text;

[rideme]

[It's late in the evening when the text post pops up on the network. With no formalities or ceremony. Just:]

hey
anyone seen charlie ? little blonde wizard guy
offered to enchant crap a while back

[A pause. Is that all you want to say, Bull, or--]

didnt touch the shit i got him for that holiday
cant find him at his usual places



messages wont go through
preciate it if someone's seen him, let me know

[CLICK. There's no more. And Bull will be around his house if anyone wants to talk face-to-face. Because... what the hell. Why this?]

[Why right now?]

Comments

action;

[rassera]

[He read the text, not that it really matters. He's in the same room--whether or not Bull notices him at the doorway. He only glances at his comm for a second, quickly pocketing it and shoving those hands in his pockets, resting his head on the doorframe.

Charlie...by the way the pattern usually works, had gone home. Sending texts made them bounce back, with a message saying it failed to go through. Bull had furiously checked people's houses, his contacts...everything. It's like he up and disappeared.

Not exactly strange to anyone in this house.

But that doesn't help the situation, does it, as he stares at Bull from the door, eyes searching for something to react to from him.

Because what does he even say?]

action;

[rideme]

... Don't say anything.

[Chalk it up to old Ben-Hassrath instincts. Or just regular person instinct. Knowing someone is looking at you. Someone is watching you. While part of him knows he shouldn't keep this as buried as it is, the rest of him kicks all these weird, complicated feelings under the rug.]

[Behind the calm, steady facade he's got to wear. That the Iron Bull has to wear. So when he answers, it's with That Voice. The precise, steady tone. He'll handle this. He just will. He's got this.]

[Even though iron is brittle. Even though iron can crack.]

[Someone has to have their shit together in this fucking house.]

Really. Let's just keep going. Be stupid to do anything else.

action;

[rassera]

[Brows furrow as his gaze snaps to attention, focusing on Bull and the act he's putting on. Of course Bull would want to be the strong hand in this--he was the oldest in the house, and the self-proclaiming guardian figure. Kaneda had accepted that, he knew what it meant to Bull. He figured it out from the way he treated the cats. The way he acted when Ken disappeared.

The way he tore himself down when Kaneda was thrown against a lamppost. He was a leader back home just as much as Kaneda was, and with that comes understanding in a way that words can't express.

And when you think you've failed someone, it's easy to bear that burden. Put the weight on your shoulders and carry on for the sake of the group.



Iron is brittle, Iron can crack.

Gold...

金 is malleable. It bends and it can be shaped. It can be hammered out as thin as paper, and still be intact. It can adapt to things, melt into the cracks.

Accent other metals.]


Oiiiii....

[His head canters to the side, pushing himself off that doorframe.]

And you want that?

text;

[alcheregis]

Sweetling, if the messages won't go through...

text;

[rideme]

yeah i know

just

what if this time it isnt like that. how much of an asshole would i be if i didn't try

yknow?

Re: text;

[alcheregis]

No, I completely understand. Is there anything I can do? Anything at all.

[ Regardless of the fact she doesn't even know him... ]

action;

[missleadingquestions]

[Maya doesn't get around to actually talking to Bull until later on in the day; she's spent all morning tidying up as best she can without moving around too much of Bull's and the boys' things. Sure-- the cleaning is also help to herself, making her less nervous, but she figures.... anything that makes this space a little less stressful could help Bull as well.

Of course, she's not going to avoid someone who made her life a little easier forever. Maybe she can help return the favor.]

Sssooooo.

[...........He's really nice but addressing him is still slightly nervewracking, being that he's the LARGEST PERSON SHE HAS EVER SEEN.]

Movies, or music?

[A small, innocuous little question.]

action;

[rideme]

[He's noticed. In the back of his mind, he'd noticed what she's been doing. Hard not to. Especially with Skinner following the girl's every move like an eager puppy. Weird ass cat.]

[At first, he wanted to leave. Just walk out and not stop walking until the angry feelings abated. But that's too close to abandonment for his liking. And in the house he stays.]

[Or... out in the yard. Hitting rocks with that hammer. And that's where she finds him. He has to complete the swing he's in the middle of before he can answer her, the hammer shattering the rock to a thousand tiny shards.]

... How's that?

action;

[missleadingquestions]

[She jumps a little at the sound, despite having heard it as she came out, despite knowing. She can't help it, really, almost as much of a cat as Skinner is.

Shaking her head, she crosses her arms and tries to look casual.]

Movies, or music.

[She repeats it not because she thinks he didn't hear her, but... well.]

That, or we could all get out of here.

[There we go.

Maya knows he must be looking for something else to do-- some kind of distraction-- just like she had been the other night.]

action;

[amadaman]

[Ken's not here to give words. Ken's not here to try to be comforting. He's standing off to the side of the room Bull is in when he looks down at his comm and the message the man puts out, holding a book in his hand: it's a young adults' fiction, one of the books he received from Charlie back at their birthday party. He's ready it a few times already and the corners are a little frayed, but not from misuse. It's just been read and carried around a lot. He stares down at the cover in silence, getting Bull respond to a message or two, before ambling over and sitting right down next to him, tiny shoulder against large arm.

The two of them have seen a number of housemates go. People didn't always linger, and Nonah 5 had gone through its fair share before Kaneda and Tetsuo seemingly settled. But Charlie had been there since day one, and for the two of them, he was the one who talked to both and brought them together. Left on their own Ken and Bull would've kept to themselves, but here they are.

It almost seems like Ken isn't going to say anything before he leans back in the chair and sighs.]

... I'd say it'll be quiet, but nobody is as loud as you and Kaneda-san in here.

action;

[rideme]

[It's. Almost ironic. To have Ken here chatting with him. Because the last time they lost someone, it was Charlie talking to him. About Ken. Weird how things flip flopped like that. Really weird.]

[But honestly, he's not sure if he has the capacity to think too hard on it right now. He's never... done this before. Been that close to someone before. He really should have known better.]

[Right?]

You want me to keep it down?

[amadaman]

No, not at all. It's nice.

[Ken doesn't think about whether this disappearance is temporary or permanent. He's been through a lot of both, but he looks up at Bull, thinks about how he'd feel if Dipper disappeared... and he wonders if he'd react like this -- or not react -- or differently. He and Bull cared about people differently. But...]

... I'll miss him. We all will.

[resipiscent]

I can try to track him for you. Just need something of his.

[Both of them know that this is probably a waste of time. But this is what he'd done for Hiro when Tadashi left -- it's a gesture that doesn't really make anybody feel better, but it can't hurt.]

[rideme]

what kind of thing ?

it couldnt hurt

[resipiscent]

Anything he would have used in daily life, that kind of thing. Clothes, an object, whatever.

That's what I was thinking, too.

I'll stop by.

text;

[whathawksdo]

[ Oh. Oh no. Hawke can't say she ever knew Charlie well, but she did, to some extent, know what he'd meant to certain people. As such, she can at least offer this: ]

Need a drinking buddy or two or just some alone time?

[ Bull's a trained spy. He's not dumb. She's sure he already knows what messages not going through means. ]

text;

[rideme]

havent had a drink with a champion in a while

sort of sounds all right

[No, he's not. But for the sake of appearances, he'll play dumb. It's. Also easier.]

text;

[whathawksdo]

Then you obviously haven't been drinking properly.
If you head over to the De Chima house, we can drink all the beer Dorian pretends he doesn't like.

[earnedmystripes]

[Kotetsu's only talked to this guy once, during the misfires, but he knows how it feels for someone you care about to disappear from this world. Hell, it'd just happened to him recently, with Jesse.]

think i owed you a couple drinks some time ago
if thats something youd be up for now or later or anything

[rideme]

oh hey
didnt i text you some shit by accident ?


hey why not

[earnedmystripes]

yeah

[He's tactful enough not to remind the guy that what he sent him was a picture of charlie `_`]

any preference on bars?

text | private.

[blahnik]

If you hear from him, will you please let me know?
I've been trying to reach him myself, but. [ but. ]

text | private.

[rideme]

hey yeah sure thing


you a
friend of his ?

text

[heavyhitter]

[ she knows what that means, she knows he knows what that means, so she's just skipping the hope step ]

oh shit charlie? im sorry bull

text | private

[rideme]

[He wants to keep the hopeful front up for anyone in the household who might read this -- so hey. Time to private this up.]

so much for getting you to meet him huh?