2022-08-05: The Ice Cream Of Shangri-La
- Cast: Banagher Links, Roux Louka, Judau Ashta
- Where: Side 1: Shangri-La
- Date: U.C. 0096 08 05
- Summary: After an initial misunderstanding, Banagher has ice cream with two veterans.
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
Earlier, somewhere dim and quiet, close, comfortable.
"I'm worried about him," says Roux Louka, shifting one arm to stretch out over her head as she gazes at the ceiling. "Given everything. When I saw him he was fine... but is he alright? What if they're using him?"
"It's just too much to take in," Roux says. "It's frightening. Part of me wants to hide from it, to just curl up and pull in the hole after me."
Her head turns to look to her right, and smile. "So I suppose we should do the opposite."
Here, somewhere that is only one of those four things before,
"LOOK AT THAT," Roux complains from the driver's seat of her rental car - one of the open top models - pointing towards a set of newish looking wall posters with the popsicle she had gotten at the iced-treats shop on the edge of the shopping district and a neighboring park (only mildly crime laden during the day cycle.)
"Volunteer to clean the windows! OH MY GOD. People should not have to VOLUNTEER for that! That's the kind of thing they PAY professionals to do, or just-- delinquents or teenagers or something doing public service for -- ugh!!"
Roux angrily stuffs the popsicle into her mouth and pulls out into traffic. It is slow and congested because there is some D-list idol doing an open air concert at the end of the district. This only serves Roux's ends. She beeps the horn, more out of malice than anything, but once in the 5-mile-per-hour flow, she slurps the iced treat out of her mouth and slouches back.
Roux is wearing a nondescript blue shawl-with-sleeves thingy over a black tank top and athletic leggings in grey. She has her hair wrapped up in a cloth with a subtle print on it that Roux did not recognize as a Tarabaman logo. She also has tinted glasses on, which are making her wrinkle her nose a lot, because she does not normally wear such things.
"I hope this isn't wishful thinking," Roux says. "... Do you feel him? He'd be really... clean, I guess; that's the best way I can put it."
And with that Roux goes back to scanning the battlefield (traffic) for the target (Banagher Links... the pilot of the Unicorn Gundam...) while filtering out other less-vital targets (advertising; other cars) and keeping a ready thumb on the firing trigger (horn button).
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Said target sits on a bench nearby the concert, munching on a hot dog. The Garencieres had an excellent chef, but nothing could compare to an authentic street-vendor bought hotdog. Banagher watches the idol perform, halfway paying attention.
Banagher wouldn't be difficult to find. He has no idea how to disguise his Newtype aura, and it shines like a small sun to those sensitive to such things. As he finishes his hot dog, he leans back on the bench, hands in the pockets of his blue hoodie.
It was nice to have a little break from searching for the Box, or worrying about the Purus. Banagher hums along with the idol's singing. Surely, nothing could interrupt his peaceful afternoon...
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
<--- B e f o r e
"Hm."
Roux's conversation partner sits, steeped in shadows. They lift a hand to the silhouette of their chin, rubbing it with pensive gravity as they weigh the meaning behind the former AEUG pilot's words.
"It's not like it's impossible, yeah? I mean..." Their hand waves in the air. "But s'not like he'd be better off with the Feds. ... No offense."
'Part of me wants to hide from it, to curl up and pull in the hole after me.'
'... So I suppose we should do the opposite.'
Judau Ashta dramatically emerges from the shadows with a confident smile.
"Hell yeah we are," he declares.
"We're gonna stretch and push that hole right out!!"
N o w --->
"What? No! You don't wanna get teenagers to clean windows for public service. That's the best way to case a place to figure out how to get the good stuff without anyone paying any attention to you." ... ... "Oh, hey. I remmeber that place."
Ah, memories.
Judau Ashta, currently dressed in a nondescript denim jacket, white t-shirt, black slacks and a concealing baseball cap that reads 'THE SHANGRI-LA SPACE SLUGS' without any clarifying context about what the sport might be or who would possibly want to name themselves THE SPACE SLUGS, currently sits in the passenger seat of Roux's high-quality rental, his sneaker-clad feet kicked up onto the dash as he indulges in three popsicles cleverly stuck together to maximize popsicle intake while minimizing inefficiency. Mostly this means his mouth is stretched out around an obscene amount of popsicles as Roux files her respectful critiques of traffic jams in the form of complex horn-based morse code.
"'m loogin foh hem--" Judau begins, and then blinks. "--huh?" He feels it. Something blindingly bright. Something that reminds him of the first time his thoughts touched Kamille's, and opened him up to a whole wealth of possibility--
Newtype flashes are always a mixed bag. This one, for Banagher, might come in the form of something that feels almost aggressively hot bolting across the senses.
It also might come hand in hand with the sight of a young man in suspiciously nondescript clothing suddenly standing up in his traffic jammed car to plant one foot on the top of the windshield, currently jabbing three whole popsicles in the general direction of where Banagher is just trying to enjoy his hot dog in peace.
"THERE HE IS! GRAB 'EM!"
shouts Judau,
which in no way could possibly lead to misunderstandings as to their intentions.
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
Then:
"Heh," Roux says. She rolls her head back, letting her hair spill back. "Do you think I've fallen for them...? It's just a job to me, now. Just one with some feelings attached... here and there."
Roux looks at the ceiling, in that dim room. "Soon those little kakapos will spread their wings and fly witho--"
Roux falters. Her mouth hangs slightly open.
Now:
"It's like the BIG windows, you know the like, window zones," Roux says, pointing with the popsicle as she cruises. "They give you a scrub tool you have to push! I would have thought they'd automate it by now. Or give you a car! But volunteering is just trying to leverage people's loneliness to get free labor!"
ROUX LOUKA * ENEMY OF VOLUNTEERING
Roux starts pulling into a curve as she holds the popsicle in her mouth again, head tilted back slightly so that if it drips it drips on her face (washable) and not on her drip (less washable). "Muh?" she says, before Judau jerks upright and Roux, startled, bites through the popsicle!!!
The back third of it, which is the part with the stick, lands with a wet splop directly on her right leg. Roux jerks the steering wheel, causing three other people to run the horn at her and leading her to jerk BACK the other way, ramping up the front wheel onto a road drain and leaving them partially on the sidewalk, at which point Roux laughs with fragile strength and raises a hand. "Ahem YOO HOO~! Hey, could we talk to you for a second? Please! We can get ice cream!" again?
Roux pushes herself upwards, leaning to the side and taking off her glasses which may reveal her face (which Roux assumes is memorably familiar, and may actually be so). This also means the popsicle slides off her leg and into the bucket seat of the car. This means Roux's efforts at a benign, caring, cheerful face suddenly contort into a surreal and mortified discomfort.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Banagher's peaceful moment is shattered as the bolt of heat races through him. It's startling! It's a little painful! But at the same time, just a bit familiar... "Leina?" Banagher calls, glancing around the crowd.
For a moment, Judau and Banagher lock eyes. There is a definite flash of confusion -- both for being shouted at, and the triple-popsicle abomination pointed his way. Roux offers ice cream. Would it be a triple-popsicle? Curiosity almost wins out, until --
"THERE HE IS! GRAB 'EM!"
Though he may have been born as a rich kid, Banagher grew up in an area every bit as rough as Shangri-La. His mother's warnings of 'stranger danger' entwine with the Captain's words of advice. People would be after Laplace's Box. People would be after him, as the Key's pilot.
His heart beating fast, Banagher turns on his heel and runs into the crowd. People yell as Banagher pushes his way through, crashing his way through the crowd and past the stage the idol sings on. He knocks over one of the speakers, pauses in an effort to right it, then thinks the better of his actions and continues running.
Unfortunately, Banagher glows like a beacon. No matter how far he runs, he'll surely be easy to find, his energy fluttering like a frightened bird in Judau's perception.
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
To Judau Ashta, there is absolutely nothing wrong with either his delivery or the context of his statement or even just the words themselves. Time for reflection will reveal the error of his ways.
As it is, all he has time to do is watch on with wide green eyes as Banagher bolts. The speaker crashes with a loud crack. Judau blinks.
He is afforded only enough time to reflect just enough to surmise
"--Way to go, Roux! You scared 'im off!"
this predicament is all Roux's fault before he's planting one palm against the windshield top and vaulting over it with a stumble.
"Dammit -- who the hell runs away from ice cream--!"
Landing with a stumble, Judau is already running into the crowded Shangri-la city streets with a shout of, "C'mon, Roux! I can feel him, this way!" He pushes past people in the belligerant way only a native Shangri-la-an can (*NOTE: NOT ALL DENIZENS OF SHANGRI-LA ARE AS RUDE AS JUDAU) flipping off people who yell at him (*NOTE: NO SERIOUSLY, PLEASE DON'T JUDGE THEM FOR HIS ACTIONS) and hopping over that speaker as he weaves inward.
Judau has two advantages here:
1) He can still feel the intensity of Banagher's presence and has had a long time to get used to the expanded awareness that comes from being a soul not bound by gravity, and,
2) even after eight years away, he still knows Shangri-la like the back of his hand.
And that is why he tries to use his -own- blistering presence to trick Banagher into fleeing down a certain path -- one that'll lead to a dead end of an alley where he can be appropriately and benignly cornered (??) and reasoned with, by reasonable people (???).
"Heh heh, I got you now, kid--!"
does he seriously not realize what he's saying
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
Roux, having just dropped a popsicle directly underneath herself, is not able to do anything other than suffer for a moment. In that moment, tension spikes. A heart breaks. Banagher moves and Roux stammers out, "Cold!!"
She turns to glare at Judau BUT he's vaulting over the windscreen AND he's saying her name in public AND Roux turns the car to lock mode BEFORE standing up and vaulting over the windscreen, leaving a smear of vivid red behind her before breaking into a run after them and trailing LURID GORE (cherry popsicle residue) behind her as she runs.
"Shit shit shit," Roux mutters to herself, putting her glasses back on. ("Those things look like shit!" says someone who is probably related to Mondo; Roux tsks, turns her head, and shoves past him deliberately on purpose.)
"Judau!" Roux calls ahead of herself. "You're going to freak him out! He's not as tough as you, he's like a big soft cream puff inside. I can tell! I was going to have to deck that Titan if she threw hounds! Hands!" Why did Roux associate the word 'hound' with 'Titan' HMMMMMMM MYSTERIOUS
She comes round the alley, a few lengths back from Judau, breathing somewhat elevated if not desperately gasping. "Banagher--! We can explain everything, it's not -- how it looks!!"
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Just as Judau hopes, Banagher is quickly herded into the dead end alley. He grimaces as his situation becomes clear -- wincing and covering one eye as Judau's energy burns him from within.
Putting his back to the wall, Banagher glares at Judau. "I'm not going with you easily." He doesn't take any sort of obvious fighting stance, but it's clear he's ready to throw down the moment Judau comes closer.
Banagher blinks in surprise as Roux appears. "Wait, I know you -- what is this?" He glances between Judau and Roux. "Why are you chasing me?"
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
The crimes of Mondo's family are well known and numerous.
Sadly their tales will not be recounted today, for today is a day for a tale about simple misunderstandings. Whether that's Banagher misunderstanding Judau and Roux's intent or Judau and (maybe to a lesser extent if one wanted to debate about it) Roux misunderstanding how chasing someone down through the streets while being ominous and saying things often accompanied by Malicious Intent and unmarked, windowless vehicles, the end result is Judau Ashta planting one foot halting foot on pavement to bring his run to a skidding stop several feet in front of Banagher Links, huffing for breath as he looms as much as a young man of his height can actually loom.
Given his outsized and loud Newtype presence though, that might be a decent amount of looming.
"Oh please, I'm not -- freakin' him out--!" Judau is shouting back at Roux, just in time to feel that glare focused on him, and those defiant words coupled with a sense of a tense defensive, like someone who's been...
... cornered...
Once again, Judau blinks.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhh," Judau begins eloquently. A second passes.
"OkaymaybeIfreakedhimout."
And in the face of this realization Judau Ashta just -- laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "Hey, look -- we're not like -- tryin' to get you or anything," says the person who shouted 'GRAB HIM', but shhh. "We're just lookin' to talk. It's like -- a misunderstanding! Ha ha!" Judau raises his hands, palms forward, in a show of non-aggression. "Sorry. Sorry! We even brought some ice cr--"
Whereupon he notices his popsicles have been melted and flung around into oblivion, leaving only a single, sad, stick with a quarter of popsicle as sorry testament to its former, abominable existence.
"--crap." He looks back at Roux. "You got anything here?"
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
Roux, at least, is like a cheerful fish of moderate size travelling in the lee of the tender-hearted whale that is Banagher Links and the somewhat tender-hearted and more furious whale that is Judau Ashta.
There we go.
Roux takes in a deep, deep breath that takes about four seconds to happen.
She lets that deep, deep breath out, hard enough foer her shoulders to slump. Perhaps her soul is leaving her body? No. She says, to Judau, in a low and rusty tone, "Yes."
Then she pulls herself together. Advancing, she smiles at Banagher, if a little ruefully. It isn't helped by what looks like an enormous bloody wound on her right leg but that's small details. She comes up to where Judau is standing, and reaches down to take one sticky hand in her own, not-honestly-that-much-less-sticky hand.
"Banagher," Roux says. "I'm sorry we scared you. We were just worried; about you, and about everything that you're having to deal with." She smiles with a softness in her eyes. "Judau was worrying in particular that someone might snatch you up, before we could meet up with you!"
There is a two-second glance to the side, *not soft at all*, as if to say "don't contradict me on this one," which is hopefully seen.
Roux keeps holding Judau's hand, though, as she says, "Would you mind if we started over? I guess we kind of messed up the mood, didn't we. But if it's any consolation, I bet you'll look back at today and laugh!"
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
As Judau stumbles through an explanation, Banagher relaxes, though the puzzled look on his face doesn't leave. "That's alright. I don't think we've met before, I'm Banagher Links. Who are you?" He takes a cautious step forward, his ankle boots crunching some trash as he moves.
Banagher turns his gaze to Roux, then tenses up. "Uh -- I think you're... bleeding?" He points down at the woman's leg. It looked a little sticky to be blood, but...
Watching Roux and Judau link their fingers, Banagher smiles. The energy coming from these two was honest, and without intent to harm him, as far as he could tell. "Yeah, let's start over. It's good to see you again... Roux, right? I'm... a little surprised you'd be worried about me. I didn't think I was that well-known. The Unicorn might be, but -- I don't know." He looks a little nervous at the prospect of someone snatching him up. "Is Shangri-La that dangerous?"
Banagher steps closer again, now in reasonable range for a conversation. "...is it too late to take you up on that offer of ice cream?"
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
Sticky fingers connect. Judau doesn't thick twice about squeezing his hand around Roux's.
It's sincerely heartfelt and slightly unhygienic. And such is the microcosm of their dynamic.
Take, for example, Roux's explanation. As she talks about how worried Judau was, his lips screw to the side and he gives a critical look Banagher's way before he begins a "Dunno, he looks like he can scrap with at least three kidnappers" but only gets as far as "Du" before he notices and instantly understands that sidelong glance and its -sharp connotations-. Thus, it just comes out something like,
"Du--duhhh, of course I was worried! I guess I just worry a little too hard! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
before he politely clears his throat.
See? Judau's already looking back and laughing!
And with that, his attentions turn back Banagher-wards, with only a slight diversion to look down at Roux's crimson-streaked leg. "Eh? Oh, don't worry, that's not hers," he helpfully(??) clarifies(???) before those vivid green eyes turn back the pilot of the Unicorn's way.
"S'fine. Shangri-La's not all that dangerous! I mean there was that one guy who kept tryin' to kill me, but he's probably dead now," Judau does his best to assure, scratching his cheek. And then he takes a single step forward. His smile is a wide and awkward thing, but unflappably sincere.
"Sorry about that," he says, as he offers his (not sticky) hand to Banagher. And for as bright and hot as that presence of his is in the seconds before he reins it all in again, it's also just... protective. Like the warmth of knowing someone's looking out for you.
"I'm Judau. Judau Ashta. Leina told me about you."
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
"Huh? Oh! Oh, no," Roux says, looking down, "this is... horrible... Wow, I'm sorry, uh... I swear this doesn't happen often, Banagher, I just dropped my popsicle!! Haha!!" And it was cherry red, it seems.
"That's right," Roux confirms. "And... nope, it's not too late at all!"
Her hand squeezes Judau's again. "Come on," she says. "Before I get a ticket where I had to park."
INTERVAL
Somewhere in the junkyard districts where the pseudogravity gets light and funky, stacking improbably high and swaying with menace, something sits. Something stays there, among the junk. Left alone in superstition, or perhaps in fear of its makers, it rests. A colony's atmosphere is a gentle thing: rains come softly and in their times, even in Shangrila, and it can sit there.
For DEATH GEZE awaits its prey; and in time its purpose shall not be denied.
THE ICE CREAM PLACE
Roux emerges from the bathroom, now wearing blue gym shorts instead of grey leggings, but also - and this is important - not having terrifying red slush/melt smeared all over herself. A compostable bag is currently holding the leggings. "Fuuuuh," Roux exhales, as she sweeps her hair back with one hand (she also let it down, since the disguise element seems pointless now.)
"Did you order yet?" she says in a slightly loud voice, and the great thing is that even if her light is not the brightest, it is 110%% clear she is asking Judau.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Banagher can, in fact, scrap with at least three kidnappers. But how nice that he won't have to, today! Judau gets a smile -- his momentary hesitation going unnoticed. As the other man's energy calms down, Banagher breathes out softly, relieved. It did feel nice, there at the end, but -- wow, he isn't used to this.
Opening his mouth to question the existence of someone who tried to kill Judau, Banagher... thinks the better of it, instead just taking Judau's hand with a firm handshake. Golden eyes widen as Judau says 'Ashta'. "Then -- you're her brother!" Banagher's smile broadens, though perhaps a bit of nervousness enters his eyes. "It's great to meet you! Leina is --" He pauses, searching for the perfect word. "Amazing. We've been talking a lot, lately. So much has happened -- has she talked to you about Elepo's sisters?"
After shaking Judau's hand, Banagher offers his hand to Roux. It wouldn't be polite to ignore her, after all. Following along behind the pair, Banagher grins up at the ice cream store's sign. It's been so long since he's had any.
At the ice cream place, Banagher sits behind a rather massive ice-cream sundae. "Mm -- yes!" He answers Roux, looking every bit like a sixteen year old. He takes another bite. "'s good."
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
IN THE DAWNING MOMENTS OF REALIZATION BEFORE,
Judau Ashta listens to Banagher Links. He even laughs brightly as he talks about how amazing Leina is! This kid gets it!
"Hahaha, right?? She's a giant pain in my ass but she's the best--"
--This kid gets it??
Judau's mind backtracks.
'Leina is -- amazing.'
'We've been talking a lot, lately.'
'I just dropped my popsicle!! Haha!!'
And, after a careful cropping of that last erroneous flashback, Judau Ashta, mighty Newtype, squints in dawning realization.
"--huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh--"
THE SMASHCUT!
So anyway it turns out that Judau had heard about Elpeo's sisters.
This is information that had come slightly belated on the heels of the young man's SUDDEN SUSPICIONS about the nature of Banagher and Leina's relationship. For once, he manages to not just immediately blurt out the first thing he's thinking (he's grown up so much!) and tabled this thought to ruthlessly interrogate Leina about later.
Which brings us to now, with Judau sitting comfortably slumped back into his seat, watching Banagher go at that mountain of ice cream with what looks like --
"--huhhhhhhhh."
--dawning respect?!
For his part, Judau has what is lovingly called the Hyper Mega Gulp Parfait for reasons that can only be ascribed to its sheer, intimidating size. He haphazardly waves the glass containing his dessert around to hail Roux, miraculously -not- spilling anything.
"Over here!" he calls out. Loudly. As if she wasn't already aware. "--Huh? Oh, yeah. We're all set."
'We're all' apparently includes Roux, if the extremely chocolatey ice cream covered in crunchy crisped rice toppings and drizzled generously with strawberry sauce is any indication. Judau is observant where it truly counts.
"The Purus, though..." Judau's brows furrow. A frown briefly touches the corners of his lips, almost looking -- regretful? "... I thought most of 'em were lost, except for..." He ultimately shakes his head; P2's existence isn't his to just give away, after all. And he does have -that- much discretion. So instead, he pivots, turning that guileless green gaze on Banagher. "From what Leina's been tellin' me, it sounds like you've been through a lot, yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
"Some," Roux says, before
THE JUMP CUT
and here, now, Roux actually clasps her hands together in visible delight at the sight of The Perfect Icecream. "They had triple chocolate?!" She comes up behind Judau, resting her chin on his head and giving him a hug from behind before moving over to dip a spoon into the ice cream to get a good cross section of the slightly odd combo of items, and then pop 'em into her mouth.
crisp!
crunch, crunch
She doesn't go nuts, though. The topic is serious. "She did tell me," Roux says, indicating Judau with the spoon for a moment. "I'm glad more of them survived than we'd thought. None of them deserved that."
Her eyes rest on Judau and she sweeps up some of the edge-melt of the ice cream, turning her attention back to Banagher. She remains quiet as she watches the young man. The glibness is in abeyance, for right now.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"Is it safe to -- talk about them, here?" Banagher asks, glancing around the ice cream shop furtively. He takes another bite, using the time it takes him to think things over. "I trust you guys, it's just -- we almost lost Marida, and --" I can't do that to the Captain again, Banagher thinks to himself. "But there is one I'm the most worried about. She's... small, still, maybe a grade school kid? And... with her, this horrible monster. Some kind of robot, but -- human-sized?" Banagher gestures with one hand, waving his spoon. "The most evil presence I've ever felt."
It feels wrong to complain, right after talking about what the Purus have been through. Banagher looks down, clearly uncomfortable. "I -- don't know. I guess I have seen more than other people. But I have good people around me, who take care of me. I'm safe, and --" He falters a little, remembering his last serious outing with the Unicorn. Does it count as 'safe' when you get shot down saving your comrade? "I'm doing what I have to. What Unicorn has to do."
As Roux hugs Judau from behind, Banagher brightens. The two were so at ease with each other, so comfortable -- it was really amazing. "You guys are really good together." Banagher offers, shyly. "It's clear how much you care." Embarrassed, Banagher blushes, sliding down in the booth to try and hide behind his sundae.
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
Judau Ashta receives one (1) hug!
"Heh," is the junker of Shangri-La's grinning response to Roux, his hand coming up to squeeze her bicep. "Yep. They made me repeat the order an' everything. 'You want what with what, and what on top, now?'" He quotes this very somberly, miming a flabbergasted look, before it dissolves once more into a big grin. "It was great!"
This is how you know when you've truly arrived: you can view your partner's sinful ice cream indulgences free of judgment, and perhaps even touched with pride.
In the aftermath, though, Judau looks around him as Banagher does, scratching his head as if wondering what Banagher is looking for. "Huh? -- oh. You really care about them, huh?" Marida. The Garencieres. Judau's expression softens for a moment.
"... Yeah. S'ok. The Feds don't really give a damn about this place. Not a lotta oversight here." It's a grim pronouncement on the matter of the Federation maybe, but Judau says it as casually as one might discuss the weather. "Maybe some Zeon sympathizers, dunno. But... we've always just kinda fended for ourselves around here." He looks Banagher's way, offering a reassuring kind of smile filled to the brim with that unflappable Ashta confidence. "Don't worry. It's safe here."
Still, it's Banagher's revelations that make Judau's brows knit. A Puru that's still that young? He heard it from Leina too, but...
It's talk of a robot that somehow possesses Extremely Evil Pressure that makes his lips press in a thin line. "... Yeah, I've known people like that. S'not the sorta person anyone should be around." Let alone someone who has the potential for a new lease on life. A second passes by. "... uh. Not robots. I dunno any evil robots." He looks sidelong at Roux, as if to ask: 'do YOU know any evil robots?'
Still, as Banagher compliments them, Judau just grins, rubbing his finger beneath his nose. "Heh heh. We're like two bees in a pod!" Peas. Peas in a--
"But..."
Judau, bringing up the hideously large concoction that dares call itself anything as quaint as a parfait, pauses to regard Banagher over a mountain of custard puree and whip cream.
"... D'you know what it is you -wanna- do?"
'Have to.' 'Want to.' They're important distinctions.
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
"They don't know what it's like," Roux tells Judau. "It's like two delights at once melting on your tongue!"
... well, chocolate and strawberry at least kind of goes together. Kind of? Roux licks the bowl of the spoon for a moment, before taking another big bite. Banagher speaks to them about his situation, and what he has seen.
Her brow furrows. "... You mean she seems to be like eleven years old or so, like, give or take a year?" Roux asks, before glancing at Judau with a somewhat shadowy look. It has several possible reasons and one of them, Roux doesn't like at all.
At least it can't be him, Roux thinks. Though, if it was, would it be so - bad?
"I don't know many robots at all, though I think I know someone who acts like one," Roux tells Judau. Back to Banagher. "I can't tell you what to do, but I think the best thing you can do is keep an eye on someone like that. If you're getting a feeling like that... Anyone can have a bad day or a bad minute, but this sounds..."
Roux swirls some strawberry sauce.
"You're dealing with some difficult stuff," Roux says, looking at the ice cream. "I felt bad to stick my head out in that meeting we met at, not because I thought it was bad... but because it *is* your choice. Whatever it is. Sometimes it's just destiny, you know? Just... things happen; I can't tell what it is, but sometimes I think I can see a little bit of a pattern. You know?"
A pause, a cant of the head, a look at Banagher.
"If I can -- do anything, just ask, alright?"
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"Leina told me a bit about their past." Banagher closes his eyes for a moment. "I can't believe anyone could be so heartless. I -- they -- they deserve a family. They deserve a chance to be happy. Their past is... just too sad!" Banagher nods to Judau's reassurance, smiling. "Marida is on the Garencieres with me. The new one, this little girl, goes by Puru Ten. I think she's around eleven." Banagher nods to Roux. "She's also with the Sleeves, but a different branch. A branch that does bad things, sometimes."
Banagher sighs. "The Captain doesn't let bad things happen to his crew, but Puru Ten doesn't have someone like that. The evil robot thing's name is Doctor Salamedes. I nearly got into a fistfight with them on the bridge of another ship. They're the one who seems to have Puru Ten in their clutches, and -- Leina and I both want to get her away from them. The other Puru I know is Marida. She's about the same age as Leina, and she's safe. The Captain is like her father." Banagher smiles a little. "I don't think we need to worry about her at all."
"Bees..?" He repeats, but decides to let it go. It seems there's a good deal of just accepting strange things when you're with Judau. "But... what I want to do?" Banagher looks at Judau, confused. "I'm the pilot of the Unicorn. I have to find Laplace's Box -- before anyone else does. I have to decide who to give it to, and --"
But that isn't what Judau asked. Banagher closes his eyes again, taking a breath. "...I'd like to see Audrey again, and... Leina said we could go to a play together." An odd combination of wants, but... Within Banagher's hoodie pocket is a little vial of dried flower petals, bumping gently against a communicator. Always with him, just in case.
When Roux mentions a pattern, Banagher looks up at her curiously. A spoonful of ice cream is halfway to his mouth, but he lowers it. "A pattern..." The ice cream is raised again, and makes it to his mouth this time. "I... need to learn more about the world. About different people's lifestyles, and viewpoints. Captain Zinnerman told me the Box has the power to change the entire world, and... I have to choose who gets to have it. I need to learn more, so I can make a good decision. Is there... a place I can do that? I've spent a lot of time with Neo Zeon, now. I need to meet others."
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
'I can't believe anyone could be so heartless.'
Judau Ashta frowns.
"Some people don't really think about the lives they're makin' and tossin' aside. All they care about is some stupid standard that only ever hurt people."
Would it be so bad, if it -was- 'him'?
"They're assholes."
To Judau, it would be.
'Eleven years old, give or take.' It matches Judau's memories of the war. Puru Two has grown up so much from then, gotten so far away. In the back of his mind, Judau hopes what Leina thought about Puru Ten's nature is true. Because the alternative - the one both he and Roux fall upon simultaneously - would be just too much for him to stay calm about.
"We're gonna make sure she can get the life she wants," is what he chooses to declare, roundly. "To hell with evil robots."
And with this, he angrily shovels some parfait into his mouth and chews to find soothing calm in an unhealthy mouthful of sugar.
But - in a show of personal growth for him in the long years he's been away from the Earth Sphere - Judau ultimately elects to listen to what Banagher has to say, without any other interruptions. The fact that this Marida seems to be doing well is enough to put a brief, relieved smile on the former junker's face. The rest, though...
Judau swirls his spoon around his dessert, making a chaotically sweet messy of its many layers as he listens to what Banagher continue on what he -has- to do. But it's only when he talks about what he wants, that Judau's hand abandons his sweets. His arms crossing over his chest, he regards Banagher as he talks about Audrey, about Leina (the future interrogation of Leina Ashta will be a heated and contentious one marked down by historians for generations to come). As he talks about needing to know more about the world they live in, about the power of Laplace's Box. Much of this, honestly, goes over Judau's head; he doesn't have the mindset nor the patience for the intricacies of intrigue. But...
"Roux's right," finally says the ZZ's pilot, green gaze tilting Banagher's way. "The reason we wanted t'see you -- wanted t'talk with you is -- we went through somethin' like what you're goin' through now. Tossed into a situation way over our heads, tryin' to fix somethin' that was going on way before we ever got involved. And it..." Judau's words trail. He shakes his head.
"... s'not important. What matters is -- there's gonna be a lot of people, in the Federation, in the Sleeves, wherever else, tellin' you what you should do. Saying it's somethin' you have t'do. But y'know what? To hell with all of 'em. It's not about what they want. It's about what -you- want. Just... try to remember that."
A second passes. And Judau Ashta heaves out the longest sigh and slumps even further back into his seat as if visibly deflating, snatching up his parfait as he goes. "Whatever! That's all I gotta say!! But if you need help, advice, whatever? We're here for you. Even if it's just to have Roux get you some more ice cream again. Alright?"
yeah
like hell he's paying for this
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
Laplace's box.
That's the thing that Roux has not quite understood. It's a box, right? What can be in a box that would be a big deal? Deadly nanotechnology? A disease? Scandalous materials? Some Britannian nonsense? But half of those things are science fiction.
Roux eats another bite of her ice cream. "Good," Roux says darkly, quietly, about Marida. "I'm glad she..."
Roux doesn't finish the sentence. It had a bunch of frayed edges. This place, this air, it's familiar; this is where it all started, didn't it? Not just Judau, Roux thinks, and Leina; but more than that. Everything.
But there's something just as important -
"Yeah," Roux says, about the 'tenth' Puru.
"-- And you can have as much ice cream as you want. Do they pack it up for you?" Roux looks over her shoulder. There is something of escape in it. The question of 'can they dry-ice pack some ice cream for Banagher to take back to his Sleeves cronies and/or pour into Dr. Salamedes' mouth grill to make them catch fire like in Tarabaman' is a lot more comfortable than the murky revival of the horrors of the penultimate Neo-Zeon.
It was not, after all, just they who lost out.
But there is another question that Banagher has.
Roux purses her lips. She contemplates the matter. She twirls round the ice cream spoon and taps her lower lip with the tip of the bowl. "Well," she says, "Judau's going to kick me for this, but... if there's an international school or something... I'm guessing you've mostly lived in space, right? For better or worse you'll have to learn about how Earthnoids live... everything they have happening and going on down there."
"Are you in touch with -- Miss Mass?" Roux says, perhaps not quite daring to speak a portentious name. "She's like the strongest of the bourgeois, she could help you find some place. I think it's school break on Earth's north hemisphere, too, right?" She looks to Judau. "I saw that sign in front of that tacky bar! That one across from the rental lot, with the neon bunny girl. 'WELCOME SUMMER LIFE'."
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"Yeah!" Banagher answers Judau's declaration. "I won't leave anyone behind, especially not a child!"
Hopefully, Banagher hasn't gotten Leina in too deep of trouble with her brother... Maybe it would've been better not to mention their theatre date. It's refreshing, in a way, to meet someone who also feels out of their depth when it comes to the Box. Judau repeats thhe oft-heard advice, making Banagher furrow his brow for a moment. "All my life, I've felt... halfway there. Like I was sleepwalking. It's only since I found the Unicorn --" And Audrey, though he doesn't say it, "that I've felt like a real person. The things I want get me laughed at by more experienced pilots. I want the Box to be powerful enough that nobody has to hurt anyone, anymore. I want there never to be another war!" His conviction is clear, Banagher's energy flaring up in a show of sincere conviction. "I --" Banagher sighs. "Thank you, Judau. I can see why Leina looks up to you so much." A smile, to the other pilot. "You're pretty great."
Banagher looks considerably cheered up at the thought of bringing home a box of ice cream. "Oh, the crew would love that! Are you sure it's okay?"
At Roux's next assertion, Banagher nods. "I was studying at Anaheim, until, well." A flash of fire and screaming students comes back to Banagher's mind, perhaps strongly enough for Judau to feel. "I've only been to Earth once."
And then, Roux says it. The name of one of Banagher's heroes from the One Year War. "Wait -- you know Miss Mass? Sayla Mass? The pilot who flew with Amuro Ray?!" His spoon is in the air again, clutched close to his heart, dripping on his hoodie. "Would she -- really be willing to talk, I mean -- help?"
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
'I want there never to be another war!'
Judau Ashta's thoughts are in line with Banagher Links in this moment. And yet -- the young man's brows furrow. What he wants is ultimately undercut by the bleak weight of experience; how can he tell Banagher that, even as far out as Jupiter, people are still fighting, still hurting each other over petty problems?
He can't. Or, maybe more specifically, he doesn't want to. So instead, he says, even in the face of praise that would normally swell his ego to monstrous proportions:
"... Listen, Banagher." His voice is filled with the weight of a veteran's wisdom as he leans forward. "You shouldn't let anyone make you feel that's somethin' worth laughing at. So if they try again..." His gaze is intent. Piercing. Driven!
"... just sock 'em right in the face! That'll show 'em you're serious!"
Is this -- the path to peace--?
Judau is in the middle of demonstrating the perfect right hook with a "see, it's all about weight transfer" when Roux starts speaking of learning opportunities. Judau starts to make a -face-. You know the one. The scrunchy one. When you've eaten something so sour you just want to curl up and die and curse the day anyone invented sour candies and put them in such deceitful, colorful wrappers.
... but it's a face that's short-lived, as a flash of sentiments - experiences - not his own, but frightfully familiar, flash across the frequency of his emotional wavelength. Green eyes widen. Judau looks Banagher's way for a few, quiet moments in wordless understanding.
"... She's right. You gotta see how they live, down there. What it's like. With your own eyes. Earth is..."
His brows furrow. He thinks of all the horrors he's seen. All the war and death, all over one little planet compared to the vastness of space.
"... important to people."
And for once, Judau does not kick Roux for mentioning school. Instead, he springs on something he -can- help with, namely: "Ms. Mass is one of a kind. An' you're exactly the type of person someone like her wants to help. Trust me. Plus -- she doesn't even mind payin' for meals, or anything, no matter how much you order!" ... is this really the life lesson to be imparted here--
Still, Judau is Judau.
Which might be why his sole contribution to Roux talking about schools and summer vacations is:
"--Schools get breaks?"
As if the entire concept was foreign to a person who has been ditching school since the dawn of time. Truly, he is pretty great.