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 Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 9:30 am
Tuck listened attentively to everything that Stormy said, even when she got to rambling and he wasn't real sure what she was trying to say. It was good for her to open up and talk, get things off her chest in her own way. He watched her closely, only turning his attention away when Evan spoke.
Only after hearing Evan's words did Tuck's expression twist, and he rolled to his feet. The room felt too small, and he felt the sudden urge to simply run until his chest exploded, until he was alone with his own thoughts. He felt like a caged animal - and he hated himself for it. Running hadn't gotten him anywhere in the past.
Taking a few slow, purposeful steps away from the others, Tuck peered into the depths of the nearest pod before he shook his head, exhaled loudly, and turned back to Stormy and Evan.
He didn't think his family would be proud. Not at all. His sister knew - she'd suffered the same issues, but then again, she was on the island now too. She understood him, but was she proud?
He wasn't sure what to say. Silence seemed the best option, and so Tuck remained quiet.
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Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 11:54 am
She knew the minute there was no particular motion or grunt of understanding when she finished that she hadn't gotten her thought across. This was nothing new of course, but she had hoped somehow, through these missions, that she had somehow gotten better somehow. That suffering built character and character meant being more.
"You can say it," she told Evan quietly. "I'm not that sheltered."
Stormy's eyes followed Tuck as he moved to examine a pod, and her face fell when she saw that neither of them believed her. Maybe there was a good reason for that; her brand of optimism had always bordered on the cliche because she was no good at making people feel better, only at recycling long abused words that at best were trite and at worst were saccharine. But somehow it hurt, physically hurt, to see them unable to connect to what she had been trying to convey, and if there was one thing that would always force Stormy to action, it was helping someone.
So she let her legs sag until she could cross them Indian style, sat up, and took a breath. "I hereby decree that you are not just my friends, but my big brothers too. And that means you're indispensable to me," she told them with more volume and more conviction than she had managed since she first spoke. "And as family, I say I'm proud of you, okay? 'Cause you didn't have to say yes to them, you could have stayed and dealt with whatever was going on in your life, but you decided that helping others was more important. And I think that's amazing and makes you both heroes, even if you don't feel like it." Her journal, which she had been clutching at this whole time, was slowly lowered into her lap, fingers uncurled from their iron grip position. "And, um...maybe it's selfish, but I'm glad you did 'cause otherwise I wouldn't have met you two. And things would be a lot harder here."
Don't cry, don't cry.
"S-So, um...I wasn't the army or marines or anything, but I'm a hunter. You're hunters. That means we should stick together and be friends and...and stuff," Stormy went on, coloring a bit from her initial outburst. "I forgot where I was going with that again...But I-I guess what I'm trying to say is...um...You guys kept your cool back there, and I didn't, and I want to learn how to be better. And being friends helps. So is that okay?" she asked them tentatively, glancing between them and daring to try and catch their eyes. The trainer was desperate for friends, enough that even Ami's abrasive nature and piles of work couldn't keep her away.
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Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 6:21 pm
Evan watched, seemingly impassive, as Tuck rose and walked away from them. He didn't go after him, or try to offer empty words of comfort. Sometimes space was just as important as closeness. Evan could empathize, though; his team, his brothers, had died, and he had fallen apart--more than that, he'd damn near taken a vacation from sanity. He knew what Tuck was going through in that moment, because he dealt with it, too. It struck him, then, how similar they were beneath their myriad differences.
Two sides of the same coin, just like the sun and moon.
/Okay, but he gets to be the butt and we get to be the teeth./
His gaze wandered back to Stormy as she started speaking again. A small smile touched his lips as she spoke with more strength than he'd ever heard from her before as she talked about family and pride and heroism and strength. He admired the way she spoke her mind, and was glad that she had relaxed enough to do so around them. There wasn't a fire in her, not yet, maybe just a spark to indicate the kind of woman she might become if she lived that long. He hoped she would; she deserved that chance. "Sounds good to me," he replied with a grin and a nod.
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Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 7:10 am
Tuck let out a strained chuckle - the humor was there, just tinged with an odd sort of melancholy that struck when faced with his own pride, his own mistakes.
"You'll get better, little bit. I ain't never turned down a friend, and I can't see myself starting now. You're stuck with me now, and that one over there, too," he gestured towards Evan with a jerk of his jaw.
She was proud of him. He took that in and slowly digested the word. He wasn't proud of himself, so how could she really be proud of him? Tuck gave a slight shake of his head as he took a few steps forward, towering over his friends.
"Can't never have enough friends, far as I'm concerned. Don't mean to toot my own horn, neither, but I gotta warn you, I'm a pretty great big brother."
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Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 9:06 pm
And with that simple agreement down, she was able to crack a smile.
Thus did Stormy circumvent the need to talk about her problems by pushing the spotlight on others once more, stuffing down the negativity until the gray cloud was forced to let sunlight out.
"Yes you are," she answered Tuck with a sagely nod. "'Cause you were defending like a pro back there. And Herc wasn't half bad either," Stormy added as a tease to Evan. "Next time I'm off island, I'll buy you guys ice cream for being good boys~
"So!" She gently clapped her hands together. "As new friends and as your new mist sister--misister?--mister??--I also decree that you both should teach me how to do moon and sun. I've got way too much time doing Life stuff, and I can ask Jake and Gale about Death things. But I've got a Fear charge that's sort of . . . hazardous, so I think if I work more on the offensive and defensive side of stuff with you guys, I'll be just as good as one of your division!" she announced with a better smile. "We could do a run down to the training field after this pod stuff?
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 10:33 am
"Maybe a little less than half," Evan conceded with a grin that only widened once she mentioned ice cream. "I'm for it," he said with regards to her suggestion. "Sun's not that hard. You just kind of hit things till they stop moving." Fighting down a chuckle, Evan continued, "But I know Army here needs all the help that he can get. He's got, uh...issues with his charge, too."
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 4:13 pm
Evan was given a look, one that promised horrible retribution. Tuck turned a dimpled smile back to Stormy. It didn't quite reach his eyes, but it got close.
"Ain't decided if we're going to keep things as is or try and channel our charge a different way," Tuck grunted with a smile as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'd be happy to take you under my wing, though, little bit - even if I got some things to learn myself. Training field sounds good, so long as you promise not to crack any jokes about performance anxiety."
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 7:47 pm
"I wouldn't joke," she promised with a very serious face. "I have performance anxiety too. Half the time I just blow myself up instead of hitting the enemy, and even then. One time I blew Madeline--oh! You guys should meet her," she added in a chirp. "She's a Sun too. You should be careful, though, she's got a spiked mace and a really outgoing personality. But maybe we could all go out sometime and hit things until they stop moving!"
< < Delightfully eloquent phrasing, > > Thane drawled.
Stormy squinted up at Tuck's dimples and, on whim, got to her feet to try and poke them. "What's your charge like?" she asked while doing so. Why was he so tall. "I know Herc's basically got kinda bigger teeth before he whacked me. Mine's an exploding fart." And she giggled at her own joke.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 7:58 pm
Evan perked up as Stormy mentioned a friend who was a: a Sun and 2: a she. "You'll have to introduce us sometime. I still don't know any other Suns." Which was an oversight on his part, but any friend of Stormy's couldn't be that bad. Himself and Tuck notwithstanding, of course.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 9:21 pm
Tuck let out a loud laugh as he grinned down at the petite Mist.
"It's supposed to be a damn shield, but we haven't gotten it to work yet."
He glanced at Evan, that grin broadening.
"Now, darlin', I'm dying to know how you came up with the name Herc for Evan over there."
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 8:06 pm
"You still don't?" Stormy abandoned the cheek poking to turn and give Evan a face. "Next time I work in the library, I'll mention you to her."
Evan would quickly learn at the parties that eventually came after today that Stormy's definition of social acquaintance was a little . . . loose.
She felt a little silly learning it was a shield (Moon people, duh), but she offered Tuck an encouraging look nevertheless. "We'll get it to work once this shift's done, promise." As for the name, well . . . "The first time I met Evan was on a mission Cap'n--Ami--sent us on. It was in this big museum and we had to grab this artifact, and it was Evan's job to stop this guy from shooting at us while we cracked the codes. And since he's a Sun and all, and he has shortish light hair, I just sorta made the conclusion?" The trainee suddenly looked a touch concerned. "If you give me bit, I can come up with a cool nickname for you too!"
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 8:19 pm
Evan narrowed his eyes at Tuck as he inquired about that nickname, discreetly flipping him off while Stormy was preoccupied with poking at Tuck's face. It turned into the sweetest of smiles when Stormy turned around to face him. "I'd be much obliged if you would."
What Stormy didn't tell Tuck--and what Evan would never reveal himself--was that Evan had probably only been asked on that mission to serve as a meat shield and/or eye candy. Oh, yes, he remembered that too-tight shirt that had been part of the uniform. "I think that's a great idea, Stormy, Tuck here definitely needs a nickname. Something really..." Embarrassing. "Special."
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 8:25 pm
"Naw, I already got a nickname. Tuck. S'the only one I need," he shot Evan a look that promised retribution, "and if you can't remember Tuck, some of the boys used to call me TJ." He turned his attention back to Stormy, lifting his brows. "I think it's 'cause Herryk's lazy. Every time I got my charge ready to go, he just kinda... well, he ain't got the oomph to get goin' and make s**t -- erm.. make stuff happen, you know?" Herryk was a fussy presence in his mind, and Tuck's grin broadened. "Ain't a big deal, really," he tapped Stormy on her nose, "cuz all I do's defend anyway. Don't really like liftin' my weapon to those who ain't done nothin' wrong, even in spars." Tuck paused. "Unless it's Evan," he amended solemnly.
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 8:54 pm
Stormy made a face never the less, scrunching her nose at the poke. "TJ"? He didn't look like a TJ. "It makes it easier to remember people," she explained. "But I won't forget this one, promise. Or Evan's. But Herc sounds cuter~" She did not say she would stop endeavoring to find an appropriate Disney character for Tuck, only that it would be done in secret. Evan was right after all, her brothers needed special names because they were special people.
"It is a big deal," Stormy went on to protest mildly. "'Cause you guys are in for it. I attract bad things like lights attract moths. You saw what happened on that last mission." She petered out a bit on that last sentence, took a breath, and quickly pushed on before she got down again. "That's not the first time, and I bet it's not going to be the last. So I need ot know you two are in top shape when things go down, 'cause . . . things always go down . . ."
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 9:46 pm
That sweet, completely innocent grin never left Evan's face as he replied, "Oh, was that what that was? I thought those were love taps. Yeah, you make a much better Moon, aside from your issues."
He turned it back on Stormy as he said, much more kindly, "I'm sure we'll all be fine, Stormy. Me and Tuck, we're kind of used to bad stuff. And me and you, we'll beat him up till he learns how to use his damn charge. We won't fail you again."
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