ArchivedLogs:Raison D'etre

Raison D'etre
Dramatis Personae B, Dusk, and Teague
In Absentia	2015-11-22 "{What do any of us exist for? We're all someone's food.}" "... especially lately." (Part of Flu Season TP.)
Location <BOM> Garden - Ascension Island
Considerably reduced from what they must have been when this place was /actually/ running at full capacity, there is nevertheless a hefty amount of garden space tucked away behind the main cabin of the compound. Somewhat haphazard in its organization, the rows of plants -- mostly vegetables, with some herbs lining the borders -- seem to be chosen somewhat at whim. Despite the disorganized mishmash of crop selection, the ground seems well-tended, fielding the occupants a decent cache of produce three seasons out of the year. To one side, a fenced-in area with a raised coop houses chickens, often noisily squawking throughout the day. It's finally getting cold. Bundled against the chill in the air, Jewel follows the footprints of others as he makes his way through the zig-zag of disorganized rows of cool weather vegetation. With his hair up in a messy bun, there are no earbuds in sight but he sways as he moves as if listening to music. Coming to the fence surrounding the chicken coop, the dancer kneels. He purses his lips, making a wet clucking sound as he produces a small green sprig of mint. He takes a small green leaf for himself before using the rest to coax over one of the hens. The boy wears a thin, black zip-up hoodie, black harem pants, and narrow black boots. There's a low hum from overhead, a flash in the sky above as a silver and blue motorcyle dips down from the sky to park itself at the edge of the gardens. The rider atop it is in silver and blue as well -- tall silver boots, blue skinny jeans, silvery leather jacket, blue and silver helmet that she is tugging off to leave on her saddle as she dismounts. B's heavy boots crunch into the dry grass as she makes her way into the garden, pausing at the other side of the chicken coop to peer through the mesh. At the chickens. At Jewel. Hir nostrils flare, pink tongue briefly tracing over hir blue lips. It doesn't take long after the bike lands for the hum to be followed by a flap of wings. Dusk's wings have healed up better since their ragged burning, fuzz mostly regrown, though the evidence of injury is still /there/ in the torn and mismatched paint-job, one wing dusted with snowdrift-pattern, the freshly-healed one just plain and dark and undecorated where it has regrown. He is in plain brown corduroys, a blue fleece messily torn open at its back to allow for his wings, brown hiking boots that thud heavily down when he lands, wings stirring up a sudden draft. His head tips up in greeting to Jewel. One wing stretches out, curling around B and yoinking hir in close for a sudden tight hug. His eyes aren't really on hir, though. He is watching the chickens, too. Sort of hungrily. Slowly coming back to a stand, Jewel turns to impassively watch the bike's landing. Lowering the sprig in his hand, Dusk's greeting elicits the most subtle of little bows -- barely a movement at all, really. As chops are licked, he chooses to make a graceful side-step away from the coop's gated entrance. '{Hello.}' The teen greets in quiet, quick French. For their part, the chickens attempt to make strutting to the farther end of their encampment look as casual as possible. "Are there eggs? I could go for some eggs. -- Mmm." B smiles, soft and closed-lipped, hir eyes squeezing briefly shut and hir gills slowly opening and closing as she leans into Dusk's side. Hir cheek nuzzles up into the soft fuzz of his wing for a moment, before she pulls away. A bright metal bug styled after a leaf beetle climbs its way out of hir jacket pocket to perch on her shoulder. She speaks to it in quiet Vietnamese as she drifts further into the garden along the side of the coop. When she speaks again it is in Spanish. "{I guess we're probably not supposed to eat the /chickens/.}" Sliiightly disappointed. A moment later, the bug repeats her words, this time in a monotone French, somewhat mangled for the automatic translation: "{I guess probably not suppose eat a chicken.}" Dusk's head is tipping down as B leans into him; the soft growl that starts to rumble up in his throat is a little bit hungry, too. His wing tightens just slightly, though it relaxes readily enough when B pulls away. His eyes shoot after the other two, following Jewel and B with a focused intensity. /He/ steps back -- farther away, staying put on the far side of the chicken coop. Now /his/ tongue traces across his lips. He looks back to the chickens, shakes his head no. In Spanish, with a small sag of wings: "{Probably not.}" Slowly elongating his neck, Jewel brings up his free hand to knead into it. He 'hmns' softly as he cranes it to one side, and then the other. A classic diamond in black and white comes into view. '{It is their raison d'etre. If not meant for consumption, then what?.}' He gestures languidly with the clip of mint, with quite clearly no regard for the creatures’ well-being. Watching Dusk and B behind heavy-lidded eyes, Jewel plucks another mint leaf and places it on his tongue. Maybe he just wants to see a slaughter. "{We're not really /breeding/ them. If I eat them we won't have eggs.}" Not that that's stopping B from eying the chicken hungrily. It doesn't have quite the same intense focus as Dusk, though. She leans up against the side of the fence in a lazy drape. "{But really you could say that about anyone. What do any of us exist for? We're all someone's food.}" The robotic translation continues, the tiny brightly colored robot repeating her word in clumsily awkward French. "... especially lately," Dusk mutters, his wings tightening against his back. He swallows, much more slowly following after B, slowly making his way around the circumference of the fence though he hardly seems to notice he is doing so. His dark eyes are fixed inward, watching the chickens scrabbling in the yard. "{Whole world, then? Only just food.}" This puts a thin slice of smile on his face. "{Kind of morbid.}" “{The blonde German will pick up more,}” Jewel offers with a moderate shrug. He watches Dusk prowl, and kneels as they gradually migrate back over to where he is. Kneeling he lures one closer with the mint and little coos of love, “{Come here, stupid. Good, stupid.}” "{Kind of true. We eat them. /You/,}" B gestures towards Dusk, "{eat us. Zombies eat you.}" Her claw twirls in a circle. "And so it goes. {Has the island been okay? Have there /been/ zombies here?}" A small smile is tipping her lips upward as she watches Teague lure the chicken closer. Hir gills flutter open again, slowly. Dusk shakes his head, glancing over at Teague. "{Lots of sick. But Regan brought medicine. I don't think it's so bad here as...}" He trails off, eyes fixing back sharply in on the chicken inside the fence. His wings twitch at his back, cheeks puffing out as he expels a sharp breath. There's another low rumble of growl before he hops the fence quickly -- one wing snaps outward, chickens scattering with squawks and rustling feathers as it cuts down. The one that had been after Teague's mint, though, sits quivering beneath one sharp claw at the end of his wing. His tongue swipes across his lips again. Eyes flicking upward and a small breath escaping him, Jewel watches Dusk’s display with contained awe. The corners of his mouth even twitch upward a bit as he discards the mint. “{There was one,}” Jewel says as he stands, brushing down his legs and knees, “{In one of the safehouses. Past that, just fights between awnry brothers.}” He pauses, “{And sisters.}” B's nostrils flare again once the chicken is killed; she draws in a deep breath of the blood spilled as she waits for her bug to provide its (equally clumsy) translation back into Spanish. "{Medicine. Good. Fights not -- /so/ bad, right?}" More hopeful than confident. "{That's just like every /week/ for Ion. Hopefully with enough medicine...}" She bites down at her lip. "{And enough chickens.}" Her brow creases, though. "{Still. Not a good feeling. Fights only fun when you /want/ them. Not...}" She's looking at the chicken twitching on the ground. Her teeth just clench, here. Dusk crouches, snagging the dying bird off the ground with a small growl. "{One.}" His brow furrows after this translation comes, his growl deepening. "{So far. -- Who?}" His fingers have tightened around the bird's neck, eyes locking on Jewel. His shoulders tighten as he looks away. "{Fights... not so good. When it's your brothers.}" "{Big bug man? I had not seen him before here,}" Jewel doesn't look away as Dusk locks on, rather stares right back into the man. When the vampire looks away, he continues to watch. "{And you? Your home?}" He glances slowly between the pair, showing little to no sympathy in his tone, "{Should we be posting guards, in mutant neighborhoods?}" "{My home burned down.}" B's eyes have narrowed on Dusk with this statement. "{Huge swarm of zombies was there. Whole family still sick.}" She shrugs a shoulder. "{It's ugly in the city. Do we have enough healthy people? They could definitely /use/ the help. From people who aren't sick. Who aren't going to --}" Her lips compress briefly, eyes lingering on Dusk and then lifting to the sky. "{Make it worse.}" Dusk is lifting the bird to his mouth, fangs sinking through feathers into its skinny neck. B's answer prompts another growl from him, though. A snap of wing outward, whipping out where she leans against the fence to crack one long wingspar upward against hir chin. "/I/ didn't --" "{I have completed treatment.}" Jewel shifts his eyes between B and Dusk. "{Many others will soon.}" Unsure of whether or not an altercation may break out, the teen casually puts some distance between himself and the duo -- running his hand along the fence as he meanders a few feet away to observe the cowering hens. "{Good. Good. Good to get everyone --} Sss." B's teeth clench, hir head jerking back when the wing strikes at hir chin. She stumbles back, claws lengthening and teeth baring. She doesn't strike back at Dusk, though; just backs away from the fence with hir muscles tensing. Hir hand comes up to press underneath hir chin, hir head givin a small shake. The robot on hir shoulder topples off with the sudden jarring; it buzzes up into the air, hovering overhead, for the moment gone mute. "You need to eat. I'll cook. {Have that chicken meanwhile.}" She's still /pretty/ tense as she hastens off towards the main lodge. Dusk's wing stretches out farther, claws flexing after B -- kind of in vain with the fence between them as she retreats. With a disgruntled snarl he sinks his teeth deeper into the chicken. "... food. {Food. I -- yes.}" There's a deep blush in his cheeks as he pulls his wings back in behind himself. Then spreads them again to push off into the air. "These drugs. Better work fast." Left alone, Jewel looks down into fenced area surrounding the chicken coop. His nose twitches in mild revulsion as the hens filter their way down towards what blood had been spilled, and peck at it. “Well, that’s in poor taste,” he whispers to himself, averting his eyes.