you're standing too close to a flame that's burning | open, with starters

[wrathfulkhan]

Characters: Eyebrow Squad Gene, Jackie, Deon, and you!
Date: Throughout July
Location: Keeliai and the rest of the shell
Situation: July interactions for Eyebrow Squad.
Warnings/Rating: None initially, but subject to change.

A. [Gene] House Iron Dragon | July 6 | closed to Pepper

Gene's been able to keep his emotions contained after his initial breakdown upon first experiencing the vision, but he can't hold that tide back forever on his own. At least he manages to keep it in until he reaches the house, and immediately goes into the kitchen to make himself some tea just so he has something to do with his hands (that isn't dig his nails into his palms so hard they nearly draw blood). But he doesn't finish making it; he's barely gotten the cup down when he's seized with another wave of grief and anger and frustration and guilt. It slams down a little harder than he'd meant it to, making a clatter, and he rests his elbows on the edge of the counter, his nails digging into his scalp, his eyes screwed shut.

B. [Gene] House Iron Dragon | early July | closed to Raine

Gene's been practicing a little - scraps of different metals were scattered across a piece of the kitchen he'd claimed as his temporary workroom. Some experiments had clearly been more successful than others, but there's a clear progression of his improving skill and finesse with the orange ring. Fine-tuning it had been the hardest part, and he wants to be especially careful when dealing with something as delicate as someone else's soul gem.

C. [Gene] Sky Sector | mid-July | open

Gene's seemed pretty preoccupied as of late - though with things in Keeliai being how they are, who could blame him? His mood's brightened considerably since leaving Zeshora in their wake, though, and he's back to being as chipper as he usually is. Which is to say, not especially, but at least he won't bite your head off if you look at him the wrong way.

He's taking down notes from time to time, but if you try and read over his shoulder, you may not be in luck. Unless you can read Mongolian script, of course. Hey, some people here can read Chinese, and a whole lot can read English. There are some notes he'd rather keep to himself instead of sharing with any nosey parker lurking somewhere over his shoulder.

D. [Jackie] Water Sector | early July | closed to Dove

Jackie's been keeping mostly to himself lately as he's been trying to figure out how to leave the Snakes. Today, he's walking by one of the canals, trying to relax in the most laid-back sector, when he sees someone familiar.

"Hey, Dove!" he calls out, hoping he's right.

E. [Jackie] Water Sector | July 6 | open

The vision had driven Jackie straight to a bar. He doesn't really know what he's drinking and he doesn't much care, just so long it gets those horrible visions out of his head. He knows, somewhere, miserably, that it won't get out, no matter how much vodka-analogue he tries to drown the memory in. It's seared itself on his neurons, and he misses Rio'era terribly.

F. [Deon] Metal Sector | mid-July | open

Deon's been a bit unmoored this month; what with the Stark Industries handover and that horrible vision of the baby turtles soon after, and of course Vincent being around and in the Hotel, he's been very jumpy of late. Definitely jumpier than usual. Nobody come up behind him, okay? It's undignified for a 6'2" man to scream.


G. [Deon] Sky Sector | July 18 | closed to Dr. Light

Deon had gone on a shopping expedition today, but his prize had been quite unexpected. The kedan hadn't seemed to know what he had, and was selling for a reasonable price, so Deon had snatched it up immediately, his heart pounding in his ears.

The laptop sat on the table across from him, bedecked with Tetravaal decals, and dead as a doornail. It had no charge whatsoever, and if it had even shown up in Keeliai with a charger, it had long since been lost.

He picked up his tea, and stared at the laptop. It was exactly what he needed, but he needed to devise a way to power it, first. And that is not his forte.

---

OOC Note: If you want another starter, please hit me up over at Chatvert and I'll pull something together for you! :>

Comments

[lasergrenades]

Pepper only recently learned about the turtles from Skul, including that some of them had been victims of Malicant. He hasn't told her what had happened - maybe he didn't know - and now she would give anything to forget what she had just seen.

But she can't. It's like the vision has been burned into the back of her eyelids, playing over and over again, the screams of pain ringing in her ears. She's never seen something so horrible. She had been walking towards the kitchen when it hit her, and she found herself on the floor when it was done. Since then she's managed to make it to the nearest wall to lean against, curled into a shaking ball.

Pepper didn't hear Gene come in, but the clatter of the cup on the counter startles her, and she looks up. He doesn't look so good either.

"Gene...? Did you- did you see...?" She can't say it. Her voice is shaking.

[wrathfulkhan]

It takes Gene a moment to realize that Pepper's here, too. He hadn't noticed her, as lost in his own grief/anger/despair as he'd been. He raises his head from his hands, looks at her, tries to figure out how to say what he wants to say.

"They died," he says, trying to keep his voice as controlled and atonal as possible, though anger still bleeds in around the edges. "They died, and we could do nothing."

[lasergrenades]

Pepper recognizes that edge to Gene's voice, and it seems out of place in this house, where there is no armor between them. He sounds like he did when he found out Tony was Iron Man - betrayed, angry, sorrowful. Back then she was too shocked to recognize it, but now she knows what she's looking for. Slowly, she unfolds herself from her sitting position and moves closer to the kitchen, towards Gene, hugging herself.

"Is that what it was like? With Malicant, I mean," she says quietly, stopping a few feet from him. Before she had no reason to fear that long-gone evil. Now she does.

[wrathfulkhan]

Pepper looks uncertain - even rattled by what she saw, to Gene's eye. He doesn't like that look for her. He's seen her angry, upset, and shocked, but never quite like this.

He nods a little, trying to fight the sorrow and anger back from his expression, and realizing that he probably doesn't have to. Pepper's already seen the worst of him, or close enough to it. "All we knew before was that they'd been killed. We saw their bodies, and Emperor Evandau's, strewn across the steps of the Palace like...discarded toys." He takes a shuddering breath. "We never knew how they'd been killed. Not like...not like that." The mental tang of fear from the baby turtles in the vision, still lingering, made his nerves itch, made him want to tear his skin to silence it, and the guilt. "We'd all been knocked unconscious for hours with Malicant's magic. There was nothing we could do."

[Jackie] E

[gathersnomoss]

Zelgadis can't blame Jackie for seeking a bar, since he's doing much the same. He nodded to the other foreigner present. "Evening."

[jinzhong]

Jackie nodded at Zelgadis, looking troubled and a little bit drunk. Even if he hadn't been, the other Foreigner's appearance had long since stopped surprising him. One might even think he was beginning to get used to Keeliai.

"Hey," he said, and took another drink.

[gathersnomoss]

"Hey," Zelgadis said. "Hell of a day."

[jinzhong]

"Man...you're not kiddin'," Jackie said, and shook his head. Every time he closed his eyes he saw it again. It was starting to make him a little bit crazy. "I just...I dunno what it means. Why'd we see all that?"

[Gene, C}

[whitelotustile]

Iroh is putting the finishing touches on his tea shop before opening. Right now, he's setting up signs and the outdoor storefront, watering flowers and other chores. He waved to Gene as he passed by. "Ah, good day! How's it going?"

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene smiled, his brooding put aside for the time being. "Iroh, how are you doing? I'm well. Is the shop opening soon?" It'd be nice to have more Foreigner-owned businesses around again. Almost like they were really a part of Keeliai.

[whitelotustile]

"Within the week, I think," Iroh said. "I'll need to find a scribe who can write in the language here to start advertising."

[wrathfulkhan]

"I'm not skilled in it yet, so I can't help you there," Gene said, a little apologetically. "You're bound to be taken care of on word-of-mouth, though. I think people are going to be glad you're owning a tea shop again."

B

[ruinsprofessor]

It's in the middle of one of these experiments that Raine turns up again. She hasn't called ahead, is mostly just hoping that she'll happen to catch Gene there; she finally turned something like a useful base up in the markets, and delaying on re-setting her soul gem doesn't strike her as a good idea.

She finds the house easily enough, knocks on the door. "Gene?"

[wrathfulkhan]

It takes a moment, but he hears the knock and goes to open the door. He's a bit pleasantly surprised to see Raine. "Raine, good timing. I was just honing my control on some scrap metal. Do you want to see what I have so far?"

He had to admit - this was actually kind of a fun challenge.

[ruinsprofessor]

"I'd love to," Raine says, frankly. She smiles at Gene -- the expression is missing something so far as cheer goes, but the pleasure at seeing him and his work is genuine enough. "I found something that should serve as a base." It's a simple piece of jewelry, a broad, flat cuff type of bracelet that she probably paid a little too much for. Simple, but it doesn't need to be complex; the solidity is the key.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene wholly understands. Most people don't smile when they see him, so even this is nice to have from Raine, even if it's not super cheery. That would actually freak him out, probably.

He looks at the bracelet. "May I?" he says, reaching for the bracelet. He needs to get acquainted with its weight and heft before he works with the metal.

D! Before the bad things! :D Like.... July 5?

[phoenixstrut]

Dove's mind was full, and she would appear incredibly distracted as she wandered through the sector, despite the happy glow that surrounded her. The previous night had been...nice, if entirely unexpected and not at all short of mindblowing. Never had she experienced anything like that... Would she again? Would he want to? A part of her almost felt used... but he had been just as overwhelmed as she had been... maybe once he had left, though, he had started to doubt... Was she doubting?

The call of her name pulled her away before she could sink into things any further, and she turned, getting a grip on her surroundings before turning her attention to the familiar man. "Hey, Jackie!" she smiled, slowing her walking to a stop to wait for him. "Long time no see!"

[jinzhong]

Jackie grinned as he trotted up to her. "What's up? You look pretty busy," he said, tucking his thumbs into his pockets. "How's things?"

He liked Dove. Her being an angel was super cool, even if he did have to remember to watch his mouth around her. Easier said than done, so to speak.

[phoenixstrut]

"Just... thinkin," she shrugged, cutting her word short for humor. She tucked her thumbs into the pockets of her shorts, as she relaxed. Jackie was fun to be around--no need for stress. "Things are good! How've you been? Staying out of trouble?"

One might think she said that knowingly.

G. O helo sorry for late

[makesright]

Thomas spots Deon the moment he walked into the tea shop, beaming at the sight of his friend. "Deon, it's good to see you. I can't wait to discuss what we've--"

There's a pause as he lays eyes on the laptop, looking at it wonder, before glancing back up to Deon with another smile. "Tech from home? I imagine if we get to working on AIs here, having a laptop around would certainly make it go faster!"

it no problem fremb

[craftlife]

Deon nods, looking up at Dr. Light with a grin. If anyone can help him figure this thing out, it's probably Thomas.

"Yes, I found it in the market," he says. "It's from where I used to work, but...I'm not sure if it's mine. It's out of charge, so I can't turn it on to check." He smiles ruefully. "So it's about as useful as a doorstop unless we can figure out a way to charge it up."

[makesright]

Thomas inspects it closer, looking amazed. "Really? Does this happen often? I mean... personal effects from home just showing up on the market?"

He reaches for it, then pauses, glancing up at Deon. "If I may?"

F

[irishthor]

He's been tailing Deon for a while now, and something definitely seems to be off about the kid. He's seeming more tense, more... jumpy.

So, Shay's going to help with that. He speeds up a bit to bring him up behind Deon, before hitting him gently across the back.

"Master Wilson. There you are."

Well, no-one said he wasn't a troll.

[craftlife]

Deon yelps and jumps, whirling around, fists half-raised before he realizes who exactly tapped him. (That low on the back, who else could it be? Only the resident Irish shortarse.)

"Jesus, Shay, don't do that," he says weakly.

[irishthor]

(Fuck you.)

"A wee bit jumpy, are we?" He asks, voice audiable, broad. He grabs Deon's arm. "I know what'll fix that. This way."