ataraxionlogs | [closed] backdated something fierce

Entry tags:

[closed] backdated something fierce

CHARACTERS: Joel, Ellie & Adam Monroe
LOCATION: Rec Room, Deck 24
WARNINGS: Likely some saucy language. Will update as necessary.
SUMMARY: An exchange.
NOTES: N/A

[Ellie already felt off about this - like she could've picked a better place to do this, maybe. They'd gotten to the rec room early to stake it out and upon arrival she'd decided it was too open, too exposed, and swore absently as she moved around the room: mouth drawn into a thin line, head down and brow furrowed. But it's not like there was anything to do about it either. No time to go back on the meet now and it's not like she could get into contact with the guy again without posting to the whole damn network again. Her knife is in her pocket. Joel has the pistol and the hand axe Connor had given to her and that's about as prepared as they're likely to get. So fuck it, right?

There's a slightly obscured corner in the back of the rec room, blocked off by a piece of equipment and that's as good a place to stay out of sight until whoever comes to meet them arrives. Ellie settles in there, picking absently at her fingers and shooting glances toward the door.]

Okay, so-- [She didn't need to talk through it again. They'd been through it once and that should've be enough. She looks to Joel.] I clock him and get the gun and then you do your thing, right?

[Questions like what they were going to do with a body or what to do if chopping the head off a vampire didn't work-- they'd cross that bridge when they got to it.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Yep. [Is the answer she gets while Joel is busy feeling out the weight of the axe in his palm: vulnerable points flip through his head like scanned pages in a book, but it's all for humans. Hell if he knows anything about vampires or any of the other supernatural shit they've got running around in this goddamn ship, but he'll take it as it comes. Figure it out without flinching or fretting over it.

His girl was hurt. That's the bottom line that keeps him from balking at the idea of hacking off the head of something better suited for Halloween or comic books. Clickers were different. He'd seen them. Vampires, though...Christ.]

I'll be right behind you.

[ adam isn't exactly sure what to expect -- or what these people will expect from him. but he puts his game face on and strolls down to the common room carting the duffle bag like nothing sketchy is in it at all. he has to sell this, somebloodyhow. he just hasn't figured out the specifics yet.

he is dressed immaculately, as always, and other than the rifle in the bag he is 100% unarmed. not that he needs to be. very little aboard this ship had the ability to kill him, and he's trying not to think about the other minuscule percentile.

maybe if he just acts really stupid and doesn't make any sudden moves. that could totally work. ] ...Oh. Hello. [ both eyebrows raise as he greats the pair, feeling like he's walking into an ambush instead of a simple drop. w e l p ]

[She knows as soon as the man crosses the threshold that this isn't their guy. Ellie goes sharp for a moment, the line of her shoulders taut like a bow string. Doesn't mean he's not one of them, but he's not the vampire that attacked her in engineering.]

It's not him. [She hisses it out, low so only Joel can hear. Then, louder, skirting from the partially obstructed corner out into the open - though careful to keep him at a distance:] You've got my rifle?

That don't mean much. [It's not anything polite, how low he keeps his voice, because the volume doesn't match the tone and it's audible enough for anyone listening in. Intentionally so.

He's an ass like that. And he'd rather give plenty of warning that Ellie's not on her own. Especially if they're dealing with a vampire-buddy.

Still, he stays put.]

[ yeah he's just going to keep playing super stupid, throwing the bag a few paces in front of himself onto the ground. ]

Yes. I have what you lost. [ he crosses his arms across his chest and waits for her partner to show himself. ]

[The bag is something of a sign this isn't someone pulling their leg. It might still be a trap or a fast one, but for now it serves as the start of whatever's up ahead in this little meeting; Joel steps up behind Ellie from his shaded little corner. Grim-faced, far from friendly (though he keeps his weapons hidden in the straps of his pack and the holster at his hip) but distant.

Thankfully distant.]

[The possibility that this guy could be some kind of vampire buddy or goupie is definitely high on her list. Ellie studies him hard, like if she looks close enough something might give him away one way or the other.]

Slide it over. [A beat, then:] Where'd you find it?

[ instead of doing what she says, he takes a step back from the bag since he had already thrown it her way. he doesn't want to wade deeper into the belly of the beast when he isn't sure what he's dealing with. ]

I found it, rather by chance. [ he clears his throat, his gaze steady and true as can be despite the lie. ] In the halls.

Edited (also edits a million times forgive) 2014-04-07 02:14 (UTC)

Funny thing about bein' on a ship that's got a brain: [That distance between them closes-- not directly, but at an angle, more a predatory circle to cut off Adam's exit.] not much happens by chance.

So you might want to clarify a bit.

[Ellie doesn't move to the bag. The vampire in the ship had been fast and she doesn't trust the distance between it and him.]

What he said.

[ adam tilts his head when joel moves in, glueing himself to the spot. he won't go anywhere until this is done. ]

On the 19th floor. The one no one lives on.

And what. [He's talking to the back of Adam's neck more than he is the man: if he's a vampire-- if he needs to map weak points--] You go there to get some fresh air? Write some poetry?

[Her eyes flick to Joel, back to the other man. If he's a vampire-- She moves, carefully, crossing the distance between her and the bag. If you're going to spring a trap, you've got to bait it.

She kneels down, feeling the rifle through the canvas of the bag - and unzips it, checking the weapon over rapidly. Same one.]

Surely you've found yourself wanting some time to yourself on this ship? Quarters are... tight, to say the least.

[ his eyes flicked from joel and back to ellie, still as innocent as could be. ]

Yeah, sure. I buy it. Man needs time to breathe and feel like he ain't about to go crazy with everything else in this junk heap. [His eyes flick from Adam to Ellie, waiting for a sign that the rifle is the one she'd had taken from her.] But I don't buy it from you.

So I'm gonna ask you again: where did you find this?

[Ellie slides the gun slightly from the canvas bag - shoots Joel a look and nods slightly before she jams it back into the bag, zips it bag up and hauls it over her shoulder. She stands quickly, stepping back by five or six paces to put the distance back between Adam and herself.]

You don't even know me, sir. [ he adjusts the lapels on his jacket, appearing quite casual despite the way his heart is beating. he knows now that he never should have agreed to this. ] Nor how much space I require, personally.

[ he doesn't move forward or back, but his eyes remain fixed on joel for the time being. he is clearly serving as a proxy for ellie and that suits him fine so long as the man doesn't decide to chop his head off or airlock him. ]

You have what you asked for. I would dare to suggest that we're quite done here.

No, I don't know you. And that's the problem. [The axe is back in his hand, heavy, and tilted towards the dull end though the answer he's waiting to hear to one question he's waiting to ask might tip that sharpened scale in a nastier direction.] So until you tell me why you're hangin' out with the blood sucking vampire that felt like attacking my little girl, this conversation ain't over.

Not by a long shot.

[They don't know for sure - the guy could be telling the truth. Maybe he really did just find the rifle lying around in the hall. But it seems like a long shot, or at least something they can figure out with a little pressure. Besides - she's pretty sure Joel wouldn't do anything unless they knew for certain. Prod a little and things might unravel or something, right?]

If I were you, I'd start talking buddy.

[ his eyes widen a little - he had his suspicions about mitchell of course. but to know that he attacked this girl was new information indeed. adam shook his head, keeping any sort of recognition off his face. ]

I was told by a man I didn't know to return this to you, Ellie. When I found it he recognized the weapon as yours.

Alright. [He's seen some damn good actors in his day, but there's something to be said about visceral reactions the second someone realizes how close the noose is to their neck. It's a hard thing to fake-- and it buys Adam time, if nothing else.]

You got any way of calling him up again?

[ his gaze jumps to joel and he shakes his head, immediately. ]

I wasn't even given a name.

Wait-- [She goes sharp and still, bristling. He'd called her 'Ellie', he'd said her name.]

How the shit do you know my name?

[ again, his gaze - though his expression remains static - flips back to her. ]

That's what he said, that the gun was yours. That it was Ellie's.

[She's all sharp, breath held high in her chest as she runs through the list of people she's given her name to - people she hasn't met in person, who she wouldn't recognize if she saw them.

It's a very short list.]

What'd he look like? The guy who told you to give me the gun back.

Average height and build... dark hair? Light eyes. Or were they brown... [ he looks convincingly frustrated here. ] I'm sorry I couldn't be more help.

[It could be the vampire who'd attacked her in Engineering, but it might not be. How many people on the ship fit that description? More than one, for sure. Ellie snags the strap of the back, yanking it off the floor. She pulls the bulk of it to herself, the rifle a hard line across her chest, and takes a full step back.]

Where'd you meet him? [And, cracking:] Quit bullshitting me and just tell me what you know.

[Maybe he doesn't know anything. Shit, she doesn't have any idea - but the idea that he might really have nothing after she psyched herself up for this is officially craptastic.]

[Joel stays out of it, leaving Ellie to do the talking considering it is her fight. One of the few times he'll ever do that, as a matter of fact, and only because there's absolutely no risk involved.

Still, his attention's drawn back in at the curt call out on Ellie's end. Once she's done, he figures it's his turn to apply a little pressure.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[closed] backdated something fierce

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

I DID NOT THINK I WAS THIS LATE i apologize

it is okay!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject