daybreakacademy | It's All the Same

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It's All the Same

WHO: Gamma Akutabi, OPEN!
WHAT: There's a new teacher showing up! That's exciting, right? Also welcome to ~~your~~ his first class in how not to mess around with magical shit you don't know anything about!
WHEN: February 2nd-3rd for general on-campus run-ins, February 4th for class
WHERE: Daybreak Academy Campus
NOTES: The class log will just be one big group thread, so I highly encourage participants to react to and interact with other students! Let's have fun with this! All other threads will probably be one-on-one encounters.

Arrival

The helicopter blades slowed to a whining whir. The thick rubber sole of a black leather boot hit the ground, the toe-guard fashioned to look like teeth, just before its mate came to join it. They were attached to long lanky legs, which belonged to a long lanky man, his ashen hair and fur-trimmed silver coat whipped by the dying winds of the aircraft. He slung the strap of an enormous bag over his shoulder, the contents of which were unknown -- it was long enough to reach the back of his knees, and about half his size in width. The bag itself was crafted out of tough hide, and fastened shut with what looked to be criss-crossed canine teeth the size of a man's fist.

"--ma Akutabi?"

He turned at the muted call of his name to spot a man making his way across the rooftop to greet him, one gloved hand mashing a brimmed hat firmly on his head to keep it securely in place, the other holding to a sheet of paper that the wind was furiously trying to wrench out of his grip. He was straining to be heard above the helicopter, still noisy even as the blades spun at a lazier pace.

"That's right," Gamma confirmed.

"Sousuke Reive," the man smiled pleasantly. "If you'll come with me, I'll show you to where you'll be staying."

Gamma followed him down the stairs, his leather uniform creaking with his long-legged gait. Crossing the campus grounds, he drew a lot of stares (and judgmental apprehension at his fashion choices, what kind of guy wore a belt buckle of a tiny silver skull with curving horns?) from students and faculty alike. He didn't pay them much mind, his flashy appearance usually drew attention. Even if he'd been wearing nothing more outlandish than jeans and a sweater, the black plates of armor grafted into his right cheek and over his neck weren't something a person saw every day. Hell, some of them might have even seen his bounty posters from the past several years if they'd run in any Outworld-related circles. So they could look all they liked. Looking was free.

Upon seeing the lavish architecture of the faculty dorm, he tipped his head back to examine the multi-level building with a low whistle. This place really was loaded, wasn't it?

"Impressive, isn't it?" Sousuke grinned over his shoulder. "Considering the high risk level of fighting the blight of Outworld, it seemed appropriate that the rewards were more evenly matched. You're situated on the first floor."

"That's fine," Gamma said, one hand in his pocket as he took the front steps two at a time, trailing behind his helpful guide.

He passed a tired, pretty woman carrying a lidded cup of coffee in her hands who seemed too exhausted to notice Gamma's curious stare, and he also took note of the two teachers standing outside one of the dorms speaking excitedly to one another in low tones.

Sousuke came to a stop outside of that very door. "Pardon me, gentlemen, new teacher coming through!" Two heads whipped around, turning to stare at Gamma with eagerness written all over their faces.

Then disappointment.

Then muffled snickering, and they walked off.

"What was that about?" Gamma wondered, frowning.

Sousuke shrugged, wrestling a ring of keys out of his pocket and counting until he found one with Gamma's room number. "Who knows? Well here you are, Gemma!"

Gamma wasn't looking at the room's interior. He was looking at the nameplate. 'Gemma Z.' The hell? ...Okay, now he had a better idea why the two chuckleheads had reacted the way they did.

"...It's Gamma," he corrected Sousuke. "Two A's. Hard G. Gamma."

"Hm?" Sousuke blinked, then stared down at his paper. Another blink. He lifted his glasses to peer at the nameplate and noted the spelling. "Oh, I see! Well well, this is embarrassing. I'll ask the handyman to fix you up with a new nameplate right away! Now why don't you drop off your bags, and we'll continue with the sure."

Gamma stepped through the door, ducking just a little so the upper tips of his gray hair went below the door frame. "Thanks for the offer, but it was a long ride. I'm going to grab some shut-eye before dinner."

Sousuke seemed surprised, but not offended. He wished Gamma a good nap, leaving the key on an end table before shutting the door and whistling as he walked away.

Gamma slung his large bag to the floor, propping it up next to a bookshelf. He'd probably find a few books from Soleil to stuff in there later. For now, he wasn't kidding about being tired. He eased his 6'2" frame onto the edge of the bed, rested his elbows on his knees, and scrubbed his thumbs over his eyebrows as he breathed out slowly.

He sure hoped the administration knew what they were doing, taking him on as a teacher. He sure hoped he knew what he was doing agreeing to such a thing.

Well, whatever. He leaned back, folding his arms behind his head, and stared at the ceiling for a while. It wasn't much longer before his eyes fell shut of their own volition and he drifted off to sleep. A nice, peaceful rest, that surely wouldn't get interrupted by knocks on the door, or crashes outside his window, or any other number of assorted things.

-----

Gamma Sightings

[He's definitely not hard to miss, looking the way he does. He also isn't exactly going out of his way to avoid people either. He eats in the cafeteria the way a normal person would, looks grumpy in the cold, and picks through a few library books.]

[Just an ordinary guy, really. Unless someone irritates him, of course.]

[His office remains pretty empty. He took a look at it, realized he had no intentions of wasting a lot of time in one room, and turned his back on it for good. There's a note instead that just says, 'Ask questions in class or send a network message.' An office. Definitely not his style.]

[Gamma can also be spotted hanging around the vault, checking out a few items that he intends to use in class. Soleil is another place anyone could see him moving around the streets, either catching a bite at a diner, picking up some gas and maintenance tools at the hardware store, or picking out some books at the shop. It wouldn't hurt him to get some clothes either, since he didn't pack anything. That huge bag he brought was just for his sword, so. You know. Toothbrush, toothpaste, the typical stuff a person needs to not smell like hot garbage. You're welcome.]

------

C. Artifact Research and Handling - First Lesson

[Black leather pants. Steel-trimmed boots. Black glove on the right hand that goes into the sleeve of his rust-colored sweater. This is about as relaxed in attire as Gamma gets, and while he might not look like the average teacher, he probably fits in just fine at a place like Daybreak Academy. Each desk has a thick book on it that looks like a field guide, filled with glossy pictures of jewelry, cups, mirrors, garments, and other assorted objects. Leafing through it is pretty interesting, as each item is named and has a brief description about what the item does to the one who owns it, how it was discovered, and possibly even the identity of the person who made it. Some are beneficial, but most boast horrific curses and fatalities (because isn't that what sells?).]

[To the side of the room is a long table with several cloth-clovered items. One is very obviously a full-length mirror, but the others aren't easy to discern just yet as they're much smaller. He leans up against the front of his desk, arms folded, keeping an eye on the clock. Once the second and minute hand tick to the top of the hour...]

Let's start.

[Anyone who comes in late after this part gets it pointed out to them.]

You're late. What's the punishment for that kind of thing? Just do ten push-ups or something.

[He doesn't really care that much, but there should be at least some sort of discipline involved.]

First off, I'm here to replace your previous teacher. If you were there when they got sucked into a portable black hole, sorry you had to see that.

[At least it wasn't a lesson they'd soon forget.]

I don't know what your professor's lesson schedule was, so I'm just gonna start from scratch. Name's Gamma. No need to be formal, just don't be a disrespectful snot. I don't keep office hours so if you need something just fire off a message. If I give you an assignment, there's a reason for it, so do it and try to think about what that reason is.

So first rule about handling magic artifacts: Don't. Especially with your bare hands, it's a quick way to end up dead and that's only if you're lucky.

[He sticks his pinky finger into his ear and twists it a little then crosses a lanky leg over the other, just at the ankle.]

Let's go around the room. Tell me your name and why you took this class, and what you think or hope to get out of it. After that, I'll show you some low-level magic artifacts and ask for some volunteers to see if you can figure out what they are and what they do.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Post here if you're a student in the class for group participation. If you want a one-on-one thread after class, that's fine too.]

Jade nods her head. She’d been one of the first ones to show up, given her preferred method of transportation. She has a little notebook out and a pencil, but not much else supplies wise on her person. Why would she really when she can just pop out and back in again when she needs something?

“I’m Jade. I signed up because, um, because I want to learn more. How to tell what’s a magic thing and how to avoid it or avoid making it work in case it’s dangerous?” Well. The being there was pitched to sound like a question even when it really wasn’t one.

"Hrk! Sorry!"

Kohaku froze in the doorway. She'd been running late and hoped to slip in unnoticed, but had been noticed immediately.

She hesitated for a moment to see if he was serious, then kind of just did some pushups before slipping into her seat while blushing. At least all that weight lifting was finally paying off for something.

Hey, that seems like it worked. The kid probably won't be late anymore, seemed like the other students would know not to be late either in the future. Maybe he wasn't so bad at this teaching gig after all. He didn't call any further attention to Kohaku, just gave her a nod to say 'yeah that's good you're off the hook now' before turning to Jade.

"Self-preservation, then. Smart." Satisfied, he glanced in Kohaku's direction. "We're doing introductions. Tell us about yourself and why you chose to take the class."

Ren answers promptly when it's his turn, with no hesitation.

"Ren Amamiya. I want to know how to handle artifacts so I can steal them safely if I have to."

Stealing them? Kid had guts to admit that out loud in front of his peers and teacher, he'd give them that. And there were definitely a lot of nasty things out there that could stand to be in someone else's hands, or better yet, no one's hands.

"That's fine. How are your pickpocketing skills?" Maybe he'd give Ren an assignment to polish his abilities, because that's what a good teacher did.

The new nameplate is inside the package. Just take down the old one and set up the new.

This is what the note on his desk reads when he "wakes". Some days he stayed down longer than others and that meant sometimes he rose up to a list of tasks ready for him as the rest of the world slept. He's grateful for it, really. With how much crazy goes on here, especially this past month, he craves a little of the dull and mundane.

In no time at all, he's looking alive-ish again, picking the lock for shop class, "borrowing" the tools he needs, and then heading back to the new teacher's door. His eyes half-glazed with disinterest as he set about getting the misprinted plate off. Gemma Z, the nameplate reads. Huh. Almost reminds him of...

He turns, looking up to the figure headed down the hall. Silver hair, that mask thing on the side of his face. He'd know it anywhere.

"PRIMO!" He bursts out. Both the old and the new still-packaged nameplate are dropped, as is the screwdriver. "PRIMO GAMMA! HAHA!" He's starting forward without hesitation, grinning wide and arms spreading wider. He's got that uniform instead of his old rags, dressed like he apparently goes here, but he's certainly not controlling his volume like he does.

Hm? He knew that voice. His eyes widened as his mouth curved downward, because there was a janitor bull rushing him...

Holy hell.

"Hector?!"

This wasn't what he wanted. If he didn't know where Hector was, then he wouldn't have to hunt him down for the coveted Ring of the Dead. Hector shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be here.

And why was he running toward him like a character in a girls' romance comic?!

Gamma ran away. Jackass.

"Greet me in a manlier fashion!" he bellowed, sprinting down the hallway.

He's lost too many people he knew from his time between death and now. To the outlands, to time, to back luck and circumstance, to simply having to say goodbye. To see someone, anyone at all again but especially one of his Primos (if not literally his kind), is no small thing.

Which is why he looks surprised when Gamma runs.

"Wha--!? Come back!"

He starts up after him, running down the hall as fast as his legs will carry him-- his limp is there, but it's healing and he's not slow besides.

"Gamma, come back and greet me...!"

His power lights up. He brings a shift about to his arm, turning it skeletal and popping off a hand. He reels back with it and pitches it forward.

"Like a normal human being!"

To preform a flying punch to Gamma's head.

"Screw you!" Gamma flipped him a middle finger, turning just in time to get a disembodied fist in the face that sent him pitching backward with a lanky leg flying into the air.

His foot twitched.

"...why you..." Gamma pried the fist off his face, stomped to the nearest window, opened it, and chucked Hector's hand outside. How do you like them apples?! "Neither of us are normal human beings to begin with!"

Edited 2019-02-03 05:15 (UTC)

This is the worst reunion he's ever had. Worst. Aside the time Imelda told him she never wanted to see him again.

He laughs when he successfully knocks Gamma down, immediately closing the distance between them with an annoyed grin upon his face. One which quickly falls as Gamma gets up and heads for the window.

"No! No! Don't--!" He scrambles for the open window too late, watching his hand go flying off. He slumps, staring forlornly out the window.

"... They don't know I'm dead here... and now my hand's on the lawn..."

Are you feeling bad yet, Gamma? Because Héctor is hanging out the window rather pitifully.

He heaves a breath, straightens up, then turns to face Gamma with a deep and unhappy frown. Then, he hugs the man tight. And hits him in the back of his head with his other hand before letting go.

"Tonto. I haven't seen you in months. You could've been dead! What is it with you and a little hug! Honestly, you're like un niño pequeño a veces!"

Gamma grimaced, but endured. He even gave Hector a few awkward slaps on the back while spreading his gloved hand over his own face. He never did get accustomed to certain normal things, and people being genuinely happy to see him was up there on the list of things that could embarrass S-Class Bounty Gamma Akutabi.

"Have a little more faith than that, I'm too stubborn to kick the bucket any time soon."

He glowered at the smack to the back of the head, and it looked like he was tempted to toss Hector out onto the lawn to reunite him with his hand. But he refrained, because that's what primos do.

"And if you're so worried about being outed, don't fling your body parts around in the first place! Wait here." He turned around and stomped down the corridor, hands jammed in his pockets and shoulders grumpily hunched.

Out on the lawn below, two students had drawn near the hand curiously. One was wrinkling her nose while the other had found a stick to poke at it.

"See? It twitched didn't it?"

"Ewwwwww..."

"I'm gonna drop a book on it and see what happens," the other said, slipping one arm free from her backpack and unzipping it.

"Get away from that thing, it's cursed," Gamma shooed them away. "Don't you know better than to mess around with something like this? Do you want to be cursed with herpes? This thing is crawling with diseases!"

That seemed to do the trick, and they backed off as Gamma plucked it up in his gloved hand, holding it by the ring finger like he was picking up a soiled diaper.

He returned up the stairs a few moments later and held it out for Hector to take it back. "Got it."

Hunters. So ridiculous even asides the actual problems they caused. Always missing the point. He glowers at Gamma instead of 1. reminding him that stubbornness has nothing to do with it, and 2. he's not the one who flung a body part out the window.

But Gamma heads off and in minutes he's watching the exchange take place outside, wincing at what he can feel, frowning at what he can't hear. And what he can. When Gamma returns he's greeted with a scowl and raised brow.

"Diseases?" He repeats, then takes his hand. "You're such a jerk sometimes." He sighs and shakes his head, positioning the hand back into it's socket, then letting his power work to set that all back to flesh again. Good as new. Ish.

It's at that point he actually sighs an honest, "Thank you."

Then lifts his eyes back up to the man before him. Is that mask a little further along than it was last? He hopes not. He hopes that's just his eyes playing tricks. Other than that, he looks okay. Same as he always does he supposes.

"So you're un professor now, huh?" He says. And then a bit of smirk tugs. "Gemma Z. I don't know who keeps screwing up the nameplates, but I've got to admit, that one was funny. Especially when yours isn't even that hard." A lot easier than 82 white chains something something.

Edited 2019-02-04 09:49 (UTC)

Gamma grunted in response to Hector's gratitude. Come on, don't thank him, you know he doesn't know how to take positivity from others.

"I'm gonna owe it to wishful thinking," he grumbled, folding his arms. The nameplate honestly didn't bother him that much; he was just tired and grouchy from the long helicopter ride in.

"What are you doing here, anyway? Thought you were trying to make it back to Santa Cecilia." He shifted his eyes to Hector's face, studying the expressions that played over his animated face. "Did you make it?"

Well Gamma's gonna have to learn to take it because that's just how Héctor works! But the grunt will do.

He snorts. He's even about to say You're not that bad. Or famous. But, when Gamma goes on his face immediately falls.

"Ah. No. I... I didn't." Which is obvious. As if he'd ever leave home again after all this. He turns a little, angling himself to hide his face and not doing a very good job of it. "I got caught up in a morgue again. Faculty here found me before things got too crazy, got me out in exchange that I let them study my blight a little. Figured if nothing's working maybe I just got to learn something that will. I'm TA-ing the evening classes and doing odd jobs on the property. It's a free education, room and board, so long as I do all that."

He shakes himself and turns back to Gamma. "What about you? I thought you were... busy." Hunting.

"Not a bad deal," he remarked, his expression unchanging as he continued to monitor his friend's face and read the words that weren't spoken. "For how long?"

Because he doubted Hector would be staying here for an extended period of time if he had any choice in the matter, knowing what he knows about the guy. There must have been some condition that kept him around, and if that was the case, Gamma was going to have to have words with the superintendent.

As for himself being 'busy'? "Who says I'm not?" He smirked, then tipped his head back to rest against the wall. "This place makes a lot of expeditions to the Outlands, not to mention places where the things from that realm emerge. It doesn't hurt to have those kinds of connections. The free food isn't bad either."

He smirks a little despite himself, a laugh on his breath. "So you're bumming it here is what you're saying," He teases.

But he looks thoughtful then. "Well I can't say you wouldn't have anything valuable to teach. You know how many years it took me to find my way out of that place and back to normal earth."

Too many years. Almost the whole decade he'd been dead for. Most of his earthly escapades were relatively recent. The kids could use a navigator with that stuff. Some of his old primos had been lost outland kids once.

"I don't know how long I'm sticking around," He admits. "They want to cure all blight just like that and we both know that's not going to happen. There's that save the world thing too but I'm no hero either." He glances about quick before continuing. "I'm going to learn what I can. Whether its magic or runes or how to hijack a jet that will get me to México before I pass out." Which, Gamma will recall, is a problem with the day hours and the fact he's got to keep his corpse somewhat intact. "I got to the U.S. for a couple hours last month. Was going to just run the country until I could hop the border, but I got caught by one of the faculty and..."

He trails off. His mouth presses to a line. "There's... another thing I should mention... do you remember Imelda? How I used to talk about her...?"

"You could just try asking the admin for a weekend visit, save yourself the drama," Gamma suggested, but quieted when the subject of his wife...ex-wife?...came up.

"Oh yeah, the cute spitfire, right? Man, after all your stories, I'd sure like to meet her!"

Jerk.

Gamma slanted a grin at Hector and leaned against the wall, one long leg extended in front of him. "You got more stories, I'm guessing?"

That's an idea. Though he still has to get the excuse for a jet, which he'll need to learn to fly, fast enough to get him across the ocean before he passes out.

But his attention has moved on. He winces, visibly. More stories. Yeah, something like that.

His mouth presses. He looks anywhere but at the man before him. The his eyes close and he goes to lean too, hands bracing him by that open window.

"...She's here. Imelda. She showed up here to help. Saw me in this big stupid back-to-school party thing. She..." His face twists with pain. "She hates me. She... she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. She told me that nothing I could say would change what I've done... that... she'd let me go back to Coco over her dead body." He sniffs and scrubs at his face, but he doesn't cry. "She thinks I'm a walk out. A selfish, stupid fool. One who chose music over his family. And the worst part is... she's right. She's right. I'm a terrible husband. And a worse Papá. Ten years they've been all I could think about and yet all I've done is hurt them." He shakes his head. "So she's not letting me go home. And she's not speaking to me. And that's that."

"Like hell it is!"

He'd been listening patiently up until that point, and there'd even been surprise and sympathy reflected on his face. The second Hector said 'that's that' like it was all over? That pissed him off, and he made his feelings plainly known with a surly growl.

"You're telling me we went through all that shit just so you can give up in the middle of some fancy French boarding school? Man, that's lame!" Gamma threw his folded arms apart, less than pleased. "If she's right, then make her wrong! Start supporting her, even if it's from afar. And hell, if she still refuses you after four years, your kid's gonna be old enough to make her own decisions. Let her decide if her old man is worth forgetting. But all this self-pity is annoying, I know you've got a bigger backbone than that."

He startles, falling off the window ledge and looking at Gamma with wide eyes. The man could get like that sometimes, but that doesn't mean the outbursts have ever stopped surprising him.

Gamma goes to shout at him and all the while his own hands go up and he's saying, "Wait, wait... Gamma... Gamma... Gamma..." All whilst being bulldozed further. At least until the end. The self-pitying gets a wince but... ah, it's true. That part at least.

"Gamma, I'm not giving up," He clarifies. "I'm going home to Coco, with or without Imelda's permission. And I am letting her decide if she wants anything to do with her Papá. That's why I'm saying that's that. I can't win back Imelda by going against her wishes, but I don't know if I have four years in me. I could have eighty more or I could have just one! I'm not going to miss the chance to tell my daughter I love her, come on, you know me better than that."

He's had his slips into depressive states-- every year, Día de Muertos into the new year-- but he's always bounced back. He always came back with a plan, no matter how stupid. Maybe that's why Gamma's yelling at him now.

"If I've got to make a choice of Imelda or Coco, it's Coco. It's just going to be harder getting around Imelda too. That's all. I'll manage."

Edited 2019-02-11 07:45 (UTC)

Oh. Well when he explains it that way, Gamma just feels stupid. He furrows his brow, grinding his teeth as he glances away. "Tch... Well as long as you're still shooting for your goal, I guess that's what matters." He put his head into his hand, fingers extended to massage at his temples. This place made him tired. Stupid winter. He exhaled long and heavy through his nose.

"Does she know?" He brought his hand down, head tipped lazily in Hector's direction as he stared unsmiling. "About you being what you are? And that you spent the last several years trying to get back to the point that you got washed up on a desert island after a clash with pirates? Granted, you were with this really cool guy the whole time, so it wasn't all bad..."

He smirked a little, but remained fairly casual and calm. "I know you're not just some louse who'd ditch his family. You've been working pretty hard to make your way back. Might not mean much to her, but it'll mean a lot to your kid." Gamma felt he could say that with limited authority.

He gets a softer look, seeing Gamma like that. The man could be hard on himself sometimes. The man was a lot of things, honestly, but you have to learn the guy's personal language to see and understand.

He laughs a little as Gamma praises himself without his help. He shakes his head, but keeps smiling thinking of that retrospectively funny and stupid story. Dios, how did they even run into pirates in this day and age? Sometimes he wonders if Peter's right and he really is cursed somehow.

His smiles grows, even if also growing a little more pained. "I really, really hope so. It doesn't look good but... I'll take whatever anger she's got to give, if I can just be sure she knows I love her." He's done so much damage, but if he can at least tell her that, at least keep her from even slightly believing she wasn't enough somehow, then he's got to. He adds, "I do appreciate the verbal shake, by the way. Even when I complain. It helps to get out of my own head." And knowing Gamma, the man's probably going to scoff off any genuine thanks. But he'll say it anyway.

"But no, Imelda doesn't know. I was going to tell her but she... she made it clear there was no excuse I could give that would help things. I left before I died, not after. I might tell her if it comes up, but at this point, the only thing telling her is going to do is make her feel guilty for a man she still doesn't want anything to do with. And I'm not going to use my death as a manipulation tactic if I can help it." A pause. "Real shame, I guess that means she won't know about that cool pirate-fighting guy from the story. She'll just have to see you for el perdedor you are." He struggles to hide a smirk.

"Thought you left to rake in the cash and provide for your family with your success, not because you wanted to skip out on being a dad for a while." He refused to acknowledge the appreciation, because it made him feel prickly and weird. Hell, he had no idea how to do this friendship and emotional support thing, but arguing? Yeah, that was more up his alley.

"She was okay with you leaving. Just not so okay with you not coming back. Definitely wouldn't call being a zombie skeleton an 'excuse.'" He pushed away from the wall, hands shoved deep into his coat pockets.

And what the hell was a 'perdedor'? Was that the Spanish word for 'pervert'? Dude, not cool, he'll throw your arm out the window again.

"Do you know if she's dating anyone else? If not, maybe she's still got a tinny little soft spot for you."

Learn some damn spanish, Gamma.

He makes a face at the man at that counterpoint. "Not the point, Primo. Coco was four years old, I should've told stupid Ernesto no. At least postponed it." Even if it was true he wanted to provide... and be inspired... and just keep his stupid friend.

And even if it was true that she had been okay when he left originally. Not happy, no, but she understood. Just like she always had when he had to be out for a night or two and very occasionally longer. Or so he thought. He hadn't thought being dead to be an excuse either until he saw her so angry. He scrubs at his face.

Then immediately drops his hand, giving Gamma an absolutely baffled look before that shifts into something withering.

"Now how would I know that? ¡Hola, Imelda! ¿Qué Onda? I was just wondering, as your ex-husband, are you seeing anyone?" Yeah, that'd go well. "Frankly, even if she's not dating anyone, that just means I screwed up so bad that neither of us have anybody."

Edited 2019-02-17 05:50 (UTC)

"I don't think that's how relationships work," Gamma smirked, as if he were the authority on dating and marriage. (Spoilers: He wasn't. He was, in fact, the worst at it.) But he was savvy enough to know that if neither of them were moving on, they still had a lot to fix, and there was probably still something salvageable in that whole mess.

"You done with that name plate? I'm starvin', wanna see what they got to eat around here."

He knew Hector wasn't going to eat anything, so he could keep listening to Hector talk while he filled his face.

"As if you'd know," He scoffs, rolling his eyes. Even being a man who'd only loved one person his whole life and was now being hated by that person, he was sure he'd know more than Gamma.

At the very least, Gamma did not know his Imelda.

"Yeah, yeah, okay, just a minute." He waves the man off, taking up that new nameplate and quickly affixing to the door, as promised. It does take more than a minute but no more than ten. Once done, he holds the old one out. "A souvenir for you. Happy first day in school."

He fully expects to see it tossed into the first trash can they walk by. But with that out of the way, he gestures out for Gamma to choose their destination. He'll probably drop off these tools somewhere on the way. "So, before I don't get another word out of you as you stuff your face, what have you been up to? Anything new? Or just the same as always?"

"Oh, thanks," Gamma said with a flick of his wrist, nonchalantly dumping the old nameplate directly into the trash. No more Gemma Z. The world was now a better place.

Hands comfortably settled into his pockets, he strode down the hallway, thinking about what he'd eat for lunch. A parade of free meals was definitely a perk of this job. "Not much. Picked up a second ring from a bounty hunter gone bad." He decided not to go too much into the details. No one enjoyed stories of people being killed and raised as undead in an attempt to farm the rings, as if they were oysters that might spawn a rare pearl. "You?"

That was debatable. Gamma was still in it.

He's glad for the lack of detail. He wants to know about Gamma but his job, less so. With the blanks all left there, he can pretend it's not exactly what it is.

"Another ring?" He repeats, surprised. "How many is that now?" How many more did he need?

Gamma's question gets a laugh.

"Well that shady back alley repair place didn't pan out of course but I learned a lot from it I've been using here. Brief tour guide gig before they fired me when I was stuck buried three days. Gotta say that job was probably worse than the dishwashing, and you know how bad that went." Mostly because he was still getting used to earth again and it was that time of year... "But! All together, got the cash I needed, walked Italy to Spain... got arrested a few times... blacked out and the illegal pilot there got busted... ran for it and hid by the river... got busted by hunters three more times and left some scary stories in my wake... arrested with a bunch of homeless guys for loitering... and finally the most recent morgue trip. Real high security this one, you'd think the corpses got up again often. They actually managed to cut me open this time-- But, well, basically it was awful. So, the usual."

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It's All the Same

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