TEST DRIVE #6

[fairyfoes]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping to EACHDRAIDH? Why not give the setting a test run here! OPTIONAL SCENARIOS 01. ARRIVING IN THE DRABWURLD. The Seelie and Unseelie courts welcome you with mirthful revelry and hearty food. After you have been briefed on your purpose here, you will find an endless feast and a night filled with entertainment to placate your concerns. Mingle with new arrivals, sneak down the castle halls and make sure your eyes are always on your glass; fairies and imps have no bias when it comes to tricks! 02. THE STATION. Looking for a little slice of home? The Station gives you all that and more. Take advantage of the wifi, have a cup of fairy-brewed coffee (the one they didn't spit in) or sit back and relax on the patio. You can even move your things into one of the available rooms! 03. WILDCARD. Your own scenario! Explore the Drabwurld or simply take advantage of your Locket!

Comments

ur welcom <3

[wipedclean]

[Well, there's no backing out now.

...Not true. He could turn and leave any time he wanted, but Steve would want him to stay, so he stays.

The man speaks to him and he frowns slightly, hearing how calm his voice is. It's very steady. Interesting. He keeps his distance too, like he's approaching a wild animal.

Which, he supposes, isn't entirely inaccurate.

He swallows and nods.]

You're the bird.

[falconkick]

[ he can't help it, he smiles brightly and nods his head. they know a whole lot more about barnes' apparent memory issues now that they have the kiev file; he wasn't sure what would stick when they've only met twice, and neither on the very best of circumstances.

sam wonders idly what barnes would consider this one to be, good or bad. hasn't decided himself yet, but they're off to a good start. barnes hasn't punched him or run away, for one thing. ]

That's right. Though you won't catch me flyin' around again any time soon.

[ because you broke his last set of wings, you jerk. no hard feelings, seriously, none at all he is just going to put rocks in your shoes one morning in the distant future nbd. he offers his hand, switching the cup of coffee from his right to his left so if barnes does deign to shake it, it doesn't have to be with the metal one. ]

Name's Sam Wilson. Steve calls me Sam, or the best friend he's ever made bullying on the National Mall, but you can just call me Sam if you want.

[ emphasis on 'if you want.' he won't even have any hard feelings if barnes doesn't take his hand; he'll stay nice and comfortable either way. ]

[wipedclean]

[He stares at Sam's hand for a long moment, hesitating, before he reaches over and takes it, shaking it gently.

He's not sure he likes the contact.

He takes his hand back quickly.]

Sam.

[He repeats it to himself, memorizing it, associating it with the man's face.

This is the part where he's supposed to respond with his name.

He hesitates.]

Bucky. Or James.

[He shrugs.]

Whichever.

[falconkick]

[ sam doesn't take any offense by it; rather the opposite, he's just a little bit delighted to see barnes willingly make contact, engaging conversation, however fleetingly. he's in good shape, all things considered, though sam catches the flippancy with his own name. steve had said he didn't respond to it, neither 'bucky' or 'james buchanan barnes'. names are important, personal.

sam keeps his eyes on barnes', says light as he can so barnes can know there's no pressure for an answer: ]

Do you have a preference?

[wipedclean]

[He won't... or can't, maybe, keep eye contact for long. He looks at Sam and drops his gaze, shifts it away, looks around the cafe at the street, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

He shakes his head.

He doesn't have a preference. They're supposed to be his names, but they're not yet, not really. He'll answer to them, but he doesn't think of himself as either.]

[falconkick]

Alright. That's okay.

[ and entirely understandable, almost to be expected. he wonders idly if barnes has more or less accepted them for convenience's sake - or possibly more likely, for steve's. contingency plans. right.

sam takes a quick drink of his coffee, looking around them same as Barnes had, considering. figures it oughta be safe to ask, to offer; he looks back to him even if barnes insists on looking elsewhere. ]

Would it be okay if I called you B?

[ for barnes, for bucky, for any of the things he doesn't know how to be right now. or maybe just for fun. sometimes it's nice to have your own nickname, one that doesn't belong to anyone else, past or present. ]

[wipedclean]

[He looks back at Sam at that, frowns a moment, then shrugs. It's fine by him. It's just another name. He can remember it.]

Yeah.

[He feels awkward just standing here though, he doesn't really like it, so he walks outside. He's not deliberately walking away from Sam, he's expecting him to follow, which shows when he turns to look back at Sam, waiting.]

[falconkick]

[ he's a little startled when barnes just sort of takes off, but he follows easily enough ice it's clear he's welcome. this is ... good, pleasant even, and safe which comes as the biggest surprise to him. not in the violence way, sam knows full well how dangerous the winter soldier can be, but mentally safe. barnes is handling himself better than some sam's worked with, and he's got a hundred thousand reasons to be more flighty.

it's not the first time barnes has exceeded everything sam would've expected of him. he has nothing but well-earned respect for the man. ]

You got anywhere to be?

[wipedclean]

[He starts walking, mostly for something to do. He doesn't like just standing around. He looks back at Sam and shakes his head, but doesn't stop walking.

He wonders suddenly if Sam's talked to Steve yet.

He should ask.

...God he hates this part. He swallows and his brow furrows as he pulls the words together.]

Steve... is here.

[Okay, good, first part, keep going...]

You seen him?

[He lets out a deep breath. Okay. Not as hard as it has been.]

[falconkick]

[ sam waits patiently, no matter how long barnes might take to find words. he just follows him without complaint or missing a step, smiling into his coffee at the effort barnes is making. maybe he should carry around non-ironic gold stars! ]

I have, yeah. We ran into each other at a little Seelie shindig, looks like we're on the same side of the lines in the dirt.

[ he still has no clue what to make of either faction here, but war is war and he's not buying into anything just yet. it does beg the question, though: ]

Which way did they end up dragging you?

[wipedclean]

[He snorts. Of course. Sam is like Steve, it makes sense they'd end up on the same side.

He shakes his head.]

Unseelie.

[It makes everything overly complicated.]

[falconkick]

[ he knows just enough to be a little amused by barnes' derision. what a jerk. ]

How's that been working for y'all so far? Am I gonna have to go on the lam for treason right after getting here?

[ seriously, this is important information. if steve's crossing court boundaries to hover over barnes the way sam expects he is, he's gonna need to prepare his poor little soul for a life of criminal activity. ]

[wipedclean]

[He considers this, and how to respond. It's... a little hard to describe.]

No.

This is neutral territory.

[That's a start.]

[falconkick]

Sweet. If you're down - and I really hope you're down - I'm digging us a nice hole in Switzerland for the rest of approximately forever.

[ because sam does not like the implications of trying to stick together outside of neutral grounds. but he's mostly joking anyway, as evidenced by a light sigh and his looking around as he keeps drinking his coffee. not nervous. maybe anxious. this was already complicated enough before turf wars got thrown into the mix. ]

[wipedclean]

[He shrugs.]

Steve suggested that too.

[He's still thinking about it. It is the one place where his arm works, it's neutral, and hell, it's not so bad, but... he's just not sure. So he shrugs again.]

Maybe.

[falconkick]

[ sam looks back to him with a smile, easy as you please. ]

Maybe is good. We can work with maybe.

[ means he's thinking about it, instead of hopping onto whatever he thinks he's supposed to be doing. something to talk about with steve later on. ]

There anywhere else in the Drabwurld you like hanging out? I only got to see a little bit of it between here and Caer Glaem.

[ said so so roughly, and slowly since he's still trying to mimic the sound. ]

[wipedclean]

Drabwurld.

[He corrects it automatically. He's got who knows how many languages floating around in his head, giving him an ear for words and pronunciations.]

There's a manor in Unseelie lands. Friend of Steve owns it. It's a good place. Kind of neutral, most of the time.

[falconkick]

[ taking note of things barnes is awesome at, check. ]

"Most of the time"? So the other half of the time, me and Steve duck into a closet and hope Dad doesn't find us slipping out a window?

[ he doesn't wanna be someone's dirty booty call! even if he's horribly amused by the idea. ]

[wipedclean]

[He snorts, but then he tilts his head, then shrugs. It's actually not a terrible representation of what happens.]

When the war escalates, you leave.

[falconkick]

[ a long, careful inhale is all sam really has to say about that. it's good and easy to be flippant about the whole situation, but it's war and sam doesn't really know how he feels about it just yet.

still, barnes is talking to him and sam ain't gonna pass on that opportunity, even if the topic is sobering. ]

And about how often does that happen?

[wipedclean]

[He shrugs again.]

Don't know. Only been here a month. But it's already happened once.

[falconkick]

Oh, good. That's real good, maybe we can book a monthly doomsday appointment.

[ right. flippancy. sam sighs. ]

Can you at least tell me y'all have stayed safe as much as you can? Which I don't imagine is a whole lot, after seeing Steve in action, but - gimme something, B, I'm gonna get an ulcer here.

[wipedclean]

[He rolls his eyes.]

It's Steve.

[Of course he's like that. But he lets out a huff of a breath.]

We're doing okay.

[falconkick]

[ not to self: barnes is most expressive when talking about steve; namely, as he's dissing him. check. sam smiles, however faintly. ]

Okay is fine by me.

[ a beat, and then softly; ]

How about you, how're you holding up? This place is a lot to take in, I feel like my head's gonna explode most of the time. Seems like you're handling it a lot better'n me.

[wipedclean]

[He stops and is silent for a moment before he looks back at Sam. He doesn't hold eye contact for long, but he searches the man's face before dropping his gaze and looking around the area.]

Always have to adapt to something.

[Every time he woke up was something different, different faces, more advanced weapons, different cities. And then he was out, with a head full of conditioning and a world he'd never had to fully navigate before.

Adaptation. It was a mission requirement. And now it's the only thing holding him together.

...that and Steve.

Not to mention everything going on in his head is more complicated and difficult than whatever he has to deal with in the rest of the world.]