elio & gene

elio: 31. field researcher. terran. gene: 27. builder/rogue. outlander.

[interstxllcr]

delvedinto​:

Horrific nightmares were a constant torture for Helena as of late, each one showed the events of what happened during the massacre that was Remembrance Day. Left with half of her team, she was scouting to recruit as many willing participants as would march forward. To stop images repeating themselves, she spent half of most nights locked and confined to her office. Mounds of paperwork sprawled across the desk, even some laid on the floor. It was almost starting to take the formation of a fort. Often catching herself zoning in and out of her memories, she was always startled by the fire of a gun which rattled in her eardrums. The fire of a gun which she committed to on the field, accidentally hitting someone who cost her no harm but instead her mind played tricks. Her dazes were still recurrent but not as vivid as the ones she faced on the battlefield. It felt like the only person Helena had seen since those events was Dr. Wayne. Almost embarrassed to be seen in public while stories still scattered far and wide about the time where she appeared to lose her mind. 

A knock on the door brought her out of her workload, head raising to see whether she could figure out who was behind the door just from looking through the small window. “Come in.” She called, pen dropping to her desk as she pushed herself away from it to greet the other. “Elio. How’re you?” She smiled, arms folding as she leaned against her desk. The heels of her platform boots digging into the floor. 

-

The question stumped him, the reflexive answer was to say ‘good’ and ask it in return, but it would be the furthest from the truth. She looked busy, a quick survey of her desk then her person told him enough. “I came to ask you the same.” He entered, letting the door slide closed behind him. Few things were capable of dragging him from the labs and library, distractions were never a welcome thing for him, but he’d found himself, for the first time since landing on Abellio, unable to focus. He needed to latch onto some other focal point, perhaps less field research and more work of another nature. “Was there anything I could help you with?” An indirect question, not the one he had meant to ask but one that might answer all the same. 

[interstxllcr]

heldgrief​:

𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:   the  library. 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐:   anyone  in  tera.

          “   i’m  afraid  a  few  sections  are  in  recovery  from  the  past  few  days,  but  if  there’s  something  specific  you’re  looking  for,  i  can  try  to  help  ?   ”     devastation  is  the  only  thing  donny  feels  in  regards  to  the  loss  of  some  books  that  didn’t  survive  the  storm  or  the  attack.   there  were  far  more  things  to  worry  about  in  tera,  of  course,  but  books  meant  something  special  to  him.   they  carried  vital  information  that  even  a.r.t.  didn’t  hold  on  some  occasions.   he  was  keeping  himself   busy  trying  to  repair  the  damage  dealt  to  some  of  the  pages  &  covers.

-

“i had wished the books would have fared better.” he knew what had happened to his beloved library, practically his second home apart from the lab. seeing it now for the first time since the storm had run its course and the arlesians had shown up at the doorstep. the library had been an anchor of sorts and now he felt adrift, unable to cope with the danger his father was just in and work, as demanding as it had been, had not been enough to stabilize him. for the moment, elio looked unmoored, head swiveling slowing from left to right as his gaze panned to take everything in. “nothing too specific...the usual texts.”

[interstxllcr]

location; outside nova keep open to all arlesians

the way in had been a blur, gene was no stranger to schemes and designs, he had been made a fool by someone he considered a potential friend-- wary as the outlander had been of him. his suspicions had proved true. friend no more. gene groused, stepping aside on the path to let a blur of people past him.

at the very least, gene was tempered enough to be let off leash to wander, first the keep, then beyond wherever they permitted. he had been awed by the architecture, the beauty of nova keep and then the city beyond, but he kept this to himself. he kept most things to himself, lashing out only once upon arrival and noted to never again after getting subdued instantaneously. here, amongst the arlesians, he was outnumbered and alone. the builder would do what he did best: observe and wait; better to play dumb until the opportunity to do something in his favor arose.

“is this the way to the harbor or the dungeon?” gene gestured down the path, turning to see whoever would answer him. he knew, of course, but he was always testing the waters these days.

[interstxllcr]

terrantides​:

“It really isn’t Yoo-Jin.” River released a breath, the warmth of which ran along his bear chest. There was a slight pang of guilt. When they talked about the Raid, she hadn’t told him everything about it. Not that she didn’t want to she did, but it was so complicated. . How did she tell him that there was as chance that he could get his memories back or that he might not. Why raise his hopes for a possibility? 

She was content, melting into the feel of his arms around her. She could feel how his body respond to her touch and proximity. The thought alone caused her own grip on him to tighten. Skin against skin, and it was all she could do not to pull him back to bed. Because she knew what would happen if she did that now. There would be no talking there, at least not the kind that she needed to have. It was be whispered words or soft moans bruising touches that would set her skin on fire. The river would get lost in him like she was prone to do. That’s why she snuck away from the excitement, wasn’t it, to spend what remains hours she had there were him.

Why are you acting like you won’t see him again? There was so much to say, and it felt like she was running out of time.

Shaking her head as she giggled. “I would say we enjoyed life plenty a few hours ago.” Peeking up towards him, she smiled, a small hand reaching up to capture the side of his face. “I’m where I want to be, I just… there is something I need to tell you about tomorrow.”  

How? He wanted to ask but he remained quiet, careful not to show how curious he was and soon enough his thoughts were displaced by her grip. Something like desire curled low in his stomach and he was hoping that five minutes was up. The impatience was no longer over concern for her getting more rest. His intentions as far as that was concerned had altered. He glanced at the bed, the distance between them and it.

When she leaned back to look up at him, Gene’s hands slid to bracket her hips. His mind hazy as she brought up what they had done a few hours ago. There was a question perched on the tip of his tongue but no time to ask it as she continued. He kissed her palm and leaned his cheek into it, not knowing how he had come to possess such an easy affection for her. The furs fell away and he let them, studying her, wondering where she was leading him. He thought he knew, but her words held different. 

“What is it?”

[interstxllcr]

sofinfotech​:

Sofi grinned across the table at him, happy that she could still be one to make him laugh. Despite everything between them, his friendship was still one of the most important in her life. “Feel free to steal that for you and your cohorts to use.” She offered jokingly, fairly certain that he wouldn’t. 

She wanted to throw her menu at his head when he side-stepped her question, forcing herself to remember that she wasn’t here to start a fight. It drove her nuts when Elio sold himself short, convinced that he was one of Tera’s most competent. 

Pushing her annoyance aside, she flipped to the last page of the menu. “You mean other than developing a serious case of Stockholm’s Syndrome for Marin?” She laughed, intent on keeping things light. No doubt he had enough on his plate without her nagging him about believing in himself.  “Have you seen the legs on that woman? She told me she trusted me the other day, Elio.”

-

His brows lifted but it was quickly replaced by embarrassment as Marin’s legs were mentioned. “Well, I know she has them. And I’m certain trusting you is a sentiment shared by many.” Elio stated and after someone came by to take their order, he continued. “You’re a trustworthy person.”

“I have to see her later...maybe tomorrow.” He reflected, gaze turning far off as he thought of the work left to be done on the disc.

[interstxllcr]

closed starter for @delvedinto​

The day found Elio partially collapsed on a metal chair which was banded together to other metal chairs by bolts. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but the researcher didn’t mind as the cold seeped into his work weary body and his head resting against the wall. He had dozed off for a few seconds, barely closed his eyes and was ripped into a vicious nightmare which stemmed from the lived experience of that night. He saw Captain Mathews staring off into darkness and many sets of eyes staring back at her, then him. They were outnumbered, and as that fact and all that it meant nurtured the horror growing in his gut, he awoke. The lobby of the building was virtually empty. It occurred to him that he hadn’t seen Helena in awhile, had yet to check up on her after all this time and though it had never been his nature to do so, he found himself rising to his feet to look for her. A few inquiries led him around until he was certain he would be in her presence within the hour. 

He knocked at a door, wondering if it was where he would find the captain of the sentinels.

[interstxllcr]

sofinfotech​:

-

Sofi shook her head, knowing better than to think that Dani would be deterred from socializing just because she was supposed to be working. “A little bit of both, maybe.” She mused, letting go of Elio’s arm and stepping forward to open the door as they reached De Luca’s. 

“The Shadows sounds so ominous. And frankly, kinda lazy coming from a bunch of science geeks.” She led the way to an empty table and took a seat, resting her arms on the table in front of her. “Cake-hole Carnivora, Bigtooth Zoophagous- now those are names a reporter could sink their teeth into and make a meal out of.” She picked up a menu and made a show of flipping through it, already knowing what she wanted. “In all seriousness though, any reason you don’t want to be the person who comes up with a new system to propose to the Council? I can’t think of anyone more qualified or dedicated to finesse such a thing.”

-

His face started to hurt from how often he was smiling, cheeks aching. He slid a hand over the menu, tapping his fingers over the front of it as he thought. “Easy to remember and something every person in Tera or not could understand...it’s a good placeholder of a name. Cake-hole Carnivora?” Another smile, another pang to the heart as he couldn’t help but laugh softly, a mere huff of air. A blush creeps up his neck and he suddenly finds the menu extremely interesting, opening it to keep his eyes busy. 

“I’ll defer to my seniors-- they’ll know what will have longevity in this situation. So, other than keeping Tera fed, one scientist at a time, what have you been up to?”

[interstxllcr]

terrantides​:

Reign is watchful, his focus on the Shadows when the man takes the knife that he offers. He can’t tell him the truth; he can’t know his stories of what happened to them when they first arrived. How these creatures had taken them by surprise, almost a century ago. How they ravished their settlement, pushing them further away; towards the southeast, near the coast. How many people they lost, the blood and carnage left in their wake. He still had nightmares about these things. About losing … her. At the question, he looked towards the Terran, “ Yeah, something like that.”

He placed a firm hand on his shoulder, “Listen to me, the only way to kill them is a blow to the head. Their knives can’t break the skin, not enough to kill it. This,” he holds up the necklace. “Slows them down, enough for people to get a clean shot. Always aim for the head. Understand?”

There was no time to wait for a response. A high-pitched shriek echoed: distracting him. Reign looked and watched as the creature’s body fell to the ground. Seemingly knocked prone. 

“Kill it and head towards the other, then get back towards the city,” he called. Leaping over the rock, he was crouched behind. Reign took off, knowing he was moving faster than the average man but couldn’t be bothered to care. All he could hope for was that the other was too busy to notice. He moved so quick, he didn’t hear the soft clink of the silver necklace he left behind  next to the other man.

-

A flurry of questions came to his mind, threatening to spill over in his impatience to be answered after the first. He wanted to know more. Then, in a blink of an eye, the man was out of reach and Elio was left scrambling in his wake. The stranger was fast and in a few heartbeats he was far enough away from Elio that it snapped him into action. The knife felt heavy in his hand and the field researcher fumbled to move up to crouching when something caught his eye. He’d thought he’d heard a metallic clink, but it hadn’t registered until he saw the disc on the ground. The one that Reign had just used to weaken the creatures. He snatched it up and ran, doing just as he had been instructed.

/END

[interstxllcr]

terrantides​:

Reign’s shoulder shook as he chuckled, “There are many things the Council does. None of which is  playing nice; I don’t think they know the meaning of the word.” His distaste of the Council had grown over the years. There was a sense of indifference at the beginning. Now though, knowing what he knew and saw. The Council was nothing better than those twisted and manipulative leaders back on earth. Those people did whatever they could to throw their weight around.

That was one thing he likes about the Outlanders. They could see past it all one thing– among many– that he admired about Gene. He knew who his enemy was. And that was always a good thing. Primarily when dealing with cunning and crafty people like those on the Council. There was no telling what they were thinking and scheming, and Reign couldn’t for the life of him figure out how people missed that little fact. Perhaps, it had more to do with where he was really from, how long he had lived. The information he’d been privy to. Though sometimes he wondered, Gene seemed to know more than most; or at the very least, he understood the gravity of things. Mayhaps this was the reason why he preferred his company to some of the other Outlanders. Kindred spirits.

“They do but don’t let them hear you say that. It just one more reason why they will want to kill us all. "his dark eyes on a small group of Sentinels looking their way. The faster they were through the Blood, the better. Letting out a sigh, Reign threw up his hands, 

"My necklace, the one I always wear. I dropped it but…” he shook his head. “It could be anywhere by now, and we don’t have the time to search the whole field for it.:”

-

Gene’s mouth wanted to twitch into a baiting smile as the Sentinels looked their way but he was plain faced as ever. Hot headed fury wouldn’t serve him any favors and he tried to never bite off more than he could chew. “They can try...I have to laugh at the irony though; that training they shovel down their throats and they were practically useless in all this.” He’d turned his back to the Sentinels now, a show of indifference and his statement audible only between them.

“That’s too bad...didn’t take you for sentimental trinkets.” He’d hardly noticed its absence, but now that he looked back on it, he recalled its steady presence adorning Reign’s neck. There had been something in the way Reign had been looking for it in their surroundings that had piqued Gene’s interest, but the mention of jewelry sated his suspicious nature for the moment. “Must have been pretty rough out there for you.”

[interstxllcr]

terrantides​:

She hummed thoughtfully as Gene left the comfort of his bed and move towards her. River wasn’t timid when it came to nudity, but she could already feel her cheeks flush for some reason. Their hookups started off in Tera  so it wasn’t as if this was her first time seeing him naked. It was just him. The effect that Gene had, It annoyed her and other times it made her knees go weak 

“Is it the first step? When my mind won’t turn off.”

A grin playing on River’s lips as she opened the furs for Gene to join her. But she didn’t move. Instead, she turned to face him fully. Pressing herself against him, allowing his body heat to warm her further. River’s cheek resting against his chest as she listened to the sound of his steady heartbeat. It was funny how calm she could be in his presence. Was that the reason she sought him out so much? For comfort? She wasn’t really sure, but she did know that she needed it.

Peeking up at him, she sighed. He looked tired slender fingers traced shapes along the bare flesh of his hip. “Five more minutes then we can go back,” kissing the underside of his jaw before nuzzling against him again, more laughter echoing in the night air. “Sounds like we are really missing a party. Hopefully, they don’t drink too much. The last thing we need is hungover Outlanders on Terran territory.”

-

“This raid is just like any other.” To his knowledge, River and the others had meticulously planned it, there was no lack of faith on his part that it would go as they predicted and River would return with their haul. Her restlessness struck him as odd and perhaps if he felt it was his place he would have read into it more, but he forcibly let it go. Nerves over the raid, that was all it was.

River’s soft touches and warmth spread over him as she welcomed him into her space and he tried to guess the patterns she drew across his skin only to get distracted. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally relaxed. This kind of affection had always been rare for him, whether on Earth and Tera, until he’d gotten involved with River. He closed his eyes when she kissed the underside of his jaw, his shoulders slumping further when she nuzzled into him and somewhat agreed to return to bed. He could do five minutes.  

“You feel like you’re missing out?” He said bemusedly into her hair, cheek gently resting atop her head. His hand idly smoothed over her back, fingers kneading into the muscle until he could use his arm to press her against him more securely, hand coming to rest on her waist. “They’ll be fine, gotta remember to enjoy life every now and again.”

[interstxllcr]

sofinfotech​:

Sofi shot him a look when he replied to her in geek-speak, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth because she couldn’t actually be mad about it. She had always appreciated how smart he was up until the point that she perceived that his brilliance was what kept him distanced from her, too caught up with Dr. Harper and his research.

She leaned into his side as they walked, nodding in assent. “I was beginning to think you’d never ask.” She teased good-naturedly, grateful that he had asked even if she hadn’t intended to take no for an answer anyway. “Dani was supposed to save me a table at De Luca’s, figured we could all use some comfort food after this week.” She probably would have opted to talk about how many appetizers they should order when they got there but she didn’t expect that to hold Elio’s attention, confident that most of his focus was probably still stuck on whatever they’d had him working on. “So have you guys decided on an official name for those things from the Blood Wood? Cuz I’ve got some suggestions if you’re still looking.”

-

His body drifted from the labs but his mind stayed behind, most of his thoughts, just as Sofi had suspected, circling back to his work. Placing a face to the name took a few seconds but it wasn’t difficult for him to remember the lounge singer. “I see. Is she working or will she be joining us?”

“We refer to them as the shadows...but no official name yet. Think all scientists should weigh in on what naming rules we would like to go by. Whether it be based on previous models or new one. Judging by how this is a world unlike Earth, I would say we need a whole new system to identify, catalogue, and name its flora, fauna, and mineral...” 

His attention anchored, swiveling his gaze to her. “-- suggestions?”

[interstxllcr]

sofinfotech​:

Sofi didn’t take it personally when he appeared distracted, instead taking the opportunity to loop her elbow through his and start walking with him in tow. Boundaries were not her strong suit, and she despised being ignored even when she knew she knew she probably deserved it.

“And it’s a position that I, a loyal Terran, am happy to fill.“ She gestured with her free hand, glancing up at him with a grin. “That big brain of yours will shrivel up if you don’t feed it, you know.” She warned teasingly. 

-

“Wrinkles equates to more surface area.” He countered, but he relaxed under her touch and the familiarity of it all came rushing back in. Elio wanted to think about anything other than his personal life for so long that the disc and the creatures had been a welcome thing. When they no longer took up the whole of his attention span, it allowed for this to happen. He missed Sofi and how easily he could step back into her orbit proved that he’d never fallen out of it. He gently squeezed her arm between his and his side, securing it there. “I take it you’ll accompany me, then?”

[interstxllcr]

sofinfotech​:

-

Sofi knew that she had set herself up for it, but it was hard to ignore the familiar sting of his response even as she reminded herself that it wasn’t her problem anymore. She stepped closer, ignoring the look on his face with a determination to keep their friendship solid despite their past. 

“My work has been crazy too.” She offered instead of sticking to the joke. “You eaten today? I’m basically on a full-time schedule of making sure you workhorses don’t starve yourselves in the name of science.“

-

He ignored her proximity to him, gaze tracking towards the direction of his quarters before courtesy forced it back to her. Sofi’s question surprised him. He hadn’t thought about food since this morning which made him chuckle at the rest of her words. “That so...a much needed position, for I have not.” 

[interstxllcr]

marinfms​:

.

          fortunately,  marin  had  studied  devices  and  situations  similar  to  the  one elio  had  been  describing.   of  course,  none  of  the  things  in  her  studies  had  anything  to  do  with  shadow  creatures,  but  at  least  the  mechanics  could  be  something  useful  to  them.     “   and  you  only  found  one  ?   ”     the  more  they  had  to  work  with,  the  better.   having  just  one  device  could  be  risky  when  investigating  the  inner  workings,  but  that  just  meant  they  had  to  be  more  careful.     “   can  we  go  back  to  my  office  ?   unfortunately,  i  have  a  lot  more  questions.   ”     a  laugh  falls,  but  she’s  prepared  to  go  all  in  on  her  new  project. 

-

“I am certain there are more, but this is all we have.” He anticipated the worry and sighed. They had no choice if they wanted to learn more. 

But that was why he was at her door. “Lead the way. I’m still waiting for the results of the tissue samples and skeletal scans we took of the creatures but that’ll be discussed by that department. This is all that’s on my agenda for the day-- essentially.”

[interstxllcr]

medictm​:

          “   just  be  easy,  yeah  ?   ”     he  advised,  but  knew  that  gene  was  perfectly  capable  of  judging  his  own  tolerance  of  pain.   lukas  hadn’t  dealt  with  the  medical  side  of  things  in  a  while.   a  few  outlanders  had  come  and  gone  to  him  with  issues,  but  things  were  fairly  calm  until  the  creatures  came  around.   his  curiosity  got  the  worst  of  him  as  his  attention  turned  to  the  wound  in  question.   he  knew  it’d  probably  need  a  little  bit  more  than  a  wrap  to  heal  properly.   he’d  suggest  a  trip  to  the  lagoon  later  on,  to  start.

          his  question  made  lukas  hesitate  as  he  took  a  seat  beside  gene.   to  death,  he  hadn’t.   he  was  almost  positive  his  mother  was  safe  inside  the  walls  of  tera  and  he’d  be  able  to  tell  if  helena  had  fallen  from  the  reactions  of  those  around  them.   as  for  outlanders,  there  were  only  a  handful  that  he’d  grown  acquainted  with.   none  of  them  were  as  close  to  him  as  gracie  was  when  he  lost  her.     “   a  couple  of  ‘em,  yeah.  you  ?   ”

-

“You got it.” He assured him, watching as other people milled about in a somber mood. Even if he had lost some he knew, he wondered what feelings he was supposed to have about it. Somewhere distant hurt registered, a sorrow felt as if  through layers and layers of other emotions which orbited around anger, but Gene’s face was plain as he regarded Lukas. “No one I knew well.” 

“So, what’d you do when the creatures showed up?”

[interstxllcr]

sofinfotech​:

@interstxllcr​

Sofi hadn’t much from Elio since the Remembrance Day disaster, his communication dwindling to the point where she was convinced that he hadn’t died outside of the walls but knew little else about what was going on with him. Annoyed by this, she went to find him in the one place she was sure he’d been hiding out.

Lacking the clearance to enter the laboratories without good reason, she waited outside the building until she saw his familiar figure emerge. "Elio Orion Kim.” She called, stepping out of the shadows from where she’d been waiting for what had felt like forever. “Have you been avoiding me, dork?” 

-

They had brought back a few of the Shadow bodies they had been able to recover and Elio had been wrapped up in dissecting the data found. Between this and the disc he was continuously discussing with Marin, he had little time to spare; something he could get used to. Elio’s propensity for overwork proved a boon to himself and to the Council but it greatly impeded upon any other aspect to his life. 

When he heard his full name called out, he jumped, pivoting on his heel to face the unexpected presence. “Sof.” His answering smile was hollow at the edges but still warmer than the usual greeting, unable to keep that much hidden. 

“No, I...”  It was the same song and dance-- maybe even the same phrase word for word. “I’ve been busy.”

[interstxllcr]

deputy-noel​:

-

Noel nodded with a grim frown, his nose scrunching as he fought willing denial. He’d thought the same about the Outlanders putting themselves at as much risk if not more than the rest of them. “You’re right, though. It either had to be an accident or just really poor planning on their part.” He admitted, glancing sidelong at Elio. 

He didn’t really want to go back out there, but he knew Helena would have his ass if she found out he’d been cowering on a rock face with some geeky science guy. He moved closer to the edge, dropping one leg to find a foothold and begin the climb down. “Get back safe, yeah? You still owe me a drink.” He warned before dropping into the water below.