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You thinking of any in particular?

I’m still here. That’s more than a lot of folks can say. I’ll take it.

Ha, fair enough.

Speaking of things to be thankful for, I finally got one of the fucking helicopters working. You wanna go with me, get me something to eat now?

Well, alright. Finally a spot of good luck. Yeah. Yeah, I’ll go with you. Hold on a second.

[MacReady vanishes but quickly returns with his trademark hat and a pack...and a suspiciously lumpy parka in his arms. He’s wrapped a flame thrower in a small tarp and pulled a spare parka over it. He is prepared for cleanup duty, but he also doesn’t want to look like he’s out to start any trouble.]

Okay. You ready?

*Palmer eyes that bundle with a bit of suspicion, but he knows it's needed so he doesn't complain.*

Yeah, I'm ready. Thanks for helping with this, by the way. I suppose it's mostly so you never find out what it's like to be dinner yourself, but I'm still grateful.

[Macready shoves the bundle into the chopper quickly. It would be cruel to just keep it out in the open without needing it. He did not want the shapeshifter more on edge than he needed to be for both their sakes and their sanity.]

Yeah, but...that’s what friends are for, right? We help each other out.

*Palmer visibly untenses once it's out of sight, then climbs into the helicopter after it. He chooses the seat next to Mac's for similar reasons: staying where Mac can see him is the best thing he can do.*

Friends? Yeah, I guess we're friends. Better than not being friends. *A small smile.* I appreciate the help.

Edited (Slightly less non sequitur) 2020-12-06 23:04 (UTC)

[MacReady nodded, his lips pulling to the side in a half smile of his own. He’d be lying if he said he did not feel better with Palmer where he could see him. Old habits died hard, but at least he trusted him enough to keep his word.]

Definitely better.

So...which coast do you want to try for? We have a handful to choose from...a few seasonally unmanned bases we can stop and refuel at if we need to.

Where do you think has the best animal buffet?

Edited 2020-12-06 23:56 (UTC)

*Palmer is careful to keep close to the door, as well, to prevent accidentally touching the other man. He doesn't know if it would set Mac off, and he doesn't want even the slightest chance of infecting him. He would have nightmares about that if he still needed to sleep.*

A few emperor penguins would be nice, they're big. You have any idea where the nearest ones are this time of year? And how long it'll take to get there? Not sure how much food you brought, or if you'd want to sleep in one of those empty bases. *A sigh.* I can't imagine you'd be comfortable sleeping with me around unless you locked me outside.

I mean, you could lock me out if you want. It would be uncomfortable as fuck, but I'm . . . well, you know. God, it would probably be easier to just keep me on ice the whole way.

Hey, I’ll feel a lot safer once you are fed. I don’t have any problem with you. It is your hunting instincts and I know that hunger does things to people...regardless if they are human or not.

I wouldn’t lock you outside to freeze.

[Realistically, it would not be able to keep a hungry shapeshifter out, but it might keep an honest man honest the same way a lock on a suitcase might.]

Don’t worry. Penguins will be easy to find. They are starting to nest this time of year.

I'll feel safer too. *He runs a hand through his hair.* I've been hungry since the start of this whole mess, I didn't dare take the time with the blood bags and I didn't want to murder anyone. I know you guys, even if it's secondhand: you're not just prey.

*It wouldn't keep him out by itself, but if he held on long enough to freeze he wouldn't spend the whole night hungry and aware of how close food is.*

Good. Fastest route there, then. I'm famished.

I’m not sure there’s many out there.

[MacReady gave a soft smile and nodded.]

Let’s go. You’ve been pretty patient.

[A few last minute adjustments and glances at the map and they were on their way.]

Thanks.

I know that has got to be rich coming from me, but I am glad we’re more to you than a snack.

At this point, I will take whatever I can get.

Oh thank God.

*He watches the buildings shrinking as they lift off and relaxes a little more into his seat.* I mean, it's not exactly surprising. I'm just glad to have convinced you. Gotta admit you still scare me some--I probably still scare you some too, right?

But yeah, not just a snack. You do look more appetizing than I'd like, but any at all is more than I'd like.

Edited (Typo) 2020-12-09 06:43 (UTC)

[MacReady sighed and kept his eyes on the frozen expanse before them as their Outpost disappeared behind them.]

You know what? A little bit, but that doesn’t have anything to do with you being what you are and has more to do with me being...well, me.

No? Even though I'm something that could eat you in about five bites if I wanted to? Even though I admitted that you're fucking appetizing?

Shit, Mac, even I'm a bit scared of me. How long can we keep this up? What happens when the winter is over and we're relieved? I can't go back to the old Palmer's home like this, but I can't stay at the outpost forever.

Edited 2020-12-11 03:11 (UTC)

Oh, yeah. That definitely is a little unsettling...but surprisingly not so much more than being with an unknown human.

[MacReady swallowed. Shit. Shit Fuck. He had not even thought about that.]

Shit. You’re right!

I always knew you were a loner, Mac, but that's a bit extreme.

*Palmer looks like he wants to curl up into a ball and hide, but there's nowhere to go.*

I'm okay with pretty much any solution that doesn't fucking kill me, but so far the only one I can think of is dropping me back in that hole on the ice and letting me sleep until the day Antarctica becomes temperate. Hopefully humanity won't live on Earth anymore at that point and I won't bother anyone.

Seems like a kind of shitty solution, really, but I don't exactly plan to go back to California like this just because it was his home. That would be like setting off a nuke so you can read in the dark--incredibly fucking destructive and not a solution for long.

Edited 2020-12-13 02:54 (UTC)

Maybe it is.

[It definitely is. There is no “maybe,” but like hell he is going to acknowledge that.]

Let’s...let’s keep that as an extreme back up plan. A sort of last ditch plan if we can’t think of anything else.

We will.

We’ll come up with something. We have time. We aren’t getting relieved tomorrow.

*Palmer is willing to let Mac keep his delusions. People need them. So he just nods agreeably.*

Extreme, yeah. I gotta admit, I like being around people. At least people who I'm not desperately hiding from. It helps me remember that I'm supposed to be one.

Too much time alone and being Palmer would just be a neat trick I can do if I get bored. *He sighs.* At first I was doing it just to survive, then it became fun too, now it's pretty much my identity. I don't really like the idea of thinking like the monster all the time again.

Not all of California is densely populated. There is a lot of nothing in the mountainous areas. Same with Alaska. Small towns, so you could make a few friends then go back to a cabin somewhere and spin a few webs and catch a deer. Or something.

Maybe. It would be best to live somewhere with less life, I think, so there's less chance of this spreading. Either Alaska or . . . fuck, I don't think there are any settlements here. Maybe Tierra del Fuego? It should be cold enough to prevent damage if I'm careful.

Are plants something you would have to worry about contaminating or is it strictly animal life you are worried about?

Because there’s a lot of woods...or the desert on the extreme opposite end.

Plants are harder to digest, but we can, which means I can contaminate them. Since I'd rather not have to worry about the grass eating visitors, a desert would probably be better. *He sighs.* Antarctica would be perfect, really, there just aren't any settlements and people would notice if I never went home. Fucking annoying.

You know...shit...this place really is perfect for what you need it for.

I still don’t want to drop you in an icy hole if I don’t have to. Leaving a man behind indefinitely doesn’t sit right with me.

Yeah. If that ship had crashed anywhere else . . .

Does it help that I'm not really a man? *He sighs.* Maybe we could find some other way of keeping me here. I just don't see how. Even if we proved that I need it, I'd just end up as a research subject. Even if they were nice to me about it, that's how The Stand starts.

Neither of us would be here, so...there’s that.

What does it mean if I say the answer is “no”? No. It doesn’t make it easier.

[MacReady sighed and shook his head.]

You know, I never read that book.

True.

It means that you're relatively okay with me, which I appreciate.

I didn't get all the way through it myself, Stephen King writes long-ass fucking books. Got the general idea though.

You’re very convincing. You are good at what you do. Sometimes I almost forget you aren’t him...but regardless, you aren’t just some dumb monster either. You’ve got thoughts and feelings and I would feel like shit if the only solution to the problem involved me shoving you down a hole.

[He sighed and smiled.]

Yeah. They’re like...bricks. I can’t get into them. Not much of a horror guy, I guess.

Hell, sometimes I almost forget myself. But then I start thinking about eating live prey or outright step out of this personality so I can think about things the old me wouldn't have known.

No, I'm not. I include a dumb monster, the part of me that just wants to feed, but Palmer's also in here--and the calculation that kept the monster in hiding is, too. All of them are me, just different sides of me.

I don't think any of us are going to be horror fans after this. It's a bit too real now.

Edited (Stupid minor edits) 2020-12-21 07:14 (UTC)

We've got a lot more in common than you'd think, don't we? When you get right down to it, anyway.

Well, at least there's only one of me to keep track of in my head. One personality at least. I guess that's good. I don't think I would be as good at swapping them as you are.

No. I do not think we will.

Yeah . . .

Not sure if the original me would have been either. *He runs a hand through his hair.* God, I'm sorry about him. I'm not even sure whether that's entirely genuine or partly to get your sympathy, it would be useful to emulate. I do feel it, though. Guilty. Fuck.

*He looks out the window.* We getting close to a base?

Well, if it genuinely makes you feel bad, I don't think it is an imitation. When you make me believe you feel bad but you don't really is when you emulate that. Only you know the answer to that, really...so make of that what you will.

[MacReady looked out the window.]

Yeah. Yeah, a few more ridges and we will see it.

[Sure enough, after a bit longer, there was a collection of small black shapes...the base...and in the distance, glittering blue.]

Hey, look, you can see the coast. I bet there's some seals or something on the beach.

But am I just feeling bad because I know I should be feeling bad? It's like there's two layers of thoughts, the genuine one and the calculating one that . . . that decided to be genuinely upset. Which doesn't make much sense, but that's what it's like. I am an alien, so being able to do that might be possible.

*He grins.* Yeah, I can see it. I bet I could even spot the animals there if I tried, I'd just have to change my eyes a little.

Well, if your calculating one is upset all on its own I think you’re upset, pal.

[Mac kept his hands on the controls but managed to shrug.]

Sure. Go for it.

[An advanced warning was appreciated.]

*Palmer nods and changes his eyes. Larger, different shapes to the pupils, more iris. He grins.* They still look really small, but I can see them. Penguins and a couple of seals. *His eyes go back to being human, at least mostly.*

[Mac tried not to stare but it was so hard not to...but he kept his own eyes on where he was going for the most part.]

Yeah? I don’t want to scare them off. Where do you think is good to land?

They might have moved by the time we get there, but that spot where there's a little inlet looks pretty good. *He finishes reverting his eyes to make sure Mac will be able to see it. It's still visible, so he points.*

Edited 2021-01-09 06:57 (UTC)

You got it.

[MacReady looked where Palmer was pointing and sure enough, he could see that little inlet. He carefully brought the helicopter over to it and landed...well, actually. He knew what he was doing.]

Well. Here we are. Let’s get you something to eat, shall we?

*Palmer nods and hops out.* Hand me the tarp, will ya? I'll grab one of them that's away from the rest, pull it onto the tarp.

Feel free to look away, I know what I'm like when I'm not being normal. *He sighs.* I'll try not to be as bad as I could be, but that's not saying much.

You wanna stop at the empty base on the way back, or are you managing?

Sure thing.

[MacReady grabs one from the like behind the seat and hands it off. He put on his sunglasses and pulled on his hat before stepping out onto the ground.]

I’m good. Thanks for the concern.

[He nodded towards the tarp in Palmer’s hands.]

Don’t worry about me. Worry about keeping it as clean as you can. Take your time. I’ve literally got nowhere else to be. I won’t get out the flame thrower until you are done and ready to go back.

*Palmer spots a large seal not too far away and sets the tarps down as close as he can without scaring it off. A moment later there's a flurry of barbed tentacles dragging it over, and Palmerthing settles in to feed.*

[MacReady is careful to avert his eyes. It is rude to stare and he doesn’t like to watch normal people eat the normal way in the first place, so he’d definitely not enjoy watching this...but nature can be cruel and brutal and he knew that...so he certainly would not begrudge a predator for feeding itself, especially if it meant safety for himself and whoever else was left here. He pulled his small flamethrower out from where he had stashed it but made no move to get it ready to use. He took his hands off it and sighed, just waiting and listening to the wet tearing.]

*After a while the tearing stops, and there's a truly unnerving voice.* More, more, gotta get more, enough food for a while. No going back and forth all the time. Wasssteful.

*Another tentacle-filled moment and a couple of the penguins are pulled in like it's nothing. Then there are some noises that are rather hard to describe and Palmer climbs back into the helicopter, looking pleased with himself.*

[The voice makes the hair on the back of MacReady’s neck stand on end, but he doesn’t mention it. He stradfastedly kept his eyes off the scene and pretended that he did not hear anything.

In a few minutes, there is a very proud looking shapeshifter in the helicopter.

MacReady nodded.]

You good now?

Yeah, I'm good. Won't need to eat for a long while.

You can burn it all now. *His turn to look away. Fire is very much not pleasant.*

Good. Keep your eyes averted, I have a little cleanup to do.

[MacReady pulled out his flame thrower and got a little ways behind the chopper in case there was an accident while lighting the flamethrower. The actual lighting was thankfully uneventful. He then proceeded over to the tarp that was significantly less bloody than the floor of the rec room had been. There was a little bit here and there, but they could not take any chances, so he lit it up and stayed until the tarp had curled up and flaked up into debris. Mac then shut the flamethrower down and quickly stashed it back inside as soon as it was cool enough.]

Alright. Go team. You got fed and we kept it clean.

*Palmer huddles in the chopper with his eyes closed until the sound of the flamethrower dies away.* Yeah. Yeah. God, I hate that thing so much. Not sure how you can stand it after everything. But I suppose if you can stand me . . .

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OOC: schedule finally back to normal :)

Cool

Re: Cool

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