Log: Settling In

[notyourrookie]

Who: Agent Washington (OU)+open!
What: Adjusting to life in Gulch
Where: Scoping out the city (Shopping District, Park, a cafe)
When: Between October 26th and 30th
Warnings: None



York's safe house really had turned out to be a good choice. The security was good and it does make him feel better knowing that it was there. Lets him sleep more easily, when he actually manages anyway. It's better than staying in the casino with the constant noise of people outside leaving him on edge.

Getting to grips with the city is a top priority though, and has him heading out . Exploring. Scoping out is probably more accurate, treating it like he would a mission.

The shopping district seems the best place to start, busiest at least, and a good place to figure out what's normal here. The helmet store has a wide variety of them in the window, and he scans a catalogue showing enhancements and mods that are available. Some of those would be pretty useful if he's honest with himself. There's weapons shops too; nothing as heavy as the weaponry he's used to having at his disposal, but it's a start. There's a nice set of knives in there too. Now that is something he's going to have to get hold of.

He spends lunches in the park. It's a little surreal to see the covered ceiling up above and know that the sky outside could kill him, but it's nice to take off his helmet for a while. The place is climate controlled, and considering the last places he'd been at home had been a desert, an icy wasteland and a humid pit of a canyon, he's not complaining.

There's a little cafe a few minutes walk from the safehouse that stays open all night, and it's a better option to be there than sitting awake and twitchy in the safe house when he can't sleep.

Comments

[alphawho]

He looks Wash over, frowning inside his helmet, and snaps his fingers. "New guy, not Ranger Rick, huh? Or you're you but crazy-sounding you..." Look it's complicated, there's Wash, and then there's Wash who makes no sense.

[notyourrookie]

Wash gives him a sour look and picks his mug up to take a sip of coffee. Buys him some time, helps hide his expression. "New guy. Let's go with that." It was the easiest way of putting it.

[alphawho]

"...Right, sorry, I guess that's pretty insensitive as fuck, huh. I just didn't expect to see you? Here? This late?" Maybe he should just go.

[notyourrookie]

"I'm not crazy," he says, a bit more forcefully than is strictly necessary. "And I just- couldn't sleep."

[alphawho]

"I didn't call you crazy. Just crazy-sounding. Big difference." No, not really. "They got shit for that, you know. Supposed to make you rest a full eight hours, etc."

[notyourrookie]

"Right. I'm sure." He snorts and takes another drink of his coffee.

"No. No sedatives," he says sharply. That's a bad idea. Reminds him too much of being locked up, sedated for days, weeks at a time until he couldn't think straight, couldn't tell the difference between awake and asleep, between himself and the spiralling shattered pieces of Epsilon.

[alphawho]

"...Right. Okay. But I mean, coffee won't help, necessarily. But." He's frowning inside his helmet. This Wash is still kind of weird. And maybe unstable? And new to this place, he has to remember. And Church recognizes that he doesn't seem to be helping. "But uh I guess maybe I should go and leave you alone so you don't--so I don't upset you by being stupid."

[notyourrookie]

"I'm used to it. Not sleeping. The coffee just helps." It could be worse. He's seen soldiers get hooked on stims before. That could get messy.

He sighs and puts down the cup, fixing Church with an intent look. "The stupidity of you and your team at home has caused me no end of problems and frustration. And at times I would not be averse to shooting everyone in the head. But... right now I'm in a strange place with no desire to make enemies. And maybe I've built up a tolerance. Don't let me drive you off."

[alphawho]

"Okay, see, when you say things about wanting to shoot everyone in the head, that doesn't scream 'I am a stable person', newbie." C'mon. Just calling it like he sees it.

[notyourrookie]

"If I was unstable, I would have actually done it." That is absolutely a good distinction, right? Right.

[alphawho]

"...Good point." He's debating actually sitting with this guy. The only things to do at this hour are eat, sleep, or fuck, so he really doesn't have anything better to do, and he might as well have some company, right? Even slightly crazy company. "Ssssso how did talking to York go?"

[notyourrookie]

"It cleared a few things up," Wash replies. "Still not sure what to make of everything honestly."

[alphawho]

"Yeah, well, still not sure what to make of you, either, so I guess we're kind of square."

[notyourrookie]

"That seems fair." He's still not sure about the differences between this Church and the one he'd met at home. "I'm a soldier, if that helps any."

[alphawho]

"Not a mercenary?" Church finally takes a seat opposite Wash-2. Other Wash. Not-Wash-but-Wash. "I can see that. You kinda got that war vet look going on or something."

[notyourrookie]

"No. Not a merc." Maybe he was now. He wasn't sure what his work for control to retrieve Epsilon would be counted as. "Been military since I was old enough to enlist." He gives Church a smirk. "You mean I look exhausted and traumatised. That's fair."

[alphawho]

"Definitely that PTSD, thousand yard stare sorta thing going on, yeah. Was it, uh...was it bad, whatever you were doing, where you were? Besides all the...um. Crazy stuff that isn't crazy because it totally happened where you came from."

[notyourrookie]

"Occupational hazard really. And yeah, it was bad. Potential extinction of humanity bad." And they'd all been so convinced that they were going to do great things in the project, that they were going to help save humanity. "I was part of a special operations project. So were you."

[alphawho]

Church scoffs. Loudly. "That's a laugh; I'd never be caught dead doing shit like. that. I wouldn't be caught alive doing it, either."

He unlatches his helmet and...hesitates. Sure, he can take his helmet off in public, and usually has shades to put on, but this just feels...different. Lifts his helmet enough so he has access to his mouth. There, see? Compromise.

[notyourrookie]

How had he explained it to York? He wanted to keep his story consistent. "Logistics. Planning. Relaying orders to agents in the field. You weren't combat." Which was good because he was incompetent when it came to anything to do with being a soldier.

He watches as Church raises the helmet and for a moment he's expecting something electronic beneath it. A robot face. But what he sees looks human. "You look fucking ridiculous like that."

[alphawho]

"Still doesn't sound a damn thing like me." Planning? Being a fucking operator for soldiers? Nah.

"You look fucking ridiculous," he mumbles, pulling off a bite to pop in his mouth. "I kind of have these weird eyes that are...weird? But I guess it'd be okay to take it all off. The helmet, I mean, obviously. Guess it's weirder to keep it on...but I'm used to that."

[notyourrookie]

"No, you seem pretty much the same." Just like the Alpha from after he'd had shards of personality torn away from him. The lack of logic would probably account for the inability to do much planning.

He rolls his eyes at the retort. So clever Church. Really. "There's only the two of us and the guy behind the counter here. He can't see you if you sit opposite me. And I don't care."

[alphawho]

With a huff, Church pulls his helmet all the way off, shaking his head and putting a hand through his hair. "Ugh, helmet hair," he gripes, fumbling around his pockets for his sunglasses. His eyes, meanwhile are one an uncanny bright shade of blue, and the other white.

"I guess this must all be fucking weird. Any way to get back where you come from?"

[notyourrookie]

Wash watches him intently, taking in Church's appearance. He doesn't look much like the director at least. That would be weird. He looks pretty normal honestly, except for the eyes. He wonders if the eyes are a family trait.

"Not that I know of. I'd hope someone is working on it, but I couldn't say for certain. So I'm stuck here." He isn't entirely unhappy about it, not if it means he can put off deciding whether to hand Epsilon over.

[alphawho]

"Seems like here sounds a lot better than there. Less trauma. Hopefully. And way less war."