Scene #5711: Old men sharing a chat

Owner	Pose
Karian Icefang	A few days after coming back from the warp-drenched world, Karian had made his way to see his oldest friend and his crew. "Mort....You around, old man?" He calls out, though he sounds tired and worn out. With him once again was Freyja, though she was filling out and becoming quite bulky. At the moment she was sitting next to Karian, contently eating a giant salmon.
Mortimer Balman	The near-elephant sized Ulbrecht would be seen first, poking his head up over Mortimer's house and making a colossal 'growf' sound down at Karian. The colossal beast came trotting around with an entire Atlantic bluefin marlin in its mouth, looking at Freyja for a moment.. Then laying down to munch on his own fish. Tail immediately begins to thump against the ground, caushing the local area to shake a bit. Mortimer would come out shortly afterwards, smoking that gnarled old pipe of his. "Mmm. Karian lad, how are ya? Come, come, sit here under the awning with me, it's gonna start stormin' soon. Weather ponies'll be along any minute now." He'd settle into a rocking chair on the porch, kicking his feet up on the picket bannister. He looks.. Older, than normal. Because he looks tired, probably still recovering from that last little adventure. Sure enough, pastel colored pegasi can be seen up in the skies, dragging behind them ominous dark clouds..
Karian Icefang	Ulbrecht would get some nice headpats as he trots over, while Freyja looks over curiously at the thunderwolf, but settles in to eat next to her new friend. Karian, meanwhile, looks up and spots the ponies dragging the clouds. "If I wasn't already calm with turning into a pony..." He says, stepping under the awning and leaning back in the nearest chair. "Looking a bit worse for wear, Mort. A bit longer and you'll look like me."
Mortimer Balman	"Heh." A grin cracked over the old badger's face. He was still missing a few teeth from where he'd blocked a powered gauntlet with his face. "Adaptation is a critical skill for anyone who calls themselves 'marines', lad. Always remember that." He stretched out a bit, which came with enough clicks and cracks to constitute a xylophone. "Mmph. I'm gettin' old.. Happens to us mere mortals, if we live long enough. I'll look worse than you in a decade or so, if I don't get my fool arse killed."
Karian Icefang	"Oh, you will. Your too stubborn to not." Karian says, sighing softly. He looks over, taking a drag from a pipe he brought himself. "Is nettle around? I need to ask a favor of her." He says, though his voice hinted it wasn't exactly something he wanted to do.
Mortimer Balman	"Probably.. Ah well. You gotta keep the promises you make, after all, right?" Another stretch. More popping. "Aye, she's around." He'd give a shrill whistle as the rain began to fall. Reder hopped out of the door. "<Sup, Sarge?>" "Where's Nettle?" "<I think she's haunting naptime at the preschool, after the last time Ponyville got attacked by that Nightmare Moon knockoff some of the kids started having brutal nightmares.>" "Ah. Well she ought to be back in a half hour or so then.." A yawn, and Reder started hopping off into the rain. "<I got a date with Opal, see you guys later.>" "Take care Reder, remember to watch out for the claws." The tortle scoffed, "<Please, you're not /half/ as smooth as I am.>" Mort would look to the side as Switchbait came out, carrying a silver tray with his tiny hands. "<Master Balman, tea is ready sir. Ah, Jarl Icefang, would you care for tea?>" "Thank you, Switch."
Karian Icefang	Karian nods. "Aye, thank you Switch." Freyja looks up and charges at Reder. Once in range she tries to tackle him for hugs. "Opal? Didn't know Reder had a girlfriend." He says, chuckling a bit. But then he sighs again. "I need nettle to slip into my dreams...the mere fact I'm dreaming is concerning..."
Mortimer Balman	Mort shook his head as Switch poured him some tea, and then some for Karian as well. "Oh that's not his girlfriend, Reder just likes to flirt with Rarity's cat. He's always had a thing for mammalian felines.. His first mate was a Skitty, you know. Back when we were young, and still fresh to the Corps.." Reder is rather unceremoniously tackled by a bear big enough to swallow him whole, or more accurately like a junior mint. Frenzied flailing comes next. "<GRAGH LET GO OF ME YOU OVERSIZED THROW RUG! LEMME GO! GEDDOFF! YOU DROP ME!>" Mortimer makes no move to help. Neither does Ulbrecht. Nor does Switchbait. "Dreaming? Hmm.. Alright, we can have Nettle look into that, no problem. No doubt the residues of being trapped on a daemon world.. I am surprised you haven't conferred with the other Wolf Priests first. This sort of thing should be right up their alley, I would think?"
Karian Icefang	"I have....they're.....avoiding me." KArian says after a long pause. He looks over, whistling for Freyja to let go. She gives a whine, but sure enough does as told. Instead she goes over to try to bother Ulbrecht into playing.
Mortimer Balman	A frown comes onto Mortimer's face. "Hrrmph... Well, that won't stand. I'll have to give those boys at the Fang a stern talking to when I can get out that way.." Reder gets up and dusts himself off, and then proceeds to hop away. Ulbrecht is much more inclined to play, and immediately tackles the bear. "You feelin' alright aside from that? How're your wounds healin' up? ...Did those lads from the other Chapters all get home safe? I was pretty worried about that Angel-psyker boy. He looked pretty awful off."
Karian Icefang	KArian nods. "Aye. Ezekiel got a few looks from my brothers, but he's back with his chapter. As is the Salamander." He says, looking over at the playing pets. "I've...been better. I've felt myself more iritable lately...starting to hear whispers too. I think Khorne's trying to sink his claws into me."
Mortimer Balman	"Well duh, of course you are. The Dark Gods are always looking for ways to get their grip on loyal souls.. I think perhaps, part of the problem may be outlook." Mortimer paused to sip at his tea. "I have read much Imperium literature. A common 'thought for the day' I have seen amongst your peasants, is the notion that an open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded. Now.. In the Imperium, that is seen as an invitation to ruin, yes?"
Karian Icefang	Karian smirks softly. "True enough. Though here in the multiverse, that's not so easy." He explains. But he shrugs and leans back. "It's allright though...I've got you and the ponies here to keep me sane." He says, watching the Bear and Wolf play happily.
Mortimer Balman	"In my world, we would not see this hypothetical fortress of the mind as some territory to be immediately claimed by an enemy because of abandonment. ...We would see it as a baited trap, instead." Mort sipped at his tea some more, reaching out for a coffee cake from the tray. "Just because you cannot see the forts defenses, no matter how open it may appear, does not mean that it has no guardians.."
Karian Icefang	Karian nods. "Aye." He say simply. He leans over and carefully punches Mort in the shoulder. He doesn't say anything, as he felt that at this time the pair had known each other long enough to let actions express more then words.
Mortimer Balman	"Ow!" A returned punch from the old badger. "Yer too damned strong, y'know that?" The rain picks up, as do the winds. Not that this will bother the bear or the wolf that much if indeed at all. "I don't know if Nettle will eat dreams like that.. But if she won't, she will most definitely help you through them."
Karian Icefang	KArian nods at that. "Well, hopefully she can. I've heard of her touch, and how helpful it is." He says. He looks off into the rain, pondering softly.
Mortimer Balman	"It's not.. 'Help'. Not like, proper /professional/ help. I've got a fellow around here you can talk to, and I expect you to do so. Equestria has remarkably high quality psychotherapy despite how far behind it is in the sciences compared to many other worlds. But Nettle's assistance is.. A crutch. A pill. Something to take to numb the pain for a while. It can be.." Mortimer chews on his cake for a few moments. "Addictive.. But also comes with a hollowness. When Nettle eats dreams, all that's left is Void until you wake up."
Karian Icefang	"Space MArines don't dream, normally. We enter half sleep. Our bodies rest but our minds are alert, prepared for the call to war." Karian says, but he nods. "But I will seek out the therapists here...provided I don't send them running to therapists.
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer snorts. "That would be why I'm sending you to /my/ therapist, lad. If he can handle me, he can handle you. Besides.. The Space Wolves are well liked around here in Equestria." Refill the tea. Repack the pipe, adjust ears for a brief high gust of wind. Mortimer starts smoking again. "The people of Equestria have not forgotten that when Discord showed up, it was Wolves who came. It was Wolves who stared into the mouth of absurd madness and certain death, for a people that they did not know. For a people that their Imperium would, ostensibly, otherwise condemn to extermination. Things like that, have a way of ingratiating people, and making them more receptive to being welcoming and generous."
Karian Icefang	KArian smiles as he hears that. "Thank you for that, mort. It's because of you that all happened. Beyond that, I swore to my brothers that you would be entered into our halls of glory. You've long deserved it. Now...we really need to get you fitted for a dreadnought frame..." He says with a wolfish grin.
Mortimer Balman	Another snort. "Pfeh.. Karian, you know as well as I do, that'll never fly. Even if my goals are realized and I am recognized as an Imperial Saint, interrence in one of your mobile Cofagrigus machines would never work. Those aren't /built/ for my physiology.. ..And even if they were, they're meant to hold Space Marines. Not mortals."
Karian Icefang	"Your no mortal. Your as much one as I am a kitten." KArian says with a smirk. He leans back and closes his eyes softly, letting the sound of rain soothe him. "Y'know...back home we never get the chance to actually enjoy the weather...I think that's what I'm looking forward to the most when I come here...the chance to relax."
Mortimer Balman	"Hate to break it to you lad, but I'm aging. My aging stopped at the behest of my Gods.. But then Annu came, and went. The Contract has been completed. "As thou serve Our interests- so shalt thou Live free of the Ruin of Ages, till thou art slain." I will age.. And it will, in time, claim me. Presuming I don't meet my end in battle, or to disease, or something else." Mortimer shrugged. "And that's okay.. ...What good would I be in a Dreadnought anyway, the Multiverse never again to see my majestic countenance and rugged physique?" He flexed all of his muscles and jutted his chin out.
Karian Icefang	KArian laughs at that and nods. "Aye, and such a shame too." He says with a wide grin. But he leans back and once more listens to the rain, starting to slip into sleep.