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 Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:03 pm
"Bed," Maia agreed, stretching and standing up to get ready. She gave each of the boys a hug before making her way towards the stairs. "Thank you letting me stay," she called to Toby before heading up the stairs.
Once there she changed into her night gown and brushed her teeth, flopped into bed and stared at the ceiling. She waited for sleep to happen, but images of the tanks from the game kept popping into her head. Sleep didn't seem like it'd be happening. After a while, she wandered downstairs.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:21 pm
Well, there she went. That was a bit abrupt! The boys went about putting the console away and talked for a while about the plans for Maia, discussing pros and cons and occasionally going on wildly unrelated tangents. After a while Toby got ready for bed himself and was just about to head upstairs when he heard Maia coming down. He was just by the stairs and offered her a smile.
"Can't sleep?" No accusations. No probing. Just a harmless question.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:36 pm
"No," she admitted. She didn't want him to think it was due to discomfort though, so she added, "I guess the zombies frightened me. I think I'm finally getting close to falling asleep and one pops up. And then I think about what's going to happen to me now..." Bleh. She'd never dealt with troubles sleeping before.
"I'm not sure I'll be able to blend in, if I wanted to live as a human. There's so much I don't know. Like video games."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:41 pm
Aw, damn. He thought it might be too scary for her. Somehow he thought that shooting other humans would have been worse, though. They never would have finished a round.
"Nothing's going to 'happen to you'," Toby assured her, giving her a bit of a disbelieving face. "Anyway, it's what we do. We get people to the point where they can function in human society, if they want to, and don't bother if they don't. You're one of thousands, what makes you think you're a difficult case? Hell--" he gestured to Dari, "--he was a little over an ounce of fluid in a flask a surprisingly short time ago." Dari smiled and waved. It was true!
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:58 pm
Maia made a face. "Life's going to happen to me," she pointed out. She'd have to get a job, find a mate, all sorts of things. "One of thousands, hm. I don't know. Maybe I'm too used to being the only one." She'd been alone on that beach for so long, it was hard for her to believe they'd have the same success they'd had with others. But then, Dari had been alone too. And he'd adjusted. He knew so much, and even if He didn't look physically human, he certainly knew how to act like one.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:04 pm
"Well, in my personal opinion that should be exciting, but you don't have to do anything you don't want to. You don't have to join a clan, you don't have to live as a human, you don't have to ever see us again if you don't want. We've met plenty of 'only one's. Mostly 'only one's' actually, because they're in the most danger." Toby glanced around the room in search of something that could help Maia rest.
"Do you drink tea?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:12 pm
"It is exciting! And terrifying!" Maia tried to explain. It was exciting, making new friends, trying new things and seeing more of the world than her beach. It was. But being away from home, being away from the only things she knew, was terrifying.
"I want to live as a human. And I want to see you guys. You're my friends. My very first friends I could really relate to." Tea? "I've never had it."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:20 pm
Toby nodded. Yes. That was the perfect explanation for coming into a new human life. He was glad it wasn't all terror.
"Good. So we'll work on that together. I know it's scary, but in the end it'll all come out. I promise." He looked toward the kitchen again. "No?" Then chamomile might not be the thing to start with. "Are you one of those warm-milk people?" He personally couldn't do it. He went around the stairs and headed for the kitchen. He knew he had some caffeine-free tea somewhere. He pulled open the pantry and started shifting through.
Dari got up to follow, curious to see how this all planned out. Interactions intrigued him, even especially simple ones.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:29 pm
"Warm milk?" Maia shook her head. She didn't know about that: she hardly liked cold milk, unless it was ice cream. She followed him into the kitchen and watched him shift through things. "I don't need anything," she said. She didn't want to be a bother to him. He was already allowing her to stay for the night. Asking for anything more would be rude.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:34 pm
"It's something depraved individuals occasionally do and claim it helps them sleep. It tastes like death, but I don't judge," Toby half-teased. He came out with a box of flowery-looking tea and eyed it strangely. Had he actually bought this? "We'll find out if you like tea, and if you don't we'll... play... I can't think of anything." He began fixing Maia a cup, filling it with hot water from his Keurig and popping in an infuser. "Give it five minutes or so." He offered the mug to Maia and smiled.
"and if you don't like that, we can see if you like wine." An even broader smile. Dari grinned and laughed.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:44 pm
"It would. Regular milk tastes like that too. I like cheese and ice cream though, and those are apparently made from it..." She still doubted that. How could something so good come from something that tasted so awful? She took the mug carefully. "Thank you," she said.
She waited five minutes as suggested and took a sip. She almost immediately set the mug down, giving Toby an apologetic look. Blegh! It was horrible, and not the least bit sweet.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:07 pm
"Okay, no warm milk then," Toby said with a chuckle. Some day he'd have to bring her some good cheese. Anything to make her feel more comfortable.
When it came time to taste the tea Maia made a terrible face and he grinned. "You're not going to like wine." He took the mug, claiming it as his own, and traveled to the living room. "So, what helps?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:19 pm
Maia shrugged. What helped? Swimming? She didn't know. She'd never had trouble sleeping before: she'd rarely slept in human form. "Wine tastes like tea, then?" she asked. "It'd taste better if it had sugar in it." Probably. Hopefully. Most things did, unless they were savory.
"We could talk, maybe? I'll try a glass of water."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:23 pm
Toby pushed out his lips and looked down at the mug in his hand. "No, it doesn't taste anything like tea." Sweet. He could make it sweet. He turned around and went back to the kitchen, giving a splash of cream to take the bite and a spoonful of sugar. He didn't want Maia staying up because of it.
He heard her pose another theory and came back with both the warm mug and a glass of water. Dari had taken to the chair in the living room while Toby joined Maia.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:46 pm
"Does it taste worse than tea?" she asked, blinking. She couldn't imagine it. He turned back into the kitchen before Maia could protest that he needn't do any more for her.
She took the glass of water first, sipping at It. "You know, if you'd told me where the cups were I could've gotten it. Thank you, though."
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