Manny (chargeintheair) wrote in evaluation, @ 2020-01-27 16:02:00 |
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Manfred Bernardo & Gale Hawthorne
27th Jan
Block 1, The Onsen
Rating/Warnings: Low | Swearing
Log | Complete |
Gale had never heard of an onsen before, but he got the impression it was basically just a communal bath - the water was meant to be soothing and restorative, but to him it looked like boiling yourself, a lobster in a blistering pot. Still, he was curious, and went to go check it out, to observe the steam curling up and out toward the trees. He wore jeans and a simple, long-sleeved t-shirt, nothing ostentatious and nothing like the swim trunks he’d actually sported in the resort before it all went to hell. And, really, he wasn’t going to dive into a hot springs while wearing clothes - mostly he just needed the break, some fresh air, since he thrived on fresh air and being outdoors. He thrived in the woods, really, but that wasn’t an option now so he had to make do. Plus all these people in his block who couldn’t even come to an agreement about an appropriate leader - so they just resorted to playing stupid games with knives to settle it. So much for the idea of democracy - he’d always been skeptical of that anyway. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw he actually wasn’t alone at the onsen. “Oh, uh - sorry,” he apologized. “If you want to go in, I can leave.” No sense in creeping when someone else was trying to get their bathing on. Manny was a lot of things. Psychic, medium, con-artist, liar, cheat, but most of all he was also somebody who enjoyed creature comforts. Possibly because when he was younger he hadn’t had many, his mother hadn’t been able to afford them after all. It was only as he’d gotten older and travelled with his extended family after his mother had dumped him that Manny had come to appreciate those sorts of things. That meant that after being dumped into this… place, wherever this place was, he was looking to use whatever means possible to try and escape the reality currently staring him in the face. The only upside thus far was he hadn’t been haunted by anybody which was a massive relief especially after his last run in Midnight and how he’d nearly been sacrificed to let somebody else’s soul inhabit his body. To say he had some… alcohol and opioid dependencies was something of an understatement. He was not from Block one but had applied for access to the Onsen which had thankfully been granted so he’d readily stripped out of his boots, socks and t-shirts, and had been until the other brunette’s arrival just soaking up the ambience. A slow opening of one eye accompanied a head turn and a slow reassuring smile that dimpled his right cheek. “I’m good, not planning on getting naked anytime soon.” “Oh,” was what Gale responded with at first, because what the fuck else could he say? He’d been startled, though obviously the guy he ran into was cool as a cucumber. At least when it came to stripping and getting into a big, steaming bathtub. “I mean, if you wanted to, it’s - fine.” Yeah, fine. Sure it was. No awkwardness here, why would anyone think that? He wasn’t certain if it was okay to sit, but he hoped he wouldn’t get told to leave as he sat on one of the wooden steps, near the onsen but not too near. “I’m Gale. I just needed a break. It’s kind of ridiculous in there.” Basically, it just boiled down to the fact that he had been jolted into this experiment (or whatever it was) straight from the fall of the Capitol; his whole world had been about facing the realities of war, that same war which forced him to grow up way too fast - he’d felt helpless when he couldn’t help Katniss in the arena, and he sometimes felt helpless now. Because he couldn’t stop any of this and not only that, he barely understood it most days. Very little fazed Manfred Bernardo. Hard to when he came from where he came from, saw what he did and dealt with possessions on a daily. Now if he could have smoked in the Onsen then honestly it would have been perfect but was probably frowned on and Manny had no desire to get kicked out. Of course the fact that Gale wouldn’t mind him getting naked was filed away so if the urge took him then Manny would indulge it. “Ridiculous is definitely one way of putting it,” he said with a slow grin before he leaned back to rest his weight on the full width of his palms and tipped his head to look over at Gale. “Manfred, but call me Manny.” He leaned forward to dip his hands into the water and ran it over his forearms. “I only just got here and I already want out, but I don’t think that’s an option.” “It’s not.” Gale was blunt about that, but he supposed that particular fact was obvious. “They usually give us the option of an exit door after each little test room is complete, but we didn’t get one last time. We only got the door that led here.” Actually, it was a little disconcerting if you asked him - why was no one talking about it? Was no one worried that this was the last stop, that they wouldn’t be able to get out of here? Oh, right. Because they were too concerned with crap like picking a block leader via knife fights. Sighing, he reached up and rubbed at a knot of tension he could feel just sitting there on his left shoulder. “Nice to meet you though, Manny. So, where are you from?” “Small town in Texas called Midnight.” A unique town, a place where people like Manny could feel like they belonged and they weren’t freaks amongst the populace. It wasn’t without its flaws, but it had become home for Manny who had until that point been completely transient, moving around in his grandmother, Xylda's RV. It hadn’t helped that he’d been on the run from Hightower for the longest of time. He raked his fingers through his hair and felt the water cooling the nape of his neck, definitely a welcomed relief from the heat that had been oppressive and pervasive in Texas during the height of the heatwave. “You?” He smirked ever so slightly when he noticed the telltale sign of tension and angled his head. “I think the point of these baths is to help you relax.” Texas. Gale paused, trying to think of how it sounded familiar. “That was part of the United States, right?” he guessed. “I’m from Panem. It’s what the States became after a lot of conflict and war.” He wasn’t sure where Texas fell, in the scheme of things - the country had flooded during those wars, a lot of it broken off and destroyed and reshaped entirely to finally be declared under control of the Capitol. But that was all before his time. Way, way before his time. “I’m not great at relaxing,” he admitted, and the steel in those tombstone eyes, grey as the skies in what was once his home, probably smoke volumes anyway. He didn’t like letting his guard down. Because he’d tried that in the resort, at least a little, and the calm lasted three days before the literal storm. “Is part of the United States where I come from,” Manny answered though it would seem that whatever place Gale was from, this Panem, the United States was done for. Manny thought he’d be more upset by that revelation but surprisingly he wasn’t. Manny was so used to flying by the seat of his pants that new situations didn’t make him as uncomfortable as they probably should, but he’d seen and experienced a lot of weird shit in his life and if he didn’t take precious moments of pleasure and relaxation when he could then there was no chance for it and there was literally no point to being alive. “Considering the chatter I’ve seen on the network I can’t say I blame you, but what is the point of being alive if you don’t try and enjoy yourself once in a while?” He rolled his shoulders languidly as he smirked. “But I’m new here.” “The chatter on the network...” Gale trailed off, with a smirk. Yeah, that was something else too. He couldn’t take it a lot of the time, and preferred to avoid it entirely on some days. It didn’t help that the phone was tiny and his hands were not. Communicuffs were so much easier - only necessary messages popped up, protocol, schedules, things like that. Here, the network was mostly bullshit. But he guessed that was a pessimistic way of looking at things, and maybe Manny had a point. “So what would you do to enjoy yourself? I mean, besides boil in an onsen,” he added, motioning toward the hot, steamy water. “Drink, get to know people, listen to music, dance, explore the blocks and all the amenities, find somebody to spend an evening with, that sort of thing, but avoid the people looking to knife fight” Manny shared honestly and without hesitation as for all his guises there were moments when he could be quite candid. He leaned down to catch the edges of his jeans to roll them back up so the bottom didn’t get wet as nobody liked walking around with soggy jeans though at some point he might say to hell with it and just embrace the point of the Onsen. “Gotta appreciate the quiet when you can.” Avoiding violent knife fighters seemed to be a good idea. Gale wasn’t about to pretend he was some saint - he’d taken plenty of lives all in the name of the rebellion, and even as the Capitol crumbled he hadn’t found a chance to let go of his anger, to get past it, but that was the reality of the situation, of war itself. Some people never got that lucky. However, he wasn’t about to hurt someone else over something so ridiculous while here. “Last time I tried to dance I got caught in some kind of curse,” he chuckled bitterly. “But otherwise - sure, I could see the merits of your suggestions.” In fact, he was suddenly struck with inspiration. Not like he was going to give Haymitch all the white liquor - Gale didn’t want him to disintegrate what was left of his liver, anyway. And drinking it himself was out of the question. “If you enjoy alcohol that could strip paint off the walls, I have some,” he said. “It’s called white liquor. It’s from home and it somehow appeared here. I’ll share sometime, if you want.” “Well, fuck,” Manny said with a small chuckle. “That sucks.” Of course the mention of alcohol that could strip paint off the walls Manny couldn’t help but feel his curiosity piqued. “Yeah, I’d like that. Not about to turn down that offer.” He smiled at Gale. “Just let me know when you’re feeling like sharing and I’ll make myself available.” It wasn’t like he was doing anything of vast importance anyways. “Sounds like a plan.” Gale smiled a bit too, a rare expression from the likes of him - he’d been especially gloomy these days, since he hadn’t really been able to see or talk to Katniss as much as he wanted. She kept to herself, and besides, he assumed she was probably still angry with him - maybe she always would be, and he just had to accept that. Had to accept that he’d lost everything too, back home, and that was why he continued to soldier on here. At least he had people here. People he cared about, and who cared about him. He stood up, unfolding himself from where he’d been sitting. “I’ll leave you to your onsen bath now. But it was good to run into you. If you need anything besides, alcohol don’t hesitate.” “Same to you, Gale,” Manny replied as he watched the tall man get to his feet with the intent on going on his way. “Although I don’t have the same temptation as alcohol but I can promise good company and a very unique outlook on things.” Manny like everybody else was far from home and alone, but that wasn’t really anything new to the psychic, it had been more or less a permanent state of being before he’d found Midnight. It was strange how accustomed you could get to your own company. Well, that and your dead grandmother’s spirit, but the less said about that the better. “And don’t forget,” he murmured as he rose to his feet and stepped out of his jeans as given that he was now going to be alone he could fully experience the delights of the Onsen, “life’s not worth a damn if you’re not actually living.” Nice wisdom to impart, as someone dropped their pants. Gale had to laugh a little, though he was polite and averted his eyes so as to avoid staring at Manny’s graceful swan descent into the onsen. “I’ll try to remember that,” he grinned, crookedly, and then turned to go. Seemed like fresh air had done him some good, after all. |