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

[gottaknockhard]

[He flicks his spent cigarette and crushes it under his shoe, still mulling over that last thought.]

It happens for just about everyone.

[bronwe]

[ He lets the silence linger, watching the ground beside his legs. ]

May I stay here? I can be quiet.

[gottaknockhard]

[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<small["stay>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]

<small["Stay here"... He glances at the cabin, careful not to assume.]</small>

While I work, you mean?

[bronwe]

Oh, yes. Only until it gets too dark.

[ Then he'll go find his way back. The forest here seems free of anything sinister. ]

Little backwards carrot thing.... Look what you did.

[gottaknockhard]

[He just hasn't met the terrorizing raccoons yet. -- At the mention of it getting dark, Spike takes another look to the sky.]

I guess I've been at it longer than I thought.

yum carrots

[bronwe]

[ Oh. Oh, is he going to stop working now? Frodo starts getting back up on his feet. ]

I might have taken too much of your time...

[gottaknockhard]

[Hey it's not Frodo's fault that Spike isn't a great mechanic. Jet would have had this done at least an hour ago.]

You can stay while I finish up. Someone should help me test it anyway.

[bronwe]

All right. [ He'll just plop back down on his butt then. ]

I can wait.

[gottaknockhard]

[He's not entirely sure why he insisted. Maybe he's been deprived of sane company for too long.

But he isn't going to dwell on it, instead going back to what he was doing. Basically tightening things and hoping to get rid of that obvious hitch in the engine. It's an awful lot of effort considering he's giving it away. That's probably the real issue he should be debating here. Even the short guy would think he's nuts.]

[bronwe]

[ Frodo is content to wait, for his part. He likes quiet company, finds he misses the sound of Sam tinkering around Bag End while he only sat and smoked and thought of faraway places.

He feels tired though, even if that was a relatively short walk, and soon he starts nodding to sleep. ]

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike may have noticed that his companion nodded off before he reaches the key to turn the engine, but there's really only one way to check these things. It roars to life, actually sounding close to what it's supposed to, as far as Spike can tell. Jet would be impressed.

He lets it run for about a minute before shutting it off again. Good enough.]

[bronwe]

[ Frodo startles to wakefulness, suddenly feeling abashed that he would doze off right after meeting someone. That can't be polite. He clears his throat and hops to his feet. ]

It's working!

[gottaknockhard]

[He doesn't seem to mind, smiling as he hold back out of the cockpit.]

As good as it's going to get. I'm not really a mechanic. [He rubs his hands off on his shirt, then looks down at Frodo.] How'd it sound to you?

[bronwe]

It sounds-- [ Well, it sounds like nothing he has heard and he isn't sure he even likes the sound of it. ] Rather loud?

[gottaknockhard]

[Nodding like that's entirely helpful input.]

You'd never know it was in a wreck.

[bronwe]

[ Spike, you're too nice. ]

Yes! It looks perfectly... shiny.

[gottaknockhard]

[He has his moments. Right now he's considering something, looking at the cabin next to them.]

You want to come inside?

[bronwe]

[ He looks to the sky again. It is getting dark. ]

If you don't mind, I can sleep wherever.

[gottaknockhard]

[Shrugging; he already noticed that. No reason for him to freeze to death just to get a nap in.

Spike hasn't lived out of the cabin since winter came around, but he's pretty sure he still has some of his things stashed there.]

I don't think anyone's home to object.

[bronwe]

Are you sure? [ Even if he's only asking out of courtesy. ]

It really is getting rather chilly. I can be very quiet too.

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike turns to head inside without any further insisting. His generosity shouldn't be too overestimated, since like he said, it's not his cabin.]

Sometimes it's nice to get away from the castle for a while.

[bronwe]

[ He follows, plodding along in the snow and sparing a lingering glance at the machine. ]

Not to then be caught outside on a winter's night. I'm afraid I only forgot to watch the time.

[gottaknockhard]

[It's already fairly dark inside, so he gets out his lighter to search for a candle. At least he doesn't hear any growling. When they were taking about security, Spike really should have said dogs were off limits.]

Happens to the best of us. [Candle found, he then lights another cigarette before he hounds down a hidden bottle of something from behind a table.

What are you doing, Spike...]

[bronwe]

[ Frodo hovers near the door to let his eyes adjust to the light, which do faster than most humans. He figures that bottle is a night cap! ]

Is the master of the house not present? Would he be alright with my staying for the night?

[gottaknockhard]

[That's a good assumption, but to be fair, Spike usually spends at least part of his nights at a bar. So. Drinking by candlelight with a hobbit in a secluded cabin is basically the same thing.]

He's not that easy to miss. [Sitting down in a chair, Spike works on getting the lid off the bottle. It's like it's frozen shut.] But no, he won't mind. As long as you don't tell your friends about it.