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 Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 7:40 pm
Things were normal. Shops were open. Work was routine. Days followed each other. No comas or trips to Camelot, and thought strange dreams persisted they were only that. Dreams. And he could tell the difference.
So Anthony Darrow was getting back to his regularly scheduled life. After a few bumps in the road, and a couple of very drunk nights and painful mornings, he had sorted himself out as far as his emotions of 'post-Camelot' life. Or so he liked to think to himself. It was easiest to believe he was fully 'fixed'. Healed. His mind was in the right place now.
Though, he still did like to end the night with a drink, at least he wasn't going to bed drunk and waking hung over.
Old habits were hard to completely break, and drinking had always been a vice of his. As had criminal mischief, which had followed him like a plague into his adult life. He was fighting hard not to resort to cheap thrills like holding someone up or stealing from a store to give himself the jolts he thought he might need to keep himself running at full speed.
So he wasn't sure what he was doing over on this end of town. His apartment was in a terrible part of town, with delinquents and unfavorable folks aplenty, simply because he didn't see the point of living anywhere else. He had never been mugged there, at least, though the increase in being attacked by monsters and Negaverse people was making him consider moving.
But only if he could find some place closer to the library.
In any case, he was away from that area now, looking around unfamiliar streets, limping on his cane and wishing he had driven. Why did he never drive? He had taken a bus and walked all this way, but was running out of energy without remembering that this was only half the journey.
How was he going to get back?
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:05 pm
Elena Pellerin was rather determined to go about her life as normally as possible. She'd woken up from her coma, luckier than all too many other people. Fortunately for her, nothing that she'd experienced in Tartaros' Elfland had been overly traumatic (except possibly Scheelite), so it had been easier for her to pick up her life where she'd left off.
Which was why she was out shopping for clothes. She did, of course, have to wear the standard Crystal uniform, which was...well, that was fine. At least it had a skirt. But it wasn't really something one could wear everywhere, of course. Besides, she deserved a little retail therapy, right?
Except it had turned into a lot of retail therapy, and Elena was probably a little overburdened with bags and boxes from everything she'd bought today. She could see in front of her, but her peripheral vision wasn't the best it could be. Most people moved out of her way as she strode down the street towards a bus stop, but that didn't save her as her foot caught on a crack in the sidewalk and she went stumbling forward, thrown entirely off balance from the addition of all her purchases.
"s**t!" was all the warning she was able to give to anyone around her before the pavement filled her vision and smacked her hard.
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 4:33 pm
Tony really wished he knew where he was, and had at least the slightest idea of how to get back home. His feet were starting to burn. More so, his leg was hurting and he hadn't brought any medication with him. He always worried he'd be stopped by a cop and look like some kind of junkie if he had pills on him, and had learned long ago that if he lacked the prescription bottle and ID, he was going to get in trouble.
That lesson apparently had stuck with him into adulthood. As a kid he would ignore it, even dare it, but now he was wary for no reason. It was funny how things turned around so completely, but he didn't really stop to think about it.
After some more wandering he found a more populated area, and they took pity on the man with the cane and pointed him to the bus stop nearest them that would take him home. Or maybe they were just nice people, and his being on a cane had nothing to do with it.
Whatever.
He was heading in that direction when he saw a girl nearby take a fall. Immediately he was by her side, hero instinct in full swing, concern etched on his kind face as he knelt as best he could beside her. He put his hand on her shoulder gently, not shaking her. "Are you alright, miss?" he asked, posed to help her up if she wanted to, though he would understand after a fall like that it might be better to sit still for a minute. There were some people giggling around them at the scene of the girl falling, but Tony missed the humor.
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Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:22 pm
Elena had managed to get herself back up to hands and knees and she grimaced as she saw the disarray all her bags and bundles were in. The hand on her shoulder made her jump slightly, and her head whipped up to face whoever had decided to help her, blue eyes wide, one of which was beginning to purple with the makings of a spectacular black eye.
"I should be," the girl replied, smiling brightly while lying through her teeth. Now that the adrenaline from the fall had gone back out of her system, a stubborn ache in her knee was making itself known. She must have landed harder than she thought. The laughter in the background was something Elena was determined to ignore, though as she stared at Tony, a faint hint of a red flush could be seen quite clearly against her pale skin.
"Um," she said after a moment's pause, "Maybe you could help me up, though?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 10:22 am
The Librarian frowned when he saw how red her face was, and it wasn't embarrassment. Or at least not entirely. He could see that her eye was ready to swell and bruise, which was not going to be fun for her. If he were at the library he would have had more options as far as helping her went, but out here he had no idea where he could get some ice.
Smiling as she said she as fine, he nodded, though he certainly didn't believe her. Hell, if he had fallen that hard he probably would have said the same thing, but then limped home miserably.
"Here you go," he said, taking her arm gently and letting her lean on him as he helped her to her feet. The giggling had ebbed from around them, people getting bored and wandering off now that she was getting back to her feet. There hadn't really been a scene to keep them interested, so off they went.
"Do you live nearby? I can help you to where ever you need to go," he offered, holding his cane in his other hand. Hell, if she needed it, he'd offer it to her. He was just that guy.
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 1:40 pm
"Thank you," Elena said once Tony had helped her up. "I, no. I go to Crystal Academy," she continued somewhat vaguely. "I was going to the bus stop." She made a small movement forward, as if to start picking up her bags, but her knee twinged ominously. "Mm," the girl said, leaning against Tony slightly instead of actually moving.
It wouldn't really be fair to ask him to get the bags. She hadn't missed the cane, or the way he seemed to need it. "Sorry," Elena said, smiling somewhat brightly again, though it remained pain shadowed. "This is really a bother." Everyone else on the sidewalk appeared content to flow around the pair, which was preferable to being laughed at.
Oh yes. Elena had marked the faces of a few of the people who'd been laughing at her and had already determined that if the opportunity arose, they'd be running into Lieutenant Selenite. And then...Well.
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:11 am
Tony didn't miss the look she gave him, or the way she leaned on him a bit heavier for a moment. He shook his head, knowing she was just trying to give him a brave face and pretend she wasn't in pain. He wasn't about to buy it, though, and he certainly wasn't going to abandon her just because it was a 'bother' in her eyes.
"No, no," he said with a cheerful smile, "not a bother at all. I wasn't doing anything particularly interesting, and you could do with a little bit of help, if you don't mind. Here."
He moved to help her with the bags, regardless of her thoughts on the matter. He didn't seem to be put out for a moment, hooking the bags in one arm and supporting her on the other side, cane offered to her.
"Use this if you need to. Looks like you hurt your leg. I use it mostly for show," he laughed, though he was being silly and lying, as he had hurt his leg some time ago, "canes make you look distinguished, you know."
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:36 pm
Elena clasped her hands in front of her and tried not to wobble too much when Tony left her side to go pick up the bags. "Thank you," she offered somewhat lamely, biting her lip. This was utterly beyond any expectations she'd had after falling practically on her face and Elena wasn't entirely sure how to react. People hadn't been this genuinely nice to her in, oh, ages. Or at least, she hadn't read anyone's intentions as being this noble in a very long time.
Probably because she was a touch more cynical than she'd been.
Once he was back, bags casually held on one arm, Elena took the proffered cane with another smile. She could tell he wasn't being entirely truthful about the matter, but it wasn't worth arguing over. At any rate, it was a gentleman's duty to assist a lady, and she had a feeling what was how he'd feel about the matter. "Oh? Is that why you carry it around?" she asked teasingly.
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Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:10 pm
Tony smiled brightly, holding on to her bags as she took the cane from him. He was glad she had, or he would have been forced to carry her. While that worked very well for white knights and in medieval times when women were swooning and men were all but required to serve as living wheel chairs, it wasn't such an easy task for a slightly out of shape librarian in the middle of a public street.
Though, as he had thought before, if he had to, he would have.
"Oh, yes, couldn't you tell? I try to be as stylishly distinguished as possible at all times." He grinned, knowing he looked anything but. His clothes were fitted and fine for work, but not exactly the cutting edge of fashion. In fact, he looked exactly the way a librarian should, in a drab, but professional way.
His cane hadn't really been helping or hurting him in regards to appearance.
Once he was sure she could walk, with the aid of the metal stick, he moved back from the defensive, catch-her-if-she-wobbles pose he had taken up.
"Let's get you where you want to go, then."
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 5:06 am
Normally, Elena would have said something biting; perhaps that he could use all the help he could get. Instead, she bit her lip again and offered another smile. That wasn't really the proper response to someone helping you as selflessly as Tony was. "I think it's working," she said instead. And really, he wasn't dressed that badly; maybe a little drably, but the librarian looked professional, which was something the daughter of an enthusiastic kindergarten teacher had grown to appreciate.
"Just to the bus stop," she repeated, taking a cautious step in that direction. Hah! No wobble that time. "I don't think you want to follow me all the way back to my dorm." That would be a little awkward, really.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 2:06 pm
Tony nodded his head, walking with her. He was doing his best to hide his limp, as a matter of pride at this point. He didn't want to prove that he did, in fact, need his cane. As long as it wasn't far, he would be alright. He had been through worse than a walk on a limp, after all.
And at least he felt good about the company he was in. Being helpful always made him feel better, where before he had been in a bad mood. He all but forgot all of that, anyway.
"Ha, I believe you're right," he said, shaking his head. "Awkward, right up to the point where I am asked to leave or even thrown out by some campus hotshot." He sighed.
He walked with her without complaint, offering feeble and sometimes silly attempts at conversation, all the way to the bus stop.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:57 pm
Elena could see, out of the corner of her eye, hard he was working to hide his limp. She rolled her blue eyes a little bit, and let out a small huff of a sigh. Men. She did not, however, say anything that indicated she realized how much he needed the cane she was currently using.
"I'll be able to get help at the school," she reassured him. "Easier to do that than arranging a visitor's pass for you." While they walked - somewhat slower than the bluenette was used to - she responded easily to his conversational forays. It wasn't hard to talk to him at all, really.
Once they reached the bus stop, she peered at the schedule and quickly checked the time, biting her lip in thought. "I should be able to take the next bus." A quick double check of things confirmed it. "I, ah. Thank you again," Elena said with another bright and sincere smile. "My name's Elena, by the way. Elena Pellerin." A fair bit of pink stained her cheeks as she realized she hadn't introduced herself yet.
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 7:51 pm
Tony nodded his head once they reached the bus stop, once she told him she would be able to get the next bus, smiling. He wasn't sure if she had a timetable to keep, or if she was late from something by missing a bus, but he hoped that she meant she would be able to catch it up,
"Alright, then. I hope you haven't been too out of schedule."
He shook his head, looking surprised, then offered her his hand hurriedly. He couldn't fathom forgetting to introduce himself during all that, but there it was. He supposed it just got away from him, the situation a bit out of the ordinary and making him forget how he might usually act if he were, say, at his desk in the library. He smiled apologetically.
"Anthony Darrow." He moved to give her the bags he had been carrying for her, in exchange for his cane. "I'll leave you to your bus, then. I'll likely have to catch one, heading the other way." He sounded thoughtful, like he wasn't sure. If it came to it, he would just walk back.
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 2:51 pm
There was something about him that made Elena want to continue to reassure him; he certainly appeared to be concerned over her ability to catch the correct bus, as well as everything else that had already happened. "It'll be fine," the bluenette replied breezily, shifting her bags around to get at her purse and the bus pass lurking within it's depths.
She'd managed to pull it out and look back up as he extended his hand towards her, which she took after a moment's work of slipping the pass into her other hand while not dropping anything. "Nice to meet you, even in this situation."
The strange thing was that she really felt that way. A bus pulled up, causing Elena to drop Tony's hand and check that yes, this was the one she wanted. "Sorry to just run off, but it'd be half an hour before the next one and I'd like to put some ice on my knee," she rambled while taking one step onto the bus itself. "Hopefully you don't have to wait long!" was the last thing she said before the door closed.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 10:53 am
Tony smiled and nodded his head, chuckling as she reassured him again that she was fine. He could believe it, he supposed. Young adults were built tougher these days, and she'd bounce right back. A bag of ice would do good.
In fact, at the mention of it, he was once again missing his apartment, wanting to get back home to put ice on his own leg, which felt like it was burning from the strain. Why he had the idea to walk this far... he was almost glad he did, though, if just because he felt helpful now.
That was important to him. Helping others, even in, or rather especially in, small ways.
He waited until the door was closed before he made to walk off, looking to cross the street first, and see if a bus could take him back home. Or he would just sit at the stop for a while, thinking things over and waiting for his strength to return. At least now he was in a good mood.
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