Part Four: The Encounter

[lestercraft]

Who: Arthur Lester and PEOPLE
When: April/May catch-all
Where: All over Sweetwater!
Open/Closed: OPEN
Applicable Warnings: Discussion of torture and missing persons, general malaise and paranoia.


Solo
It's been... difficult in a way Arthur can't quite elaborate on.

Or, well. He can. It fucking sucks. But it's something he doesn't, because he doesn't want anyone pitying him more than he already has to fucking deal with. Because he knows (feels incredibly strongly) that everyone already sees him as useless - or worse, helpless. And he can fucking take care of himself, he managed it before Parker decided to hitch his cart onto this dead fucking horse.

Washing and drying his clothes, he can manage: he and Helly had to learn how to use the machines together to begin with. Ironing, he can't - he's not even going to pretend he won't burn himself, or set something on fire somehow.

Sorting is right out. So the meticulously matched suits of months past are gone completely; Arthur's new look, as May stretches on, are completely mismatched. At least to some degree his suits are still fine; all of his suit colours work together, so instead he just looks visibly rumpled, his tie is slightly but visibly uneven - at least he can shave and style his hair alone, but it's a rather disparate and unbecoming image, especially with the whispers he keeps leaving in his wake, about being constantly arrested and kidnapping that poor driver and maybe he's faking that he's blind--

It's difficult to keep up a foul mood all month, but by God is this place making him want to try. At least the other Book Club members (or whatever the fuck they're calling themselves) at least know that he's still up for a conversation if they find him in the diner, or the library trying to keep up studying Braille. Or even just on the street, having finally mastered his cane by sheer brute force.


With John

...and then he's not alone.

Because there's a teenager with him pretty much constantly from then on. A golden-haired youth with brown eyes that hangs out nearly exclusively on his left side, talking incessantly. It's not like it's a one-sided discussion, Arthur is clearly engaged and listening, replying even, but most of the time it's just the teenager talking at him about - pretty much everything, but a casual listener will definitely notice that it's mostly about the things around them, describing what he's seeing for Arthur.

And it's not subtle how John is staring down anyone who tries approaching them, to the point of glaring when people get too close, but there's the definite impression that if anyone wants to talk to Arthur in private - yeah, that's not happening. The child is coming too.

Comments

with or without John, don't mind either way

[freakymagoo]

He didn't know at the time, but it's easy enough to figure out once Arthur starts showing up sporadically around town with his usually immaculate sense of time period-appropriate style slowly going out the window, that there might be some trouble in paradise. Bucky didn't exactly snoop, per se, but he's more or less confirmed that Arthur is now flying solo, blind, and he's pretty sure that wasn't the case before even though he never really got to know Helly all that well.

Didn't think that the town would have saddled him with a kid though. That's new.

Bucky shows up at Arthur's doorstep, bringing a bag with a big foil tray of enough lasagna to last the both of them a week but under the guise of having unintentionally missed book club and looking to catch up on what he might have missed out on. He can't knock with his hand full so he has to kick gently at the door repeatedly to give Arthur some auditory cues.

"Uh. It's me, Bucky." He's not used to having to announce his arrival but even an old dog can learn a new trick or two if he's given enough patience and training.

Re: with or without John, don't mind either way

[lestercraft]

The knocking comes from lower down on the door than Arthur expects (why is he kicking it?) - and there's a muffled back and forth between Arthur and his teenager for a good few seconds first - but it gets answered soon after, and it's Arthur that opens the door.

"Hey, Bucky. I- w-we weren't expecting you- come in, please!" It's easy to turn on the public face, easier than it has been in days, as he steps back to let Bucky in, and closes it behind them again.

He's certain John came over to watch, so he gestures idly to the kitchen. "John, this is Bucky. Bucky- my partner, John Doe."

Re: with or without John, don't mind either way

[firstgreenisgold]

The teenager in question has a mop of curly blond hair and if his expression couldn't be describe as 'suspicious feral dog ready to defend the only person who feeds them', he'd be cute as a button. But it is, and he is, and thus the brown eyes narrow on Bucky almost immediately.

Then on the lasagna with a sniff.

Then on Bucky himself again.

But he doesn't speak to Bucky. Instead-

"'Bucky' stands at roughly six feet, brown hair cut short with a longer fringe at the front, and eyes blue like a hazy sky. He's dressed in the style that seems to be common here, a style that suits the square shape of his face, and he's missing an arm... but I assume you knew that. He's carrying a tray of some manner of food, hence kicking the door instead of knocking. "

A beat.

"I could have got the fucking door, Arthur. I'm a child here, I doubt he'd just fucking shoot me on sight."

[freakymagoo]

Bucky is familiar enough with feral dogs and their dependencies, but the commentary throws him off completely. None of it is particularly insulting or judgemental but it's certainly not how Bucky would have described himself. Also, John Doe is a really shady name, and the kid's attitude isn't helping to alleviate the concern sitting in Bucky's furrowed eyebrows much.

"It's lasagna. How do you know I'm carrying," Bucky asks flatly, stepping inside to put his food delivery down while discreetly glancing around in case there's any other surprises waiting for him inside. Apart from the dog tags, of which only the chain is visible right now with the actual tags sitting under his jacket, Bucky didn't think he appeared particularly like the type to be shooting anything, let alone children. Maybe it's the staring problem that makes him seem threatening.

[lestercraft]

Arthur visibly does a double take, which is frankly an impressive action when he doesn't even know where anyone is, but he manages to follow Bucky back to the kitchen.

"It's a fair assumption from our time together," he comments brusquely, brushing past it immediately to focus on the part that is immediately and intensely threatening to boil over: "What the hell does he mean you've only got one fucking arm?!"

[firstgreenisgold]

John turns to look over at Arthur, incredulous.

"No one told you that? What the fuck were these people telling you?"

He sits in the kitchen, watching the two adults to see how this might play out. Just because he's the eyes doesn't mean he yet has the tools to decipher what he's seeing, but he wants to take in as much as he can to tell Arthur later.

...which is awkward. Why does this have to be like this? Fuck this place. This is not how he was supposed to get a body.

As for New Things to notice, Bucky might take in the scent of cleaning supplies here in the house. John'd started in once he got here to help out, considering. Grousing the whole time, of course, but what else is new?

"And no, I didn't know you had a gun. But why did you bring- Arthur, what the hell is that? It smells... good. Sort of... sharp. With some sort of herbs..." okay he's going to get up and come a little closer to see what gets unveiled when the lasagna is opened. Please open the lasagna, Arthur. Your teenage eyes would like to try this. Make this stupid hellscape worthwhile with lasagna at least.

Okay, no distractions!

"Why did you bring food and a gun? What the fuck was the plan, exactly?"

[freakymagoo]

"Huh?" Remarks Bucky obliviously. He glances over to the empty sleeve and seems to recognise that he only has one arm, the way that people can sometimes forget they're wearing their glasses, and gives Arthur an unhelpful grunt.

"I lost my left arm in the war." He might have given a more graphic description purely out of spite, but there is a child present. Or a child-looking angry and wary small person, at least. Bucky doesn't necessarily care for the attitude, but he's not the particularly talkative type to begin with. He has no interest in talking about what anyone did to him, let alone with Arthur's 'partner' present.

"Why does it matter," he adds, pressing his lips into a thin, flat line. "I still made lasagna from scratch." And he can still shoot, maim, dismember and mutilate someone else better than just about anyone else in the vicinity. He figured Mr. 'I'm blind, not helpless' would be the last person to give a shit.

"I came to ask about book club. Missed it." Smells like they tried to get rid of a dead body here so, you know, he doesn't feel the need to explain why he's armed.

[lestercraft]

Partial credit to Bucky identifying a problem he's having, but it's sadly not the problem right now.

"I don't care about your competence, Bucky," he practically snarls, "I care that I've known you for nearly five months and no-one saw fucking fit to tell me about it because it was so incredibly obvious to everyone fucking else!"

It's just one more strike against Arthur, one more piece of this fucking place making him useless when he's the only person who can't operate at full capacity around the people he's supposed to trust, because no-one sees fit to tell him even the most obvious fucking details.

[firstgreenisgold]

John and Arthur have had and did have their share of shouting earlier, which is why John is just a wee bit glad that the fire isn't landing on him at the moment. But John is still John, which is why he keeps his eyes on Bucky as he says quietly:

"I'm guessing everything here, all the rules and the dangers... they're new to you. That this place, the things that happen here, even your presence here... it's terrifying.

"But Arthur can't see. He's facing all of this blind. Think of everything you know about this situation. Then cut it down to a third. That's probably twice as much as Arthur can get without help, especially because he usually had me to help him. To tell him everything he should be seeing."

He looks to Bucky.

"And now five months later, he learns something I found out from a glance. Can you imagine all the other doubts and fears and concerns that are rising up right now? All the other things he has to wonder about not knowing?" His lips press flat and shakes his head.

"Describing things isn't just to keep him from falling into holes."

House call!

[aperturesubject0001]

One could suspect the Barnes household of coordinating, when Chell turns up knocking at Arthur's door. (One would be wrong. Coordination would require way more talking than either of them generally do at home. The Barnes house is a quiet one.)

The fact that she shows up empty-handed, aside from her notebook and purse, tends to suggest she's here with some kind of business in mind, though, rather than as a second round of food drop-off. She knocks on the door -- tok-tok-tok, tok-tok-tok -- and waits on the stoop, eyeing the street for passers-by.

Re: House call!

[lestercraft]

There's a muffled "Just a moment-" as footsteps move down the stairs - two sets, in fact, and the lighter pair stops short as the heavier set continues, and Arthur opens the door. Behind him, a blond-haired teenager is poking his head into the corridor to see as well, but Arthur doesn't seem to pay him any mind.

"Can I help you?" It's polite, stiff and formal; he's clearly distracted, since he's got his jacket off and shirt sleeves rolled up.

Re: House call!

[firstgreenisgold]

From behind him:

"At the door is a somewhat athletic-looking woman at approximately your height. She has dark hair, scattered with gray that seems to have come in early given her apparent age, light brown skin and blue eyes. She's carrying a notebook and she has a small bag over her shoulder. Her expression is, understandably, wary."

He leans past Arthur.

"I'm John. I help him see with words."

[aperturesubject0001]

Uhhhh.

Chell blinks at the teenager describing her, looks at Arthur in confusion, and looks back at John. She waves at him uncertainly.

I'm Chell, she signs, more or less on automatic. The odds that this kid knows sign seem pretty low. Then she reaches out to tap Arthur twice on the bicep in greeting. Hey, Arthur, it's one of your non-verbal neighbors.

[lestercraft]

He feels John's body beside him, and, slightly fumbling, puts a hand on his shoulder - partly reassuring him, partly a gentle squeeze to ground them both.

The ongoing silence is only confusing for a moment, before he gets the taps on his bicep and his eyes widen briefly in recognition.

"Oh- Chell, hey-- come in." He moves to stand clear of the door, lightly tugging John clear too. "John, this is Chell, she's one of us. Another sign language user, but she can hear us perfectly fine. Chell, this is John Doe, he's from my world. My- my investigative partner."

[firstgreenisgold]

John will wave and then blink as he considers if he should do something else since Arthur said she can hear just fine.

John, who is not used to anyone but Arthur hearing him yet-

"John," he repeats, "I just... got here." Beat. "I'm not actually a teenager."

[aperturesubject0001]

Okay, uh. Chell looks no less confused, but somewhat less wary as she steps inside and pulls the door shut. Flipping to a clean page in her notebook, she writes:

I CAME OVER TO SEE IF ARTHUR IS OKAY
+ ASK SOME QUESTIONS
CAN YOU INTERPRET? TALK FOR ME?

"Interpret" might not be a concept the kid is familiar with, she figures. Well, wait.

WHAT ARE YOU IF YOU'RE NOT A TEENAGER??

She shows John what she's written -- then, loathe to leave Arthur out while John reads, passes the book to John entirely so she can use both hands to take one of Arthur's. U-O-K-? she writes in his palm.

[firstgreenisgold]

"I can read the notes for you for him, yes," he says with a quick nod, "that's what i usually do."

A pause.

"And that's complicated. Let's do the questions for Arthur first. Whatever I am, Arthur's my partner."

He looks over to Arthur.

"She writes: I came over to see if Arthur is okay plus ask some questions. Can you talk for me? And then she asked 'what are you if you're not a teenager?' with two question marks."

[wwrench]

Wrench, too, is dealing with a sudden but uneasy transition into the life of Sweetwater bachelorhood. The evidence may not be reflected in his appearance, but it's certainly transformed the home he used to share with Teddy. The portraits have taken on a strange new look, and all evidence of the person this town once called his wife has been erased from those frames. Where there were once photographs of Wrench and Teddy laughing and gazing into each others' eyes, now his is the only face that remains. It's like this town has seen fit to erase Teddy from its collective memory entirely.

So why are some people able to leave when they can't even get close enough to the border to see what's behind? It's the question -- one of the questions -- that's been plaguing Wrench since his unfortunate encounter with the whole of Sweetwater's police force. He's been trying to keep his head about him and maintain some semblance of routine, but it's getting increasingly difficult now that he's been dragged into the midst of a mystery he can't understand. So when he sees Arthur out in public, he doesn't think. He doesn't even check their surroundings to see who else might notice them. Wrench just walks up to the man and gives his arm their agreed-upon greeting squeeze. Then, into Arthur's free palm:

Healed OK?

[lestercraft]

It's never going to stop being easy to catch Arthur, even if he still bristles at the unexpected touch - but as usual he simmers down immediately when Wrench gives the code, and he tucks the wristband of his cane up to his wrist so he can use his hand, and signs quickly with one hand.

O-K.

But he does still dig into his jacket pocket and pull out a notepad. He knows some sign now, sure, but his fingerspelling is still extremely lacklustre.

No obvious marks leftover except restraints, as best I can tell. Fucking exhausted, though. And he grimaces as he writes that, the displeasure at the treatment obvious.

[wwrench]

Despite being the one holding the gun when their plan was eventually foiled, Wrench doesn't think he got it quite as badly as the other two men. He assumes his first offense has not yet created a pattern of behavior the way it has for Arthur and Numbers, and he's got mixed feelings about that. Still, he's not eager for a repeat of the same. He drums his fingers on Arthur's shoulder as the man pens those last words, emphasizing his own agreement.

It's even weirder now to see those letters taking shape on the page, clearly formed by the man's hand but so similar to the handwriting of the boy he's only just had the rather unfortunate encounter with. It leaves Wrench smirking to himself, unable to fully mask just how eerie it all still seems to him.

We need a new plan.

Someone here you know now? John?

[lestercraft]

It's hard to call whatever crosses Arthur's face lighting up when he gets the news that Wrench already knows John, even if there's definitely some relief in there. It's just everything else that complicates and sours the fact that John is here. They're still separate, to say nothing of how they've yet to address anything that's happened to them previous to this place, when everything here kept happening so much.

But he nods, with an an easy, Yes. J-O-H-N D-O-E. My - and he stumbles, fingers curling for a moment as he struggles to remember the word, before he remembers - partner. B-E-F-O-R-E here.

[wwrench]

To say that Wrench is startled by the fingerspelling would be an understatement. He knows he's not the one who taught it to Arthur, and while other possible instructors are limited in quantity, he's been too far up his own ass lately to even venture a guess as to whether it might have been Numbers or Chell. The particulars hardly matter, but that surprise is so momentarily profound he grips the other man's bicep like he's just been shown a miracle. Or, at the very least, a very convincing magic trick.

Wrench isn't sure how far the boundaries of this newfound knowledge extend, but he's happy to push against them. So he sets his hands in Arthur's, totally ignoring the fact that they're still in public and it's pretty likely to garner a couple of stares from passersby. So much for flying under the radar; it's never worked all that well for him anyway. With his hands slotted under Arthur's, he points, dragging both their palms off to the side with the gesture.

He... J-O-H-N? And here's something he's damn sure is a new sign. Wrench makes the handshape first and lets Arthur feel it before he's fingerspelling to explain. A-S-S-H-O-L-E.

[lestercraft]

He grins a little at the squeeze, despite himself. It's not like they'd had the opportunity to showcase that Numbers had indeed been teaching him earlier, but he's privately pleased that it's received so positively.

Granted, he still signs with the awkwardness of a newborn foal learning to walk, hands too rigidly near to his chest, signs still a little bit stilted as he struggles between words and spelling - but by God he's fucking trying.

And when Wrench teaches him the new sign, his eyes widen for a moment, before he pulls his hands back to cover his mouth as he abruptly bursts out laughing. It's only quick, catching himself immediately, but it does a number to make him look younger than he is, some weight lifting all too briefly.

He repeats the sign, just to get a feel for it, and replies, still grinning.

He gets it from me.

[wwrench]

There is no part of him that thinks he has anything worthwhile to teach. When Wrench looks at himself, he doesn't see a man with skills or knowledge or the capacity to pass any amount of that onto someone else. The abilities that he has seem mostly the burdensome kind, and he's not as eager to impart them onto someone else as the man who gave them to him was in teaching him how to kill. So, he doesn't consider himself much of an instructor. Doesn't really think that Arthur would be interested in learning from him. But when the man repeats that sign almost like it's a secret delight, there are about a million things Wrench wants to say to him simultaneously.

He can't, of course, but when his mind gets ahead of his hands he grips the other man by both arms, like he's got to impart his giddy energy onto Arthur somehow. Then he takes his hands back and nods both fists into the other man's to show that yes, that's indeed the sign. He'd like to explain the particulars of why; the rather demonstrative and visceral nature of that open circle and what it represents, but he lets it pass for now.

Now that he knows Arthur knows the alphabet, Wrench is happy to use that instead. It feels clearer than writing letter by letter with his index finger, and he hopes it feels that way to the other man too.

Your handwriting too.
He refused to say much. Said he needed your permission.

[lestercraft]

It's a mercy that he's been so steadfastly trying to memorise letters, so he can keep up with Wrench literally spelling things out for him in ASL, but he's rapidly running up against the limits of his own vocabulary so far. So he gives a nod in understanding, and pulls his notepad back out from under his arm, tucked for more convenient ease of use than his pocket right now.

John is

He pauses, tapping his pen as he thinks of the best words, and ends up making a list of dot points.

- not a child
- not human
- part of eldritch god King in Yellow
- my eyes. he describes everything so i can "see" it
- anything you tell me you can tell him. assume we tell each other.

He makes a face, a sudden terse frustration, and adds beneath it:

no one fucking told me bucky only has 1 arm