Bonfire

[sentryslinger]

Who: RED Pyro (notintehkitchen) & BLU Engineer (sentryslinger)
When & Where: Nighttime at the Coaltown Barracks
Why: For a bonfire!
Status: Ongoing


[Getting assigned to a new base was nothing unusual for Engineer: he'd been moved from one place to another his entire career, never spending too long in one location. It was a hard job being a builder, but one he enjoyed enough to stay when many others in his position would have quit long ago.

However, getting assigned to a base full of REDs was a new experience. With the war between RED and BLU ending in a truce where the teams combined forces to fight wave after wave of Gray Mann's robot legions, it was inevitable that he'd eventually end up on a team with a RED or two. What he hadn't expected was to be the only BLU there, the rest of his comrades his former enemies.

Engineer was the sort to get along though, and a man who took first impressions seriously. He'd done well on the battlefield the past few days, trying to acclimate to his new coworkers. The Heavy was as friendly as any he'd met on BLU, the Medic just as skittish, the Scout just as boisterous. Demoman wasn't far from his BLU counterpart either, despite the claim of how few one-eyed, cyclopean Scotsmen there were in the world.

The problem arose when work was done and it was time to head home for the night. The REDs mostly kept to themselves- to them, he was still a newcomer, just barely above the robots they fought in terms of trust. It was going to take time for them to treat him like one of the team. He knew that much from all the bases he'd been transferred to during his career.

That was why he decided to start small, and with someone he was definitely going to be working with on a close basis: the Pyro. Judging by the fact that the rest of the REDs had eerily resembled BLUs he'd worked with in the past, he felt it was a safe bet that the Pyro wasn't too distant from ones he'd seen, either.

And that was the reason he'd invited her to a bonfire a short distance from the barracks. He figured he couldn't go wrong with that.]

Comments

[sentryslinger]

[Engie rubs the back of his neck.]

It ain't you, Pyro. Bein' the only BLU on a team full of REDs after spending years bein' at each other's throats has made me jumpier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs.

[notintehkitchen]

Oh, Engie. If it's the others, I'll protect you from them. I don't think they'd want to hurt you though--you're really nice and smart--and well, useful to them.

[But in order to make sure Engie is that well-protected...]

I'll always be by your side.

[sentryslinger]

[He gives her a smiles before rotating that second set of hot dogs he put over the fire.]

I'd appreciate that, Pyro. Especially since we're gonna be working on the battlefield together a lot. I think this whole 'both teams workin' together' thing is just going to take some getting used to.

[notintehkitchen]

Human flesh is fun to watch melt away and all but I'm happy as long as I can have other stuff to burn.

[Speaking of which, she had really forgotten almost all about the fire in front of her. As a Pyro it was laughable that something or someone else in this matter could hold her interest more than her precious flames. When it finally processed to her what she had been doing, she laughed outloud. What was this behavior of hers? Was she just not truly all the way gone as she believed or was it because deep down she was a woman no matter how much she tried to forget?]

How strange!

[sentryslinger]

[She's lost him with that jump in her train of thought .]

What's strange? That you can keep yourself entertained when you aren't lightin' fellas like me ablaze?

[He says that so jovially for someone who has probably been burned to a crisp by an enemy Pyro dozens of times in the past few years.]

[notintehkitchen]

Sort-of! I was just thinking how when I'm with you I forget about the most important thing in the world to me. It's pretty strange!

[Scratching her head, she decided this was not what she would admit to any other comrade. Having a one-track mind was the best way to uphold her reputation in a sense.]

Maybe I'm not such a bad girl...

[sentryslinger]

I wouldn't say you are, but I hardly know ya.

[He offers her a second dog and a bun.]

But we'll see if I change my mind on that after tonight, now won't we?

[notintehkitchen]

Thank you very much!

[Taking it, she began to munch and think about how she could change his opinion on her so fast.]

How do I go about doing that? Is there something I need to do?

[sentryslinger]

Just got to get to know one another. Most of what I've seen of ya is on the battlefield, and even then, you're in that suit.

[His smile has returned.]

So tell me: what do ya think about these robots they've got us fightin'now?

[notintehkitchen]

They aren't very cute, not at all. The one that is supposed to be me is very inaccurate.

[That was not the answer he was looking for, was it?]

It's hard to talk to a Pyro if you aren't around them enough. Hardly anyone understands anything I say besides 'Spy!' in my mask.

[sentryslinger]

Even without a mask, it's hard to understand some people. Look at Medic, for example.

[He laughs here, he wouldn't in the German's presence, though.]

[notintehkitchen]

Medic's accent? I suppose it's rather strong.

[As was Sniper, Heavy, Scout, Spy, Demo.]

Yes... you and Soldier are the easiest to understand. Soldier is just loud so it's not too difficult--that is, unless he ends up blowing out my eardrums.

[sentryslinger]

Or blowing up something else.

What about Scout? He's not that hard to understand.

Jell-o is very possessive.

[notintehkitchen]

[As she spoke, Jell-O who had remained quiet the whole time had gone to work over near Engineer holding a stick in one tentacle and spelling out something. Pyro didn't seem to notice.

If Engineer looked down to read, he would come across the following words together: MaTEMoTHeRYoU?DIE.]

His accent is strong with certain letters.

Oh dear.

[sentryslinger]

[Engineer chuckled at her assessment of Scout's accent, that laugh slowing as his eyes caught sight of some letters in the sand, a mess of a scrawling seemingly courtesy of Pyro's pint-sized pet. His brow rose questioningly, but he said nothing in regards to the strange message yet.]

Strong might be an understatement, but at least he ain't all that hard to figure out. You can practically read the boy's mind most of the time. It ain't that easy with some of the others.

keywords

[notintehkitchen]

I'm assuming you mean his drive towards the opposite sex. He's still just a little one, he needs time to grow and mature mentally.

[And she could be the same age, it's not like she goes around asking the other's anything too personal. That would be nosy.]

At least he's honest with his feelings.

[sentryslinger]

Maybe a little too honest. I'm sure he's got his secrets though. We all do.

[notintehkitchen]

Yes, but I wonder? If that because everyone really wants to or because they have to?

[Looking towards the bonfire, she still had it in the back of her mind that it was unbelievable to think she wasn't going crazy at that moment. As a filthy arsonist everybody \would be pretty ashamed of her right now.]

[sentryslinger]

I'd say it's just a bit of both. We want to because we have to.

[notintehkitchen]

In a way, you can't really call a comrade a friend then if you have to lie to them. At least I think it's like that.

[Placing her hands on her cheeks, she then crossed her legs.]

Although... for someone like me, being able to have my mask off now is a pretty big change and allows me to have companionship of sorts--but it's obvious I lied.

[sentryslinger]

You did what you had to do for the job, darlin'. We've all done things we ain't proud of for it, even me.

[notintehkitchen]

I doubt it could be that bad.

[Only because she has total idol worship for Engineers.]

[sentryslinger]

[He smiles ruefully.]

Bad enough that it keeps me up some nights. We've all got our demons, though. You just learn to either ignore 'em or get along with 'em. Not much you can do about it either way.

[He gets himself another hot dog, emptying the package as he puts the last of them on the skewers over the flames.]

[notintehkitchen]

[Damn, she really should change the subject. Here she was with Engie and they kept talking about depressing stuff that couldn't really be altered.]

Well! I'm going to keep you up for other reasons.

[There was a pause, long enough to be awkward for anyone who had half a brain to think about double meanings as Pyro reached into her suit and pulled out a large bottle of liquor with foreign writing on it.]

It's not as strong as Demo's buuuut.... ta-da! Sake!

[She didn't drink very often but with her weight she thought she'd probably be alright. All her comrades really enjoyed drinking it seemed.]

[sentryslinger]

[The crease in Engineer's brow goes from concerned to curious, as he's not sure what she's saying -- and then he cracks half a smile as she pulls out a bottle of sake.]

Can't say I've ever had that before. You sure it's okay to share with a BLU?