i can stare at you all night [open]

[circumitus]

CHARACTERS: Rey and you.
LOCATION: All over the ship.
WARNINGS: None at the moment.
SUMMARY: Rey stalks people. More specifically she is stalking you.

---

Whether you're headed someplace with a destination in mind or just talking a casual stroll, it may become apparent sooner or later that you're not alone. Maybe there's the ghost of a footstep behind you, or you have that burning feeling you get when you notice that a pair of eyes have been drilling into the back of your skull for too long. Either way, if you retreat a corner, there will be nothing -- no sign that you have ever been followed.

It isn't forever, though. Eventually she slips, be it on purpose or a blundering error on her part. No one's perfect, after all. Anyone who's ever chased after game may recognize the feeling, except that you're not necessarily being hunted.

Rather, you're being stalked.

Why? That's a good question, and it's hard to say. Rey doesn't spend much time in the company of other people. Perhaps if she simply watches for awhile, it'll get easier to approach. She is all too accustomed to the scrutiny of soldiers and her own militant ways, and she is a very old dog with very old habits that die hard.

But it's only a matter of time before you look over your shoulder and find her -- standing there in a ripped-sleeveless jumpsuit and red scars; with the mute hint of an apologetic expression on her face.

She doesn't even bother to say hello. Rude.

Comments

[idkmybffbloodwing]

It takes him longer to get from one place to another, these days. Rather than getting used to it, the miserably slow recovery that this ship's medical supplies are capable of is making him more frustrated as each day passes. He's been shot so many times in his life, and he's always been able to bounce back from near-death within short order due to ready access to the quality of healing drugs that are standard in the time and place he's from. So many here seem to think the nanites make for quick repair, when even the poorest towns on Promethea would consider the medbay medieval - but that's 3000 years of progress for you. People haven't changed much, but technology sure has.

It's set him on edge slightly, too, because he knows just how vulnerable he is. Under his clothing he's still bandaged around the waist, thigh, and shoulder, but his stiff movements and slight limp aren't as easily hidden. The revolver in his hand gives him some comfort, though, and so does Mijo, who can keep a watch out behind him from his perch on Mordecai's shoulder. Even if the little bird still isn't much good in a fight, he'll take any edge he can get if someone should decide to be opportunistic. And of course the chances of that happening here aren't likely, with how many people seem to be so vehemently against killing or even stealing from someone else, but after spending almost thirty years in an eat-or-be-eaten sort of lifestyle, it's not exactly a habit he can break, or one he wishes to.

Mijo sees that they're being followed first, though it doesn't take Mordecai long to figure it out, either. He's very familiar with the feeling of being watched, and once he's left a more populated hallway for emptier ones near the perimeter of the safe zone, it's much easier to confirm - the faint sound of footsteps trailing behind him, the grip of his bird's talons in his shoulder when their follower moves out of sight, as Mordecai tries to look behind them - and he stops, finger on the trigger, as he turns to face the empty hallway behind him, only to realize that this time, it's not empty.

Mordecai looks the woman over, frowning. She doesn't look hostile, but he's learned by now not to trust his judgment when it comes to women. They're just as dangerous as anyone else, regardless of how harmless some of them might act.

"You need somethin', chica?" he asks after a moment, although it comes out half-question, half-warning.

[circumitus]

To speak of Rey's memory now almost seems like a joke. A woman who spent several months with only one recollection (and that was a name on a toe tag) would seem to have no business speaking of her sharp skills in remembering.

But Rey does -- remember. She remembers several other things, but keeping strictly to the present and not-so-distant past, she also hears a voice with that same tone and inflection that says those words. It's not like she has any fondness attached to the brief memory; it just strikes a chord in her in those passing seconds she spends eying the man intensely. At least she isn't reaching for any weapons or signaling anything that would alarm him. She knows better than that now.

Eventually, she speaks, not threatened by the warning half of his question: "Negative. Only making observations."

For what purpose? Is there something to be gained from the knowledge she picks up from surveillance?

...

Yes, as a matter of fact. This is what her father had taught her. Perhaps not to such extremes (he would probably be frowning at her and tell her to "tone it down" right about now), but to a certain extent she has learned plenty simply by taking a backseat in the scene. And it helps that she remembers. Every. Little. Detail. Like the way this man walks, for instance.

Rey's head cocks to the side, almost like a bird. "You appear to be unwell."

[idkmybffbloodwing]

"Well, ain't that a hell of an observation. Anything else?" Her voice is vaguely familiar to him, but with so many on this ship that he's heard over the network, that fact alone doesn't mean much to him. He doesn't really relax at her words, either, because who stalks people through hallways simply for the purpose of watching them?

[circumitus]

--Someone who's had a lifetime of social deprivation, to answer that question. Not that Rey would ever answer it in those words, exactly.

"I wasn't necessarily following you, if that's what you're thinking."

A lie, but her tones don't change, neither does her straight-faced expression.

[idkmybffbloodwing]

"Just whoever came by, huh?" Opportunistic, then, if not actually predatory. Practicing stalking skills, maybe, since otherwise they would dwindle away with disuse. Or who knew what other excuses a person could invent in a situation like this one.

"What's your name?" Might as well know in case she becomes trouble later.

[killarevolution]

Haymitch endures this for a good thirty minutes before he finally turns around. It's hard to say whether he doesn't give a damn about being followed (he should- it's a Game and always has been and people need him alive) or if he's too drunk to think about it (likely), but when it finally occurs to him, he grumbles, but doesn't turn around, keeping his hand on the knife in his pocket.

"If you were going to shoot me in the back, you lost your opportunity to do it quietly a few halls ago, so how about coming out and telling me what you want?"

[circumitus]

Amazingly enough, her intentions hadn't been to follow Haymitch so much as the standing question of how to present herself. Rey has made a particularly bad habit of not announcing her presence to her acquaintances when she finds herself sharing the same space as them.

Really, she should find some way to break this so-called habit.

Once Haymitch finally calls her out on it, however, Rey no longer sees a need to linger behind corners until he was out of sight. Rather, she makes herself known.

"I think I should say that I wouldn't shoot a man in the back--" should, not would "--but there is a part of me that likely would. How are you?"

Her tones don't change despite the fact that one sentence does not segue gracefully into the other.

[killarevolution]

"Always appreciate your honesty," Haymitch laughs, once he realizes who's responsible and he pulls his hand away from his knife. It might not have segued well, but the one thing he can count on from Rey is that she'll always be blunt.

"I'm alive, which counts for something on this ship." Not that they've suffered many dead- just a hell of a lot of missing. "You looking for something or just restless?"

[circumitus]

"Don't have anything to lie about." Which is true, more or less. And occasionally her blunt honestly has found the wrong side of some people. She doesn't particularly care or anything -- she's not here to make friends or good impressions. Still, it's a relief that there are those who value it.

At his question, she thinks.

"Pointless to make idle conversation with people who are only going to disappear. So I've been watching. Restless as well, I suppose."

No, it would seem that she's not even going to give him the "I'm on patrol" bullshit like she has with others. Haymitch probably gets it.

[killarevolution]

"That's one way to think about it." Haymitch has had his share of disappearing acts and some of them even come back, but it hasn't really changed his desire to keep the majority of the ship at an emotional distance unless he can use them for something.

"Don't think they're going to disappear in front of you, though," he adds, although that's just a joke. He does get it, even if he's too lazy to follow anyone around to see if they're worth his time or not.

"Hard to shake what happened," he goes on. Small talk is for other people. He contributed to the effort to fix the ship and even with things functional by now, there's still a looming uncertainty about what comes next.

[logicunlocked]

York's been a busy guy since Delta arrived on the ship. He used to spend most of his time making work for himself in the shuttle bay, sandwiching that between socializing with anyone he can manage to carve a few moments out with. But now that Delta is here he is sure to spend as much time with the AI as possible. It's different for sure, the two of them in separate bodies like this, and for as much time as he's able to carve out for his friend it never seems to be quite enough.

He's on his way back to the room the two of them have come to share when he notices the sliding, shuffling sounds in behind him. For as shy and awkward as Delta has been about things since entering his human body York almost expects to see him when he turns around, but it makes a lot more sense when he spots Rey there. He remembers their encounter before and the expression on his face relaxes into a slight smile.

"Hey. Looking for something?"

[circumitus]

...Now that's something that Rey isn't used to -- people relaxing at the sight of her. Even here she tends to notice a slight change of body language when she approaches Netherlands; others have been the same, once they get to know her.

"Negative. Just walking. Patrol." Or something akin to that. Rey isn't very quick to think up excuses on the fly, but patrolling just comes as a second impulse to her now when it's all she's been doing.

[logicunlocked]

"Patrol, huh?" He turns and continues walking, but glances back and gives a little gesture with his hand that invites her to fall into step with him. "C'mon, long as your route is heading the way I'm heading, I can keep you company."

[circumitus]

There's something to be said about the company of others. Mostly that Rey does not often find herself alongside them for very long. Regardless, she doesn't find herself walking away, but towards him and, eventually, with.

"Where are you headed?"

[logicunlocked]

"Back to my room. My friend's waiting on me there. Have you met Delta?"

[godofthemachine]

AM knew when he was being watched. He was paranoid in many senses of the word, so if he got any inkling of someone watching him, he would know. But who? And where were they coming from? He would stop and peer around every so often, attempting to find out who this mystery stalker was, with no results. It was slightly frustrating and AM was actually starting to get scared. Was his life on the line? Did someone want him dead, or was just curious about him.

It was a bit longer until the mystery person finally faltered in their steps, causing AM to turn around and finally catch the culprit. When he saw who it was, though, his tight grimace faded into a sly smile.

"Rey. What are you doing watching me?"

[circumitus]

Rey should have known better than to believe that AM wouldn't have taken notice to her before long. He didn't seem to say anything about it either, so she kept doing what she was doing. After awhile, it almost became sad, like a shy child too afraid to make themselves known despite how obvious they were.

But Rey isn't a shy child. She doesn't know what to make of AM anymore, now that she's no longer an empty shell of who and what she used to be. There's a familiar sense of foreboding emanating from her encounters with this man, and now she's fairly certain she knows what it exactly is.

"Not watching. Patrolling." It's what she's been saying, at least. May as well stick to the same story.

[godofthemachine]

That night the two of them had consumed beer, AM perhaps had said too much. He hadn't spoken to Rey much since then, mostly because he was busy, but partially because he was afraid of her. Not afraid in the normal sense, but afraid in that she couldn't be manipulated anymore. She knew a bit about AM's true colors, and had a strength that could put an end to him. She wasn't like GLaDOS or the other AI he had "befriended" - those women at least had similar goals...

But it didn't stop AM from being interested in Rey. She was different. He watched her go through a strange development, and AM still found her difficult to read. And that's another reason why he was afraid of her. Not that he'd admit it to anyone.

"Patrolling? You've been following me for quite some time, my dear." A sly smirk said that he wasn't buying her story. It was perhaps imperceptible to Rey, or perhaps not, but there was a slight trace of fear in AM's face.

[circumitus]

For AM, it may have been too much information. To Rey, it was just enough. More than she needed to know, in fact. He's not the first to try and manipulate her -- and knowing her streak of luck, it won't be the last. Sad to say that Rey wouldn't be surprised if her own father turned around and wind up doing the same exact thing.

Sad how much lack of faith she has in people anymore, that even her own creator doesn't bear much in the ways of confidence.

"Following is subjective. I may have been approaching the same direction as you for awhile. Not my fault, if that's the case." She remains deadpan as ever.

[godofthemachine]

That was the problem with two intelligent AIs who had been betrayed in the past - difficult for them to manipulate one another, difficult for them to trust one another, difficult for them to work together. This little display of "friendship" would only last so long, AM knew. How much longer until Rey turned against him?

"Oh? Perhaps you were. But you seemed to put a great effort into making yourself hidden." He retained the sly smirk to contrast with Rey's deadpan.

What he wanted to know was why. Why was Rey following him, stalking him? He hated this human form, hated its vulnerability, and if he got on the bad side of a powerful android like Rey, then... He didn't want to think about it.

[inebriety]

Tony is drunk. This isn't a new, in fact it's harder to find him sober these days. A normal person with his level of intoxication would have trouble walking, but Tony walks down the corridors as normal with only the occasional wobble. He's also humming. No particular tune, noise for the sake of making noise. With alcohol fogging his mind and not being the most aware person around, it takes him a good while to notice her.

He pauses, his humming trailing off into nothing as he considers his options. If she chose to attack he had one of his Wasps in his pocket, it's shape an obvious bulge, but more importantly ready to be activated at a moment's notice.

"Hello darling, nice weather for a stroll."

Regardless of how he truly feels, he smiles genially.

[circumitus]

It's been awhile since Rey has been drunk, though she recognizes the signs of inebriation when she sees them. She's seen people stumble about and has been a similar fool firsthand herself.

When she's regarded with such congenial tact, she's only mildly surprised. She can still catch a strong smell of the alcohol from where she's standing, which isn't necessarily very far. At this point, the whole idea was to be seen.

"Would hardly consider this weather." Her eyes glance up, as though expecting some ill-timed storm clouds to roll over. But that would be silly.

[inebriety]

He glances up also before looking back at her and adding conspiratorially. "Only if you lack an imagination."

Tony started to relax a little, she didn't seem to be an immediate danger to him. He was also far lonelier than he thought and craved more human contact than he allowed himself.

[circumitus]

Rey is no stranger to the feeling of loneliness and solitude. The only difference is that her unpleasant track record of social attempts haven't left her with a hunger for more. Still, it's not like she can keep to herself forever.

"Could always create weather in the holodecks. Suppose there's some manner of weather in the gardens as well." Which she has seen plenty of.

No, Rey does not have much in the ways of an imagination to humor Tony.

[inebriety]

Tony doesn't seem bothered by Rey's lack of responsiveness to his style of conversation. But then, he's had to do with far worse before. He exaggerates the act of thinking by putting a hand to his chin and making an obvious display of it.

"I suppose you could. But it seems like an awful lot of hassle when you could just close your eyes and pretend instead."