video; un: Clyde

[darknstormy]

[ The video shook a little before finally landing on his face. Well, the profile of his face. Seth had turned it on without realizing then stepped away. He glanced back, catching something moving in his peripheral.

Shit.

[ A look of illumination graced his features and he stopped his approach to turn off the feed. Seth cleared his throat, his expression more accepting of their surrounding circumstance than his frustrated focus of seconds ago. What could he say? He was glad to have a speaking voice again. Might as well put it to use. ]

If there's somethin' that getting sucked from one mess to another's taught me, it's that nothin' lasts forever. All this shit's temporary... I couldn't talk soon after ending up here. My better half couldn't hear. And some of you got acquainted with the pain in the ass who lives with us, Leo. --Who by the way, can't exactly help what he is and didn't fuckin' ask to be made but still lives buy a code. But I digress...

[ Seth sat back after the brief introduction of sorts. ]

I'm Seth. Seth Gecko. You've already met Leo on here. As my Bonnie once called him, 'a walkin'-talkin' after shave commercial' who sang for you. Margo hasn't graced you all with an appearance yet but that's probably thanks to the roller coaster we've been through since arriving. She'll no doubt talk about magic when she does. Me? Well, I'm just a run of the mill guy from Kansas City. No powers, though not too bad with a piece.

[ He leaned forward and pulled out a gun tucked at the small of his back, brought it to view then returned it. ]

So if I haven't bored you all to hell yet, maybe some of who's left can enlighten me on what life's been like here? It seems the breaking up into islands is something new. Before ending up here, the three of us were at a place in France--or at least, it seemed French--that nobody could make a sound or chance gettin' torn apart by monsters.

Anybody sharin' insight about life here, you've earned yourself some manual labor. Or anythin' else I can come up with.

[ He offered an expectant look at the end. Not quite a smile, but a signature move when trying to get something without the means to obtain it otherwise. ]

Comments

[darknstormy]

[ Seth watched the message come through with the private setting. He stared casually, furrowing his brow when the guy said his name. ...Until the mention of knowing Richie.

Looking at the guy, there wasn't any indication if the younger Gecko was friend or foe. It was easier to guess enemy with Richie but Seth didn't jump the gun. ]

And you are...?

[ The question wasn't antagonizing or accusatory. Seth kept a neutral expression, waiting for answer. It was bittersweet learning that Richie had been in Hadriel. Yet given their history, who knew if someone knew the Gecko brothers from their record of thirty two jobs back in the states. ]

[nonscriptum]

Nathan Drake. I was friends with Richie.

[Nate had just started teaching the guy Spanish when he disappeared, and while accustomed to people frequently going in and out of his life it struck him as more than the usual amount of disappointing when they had found out how much they had in common. Shitty dads. Older brothers. Grand larceny.

Normally he wouldn't be so honest with a stranger, but since he knows what Seth does for a living Nate feels a little less reticent about sharing his own profession.]

We have, uh...similar career paths. But you guys- [A nod.] Had more bank jobs, and my brother and I had more treasure hunting.

[darknstormy]

[ Little brother making friends. Seth chuckled to himself, between amused at imagining how it went for the socially awkward Gecko and proud of him. There was a glint in Seth's eye when Drake mentioned having similar career paths. The elder Gecko lifted his head as the information registered. ]

I always did like Indiana Jones.

[ It was meant to be something of an acknowledgment and compliment. The corner of his mouth curled slightly upward, resembling a congenial smirk. ]

You and Richard get around to any jobs here?

[ Even with learning that it wasn't really the score but the love of chasing one, Seth missed that high. He swiped a few things in Reims. It was a little harder given the killer monsters at the slightest sound. Hadriel didn't have that problem, not that he'd been told yet. ]

[nonscriptum]

[Indiana Jones isn't an inaccurate assessment, but Nate spent less time acquiring things for museums and more time stealing from them. The idea of pilfering cultural artifacts for personal gain is a little distasteful now, given the political climate and inherent shittiness in depriving educational institutions of their stuff, but the gloves are off when it comes to things like black market auctions.]

Not much to rob.

[Nate admits, shrugging. Hadriel isn't exactly rife with priceless materials worth pocketing, though he's found his fair share of weird crap in the city.]

Solved a couple big puzzles that got thrown at us, but other than that... [He offers an apologetic grimace.] If you're anything like me, you'll start feeling hemmed in fast. This place makes prison look like a boarding school.

[darknstormy]

[ Bitter face at hearing there wasn't much to rob. Then again, Nathan might just have meant high end jobs. It was a little too soon to give that much thought. Seth had a household to worry about. ]

I don't know about all that.

[ Maybe Richard hadn't shared that his older brother spent time in prison. ]

I've got my girl. Even if we don't have Richie around, we picked up a third wheel. That alone's more than I had in prison.

[ His head dropped to a side in thought. ]

How long you been here? Already explored everythin'?

[nonscriptum]

[Nate can't speak to Seth's personal experiences, but he is, for one, glad that the various prisons and jails into which he himself drifted through most of his formative years never had an unofficial 'creature invasion' day every month. The only monsters were the guys turning their toothbrushes into shivs and the wardens who were a little too liberal with their nightsticks.]

Little over a year.

[His smile twinges mildly apologetic. It's not the kind of news any guy wants to hear, particularly someone familiar with the penal system.]

And I've explored a lot, but we just changed locations so I'm getting reacquainted. Don't know if you've ever spent time in northern Scotland, but it looks a lot like this.

[darknstormy]

Worried there for a sec that you were gonna say 'just a couple of months'.

[ Seth was somewhat teasing, holding a slight smirk. ]

Not sure I've been one place for over a year. I could see how that might get stagnant.

[ He shook his head. ]

Nope. Never been out of the States and Mexico. Other than gettin' dragged here and the other place just before here.

[ Seth looked away, pensive for a second then back into the screen at Nate. ]

Scotland's got the highlands, right? So it's really green?

[nonscriptum]

Yeah, I'm...not entirely used to that, either.

[Staying in one place for extensive periods of time, that is. New Orleans has been the longest contiguous location in terms of stability, but he made that decision with his wife because they had both come to the conclusion that leaving the old life behind was important.

His recent fuck-ups have made it evident that they may have gone a little too far with that train of thought.]

Scotland's got a lot of steep cliffs and really- like, sparse vegetation in the highlands. Low trees, shrubs, heather. That kind of thing. It's pretty rocky and wet, so it's green...most of the time, I guess. Spent a few months there for work once.

[darknstormy]

[ He gave a nod in acknowledgement and understanding. If he were honest, it sounded like Nathan had more in common with him than his brother but Seth continued to observe. ]

Got it. ...You think there's any point to this? I get that this island thing's never happened before but you seem like you've got a good head on your shoulders. In a year, you'd be able to tell if there's some connection.

[ Seth missed Richie who always came up with ideas, no matter how ridiculous or far fetched. It was better to have a clue than none at all but their comfort didn't seem to be in the interest of these gods who thrived on feelings. ]

[nonscriptum]

[Good thing this conversation is already private, or Nate would have to switch over now in anticipation of his inevitable, theoretical word-vomit.]

Connection as in...like, the reason for moving here, over other places?

[He doesn't wait for confirmation, assuming that it is Seth's angle.]

I think the gods are linked to this place. I don't know how, but I know they're not so indecisive that they'd pick a new venue at random. They'd never do anything that didn't directly benefit them in some way. [There is a pause, and Nate frowns a little, looking at nothing in particular.] ...There used to be more of them until they were attacked, a long time ago. Stands to reason a bunch of them got killed or lost, maybe had to go into hiding. This might have been one of those places. A safe zone.