logsinthenight | Filling up the Schedule (OTA)

characters: Bucky/Soldat and OPEN
location: The Church, and the Armory
date/time: "Evenings" throughout the month, minus event week
content: Soldat teaches things, also catch-all
warnings: Just the usual, probably

I. Language

Every Sunday and Tuesday, starting on August 9, Soldat takes up a pew in the church and nervously helps anyone who comes by through a variety of phrases in the spirit language. Anyone who doesn't have one can get a free ocharina. Soldat can't actually play the ocharina, not properly, not with metal fingers that have no give to them, but they worked out how one should and can show people.

Their preference is teaching singing or whistling, but since not everyone can sing, well. Instruments. "What you use isn't important. Only the differences between the notes, the patterns in them," they explain, handing over an ocharina. "I'll show you the way to hold it."

They have the tablet app with recorded spirit language phrases open, to show how the language works: "Compare this phrase with the one on the tablet app. This one. What sounds the same?"

"It's okay if it's too high for you," they say later for someone trying to sing it. "Just drop it lower. Like this." They demonstrate the same set of notes, sung an octave lower. "Try it?"

And like they used to in the earliest months of weapons class, once they're done for the night, Soldat has to walk around the church several times to try and calm down before going home. That was stressful.

II. Weapons

It's something of a relief going back to simple weapons practice. There's not as much talking involved. There's not as much being stared at involved. They can set someone to practice a move and stand back, or offer themselves to practice on, or just show a move without speaking. How did they ever think this was difficult?

Because they've changed, that's how. Jesus, sometimes it's hard to see, but this month, they can see it.

So three nights a week, they're at the armory, ready with knives and a metal arm to catch strikes on, and maybe sometimes a smile.

III. Wildcard

For anything non-class-related... Want help building something, or have a question or request? Want to run into them any time during their usual routine just to chat? Hit them up here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah. I'd rather have her hate us than let those things kill her."

Daylight is who he was reminded of too, naturally. Poor guy - it still hurts to think of him. He was such a central figure in town, always there to brighten everyone's day.

"She did tell me she would wait. She wants to learn more before going out to find them. I'm hoping it'll give us time to talk her out of it."

"I'll do my best." Soldat sounds a little grim. All Brooklyn is gone, again. "Possibly hearing we've tried before will help. Possibly not, though. We didn't know as much of the spirit language then. Daylight didn't."

Glancing back at the church, as if Merwen were inside (she is not), they finish, "But we'll keep her safe." They know the green-eyes have their own way of stopping them in particular... but maybe they won't use it. They don't, always. Maybe they'll respect their desire to talk. (Wishful thinking, pal. I know. Didn't used to even be able to do that.)

"Or die trying," he adds with a frown - one of those sayings that is all too literal here. At this point, though, he's going to have to retreat on his own if such a situation becomes desperate. Every death carries the risk of not returning and he can't do that to Law again. So long as he has his wits about him and is able to make his own decisions, that's what he'll have to decide.

Green-eyes make that hard, but he'll try his best.

"You haven't found any more leads on where those tracks were sighted, have you? The ones that might lead to the mines," he asks.

Yeah, Misty and Javert would be pretty pissed off if they managed to get themselves killed again. And they're not keen on maybe getting yet another voice crowding up their head, either. (Hey. You'd be happier without the Bottomless Pit, too.)

They shake their head a little. "There's traces of what could have been tracks coming from the docks. But I haven't followed them very far yet. Didn't want to go alone."

"Right. I haven't turned up anything else either, so I guess that's as good a place as any to start. Law and I will come along. We'll just have to see what we can find."

Finally, now. Months too late, perhaps, but it has been one thing after another since the flood. At least they might still be able to find some trace of what happened to them - or if not, then at least they'll have some clue as to where the tracks go, which could itself be useful.

"Good. Just let me know when you're both ready," Soldat nods. Having both of them along will be great-- they're sure that between the three of them, they can manage to not die. Especially given Law's whole teleporting thing.

They smile a bit. "I asked him about the -ya thing. Apparently it means 'hey you'?" Law is a doctor, which is terrifying, but he's also a not terribly threatening grump, which is not terrifying. Soldat has cautiously decided they like him.

"Something like that," he says with a smile. The shift in his demeanor is abrupt and obvious, from thoughtful and concerned to something quite a lot lighter. "Guess it doesn't translate perfectly here but yeah, it's his way of being casual."

More like a little rude, actually, but only mildly. As far as he's ever learned, it's just something Law does and nothing to do with his homeland and how those people spoke. An eccentricity, and everyone's allowed those.

Yeah, a little rude, but not in a disrespectful way, which is a little weird but somehow works. "He grumbled almost as bad as you when I tried to make him eat, when he came looking just for coffee," Soldat comments. "Right after he woke up and came back to the inn."

"Yeah, he's self-sufficient. Does what he wants. Plenty of times, when he was just a kid, he had breakfast cooking for the both of us before I'd even woken up. He doesn't like being waited on."

Which he finds endearing, given the fondness in that description. The ways they contrast might stand out sharply and obviously to any who have only briefly met them, but he and Law have a lot more in common than not.

"He did eat in the end, at least," Soldat points out. "He healed up all right now?" Because they ought to know, if they're going out hunting for survivors in the mines together, and Rosinante will know better than casual observation would give away.

"Yeah. Amazing, isn't it? Guy gets slashed like that, sews himself up, sews other people up too, and now he's doing fine a few weeks later."

He's in awe. He always knew Law would be an incredible doctor. Even at thirteen, his skills were practically professional. With his devil fruit, though, he has perfected every element of it as far as he can see.

It's almost cute, how much Rosinante loves that guy. Soldat smiles over at him. "He's good at what he does, then. Good. We need that, here." Soldat has gotten pretty good at first aid, and they have Misty, but as much as actual doctors scare the shit outa them, they need one around here.

"Yeah. Yeah, we do. Dunno why we can never manage to retain our few doctors."

Knock on wood, though he's not suspicious enough to be bothered by having said that. It's a bad track record, but Law will break it, he's convinced - if anyone can survive anything, he can.

Well. Except that he's here, so he didn't, but. That aside.

"I should probably head back, actually, speaking of Law. I wanted to get our dinner going after your class. Thanks again, though," he says with a nod of appreciation.

Probably the same reason they can't retain a lot of anyone: it's a dangerous place. Soldat sighs and looks out at the trees, feeling at least a little more steady after the walk, and the talk. "You're welcome. Thank you for thinking to come talk to me, too. It helped."

"Glad to hear it," he says. And he really is - genuinely glad. He's accepted that Soldat will probably always frustrate him a little, but who cares? They help hold the place together and that's what they all need. Anything that means they do that even better, he's all in favor of.

"I'll see you at the next one," he says as he waves and heads off.

Filling up the Schedule (OTA)

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