bottle on the table. he stared up at the ceiling, wondering how plausible it would be to just kick his way out of this place.

answer: not plausible at all.

where was poe and his arsenal when you really needed him? ]

004. wildcard

[ got something else in mind? feel free to make it happen. hit me up at spoonishly to plot! ]

Comments

[holyhalone]

[Perhaps another man of Ishgard would have found Kovac's comment about religion to be particularly offensive, but Aymeric wasn't so close-minded. He was acutely aware that not only were other nations and peoples not as wholly devout as Ishgard, but that there was great cause for many to question faith, and those who preached it.]

... I understand your point of view. Believe me, if anyone has a more complicated relationship with religion than myself, I've yet to meet them.

[Aymeric glanced upwards, towards the ceiling he supposed, but more symbolically towards some heavens of some sort.]

And yet I cannot deny that I've taken comfort in prayer, now more than ever.

[resleeves]

And what comfort does it give you?

[ his tone was dry and dubious. prayer was a shit pile of whispered words that no one heard. no one was listening to you asking for guidance and help. especially not some all powerful deity who lives in the sky. ]

You're still here. You ain't leaving. Probably gonna die at some point too. Heard that happens.

[ welcome to the station, aymeric! ]

[holyhalone]

[Aymeric narrowed his eyes at the man before him, so dead set on being antagonistic. He shook his head.]

I do not pray for solutions, or for hope, or for salvation from on high. I'm well aware that prayer alone cannot save any man.

[The Lord Commander moved to stand to his full height - tall, in comparison to the average human, at just over six and a half feet.]

Where I'm from, sacrifice, prayer, piety, all of these things are built into every aspect of our lives, from the day we are born until the day we die. I pray for the comfort of familiarity, to better adjust to this place so that through peace of mind I may be of some use to us finding a way home. Whether or not I'm heard is irrelevant if the act can grant me clarity.

[resleeves]

So, you pray for a bunch of bullshit? Good for you, man, to each his own.

[ he doesn't sound sincere all but that was probably evident by the actual words as well. kovacs watches him straighten to his full height, eyes following him and could do little more than smirk. he's not sure if the looming's supposed to be intimidating or something else. ]

How's that clarity working out for you? Found us a new home? Figured out how this shit isn't going to fall out of the sky? Oooh, you been down to the planet? Get me a pizza next time you go.

[holyhalone]

[It wasn't intimidation he was going for per se, that wasn't really the right word - though 'Dragoon' was one of the many new titles he'd been given over the past several months. Moreso he was feeling quite humorless at the moment, and wanted to project that earnestness outward. It was much harder to do while wearing a jumpsuit than his usual armaments.

He attempted to make up for it by turning his frown into a scowl.]

The way I see it, we have three options. Either we panic and act recklessly and with haste, or we think our actions through carefully to find working solutions, or we fail to do anything at all, and submit ourselves to our fates. I certainly know which I'd prefer, but if you would rather sit here and judge me for the ways in which I seek to adjust, then by all means, continue to moan about.

[resleeves]

[ kovacs fixes his gaze on the other man, a lazy smile on his face. it would have been easy to get up, match his height and try and challenge him a little more than he already has but...he was so comfortable. ]

You think I'm failing to do anything at all?

[ he just laughs. ]

Because you found me during a specific portion of the day when I've never seen you before? That's cute. That's very judgmental but that's cute too.

[holyhalone]

[Aymeric just... looked at him with an expression of utter disbelief and confusion. He scoffed, feeling exasperated.]

You're... accusing me of literally what you've just done to me. Do you not find even the slightest bit of irony in what you've just said? Judging me for an act that does nothing to you, accusing me of wasting my time.

[resleeves]

I'm a hypocrite. I do what I want.

[ and he'd been here first!!! that was important. ]

Guess you're not enjoying my moaning. And here I thought I was getting better at it.

[holyhalone]

At least you acknowledge it.

[Aymeric shrugged, and with a sigh he gave up on the argument altogether, taking a seat on the bench behind him and pinching the bridge of his nose. His knees ached from kneeling on the debris anyway.]

Moan all you like. It's plain you're taking out your dislike of religion on a stranger for whatever reason, and that it's bringing you no small amount of amusement.

[resleeves]

If it helps, you're not special. You're interchangeable. So, don't walk away thinking I hate you. Because I don't.

[ he didn't give a fuck about you, really. but, he'd remember you were tall. that was something. ]

You just happened to be here, talking to someone who's not listening.

[holyhalone]

I suppose whether or not She can hear me really is irrelevant.

[Aymeric sighed, and shook his head.]

I won't take it personally. Honestly you vex me more than you grate on me. Hate is certainly the last word I'd use to describe my relationship with most anything, let alone someone whose name I don't even know.

[resleeves]

Vex?

[ who even talked like that anymore? kovacs was over two hundred years old and he didn't even use dated words like that. ]

And your god's a woman?

[ explained a lot. ]

[holyhalone]

It means to irritate, though I'd say you nettle or irk me more than frustrate.

[Aymeric misunderstood Kovacs's question, of course. And he misunderstood the second question even more, not picking up on the patronizing tone of it.]

The guardian of Ishgard, Halone [pronounced Ha-low-nay] - daughter of Rhalgr.

[resleeves]

I know what it means. I just wondered why you were talking like you were five hundred years old.

[ had to go higher than his age after all or risk getting called grandpa. ]

Uh huh.

[ it was so tempting to just tell aymeric that he didn't care, that he didn't ask for details but they were already out there anyway. ]

She hot?

[ yep. ]

[holyhalone]

That's simply how I speak...

[Aymeric had noticed his speech was slightly different than some of the others here. They mostly spoke in a dialect he didn't recognize, and often used words he didn't understand, or slang he didn't pick up on.

Speaking of which...]

Hot? I...

[Aymeric's brows were knit in intense confusion. He very much did not know what this question meant, though in his best interpretation:]

She is known as the mover of glaciers, the deity of ice and war. I wouldn't say She is 'hot'.

i am so sorry for him, aymeric's really freaking patient lmfao

[resleeves]

You wouldn't say She's hot because she's a hag or because you've never seen Her?

( in kovacs' mind, these were important distinctions that had to be discussed and talked about and known. but really, he was guessing this woman was just a hag. )

You don't wanna do a little more than pray to Her?

( sounded like he was quite attached, after all. )

HAH It's more like Aymeric has no idea what half this slang means; the patience has now run out oops

[holyhalone]

[Aymeric's face turned absolutely bright red. He realized all too late that Kovacs was not, in fact, referring to Halone's associated element, but was instead talking about her... appearance?

Had Kovacs seriously just asked if Aymeric wanted to have sexual relations with his own god??

Apalled, Aymeric got to his feet in disgust.]

What a sick joke!

[And he stormed off. If Kovacs' goal was to get the chapel all to himself, he'd finally managed it.]

Re: HAH It's more like Aymeric has no idea what half this slang means; the patience has now run out

[resleeves]

( oh well.

that had done it. kovacs hadn't actually really been trying all that hard but apparently that had been the nerve to pluck and as aymeric storms off, kovacs can't help but snicker.

sometimes, this station could amuse him. rarely. but sometimes. )