The Lost and the damned

[greyerrant]

Who: Garviel and you!
What: Being sad, sparring, Eating, Gardening
Where: Rig Gardens, Top of the Rig, Cafeteria, Gym depending on prompt
When: Post Babadon't
Warnings/Notes: Will add if they become necessary



Prompt one: Garviel is eating in the Cafeteria. There are plenty of seats nearby as he consumes the best slop Jorgmund has seen fit to send his way as nutrients. He doesn't appear to be enjoying it, just scowling and it gamely. He is approachable enough, and seems ready to talk if someone were to approach.

Prompt two: Loken is doing sword forms in the Gym, 3 blades lying out and ready for use, his chainsword, which is exactly what you might think, an oversized sword with chainsaw blades which he cycles doing his practice, a Power sword, which is a large two-handed weapon with crackling energy pouring off it once activated, and a gladius force sword, which has intricate circuitry which doesn't do much as he continues close combat forms with it, a lot more punching, stabbing, and shorter cuts than the other two heavier blades.

Prompt three: Loken is breaking a sweat in the Gardens, planting a few columbine plants as he continues to dig and transfer them from pots, covered in sweat and with cut-down overalls that barely contain his too large to be human form as he labors mightily to create a little ephemeral beauty in a sad, ugly world.

Prompt four: Garvi is on the top of the rig at night, bundled up in his best attempt at clothes that fit him that are mostly just other people's stuff sewn together in a sort of cloak. He'd probably look a lot more badass in his actual war plate but Jorgmund has got that locked up, as usual. He stares off into the distance as the below-freezing cold hits him, sternly refusing to acknowledge the cold beyond his clothing. It's like a contest between him and the weather. Or maybe he's just dramatic and likes to stand outside at night on top of large buildings. He watches the Helipad and seems to be occasionally looking over the rig and taking note of -where- things are. Like he's planning an assault, or an Exfiltration.

Comments

2.

[bothbarrels]

North's still recovering from the burns he received during the battle with the shapeshifter, but they're fairly small and it's not going to prevent him from doing his daily exercise. He enters the gym, intending to go about his usual workout, but he immediately sees Loken performing sword exercises and pauses to watch. He's trained with a lot of weapons, including knives, but not anything sword-like.

After Loken reaches a point where he seems to be winding down, at least with one of the weapons, North decides to make the fact that he's watching known. He steps a bit closer.

"You look like you're pretty good with those. Feel like giving a lesson?"

Re: 2.

[greyerrant]

For clarity, Loken is in his powered armor since this is about the only place Jorgmund will allow him to wear it. He is a brutal thing of pauldrons and ceramite, the armor making a growl as he turns and nods his head to North. "I am always willing to teach." He sets his chainsword down, and gestures to the three blades. "Which would you like to learn?"

[bothbarrels]

North indicates the gladius force sword.

"Without armor, this one seems more my speed."

He hasn't been allowed to use his armor in any situation on the rig, although he's been promised he'd have access during missions at some point.

[greyerrant]

Loken nods, offering it to him hilt-first. "It is almost like a large knife, or dagger. Primarily a thrusting tool, though it is reinforced enough to make slashing a valid attack tactic. The handguard is fairly minimal, so be careful if you're trying to parry or you could lose a finger or a whole hand."

1

[zerofield]

And then, in the seat across from this mountain of a man, here's a tiny slip of a girl setting down her tray. She has to crane her neck a little to look at him. It would make a great image for a postcard.

"Hi."

Re: 1

[greyerrant]

"Hello there." He looks down at her, it's been a bit since they've seen each other, the Goat mission.

"Doing well, I hope?"

Re: 1

[zerofield]

"I wasn't eaten by a black goop monster, so I can't really complain."

It always feels a little disingenuous to say she's doing well here, given that their entire situation is unacceptably crappy, but by the comparative standards of How Things Could Be Going, she's in one piece and not totally traumatized, so it also feels pointless to say things are awful. Things are always awful, so the complaints, she's sure, are probably best saved for when they really give her something to complain about.

Re: 1

[greyerrant]

"I am glad of that. Your death would have... grieved me."

He thinks for a moment, eats a bit more of the godawful jorgmund cooking which is like the worst casserole ever.

"Did you have to fight it?"

1

[valkywhee]

If Loken wants to eat alone, too bad. Nora slides into the seat across from him, tray loaded down with all the suspiciously grayish food the cafeteria staff would give her. It's enough for an adult man, easily. She's very athletic, okay? It burns a lot of calories!

"Hi, Loken!"

Re: 1

[greyerrant]

"Hello Mamzel Valkyrie. You seem in fine spirits today."

He doesn't bother asking what he owes the pleasure to. Her aggressive cheerfulness is something he is accustomed to, by now.

"Did you find something good?"

Loken may have finally grabbed a piece of candy for her when he was in the executive rewards room. Just maybe. But he will wait for the right moment for that suprise.

[valkywhee]

"I thiiiiiiink it's meatloaf." Nora prods at the substance in question with her fork. "'Good'...well, I've had worse." That is the epitome of damning with faint praise—she was a homeless orphan for a while. Her culinary standards cannot be considered high.

[greyerrant]

"Same here. Have I ever told you about Slab?"

He smiles a bit. "We would be issued it out on crusade sometimes, when fresh or local food was not possible. Reconstituted protein blocks, in large portions. Sometimes we would get flavor packets. Sometimes we would not. They were army-issue, but sometimes the quartermasters gave them to the Astartes as well, but given our higher caloric needs we'd get a week's ration as a single issue meal. I can say having eaten a rock, the rock has a more interesting flavor and texture."

3!

[garmr]

Guts typically takes to the gardens when he needs to clear his head. He's had a lot of time to ponder by himself as of late, and finds the green of the foliage soothing and familiar. It wasn't a rich forest, but it'll do.

Piled there among the dirt and the flowers is Loken, his huge frame easily dwarfing all the flowers he was tending to. The mix of gentle action and giant frame reminded him a lot of someone else he used to know...

"Hey."

He looks at the plants.

"I'm not much of a farmer, but I've got an extra hand if you need it."

He wiggles the metal fingers of his prosthetic - though the offer is still genuine.

[greyerrant]

"Much appreciated, as always." He straightens and points to some bags of soil. "I shall need those shortly, I am almost done planting this row and I will need to spread that over top."

He meets Guts' eyes. "Saturday is back. I am sure you are happy about that."

[garmr]

"Yeah. Was it that obvious I was gettin' worried?"

He hadn't let anyone move her stuff around in the months she had disappeared. Maybe a bit too insistently. He didn't like entertaining the thought she might not be coming back.

Guts approaches with a bag in each arm, waiting for Loken's next instructions.

[greyerrant]

"Set them down, grab a hoe, we are spreading that over what I have planted all ready. Just don't cover over the columbines entirely or we shall have a difficult time growing them." Loken takes up a hoe himself and demonstrates on some already dumped soil.

He shrugs. "I just knew she was your friend and roommate, and I had assumed you two understood each other well. It is natural to miss comrades, particularly in a place like this that is unfamiliar, strange, and probably very alien to you. There is a lot to worry about here, from shapeshifting infiltrators to whatever strangeness the stuff brings."

2

[zerg_rush]

Feeling guilty after forcing him to relive the events of Istvaan 3, Kerrigan's been avoiding Loken, but there are only so many places to go for a prisoner "New Hire," and given their routines, it was inevitable that their paths would cross eventually. Turning on her heel and finding something else to do seems like calling attention to herself, so she keeps on into the gym as though she hasn't noticed the guy in two and a half meters of power armor swinging a chainsaw sword around. It's not like she's never seen a marine before, and besides, he's busy, Kerrigan rationalizes. No one wants to be bothered in the middle of a workout routine.

She heads to the treadmills for a warm-up.

[greyerrant]

Loken continues on for a while, clearly seeing her, and noticing she doesn't seem to want to talk. He continues with his sword forms, waiting for her to exhaust herself at the treadmill, pitting his own posthuman physique against her endurance in a contest, not wanting to bother her initially out of politeness, but clearly intent on talking to her at some point. A contest of manners, in a very military sort of way.

[zerg_rush]

Kerrigan is trying very hard not to listen to Loken's mind, which, given her degree of telepathic talent, involves doing the equivalent of sticking her fingers in her ears and talking loudly herself. She spends her warm-up mentally assembling and disassembling the weapons she's familiar with. For someone who started her military training when she was in the single digits, it's kind of like nursery rhymes.

After about ten minutes, everything feels loosened up, and Kerrigan exchanges the treadmill for the free weights, still resolutely thinking about guns and still pretending Loken isn't there.

4.

[hallelujahjunction]

Dan hasn't yet found a good place to smoke on the Rig without setting off the fire detectors, which, unfortunately for him, means he has to go up on the roof in the goddamn witch-tit brutal freezing cold to get away with it. Dan hates the cold. Despite being wrapped in several layers of clothing, three sweatshirts and his uniform and two layers of socks, by the time he gets to the railing he feels like his hands are numb and his nose is watery.

He comes up next to Garviel, shivering. "Mind blocking me from the wind, big guy?"

Plus, that way the cigarette smell won't blow in Garviel's face.

[greyerrant]

"With pleasure, friend." He does so without complaint, somehow enjoying the cold a bit. It reminds him of the harsher nights on his home planet, when wind would whip down the empty mine tunnels at the edge of the conurbations. "I would not have imagined you would be the sort to frequent this place if you did not have to, though." He doesn't know about smoking, other than vaguely as something some mortals do, this will be his first close encounter with it.

[hallelujahjunction]

Dan's shivering, and scoots in a little to at least get a bit of warmth from Garviel without being intrusive. The little flame of his lighter dances in the wind, even when he tries to shield it with his hand.

"I wouldn't, but nicotine patches don't relax me the same way as actual cigarettes do. And I keep getting warning zaps for undoing the smoke alarms." He takes a long drag, the relief of it evident on his face. "Want one?"

2 (cw ideation?)

[myagents]

Physically, Price is small. Really small, and frail. The noospheric powers compensate a bit, allowing his eyes to shoot burning or freezing lasers from a distance. He sees this huge guy train with increasingly ridiculous swords that he isn't even strong enough to hold. A bit out of pettiness, a bit out of will to die because he just intensely hates this place and everyone in it (not you, Setsuna, you're an angel and we're thrilled you're here) and there is no way out, he shoots many little burning lasers between Garviel's feet, delighted at the idea of making this meathead 'dance'.

"Need a match?" he taunts. It's a rhetorical question, really.

Re: 2 (cw ideation?)

[greyerrant]

Loken is burned, steps back slowly, letting himself be hurt. He stares Price down, and says, "I see none worthy of my time here. Only a petty psyker."

That said, he wanted to heave Mournitall directly through price's chest, the impulse screaming from him to do so, especially after the manifestation of noospheric powers. It takes most of his self control not to revert to the murderous avenger Cerberus in moments like this.

Re: 2 (cw ideation?)

[myagents]

From a logical point of view, Price should be glad that he didn't receive a hostile response, but he feels insulted instead. What is it, everyone is so disgusted by him that they refuse to fight him, now? After so many threats of violence he received for just being here, at this point he just wants someone to fully go through with them. It only makes sense to target the big guy, because doing it will either end his problems or allow him to free all that pent up anger and aggression on someone who is able to withstand it.

He aims the next laser to Garviel's chest plate, to heat it up and cause pain.