bakerstreet | Marooned!

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Marooned!

THE MAROONED MEME

When you’re stranded. When there’s no way out.

At least this you’re not alone.

WHERE ARE YOU STRANDED?
1: Island. Surrounded by the ocean, shipwrecked on an island. Far away from any civilization.
2: Planet. Is it an uninhabited wasteland? A teeming forest, crammed with alien life forms? Does it have enough oxygen? Storms? Predators?
3: Moon/Asteroid. Low atmosphere, low gravity. You better hope that you have a survival pod where there’s enough air and heat.
4: Adrift. A ship on the ocean; a power-dead space station; a skimmer floating through the levels of a gas giant.
5: Oasis. Not quite marooned in the same sense, but you’re surrounded by empty desert, too far to cross. You might as well be trapped by the water of the oasis.
6: Cave. Again, not quite in the same sense, but something has left you trapped underground. Did you slide down a chasm? Suffer a cave-in? Either way, you’re down here to stay, for the time being.
7: Other.

WHO’S WITH YOU?
1: A friend. You’re in this together.
2: An enemy. Maybe war brought you both here, and war left you stranded behind. Could be that you’re an enemy in a more mundane sense: school rivals, an assassin and her prey.
3: Strangers. You were both on that boat for vacation, and now you have to survive together.
4: A lover. Some honeymoon, huh?
5: Other. For any other variation.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
1: Food and water.
2: Shelter. There’s a storm coming. The nights are cold, here. Or do you just want a sense of security?
3: Communication. How can you get someone to come rescue you?
4: Predators. Something’s trying to kill you…
5: Escape. If you can just fix the ship…
6: Each other. One more hour and you might kill each other.
7: Injury/Disease. One of you needs medical attention. Hopefully the other can muddle through.
8: Other. Any other problem you can think up!

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To use your words? "A long story."

[With great care and concentration, she cleans away the excess, crusty blood. Human bodies are so frail. Then again, to look at her, one would think Alastrians can shatter like glass.

Not really. But appearances are deceiving.]

Good news. I think the wound is clear.

Good news, huh? That's a change of pace.

[ He looks down at the wound with a grimace. It's messy, but it's not as deep as he feared. Likely no permanent damage, just another scar. He's already got more than a few, a bullet wound in his chest, several slash marks that could be from blades or debris.

None as interesting as the strange, circuit-like network of scars that descend from the nape of his neck, disappearing into his hairline, but he's already made it clear that one is off limits. ]

That's the spirit, I guess.

[She hikes up the bottom of her skirt, ripping a long bandage from the hem.]

We'll wrap this around you, with the patch over the wound. It'll hold. At least for a little while. Long enough to figure out how to get you to the falls, anyway.

You don't have to do that.

[ Because he's been watching her shred her own clothing to pieces in an effort to bandage him up. Surely there's another way, something better they can do. God, what he wouldn't give for that medi-gel right about now.

As it is, the prospect of getting to his feet seems daunting. He'll do it, of course. He'll walk until he falls over flat on his face, because that's just how he is. ]

Of course I do. There's no one else here, Agent.

[It's matter-of-fact to her. Call it tragic, call it life-affirming. It's just the way that Ariadne thinks.

And she starts to carefully set the pad against his side, before carefully looping the longer bandage around his torso.]

Where are you from, anyway?

I meant your dress...thing. I mean it's not like there's an outlet mall nearby, I'm guessing.

[ Wow, way to date yourself there, Wash. He shakes his head, adjusting his posture to take a little pressure off of his side as she works. He's past the point of fighting it, just letting her wind the bandage around him with minimal fuss. ]

Originally? Earth. You know where that is?

[ He's starting to question, just a bit. ]

[Ariadne shakes her head a little. It's a mixed blessing. On the one hand, someone from home would have brought her comfort. And maybe information. But on the other hand, someone from a place she's never heard of means new stories. New ways of doing thing. New knowledge and skills.

New, new, new.

It's a gift that can't be taken for granted, in a place where precious little changes.]

No. But it was hard for me to get out of Valeria, near the end.

[She gives him a smile, finishing off a knot.]

I was born in Deleo. You're probably never heard of it. It was a very, very small kingdom.

Not a whole lot of kingdoms left where I'm from, so no. Everyone pretty much answers to the UNSC. Everyone human, anyway.

[ It's common knowledge, nothing he has to worry about. The details of his mission, where he was stationed, what he was sent out to do? That, she doesn't need to know. But this seems a relatively harmless exchange.

That could be the blood loss talking, of course. Got to keep an eye on that. ]

The end of the war, you mean?

[Why is it that half of the things he says makes her think she need to calibrate his language again? UNSC? What does that even mean?

Ariadne tilts her head, sitting back on her heels. Her fingers are sticky with his blood, but staining her dress is the last thing on her mind. She's not trying to fool anyone here.

What would be the point?]

There was a war. The Red Dragon's conquest. I don't know if it's ended or not. I've been here a long time.

Did news of the Dragon reach you in your king...well...in your land?

The Red Dragon? Sounds like a guild name for a LARP.

[ It could just be that she's crazy. That's a possibility. But he finds that he's too curious not to ask anyway. It's not like he's going anywhere at the moment.

So he stares at her, with that same squinting look like he's trying to read through her, though it's starting to look a little hazy around the edges. Rest might actually be a good idea, but Wash doesn't sleep so much as he passes out from exhaustion. There's time. ]

I'm talking about the war with the Covenant. The alliance of alien races that wanted to wipe humanity from the universe? Destroy entire planets? That war?

[She's attentive. But also completely bewildered. While the individual words make sense, strung together they're elusive and strange. They're...what's the term he used?

Alien.]

I'm afraid...I've never heard of any...Covenant. Not like that.

Your realm must be very far removed from mine, Agent.

[Or maybe he's lost too much blood.

Her eyes cut down to the grass behind him.]

Realm. Right...

[ His brow creases as he gives her a look that's almost pitying, before shaking his head. If she doesn't know about the war, maybe that's best. He'd like to forget it all if he could.

As if that was possible. ]

So where is this place, other than 'the middle of nowhere?' What system? What planet?

[Pity is a terrible thing, but Ariadne dismisses it as misplaced. He's hurt and lost and obviously doing everything in his power to feel in control. Everyone does that from time to time, not just snarly males.]

Well, I don't know what you mean by 'system' or 'planet' exactly. But my people have a name for it.

We call it Fae.

[Wait.]

Do you mean to tell me you were sent here without knowing it?

The ship I was on crashed. That's how I got here. I just don't know where here is. And 'Fae' doesn't really help. I've never heard of it.

[ Right, well. She's not going to be terribly helpful when it comes to finding his way back. That's fine. He can do this on his own, and likely for the best that he does.

One hand lifts to smooth over the affixed bandage. It's crude, but it'll do for the time being. At least he isn't leaking all over the place. ]

I don't suppose you have shelter nearby.

[How a ship can crash when there are no real shores is beyond her. But that's not what matters right now.

She shakes her head slightly, looking up at the sun's progress in the sky.]

I don't think we'll be able to make it back to my shelter before the sunset. We'll be safer trying to get to the falls. There are some caverns. The get very cold at night, but they're safe.

[Safer than here, anyway.]

But it's not going to be easy, Agent. You're going to have to let me help you.

[Or they're both in trouble. But she leaves that part unsaid.]

You've helped enough.

[ And with that, he's drawing to his feet. There's a wobble there that he tries to hide, before staring down at his armor.

Shit. Can't leave it here, not after everything he's done to get it back. ]

...although if you want to help me get this back on, I won't argue.

[The snarly male returns.

Ariadne's eyes shift back and forth, between the armor and the man.]

If you put this on again, at best, it'll tear open your wounds and you'll bleed out. At worst, you won't be able to move fast enough to find shelter before sunset.

[She stands up, slowly reaching out to put a hand on his arm, between the elbow and the shoulder.]

You may not know about Fae, Agent. But I do. I've been here a long time. And it's a dangerous place.

[ And oh, the way his arm tenses under her hold, as his stare shifts into something more akin to a glare. No. He's not budging on this. She can be as sweet and convincing as she wants, but there is no way in Hell... ]

If you think I'm just going to leave it here? You're out of your mind.

It's just armor.

[She draws back, but looks him right in the eye. The difference in their heights or builds doesn't seem to bother her much.]

I can fetch it for you in the morning. Or you can get it yourself once you've healed a little.

If we're out here after the sun sets, we'll have bigger problems.

[ It really isn't, he wants to say. But she doesn't need to know that.

So instead, his jaw goes tense, and he stares back at her stubbornly for a moment before grunting and looking around. ]

Then we need to hide it. I don't need something picking it up before I come back for it.

[She lets out a long-suffering sigh. But okay. Fine. She can compromise.]

All right. I can hide it. I'll put it up in the trees. No one's likely to look there.

[Biting down on the inside of her cheek, she turns to scan the canopy.]

There are a few weight-bearing trees that should work...

Are you trying to hide it from bears?

[ Alright, not necessary, but the sharper side of his tongue tended to make up for whenever he was feeling particularly stressed. And standing upright is doing more than enough to put pressure on him, at the moment.

Not that he's letting that show. He'll stay right where he is until she's finished. Just to keep an eye on her. ]

There aren't any bears in Fae. But there are vrykolakas.

[And with a huff, she picks up his helmet and trots to the nearest try, shimmying up with one hand and both feet. It's both impressively nimble and strangely awkward at the same time.

What she wouldn't give to have her wings back...

On the lowest branch, she pulls herself up against the trunk, reaching up to set the helmet in a higher branch, above her head. Once she has it nicely wedged between the trunk and the branch, she climbs up herself, and starts to pull on the fronds spilling down to the ground.]

Also gelins too, but they only come here once or twice a month and it won't be for awhile. And aericos, closer to the borders.

Any Sangheili? Kig-Yar? Yanme'e?

[ He knows there aren't. If she doesn't know about the war, it means none of those races have come this far out, but he's trying to make a point here.

While she's climbing a tree. So most of his incredulous looks are completely wasted, but hopefully the tone carries. ]

[She begins plaiting a couple of fronds that prove sturdy, a little line forming between her eyes.]

I'm not sure I know what those are. But if they're Wyld creatures, there's a good chance of it. Of course, they might be on the other side of Fae. I've never gone much further than a week away from the oasis in any direction.

[Someday. Someday she might figure out how to do it, figure out if there's life anywhere else. But Ariadne's too cautious right now.

She hops down from the branch, landing in a crouch, then goes over to the armor, hauling the torso piece toward the tree.]

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