gleans: (say what?)
ɢᴀʟᴇɴ ᴀɴᴛʜᴏɴʏ ʜᴏᴡᴀʀᴅ ([personal profile] gleans) wrote in [community profile] cape_kore2013-05-02 10:13 pm

sixth ( video ) day 67

[ At the very least, Galen looks a good deal better than he did the last time he showed his face. He does look tired - when doesn't he? - and there's still a note of worry in his voice, when he speaks. For the most part, however, he manages to keep his slight panic down, nudging at his glasses nervously. ]

Hey, guys -- I don't wanna cause any more alarm, but... if you could keep an eye out for Kenzi, we -- all of us, we'd really appreciate it. She might not be gone, but I haven't -- uh, better to be sure, right? So -- Kenzi, early twenties, goth-lite, long black hair, super tiny, ridiculously friendly.

Thanks, guys. Stay safe.

[ And this is where a message to Bruce would go... IF HE WERE THERE TO PICK UP. ]
nedofpies: (:( tired)

action

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-03 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ned comes back to the house looking distinctly defeated. His shoulders are slumped, his expression exhausted. He finds Galen and says in a dull voice: ]

River says she can't hear her anywhere in town. [ Galen will know who he means. ] She must be gone. A lot of people are.
nedofpies: (:( crisis of faith)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-03 02:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ned nods, rubbing the back of his neck glumly ] Maybe they've sent her home and she's fine and won't remember any of this and it's a good thing if we never see her again.

[ But that sounds too good to be true, based on his experience. It's like consoling himself that someone who died has gone to heaven. All the wishing in the world isn't going to make it true or plausible or sufficient to cover up the hurt. ]

Or maybe she'll come back. [ In what kind of shape she'll come back, he doesn't know, but Galen is right. He'd disappeared and come back, and apparently so had others. Jesse had come back from the dead. It's not too much to hope for, and it's what is keeping him from falling to pieces over this the way he had when Jesse'd died. ]

How are you holding up? Does Jesse know?
nedofpies: (:( headdesk)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-03 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It doesn't escape Ned's notice that Galen didn't answer the question for himself, but Ned doesn't pry. His thoughts are a swirl of anxiety. He's worried about Jesse, about how he's holding up after being murdered and being dead and coming back. Ned knows that Jesse's not ready for another shock like this. He remembers how frightened he'd been, in the woods, just after he'd come back. And what about Galen? He'd lost Jesse, had only just gotten him back, and now Kenzi is missing? How is that fair to him? How is he supposed to just go on, to stay sane when it seems it is the people closest to him who are being targeted? And what about Kenzi? What if they haven't returned her home? What if they have her somewhere, some lab, doing god only knows what- ]

[ Ned sits down heavily and drops his face into his hands. He really did pick a terrible time and place to start caring about people. It's horrible, and there isn't a single thing he can do to make it better, for himself or for anyone. ]
Edited 2013-05-03 16:23 (UTC)
nedofpies: (| noir)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-03 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ned doesn't quite flinch, when Galen puts a hand on his shoulder, but he does tense up almost imperceptibly. This isn't what he'd wanted - now Galen is worrying about him, too, as if he didn't have enough on his plate already. He lifts his head back up, tries to look as capable and stable and self-sufficient as he can. ]

You don't have to worry about me. I'm just- [ He doesn't know words for what he is just. Just not used to getting attached to people? Just bad at dealing with when people are there and then they aren't, anymore? Just emotionally unstable and needy? Just unimportant? ] I'm just worried about you and Jesse. And Kenzi. [ Really, Galen. None of this is affecting him in any way. Can't you tell by his excellent poker face? ] You guys have been through enough already and you don't deserve any of it.

[ Galen is right though - he should stay positive. Or at least do his best to seem so. Not only for Jesse, but for Galen. He can't crack up and make this worse for the rest of them. ]
nedofpies: (:( :C lost)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-04 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ned nods, taking his words to heart. He doesn't want to come apart, even if Galen says it's okay for him to feel like shit along with the rest of them, her real friends. Still, the edges of his composure are frayed from the built-up strain of living in this place, and there's a certain strain in his voice when he says: ]

I made pie this morning. I... there was fruit from when I changed and so I thought I'd make some to celebrate Jesse being back. [ He knows that with the food situation what it is it was probably imprudent. He should be rationing ingredients more carefully, but he'd been so happy. So eager to seize the moment, everything getting back to some semblance of normal and bearable. And he'd kept thinking how excited Kenzi was going to be - she got so exuberant over things, after all. Now he has to resist the stupid, irrational urge to take the pies out of the fridge and throw them into the trash. ]
nedofpies: (looking down 2)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-05 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ned seizes on that idea, that hope, and clings to it ] We should. A slice of each. I made two kinds. We can put a label on them and everything. Kenzi's pie: touch at your own peril [ He echoes Galen's laugh, a small and shaky thing ] No way she'll will be able to stay away for long if there's pie waiting.

[ So he gets to his feet, because Galen is sad and Galen asked for pie, and Ned can't make everyone safe, and he can't make everyone happy, but he can at least do that one small thing ] You want apple, or kiwi-lime?
nedofpies: (the piemaker)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-05 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
Apple it is. [That's okay, Galen, Ned's going to be joining that club shortly Ned disappears into the kitchen for a moment. He cuts Kenzi's two pieces, first, puts them on a plate and wraps them tightly in saran wrap. He alters the message, slightly, but does scrawl carefully on the plastic: KENZI'S PIE, DO NOT EAT. After he's tucked that away in the back of the fridge, he brings Galen his slice of apple. ]

I'd make them every day, if I could. [ Even if there's an abundance of fresh fruit at the moment, getting his hands on the rest of the ingredients had been a bit of an ordeal. But no- Ned doesn't want to think about that right now, doesn't want to wonder what they're going to do if all of it runs out, can't let his mind go there. ]

When we get out of here- [ He says when, not if ] You should look up my shop. See if you can find it. [ He knows, from what River and the Doctor and everyone else has been saying, that there's a good chance Galen won't be able to. Parallel universes, or something like that. But who knows. They're from roughly the same time, roughly the same versions of Earth, as far as he's been able to tell ] I'll give you free pie for the rest of your life. [ Yes, he really does mean that. It's silly, a silly dream, and he knows it won't come true, even as he's saying it. ]
nedofpies: (:) side smile)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-05 01:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ned gives him a lopsided little smile ] That's a funny story, actually- [ And with that, as Galen eats his slice of the apple pie, Ned launches into a prolonged explanation of the origin of his shop's name, which is doubtless of such epic complexity and hilarity that it cannot be reproduced here, and also probably a good deal dirtier than Galen was anticipating, because Ned comes off a lot more prudish than he actually is. ]

-so suffice it to say I'm never gonna be able to hear Little Jack Horner the same again.
nedofpies: (:) :D smile with ducked head)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-06 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, Galen, you have no idea Ned is glad that the story had the intended effect. Not the nearly choking of course, but the laugh. Laughter just might be the only way to keep sane, in their situation. And Galen's compliment coaxes a wider smile out of him, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he ducks his hand and rubs the back of his neck modestly. ] Thanks.
nedofpies: (| conversation)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-06 05:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooh, free advertising.

[ He knows it is never going to happen. Knows that even if they get out of here alive, they probably won't remember anything about it, the way Galen said he couldn't remember when they returned him home for a brief period. But it's still nice to pretend. ]

I can tell all the listeners the fascinating story of how we met and bonded through being captive lab rats in a seaside town full of unimaginable horrors! [ There's a cheerful sarcasm in his voice that isn't without a hint of bitterness ]
Edited 2013-05-06 17:09 (UTC)
nedofpies: (:( pity)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-08 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ned shrugs off the thanks with a small, vaguely embarrassed smile, which faces a few seconds after Galen mentions Jesse. Galen and Ned haven't really had a chance to speak, since he got back. Hadn't spoken while he was dead, either, though Ned knows that's mostly his own fault. He'd retreated into his own shell when he should have been helping out with Galen's grief. ]

Is, he, um- [ Ned's voice dips as he pauses, reconsiders his wording. ] I mean I know he isn't great, obviously, but is he okay? [ He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, feeling half-guilty, as if it's some kind of betrayal of Jesse's trust to ask about him when he's not here, but Ned is concerned ] He was pretty... not okay, yesterday morning.
nedofpies: (:( ashamed)

[personal profile] nedofpies 2013-05-10 01:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ Hahahaha yeah gosh, being dead, Ned can't possibly imagine that. Of course the circumstances had been different, the durations, but the parallel still strikes him. And he knows that it is probably unfair, given how forthright Galen has always been with him, but he can't really face the idea of telling him about what happened with Charles. Besides, how did one even start that conversation? Oh, hey Galen, I forgot to mention that I kinda sorta died a few days ago, only I came back to life so I figured it was no big deal and I didn't need to tell anyone. Oops? ]

I don't know what you'd say, either. [ He'd fumbled that one pretty badly with Jesse, before. Way to go, talking about his corpse when he was so clearly terrified. ] ...If it were me who'd been murdered, I would want no surprises. Not even little things that might not seem like surprises to you. [ Ned bites his bottom lip. ] When he came back he seemed like maybe he was having a panic attack. Maybe I could talk to him about... about managing them. [ Ned doesn't want to ask Galen, after all, if Jesse's had to deal with panic attacks before. That would be prying too much. Still, the clear implication is that Ned has had to, enough to feel confident with explaining to someone else how to cope with them ]
Edited 2013-05-10 01:13 (UTC)