new old pavements [open]

[theguideless]

Date & Time: 10/5 and beyond if need be
Location: Not far from the Hold
Characters: Martin, you
Summary: Looks like a lot of things need rebuilding or fresh construction (be it in prose or brackets or drawthings)
Warnings: I...I don't have to warn about 8 billion apologies anymore.............HOW...






With bare feet and over-sized clothes, Martin looked more like a refugee than a familiar transport. But then, things weren't particularly familiar anymore. In that, it was exciting...and frightening. Already the expectations he had were greatly sobered through mere days alive in Exsilium. Perhaps the timing of his rebirth was off. Things had tapered to a tense silence above ground, though by the itching feeling in his throat and lungs, things weren't utterly clean of the attacks. Rubble and broken places – even the places where transports called their tentative homes...It wasn't as disturbing to him as it perhaps ought to have been. But he had little to compare it to; life as a Darkov was sheltered and sparse, with community life restricted to family and a rigorous cause.

All in the past. Exsilium was now, for good or ill.

He hugged his arms and settled them on his knees, seated on..a piece of wall? Something that wasn't designed to be a seat, whatever it was. Probably a piece of wall. His mind wasn't on it.

Where to start?

...Start? Hadn't things already begun? Strange, the way his mind started tapering away from the things he knew were right. The human condition was at play, dropping heavy drapes over his clarity. Heavy was the best word for it all – uncertainty, grief, excitement, guilt, relief...it wasn't the miserable trudge of days long gone. This was a steady and certain hope, not the desperate clawing and groping of a boy ignorant of the world and himself. Even with fear crowding in, the flicker of truth within remained.

It was going to be alright. Even through the worst of things...

His body shuddered against both the chill in the air and the unknowns.

Comments

[theguideless]

Martin looked a little confused at that, feeling his stomach flip again. His fingers curled against his lap, feeling clammy, feeling...anxious, maybe? Fearful? Being face to face with someone he'd harmed – tried to harm more...How strange he'd been excited for the chance to make amends before putting it into practice.

The moment was brief; he smiled a small, relieved smile.

"Oh, well...Maybe. But I'm glad I got to meet you again. Like this, rather than...how it was before."

[theguideless]

It was rather fun, when all was said and done. Martin was almost breathless by the time Ico stopped, quick to let his feet find the ground and rise, a little shaky before finding proper footing and exhaling, wiping his hair out of his face.

"Whai..." He cleared his throat loudly and swallowed. "Wait for what?"

[theguideless]

Martin's head turned, staring up at Bariyan once more. Like the call, it was a statement of authority he was compelled to give his full attention. He rose, part of him passing through the hand as he did so, the crowned man again.

I can do this. Unless doing so stops me from finding you. He had sworn to be there for him – with him. Even if he'd ever wanted to, it was a rule he could not break. In somehow breaking, terrible consequences he was not immune to would arise. But the fear of punishment had not driven him then, nor did it now.

His hands reached over and hovered near the sides of Bariyan's face.

I shall not be alone in facing this future. Neither shall you.

[hornedomen]

“I’m going to look for a way inside first,” Ico said. He pulled on the door handle to show Martin that it would not budge. It was unlocked but jammed shut. He needed to find another way inside and he also needed to be sure the roof would not collapse on them.

“Will you be okay?” Already he began assessing the building. The pile of rubble was not only from the side of one building, but also the one adjacent to it. “I think I see a way in. If I can just push this over…”

Ico removed a piece of debris and it started to loosen the pieces around it. He pushed it and the rest fell inside, creating an opening to the shop. It also weighed down a board that he could not see from where he stood. The other end sprang up from underneath his feet and he fell over before he slid inside.

h e l l o

[sacrificar]

Martin, she remembered him well. Their last encounter, news of what he had done, and now... this. So much, all coming from the same source. Whatever he was, the boy was truly full of surprises. Whatever he was, it warranted an additional conversation. Was it to satisfy her own curiosity as well? Absolutely. She wouldn't deny that.

"You seem well." She said, approaching him.

Halibel could tell, just by looking at him. The changes now went beyond the physical. She couldn't keep but ask herself the same question multiple times:

Was that really the same Martin?

[caligulas_aquarium]

"Different, huh."

Well, whatever. That's all he really needed to know; clarification that something was different and he wasn't just imagining things. He almost considers taking a seat nearby on another ruined pile of rubble close to where Martin himself is sitting, but...no. It might mess up the cape, he figures, deciding to remain standing.

"So in a good way or just shittier."

[theguideless]

Without the screaming weapon, a face contorted in rage, or the gaping, bleeding, bound hole in the midsection...it didn't really connect, this awkward girl and the alien memory. The peculiarities were only enough to get Martin thinking of the other trolls he'd befriended already (from the distance she stopped, he couldn't tell whether or not she had the gills, too). No longer steeped in Darkov learning, he had no reason to be afraid.

He smiled.



"Hello, Kanaya Maryam," he replied. "I'm Martin."

He almost left it at that, with the pause carrying on, but he had his own sense of awkwardness pushing him along. Silence wasn't very friendly.

"Are you a troll, too?"

aw yiss HI

[theguideless]

He startled out of his thoughts at the voice, whipping his head about until he could find her. It wasn't half the reaction he'd had as Darkov, however; the fear was in the body, not his mind. That was something to be learned in time, perhaps. Or perhaps not; he wasn't afraid of what happened after dying.

But it took him a moment to recognize her; his memories of her were always clouded in the superstitions and terror-teachings of his old home, defining her as more a concept than a being with a name or cause. But he remembered quick enough, and it spelled out on his features. Yet he couldn't figure out how to feel...relieved? Cautious? She was still a great deal of mystery. It was hard to tell where her words came from.

"I am," he replied, turning a little to sit more in her direction. He pushed a small, brief smile. "A lot better now."

[theguideless]

Martin stifled the next laugh, biting on his lip and drawing his shoulders up. He nodded until he'd gotten rid of it entirely, only speaking after it passed.

"A very good way," he affirmed, nodding. "I'm not afraid of everything anymore. And I won't ever wind up like that again." And that was good for everyone else, as well.

[theguideless]

Martin could only make the starts of replies before Ico was already scurrying away. He teetered in place, hesitating between staying put and following, but that loud and sudden fall ultimately spurred him into motion.

"Ico!"

He hopped over the loosed rubble, dropping to his knees and peering into the fresh opening.

"Are you hurt? Where are you?"

Human eyes were fairly useless in dark places.

[stonefaith]

Bariyan leaned into that hold, insubstantial as it was, eyes closing.

"Thank you," he said. And he knew Martin's promise to be true. He had no doubt of that. He had Martin, now, even if that made him uneasy at times. And Martin would always have him; that much Bariyan could guarantee. From now until the end, whenever the end decided to come.

Now it was the others he worried for. Others slipping away from him before he realized that they had ever drawn close. Koltira, gone so quickly, disappearing to die alone....

But if Martin said that he would return, then so be it. Bariyan could be content with that.

[hornedomen]

“I’m okay.”

The darkness turned into a white haze from the light of his sword. When the dust settled, Ico was still looking up at the ceiling. There were cracks at the near the edges of the damaged wall about as thin as a strand of hair. The roof was not sagging and it looked safe for now.

Ico tested the strength of the board. It was strong and he rearranged the rubble so it was firmly anchored. “Come on, it’s like a slide. It’ll be fun”

This tag isn't drawn sorry

[speakveryclearly]

"No - well, sort of," was her immediate response. How come Kanaya had to keep tailoring herself for another culture, even after so long... ugh. "I'm from Alternia, let's just put it that way." Much easier. Being a rainbow drinker could get so complicated...

"And - you're from Earth, am I right, Martin." It was a likely answer, though one she always enjoyed seeing subverted.

HELLO I AM SLOWW also lemme know if post-koltira death is too late a date!

[seamend]

Aileen was frustrated when they came back above. Yes, the relief was there, to finally see the sun, but it changed none of Exsilium's problems. None of her's. The many battered pieces of rubble were symbolic to their struggle and how badly they were failing.

But how much worse its gotten over the days, now that Koltira is dead. Now that there seems to be less and less to keep her mind off certain swelling worries.

So it is a strange thing to spot Martin after all this time. Hadn't she just asked Bariyan about his well being? And... that reminded her too, of how little she was able to do for the boy.
It took a certain skill, to ignore the twist of her insides as she approached.

This time, Aileen made sure to give him a bubble of personal space.

"Hello. Martin." She nodded along with the greeting, giving as friendly a smile as she could despite the awkward circumstances.

SLOW IS OK AND SO IS THE DATE

[theguideless]

There was seldom a good memory to connect to the faces of Martin's past life; much was the same in Aileen's case. The woman had meant so well, tried in her ways to tend to him...all ways turned foul and wrong by his own twisted biology. It wasn't truly her fault, nor his; he didn't know what he was, what he was changing into. It was bad for everyone.

Yet his suffering was done, gone for good. He held no one in Exsilium accountable for it. And when he turned his head and looked her way, no shade of accusation or distaste passed over his features. Mild curiosity, then the click of awareness (it'd be a challenge to mistake that hair color for anything). And then a second realization. I don't remember her name.

"Hello," he replied, the smile small, already apologetic.

ain't no thang jus paintin w/words here

[theguideless]

He shook his head.

"I'm from Olvoski." One eye squinted as he considered it. "It...I don't think it's much of an Earth like this. But there are human people there."

[theguideless]

Like a slide? From the look on Martin's face, he didn't quite follow. Then again, fun and play in Darkov terms weren't particularly conventional enough for slides. Still, he got the gist of it and shimmied himself through the opening and onto the board, sliding (skidding more like – grabbing the sides of the boards at intervals to keep from moving too far) until his dangling feet weren't too far from a light drop.

"Oh–" He clung a little longer, finding his landing on shifty debris a little dicey, but he found his balance quickly enough. He sighed, then turned his attention to the room around them.

"This is where you were talking about...?"

[theguideless]

The gratitude was hardly necessary, but Martin warmly accepted it. Being there was one thing – being wanted there was a layer more. It made his enthusiasm for the contract all the greater.

As the golden shape, he had no breath, but he could push the air enough to graze stray strands of his unhappy contract keeper's hair from his forehead. Something not felt, but done anyway out of affection.

I will come find you here soon. On my own two feet.

He withdrew, feeling the faraway shudder from his body. It had been a fair amount of time away, and it would not do well for it to remain unattended for much longer. Twisting, then billowing anew, Martin bent toward the direction it lay and departed to restore himself. He'd have the way back to Bariyan well in mind, having traveled the route already or not; he couldn't ignore the call.

[hornedomen]

As strange as Martin looked, he did not laugh at him. He waited at the bottom and held his hand out to carry him over the rubble.

“Yes. This way, there were some shoes here.”

Ico kicked away some of the loose debris and guided him further into the shop. It was a clothing store and the shoe section was in the back. Unsurprisingly, most of the shelves had fallen over and the stock was everywhere. If he could not step around the clothes, he picked it up and put it aside.

“Here it is,” Ico pointed, “There’s still some in the boxes. There’s different sizes so choose something that fits.”

Ico placed his sword aside and knelt on the floor to start looking.

[speakveryclearly]

Her eyebrows rose as she decided to accept this as an improvement. "I see." Like Samus Aran from Zebes.

Kanaya took a more comfortable position, leaning with one shoulder against a gray wall and about halving the distance between herself and Martin in the process. "Though, my impression is that relatively few Earths are like this."

[caligulas_aquarium]

"Well I guess that's it then. Who giwes a shit as long as it don't mean you're dyin' or somethin'. Uh, again. Whatewer."

Always the most sympathetic with these things, this one. He's just glad Martin isn't making a huge deal out of it like everyone else he knows who died even himself.

"So what now, you just...gonna fight like the rest of us hawe been."

[sacrificar]

He observed him continuously, watching the way his body moved and how he reacted in order to act accordingly herself. Most notable was how much he had changed. It was striking, to say the least, when compared to her last face-to-face meeting with him.

He said he was well, and there seemed to be little that would make her doubt his claim. Though there was something she wished to hear him say.

"You are the same Martin as before?"

[theguideless]

He looked surprised, despite how unsurprising the question ought to be. Most weren't so ready to cut to the chase...most didn't know what to cut to at all. You're different. You look different. Different. Yes...Different.

"I'm still him, yes," he said, nodding once slightly. "But I'm different, too."

His hands, settled in his lap, folded and unfolded and folded again. One breath more, and he spoke up again.

"I'm not afraid anymore. Not like that."

[theguideless]

"In some ways, I guess," Martin said, his head tilting from side to side as he thought about it. "But there's a lot the same...at least, the way some people are. From here and from Olvoski. Even though things are a whole lot different between..."

He was hardly aware of rambling, just following a small strain of thought caught before floating away. It was too distant to follow through on, though, which tapered his chatter and left him watching Kanaya, unknowingly blank of readable expression.

"Have you seen many?" he prompted, eyebrows lifting. "Earths. Other places..."

[theguideless]

"Well..."

Martin's shoulders finally dropped, exhaling heavily. He glanced away and down, trying to catch a string of thought just barely in-mind. A small smile split on his face again as he glanced back up, meek – but unafraid.

"I don't think I'll be doing much fighting if it can be helped. I can't conjure like I used to anymore, but...I'm not without some power." He shrugged once more. "It's not something I want to have to use, though. I think there's enough big powers shaking the world up, don't you?"