redshiftlogs | Everyone can master a grief but he that has it.

[She gives him a look, tilting her head so she can see him through the radiation suit visor.]

Sure is.

[And at least it's close by. The weird strip mall is good to poke around in but when you've seen one Hot Topic tshirt haven't you really seen them all? Julie's not really an edgy teenager anymore.]

Hmm, glowing hole in the ground, or weird glowy gravestones and a mutilated robot spider? Choices, choices.

Oh, would ya look at that! That's two glowing holes in the ground! What are the odds, babe? Not a lot to see down that one [gesturing to the cracked earth] unless you're a fan of certain rocks. You like jewels, baby?

[He knows Aku does; it's one of the first things he plans to report to him, in fact. The shinier the better, as far as the boss is concerned. This planet must have an untold number of them just itching to be mined!]

So that's what they are. [Grave markers. He supposes it does look like a boneyard, though the ones he knows have rows of crudely engraved headstones on display; they're not low-key light shows. He lets the pause linger, then:] Whaddaya say, babe? Do we dive in for a closer look?

Edited 2020-09-23 13:26 (UTC)

I dunno. [She answers with a light shrug of one shoulder. Julie, with the difficult and bloody life she'd had from her pre-teens, had never developed the preoccupation with sparkly things that some girls had. What would be the point? A bracelet or a necklace, or even a ring can get caught on something and hurt you, or get in the way. They don't serve a purpose.

Not to say she isn't curious about what might be down there. Just not about jewels.

Julie purses her lips as her attention turns to the gravestones.]

Yeah. That's why we've got suited up and dragged ourselves out here, right?

[His smile is impossibly wide. He falls back into a leisurely stroll, a slight bounce in his step as he turns his head toward her and says:]

Let's get going.

[And so the two of them mosey on over to the rim of the giant sandy pit; what used to be the spider bot's hiding place. There are dark stripes on the dunes along the way. That's what they look like from a distance, anyway. Up close, they're revealed to be lines of scorched sand, traces of laser fire from the battle just a few hours earlier.

Scaramouche starts to sing to himself.

Finally, they're at the edge of the crater. He peers down the steep, slippery slope, falling silent for a moment. A teasing smile curves his mouth, and he turns to Julie and bends an arm, inviting her to skip ahead of him and take the plunge.]

After you?

[She hangs half a step back from him as they walk, but is more than ready to grab onto his arm again should another gust of air threaten to sweep her off her feet. He starts to sing and she looks up at him sidelong, but doesn't think that he notices.

At the edge of the slope she stops beside him and squints up at him through the visor of her suit.]

Oh, ladies first? [She asks, an almost taunting lilt to her voice.] How chivalrous of you.

[Julie leans over the edge of the slope, scrunches her nose up slightly, and doesn't step forwards.]

How are we getting back up?

[His gaze flits away to follow hers, but only briefly, and at the question, there's a slight pause, followed by a widening of that grin. It has a sly edge to it now, which can only mean one thing: he's got an idea.]

I know. [A thickly gloved hand floats across her back to lightly sit itself against the shoulder of her suit.] Let's take the scenic route.

[Scaramouche has an idea. That could mean a lot of trouble for Julie, but she's relatively sure at this point that he wouldn't put her into any kind of real danger on purpose. There's a trust there, if a slightly wary one.

Enough that she doesn't squirm away at the hand on her back.]

The scenic route? [She says, her expression twisting slightly in suspicion.] What are you plotting?

[In one slick motion, Scaramouche sidesteps behind her, and without any further warning, he's bending low to scoop her legs up in one arm while his other presses firm around her back. He stands tall, luminescent eyes flicking skyward, then back down at her.]

Hold on to your hat, babe.

[He might as well have said 'we're clear for take-off', but nobody's flying today. Returning his focus to the red sky, he bends swiftly at the knees and suddenly they're sprung high into the air.

They're airborne for a full five seconds.

Sticking the landing at the bottom of the pit with a lithe, practiced ease, he tightens his grip on her upon impact. Then he relaxes it, and he's smirking unashamedly as he bends closer to the ground to set her on her feet again.]

[He's too quick for her to react when he scoops her up, and she can only let out a very undignified, strangled squeak. She grabs his shoulder when he jumps, yelling out in sheer shock.

Oh, he's going to pay for that.

When he sets her down, she lands a punch against his chest that she instantly regrets. The walls of the pit echo with the sounds of Julie's tirade of loud cursing as she stomps in a circle holding her fist against her chest.]

You dick! You scared the shit out of me!

[Her fist hits him square in the chest and Scaramouche's optics fly wide open; the blow doesn't hurt him, and the added padding of the radiation suit cushions it well, but he does feel it, letting out a quiet oogh. Somehow, he didn't expect it to play out like this.

And yet he makes a swift recovery, almost obliviously delighted as he follows her around with his eyes, aiming to placate her while she stomps around in a huff.]

Julie, baby, don't be like that. ♪ Why get sore at me, huh?

[The smile he gives her isn't mocking; he wears it when they're sitting at the bar together, where--it seems to him--they're at ease with one another. It's as natural as they come.]

Sore at you? I should fucking kill you.

[But there's no fire behind the threat, only the aggravation of the pain throbbing through her knuckles that soon subsides. Some smarter part of her brain knew well enough to not hit him too hard, and nothing is broken.

She huffs sharply, looking up to where they had jumped down from.]

And if you can't get us out, I will kill you. You better have thought that far ahead.

Have I ever let you down?

[He flashes her a teasing grin before turning and moving toward the rows of light that make up the graveyard, treading on light, unhurried steps like a bot who hasn't got a care in the world.]

[She makes a face at him.]

I guess not.

[And, for the lack of anywhere else to go, Julie steps right along after him with her ears pricked for any kind of danger.]

You're still an asshole.

[Scaramouche lets a short silence settle between them for a moment; how long until she cools off, he wonders.

Once they've made it over to the boneyard, his helmet turns. He peers down at her with a smile--as always.]

Not much to look at, is it, babe?

[She lets out a soft sound, a little scoff in the back of her throat, and though she's still somewhat ruffled it doesn't seem that she's sulking with him too badly.

Julie gives him a sidelong look as he speaks, then squints out over the view in front of them.]

You expecting something impressive? It's just dead stuff, if anything's even really here.

Someone wanted us to see this. If they didn't, why all the lights?

[He steps forward, and as he's about to bend at his middle to examine a tablet in the front row, a bright beam shoots out of the top of it and he freezes from the ground up, his eyes wide as the light ray descends across him.

It's just a scanner.

The writing on the tombstone rearranges itself.]

Edited 2021-02-02 02:41 (UTC)

[She swallows down a retort, knowing damn well that he's right and that everything here seems designed to be seen somehow. Nothing feels as if it happens for no reason. Julie stays silent and still for a few moments, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, then she makes a face and huffs out a sharp breath.

Then the scanner falls across him, and she grabs his arm as if to pull him back, only to freeze as well.]

... What the actual fuck.

[It would have been too bad if that were a laser just now.

The lettering stops shuffling around, Julie offers her eloquent opinion, and Scaramouche finally notices her hand on his arm, giving it a glance. It brings a smile back to his face as he tilts his head to look down at her.]

What'd I tell ya?

[She makes a face at him.]

I'm still mad at you.

[But she will admit that he hasn't let her down so far, and she trust him enough to believe that he won't let her down if he can help it.]

Just so you know.

[Scaramouche offers her an impish grin through his helmet, gently but pointedly removing his arm from her grip, then turns to leave her side, continuing his oh-so-casual stroll through the graveyard. Each scanner he passes tries to look him up and down just like the first one did. He glances around with minor interest.

What else could be hiding under all the sand?]

[She hangs back to watch him for a minute, observing the way the scanners catch him each time he walks by one. They'll do the same to her, if she moves, but she has to wonder--]

Hey!

[And running isn't all that easy in these suits, but she manages to jog to catch up to him.]

What do you think scanners like that see when they look at you?

[He barely hears her voice over the wind gust that rushes into the pit. The sound of her steps hurrying toward him makes him turn in her direction, and when she's at his side again he looks down at her to answer:]

Don't worry about it, baby, they seem to like us.

Edited 2021-03-18 13:21 (UTC)

Everyone can master a grief but he that has it.

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done with permission!

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