Welcome to Gaia! ::

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Andrew quirked a brow when Lili mentioned getting in trouble with some girl, but decided to put that aside for the moment when she questioned his own truancy. "I... I'm kinda in the middle of a health crisis 'cause of some bad medicine that was given to my citizens," he admitted uncomfortably. "It's not contagious or nothin' but it's prob'ly not a good idea for me to go to class like this. If my boss is right, it's gonna get a lot worse before it gets..." Tennessee felt a new wave of nausea hit him and he wavered for a moment, instinctively reaching out and putting a hand on Lili's shoulder to try stabilizing himself.

Simultaneously his phone buzzed and he dug it out of his pocket to see what his new condition was. The boy's eyes widened slightly and he paled when he saw the numbers had jumped to 44 cases and now there were 6 deaths. Once he felt a little stronger, the boy stood straight again and took back his hand with a light blush. "Sorry 'bout that..." he mumbled shyly. "It just... ain't a good idea for me to go to class now. I'd prob'ly just get in the way or cause a distraction like this... It's gonna be hard makin' up the missed work, though."

Especially if he didn't start getting some good news soon. Tennessee internally cringed at the thought of missing more class because of his health when he was already struggling in many of his classes.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Tennessee blinked in surprise when the small girl took his hand. He blushed lightly at the contact although he didn't pull away from her. Though he felt odd holding hands with someone in public it did feel kind of nice given how hot his body felt in comparison. Reluctantly he felt himself following after her even though he didn't want to rest. Though he was tired and achy, Andrew wasn't a fan of seeming weak in front of others. If he was going to collapse somewhere it would be nice to get back to his dorm away from prying eyes...

Still, she did seem honestly worried about him and Tennessee didn't like upsetting a girl if he could help it. Maybe he could at least humor her for a little while. The boy paused a moment before turning and looking at her almost apologetically knowing he wasn't playing fair by saying this.

"I'll sit down if you'll tell me your real name," he said.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Tennessee gawked in shock when Lili's body changed. He had known she wasn't the real Liechtenstein but he had assumed she was a look alike or maybe it was make up. Instead her entire appearance practically changed to a... him?

"Y-You're a boy?!" he blurted out unthinkingly in his shock. "Wh... how...?" Andrew was so confused now as he struggled to figure out what he had just seen. Was he a cross dresser? No, that didn't make sense, did it? This guy didn't remember his own appearance or age? How did that work?

The state hesitated when Alistair reminded him of his promise and slowly nodded before lowering himself down on the bench next to Alistair. He uncertainly glanced over at this weird boy as his mind flooded with even more questions. "Um... if you don't remember what you look like can't you just look in a mirror?" he asked awkwardly. "And if you're not her... where is the real Lili?"

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Tennessee would be lying if he said he didn't think it was a little creepy how Alistair's appearance changed--especially when it momentarily changed to him. Honestly, he was pretty sure he should be wary or somewhat afraid of this person because of their odd power. Oddly, he didn't feel the least bit intimidated since this strange boy didn't come across to him as a bad person even if he was a little weird. Perhaps it was the fever or Andrew just being Andrew, but he didn't quite connect the dots that Alistair was most likely a monster. His expression only changed to a light frown when he saw the blonde boy hug himself.

"Y'know, if you were that lonely you coulda just asked to be friends," Andrew pointed out as if that was all it took to make friends with others. "You seem nice to me so I don't see why people were ignorin' you... Maybe you haven't been speakin' up loud enough for people to hear? I mean, I figure we're friends or at least friendly with each other since we've been talkin' together so much."

Tennessee was definitely glad to hear that Liechtenstein was safe although he blinked when the young man said she was staying at his house to be friends forever. If he wasn't feeling so bad maybe that would have sent up a red flag, but everything was starting to feel foggy. His cell phone buzzed again to alert him of the new cases recently discovered which had brought his total up to a staggering 52 infected. Andrew felt his head swim and struggled to focus on their conversation.

"Your house...? That's weird... can't you be friends forever no matter where..." he mumbled and his voice trailed off before he could finish as his body slumped back against the bench while he tried to keep his eyes open. He felt so hot and tired now all Andrew really wanted to do was sleep. He was starting to wonder why he was bothering to stay awake at all since sleep felt like such a good idea at the moment. Something about pride? Pride didn't seem worth a pot of beans when he felt this bad. Before he realized what he was doing, the state leaned over and half fell into Alistair's lap as the instinctive desire for rest made his pride seem like the most insignificant thing in the world. The coolness of the doppelganger's body felt so good to someone who was burning up with fever and Tennessee found himself unwilling to sit up again. He at least had the sense to mumble a small apology for being rude.

"Sorry... I'll get off in a sec..." he promised faintly even though he made no move to do anything while his willpower was so weak.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Tennessee wasn't sure if he had ever been happier to have someone touch his face as odd as that sounded. The cold hands against his forehead seemed to help push back the throbbing within his skull and he slowly cracked his eyes open again. Andrew was frighteningly reluctant to try sitting back up again. It really did feel good laying there, but he didn't want to impose on the... whatever Alistair was.

"I'm not that bad..." the stubborn state argued as he finally put an arm beneath his body to slowly ease himself back up into a sitting position. It was unpleasant and made his head start pounding angrily in defiance, but for the moment Andrew had a slight advantage after resting a little. "Not really... They'll just cause a big fuss over a little cold... After some aspirin an' a nap I'll be fine," he insisted although his naturally soft spoken voice was much softer than normal as if speaking too loud was a great strain on his limited stamina.

Tennessee had the sense to look at least a little embarrassed about laying in someone's lap even if it had only been for a few minutes. "Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you none..." he mumbled as he tried to remember what they had been talking about before his sudden collapse.

"So... is your home far from here? Is Lili gonna start commuting to school from your place or what?" he asked hoping those questions made sense. Every time the number of meningitis cases grew he felt as though his fever went up another degree. He was really struggling through this conversation now that his infected population had reached 52 cases and was probably still growing as they spoke...

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Andrew was startled by Alistair's outburst and could only blink up at the doppelganger in shock as he asserted ownership over his friend. Even through the fever and aches, Tennessee was unnerved by the look he was being given by the boy who had seemed so docile and kind moments ago. He knew sometimes when Georgia got mad his eyes seemed to catch the light in a way that made them look like they were glowing, but the change from gentle green to irate red made his heart beat a bit faster and a small dose of adrenaline perked the state up.

"... If Lili isn't allowed to leave, is she allowed to have visitors?" he asked softly as he watched Alistair uncertainly. If he was understanding the situation right, this wasn't a matter of room mates but misguided captor and captive. Hadn't Charlotte told him she had been missing for days now? This wasn't good and Tennessee knew his condition wasn't good enough for him to properly track down Alistair's home. He had to find it somehow, though, but he wasn't very good at this sort of thing. Tricking people wasn't really the gullible state's strong suit...

"I thought we were friends, too," he tried, deciding outright lying wasn't going to work for him so he might as well try partial truths. "It ain't fair if you only invite her over to hang out with you." Of course, by now it was obviously not simply hanging out they were talking about, but Tennessee was in foreign waters while ill and doing the best he could under the circumstances. Part of him was starting to wish he had allowed the impersonator to call his siblings for him earlier. One of them would probably know what to do in situations like this. Andrew tried to tuck his cell phone deep down in his pocket where hopefully it would go unnoticed so he could use it to signal the others if something went wrong.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Tennessee's own tension eased slightly as Alistair calmed down. He watched the strange young man carefully while he took his time considering the state's offer. Honestly, Andrew was starting to regret his suggestion to go with the lonely monster for the exact reasons why Alistair finally determined it wasn't a good idea to visit. Even while they were sitting there Tennessee could all but feel another case being discovered but at least this time it wasn't a sudden spike in the number of infected. He felt so weak that he'd be no good to anyone even if he did manage to find Liechtenstein. Getting the word out to others was well and good, but then he'd have no way to defend himself if something went wrong. Though Alistair seemed nice enough it was obvious by now he wasn't entirely stable or predictable much like a small child.

Andrew jumped slightly when he felt his new friend suddenly grab his hands excitedly with a big smile. The Tennessean blinked in surprise for a few moments and felt silly for having someone hold onto him like that, but managed a faint smile.

"Y-Yeah... That sounds fair," he agreed. "When I'm better I'll come back to visit you and Liechtenstein. Would you mind tellin' her I said hi?" The boy hesitated a moment as he belatedly remembered his manners. Though this was shaping up to be some sort of strange rescue mission, he wouldn't feel right showing up at a friend's house for the first time without bringing a gift. "... Do y'all like barbecue?" he asked a little shyly knowing he'd probably get smacked in the back of the head by more than a few siblings or maybe his boss for offering something like that to a kidnapper. "I'd be happy to bring some over..."

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

"Yeah, it's food," Tennessee said with a faint smile of his own as Alistair accepted his offer and promised to deliver his message. He couldn't do much to help Liechtenstein in his current condition, but maybe she'd at least know someone was aware of her being missing now. "Alright. You go on and do that. I'm feeling a little better now so I figure I should go on and get that aspirin. The sooner I get over this cold the sooner we can hang out again." Although after that last swell in his infected population he wasn't feeling like moving around at all, but he couldn't sit on this bench all day outside in the autumn air. Slowly the Tennessean rose to his feet and took a moment to make sure he wasn't too dizzy before standing up straight again and smiled at his monster friend.

"You take good care of yourself and Liechtenstein, alright?" he said more than asked.

Grade 9
The Volunteer