capeandcowllogs | that roadtrip song from a goofy movie softly plays

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that roadtrip song from a goofy movie softly plays

WHO: Geddoe and Zel (still cured btw)
WHERE: All over the friggin country...FOLLOWING A RAIL LINE MORE OR LESS
WHEN: 1/29 to....whenever they get back in one piece...AT LEAST A WEEK.
WARNINGS: elle doesn't capitalize in action brackets OH NO seriously idk what to warn about
SUMMARY: screw this snow noise we're going out west. totally not going to get lost along the way.
FORMAT: no

   So once upon a time, two men from high fantasy settings decided that record-breaking snowfall on the east coast was stupid and also being hassled by local authorities for magically blowing up things wasn't much fun either. The solution was clear: Get the hell out of ~~Dodge~~ the City.

   By train. Because lots of people took the train - it has to be totally fine, right?

   A series of train rides with hopes to getting to Arizona. Here's some threads of what happens along the way and after. ENJOY.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[thinking]

No, I'm pretty sure I threw it in my bag. Not that it matters. There's very little that could happen that would warrant me looking for a way back to the city early.

[dubious:] Even after everything that happened the past week or so-?

[sigh] People can be highly reactionary around here. [as if talking water and colored bubbles were normal or something]

There hasn't been hardly a peep out of anyone since everything seemed to abruptly return to normal. Sometimes it seems like the only thing people in this world do is complain when something happens. [shifting his eye to Zel] What do they need that you or I could provide, anyway?

[zel looks just a little flustered, taking the timing of that 'complain' comment and glance back over as a sign. it's even more souring trying to think up an example in reply.

mumbled, as he turns his head toward the window.] I don't know.

[he totally didn't mean you, Zel, he kind of forgot about that]

They'll be fine without us. Or are you worried about Lina?

[yes.] No. [yes.

beat.

as if his 'no' was actually 'yes' (which it was), he explains anyway:] It's just different. How things work. What to expect...

[and, to illustrate on a flat note:] You can't exactly walk into a bandit cave, blow it up, and walk away with the loot in this world.

[the slightest of chuckles] ...no, no you can't. Shame. But how many months has it been, now - you don't think she understands that by now?

[he grimaces a little at his own reflection in the window.] She's not stupid, but...[he brings a hand to his face, dragging it down a side until he can prop his chin on it.] I don't know. She's never really let other people's rules keep her from doing what she wants. It works well enough back home, I guess...but that was with Mazoku and dragons and demon gods.

[he purses his lips a moment, vocalizing his thoughts almost reluctantly:] She's probably the most powerful sorcerer in the world back there, but it doesn't stack up the same here.

There are powerful people here to keep each other in check, at least. Though, I suppose I can see why you'd worry. [with one of those tiny sighs that says he might have thought the same about himself once or twice] With so little to do, and so few threats large enough to warrant really fighting hard, there isn't much left. Boredom can lead to some dangerous things.

[oh how well he knows]

[aaand just like that, zel's slow slouch sends him sliding against the side of the train car, forehead hitting the glass with a dull and ever-so what-is-my-life thnk. sigh.]

It's just a few days...[keep telling yourself that bro.]

Honestly, I don't know why she didn't come along. [huff] I'm not that intimidating. Unless she thought we were going to be...doing man-things, whatever that means.

[zel's face twisted in a mix of confusion and embarrassment at man-things. "man-things"...?]

I think...[man things what does that even mean.] She just wanted to get rid of me. Probably.

[it's what Queen would say when the guys were getting rowdy, how she couldn't stand being around them and needed "girl-time" or something]

It's possible. Women do that. [as if he knows]

[zel's grunt is a bit of a scoff. as if geddoe knows. he wants to say 'lina doesn't exactly qualify for woman', but there are forces at work in the Cityverse that are beyond his understanding; the likelihood of the train suddenly doing a backflip of protest was strangely up in his mind.

instead, zel's elbow pushes his water away from him, giving him room to set his head on his folded arms and grumble into his sleeve:] It's not my fault if she blows up half the City.

No, it isn't. [emphatically, as if he wants Zel to stop blaming himself for anything Lina does] And there are others who can handle her if she tries.

[and that worries him, too. because even if lina ever deserved a bit of a backhand for going over the top, zel wouldn't be too keen to let it happen.

unless agreeing to leave her behind was an unstated concession of such things.

oh, jeez. what the hell. if gourry were around, he wouldn't be nearly this anxious about it, right? what the hell was up with him and the girls he knew lately? why was it only like 4 hours into the trip?

oh wait. he's supposed to say something.] Nyeah. [BRILLIANCE.]

You need to let go. [though he doesn't say it scoldingly, he means well] I'm a captain and I don't worry this much over my unit.

[yeah, no. geddoe's right. zel's getting annoyed with how annoying he's being - and he's usually so lenient when that happens, given that he usually doesn't assume he's being annoying.

he exhales, dropping his topic and jumping onto the next closest one.]

Why would you have to? If they're soldiers. They're trained enough, right?

[there's a pause, and then low, quiet laughter]

They're not soldiers. They're mercenaries. The only training you get is not dying on any missions.

[zel sits up, scrutinizing that new information.] So 'captain's...less of an official stamp than something said out of respect? [because you're ~~old~~ good at stuff?]

No, captain is a legitimate rank. [oh good, lovely bland topic he can actually chat about] The Southern Frontier Defense Force is a branch of the Harmonian Regional Army. Even though we aren't Harmonian and aren't soldiers, unit captains still hold rank.

[he thinks, and then adds the rest self-deprecatingly] Considering how seldom my men actually call me 'captain,' I doubt there's much respect involved.

[zel's head tilts as he makes a face. his tone is a bit on the dry side:] I don't really take mercenaries the type to pat each other on the back all the time, though, so...

No, not really. [there's a hint of fondness hidden in there, though. He's closer to those knuckleheads than he lets on] But it's still better than my days as a bandit.

[there's a brief look on zel's face. it goes with the notion of what it'd be like if he was a bandit and introduced himself as such and lina just happened to be around...

well, whatever. brief thought over. zel folds his arms and leans back into his seat.]

A bandit out of necessity?

...yes and no.

[he sits back in the not-quite-so-comfy train seat and just sort of stares straight ahead for a minute. It's like he's steeling himself up to spill a secret. Or to let the drink cart go by so no one eavesdrops. Or maybe both]

When I was eighteen, Harmonia destroyed my home country. I didn't stay to resist, I fled. But that doesn't mean I had no choice - there are a lot of things a young man that age could do even without a place to call home. Banditry was only one of them.

[a pause for breath, and a sigh] Yet, after I got stuck with the True Rune, being a bandit was how we began a guerilla movement to resist the Harmonian occupation and save the Grasslands. Who knew that a couple of highwaymen would become the generals leading the resistance army to victory?

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