Highlander

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ff_kendall_icon.gif ff_nadira_icon.gifrichard4_icon.gif

Scene Title Highlander
Synopsis Kendall and Nadira set out to find another Traveler to vouch for Robyn to make sure she doesn't want to go Highlander on Roux.
Date June 21, 2021

The Pelago

This time of year, dawn in the Pelago is completely unremarkable. The heavy cloud cover and ubiquitous rain paint everything a dull gray color, with a lighter shade of gray in the east the only sign of the sun's failure to break through. It's relatively quiet beyond the ever-present sound of waves lapping up against the decaying buildings, with even the birds hunkered down against the rain.

Most of the residents are accustomed to the weather by now, and only the hour prevents more from being seen out and about. The few that are seen outdoors are dressed in waterproofed clothing, or else some other sort of contrivance to keep from getting soaked. Fabricated overhangs along the sides mark walkways here and there when buildings are close enough to span the distance, with windows converted to doorways allowing ingress.

There are a few residents with other means of keeping the water off, Kendall being one of them. He looks sleepy, rubbing his eyes with one hand while the other is held close to his side like he was holding an invisible umbrella. To further emphasize that, water sheets away like it was afraid to get him wet. However, he still looks pretty unhappy to be out in this weather, evidenced by the glare he gives the sky.

"Why are we out this early again?" His words are grumbled in an aside to Nadira, and he sighs heavily for emphasis. "I don't think we're going to find anyone out and about right now, if they have any sense at all."

They're walking up the dock attached to a close cluster of buildings not too far from where ships occasionally find a berth, so it is also not unusual to find members of the crews frequenting the Pelago…. and these mysterious 'Travelers'. The Yeah Buoy is still there, right?

The Yeah Buoy is moored where it was berthed when they arrived, and the seekers are in luck - by coincidence, one of these ‘Travelers’ is just stepping onto the docks. An old, weather-stained poncho once yellow is worn over his attire to keep the weather off him, hood shadowing his face - but beneath it, he’s wearing a pair of sunglasses anyway.

The future must be bright.

Richard Ray glances back and forth down the slick boards of the dock, pausing as he notices a group looking in his direction and returning the look their way. Just to make sure that they’re not looking at him in specific. Spoiler: They probably are.

"If you are trying to do things without drawing attention to yourself, Kendall, would you not travel at an hour while others would not be out?"

Nadira's attention is on the Yeah Buoy, but the appearance of a figure wearing sunglasses in the rain gets a small chuckle. "Ah, a celebrity." She gives Kendall a gentle nudge before she sets off in Richard's direction. Since she catches his gaze in their direction she raises a hand in greeting as she moves towards him, not just to alert him of their attention to talk but to try and offer a sense of security and friendliness–she's not visibly armed.

Kendall catches sight of Richard with a faint sense of relief. Oh good, it's not the one he was an ass to at the party. "Yeah, I guess. At least he's not waiting for the rain to stop first." Oh look, Kendall is trying to be funny.

Following after Nadira, he also doesn't seem to be armed, and as they approach he helpfully extends the rain barrier to block most of the rain over Richard's head as well. See? He's being nice! At Nadira's celebrity comment, Kendall looks at Richard, then up at the sky which is distinctly lacking the sun, then back down again. "Hey, Corey Hart, we got a few questions for you if you don't mind." Guess Kendall had a CD of the Greatest Hits of the 80s or something.

“Are these ‘buying me a drink’ questions,” is Richard’s response to the call, a smile twitching slightly on his lips, “Or ‘tying me to a chair’ questions, because the answer to that is really gonna determine whether or not I mind.”

In the shadow of the yellow hood, he looks over the pair consideringly, one to the other. Nadira gets a long squint. Doesn’t he remember her from a bar somewhere?

"I always buy someone a drink before I tie them to a chair," comes the response from Nadira, unable to help herself. She laughs, then looks towards Kendall for a moment, then back to Richard. "It is certainly not an interrogation, if that is what you are worried about. We are just here to find out if…" She pauses for a long moment, then continues. "… someone has pure motivations or if they are tainted from a very long journey."

"Sounds like a fun night either way." Kendall adds, a sly glance shifting in Nadira's direction. "Maybe later. But business before pleasure, heh."

Once the immaturity is out of the way, though, Kendall glances at Nadira again when she redirects the conversation, latching on to her lead-in. "What can you tell us about your Robyn Roux?" He's not too interested in dancing around the subject, not when he really wants to know the answer.

Richard can’t help a chuckle at the double entendres, but still looks at the pair with a slightly guarded expression. Then he breathes out a rough, amused snort when their business comes right out.

“Robyn? What is it you wanna know? You’re not her type, I can tell you that.” A tip of his head towards Nadira, a fleeting grin, “Maybe you are.” Tartarus. That’s where he knows her from. Damn, that’s an old memory.

Nadira laughs slightly, "I do believe she is a bit too preoccupied to even think about such things. At least, that is the impression that I got from our conversations with her." Her attention shifts entirely onto Richard, her posture shifting from something less relaxed to something more solid. Business. "Are you aware of her intentions to meet… herself?" She pauses, chuckling just slightly at the thought. "I do not think I would ever say something like that, but that is life it seems."

"Ugh, no thanks. Definitely not my type either." A vehement shake of the head emphasizes Kendall's rejection of that thought. "Roux is better in every way… uh, I mean." Kendall coughs, and tries to backpedal away from that conversation. "That's not what we're asking!" He points at Nadira when she speaks up. "That. That is what we're asking. What was that old movie you brought up?"

Richard’s shoulders shake a bit in silent humor at Kendall’s backpedaling assertion, and he shakes his head in amusement. “She doesn’t mean your friend any harm,” he asserts himself, waving the subject off, “I think she mostly wants to talk about family stuff that she wasn’t able to find out on our side’ve things, actually. Family secrets she’s hoping this Robyn knows more about, that sort’ve thing.”

"I have had a small conversation with Robyn," Nadira says, which is probably news to Kendall, "and I feel as if she is honest, though it is hard to really have an impression of someone without outside context." She pauses a moment, then looks at Kendall. "Movie? Oh, Highlander. There can only be a single one, I think, and her very serious desire to find her other self made me want to know if she is at all like our Roux."

"She isn't, at all." Kendall insists immediately, frowning over at Nadira. "Roux isn't nearly as rude as Janestine." Oh yes, Robyn will regret ever telling Kendall what her middle name is; also, Kendall isn't one to talk about being rude.

"Yeah, that one. I don't know if it's in Roux's best interest to have some doppelganger come by and start asking questions about her mom and other personal stuff like that. She didn't really sell herself as being someone trustworthy." He shifts his gaze back to Richard, crossing his arms. "So before that happens I'd like to know what she's like by someone who knows her." Assuming the Travelers actually do, in fact, know each other reasonably well. Kendall looks over at Nadira, but doesn't say anything. He also had a 'chat' with Robyn, after all.

“I’m pretty sure that Roux could just say ‘no’,” Richard points out rather dryly, giving Kendall an amused look, “I doubt - in any world - that she needs, or wants, someone else to be making decisions for her, frankly.”

“What do you want to know, exactly? She’s a cynical ex-musician, a dedicated mother, a former resistance fighter for the Evolved, and the Safe Zone’s most eligible lesbian bachelor.”

"I believe it is less about Roux saying no and more about her not feeling cornered by such a situation." There's certainly a smirk at the description of Robyn, and Nadira shakes her head a bit. "A glowing review, though it seems interesting to me that a mother would not have the same compassion for someone else who serves as a mother figure. I saved Roux once, there will always be a protective instinct for her, I was simply wondering where the changes begin and where they stop."

She shakes her head. "Should those be her only intentions, I am less worried. She just seemed very… manic about the whole situation. Carried away with things."

"I heard." It was not a turn of the conversation Kendall is particularly interested in elaborating on, going by his expression and flat tone. "Lesbian, huh. That, uh…" tilting his head, he thinks it over. "….makes a lot of sense, actually." That's the only thing he seems to have latched onto from the description.

“Yeah, well, if we don’t find her father,” Richard says flatly, “A lot of people are going to die, so that might be why she’s a little anxious about this whole thing. Well, that, and meeting yourself is never a fun situation. Take it from me.”

Nadira's lips press into a thin line, clearly in thought at the mention of people dying. "I do not believe Robyn fully expressed that part of the situation. I believe she framed it as more of a personal journey and less of something with stakes that were more than emotional." Her gaze flashes to Kendall, as if to check if he's still spaced out about Robyn's love life, but it snaps very quickly back to Richard.

"There is a very big difference if there are lives at stake," she says, then pauses. "I do not think meeting myself would be an awful experience. I would probably find it a fascinating experience and ask far too many questions. There would likely be alcohol involved and we would not remember the experience."

"She mentioned something of the sort. She also said you're trapped here with no way back." Maybe not those exact words, but close enough. And excuse, Kendall is not thinking about her love life, thanks.

"So if your Earth-666 is going to get destroyed, but you're here, what does it matter? If you can't go back, might as well get used to getting rained on." Kendall sweeps his arm to the side and 'drops' whatever he was holding, and they all start getting rained on again.

"Eh. She apparently knows the other one of me but he sounded lame from what she said."

“Trust me, meeting yourself isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” says Richard with a slight shake of his head, and the statement to Nadira is more serious than his tone through most of the conversation.

As the rain returns, he brings a hand up to adjust the hood of the poncho, plastic material rustling as he does so. He slants a steady look at Kendall for a long moment once it’s settled, his tone cool when he finally says, “Just because we’re not easily able to get back doesn’t mean we’re just going to shrug and leave our families to die, kid.”

Mimicking Kendall's dramatic flourish, Nadira's own movement causes the water to dome around them, avoiding the area where both she and Richard stand. Kendall, it seems, is left in the rain. "I appreciate the comic humor, Kendall, but if I were separated from the people I cared about, I would not sit around in the rain." She tips her head in his direction, not bothering to extend the water-repelled area to include him.

"Robyn did not exactly elaborate on all of what was going on, but I would offer my help if I can. I am not exactly the type to abandon anyone in need."

The look Kendall shoots Nadira has more than a touch of sulk to it when she does him like that, and he flicks his hand again, bringing that invisible umbrella back into existence. She ruined his dramatic moment, man. "Yeah, well, if you're here, you can't prevent other things from happening to them either. I don't know how safe this so called 'Safe Zone' is, but that implies there's unsafe zones, huh."

“Heh.” Richard’s lips twitch a little, tugging up at one corner, “Is that what you think? You don’t need to go to a place to affect what happens there, and we didn’t come here to hide. Also, your other self briefly dated my little sister, so I’m assuming he’s less ‘lame’ than you are in some way.”

He shakes his head a bit, “What we need is to get to Anchorage. So we’re gathering supplies and other people heading that way, and as soon as the storm allows… we’ll be leading a flotilla towards the mainland.”

One of Nadira's eyebrows shoots up at Richard's quip back to Kendall and she doesn't bother to hide a small amused sound that escapes as she looks between the two. "Kendall, I do not think there could ever exist a world that does not have unsafe zones." Without missing a beat, her conversation returns to the more serious discussion. "I do recall the mention of traveling. I am not entirely sure of all your connections here, but if you need help locating supplies, I know people."

"Nadira's a hydrokinetic, which makes her the most powerful person in the world, so it's good to stay on her good side." Kendall would totally use her as a threat even though she is one of the least threatening people in the Pelago by choice.

"Your sister, huh." Kendall squints over at Richard, possibly trying to imagine a female version of him. Whatever that ends up being in his mind, it doesn't seem too flattering; maybe Richard in a wig? Anyway.

"We already decided to go. So I guess we'll be going diving for a lot of seaweed huh." The last was said to Nadira, of course.

“I’m not handling the logistics, but if we need any more, I’ll let you know,” says Richard with a slight smile to Nadira, “I believe a lot of your people will be joining us as well…”

He glances around the docks, “The Pelago was a good idea, but your resources can’t last forever.”

There's an incredibly amused look at the assessment of her position as 'the most powerful person in the world', and Nadira doesn't quite lose it as she keeps her focus on Richard instead of Kendall. "We agreed to go already, yes. To be honest you are correct–resources will dry up eventually, no pun intended. I cannot say I have traveled much inland and certainly never as far as we would be going now… but there are times I feel I am better taking my chances with the sea than people."

"Well yeah, you certainly would." Kendall smirks over at Nadira. "Though if we go too far inland you might end up washed up instead." Har har har. "And yeah… I mean, living with Nadira makes it pretty great with the whole dehumidifying thing, and not gonna lie, I've always wanted to live in a New York City penthouse, but… yeah, it's probably a good idea to leave. We're not…."

He turns and looks off towards the open sea. "…we're still not safe, we could be attacked again. Who knows if there's more Sentinels out there."

“Volken’s gone,” Richard says, turning as well to look towards the water, hands tucking into the pockets of his jacket under the poncho, “But there seem to be no end of madmen willing to take up his banner… even when he’s given up the cause.”

Silent a moment, he glances back to Nadira with a slight smile, “Knew a hydrokinetic once, had him up with me in Alaska for an operation. Turns out all that snow up there is just water. Who knew?”

"Bet he was not as good as I am," Nadira's tone is an amused one–it's a joke, not a brag. "I cannot say I have really even been in much snow, nor really gotten the chance to see how it is to try and manipulate." She cracks a bit of a smile, then takes a chance to look back to Kendall. "There is danger wherever we are, it just takes different forms. Supplies are what I am most worried about. We can fend off danger, but starvation is another thing."

"So long as we don't emulate the Donner family." Kendall deadpans. "But just for the record, I probably taste terrible."

Grisly comment aside, the younger guy shrugs. "There have to be edible plants and animals along the way, it was only a mass extinction event along the coast. So as long as we got people who know how to kill things, or know what plants are edible, I think we'll be fine. Only so much we can feasibly carry with us anyway so that'll have to be the way to go."

“You’ve probably had more chance to practice,” Richard admits with a tip of his head to the joke, despite it being a joke, and then he shakes his head. “We’ll manage. Like the kid says, there’s plenty to forage along the way, and - we’ll make it work. We always do.”

He tips his head back, looking up at the rain.

“It’s always fucking snow in the end, though.”

“Practice has become an everyday thing. It is second nature after all this time. If I have been given this gift in a world like this, I owe the world the chance to make good with it.”

Nadira takes a chance to look up at the rain herself. “I am less worried about supplies along the way, more about people who have become territorial inland.”

"I'm not afraid of that." Kendall flourishes his free hand upwards and conjures an AK-47, holding it one-handed pointing upwards. "It's not like we can't defend ourselves, anyway." He nods towards Nadira. "We all know how dangerous water is, too."

A frown is given to Richard, though. He let it slide earlier, but… "I'm not a kid!"

“We’ll deal with that when - and if - it comes up,” says Richard with a slight shake of his head, “Our team is all well experienced in fighting, if it comes down to it, but hopefully we won’t run into anyone too aggressive.”

“I’d hope that once the world ended, people would learn to care about each other more. Maybe I’m wrong.”

“Some people did,” Nadira muses. “I found that some grew stronger and cared, but selfishness in the face of survival thrived. When I met Kendall, I warned him that some people may not be as interested in working together, but trying to keep things for themselves.”

She glances toward said man in question before looking back to Richard. “I think the lot of us have tried and succeeded the best we can with this situation.”

At Nadira's words, Kendall looks over at her but doesn't say anything; he can't really argue with the fact that she had gone out of her way to save his life all those years ago. The gun disappears as he drops his hand, and he shrugs at her while trying not to appear skeptical.

"Here, maybe. But out there?" He waves a hand vaguely westward, shaking his head. "Probably not. I bet it's like a zombie apocalypse. Resident Evil, or Left 4 Dead, maybe Half-Life. I doubt the rest of the world is in better shape than we are, there's no way they would've left the mainland alone and only attacked us. Yeah, my money's on zombies. I bet it's probably radioactive too." Morgan did make a compelling argument for traveling with them.

“Heh.” Richard’s lips tug up at one corner in a slight, crooked smile as he looks back to Kendall, “No, kid, you were lucky enough to avoid *that* one. That was Vanguard Plot Number One, which in this timeline didn’t succeed…”

He shakes his head, “There’s one where it did. It’s not pretty.”

“I imagine the journey to be filled with people trying to survive in whatever way they can,” Nadira glances in Kendall’s direction. “Radioactivity could be dangerous, certainly… but I feel as if we have bandits on our hands rather than mindless creatures. They are still people. That, I think, is more terrifying.”

There’s a blank look directed to Richard. “Huh?” seems like Kendall didn’t hear that there’s multiple alternate timelines. “I thought she said you had a war and you won, she didn’t say anything about a virus that turned people into zombies.” oh, that reminded him of the original reason for this entire conversation. “So, you’re saying she lied about that? What else has she lied about?” Well, that’s rather…. subjective, considering Richard doesn’t know what she said to begin with to say either way.

“Well so long as we stay near a waterway, you can just waterbend them away.” Kendall waves his hands at Nadira in vague martial arts forms. It’s something he’s brought up a lot in the last ten years, nothing new there.

“There’re a lot of worlds out there aside from ours,” corrects Richard with a shake of his head, “Some of them are worse than others. That one’s just about the worst there is. Closest we’ve come to a world where humans are extinct, so far…”

He motions to Nadira, “People are gonna be who we need to worry about, not zombies or monsters. Heck, in this timeline we don’t even have to worry about the robots.”

“I suppose we should be grateful that this is the world we live in,” Nadira muses. “But people are certainly a lot more terrifying than mindless creatures.” She glances in Kendall’s direction. “I do not always need a large waterway to control water, it is just more convenient. I can pull water from most anything these days.”

Her attention goes back to Richard. “I am doubly grateful to live here rather than some other world simply because here I can do some good with what I have been gifted.”

"Robots?" What is this, an anime? Kendall just sighs. "Lemme guess. Yet another of your 'worlds'." He accompanies his words with a one-handed air quote since his other hand is still holding the invisible umbrella. "Terminator, Gundam, or R2-D2?" Because that is the important thing to take away from the discussion that needs clarification.

“You certainly won the lottery with that ability in this world,” Richard admits with a slight smile, one hand coming up to adjust the hood of the poncho with a rustling of plastic. Ignoring the question from Kendall, he glances between the pair with eyebrows slightly upraised, “You two have any more questions for me, or…?”

“I certainly count my blessings about my ability,” Nadira replies, then looks back to Kendall. “I at least feel satisfied that Robyn’s intentions are personal and not murderous, even if I do not feel like it will go as she seems to be wishing.” She glances back to Kendall.

“What do you think?”

"Oh. Right." That was the purpose for the three of them to be out here at the crack of dawn in the pouring rain. "I guess… that's good enough." Kendall still seems dissatisfied with it all, but not enough to want to prolong the discussion. He steps back next to Nadira and looks over at her for a moment, then nods.

"I guess she's not likely to hunt down Roux and murder her in cold blood." is admitted grudgingly. "But I plan on keeping an eye on her anyway, all the way to Anchor if needed. But yeah, guess we don't need to ask Corey Hart here anything else." Perhaps it would've been more appropriate to ask him his name, but Kendall does like his nicknames.

“Nobody’s gonna be murdering anybody, no,” replies Richard, rolling his eyes, “Feel free to keep an eye on her, though. We should all keep an eye on each other anyway…”

He turns then, “Alright, I got places to be. Good meeting you both… have a good one. Let me know if you have any other concerns.”

Nadira looks in Richard's direction as he turns away. "I am certain we will be in touch. There will eventually be the matter of Anchor and it does not seem like any of this will be going away any time soon." She turns to Kendall, giving him a small nudge. "Come on, we have places to be as well."

"Yeah. I still want to find Roux before Janestine does." Kendall will apparently never let that go, Robyn made a mistake telling him her middle name. "I'd like to at least warn her about her doppelganger. What a time for Roux to go off and disappear somewhere for days on end." He sighs heavily, and turns when Nadira nudges him, and the two go off, taking their water repelling abilities with them. Enjoy the rain, Richard.

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