LL cont’

[markofkaine]

[Bad ideas. That’s what Rafael was famous for. Sometimes those bad ideas would pan out into groundbreaking technologies. Other times it would blow up spectacularly in his face - and by extension, all faces adjacent. Not that it ever stopped him from coming up with more.

This one, though. A bridge too far.

Aracha - if that really could be called his name anymore - sat, hunched over, cycling a trinket between his fingers as though in a trance. It felt like the slow, tactile motion was the only thing still keeping him grounded to reality (again, questionable). His mind was… far, far away, in a place that might not even exist anymore, lost. But more than that, alone, in a vast, empty field of deaf, silent rage. And that cold silence seeped into every crack in his brain, filling the folds of his thoughts, the hollow space in his bones, the pockets in his lungs.

He wasn’t real. He wasn’t real. None of this was real. He knew that now.

At some point, his fiance was going to walk through the door and find him sitting at the foot of their his bed. And one way or another, this lie would be shattered.]

Comments

[intelligent]

[ Look. Stranges do strange things.

...I know. I know you dont. But if there's no stupid plan, then what? I walk off this boat and never look back?

I'm not good at that last part.

He can, has, and will again, run from all of his woes; forgetting them is another matter. ]

[markofkaine]

[You should. Just run and forget about all this.

There's a guilt tinging his thoughts as he thinks them. That's the smart thing to do, he knows it. Maybe, just this once, he wants Miguel to actually listen - that way he'd fucking live.]

[intelligent]

[ Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. And then,

Would you run too? ]

[markofkaine]

[Maybe he wouldn't normally form the connection, but. Rafael's tenderness echoes in the space between Miguel's words. A longing in the emptiness. A shape called Aracha.

Are you asking me t'come with you?]

[intelligent]

[ No. Maybe? Maybe no. Maybe yes.

It's more the latter. ]

[markofkaine]

[A part of him wants to curl up and die.

You're still a terrible liar.]

[intelligent]

[ I know—hey wait, you're cheating since you can literally read my mind. ]

[markofkaine]

[Huff! My point stands.]

[intelligent]

[ I can lie with my voice mostly good enough, thanks.

The only person worse at a secret identity than Miguel is Kaine— ]

[markofkaine]

[You're so full of bullshit

There's a mental sigh. Why did he miss this so much? It's comfortable, even the bickering. He slides right back into Aracha, and Miguel back as Rafael. Even if he didn't want to admit it just yet.

...I don't have anyone else. I never did before.]

[intelligent]

[ It's hard. Nobody can blame them for struggling to deal with this.

I wish we could've met normally. I like mean people. ]

[markofkaine]

[I don't like anyone.

This is a lie. Or at least, it is right now.]

[intelligent]

[ See? It'd have been great.

Let's leave together. You don't have to stick around after if you don't want to.

How the turns table. ]

[markofkaine]

[Shit. Shit and fuck. How could this happen to me, I've made my mistakes, etc

He could shoot Miguel down. Go for one last petty lash to try and soothe himself. But that poisonous little thought didn't have the appeal it used to. And besides, if he turned him down - Miguel was just gonna throw his damn life away on a plan that had no way of working.

After what feels like an eternity, Kaine relents.

Well you'll obviously need the help.

He still wasn't going to be nice though.]

[intelligent]

[ He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath. That there's be a pleasant feeling growing in the pit of his stomach when the response came.

Oh yeah. I'm helpless without you.

He considers throwing everything in the ocean... the items he was going to maybe use as a distraction. And then decides to keep them based on ocean littering is bad and maybe they could be useful off of the boat. But the idea that they're to be used for revenge... that one is slowly ebbing away. ]

[markofkaine]

[Obviously.

Try not to let the neediness seep into his mental voice. The weakness in his knees. He hardens himself again, before crawling out of the shadows into Miguel's range of sight. No big deal. Just a team-up.

It's still... hard to look him in the face. But he's here. Alert and tense like a coiled spring.

...The boat's stopping.]

[intelligent]

[ It sure is.

He says, as if he doesn't know the next step; he doesn't. Attacking the people behind this is easy, leaving it behind and bailing with this guy seems like the hardest thing in the world. It feels right, though. Maybe. It feels right, when he sees him out of the corner of his eye.

The boat turns, slowly, curling into the port. This lets them have their first real view of the land—and of the sprawling city, with hundreds of tall buildings and beautiful rolling hills. Land. Land. What land it is remains to be seen, but it's—not a shocking OCEAN for starters.

Do we wait for the others? Should we just go?

They're spiders they don't need to worry about using stairs to get off of a boat. ]

[markofkaine]

[Every fibre of Kaine's body is twitching, itching to leap off this hellhole and start running - never looking back. Solid ground was right there in front of him, for the first time in weeks. He wasn't going to be held back for anything.

Except...

except for that one tiny shred, still hanging on. The last vestige of a conscience he should've discarded long before now.

Damn you, Peter.

We can't just leave them.]

[intelligent]

[ Yeah. We can't.

I have an idea. A good one. See there? That's the door where I boarded back then.

He's pointing! That part of the boat is actually lining up with the dock now.

I don't know if they're going to let everyone off. But we can make it so they can't shut the door. Just in case. ]

[markofkaine]

[announcing that your idea is good isn't actually that reassuring btw

I see it. There's still a chance the boat's just docking t'resupply and won't let anyone off, right?

Though... did it actually need to? It didn't ever seem like anything on the ship was running low, even after being out at sea for so long. Then again, as passengers they were hardly privvy to the goings on of how supplies were brought on. And things like luggage seem to arrive as if by magic.

...There's no point in thinking about it too hard. Not like the answers would come if he did. Kaine cracks his knuckles, anticipating the feeling of ripping steel panels apart with his bare hands.

Then let's break this fuckin' boat. Finally.]

[intelligent]

[ I NEVER LIE!!

Yeah. Or it's a trap for them. Let's mess it up.

There's something fuzzy making a bed in his chest; it's nice, planning destruction with this guy. He's glad he got talked out of murder. Glad he might come with him.

It's time to start crawling, perhaps like a spider would, across the side of the boat towards the exit. ]

[markofkaine]

[They strike hard, and strike fast.

Maybe Miguel had simply underestimated Kaine's ability to make holes in solid surfaces. Punching worked, yes, but the faster option? It was to simply adhere his hands to the ships hull and pull at full strength. With effort, it tore like anything else would with a molecular bond to a superhuman.

That left Miguel to handle the lifeboats. By the time the D.V. Dreamdrift's workers could scramble to the scene of the crime (sorry Nana), they had already slipped away - breathing hard, hearts racing, alight with the taste of both freedom and destruction.

Kaine ran and ran, thoughts empty - not a single idea bout where exactly he was going. The only important thing was that it was away. He didn't need to check to know that Miguel was with him (he knew) (of course). By the time he slowed down, they must've been miles away.

huff... puff...]

[intelligent]

[ The boats come alive easier than he thought they would—Kaine got the cooler job for real. Later... later he'll pick on him for it, maybe. Being at the top of the massive boat means he gets to glide off the edge, when the time to bail comes, so maybe that's a win actually.

Like a bird he follows Kaine as he takes off, finally landing behind him and hoofing it similarly.

He only stops when his chest begins to burn and his thoughts catch up with him. ]

Hey. Let's find somewhere to...

[ To eat. To sleep. To figure out what the shock we do next. ]

[markofkaine]

[If you want the cooler job then maybe try being stronger. Although the gliding... ...that's pretty useful.

Kaine looks around, trying to take stock of where they ended up as he tries to slow his breathing. Some kind of town, but not one he recognized. There were probably inns and restaurants or taverns regardless of where they were, but.]

We don't have any money.

[intelligent]

Yeah... but that won't be a problem for now. Give me five minutes and I'll find us something.

[ Giving a quick look over the buildings, he picks an inn that boasts a restaurant and bar. It looks quaint, even cozy, and he's already opening the front door and disappearing inside without waiting for him. ]