onemorebounty | Going the Distance [for Verity, Jim]

It's still a surprise when Ver realizes how much gentler she is these days. She's grown so used to holding everyone at arm's length with a smirk and a cutting remark that the fact that's not her default behavior anymore leaves her wondering. It makes her wonder what she would have been like without the curse.

It's not a good path for her to go down.

"If you end up happy in life, you've won. It doesn't matter who got what medal or commendation or fancy gold-plated desk set. Just find what makes you happy."

"Living well is the best revenge, huh?" It's not something he used to buy into, but when your world's been turned upside-down, it gives you a new angle on looking at things. Opens you up to new perspectives and ideas you shut out before. And Jim had a long, long time in the hospital where he often had nothing to do but think. Or read. But mostly think.

"'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,'" he says, almost to himself, just enough to bring the rest of the poem to mind. "It's my path to walk and I've got to own that."

*The path enters a denser copse of trees, which prove to be clustered around a shaded clearing where some thoughtful soul has installed benches and a water fountain, and with a gesture Samus calls for a halt and a break. She opts for a pull from the bottle she's been carrying, before giving Jim a sidelong look.*

Who are you getting revenge on, Jim?

Edited 2017-08-10 01:23 (UTC)

Poetry. It makes her smile, for all anyone sees.

The break surprises Samus, but isn't unwelcome. Ver slows her pace gradually, eventually walking in a wide circle around the perimeter of the copse to keep her muscles from cramping. This seems like a good time to let Jim answer the question. She'll keep quiet but offers him a bottle of water.

He hadn't really meant that literally, but the momentary break gives him time to actually think that through. He accepts the water with a grateful nod, and drinks it while he thinks about that.

"Mostly myself, I guess. My own expectations. I used to think I didn't really even have a future, when I was a kid. Kinda just... kept thinking that as I grew up. Hearing about the other me didn't help, and the other Spock kept looking at me like he expected me to be the other Jim, so it felt like I didn't measure up or something. But like you said... I'm not him and I shouldn't compare myself."

Jim stretches his legs a bit, before sitting down on one of the benches to rub at his back. He shouldn't rest for too long, he knows that, but he's trained himself to take advantage of any opportunity to rest or refuel. Even just a momentary breather can make a difference.

*Samus' lips quirk in amusement; she'd intended this clearing as a little test of Jim's situational awareness, but Verity's protective instincts seem to be in fine form. That's alright, too.*

Revenge on yourself? How masochistic. Although I suppose living well is probably the least self-destructive way you can attack yourself, so... I'm not entirely sure how to weigh that.

*She's teasing, Jim. Probably. Then her attention turns to Verity, even as a slight shift in posture brings her into a ready stance--all the warning her pupil gets or needs for what's coming next.*

How're you feeling at this point, without the weights?

Verity's protective instincts are just about the only ones she has that work. If they're working well she must be getting better.

Was that teasing? She's pretty sure that was teasing. She's halfway through a smirk when Samus turns on to her. Taking in the change, Ver closes up her own water bottle and steps away from Jim before shifting her posture to a more steady stance ready for defense. "Fine. I'm not having an easy day today, am I?"

Jim shrugs, although he decides it might be a good idea not to get too comfortable, no matter how much his body is appreciating the break. He finishes off the water, and gets up to refill it at the fountain before doing a slow lap around the clearing, both to keep his muscles properly warmed up and as a perimeter check, more out of habit than any real expectation of a threat.

Although, this is Samus' route. So maybe that isn't the best assumption to make. So once that properly registers, he pays a little more attention.

"Guilty as charged," he answers, taking that in the spirit it was (probably) meant. It is kinda funny as a concept. "Might as well give it a shot, right?"

By now, he's pretty much figured out that they're going easy on him. Whether that means Verity is getting his share of the extra exercise, he has yet to decide. He could see it being either way, which might as well serve as his warning for future runs. Here's what you have to look forward to, Jim! Aren't you so glad you volunteered for this?

Well, you're not wearing weights.

*Samus' tone is wry before the assault begins. Her strikes are quick and sure, as ever. She shifts from style to style, pressing until Verity recognizes the current style well enough to anticipate the next strike and take advantage of it with a counter-strike or reversal. Enjoy the show, Jim, if you join this jog on the regular, you can look forward to a matching set of bruises, too.*

So where to go from here, Jim? You've got a good start on avenging yourself... on yourself. But what's the next goal?

*Jim, did you just...? You did. It's a good instinct, keeping watch, but minus a few points for Nexus situational awareness. The question now is, has Verity noticed your mistake?*

Training with Samus is the best kind of regrettable decision. Plenty of good to be found, and self-revenge too. Jim won't always get this kind of special treatment, but hey, at least he's getting a fair warning.

"Right. My mistake." Arms up in defense, she's not paying as much attention to her surroundings as she had been. This kind of relentless assault is distracting for some reason. The parts of her mind not consumed with the fight are registering faint reminders about her surroundings. Jim's prowling isn't helpful, but she doesn't dare complain. At least he's moving at a regular pace.

Wait. Did he just...?

"Poisoning himself, looks like," she huffs as she ducks under a blow and catches the knee that was aimed at her abdomen.

Keeping an eye out though he is, he doesn't miss the remark, right on the heels of Samus' question. "Excuse me?"

Poison? What the hell... He looks down at the water bottle with a frown. "People poison drinking fountains here?" He's heard about LOLs before, but has no experience whatsoever in seeing or avoiding them. And he's gotten the impression that it's more of a deliberate prank sort of thing than just... out and about in the world.

[ooc: Just a heads up, I will be traveling most of Sunday and Monday for solar eclipse purposes, so I will likely not be online a lot until Tuesday.]

Edited 2017-08-19 21:22 (UTC)

((Hope you have fun, good luck storming the Fire Nation. Remember not to buy any exotic plants.))

*Verity's perceptiveness in the face of significant adversity has won her a reprieve. Samus steps back, drops out of stance, and gives her a nod of approval (she earned that nod).*

Good situational awareness, Verity. Jim... not so much. We're still in the Nexus, didn't you wonder why neither of us drank from the fountain that's right there? It's usually not deadly, by the way, just makes you externalize your topmost inner monologue for a few hours.

[Personally, I blame Jim's player for Big Ben not chiming anymore. And the chaos. And the dinosaurs in Ipswich.]

Verity allows herself a brief smile and drops her obviously defensive stance to turn to Jim. "Not poison, exactly. Sometimes that'd be easier to live with."

She has no allusions about whether or not people want to make their every thought known at all times. Sure, there are some people who can't help it, or who don't care to try, but most people have a sense of decorum or self-preservation. At least this one has a slight benefit of exposing only the surface thoughts without delving deeper.

"Magic gets weird around here sometimes. Like the Drake Passage in a storm. Energy from different places sometimes collide here..." She hopes he studied Earth geography enough to get the reference.

[Cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria...]

Geography and history both. He understands the analogy without any further explanation. But despite now knowing that the water isn't, strictly speaking, "safe"... he doesn't immediately go to dump it out, the move warring against all his survival training. Some of it earned through actual life-or-death experience. Water that won't kill you is still water, even if it's contaminated, and is infinitely preferable to no water at all.

Granted, this isn't likely to be a situation where he's going to be cut off from other water sources, and he will probably get rid of it eventually, but it's still not something that sits well with him. Habits of a lifetime are hard to break.

"I did wonder," he admits, a little embarrassed by his slip, but he knows damn well why he did it. And if this was a survival situation, he'd make the same choice, even knowing what he knows now. "If it was natural, like a river, it would've made more sense. Stuff like that," he adds, waving vaguely towards the fountain, "has never been unsafe back home."

*Samus raises a dubious eyebrow.*

Really, Jim? There's nowhere on Earth in your Facet that water coming out of a pipe might be bad for you? And you're willing to trust that the same quality of infrastructure exists throughout the multiverse?

*She shakes her head.*

Situational awareness. When you're somewhere unfamiliar, watch the people who know their way around. They might be so accustomed to a hazard that they forget to mention it, or they might be actively planning to betray you. Keep aware of your surroundings and, malice or incompetence, you won't be caught out.

Sorry, Jim, Ver's not buying it either. "Maybe not in your lifetime. Magic and the multiverse aside, is this good standard operating procedure when you're exploring the galaxy?"

If she knew his reason, she'd be a little gentler. But she hasn't read all the files on him she could probably dig up somewhere, so instead, she pulls out another bottle of water and holds it out to him in trade. She intends to get the tainted stuff away from him one way or another.

"Never in my experience," he clarifies, crossing his arms across his chest, a sort of subconscious self-protective gesture. He's used to having to be cagey about all the stupid habits Tarsus has left him with, since he's not allowed to talk about it, and probably wouldn't want to anyway.

He does, however, allow Verity to trade the contaminated water for a fresh one, after a few moments' hesitation. "Look, I... I do get it. I've got habits and shit I've got to unlearn." He doesn't drink from the safe bottled water, toying with the cap in an almost nervous gesture, hardly even aware he's doing it.

He can't tell them explicitly why he does stupid stuff like this, and he's wary of giving Samus an inch, because she'll take it and run with it far beyond what he wants. But he doesn't want to just let them think he's a complete idiot. It's against his better judgment, but he elaborates a little. "I've just... I've been in survival situations before. Where I didn't get to pick how safe my water was, and I'd have been dead otherwise. Kinda leaves an impression."

*Samus tilts her head to one side slightly, a shrug of concession. Jim discussed Tarsus with her a little, obliquely, before--a planet so agriculturally mismanaged that a huge swath of the population had to be culled just so there'd be enough food for the remainder to last a few months.*

Securing what resources you can, when you can, is good practice too, I'll admit, but that doesn't negate a need for awareness. Even if you do have to drink questionable water, it's better to know that going into the situation so you can account for it in your plans.

Whatever he does with the clean water is his own business. Ver's going to dump out the stuff from the fountain while he sort-of explains. If she had the sort of imagination that runs away with itself, she could come up with all kinds of scenarios with the scraps of information he's shared.

He's fidgeting. Not a good sign. Ver eyes Samus for too long a moment before shifting her gaze to the path. "Are we going further or turning back now?"

"Yeah, point taken." He's just grateful she's not prying deeper, at least not right now. She hadn't before, and even though he's embarrassed himself a couple of times already, he's been working at picking up all sorts of useful tips on dealing with the Nexus. Or life in general, really. It'd be a shame to have to derail it all because of... that.

The shift in topic does help ease his fidgeting a little, the focus taken off his snafu, though now he's partly wondering if this is part of a test too. Seems to be a lot of those today. One thing's for sure, though, the thought that he himself might be a reason to call an end to things early doesn't sit well with him, and it's not entirely because of his ego. "I can keep going if that's the plan."

((Sorry for the long silence.))

*Samus gives Jim an appraising look, then nods. If he wants to push, she'll oblige.*

Onward it is. Verity, you choose the path and the goal, I'll shadow and harry. Two minutes' head start.

*She turns her attention then to a timepiece, letting Verity and Jim collaborate and get going.*

[Hey you know what's fun? Closing a shop with less than a month's notice and the boss going on vacation for most of the last week.]

Ver's not as willing to oblige someone pushing themselves too far, but she's clearly been outvoted. Her expression settles into a too-familiar frustrated frown as she scans her options. If they're not going back, she settles on the smoothest path forward. The fewer the chances the path has to trip them, the better. Samus will be more than distracting.

"C'mon, this path. There's a surf shop that should serve as a good goal." She glances to Samus for confirmation, but waits for Jim to go first. He's not the one who's supposed to be getting harried so she'd rather have some distance between them.

[Jeez, it's like your boss is trying to be the biggest jerk possible. D: Would it help to drop or wrap up the thread? Sounds like you've got plenty on your plate as it is and the last thing I want to do is contribute to that.]

Jim's stubborn like that. Has been pretty much all of his life. One of the best ways to get him to do something is to tell him that he can't, and while he's learned fairly recently how dire the consequences can be for leaping without looking first, it's difficult to break lifelong habits. Plus he hates to be a buzzkill, if he can avoid it.

The mention of a goal does mollify that competitive impulse a bit, though. A goal is a tangible endpoint, something to strive towards and complete a task, rather than simply running until his common sense overrides his pride, or stopping early because he's managed to screw up the exercise routine for everyone else.

It's a small lifeline, but he'll take it. "Sounds good to me." He waits a moment or two, but when it becomes clear Verity's not planning on leading the way, it's not a far leap to what she's expecting of him. "I'll take point, then." He's not sure what the surf shop looks like or what it's called, but it stands to reason that it won't be that hard to figure out, as long as he follows the indicated path.

Edited 2017-09-10 00:37 (UTC)

((Your boss sets records for bullshit. Real life comes first, take the time you need and we'll be here. Slow play is good play, and we've got shoulders if you need 'em.))

*Samus meets Verity's glance and nods, accepting route and destination both. Or destination, at least--she doesn't know yet whether Verity will keep them to the straight and simple path or plan some kind of evasion once they're out of earshot. As she watches the seconds ticking away, she considers what she knows of the terrain, the opportunities for ambush and whether she'll do better to follow the same trail or try to take another route to get ahead. For now, though, they have some time to plan without her eavesdropping.*

[Fortunately-ish, the shop's closed now, and he's ignoring me so there's not much I can do. Hurrah for free time? I'd like to keep going if you guys are still up for it.]

The path Verity chose is wide and clearly marked. It shouldn't be hard for Jim to follow without a guide. Their goal is going to be obvious when he sees it, being a shack surrounded by surfboards. They still surf in the future--she hopes. Assuming Samus continues to not target him as more than a distraction for Ver, she's pretty sure they'll be okay even if she falls behind.

Again with the protectiveness from the misanthrope.

Once they have some distance and won't be overheard, she slows down slightly to talk. "Can you keep going without worrying about me?"

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http://i.imgur.com/EMCIRvD.mp4

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