62; action/dictated

[gottaknockhard]

[Cold. Spike hadn't considered the weather when he made the decision to spend his morning working on the zipcraft. It had been put on the back burner shortly after he'd flown it through a wall and eventually transported it outside Brock's cabin. Of course he remembers now that he's trying to use the engine to warm his hands; he was going to wait until Spring before continuing that particular project, but recent events had Spike too anxious to do something (anything) normal. Even if it's something that he never had much of a knack for. Wouldn't surprise him if Brock had made more progress on the Redtail when he looked it over, and he's never even been in a spaceship. -- Still, it was his only idea, so he's sticking to it.

This isn't how ordinary people survive, and that thing with the mirror drove the point home. It happens again whenever he stops by the castle. Over and over, it's the same insane bullshit that he's getting clumsier at avoiding. And maybe there's a part of him that welcomes insanity. A place without blame or guilt. Where the past doesn't matter. If he thinks of it that way, it's not so bad.

They've all lost their sense of place in the world...

Annie's voice comes to him as clear as a bell, but everything that follows is immediately swallowed in haze. Were those her last words? Spike draws his hand back with a sudden jerk, and sparks fly out as the engine dies again.] --Dammit.

[No. He was wrong. This is really getting old.]

---

( Faye )

[Sometime later, after the noise coming out of the engine sounds less immediately suspicious, he bites the bullet. He'll feel better when it isn't hanging over his head anymore.]

Back from your vacation?

---

[Distant music filters in from the open journal. Not the kind of music you'd expect to hear from someone from the distant future. Old fashioned jazz. He's had it playing since he started working on the zipcraft, and now that he's done and waiting, he can actually sit back and enjoy it.]

They say the music you listen to says a lot about you.

[Mostly, it points to who has taste and who doesn't. Which can be a hard thing to come by.]

I wonder if they've got a club around here.


ooc: open to action and over the journal

Comments

[bronwe]

[ Frodo's taken to walking a lot, the way he used to, taking each step as it comes helps take your mind off of other things. He has no destination in mind and this time he caught sight of a cabin in the middle of a forest, like Tom Bombadil's!

But not everyone's as friendly as him, as he's learned, so he crouches by some bushes to watch the man fiddle with the strange contraption. It's only when the sparks flew out that he startles, rustling the leaves.

Whoops. He holds his breath and hopes he hasn't been discovered. ]

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike might have ignored the rustling if it hadn't been for Brock's giant grudge-filled dog that keeps coming out of nowhere. Which is kind of what he's assuming when he cranes his neck over to see a tuff of brown in the bushes.]

Don't even think about it. [If he pounces on him again, he's going to have That Talk with Brock.]

[bronwe]

[ WHAT NO ONE TOLD HIM ABOUT A DOG The man's talking his way so he probably heard that. What does he think Frodo's thinking, again?

He stands up after a moment, which makes little difference seeing as the bush is taller than him, and peers out very slowly as not to startle the man. ]

Excuse me.

[gottaknockhard]

[--Oh, it's a kid... Well, that should have at least set some ground rules.]

You should be careful about sneaking around like that. Someone might think you were up to something.

[bronwe]

Oh no, I -- I was just taking a walk in the forest. [ That probably sounds suspicious though... ]

Is this where you live?

[gottaknockhard]

[Not for a kid, but he's starting to wonder.]

It isn't my cabin. I'm just their freeloader.

[bronwe]

[ Certainly for a hobbit! He ventures closer, watching that machine warily. ]

A freeloader?

[Spike]

[3nterprising]

I'm not really sure I want to be.

[Faye]

[gottaknockhard]

Had that good of time, huh?

[Spike]

[3nterprising]

Not exactly.

[Faye]

[gottaknockhard]

Could have been worse. [It sounds weird to say that without prompting, but he's leading up to something, and delaying it will just make him change his mind.]

I need you to meet me somewhere.

Re: [Faye]

[3nterprising]

[Well, that doesn't sound suspicious at all.]

What for?

[Faye]

[gottaknockhard]

[Nope, not at all.]

I found something.

[secondchances]

What does jazz say about a person?

[gottaknockhard]

What do you think?

[secondchances]

Jazz is usually cool, but...

[gottaknockhard]

[Ouch, Steph.]

Maybe I've got a hidden cool side.

[secondchances]

I'm kidding. You seem pretty laid back, so I guess jazz fits.

[gottaknockhard]

[He'd argue about jazz being laid back, but he's alright about the rest of her assumption. (That and he's too cool to argue, obviously.)]

You can usually guess by looking at someone.

[enemywithin]

Not bad, 'til you listen to the words.

[gottaknockhard]

Can't have a good upbeat song without depressing lyrics.

[enemywithin]

Happy songs are just plain annoyin' anyways.

[gottaknockhard]

Most of the time.

[enemywithin]

Enough of the time.

So, what does classical say then? Tryin' too hard?

[gottaknockhard]

[He smiles, because he wouldn't have automatically thought of that for him.]

That's a good way to put it.