Apparently the Admiral is suggesting B expand his social circle, since this is the second inmate in a row he's never actually met. It's probably for the best, since this is somebody who it seems like he could stand to have a chat with anyhow.
So he shows up at the chapel in the evening after the pairings, hoping the guy is still working here even after his... little fire incident. He doesn't come into the chapel a lot, really. If he's not there, he'll start expanding his range.
But wherever he finds the guy, he offers a little smile. "Hey. I'm B. Guess we're working together this month."
B finds John not long after he's coming out of the chapel from the
evening's cleaning work. His black clerical shirt is rumpled and there's a
damp patch on the knee of his jeans where he'd accidentally knelt in some
water. But he greets B with a smile and after wiping off his hands on a
clean handkerchief, offers his hand to shake.
B takes the hand, gives a good shake, not too strong and not too loose. He's gotten better at that since his last stint on this ship. "Nice to meet you to, man. You on your way somewhere? I can walk with you."
"Well, I at least know who you are, yeah," B allows with half a smile, not a mean one, maybe a little rueful. He motions for John to lead the way, and falls in beside him. "Not gonna hold it against you unless you're planning on making a habit of it, for shits and giggles, or something."
John laughs a little, mirthlessly. "Oh no. No, no, my goal now is to cause
as little trouble as possible. Well, that's not my only goal—I mean, I have
trust to win back. That's foremost on my mind, now."
"Not a bad start." He tilts his head a little, curious. "Why'd you hide it? There's a bunch of vampires on board. And if you were worried about the hunters, the rest of us would've protected you."
"Mostly that ... I thought people would see being a priest and being a—a
vampire are mutually exclusive," he says. "And being able to practice my
vocation was important, and ... well, ironically enough, I thought people
wouldn't trust me. And now they really don't. Justifiably."
He's given this excuse more than once now, to where he almost believes
it—almost forgets the truth that he really just kept it secret because he
has become much too accustomed to secrecy and can't get out of the habit.
"Not a lot of people trust each other on this boat," B says, which is probably not as much of a reassurance as he means it to be. "So. You're not alone in that. D'you mind if I ask, do you have any ideas as to why you're here? Can't just be because you're a vampire. We've got vampire wardens, after all."
He pauses, then adds, "You don't have to tell me. Just seems like it'd help to know."
"Well ... for context, you should know that, ah—that vampires aren't—I'd
never heard about them as such, where I come from. There's probably bits of
folklore and legends and things, but not—not to the extent that other
people seem to know," he says. "So when I—when it happened to me, I had no
real context. I did a thing or two I'm not proud of, in that ignorance. So
that's almost certainly part of it." He smiles a little. "The fact that
there are others of, um, my kind here, there's probably a lot I can learn
from them."
Could be true, could be a lie. B isn't going to try and untangle it, he's just going to go with it for now. "Might, yeah. Godric in particular's a good guy. He was good for me, when I was an inmate." He does like people to know that about him, that he's been where they are.
Well. Maybe not exactly where they are. He's definitely never been a vampire.
"Oh—so you've, um, come up through the system, as it were?" John has become
very interested in hearing from people like this in particular—people who
have not only been here a while, but completed program, as it were. "I—I
don't want to pry so please feel free to tell me to bug off, but could I
ask you a little about ... what that was like? And why you've stayed?"
"Came back, technically. I was out in the world for four years before I came back," B admits. Nine years, technically, but he'd missed five of them. It's complicated, easier to just count the actual years he remembers. "But yeah, I graduated, and I don't mind talking about it. Where I come from is kinda upsetting, though, just to warn you."
"Fair enough. I, ah, I doubt any of us come from places that are entirely
fields of daisies, though," John says wryly. "So ... what was it like, to
go through ... all this? And to return?"
"I mean, it's probably different for everybody. Me, I was." He pauses, ruffles the back of his hair, keeps walking. "I was part of a pretty shitty organization. They would wipe my memories every few days, kept me in cryofreeze when I wasn't on a mission or in training. Pretty intensive conditioning, beyond standard brainwashing. I had to learn how to be an actual person. And to think for myself. And to learn that killing people on reflex is a pretty bad thing, actually. And to not hit things when I'm any flavor of angry, afraid, or upset."
"Good grief." John's eyes are wide with dismay, and he feels genuinely
sorry for what this man went through. "That must have been ... how long did
that—how long were you here, for that?"
"I was on the Barge a year before I graduated," B says. "I hear that's actually about average, for somebody who's really working at it. It was. Really, this was the first place I felt loved in eighty years. That's probably why I came back."
"Yeah, community. Not everyone-- a lot of people on this boat don't really get along. But enough that there's multiple people involved in trying to help each other," B agrees with a nod. "The warden-inmate model is okay for some people, I guess, but I tend to think it takes a village to really help somebody."
He offers John a little smile. "I'm happy to be part of your village, if you want me, man. I'm never sure what somebody's gonna need, but I can at least give it a go."
"Thank you." John smiles broadly, looking significantly more relaxed than
he had at the beginning of their conversation. "I appreciate that—I, well,
no man is an island and all that. Right now I think that, ah, most of my
stuff is taken care of? But it's good to know I can count on you."
B nods. Always important to have those basics taken care of. Though he supposes he wouldn't call communion stuff "basics", he's also not a priest. "Good. If the food supply ever dries up, let e guy know? Can't do much for the communion stuff, but I got connections for the other." He could even offer his own arm, if it came down to it, but he's not fond of that option.
"Of course. Thank you. I—I think I'll be all right, for now." He smiles.
"And I won't ... I promise, I'm going to be working very hard not to do
anything stupid again."
"Hey, man, I'm not here to scold or play babysitter. Everybody fucks up now and then, loses it for a little bit. Then we pick ourselves up again and keep going." He leans over a little, and adds, mock-conspiratorily, "Even Godric fucks up sometimes."
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Spam, after the pairings
Date: 16/01/2022 08:23 (UTC)So he shows up at the chapel in the evening after the pairings, hoping the guy is still working here even after his... little fire incident. He doesn't come into the chapel a lot, really. If he's not there, he'll start expanding his range.
But wherever he finds the guy, he offers a little smile. "Hey. I'm B. Guess we're working together this month."
no subject
Date: 18/01/2022 18:51 (UTC)B finds John not long after he's coming out of the chapel from the evening's cleaning work. His black clerical shirt is rumpled and there's a damp patch on the knee of his jeans where he'd accidentally knelt in some water. But he greets B with a smile and after wiping off his hands on a clean handkerchief, offers his hand to shake.
"John Pruitt. Pleasure to meet you."
no subject
Date: 19/01/2022 04:26 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19/01/2022 22:51 (UTC)John's own handshake is a little lighter than it was before Trevor ... did what he did. Not that B is in a position to know that.
"Just headed back to my cabin," he says. "Won't turn down the company, if you like. I, uh, I guess my reputation precedes me a bit, now."
no subject
Date: 20/01/2022 06:33 (UTC)no subject
Date: 20/01/2022 19:58 (UTC)John laughs a little, mirthlessly. "Oh no. No, no, my goal now is to cause as little trouble as possible. Well, that's not my only goal—I mean, I have trust to win back. That's foremost on my mind, now."
no subject
Date: 21/01/2022 06:36 (UTC)no subject
Date: 21/01/2022 21:21 (UTC)"Mostly that ... I thought people would see being a priest and being a—a vampire are mutually exclusive," he says. "And being able to practice my vocation was important, and ... well, ironically enough, I thought people wouldn't trust me. And now they really don't. Justifiably."
He's given this excuse more than once now, to where he almost believes it—almost forgets the truth that he really just kept it secret because he has become much too accustomed to secrecy and can't get out of the habit.
no subject
Date: 22/01/2022 05:42 (UTC)He pauses, then adds, "You don't have to tell me. Just seems like it'd help to know."
no subject
Date: 24/01/2022 18:26 (UTC)"Well ... for context, you should know that, ah—that vampires aren't—I'd never heard about them as such, where I come from. There's probably bits of folklore and legends and things, but not—not to the extent that other people seem to know," he says. "So when I—when it happened to me, I had no real context. I did a thing or two I'm not proud of, in that ignorance. So that's almost certainly part of it." He smiles a little. "The fact that there are others of, um, my kind here, there's probably a lot I can learn from them."
no subject
Date: 26/01/2022 03:44 (UTC)Well. Maybe not exactly where they are. He's definitely never been a vampire.
no subject
Date: 26/01/2022 21:52 (UTC)"Oh—so you've, um, come up through the system, as it were?" John has become very interested in hearing from people like this in particular—people who have not only been here a while, but completed program, as it were. "I—I don't want to pry so please feel free to tell me to bug off, but could I ask you a little about ... what that was like? And why you've stayed?"
no subject
Date: 27/01/2022 09:01 (UTC)no subject
Date: 27/01/2022 22:08 (UTC)"Fair enough. I, ah, I doubt any of us come from places that are entirely fields of daisies, though," John says wryly. "So ... what was it like, to go through ... all this? And to return?"
no subject
Date: 28/01/2022 03:25 (UTC)no subject
Date: 28/01/2022 21:45 (UTC)"Good grief." John's eyes are wide with dismay, and he feels genuinely sorry for what this man went through. "That must have been ... how long did that—how long were you here, for that?"
no subject
Date: 29/01/2022 04:28 (UTC)Well, the part that he'll talk about, anyway.
no subject
Date: 01/02/2022 22:41 (UTC)A year. Well, he can live with a year.
"So—community?" John asks. "I can see that. I mean—it's like a small town. Only a little smaller than the town I came here from."
no subject
Date: 02/02/2022 22:37 (UTC)He offers John a little smile. "I'm happy to be part of your village, if you want me, man. I'm never sure what somebody's gonna need, but I can at least give it a go."
no subject
Date: 05/02/2022 16:08 (UTC)"Thank you." John smiles broadly, looking significantly more relaxed than he had at the beginning of their conversation. "I appreciate that—I, well, no man is an island and all that. Right now I think that, ah, most of my stuff is taken care of? But it's good to know I can count on you."
no subject
Date: 06/02/2022 05:01 (UTC)no subject
Date: 11/02/2022 20:56 (UTC)"The, um, the food supply, mainly," John says. "And the Communion Hosts and wine, though that's, um, not really my purview, not for a bit, anyway."
no subject
Date: 13/02/2022 20:37 (UTC)no subject
Date: 14/02/2022 22:58 (UTC)"Of course. Thank you. I—I think I'll be all right, for now." He smiles. "And I won't ... I promise, I'm going to be working very hard not to do anything stupid again."
no subject
Date: 15/02/2022 05:01 (UTC)(no subject)
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