A. Rama Raju ([personal profile] load_aim_shoot) wrote in [community profile] singillatim2024-01-11 09:36 pm

🎵whistle while you work🎶(closed)

Who: A. Rama Raju, Lanfear, William Gibson, Renny Oldoak
What: wilderness chore bonding time!
When: I'm thinking some time after the ghostly housefire, but it's loose
Where: the forest around Milton

Content Warnings: talk about food/eating/not eating, possible talk of fire stuff. will add as stuff comes up
notarat: (013)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-01-25 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Even though it's not a very big reaction, the man sure does make a bit of A Face at that last remark.. There certainly is an irony in it, after all, and not a particularly good one. Billy doesn't want to know just how much the cold of the Arctic has seeped into his bones at this point, a place he never particularly cared to be in the first place. A cold that has chased him even here. Even now.

He doesn't mention anything about it. Not because he wants to lie to Raju, really. It's more just that he doesn't want to think of it. So, instead..

"I think this cold is tough on anyone."

A very factual statement. Easier to stick to.

Besides, Billy is also thinking about the rest of what the other is saying. He's been modifying stuff? That could be helpful, especially if Raju ends up having more experience with that sort of thing, just like how Billy himself does.

".. I think we can do better than this though." This, obviously, being the blanket. Not that Billy cares about being fashionable, but he does care about being practical. "Have you often sewn before, Mr.."

His voice trails off at the end there, like he's giving Raju a chance to introduce himself. It may be only now that Billy is realising they didn't exactly start out with that-- perhaps he's trying to correct that course mid-conversation.
notarat: (009)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-01-29 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
It's not like Billy doesn't notice the shift in the other's tone. No matter how withdrawn he might seem, never saying too much, there is always a whole lot going on inside of Billy's head, making sure to carefully observe everything around him. You don't become a steward unless you can read the little signs about people, after all. And the on the job experience of tending to every single whim of three superior officers only made him better at it.

Maybe it's why he knows better than to point out the shift in tone. That is exactly the sort of thing that only makes it escalate more. So rather than addressing that, he moves to sit down as well, if not just so he doesn't seem like he's trying to actively talk down at the other. (The way Billy is practically a flagpole in height sure didn't help with that either, he figures.)

"Gibson," he answers, focusing on the very last part of it all first. "William Gibson. Pleased to meet you despite the circumstances, Mr. Raju."

You know, said circumstances being this place being a freezing hellhole and all, but he figures the other is smart enough he doesn't have to point that out. Especially when there's more important matters to discuss.

"The better I was refering to is the fact that there is quite some material around in town, but no one is using it. I assume it is because we are all used to sewing cloth. I am the same." He's pretty good with it at this point. It's what happens when you spend so much time mending the same officers' clothes and coats over and over.. "But even though people are using the animals here for their meat, it seems like not many are using their fur or skin, even though we could use that material for coats and gloves, once everything else inevitably runs out."

He exhales. Sorry, give him a moment, Raju, this is more than he usually says to people..

"I am entirely unfamiliar with working with that material though. But you seem skilled at sewing, and I have experience as well, so.. I thought we might be able to figure it out together by practicing." Even if it might be unfamiliar to both of them.

And since he is still thinking about the other's tone, Billy pauses very briefly to then add: "I think there is much I could learn from you, if you would be kind enough to spare me some of your time."
notarat: (013)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-02-01 09:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"I was wondering if you knew a little more about making things from scratch." His tone is still like before. A little polite, a little withdrawn and soft, though it does seem to ease up a little bit now. Maybe it's since the other's wall is coming down a little bit, or maybe Billy is just glad to be discussing this with someone who also knows something about this topic.

Especially when the one person he knows in this place would know quite a bit about this topic too is absolutely not someone he'd want to talk to. It's much better to speak with Raju.

"I know a lot about mending, and adjusting, and.. practically anything one could imagine doing with an already existing piece of clothing." He pauses, and then adds, like a sort of explanation: "I was a steward back home."

Hence the very specific knowledge, and yet not the full on knowledge to have been a tailor instead.
notarat: (006)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-02-05 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
There's a quick nod at the first part of what the other is saying. Billy is just grateful the other is willing to do this entire practice thing together - it just feels more efficient. They likely come from very different backgrounds, so that means they can surely learn more together than they could separately. "I have some hides to practice with too, if we get ambitious," he adds. "They are.. not exactly the prettiest, so I figured they would make for good practice material."

This is what happens when you're living together with your boyfriend who loves hunting, but is definitely not great at getting the meat out of there cleanly.. At least it works in the favour of this plan. No need to worry about ruining something that's already pretty much unusable for any other purpose.

But as much as Billy is willing to offer that up, he goes a little more quiet after that, when he realises he can't just.. pretend he didn't hear that question.. So even though he doesn't really like talking about the specifics of his recent situation back home before arriving here, he'll have to offer up at least something. Especially since he'd rather not waste this opportunity for cooperation with a rather practical-seeming guy. Billy can appreciate those types.

"And I was--" Still a touch of hesitation, but then he just says it. "I was with the Royal Navy. Subordinate officer's steward."

He lets out a faint breath.

"I have mended the lieutenants' coats many times."
notarat: (014)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-02-11 10:50 pm (UTC)(link)
.. it's strange. This definitely isn't the sort of conversation Billy expected to have here, but.. in a good way, really. He's not exactly the most social person around, but there's something about the way Raju speaks, or maybe even more so about the topics he speaks of, that feels a little familiar to Billy. There's something more comfortable in it than there are in most conversations for Billy.

It's definitely not the sort of thing he ever expected to find across different cultures, but this place sure is teaching him a thing or two about that real quick.

"They certainly are. Those would not have passed, Mr. Raju."

Despite something more withdrawn and shy still seeming to cling to him, there's something a tiny bit more open about what Billy says there. There's even something tugging a little at the corners of his lips, like the start of amusement, of a sentiment not many men would be able to share with each other - but they both get it.

"I certainly would've gotten an earful about those. Or likely worse, like you mention." Not that he could end up on laundry duty when permanent laundry duty is practically Billy's job..

He shakes his head a little, this time properly looking over at the other - a little less shy - as he adds: "If I may ask.. What were you training for? The Army itself?"

It would be most likely, given who he trained under, but-- you know, different cultures, different worlds. You never know, and Billy doesn't want to assume out loud.
Edited 2024-02-11 22:50 (UTC)
notarat: (008)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-02-16 07:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Even though Billy is quiet the entire time Raju speaks, not interrupting the other, there's something about the way he looks at the other that shows he's listening rather attentively all the same. Like he's either interested, or just making sure to commit these details to memory, just in case.

(Or maybe it's habit sticking to him at this point. Stewards were there to listen, not to speak, after all.)

".. yes," he finally says once Raju arrives at that question. "The last voyage I was on was to the Arctic, so.. more closely resembling this place than Delhi."

Though he had been to voyages that headed more in the latter direction than the Arctic, it feels harder to recall those nowadays. It's all a little more foggy.

"It must be difficult for you to adjust to." Going from Delhi to this. "I'm not fond of it either. This sort of cold-- It seeps into your bones. It makes it feel like it will be part of you forever."
notarat: (004)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-02-20 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, now that's a stereotype Billy sure won't take offense to. Because it's just true. If anything, the higher in rank, the more clothes you were wearing.. Which he would know, given how much clothes he has been mending and washing on that journey. It's a little ridiculous, considering just how much warmer the higherups were allowed to stay compared to those at the bottom.

So he nods, thinking for a moment, and then adding: "This might sound ridiculous."

It's a slow start. Billy isn't really used to.. this. Just having casual chats with people. Even though he's been here for a little while now, there's no way old habits change so quickly, especially with how many reasons he has to be guarded around others.

But he's already trying more than he would with most people. Having points in common helps, even across cultures.

"But after a while.. you almost get used to it. You forget what it's like to be warm." It's not exactly the most fun thing to say, but still.. it's true. Years of being out in the Arctic change you. Change the kind of decisions you'd make.

".. though hopefully that won't be the case for you here, Mr. Raju. The clothes left behind by the people who were here before us are a lot warmer than anything I was wearing back home. It is also much easier to start a fire here. Warmth is closer by us."

Granted, still not nowhere as close as it must have been back home for the other, in Delhi.. But things could be worse. If there's anything Billy has learned from his voyage back home, it's that fact.

"If we are to survive here, we have to remember things like that." Look on the positive side, Billy would say if he was any more of a sappy person. Or any more of a person who can easily look on the positive side to begin with.
notarat: (008)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-02-24 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
"We have much to figure out."

He can easily agree on that. It's not like it's a small task ahead of them. But while there's something about the other's words that sounds-- perhaps not exactly worried, Billy thinks, but at least dreading said task ahead, Billy keeps his own tone calm. Practical.

After all-- "But we also have time to do so. And while I'm not entirely sure what it is like for you, I certainly feel more productive using my time on that now than on ensuring my nails are clean enough to pass the arbitrary inspection of superiors." Sure, it's not like survival is exactly a fun business, but there is something about it that is at least more alluring to Billy at this point than tending to the whims of men whose rank he will never reach anyway. Especially when they often make terrible decisions in his experience. Sometimes you just need little thoughts like that to get you through the day, especially when you keep ending up in icy hellscapes. "At least every decision we make here is our own."

The man pauses, glancing at the blanket for a moment, and then adds:

".. as for our more practical matter, I imagine that perhaps that strange man running the library here may have a book on the topic, if we are lucky."
notarat: (004)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-03-02 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
He's definitely noting the other's interest in the library. Which is a good thing, as far as Billy is concerned-- because he really doesn't want to head over there by himself. A whole lot of things about Rorschach freak him out, even beyond just the mask, and it's truly hard to find a moment to go to the library where he isn't right there as well. At least he'll feel a whole lot less antsy about it with Raju there too. He seems like a good man so far. Too good, perhaps.

"At least there seems to be a little more knowledge to be gained around these parts about hunting." He isn't so sure about tanning, especially since he hasn't seen or heard of anyone doing that here-- but hunting? Plenty of people here hunt. Even Hickey does, if not always incredibly succesfully - but it's what puts food on his and Billy's table.

The man pauses for a moment, casting a meaningful glance down at his own arms.

"I'm not so certain I would be much good at it though."

You know. Witness Billy's thin stick arms. In fact, the man's entire build looks like a stickbug - lanky and thin, even more so after the illness back home. An illness that still has left its traces on Billy's body now, with his sickly white skin and the dark circles around his eyes.

"Not that I'm not willing to try, but I know where my strengths lie." And it certainly isn't running after animals in the forest.. Raju, he'd probably just collapse pathetically. No one should have to suffer witnessing a display that embarrassing. "It would most likely be easier with traps."

Less running involved and all.
notarat: (012)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-03-04 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"I do."

Even though he's relatively new, Billy isn't a steward for nothing. He knows where to keep an eye out, where to keep an ear out - how to gain the most information in any given situation, without necessarily having to ask for it in the first place.

"If you want, we could go there right now?" People don't seem too prone to stealing things here, so it probably can't hurt for Raju to leave his blanket for a bit, he figures. It's obvious enough that it's some sewing project in the works, anyway. That someone was clearly working on it. "You see, I.."

His voice trails off for a moment, thinking about how much to admit to here to a man he's only meeting for the first time, but he does decide to give away at least a little bit here. It'll probably become obvious real quick if they run into Rorschach, anyway.

".. the person who gathers material for the library is rather eccentric, and I have a feeling he isn't too fond of me." Quickly followed up with: "Or people in general, perhaps."

Mostly because Billy figures that is Rorschach's problem, rather than anything personal with Billy, and he sure doesn't want to make it sound like the uneasiness he feels around Rorschach is his own fault!

"So I'd feel slightly more at ease going there alongside someone else." Rather than alone. Billy would panic if left alone in a room with Rorschach of all people, Raju..
notarat: (002)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-03-08 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Billy is quiet for a moment after that initial statement. It's not even because he's giving Raju the time to focus on bundling himself up again, or because he's waiting for the rest of what the other says. Instead he seems almost.. a little stunned for a moment, quiet. His eyes are just a little wider than they had been so far in their conversation, that hint of surprise sneaking into the way he looks at Raju.

He's simply unused to anyone offering to do something for him so readily, even with a smile and all.

By the time Raju speaks again, Billy manages to put himself over it, but something about the way he mumbles, "Thank you," sounds very genuine all the same. Maybe still a little caught off guard, making something about him seem a touch shy.

"And the problem is-- something like that, yes." He seems perfectly content to wait for Raju to finish his business with the blanket, standing there as he explains. "He threatened me when I first woke up in this place. If I hadn't done my best to diffuse the situation, I'm fairly sure he would have beaten me and left me for dead out there in the wilds, if not worse. He seems perfectly fine with behaving impolitely towards other people, but if those people then do the same to him, his temper plays up."
notarat: (009)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-03-12 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
It seems like Raju is hitting the right notes - or perhaps just reading the other man well enough, since Billy definitely gives him a slight smile in the return when the other makes that first statement. Sure, the smile is definitely still small and shy, but it seems genuine enough. Like he can truly recognize that sentiment. Billy is withdrawn enough that he usually knew all the ways to stay out of trouble, but he certainly has seen temper aimed at others before from some of the men he's served under.

And considering he isn't very used to gossiping with coworkers - technically Raju could count as one, though very distantly related - he's finding right now that it actually feels kind of nice.

.. even if the Rorschach matter is still on the table. Still, with Raju seeming so kind about this entire thing, it's definitely soothing Billy's own nerves about coming face to face with that man again. He's moving right along without hesitation, leading Raju in the direction of the library.

"Matters of his mask might be best avoided," he says. Of course worded in the most indirect way possible, because Billy is still definitely English. It's in the little things. "He did not seem particularly kind throughout any of that particular encounter, but it seemed that me talking about how odd his mask is was what truly set him off."

Even though it's odd. It's so objectively odd, Raju!
notarat: (001)

[personal profile] notarat 2024-03-16 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"He was.." Billy starts, but then seems to struggle with the right wording for a moment. It's partially wanting to make sure to represent the situation adequately - because Billy is well aware how easily something like that can paint you in a bad light, and he was definitely the victim in that situation!! - and partially still the after effects of the lead poisoning and the scurvy. Though the latter has lifted by now, it's still left its traces within the man. ".. strange from the beginning, I suppose. Not quite as temperamental at first, but from the very start he spoke of strange things. He acted as if I had found myself in hell, and he was a devil inhabiting it."

Does it also sound strange to Billy now he's hearing it being said out loud by himself?

Yes. But he's pretty sure that actually happened, rather than being some cold or illness induced hallucination.

"I did not know what to make of it."

He goes quiet for a moment, making their footsteps against the snow, now they're outside, the only thing audible for that moment.

"Especially since I-- I died before I woke up here." It's a vulnerable thing to share, hence Billy's hesitation. But so far Raju has been relatively pleasant and helpful, even weirdly relatable in some ways.

So even though it still feels hard to admit to, he does so anyway.

cw: descriptions of death

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