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 Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 7:46 pm
There wasn't a whole lot to do on the island. Jordan had always assumed that a life with nothing much to do would be easy, but the experience of it was a whole lot more frustrating. He had resigned himself after the first few days to waiting, aware that being angry about it would do nothing.
For now, he was checking the tidepools for edible sea life. Later, he would swim out further, but he liked to check the easier spots first and see if they'd been picked over.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 3:42 pm
Cigarettes had run out fast, which left Ever with an itch that he felt, in his bones, and in his skin and his limbs and in the shiver of his fingers. In his heart of hearts, without reason behind it, he was certain that his weapon could have done something about that, had Amory wanted to. This was a kind of sickness, and yet Amory ignored it, leaving Ever to grimace, leaving him a bit snappy and desperately in search of distraction. It came in the form of Jordan, apparently: Ever standing on the shore with hands shoved into his pocket and his head tipped just slightly to one side as he squinted out at the man working. He was barefoot, but he still only came into the water just far enough that it lapped at the edges of his feet and no deeper, leaving Jordan with a bit of space. Instead of getting closer, he raised his voice enough to carry. "Catch anything good?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 4:13 pm
Jordan lifted a sea urchin out of the water, carefully, holding it by a small cluster of spines. "I hear these guys are delicacies in some forms of cuisine," he called back, and took a moment to inspect the thing before shrugging. "Doesn't look incredibly appetizing to me." He dropped it back into the water and wandered over toward Ever. "I think someone's already been out here today."
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 4:27 pm
"Wasn't me." That made him pull his hands free, raising them easily, as if to stave off any kind of accusations. Behind it, though, he offered a flash of a smile, to turn the gesture into a joke. Ever's eyes slid past Jordan to see if he was alone, who else might be lurking on the sidelines -- "That hardly even looks edible. No chances it's poisonous if you prepare it wrong, are there...?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 4:35 pm
"Doesn't really matter. Just means I'll have to put in a little more effort later if I want seafood. Or eat weird food. Are sea anemones edible? There's plenty of those." Nobody else seemed to be currently right here, although there were other people visible further down the beach. Jordan shrugged to the question. "I have no idea. I'd try looking it up, but my phone's dead. Oh, well. If nothing else, there's coconut."
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Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 8:08 pm
Ever made a very quiet sound and just watched Jordan -- thoughtful and curious and maybe a little bit awkward -- while he dug around for words. His hands lingered in his pockets and his shoulders hiked up, hair damp with the sweat of the day. He was wearing entirely too many layers, considering the heat of this place. "...it's weird, I'm not sure...we've ever really had a conversation. Off of twitter, or even on there." There was a little knot between his eyebrows as he said it.
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Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 8:26 pm
Jordan tucked his hands into his pockets, unthinkingly mirroring Ever's posture, though he wore far less. He wore a pair of shorts that were becoming rather scruffy, and went shirtless. His coat stayed neatly folded in the spot where he kept the rest of his things. "I think you're right," he replied thoughtfully. "Even though we're not that large a group, it's surprisingly easy to just miss meeting someone. I'd say it's being in different divisions, but even being in the same division doesn't really guarantee you'll see someone."
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 11:13 am
Ever started to say something to that and then, miraculously, bit his tongue -- eyes going skyward instead while he smothered some probably-unkind thought. This was progress, really. Once upon a time, he would have just let it spill out. Instead, he picked for something more politic to offer. "How's island life treating you?" The end result was lame. He shook his head and halfway rolled his eyes as he looked back to Jordan, like he was well aware of just how lame it was.
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 6:53 pm
Jordan' eyebrows lifted slightly at the cut-off retort. He gave Ever a curious look, but didn't press for whatever it was that had been kept back. If the guy felt like saying it, he'd have said it; if not, there was probably some reason why. "I'm bored," he said succinctly. "I miss books and my computer. And showers, and food. Hell, I'm even starting to miss duties." He smiled wryly. "Yourself?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:05 pm
"I miss cigarettes, mostly." His tone was dry, an echo of Jordan's expression, the statement offered like a joke even if it really very much was not. Just saying it out loud was enough to make his whole body ache, and for a moment, Ever just closed his eyes. Tried to focus on other things, instead. "And showers, yeah, I'm with you on that one. I went years pre-recruitment without a hot shower but I think I would just about kill for one, now." It helped, talking about something else. Dulled the hunger. Mostly. "I could maybe go for a nice mattress, as well, if we're talking luxuries."
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:25 pm
Jordan grimaced sympathetically. He'd never smoked, so he couldn't relate directly, but he could imagine the agony that being suddenly forced to go cold turkey might be. He didn't think that saying so would be taken very well, though. "Baths in salt water just aren't the same," he said instead. "Oh, god, mattresses. I have a really nice one back home -- had," he corrected himself with a sigh. "It got wrecked after the last thing that happened, and I haven't had a chance to get a replacement yet. Making do with a standard issue felt like a pain, but what I wouldn't give for that standard issue mattress right now." It might be somewhat counterproductive to go over what they were missing, but there was a certain satisfaction in a good mutual complaining session.
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 9:59 pm
It was better than awkwardly standing and staring at each other -- even if it was an exercise in misery to dig up memories of things that now felt long lost. Ever grinned at Jordan, eyes cracked. Maybe he still seemed awkward around the edges, but he put some effort into relaxing. "I never figured out the trick of getting a good mattress. Or, really, getting anything big through the portals. But I don't mind the standard issue ones, either." He rolled just one shoulder, slow. "If I got a better one it'd probably be for other peoples' benefit."
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Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 1:14 pm
"If you're planning on buying something big, you gotta let the techs know when you go out, so they know to size it up when you come back," Jordan advised. "Helps to bring a friend to help carry it, too, especially if it's an awkward size." He laughed a little at the addendum. "Visitors' comfort is a very important thing."
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:42 pm
Ever couldn't help but snort in reply. "If I'm talking to the techs about it, I assume that means that I better bring at least a couple twenties and maybe more to grease palms." It was nice to plan something other than here though. It was nice to brash out and think about something a bit more normal. For a certain definition of normal. "They milked me dry for the computer, and I only wanted that for work...."
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:16 am
"Well, yeah, but that's how it goes." Jordan shrugged. He'd long since gotten used to the "convenience fees" that the Deus economy ran on, and automatically budgeted them in when considering a large purchase. "Depends on the individual, some people are more reasonable than others. Helps if you've got a buddy on duty." He groaned at the mention of computer. "I gotta do that again. My laptop got trashed when s**t happened, and I haven't gotten to go shopping for a new one yet."
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