Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Luke waves to the disappearing Cross...looks at Bard*

*Some silence sits between them.*

*He remembers that Bard said something like that last time he asked. Luke doesn't catch much, but he does catch that Bard doesn't want to talk about it.*

*Fine by him.*

Alright. *So Luke applies the cause of and solution to all of life's problems. Holds up his drink, asks Bard* You want one?

*Luke kicks back the rest of his drink.* *He grins at the request.* Yeah? *Walks over, a little quicker than normal*

*Stands next to Bard, chin in his hand* Well, when I - I mean, when it... you know... *clears throat* blew up, I wasn't from the gasoline. *goes up to the hood* I think the motor oil caught on fire.

*Luke takes on an expression and makes a noise of pain, just looking at it. He physically feels pain for the pile of junk he sees... that used to be a famous, well-oiled, sparkling, fluid piece of working machinery...now is the equivalent of scrap metal.*

*breathes* Blasphemy.... *realizes that this is probably Bard's worst nightmare* *Is suddenly very thankful that Bard did not strangle him with a cooling pipe.*

The thing's junk, man.... but.... maybe... *Luke leans down and carefully goes underneath the Jaquar.* I know you're pissed at me, but if you start it up, you'll kill what's left of this thing. *reminds him*

*For once, Luke takes a hint. He shuts up.*

*He focuses instead on what's above him. He automatically checked the antifreeze/coolant, transmission, and brake fluids to make sure the pressure caps were tight. If he was gonna fiddle around, he didn't really want to go ******** blind... Luke squints and sees where the motor oil combusted. There's a huge, gaping hole where it blew, surrounded by frayed, singed belts. As Luke runs his fingers over it, some soot and s**t scrapes off. Luke moves out of the way of it, before it falls in his face. He coughs a little...*

Your engine's totalled, man.... Blew a hole in the b*****d. *adds* It's fixable though. The gearbox needs replacement.... The battery might be alright... if the distributors hadn't caught on fire.... *checks* No, no, nevermind. I don't think the battery's okay either. It's got this crazy rust stain all around it. I'm not gonna touch it. It looks like battery acid... *looks around* Your transmission looks rough... The belt on the alternator's toast, man.

*Luke says, as if to make him feel better.*

Your windshield washer fluid's okay.

What? *Luke almost hits his head on the transmission.* A Honda? *scoots out from underneath the car* When you have the chance to fix up a Series 1 Jaguar E-Type?

*in disbelief* You'd turn that down for a Civic?

*Luke shirks his head away, smirking.* *He ducks back under the car. His voice is muffled.*

Wiring in the starter's dead.... so's the Solenid. But you can get them at any junk dealer's place for $10. Just remember which wire goes where when you take it out...

*Checks more*

*Luke uses the tip of his finger to follow a bundle of about 50 multi-colored wires from the fuse box area, makes a quick detour out through the left fender area, and the wiring resurfaces in the front left corner behind the headlights.* Wiring from the inside compartment looks alright. *says so with a little surprise* Fuses look okay.... I mean, nothing inside the car'll turn on because the battery's busted, but still.

Yeah, man.... I mean, all that plus the suspension? Plus the fact that it's a late 60s Jaguar model? Highway robbery, man.

*Luke eases out from underneath the car and climbs back up to his feet. He has grease smearing a line across his face. His hands are dirty, too.*

*looks at the car, giving in a once over. He rides his hand just above the car as he walks down the length. He sees the dents...*

*looks back to Bard*

I hear the Civic has really good gas mileage.

*Luke grins a stupid grin.* Yeah... Yeah I can think of a couple.

*Goes to get a beer* Why, which one are you thinking about?