[PRP] Walk This Way [ Ofelia + Melvin ] FINISHED

[Rown]

A combination of loneliness and boredom was starting to set in, leaving her to feel listless. Ofelia wasn't one for laying around and her recent escape attempts had helped alleviate some stress, but it was her dreams at night that had her uneasy during the day. Perhaps she just needed someone to talk with, even if they really didn't talk, and so Ofelia pulled her phone out and punched in a text.

Quote:

Text to Melvin: come see me

Her lack of punctuation totally made it sound like a command when it was an honest request.

MoonKitsune

on my phone, sorry in advance for delays and errors

 

[MoonKitsune]

Rown

I had the tab open just got distracted with a quest.

Melvin took a moment to just look at the text. It came off more as a command, which bothered him, but it was a text and he decided to take it with a grain of salt. He was in the middle of punching holes in a stack of lab papers that he was finishing off and texted her back.

Text to Ophelia

Finishing up work. See you in 15.

It took him nearly 20 due to another last minute task before he showed up in the labs, finding her room, knocking lightly, and stepping inside. "New room?" He asked, confused as he had been in another last time he saw her.  

[Rown]

It wouldn't be a lie to say that Ofelia was surprised to see Melvin actually come and see her considering she sent a text, but given her track run of texts and actual visitors she was mildly pleased. He'd responded with a text to her as well, which should have been more of an indication, but that was beside the point. Her grasp of time (poor grasp, that is) allowed her to not worry that he was late though it did cause her to be trying to change her shirt in the process. She felt hot, sweaty, and because of all the medicine and wraps on her body she actually felt a bit gross.

"Oh." She said, trying to keep the sudden and strange embarrassment from her voice. Her back had been turned as he entered, it was his question to her that got her attention, and the teen gave up trying to button the vest she'd been given (anything that had to be pulled over her head hurt too much) and just moved her head gingerly in his direction. "Nnn yeah, they moved me outta ICU 'cause Ah'm not really in danger'a comas anymore, though 'cause fer some reason Rue's not helpin' me heal like she should Ah gotta stay a bit longer."

It also didn't help she exaggerated her wounds and popped stitches trying to help Rep a day or so before. The evidence of that was clear by the red and angry wounds on her shoulders, the sheer increase in amount of bandages. "Ta be honest Ah didn' think ya'd come, it was jus' a question more than anythin' else." Her cheeks colored red and she fumbled with her buttons. "Ah mean, Ah know yer busy an' well Ah jus' like yer company an'. . . " Ofelia rambled on, still trying so hard to button her shirt.

MoonKitsune

oh! those look fun, i wanna do one with melvin too OwO!! ofie says ADVENTURE!

 

[MoonKitsune]

Rown

Melvin moved in, walking over to her as he shut the door and heard it click. "I don't say I'll visit if I didn't mean it. I'm not that much of a d**k." He told her, walking over to her side as he watched her fumble with her own clothes and ramble a bit to herself. Her lack of confidence in almost everything was depressing to say the least.

"You have a very sad view of people and the world, you know that? You should have a bit more faith." That and to rely on herself, though when you were banged up in a infirmary, wanting some care was natural. "And I'm only as busy as how much I schedule for myself. There are no set times I have anyways. I would have told you if I couldn't come today. I was just doing some...paperwork." It wasn't' exactly paperwork when you punched holes but it sounded better.

"Do you need some help? He asked, gesturing to the buttons.  

[Rown]

Ofelia wasn't going to play the proud card, not against Melvin. He seemed to think that she already had problems, or at least she assumed it based on sometimes how he looked at her. A few others here always looked at her that way but most of the time she could shake it off. Melvin seemed to always get that look at least once during their talking together times. Like in the library, or with the rose. Why did he do that, she'd have to wonder, instead for now she just let her hands drop and nodded. "Yeah, please."

He'd said some other things, did she need to respond to them? Probably. Her whole bit about him thinking poorly over her probably was verified by what he said about her and needing faith over asking people for things. Ofelia wasn't really used to trusting people, or maybe she was just overly trusting? It was hard to tell, she usually just ended up believing in the best and denying it all when she got burned.

"Thanks fer comin' though. S'good ta see a friendly face after how many people are comin' an' goin'." She tilted her head towards the ICU, a likely remark about one of the newer additions. "As fer mah view, believe it or not Ah'm pretty happy wit' everythin'." She smiled and her cheeks flushed a bit red, though her smile could have been sad? It was hard to tell when she was so torn up and tired from her injuries and medications.

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

Rown

Melvin moved in front of her, glad for the tank top she was wearing, and slowly started to button her top. His fingers were long and nimble and despite wearing soft, black gloves, it didn't hinder him in the least to quickly button her top. He kept his eyes focused on the buttons of course, not risking letting them wander.

"Please...don't mention going." He told her, not wanting to think of the dead bodies that had been carted away during the last mission or that one superior who was gutted in front of them. It sent his stomach turning and his face paling just thinking of it, and he wasn't sure what to think of it instead of just being terrified for his own welfare as a trainee.

"Well, I'm glad you are feeling alright. There are enough depressed people crying into their cereal each morning. I don't need to think of you deciding to jump off the deep end." As he finished up, he stepped back and then glance around with a frown. She was a tad messy and he had to wonder if it was due to personal laziness or because of her injuries.

Not asking, he slowly started to pick up a few cook books and some clothes as he walked around. "Was there anything you'd like to do?" He asked her. She was dressing up after all, and he wasn't sure if she just wanted to talk. Due to the drugs, she had been barely able to think, and her sore throat meant that she could barely talk.  

[Rown]

She was impressed, the boy knew how to get a girl dressed, and Ofelia wasn't in the slightest bit ready to judge. It was actually really impressive, he was so careful and gentle enough that she didn't even notice when he'd finished, and a mumble of a sincere thank you escaped her lips as he went on to keep talking. Melvin talked a lot. Ofelia liked that very, very much.

It was when he asked her if she wanted to do anything that she answered his speech instead of just nodding to his request about not mentioning dying or whatever. Or not going off the deep end, whatever that meant.

"Anythin' is fine. Jus'...please. Take me away from here." Ofelia had been able to sneak out but even then she could only sneak out inside the building. Going beyond that was beyond her, she was always worried she'd collapse and then never be able to make it back in, and so the teen had always kept a sort of leash on herself. She'd spent most of the morning and early afternoon looking out one of the windows into the gray and foggy sky. Even if things were overcast, even if it were dreadfully dreary, she wanted out.

If one looked closely, maybe a little too close, they could see bloody fingerprints on the window from where she'd been pressing against it for a while. Just how badly had she wanted out? Ofelia would never admit to it.

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

It was a rather straight forward request for a woman who had been rather shy on most subjects and unsure on others. Still, it was easily accomplished though he wished she'd be more specific with destination. Setting the books on a neat pile on her bedside table after placing some clothes in a hamper, he then moved over to her. "Well, if you are ready, we can take a trail outside the labs. I usually walk the minipets on a few of the trails here, but there are a few others the techs mentioned are for people and rather scenic." And not that far. He hadn't much time to explore outside of the labs and on the island itself. However, if they were going outside, he didn't want to melt. It was still murky hot outside on the island and while he wore a sweater inside the air-conditioned buildings, a walk outside would be a bit much.

"Ah, before we go. It's hot out there." He took off his jacket and set it on the bed, before taking off his sweater. He wore a button up, dress shirt under neath in light blue with white, vertical stripes. Putting his jacket back on, he walked over to her. "Shall we?"  

[Rown]

Ofelia didn't even bat an eye as Melvin stripped, either not taking into preference gender differences or just not having enough of a care to consider someone was removing clothing in her presence. He'd been helping her with her shirt only moments before so it was safe to assume she had something to explain her limited concerns though with the way the teen usually was it could have been anyone's guess. "There are trails 'round here? Ah didn' know that."

It wasn't that strange, even if she'd been on the Island for a while. Most of her ventures saw her only to the beach or places she knew despite her love of exploring. There was something about not wanting to get lost on the Island that kept her to familiar paths, seeing as the one day she wanted to adventure she'd ended up nearly losing her leg. Thankfully everything ended up well and her adventurous spirit was hardly diminished - she was just a little tiny bit more cautious was all. A very, very tiny bit - which meant once she was healed up proper it was time to explore.

"Ya can take the minis on walks? Ah've only seen 'em once, wit'. . . Bix, an' even then we mostly jus' fed 'em." Melvin was teaching her all kinds of new things today and Ofelia loved him for it.

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

Rown

"We have to walk the minipets or else they become restless, cause more problems for the lab techs handling them, and make them generally unhealthy. It's a rotating duty to walk them around the labs, and they have to be in a 30 minute radius or else they melt. I know a few of the trails, but there are others that branch out for people. We can take a small path and see how you feel when we get to the turn." He wasn't about to push her since she seemed to be taking some time healing.

"If you ever want t walk the minipets, there are plenty of lab techs who would be happy to dump their walking duties on you for the day. I have a few myself that I work on." Which he had to find and gather all on his own since minipets were sometimes a valuable commodity in the labs that were sometimes hard to come by.

Opening the door, he gestured for her to follow. He lead her out of the Infirmary with ease, having long since gotten use to the place, and then to a side exit that lead them outside. As usual, the day was dismal overcast with fog, not to mention tropical warm.

"Lovely day as ever." He sighed with heavy sarcasm as he shut the exit door and started to lead her to a side trail.  

[Rown]

"Ah'll have...ta maybe take ya up on that. Ah think Ah actually got a minipet'a mah own there, sommin' Ah brought back from that Fright Night thing." It had been....a catfish, maybe? Or was it that weird onion creature? Either way Ofelia had almost forgotten them but now had a reason to be in the labs other than trying to stay alive. Reasons were always amazing when they didn't involve her bleeding out. "Thanks as always fer lettin' me know." She said, gratefully. Ofelia still wore her usual grin, there wasn't a reason to smile, and she followed as Melvin started to lead out.

The weather, as usual, was what she had expected and somewhat hoped it to be. While Melvin looked like he wanted to wilt and melt, to go back inside, Ofelia appeared to be flourishing. Maybe it was just the heat, or maybe it was redness from having to exert herself, but the teen's cheeks were practically rosy and her skin had taken on a far healthier hue than she'd had in days. "Ya really think so? Ah love weather like this, reminds me lots 'bout home. Georgia was always humid, always sticky hot, so temperatures like this kinda feel like a welcomin' blanket." She said and turned to him, blinking once or twice to adjust her eye to the light difference. Her hands, which had been at her sides, moved up and placed themselves across her chest in a self-hug; her hands rubbed her bare shoulders ever so faintly before she pressed her palms together and interlocked her fingers. "B'for, we had this mission ta the Amazon an' Ah loved the weather there. Not many people liked it, too hot an'[ muggy, but fer me Ah'm jus' reminded so much'a home almost makes me think Ah'm back there." Her hands were raised to her lips, and she pressed her index fingers against them. "Ah'm not the nostalgic type, ain't no point or sense livin' in the past, but sometimes Ah gotta wonder how things are back home wit'out me." She looked at Melvin again, having turned to face forward just moments before, and she frowned sheepishly. "The sad thing is Ah dun 'member mah brother's name, or mah aunt's name, so it's silly tryin' ta think'a home. Ah'm probably jus' bein' selfish thinkin' that they miss me, not after that nasty fight we all had an' what Ah did ta the house an' barn." Maybe it was the warm on her cheeks that had her thinking of the fire, thinking of back home. Maybe it was just a combination of everything, to be more exact.

"How 'bout ya? Are ya settlin' in okay? Ya missin' yer home?" The topic needed to be changed, she didn't want to talk too much about herself just yet to a stranger, and tossing it back onto them was always the easiest way that Ofelia found a conversation could change.

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

Rown

Melvin followed the same tactic of conversation change, but not out of being polite. It was to keep him in control of what to say, and when she asked him about his home, he pressed his thin lips to keep from frowning.

"I'm adjusting well enough, though the weather is not what I"m used to. I lived in Rhode Island, not even remotely south. We don't get humidity. We have rain, fog, and a lot of snow. This.." He gestured all around him, at the heat and humidity. "...I don't do. I only go on walks because I need to get out and breath." And even then it was hard with how muggy it was. He was usually naturally cold, but this sometimes made him feel dizzy every so often.

He didn't touch on talking about home. It stung.

"What did you do to your house and barn to make your brother and aunt angry at you? How can't you remember their names?" To him, it was strange not to know the names of your relatives, no matter how distant. He knew the names of all his relatives aside from a few distant cousins.  

[Rown]

"A've never seen snow, not outside'a the time Ah went on missions an' it was already on the ground." Like the Antarctic, or Alaska. Those places had snow, but only just and even then it was there long before she had a chance to watch it. "One day Ah'd like ta see snowfall, it sounds like sommin' beyond beautiful. People say its silent but at the same time if ya listen ya can hear sounds beyond anythin' ya ever imagined." She closed her eyes and stopped in her walk, careful to do so she didn't decide to walk into a tree or something. It was hard to imagine snow, something like frozen or more solid rain she supposed, and in a way Ofelia was thankful to Deus. Here she got to live life more in practice, not just the theories she always held.

Not that she'd tell anyone she often daydreamed about it. She wanted to keep her eyes closed, to keep thinking on it, but the questions had come back to her. It was now Ofelia's turn to bite her lip and she evade though the honest idiot in her forced herself to respond. If he was truly curious she would provide the answers. "Ah burned the barn down, an' trashed the house the night Ah left fer Deus. Destroyed mah room, the kitchen, walked barefoot miles ta mah school an' burned a buildin' down there too." She said it all without hesitation, without regret in her voice. In fact she looked a little proud, strong, like what she did was something she would never look back on with worry or sorrow. "Ah'd gotten tired'a people tellin' me Ah was lyin', a'people lockin' me in the storeroom jus' ta listen ta mah screams as the voices came closer an' closer." Ofelia turned her gaze to the ground. "Sometimes the voices left bruises, or Ah think they did, but everyone always said Ah hurt mahself fer the attention an' just shoved me back in there. Got in a lotta fights 'cause'a it, an' mah brother stopped carin' after a while."

The redhead ran a finger up what looked to be a faint scar on her wrist, not any that could have been self-inflicted by any measure of skill, and her hands found themselves wandering up to her face where a fingertip gingerly rested on the scar that claimed her face. "As fer what Ah did ta make 'em angry, Ah jus' asked fer their faith. Ah'm tired'a bein' called a liar, Ah'm tired'a bein' told Ah'm crazy. Ah jus' wanted someone ta listen ta me, ta believe me, but even blood will betray ya in the end. S'why sometimes Ah wonder if people even see me as a person or jus' an object screamin' at them." She paused after saying that, wondering what else she could just spew out. She didn't think Melvin would believe her either, he would probably give her that same look as always where he either was angry or pitying her, and for some reason she didn't want to see any of those looks so she turned her head away and focused on a tree before turning everything back down to the ground. "As fer why Ah dun 'member their names, s'cause no one was really ever 'round ta have me call it. Mah aunt was always 'aunt' or 'auntie' an' mah brother was always 'brother'. There was no family in that house, Ah think after mah accident it jus' went away. Probably was never there ta begin wit'." Another pause, and Ofelia clinched her hands into fists. "Wanna know the saddest thin'? Ah dun 'member the last time Ah heard anyone in mah family actually call mah name, mah birth name or mah nickname or anythin'. Ah can' recall bein' called anythin' other than 'you'."

And there, for Mevlin, was Ofelia's home.

MoonKitsune

 

[MoonKitsune]

Rown

Melvin was getting an odd impression that he was the only person with a somewhat decent home life. Rin had been in the insane asylum, Rep seemed to be a thug, and Ofelia seemed to be from a broken home. Her parents weren't mentioned and since he could conclude that they were probably dead, he didn't bother asking. She was clearly struggling just saying what she was telling him now. Still, it was strange that her brother would be a name she didn't remember. Had he always hated her, and how long had this trauma been going on?

He did keep in mind that she preformed arson on several buildings with a sense of pride, a outburst against others, and he wondered if there were any fatalities.

"Did you make sure they were out of the house before you set everything on fire?" He had to ask as it meant something. "How long have you seen the shadows? When did they first decide to put you in a barn?" The last part bothered him deeply. The idea of being in a dark, locked place was a torture only THEY, the hunters here, would know. It was strange that anyone in the world could sympathize with what he felt, but these people on this island did. That locking him in a closet or having a night light blow out would be a terrifying experience. How often did Ofelia have to be locked up? Only when she acted out or every night?"

He did not change the conversation. She was being open, and he was going to push her honesty and boundaries to feed his own curiosity.  

[Rown]

Ofelia turned to look at Melvin swiftly as he asked the question about people being home, and the look on her face mirrored disgust at being accused and perhaps a bit of sadness and disbelief as well. "Of course no one was home, an' no one was at school. Ah did it at night, when mah brother took mah aunt inta town fer her card games, an' Ah got ta school jus' b'for dawn so there was no one there either." The look of hurt was growing stronger, enough that she . . . .just shook her head. She found herself raising her voice, not in the manner to yell but in one to accuse. Ofelia had never gotten angry, never wanted to get angry at someone, and she certainly was not the type to raise her voice without proper provocation. Why was he asking her all of this, really? There was no way he cared, there had to be another motive, and the little tendrils of paranoia that inhabited her body dug themselves into her brain like wriggling fingers.

"The kids at school didn' shove me in a barn, the barn was back at mah home, they shoved me in a storage shed an' locked the door. They did that almost every week ta me until Ah learned ta fight back, but by then it was pretty much a joke an' a way ta impress people." She grinned at him though her eyes were anything but laughing. "Lock the crazy girl in the shed, watch her scream an' panic an' claw at the windows. See how she fights ta keep people outta there an' always comes out injured like sommin' really happened. Ah bet she jus' wants attention, always hurtin' herself like that." She took on a mocking tone, like she was doing an impression. The words flowed so quickly, so easily. "Ah've seen shadows since Ah can recall, heard their voices fer jus' as long, but after Ah lost mah eye seein' 'em got lots harder. Their voices got louder though, an' they were callin'. Turns out if they know ya can hear 'em, or see 'em, some make a point ta always call fer ya."

Her hands were flexing in and out of the fists though she didn't make any moves. This. . .what was it worth? "Never mind, why am Ah even botherin' ta tell ya this? S'not like ya really care, or really believe me. Ya probably jus' wanna know ta feel better 'bout yerself, or ta prove Ah really am jus' some crazy hick from the South."

MoonKitsune