RP Log: Playercest FTL
Who: Jamie and Pierce
Where: beach
When: afternoon of the Minako/Artemis/Pierce log
Warnings: playercest, teal deer, writer speculation
Summary: Jamie helps Pierce tow her Zoid back to the hangar; she fills him in on what's been happening back home over the past three years.
The kid had looked surprised when they'd run into each other at one of the little shops in the village. Or, well - surprised was an understatement, she supposed; flabbergasted was, perhaps, a better description. He'd stared at her with an expression bordering on shock, making some witless stammering noises before Pierce had summarily snapped him out of it by commenting upon the package of toilet paper he was clutching in a death grip. This course of action had, surprisingly, actually smoothed things over a bit.
To be honest, she had never planned on asking him for help; she didn't reckon anyone on the Blitz Team would regard her particularly well, her being ex-Backdraft and all, but after some stilted conversation and more awkward stammering he'd actually offered, unprompted, to help tow her Zoid in to the hangar. Though mildly suspicious, Pierce had agreed, and after making their purchases and dropping them off at their respective huts, had trooped off to the hangar together.
There was a small garage attached, Pierce had been pleased to discover; she made use of one of the dirt bikes to lead Hemeros, in the Geno Saurer, out to the spot where her Storm Sworder still lay. Once there they'd spent the remainder of the afternoon stretching towlines between the silver pteranodon and blue tyrannosaur, securing the Sworder's head and wings so they wouldn't drag and incur damage while being towed, and covering its belly with tarps to keep its jet intake from being clogged with sand. Hemeros worked quickly, efficiently and with a minimum of hand-holding, which Pierce could readily appreciate; he knew his way around a Zoid as well as any of the mechanics Pierce had known in the Backdraft, and combined his own Zoid's strength with amazing delicacy and dexterity to maneuver the unresponsive Storm Sworder into the appropriate positions to tie on tarps or restrain its various appendages.
When they'd finished prepping her Zoid for transport, it was time for a break. Hemeros returned to the Geno Saurer's cockpit briefly and emerged with two bottles of water, one of which he offered to Pierce. She took it with a nod and seated herself beside the Sworder's head, twisting the cap off the bottle and taking a swig.
"Thanks," she said to Hemeros, who was hunkered down beside the Geno Saurer's heel. "Would've been a tough job trying to get this thing towed in all by myself."
The teen nodded, eyes raking over the Storm Sworder. "'s that the same one you had when, uh..." He trailed off a little awkwardly, leaving the last half of the question unfinished: when you attacked my team working for the Backdraft. Pierce shook her head, glancing behind her at the mass of silver metal.
"Left that one with the Backdraft when I quit. Custom model like that would've stood out a little for someone trying to go straight, y'know?"
"Mn, yeah. I noticed it didn't seem to have all the extra missile racks under the wings and stuff..."
More uneasy silence. Pierce didn't contest it, simply gazing out at the ocean and letting the warmth from the Sworder's sun-baked hull seep into her shoulders and upper back. Eventually Hemeros spoke up again.
"So - uh. What, um...what's been going on, y'know, back...home?"
Aha. And here, Pierce suspected, he'd laid bare the reason he'd offered to help out with her Zoid in the first place: he wanted information. Pierce was mildly relieved that this was all he was after - she doubted this apprehensive-looking boy would have tried to attack her, if he'd been holding a grudge all this time for the things she'd done against him and his team, and if he had she was sure she'd have little trouble defending herself, but lingering bad blood would make things unpleasant during their mutual stay here.
"Well, let me think. You disappeared, what - three years ago?" At his nod, she gave him a scrutinizing glance. "How old does that make you now?..."
"Seventeen," he told her, and she couldn't help but look incredulous. Kid sure didn't look that old - judging from his physical appearance alone, Pierce would have assumed fifteen, tops - but he'd been in his teens when his team had reported him missing, after all. Hemeros noticed her expression of disbelief and his own look flattened a little. She decided to take pity on him and forego ribbing him about his age. She took another mouthful of water and tilted her head back against the Storm Sworder, swishing the liquid thoughtfully before swallowing to answer.
"Well, you know how it goes with missing persons cases. There was a lot of hoopla for a couple of months, and about the time it started to die down your teammate vanished, so that got everyone interested again." She shrugged. "You two were gone for so long with no leads that the media dropped it again after a while, though. There were a lot of rumors...that you'd died out in the desert somewhere, you'd been kidnapped...people were paranoid that somebody was targeting Zoid warriors in particular. You were the only big-name pilots that ever wound up missing, though, so that idea died out pretty quickly." She paused and smirked at him. "After that people started saying that maybe you two'd run off to elope, or something." She grinned more broadly at his ensuing sputters and took another sip from her bottle.
"I thought it might've been whatever was left of the Backdraft, though it would've been odd that they were going after you and the Toros girl instead of your Liger pilot," she added, sobering once more. "Nothing else too crazy happened to your team after you guys disappeared, though. They started participating in Class S battles at the start of the new season. Padded out the team with the older Toros kid and his partner - what's her name, the Red Comet..."
"Naomi Fluegel?" he supplied quietly, shifting a little in the sand.
"Yeah, her. Been doing pretty good. Had their share of losses, but everyone does. Everything settled down for a couple years. And then the Toros girl showed up again." Pierce glanced over at the boy. "Your team never said anything to the media about where she'd been, which led to all kinds of rumors...no surprise there. Your old man hasn't said anything, period, since she came home. That aroused some suspicion, of course. Authorities finally had your dad and your whole team subpoenaed to testify as to your whereabouts."
She turned her head to look at him again. He looked a little stunned, as though he wasn't sure asking for details had been such a good idea. She supposed it was probably a lot to chew on all at once. "God only knows how the testimony went, if they decided to tell the truth. Guess I know now why no one ever said anything. Not a chance in hell anyone'd ever believe where you were all this time."
Hemeros snorted softly, one corner of his mouth twisting up in a wry, humorless half-grin. "Nope. Probably not."
They fell silent once again. Pierce could sense Hemeros had more he wanted to ask her, but he was taking his sweet time about it, something Pierce was beginning to suspect was endemic of him. Never one to mince words herself, and annoyed by his hesitation, she filled the silence by asking about something that'd been bothering her since earlier in the afternoon. "Who's Wild Eagle?"
From the look on his face and the way his head snapped up at the question she could tell it was something of a delicate issue, and this only intrigued her more. She regarded him steadily, waiting for an answer, and watched as a spectrum of emotions played out across his features. He started to speak and then fell silent again, clearly debating with himself. Finally he took a breath and sighed, lightly.
"He's...my other personality," he said, his tone curiously neutral. "He got his own body about a year ago."
Pierce continued to stare at him, more skeptically this time. This was a lot to swallow - but then so was the idea of a talking cat that could turn into a man. And Minako had said something about Jamie and Eagle "being separated" or somesuch, hadn't she? The green-haired woman hm'd thoughtfully and drank from her water bottle again.
"Makes as much sense as anything else around here," she said. "I thought it was odd how your piloting style changed so suddenly in that one battle. Hell, you actually took me out," she added begrudgingly. "That's pretty damn impressive, all things considered."
Rather than looking pleased at this concession, Hemeros looked troubled, even vaguely upset. "I didn't. He did. There's a difference."
Pierce snorted. "Relax. I'm not gonna beat you up for it, if that's what you're worried about."
"It's not," he said, but elaborated no further. Pierce decided not to press anymore, having gotten the answer to her question. She held up her water bottle speculatively. "Anyplace around here I can get something stronger to drink than this?"
Hemeros practically scowled. "Yeah, but you'd be better off avoiding it. The...thing that runs it, you don't wanna get involved with."
Odd choice of words. Minako'd mentioned there were strange creatures on the island, though. "What, is the giant squid from the lagoon tending bar on the side or something?" she said with a teasing smirk. "Or maybe it's one of the giant wolves from the jungle."
At this the boy positively bristled, much to Pierce's surprise. "Just...trust me," he said in a low tone. "Don't go to the bar. Don't get involved with whoever's in charge of it. She looks human, but she's not. And hope to god you never get involved with her...pet." He spat the word out with a venomous hatred that Pierce wouldn't have imagined him capable of and pushed himself to his feet. "We should probably get back to the hangar before it gets too late."
She gazed after him, one brow arched curiously, as he returned to the Geno Saurer and powered it up. Shrugging it off, she mounted the dirtbike and watched as the Geno began dragging her Zoid across the sand.
Where: beach
When: afternoon of the Minako/Artemis/Pierce log
Warnings: playercest, teal deer, writer speculation
Summary: Jamie helps Pierce tow her Zoid back to the hangar; she fills him in on what's been happening back home over the past three years.
The kid had looked surprised when they'd run into each other at one of the little shops in the village. Or, well - surprised was an understatement, she supposed; flabbergasted was, perhaps, a better description. He'd stared at her with an expression bordering on shock, making some witless stammering noises before Pierce had summarily snapped him out of it by commenting upon the package of toilet paper he was clutching in a death grip. This course of action had, surprisingly, actually smoothed things over a bit.
To be honest, she had never planned on asking him for help; she didn't reckon anyone on the Blitz Team would regard her particularly well, her being ex-Backdraft and all, but after some stilted conversation and more awkward stammering he'd actually offered, unprompted, to help tow her Zoid in to the hangar. Though mildly suspicious, Pierce had agreed, and after making their purchases and dropping them off at their respective huts, had trooped off to the hangar together.
There was a small garage attached, Pierce had been pleased to discover; she made use of one of the dirt bikes to lead Hemeros, in the Geno Saurer, out to the spot where her Storm Sworder still lay. Once there they'd spent the remainder of the afternoon stretching towlines between the silver pteranodon and blue tyrannosaur, securing the Sworder's head and wings so they wouldn't drag and incur damage while being towed, and covering its belly with tarps to keep its jet intake from being clogged with sand. Hemeros worked quickly, efficiently and with a minimum of hand-holding, which Pierce could readily appreciate; he knew his way around a Zoid as well as any of the mechanics Pierce had known in the Backdraft, and combined his own Zoid's strength with amazing delicacy and dexterity to maneuver the unresponsive Storm Sworder into the appropriate positions to tie on tarps or restrain its various appendages.
When they'd finished prepping her Zoid for transport, it was time for a break. Hemeros returned to the Geno Saurer's cockpit briefly and emerged with two bottles of water, one of which he offered to Pierce. She took it with a nod and seated herself beside the Sworder's head, twisting the cap off the bottle and taking a swig.
"Thanks," she said to Hemeros, who was hunkered down beside the Geno Saurer's heel. "Would've been a tough job trying to get this thing towed in all by myself."
The teen nodded, eyes raking over the Storm Sworder. "'s that the same one you had when, uh..." He trailed off a little awkwardly, leaving the last half of the question unfinished: when you attacked my team working for the Backdraft. Pierce shook her head, glancing behind her at the mass of silver metal.
"Left that one with the Backdraft when I quit. Custom model like that would've stood out a little for someone trying to go straight, y'know?"
"Mn, yeah. I noticed it didn't seem to have all the extra missile racks under the wings and stuff..."
More uneasy silence. Pierce didn't contest it, simply gazing out at the ocean and letting the warmth from the Sworder's sun-baked hull seep into her shoulders and upper back. Eventually Hemeros spoke up again.
"So - uh. What, um...what's been going on, y'know, back...home?"
Aha. And here, Pierce suspected, he'd laid bare the reason he'd offered to help out with her Zoid in the first place: he wanted information. Pierce was mildly relieved that this was all he was after - she doubted this apprehensive-looking boy would have tried to attack her, if he'd been holding a grudge all this time for the things she'd done against him and his team, and if he had she was sure she'd have little trouble defending herself, but lingering bad blood would make things unpleasant during their mutual stay here.
"Well, let me think. You disappeared, what - three years ago?" At his nod, she gave him a scrutinizing glance. "How old does that make you now?..."
"Seventeen," he told her, and she couldn't help but look incredulous. Kid sure didn't look that old - judging from his physical appearance alone, Pierce would have assumed fifteen, tops - but he'd been in his teens when his team had reported him missing, after all. Hemeros noticed her expression of disbelief and his own look flattened a little. She decided to take pity on him and forego ribbing him about his age. She took another mouthful of water and tilted her head back against the Storm Sworder, swishing the liquid thoughtfully before swallowing to answer.
"Well, you know how it goes with missing persons cases. There was a lot of hoopla for a couple of months, and about the time it started to die down your teammate vanished, so that got everyone interested again." She shrugged. "You two were gone for so long with no leads that the media dropped it again after a while, though. There were a lot of rumors...that you'd died out in the desert somewhere, you'd been kidnapped...people were paranoid that somebody was targeting Zoid warriors in particular. You were the only big-name pilots that ever wound up missing, though, so that idea died out pretty quickly." She paused and smirked at him. "After that people started saying that maybe you two'd run off to elope, or something." She grinned more broadly at his ensuing sputters and took another sip from her bottle.
"I thought it might've been whatever was left of the Backdraft, though it would've been odd that they were going after you and the Toros girl instead of your Liger pilot," she added, sobering once more. "Nothing else too crazy happened to your team after you guys disappeared, though. They started participating in Class S battles at the start of the new season. Padded out the team with the older Toros kid and his partner - what's her name, the Red Comet..."
"Naomi Fluegel?" he supplied quietly, shifting a little in the sand.
"Yeah, her. Been doing pretty good. Had their share of losses, but everyone does. Everything settled down for a couple years. And then the Toros girl showed up again." Pierce glanced over at the boy. "Your team never said anything to the media about where she'd been, which led to all kinds of rumors...no surprise there. Your old man hasn't said anything, period, since she came home. That aroused some suspicion, of course. Authorities finally had your dad and your whole team subpoenaed to testify as to your whereabouts."
She turned her head to look at him again. He looked a little stunned, as though he wasn't sure asking for details had been such a good idea. She supposed it was probably a lot to chew on all at once. "God only knows how the testimony went, if they decided to tell the truth. Guess I know now why no one ever said anything. Not a chance in hell anyone'd ever believe where you were all this time."
Hemeros snorted softly, one corner of his mouth twisting up in a wry, humorless half-grin. "Nope. Probably not."
They fell silent once again. Pierce could sense Hemeros had more he wanted to ask her, but he was taking his sweet time about it, something Pierce was beginning to suspect was endemic of him. Never one to mince words herself, and annoyed by his hesitation, she filled the silence by asking about something that'd been bothering her since earlier in the afternoon. "Who's Wild Eagle?"
From the look on his face and the way his head snapped up at the question she could tell it was something of a delicate issue, and this only intrigued her more. She regarded him steadily, waiting for an answer, and watched as a spectrum of emotions played out across his features. He started to speak and then fell silent again, clearly debating with himself. Finally he took a breath and sighed, lightly.
"He's...my other personality," he said, his tone curiously neutral. "He got his own body about a year ago."
Pierce continued to stare at him, more skeptically this time. This was a lot to swallow - but then so was the idea of a talking cat that could turn into a man. And Minako had said something about Jamie and Eagle "being separated" or somesuch, hadn't she? The green-haired woman hm'd thoughtfully and drank from her water bottle again.
"Makes as much sense as anything else around here," she said. "I thought it was odd how your piloting style changed so suddenly in that one battle. Hell, you actually took me out," she added begrudgingly. "That's pretty damn impressive, all things considered."
Rather than looking pleased at this concession, Hemeros looked troubled, even vaguely upset. "I didn't. He did. There's a difference."
Pierce snorted. "Relax. I'm not gonna beat you up for it, if that's what you're worried about."
"It's not," he said, but elaborated no further. Pierce decided not to press anymore, having gotten the answer to her question. She held up her water bottle speculatively. "Anyplace around here I can get something stronger to drink than this?"
Hemeros practically scowled. "Yeah, but you'd be better off avoiding it. The...thing that runs it, you don't wanna get involved with."
Odd choice of words. Minako'd mentioned there were strange creatures on the island, though. "What, is the giant squid from the lagoon tending bar on the side or something?" she said with a teasing smirk. "Or maybe it's one of the giant wolves from the jungle."
At this the boy positively bristled, much to Pierce's surprise. "Just...trust me," he said in a low tone. "Don't go to the bar. Don't get involved with whoever's in charge of it. She looks human, but she's not. And hope to god you never get involved with her...pet." He spat the word out with a venomous hatred that Pierce wouldn't have imagined him capable of and pushed himself to his feet. "We should probably get back to the hangar before it gets too late."
She gazed after him, one brow arched curiously, as he returned to the Geno Saurer and powered it up. Shrugging it off, she mounted the dirtbike and watched as the Geno began dragging her Zoid across the sand.