Contemplate the End of the World [Open]

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

Tony stared out into the swirling colors of the bleed, shoulders slumped. He felt off. The beast inside of him constantly bristling, ready to tear something apart, kill someone for the slightest insult - the one he'd learned to control. It still gnawed at him, roiled up when he didn't need or want it. It made him moody. He grumbled to himself and ran a hand through his hair.

"Stop feelin' sorry for yourself. Universe or whatever is counting on you."

Which only made him feel marginally better. Seventeen years old and a soldier in a losing war for the fate of the world was heavy responsibility on its own. Then a whole universe had been dumped on it. But he was Garou. He was a Bone Gnawer - and Bone Gnawers did or died. They preferred to do and live, of course, but when the chips were done they got the job done. He turned away from the swirling colors of the bleed and glanced over the rest of the lounge. Sorta quiet, kinda dead.

Hell, he needed something to do besides mope.

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[hack-rat.livejournal.com]

Alex was hungry... and his sort of food wasn't exactly something Stacy could replicate. It was impossible to make a slop made of negative emotions.

So he wandered shyly into the Observation Deck, skirting the corners and looking around nervously. Well, there was one man there who was watching the bleed with a tier I shadow. He couldn't tell what kind of shadow it was... He had never been able to tell more than the most obvious differences.

And it was a tier I shadow. He wasn't skilled enough yet to eat one of those from across the room. That meant he'd have to go over there, brush up against the guy.

This was why Alex was so skinny. He absolutely hated having to do this. But it really had to be done. He paused for a minute, but began to wander across the room towards Tony, trying to make it look like he was just wandering. As he passed Tony he bumped against him, using his shadow tendrils to subdue the shadow that was plaguing the other teen and to help him absorb it into himself.

He looked up at the guy, who was surely feeling better now and said, "Oh, uh, sorry," as if he had totally just done all of that on accident.

He was pretty sure that he hadn't put up a convincing act, but with any luck the guy would at least be relaxed without whatever negative feeling had been getting to him. Maybe just relaxed enough to let the really awkward bump go with not too many questions asked.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

Tony glanced over, an irritated look passing over his face for a moment as his temper flared. How the Hell had the guy managed to bump in to him? He had the whole damn observation deck to wander around in. He huffed and shook his head, fighting down the anger. Of course, he wasn't feeling as down anymroe for some reason. He rolled his shoulders and shrugged. "...it's fine."

He cocked his head curiously. "...you're new, aren't you?"

[hack-rat.livejournal.com]

Alex nearly bolted as he saw the anger rise, but Tony managed to control it so he relaxed a bit. Of course, the other boy decided to ask questions. He hated when people asked questions.

At least he wasn't asking them angrily. "I...uh, y-yeah. I'm Alex." He scratched the back of his leg with his toe, and then tapped it on the ground nervously. He really just wanted to keep walking, but he was afraid to earn the anger of this guy. It hadn't been long enough to tell how strong the shadow was, but the jagged edges and churning interior? That was one type of shadow he had no problem recognizing. After all, he had only seen it daily on his father.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"Welcome to the ship," Tony replied. The kid looked nervous, shy as all hell and just frightened. His inner Rage probably wasn't helping either - it made people around him nervous. He tried to smile and shrugged. "It's kinda weird, but you get used to it, you know?"

[hack-rat.livejournal.com]

Alex nodded, "y-yeah... was r-really weird s-seeing video game characters o-on board..." The guy was being friendly, and Alex really didn't want to seem like a jerk by making excuses to leave. He took in a breath and tried to calm down. It wasn't like the guy was some sorta monster. At least he was human. Maybe even from the same Earth as him. "Wh-where 'ya from?"

[asluciferfell.livejournal.com]

Javert had been doing a lot of walking around lately, but he hadn't meant to wind up on the obs deck. It seemed to be where his feet chose to gravitate, though, and the imposing inspector looked around for a moment before noticing Tony brooding by himself.

While he almost enjoyed checking up on the former members of his team, and had been conversing with them more and more lately, Javert was not entirely sure about the social protocols in this situation (Or, precisely, any situation.). Not that the tall policeman would let something like that impede him when he decided up on a course of action, but he paused before approaching the younger man. He was not a man to offer comfort.

"It would seem that ceasing to think of your troubles would make great strides in ending 'feeling sorry for yourself'."

He hadn't announced his presence, again. It was something he often forgot to do. (That, or he got a perverse sort of pleasure from seeing people jump.)

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

Tony glanced over, startled out of his little reverie by the Frenchman. Who was he...? Oh, that was right. Javert or something. The French dude from the 15th century or whenever it was the guy had popped out of. He shrugged. "Yeah, but it's easier to say that then to just stop thinking, you know? Can't really help it when something's bothering me."

[asluciferfell.livejournal.com]

"Indeed." Never let it be said that Javert is particularly helpful.

Being aware, however, that that wasn't the most enlightening of statements to impart on the young man, he decided to venture further comment (Out of his depth though he may be.).

"It may be more helpful to distract one's self. To dwell assists no one, and is pointless."

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I know," Tony grumbled, hands shoved into his pockets. "But I got a lot to think about, alright?"

[withteethbared.livejournal.com]

Bella has been looking for Tony. She thinks of him by deed name, though. It's part of being a lupus.

"Plays-In-Traffic!" she trots over, apparently pleased with herself about something.

"I found a spirit!"

Bella's just the Ahroun, and not the Alpha. It gives her a lot less to worry about, and as long as things in the pack appear to be well it gives her peace of mind.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

Tony did manage a smile as Bella came trotting over. He raised a brow curiously and looked down at her. The Ahroun was a friend, a packmate in this strange place. Made her the closest thing to family, as much as he missed the members of his old pack.

"Really? Where?"

[withteethbared.livejournal.com]

"She came out of the pods. Her name is Amaterasu and she looks like a wolf," she replies.

"Except she says she is a sun spirit. But I don't know how those things work so I think a wolf can be the sun?" She tilts an ear.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"...what, really? I needa meet her!"

He crouched, eying Bella. "...wish we had a theurge, though."

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

Rei had been lounging on a couch, just watching the strangeness of the bleed. He liked watching it, but it always made his skin crawl a bit. His body knew he didn't belong in this space between worlds. Oddly, having an alien puppy (http://nummynims.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/cj7.jpg) to hold made it a little less weird.

"Just because the universe needs you," he said casually to the mopey seventeen year old, apparently not caring if he was interrupting the man's contemplation time or whatever it was, "that doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel bad about it. Even superheroes get the blues."

A pause.

"Okay, that needs to be the name of an album."

Rei ignored the gnawing hypocritical feeling he got when he said that. After all, he did everything he could to mask his own feelings whenever he was feeling sorry for himself.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"I'm not a superhero, though." Tony glanced over his shoulder at Rei. "I'm a soldier in a war. A losin' war. Even if i get home, I'm starin' death in the face."

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

"Well, who says the term superhero can't apply to soldiers? I've heard it been used for teachers and firefighters." He shrugged, then smiled. "Besides, how do you know a war's being lost? There's no score cards in war. Tides can be turned pretty quickly." And he'd know - he'd watched enough of them happen.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"Because everyone knew it. We're outnumbered, outguned, tide's against us. We're just gettin' ready to make one last stand and go out in a blaze of glory. I lived that shit."

He tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Last-minute cavalry only shows up in the movies."

[nothawkingbird.livejournal.com]

First Cassie getting drunk over Scarlet Witch winning the election and now her boyfriend seemed down in the dumps.

Kate came over, but didn't want to startle him. She cleared her throat.

"Tony sweetie? What is it?"

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

Tony blinked and turned on his heel. He wasn't quite used to pet names yet, but he liked the sound of them. His expression rose slightly as he spotted Kate. "Hey, Kate. And... eh, nothin'. Just a lot of thinking and not a lot to do, you know?"

[nothawkingbird.livejournal.com]

It's something she does when it comes to people she cares about. Cassie could mention it as well.

She came closer to loop her arms around him, and rest her head against his shoulder.

"I know, I've been practicing on my new cello and training. But once I was healed from the burns, and the election, it's been really quiet."

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

Tony breathed in softly as Kate wrapped her arms around him. There was something distinctive about her scent. Something he was never sure he could pin down. He took another deep breath and then let his shoulders relax, some of the tension draining out of him. That was better. "It has been. Maybe I need t'find something to do other than think...."

He draped an arm around her and gave Kate a tight hug. "It's still good to see you."

[thewolfdaughter.livejournal.com]

San had lived many years in silence.

Moro's pack could speak, and well too could all the forest, but what use were words? That she ran the city and river and ship in silence was not taxing. She was, despite herself, very human. One thing humans did as well or better than any else was adapt; and so she fund herself adapting until she could hear the fluids in Stacy's hull shift and know someone was coming, or knew by the echoes of feet on cobble who came. She ran many mock-hunts, poised to strike down crew-mates and passengers, but never took the leap.

She knew the blood-restlessness of the Garou, even without that other-body within. So, when she paced through the obs deck on one of her rare forays into shares shipspace, San noticed Tony's state of mind in the curve of spine and the cant of his breathing, without having to ask.

"It doesn't have to be a burden," she shouted at him or it seemed a shout, in the relative quiet. Then again, San always spoke stridently, even when she was being silent, "Just because it's heavy."

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

Tony blinked and turned 'round to stare at San. After a moment a smile blossomed on his face. He was fond of the wolf-girl and he had started to think of her as something as an adopted younger sister. She was loud, but he was used to loud. "Yeah, I know, San. Doesn't stop it from bein'."

He toed the ground reflectively. "Not sure what I'm gonna do or how I gotta figure this stuff up here out..."

He gestured at his head. "Can't let it distract me too much."

[thewolfdaughter.livejournal.com]

"You're thinking like a human," She chastised, but it was almost teasing rather than acerbic, "You can't worry this much about the past. It's just sitting over you, like a crow, waiting for you to die. We move forward."

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"I was born human," he replied with a small smile. "Sometimes it's hard t'think like a wolf."

He rolled his shoulders with a small sigh. "Time, time, time. Shouldn't worry so much. But I keep thinkin' about home and everything. What do you think San? What do you worry about?"