Welcome to Gaia! ::

~Rick 0%~

Oh yes, it was definitely worth it to come to this island. Free lodging, free access to musical resources, and even a free vaccination! Yes, this was turning out to be a very good day indeed.

Those thoughts went through his mind as he lifted the triangular frame that held the pool balls in their position. He set the frame down and picked up his stick, the cue ball in his left hand. He set the ball down and lined up his shot, the stick expertly weaving between his index finger and thumb to come in contact with the ball with a dull thud, followed by a loud crack as it hit the other balls, which exploded from their stationary position to scatter across the table, only one red striped ball falling into the pocket. Without a word, he lined up his next shot...

Rick's next shot went awry as he stared briefly at what walked in, the stick nearly outright missing the cue ball. Reptilian, spikes jutting out at symmetrical angles along its body, looked like a thorny devil. But that wasn't possible, since it was standing upright...like a human.

He came to the reasoning that it was either a costume or a hallucination...he suspected hallucination, since there were no costumes that looked THAT real. Must have been a side effect from the vaccination, he figured. Ignoring the creature, he lined up his next shot, breathing deeply to calm his shaken nerves. Concentrate, calm down...

Rick gritted his teeth as he heard the thing speak, his face noticeably tighten. That was NOT expected. He tried his best to steady himself, to calm down. A minor hallucination, that's all it was. It would just go away in time. And...it was operating, actually OPERATING the TV and Xbox. He looked around, making sure that no one else would see him talking to the entity that he thought didn't exist, other than in his head.

"It's...nice enough," He muttered, barely audible.

"Wait, slow down," He said without turning to face the thing, less his knees lose their sturdiness, "Accept what? The fact that you're here and not going to go away anytime soon?" He asked, since he wondered how much longer the side-effects of the vaccination would last. He would have to talk to Dr. Moreau about that...

"That's not..." He began, then just gave a sigh, considering the apparition's words, "Maybe I should..." He said as he set his pool stick on the ground, leaning it against the table, and made for the door. Perhaps some fresh air would clear his head.

Rick slipped back into the Rec Room, things apparently left untouched, the Halo 2 game paused on the Legendary difficulty. The balls on the pool table had also been left untouched. With a sigh, he resumed his spot, picking up the stick and continuing the game that he was playing by himself. He considered taking up playing Halo, but the thorny devil wasn't there, so he was hardly invited anymore. It was better for him to do these things alone, anyways, like he had always done them.

However, with the reptile not being there, it slightly destroyed his purpose of coming, since that was the exact person that he was looking for. He hoped he hadn't scared the lizard off with his ignorance...

His next shot went awry, the stick slipping in his grip and hitting it at an awkward angle, causing a loud click to resound. It appeared that the shock of learning the truth of the island hadn't completely worn off...

He looked up. The person he had been waiting for.

"Simple. I ran," He replied in that terse way of his. He was about to start lining up the next shot until he remembered why he had come here in the first place.

"Oh, right, about before..." He found trouble threading together the right words, so he went for the most direct approach.

"Sorry," He muttered.