Scene #8480: What is a home?

Owner	Pose
Ishirou	What is a home? It's a question that Ishirou has asked himself, subconsciously or not, for a long time. For too long his mind was wrapped up in the small possibility that he could one day return to Indus... but... That was never in the cards, he held out false hope for too long. He turned his sorrow into a weaponized method of attack on someone who probably didn't deserve everything he threw at her... and then lead into one of the worst breakdowns he's ever had. But... he remembered something that Candy had said. It was time for him to have something that he always held away from himself. It wasn't about 'deserving it' or 'fighting for it' anymore. If he would be denied a home... then instead he would build one with the man he loved. He would do this, and slowly put together his life until he could look himself in the mirror again. Ishirou is waiting outside of Candy's garden, the first step would be to find some land that he could build on. From there... well he's never made a home so he'd need some help from someone who has before.
Candy	Candy steps out of his house and shuts the door, waving and smiling faintly at Ishirou. He's wearing his usual, just a white work shirt, boot cut pants held up by suspenders and his humble leather working boots. Just as he'd said to Petra, he'd replaced the door of his truck. The farmer marches through rows of corn and tomatoes, beckoning to Ishirou to hop into the truck. The archaic engine growls to life, and he pulls out onto the dirt road. "So, I think I know what'd be good for you," he says. "First," as he turns the large steering wheel effortfully (it's pre-power steering here, after all), "Take your ass to Phony so she can undo all that," he says, gesturing up and down with an index at his General State. "But, second," he says, less stern, adjusting the mirror as they hit the road proper, alpine trees and grassy country roads steadily rolling past, "I think maybe it'd be better if we got you a place in Cuernavaca." It's the biggest city for several miles--previously, the state capital, when this place was just a state of Mexico. "Something closer to other people than out in the country. Easier to find company that way. What do you think?"
Ishirou	Ishirou looks up and nods, but before he jumps in, he does wrap his arms around Candy's waist and hugs them. He puts his head on his chest, before breaking and sitting in the truck. The first thing causes him to pause. He... doesn't disagree. He closes his eyes and sits there for a moment. "...I don't know if I can. It... Lilian was right on that... it'd feel as if I was just running back... as if it was fake to just ask again. I..." "Phony deserves better than for me to use her like that. I..." he says frowning. "I do also want to go back... I... this was a mistake and I wish I had figured it out faster. I..." he lowers his head some more. "I am also afraid of what will happen if she sees that... ugly thought inside me. The one I spit out at Petra... I.." "No... you're right. I need to. The worst she can do is say no. I can't shy away from this. She also might be the best person to help me... and if I go to her worried about her she's going to be hurt by that.." He rubs his face, "Ugh... this stuff is hard. But... I'd rather be frustrated like this than what I had been doing." To the other, he tilts his head. "In the capital? Huh... well it's... not untrue that I actually prefer people and had lived in cities my whole life..." he considers. It's... good on its surface. He could get into the community there, help out. It'd be nice, actually. "...So what about the future? I thought eventually you'd want to move in together, but..." he looks back towards the farm. "I wouldn't want to ask you to leave this community.."
Candy	"Yeah, I know I'm right. For one, she's seen worse than an 'ugly thought'," says Candy flatly to Ishirou. "She's psychic, and she spends time with us dipshits. Everybody has 'ugly thoughts.' This morning, I had one about Petra. That I was jealous over how she 'gets to be' close with Lilian, and how I gotta work hard, for a long time, just to get back to where I was. But you know what?" He asks, as the buildings in the small town of Amacuzac draw closer. "It's my brain that's thinking that. Not nobody else's. Didn't come from no ghost, neither. Which means I also get to put that thought up against the wall and shoot it." He takes a hand off the wheel to pantomime a pistol firing. "The way you been talking lately, seems like maybe you finally figured out you could do that shit, too." The truck slows, slightly, and Candy shifts down a gear, to allow a girl roughly his age to pull out on a motorcycle. She waves, evidently familiar with him, and he nods back. "Besides," he says. "What she gave you, you didn't tell me that was your... 'truest wish' or 'truest self' or whatever. Just that she gave it to you. If I'd'a known that, I woulda told you to fuck off back to her in the first place, ah?" He pushes a breath between his lips. The truck's suspension bounces as it crosses over a wooden suspension bridge into town proper, leaving the girl in front of them behind as she turns to follow a road running parallel to the river for which the town is named. Ishirou brings up the future, and Candy sighs. "To be honest, I think I need to get out of this life. Living in that house, even with everything I done, it's not doing me no good." The bridge is crossed, and the town gradually grows smaller in the rear view mirror. Candy frowns. "I spackled over the bullet holes. And I don't just mean in the house. I mean... up in my head, too. It didn't help. And the way I approach all this stuff, 'helping people' tends to take a back seat to 'knocking somebody down a peg' whenever I get pissed off." He reaches over and turns the radio on, letting acoustic folk music fill the cabin at a low enough volume not to discourage talking, as a wooden city limit sign approaches. "When I go through this town, or talk to people, it's like in a few years, the war won't have even happened. I'm not stupid enough to think that rat in Mexico City won't try more bullshit when he thinks he can get away with it. But it looks like there's a future for Morelos. And maybe that's how they're feeling in the North, too." He shrugs his shoulders, as they embark upon a country alpine road with only power lines, greenery, the open sky and the distant outline of mountains over the horizon as their companions. "But... to me, it feels like I'm still in it. And that's bad, Ishirou. It's not good for people that wanna help to feel that way. So, 'the future' is me helping with what I promised, finding a new place to stay, maybe even with you--and getting out of this business. Give my old place to the Watch, or maybe even just to Lilian and Tamamo, so they got a place they can lay low if they ever need it. But I think that's what I need. For 'the future.' For me to feel like there's one for me."
Ishirou	Ishirou can't help but chuckle at the confidence in Candy's voice. The 'I know I'm right' is both reassuring, but also a little funny. "You're right, she does... and we are dipshits," he admits and sits, and listens. Closing his eyes he nods the idea of taking thoughts and discarding them. "Yeah... I'm trying to. It's also trying to come to terms with that I'm thinking about them and why, then 'shooting' them. Maybe that's the problem, giving too much space to things that shouldn't." Ishirou enjoys the music, looking out the window as the town, the people, and the scenery pass them by. "...I'm sorry about that. I... thought maybe that changed or maybe I wasn't thinking right when I first asked for it... that maybe I didn't deserve it after all. One girl's mean words shook me so hard, but..." "I think deep down I convinced myself I didn't deserve it. The people in Indus are suffering and I should suffer with them..." he says, and lets out a sigh. "I thought I could be their savior, but that was a lie too. I let myself get manipulated, I deluded myself... and I hurt a lot of people over it." "I got a lot of coal to shovel... and who knows if I can ever do it... but I rather be going the right way instead of what was going on." Ishirou listens to Candy. Talk about how the war is becoming a memory to those who live here... but not quite for him. He looks out, watching the countryside roll by. "I hope it's with me... but we all have to find our happiness. Though if you do give it to Lilian and Tamamo, I think it'd be a nice gesture." "I think I understand what you're feeling though. I don't know when Indus stopped being a home for me... but I think it was well before Eggman. All I can think about when I think of it is what happened to me... the horror I went through... the pain that was inflicted. Now that a good chunk of the people there hate me for what I've done..." "I thought maybe it was running away, you know? But... it's not. I found what I like out here..." he says, placing a hand on Candy's hand. "So I'm going to make my new place a home... and maybe even one you will like to rest in when the time comes." "I hope you can find some peace after all this... having to live like that isn't good," he says, looking forward to the road now. "If there is anything I can do to help you, please ask. I'll drop everything to help out."
Candy	"Yeah. I will," says Candy. After a pause, "Ask, I mean." The farmer's hand is a little hard to pin down, given that the steering wheels on automobiles in his world are still in the 'ungainly large' phase of their design. Thankfully this country road doesn't have a lot of traffic--Amacuzac isn't exactly a hotbed of activity--and once he spots what Ishirou is trying to do, Candy takes his hand and gives it a squeeze. It's about an hour and a half to Cuernavaca, at the speed Candy's truck can manage. At one point, dirt road gives way to paved road, a two-lane highway (his world is probably still a decade or so from expressways). The farmer is quiet for most of the way there, until the hilly city approaches on the horizon. "To be honest with you," he says, "What I need is to figure my shit out. I did have it figured out. And it turns out the way I was, that's great for fighting wars, but not so great when there isn't one. Going around everywhere, looking for reasons to be angry, looking for fights to pick--you don't get old, doing that. And you don't keep a lot of friends." Candy sighs, as the truck passes under an archway serving both as an entrance and as a walkway for foot traffic making their way around the outer edges of the city. It's built on a gradual upwards slope, and it's packed--especially compared to Amacuzac. Buildings in the old Spanish colonial style pass by at a crawl, as the truck slowly trundles over cobblestone streets. There's some sort of festival in town, and no real way to go any faster than the present glacial pace, as of yet. Passing beneath colorful streamers and through throngs of people dancing, socializing and perusing street stalls, he continues. "If there's something you can do," repeats Candy, "I'll ask. But I think this has to come from me. Or at least, me and a shrink."
Ishirou	Ishirou nods, 'figuring his shit out' has been a theme for the both of them for a while now. "I know you can do it, Candy. We both can," he says, with a smile. The first step was unceasing kindness... and that can't exclude himself or his own goals. Double so for others, but right now... just being there is what he can do. Looking out the windows he stares. There is a lot going on today it seems. A festival? He wonders what kind of festival it is. Something they might get to enjoy later. Right now... "So you have a place in mind to show me, or are we just going to take a dive through... well a very packed and crowded place," he says, with a smile. "Either way, it's nice to spend some time with you..." he says, with a smile. "...And I understand. Angela said something to me about... that. People don't want others to solve their problems for them, but to be there for them." "I think... it's good advice."
Candy	"I got a place in mind, yeah," says Candy. "Thank you, by the way, ah?" He smiles. Eventually the throng of people clears, and the truck can pick up a little more speed--although there are still moments where Candy has to pull to the side to let someone pass, or stop altogether so someone can cross the street. Cuernavaca is older than automobiles by a fairly wide margin, after all. Eventually, he pulls over and stops near the sidewalk, dropping the red pickup into park and killing the ignition. He gets out, stretches his legs, and then shuts the driver side door, lifting his arms above his head in another stretch. The destination is the Mesa Verde Plaa. (The Z appears to have fallen off or otherwise gone missing, absent from the signage atop the flat brick tenement house.) There are spots on the moulding of the three-story affair where the sunlight catches what looks like little metallic flecks. "These used to be 'luxury' apartments," says Candy. "In other words, one or two people living in a space big enough for five. A yankee friend of mine from the war came, after we took the city. Him and some other friends of mine did some renovating." Candy blinks. "You met him, I think. Cranky old fart that gave Petra a lift, when we had that fight." "I thought I heard a fuckin' chicken thief's truck," calls an old man from the third story, peering out the window with his hands resting on the sill. The summer wind blows his wispy white hair every which way, and despite the brusque form of address, he seems pleased to see Candy. His blue eyes land on Ishirou, and he takes one look at his outfit. "Trouble at the buggerin' factory, was it?" he asks. "Yeah," says Candy, calling back up, middle finger extented. "They had to call your father to fill in." This draws a raspy cackle from Sean. "C'mon," says Candy. "I'll introduce you."
Ishirou	"You're welcome! Even if I can't do anything, I will be there for you..." Ishirou says with a smile. "...Honestly, it's that I need to get used to. Not being able to fix every problem, and instead just... be supportive, you know?" Stepping out, Ishirou does at least stretch, though a few extra bits do stretch that he's not used to. He hears the run down, and nods, "So renovated into being able to house more people? Mmm," he says looking at the place. Already his eyes are doing a scan, more looking at the outer parts and not into any rooms. "Well I am sure the Plaaaaaaa is nice," he says, playfully. "Oh... right that guy. It'll be good to know him more officially..." he says, and spends time either blinking or chuckling at the exchange, moving with Candy to meet the man. "Ishirou, nice to meet you," he greets Sean, offering a hand and giving a good shake. "I'm... looking for a home to call my own."
Candy	This would have been the more affluent part of town, to be sure. The luxury-flat-turned tenement block is among the newer buildings in town, not constructed in the old Spanish colonial plaster style, but in a more 20th century brick, square no-frills modernist way. No-frills, that is, except for the places where there was gold leaf affixed to the windowsills and moulding, anyway. Once they're inside, and up to the third story Sean gives Ishirou a firm handshake and a rundown of the place. "Well, you could do a lot worse than Cuernavaca," Sean says, this time in English. Candy makes fun of the way he pronounces it, and Sean gives him a middle finger. "Gate's five minutes from town," Sean continues, "And they got all the things a fella your age would like, walking distance from Mesa Verde here." The old man thumbs his denim overalls, and motions for Candy and Ishirou to come inside his particular apartment. "People are friendly--know all my neighbors by name, except for that silly cunt with the accordion." Candy shrugs. He doesn't know who Sean means. Sean's apartment is about the size of Go's, and he has the space to himself. It's enough for one person to live comfortably. His furniture is, unlike Candy's, a mishmash of new and old. A bolt action rifle with an archaic scope rests on a rack near the window. He shuffles into a little open-space kitchen. "You boys wants some coffee?" he asks.
Ishirou	Ishirou shakes his head at the traces of gold leaf. Of course, there was gold leaf. It's /always/ gold leaf. It's like the pinnacle of modern decoration is /a goddamn gold leaf/. Needless to say, Ishirou is glad it's gone. He'll also check for power and other things for his more high-tech desire... if not he can always offer to work that in. "Five minutes is pretty good... though there might be times I need go to in a hurry... it won't be a problem if I..." he sort of makes a flying motion. "Though it's nice to know people are friendly to each other.." except the accordion guy. Nobody knows them, apparently... "Oh yes, I'll take a coffee. Thank you!" he says, brightly. Ishirou does take his time to look around. The size is right, and he prefers to have his own space anyway. Even if Candy moves here it's not like they'll need much more room... or they could find a bigger place. Ishirou is drawn to both the old and new stuff equally. While he likes fiddling with technology, he does appreciate things that came before and older styles of things. It's good to know and understand these trends.
Candy	The building is powered--Sean himself has a bulky refrigerator that, unlike Candy's, seems able to cool itself. Phone lines have also been run to the tenement. There is some kind of central heating, but it seems magical rather than mundane. A golem in the basement, four stories down. It's roughly analogous to an assembler arm at a factory in terms of complexity, and it's set up to power on or off depending on input from an enchanted weathervane up on the roof. The golem can load a boiler with coal (and monitor it accordingly) for cold weather, or generate its own ice to supply to trays near large fans spaced throughout the room, positioned next to ventillation shafts. "Sure, Sean. Thanks, my friend." Sean grunts. He then brings three cups (one for himself) into his little living room, taking a seat with a grunt in the middle of a green loveseat that looks like it survived the revolution on the front lines. Candy takes a seat in a mismatched burgundy leather high-backed chair, leaving a rocker for Ishirou. "Just had a few rooms open up," says the old man. "Carlita, down on the first floor, she can get you a key." His blue eyes study Ishirou, and he adds, as if clarifying for an offworlder, "No landlord to pay, or anything, but ya gotta leave your name with her so she can get in contact with you in case you get to leavin' and find you forgot something. Oh--and so she can holler at you if you leave it a mess. You got a job?" "He's a Paladin," says Candy. Sean grunts. "Worse ways to make a living, I suppose. Well, you'll not want for money, then--not that the necessities are all that expensive. Amazing, what a few bullets for the locusts'll do, huh?" Candy laughs, and lifts his coffee mug in agreement.
Ishirou	Ishirou sits down, getting a feel for how the place works, and is compatible enough for his own things. The fact that there is magic already here makes things easy on him. If he needs anything else, there are tech solutions he can put up, or set up an office somewhere. Ishirou sips on his coffee listening to Sean explain how things work, and then lights up when he realizes there are no landlords. "Ahh. Okay, not something that happens outside of Indus, but I've been reading up on how other worlds work without the specter of capitalism." He does laugh about the bullets for the locust part, because... well... "Carlita down on the first floor... oh and don't worry I'm not very messy. If anything I think my neat freak nature annoys my current roommate. Anything else I should be aware of?"
Candy	Sean nods. "No magic when it's raining. Buggers the golem and sets the whole place smelling of burnt hair. Oh--" he nods towards the door. Or, rather, towards the door across from his, on the other end of the hall. "Don't be taking that one, if you're a light sleeper." The aforementioned 'accordion cunt' is probably in one of the ones nearby. Sean's face tells Ishirou everything he needs to know about that guy. "Or, if you do, invest in some earplugs." Candy finishes his coffee. "What do you think?" he asks. "If you like it, I can get some friends to help move some stuff from the place you're at now. And when they're done, we can all hit that bar we passed on the way here."
Ishirou	Ishirou thinks for a moment. No magic when it's raining... and it bothers the golem? Well, that's... probably not going to be a problem, it's not like he's going to be doing magical stuff here all /that/ often. He looks out the door and shakes his head. "Yeah... definitely not near that one..." he says with a frown. He smiles back at Candy, "I think it's good! Assuming I don't get put next to Arcordian man.." he says and nods. "Sounds like a plan!" he says beaming. "I think I'm going to be happy here!"