[video]

[bulletbiter]

[ the feed opens to julius in the garden, standing beneath a fruit tree - a young man in his early twenties, with blond hair and clear golden eyes. he looks a tad tired, with dark shadows under his eyes - but for those who knew him from before, he appears to be in better condition than they last saw him.

notably, he wasn't at the icebreaker. but - those are minor details. ]

Hello, everyone. My name is Julius.

[ he gestures to the greenery behind him with a sweep of his hand, a slight smile tugging at his lips ]

I'm interested in developing the garden - we may need to upkeep it ourselves in the future, and I would imagine the relevant skills would be necessary in other worlds for ensuring a consistent food supply. However, I don't have much knowledge on cultivation myself. If we work together, we'll have a better chance at succeeding.

[ his expression settles back into its usual quiet seriousness now, as appropriate for something more dangerous ]

I was a soldier back home, and I used to teach drills to my teammates. In the interest of keeping our skills sharp, I would also like to propose some sparring sessions and other exercises.

[ a pause, before: ]

If you're interested in either of these, please let me know. I look forward to working with everyone here.

Comments

[rootbound]

[...

a little more gently]

If you want to take up some other pasttime outside what we're asked to do for Astoria, I don't think anyone's going to shout at you for it.

[bulletbiter]

[ nods ]

I'd like to help everyone, in some way. [ thus, all of this ]

[rootbound]

Mm. Good luck with that.

Don't forget to try to do something for yourself too, though.

[bulletbiter]

[ that catches him by surprise, prompting a blink ]

Oh. Yeah. I'll try to remember that.

[rootbound]

[dryly]

I can get Geir to remind you.

[bulletbiter]

[ julius chuckles, just for a moment ]

I'd appreciate that. Though, he might try to remind me of that regardless.

[rootbound]

[Vern's expression cracks into a brief smile, too.]

He would, wouldn't he...? He's very persistent at that.

[bulletbiter]

Yeah. It's....

[ a pause, as he sifts for the words ]

... it's very nice. He's honest in a way that's rare.

[rootbound]

He doesn't have...much life experience. It's hard for him to learn and understand without being candid and asking a lot of questions...

[shifts on his feet, visibly uncomfortable for a moment]

Thank you for being his friend.

[bulletbiter]

[ julius smiles, a honest one this time, unrestrained by self-deprecation ]

I'm honoured to be his friend. And yours... if you'll let me.

[rootbound]

[what]

I--ah?

[it's not a no but he clearly wasn't expecting it

error error]

[bulletbiter]

[ vern's response starts making him second-guess his own words, but he's already said them so there's no taking them back - ]

I'd like to be your friend, too. If.... you're fine with it....

[rootbound]

[after another hesitant moment, almost...shy?]

No one's ever told me that before.

[bulletbiter]

[ that makes two of them. it helps ease a bit of that anxiety, even... ]

I know it's a bit odd, but... I mean it. Honest.

[rootbound]

I'm not rejecting you, I just -- need a moment to process, okay.

[huffs, dipping his head so his heavy hair obscures most of his face, briefly]

I'm still so bad at this.

[bulletbiter]

Oh, okay.

[ maybe he was being too earnest.... ]

Um, me too.

[rootbound]

[snorts a laugh into his hair, bringing a hand up to cover his face briefly]

Ah, why not. Let's be friends and bad at it together. Perhaps we'll get better.

[bulletbiter]

Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

[ much better than being talked down to. it's good. ]