revenance_comms | [audio/video/text: open]

[ This is GREAT, is Lela's enthusiastic confirmation, and she half-spins in delight, managing to not trip over her tail, collide with Mace, or bump out of York's reach when he bends down to pet her. The delight dimmed briefly as she looked across at Melody. No, they're not talking and I don't know how to fix it, she mewed, very aware of the awkwardness. Then she perked up again. But I bet when she finds out that the Strong person is here, she'll be really--]

#CHA-CHACK#

[--happy...?

Turning, ears flatten backwards as Lela sinks down immediately, belly flat to the ground and half hidden behind Max. She then peers around York's leg, to where her Person stands at the top of the stairs, with hands that are far too steady holding a gun that is pointed directly at the party below.

Clad in one of workout outfits Rarity had made for her, it is the first time Carolina'd finally unwound enough to dress down when there wasn't a party, chose to not equip her armor when venturing outdoors and only carry one magnum with her. And now this. She has no armor, no speed enhancement. Meaning there's no hiding the ashen face or dark and dead look to green eyes as her weapon trains on a very specific target, safety off and finger resting on the trigger.

The scars on the back of her neck ache, phantom memory of pain lacing down her spine.

She's never trusting North's word on the dream world's being 'safe' again.]

What. Is going on here.

[Melody shrugs, a gesture that somehow looks natural with three pairs of shoulders. They'll work it out somehow. They usually do. She puts up with about two play swipes from Mace before reaching out and whacking the Pricklemaine hard enough to knock it flat on its ass. You're maybe thirty minutes old, bucko. There's a hierarchy here, and you are not at the top. Sit down.]

[Wash tenses at the sound of the gun cocking, and it's only an act of will that keeps him from going for his own in return. Shit. He really thought they'd have more time to prepare for Carolina's arrival than this. York's question goes unanswered; there are more important things right now.]

Maine is here.

[Slight emphasis on the name. If anyone would be able to tell Maine apart from the Meta, it would be Wash.]

[Sparky alerts at that sound. He's used enough to hearing it running around with York that he's sure it means a fight. Things had been going really well; hopefully their people wouldn't be really fighting.]

We were going to show Maine around town. Last thing he remembers is the infirmary after his throat got messed up.

[And York has learned that not explaining things to Carolina ends in tears and widespread death.]

[Maine looks up at the sound and any relief he had at seeing his boss vanishes the instant he takes everything in. Washington had really downplayed what his 'twin' had done, he thinks, and inwardly he flashes with irritation that he wasn't better warned. He respected Carolina. He'd taken a bullet for her, and to see her now aiming her weapon at him with that expression ...]

[He doesn't move. Not to placate, not to defend, not to attack. He stands where he is, still, vocalizing nothing more than a confused, almost worried little mrr? that he cuts off almost as soon as it escapes.]

[He can hear Washington and York explaining, catches the nuance in their tone, they're trying to avoid an incident. They couldn't have told him anything useful, could they?]

[Mace, running a couple moments behind, seems to think Lela's cowering was at his superior posturing, and he prances until Maine makes a single, slight tck motion with two fingers. It's then that the tension hits him as well, and he cowers behind Maine's legs with plaintive whimpers.]

[Maine himself is otherwise still, calmly awaiting Carolina's verdict before he tries to defend himself against god only knows what at this point.]

[ Really? Really, Washington?

She's paranoid, equal parts paralyzed and petrified, but she's certainly not blind.

..Though a part of her does appreciate the distinction being made, is distantly saddened by the necessity for such clarification, it does not stop the slight dip of her brows in the briefest flicker of anger, even as Carolina's eyes don't move from Maine. It'd be a mistake on her part to lower her guard, with memories at their most raw, and it's not entirely clear whether she's listening to what York has to say.

There's nothing pained about Maine's movements, beyond the telltale signs of a man who shouldn't be off of bedrest and back on duty without his doctor's approval. Lela had greeted him, had done so with her usual enthusiasm for all living souls, and suffered no harm from such innocent behaviour. And there is no flickering, burning effigy blighting the air over one shoulder, pulling strings on a puppet who now lacked a voice to give warning. ]

..Lela.

[ Her voice is quieter, but no less firm; stance and gun remain where they are. The pink frootz cat remains rather drooped, glancing worried at the other Persons in the square. But she doesn't wait too long; she's been called to heel, and with a flick of her tail she's sprinting back up the steps and stopping by her Person's feet.

(Wash certainly can't say discipline hasn't been improved on since the last time he and Carolina were in the same space together.)

When her person still doesn't do anything, one cream paw lifts, gently nudging her leg, just below the knee. Colour doesn't return, but the action seems to to stir something behind her closed expression.

Then, there's a short, sharp nod for the man in white armor, Carolina at her most business-like and perfunctory. Her arm drops, gun lowered but not yet stowed away as she spins on her heel to walk (not run, not yet, not when they might see) back the way she came, fretting Spirit right behind her.

Not the Meta. Just Maine.

That might be the worst news of all. ]

[Yes, Carolina, really. Somebody who plans on shooting first and asking questions never does not get the benefit of the doubt.]

[The explanation prevents anyone from getting killed, at least, but that solution opens up a whole new host of problems. So much for easing into an explanation. So much for finding Carolina first and warning her. So much for a lot of things.]

[The private channel to York opens again, because he has to vent somehow.]

Good luck.

[Yeah, you're still on the hook for interference. Wash isn't touching that one.]

...Okay so there are probably a few things we should have explained.

[Thanks a lot for putting him on this, Wash.]

So. Uh. Where should we even start.

[Telling Maine his whole history, especially considering what the guy just went through would be...not on. Not that Maine couldn't handle it, but that's a lot of shit to drop on anyone.]

[As soon as Carolina is out of sight, Maine leans over towards Washington with a low, displeased growl. Won the war? At a pretty fucking high cost, it seemed. He crossed his arms and eased back as York spoke, although it was clear the incident had made him leery of anything these guys had to say now.]

[He meant good luck with Carolina, but he's okay with this particular turn of events.]

[It's all Wash can do not to jump out of his skin at that growl. It's hard to get used to Maine when his reactions are still fine-tuned to Meta.]

Hey, I told you why people aren't happy.

[York glanced at Wash, frowning. Had Wash meant Maine or Carolina? Oh well, they were into this now.]

We should probably just explain, Wash.

[Maine doesn't budge, besides looking from one to the other and giving a long, low rumble. Someone had better explain something that would attribute to Carolina's behavoir because that wasn't normal from his point of view.]

[To help matters along, Mace eases himself out from behind Maine's legs and growls and paws at Washington's feet.]

[There will eventually come a day when Wash can stop rehashing all the awful shit in his life for the edification of others. Today is not that day. He bites back a sigh and tries to keep his voice even.]

Look, the Project...didn't end well. For anyone. Carolina...still hasn't dealt with some of that yet. [For reasons that are not actually his to divulge.]

[Melody snarls and whacks Mace one right across the nose. You do not get aggressive at her person. ]

The Project went down in flames. [And into an ice shelf]

[Max barks a protest. Stop fighting, you guys.]

[The growl subsides for a moment as everything sinks in. He turns to look back in the direction Carolina had left.]

[He distinctly got the feeling that something had gone down between them, specifically. She hadn't given York or Wash any notice with her pistol. He looks back at the pair and jerks a thumb in his direction with a grunt, what did I do?]

[Mace gets the picture and backs away (with a yelp), a moment later running to hide behind Maine's legs again.]

Edited 2013-10-18 21:46 (UTC)

[Melody settles down once Mace learns his lesson. That'll show him.]

[Wash tries his hardest not to shoot a look at York - now was not the time for stupid jokes, okay.]

I don't think you want to know.

[York transmits privately to Wash again because he's really curious now.]

So are we going to get to the part where you tell me why you understand what he's saying now or later?

[He's pretty sure that Maine asked the obvious - details on how freelancer collapsed. Or maybe what he did to Carolina while it was happening, something York has blessedly few details on.]

[Max settles back, content that the fighting had settled.]

[York's okay with letting Wash argue that point, but he's pretty sure Maine wouldn't have asked if he didn't want to know.]

[Maine leans towards Washington and growls. Yes, he wants to know. For Carolina's sake he wants to know.]

[And he can tell there's something private going on between Wash and York. You don't spend as much time around people in armor without picking up a few things. He doesn't question them on it. Whatever they need to do to realize he was going to get answers.]

[That gives him pause, and he replies privately:]

Wait, you don't?

[Sigma had been doing the talking for Maine about as soon as Maine got out of medical, and there really hadn't been any other Freelancers around to try to communicate with the Meta - not when Wash was dealing with it, at least. This is not a development he was expecting.]

[Then again, he hadn't been expecting pretty much any of this. "Unexpected" is something of a low bar nowadays.]

Hasn't anyone ever told you to be careful what you wish for?

[But they were here, and Wash had the feeling that he wasn't going to be able to walk out of this without giving Maine a satisfactory answer.]

While you were in medical, the Project started assigning AI to agents. The one you wound up with went off the rails and took you with it.

[York sighs on the private line.]

I wouldn't ask about it if I could.

[So Wash clearly wasn't hiding any huge secret or anything, he just didn't realize that no one else could tell what Maine was saying.]

You started attacking the rest of us. The more the AI took you over, the worse it got.

[York blessedly missed most of that part.]

[Maine listens, straightening and tensing somewhat. When York finishes, Maine merely points in the direction Carolina left. What did I do to her?]

[He almost doesn't want to know, but if it will help him patch that bridge faster ... well, unpleasant knowledge was just another type of pain, and pain he could handle.]

[That's one of the few questions Wash can't answer.]

I don't know. I didn't see it. Whatever happened, she was marked as KIA, though evidently that's not accurate.

[York shrugs uncomfortably. He didn't know this one any more than Wash did, and he'd usually been grateful that he didn't know how Carolina died. But then, she wasn't dead, so at least the worst things he'd imagined hadn't happened.]

Same here. It - you - messed Wyoming up pretty bad before that, but he survived.

[Maine looks at York evenly, letting it soak in. Attacking Wyoming was disturbing enough, but he was having a hard time swallowing the fact that he'd done as much to Carolina. He didn't doubt it, given her reaction, but he wondered what sort of turn he ahd taken with Sigma to lead things that way.]

[He pulls in a deep breath and lets it out in a huff. Balls.]

[That gets a choking laugh out of Wash. He hadn't exactly expected Maine to take the news better than anyone else had.]

That's one way to put it.

[York opens up a channel to Wash again.]

Seriously, man, it's getting creepy.

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and apparently this was just a quick cameo WELP

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