Night Patrol

[rekindledtitan]

It’s always hard to tell where Nexus time will fall relative to her own world, and it gets even more complicated with the planet-hopping nature of a Guardian’s job. This time it’s the small hours of the morning back home, but Blaze finds they’ve popped out in the early evening, Nexus-time. ‘They’ being just herself and her Ghost, one six-foot-plus robot soldier in plate armor and her palm-sized companion, his shell an array of silver points that flex and spin as he floats alongside her.

 

Ghost is projecting a map of the central Nexus in front of him as they walk. If one watches closely, the little boundaries and markers shift slightly, every so often. They have a lot of errands duties to get through, so it’s possible to run into them almost anywhere. Hunting for parts in an all-night tech market, or collecting a takeout order from one of the many places serving ‘Nexus fusion’ dishes. Sorting supplies around a park bench in the moonlight, or heading into the woods along one of the less popular walking trails.

 

They talk to each other now and then, one loud and one barely a murmur; it’s mostly about the work, but now and then it slips into more serious discussion. Eventually, Blaze exhales a simulated sigh of frustration and asks, perhaps rhetorically, perhaps directed at the nearest innocent bystander:

 

“How would you help someone figure out how to be their own person?”

Comments

[ayatantreasure]

For a moment, the little blue blips on the holo seem to suggest there are two people sitting at one of the little park tables, one on each side. But by the time she turns to face them fully, there's only one dot on the mini map, and one figure sitting alone. A gridded boardgame of some sort sits in front of them, white and black stones deliberately placed at the intersections, some kind of game in progress, a small pile of the same stones sitting to each side of the board. The seat across from them is empty, faint traces of a heat signature suggesting it was recently occupied.

The white figure straightens a little, raising their faceless head to look at her, blue shimmering in lines along the contours of their body. A hand rises to touch two points at their throat.

"You let them find a purpose," they answer, a modulated voice broadcasting from some hidden vocoder in their... head? Helmet? "Do what they want to do. Go where they want to go."

[rekindledtitan]

The apparent disappearing act makes her pause when she looks round, eyes flitting between the mysterious figure and the empty seat. Seems like someone could give her Ghost a run for his money when it comes to staying out of sight.

"Doing what I can," she says, a bit ruefully. "They - we - already have all the purpose we could want. Means there's a lot of work to do. It kind of takes up a lot of focus. But there's no reason they can't do whatever else they want."

She pauses, gestures at the fading heat signature. "Hey, uh, I hope I didn't scare your friend off. I wasn't trying to interrupt your game."

[ayatantreasure]

It's so subtle, almost unnoticeable, that the figure freezes for a moment, surprised. She noticed? For a brief moment, they consider denying it, feigning confusion. But no, that would make her more suspicious. "It's all right," they say instead, a beat too late. "Something... came up."

Not a lie, not exactly, just... extremely misleading.

Better to move on and distract her with the problem at hand. "Having work to do isn't the same as a purpose," they point out, gesturing broadly toward the Exo. "That's the what, but purpose is the why. It's what's important to them because they hold it sacred on their own merits, not because somebody told them to."

[rekindledtitan]

"Uh... huh." Considering how little cover there is out here, Blaze is... still not really buying it, but if Player 2 decided to PINpoint out when she started getting noisy, she can't exactly apologize to them now.

Weird, but. It's the Nexus.

"I think they do. Believe in our cause, I mean. None of us exactly get to volunteer for the call. But they both take it seriously. And that's good! But- maybe the best way I can describe it is they're both kind of young. They're not kids," she hastens to add. "Just... they don't have a lot of other experiences outside our mission, if that makes sense."

[ayatantreasure]

Young. Not kids. It takes a good deal of their self-control not to bristle at that, a complex storm of internal emotions at war with one another.

Peace. It is not the same.

They seem to take a breath in, hold it, and then release before responding. "Then all the more reason for them to find purpose besides work. Not that it isn't important too," they add, lest they be misunderstood. "But it's easy to become a nameless, faceless warrior if the mission is all that ever matters. Do they have any hobbies? Friends?"

[starfreckles]

The drow think a long moment, humming softly in thought before they speak. "It's a personal journey, and different for each person. The best general advice I can give is...we start with small steps. Much how one learns to walk before they crawl, and before that, rolling over and getting off their back."

Of course this is asked while Tar is setting a tall oil lantern on a stick in front of them. This seemed a little less threatening than using their sword or starting a proper fire in this little bit of park they found. "Patience both from you as a guide, and from themselves is another deciding factor. I'm still a work in progress for everybody I know."

[rekindledtitan]

Blaze makes the bench creak uncomfortably as she shifts round to better talk to the stranger, eyes aglow as she watches them work. A light somewhere inside her mouth flashes in time with her words when she talks, the same golden yellow as the Exo's eyes.

"Makes sense," she says, her voice carrying a soft synthetic 'accent' at the edges. "I mean... I don't see how trying to rush them would work, either. But I'm kind of worried about being too patient. If it's too easy to go part of the way and then get stuck when you're sort of comfortable. Have you ever felt that?"

[starfreckles]

"Indeed. It's part of why I ended up taking up adventuring and coming to this place when ever I returned home. It forces me out of that comfortable place." Ah, that a good sturdy spot and distance from anything accidentally flammable or in danger of getting hit by a wayward blow.

"It requires a sort of...social awareness and understanding what that person wants for themselves. If they aren't in that place yet, you shouldn't even worry about if they are getting complacent." Overall, Tar's feeling unbothered by Blaze and her strange looks..She's probably just a Warforged or Forgeborn after all. One who needs help. "Ah, I remember another. Change your expectations as you go, but don't be so caught up you get too busy thinking about what they could be, and remember to see who they are."

A little snap of their slender fingers, and little dancing moths float to the lamp, lighting the wick when they touch. Ah, perfect.

[rekindledtitan]

She snorts softly at that. Social awareness and patience, just what she's good at.

"Figuring people out has never exactly been my strong suit." She leans forward a bit, elbows resting on their knees. "You're right, I've got to focus on who they are right now. Who they want to be is up to them. And I think we're giving them what they needed up to now. Order, purpose, something to fight for. Trouble is, I only know how to teach them to do things my way. And I don't think that's what either of them needs. One of 'em's inclined to just become whatever she's told to and the other's pushing himself too hard to keep up..."

Oh! Blaze tilts her head at the sudden appearance of those little moths, brow plates lifting as they flutter over to the lamp. She makes an appreciative little 'huh' when they light it- that's way more stylish than any attempt she'd have made. Her Ghost peers curiously over her shoulder, his points twitching with interest.

[starfreckles]

"If the community is big enough, you could pass them around to different mentors? Like your their main...person? But during their time they can go try different things?" It's not often they struggle for words, but they are this time. "He's trying to keep up with her? Like friendly rivalry, or some sort of fear you think?"

Tar laughs softly at the reaction to their moth lights. Another snap, and three little silver moths land on the Ghost, warm, but not burning hot as the ones used to light the lamp were. "Social things are hard, even for trained individuals like me. I basically spent my entire adolescence learning how to navigate people and I still find myself baffled."

[coldsong]

"Well. Good evening to you both." It's anybody's guess what Loki was doing in the tall grass off to the side of the walking trail, but he doesn't appear to have been skulking, exactly, and he straightens when they draw near. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

He has to take a moment to try to remember whether they were on good terms last they met, which might be a sign he's losing his touch. He hasn't had near enough time for actual mischief lately. He hasn't missed the question they've asked, though. It's on the tip of his tongue to ask if it's anyone he knows. He has a guess already. "It depends on where they're coming from," he answers thoughtfully.

"Raising children is in many ways just helping them figure out who they are and how to be more them, but if you're talking about an adult, the approaches I'm using won't suit."

"Of course," he sighs, "my parenting techniques may be in question tonight anyway. If you happen to see a keychain depicting a sparkly purple kitten with butterfly wings and rainbow ribbons streaming out of its rear, I'd love to have it back. Una is very distraught." Distraught enough to have dispatched her father to look for it in the dark, evidently.

[rekindledtitan]

"Evening, Loki." He can't be in their bad books, anyway, not the way both of them echo the greeting. They mostly just look taken aback to see it's him doing... whatever in the grass.

"It has been a while," Ghost admits. Blaze can only shrug in agreement. Not a lot of time for coming around socializing when they have a new team to pull together. She snorts with amusement at the mention of children.

"What would you think? The City's never going to be that desperate for babysitters." Good news: she wouldn't dream of teaching kids to play with live rounds. Bad news: it makes the problem that bit more unorthodox.

Not that they're the only ones out here with a problem, it seems. She shares a glance with Ghost, nods. He flies over to the other side of the path, the blue light of his sensors sweeping over the grass. Behind him, Blaze sets down the small metal chest slung at her back, and follows after to examine the nearby shrubbery.

"Must be pretty special to get you out here at this time of night," she comments. "Careful, Ghost, there're animals in there sometimes."

[coldsong]

Loki has a knack for being in odd places at odd times, but it's true that those oddities don't normally include digging through the grass like a badger in the dead of night. At that rate, though, they should all consider themselves lucky to have run into each other!

"Not the parenting type?" He grins at Blaze, privately acknowledging that she would be Una's favorite babysitter if it ever came to that. Fortunately, it probably won't. "I didn't think I was, either."

He's grateful for the help, though. He has a feeling Ghost in particular has a better chance of spotting the item in question than he does. "It's her favorite toy right now, she's named it after Freya and she tells it stories and narrates her day to it. I think it helps her stay calm and manage her impulses. Thank you, I owe you both a drink or something."

Or a reasonable attempt at good advice. "So, you're dealing with an adult who hasn't figured out how to be their own person yet. You come from a team-driven environment, as far as I can tell. There's a fine line between support and peer pressure sometimes. I'm not sure how to tell you to navigate that, but being aware of it is a start."

[rekindledtitan]

It's pretty dark, and Exo faces are hard to read even when they haven't been reduced to the twin glow of their eyes flickering as they blink. Still, there's a bit of a pause, like Blaze is having to stop and think how to reply to that.

"Nah," she settles on, aiming for cheerful flippancy. "I guess they forgot to install that module back at the war machine factory." She catches Ghost peeking at her above the grass when she looks back his way, but he quickly gets back to scanning the area. Blaze shakes her head and paces carefully after him, eyes on the path. From the description, she's more likely to crush the toy if she goes blundering into the grass and she has some sense, occasionally.

"Think I get it, though. Kids get a lot of comfort from things like that. Especially when they've been through as much as your kids."

"We're happy to help," Ghost agrees quietly. Blaze picks a safe spot to keep an eye on him and scour the bushes carefully while the conversation turns back to their own troubles at home.

"Yeah, it's... difficult. I'm doing my best to teach them everything they need to learn. Combat skills, repair work, dancing, all our history and traditions... It's all important. Those skills will keep them alive out in the dark. And the fireteam has to cohere. But each of us has to learn to walk our own path, too."

[coldsong]

He can tell something he's said has struck them the wrong way. Their world and their work is not conducive to caring for children, obviously, but it seems like more than that. He's said something weird, insensitive? He's not sure, and with his background knowledge as limited as it is, he has no solid way to interpret the reaction.

Well, they can't blame him for something he doesn't know, so when she responds he opts to just flash a vaguely sympathetic smile in her direction and let it go.

"Dancing?" For some reason that's what catches his attention, and this time his smile is a little softer. "That might be one to lean into. Creative work lends itself to personal expression, and personal expression goes hand in hand with personal growth. I used to--well, I learned a lot of court dances, but there's something more rewarding about doing it alone."

"I notice you're not naming names, but if you are talking about Rogers, you may as well encourage his painting and drawing, too. You don't have to confirm or deny my guess unless you want to. I'm aware it's not really my business."

[tieflingtarot]

The tiefling was perched on the retaining wall just outside one of the parks, a bag set on the stone to one side, and a bottle in hand. The area was dim, the only light coming from some far-off street lamp, but he seemed to not have any trouble seeing as his gaze skipped towards the stranger, brows lifting lightly at the question.

"Well isn't that one hell of a question to chew on this time of night?" Not that he sounded upset. More amused that he was being asked it of all people. "I'm guessing it's not a kid, there's plenty of info on them... which means it's likely gonna depend on a lot of factors."

Molly huffed a low noise, free hand settling back against the edge of the wall as he leaned back while thinking, feet kicking out idly. "How they came to 'not' be their own person for one. Injury or trauma's gonna fuck a person up differently than say just not remembering or being that way naturally. Let alone if they were originally meant to be a person at first or not, or how independent they can be already. That last one'll really throw you 'round the bend, let me tell you."

[rekindledtitan]

"Well, guess I've got good news then - it's that last scenario I've got on my hands." At least, for the one of her two charges she's most concerned about. Blaze peers up at the fellow perched up on his spot, her eyes glowing back at him in the dark. The insouciant air and the affinity for height remind her of her Hunter brothers and sisters. She might smile for a moment, if only she could. But in any case the subject at hand tempers her amusement quickly.

"We've got someone who was made to be a tool, pretty much. Lived that way for I can't even guess at how long. And the way their species works, they need to be bound to someone else to survive, who'd normally be their 'master'." She shakes her head. "It's a magic thing."

[itmeanstruth]

All-night takeout was a blessing to those working the night shift. Minoru heard the question as he was picking up his own order.

As someone who grew up as part of a pre-packaged set, and seemingly always in his twin brother’s shadow, he could relate. It took him most of his childhood to figure out how to be his own person, so that really made him think for a minute.

“I guess I’d ask, if there was nobody else at all in the world to compare yourself to or prove yourself to, what would you most want to be doing?” He answered, scratching his head. “And then encourage that.”

[rekindledtitan]

Turns out Guardians on all-night watch can put away a lot of food, so if you volunteer to resupply them it helps to be someone who can carry the entire fireteam's plus-sized order in one arm. And not incidentally if you have fire powers you can use to keep them warm.

Blaze has parked her armored bulk to one side while she waits, to be out of the way. The metal plates of her face are drawn into a tight frown, but it eases slightly as she nods at the young human.

"Huh. You know, I don't think they'd ever imagine that scenario. Not sure I would. I'll have to try that on them. Maybe it'll be too much, but- it's worth a try. You ever had to ask that question before?"

[itmeanstruth]

“Not directly.” He scratched his head sheepishly. “But if I could go back in time to when I was a kid, and ask myself that… it would probably have made a lot of things better.”

Being part of a matching set meant competition in literally everything. It wasn’t until Minoru found something he could be good at on his own that the sibling rivalry started to settle down.

[rekindledtitan]

"Heh. Took a while to find yourself, huh?" She can sympathize, a bit. It's not a problem she remembers, but it can't be easy figuring yourself out for the very first time.

[itmeanstruth]

“Yeah. It really did.” He nodded, a little embarrassed to admit it. Minoru was always so energetically happy-go-lucky about everything. But this was a little bit different. “I guess I’m still finding myself, in some ways.”

[desertpowered]

Paul Atreides is often out at night, but this time he has a protector. His flying-serpent friend, Python, is coiled around him and gives a faint hiss - but as the mark of a tamed animal, will not attack unless Paul himself gives the command. Instead he calms it with a stroke on the head and soft words.

He greets the strangers with a salute. Paul's own culture would lead him to be wary of a being like this person, who is in appearance too much like the thinking-machines and cymeks he learned about from history, but he knows from the Cybertronians not to judge. Other cultures have their own ways of doing things and he's respectful. The laws of his own world don't apply here so he won't hold that prejudice.

"It depends. What defines someone as being their own person? The freedom to make one's own choices? Deciding your own future?" It's a question he's asked himself, and he figures this conversation might help him as well. "I am Paul-Muad'Dib Atreides, and this is Python. She's a flying-serpent, one of the animals who help me here in the Nexus. I told her you're a friend - I'm sorry she was defensive. She only meant to protect me."

[rekindledtitan]

Blaze gives the stranger a friendly nod - and his pet a curious look. Snakes hold no fear for her, and she thinks it's kind of pretty with those long wings.

"It's the will to make their own choices and decisions I'm worried about. The independence to forge their own path, not the one they think others want from them." Another polite nod, then. "Don't worry about the little one, I'm not offended. I guess I must look as weird to her as she does to me! I'm Blaze-37, this little guy is Ghost. Promise we're not as scary as we look - at least not to anyone who doesn't deserve it."

[desertpowered]

The feathered serpent calms down and settles, Paul lifting his hand from her head once she's relaxed. Her scales are a bright green, with faintly glowing gold wings.

"I see. It's a pleasure, Blaze and Ghost." Paul looks up to Blaze and Ghost, smiling faintly. "The independence to make your own choices. That's something we all have to learn and make progress towards eventually. I'm...facing the same issue, though probably not in the same way. But that doesn't mean we can't help each other. If you don't mind telling me, what is your friend's problem that's holding them back from forging their own path?"