|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:18 pm
He filed it away for later, to think about. Later on, when he couldn't sleep, maybe thinking would turn to tinkering and tinkering to the sort of distracted obsessive work he frequently found himself in the throes of when he couldn't sleep. "I have a reputation for punctuality," he said blandly. He sat down gingerly, as though a chair was a strange thing, and he leaned forward instead of back with his hands still in his pockets, all tense folded-over readiness-to-spring instead of even a trace of relaxation. He asked Gale what he asked everyone: "How long have you been here?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:02 pm
"Well, then, I guess you'll never have to worry about being eaten by inanimate objects, now will you?" replied Gale lightly, and it was difficult to tell whether or not this was an actually serious answer. His eyes flickered briefly towards the awkward positioning on the chair, wondering if he had something against sitting down.
Or maybe just about Deus in general, which would be perfectly normal.
"A little over two years," said Gale, leaning back in his chair. "Or forever, whichever one sounds better."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 9:45 pm
Taym absently wondered if two years was the outer edge of mean survivability in Deus. Two years wasn't too bad. Two years was doable. "How long did it take you to get out of the rank and file?" he asked, somewhat distractedly. "Communal showers ******** suck," he added, by way of blunt clarification. "Although so far it seems like everyone's treating the place like a singles bar." This he said with a trace of superiority and disgust. Probably he assumed Gale--who had impressed him so far as serious, and businesslike, and capable-seeming--would agree with him that a man shouldn't s**t where he ate. Whoops.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:36 pm
A somewhat sardonic smile touched the edges of Gale's mouth. "A while," he admitted, leaning his head back a little. "Though I was the first of my group to be promoted. Guess I thought I had something to prove, since I was the youngest hunter on the island at the time. So I pushed myself harder than almost anyone and finally got to where I wanted to be."
One shoulder lifted and fell in a half sort of shrug. "And that's why I get to live in a house," he said lightly, and then gave a small laugh. "People do tend to partner up pretty quickly here - and break apart just as fast. It's like a never ending litany of pairings, everyone getting together with everyone else. I lose track of who's with who most of the time."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:35 pm
So he didn't just look young, he was young. But having something to prove was something Taym could identify with, even if pushing himself to prove it wasn't. Not yet, anyway. Things were different now. The biggest distraction was out of the picture, here. "I don't know how anyone has the time. Even a sailor gets his kicks on shore leave." Whoops again. A long pause while that constantly-moving gaze turned inward, distracted. "Thanks for showing me around. Maybe I can find my way back without a map and provisions the next time I have a reason to." Don't count on it, was the unspoken postscript.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:49 pm
"Yes, well," said Gale, a bit dryly. "I think the majority of the opinion is that living here can be pretty precarious so why not? It's the whole eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die, sort of mindset, I believe. After a while it just gets a bit..." He waved a noncommittal hand, not really finishing the rest of his sentence.
"Of course," said Gale, giving the other a nod. "Anytime. And if you have any ideas on improving things around here, just give me a ring. I'm sure eventually you'll find something to keep you occupied, seeing as how we're not exactly military at the moment."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 7:29 pm
"I'll do that," he said, getting up like getting up was a relief. He started to leave but hesitated at the door. "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die," he echoed, looking distracted. It reminded him of something, and he couldn't put his finger on what. He avoided Gale's eye, and made something of a personal admission: "I think I've done enough of the first half for an entire lifetime," he said. So maybe he was a wreck of a person, but maybe he'd delighted in his own ruination. "Thanks again."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
