1st deployment ~ nobody's right if everybody's wrong ~ [video;PUBLIC]

[theydrewfirstblood]

[Not long after the announcement of the grand adventure--one that John chooses not to follow--he utilizes his star pendant to broadcast a message to those who may have remained behind. He looks uncomfortable as his image appears over the network, but not unhappy.]

Hello. Uh...

[He laughs ruefully, reaching up to rub the back of his neck with a shy smile.]

I'm sorry, I just--I'm not used to speaking publicly. I'm--still not real used to speaking at all, I'm so used to being alone.

[But he's not alone anymore. The reminder of that makes him smile brighter, wider...

...then whatever else he was going to say is lost as the network goes completely dead.

For the next thirty minutes, he is unreachable and nowhere to be found.

John Rambo has, apparently, woken up.]

[VIDEO;pubic ~ thirty minutes later]

[The feed flickers back to life--only now, though the face that appears may be familiar, it's changed immeasurably.

A body already hardening under the treatment of hard labor has been carved out of stone, the chest and shoulders in sight far broader, straining the fabric of his shirt. His features are far leaner--honed rather than emaciated, jaw and cheekbones more prominent with the skin pulling tight in some places and laying hollow in others against his skull.

He's also sporting a fresh scar, a line of cauterized flesh standing out pale between his left eye and his temple.

He looks hollow, haunted, angry, and impossibly tired. He visibly swallows, clearly unsure--maybe even a little afraid as he speaks. The soft, deep voice that had grown in warmth and confidence over the last couple of months was once again hesitant and unsteady.]

H-hello? Is anyone out there?...

[OOC: RAMBO HAS BEEN CANON UPDATED! While he's been gone about half an hour in game, he's been back in his own world for a little over two years, and has endured the events of FIRST BLOOD PART II. His usual warnings are no worse than usual, but my own sensitivities dictate I warn that someone close to him in his canon just died, so he's grieving. If you're not in a place to handle just general grief, skip this one and come plot with me for happier stuff later. :P]

Comments

[crystalmaster]

[Radley is very worried when communication goes dead, and when John reappears, he's even more concerned. He wishes now he had chosen to stay behind.]

Are you okay?! What happened?

[theydrewfirstblood]

[For a split second, his expression is blank, uncomprehending...then he remembers, and his eyes light up with recognition as a little tension bleeds out of him. His brow furrows, one corner of his mouth twitching with tremulous hope.]

...Radley?...

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, it's me. I hope the connection will last.... It's been pretty in and out since we left on that trip. Did something happen back where we left you?

[theydrewfirstblood]

I--I don't think so. I don't know.

[Looking around his nimbus cloud, it's just as he left it: utilitarian, small, but for him a comfortable refuge gradually growing to include little things to make the space...more. Leftover plushies and prizes from the festival, a vial of stardust from that maze, a crown of flowers from the skeleton's celebration of the harvest.]

I've been gone 'bout two years.

[crystalmaster]

[Radley stares in shock.]

You mean you've been home?! It's only been thirty minutes here!

[theydrewfirstblood]

[Thirty minutes? That's...fucking jarring, and it shows in his face. He can't even get his head around it.

John wipes a hand over his mouth and falls completely silent, trying to digest what he's hearing.]

[crystalmaster]

[Radley is growing more concerned.]

I know this Outsider person didn't want to let anyone go back until the trip was done, but maybe they'd make an exception for me if I told about this. You look like you could really use a friend right now.

video;

[invigorates]

John! ( Things that Lioriley hated: friends suddenly vanishing without a trace and then appearing later looking completely different. No, this was not the first time it had happened. Doubtful it would be the last, too. ) Are you all right?

Re: video;

[theydrewfirstblood]

[John very nearly flinched, but his eyes widened instead because of that vivid shade of blue and that distraught expression. He knew it, he was sure of it...]

...Lioriley.

[The name escapes on a sigh, an exhale of relief that relaxes and warms his face as his head falls forward for a second.]

Lioriley.

[It's real. She's real, everything is real. He's been doing a lot better over the last couple of years, but sometimes when he shut his eyes and he sees not the war but those faces that make him ache with affection and a longing to see them again when they might just be a figment of his imagination...

He looks up again, and his eyes might be a touch bright as he offers her a wan smile.]

...hi.

[invigorates]

Hello, John. ( Said softly, still with a hint of concern that's accented in the flickering of glowing lines coiled over her skin. ) How are you?

[theydrewfirstblood]

Glad to be back. Really glad.

[His small smile is bright, genuine, but it cracks for just an instant.]

Been a rough two years, but I made it. I'm back.

[He's back, he's safe...his people are safe. For what he lost during the mission, he's got a lot to be thankful for. A lot of people to be thankful for.]

[invigorates]

You went home, then? I had suspected as much from the sudden disappearance. ( He looked... okay? Or he was very good at pretending he was. ) It has only been a short while here, for the record. Not even an hour.

[theydrewfirstblood]

I--I don't--

[He wants to say he doesn't understand how that's possible...but this is a dream world, so...]

...then again, I guess I can.

[He exhales a shaky sigh, scrubbing his hands over his face, wincing just a little as his fingers glance over his newest scar on his face. Waking up, his injuries were healed, but the scars from battle had followed him into the dream.]

I did, I--I went home.

[He thinks of Vietnam and Thailand, and he remembers something he overheard Trautman say to Murdoch: what you call hell, he calls home.

A flicker of anguish crosses his features at that--at the truth of it, a truth he'd faced in the jungle.]

...I went home.

[invigorates]

( Lioriley did her best to keep her demeanor bright, but could not help but frown a bit at the repetition and the look of anguish on her friend's features. )

It was not a particularly enjoyable homecoming, I take it?

video @mc.princess

[killerwail]

[ At first, Pearl happily listened to John's video, leaning on her hand and smiling warmly. She could tell by his body language and how he started that he was about to say something sweet and heartfelt.

And then, he cut out. ]

John??!

[ In the half hour it took John to return, Pearl had time to run out of her cloud, try to look for John's to no avail, accidentally run in on several other people's clouds, go back home, and have a small meltdown, when at last she heard her screen click and John's face return. ]

Oh my god! John! What happened?! I was so worried!

cw: mentions of violent death, PTSD flashback

[theydrewfirstblood]

[He startles just a little at the sound of her voice--the cry of alarm rather than out of fear, because recognition just barely covers that newly awakened fight or flight response. Prison dulled it some, the steadiness of routine and work keeping it sturdy and reliable--now its been honed back to the same killing edge, and it feels...

...right.

But so does the flood of affection that voice brings, the bruising tenderness of warmth that floods his chest...that tempers the steel of that killing edge inside him, makes it stronger.]

Pearl? Pearl...

[For a second, he flashes to having Co in his arms, pleading for him not to forget her as she bleeds out from endless bullet holes...for a second, he's holding Rose, he's holding Pearl, he's holding Lioriley...

He needs to be holding someone now. Someone alive, breathing, holding him back.]

Wh-where--where are you, Pearl?

[killerwail]

I'm in my uhh--- my cloud apartment thingy!

[ She wrung her hands, uncharacteristically nervous. The look in his eyes and how on-edge he seemed to be did not bode well, and Pearl's usual confidence had waned with the sudden fright as-is. But she wants to be with her friend. Surely Marina would understand her request for space for a little while... ]

Do you wanna come over? I'll meet you outside.

[theydrewfirstblood]

[Pearl is scared. That's not right--unless she's afraid of him.

She should be...and yet Pearl, small and bright and overwhelming, shiny and good and strong but defenseless...

He nods, drawing a shaky breath.]

I'll meet you outside. Yeah, I'll...I'll find you.

[And he will. If she waits outside, in very short order she'll have a version of John that's two years older, and two years stronger for hard prison labor, reduced to little more than a wall of killing muscle.

Still, if she allows it, that military machine that answers to John Rambo will have her wrapped up in a fierce hug, clinging but gentle, hands smoothing over every part he can reach--as if to check for injury or harm.

Only then will he allow himself to relax--once he can hold on, assure himself of her life, her safety, her reality, he can finally let some of that killing edge slip away from him.]

Pearl.

[killerwail]

[ Oh, she'll do more than allow it. Standing at roughly half his height (Inklings are fairly short in general and Pearl is shorter still even by her people's standards) Pearl is at a disadvantage, but that's okay. She'll just jump at him.

She leaps into her friends arms, locking her legs and arms around him. ]

J-man! Oh my god, your video cut out and then I couldn't find you!

[theydrewfirstblood]

[The monkey treatment is exactly what John needs, the eager response to the ferocious hug giving him permission to just lift her clear off her feet after stooping to meet her, holding on tight and pressing his face inelegantly against the side of hers just to feel the warmth of skin, holding tight to feel her heart beating before he can bear to draw back to look into her face.

He's finally able to smile a little, easily supporting her weight with an arm around her waist so she doesn't have to cling as hard. He knows she's not, but it feels like holding a small child, and that makes his smile grow a little bigger.]

I woke up. I was home.

[He smile flickers, and he pulls her in to hug her again, less frantically this time.]

Last time I saw you was more 'n two years ago, kid.