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

[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.]

[falconkick]

We do. It's the only way to get by in life.

[ in general. sam knows what barnes means, knows he's talking about the missions he ran with half a mind and a weapon in both hands, but the point stands. people gotta adapt to their surroundings if they're ever gonna get anywhere. barnes just happens to be a whole lot better at it, even if it's for unfortunate reasons.

still. he ain't jumping onto the 'hydra didn't break you' sermon right off the bat. start with the baby steps, like the world-destroying war hanging over their heads. sam gives him a sort of hapless smile, still overwhelmingly impressed by things he can't outright say to barnes just yet. ]

You look good, man. Might not mean a whole lot coming from a perfect stranger, but I think I got a half-decent basis for comparison. You're doing well.

[ between mindless killing machine and the guy that's doing his level best to have a normal conversation? sam'll carry pride for barnes if he can't do it for himself. it's not his place, not really, but. well.

he might do it for steve too. sam can't really help himself when there's someone that needs solid ground, and there's nobody that deserves it more than these two. ]

[wipedclean]

[His gaze flicks back to Sam's face, and he stares at him silently for a long moment, something of a haunted look on his face.

You're doing well.

No. He's not. Because everything he does feels simultaneously like a step forward and a step back, because he's lost and the only things keeping him grounded are adaptation and Steve and he can't rely on those. Not when Steve's on the other side of the war and adaptation isn't really a solution for anything.

Because he doesn't know who he is or what he's doing or what he's supposed to do, because he feels like he's walking on glass all the fucking time, and he still can't even say any of this to anyone, not even Steve, because half the time he can't even fucking talk.

He shakes his head.

No. He's not doing well. Even the memories he gets are fractured. Everything's fractured. He doesn't have a mission, he doesn't have anything.

He shakes his head again and looks away, turning away and walking down a nearby alley and finding a corner to put his back against and slide down into.]

[falconkick]

[ it wouldn't be the first time he's wished he could read what's on someone's mind, but alas, he's left to guessing. sam meets his stare with patient eyes, watches the conflict burn through him even before barnes shakes his head and walks away.

sam can't hear it, but he can guess. even if barnes found the words to say it himself, no one in the world will understand what he's been through, what he's dealing with now. but he can guess.

he waits a few seconds for barnes to get - situated, for lack of a better word, before he quietly follows after him. he leaves a safe distance of a few steps between them when he stops and asks, tone light and patient; barnes has all the room he might need to say no: ]

Is it okay if I sit with you?

[wipedclean]

[His brow furrows and he glances in Sam's direction without really looking at him. Looking away again, down at his hands, one metal, one... normal, sort of, he shrugs once and gives a short nod. It's okay.]

[falconkick]

[ damn, if that distant gaze isn't a sore sight. sam measures out a breath carefully before shuffling over to the opposite wall of the alley, so he can sit facing barnes an arm's breadth away.

he won't say anything, though, not for a short while. barnes found a small and quiet place to tuck himself away, welcomed sam into some small corner of it. he's content to leave it at that, if that's what b wants; he'll just drink his coffee quietly, patiently.

he'll start talking again in a few minutes if barnes doesn't wanna break the silence himself, but for now, sam'll simply wait at his side. ]

[wipedclean]

[He watches Sam sit, but his gaze shifts back to his hands again and he just sits in silence, listening to the noises of the Station, which sound a little distant here in the alley. There's nothing he wants to say, and instead he tries to just... keep from thinking about... everything.

Easier said than done, really.]

[falconkick]

[ yeah. it's a lot like that.

sam waits until what's left in his cup can't really be called coffee anymore before he sets it down, looking directly at barnes for the first time in the last ten minutes or so. it's good for anyone to have their own time and space, but they can't stay there forever. sam'll be there to fill in the silence. ]

Did Steve ever tell you what I did, back home?