Unexplored Lands :CRACK: - Private

[Lolita no Hime]

Bobby was quiet for a moment, but then began to speak, "U-Uhm, well... i-its just that, l-like when I first saw you, I-I thought you looked... l-like how an angel is s-supposed to look." He paused again, wondering if Xanth even knew what that was... a lot of people in Jet City didn't, so he'd explain anyway!

"Th-they're supposed to be... innocent a-and pure creatures... l-like humans, only they have wings..." Or, elemen without elements, really... except neither men nor elemen were anything that could be considered pure. "They were part of a-a lot of old religions in... i-in my world. None of them a-are really known in Jet City... b-but other cities still have o-old books and s-stuff..."

He gave a small smile, remembering the long hours he'd spend reading books... he knew he'd probably not be able to read any here very well; he'd spent a lot of time teaching Quinn to read, but really only took a few glances at the script that Quinn was used to.

"A-anyway, th-they're supposed to... t-to be really beautiful, s-so I..." He blushed again, "...th-that's what I m-meant..."

[Little Pastry]

Xanth remembered well their first meeting, and it made him blush even brighter to think about it. Bobby asked him if he was an angel once, but he still didn't know what that was, so he was glad that he started to explain... but then his entire face went cherry-red. Innocent? Sure, Xanth had been called that a few times. The same could be said for 'pure'. But beautiful... no one had ever said he was beautiful. It made Xanth's stomach fill with butterflies and all he could do was blush and look down, too flustered to say anything.

"I-I, um... I..." What Xanth wanted to do was ask how such a word could be used to describe him, but he realized that that would be rude. So Xanth just returned to chopping his potatoes, still blushing and still speechless. But eventually, he managed to stammer out, "I-I'm not... r-really w-worthy of th-that... k-k-kind of p-praise, but I..." He took a deep breath and then forced himself to look up at Bobby, wearing a tiny smile, "Th-Thank you."

[Lolita no Hime]

Seeing the way Xanth blushed, Bobby wondered if that was a good thing to say.. he didn't want to make Xanth uncomfortable after all! But, well... Bobby wasn't all that special, so he didn't see anything wrong with being negative about himself. But Xanth was so different! And somehow he just didn't like the idea of the little elf feeling down at all...

As Xanth stammered out his response, at first Bobby frowned at the way Xanth had taken it. But when the elf looked up and smiled, Bobby couldn't help but mirror the action. Really, Xanth was the way Bobby had imaged all elves from Quinn's world would be like: similar to Quinn in that they were small, shy, and rather cute.

"D-don't... mention it." He said quietly, continuing his pace of cutting the potatoes, glad for something to keep his mind off conversation so he wouldn't get so overtly nervous.

[Little Pastry]

Even as Xanth looked back down at the potatoes, he couldn't help a little smile on his face. For some reason, he just felt happy! And it showed in his movements, too; he didn't seem quite so restrained or tense, at least for the moment.

But this wasn't the first time this happened around Bobby. Now that Xanth was more familiar with him and Bobby seemed to be opening up, this did happen on occasion. It made Xanth a different kind of happy when Bobby said nice things to him, as opposed to when the Captain or K'lai would praise him. The Captain was the Captain, K'lai was like a brother, but Bobby was something different.

Deciding to take advantage of his own good mood before it ran out, Xanth asked, "U-Um... do, uh, a-after we're done s-serving lunch... d-do you want t-to eat with me?" Blush once again colored his cheeks, "N-Not that you have to! I-I mean if you w-wanna... be alone, th-that's fine. I-I dunno, I was just, it seemed like, if y-you wanted, uh..." He shrugged and just kept chopping potatoes, fighting the urge to cover his face and find a cupboard to hide in.

[Lolita no Hime]

Bobby looked up at Xanth as the elf made his offer, and the small smile that had been on Bobby's face grew in size. "I-I'd love to~" There was a soft lift in his voice that hadn't been there before... and it certainly wasn't common for Bobby. Even if he was still stuttering, it was obvious that the invitation had made him really happy.

With the idea of getting to eat with Xanth today in mind, Bobby found himself able to work a bit faster, a small feeling of actual excitement welling up in him. He knew he had already been getting closer to Xanth, but now he might actually have made a friend!

[Little Pastry]

The lilt in Bobby's voice was quite unusual, but Xanth found that he liked the sound of it. His own smile brightened and he nodded once before getting back to work, also moving a little more swiftly. The sooner they were finished, the sooner lunch could be and the sooner they could eat together!

Barely another minute passed before the door to the kitchen opened again, revealing a man who would look incredibly familiar to Bobby, should the eleman look over. He surveyed the room and then walked up to two cutting potatoes, eying their work. Xanth's good mood immediately disappeared and he seemed to try to busy himself in his work, obviously not pleased by this man's presence.

"Desmond," called the woman who brought Xanth and Bobby here, "don't you have some work t'do?"

"I'm on break. 'Sides, I'm allowed to see what I'm eating tonight. Why're you letting the jumpy ones cut up the food? They'll poke their eyes out. Or yours, if you're not lucky."

"M'rill's tits, you're so picky..."

[Lolita no Hime]

Bobby was content with just cutting the potatoes when the door opened. He didn't look up, not seeing a reason to do so... but when the man spoke up and Bobby heard his voice, he gasped and jerked his head up, eyes widening as he laid eyes on this "Desmond"... who looked so very much like his father.

The same wisps of brown hair gather atop his head. The same furrowed eyebrows. The same cauldron-black eyes. The same strong, cruel physique. And, of course, the same commanding and full voice. If not for the lack of wrinkles in his forehead and the addition of some pointed ears, this man was a damn near clone of Papa Johnson.

Standing so close, Xanth would be able to hear Bobby's breath rate suddenly pick up, sounding strained as though he suddenly could catch his breath. He dropped the knife, the blade clattering to the ground, as he took a step back, a strange look on his face that made it look at though he were about to cry.

[Little Pastry]

It was incredibly easy for Xanth to tell that Bobby was becoming upset, just by the sound of his breath. And then it became increasingly apparent when he stumbled back and dropped the knife, making that face that was so sad that it made Xanth feel his pain. "B-Bobby -"

His attempt to comfort Bobby was cut off by a sigh from Desmond, and the man just shook his head. "See? I told you this would happen." He bent down to pick up the knife, and then he glared right at Bobby as he said, "Damn kid, can't you do anything right?"

[Lolita no Hime]

"Can't you do anything right?"

The room faded to black. Standing in front of him was his father, his eyes glaring down like daggers into Bobby's chest. The blackness became a room, which was still dark because the light that Bobby had failed to charge was still unlit. "You can't even light a single bulb? When I was your age, I was powering the city! You're sorry? Sorry's not going to to cut it in the military! Damnit, Robert, you are hopeless. Can't you do anything right!?"

Bobby's heart pounded as his chest as his breathing cut off. His eyes grew wide and his hand flew up to his chest, pain surging through it as though his heart was having trouble beating properly. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then frozen. For a moment it looked as though he was going to pass out, but instead he tore out of the room.

He didn't make it far, getting only a few steps out of the kitchen before his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. He still couldn't get a breath of air and his heart pounded louder and louder in his head. For a second he thought he was going to choke to death... and that was when the pain started.

From every inch of his body he felt as though he were being simultaneously burned with sharp, stabbing needles that numbed the outer layers of his skin and burned the tissues beneath. His skin grew cold like ice and his eyes were out of focus, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Then, just when he thought he was going to die... his voice suddenly rang out in a horrific scream, like that of a dying animal. The pain became more centralized, now emanating from any place where there was pressure. He tried moving off his knees as he felt them shattering, but instead fell on his back, feeling as though it were snapping in half. He felt like he couldn't find relief as long as he was anywhere except floating, flying...! Were it not for the fact that he was too far from the boat's edge, he would have flung himself into the water to drown.

His voice cracked and he couldn't scream anymore, but that didn't stop his face from being twisted in an expression of pain as he wondered why fate had to be cruel in not letting him just pass out...

[Little Pastry]

For a moment after Bobby ran out of the room, most everyone just looked at each other in confusion - but not Xanth. He was staring at the door, flooded with worry, and then he set off after the eleman. He had been prepared to go to the crow's nest or somewhere else that Bobby would hide, but that wasn't necessary: Bobby was nearly right in front of him. Xanth bounced off the wall that he crashed into and flailed as he fell on his knees next to Bobby.

And then the screaming started.

The hallway Bobby ran into was not designed for space, so only Xanth made it through, but others were clamoring at the door to see what happened. By now, Xanth was quite spooked, but he summoned up all the courage he had and stayed put, looking down at Bobby. Timidly, he stuttered, "B-B...Bobby...?"

[Lolita no Hime]

Bobby barely heard Xanth's voice, the darkness still clouding his view as his head throbbed from the pressure building up inside of him, his heart still struggling to beat. The pain was still ripping across his body, and getting close enough, Xanth could see why... all the muscles on Bobby's arms seemed to be in spasm, an effect which continued along his torso, his back, and his legs.

His voice had cracked during his screaming, but listening closely one could heard Bobby saying over and over, "...it hurts, it hurts, make it stop, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it hurts...." His breath hitched in his throat again and he started to cough, causing the pain to multiple as his chest moved. He tried to pull himself up to his knees, only to scream out again in agony and fall over to his side, crying out again as he landed.

[Little Pastry]

Seeing Bobby like this made Xanth want to cry, but at the same time it scared the hell out of him. His own breathing was starting to pick up and he had no idea what to do, but then there was a hand on his shoulder and he glanced up.

It was the same woman who assigned the potato chopping to Xanth and Bobby. She quickly said, "Xanth, go to the doc, tell her what happened. We'll get him there, 'kay? Don't panic. Just breathe."

"R-R...Right..." Xanth swallowed hard and tried to control his breathing, but it was so hard to keep himself calm. Giving one last, pained glance down to Bobby before he dashed off to tell Adelia what happened. Being the messenger was part of the cabin boy's duty, but sometimes - like right now - he wondered if he was only the messenger because he couldn't do anything else.

And while he did that, a few people filtered into the hall to help carry Bobby to the infirmary. Desmond poked his head out of the kitchen, but someone tossed something (possibly a boot) at his head and he ducked back inside.

[Lolita no Hime]

As the people crowded around to carry him, Bobby cried out again, his body recoiling where ever he was touched, his body feeling ice-cold from his heart-rate struggling so much. He seemed unable to breathe as he was lifted and his body shook once before his eyes rolled back and he finally passed out...

But just by looking at his twitching muscles showed that whatever pain he was in was likely still going on, only now forcing himself to breathe wasn't as necessary since his hyperventilating had stopped. It wasn't until he was laid down on a bed that his body seemed to relax. Still, a quick check of his heart rate would confirm one thing: it was far too slow and his body was cooling down at too rapid a pace. He needed to get warmed up and stay that way or he could very well develop hypothermia...

[Little Pastry]

Waiting in the infirmary for Bobby were Xanth and Adelia, both of them of them looking concerned - though Xanth was far more so. Adelia had everyone but Xanth leave the room once Bobby had been put on a bed, and then she started to examine him. His slow heart rate and how cold he was shocked her, and while she knew that she had to find out what happened soon, treating this symptom now was what mattered.

"Xanth," she said tersely, "get three blankets, now."

"Y-Y...Yes ma'am!" It took only a short time to do that, but every second that passed meant Bobby got colder and colder.

Adelia spread the blankets over Bobby, but she wasn't sure that was enough. Glancing over at a nerve-wracked Xanth, she said, "Xanth, in the bed."

His cheeks lit up and he squeaked, "W-Wait what!?"

"His temperature is falling fast. He needs a heat source." Xanth blushed even more brightly, obviously hesitant, and Adelia frowned. "I hate to make you do something you don't want to, but he needs help."

Xanth gave a small noise of protest, but he stepped forward and crawled into the bed next to Bobby. As much as it embarrassed him to do this, Bobby really was cold, and Xanth was getting warmer by the second, so it really was the perfect solution.

Adelia ruffled Xanth's hair as he went past, offering him a smile. "Right. I'll be right back. The Captain needs to hear about this." She walked over to the door and stepped out, but before she left she added, "And stay put!"

Xanth mumbled something that sounded like "yes ma'am" and stayed where he was, his entire body blushing.

[Lolita no Hime]

As Adelia left the room, being so close, Xanth would certainly notice two things. First, the fact that his body temperature was quickly rising (and maybe even that his heart beat had picked up, depending on just how close they were) and second, that Bobby took in a small gasp of air, and thereafter his breathing had returned to normal. For a moment it actually seemed like he was just sleeping!

That is, until he seemed to start waking up.

He mumbled and let out a small whimper as he turned on his side, facing Xanth. His eyes were still closed but there was a frown on his face. With a small whine, he wrapped an arm around Xanth and pulled the elf closer, burying his face into his chest.