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 Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 7:12 pm
Jake had interrupted her before, but she was determined to finish what she had started: Deus needed a dash of Disney. For Disney was musical and awesome and totally enjoyable, and joy was something Stormy was all about lately. It was uncharacteristic of her to pursue such a thing, but it was a nice retreat away from the flatline that was her normal life - even if it pissed her partner off.
< < Should you complain again about being such a poor fighter, I will cite this as one of many reasons why. > > Thane had long since given up trying to reason her out of her new surge of positivity, but it didn't stop him from playing peanut gallery.
But not even the dracolich's waspish commentary was enough to dilute the teen's newfound exuberance. Was this what it was like to feel excited? To feel normal? No wonder she looked so dead in comparison to them - Stormy actually felt like she had energy to give and give and still have some leftover. So it was with a bright smile that she trotted outside in a hoodie clearly too large for her and that looked faded and worn in places, determined to finish her little project.
She got to her knees and began to mound up snow into a flat base, unsure of which character exactly she was going to make, only knowing that she was going to make one.
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 8:23 pm
The attendant at the hospital wing had been adamant.
"No."
Gale had ground his teeth together, bitten back several inappropriate comments he longed to utter, and tried to reason with her calmly and rationally.
It almost worked. Almost.
Needless to say, the twenty minutes spent in the infirmary did not, as Gale had hoped, result in the removal of both the sling and the bandages around his left arm - but at the very least, the sling was gone, and he could actually move like a normal human being. The bandages remained in place, wrapped all the way up almost to his shoulder, and it was with a slightly disgruntled expression that Gale traipsed outside the main building.
This mood, however, lightened a considerable amount when he noticed what was on the ground - a dusting of snow had fallen across the grounds of Deus Ex, and Gale's eyes swept over it, some of the tension in his shoulders easing. So he hadn't gotten exactly what he wanted; he still had had a rather good time at Deus as of late. Bix and Ceres were not dead, Caelius had not killed him (mostly), Mark was...well, Mark, and it was the Christmas season.
<< Tis the season and all that, right? >>
Yup.
Wearing a simple dark grey jacket over his cream colored sweater, and a thick green scarf around his neck, Gale made his way around the building, hands in his pockets, simply taking in the snow. It was only after he rounded the next corner that he saw her - the new trainee from before, kneeling on the ground beside a pile of snow. Gale hesitated, debating internally, and then after a moment, casually made his way towards her.
"...hey," he said as he approached. "You're...you're new, aren't you?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 8:39 pm
Her mind had floated away again while she dug - a side effect from the repetitive motions of molding a stretched oval base. It was longer than expected, but not something she couldn't work with. Okay, someone long or fat or sitting or - an animal! The first that came to mind was Pluto, but the more Stormy thought about it, the more she leaned toward a different canine -
But the train of thought was broken when someone called out to her and approaced. She straightened with a jolt and turned to see it was the hunter guy from before, the one with those students who had stared at her for a few moments. Come to think of it, she never had returned such a gaze - how improper of her!
Thus Stormy did so for the next five seconds, breaking it with a few curious blinks. "Uh huh! It's the pod smell, right?" She broke into a light smile, juuuuust in case he didn't get it was a joke; during her short time on the Island thus far, it had been made clear to her that people were just as likely to be stony-faced as they were serious. "And you're the guy from the Infirmary, with . . . Mei, right?" It would be embarrassing if she got the chick's name wrong after she'd practically saved her.
Loosely recollecting that his coat had been different than hers (and thus she had to assume a high rank, like Sam), Stormy put two fingers to her head in salute. "'Sup? Enjoying the snow?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 8:46 pm
Looking at her closely now, she did seem relatively young - around his own age, if he wasn't mistaken. She was wearing a sweatshirt that seemed too big for her, so perhaps that added to her youthfulness, but Gale could not quite help but get his hopes up that there actually was maybe someone as young as he was on the Island.
He shook his head minutely, trying to clear it, and gave a half sort of smile, the corners of his lips quirking upwards.
"No, it's just...I've been here a while now," he said, by way of explanation. "And I've never seen you around...looks like you were just sorta...thrown into the fire right off, eh?"
<< Did you know your accent gets thicker when you're nervous? >>
Shut up. I'm not NERVOUS.
<< You're amusing when you try to tell yourself untrue things. >>
Gale bit back the retort to Jinhai and gave a nod to the girl, his shoulders relaxing a little.
"Yeah, that was me with Mei," he said, and glanced around at the snow, the small smile on his face growing just a little wider.
"Yeah, it's...it's nice," he said. "Last year the snow was an accident when we tried to get a Christmas tree, so it was a little messy, but this is much better. Peaceful."
He cleared his throat awkwardly, then took a step forward, holding out his good hand.
"I'm Gale, by the way."
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 9:15 pm
British. emotion_kirakira This Island was full of fun people, wasn't it. Stormy made a note to poke more about that later.
"A while"? She tilted her head and pondered how exactly promotions worked and when they were given, because a guy who looked that young . . . Huh. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice would put it. "Fire? You could say that," she replied with a wincing smile, her salute falling to touch at a stray hair, a gesture to distract her from the easily-remembered acidic burns she had nearly accumulated, the roar of the enemy bone dragon -
Thane rumbled something she didn't quite catch, but the thoughts were clear: move on already.
Sorry.
Content to stay on her knees, Stormy held out a hand in return and shook, though she was quick to giggle afterwards without shame when he told her his name. "Sorry, just . . ." Nope, a little bit more laughter first. It wasn't everyday two people with weather names met, and for some reason, Joy influenced or not, that was just hilarious. Maybe she didn't laugh enough.
Well no, that was true. She honestly didn't.
"Okay, sorry, sorry, it's just . . . a real fun coincidence, actually. Lemme try again." A calming breath was exhaled with a horseish sound before she took his hand again and grinned. "Hiya, Gale. If that's your real name, awesome. If it isn't, I totally get that - mine isn't real, but call me Stormy. How's the weather?"
Cue more snorting like it was the best punch line ever. She let his hand go and plopped down indian style, letting her knees get some rest. "By the sounds of things, you've got a lot of stories to tell," she commented, glancing at his bandaged arm. "Wanna talk some and help me build a snow dog? I'm . . . really new, yeah, and a lot of things have been kinda confusing." And by a lot, she meant practically everything.
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 9:46 pm
He gave her a wry smile. "Yeah," said Gale, scuffing the tip of his shoe in the snow and absently drawing patterns. "A while. Almost two years now."
It felt like just yesterday that he had woken up in the pod room, just yesterday that he had shouted that he was just as worthy to be here as the others, that he wasn't just some kid who was trying to be more than what he was. It felt strange, knowing that he had gotten this far, that the shouting had died down, that there was no longer any need to prove himself to anyone except himself.
Jinhai made a soft, approving rumble inside of his head. Gale's expression softened a little as he added, "But I don't really pay much attention to time anymore. Things just sort of...blur while you're here."
As she shook his hand, giggling, Gale quirked his head to the side, slightly taken aback by her laughter, which increased. He wasn't sure whether or not she was laughing at his name. It was hardly the first time; growing up he'd had to deal with many people assuming his name was the more feminine spelled Gail than the version his mother had decided on.
Still, he wondered whether she was making fun of him - but then the reason for her laughter came out, and suddenly everything made a whole lot more sense.
"Oh," said Gale, and a genuine smile lit up his face, a low laugh escaping. Jinhai gave a hum of mild surprise and amusement, which Gale studiously ignored. "Well. That's...yes, Gale's my real name. Gale Gentry. And I rather like Stormy; any reason for that particular...weather pattern?"
Glancing down at the pile of snow in front of her, Gale gave a rueful sort of shrug. "You could say that again," he murmured, and then blinked, momentarily hesitant at her offer. After all, he was not exactly the most easy social companion; awkward was a good word for it.
But it was Christmastime, and it was beautiful outside, and Gale found himself settling down on the ground opposite Stormy, brushing snow from the leg of his pants.
"Sure, I'll help," he said. "And talk. Maybe I can help get rid of some of that confusion."
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 10:35 pm
"No real reason~ Sounded better than my real name," Stormy answered with a girlish smile; what was the fun in divulging everything at once? "In hindsight it's silly, but the name's grown on me."
Two years. She needed a moment to take that in, to take what she had experienced within the first two weeks and compound it exponentially to fit such a span of time - and the result made her blink owlishly. Stormy made a soft awed sound in response, all the more glad now she had saluted Gale now; surviving two years of stuff like that was almost unthinkable. If time could blur, then that meant it probably became almost . . . routine.
A small shiver went down her back that had nothing to do with the cold.
"Excellent!" she chirped with more enthusiasm than normal to ward off the Negative Nancy urge, made easier by Joy. "Super excellent. You can start rolling up a ball for his head. Make it like . . . a fist and a half tall or so. Wait." She balled her hands up and stacked them on each other for scrutinizing. ". . . Okay, my hands are pretty small, but about two fists' height is good I think." She kept them held out for his benefit a bit longer, sleeves swaying in what little breezes that passed.
"So, uh . . . Deus is all about fighting things made of Fear, right? The lab techs in the classroom told me we couldn't try to make friends with them unless we were doing some sort of undercover job or assessing them for a candidate program. Is . . . that what you're doing with Mei?" she asked with a hint of confusion remembering how Gale had defended the student even against someone as scary as the other specialist. "Not the weapons deal, but like something else?" There was another girl that had been there, the one with the blue and purple and teal stuff, and she was looking for a different Hunter too. Were they connected?
More importantly, could they strictly be aloud to talk with them? Thackery had been so nice to her . . . She hoped they'd been seen off the Island peacefully.
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 11:06 pm
"Well," said Gale, as he scooped a heap of snow towards him, patting it gingerly with icy fingers. "I like it. It's unusual in a good way."
He offered her a small smile, which softened around the edges at her expression, which looked both slightly awed and slightly nervous at the amount of time he had been here. Stormy was still new; it would take her a while to get used to the Deus environment.
Gathering more snow, Gale eyed Stormy's hands, then glanced down at the pile in front of him. "I think I could do that," he said agreeably, and lifted a bundle of white, beginning to shape it between his palms. They worked in silence for a few moments before Stormy spoke again, and Gale nodded in response.
"We work to fight against the things that threaten us," he said, prodding the snowball, which more resembled a snow blob. "We seek out suspicious reports across the world for signs and we track down where the critical danger zones are. Well," he corrected. "That's a part of what we do, really."
Gale's gaze flickered towards Stormy, tilting his head a little. "Ah..." he said, and gave a quiet nod, looking back down at the snow. His hands - at least the one visible - were red and freezing from a lack of gloves, but somehow playing in the snow felt somewhat...cathartic. He wasn't sure how or why, but he felt comfortable doing something as simple as making a snow sculpture.
<< Snow dog. >>
Yes, that.
"Mei and I have..." He struggled to find a way to put it. "...well, we have a somewhat complicated relationship. Let's just say she's proven herself to be trustworthy right now because we share a common goal. She's not being assessed for a candidate program; she's more...acting as a personal go-between, I suppose you could say?"
The snow-blob had melted almost completely. Gale frowned, gathered another heap, and tried again. "She's a good person, Mei. Not all Halloween creatures are."
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 11:56 pm
Stormy let her hands fall back to sculpting the base once it looked like Gale got the gist of the head's size, listening quietly as she shaped one side more and more to look like a paw. This dog was going to be sitting regally like a lion, a guard dog over the battlefield against invasions from unwanted Halloweeners. "Like the external missions stuff," she commented with a small nod to show she was listening, even if her eyes weren't on him. It had been eerie going to San Zhi with their pod-like buildings and wailing spirits, like they were investigating the shells where humans had once lived, like the pods -
Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Even with a small Joy infusion, it took getting used to.
When he finished, she paused in her work, pondering while a trembling finger hovered over newly shaped paw. ". . . I think this place is full of black and white," Stormy said after a moment, shifting a tiny bit of snow off to the side to smooth out a patch. "Or that it tries to be. Maybe more blacks than whites. Extremes are so chafing though, so . . ." She looked to him with an encouraging smile. "I think it's good to have grays like this thing you have with her. It's more realistic. More open-minded. The world doesn't operate on black and white, so neither should we if we want to protect it. If she wants to help us, I say go for it."
A pause. A soft, simpering chuckle.
"That was really dumb, sorry. I bet the leaders would have my head for trying to say we can be friends with them, 'cause you're right: we can't be with them all. One of them, some bone-faced wolf thing, tried eating me this past mission, and a dragon almost smashed me into putty . . ." But there was still the memory of Thackery and his warm fur and happy smile, and she couldn't, wouldn't let go of that.
A stinging sensation brought attention to the fact that her finger had strayed into the snow paw throughout her reply, and she quickly lifted it and began to repair the damage - though not without noting Gale was suffering from worse. when the limb was smooth again, Stormy rubbed her hands together, breathed hot air into her gloves, and slipped off the appropriate one to offer for him to wear. "That was kinda dumb of me, huh, asking you to join in without the right gear."
< < I made a similar remark when you chose to go into that mission without a runic weapon. > >
I know what happens now. I won't do it again.
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 7:06 am
He nodded, pushing his thumbs into the snow to try and shape it more into the proper size. It was starting to actually look somewhat like it was supposed to now. "Sort of, yeah," he said, with a glance towards her. She wasn't looking at him, but she was listening, which was enough. Gale looked back down at his snow blob.
Black and white. It was probably the most accurate description of Deus that had been given in a long time. Everything was either one way or the other, without chance of a middle. Things were driven into their minds, repeated over and over, reminding them endlessly of what they were here for.
Black and white.
"That's..." said Gale slowly, his hands stilling on the snow. "...very true. You'll be told a lot of things here - things are either good or they're bad; especially if you're in my division, with Caelius. He hardly allows any grey; it took me a long time to be able to understand how he works."
Jinhai sounded amused. << You still don't understand how he works. >>
"I still don't know how he works entirely," Gale snorted, a rueful smile on his lips as his gaze flicked over to Stormy. "He's a piece of work, Caelius. But at least now I know where the grey is, as you put it."
She was interesting, this new trainee. Already seeing things the way they were - but also seeing the way things should be.
"...thank you," said Gale quietly. "I know it seems...well, like everything around you is telling you one thing and I'm telling you something else, but I actually think it's not silly at all, what you said. There are Halloween creatures that aren't like the rest - whether good, or bad."
"And yes, well, dragons seem to be a theme here," he murmured with a sigh, almost finished with the snow thing. He pressed it between his palms to flatten a section and smiled a little. "One destroyed my house - twice."
It took him a moment to realize that Stormy was holding something out to him, and even longer that it was, in fact, one of her gloves.
"Oh," he said, blinking in surprise before he glanced back down at his own hands. "Ah...no, it's fine, I...I don't mind helping."
But he took the glove anyway and slipped it onto his good hand. It wasn't quite the right size, but it fit well enough anyway, and Gale smiled at her.
"Thanks."
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 3:12 pm
A bob of her head was the reply at his thanks. "S'okay. There's a lot of stuff that's probably gone on while I was sleeping, but I'm a fast learner. I think." She rubbed her fingers together and ducked her now naked hand into her hoodie pocket, unsure whether to be pleased she was right or crestfallen that she was. Granted, she was prone to following what people said anyway, especially given her short time on Deus, but . . . Happy thoughts. A million people meant a million opinions, and she was only in charge of her own.
Alternating between one hand and two (not seeming to mind how wet her sleeve ends were getting), Stormy began to fill up the base for the snow dog's head to eventually go on. "You mean the foggy dragon?" she prompted after a moment. "The one with the cold whisper breath? I fought her my first day on accident." Her brows drew together in a soft frown. "I didn't know if we were supposed to interact with her or anything, but someone was being attacked and I couldn't just leave him to deal with her on his own . . ." Even if she had been easy prey. "Sorry about your house, though. Did you get it fixed?"
< < Needing to do it twice means sloppy work. True destruction should be executed the first time. > >
Stormy didn't understand Thane's need to act superior, but her comment made her giggle. Silly thing.
"It's funny, my weapon's a dragon too. Well, dracolich," she corrected quickly when her partner gave an ominous rumble. "Bone dragon; he says that's even better. And a student one found me on that last mission, went full beast on me . . . Really scary stuff." Joy made it easier to gloss over it even though the encounter had her soiling her pants and in tears. "It's weird, thinking something that big can get forced into something the size of their fangs, you know? Maybe that's what we should tell people when they wake up from the pods: 'Welcome to Deus Ex Machina - here there be dragons!'" She would have tried jazz hands, but her fingers were too numb for it; she wiggled her sleeves instead with a cheesy "rrrrrrrr" sound.
"Oh hey, I think the head's starting to look good! Stick it right here." She marked a light x on the raised portion of snow designated to be the neck. "We'll get back to that later. Help me fill up the rest of his body, and make sure there's a bigger round clump stuck to the side for the leg since he's sitting and all." She stuck a clump to her side and smoothed out the edges as an example.
"So Caelius was . . . that really angry guy who'd been yelling back there, right? Yikes. He didn't . . ." She trailed off and looked at Gale's bandaged arm.
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 5:13 pm
"Fast learning is good," said Gale, his gaze flicking to Stormy's hands. He felt slightly awkward about wearing one of her gloves when hers were cold; he was the guy, after all, but she had given it to him, and she didn't seem like the kind of person who would take it back if he offered, since it had been a kindness extended.
"Yes," said Gale dryly, smashing a bit of snow together and pushing it around until it began to form something reasonably shaped. "Yes, the foggy thing. I'm not certain what his name was as a student, but he's been rampaging around the island too much. And yes, my house is fixed now; I protect it relatively well, thanks to that bloody thing. Hopefully it'll stay nice, it took me forever to get it even a little inhabitable."
<< Now watch him come destroy it again. >>
Hush, you.
She was giggling again, only this time Gale wasn't entirely certain why. He watched her curiously, and then blinked, tilting his head to the side.
"Oddly enough, my weapon's a dragon as well," he said, a little smile on his face. "He's not a bone dragon though, he's..."
<< Fucanglong. >>
"Right. A fucanglong dragon. He's pretty chill; sometimes he can be a bit of an annoying arse - "
<< I am always perfectly pleasant, thank you very much. >>
" - but we're partners, and he's a good weapon." Gale gave a little laugh, shaking his head. "Seems like dragons like us here, doesn't it? Dragon Ex Machina."
Finished with the head, Gale rose up on his knees and carefully set the head down where Stormy was pointing. It looked a little smushed, but other than that it resembled a head fairly well. He sat back, quite satisfied with his effort, and started patting down the rest of the dog's body.
"Yes," he said dryly as he worked. "Caelius was the really angry guy earlier, and to answer your unspoken question, he was the one who did this to my hand. But..." Gale trailed off a little, shrugging. "I sort of asked for it. Caelius is..." He waved a hand. "Caelius. I don't think you're in Death Division, otherwise I would know - so you don't have to deal with him as much as I do, but he's still sort of the temporary head of Deus...sort of...so unfortunately no one is safe from the pleasure of his company.
"Speaking of which..." He looked up Stormy, smiling a little. "What division are you in?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 8:02 pm
"Was it a he? I figured it was a she since it looked like she was protecting something in the town, mothering instincts and all . . ." But to think, it used to be a student! She frowned thoughtfully. "Someone must miss him . . ." Was that the friend Thackery had been looking for?
< < It seems little has been done to help him. That is the hard truth about trusting others: they will fail you when things are most dire. I assume it's self-preservation against whatever this poor whelp contracted. > >
I don't want to think like that . . .
< < The boy testified himself that the leader attacked him. And you saw the red-haired human attacking that Life one by the vortex. He was grinning when you were sucked in. > >
She returned Gale's smile as if Thane's opinion, if ignored, wouldn't be able to poison her cheery state, and her giggle at the dragon-inspired title was a little too bright to compensate. "Fucanglong sounds exotic~ Asian? It's nice that he's chill, though. Pretty sure by the end of this we'll all be chill, huh~?" A little bit of extra snow was plastered to the chest.
Stormy scooted over to finish the other forepaw, slathering on what was shed to help cement the head and neck. "Oh! Forgot I'm not wearing my coat. Mist Division," she answered, frowning again but less thoughtfully and more with concern. "Can I ask why he did it, though?" She had plenty more questions, but this one might be a bit too personal as it was.
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 10:44 pm
A pause.
"You know, I'm not quite sure," said Gale, staring off into space. "I always thought it was a he, but now that I think of it...I actually have no idea whether it was male or female."
His gaze flicked sideways towards Stormy, and he gave a little nod, pressing his lips together. "Someone probably does," he said quietly, absently smoothing his gloved hand against the side of the dog, brushing off a few stray snowflakes. "It's a bit sad when you put it like that."
The tension was slightly awkward. Gale cleared his throat, grateful for the change of conversation. "He's some sort of Asian dragon, yes," he said, as Jinhai made a purring noise inside of his head. "He's a brat, but, well, I'm just glad I have a weapon that I can trust. It's a bit weird, you know."
Gale made a circling motion with his finger pointing at the side of his head. "Hearing a second voice inside of your head and all. Took a bit of getting used to, but now it's hard to remember what it was like without him."
<< Aww. How sweet. Are we having a Moment? >>
Hush, you, or I'll take it back.
"Mist Division, eh?" said Gale with a smile. "That means you're under Aria. She's a good leader, a good person. Cares a lot about who's in her division. I think you'll like her."
Pushing a bit more snow against the lower paws in order to stabilize it a little, Gale hesitated before answering. Not out of anxiety, but out of embarrassment. His little encounter with Caelius had, of course, been one of things that he tried to forget most of the time.
"Ah..." said Gale after a moment, giving a little shrug as though trying to play it off, though his cheeks were somewhat pink - and not just from the cold. "There was a time when the position of Death Division Assistant was open. I, er...well, I thought too highly of myself and asked for the position. A bad move on my part; Caelius had just come back from the dead (sort of) and he was in an abominable mood"
He gave another shrug.
"Needless to say, I didn't get the job."
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:42 pm
Self-conscious, she withdrew her hands and let them press against her stomach, like adding distance between them would make the awkward less palpable. "Sorry! Sorry. I don't try to bring the mood down, honest, it just sort of . . . happens. Whatever Allan brought with him's made me feel a lot better, but I guess some things can't be completely hidden." She made a small noise meant to sound like a chuckle.
< < So quick to apologize. > > Thane sounded unimpressed.
Stormy was happy to follow the route out before she perpetuated the tension, even if she did have to reveal the embarrassing. "I haven't actually met Aria yet," she revealed a bit sheepishly. "I mean the mission got in the way and all, but . . ." How did one approach their leader? Even just to say "hey, I'm in your command now, nice to meet you, by the way my sword explodes things and I don't know how to control that power hapl". But if she really was a nice as Gale described, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe getting a present was a good start! Yes, gifts would be the way she'd learn to be sociable with more than just the division leader.
"You know, this isn't so crazy to me, believe it or not. The whole voice in your head thing." Stormy began gathering snow to delicately around the front of the snow dog's head for a snout, looking content to admit the fact. "I sorta write blurbs of stories on the side, and sometimes it means talking with a character in your head to get to know them. The only difference is that this one isn't from me, which means I have more stuff to explore."
< < Judging by your current thought processes, this is a well-needed improvement. > >
Again she fell into a contemplative silence when he gave an overview of what happened, favoring to look at the snow dog rather than Gale himself; she didn't so much see the blush as hear it. "That . . . bites," she offered lamely. Gale seemed like a good kid, but she couldn't pretend to know how they picked promotions and whether the guy was too young to be an assistant, or what have you. At least Caelius hadn't done more than just banged up a limb?
Now that he mentioned the leader having died and come back, though, Stormy was anxious to ask if death was a normal thing at Deus. But going down that path would only bring more awkward pauses and grim recounting, and God knew she would probably get more chances at it. Ah look, there was an awkward pause right now even. She fumbled for what to say, wondering if a year in the pod had degraded her social skills so badly or if she had always been so clumsy, and fell back on her trump card for conversation savers.
"Did you know there are fifty-four colored squares on a Rubik's Cube?"
Trivia.
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