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Gracious Conversationalist
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 Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:48 pm
Private RP between Ellandra (Redbud-Tree) & Misha (Graficcha)
Location: Unspecific Downtown
Time: Afternoon
Weather: Disturbingly overcast - rain coming up?
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:44 pm
A day like most others, only this time Misha's run hadn't been as exhilerating as usual. The weather was what Longway called 'no weather', the people behaved oddly, the crowds he pressed through were filled with irritation. More than once he'd underestimated their intent to hold their place, and nearly tripped or smacked into someone head-on when they were too self-absorbed to see the blur coming.
Yeah, this could qualify as a meh-day. A Blah-day. The fact he almost started wishing he would have a different job startled him. It was like wishing he was someone else entirely, with two hearts or tentacles or five minds.
Oh well, the job was done, he'd made his special delivery in time, and now he was on the return with the receipt he'd gotten. Coded, again. Maybe he should secretly try to decypher those codes? NO, no time to waste capacity on that, he had to get back home, and he wanted to be home and safe rather badly now. Already he'd had to dodge more potentially explosive situations than normal, and his unreliable invisibility-magic had only narrowly allowed him yet another escape from a first real fight-or-flee in his life. The Essentic was tired, no Source nor sun could help with that now. Catching himself crossing his fingers -he'd seen that on an ealy-monring cartoon a few times- to wish Timka wouldn't give him another assignment later, he turned into a narrow alley, following the fastest flow in traffic he could find.
On and on it went, and if it weren't for his inate gift to know where he needed to go, an navigate properly, he'd have gotten lost hopelessly.
WOW! Watch it there, no, don't make me slow down no- Crap, brakes slammed close to not run into someone passing through the red lights, people are beginning to watch me now...
And then the road is open again, vaulting over the vehicle, vanishing, instantly, too fast for people to spend a second worrying over that odd anomaly they'd just seen.
Beating heart, beating Essence, to keep up that invisibility shield.
Maybe he was just... panicking? Did he really have to do this? maybe if he was seen things would be.. okay still?
He didn't know, and wouldn't risk finding out.
Just run on.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:57 pm
To say that Ellandra was having a bad day would be a gross understatement. Some days it clearly didn't pay to get out of bed. She'd been wandering around the city for some time now, trying to find the right location to set the opening scene for her next big novel; her editor had contacted her just that morning and told her that she needed to get started now or he couldn't guarantee her a decent chance at having her next work published - a blatant lie in order to force the timid young lady into churning out more successful novels, but Ellandra wasn't about to contradict him.
So she had obediently headed out, haphazardly seeking ideas and trying to draw inspiration from the environment around her, but she'd had no luck. Unfortunately, she was trying so hard to find a place that would inspire her that she hadn't truly noticed the weather, and now, as she hurried along the streets in a less-than-pleasant part of the city - not the safest choice, but she was practically invisible when she so chose - and saw the darkening clouds in the sky, fear rose up in her, starting to choke the breath out of her. As her panic grew, for no real reason than her sheer timidity and slight fear of storms, her pace picked up until she was dashing through the streets, her skirts and hair whipping around her.
Unfortunately, when running in a blind panic, Ellandra had a tendency not to look where she was going - and thus would run into thing, be they people, animals, or inanimate objects. It seemed that this time was no exception as she collided with something and went tumbling head-over-heels, collapsing to the pavement in a mass of fabric.
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 6:18 pm
Maybe looking back over his shouder had been a bad idea.
Maybe? Nooohohoo, it definitely WAS a bad idea. It went against his ingrained knowledge that a runner looks forward, no matter what happens behind him.
Anyhow, those human doubts and irrational fears, even if the were justified a little more for him than for others, were the rather direct cause of him having his first major crash in the last three months. Misha lost his grip on his invisibility-shield a split second before the actual collision, and was sent tumbling along until coming to a rough standstill against a collection of garbage containers. His reflexes kept him from smooching the ground face-first, and he curled up, rolled over, keeping his treasured bag and its contents safe against his stomach. The moment where his impulse was transferred into the stationary steel objects was announced with a nice, heavy, unforgiving CLANG though.
The next moments his ears rang, his head felt like bursting, where was up and down? He couldn't quite decide what was worse, this, or getting bumped into by a stampeding crowd the day of a boutique on sale day opening.
He hated sales.
By the time he'd gotten enough presence of mind to quietly mutter a petty curse on crazy women, he'd uncurled into a messily flopped heap of person that tried to pull itself together. A self-check yielded nothing to be concerned of, and then, he noticed the girl.
"Ah..."
Opps. How... awkward. That was his fault here, he'd run her over, pretty much... Gah, was she okay?
"A.. are y.. you alright, miss?" He sounded less confident than he'd have liked, and was innerly annoyed over how squeaky that came out. Then again, he WAS nervous, and decidedly not a happy bunny right now.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 6:28 pm
Ellandra tried to gather herself against her still-increasing panic and get back to her feet. Almost immediately, she noticed that her hat had fallen off in her tumble, and she scrambled around for it frantically until, at last, she spotted it sitting innocently next to her. How had she missed it? Never mind, she had it back now and she quickly set the puffy - and slightly dusty - hat back on her head.
Then she registered the fact that someone - probably the person she'd just had a collision with - was speaking to her. Instantly, her face flushed tomato red and she squeaked.
"I - I u-um.... I - I'm so s-sorry, s-sir..... I - I didn't m-mean.........." She trailed off, blinking hesitantly at the person before her from beneath the sheltering brim of her hat. What if she'd crashed into someone dangerous? What if he was a kidnapper? Or a pirate - oh, now her imagination was getting away from her again! Surely he wasn't. . . . but then, there was always a chance.
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 6:41 pm
Wow, hold it right there. Slower, slower, make sense, gwah.
Misha tried his best to interpret what she was gibbering out, ended up flapping his arms a bit to vent his frustration when he found he had no idea what was wrong. Had she bitten her tongue, hit her head, was she... scared?
Immediately his flailing died down, and he stared at her.
"... of course you didn't mean to, I got in the way." Bwuh. Hey, understanding her hadn't been as hard as it had sounded. His answer came faster than he'd thought of it, too.
He didn't think about crash-and-dashing this time, he didn't think about thinking about it, either. No, he didn't want this girl to be scared, and he still didn't know if she was hurt. Maybe she needed help.
"ARE you alright?" he asked her again, softer this time, with his gentle, still slightly quivering voice. He hunched over a bit, pushed one of his ears over his shoulder almost too casually to make it look more like.. very odd hair. Fur. Stuff. Not bunny ears. His bag he kept in a vicegrip against his chest.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:04 pm
Ellandra nodded weakly in answer to the young man's question. Her wide gray eyes, which took up much more of her face than most people and giving her the appearance of someone much younger than her actual age of twenty-three years, were wide with fright and slightly watering. She bit her lip, and looked down.
"I'm - I'm f-fine, sir. . . .don't - don't k-kidnap me please!" She blurted out, then clapped her hands over her mouth, face burning bright with humiliation.
She couldn't believe she'd actually said that out loud! She pulled herself to her feet and bobbed a curtsy to the young man, noticing his strange - almost ..... fur-like?- hair, but didn't mention it, and rubbed at a scrape on her cheek that she'd just begun to notice.
She knew better than to bring to attention anything that someone was obviously trying to hide. She was a very observant woman, but she wasn't an unkind one, and if it wasn't her business, she wouldn't bring it up.
"I - I'm sorry if I - I interrupted your business, sir," she said quietly, dropping her gaze to her feet before glancing up at the ominous sky above and flinching.
She really, really hoped it wouldn't rain.
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:22 pm
Misha hoped the same. He didn't hate getting wet, but it wasn't pleasant. Now don't jynx it, people.
"A... Abduct you?" Now he made some wide eyes. "Why'd I do that?" A true picture of confusion. Misha stared at her, and stared some more, for the moment not thinking of how that might make her feel. She looked so... so... soft.
When the lady stood up, he snapped out of it, and raffed himself to get up as well. He was still rather shaky on his legs from the receding adrenalin surge and the recent rattling of his frame, but as he'd concluded before, nothing majorly unhinged. He emitted a nigh silent chirp of distress when he saw, even smelled that tinge of blood on her face, after scanning HER over quickly. He wanted to say something, do something, but his experience failed him now. The few times he'd gotten banged up a bit, his Owner'd fixed him without a word, and he still didn't know how to even help himself.
Wait, what did she say now?
"My business? Ah, m... my business, it's nothing, what about yours?" ahahah, honestly, what I do, pfshhh, not important. Please don't ask pleasedon'task.
He followed her gaze upward, and ducked a little, too. Heavy clouds, promising no good. Again he clutched his bag tighter before peeking back at her.
"Are. You. Hurt?"
Answer the friggin' question before I start worrying you've gone deaf, gah. He was so nervous he knew if he let himself panic he'd go sick, trembling a little. Why hadn't he ran yet, why?
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:34 pm
Ellandra blinked a little and brushed at her cheek.
"I - I promise, I'm not hurt. . . . I . . .. ."
She flinched as a drop of rain hit her on the shoulder, and outright yelped as a rumble of thunder broke through the air. She could sense that this person was as panicked as her - she recognized mannerisms like that from long experience of using them - and bit her lip, adjusting her hat a bit and backing away.
"I'll - I'll be g-going now," she said timidly, not wanting to get in his way any longer.
Although . . . she wasn't sure where she would go. She was more than a bit lost at the moment. And being lost was one of her worst fear. Oh, no, she'd started trembling again, and felt the far-too-familiar sensation of her throat closing up as fear rose within her again.
What was she going to do? She didn't know where to go, it was starting to rain, and the person she was talking to was hurried and she couldn't bother him anyway oh what was she going to do - she flailed a little, trying desperately to calm herself a little, just enough to get her breathing back under control.
It wouldn't do to pass out in the middle of the street in the rain!
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 7:52 pm
Passing out is a bit of a no-no yes.
"That's good..." the Essentic sagged a little, settled from his overheated trembling into a cold shiver. He twitched at the first raindrops, too, and in only a short moment, he recognised the same about her as she had about him.
For a short while, he felt numb, oddly incapable of reaching a conclusion on what to do now. It would get cold, and wet, and while he knew where to go, his consciousness wouldn't stop nagging for he longest time if he abandoned this young lady. She was obviously distressed, probably more than himself. She appeared to be going through a similar thought-process, but unlike her, Misha had an idea of where to go, what to do. He calmed down while she got lost into a building panic.
Making his decision, he nodded at himself, steeled his nerves, then stepped forward, took her wrist with a careful firmness, and gave her a gentle, hesitant tug.
"Come with me, I know a sheltered place for now... Settle down there, like this you'll only wind up lost." He spoke softly, with a reserved warmth. Indeed he knew one, a hangar complex not far from here, where he'd once delivered order applications and brought back samples of rare materials. It was deserted and safe and most of all: dry.
"You might become ill if you get caught in this storm." an empty addition, a genuine concern, but sickness wasn't as much of a threat as fear was. Another rumble of thunder made his fur stand on end, made his instincts scream at him to leave her be and hide under a bush. But no, he couldn't ditch her now. Come with me.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:48 pm
A squeak made its way out of Ellandra's panicking throat as the stranger's hand latched onto her wrist, and her eyes widened to the point where they nearly swallowed her face.
But . . . he was saying something about - about going somewhere dry? Should she trust him? He could be taking her to a secret lair of robbers or a slave-ring where someone would buy her for a secret harem or a mad scientist's laboratory where she would get genetically mutated. . . Drat, there went her imagination again.
Wherever he took her couldn't be as bad as wandering around lost. . . right?
Well, it could, but the thought of wandering around in a thunderstorm was nearly enough to send the timid human into a severe panic attack. So, with hesitation, she nodded and forced herself to breathe.
"I-I'm coming," she said, managing to keep her voice from trembling too badly.
She wished that she could be braver, though. Or have some kind of comfort that would help her be able to get past this overwhelming fear. Or just something that would help her get inspiration without having to travel all over the city and scare herself half to death in the process!
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 4:54 am
"Good. Don't be afraid..."
Misha wasn't a Social-grouped Essentic, but he was a friendly and caring person on his own. He'd do anything to lessen her discomfort, and he was relieved she let him try. The anticipated initial fright-reaction passed enough for her to make up her mind, and once he was sure his touch wouldn't be interpreted as active pressure, he started moving. Follow me, it'll be okay.
Not keeping his eyes off her, he lead the young lady along, speeding up as he went. Already the Messenger had to temper his urge to break into a helter-skelter dash towards safety, he knew she wouldn't be able to follow him if he did. So he kept his speed in check, and he urgently, yet gently, guided her through the beginning storm. Leaving the scared girl no time to drive herself into a panic by going so fast other stimuli faded away into one continuous blur of unknown things, Misha quickly got her to the shelter.
From far away already he could see which doors had been used recently on the hangars, and he stuck his free hand into his bag, retrieved a set of keys. Heading towards the building, he selected the one he needed, and it only took him four seconds to get the heavy doors unlocked and open. The next moment, he'd flicked the lightswitch on, and had pulled her inside while the generators flared to life and the neon lamps high overhead buzzed. The flickering settled just as he slammed the door close with a dry thud, and the rain outside dulled to a shower far, far away.
A light so white it almost appeared green, and only a vast, concrete-lined space with nothing in it apart from a few closed-off cupboards, a few lockers, and a small refridgerator in the far corner.
They were wet already, but not soaked to the bone, and the thunder wasn't so threatening anymore now that inches-thick steel walls and woolen padding and concrete shielded them from it. Misha let her go now, took his cap off, wrung it out by the door, then shook his head to shake the worst water off his ears. It pearled off the fur quite nicely, but after ruffling through his top brush, it stuck up rather comically.
"Oh man..."
Nope, he didn't like this much. He was getting cold again, and a faint cottony background-ache spread through his head. But no matter now. He shrugged it off, and looked at the lady again, unaware of the fact he was softly gasping for breath.
"We can... wait for the rain to stop here..."
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:12 am
The first thing Ellandra noticed after what was, to her, a half-crazed flight through the streets was that she was in an obviously empty . . . hanger? How strange, but for once, nothing frightening. No, what really bothered her was the way the stranger who had crashed into her and then brought her here was acting.
She knew that she was breathing hard from the run, but she had noticed that her unexpected companion could easily have gone much faster, and probably for longer. so why, then, was he gasping in order to breathe?
Her surroundings were open enough that they didn't distract her from the person in front of her, even as she tried to shake the rain off of her hat and squeeze the water out of her hair a little. Something didn't seem quite right, and that wasn't regarding his appearance -yes, it was a bit unusual, but it wasn't like she hadn't seen far stranger in her imagination.
Fear rose up in her again as she swallowed and pressed her hat back upon her head. She wanted to ask this stranger what was wrong, if he was just frightened like she was or if there was something more, but she didn't want to offend him.
Should he take offense there was little she could do to defend herself - still, standing there and listening to him breathe so erratically was unpleasant, and concern outweighed her panic for once in her life, so she bit her lip, adjusted her hat, and asked,
"U-um.... sir, are - are *you* okay?"
It was strange asking him the question he'd asked her shortly before, but she really was rather worried. What would she do if there was something wrong, anyway? She barely knew any first aid - maybe she was just worrying over nothing. It was possible, she did it all the time.
Still, she waited for an answer, fidgeting from foot to foot and chewing on her lip, all the while looking around the empty hanger with wary eyes.
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:37 am
Looking around, adjusting, scanning... yes, a natural reaction. At least she didn't appear afraid of him anymore, not as much as before.
When she asked him how he himself was doing, Misha first of all raised his ears up a little. Boop. Did I hear that right or am I dreaming? That odd fog clouding his thoughts wouldn't pass, it was like he'd been woken up in the middle of the night and shoved outdoors before he even knew what was happening. Only that got better, this got worse.
"... I... Ieyehhh... I'm. Fine." I guess. What. If he wasn't, he sure didn't know. All limbs attached, no cuts, just a bump on his head and some scrapes from tumbling earlier. Only that growing weariness persisted, and for a moment he felt an overwhelming urge to curl up and take a nap. But he couldn't, wouldn't do that now. Also, he wanted to put her at ease, she shouldn't worry about him. He straightened up a little and let his ears flop again.
The fact she'd called him 'sir' irked him a bit, that was how he addressed his Boss. He wasn't her boss. "I'm.. Misha, just Misha." he sighed, smiled faintly.
In the meantime his gaze'd wandered, and when he spied the closed cupboards, he perked up. Twitch, up went those heavy ears again in fuzzy loops. "Ah!"
He scurried over, checked the tags on them, then shoved one open and retrieved some grey, but clean blankets. People often used them to polster their goods with, dressoirs, couches, vases... Always came in handy. Soon enough he was back with them. "This place isn't heated, don't let yourself get too cold." he held one out to her.
He wasn't at all concerned about being identified as an Essentic now, he was alive and interacting and doing things. There was no room in his head for existential fears and suspicion.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:59 am
Taking the blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders, Ellandra nodded her thanks and blushed. She could clearly recognize that for whatever reason her semi-rescuer had what appeared to be rabbit-ears, but didn't let herself wonder about that too much.
Instead, she focused on the way he was responding and acting. Gripping the blanket tightly in one fist, her eyes hardened a bit as she steeled herself to speak without stuttering for once.
"Begging your pardon.... Mr. Misha, but no, you're not. Please, it's obvious that you need something.... I'm fine so you should take care of yourself now!"
My...................... my goodness.
Had that really been HER speaking?
No way. She'd never been that forceful with anyone! What had just happened?!?
As realization dawned over how she'd just acted, Ellandra's face flared up to tomato-red again and she squeaked, tugging the blanket up from her shoulders and over her face.
"I - I'm so s-sorry, M-Mr. Misha! I'm sorry! I - I don't know what c-came over me!"
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