goneawayworld | Being Alone

Who: South and anyone who encounters her
What: South trying to avoid everyone and her problems at once, and failing
Where: Various places on the Rig
When: Several days after South and York's arrivals
Warnings/Notes: None up front

South’s not really used to being alone, not really. Growing up with a twin you can’t shake for trying does that to a person, she supposes. As much as she resents it, resents him, it’s… a difficult adjustment, to make, one made infinitely harder by her lack of anywhere else to turn.

Turns out pissing off everyone you know from home is a poor choice, who’d’ve thunk it, huh?

Dealing with things in a healthy manner isn’t one of South’s strong suits, so rather than doing so she decides the best course of action is to simply avoid anywhere she might encounter her brother or get into another fight with Washington (he’s more than capable of handing her ass to her on a silver platter and she’s getting tired of it, if she’s honest) or have to deal with York (who’s just a pain in the ass, really).

For days, rather than get involved in anything festive or going out of her way to get to know the other New Hires, South spends her time in a few places:

a) On the Top Deck, which she finds supremely uncomfortable thanks to the daytime heat, but it also means most people won’t appear to bother her, so she considers it a fair trade. Sat near the edge, she sits and watches the fucked-up world outside and finds that it is possible to miss home, even when home sucks too.

Of course, it’s not a fool proof plan. When someone does come by and join her, she sighs to herself, but comments, “Weird fucking view, huh?”

b) In the Training Area, where she spends all of her time whaling on punching bags, lifting weights, running, or beating up training droids violently enough to break a couple. She could request her equipment but she’s not training to train, she’s there to exert restless energy and rage without directing it at the poor fucks around her. Easier to focus on the feeling of punching something than on your emotional turmoil!

The sound of someone coming up behind her makes her pivot, fist raised— but she holds back and huffs, instead, rolling her shoulders as her arm falls. “Watch it. Unless you wanna get hit, stay the fuck back.”

c) She wanders the gardens, the once, because even South sometimes needs somewhere relatively quiet to go. She’s not looking for anyone; quite the opposite, really, she just wants to get away from everything else for a while.

Unfortunately for her, she’s not the only one. Fortunately for whoever else she encounters, she’s at her least combative down here and simply says, “Kinda nice in here. Don’t remember the last time I saw so many fuckin’ plants.”

d) The Mess, is one of the few times she can’t get around communing with the group, but even during their shifts there the she tries her best to keep to herself by sitting as close to alone as she physically can. Perched at the ends of tables, not looking anyone in the eye, but occasionally glancing up at the sound of familiar voices before setting her gaze firmly back on her plate.

When someone sits nearby, she rolls her eyes and swallows her mouthful of food. “There’s other open seats, y’know.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ranulf's actually up in a tree when she comes through, but he jumps down when she speaks, because conversing from the same level seems like the polite thing to do, and most humans he's met don't seem much into tree climbing. He could almost be mistaken for human, from up in the leaves, but once he's more visible, the cat ears and tail clearly toss that right out the window.

"Really? That's a shame. This is about as nice as it gets on the Rig, of course, but it doesn't really hold a candle to home."

Real forests, he misses you.

South does a visible double-take at the ears and tail. Her mouth opens and closes a couple of times as if caught on some sort of exclamation that never quite makes it out, before she remembers that the first New Hire she saw was the Easter Bunny and just decides not to ask.

Shit's weird here. People come from weird places. Maybe it should be concerning how quickly it's become easy to accept this shit, but what energy she has for worrying about things is more than occupied elsewhere.

"Really. Haven't seen anything like it in years," she says with a shrug, casting her eye around the area. "Guessing that's not true for you, uhhh..."

She makes a vague gesture. God, she hates introductions.

Shit's indeed weird here, although he puts "weird" more on computers and cameras than on other people's anatomy.

"Ranulf," he supplies. "Do you do the handshake bit, or would you rather skip it? It's all the same to me, really." It's a very human mannerism - one he's picked up, being one of the first laguz to get tapped for diplomacy more often than not, but not one he has any attachment to performing, either.

"Uh, we can skip it," she says, with a shrug. She's never really been one for formalities like that. "Ranulf. Alright. I'm South. Just South, nothing else."

A clarification that seems to come from nowhere, but arriving on the rig after her brother means she's never sure who knows what around here.

"Just South." Specific enough that it sounds like there's a story there, but it's not one he's going to pursue.

"So...not much green where you're from, then? My home country is pretty much one big forest, so this is about the only place here that approaches feeling comfortable."

"Eh, there's plenty out there, but I've spent most of my adult life on spaceships or in cities," South answers with a shrug. "More of a circumstance thing than anything inherent to home, I guess."

She snorts quietly, idly folds her arms.

"The fuckin' rig as a whole is more like what I'm used to. Utilitarian and grey. Worse, though. A lot worse. Never thought I'd miss the Invention..." She shakes her head. "Guess it's ten times fuckin' worse when you come from a giant forest."

"Oh, spaceships! Had to have that one explained to me already. So your world is pretty advanced, then." Ranulf shakes his head. "The height of technical innovation where I come from is...arbalests, I guess? Being here has been all kinds of educational."

"Yeah, guess it is." Her brow knits with thought. "Never really thought of it as 'advanced', never known anything else. This place is kinda a downgrade for me. In, y'know, more than just the obvious ways."

The concussion she's on the tail end of at this point would have passed much quicker, back home. She can already tell she's going to find any injuries here frustrating.

She shakes her head, then cocks it slightly. "Arbalests?"

"If this is a downgrade for you, I can only - well, no, I can't even imagine what you're actually used to." Ranulf shakes his head. "Arbalest is just a bigger, better crossbow."

Yep. Crossbows are the cutting edge, in his normal.

South blinks. "Crossbow—? Wow, yeah, you really weren't fucking kidding. If that's the height of shit for you this place must be fuckin' surreal."

"It's nuts!" He manages to sound remarkably cheerful about that, though. "Interesting, for sure, but it's a lot to keep track of. I can't even get that mad when people start talking like I'm some kind of primitive idiot, because I'm sure I must look the part when I'm having my mind blown by running water and flush toilets."

South snorts. "Think you'd be within your rights to be pissed at people for that. Bet most of us would look like fish outta water if we were stuck somewhere more like your world than our own."

"Well, I'd be lying if I said that thought didn't give me a warm, cozy blanket of smug for these cold nights."

He wouldn't let anyone starve if they all got dumped in Ye Olde Forest tomorrow. He probably wouldn't even be too insufferable. But oh, he'd enjoy it.

Being Alone

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