[OPEN] don't you say it.

[letmetakeaselfie]

CHARACTERS: T STARK & YOU
LOCATION: In camp and surrounding area within radius.
WARNINGS: Nohomo sads
SUMMARY: Tony (and Digby) venture out in search of (1) missing Bucky Barnes.
NOTES: Catch him in camp or after he's already out


[ tony searches the treehouse he had made with bucky first, naturally, though he doesn't expect to find him. next is the campground and the med tent, though those also come up empty. he's trying not to panic, it isn't exactly unheart of for the man to go m.i.a. or to go long stretches without checking in. but tony thinks he earned at least a brief text or something in notification. especially after he'd fixed his arm; he thought they were really getting somewhere. so of course this place would deam now to be the time to take the soldier back.

another thing that disturbs him: if bucky really did go back 'home,' did he have anywhere to go? anyone to care what happened to him? tony seems even more listless than usual as he heads away from their settlement and out into the wilderness. he's carrying a handmade lantern and his gun is carefully tucked into his jacket in case he encounters more of those terrible creatures. but he wouldn't be opposed to company either. ]

Comments

[acapriciousthing]

[Death doesn't particularly know Tony, but she does know that look. She'd been trying to collect a little more to eat, but this area is getting pretty picked over at this point.

But people are always her priorty.]

Who is it now?

[There was never any predicting it]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ it takes tony a moment to realize she's addressing him as out of it as he is. but when he processes the question he isn't sure how to answer it. the man who was here was no longer bucky barnes. he wasn't even really tony's friend. but he cared for him, so maybe it amounted to the same thing. ]

Long, dark hair? Grunted a lot? [ he doesn't have much else to tell her, though 'metal arm' is a distinguishing feature. bucky liked to hide that about himself. he leaves it there, shrugging helplessly. ]

[acapriciousthing]

[She nods. She's seen him around, but not recently]

Friend of yours?

[Usually that's what it means, when they god looking.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

...Yeah. [ it's hesitant, but it doesn't feel wrong to agree so he leaves it. ] We're from the same world. [ well, originally. then bucky had been somewhere else... which as he understands it happens a decent amount here. ]

[acapriciousthing]

[She nods. That's something to be treasured.]

That seems to be getting rarer.

[It's been a long time since there have been people she recognized on that level]

I wish I could give better answers... if we weren't here I could at least tell you if he's alive.

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ he tilts his head minutely, wondering how this place has muted her abilities. he's not very tactful about these things on a good day, but spending time with wanda has taught him to tone it down a little. ]

But you can't do that here. [ for some reason. just like wanda's powers are lessened. ]

[acapriciousthing]

I'm a lot more limited here. Some of it less so since the crash. Some of it more so.

[Having to eat and sleep is actually really annoying okay?]

If I was fully myself, they wouldn't be able to keep me here.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Interesting. [ he didn't really mean to say that aloud but hey it's all the same. ] ...What do you mean, 'some of it less so?' [ he's suddenly wondering if it has anything to do with how off he's been feeling since arrival himself. ]

[acapriciousthing]

I couldn't use any sorcery before the crash, but I can now. Not as much as before but... a lot. But before the crash I didn't need to eat or sleep. Something strange happened in that last jump. My husband's entire body changed.

[In that it was suddenly... more of a body. With flesh.]

[cannotforget]

[He notices how restless Tony is. He tries to not worry about it, really, but after the help Tony has offered and how concerned he had been about him going into the ship... Leo can't help but try to return the favor.

So before he wanders off into the wilderness, Leo tries to catch up with him.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ digby gives that same short bark to let tony know leo is around. he turns slowly, offering the other man a wan smile. ] ...Up for a walk? [ he won't even bother pretending he doesn't want him around this time. ]

[cannotforget]

Depends on how far you want to go.

[He shrugs. Leo has been told time and time again how dangerous the jungle is, and he had so much stuff to figure out himself that he didn't even bother to test if that was true or not. Either way, it surprises him that Tony would want to go in there in the first place.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

Pretty far. [ he jerks his head. you're not getting a choice at this point leo come along. ] Have you been out there yet?

[cannotforget]

[He doesn't, does he?]

Not really. Just the way from the camp to the ship.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Be ready, there could be animals. [ or worse. tony's already visibly jumpy as it would have it. ] ...How are you doing? [ settling etc. ]

[cannotforget]

Let's hope we don't run into any.

[If they come across animals or anything worse, Leo wouldn't be of much help, really. He knows how to fight a little, sure, but that doesn't mean he's any good at it, espcially against animals.

At his question, Leo shrugs. How has he been doing, really? His encounter with Erik on the ship while he was charging left him pretty shaken up, but it's not something he'd want to talk about.]

As fine as we can be in this place, I guess.

[letmetakeaselfie]

I have a gun. [ that he hopes he won't have to use. but in case they encounter something, leo can let him take the lead. badassery is kind of his jam. ]

Right. They told me time doesn't pass, at home. That better be true or my girlfriend is gonna kill me. [ since this is nowhere near the first time he's disappeared without a trace. ]

i camp!

[klutziness]

[Even if he's from another world/time/dimension, Rikku could never forget Tony Stark's face/voice/mannerisms. He'd give her a job back in The City, and he'd taught her more about machines than her own dad had. That was saying something, considering Cid had been the leader of an entire people whose culture was centered around machina.

He's clearly looking for something (someone?) and she can't help but butt in:]

Lost something?

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ has he lost something? it's a complicated answer though the inquiry seems simple enough. and seems to come from a sincere enough place. tony settles on a nod, though he's still not sure if it was the right thing to do. he's almost positive bucky is gone, but he likes to think the other man would search for him like he did steve when tony first arrived and cap was missing. it's probably just wishful thinking, but... sue him, he's an optimist. ] Someone.

[klutziness]

[His hesitation tells her that maybe... maybe he hasn't just lost any old thing. To be fair, everything one owned on this planet was precious simply because it was literally all any of them had anymore, but. A slight frown crosses her lips, and she shifts her weight. Someone. Right.] Well, want some help lookin'?

[letmetakeaselfie]

He's probably... not here anymore. [ whether that meant he went home, or back to the place he went after that, or... somewhere else entirely. it's the uncertainty that's getting him most right now. either way, he doesn't want to rope some girl into looking for bucky when he's 99% likely to not be anywhere on this planet. ]

[klutziness]

[Her frown deepens. She knows what it's like to lose someone like that. The past five or so years of her life had been punctuated by loss. Each one was like a thousand punches to the gut. Saying it out loud, admitting it to someone else--that's the hard part. She offers a sympathetic smile, gesturing around them.] Won't know for sure without a second look, huh? My maintenance shift doesn't start for a while, and four eyes are better than two.

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ since she seems adamant about it, he nods, pointing to the dog. ] That's Digby. Apparently. I didn't name him. [ it still doesn't always occur to him to introduce himself and so he merely leads the way out of the settlement and expects her to follow. ] So six eyes. Technically.

[klutziness]

[Rikku gives the dog a quick scratch behind the ears, addressing him instead of Tony.] Yeah, Digby and I go way back. [Well, way back to the same dimension. It's weird.] He'll be a good lookout. [She turns to follow him, folding her hands behind her head.] I'm Rikku, by the way. Former Chief Engineering Officer on the ship. [She might be trying to impress him a little. Old habits die hard.]

[letmetakeaselfie]

[ hm. he's quiet for a long moment, like he still didn't get the social cue that it's his turn to talk. ] Tony. [ he says belatedly, shaking his head to clear it. he needs to stop staring at things and spacing out like that, bucky isn't hiding in the foliage. ]

Uh. I'm an engineer too. [ a sedate answer for him, maybe, but he's grown used to no one knowing his name or moniker around here and he's honestly made his peace with it. after everything that happened with ultron it's almost a relief to have some anonymity honestly. ]