so 'bout that one time.

[soldiershin]

Who: whipfist and soldiershin
When: Today (Nov. 19th), sometime during the daylight hours
Where: Around the edges of Sector 6 (near Jomy's shiny new apartment)
Summary: Jomy gets pinged by a random rage-fit (spoilers: it's Alex) and goes to investigate.
Warnings: Probably nothing?

Comments

[soldiershin]

The effort was appreciated, at the very least. Bypassing the awkwardness was easy enough, but it still took some degree of effort for Jomy to completely blink past the thoughts-feelings-images. It was somewhat of an accomplishment that he managed it without the physical shaking of the head, dragging his focus away from the wordless cues to the physical ones.

He continued his approach forward until he stopped at an arm's length away, keeping that polite, but not unfriendly, distance between them. Jomy smiled in silent greeting, his head tilting a fraction to give away his curiosity prematurely.

"Hello," he returned. What he really wanted to know: what happened? Are you alright? Things he couldn't quite say, not without feeling a need to explain why he started off the conversation in such a manner. Perhaps it was even just a transient thing, as the anger was already beginning to ease away. Nothing he had to ask after (yet

[soldiershin]

He didn't have to be physically hit. Jomy felt himself mentally recoil at the sudden surge of rageparanoia(a sudden)calmfear, and the force of it was enough to break through his usual calm to make it manifest as a small, bodily twitch when his senses were struck. As short as the moment had been, it'd been enough to plant the beginnings of a headache - a consequence, perhaps, for going in too quick. He accepted it for what it was, eyes closing briefly as he warded it off to the best of his ability while Alex seemed to stabilize himself

[whipfist]

Alex settled down. They were off the subject. But some part of him felt like he had to tell Jomy... something. Perhaps not that he was a virus who'd caused an outbreak of a deadly infection and single-handedly killed hundreds or thousands of people back home, but. Something.

He tilted his head at Jomy's next sentence. Was about to ask him why, when the next part struck him. He shrugged, his glance moving back down to the table and his own hands.

"I paid rent." He said it awkwardly, not used to talking about these things. Human things. "Never home anyway, I don't need a new place."

Alex was aware of how rough his voice sounded, which he didn't intend completely. There was a long pause before he breathed out a "Thanks anyway," more of a mumble than anything else. For some reason, he felt embarrassed to even say that, like it somehow made him weak.

[soldiershin]

He nearly missed the last two words, and probably would have, if he hadn't been paying attention. But thankfully, Jomy had been, and he felt his expression brighten as he smiled, nodded. "You're welcome."

Perhaps he was still a bit weary, entirely unaccustomed to how Alex seemed to fluctuate between the extremes in the span of seconds. Jomy was used to strong emotions (detecting them, being the source of them, etcetera), but when it came at him on a roller coaster course? Not so much. Distantly, he knew this was how he used to be, too young to know better, but at least Alex seemed to have a constant on-off switch for it.

Avoiding it should be relatively easy. (Probably.) And, well. Nothing avoided awkward questions than did silence.

. . . Only his curiosity wouldn't allow such a thing. Not for long, anyway. So belatedly, the question: "Have you never had a chance to try coffee, or tea, before?"

[whipfist]

Alex eyed Jomy at the response, a bit taken aback, a bit embarrassed still but he shrugged it off. Once there was that calm silence again he resumed scanning the cafe, a constant routine of watching others that he was far too used to. Eventually his hand would move away from trying to cover up those fading marks, never to be a scar with his healing rate, and come to rest back on the table.

He blinked at the next question, focusing on the two of them instead of everyone else again. Another pause. It was hard to answer - he had memories of it, sure, but had he ever physically taken a drink of any of those things? No.

"Not really." He was setting himself up for more questions probably, but it didn't matter. He felt more comfortable around Jomy now.

"Is it... good?"

[soldiershin]

It was a like a mirror, in a strange sense. When Alex tensed, so did Jomy. Likewise with the comfort, Jomy was settling into his own sense of calm in response to Alex's, the tension draining from his own shoulders bit-by-bit. The headache seemed unfortunately persistent, but it was easier to ignore it when there was a conversation afoot.

Jomy tilted his head upward a touch, eyes locking themselves on the ceiling briefly in thought. His own experience was limited, but he wasn't lacking them, as Alex seemed to be.

"For me, coffee tends to be too bitter, even with milk and sugar," he began, eyes coming back down. He kept his attention from straying to the marks, concentrating on easing into the conversation instead. "Tea is alright, though. There seem to be a lot of flavors, so it's. . . a matter of finding one that suits you, I think."

Another twitch of a sheepish smile. "However, it's probably best to try them yourself. Your preferences will likely be different from mine."

[whipfist]

Seeming to accept this but having nothing else to say without pushing it - at least to him, the novice at small talk - Alex just stared at him a for a few more seconds before breaking the contact again, deciding to look at the decor of the cafe instead of the people this time. He rarely bothered looking at the inanimate, too busy watching his back. Watching people and non-people.

Whatever was around on the walls didn't seem to interest him for long, as he soon spoke up again with a new subject.

"Where'd you come from?" with genuine curiosity. To the Port, he meant. Jomy was so damned level-headed, or so it seemed, and everyone he knew back home was just tense or stressed or serious, not really pleasant like Jomy was. Alex wondered how he could afford it.

[soldiershin]

The question caught him off-guard, causing him no small amount of confusion such that he blurted out the extent of his thoughts at present: "Er."

Not so graceful, but it was something of a start. A pause as he considered the question, about the many ways that he could answer it. Slowly, "I wasn't born on this planet, so any location I could give you will be foreign." Propping an arm back on the table, Jomy tilted forward in thought again. "I think my world is at least a thousand years into the future from this city's current year, where humanity has colonized-" Had been forced to colonize, but that was just semantics, really, "-other planets. I was born and raised on one of them."

A crude summary, but it hit the main points well enough for now.

And Alex was probably expecting this follow-up question, but Jomy asked it without hesitation anyway, "And yourself?"

[whipfist]

And Alex just stared. Another planet. The idea immediately intrigued him, the thought of a place to get the hell off of this one if the entire world was as terrible as he'd experienced so far. But he kept his mouth shut. Pretty sure Jomy couldn't magically transport out of here or he'd be gone already. Then again... if humans were colonizing all the planets? Maybe not. Maybe life was just supposed to be difficult.

There was maybe a minute or two of silence from him after that next question, as Alex gathered up his words and tried to think about how to explain his "world". There was so much to say, but he had to summarize as well.

"Manhattan. Ever seen it? It's a lot like this city. I was born into the middle of a war."

Another pause.

"Human versus virus. A virus Alex Mercer unleashed on society." His eyes darkened into a familiar glare. "He was selfish. And that mistake is a part of me."

Alex was far from done, but he figured he should keep it short like Jomy had.

[soldiershin]

A short moment of stiffening, followed shortly by a slow straightening of the spine in alarm. A war, he was familiar with. A war against a virus, however- that was new, as well as confusing. But, more importantly. . .

"Alex Mercer," Jomy echoed, frowning at the sort-of distinction made between the name and the person sitting across from him. There were several ways to take that collection of statements, but it felt wrong to guess at the truth behind them when the information was as heavy as it was. "Are you speaking about yourself, or a man who shares your name?"

The question was carefully spoken, his tone kept neutral, as he prepared himself for another outburst of emotion. It was inevitable that it would happen, but perhaps it'd be more controlled this time around; Alex probably would not have spoken of this topic (Manhattan. A lot like this city was enough of an answer to his original question), if he hadn't been prepared for further questions.

[whipfist]

Another long pause as Alex figured how to word everything. There were so many facets and he didn't like talking about them, feeling like he was reliving those experiences back home each time. He wouldn't ever forget them, but maybe he could move on. That's what he was aiming for, at least. But it wouldn't happen anytime soon.

"This is his body. I'm him. And everyone else..."

He trailed off on that, but it wasn't long before attaching another piece to that sentence: "I am the virus." His eyes didn't stray from Jomy then, watching his reaction or lack of with intense scrutiny. Trying to gauge how he felt, if he'd be judged or hated now, by this person he was slowly becoming more comfortable around. Alex was expecting it, really.

[soldiershin]

A long stare, followed by a frown. That was the initial extent of his reaction to Alex's words before the pieces fell into place and clicked together to give him a (somewhat) complete comprehension.

. . . Ah. So that was the reason for the scrutiny he was currently under.

Jomy leaned back in his seat, his expression a little weary, and tired. In contrast, his answer was a simple one, just two syllables. "Alright."

Giving that answer sink in for a moment, he returned the other's stare as he voiced the rest of his thoughts. "Whether you are entirely human biologically or not, I still consider you a person, Alex." Being a Mu gave him an advantage in being able to make such statements with comfort borne of confidence; it was a detail he had a feeling he would need to share shortly enough. But before then, he had an additional question, spoken quietly after a beat: "Is your war over?"

[whipfist]

Alex was surprised, but it didn't show on his face. He just relaxed. Moving his eyes back down to his hands still laying on the small table, motionless. A strange feeling of... what was it? Gratefulness. It would overcome him in a wave and then disappear just as quickly, something he hadn't felt since his sister had been helping him back home. A nice change from the irritability and stress he'd been feeling the majority of his time here.

The next question almost caught him off guard, but he answered quickly: "I don't know. They were-- the military was planning to drop a bomb on the city. And I was trying to stop that from happening."

Implying that this little trip to Siren's Port had interrupted that. But he was quiet again, still keeping his gaze downward.

[soldiershin]

Immediately, more questions leapt to the forefront of his mind: Why would they-? What about the innocent people of the city?

But he could find the answers to those questions if he took the time to pause, and think. He wasn't new to wide-scale destruction being employed as a method of warfare, and even if he could not understand how anyone could feel justified (or human) in carrying out a mass murder, he was still capable of understanding the strategics behind it. With a quiet grimace, he nodded.

"I see."

Alex didn't seem as distressed as one might typically feel when such interruptions occurred, but just to be on the safe side- "I've heard that being in this city does not affect the flow of time in our worlds. So you haven't failed." Not yet. Hopefully not ever.

[whipfist]

His eyes shot back up to Jomy at that. It was hope. Not something Alex liked to subscribe to, it was too vague and uncertain. He appreciated the sentiment, but instead of noting that he simply replied with a "We'll see."

More silence. But Alex didn't want to continue.

Rather, he directed the discussion toward the other - "Guess you were in the middle of something, too."

[soldiershin]

"No, I was lucky." And his smile returned, as if in cue. More subdued than usual, but it was a way to ease and accept the change in the direction of conversation. "My battle is over, and I finished everything that I needed to."

Which sounded rather cryptic without context, and that definitely wasn't the effect he was going for.

A short pause, then Jomy added quietly, "I don't know if what occurred in my world could be referred to as a war, but it was a long journey for peace nonetheless. Thankfully, the Core pulled me to this city after I was able to ensure the future of my people." Another quirk of a smile, more genuine this time, with self-directed amusement. "It's a bit of a long story, but that's the gist of it."