[PRP] The Escort Quest (Didero + Leeroi)

[seekingCylem]

Life as an escaped convict has done a number of Didero's nerves. Unfortunately that hasn't changed his need for groceries.

 

[seekingCylem]

To say New Hemisect was a big city would be an understatement. It was, in fact, the understatement of all statements regarding cities on Alternia. New Hemisect was the biggest city on the planet. Didero had walked all over the expansive urban environment nearly every night of his life and still only explored a modest chunk of the landscape. He’d gotten lost down more alleyways and side roads and alleged shortcuts than a troll his age had any right to. As such, Didero knew the surrounding neighborhoods like the back of his hand. Certainly a modest errand run to the local grocery store wouldn’t do him any harm.

At least, that was what Didero was trying to convince himself. On any normal occasion, it’d take maybe a little less than two hours or so, including the walk there and back. Didero was taking considerably longer this night, however, as he hovered uneasily under the shade of one of the trees lining the street.

Didero had recently broken out of jail. Boy, what a statement that was. He’d said it to himself many times while pacing his empty hive in the early morning hours, but it still didn’t seem the least bit real to him. Despite the surreal nature of the situation, Didero didn’t want to risk having to go back to that nightmare hellhole. He’d gotten into the mess by being too reckless. Since returning home, Didero had escalated the caution in his behavior to absurd levels. He hadn’t actually left his hive since the incident until now.

There wasn’t any food left in the hive. Didero had scavenged all he could from the pantries. There was literally nothing to eat and his guts were really beginning to feel it. It wasn’t as though Didero was any sort of hunter-gatherer that lived in the woods and could eat whatever he could catch. No, in New Hemisect the supermarket was the best bet. It was a low-key environment that saw hundreds of people every night. Nothing about Didero would stand out at a place like that.

And yet, Didero was still standing several blocks away hiding behind a tree.  

[zeflamigo]

Leeroi shuffled through the New Hemisect crowd, dragging his feet along the pavement. Cuts and bruises littered his body, bleeding wounds covered with character themed adhesive bandages of varying sizes. Glitch came prepared, as always, whenever she took her charge out of the hive. The blueblood rubbed at his jaw, where a bright bruise was starting to swell. The hornbeast watched him nervously, trotting around, looking him over.

Are you feeling ok? Would you like to sit down? I have some more ice for that bruise if you'd like to—

"I'm fine," He snarled. Opening his mouth, he poked at the gums of another lost tooth. The ones from the incident in Chittentown had nearly grown back, but he just couldn't catch a break, could he. Teeth were so fragile. How dumb. If they didn't come back, he would have considered just replacing them with metal.

What else was dumb? New Hemisect. It seemed that every time he left Busthind he found himself in a fight, and never any fun ones, either. Why did he even take these adventures into the city, anyways? There were still plenty of adventures left in his home town, plenty of mountains left to climb. Getting to the top of skyscrapers didn't feel nearly as fulfilling. When was this city going to present him with something interesting?

He lifted his gaze from the concrete for a moment, examining the crowd. Just as he thought, boring trolls in suits, little lowbloods with boring little lusii, and was that—?

His gaze fixated on Didero. He did a double take, making sure that he was seeing what he thought what he was seeing. Was he waiting to cross the traffic? No, he couldn't be. He was practically static. Leeroi gawked. This was a bona fide quest. The kid might as well have had an exclamation point hovering over his head.

Leeroi dashed over, wasting no time. Glitch nearly shrieked as her charge weaved through past the crowd, nearly escaping her vision. She pursued closely, barreling past the trolls with her heavy body. He wasn't going to get into another fight today.

"HEY!" Leeroi shouted once he was within range of Didero. He gave the greenblood a heroic gap-toothed smile, fidgeting on his toes. "What're you doing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You waiting for somebody or something?" Leeroi craned his neck, looking around for any hints of what the greenblood was standing around for. Maybe the kid just needed someone to help him cross the street. Or maybe he had a top secret adventure to share, and he was waiting for the right hero to come along. Well, Leeroi thought, looking back at Didero with a smirk. He didn't have to wait any more.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Didero faintly heard Glitch’s screeching over the din of New Hemisect traffic, but it wasn’t until Leeroi was shouting at him and approaching fast, that Didero managed to face the pair.

”H-Huh!? What!? What!?” Didero jumped and his back hit the tree in a pathetic attempt to get away before Leeroi closed the distance. Alas, Leeroi was too fast, and Didero was too stunned to make a proper getaway. Even on a good night, Didero wouldn’t have known what to do with such a bizarre combination of chipperness, highbloodedness, and sorry physical state that was Leeroi Furore.

Finally Didero’s fight or flight instinct activated. ”WHAT’S IT TO YOU!? BACK OFF!” Didero snapped his mouth shut. That was a very bad idea. He openly smacked his own forehead. Time for damage control.

”S-Sorry. It’s been a long night. I’m just… getting groceries.” Didero looked around, trying to gain his bearings on the situation. As much s**t as Didero had been through, this kid looked like the type of troll to get into trouble for kicks. Not to mention, he had his rather fearsome lusus with him. He wasn’t someone Didero wanted to piss off, or have anything to do with, really, but that ship had already sailed. At least the highblood looked… Happy? Was that a happy expression?

”Wh-Why? What do you care? I’m not up to anything.” Didero eyed the kid uneasily. Maybe he could just bore him into leaving with idle chitchat… or at least into not smirking at him like that.

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

"Geez," Leeroi looked away, brows scrunching in confusion. "Didn't mean to freak you out," He apologized, remembering that lowbloods could be weird about highbloods yelling at them, even if it was friendly yelling. Leeroi folded his arms, tilting his head slightly. His smirk was back, almost as quickly as it was gone.

"You just looked like you needed help," Leeroi explained, "Like you were lost..." Or waiting for someone to rescue you. He tapped his fingers against his arm, smile widening. "I just figured I'd offer a hand, I just like helping those in need," His smile melted into something more genuine, watching Didero. The kid looked like a total softie, but that didn't bother Leeroi. More than anything, it made him feel happier to help him out.

"You're not gonna be carrying all those groceries back yourself, are you?" Leeroi asked, excitement apparent in his voice. "I'll help you out!" He offered, gesturing at his lusus who had trotted up behind him. "Glitch here's great at carrying stuff. We can take care of it for you!"

seekingCylem

ty for the wait!

 

[seekingCylem]

Blessedly, the highblood lowered his volume. Didero allowed his shoulders to relax the tiniest amount. At Leeroi's next words, Didero's posture jerked upright again, but for an entirely different reason.

"Wh- Wha... Really?" The sheer pleasantness of Leeroi's offer hit Didero like a freight train. It was so unexpected Didero struggled to keep up.

"Um, y-, no--I mean, no... yes... and thank you?" Didero processed slowly in answer to Leeroi. No, he wasn't lost; yes, he was planning on carrying his groceries home. Finally he just nodded, shyly at first, and then more cheerfully to indicate his gratitude at the offer.

At this point, Didero was so starved for positive attention he could feel himself choking up. He cleared his throat, but the strain of not crying was making his face flush green. "That'd be really nice of you. Thanks, um..." Didero blinked owlishly at Leeroi, waiting for the latter to supply his name.

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

"Think nothing of it!" Leeroi said, more than happy to help the greenblood out, and really just thankful that he had the courage to accept his offer at all. He leaned towards Didero, extending a welcoming hand.

"It's Leeroi, Leeroi Furore." He introduced himself, glancing down at his hand and back up at Didero. "And you are?" He asked, tilting his head, eyebrows quirking in question.

seekingCylem

short post is short

 

[seekingCylem]

"Think nothing of it!" Didero had never heard that kind of phrasing anywhere outside of the occasional comic book. The familiarity of the phrase and its sincere delivery helped to put Didero's mind at ease.

"I'm Didero. Salons, that is," Didero took Leeroi's hand and shook it gently.

"I promise- I promise it's not much. I just need help carrying the bags. I live kind of far from here and normally my lusus would-" Didero stopped. His lusus would have helped him carry the groceries home if he was there. But he wasn't. Didero subdued his guilt by putting on the most dazzling smile he could muster. "He'd help, but he's not here right now," Didero said perhaps too fast in order to get it out without tripping up and crying. "So you're really doing me a big favor. Thanks again."

Hatoful Dad may not have been there, but at that moment Didero had Leeroi. He stepped away from the tree with the most confidence he'd shown all evening. He gestured to the nearby crosswalk.

Accidentally screwing over your own lusus was pathetic enough. Didero didn't need to go about starving to death because he was too afraid to go grocery shopping.

"A-After you."

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

"Dude, Didero, you can buy as much food as you want," Leeroi held back a laugh. "Glitch is a powerhouse. We live up in Busthind so we buy everything in bulk. You couldn't even come close to inconveniencing us. Don't worry about it," He explained, his lusus nodding in agreement.

Watching Didero move from his spot, Leeroi couldn't help but feel proud for his actions, like he was really doing something good for once. "A-After you." Didero suggested, and Leeroi raised an eyebrow. He wasn't supposed to take the lead here, that's not how it worked. He had to protect Didero, and he couldn't do that if he couldn't see him.

He stifled a small laugh, smiling genuinely. Moving in carefully, he reached for Didero's hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "Let's go," He said, slowly starting to move towards the crosswalk, waiting for Didero to follow.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

"That's great!" Didero said cheerfully, but also while eyeing Glitch's anatomy suspiciously. For once in his life, everything was coming up Didero. He didn't know what to do with this.

Leeroi grabbing his hand only further short-circuited Didero's brain. He skipped a little trying to catch up, but came to an easy pace beside Leeroi as they crossed the street. He couldn't help but repeatedly casting "subtle" glances over at Leeroi as though making sure this was really happening. The cool hand of a highblood felt nice considering Didero was wearing way too many layers for the season.

Didero disengaged upon entering the store and moving to retrieve a cart. Leeroi said his lusus was strong, and Didero wasn't about to look a gift goat(?) in the... mouth(???)

Didero couldn't help but pick up a suet block in addition to his other staple products.

"Um, what brings you down to Hemisect if you live all the way out on Busthind?" Didero asked. He knew there was technically a town up there. While it was small and reclusive, he figured it was developed enough that Leeroi and his lusus hadn't come all this way to go grocery shopping.

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

"Hmm?" Leeroi's attention snapped back to Didero upon his question. The grocery store made easy work of distracting the blueblood with its colorful boxes and labels.

"It's boring as hell sometimes, that's all. It feels good to get out and go on an adventure once in a while," Leeroi explained. "One with people and stuff to see, you know? More than just mountains and snow." He grabbed a red box off the shelf, some cheesy crackers for the trip back home. Stuffing it under his arm, he turned his attention back to Didero.

"How 'bout you? You get out of this city much?" He laughed. Didero didn't exactly seem like the type to get restless like himself. "I could understand if you didn't. This place probably has everything you'd ever need."

"Speaking of which..." He looked over Didero's cart, glad to see it decently full. "You get everything?"

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Didero subconsciously nodded along in time with Leeroi's words. Didero's time on Busthind had been... limited. According to the blueblood, Didero hadn't been missing much. He could completely sympathize. Didero could hardly stand loitering around his own suburban neighborhood, much less tolerate near-total isolation.

Didero's smile warmed at the thought of his city. He really did enjoy living there. The lights, the sounds, the people--it was his element. "It does. I really don't think I could live anywhere more rural. It feels weird to be without all the activity. Way too quiet."

He followed Leeroi's eyes back over to the cart. He'd almost forgotten their mission. "O-Oh! Yes, this should do me nicely. Thank you again..." He eyed the box under Leeroi's arm. "You can put that in the cart if you'd like. I know It's not much, but I'd like to do at least something." He looked up at Leeroi through his eyelashes in an attempt to keep him from protesting. It was the most like himself Didero had felt in ages.

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

As Didero spoke, Leeroi had been picking at the edge of the snack box, trying to preemptively open it without his lusus noticing. But the moment the greenblood pointed it out, he knew he was caught. Looking up, his throat hitched when he met Didero's eyes. Frozen like an antlerbeast in headlights, Leeroi couldn't break his gaze from the fluttering eyelashes in front of him. Instinctively, he only held the snack closer, watching dumbfounded. It was only when his lusus prompted him with a screech that he broke out of his daze.

Shaking his head, he gave a humored scoff, then flashed a smirk at Didero. "Sure," Leeroi acquiesced, handing the box over and side-eyeing his lusus to make sure she recognized his compliant gesture. "I don't see why not," He said, not fully understanding why the other troll was so fixated about it. It wasn't a big deal to carry such a light box— did Didero not think he was strong enough?

seekingCylem

:3c

 

[seekingCylem]

Perfect! "Perfect!" Didero beamed and turned back to the cart. As he made his way over to the check-out counter, Didero couldn't help but hop up on the edge of the cart and ride it over to the belt. Despite everything he was still a kid.

Didero used his perch on the cart to quickly unload its contents before dismounting to fish out his wallet. It often came as a surprise to many of the service and retail workers in Didero's life that the little greenblood was completely flush with cash. Rebel activity hadn't been entirely unkind to Didero. He honestly wondered why all the lowbloods in Chittentown weren't better off with all those golden beetles crawling around in the sand.

He fished out the appropriate funds from his card suit speckled coin purse before tucking it back into his pocket. Food successfully procured, Didero, Leeroi, and Glitch were left with the pile of grocery bags stacked at the end of the counter.

First things first, Didero dug through the bags until he found Leeroi's snack box, presenting it to him with a smile. He'd looped a couple of the other grocery bags around his other arm. Didero wasn't about to start tossing stuff on top of an unfamiliar lusus regardless of how docile Glitch seemed.

"Here you go!"

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

Ohhh. Didero was implying that he would pay for his snacks, not that he wasn't strong enough to carry the box. Leeroi felt both pleased by the realization and disappointed that he couldn't carry out another good deed, but mostly enlightened by learning this new social gesture. He clapped his hands together, moving to his lusus, who had kneeled to allow the children to access the saddle bags.

Even with the heavy bags, Leeroi made quick work of loading up the groceries, beaming with pride for his accomplishments. He slipped the cheesy snacks under one arm and, without thought, slipped his free hand back into Didero's, cheerfully swinging it as they walked the path back to Didero's hive.

Smiling at his travel companion, Leeroi gave his hand a squeeze. "You're really nice!" He complimented, a little louder than he intended. Really, everything about Didero just felt... Nice. He smelled good, his hands were soft, and his voice reminded Leeroi of a pleasant little featherbeast song. Occasionally he'd get stuck in thought when he made eye contact with Didero, hypnotized like he had been before in the grocery store.

"I'm glad I got to help you," He explained, turning to stare at his feet but smiling all the same.

seekingCylem

baby dokis