And now what?

[Xiefall]

::Xiefall made his way back to the hangar... slowly. Pavidus had returned and with some kind of timing. Vis Vires had just taken it's biggest step towards renewal of power and there he was.::

What are they talking about? What AREN'T they talking about?

::He took his time exiting Contra Mondi. Taking extra notice of the systems and how they worked. He hadn't had a lot of time with the upgrades but they felt good. It was a good step towards becoming stronger. And a good distraction from this most recent event. Speculation would only send his mind down a place no one wants, 'cept maybe Auray and Pavidus.::

::After doing everything he could possibly do to stall, he exitted the hangar and made his way back to his quarters.::

I can't just sit in here, I'm going to lose it.

::Xiefall exited shortly after entering and began wandering, looking for anything to distract him. Anything.::

[Xiefall]

::Xiefall wandered for what seemed like 2 days. He made stops at the gym, the mess hall, the barracks; Almost every location on the ship. It was time to venture off the ship and onto X-10.::

::Xie walked around the streets, watching the citizens as he did. Most seemed to be doing their best to not show anything other than the norm. Some recognized Xiefall and either turned quickly away, nodded respectfully, or a few even attempted conversation. These didn't last much longer than the typical 'Hello' and 'How are you?'s. He clearly had other things on his mind and most took notice to leave him be, at least until showing some emotion.::

This isn't working.

::Xiefall eventually found his way to the bar they had first interacted with The Unspoken. Every eye in the place made it's way to Xie and immediately back to their task, almost too quickly for him to realize. They didn't fear him here so much as know they have a place in the chain. Xie's above. He waved the bartender over.::

Whiskey.

::Xie took the glass in his hand and took a quick sip. Then a longer one. Then finished it. He waved the bartender over again.::

Double.

::Xie took the glass and made quick work of it. He waved the Bartender over again. The Bartender made a glance towards a few random groups of people, eyes widening in clear suspect, and he returned to Xiefall and poured another, reluctantly.::

Settle down. I'll be fine.

::Xie took a small sip, making sure the Bartender took notice of his slow pace, and he went back to it. Who knows where this is leading.::

[Xiefall]

::Xiefall had only one more, much to surprise of the bartender who seemed poised for a long night of fighting off the young man with a potential drinking problem. Xiefall thanked the man and headed, slowly and maybe a little overly careful, out the door and meandered back through the streets of the colony, back to the Solitarus II and to his quarters. He did his best 100% sober impression. It worked on the majority since he really hadn't had too much to drink but a few either smelled him or notice the slight curved path he was taking. No harm, no foul, at the moment. Just need an hour or two to clean up before Auray would undoubtably call Akujin and him for a visit.::

::It had never been his intention to get plastered. Just enough to take the edge off. A rough edge, mind you. Things were going to change with the arrival of Pavidus. For the good or bad, no one but Pavidus knows, but change will come regardless. He ha succeeded in changing his thoughts away from recent events but instead turned them to thoughts of his past. Thoughts he tries to avoid at all costs. To him, they are thoughts of weekends; thoughts of pain; thoughts of inconsequence. But they are thoughts nonetheless that creeped back into his brain and led him back to his quarters, to a small box he kept of his former life. He opened it up and couldn't help but shed a tear.::

God damnit!

::Xiefall flung the box on the bed and leaned against the mirror, looking at himself. Slowly the image reflected morphed into his father.::

[Xiefall]

"Xiefall! Xiefall! XIE!", his dad screamed.

Coming Dad!

::Xiefall scrambled to finish tying the twine around the brown wrapping paper he had made out of some paper bags. It wasn't much, but Xie knew it didn't need to be. Plus he had spent weeks trying to make it just right. He even had to start over once since it ended up looking like something out of an acid nightmare. But he had finally ended up with a product he liked. A wooden tiger he had whittled from some dried wood he'd found near the oasis to the east.::

Merry Christmas, Dad!

::Xie came screaming around the corner so fast he almost slammed into his old man who was sitting near the fire. He had been working on a little bit of Christmas himself. He had managed to wrap some lights around a thorn bush that normally protected their little slice of heaven and managed to make it look like a Christmas tree.::

::Christmas wasn't a yearly occurrence like it had been in the past now. It was no longer attached to the birth of a child, but more a chance to escape the normal life and enjoy the family you have and give a little. Plus, no one can argue much with getting gifts. His dad managed to sneak his own present into the small camp, also. Seeing it, Xie's eyes lit up a little, and taking notice, his dad motioned for him to go grab it from the the Thorn-mas tree. On his way to grab it, he gave his dad a hug and gave him his gift as well. As Xie tore into his gift, his dad methodically opened his, taking time to not crumple the paper. Xiefall, in contrast, flung his hands wildly and paper all but rained from the sky. Beneath the paper, was a bolt-action rifle. Beautifully crafted out wood from the village, the metal of the barrel shining with the glow of the fire and the lights, accents on the bolt and stock inlaid with ivory, and a hand chiseled 'XR' on the stock. Xiefall's face exploded with joy. He spun around to thank his dad but couldn't get a word out before noticing him peering down at the hand-made tiger, eyes swelling with tears, some having already dripped on the figure. He looked up at Xiefall and put on his best smile he could through the emotional moment and spread one arm out, holding the figurine in the other. Xiefall ran into his dad's arm, clutching the rifle and his dad equally as hard.::

[Xiefall]

::Xiefall shook his head violently, snapping himself out of his daydream. He looked deeply into the mirror again. This time it was just him. Nothing staring back at him but his growing face. He'd slowly began to look like his father. His eyes were always deep like his father's but the rest of him was catching up. He'd grow since joining Vis, in many ways, but now his physical growth was finally hitting its peak. He'd started to take on that "life-hardened" look his father sported so well. It made him wonder a bit if it was just from life or was there more to it. Xiefall certainly had a bit more life experiences than his father ever had being in Vis.::

::Xie walked over to the box of things he had thrown earlier. Most were knickknacks of little true meaning, a few books about mobile suits, pads of paper from scratching ideas down, miscellany that could have been tossed and he truly wouldn't be missing much. There was his father's jacket, though. And the same rifle he'd gotten that day and had lasted him even 'til today. But something overcame him in an instant and he began rummaging through the box, looking and looking ... for the tiger he knew wasn't there. Emotion controlled him and rationale went out the window. Until every item was out of the box, he ripped through its contents, but as he had always really known, the tiger was nowhere to be found. He hadn't seen it since the day of the accident. It was most likely either destroyed by the blast - unlikely - or left to its fate by Xie when he finally got himself together.::

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

::Xiefall screamed at the top of his lungs. He had let himself get wrapped up in his past, something that had eluded him both on accident and with purpose. His past had shaped him into what he was today, but the past has a way of clouding your mind, and to Xiefall, that is unacceptable.::

He quickly threw the contents of the box back where it belonged, in the box and out of sight, but slung his jacket over his chair and his rifle over his shoulder and made his way out of the quarters. He slowly made his way to the firing range. Finally something to get his head straight and center himself. Maybe he'd be lucky and catch Akujin floating about. Or hell, maybe even Auray and Pavidus were done. Whatever the case, it was time to put this emotional nonsense behind and get back to his soldier ways.::

[Xiefall]

With every round Xiefall threw down range, he felt a little anxiety lift off his shoulders. There was nothing he could do but wait out Pavidus and Auray and hope for the best. Little he worried and stressed about would change things. At least he had his rifle. Round after round, target after target, the world seemed back to normal.

Xie let out a sigh as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He finally felt right. He packed his remaining ammo and slung his rifle over his shoulder, nodding to a few crewmen he passed on his way out. He walked casually back to his quarters and dropped his things off, making sure not to glance at the box of things or the jacket. Best not to interrupt the semi-pleasant mood the range had put him in.

"Well, since I can't interrupt those two, maybe it's time for a little exploring. Can't possibly get in more trouble than Auray's probably in."

With that, he made his way towards the docking bay of X-10. From there he'd be able to get a better look of things.