001; video

[thefuckinhalf]

[ When the feed clicks on, it’s awful close on a brown eye. It wobbles before it zooms out--or more accurately, Cid Harrington, small child of 5, takes it away from the close-up of his face. There’s an older woman with long blonde hair pacing, in what appears to be some sort of rant. ]

- or whatever this place is, I don’t want you talkin’ to strangers, and don’t go anywhere without me or Joe around, okay? [She pauses, and then turns to look at the boy, blue eyes hard and suspicious.] Cid? What’ve you got?

[ Cid’s blink is slow, voice completely even and casual. ] It’s recording. To everyone. [ Tap. ]

What? [Her mouth turns down in a frown and she glances at what Cid is holding. Great. Way to expose them to all this stranger danger, Cid.

Well, nothing for it now. It’s video, clearly, but she’s not used to speaking in front of an audience, so her next words are a little stilted:]

My name’s Sara. This is Cid. [Her hand rests on the top of his head, an almost-protective gesture.] My son.

We should ask a question. [ Straight, suggestive. It’s only fair that they do, since they’re already recording. ] Where can you find blunderbusses?

Cid! [She looks startled, and a little angry as she quickly grabs the communicator from Cid and flips it off.]

((ooc: green is Cid; brown is Sara. Replies may come from both!))

Comments

[ video ]

[hostage]

[Nothing will pull Jesse out of a depression quite as effectively as a cute little kid. He gives a tired smile.]

Aw, hey buddy. You guys are new here?

["Blunderbusses" sounds like it's a curse word or something, from her reaction, so he won't ask.]

[ video ]

[thefuckinhalf]

[Have a suspicious once-over, Jesse. Sorry, she's a little over-protective. And she doesn't miss the tiredness, either.]

Yeah.

[hostage]

[He's used to suspicion. His friendly demeanor is genuine, though, even if he's sad underneath it.]

I'm Jesse. Nice to meet you, Sara and Cid.

[goodpath]

[ Cid doesn't really smile, but he tends not to--he does, however, perk up. Buddy is something he hasn't been called before, but it's something nice. Like 'smart monkey'. ]

I'm looking for a blunderbuss. [ Not letting that go, nope. ] Or any kind of gun.

[video]

[bibliophilism]

Oh, he's yours? You have a very cute little boy, Miss Sara. [She cheerily waves for the camera.

...and she may be a little jealous because she's only been looking for her sisters this entire time.]

[video]

[thefuckinhalf]

[Sara isn't sure if she should take the cheerfulness at face value or assume it's masking some kind of hostility. But -]

Thanks. Already smarter than his mom.

[video]

[goodpath]

It's easy. [ Not to say Sara's dumb, of course, but-- ] This is Sara.

[thenormalsquint]

Hey, sweetie! [Angela waves to Cid.] Hi, Sara. I'm Angela and I have no idea what blunderbusses are.

[thefuckinhalf]

[Sara nods vaguely.] Don't worry about it. He watches too many movies. [Total lie, they don't have a TV back home.]

[goodpath]

We don't have a TV. [ What? ]

[idkmybffjessie]

[Blunderbusses is...a little more dated than he's used to, but he knows the word. And that direct question, coming from a kid that size? It brings a small smile to Zaeed's face.]

Kid's got his priorities straight, at least.

Found a gun in my locker. Don't know where you might be able to get your hands on another one. What do you need shot?

[thefuckinhalf]

[Well this dude looks fucking godawful scary. NOPE.JPG]

Nothin' needs shooting. And we got firearms covered, thanks.

[idkmybffjessie]

[aww come on Zaeed has a squishy marshmallow center! lol just kidding.]

Always something that needs shooting. Especially when someone drags you out of a warzone and into another goddamn dimension.

Just saying. Your kid's right. I don't like the look of this ship.

video;

[learningfrench]

[Joe's in his room, blunderbuss OH, SO CASUALLY propped up beside him.] I think we're set on blunderbusses, kid.

video;

[thefuckinhalf]

[It's probably indicative of the level of stress this situation has engendered that Sara is just constantly relieved by the reminder that Joe is here and has his blunderbuss.]

Got my shotgun, too. [Don't tell anyone her ammo is non-lethal, okay Joe?]

video;

[learningfrench]

Right.

The one that'll cut you the fuck in half. [He sounds a little amused, BUT HE WON'T SPILL THE BEANS.]

video;

[sweetmotherofgod]

[ weird kid radar officially pinged. time to say hi. ]

That's pretty solid advice. If I introduce myself, does that mean I'm not a stranger? I'm Heather, Heather Mason. And there are plenty of people around who have weapons. A blunderbuss might be tricky, though. Aren't they a little outdated?

[ pause, because between her latest "gift" from the ship and the collection she's been building, Heather's kind of armed to the teeth now. she won't be handing them out like halloween candy any time soon, but if someone really needed something she'd be a tool not to share. especially with someone who just wants to look after their kid. ]

Is there a reason you'd need one?

video;

[thefuckinhalf]

Tough to know if you can trust a person just by learning their name.

[Skeptical Sara is skeptical. So out trots the lie, easy peasy:] He's seen a lot of old movies. And we don't need one. I've got a shotgun.

video;

[goodpath]

[ Sara is talking but Cid's peering at the girl. She's friendly--nice, and Cid would smile if he normally did. Instead he simply waits until his mother is done. ]

My mom's shotgun is outdated. It works okay, though. I've seen it.

video

[littleduck]

[Why hello there, Cid. Prim remembers you from her first day here. She smiles and waves a little.]

I'm glad you have your mother here with you, Cid.

video

[thefuckinhalf]

[Sara's face is more concerned when looking at this girl - she's just a kid, older than Cid, but still a child. Not a threat.]

Don't you have someone?

video

[goodpath]

[ But Cid's speaking before Prim can interject. ]

She was alone. Can she stay with us?

[video]

[throwsdown]

[Lately he's had a hard time replying to things, but—

It's a kid. His mom's with him...

He wonders if she's a good mom.

He curls up in his bed, blankets all about him.]

... What's a blunderbusses?

[video]

[goodpath]

[ Another kid! One his age. Cid looks at the screen with interest, though it's difficult to tell since he's normally such a serious little boy. When he leans in, though... ]

It's a big stick that goes boom. Like a gun, I guess. Someone I know protected us and the farm with it.

Hello.

[video]

[throwsdown]

H... Hi. I think I know guns like that—the grown-ups use them when we fight aliens...

[Wait, people act like that's weird. Different topic.]

You lived on a farm? Did it have lots of animals?