conductor of the struggle bus [open]

[exuviiated]

[So, after he gets gracelessly dunked and... purified, he supposes, he runs.

Back to his little place in the slums, and there he hides out until he feels ready to face the world again. That comes with time and hunger, and finds him at the mall with what currency he's managed to get from pawning off things he doesn't need.]

Hey, is there any map of the mall? I'm-- I'm lost.

[Very lost.]

Comments

[unrecovered]

The little triangular kiosks have them.

[Wash has a bag from the mall's pet store in his right hand, a bandage on his left hand, and his poker face firmly in place. He can be calm, but if it turns out Aaron's made another deal, Wash is dropping everything and hauling his ass back up to the top of the spire.]

[Your move, kid.]

[exuviiated]

[His move indeed. Aaron wonders if he can answer quickly and get the heck outta dodge, because his chest feels like it's closing up-- he's nervous, and guilty, and it-- it feels kind of good, because he's normal again, but really bad because of obvious reasons.]

Oh. Thanks.

[He looks around for a kiosk, seeing one a few yards away. Score.]

I'm sorry for...

[Hand gestures.]

It got out of hand.

[unrecovered]

Little bit, yeah.

[On one hand, Wash isn't really enjoying seeing Aaron panic. On the other hand, it's a pretty good indicator that he hasn't made another deal.]

Are you okay?

[exuviiated]

I'm doing fine. Are you?

[Concentrating on how someone else feels will help to calm him down. It has to.]

[unrecovered]

For the most part.

[He was pulled back to Chorus not long after tossing Aaron in that fountain. For Wash, that day was months ago. Still, if Aaron doesn't already know, then Wash sees no reason to advertise it. He nods towards the greater part of the mall.]

What are you looking for?

[exuviiated]

I'm gonna go get some food. I've been...

[More hand gestures.]

Hiding out at my place, I guess, ever since.

[He still looks abashed, but much less panicky than when Wash had first addressed him.]

[unrecovered]

Food court's not far that way. [He nods to one of the mall corridors.] There's also one of those big box stores down at the end of the hall. Tired of what's in the fridge?

[exuviiated]

Well, actually, more like nothing in the fridge.

[Oversharing. He has to stop that.]

Why're you here? What are you here for, I mean.

[unrecovered]

[But the fridges restocked themselves. Magically. Unless-]

Wait, are you not in the high rises?

[He lifts the pet store bag a little higher in response.] Spoiling my cat.

[exuviiated]

You have a cat?

[Should he say he lives in the... not the high rises? Probably.]

And no, I live somewhere else. That I could customize and have to myself, you know?

[unrecovered]

[He just looks at the bag, then back at Aaron. Why is that so hard to believe?]

Suit yourself. [He shrugs.] For what it's worth, there's plenty of space at the high rises and the fridges refill themselves.

[exuviiated]

I. I meant, you have a cat, that's cool, I want to see your cat one day. Maybe.

[Oh, that was awful, he really needs to stop talking. Nope. He won't.]

Also, don't you think there's a reason for all that charity? Whoever-- that guy-- he wants something from us, and taking his stuff just means we owe it to him to fight this stupid war. I'm not going to owe him anything, so I'm going to live somewhere on my own terms.

[unrecovered]

Maybe.

[Forgive him if he doesn't bring the person with the propensity for making literal deals with the devil into his home.]

Huh. See, I figure if he's going to recruit an army, food and shelter is the least that he owes us. If it's one less thing to worry about, fine. [He shrugs.] Of course, he hasn't exactly provided training for said army, but I don't think that's going to happen at this point.

[exuviiated]

[He shrugs and crosses his arms. Compressing, avoiding looking straight at Wash. No matter what nice things are provided, they've still been brought here, and they're still stuck.]

Well, we got that message when we first came here. Maybe even he doesn't know how our magic works.

[[He still looks small, but he's speaking like he's confident. It's a weird contrast.]