Texas - There are no strings on me. (strings_on_me) wrote in elsewhere_rpg, @ 2017-12-05 13:28:00 |
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Half an hour ago, York had blasted over the network that a portal had opened. Twenty minutes ago he’d announced Lieutenant Hawkeye, North and Texas were back. Mustang and his group had come quickly to meet with Riza, and York had been there for North. The female sniper had gone home with her boys, and the two male Spartans had been so enthralled with one another that they’d begun to walk off without Tex. They’d only gotten about twenty feet away before they realized, but when they’d looked back, the woman had been gone. The female Spartan had wandered down the streets of the town almost aimlessly. She felt exposed like this, out of her armor. All she wanted to do was get back into it-- and it was left in the capable hands of Harry Dresden. So that was where Texas was headed. It was no surprise that she met Harry on the way, he was coming to meet the group, but had taken his time about it. So as the two approached one another, the tall woman lifted her chin a little. If Harry slowed his steps, she’d slow hers also. But if he didn’t, she’d continue to walk forward and would likely go right past him on her way to the church. She was focused. It was often a flaw of hers, being too focused. Whether they stopped, or kept going, she’d give him a greeting. “Dresden.” She’d always been simple. *** Too many things had changed in that blink of an eye when Harry and Texas dropped into a new world. She'd come back different, and Harry didn't know how to handle it. Call him whatever you wanted, but he wasn't capable of just going back to how things were. Texas was a different person from the woman Harry had…. Had been involved with and that made things weird. He did still care about her greatly. But things weren't the same. They were still learning--Harry was still learning who this changed woman was. Their relationship was genial, they spent time together, they talked. But it lacked the connection they'd developed over months back on Knowhere. No wonder things were awkward. But they were working on it. Harry smiled a little when the woman met him halfway. Typical. She would never stand around waiting for someone to come find her. “Hey, Tex,” he said lightly. “Didn't die, huh?” He was more relieved than his tone would suggest. He was glad she'd made it back. *** “Not for lack of trying.” She remarked, crossing her arms over her chest and glancing behind her in the direction the portal had been. “North kept stopping me.” It hadn’t been that bad, but Tex had definitely wanted to throw herself off the nearest bridge. Not that there had been any bridges. Ugh. It’d been awful. The worst torture imaginable. Though, it was true that Texas had come back from her two year stint a changed woman, she was still herself.. For the most part. There were distinct differences, though. She was just a little more cautious about things, she didn’t turn corners quite so close to the building-- she stayed out a few feet when she made her turn. She wasn’t quite so quick to action when a situation arose that needed to be dealt with, she thought about it for a few more seconds before making her decision. Noises that hadn’t turned her head before now got her attention. It was all the result of trauma. And to say that a war hadn’t done much damage to her, but three weeks in the clutches of a mad man had put cracks in her steel walls? That was saying a lot. So yes, she’d fallen back in with Harry, she talked to him, she sat close, she treated him as she always had.. But she’d made no attempt to rekindle anything. Dresden hadn’t bargained for this, he hadn’t signed up for a cracked Spartan. She wasn’t broken by any means, she was still put together, she was still a predator, but one who’d had a run-in with a larger, more dangerous predator, and now scented the air before she made her move. “Been taking care of my armor for me?” It was clear she wanted it back. That she wanted the feel of the MJOLNIR armor encasing her body. She wore it more often than removing it, now. Even if they had wanted to do something, she was always in that damn armor. *** “Better than I take care of my own kid,” Harry replied. Which was true. And sad. But oh well. She'd left it in his care and he promised he'd look after it. Even North had moved his armor over before they'd gone, trusting that it was safe with the wizard even if he couldn't be there to keep an eye on it all day. Harry fell into step beside the tall woman, not quite touching. They had worked their way up to casual touches before but he didn't feel comfortable forcing it on her now. Harry was fairly stupid at the best of times, but he spent his whole life reading other people. He could see the small changes in the way she moved and how she interacted. It was telling that she'd felt more comfortable in her armor than she did her own skin. He wasn't going to force her to touch when touch was something bad still. He didn't feel qualified to help her understand touch was good again. But they were working on it! Man. That was the theme of their lives. He really just wanted to pull her in close against him and promise that he'd kill everything that had hurt her when she'd gone home. Harry took her hand instead, “Tell me all about it,” Harry said. “Your trip.” *** He took her hand. She didn’t even glance down, just curled her fingers around his in return. “It was awful. It was inhumane torture. I’m surprised we survived as long as we did.” Her voice was flat as she said it. “There were rainbows, and happy, furry little people. The flowers talked, the people were all nice, they held hands and sang before meals, they welcomed us with open arms. They wanted to hug us.. It was terrible.” A small frown touched her lips as she thought on it. Even Riza had been startled and unsettled by the entire thing. They were all glad to be home. “Never underestimate a little meanness.” It made things seem normal. Finally, she chanced a glance over at him. “How long were we gone?” *** Harry blinked. “Are you being serious right now?” He asked. Rainbows and furry things? But she'd delivered it with such deadpan non inflection that he couldn't tell if it was a sarcastic reply or the truth. What the fuck? Then he grinned and nodded, “Maybe we should send York there. He fits in with sunshine and rainbows and hugging. He'll love it.” The stupid asshole. Harry frowned inwardly. “Not too long, a little over two weeks?” He said. “... how long was it on that side?” The wizard wasn't a stranger to time lapses. He used the Nevernever as his primary mode of transportation. Every wizard knew the dangers. All those stories about being trapped in Faerie for a hundred years were true, after all. *** “Yes, I’m serious. It was creepy. They smiled all the time, they had no other expressions.” She hadn’t liked it, understandably. Though, as Harry said they should send York there, she rolled her eyes. “Only if he takes you with him.” It’d be too much, even for York, the female Spartan was sure. A little over two weeks? Her lip curled some in a small sneer. “Three weeks, two days, sixteen hours and about thirty-five minutes.” Yeah, she knew. Of course she knew. “The next portal we go through, I’m wearing my armor.” She hadn’t been able to escape them. She could, if she could just retreat into her armor. Shut down the audio and sit in silence. “How’s York doing?” She knew he had the two AIs in his head. She’d seen what that had done to Carolina. *** “I'm too stubborn to smile for nothing,” Harry said, “I'd break all the rules and they'd hang me and then it would be even worse cause they'd laugh while they did.” He winked. That was an oddly specific time frame. Thanks, Delta. Harry nodded though, glad the shift hadn't been too bad. They'd only lost a few days, not years. It would be easier to adjust because nothing huge happened here. No big changes. Just a new face. “No idea,” Harry told her. “He spends all his time between the hospital and home, I never see him.” Besides, with his brain taxed under the strain of Theta and Delta, Harry being close was likely enough to kill him for real. Better he stay away, even if it sucked for the wizard. Carlos had gone who knew where. Texas had left. And York was busy. It left Harry with Castiel and very often Lucretia Prewett. They'd been nerding out over magic. Harry couldn't complain too much. “No one has died though, been attacked, or started a war.” Life was too fucking slow here. *** *** No deaths? No attacks? No wars? “Sounds boring.” She remarked in a bland tone, releasing his hand as they came up to the church, so she could yank the door open and step inside. The blonde woman was then immediately moving for the pile of black and purple in the corner to check on her armor. It looked fine. A slow breath escaped her. Her hands came up to strip off her shirt and her shoes were kicked off a second later, then her pants were slid down over her body and she was grabbing up the body suit of her armor and beginning to pull it on. “I’m going to go check out the forest.” Back, and already wanting to get out and do something. She felt just as useless as North did. She had to do something. “I’ll be back in the morning.” She usually was. *** Harry stood back once they entered the church. All of Carlos’ things--including his silver sword--were in the front, waiting for him to come get it. Harry ignored it in favor of watching the woman strip and redress. She was nothing if not efficient. Her motions were smooth and practiced, second nature as she covered herself from head to toe in heavy armor. The wizard just nodded. Not even he liked sitting around doing nothing. This had to be someone's domestic dream somewhere. But for this group of mixed warriors and magi, it was hell. “Okay,” Harry said blithely. “I'll be here.” Working on the magic, because the magic was all he could do. Harry didn't tell her to be careful. She already was. *** Giving him a nod, the fully armored woman picked up her rifle and clipped it onto her back, then set her two pistols at her hips and turned. It took a moment, but soon she moved, stepping up to him and meeting him head-on, just the same height now. She’d dimmed her helmet visor to be matte instead of as reflective as it could be. Thoughtful. “If one day I don’t come back,” like Carlos hadn’t, “Do your best to forget about me.” It was a strange request to most people, but York knew just why she was asking it. “Don’t get into any trouble.” With that, the dark woman was turning on her heel and heading out of the church, leaving the wizard alone. |