( open ) slow i'm getting up

[evasives]

who: Cassian Andor + open!
what: rebel spy poorly adjusts to civilian life
when: mid september?? whatever is convenient
where: various! multi-choice.
warnings: will edit as necessary!



i. perimeter guard

[cassian has gone beyond the wall a handful of times by now, but he has yet to stay more than one night. when he's at the headquarters, he hangs out in the hangar, poking around at the transit, or with the maps, pouring over them very meticulously. sometimes he's hunched over his own map, adding details or working on a copy to keep. survey work is easy enough, because surveillance is key to being a spy. he's got a very good memory.]

[other times he's sorting through a haul of old scraps and pieces of technology he managed to pull in, figuring out what can be fixed, what needs to be tossed, and what can be reused. it's all sorted into three distinct piles, and once in a while he tinkers with some of it, trying to make it work again.]

K2, what do you - [oh. no. wait. it's instinct to just ask his droid for technical opinions, but he cuts himself off and his entire expression darkens while he turns his screwdriver a little too aggressively.]

ii. perimeter guard redux

[he's very prepared for monsters in the sense of combat experience. most of his life, however, has been spent fighting people not beasts. cassian is meant for stealth; he's a sniper, an assassin, an informant, and his kills tend to happen quickly and quietly.]

[of course this one happens when he's alone, having separated for about an hour from jyn to cover more ground, though he hasn't gone too far from the wall. he'd shot it from afar and knocked it out, but it hadn't been alone; the companion zeroes in on cassian's location as he switches his blaster from stun to kill, any sense of invisibility lost when he fired the gun the first time. great good monster times all around.]

iii. how do you food

[grocery shopping is bizarre. cassian has lived essentially his whole life off rations or basic levels of food (sometimes even whatever he could snag on the streets). he was fed appropriately enough, but the Rebellion hadn't exactly been brimming with fine cuisine. the stores here sometime feel like too many options. he spends more time staring at the choices before picking the least flashy, unable to break the habit. he also piles his basket with enough food for two people, a habit he's picked up in the month or so he's been here.]

[he's keeping a very cool and collected facade, but there are probably little signs of uncertainty that should not belong to someone who's just browsing through a grocery store. frowning at perishable packages and the rainbow of juices, squinting at labels warily. he may also have an obscene amount of water bottles. you can never have too much!]

[he's perpetually grumpy at nearly every box he picks up to read over ingredients.] These percentages are far too precise. How is this necessary?

iv. how do you escape hypercompetency

[the perimeter guard keeps him busy, but cassian hasn't stopped reflecting on what jyn said weeks ago, how he doesn't have to be a spy here anymore. there is no one to report to, no war on his heels, but the habits don't die out even when he tries to remind himself otherwise.]

[he goes to the library and tries to find books for leisure, but ends up looking between the shelves to see who else is there, skimming the titles belonging to the person sitting next to him. he takes out too many because this is a luxury at least he can share, and some of the books he picks aren't really leisure.]

[every time he turns a corner inside a building or out on the street, he looks around in a very calculative way. he steps around people and weaves through crowds too easily, turning over his shoulder to make sure none of them noticed him. paranoia doesn't sit well with civilian life.]

[he often goes for a run in the mornings, stretching it further each day to keep testing the strength of his leg and spine. sometimes it becomes too much and he has to rest on a bench, practically chugging his water as he watches the people slip by him. he catalogues them without realizing, huffing out a sigh.]

[he really doesn't know how to turn it off.]

Maybe I need a hobby. [muttering to himself is not a good hobby.]

v. wildcard!

[make up your own or hit me up: communism @ plurk, romanitas#5368 @ discord, pm this journal.]

Comments

[evasives]

[cassian is not particularly used to genuine small talk. small talk towards an end goal, yes, but he always turns the conversation towards the other person to avoid talking about himself. the fact that he could talk about himself now is odd - not that he wants to. but he could.]

It keeps me busy. There are worse jobs to be had. Do you like being out here?

[pundemic]

[She studies him a moment, not terrible subtle about it. Then she blows her bangs out of her face with a huff.]

More than I like being in the city.

[It's sort of a disarming honesty. It's something in her arsenal, but she doesn't use it all the time. If you're upfront with people, they don't think to dig any deeper.]

It's not bad, it's just-- you know. Crowded.

[evasives]

[she's looking at him very carefully, and he remembers he hates being under a microscope. still, he's surprised when she answers him, given how cagey she was until now. maybe she just likes people more than he does.]

Let me guess, the monsters don't ask as many questions. [this is not a self call out! it's making lighter of the topic, which she seems to appreciate.]

[pundemic]

[It gets a laugh.]

Wow. That transparent, huh? Guess I should work on that one.

[But there's no bite to it, or rancor. It was the right move on his part. Ellie always functions best when you can add a little levity.]

[evasives]

[SUCCESS.]

They are far more spaced out here than the people inside the wall. Harder to find you to engage a conversation. [a beat.] But it does feel very crowded sometimes, yes.

[cassian is used to crowds, but not living in them. just passing by or temporary stays.]

[pundemic]

And then they usually just want to eat you. Kind of a deal-breaker, as far as conversation actually goes.

[She says that with a particular blitheness. She is very, very firmly not thinking about David as she does.]

So... lotta people where you come from, huh? What's it like?

[She loves hearing about other worlds, even if the prevailing theme is that no one lives in a place that's gone to shit quite as drastically as her home. It gives her hope for a better future.]

[evasives]

That's one way to avoid a conversation. [ah yes, he recognizes that tone, having used it quite often himself.]

It depends on the planet. Some are far more populated than others. [he just happened to frequent planets with higher populations. easier to recruit, to make contacts, to work.] Though I am finding space travel is not so common for many people here.