mr_fring: (regrets)
Gustavo Fring ([personal profile] mr_fring) wrote in [community profile] bigapplesauce2014-05-27 12:47 pm

Hidden Talents [open to multiple]

[[ooc: Heyyyy remember Gus. I haven't been neglecting him on PURPOSE, it's sort of a thing that happened. Here's what he's been up to.]]


Gus barely even realizes that more than a month has gone by. Strange to think of it. He's settled into his new life reasonably well - after all it's the sort of thing he's had to do a few times before - but he still feels somewhat trapped. Not just because he is actually trapped - it's been made clear to him that he can't leave the island, for whatever reason - but because his life now is so much more insular than it had been. He's all but avoided meeting people, perhaps finding his predicament too tenuous to bother with it. But it really has been over a month now, and he's grown into a routine. Working, meeting with Cecil to discuss broadcasts, occasional dinners. He rarely takes time for himself.

Today, though, restlessness drives him out. He doesn't seek company; he doesn't want to crowd Cecil. Things must be taken slowly. Cecil's still showing a strong attachment to his old life, and the arrival of Dana has not helped matters any. If Gus wants to get any closer to him - which he does, and not entirely for noble reasons - he's going to have to move with slow, perfect precision.

So instead he strolls about the city. It's easy enough to lose himself for periods of time, though it's not a great comfort. Everything is still relatively foreign, and he's never been particularly attracted to the Manhattan lifestyle. Before too long, wandering makes him feel as restless as when he'd been sitting in his apartment. He has to do something.

This is how, after coming up with no good alternatives, he finds himself seated on a bench in a reasonably well-trafficked part of the Central Park, balancing a large, freshly purchased sketchbook on his knee. He used to have a mildly artistic flair, and though he feels a bit foolish doing this in public, it feels good to practice that again with no pressure. There's also something oddly safe in it. Here, no one knows him; and it does have a certain benefit. It makes him seem trustworthy, for whatever reason. It's only after the first few tourists ask him if he's taking commissions that he realizes there's no reason to say no. People will sit with him while he works, and will make conversation. Talking openly, thinking he's just some random stranger. Nothing wrong with that. He goes so far as to invite questions, drawing up a little sign soliciting requests. Let's see where this gets him.


[[ooc: Gus will DRAW YOU SOMETHING and he'll also casually ask you questions about your secrets if he thinks you're interesting. Have at it.]]
bagropa: (and i place you under onus for it)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-28 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
Ugh, humans, so rude, you do not need to stare at Croach simply because he is different. Croach stands stalwart under the scrutiny, although his left antenna twitches. He tries to ascertain the dynamic of onus in regard to something undertaken for fun and whimsy and comes up short. Were Barlok the Wise present, he would undoubtedly chide Croach and remind him that he would be under onus to the human male for any effort put into any trade on Croach's behalf. But Barlok the Wise is not present (thankfully, as he would be displeased to find Croach imagining), and Croach does possess goods with which to barter, should the need arise.

He does not consider the stranger's question long; he has been considering a similar prospect since meeting the human designated Peeta. "Yes," he answers, sounding similarly unsure, "although I do not possess an image from which you might produce a likeness."
bagropa: (for onus related reasons only)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-28 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
"I... am not certain how," Croach admits, brow furrowed, partly because he is not sure how humans describe each other - with overuse of metaphor and strange comparisons, most likely. It is much easier within Croach's tribe, where one need only describe a name and designation. Perhaps that is a good place to start. "He is a marshal," Croach explains. "An agent of law enforcement. He is human." Humans, they all look the same, right? A pause. Croach frowns. "Is that enough? That is not enough."
bagropa: (why is it always)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-28 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
He is blending in so well with the humans, you do not even possess the knowledge. "Thank you," Croach says amiably, sounding somewhat surprised, sitting on the bench a respectable distance away from the stranger. This affords him slightly more time to consider how best to describe Sparks Nevada. "Shall I describe the skeletal structure of his face? With no common reference, it is difficult. He possesses... clothing. And... weapons. Dissimilar to my own." He also possesses a face resembling a butt. So attempt to sketch that, human stranger.
bagropa: (the tracker)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-28 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Croach observes the stranger - and thinks, for one short unit of time, that he is familiar, though that is highly improbable - as he attempts to ascertain the differences. Seriously, humans, how do you tell them apart. "His forehead is larger," Croach declares at length, "and more square." Also, a butt. "His mouth is thinner. And he is younger." He thinks. He is not the best at approximating human age. "Do you also sketch for fun and relaxation?"
bagropa: (red plains)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-28 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
That is not a satisfyingly specific enough answer for Croach, but perhaps the human's motivations are more personal. In which case Croach would still like to know them. "His eyes are not as rounded," he points out, frowning, as he considers next how to describe his relationship with Sparks Nevada. He is, it would seem, difficult to describe in many respects. "He is a companion, from whom I have recently been separated," he explains haltingly. "I owe him a great debt. It appears now that I will never be able to fully repay it."
bagropa: (hoversaddle)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-29 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
Croach finds it highly unlikely that the stranger has a companion to whom he is under onus and who is currently located hundreds of thousands of Earth miles and one thousand Earth years away, but his imprecise language could suggest any number of variations. "Ah, yes. He is... beige," Croach decides, which is a totally accurate color as far as humans go, probably. He is not sure he can distinguish any more than that. He scrutinizes the drawing thus far, attempting to identify the ways in which it most definitely does not resemble Sparks Nevada. "He possesses a hat." Croach gestures around his head to indicate the presence of a hat. You know, the only sort of hat that the humans on G'loot Praktaw wear. That hat. "You would perhaps designate it... Western." As in the Western Sector, obviously.
bagropa: (and i place you under onus for it)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-29 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
Croach looks slightly puzzled by the question. "I would prefer you refer to me by my designation, Croach the Tracker, or simply by my signifier, Croach. His eyebrows," he adds, that is the right word, is it not, "are not curved. How should I refer to you?" he asks, purposefully echoing the strange phrasing and wondering at the purpose behind it.
bagropa: (general help)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-29 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Thirty-three of - thirty-three days," Croach answers, frowning. "Is that significant?" he asks, attention taken from the drawing and now more on the human designated Gus. "Two have asked me that question previously." And both turned out to have come through the rift as well.
Edited 2014-05-29 03:09 (UTC)
bagropa: (the greatest quantity)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-29 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
He had not previously realized, but now that he knows to look for it, Croach does sense something of the rift on Gus. Is that what he found to be familiar? Perhaps. He will remember this for future encounters with strangers; it will be easier to confide in them when he knows that they too are not native to the city, planet, or dimension. It is easy for them to tell that he is not, after all.

"You were also brought through? I have met a statistically improbable amount of humans who have come through. Are there many of us?" Croach has a visible revelation. "Or a smaller amount who are being brought together?"
bagropa: (and i place you under onus for it)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-05-29 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
Well, Croach does not need evidence to confirm what he knows to be true. It would only further explain the frequency with which he has encountered others brought through the rift, if they are being brought together for a purpose. It inspires a strange emotion in him that he cannot yet identify.

If Croach were affiliated with any organization, even tangentially, it would be the United Solar System Alliance, but he does not think that is what Gus means, as it does not yet exist. After several small units of time attempting to discern Gus' meaning, Croach concedes, with one brow raised, "I do not understand the question."