Overheard at Camp Melai; Does this mean Robbie's Klinger?

[balladin]

Who: Robbie and anyone (special starter for Dixon and Sirius)
What: OVERHEARD AT CAMP, Robbie accidentally figures out the healing thing. Someone tell him about it in the morning.
Where: Camp 1 - Melai Temple
When: Shortly after arrival. All conversations will pre-date that with Dixon and Sirius.
Warnings/Notes: "Overheard at camp" is basically my idea for posting several quick, one-off lines that can be taken out of context (or maybe in context) and seeing what people make of them. Possibly some talk of Dixon and Sirius' injuries.

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[ 1: In the kitchen. ]

Dibs on the fleshhook!

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[ 2: In the main hall, as he dumps a collection of wood-ish things in a pile in the center of the room for an anticipated fire. ]

Yay, carbon monoxide!

---

[ 3: Anywhere. ]

Hey, V- guys? This old Enya statue won't not stop undressing me with her eyes. It's freaking me out.

---

[ For Dixon and later Remus. ]
[ When Robbie heads over to Dixon, he doesn't have a specific plan in mind. He's got what small bits of cloth he could find, not wanting to cut up blankets; anyway, he's unsure how to bandage a face without mummifying Dixon. He remembered to clean them by boiling and to boil separate water for cleaning the wound, which has him feeling rather pleased with himself. He's no doctor, and he wouldn't call any of this sanitary, but Robbie's doing what he can. ]

Hey, I figured you might want to... I don't know, get the day's crap off of that.

[ He looks pointedly at the burn and then resumes talking to Dixon's face as a whole. ]

Or whatever your doc told you to do. If it's one of those things where you flinch too much to do it yourself, I'm not skeeved out by it. I can help.

[ Infections are nasty business, and his pockets don't have any Tylenol. You get a high fever - you're dying. ]

Comments

[awfulcer]

[Dixon is miserable, and for the last several hours has been keeping uncharacteristically to himself, sitting with his back to one of the temple walls with his eyes closed but clearly not sleeping. His heart's been pounding on and off, he's sweating, and any attempt to try and nap it off is met with a sort of skin-crawling anxious feeling and trembling. Any painkillers he had for his face are long out of his system, and Brainy's high-tech medicine was not a curative so much as a temporary anodyne.

He knows it's not the burn that's the worst part, though. The most lethal if it gets worse, possibly, but right now he'd take that risk over the shakes and cravings he has as circumstance forcibly cuts him off from two decades of habitual, aggressive drinking.

When Robbie approaches, it's a kindness. His eyelids flutter open.]

Huh?

[It takes a moment to place Robbie, but he puts it together soon enough. The kid who stood up for him when there was that stupid debate about rocks and Phos tried to whale on him. He winces and sits up straighter.]

My doc told me a lot of things that ain't happening here. You're looking out for me?

2

[wherenoonegoes]

[Hiccup looks up from where he's inspecting Toothless's tack, doing basic maintenance and cleaning. If a part broke, there was no telling how long it's take before he could find or make a replace it, so it was best to make sure things were in working order now that they had some breathing room. Toothless is nearby, resting on a spot that looks somewhat fire-blackened.]

Either explain your strange future words when you say them, or stop using them. Personally, I'd prefer the former.

1

[followingdawn]

All yours, but I hope you're not asking me to toss it over there.

[ Because Sothe does happen to be standing closer to the fleshhook in question, rummaging through all of those implements...and tucking a couple of the better looking knives away. Don't mind him.

But yeah, he's not throwing you that, Robbie. ]

3.

[outofresets]

[ Not picking up on it being a joke, Imp looks curiously between Robbie and said statue before settling a confused look on Robbie. ]

Your clothes look okay to me.

[balladin]

[ Robbie shrugs – the question implies a deeper thought process than he’s using. ]

I guess? I’m not stalking you. Your face is jacked, so I figured you’d want help. If you don’t, cool, but you should still take the clean stuff.

[ He holds out the pot, which has cooled to room temperature, and the fabric. The latter is hooked over one finger on a bandaged hand. Robbie doesn’t want to contaminate it more than absolutely necessary. ]

Besides, until someone proves otherwise, we’re stuck together like magnetic trains. Choo-choo.

[ And Dixon’s not off on the right foot with some of the group. Not even the left foot. So maybe Robbie is making it a point to make sure the guy doesn’t get ignored. ]

[balladin]

[ He throws Hiccup a bland look, but it falters he registers Toothless. It's hard to be smooth around dragons. ]

Carbon monoxide is the thing in smoke that'll make you sick if you build a fire in a closed space or your flue's blocked. And how am Isupposed to know what words are strange future words? Like Internet's a given, but what about sledge hammer?

[ It's only mostly a joke. ]

[balladin]

[ Whatever, he can and does fetch it himself. He promptly waves it around like he's Captain Hook. ]

Blast good form! Did Pan show good form when he did this to me?

[balladin]

[ E tu, Goggles? The hair, the bug-eyed demi-cowl. He had such high hopes for a sense of humor that matched Robbie's inner 15-year-old as well as the uniform look did.

Instead he just picks at the hem of his hoodie. ]

They're fine for now, sure. Winkwink, nudgenudge.

[awfulcer]

No, I didn't mean that, it's just...thanks. [Dixon isn't in any sort of mood to resist Robbie's companionship. If anything, the generous gesture awakens some kind of desperation in Dixon to continue it. He hasn't wanted to be on the outs with the rest of the group; it's just been an unfortunate reality, fueled by his own aggression and impulsive loudmouthing.

Just like that, Robbie's earned a swell of earnest goodwill.

The burns cover Dixon's left hand, half his face and a good portion of his neck, so his first motion is to gingerly take one of the clean fabrics and clean his burned palm. It's taken a beating with the attack with the Wheelers, and most of the barely-healed tissue has been ripped away to an open wound. It's painful enough to touch that Dixon's attempts to wipe pebbles and dirt out of it are fairly inept; he isn't able to force his mind to override his body's instinctive repulsion to pain.]

You know, my momma says I was pretty handsome before this. [It's a pitiful attempt at cracking wise. He gives Robbie a look, like he's seeing him for the first time, undistracted by inebriation or monsters or anything like that. Tall, lean, looking like a college football type, probably as wholesome as city Yankees get (at least, that's what Dixon assumes from the accent).] You got a name? I didn't catch it back at the...you know, the thing.

[i.e. that whole thing where he nearly got brained by a space-rock that was a teenager, somehow. He's almost stubbornly refusing to try wrapping his head around that one.]

[followingdawn]

[ Robbie has definitely been winning the "most confusing person" race so far. Superboy has a weird name, but at least he tried to explain it! ]

...

[outofresets]

[ That 'winkwink nudgenudge' was something he'd heard from Kon enough times to get that this was probably a sex joke, maybe? ]

Oooohh.

So you want her to take your clothes off...Wait-...no that dosen't-...

[ He's back to looking confused, and eventually slightly defended. ]

I don't get it.

[ Sorry Robbie. He tried. ]

[balladin]

Everyone's a critic.

[ It never occurs to him that someone doesn't know Peter Pan. ]

This'll come in handy when start moving again. If.

[balladin]

[ He backs off immediately, not wanting to embarrass the kid for not getting the joke. Clueless - yep, Robbie can remember being that innocent. ]

Ah - no. I like my clothes where they are, and I'm not auditioning for any Mannequin remakes. Let's leave it at that.

[outofresets]

[ That's probably for the best. ]

Is Mannequin a movie or something?

[wherenoonegoes]

[Hiccup rolls his eyes while fiddling with some gears.}

I assume it's some kind of hammer. Look, don't worry about it. If I ned something explained I'll ask.

I don't think the smoke will be too much of an issue. [He pauses, looking around to inspect the temple.]

It's too well ventilated for that. Probably *because* they'd need fire. Burnt offerings *are* a thing.

[balladin]

[ Robbie grins. ]

Oh, dude. It's this old movie form the 80s. It might be the best worst movie I've ever seen. Kim Cattrall was a hottie when she wasn't old enough to be my mom.

[outofresets]

Oh! I think Preston's talked about that one before!

[ His expression lights up as the conversation takes a turn into slightly more familiar territory. ]

I never really got the whole good bad movies thing, but he and Waid think they're hilarious. And they've told me something about how you can sometimes learn more about film and what not to do when making one, from watching bad or weird movies, than you can from watching the good ones.

Are you into filmmaking, too?

3

[suckitblue]

[ Simmons squints at the statue. ]

Crap, now I can't unsee it.

[balladin]

Preston?

[ Robbie spins his finger around in a slow circle as if looking to point out Preston somewhere in the vicinity. ]

Your friends are right - bad movies are hysterical. I just watch them for the overdone dialogue and lame special effects though. I'm not studying film-making or anything like that.

[balladin]

And you just can't decide, right, if it's more disturbing if it's Enya or if it's an old lady.

[ Robbie knows he's making it worse. ]

It's almost like it would be better if it was a gargoyle.

[balladin]

[ Robbie nods. He doesn't mind explaining, but he doesn't want to overexplain or to be constantly wondering if he should or if it's pandering. Asking is better.

Also, they've now exceeded Robbie's 'my parents have a fireplace' understanding of fires, so he follows Hiccup's lead and looks around, trying to assess how much ventilation is 'enough'. ]

How can you tell? [ There's a roof, and walls, so Robbie considers the room at least 80% enclosed. ]

Seriously, burnt offerings? And people wondered why the gods were always pissed. I'd be pretty pissed if the only thing anyone ever gave me was charcoal dust.

[balladin]

No problemo, compadre.

[ His Spanish is half-terrible, half living in New York gives him just enough of an idea of how the accent sounds. ]

You'd do the same for me.

[ It's nonchalant, but Robbie wants to assume a baseline of decent humanity in every normal person. It's part of his every-life-has-value mindset. Normal people are the real heroes, day in and day out.

... it's still not going to give him a complete pass on a statement like that. 'My momma'? Oh, there is a entire universe to be had in this response. ]

Yo momma lies so much she got kidnapped in a rug store. [ He flashes a sheepish grin. ] Sorry, I had to, but I meant what I said earlier. It doesn't look that bad.

[ He pauses, considering the state of the skin on Dixon's face. It's far from healed, but it doesn't look as gooey as it might. A tight nod. ]

You just have to keep it clean and whatever you do, don't pick it. Insert joke about how I'm not yo momma. And I'm not. My name's Robbie.

[awfulcer]

Oh, come on. Pale as you are, you ain't Mexican.

[It's quite likely Dixon would, for all his faults. It's not an absence of decency so much as a presence of overriding rage and impulsiveness that drives the worst of him. There are elements of the word 'protect and serve' that have stuck with him, residual and skimpy but there nonetheless.]

Don't you talk shit about my momma, Robbie. [But Dixon's not serious. He can tell when he's being joked at and when he's being jabbed at. It's only the latter that throws him off kilter every single time.

His hands keep shaking as he tries to get the gravel out of his palm, to the point where after a moment, he takes a deep breath and gives up. He doesn't even want to try with his face and neck.]

You mind helping out a little extra? [He doesn't want to explain that he's shaking like a leaf for reasons that have nothing to do with the pain of the burns.]

[followingdawn]

That's like the first thing I've heard you say that makes sense.

[outofresets]

He's not here. He's one of my school friends.

[ AKA not a superhero, unlike some of the other teens running around their group. ]

I already have a hard time with good movies. They're just so long. I've tried watching a few bad ones with my friends though, but not that one. Mostly horror stuff.