RESTING, WANDERING, BUT ALWAYS LOOKING

[whatalovelyday]

CLOSED TO HILLINGDON HOUSE

[Lying outside by the waters, he rests his hands over his bare chest – fingers lightly scratching at the tattoo of an engine that he has etched into his skin. He had gone out earlier in search of answers, of whispers, of where the other War Boys are, but came up with nothing. Nux isn't sure how he fits in with the other hunters; they were not raised on the same beliefs as he was, but they were still human. They still wanted to make a world safe for humans and that is more than enough for nonbelievers.

It isn't that he's lounging. Though, he does like to give the impression that is what he is doing. It is honestly that he has quite winded. Nux does what he can to build his strength up enough to move about, but sometimes, it does get the better of him. At least, the war paint that he still coats his skin in covers up how pale that he is actually getting.]

All I need to do is find the others, or find the one who did it. That's all.

[An easy task, he tells himself. He will be given great treasures in the afterlife once he has completed either goal. He takes a breath in and slowly turns his head to look toward the house. Nothing like his kind. It'll be all right. He'll protect them. Keep 'em safe any hunter would.

Already, he thinks that he can hear the war drums.]

OPEN: WANDERING THE STREETS

[His pants make an almost jiggling noise as he walks. It'd probably be better if it was bells, but it is mostly due to spare chains and bullets that he keeps in his pockets. Nux has become aware in the two years that he has lived out in the world that people do not like how he looks. His saved head and painted white skin tends to make them back away from him. But that's the point, isn't it? Humans are safe and hunters hunt. They're supposed to be frightening like guard dogs.

Or so he thinks.

At the moment, it isn't as serious as that. He's looking for his brothers as always, but he can't do that on an empty stomach. Nux isn't sure how long he has been wandering the alleys, and streets, but night has already fallen. He runs his hands along the glass of where there is some baked goods. But the lights are off given the indication that it's closed.]

Maybe should pop over to some store? How long do they stay open, anyway? [He is asking no one but is already starting to try to walk to find the fabled open shop in the middle of the night.]

Comments

[chosetofight]

Valhalla?

[It sounds familiar. Something in mythology? Or was it HYDRA's files? Something. It jogs a hint of a memory, so she glances over at him as she heads into the grocery shop.

Not many people are there, which makes it easy to snag a couple of the sandwiches that didn't sell during the day.]

[emotioneater]

Nah. Just the talking 'n paranoia. But it's only paranoia if they really aren't out to get you.

[He blinks in surprise at Nux's words. They're deeper than what he'd expect to find from someone who looks like a ghoulish skinhead.]

Very philosophical of you. It's important to remember the past. Those who forget tend to make the same mistakes.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji tapped the surface of the menu. "Ain't really have much choice. My old man decided I could use some time outta the country, so that was it. ...Uh, you lookin' for someone?"

Not that it would have mattered much if he had, because the waitress returned with Heiji's coffee and Nux's water. "Make up your mind about your order? I can give you a few if you're still deciding."

[whatalovelyday]

[Nux stares at the wad of money, dumbstruck for a moment. He barely has time to acknowledge it completely after having the hand on his shoulder and telling him that he passed a test.

Rubbing his nose, he didn't even think that he would get tests anymore. It's kind of amazing to be paid for just doing what is right to one's boss. But he should stop standing around -- the money is stuffed into his pocket without actually looking to count out what it is, as that would be more than a bit rude to Trevor.

Picking up the fence, he is back to following after him.]

Seems wrong that you're livin' in a trailer, boss. Shouldn't you live somewhere like a mansion or somethin'. [Nux looks towards Hillingdon and wonders...]

[whatalovelyday]

Where real and good hunters go.

[The place that he'd be able to drink with the gods and all his fallen brothers. He rolls his shoulders once as he peeks over towards the grocery shop.

He's looking down at his attire and fixing up his jacket. People don't like that he only wears it and they'd be able to see the tattoo on his chest. People don't seem like it. He doesn't understand why. Just shows he's part of the machine -- but he already went into that before, yeah?]

Where you go when you die right. Lots of people there, food, battles, fire... it's great. You eat and eat then you go out and fight as much as ya want. Immortality. Brought back sometimes, too. Untouched by supernatural. It's all hunters. Our will. How it should be.

[whatalovelyday]

"I dunno. A fruit bowl's fine."

Nux reached for it to take a few deep drinks before setting the glass down to the side. It wasn't like he could afford too much. The rest of the funds had to go to finding more information on his brothers -- knowledge that others has always was very expensive.

He'd wait until the waitress walked away before he'd finally answer the question. "My family. They went missin' two years 'go. I have to find 'em. People don't just vanish." Clenching his hand into a fist, he was starting to get a little anxious about how much time had passed without him finding out much. "Anyway, spend too much time 'way from family, ain't always good. But followin' Dad's orders. I know that."

[whatalovelyday]

Can't make the same mistakes. Already too many lost.

[He lightly beat the side of his fist against the glass before turning toward the other teenager.]

Everyone's out to get someone. Just have to keep lookin' till you find the one you're after, though.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Slice of cherry pie, please!" was Heiji's order.

He frowned as he watched Nux form a fist with one hand. "Your whole family? So they were a missing persons case? I didn't hear anything about it on the news... but I do live in another country. Still. Two years means the police've run outta leads, yeah?"

[whatalovelyday]

"Not really." It was difficult to have the whole War Boys be a missing persons. More like a gang -- as far as the norms saw it -- finally being cleared out of an area. The hunters protected that place as best as they could. Scratching the side of his neck, he gave a small shrug.

"No one will look for them besides me." And that was fine. That's how it should be. If he went missing, well, he didn't think that the others would go looking but assumed that he crossed into Valhalla. Nux rephrased it in his head. If his whole hunting team went missing, the older ones would come lookin' to see what happened. Pieces in the machine. But the machine was missing too many now and they had to be found.

[emotioneater]

[Already too many lost. It sounds like something a soldier would say. Cooper feels a pang of sympathy for the kid. He's awful young to have experienced whatever it is he's gone through.]

Is that what you're doing out here in the middle of the night? Looking for someone?

[whatalovelyday]

Lookin' for lots of someones. They couldn't have all walked through the gates. But they might've. Might be waitin'. But I can't join them till I know what happened.

[The gates will call to him after that, he knows. He'll welcome the crossing, but until then, he has to remain.]

[emotioneater]

[Cooper isn't sure what to make of all that. It's a little too cryptic for his straightforward sensibilities. It does confirm his suspicion the kid is on his own out here.]

So the rest of them, they're all dead then?

[eyeforaneye]

I wasn't suspecting alcohol. [ I mean if we're going to go for hard truths here. ]

Just for hunters? Maybe you should forget that for a moment and tell me if you need any help. You don't look so good.

[detectiveofthewest]

What a mysterious guy. But if the cops weren't involved (and considering Nux's behavior so far), his family must have operated not-quite-in-concert-with the law. He could offer his help... but Nux seemed fairly close with information about himself.

"I hope you find 'em, then," said Heiji finally. "I know I'd go lookin' for mine if they went missing. And on a completely unrelated note, I figure that since I invited you here in the first place, I should pick up the tab. So you don't have to settle for a fruit bowl if you want some other stuff, too."

[whatalovelyday]

Might be.

[His head gives a little tilt.] Or fightin'. Still fightin'. I have to go to war and not sure where the war is. Enough commotion, they might be there. Just have to arrive and join the hunt.

[whatalovelyday]

If I need help?

[He frowns for a second, thinking.] Might need to head out to look for my family, again. Not sure, but you don't know anything about the War Boys?

[whatalovelyday]

"It's all right. Got two more years." He put a deadline on it. Nux looked down at his hand, turning it over to examine how they looked. "That's more than enough time to find 'em. That'd be four years looking then. So, should find something in that."

He paused at the offer before shaking his head. "Ain't right. To take your money without givin' somethin' back. All I gave back is almost trouble. That doesn't seem fair."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji considered this. "Well, d'you have anything you could trade, then? Like a really good story? I write a bit in my spare time, so I'm always looking for some inspiration. Somethin' with adventure in it would be nice."

What exactly did Nux have two more years for, anyway? Two more until he could consider his obligations paid? Or maybe it had something to do with that hideous cough of his.

[whatalovelyday]

"Nothin' that nobody'd believe." He closed his eyes as he rested the back of his head against the booth. But what was it? Nux had to be witnessed -- his eyes opened as he knew that the witness had to be a proper hunter, but it may be worth something to tell a story. He flexed his fingers.

"Used to patrol the perimeter." Nux made a circle with his hand in the air. "Nothing to really worry 'bout. Just follow the line, make sure thing are as they should be. Sometimes, other groups chased something into the perimeter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter if it was just makin' sure to see which would get rid of the other, though."

Turned his face, he pointed out the scars on his face. Harder to see with the light, with the war paint on, but when gestured to, it was easier. "It wasn't chased off, but it wasn't going to hurt anyone. If I died then, that'd be fine and well. It'd be how it should be. But I didn't. Got stitches and bed rest." He sneered at the bed rest, because that made a person weak, or seem weak.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji was trying to piece together the context of Nux's story. Nux had worked (lived?) as part of a group, apparently among other similar groups. The security of their territory was something of a concern. And Nux hadn't been very high on their totem pole -- at least not at the time the story had taken place. Otherwise he wouldn't have been assigned to guard detail.

He frowned at the scars on Nux's face and noted the disdain about being required to rest. "So I take it you're not a big believer in dyin' peacefully in your sleep? That's what most people want -- these days, anyway."

[whatalovelyday]

"That's what --" Nux shrugged his shoulders. He didn't finish his thought because norms don't like to be called that for some reason. It wasn't something that he wanted -- die peacefully in his sleep without achieving anything that he wanted to in life. Without finishing his great hunt, he smiled briefly.

"--I'm not a believer in that. To be witnessed. To continue the machine. To carry on through the gates that burn eternal!" He pointed suddenly outward past Heiji and toward the wall, before his hand dropped. "He's probably waiting there, too." His god. The great hunter. What would he think of him if he didn't keep trying.

"Mediocre."

[emotioneater]

[The talk of fighting and hunting makes a piece of the puzzle click for Cooper. This kid might be a hunter, despite how atypical he looks and his strange way of talking. (Of course, what is a typical hunter supposed to look like?) Nothing shows on his face as he feigns ignorance.]

There's no war around here that I know of. But you'd do best t'stay out of it. Wars only end in one thing: death.

[detectiveofthewest]

Wh...at. This new round of commentary sounded like it had gone from story to religious fervor. He had no idea what this business about 'the machine' was, but.

"So... it's like you die in battle and get swept off in glory. Like Valhalla. Or Sto-vo-kor." He had no idea who was waiting for Nux in the afterlife, though. The father he'd talked about?

[crystalmethod]

-- Excuse me? And what, exactly, is wrong with my trailer? You're insulting my home.

[He approaches and rips the fence away from Nux.] Give me that!

[Trevor walks over to part of the ramshackle, moss-covered wooden fence that makes a semicircle around the crappy trailer, sagging and looking chopped in certain places. He sets the new piece of fence against one gap in the existing one. Just leans it against it, then backs up as if to admire his work.]

... Mmmm... yeah. I guess.

[He turns back around, gives Nux a blank look.]

All right you can go. [-- ???]

[chosetofight]

Well, I wish you luck. It sounds wonderful.

[For herself, there's no much thought of an afterlife. In a way, it seems like a better option to just be dead. To rest. If there is anything. But there probably isn't. No point to dying but being dead.

Still, it's easy enough to pay for the stuff and be on their way, and she opens the plastic sheet over the sandwiches, offering him one and taking the other for herself.]