Voice 052

[shenghuanzhe]

Can anyone else feel it? Like the air's gettin' heavier? Thicker? Harder to breathe?

Anyone see anythin' on the fucking horizon, yet? C'mon.

[He wipes a hand over his eyes, then blinks hard

Comments

[diverged_fate]

['Horizon,' huh? When he thinks about it, he hasn't stared good and hard at the ocean yet. Just a cursory glance. So, he decides to head up and take a look. Maybe he'll really see a crust of land come into view on the edge of the ocean... an end to a trip he's enjoying so far.

Keats heads over to do some ocean staring. It suits his mood anyway... he's got a lot of shit to work out in his head. This place is just right, but he's not right. People see him wrong, or so he thinks. It's disconcerting.

And he's still thinking about that when he reaches deck 01. The smell of smoke has him compulsively reaching into his jacket for a cigarette, even before he notices Kage. He kinda nods to the other guy and lights up... he doesn't plan to stay too long, if he seems to be disturbing him. He takes a good long look out into the water.]

[shenghuanzhe]

[Kage glances sidelong at Keats.

He pauses, then takes another, longer, slower look.]

... huh.

sry for late tag

[diverged_fate]

[...? Keats is clueless, and he just returns the look as boldly as it was given. Then he shrugs, trying to figure it out.]

You need a light or something? [He'd been half about to slide his lighter into his pocket, but he stops mid-motion in case Kage wants to borrow it.]

sry for late(r) tag

[shenghuanzhe]

Yeah, sure.

[Kage blinks, looking at Keats and then he shakes his head.]

Captain is a great man.--here.

[Kage leans forward, cigarette in his mouth.]

no worries :p

[diverged_fate]

Alright.

[Keats casually leans forward and strikes a solid flame to the end of Kage's cigarette. He just barely catches that muttered phrase-- -that- again, huh? One of these days, he'll get someone to explain why everyone quotes that, or where it comes from.

He gives him another curious, searching look--at close range this time--before drawing back to focus his attention on the endless spread of ocean.]

You looking for something out there...?

[shenghuanzhe]

Don't fuckin' burn it--

[Kage pulls his head back so Keats doesn't charr the end of his cigarette and make each lungful taste like sucking on a charcoal briquette. Kage holds the end of the cigarette just near the flame and gives it a few sucks until the tobacco embers nicely.]

Shit, kid, you're gonna ruin some nice smokes one day if you keep lighting up like that.

[Keats looks so much like Kage did when he was a teenager it's bloody strange. Kage forces his eyes back onto the horizon, does a quick drag, looks back to the teenager.]

Yeah. There's somethin' out there. I can feel it. We all can.

[diverged_fate]

I wasn't tryin' to burn it. [Maybe he'd gotten a little too distracted there. He shrugs it off and goes back to his own neglected cigarette.]

Hope not. They're damned hard to find... [He frowns while looking out to sea.] Or they were.

That Golden Shore place maybe? [Almost without interest. He's not vested in getting back home, not at all, and some unknown place? Who knows. He kinda likes this ship so far.]

[shenghuanzhe]

Maybe. Doesn't feel like it, though. Could be.

[Kage squints out at that ocean.]

Hey, kid. What colour's the ocean to you?

[diverged_fate]

So... [He's a little more interested all of a sudden.] you can sense when this ship gets close to land, or something else?

[It sounds a little bit like his own 'ability,' with people, but with objects or land instead? That's warily interesting.

...but he gets distracted easily enough by the question. His brow furrows a minute and he looks out at the ocean. What, is Kage seeing it differently?]

Dark blue, darker in patches I guess. You?

[shenghuanzhe]

Sense? Don't be stupid, I'm not a fuckin' psychic or nothing, it's just that the wind smells different when y'get near land. You can smell seaweed, trees, that kinda thing. Birds and animals, too.

[Kage gives Keats a smile to soften his hard words, not that he thinks Keats is going to slouch away and cry to himself softly. He looks like a tough kid.

Dark blue, good. That's a good sign.]

So you liking the ship so far, kiddo?

[diverged_fate]

[He's... not really buying that, but he'll let it drop. A sense of smell that strong would count as a power in itself, when there's absolutely nothing in sight on the horizon.]

Yeah? Sounds like you've been doing this a long time.

[Nah, Keats barely notices the harsh tone. Aside from shit in his own head, it takes a lot to actually get to him. And some people just talk like that.

He half-smiles back, while taking in a last drag of his cigarette.]

Sure. It's pretty strange, but I'm used to that...food's a lot better. That's for damn sure. [His eyes go a little distant as he adds in his head 'and it's a lot harder to get away.' But so far, his usual wandering urge has been pretty quiet. Maybe it'll stay that way.]

[shenghuanzhe]

Yeah. I been workin' for Redd for a long time now. Long, long time.

[Kage glances over at Keats and finally looks away from the horizon, turns his back on it and leans on the railings himself. His cigarette is in his lips and it bobs when Kage speaks.]

Food's damn great. Lots t'do. You find someone t'fight you, kiddo?

[diverged_fate]

What's it like to work for that guy? Can't say I know much about him.

[Keats flicks the butt of his cigarette away, then turns to lean his elbow on the rail, chin resting against the knuckles of that hand. He smirks a little at Kage's last question.]

Not yet. Found the gym-- [And took his frustration out on some helpless punching bags. Not as good as the real thing.] You got any suggestions?

Or...shit, what about you?

[shenghuanzhe]

[Kage shrugs, a bit uncomfortable.]

We work for him hard, or we ain't any use for him. But I get a day off a week, usually some free time and about six t'eight hours sleep a night. All th'food I want. Cigarettes. Booze. Drugs. 'Sgood deal.

[Not that Kage couldn't find something better elsewhere. No, he gets something much better from Redd for his decades of unpaid, slavish labour.

Kage looks at Keats and breathes out a laugh.]

You wanna fight a bit, kid?

[diverged_fate]

Doesn't sound too bad. If you've gotta be stuck in one place for a long time, at least you're getting some good shit out of it.

[And with that, he dismisses it. What else is there to really say about it? Except a flicker of interest in what 'drugs' those might be. Some other time, he'll ask.

He smirks at the laugh...]

Sure. It doesn't have to be right now, but...wouldn't mind. [At least Kage looks like an actual challenge, strength wise.]

[shenghuanzhe]

[Kage folds his right hand behind his back, holds his left opena nd empty at shoulder height. He grins.]

I'll only use one hand, how 'bout that.