Making the Rounds [Closed prompts + Wildcard OTA]

[worthallthis]

characters: Bucky and Various (Closed prompts + Wildcard OTA)
location: Around Beacon
date/time: October 19 - 29
content: Catch-all for Bucky stuff
warnings: Just the usual occasional disassociation, swearing, and bickering with himself


I. Closed to Matt

The Soldier stops by the general store once a week to check the level of supplies and, on rare occasions, actually pick something up that someone in the house needs. The remains of the costumes are still strewn about, some on display, some just a mess in the boxes. The Soldier eyes them thoughtfully, something prodding at the back of its brain about scraps and raw materials, but fuck if it can work out what to do with that.

So it's there, picking restlessly at costumes with all the metal-scent and quiet mechanical arm-noises that entails, when Matt comes in.


II. Closed to Daylight

The Soldier has more than once spied Daylight visiting with spirits, and, thinking about its own spirit-friend, approached (somewhat nervously) to offer to see if any of Daylight's friends know Morse Code, in order to perhaps translate more phrases in their musical language to something the residents of Beacon can be taught to understand.

So here it is, following Daylight to the woods, bearing a pot of coffee securely in its metal hand (which can't feel the heat of the pot as "pain") and a bunch of very small cups and dishes it scrounged up, to see if these spirits appreciate its favorite drink. Always best to bring a little peace offering when planning to ask anyone to work on something, right?


III. Closed to Aziraphale

It takes a while to work up the bravery to come to Aziraphale with the request. But the Sergeant swore up and down that Aziraphale had offered, and seemed earnest about it. Seemed like he wouldn't mess with anything they didn't want him to. Like he would be polite and helpful and above all careful.

So one day when Crowley is out of the house and Aziraphale is finishing puttering around the kitchen, the Soldier sidles up a little and says, carefully not actually looking at him, "The Sergeant said. You could see happy memories."

Sucks to have the actual Soldier back, in some ways, don't it, Aziraphale?


IV. Closed to Bruce

There are a lot of odd people around Beacon, for a given value of "odd". Some of them are odd because they aren't human, or have obvious trauma, or particular reasons that they're obvious about telegraphing. The sneaky young man who avoids contact most of the time and visits the general store and Invincible when he seems to think no one else will be around doesn't fit into any of those categories. He hides and avoids people, he moves like he's more well-trained than he should be, and the Soldier is having a hard time pinning down just how old he actually is. He reminds it a little of Eleven, which makes it worry.

So the Soldier keeps a distant eye on him for a few days, or tries to. Occasionally it loses track, but always manages to pick it up again eventually. At least it does work out where the young man is staying, so it waits outside one late morning (ish; for a given value of "morning" in a place with no sun) to intercept him on his way out for the "day" at the time he usually appears. It doesn't do casual well, so it's just sitting on a tree stump within view, obviously waiting and watching the door.



V. Wildcard!

Got something you wanna say to the Soldier? Want to come to one of its classes at the gym? Got some other idea based on his daily routine? Just hit me up here!

Comments

( prompt ii. )

[sunborne]

In all honesty- Daylight is a little surprised that someone wants to tag along with him when he's on these outings. With how... well... things have been turning out, Daylight can understand if people want to keep their distance from the spirits.

But he's not going to complain about company anytime soon. Especially not Soldat's company, seeing as how his presence most definitely saved Daylight from becoming mute or worse if his hallucinations had managed to get him. (His vocoder twitches, the recall fragment remembering the too real pain he felt. Thanks to both the hallucinations and his own actions. Ack...!)

While he quickly shakes his helm to shake the feelings off, he turns his attention to Soldat to ask an important question: "So- How do you want to do this? Do you have someone in mind that we can visit or do we just, you know, go through the usual circuit of mine?"

[worthallthis]

The Soldier isn't blaming anyone in particular for the hallucinations at this point. Punishments and tests and experiments just happen sometimes, that's a certainty in its life. Maybe if it learns more, it can assign some kind of blame and do something about it, but right now, blame seems stupid without more information. (Besides, I don't think that weird owl one would do anything to hurt anybody. Or me, anyway.)

"I already know my friend can understand," it says. There's no Brooklyn in its voice today, unlike the time during the hallucinations, and its sentences are back to being relatively short and to the point. But it seems relatively calm, at least, beyond a vague sense of nerves at having taken this kind of initiative on someone else's time. "We should see if yours can."

[sunborne]

At the suggestion and hearing the explanation for the aforementioned suggestion, Daylight's winglets flicked up in excitement as he nods his helm in agreement. "That's a really good idea, Soldat! Let's hope my friend is willing to talk a bit while we're visiting them."

If they could figure out if Flower Friend could understand them then that's a real step forward to forest spirits communication/relationship building.

"Um- Just a heads up- The friend we're going to right now? They're pretty shy." He recalls the first meeting he had with Flower Friend when Annie was still around. "Maybe it would help if you offered a gift to them? Show you're friendly?"

After saying that, Daylight's optics looked down at the collection of coffee and cups. "Whichever gift you prefer to give, of course." Flower Friend prefers the flowers they got from Daylight in his experience but never hurts to try something new.

[worthallthis]

"That's what the coffee is for," the Soldier says, holding up the pot, though now it's a little uncertain as to whether it'll be accepted. Not with Daylight seeming dubious. "I know they eat. The spirits. And it's my favorite. Yours might not like it, but I don't have any better ideas."

It does take specific note of the "shy" part. "I can be quiet and calm and not scare them. I think. Are they big or small?"

[sunborne]

Daylight now has to pause at the question, trying to remember his past encounters with his Flower Friend. He is, er, having difficulty gauging the size difference between him, Flower Friend, and Soldat.

"I think they're- I think they're tiny...?" He looks back down at Soldat, expression apologetic at the uncertainty of his answer. "They look, at the very least, fragile whenever I meet them. Thanks to all the flowers they wear on their frame, I'm not too sure though. Definitely skittish, especially when meeting new faces from my experience."

[worthallthis]

Tiny probably at least means smaller than the Soldier, anyway. "Then when we get where you usually meet them," it suggests, "I'll sit down. Less threatening that way." Also less defensible, but Daylight has met with this spirit for weeks, they're probably not going to attack. The metal arm is exposed, rather than hidden under a jacket, for ease of access in tapping out Morse Code on the metal-- but in its experience the spirits don't seem to find that particularly threatening. Even the owl-spirit hadn't been particularly impressed at the arm's potential defensive capabilities.

[sunborne]

Daylight is about to make a comment to Soldat - mostly to agree with him, possibly to ask him something else - but when he hears rustling in the distance, Daylight's current train of thought immediately derails because he's been going out here enough to recognise that.

"-Hey buddy!" Daylight's winglets perk up as he jogs forward, confidently motioning for Soldat to meet the spirit Daylight has been so excited to meet:

The spirit is definitely smaller than Day and Bucky. Dainty too, seemingly more fragile than the pair. They're covered in fur and paper flowers - with some being Daylight's creations, evident by the random pops of colour that stems from Day's pastels - and sport a too big mask they need to constantly adjust, only given emphasis to the fragility.

The spirit looks to Day and Bucky with large, glowing eyes that show both trust and a measure of caution thanks to the presence of someone new.

[pearlstrings]

Bruce starts his days fairly early, in what can approximate early here. It's the reason he'd built a clock for himself during his first month here; he's less concerned about knowing the hour than he is about counting them to begin with. The absence of circadian rhythm and their physiological need for less- less food, less sleep, has made determining a schedule for himself difficult. Instead of thinking of hours like 3 and 4 in the morning to be quiet, he has to think in terms of hour 31 or 32. To get an understanding of what the majority of people in Beacon do, when they do it, and where.

He stops by the Invincible and the general store when visitors are small in number and does so when necessary. The rest is built around a minimalist's sleep schedule. Bruce has the museum almost entirely to himself and it's rare that he's been required to hide his presence. The residents don't visit often and are preoccupied elsewhere- leaving Bruce free to run laps inside, to move through weight training and agility work, to stretch.

When he leaves for the very first time it's to make his way to the lake and wash up. This is only a difficult thing to navigate when the ferry is expected to arrive and that means that Bruce has the entirety of the walk to himself. In the quiet, in the dark. It's a peaceful experience. Meditative even. Bruce keeps a change of clothes inside a bag over his arm, sweat sticks his shirt to the place between his shoulder blades and it plasters his hair to his head. He's looking forward to the first gust of cool air when he slips outside the back door. He isn't looking forward to the figure sitting outside. Obviously waiting.

Bruce pauses. Watches. And without moving his gaze, very quietly closes the door behind him.

[worthallthis]

It probably doesn't help that the Soldier isn't great at looking mild and unthreatening. Its expressions are usually subtle, the most obvious one being confusion. Right now, from a distance, it's currently got a kind of neutral glower. At least none of its body language is threatening, just... intent.

As Bruce closes the door, watching back, it says simply, "Hi."

Maybe not the best opener.

[pearlstrings]

A threat would be preferable, all things considered. It's difficult to misread the body language that comes with it and by extension, it narrows his focus to a singular task. The intent is ambiguous. Bruce has been very careful to play the correct hand at the correct time; he's studied the network and taken notes, he's made deliberate decisions about how he wishes to appear and to whom.

The man outside is an unknown quantity and that alone puts Bruce on edge. He has yet to decide what he's going to do because his actions depend entirely on understanding the stranger's motives. Bruce stays precisely where he is, unmoving as the door closes and strands them both in the forest that surrounds the museum. Most of his tools are inside, hidden throughout the galleries. Most, but not all.

Bruce watches him in turn. Steady and quiet.
There's no tension in his arms and shoulders to betray anxiety. There's no lifting of his chin.

"Hello."

[worthallthis]

The Soldier has gone over a few things to potentially say, here. In the end, it decided to start with: "Are you okay."

Because, well. The kid (young man? still not entirely sure, though he looks younger closer up) doesn't seem to talk to anyone. Doesn't seem to have anyone to ask that. The Soldier, somehow, has more people than it knows what to do with asking if it's okay after the hallucinations and everything. And while that's a little overwhelming if it thinks too hard about it, there's also something comforting in it.

That seems like a good place to start, anyway.

[pearlstrings]

This is a very strange question to find himself on the other side of- but that's owed to a number of things. Perhaps chief among them is that it isn't something Bruce has been asked very often- when it has been, the purpose had been to uncover an injury, a shorthand to: is anything broken, have you been shot, are you bleeding? There isn't anyone with him in Beacon, with the exception of Jim Gordon, who would ask. But then it also leaves the tantalizing question in the air- what is 'okay?' Is it as relative as it sounds? How do any of them quantify that measurement, especially once the voices and visions and phantom touches could be taken into account.

Bruce thinks 'I'm functional,' and isn't sure if that's an acceptable answer.

"Yes, thank you."

The man across from him doesn't get to his feet or draw a weapon, he only watches. Bruce has enough experience to know that this quality is the most dangerous of all. At least in motion everyone has a tell- there's something to communicate. The same cannot be said of stillness.

"Are you waiting for someone?"

[worthallthis]

Ironically, that answer would probably be more acceptable than any other. It would make perfect sense. (The Soldier often wishes it could reply to questions like that with "functional", but that tends to make people demand other responses.)

Even more ironically, being told he's "fine, thank you" makes the Soldier think the boy-slash-young-man is very much not fine.

So it tilts its head, giving him a steady look, and answers the question, "You." And, because most people would want an explanation, it adds, "You're younger than you look. And you hide and don't talk to people." Which is not really much of an explanation, honestly. But it could be construed as "I am worried about you" or "I am wary of you" or even just "I am confused by you". Given the completely bland affect the Soldier has on now that they're talking, it's hard to tell.

3

[lunchbreaks]

Aziraphale is, indeed, finished puttering around the kitchen and finally has sat down to get some reading done, but puts the book down in order to speak with the Soldier, who he still sometimes calls Walter in his head.

"Yes, yes I can. I-- try not to do it on purpose, if you are wondering."

[worthallthis]

"No," the Soldier says. "I know. He said."

It's still hard to bring this up with Aziraphale, to even refer to the Sergeant, but the Sergeant already started it, and... it wants to know. Has to, or else there's no reason to even want more memories. Might as well just focus on new ones.

"He said. You could show me. One, maybe." It looks sidelong over at the angel, expression less neutral and a little more uncertain. "I just. If I knew there was something."

[lunchbreaks]

He brightens up, because he didn't expect that. "Do you... I mean, do you really want to? I'd be willing-- I'd be happy to provide, but.

"Well."

He doesn't want to say that Bucky's mind is a mess.

"We'll have to be careful. And patient."

[worthallthis]

The Soldier's mind is basically a maze of traps, electrified fences, buried landmines, and big stone walls, yeah. And it can admit to that readily. (We live with that this shit every damn day.) It nods a couple times. "I can be both of those things." It inches a little closer then, remembering how Crowley had wanted to touch it to do the full fear removal, and eases down to kneel in front of where Aziraphale is sitting. Within touching distance. "What do you need me to do? If you tell me first what's going to happen. I should panic less." It hopes. Or at least it should be more likely to keep panic to controllable levels.

[lunchbreaks]

"Just need you to relax as much as you can. And... be open. Because I'll see things you might not want me to see. I-- try not to look, and you know. I am an Angel, I've seen a lot of things. There's no judgment here.

But I might bring up memories you don't want to see, either. Sometimes the most beautiful memories are also the most painful. And I might bring you something that you won't understand.

I'll stop if you tell me or you get distressed. Alright?"

[worthallthis]

You're not filling the Soldier with certainty, here, Aziraphale. (Come on. It'll help. It's not like anything we see can be worse than what we saw all last week. You don't know that. I can't even fucking imagine anything worse than what we saw last week.) It focuses on the angel's shoulder. It's not sure if it can tell him to stop... but it can at least promise to try. "Okay. I don't care what you see. Technicians know everything anyway."

It settles on its heels on the floor. Hesitates a moment before letting Aziraphale touch it, and says, "Not. Not my name. Okay? Anything else."

[catholicisms]

Matt stops by the store every once and awhile. He's not exactly in need of anything, most of the time. It's more to keep a good awareness of what is there and walk away with anything he decides will be useful and relatively unmissed. And yes, okay, he checks out the clothes to see if there's anything not particularly dated and in his relative size. Despite the fact he's blind and lives in eternal darkness, Matt still dresses to impress!

He's on more of a mission than usual, hoping to find some more blankets now that the weather is taking a turn for the worse. He's headed in that direction when he hears Soldat picking through things on the table. Costumes, he knows, though he can't exactly admit it. "Hello?" he inquires, like he doesn't already know for certain he isn't alone. He taps his way to the table, putting a hand on a witch hat and making a face. "I see you found the costumes."

Matt has sorted through them to find the most wearable pieces in the bunch, or at least, the most wearable pieces by feel. So he's not surprised by the swath of fabric, more surprised by who he's found picking through it.

[worthallthis]

The Soldier doesn't look up, hearing the feet so not surprised, then hearing the voice and knowing who it is. It makes sure to make a few gears in its arm spin a little louder, so Matt knows who it is, too, before speaking. "It's spare fabric," it explains. "Could be. Something better. I just don't know to make it something better." The feeling that it should know is frustrating, and standing here for a couple hours probably isn't going to help it figure out what it doesn't know.

[catholicisms]

It's thoughtful, to make a point of providing an identifier. Matt can recognize heartbeats because he's a weird creep, but the thought still counts. Matt feels gingerly over some of the fabric on the table, though that doesn't really translate much to him but texture.

"Clothing, you mean? Or something else?" Matt can't help much on the sewing or construction front, the only kind of stitches he has any practice in are the medical variety.

[worthallthis]

"I don't know." It's frustrating, to be honest. It's that knowing-but-not-remembering feeling, except usually that gives enough details to work with it. This time, the Soldier can't put any context to it, and it isn't really sure how to chase it down for more information. "There's a memory somewhere in here. But I can't figure out what it's actually about. Just that it has to do with fabric."

It hasn't really had much chance to tell Matt about its memory issues. Or near-complete lack of memories, technically. Have fun with that, Matt.

[catholicisms]

It's nice to be told, rather than digging and prying. Matt is monetarily silent, thoughtful, head tilted toward the mass of fabric even though he can't see it.

"I take it this isn't your first trouble with memory." Soldat seems too resigned to it, like it's familiar. It feels like the opening to push further, though he doesn't exact give up on the fabric, either. "Touch might bring something back to you, or going through the motions until something clicks. You could try making something, see if that feels familiar."

[worthallthis]

"I'm not supposed to have any," the Soldier explains readily. No prying necessary here, Matt. You ask, it tells. "But sometimes. I malfunction and they come back. Just not very many, and they're not usually useful." It digs its fingers into one of the costumes, maybe subtly trying that touch thing, but it's been picking at these for a few minutes now and nothing's changed yet.

"Making something?"