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Author Topic: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]  (Read 659 times)

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Marakai2.0

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Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« on: November 29, 2017, 09:14:35 am »
What was said, was that he'd talk to her after drill. Never once did he say how.

And so, Garza did what he did best while he waited, pushing obscene amounts of iron skyward for a little over an hour. He only stopped when his com, on the floor beside the weight bench, began to ring it's alarm - an alarm he'd set for forty-five minutes before the time Garza supposed Tink should have finished drill. With a grunt, he heaved the bar up to replace it back on the rack, and sat up.

He had just enough time for a shower and a change of fresh clothes before he figured she'd be out, and he fully intended on meeting her as soon as Tink was done. It had seemed lately as if she had been avoiding him, and the few times he'd seen her in the halls she always appeared so...tired. Run down. And in the cafeteria, she would barely eat, always with her nose in her studies.

This was seriously unlike her, and he was concerned. Sure, he'd pushed her to study more...but this was simply too far and too much, and Garza was worried that she was going to run herself into the ground. The poor girl already looked like she was about to collapse most times as of late, and this was something the large man has decided must not happen. It wasn't something he necessarily wanted to confront her about, but he had a sort-of plan in mind to hopefully alleviate some of her problems.

The other problems might require more...direct tactics than what he had in mind.

After weights, Garza made his way to his room for a scalding shower, and once clean donned yet another set of the gray outfits the ATC had provided him. Immediately, he set out for the drill area with close to eight minutes to spare from his estimated time. He made himself content to simply lean against the wall, one booted foot propped up behind him, with his thick arms crossed over his chest.

Head down, he buried his gaze on the floor. All there was to do now was listen and wait. She couldn't avoid him this time.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2017, 09:15:27 am by Marakai2.0 »

Offline GoblinFae

Re: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2017, 10:13:38 pm »
Joelle felt like death had gone on vacation and forgot to put anyone in charge of collecting lost souls. Everything from her toes to the very tips of every strand of hair hurt from the stress she had been putting on herself both physically and mentally. She was certain her end was coming but she damn well was going to give it her best effort before they booted her from the program and sent her elsewhere.

Every waking moment had become devoted to studies outside of lessons and drills. Her prized gaming system had been packed up and stowed away under her bed, prepped and ready to be handed off to another Candidate for 'safe keeping.' Her hoard of junk-food had also finally been distributed among friends and random other young people under the pretense of potentially expiring. It was not like anyone actually checked the dates anyway. If she was going to be TRIM'd in the end then at least her things could go to people who would be made happy with them rather than wherever it was stuff like that was dumped.

The hard parts came in hiding her actions from Garza. His name brought a tired smile to her lips as she dragged herself through her drills. Every bit of her energy not being utilized on cramming as much information into her pitiful little brain was spent on concealing her fears and resignation over her upcoming test. They had only been together five, nearly six weeks but she knew enough to know he had a heart of gold. He was generous and giving, selfless and protective. Even with Heather, the purple-haired harpy from hell, he was firm yet gentle. Joelle hated herself for wanting to love and be loved by him when she knew her end was fast approaching.

He did so much for her and she had nothing to give in return. If she got much closer, she feared hurting and breaking him. However, she was selfish herself and could not bring herself to let him go either. For him, she threw herself into studying in earnest. Day and night were spent studying, often with him right there at her side. Meals that had once been full of laughter and mountains of food were now eaten in relative silence and with nearly three times less food than she had ever regularly eaten. She was distracted and tired. On the nights she spent studying in Garza's dorm room, it was far from uncommon for her to pass out mid-reading and then be awoken to Garza rushing to help her get back to her own room before curfew. Unbeknownst to him though was that she would then take her books back up and stay up through as much of the night as she could. Her com was set to give off alarms every forty-five minutes just in case she found herself starting to doze off for too long.

It was killing her inside and out and yet each morning she was throwing on that mask of studied but cheerful perfection. As the days drew closer, she only had less than a full week left now, she found herself drawing more and more inward. If people weren't as close then it would be easier for them to go on and forget her once she was gone. Precious Garza was kept at arm's length as she dodged his questions and interest at every turn, claiming a need to study more without distraction or some other Stage 2 obligation, anything to keep him from seeing how she was breaking, how her lively room had been made barren, how completely ready to quit now she was.

It was a curse when drills came to an end at last and she was dragging herself out of them. Her mind was buzzing with static as her thoughts struggled to burble forth into complete and comprehensible streams of consciousnesses. Garza had wanted to meet and she had done her best to noncommittally dodge. Now though she had to find another excuse to shake him. With a sigh, she lightly slapped her cheeks and then massaged them in circles to try and wake herself up more.

'Come on Tink, THINK! Applications of...pudding...FOCU S....Garza! You need to respond to him!...Message him...hellooooo hot stuff...SHIT!'

Her thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as she came around the corner and caught sight of the mammoth man. Spinning on her heel, she prayed he had not seen her and that she could take the backstairs instead to escape having to play the question avoidance game face-to-face. It did not help that her brain had taken a few extra precious seconds to admire him before registering who and what she was seeing.

Marakai2.0

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Re: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2017, 06:17:04 am »
Luckily, Garza didn't have long to wait before he was able to pick out Tink's buzzing, inconsistent thoughts from the mass of Stage 2 candidates exiting the drill grounds. He'd focused his attention, listening for her the entire time, waiting for her to exit.

What he heard unnerved him. Usually, her thoughts were at least coherent, and straight, easy to read and rather loud. Loud they were still, but the voice that filled his mind was almost incomprehensible, stuttering, and halting, one train of thought crashing into the next, each and every line making less sense than the last.

Hell, at first he thought he heard her reciting the applications of pudding...he could barely differentiate one thought from the next. And then, he heard his name, followed by a slightly lewd exclamation, and trailing behind that was, at last, realization.

Garza slid his red-eyed gaze up from the floor, his first sight being her feet and legs. His eyes continued upwards to meet with her face, catching that last instant of shock in her gaze before she spun on her heel and tried to get away from him.

Seeing her spin away and attempt to leave....it hurt. He had a strong suspicion of why she was avoiding him, having more than simply something to do with her overly tired appearance. That was going to stop, if he had anything to say about it. And so, he brushed aside the initial hurt and sadness, stepping determinedly forward - two long strides easily overtook her steps, and he seized her shoulder in a firm but gentle grip.

".....This has gone on far more than long enough. Tink, what is wrong with you? And what makes you think you can simply avoid me? ....and what makes you want to?"

His expression, at first a bit hard, gradually lessened to one tinged with sorrow, eyes softening. A frown crossed his lips as he peered down at her.

"....I won't lie. It hurts. And seeing you like this only makes it worse."

Offline GoblinFae

Re: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2017, 12:35:21 am »
She was brought to an abrupt halt and about-face with his gentle yet firm touch. His words washed over her, his deep bass soothing enough to ease nearly all the tension in her shoulders away immediately. It was unfair how quickly and firmly he had embedded into her heart and how much she was coming to depend upon him. What was she to do when this was over? Would the memories be enough to sustain her? Would she even still have those? Best not to think about that. He'd hear. He'd know and that was the exact opposite of what she wanted for Garza. He couldn't know these dark, cloying fears of hers that made each breath burn like fire.

"I'm not!" she protested quickly before wincing. "That was a lie," she admitted aloud. "I'm fine-I'll be fine," she tried again. Sighing heavily, Joelle leaned forward enough to press her head against his chest. "Can we not do this right here like this?" She could not look at him as she projected the question at him. All Tink wanted was to curl up against him and sleep until the end of the time. But, there was just too much that needed doing. She would not fail him even if it killed her. She would do her best to succeed, even if she did not agree with his faith in her.

"For what it's worth, I'm not trying to hurt you, Garza. Just been really busy. There's so much I have to know and even more I've barely scratched the surface on. I don't want to be a distraction for either of us." Gently Joelle reached out to slip her tiny hand within his massive one. Her thumb ran over the back of his hand in a soothing gesture though she still did not look him directly in the eyes, ever fearful of him finding out her truth.

Marakai2.0

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Re: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2017, 08:37:52 am »
There was something there, a nagging thought lingering in her head just before she spoke, but not something that was easy to decipher amongst the tired, scattered other thoughts he was picking up from her. Little did he know, though, that his thoughts aligned very closely with hers - but the decision he made following them was far different.

Garza intended fully to make sure those fears they unwittingly shared would never come to pass. She'd more than simply grown on him, and the attachment he felt had grown more akin to the feeling that this was supposed to simply be. This feeling, this growing relationship he had with Tink, was the sort of normal that he had missed out on during the dark, early chapters of his life since he'd awakened in that hospital several years ago.

And he wouldn't give it up, not without one hell of a fight.

At first, he simply let her speak and project, the hand he'd placed on her shoulder moving to the back of her neck to hold her against him, fingers curling through her damp hair. And when she placed her small hand within his larger one, Garza gripped the fingers in his grasp firmly, allowing her thumb freedom while it played over the back of his hand.

Slowly, he lowered his head, leaning down just slightly for more contact and pressing his cheek onto the top of her head. He could smell her, her naturally clean, sweet scent fully unobstructed by the soap she'd bathed with. And for a moment, he simply remained that way, holding her, comfortable with feeling of this embrace.

Eventually, he did have to answer her, having heard the tiredness even in her thoughts.

No, we don't have to do this here, but I would like it talk to you about it later, came his mental voice, deep and pure, yet soft unlike his actual voice.

Let's go get your study material, and head to my room....but before we do, know this. You...are not a distraction of and in yourself. But we can talk more about that later, if you wish.

Offline GoblinFae

Re: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2017, 01:32:34 pm »
His embrace made her feel safe, made her feel like nothing in all the universe could get to her. Joelle wanted nothing more than to hang onto that feeling, to live forever in that moment. Reality crashed hard against her. Study materials, right. She swallowed thickly as those darker thoughts tried to dance up into the light again but were squashed back behind closed doors.

"Thank you," she breathed with a tired yet genuine smile. She gave his hand a tight squeeze, refusing to let go as she pulled him towards her room. For a moment, Joelle considered sending him on ahead of her but then the selfishness roared to the forefront of her mind, demanding that she spend every moment she could with him. Time was fleeting and she was blessed to have even this.

"I am a distraction though. Why else would you be out here waiting for me if I'm not on your mind so strongly? Don't you have things you should be doing instead, Candidate Oskai?" She smirked as she swung their arms gently while they walked. "Mmm I should change into comfy clothes before we head up. Do you mind waiting outside my room while I do?" she asked, her mind bouncing to the next thing as they came up on her door.

Marakai2.0

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Re: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« Reply #6 on: December 06, 2017, 08:29:32 am »
Garza followed behind her easily, led as he was by their interlocked, tightly gripped hands. He had to marvel at her, watching as she walked, witness to the energy she seemed filled with despite her exhaustion. In her voice, he could hear it - she was beyond drained, yet still she pushed doggedly forward.

Garza was impressed by her strength, her deternination, but he couldn't help but wonder at the consequences if that strength were to run out.

You are not the distraction, he sent back, frowning slightly as he walked behind her. What you're doing to yourself, that is the distraction. You're so tired, all the time, eating less, and even when you do eat, your nose is buried in a book. I'm....worried about you, Tink. You need to pace yourself, before you run yourself dry. His mental voice was solemn, yet still full of affection. If she were to have turned around in that moment, she'd have seen the sadness, the fear, reflected in those crimson eyes of his.

When they stopped in front of her room, though, he had a smile on his face again. He would see to it she would rest, somehow. So there was little point in worrying.

"Of course, I don't mind waiting at all. I'll just....be right here, I guess." He smiled slightly, though had to wonder - why was it she wasn't allowing him into her room? He'd been in there multiple times before, when they had first started their study sessions, but it seemed as though she were purposely keeping him out.

One thing at a time, though, one plan must be enacted before the next.

Offline GoblinFae

Re: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2017, 10:30:11 pm »
She smiled warmly to him, the light reaching her eyes even as she committed his face to memory one more time. Only once she was sure she knew every ridge and and horn did she slip tightly through the cracked door and shut it firmly behind her. Joelle did not need him catching even a glimpse of the drastically changed room. That would only result in more questions followed by answers she knew to be true but neither of them wanted to hear.

Joelle mulled over his earlier thoughts even if she did not respond to them. He was wrong because she certainly was the distraction. Before they had met that day in the gym when her thoughts had run wild without her, he had not even known she had existed. She was nobody. Now she was his somebody and that made her crush on him all the more dangerous. How could she be so selfish as to demand he feel for her as well when she herself all but knew that she was destined to fade from their memories, to disappear without a word more never to be heard from again?

Because she was a glutton for punishment. She would work herself to death if it meant just a few more moments to spend with the people she was coming to make friends with. Garza was therefore wrong. The work was not the distraction, it was the cure. If she just studied a bit harder, if she just worked a bit longer then maybe just maybe she could scrape by enough to make it to the next stage.

With her wet hair thrown up into a messy ponytail and her softest sweatpants and black Hellion t-shirt in place, Joelle had no choice but to exchange her bag for her study materials and drag herself back out to fake at fine for the one man she was helplessly coming to fall in love with. She offered him a tired yet bright smile as she bounced out of her room again and slipped her hand back into his, marveling as always in how perfectly they fit together like strange puzzle pieces.

"Ready for another study storm?"

Marakai2.0

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Re: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2017, 03:03:25 pm »
He caught her smile, returning it with the same warmth she held within hers. For those few precious seconds, he beheld the light on her eyes, gazing into and around them - for a moment, he could see her as he did when they had first gotten together, full of life and energy. The little woman he'd fallen in love-

Did he love her? As she turned and slipped into her room, and his gaze met her door after the visage of loveliness she presented was gone, he ruminated on this for a moment. There was definitely something, an unexplainable rightness, a desire to make her his. There was attraction, which at first, to him, was odd - he'd never been attracted to anyone before, and then he'd finally noticed her. Since then, it seemed as if she could pull at his heart with her simple existence.

He didn't understand it...but he knew that, for whatever reason, it was right. That was love, wasn't it? If it was, then he knew that he did, indeed, love her.

And that brought him guilt. Guilt that he was afraid to tell her his feelings, for fear that they weren't reciprocated. Guilt also that he was planning on doing something that was both against her will as well as for her own good. She needed rest, and he wanted to make sure she had it, even if she didn't want it.

Garza's eyes had at some point wandered down to the floor during his thoughts, and as the door opened once again, they rose with an accompanied smile as she exited again. That same smile widened three-fold as her hand slipped into his, the tips of his slightly pointed teeth just visible. He gave her hand a brief and affectionate squeeze, before he began to lead her towards the stairs. "Of course. You've got to have everything you need for your exam, right?"

Including a good night's rest..... he thought, careful to keep the thought locked within his own head.

Offline GoblinFae

Re: Run Into the Ground [Goblin!]
« Reply #9 on: December 24, 2017, 10:05:44 pm »
"Yep!" she beamed up at him, his hand-squeeze making her heart beat a little faster and her shoulders feel a little lighter suddenly. Joelle squeezed back as she leaned the rest of her upper body heavily against his, knowing that he could take the weight as all she wanted was just to be close to him. "You promise this isn't too much? I can always study on my own if it is or you have other stuff you want to do. Really I wouldn't be upset..." she trailed off as she glanced up at his strong jaw, worried still that she was a distraction that would get them both into serious trouble as that dreaded deadline drew ever and ever closer to hang over her like the executioner's axe.

 

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