Tear the whole world down

[super_seal]

WHO: Steve McGarrett
WHERE: River, Lake, North Village paths, and forest near house 114 / House 114
WHEN: Around the 20th of September
OPEN TO: OTA / Danny Williams
WARNINGS: None to start, will update

Since Danny broke his leg during the earthquake, Steve hasn’t ventured far from their house in the North Village. He was well aware that Danny could reach him easily enough by their wrist communicators, and at first that had been enough that he’d still trap and fish in the stream or run into town to fetch the ax to spend some time in the forest chopping up firewood for the winter, but then Mary disappeared. Now if it wasn’t for necessity he wouldn't leave Danny at all.

Mary disappearing had shaken Steve. She’d been taken in the moment it took to walk from one room to another. At first he’d thought it was like when he'd suddenly been transported out of the villages a few months back, but her name was missing from the communicator. Next he suspected that they were being relocated again, similar to when they woke from the simulation… But no one else was reported missing and neither Danny or he eventually followed. He knew that sometimes people were taken away and he tried to accept this was what had happened to her. Although, he’d yet come to terms with still wanting her here and at the same time preferring to think she’d been sent home.

Danny not being overly mobile made becoming clingy to him easy. Not that Steve would say he was being clingy. No, he would just say that he was taking care of his partner - since Danny couldn’t get around much it was up to Steve to be there for him, and he certainly didn't mind. That being said, a good part of him felt guilty for being thankful and relieved that Danny was trapped here with him. It wasn’t generally in his nature to be selfish, but that’s how he felt he was being. He had Danny all to himself and he was going to enjoy their time together as much as possible. Who knew when he’d suddenly disappear too?!

[ OTA ]
As much as Steve would prefer never to leave the house, he did need to go out. Checking his traps in the river, lake or woods, as well as gathering produce and bringing in fresh water remained as part of his daily routine. While out he would regularly check his communication device – verify Danny’s name was still there and that he hadn’t missed any messages from him. He skipped going into the main town for the time being though and neglected keeping up with the any other messages on the communicator. For now he was content to be in his own little world. To say he was out of the loop was an understatement.

[ For Danny Williams ]
Upon entering the house after his brief time away, Steve yells out for Danny before he’s even fully in the door. “Hey Danno, I’m back. One of the traps caught that duck-tasting-goose you like so much.” There’s no doubt Danny is here somewhere, he can’t get to far on his own and Steve’s just checked the communicator…

Comments

[dann_0]

"Steve?" Danny is in the kitchen, making pasta again. He had made a deal with Tony to get them some bikes and all he had to do was make the guy pasta. If you ask Danny that is a pretty good deal.

He hobbles towards the door as best he can in the splint he was still wearing. "Yeah? Guess I know what we're having for dinner hm?"

[super_seal]

Hearing Danny's voice from the back of the house, Steve heads in that direction, then stops and grins when the man comes into view. "I was thinking that, yeah." Then they can make jerky out of the leftovers.

Taking a moment, Steve's eyes glance over Danny's body, both verifying that he's in the same shape he left him in while also enjoying his shape in general. His mouth quirks up to the left in appreciation before his eyes comes to rest on Danny's injured leg. "How is it feeling today? You haven't been over-doing it in there have you?" Meaning standing too long in the kitchen.

[dann_0]

"I don't think so. Actually I was thinking about trying taking the support off for a bit. I am going stir crazy hobbling around like this." He shakes his head and then comes over to Steve. "Mind skinning the bird? We can have it slow cooked in the sauce and then served over pasta. Well once Tony has taken his share"

[super_seal]

"Oh?" A flash of concern shows in his eyes but then he realizes how much time has actually gone by. It's actually about time when the cast would be coming off back home. It helps but it doesn't completely dissuade his concern. "You think it's ready for that?"

At the mention of him skinning the bird, Steve's eyebrows go up only to quickly shift into an agreeing nod at how Danny plans to cook the bird, his mouth already watering. "I think I can live with that trade off. Any word with how is Tony coming with the bikes?"

As Danny comes closer, Steve can't help but reach out to the other man in order to draw him in for a hug.

[dann_0]

"I think he has a few other things that are higher priority, and he talked about struggling with the wheels, not a lot of rubber around here." Danny slides into the hugs easily.

"And I hope so. I don't want to be stuck here forever. I figure we can try it for a bit and see if it works. If not we put it back on. Maybe someone in town can help, Claire or someone."

[super_seal]

"Point. This place does force us to be creative."

As Danny slides into his embrace, Steve tightens his arms and kisses the other man on the temple.

"Do... Do you want me to go see who's available at the clinic?" He's not keen on that idea but if Danny needs someone with more medical experience there then he'll do whatever it takes to make him more comfortable. "We can always see how far we get and then call out if we need to."

[dann_0]

"I think we should be able to do it here, it's just taking it off after all. And it isn't like I got plaster around my foot after all." He knows Steve's been anxious lately and not wanting to let Danny out if his sight. That is another reason he wants to be able to move again. That way they could get over to the other village for the lunches and things a lot easier.

[super_seal]

Smiling at Danny, Steve nods, happy that he doesn't need to leave again so soon after just getting back. Then, he claps his hands together and does a quick look around. "So, uh, what do we need?" It's then he realizes they really don't need anything - he can get the supplies to splint the leg again after should they need and everything else is really already here. Giving Danny a goofy smile he extends his hand towards the couch. "You wanna sit down and I'll give you a hand taking it off?"

He also realizes he's nervous. Why is he so nervous?!

[digging]

Despite everything, Karen still has her daily routine.

Mysterious bunkers with emotionally-devastating consequences only makes it more important, really, if she's going to maintain something approaching sanity in a place that seems determined to drive her in the opposite direction. So she's been going down to the bunker, doing her research, taking notes, but she makes sure she gets out everyday, too, into the cool, pine-scented wilderness that reminds her of home and steadies her inner gimbal.

Presently she's crunching through the underbrush, a brace of rabbits dangling from one hand, slowing when she spies a dark head through the wavering pine boughs.

"Hey," she casually greets, not wanting to startle him, knowing Steve by reputation but never having spoken to him before.

[super_seal]

Steve had known he wasn't alone in the forest, from the sounds had determined it was another villager and not a threat, but he was focused on his task and the desire to get back to Danny as quickly as possible. He'd known someone was there but hadn't intended on crossing paths... At least not until she called out a greeting to him.

A quick look at his communicator confirming Danny's name is still there and there's no message from him, Steve then turns to move towards the voice. There's a touch of recognition in his eyes, she's familiar in the way that he's seen her around and knows she's one of the villagers, but he doesn't actually know too much about her.

"Hey, yourself," he says in a friendly manner as he comes closer towards her. Seeing her catch, he smiles and nods in their direction. "Looks like you've done well today." As has he, the water fowl he caught earlier has its legs twined together and is hanging behind him from the end of a pointed stick, about six feet long and an inch in diameter, that's resting on his shoulder.

[digging]

"Yeah, it wasn't bad," Karen allows with a glance down to the tiny bodies swinging from her fingers. "I just do traps, so it's kind of a crap shoot day-to-day, but honestly, I hate cleaning them enough that I kind of look forward to the days where I have the empty snare excuse." She quirks a smile, motions to his own day's prize. "You've got it worse, though, all those feathers." The rabbits go pretty quickly once you get the hang of it, but all that plucking? No thank you.

"I'm Karen, by the way," she thinks to add. "I don't know if you know that or not. It's such a small community, after awhile you start to assume everybody knows everybody else."

[super_seal]

Steve shrugs easily at the work involved with the bird he's captured. Mostly because he plans to make Danny do all the plucking. After all, it'd be good practice for him. "The trick is making an arrangement with someone else - you do that catching, they do the cleaning." Although Danny is just as likely to remind Steve that he does the cooking so the cleaning is also his job.

"Karen," Steve smiles and nods in greeting, but he hadn't known her name. "It's a pleasure to properly meet you. I'm Steve. I have to admit, living in the northern village, I don't always get into town regularly. Right now my partner," even though they're not law enforcement here, he still considers Danny as his partner when it comes to introductions. "... Is laid up with a broken leg, I've not been venturing too far."

[digging]

"Oh no, I had no idea," Karen replies, her expression pinched with worry. Back home, a broken leg would be painful but mostly an inconvenience. Here, it could be life-threatening.

"I'm presuming he's doing alright, though, since you're so calm." And smiling, too, which is probably a bigger tell. "He's the guy from New Jersey, right? I didn't know you were together. Not that I really keep up with that kind of stuff."

[super_seal]

"Yeah, he's okay..." Then he pauses a moment and partially shrugs. "Well, as much as he can be with a splint on his leg and not really being able to leave the house. But, yeah, he's originally from Jersey but more recently Hawaii."

Perhaps it's because he's used to people calling them an 'old married couple', or it could be because he's in denial about his feelings for Danny, not willing to risk what they have for the possibility of something more, but he takes her words in a more generic sense. "We're not from the same point in time, Danny's a couple years ahead of me, but we're from the same place. Worked together back home, that kind of thing." After a very brief pause, he asks, "Do you have others here from home?"

[digging]

The phrasing is a bit odd, the way Steve segues into the timeline, and Karen's brow briefly creases before she pushes her confusion aside. There are things she considers worthwhile to push on and things she doesn't, and someone sidestepping their relationship status when it's really none of her business falls squarely into the second category.

"I do," she replies with a quick nod. "One of them by way of another place like this, though, so the differences in the person he is now and the person I remember have been interesting to navigate. But I can't complain, not when so many people don't have anybody from home." She cants her head with a faint smile. "It's kind of a Catch-22, isn't it? You want the people from home here because you miss them, but at the same time you don't because this place is insane."

[super_seal]

"Another place like this?" Steve raises an eyebrow and tilts his head both in concern and interest. For a long while now he's speculated that this place can't be the place like this. The villages look as if they've been lived in before and he's not convinced they were designed that way for their behalf. But more so, if this place can exist, others must as well. "What was it like?"

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Part of me wishes that Danny and Mary were never here, but I'm thankful to have them at the same time. Now that Mary's left though..." Steve bites his lip and shrugs. "I hope she's gone back home but..." It's still to fresh and the way he feels right now only fills him with guilt - he wishes she was still here.

[digging]

"Terrible, apparently," Karen answers. "Really scary monsters with crazy good hearing, so everyone had to stay quiet all the time. It puts things into perspective, I guess. Crazy this place may be, but at least most of us can feel safe most of the time."

They may all be clones, but Karen gets the distinct impression they're still valuable to whoever put them here. Everything points to the Observers playing a long game, and that's good for keeping everyone here alive.

"Oh no, I'm sorry," Karen adds of the disappearance, her expression softening. "Mary was your... sister?" She feels like she read or heard that somewhere. They haven't had too many siblings so far, so it's noteworthy.