I Moderate (i_moderate) wrote in we_archive, @ 2006-02-24 09:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | delirium of the endless, lucifer morningstar, malcolm reynolds |
i_misbehave Open
It was a grey sort of day in the City.
The sort of day when a storm starts brewing early, and does'nt seem too keen on the notion of moving along.
Storms can be mighty inconsiderate that way.
Just when this one had finally started to let up; when the rain and wind had started to lighten, and the lightning had finally quit, there was a crashing boom that was unlike any thunderclap before it. Metallic, with a hollow clattering that did'nt echo. This was because it was no thunderclap, but some outlandish amalgamation of metal, wiring, and fuse welds.
Well, half of one anyway.
Blinking hard as he planted a hand to the greasy grating he'd found himself facedown upon, Captain Malcolm Reynolds pushed himself up and regained his feet with a muffled groan. Punching a button he complained into the speaker, "Wash, there's easier ways to kill me than bad landings-" nothing, not even static. "Wash?"
A fresh gust of wind got his attention. Turning around, with even parts dread and regret, he saw half his cargo hold, and a view of the weather and some sort of cityscape where the other half ought to be. Stepping down, and hopping the couple feet onto ground level, it was half in a daze that Mal took stock of what had happened. He had half the hold.. and a wing. The rest was gone. Not wrecked, and strewn along the ground with him, oh no.. just gone.
"Huh."
He backed up a few steps before turning around, and facing- well he did'nt rightly know which one it was, but whatever backwater port he'd landed on the edge of, it had to have a comm unit someplace he could use to try and raise the rest of Serenity.. right?
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 02/26/2006 09:37:47
It was our sweet girl of sweet girls here to greet him. Delly-Dear, the Queen of backwards tea parties and one thingie-igie Welcoming Committee. Really. She even had a card. It looked a bit like this:
EETTIMMOC GNIMOCLEW EIGI-EIGNIHT... THINGIE
She was walking directly behind him, as to not be in his line of sight until the last possible moment when she asked, "WhAT iS tHAt worD foR wHen YoU lIVe in SPacceee aND thEn yOu dON't anyMOre anD sOos YOu haVE nO mORe cLEAn uNDies?"
Delirium smiled prettily at him while she waited for the answer.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/27/2006 10:17:57
"Gah!" came Mal's wordless exclamation as he started at the girlish voice, spouting half sense. Where did she come from, and why is it that crazy girls always manage to sneak about so?
"I swear, how many sisters does that boy have?" the man in the long brown coat muttered to himself, mouth drawn into a tight line, and a bit of a frown resettling over his face.
"'Stranded'," he supplied a bit tersely, to her question. "Or.. 'grounded', or 'stuck with half a ship, and mighty riled about it'. Alright- that last one might be more than just one word, but it's pretty accurate." He paused another moment to indicate the city with a jerk of his head. "Say, miss.. what's the name of this dive?"
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 02/27/2006 10:59:38
Del steepled her fingers in contemplation, but unable to stand still she started to hop on both feet.
"yOU tAlK preTTy."
She hopped a few more times experimentally. Her shadow flopped tangibly behind her as she did so. There was a small hole that needed minor repairs to it.
"i dOn'T thInK THis pLAce hAS a nAMe yEt. oR maYbe I haVE fOrGoTTED. wE coUld gIVe it A nAme? MebbE lIke... Hesseinviperwindy-dOO. yOuR shIp lOOks pReTTy. eVEn thOugh it IS thE broKE."
Delirium sighed sympathetically.
"wE coULD go CAtch US sOMe RAScallY VARmiTs?" she quietly offered.
Delly longed for a cowboy hat.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/27/2006 11:10:08
Pause. Blink.
Why him? Why does the crazy always latch onto him?
Brows raised slightly at the reply he recieved, Mal voiced, "Right. I'll think on that, but until then- is there a comm office in this.. place. That ain't got a name?"
A moment wherein he realized what he was doing, and his eyes went skyward for a moment as he muttered, "I'm askin' directions from a girl who's hoppin' about telling me I 'talk pretty'."
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 02/27/2006 11:20:18
"i CAn hEAr yoU, tOo!" she offered helpfully with a large smile. She would have told him he sounded a little funny talking to himself but that might have been a bit hypocritical of her to point out.
"coMMMMm offICE...." Delly thought this over. There many different kinds of offices here. Different sorts of comm-thingies, too. The possibilities made her head spin.
"...i DOn't THink..........."
Pause.
"thAT yOU aRRRe-- hEE, i SOunD lIKe a PIraTE..."
Pause.
"iN kAnSAs anyMOre. NopE. moST cerTAINaBLy 'a' nOT."
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/27/2006 11:59:52
"Shiny," was Mal's dry commentary on the present situation. "So I can be reasonably certain that you ain't a pirate, and this ain't Kansas. Which, if'n I knew where 'Kansas' was in the first place, I'd have one less port in the 'verse I could be standin' on."
A long breath let out. as he looked over the city before him. "That's great. Just great. Maybe I oughta try my luck with someone who is'nt of a piratical persuasion." Nicer certainly than saying, 'Hopefully I can find someone less crazy on this rock'. "There a saloon about anywhere?" he wondered looking back at the less violent seeming, but no more sense-making girl who reminded him of River for some reason.
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 02/27/2006 13:06:40
"yES. sOmETIMes thEY caLL tHEm BArs. oR pubS. oR thOSe pLAceS wHEre yOu mEet pReTTY giRLs for ONe nIGHT standS and ThEN thEY tURn oUt to BE preTTy boYs and It IS kINda iCKy bUt my BRothER/sisTerr laUGHs lotS.
"i KnOWed alL thOsE woRdS. aND diDn'T evEn foRgET."
Del either forgot to explain that the city's streets always changed, or felt so comfortable within it that she'd never realized it in the first place. But she was certain that if she started walking they would simply run into a bar or be ran over by one.
Del crouched down and lifted up the top of her shadow, clutching it to keep it from getting dirtier as she randomly chose a direction to walk.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/27/2006 13:17:30
Did'nt that happen to Jayne once?
"Your last name would'nt happen to be Tam, would it?" Mal queried wryly, only half intending it as a joke. Oddly enough, the trick that the girl does picking up her shadow does'nt even draw the bat of an eye.
Sure he's never seen it before, but it's a shoprt step to believing that holograms went and got fancier when he was'nt paying attention. "Yeah, bars, pubs, xiang-xhi, whatever you wanna call 'em."
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 02/27/2006 13:26:40
"有一次,我去酒吧妹妹,但我不认为她是有,但可悲的是,我不是她. . .
"i HAve lOts oF nAmeS. sOmETimES tHeY'Re nOt vERy nICE. YoU cAN cAll mE dElly. i LIkE tHAt nAme."
Surely enough, The Lux was straight ahead. A strangely attractive woman with her face half masked stood at the entrance. Delirium skipped toward the small, well lighted place until she stood a mere inches away from the female bouncer, staring directly upward.
"hEllO lAdY."
*translation: I went to a bar once but my sister was not there but I thought she was but it was not her and I was sad. -- haha, yay for google.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/27/2006 13:41:21
This was a bloody nightmare. His ship was at least two peices (PLEASE dont let it be in much more than that), and would take at least a month to repair- and that's assuming he can ever find a working comm, and raise the rest of his ship.. that is assuming the ship's comm is still functioning..
Almost distracted, Mal took little notice of the lady bouncer apart from a muttered aknowledgment, and a wondered, "Yeah, hi. Say, is there a workin' comm station inside?" with a jerk of his thumb at the establishment behind her.
From: [info]i_fellfirst Date: 02/27/2006 13:52:00
The woman stared at them both on the street. For a time it seemed that she would not only speak but allow them into the establishment. She merely glared.
The small red haired girl started to glare back. Her eyes narrowed into mischievous little slits: "Hmph. If you don't let me in, I will turn you into a demon half-face waitress night-club lady with a crush on her boss, and I'll make it so you've been that from the beginning of time to--"
Feeling a strange sense of deja vu, the youngest of the Endless went strangely quiet.
"Makizeen, darling? Who's there?"
The establishment's owner came to the entrance and slipped his arm around the female bouncer's waist. Upon seeing his guests, he couldn't help the surprised and amused expression from his face.
"You." Apparently he knew the little red headed girl. "Where's your brother? I believe the two of us had unfinished business." His glance changed to ex-captain. "Who's your friend?"
He held the door open wide for them both.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/27/2006 15:44:23
Great. A pretty boy.
Before he accepted the invitation into this [place- looked pretty swanky, from out here, Mal both answered, and failed to answer the question.
Who's your friend?
"Plenty able to answer on his own, thanks. I ain't precisely what a lot of folk would call polished, and I've had one helluva lousy day, without much taste left over for mincin' words, so I'll be blunt.."
Yeah the fact that his ship was ruined was starting to settle in.
"I need two things which, if you've got 'em, I'll thank you for the use of.. the first is a comm station- broad wave transmitter, short range is just fine. The second is a stiff drink."
From: [info]i_fellfirst Date: 02/27/2006 16:15:04
He didn't look like the Gothamites he'd met previously, and certainly didn't talk like them. That was alright, Luse was pleased with the diversity.
"Drinks are on the house...."
Delirium stuck out her tongue at the masked woman as if to say, ha ha. The fallen angel only smiled politely, as if the youngest of the Endless had really meant to say thank ya kindly!
"As for this 'comm station' I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the device, Old Sport. You're new here, I assume? Explain what you're looking for to and perhaps I can be of assistance." Lucifer motioned with his head for Malcom to follow him to the bar. The Lux was near empty, business picked up only slowly as more people arrived.
Delirium skipped over to the corner to amuse herself. The masked woman remained at the door. By the time Lucifer reached the bar, Delirium had created at least two frogs which hopped about on the floor around her. He frowned subtly.
"What's your poison?"
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/28/2006 00:43:21
Drinks are on the house...
"First good news I've had all day," Mal muttered. Brown eyes scanned over the place's interior as the dusty scoundrel made his way toward the bar in the pretty boy's wake.
"Whiskey, straight up."
A brown brow arched a bit before Mal answered the other half of the query, "Comm station. Short for 'Communication station'. shortened, I'd guess for the fact that most folk don;t enjoy rhying for some reason or another. And I ain't feelin' overly 'old', or muchly 'sportin'. Just for the record."
From: [info]i_fellfirst Date: 02/28/2006 00:51:46
Funny. Lucifer felt very old. Outdated.
"Like a radio station?"
The Ex-Ruler of Hell found a glass and poured Malcom a double. It wasn't that the demon felt particularly kind.
He was going to ask for something in return.
Provided he could do anything to help the stranger.
Putting the bottle of hard liquor away, he checked up on Delirium with a glance and sighed. The frogs were going to make a mess.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/28/2006 00:59:57
"Radio?" All of a sudden, Malcolm felt very old. Probably some fancy new name for a unit to unit info stream. Why are things always so complicated? "That oughta do it, yeah.."
Picking up the glass, Mal sniffed the whiskey once, a curious look on his face at something or another. "Who're you, anyhow?" he wondered at last.
From: [info]i_fellfirst Date: 02/28/2006 10:09:06
"Call me Mr. Lux if you like. Or just Lux, it matters very little. Of course, if I'm to help you out I will require something in return."
Lucifer leaned in a bit closer to the Captain. "The little redheaded girl, the one that you came in with... I need to speak with her brother, Morpheus. You convince her to arrange a meeting between Morpheus and myself and I will do my best to help you.
"I'm sure we can find this 'comm station' of yours, its just that... well I see a lot of people at my club but your the first of your kind to arrive here. It may take some time, given the nature of the City.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/28/2006 11:33:48
"Only got one name, do ya?"
Of course, if I'm to help you out I will require something in return.
Mal glanced down and grinned. "That's the way of the world, Lucy... You said it did'nt matter, so I figure it's alright to call you Lucy, ain't it?" For some reason Mal could'nt quite put his finger on, he had a deep rooted, and almost inexplicable dislike of the well groomed gentleman.
From: [info]i_fellfirst Date: 02/28/2006 11:55:01
"You can call me Susan if you get me what I want."
The Devil sort of liked the name Lucy, it sounded better than Luce at least. Who on Earth would go by the nickname Luce?
"Oh, and Mr. Reynolds?" he felt petulant and therefore called Mal by a name he hadn't received yet. "I would advise you not to get too close to the girl. She's more than you can handle."
At least he was being honest.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 02/28/2006 13:12:23
No one called Mal 'Mister'. Well, not wholly true, one sort of person called Mal mister, and that was the sort he did'nt much care for. He paused a moment and set the double shot of whiskey back down on the bar, untouched.
"It's 'Captain' actually," he corrected evenly. "And I've gotten pretty practiced at handlin' more than I ought. Particularly when.. fancy gentlemen such as yourself, start tryin' to tell me otherwise.."
Yeah, because Mal had such a wonderful track record when it came to avoiding troublesome crazy girls who honest folk tried to warn him away from.
"I don't get attached, anyways. Only brings trouble."
The statement was one of those that Mal really thought was true. Unless he were to sit down and think about it at all..
From: [info]i_fellfirst Date: 02/28/2006 14:47:09
"It's 'Captain' actually," he corrected evenly.
"Funny, I don't recall seeing any ships here." He paused and looked once more at Delirium, There were frogs everywhere. Makizeen looked particularly annoyed at the prospect of having to clean up after the youngest Endless.
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
Lucifer walked from around the bar and toward little Delirium. Kissing her good-bye on the crown of her head, he stepped into a back room. The frogs did not croak but chimed in song. Pretty. He would have to remember the tune later when the club's piano was less neglected.
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 02/28/2006 14:56:38
Delirium was sprawled out on the floor near the Lux's entrance. The frogs had grown in number to about twenty-three. Some of them were jam flavored. Though a few were green, Delirium preferred the pink ones with blue swirlies.
After she'd been left by the Morningstar, feeling no one was watching her, she started to frown. She became distant with her creations and the frogs, sensing this, started to sepuku themselves on their tongues. It was all very dramatic.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 03/01/2006 00:29:07
Funny, I don't recall seeing any ships here.
Mal smiled a bit dryly, not amused. "Yeah. Funny that. Thanks for the drink," he noted as the pretty boy slipped away. Leaving the whiskey still untouched on the bar, the lean wanderer let out a long breath, and turned toward the door.
Despite his words to the fair haired barkeep, Mal really had no intention of spending any more time around the moon brained girl, and the notion that someone here knew his name when Mal didnt weven know where he was yet-
Well, all this added up to 'getting out' being a good idea.
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 03/01/2006 00:47:34
"he'S thE dEVil," Delirium explained quietly. Frowning, she looked just in time to see the last of the Sepuku Frogs finish itself off. With the amphibian's last breath it looked longingly up at its creator.
The floor was a slimey mess.
Pause.
"yOur coMM sTAtioN iSn'T hErE. sOmeTimEs I kNOwed thAT."
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 03/01/2006 00:54:50
Okay.. that Frog thing was.. kinda wrong. In a wierd sort of way.
"The devil, huh?" Mal returned, glancing back over his shoulder at the gentleman in question. Smirking he added, "When did he lose the goat legs and the pitch fork?"
Not looking back at the little girl just yet, Mal tightened his mouth into a thin terse line.
yOur coMM sTAtioN iSn'T hErE. sOmeTimEs I kNOwed thAT.
"Yeah. I'm startin' to knowed that too."
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 03/01/2006 01:00:13
"hE'd nEvER hAD thOSe thInGs. soME oF hIS lieuTENants diD. lUCifEr iS an ANgEL. Or... hE wAs. oNE tIme. bUT noW hE is hERe. lIkE uS."
Delirium looked up at the Captain.
"iT woN'T wERk if YOu fINd oNE. eVerytHinG is BRokEN hErE. lIKe me. soMEtImES iTs nICe nOT bEINg thE oNLy BROken oNE."
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 03/01/2006 01:31:09
"There are no angels," Mal muttered, his voice halfway between terse and hollow. "Way I figure it, that means there ain't no devils neither." It's been a long time since Malcolm Reynolds believed in things like heaven and hell.
"I've always held that them things that're broken want for fixin'." Only then did Mal's brown eyes return to the crouching frog-god. "People, too."
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 03/01/2006 01:43:21
"iF i WerE a pErSon I wOUld wAnT a faTHer naMEd fRanK and a MotHeR nAmED ... sHE coULD bE fRAnk too iF sHe waNTed. my SIStEr gEts to Be a PerSon sOmEtimEs. shE thInks i Don'T knOW buT i Do. I kNow lOTs of thInGs."
Slowly, Del stood up. She didn't quite make it to the captain's shoulders. "bUT sHHHHHhh. iTs a SeCreT. ...i thInK."
Delirium tried to smile, but the effort fell flat.
"yOu'RE vERy niCE."
She paused and pulled a tiny charm from her pocket.
"if yOU arE evER sAD... yOu cAN caLl me. mEbE i CAn eVeN cHeEr yOu up fOr a litTLE whILEs.. if I Am nOT tOO bROken."
Gingerly taking his hand she placed the charm in his palm.
"dOn'T lET thE sAInT of KiLLErS hAVe iT. hE iS a BaD mAn."
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 03/01/2006 01:59:36
yOu'RE vERy niCE.
"No I ain't. Everybody's a bit broken, and everybody's a bit bad. Me more than most," Mal answered quietly.
He did'nt protest or pull away as the funny little girl pressed the little charm into his hand. One thing living around River taught him was that it was generally a bad idea to upset crazies when they're calm.
"Is there someplace you're supposed to be? Somebody who looks after you? Lucy there said somethin' about a brother of yours?" Call it a soft spot for unfortunates, but some part of Mal rebelled against the notion of leaving the girl to wander around on her own, when she seems to have trouble looking after herself.
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 03/01/2006 02:05:21
"I haVE thREE. bUT oNLy oNE of tHem is HERe nOW. soMeTImES hE scAreS mE."
Sometimes the charm was shapeless. Sometimes it was a complex geometric figure. Sometimes it was a butterfly. It changed colors and temperatures, textures and hardness. Never when Mal paid attention. That was the nature of the charm.
Pause.
"iTs mY fAUlT thEY're bROkEn. aRe yOU mAd aT me NOw?"
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 03/01/2006 02:19:37
"Mad?" Mal asked, frowning a bit, perplexed. "Now why would I be mad at a nice little girl who gave me a little shiny squarish-" he glanced down, and corrected himself confused again briefly, "Purple wingy thing.. Huh."
Trying not to think about it too much, Mal tucked the charm into his coat pocket, he drew and let out a breath and decided, "Well, lets start with this brother of yours.."
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 03/01/2006 02:25:03
Delirium fidgeted nervously.
"hE hOLDs gRUDges lOng TIMes. sO dOn'T mAkE hIm mAd. yOu cOUld lOOk fOR hIm wHen yOu slEEp toNIGht, bUT thAt mIGhT mAKe hIm mAd. Or yOu couLD go taLk to THe stRanGe mAn With tHE necKlACe thiNG..iE..
"he'S muCH lEss spOOkY."
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 03/01/2006 02:33:52
"Listen," Mal started again, "Before I start worryin' about makin' anyone mad while I'm asleep- which, by the way is one of the few ways I've never nmanaged to upset anybody before.." he added in a brief aside, "I just wanted to see to it that you ain't gonna get into trouble before I head out and try to track down my crew, and the rest of my ship."
Why can things never go smooth?
"So, whatever that would involve- I'm all all in favor of the quickest way to go about it."
From: [info]i_likefeesh Date: 03/01/2006 02:40:42
Delirium started to bite her fingernails nervously. She didn't want to tell him. Well, technically she already did tell him that he might meet Dream in his sleep, but Delirium didn't want to remind him.
There was also the small fact that his crew wasn't here yet. His crew might never get here. Maybe no one else would ever come to this City ever again. But to be the one to tell him this news, and to make him understand, or at least to believe her, was something else that worried her.
POP!
The small girl burst into a school of tiny, multicolored fish. They flew-swam in a confused circle before they started to move towards the exit, swiming in all directions around Mal as they wiggled to get away.
From: [info]i_misbehave Date: 03/01/2006 02:59:38
Mal just stood there, as this bizarre day kept right on doing what it seems to do best.
He simply stood there as the last of the fish flew/swam past him. He drew a slow breath, looked left, then right, and fixed his eyes back on the place where he had been looking a moment before.
Blink.
Then, he muttered, "I hate it when that happens."