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Entry tags:
And to think, he used to be cobalt
Who: Butch Flowers and you!
Where: In the pines!
When: Late afternoon, 03/02
What: Creeping!
Warnings: Paint swatch name abuse. Anything else will be added as needed!
[Open]
It’s late afternoon and there’s something teal in the woods.
Or is it aquamarine?
Either way, people will catch glimpses of turquoise between the trees where the fading sunlight gets through, bright enough to stand out, almost neon against the gloom. When they actually turn to see what manner of aqua-fresco creature might be lurking around however, it’s... gone.
If you do wander into the woods, despite the general air of oppressive ominousness and potential screaming, you might just see a darkened, green-blue silhouette that seems rather human.
Sometimes it disappears into the thick undergrowth, just melting away. Sometimes it’s up amongst the branches, a stark shadow against snow colored skies.
Wanna try following this seafoam colored mystery into the trees?
Where: In the pines!
When: Late afternoon, 03/02
What: Creeping!
Warnings: Paint swatch name abuse. Anything else will be added as needed!
[Open]
It’s late afternoon and there’s something teal in the woods.
Or is it aquamarine?
Either way, people will catch glimpses of turquoise between the trees where the fading sunlight gets through, bright enough to stand out, almost neon against the gloom. When they actually turn to see what manner of aqua-fresco creature might be lurking around however, it’s... gone.
If you do wander into the woods, despite the general air of oppressive ominousness and potential screaming, you might just see a darkened, green-blue silhouette that seems rather human.
Sometimes it disappears into the thick undergrowth, just melting away. Sometimes it’s up amongst the branches, a stark shadow against snow colored skies.
Wanna try following this seafoam colored mystery into the trees?
no subject
Which she did this time, surprisingly. With a startled gasp she steps deeper into the woods. "Hello?"
no subject
The branch above her creaks with a sudden weight, raining down pine needles, twigs and a dusting of snow. If she looks up, she'll find a person in bright, neon teal armor waving down at her.
"Well, hello!"
no subject
She lets out a gasp of surprise when the branch creaks and she looks up in alarm.
"Emily?" No, the armor's a different color. "Excuse me. I thought you were someone else."
sorry about the slowness!
Sounds like something he should really, really investigate.
"So, Jiaying! Buddy! What brings you to the woods in this dandy time of the day?"
no worries
no subject
Chase it, obviously.
This would be easier if Emily were in her own armor, what with the motion tracker and IFF and radio, but she's still in pretty good shape and a bit of a run won't hurt her. What's in the woods might hurt her, but her evaluation of risk is a bit. Skewed.
"Carolina?" Or wait, dammit, what if it's "...Tucker?" It's quite clear which of those people Emily would rather it be.
no subject
At Emily's call, it stops and she can probably see the helmet slowly turn, the darkening, pale skies between the trees reflecting off of the visor. In a blink, the shadow steps behind a tree and disappears.
It's silent for a while. A cold, windless evening as it was, there was barely any sound. No creak of branches or swaying leaves. Too cold and late for the birds to be out and all the other critters were busy sleeping the snow away.
There's a crunch of heavy boots landing in a snow pile to her left. Sharp, sudden and very deliberate.
"Now where on earth," says the phantom Tucker in a cheerful, gentle voice that doesn't belong to him, rising from his crouch. "Did you get those names, Dr. Grey?"
Yeah, Florida wouldn't be a proper Freelancer without being really fucking extra somehow.
no subject
Emily has her hands on her hips, seeming not to notice the chill air. She also seems not to have read the memo that she should find being stalked by a guy in power armor to be threatening.
no subject
There's actual, genuine confusion in his voice. It's been a very, very long time since Florida has been this confused- but then this place seems to have brought out a lot of confusion these past few weeks, hasn't it?
He leans against the nearby tree, giving the woman before him another onceover, planting his hand on his hip. There's no response for a long while, Florida trying to piece things together, how much to give away.
"Grey, this armor is mine. I'm his commanding officer."
Why would Tucker have his armor?
no subject
She sighs and folds her arms. "Right, so, which state are you?"
He's much too competent to be one of the Blues, armor color notwithstanding, and Emily lacks the patience to dance around the issue. They're in the woods. No one's listening here. And she doesn't give a damn about Project Freelancer's secrets.
no subject
Most scenarios are currently ending with her neck getting neatly snapped.
He did not, however, have the advantage of information here. The Alpha was far, far out of reach and the reasons for his entrapment in this strange town was a mystery. Other than his armor, this was the first real proof that his memories of a life outside of Pines were real. And as a potential ally in this mess, Grey could be... useful.
Besides, she was kind of neat so far. Also, he'd already slipped up and given away the fact that he'd known Carolina at the start: his involvement with Freelancer was going to be pretty difficult to deny.
Drumming his fingers against his thigh plating, Florida tilts his helm before puffing a little laugh and pushing off the tree.
"Well, alright," he declares, a smile in his voice as he folds his hands behind his back. "I am agent Florida. I'd been assigned to Blood Gulch as Captain Butch Flowers, tasked with the protection of an experimental AI unit. Lavernius Tucker was under my command."
Not the whole truth. Not yet. A gauge to see how much she knows.
Rubbing his thumb and forefinger idly together, he hums thoughtfully before continuing.
"Agent Washington had been assigned to Special Operations Recovery. Agent Carolina was MIA, presumed dead. How do you know them?"
How about some tit for tat, Emily Grey?
no subject
"Carolina, Washington, and the Reds and Blues were aboard a ship that crashed on my homeworld." As she draws level with him, she jerks her head at the deeper reaches of the forest in a wordless suggestion. Join her for a friendly and surveillance-free nature walk, Butch?
"They got sucked into our civil war." Her boots scrunch on the snow as she breaks trail, her breath clouding around her face and her tone much less perky than usual. "Of course it's more complicated than that, because it always is, but the answer to how I met them is: sheer chance. Wash stopped a bullet with his head--as your resident 26th century medical professional, I advise against that--and I put him back together."
no subject
It's been a long while since he's seen those two together, the young rookie and the rising star. Too bad good old dad got it into her head that her team was worth less than that shiny spot on the board. Florida had been hoping to see how that dynamic worked out.
Then again, Carolina was always so wrapped up in all her little self and all her little failures. Maybe that's just how it was meant to be after all.
Back to the matter at hand though, from the sounds of things Emily didn't seem to know how his boys managed to launched themselves out of Blood Gulch with two errant Freelancers in tow. He tucks that question away for later: maybe his own memories will supply the answer in time. For now...
"Sounds like good old Wash was lucky he ended up in your hands. So, civil war you say?" There are lots of civil wars these days, everyone fighting for any scraps left in the aftermath of the big one. "Think you can give me a place name and a timestamp?"
He's just got a weird gut feeling about this.
no subject
"And it's 25[whatever]. Why, were you in cryo?" Freelancer seems like it was the blackest of wartime black ops, and soldiers usually travel in cryosleep. It would explain the question about dates, if nothing else.
no subject
He's sure she'd appreciate a chance to dissect whatever remained of Maine.
"The last timestamp I remember is 25[well before everyone gets out of Blood Gulch]," Florida mutters, tapping his faceplate thoughtfully. "Which is very strange indeed. And Tucker running around in my armor..."
None this boded particularly well. Not for him at least.
"... Was there an AI accompanying them?"
no subject
"Epsilon." Emily nods. "He's very argumentative. I'm not entirely certain giving him a direct link to Carolina's brain is a good idea, but they seem to be managing. Good thing, too. If she went insane, we'd have a problem!" Largely because Carolina could kill all of them with her eyes closed.
Don't think she didn't notice you not answering her question about cryo, buddy.
no subject
At the name, Florida quiets. Just for a moment.
"Epsilon." There's a new, odd edge to his voice. "Was the AI that was supposed to be assigned to Agent Washington. It went haywire during installation and was put into storage. Carolina is one pretty darned lucky woman."
Argumentative sounded like Alpha. Which makes sense, in retrospect, considering what fragment Epsilon was supposed to be. But that didn't answer why he was out of storage- or why he sounded oddly sane considering the mess of a being he'd been writhing around in Wash's brain.
"Was there a Leonard Church with them by any chance?"
no subject
no subject
What happened to Alpha? What happened to him?
Florida stops altogether, confused more than he's ever been in his entire life.
"I... am going to go sit down, I think," he laughs, sudden and sharp.
Without waiting for a response, the man sinks slowly to the ground, legs tidily crossed, hands planted on his knees and shoulders bent with a hard tension. Give him a moment, Grey. He needs to process... everything.