Up is hard, Down is easy - Jupiter Ascending threads

[gunsgowoof]

Caine's own choice would have been nearly anywhere but Chicago. Certainly it was large enough to hide in, and he found he blended in somewhat - minus the ears, the boots, and what lay beneath his coat. He was trying.

Yet his choice had no say in it. Her Majesty wished to be here, and so here he was.

While she spent her day working - and he was still trying to wrap his mind around WHY when she owned the planet, he came to one conclusion during it all. Arguing with her wasn't worth it. Staring silently at least meant that she didn't give him that look.

So he spent time exploring the city, the Earth culture that she was now protecting from harvest. Mostly he was working hard to avoid causing a scene. Again.

(Just about anything Jupiter Ascending. Premovie. Post. I also have Jupiter and Titus, untested but willing to toy with them. Caine just tends to be a loud pup in my head.)

Comments

[gunsgowoof]

"You think stalking strangers is something you do because you're curious?" That made him snort, and it might have nearly been a laugh. "A good way to get yourself hurt," he admitted. Yet the muzzle of the gun lowered though he kept it in his hand.

"Yeah well, the ears are..." He paused, trying to think about what it was that Jupiter had called them. "They're part of a cosplay," he said, almost questioning it as if not sure he had the right word.

[heroeswork]

Billy's expression quirked into a smile as he held back a laugh at the way the man said that word. He shook his head and lowered his arms.

"I can spot a cosmetic job at ten paces. Those--" he pointed, rather emphatically, "--are by no means merely cosmetic." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his overcoat. "Why don't you come down here so we can have a more civilized chat?"

[gunsgowoof]

Yeah, he knew when he said it that conviction hadn't been on his side. Yet it was an answer he'd work on, one that might work for him.

"I hear there are a lot of modifications people get. Mostly..." He gestured at his chest, but it was enough for him to slide the gun back into the holster before vaulting over the railing and dropping down to stand before the man. "And I'm not having any surgery there," he said. "As for the ears, they're just for picking up girls."

Okay that one he might have made sound more realistic. "Also, if you're avoiding combat and wishing for civilized, your hands in your pockets are suspicious."

[heroeswork]

The vague comment about surgery took Billy a moment to understand. Though once it occurred to him, he couldn't help the nearly lewd smile that spread across his face at the mental image of the man with implants. It as at least enough to help him keep his composure when Caine landed in front of him.

Billy kept his hands in his pockets, but used the pockets to spread the overcoat open. Beneath it, he wore a fairly decent suit, complete with a vest. It was an off-the-rack job, but it fit him well enough. "You're welcome to frisk me, if that'll make you feel more at ease."

[gunsgowoof]

"Glad you seem amused by that thought," Caine said, tones flat and entirely deadpan. Maybe he actually meant it, or he was just being a dick.

"That would mean moving in close and opening myself to a plethora of methods of violence to stop or kill me. I think I'll stay here,' he said, trained as a soldier and now working as a guard. "What do you do around here? I'm still learning about the area," he admitted.

[heroeswork]

"Oh, I'm just visiting," Billy offered, letting his coat fall closed as he relaxed his arms. "And personally? I try to keep the violence to a bare minimum. Not really my area of expertise," but still something he could do in a pinch. "You really should learn to trust people. You might make a friend or two."

[gunsgowoof]

"I wasn't designed to make friends. I'm a soldier. It's my main purpose in life." Not his only. Not anymore. "I also wasn't really taught to trust people. That was removed early on," he noted, though it wasn't just breeding, but being removed from his pack, and then all that happened from then on.

"I don't mean to be standoffish though. I am working on it at her Majesty's behest. Why I was scouting the area."

[heroeswork]

Not all of that made a whole lot of sense to Billy. Designed?! Removed? He'd run into all manner of twisted social conditioning, but rarely so severe in the heart of an American city. Despite not understanding it all, there were still a few key elements in there that he could grasp. And something in his expression softened toward concern.

"Whoever she is, she's got quite the task on her shoulders." He leaned a bit toward Cain as if about to share some secret. "But just between you and me? Skulking around crowded streets does little to improve such things."

[gunsgowoof]

That made Caine frown, looking downright uncertain and a bit off put that his own behavior had caused him to attract attention.

"Perhaps that is the case," He said, nodding. "Though in fairness I wasn't meaning to be skulking. I am still acclimating to the city. I've spent quite a bit of time in a place less populated." And in a very small cell but he already knew mentioning that got odd looks so he'd learned to keep it to himself.

"I suppose I still have some learning to do."

[heroeswork]

Billy was already trying to put together an idea of the sort of place Cain could have come from. Some tyrannical country, or at least a byproduct of some depraved radical sect. But from where? As far as Billy could tell, Cain sounded as though he were from America. But it was that frustrating American accent that could put him just about anywhere. He couldn't exactly see a radical fringe group training specialized soldiers with high tech gear in middle of Kansas.

"Then allow me to assist with your learning. Because, you see, I specialize in such things as blending in." He pulled one hand from his pocket and extended it to Cain as if they were only just meeting. "Billy Collins."

[gunsgowoof]

Likely all of his life was beyond what most on this planet knew of. They had one point, a life here to eventually be harvested, and knowing about the rest of the universe, the one where Caine came from, wasn't in the plans for this planet.

A brow lifted then, curious. "You would do that for me? I would apperciate it. I have told Her Majesty that I would work hard to acclimate to this city for her sake." He took his hand, having at least learned that. "Caine Wise."