she drives me crazy [OPEN]

[runningerrands]

WHO: Isaac Clarke & YOU
WHAT: After a moment at the Hollow, Isaac decides to go do some. Shopping.
WHERE: Lower zones. It's cheaper there.
WHEN: Thursday, late afternoon.
WARNINGS/NOTES: Isaac's own issues and his foul mouth.

Comments

[darklydreamndex]

Dexter was a thing of habit, in many forms. He needed his morning orange juice, his mid-day coffee, his orderly apartment and someone to kill every now and again when the Dark Passenger awoke his inner chaos. Despite the major hiccup of being thrown into this Nexus, his habits had already been instilled and, being mid-day, he was in the middle of ordering his coffee.

"No ice, thanks," he smiles at the waitress behind the counter, swiping his ID bolt to transfer the credits. Glancing around the general area, he's mildly surprised to catch the glint of futuristic metal wrapped around a human body, spine glowing a bright green.

Isaac Clarke.

A touch to his elbow indicates his order is ready and he inclines his head with another perfectly crafted flash of teeth, then takes a sip, grimaces at the sting of heat on his tongue, then... proceeds to follow the other man.

My curiosity is piqued. I'm sure he's nowhere near Harry's code, but I'm following him for a different reason. If he can somehow find a shred of humanity with

[runningerrands]

For the moment, Isaac is oblivious to the fact that he's being followed. If he was back in his own universe, he'd likely be more concerned, but as it is, he doesn't expect anyone to have a vendetta against him enough to do so -- much less an interest enough.

So for now, he is ignorant, heading through the crowds and avoiding Cybertronian feet as he does.

Something does catch Isaac's attention, though. He turns his head sharply to one side, peering at one of the stands.

"...Holy shit, is that Star Wars on blu-ray? They still make blue-rays?!"

Interest caught, the engineer immediately goes to investigate.

[darklydreamndex]

The serial killer remains in plain sight on the same side of the street, only about twenty feet back. He dodges a large set of feet - glaring up at the mech when he spills a bit of coffee down his shirt in his haste to get out of the way. With a small scowl he wipes himself off, licking the back of his hand quickly to ease the burn. Looking back up, he sees Isaac now parked in front of a stand selling what looked like DVDs... an antique shop promoting old items of Earth.

...It should be alarming when Blu-Ray is termed as an old-age item, then again he wasn't exactly sure how old they would be considered here. ...was this even the 21st Century anymore?

Either he's the best faker of emotion I've ever seen or he's... something else. Is he trying to hide all he's been through, or is he truly numb to the horrors he's faced within his own universe?

Dexter slides a bit closer but remains a healthy distance away - still watching, but not without subtlety.

[runningerrands]

There's only a brief internal debate before Isaac quietly decides to make his purchase. It's a non-essential item, but it still bears a degree of importance to Isaac.

It's a distraction, at the very least.

He turns around, and he pauses. Through his helmet, he might have noticed the presence of someone watching him.

The helmet transforms off of his face.

"Dexter?"

Fancy running into you out here.

[darklydreamndex]

As soon as Isaac notices him he waves and smiles, walking over - he looks incredibly nonchalant, it's something he's made into an art over the years.

"Fancy seeing you here."

He raises his coffee and grins.

"My crutch. Necessary evil. What brings you out this way?"

[runningerrands]

Fortunately, Isaac doesn't really question it. He takes it as a random circumstance and leaves it at that.

"Hey, you and me both. I'd probably just lose it without coffee running through my veins by this point," he admits, with a bit of forced jest. Most people wouldn't know better, but his tired face easily implies a lot of. Forced expressions.

It's what makes the helmet convenient.

"Shopping for parts. I have two engineering jobs and never enough supplies, it seems like."

That, and he really needed to get out to an open space. People around him to constantly distract him from any potential hallucinations.

[darklydreamndex]

And that's precisely what Dexter banks on.

"Just don't add Red Bull after three cups of coffee. Doesn't end well," he says this with an easy smile, but he notices the dark rings under the other man's eyes, and the tight lines creasing the edges of Isaac's lips when he tries to smile.

He's holding back. Making light of the situation...

But really... who wouldn't?

"Looks like you could use a few extra hands - or a shopping cart."

[runningerrands]

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever get to that point." He cracks another tired smile.

A small snort escapes him at the suggestion. Isaac lifts up his hand, using his kinesis module to lift up the majority of his supplies thus far. The whip of energy extends from his suit's glove to the items, keeping them in the air.

"Nah, I should be fine. ...But I guess another hand or two wouldn't be so bad, if you're offering, Dex."

[darklydreamndex]

That.... was a very interesting contraption. That suit was really something. He looks openly intrigued, staring at the flashes of blue energy wrapping around the items in question, then he glances back up and shrugs. It wouldn't hurt to know more about where Isaac was staying.

"If you don't mind the company, sure."

[runningerrands]

"Don't mind." Isaac shrugs a little, handing Dexter the Star Wars collection set with his left hand. "Carry this for me, will you?"

At that, Isaac continues on his trek, walking through the crowded street.

"I think I really just need to get a cot and that should do it for today. Think you can carry that, or should I add that to my pile here?"

[darklydreamndex]

Taking the miniscule item seemed easy enough - he glances down at it. Star Wars? And here he would have thought space, ships, and the stars would be the last thing Isaac wished to remember.

"Good choice - you have a Blu-Ray player?"

Dexter falls into step at his side, eyes lingering on the intricacy of the older man's RIG for a moment before he takes the last few sips of his coffee, chucking the styrofoam cup into the nearest trash can. Littering was a bad public habit, after all, even on an alien planet with giant robots.

"A cot? Don't go too luxurious all at once - you might get spoiled. Either way I can handle carrying it - where did you decide to stay?"

[runningerrands]

"No, but I can probably just build one from the spare parts they have lying around."

The engineer nods, indicating that he's listening to Dexter as he leads the way. He does pause to consult his map he's loaded into his RIG, considering the next location. Eventually, Isaac uses his hand to utilize his locator, following the blue light that streams from his hand.

"I'm not picky and I don't really sleep much," Isaac mutters. "Just been staying in between places. The hostel, and one of the garages I work at."

Really luxurious.

[darklydreamndex]

"You could make a nice job of that here - building things for people, maybe even the big guys. Televisions, blu-ray players, you name it."

The easiness with which Isaac moves is intriguing to Dexter - he's been using that suit for a long time, it's become second nature to him. The blue flash of light and the accompanying chirping beep as it skitters across the landscape to its navigation point leaves the blood spatter analyst a bit humbled by so much alien and futuristic technology.

He doesn't comment on it - it's not important at the moment. He's sure it will come up later at some point.

"Garage? Where at?" He keeps his tone innocently curious - Isaac should have no reason to question his motives, he's been nothing but agreeable to him thus far.

[runningerrands]

"Yeah, probably, but it's not exactly on the top of my list," Isaac tells Dexter a little bitterly. "I'm not looking to get that comfortable here."

Not that he could.

The question does seem innocent enough, and quite frankly, Isaac sees little point to be secretive. Starscream hasn't sworn him to anything but repairing the damn generator.

"The Hollow is what they're calling it, I think." Isaac shrugs. "It's a room with something I need to fix. That's all I care about."

[darklydreamndex]

Dexter watches him out of the corner of his eye for a moment, then he nods.

"I wish I could do more than fill out an exit visa and sit on my ass and wait."

A blood spatter analyst could only do so much... and killing only helped his mental state - that wouldn't get him out of here any faster.

The Hollow? And here Dirge was going on about the need for secrecy...

Dexter didn't technically know just where the Hollow presided - he'd been too busy keeping all of his fluids inside of him when Dirge had brought him there to be too concerned about location.

Still, to everyone else, Dirge and Dexter's little business transaction didn't exist.

"Never heard of it," he says easily. "Is this your ticket back to your universe?"

[runningerrands]

"Just some name for it. Doesn't mean damn thing to me." Which is true enough; he figures that secrecy is probably preferred, but it doesn't mean shit to him. Isaac just wants to get back to where he needs to be.

Where Ellie and Stross need him. ...And where Nicole needed him.

"Pretty much," he murmurs.
"Ring around the rosie."
There's a pause. Isaac glances around a moment, then mutters to himself, "Shit." Now is not a good time. "Let's hurry up with that cot."
"A pocket full of posies."
Abruptly, Isaac seems intent on that cot, or at the very least, he's in a hurry.