Author Topic: Left to One's Own Devices... (Rhi-Rhi!!!!!) (Read 3197 times)

Nix · « **on:** July 29, 2012, 10:53:03 pm »

He had successfully made his way out of the Citadel but wasn't sure where to go to buy plant food. Hemlock said anyone can go to a store and buy things with their chips... but well Chance never had to. Hemlock always did it for him. Well Hemlock of that other guy 'Lufti'. Of course Lufti really only bought stuff for himself, but Hemlock said that Chance could use some of that stuff too since Lufti and Chance were roommates... and 'bodymates'.

He wouldn't even be trying to go out on his own but his plants were hungry and Hemlock had been busy for a few days now. He just started to walk around watching what all these other people were doing. A few of them even looked at him strangely as he wandered around but Chance couldn't figure out why. He scratched his messy hair and then the stubble on his chin as he stood there deciding what to do. His long sleeve button-down shirt was buttoned all wrong and his sweat pants looked rather baggy on him too. More people looked at him weird. Maybe because he was just standing there now?

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #1 on:** August 04, 2012, 02:15:11 pm »

Gabriel was out and about that day, off to pick up a few odds and ends like fresh coffee for Roman (decaf, the poor guy) and cat food for Blank, and whatever else he decided to surprise them with. He was doing his best to keep the guy in good spirits, even if it was difficult and things were kind of awkward--but he was trying hard not to think about that, especially not right now. He had his mission firmly in mind so he just had to focus on that!

Dressed in a bright shirt he'd won at a local gamer's convention, patched jeans, neon-checkered canvas shoes, and a variety of plastic colored bracelets, he stood out for his colorful palette--and yet blended into the crowd perfectly, just some other young adult with an eclectic style. Few people recognized him out of uniform, even though he'd done a few PR stunts at conventions and the like--at the direction of the Pilots' PR person, of course!

But unrecognizable or not, his transformation was nothing compared to the Pilot he spotted milling about.

In fact, Gabriel almost didn't recognize him at all and had to do a double-take as he passed by before stopping completely, turning, and blinking a couple times at him, eyes squinted. Was that...?

"...Lufti?"

He'd not interacted with the dude much but he'd seen him around, and he always looked so coldly put-together. Right now, he looked positively unhinged.

Gabriel hesitated, looked around them, and then stepped closer.

"Hey. You okay, man?"

Nix · « **Reply #2 on:** August 04, 2012, 02:42:00 pm »

Chance was still dazed out. Looking around and feeling like his head was spinning. There were just too many people and too much going on and, well... he just stood there. His heart started to pound in his chest as a more worrying thought then not finding plant food occurred to him, what if he couldn't find his way home. He started to hyperventilate at the thought of being stuck out here, lost without his plants or Hemlock... it was way too scary out here with all these strange people! Some even looked like walking rainbows! He closed his eyes and tried to calm down some, when he heard that name called out. 'Lufti'. He knew that name.... that was the other guy's name.

He opened his eyes again, tears prickling in the corner of them, to see the brightly colored stranger that was standing near by. He looked around, but everyone else was just walking... so did that mean this guy had said that? Was he talking to him? The stranger walked closer. Okay so he definitely was talking to Chance. He looked the blonde up and down, absolutely confused.

Chance sniffled a bit and rubbed his eyes. "I'm... I'm lost." There were so many things he wanted to say, like 'where can I buy plant food?', 'who are you?', 'I'm not Lufti', 'why are there so many people?!', 'what's on your shirt?', but he couldn't form any other words.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #3 on:** August 06, 2012, 12:48:39 am »

"...You're lost," Gabriel repeated, less a question and more a baffled statement. They weren't very far from the Citadel, just at the nearby shopping center, but...well...maybe he was drunk? Because he sure wasn't joking; Lufti never seemed the joking sort, and that looked like genuine, teary panic on his face and the guy sure looked, well...not right.

"Oh. Okay. Well, uh. Maybe...yeah, maybe we should just get you home, yeah?" Gabriel offered, using his most reassuring voice.

Nix · « **Reply #4 on:** August 06, 2012, 09:46:47 pm »

Chance hiccuped a bit and rubbed his eyes more, trying to calm down some. This guy said he could get him home. That was good. Home was good. It was too much out here, too scary. But...if he didn't get the plant food how could he face his friends? They would be hungry and he would have failed them... The thought just made him cry more. "No!" He shook his head and looked at the nice stranger. "I... I have to buy plant food... for my friends." His words got softer and trailed off.

If only Hemlock wasn't busy this wouldn't have happened... He would be home reading, or talking with his happily fed friends... or maybe sleeping. It didn't matter because he wasn't! And it was all Hemlock's fault! Stupid dragon with his stupid stuff to do. Chance's face had scrunched up like a disgruntled child's, pouting after a tantrum. At least he had stopped crying.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #5 on:** August 08, 2012, 12:44:52 am »

"Um..."

He didn't have a good response to that. This guy was really gone. Really really. It was a bizarre, disconcerting sight, but he supposed everyone had those days! But he was starting to thing that maybe he'd taken something a bit stronger than alcohol...

Gabriel gave Lufti a patient smile, the kind of smile a parent might use on a silly child. "Ah...well...I'm sure your friends can wait." He wasn't even gonna ask why his friends needed plant food. It must be a druggie thing. "C'mon now. It's alright. You're okay now."

Nix · « **Reply #6 on:** August 11, 2012, 01:37:09 am »

"....but Hemlock has been busy these last few days and so my plant friends ran out of food... so I thought maybe I could buy some myself but I've never left the Citadel and there're so many people and I don't know anyone..." He ranted a bit and looked at the blonde again, sad and confused. "...so ummm... are you a Pilot?" He didn't look like one but he knew Lufti and seemed to know where Chance's home was so maybe...

He stood there trying to decide for himself if the plants would hate him if he went home without food for them and if he was a failure for not getting any.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #7 on:** August 24, 2012, 03:59:08 pm »

"Uh...wha...?"

Gabriel blinked several times, then shook his head as though to clear his thoughts. "What...what are you even talking about, dude? Uh, hello? Earth to Lufti, Gabriel speaking! I'm Gabriel. Y'know, Gabriel Tierney? We've met a bunch of times? You work in the Citadel? Done lotsa missions? Man, I don't know what you've been drinking, but if you can't even remember going outside ever, I think you might wanna lay off it for a while."

Nix · « **Reply #8 on:** August 24, 2012, 09:58:28 pm »

Huh? What was this blond stranger talking about..? Work? Missions? Gabriel Tierney? Obviously this guy was confused, because they had never met. Then it dawned on him. This Gabriel guy thought he was Lufti! Of course!

"N-No I'm not Lufti! I'm Chance!" He had never met Lufti of course, but he knew about the whole body sharing situation thing from Hemlock and all the people who would hurt his head. Actually... it was hurting now. "...you can take me home though?"

The plant food didn't matter anymore. It was too confusing and too much for him to handle today after all. He'd just have to get Hemlock to show him how to buy it in the future. "...it's umm.. nice to meet you though..."

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #9 on:** August 30, 2012, 02:15:17 am »

"What?" Gabriel rubbed his head. "Alright, now I'm confused. I didn't know Lufti had a brother..."

Nix · « **Reply #10 on:** August 30, 2012, 02:29:27 am »

"Umm... We aren't brothers... we are 'body-mates' I've never even met Lufti..." Chance tried to explain but he wasn't quite sure how to.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #11 on:** September 04, 2012, 08:05:18 pm »

Gabriel opened his mouth, shut it, and then cleared his throat. Some things you were just better not knowing and he was pretty certain that if he opened these flood gates, the crazy would just come pouring out like a river.

"Riiiiight. Uh. Yeah, let's just...let's just get you home, kiddo, alright? Get you home and all tucked in bed so you can sleep off the crazy, yeah? C'mon. C'mon, it's okay."

Nix · « **Reply #12 on:** September 04, 2012, 08:37:46 pm »

Chance was confused, why did Gabriel make that weird face? And now he was talking about going to bed. Well maybe that would be good for his headache but still, he wasn't really tired enough to sleep...

"Umm okay... but what crazy? I don't know what you're talking about..." Still he followed Gabe.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #13 on:** October 15, 2012, 02:09:20 pm »

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the scary alien-parasite-body-mate crazy? Sheesh, where did you go, anyway? Did you go to Syn? I bet you went to Syn. Man, you really gotta watch your drink there!"

Nix · « **Reply #14 on:** October 15, 2012, 07:28:31 pm »

"Alien parasite? ...n-no... I... I just left home and got lost out here... I was trying to find plant food and there were so many people so I got scared and then I saw you, but I didn't go anywhere and what is 'Syn' anyway, and I didn't drink anything! I-I... I just wanna go home now... I.." Chance was having a hard time staying calm now that he had worked himself up again. Gabriel was just... confusing him.

"I want... H-Hemlock..." He sniffled. Hemlock... where are you? Why don't you hear me... I need you!

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #15 on:** February 05, 2013, 11:46:16 am »

"...Like, the drug?" Gabriel said, completely forgetting that there was an actual dragon by that name, and that it was Chance's--er, Lufti's. There were tons of dragons! Trying to remember all their names was like trying to remember all the Pilots, except the dragons' names were weirder.

"I'm pretty sure that's like the last thing you need. That's half your problem, I'll bet, hitting the sedatives like that! No wonder you're befuddled! Are you growing that stuff in your apartment?" That would explain his urgent need for plant food!

"Do you even know how to do that? That stuff can kill you, man! Dude, alright, let's get you home and, uh...you should probably see a legit doctor about all that. Get some legit non-death-causing sedatives if you have trouble sleeping."

As he spoke, he took Chance by the arm and started to lead him along.

Nix · « **Reply #16 on:** March 12, 2013, 06:45:07 pm »

Chance was easily led by the Pilot, he didn't even try to resist being led, even though this guy was really confusing. "No... no!" He said shaking his head. "Like the dragon!" He wasn't sure why Gabe was going on about drugs and sedatives and doctors. He shuddered at that. He hated doctors.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #17 on:** April 28, 2013, 02:07:19 pm »

"Dragon? Whoa. Yeah, now you're really tripping balls if--wait." Gabriel slowed to a stop. "Oh. Wait. You mean your dragon. The literal dragon. Actual Hemlock the not-herb?"

Nix · « **Reply #18 on:** June 26, 2013, 11:16:56 pm »

Chance nodded frantically. "Yes!" He said drying his tears again. "He wont answer me! M-Maybe cause I am not Lufti... I'm not as strong... hic!" He just wanted Hemlock. He wanted him to come back and take care of him and do all the stuff that Chance couldn't do right.

Obviously he couldn't even handle leaving the Citadel, why had he even tried?! It was a stupid stupid idea!

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #19 on:** August 26, 2013, 02:40:42 pm »

"Oh, okay, whoa, uh...hey, hey, stop that. Don't cry, alright? Look, it's alright, man. Just calm down, take a deep breath, and, ah, we'll get you back to the Citadel, okay?" Gabriel said, giving the man an awkward pat on the shoulder. It was really, really strange seeing Lufti like this and he wasn't sure how best to navigate this issue. Getting him home and in bed seemed the best course of action!

So with a gentle tug, he once again began to lead the other Pilot along. "I know what it's like to feel like you're not yourself. Sounds like you just need some rest and food or something, is all. Here, it's not that far away. We'll just hop on the commuter over here and we'll be back in no time, yeah?"