no way out

Her day? Ruined? AHAH, it can’t be ruined if her entire week or month was a dumpster fire, but she doesn’t say anything. Instead she smiles, hands in the air with a small wave followed with a, “Don’t even worry about it. S’ALL good!” Because really, even though she’s been having the worst time recently, she doesn’t mind helping someone in need. 

MISSING some time, she says. Like Nero? Ismael gestures for Chloe to sit down as she does herself and situates her back against one of the trees with a sigh, “That kind of sucks. I’m sorry to hear that. Uhm…What was the last thing you remember about this place? Maybe I can help you get your bearings back?” Though how much would she be able to help if Chloe’s been here before. It must’ve been before Ismael was here….A veteran of Radiale maybe? 

“I heard that some wards are different from before. Like this one. Cotes Ward apparently used to be drastically different….right?”

chloe sits at ismael’s gesture, and even though she still feels horrible about all this despite the girl’s denial that was honestly probably just to make her feel better, she tries to smile. it isn’t an expression that holds long, more-so it’s just used as a “thank you” for the kindness, before she once again tries to avoid getting stuck in her own head. ❝ Cotes looks about the same as last time I saw it, ❞ chloe says, her gaze wandering up to the small amount of blue visible through the vast sea of green.  ❝ Maybe there’s a few more people around though, if that’s what you mean. ❞ she scratched the back of her neck in thought. ❝ Uh, but the last thing I remember... ❞ the weird thing about the missing time is she doesn’t really feel like she’s missing any time herself, as much as the world just moved on without her. maybe part of that feeling was the fact that she rarely remembered any days of her life anyway, so she was used to it? she guessed she could thank pot for that. ❝ I had been drinking. I staggered home, I think I sent Max a quick text? One of those embarrassing drunk texts you regret. ❞ she winced just thinking about it. ❝ Zonked out, I guess. And then I woke up I guess, and I was in a taxi again. You know. The same shit. For the like, third fucking time. ❞ had she done something to deserve this? was she being punished for her choices? maybe it was some cruel joke, being subjected to this time and time again. this time, without max. if she could get her hands on whoever kept doing this shit to her, it wouldn’t be pretty.

She knows? Maybe this one’s a returnee, like a few others that Ismael knows who left at one point and returned. Still, doesn’t change the fact that she’s looking pretty stressed. “Okay, okay…” She says, a whisper so soft. Ismael scratches the back of her neck and in the process wipes away whatever sweat decided to start showing. Eugh, gross. She can’t wait for Falls! 

“Follow me,” With a gesture Ismael is leading the way. 

Luckily for the two of them, it’s not too far, but it is secluded to an extent. Not as much people, and DEFINITELY  a lot quieter. The Swamp isn’t as busy during certain times. “Here we go. I didn’t know if you wanted to travel further, but hope this is fine for you.” With a heavy sigh, Ismael removes her case from her back and sets it down, propped up against a tree trunk. 

“Mmm, I’m Ismael by the way….You’re…Not new here at all, are you?”

gladly, chloe follows ismael. she loosens up the further she gets from the crowd, and once they stop she feels as if she can finally breathe again. safe, quiet. all she can hear is the steady trickle of nearby water and cicadas singing their mating call in the distance. ❝ Ismael, thanks. ❞ chloe rubs her shoulder. she hadn’t even been here again a day yet and she was already screwing up things for other people again. ❝ I’m Chloe. Uh, sorry for probably ruining your day with my crappy meltdown. ❞ it felt like the type of thing she’d made max deal with when they were both here, together. but back then she tended to try and stick it out, max was with her so why should she feel bad about anything that happened in arcadia bay, right? it was like turning over a new leaf. except now she’d finally turned over the leaf herself, and it turned out that the leaf was horribly diseased and dying all along, and the actual fucking botanist had left the room. if she was to continue with the nonsense metaphor, that was. ❝ I just, ❞ she hunched in on herself, averting her eyes. she hadn’t been able to meet ismael’s gaze once during this whole ordeal and that made her feel über shitty. shame burned on her cheeks. ❝ Haven’t been here in a while. Am missing some time. It’s a little jarring, is all. ❞ not a whole truth, not a whole lie.

It’s not too bad, it’s not too bad, it’s certainly not too bad. The crowd could be worse and they can all be lumped together and so, it’s NOT TOO BAD. It may be the reason why she’s able to move, albeit she’s walking quickly just to get out of the little mess. She would’ve started running actually if it hadn’t been for someone grabbing onto her arm. It surprises her, and therefore whips around quickly, jerking her arm away from the stranger, “Dude—” 

but the tone of voice dissipates that small look of annoyance and what could’ve been ‘mistaken’ as fear. She had been a little frightened but she won’t admit it if asked. 

“Oh….” It’s the realization, not by just the person’s words, but the tone that they are confused and probably scared? 

“Uhm…” She looks around then back at her, “You’re in a place called Isola Radiale….” That’s not going to help her understand what kind of place this is. Ismael clears her throat, “Did you want to go somewhere quiet? I know just the place? It’s still in public, but there’s less people I’m sure.”

her body tensed as she realized that, crap, she really shouldn’t be grabbing onto strangers and doing without thinking even though it was one of her ‘great’ involuntary stress responses. she promptly let go and took a step back as soon as acknowledged to avoid what she assumed any natural response to a crazy stranger grabbing a person would be-- i.e. a punch to the face. however, luckily, that didn’t come. instead this person, this lady, just looked confused. no shit, chloe thought. taking a breath and forcing herself to try to relax, at least physically. ❝ I know that, ❞ chloe replied, voice tense and still irritable. she couldn’t help it; when she got this freaked out, no matter how hard she tried, she always conveyed her irritation in her tone. ❝ I just, ❞ there was no way her speech was going to come out in a way that made sense when she had gone from 0 to 60 like this. yes, she knew where she was, kinda. she was familiar with spirale and somewhat familiar with cotes. but instead of explaining that initially and having it come out as incoherent babble, it was probably best to follow this kind stranger and cool off for a minute so she could think without taking the poor girl’s head off. ❝ Fuck. Yes, I want to go some place quiet. Please. ❞

chloe guessed it was time to explore cotes. it wasn’t actually that appealing the first time she had been housed here; actually it had freaked her the fuck out a little bit. the tall ass trees, even though they definitely weren’t the same species at all (specifics? what was she, a botanist?) they were a little too oregonian for her tastes. she still couldn’t say she loved it, but she’d try and make the best of it. turning over a new leaf, and all that crap. what she had in mind originally for her “quality time” with the green wonder of spirale was probably smoking, drinking, and vandalism. buuut there was an uncomfortably large amount of people here for that. she’d seen some fliers for something on her way out here, but she had ignored them and kept walking. and walking. and walking. really she didn’t have any concept of where she was anymore, for the trees and the people, and she was starting to get a little claustrophobic. and overwhelmed. she could feel her overload-fueled irritation setting in as the seconds ticked by, the sweat glands on her palms kicking into overdrive. ❝ Hey! ❞ without thinking she roughly grabbed onto a stranger’s arm. the adrenaline was starting to make her a little dizzy. chloe could tell her voice was strained and rude, but she couldn’t give a damn. she was starting to freak out.  ❝ Where the fuck am I? What the shit is with all this crap? ❞

He snorts this time, gives a little shake of the head.

“You mean you just carve ‘em up? You don’t even climb ‘em and throw acorns at people’s heads? You must’ve been a lumberjack in a former life, beanie.” 

Trees galore, including all the pesky bugs that come with them, and probably-killer squirrels ready to defend their territory. Seeing as its pretty late, there’s most likely no worry of that.

Unless they set a tree on fire or something. Lumberjacks respect nature right? 

Badou happily takes the beer and pops a squat beside the rest of their spoils on the picnic table, truly making himself comfortable.

“Well I do happen to work for a detective agency and I can tell you….the cops kinda suck here. What you’d call cops, anyway. Sober people set fires here all the time.” A shrug as he pops open the beer too, and takes a cool, yummy swig. 

Actually it’s a little lukewarm. She did have them stowed under her jacket so that makes sense….oh well, can’t knock free booze.

“Is that what you’re planning? A bonfire?” He raises a brow; as much as a little destruction can be fun, letting off that steam, being in jail does still suck. 

❝ Uh, ❞ chloe chuckled, holding her own bottle against the tabletop edge in a way that she could slam down on it with her first and uncap it... in style. ❝ No? Arson’s really not my thing. Plus if you’re with a detective agency-- ❞ unable to contain herself anymore, she took a long swig from the bottle. fuck sobriety! chloe rubbed at her mouth. ❝ I’m definitely not going to let you in on my plans, dude. For all you know I’m a law abiding citizen. ❞ she sure was connected to a case of suspected arson, but that was kind of an accident in another universe. she didn’t suspect badou was the fucking interdimensional time police, but she wasn’t stupid enough to admit it (just in case, stranger things had happened), either. or at least stupid enough yet. she took another swig of alcohol, setting the bottle down on the table above as she laid on her back on the seat. it was probably fine, she didn’t get an overwhelming sense of douche from this guy, so he probably wouldn’t turn her in if she got a little too drunk in the park. who would bail her out if she did get stuck in jail, anyway? there was no disappointed joyce and david to post her bail. max probably would but, fuck, she’d feel shitty about that because it’d just be embarrassing to let max know she was still in her horrible habit loop. not that she had planned to quit the drinking, or the smoking, or the self medication, but she had told herself she’d stop getting cozy with the local law enforcement. but fuck that right now, right? at least that’s what the alcohol was telling her. good ol’ alcohol. ❝ Just don’t try to bust me for the public drinking, alright? You’re complicit, too. ❞ chloe joked. but she very much wanted to get off the topic of the law, so...    awkward pause. ❝ So, uh, how long have you been here? ❞ the question felt awkward, like she assumed it would feel to talk in front of a support group.

Bob’s attention is fixated on the MMA match on one of the screens, sipping a beer out of the bottle next to a basket of wing bones. While it was always fun to analyze each fighter’s styles and rhythms, he didn’t recognize who either of them were. They could be up-and-comers–it just seemed more likely this place was just off the map entirely. 

It made him a little homesick, a little fight hungry. New horizons meant new, fun skirmishes.  

There’s no escaping the fact he was kidnapped though. 

Every now and again he looked over his shoulder. How were these guys losing against her? Arm wrestling is simple. Thinking a little more…ah. She seems a little young, doesn’t she? Maybe it’s just that she reminds him of himself when he was younger. Not like he wasn’t any less of a reckless idiot. Back then he was riding on the highs of prodigal success; and now, it’s much more solid earned confidence from experience and continued hard work. 

Trying not the roll his eyes, he accepts the call. “Alright.” 

Curiosity always got the better of him. His heavy boots thump as he walks off the bar stool. At 6′5″, it doesn’t take him long to make it over, hands digging out his leather gloves. He’s a good sport despite his cocky smile, so he asks first–

“Is it alright if I wear my gloves?”  

chloe’s grin grew, overjoyed that bob appeared to be taking this seriously. she couldn’t imagine it would be any fun to beat him if he just wasn’t into it; that’d be a huge disappointment. ❝ Uh, sure, whatever. ❞ chloe laughed, leaning towards the table, repositioning her arm and waiting for him.  truthfully, chloe wasn’t a bodybuilder, but she had more muscle than she let on, thanks to her roguish lifestyle and her constant rearranging of american rust. she had been using leverage to her advantage most of the time beyond her strength, which did most of the work which meant she hadn’t really strained herself. yet.  but the tequila was starting to get to her. soon she’d be losing the drunk high and instead be traversing into the sleepy drunk lows. this guy would be her last match and her last chance to prove herself as the baddest bitch in the bar, which was definitely a very important title. she had lived up to it thus far, but maybe if she wanted to keep it, challenging the strongest guy  here wasn’t the best idea. that was a realization that would hit her probably within the next 30 seconds or so.  ❝ Hit me with your best shot, big guy. ❞