(CLOSED-ish) There are things too terrible to remember.

[bellare]

Who: Frank Castle & others (so far: John Murphy, Rocket, Dutch, Juno Steel)
What: Questing!
When: Nowish
Where: Wyver, Nadril etc.
Warning(s): Extreme sass.


[ this is a catch-all for quests! if you would like to participate in a quest with frank, hit me up on disco @ hotdog#0520 or just PM me on dw!! i'd be more than happy to do more. ]

Comments

Mapquest: w/Dutch

[bellare]

[ they're walking in the brush and frank is trying desperately not to remember. it's not an unfamiliar feeling for him, but the memories are harder to tuck away with dutch just a few paces away from him on the path. her scent alone is enough to have him spiraling back to their life in dranbu, but for every real memory there's a false one too and on some level he knows he's never tasted her flesh the way his mind keeps insisting he has. he had pledged his love and devotion for her, however, and meant it - he remembers that acutely and without the haze of mystical energies implanting it there. it's been eight years since his family was taken from him, but he still visits maria in the stasis room every day. she's the only one in there he recognizes, but his late wife is enough to fuck him up for life anyway, looking over her face and unable to find anything amiss. there had been nothing left of her after the explosion, but there she is anyway, inexplicably whole. he wonders who dutch might see there, an ex or a family member or someone else entirely.

he swallows as he raises his device, having gotten lost for several seconds in his thoughts and completely forgetting what it is they're supposed to be doing. he wishes they would just get one of those google maps cars to drive around. things would go faster, and would no doubt be more distracting, which is what he needs right now. in the interest of that, frank clears his throat to get dutch's attention, just barely stopping himself from reaching for her arm. ]

If we get to higher ground we can cover more area at once. [ an obvious suggestion, but he points to a short cliff just ahead they could probably manage hiking without any gear. ]

a million years later

[motivation]

[ dutch is trying not to remember, too. she's good at that, at pushing things aside —she's been doing it for so long that it's almost second nature and most of the time, it works. of course, pushing things aside instead of working through them means that every now and then, they come bubbling to the surface, more violently than before.

she didn't mind kissing him, that's not the problem and not the part she's trying to pretend never happened. it's that she told him she loved him, it's how deeply she remembers caring. dutch doesn't do that. (khlyen taught her that caring is a weakness, a vulnerability she cannot allow herself. johnny has proven khlyen wrong time and again, but johnny is johnny and there aren't many people dutch is willing to make that kind of exception for, even if the list keeps growing.)

it doesn't help that he keeps stealing these little glances at her, not touching her when he's already reached out, clearing his throat like that. she pushes that aside, too. ]

Not a bad idea. [ she considers the cliff for a moment, then considers him, as though gauging whether he can manage because clearly, she can. that's not cocky at all, that's just a fact. (right...) ]

worth the wait as always

[bellare]

[ he's a lot more nimble than he appears, but she should know that, too. false memories and otherwise. there's a small smile as he forges ahead but never tries to overtake her with his steps. whether he could or couldn't isn't in issue, his body language is clear in her being the leader. ]

I have my moments.

aw you /o\

[motivation]

[ oh, she remembers —but she doesn't let herself linger on those fake memories. instead, she focuses on the here and now. he walks behind and a little beside her, covering her. it's something she recognises, that she knows from d'avin all too well. it's the sort of way a soldier moves. ]

You don't say.

[ she starts moving up the cliff, every motion confident. teasingly: ] Don't stare at my arse now.

<3

[bellare]

[ he opens his mouth to say something - hopefully witty, he hadn't actually thought of something but was rather banking on something clever spilling out. any hope of that dies on his lips at her tease and he ducks his head instantly though logically, he knows she knows he wasn't: staring at her ass, that is. ]

I thought we were here to admire the view.

[ too clever, and worse: too flirty. he makes a face and glances to the side like he sees something though it's definitely just an excuse not to look at her face. ]

[motivation]

[ she's kind of busy climbing, but she catches some of his reaction, the way he ducks his head and how he looks away. she doesn't laugh, but that doesn't mean she isn't amused. ]

No need to chart that particular area. [ she throws back.

because in their memories, he'd mapped it out long ago. because that didn't happen. whichever. ]

[bellare]

No, I guess not.

[ he admits, dryly, getting to the first ledge and dutifully snapping a few pics. if dutch happens to be in some of them, well!!!! it's not intentional (maybe.) ]

[motivation]

[ "maybe"

if she knew, she'd tease him mercilessly about it. but again: bit busy climbing higher and higher right now. she's using this as exercise and distraction and as a way to draw her own mental map of the place even beyond the snapping of pictures for official maps. ]

You don't sound so sure. [ she doesn't know about the pictures, but she can still tease. ]

[bellare]

[ he bites into his lip and looks away. ]

They did say to be thorough.

[motivation]

[ if he's trying not to flirt, he's doing a terrible job of it. ]

They did.

[ a beat. ] You always do what people tell you?

[bellare]

[ that gets him to make eye contact, something amused lurking under the surface of his gaze as they scale higher. ]

Only when I can see the merit in it.

[ he does think for himself, he always had, even in the surface. and even in the fbi. in his life back home he's a free agent, but here he has others to consider. he won't discount anyone's helpfulness until they prove useless to the cause. ]

I take the path of least resistance whenever I can.

[motivation]

Good to know.

[ dutch doesn't take the path of least resistance even when she can, even when there'd be no harm in it. sometimes, maybe —but most of the time, she doesn't, if only to be contrarian, to prove that she can chose her own path. these days, that's important to her. ]