014 - Breaking hiatlette for this. :| //Audio

[failed_bluff]

[Incredi-fail private to the Admiral]

[After seeing this on the network, Dally's emotions are going haywire. He meant this verbally abusive entry to be private to the Admiral, but he sort of failed.:|

And if you're on the 6th floor (aka if you're Narvin), you were being treated to quite the wall punching-fest prior to this.Fucking--What the hell

Comments

[Video]

[crispycake]

[Cue: a very surprised young Johnny Cade, gawking at you through the feed. His eyes are wide, mouth hanging open, body entirely still. And why? Not because you're screaming, or cussing, or yelling at the admiral...

[It's the simple fact that you're here that gets to him first, and that's all it takes for his brain to entirely shut down. There was no way he would even attempt to decipher the rest.]

Dally...?

That you, Dal...?

Re: [Video]

[failed_bluff]

[It doesn't even occur to him that his private post failed and that everyone else on the Barge can hear it now. Mostly he's just trying to think about how he feels about this. He can't figure it out. Seeing Johnny is a good thing, yeah, but here?

It takes him a few minutes, but he eventually switches his video on. If Johnny were to look closely, he might catch Mason, Dally's new dog, chilling in the background. Because that's what's really important. Obviously.]

You can't be here, kid.

[crispycake]

[Yea, no. He's not really focusing on the dog. Not yet, anyway.]

D-dally...what are you...I didn't think...

You're here...

[Still shocked, but...a tiny smile may start to tug at the corners of his mouth. He's still not thinking much about the state in which he'd found his friend. He's only focused on Dally really, truly being there with him...]

[failed_bluff]

[Sorry, Johnny. Normally he might try to explain, but HE FEELS TOO MANY THINGS RIGHT NOW. He's just going to say one thing before he switches off his device.]

Meet me up on the deck. Now.

[--->Action]

[crispycake]

[He flinches a little at that. Dally doesn't sound happy...at all. He doesn't take the time to think about that now, though; he had to get to the deck. When Dallas Winston told you to do something, you did it, no questions asked.

[Seeing as he'd only been on the ship for about an hour, it took him a while to navigate himself back toward the deck, but, he managed to get there eventually, and went immediately on the lookout for his friend.]

Re: [--->Action]

[failed_bluff]

[Well, he is happy, but he isn't at the same time. It's not Johnny's he's angry with; it's the Admiral, and his emotions are jumping all over and there legitimately isn't one thing he can feel for ten seconds without leaping to something else.

He hurries to the top deck, literally shoving people out of the way when it suits him. When he arrives at the top deck, his heart can't decide if it wants to drop or leap. Make up your mind, Dally's emotions.]

You're here. What are you doing here? How are you here?

[crispycake]

[Man, Johnny see's Dally and the first thing he wants to do is just wrap his arms around him and cling. You couldn't just do that though, not with Dally. Maybe if it were Pony that was here, he would've been able to get away with it...but with Dally, you had to stay tough, no matter how scared he'd been and no matter how happy he was to see him.

[That didn't mean he couldn't grin though, ear to ear like some kinda moron or something, but he didn't care...he was happy. He was relieved. He was safe now, because Dally was here...and now, things wouldn't be so bad afterall...they couldn't be.]

I...I guess I don't really know. I woke up here, and that admiral, well...he told me I could stay here, that I could keep on goin' here...

I thought I'd walked right into hell, at first...

[failed_bluff]

[If Dally could figure out what he wants to feel, he'd secretly want to give Johnny the biggest hug he's probably ever received, but he's still Dallas. He can't allow himself to do that.

He keeps a distance between himself and Johnny, staring practically unblinkingly. He isn't going to let himself get too attached this time, not with the knowledge that at least one person leaves the barge per month.]

Goddammit, Johnny...

[Then again, just seeing him like this might be enough. Not hurt, not burned, not confined to a hospital bed. But it's a prison. And Johnny Cade doesn't belong in a prison.]

Goddammit...Did he even tell you what this is? Did he tell you why all these people are here? [The Admiral always has been pretty shifty.:|] It's a prison. He made a mistake bringin' you here.

[crispycake]

[Another flinch, and he ever-so-slightly leans away from the man, eyebrows furrowed in injured confusion as he's lectured.]

I know it, Dal...At least...well, by the way he was talkin', I figured it'd be somethin' like that...

He didn't make me a prisoner though. He brought me here to help people, so they can leave, s'what he said. It can't be so bad, not...not really...

[Not compared to burning in hell, anyway.]

[failed_bluff]

[It's barely a relief to know that Johnny has been brought here as a warden. The barge gets to everyone eventually in one way or another, and Dally knows that Johnny is a nervous wreck anyway. He's extremely happy to see him, but the immense about of concern overrides that.]

But it doesn't change the fact that it's a prison, and they're gonna be pairing you up with someone who's here as a prison. And let me tell you, if you think it's rough back home, you're in for a big surprise. You'd be better off back home.

[crispycake]

[He's not even trying to make eye contact at this point, staring down at the ground and fumbling around with his hands in his pockets.]

Home?

[He looks up, eyebrows furrowed deep in confusion.]

Dally, I...I can't go back home...

[And then, just as quick as he looked up, he's back to staring at the floor, expression having fallen considerably since the first time he'd seen Dally up on the deck.]

You know that...there ain't no place for me there anymore...

You know that...you was there, I remember...

[failed_bluff]

[Of course. Now it's all starting to make a little more sense. Dally can't go back home and neither can Johnny. They're both dead, and it would be pretty hard to explain if they were walking the streets of Tulsa again tomorrow. He doesn't want to talk about the Church fire or Johnny's broken back or what he did after Johnny died, but it's pretty clear that there really isn't any other place for either of them to go.

But maybe it is best that Johnny's at least with someone who cares about him, regardless of the setting. He's still not happy about it, but Dallas can at least keep an eye on him this way, and be prepared to deck anyone who tries to screw with him.

Besides, the last thing Dally wants is to make the kid unhappy, so after a long stretch of silence, he sighs and takes a step forward to ruffle Johnny's hair, forcing the sharpness out of his voice when he speaks again.]

Guess you're in this for the long run, then, huh? At least the Admiral got somethin' right, makin' you a warden...

/bawing forever

[crispycake]

[Johnny remains silent, eyes forever cast toward the ground while Dally's thinking. It was always best to stay quiet while people were thinking, right? Meanwhile, he was going through his own little series of thoughts; questions, mostly.

[What was Dally doing here? Why was he so adamant about Johnny leaving the barge? Was he yelling at the admiral about Johnny before...? Why did it matter so much? They were together again, and that was pretty cool, wasn't it?

[He feels his hair getting ruffled and his head snaps up, the thoughtful and confused expression shifting into that of weak relief and joy.]

I don't know, really...When he started talkin' about 'wardens' and 'inmates', I was sure I was in some sorta trouble...

JOIN THE CLUB. :[

[failed_bluff]

[Yeah, as angry as he still is, Dally's trying his very best to bite some of it back and not to keep lecturing Johnny for something that's beyond his control. It's not Johnny's fault the Admiral is an idiot who doesn't realize who belongs here and who doesn't.

And...he does kind of have Johnny back. That solves a lot of his own problems, right? Maybe? He'd hug the poor kid if it were something Dallas Winston does, but Johnny is Johnny so he gets the next closest thing: an arm around his shoulders. Screw not getting attached.]

Yeah? [Okay maybe his eyes are just a little wet but it's not noticeable in the slightest. IT'S JUST...JOHNNY. ALIVE. AND UNHARMED. IT'S A BARGE MIRACLE.] Glory, kid. You're--you're really the last person I would've expected to show up here.

ITS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.

[crispycake]

[That one arm is enough comfort for him. After all, it was familiar, and comfortable...it was like being back home, where they could mess around and do whatever they pleased again, and that was a good feeling. That was a great feeling.]

Here I am...

[Smiling like a moron.]

I had no idea that you'd be here, Dal...I thought I'd have to be here all by my lonesome...

M'real glad that you're here...

IT'S MAY. CHRISTMAS IN MAY?

[failed_bluff]

[Dally can already tell that he's calmed Johnny down, but who's going to calm Dally down?:| He currently has no warden and he doesn't talk about his ~problems~.

Oh, well. Johnny's here, and while Dallas is still adamant about the Barge not being the right place for him, at least he isn't here all alone. It's almost like the Admiral planned it somehow.]

Didn't mean to go off on you like that earlier, kid. It really is nice to see you. Man...

[There's so much he would like to say, but he won't allow himself to say, so he's just going to offer up a smile and tousle Johnny's hair again, just to make sure he's really there.]