[log] social skills 101 [closed]

[powersouls]

Characters: Zach, Tifa, Royce, Cloud, Sora
Location Building 100
Date: 116, after lockdown
Summary: A bunch of nerds get locked in a house together.
Warnings: None!

YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO

Comments

here's the broody nerd

[bywolves]

[ Royce is not happy, and it's probably evident.

He's about as far as possible away from everybody else, though he's still in the same room as at least one person. Has to keep an eye on them, after all. His cloak is pulled close, his pack next to him jammed between his leg and the wall, and his hands are carefully kept free, ready to defend if need be.

Royce knows Zach isn't his biggest fan, but he figures that between Tifa, Cloud and Sora, the kid won't try anything. Tifa doesn't appear to have any interest in hurting him, and neither does Cloud, though Royce is a bit more suspicious of the latter. Sora doesn't even ping on Royce's danger radar, which is why Royce pays the most attention to him. It's always the innocent ones, always the ones that smile and wave, the friendliest. He doesn't like it, and poor Sora gets Royce staring directly at him from under his hood every time Sora walks by.

But for the most part, Royce stays curled in his corner, back to the wall. He's exhausted, he's cold, and he's starving, but he doesn't trust any of them enough to sleep or to even eat. There's four of them. They could easily overpower him in the state he's in and steal his meager rations.

He has to head back toward the convenience store tomorrow, he thinks, rubbing at his face. See if there's food he can stomach. ]

Oh you asked for it

[seekthelight]

[Okay so, the staring is a little unnerving but it's not like Sora's never dealt with something like that before. And he gets it. He's a stranger to all of these people--even if Cloud had said they were friends now--and it's only right to be suspicious of new people. Does he have any clue Royce is suspicious of him because of his personality? No. And it's probably better that way.

Still, Sora finds himself doing his best to give the brooding man space and spent the first hour after lockdown just exploring the cabin. In the back of his mind he knew he needed to stay in sight of the others, keeping someone with him because he had been warned about all the bad stuff that could go on here...

But Sora is really bad at listening. So while he probably started out following someone around, he ended up exploring on his own because what is self preservation?

He's making his way back downstairs when he ends up wandering into the room Royce has set himself up in, coming a quick halt just inside the door as he gives the other a sheepish look.]

Ah--sorry! I didn't realize you were in here.

poor sora

[bywolves]

[ Royce is half asleep, mostly not of his own choice. So when Sora walks through and makes enough noise to wake the dead (in Royce's opinion, anyway) Royce jolts right back into really, really aware. He presses his back firmly against the wall and stares at Sora, eyes sharp and bright. ]

What are you doing? [ His voice is a little rough - he's going to be really irritated if he's getting sick, since he hasn't since he was about seven. ]

[seekthelight]

I was just exploring.

[It comes out quickly, Sora sucking in a quick breath afterwards as if he's scared to even breath in this guy's presence. After a moment, though, he exhales, shoulders sagging as he reaches up to rub at the back of his neck.]

I wanted to see if there was anything good around, that's all.

[bywolves]

There's nothing of value in here. [ Royce says, tone to match his gaze. ] You shouldn't wander around alone.

[powersouls]

[Tifa can deal with brooding. Nothing phases her after spending so long with Vincent. But, to be fair, this brand of brooding is a very... suspicious kind of brooding. And she's fine with him sitting in a corner by himself if he wants to be left alone, but that fact that he's glaring at everyone makes him hard to ignore. So, after about an hour or so of this, Tifa sighs to herself, stands up, and goes to join him. She doesn't sit beside him or even approach very closely, though—she keeps about five feet between them.]

Is everything okay?

[bywolves]

[ He's a pretty suspicious guy. But he does quietly appreciate Tifa's apparent understanding of Royce's need for space, and so it makes him less snappy when she approaches. Royce doesn't feel safe around a lot of people, and he wouldn't say he does around Tifa, especially since he doesn't know her well at all, but his guard does ease up without his permission when she comes forward. It's the hair, he thinks, annoyed. ]

It's fine. What do you want? [ He means for it to come out 95% more sharp than it does. Instead, he mostly sounds tired. ]

[powersouls]

[She frowns a little, tucking her hair behind her ear.]

Nothing. You just seem...

[How does she put this gently?]

Irritated.

[bywolves]

Tired. [ Royce corrects, letting his head drop a little. His head is bowed, but his eyes are on her feet, watching for movement. ] I don't ever travel in this much snow. I hate it.

[ He shivers, pulling his limbs in closer to him. ] Cold.

I am here for the sarcasm

[meteorrains]

[Sitting in a corner by yourself looking like an Aragorn impersonator isn't exactly the best way to get people to leave you alone, Royce. In fact, it pretty much just sends out an magnetic signal letting people inherently know that you want to be bothered.

Or something like that. It's all terribly scientific. Or maybe it's because Cloud tends to do exactly the same thing in social situations. Find the furthest, most out of the way corner and stay there until it's over.

Which also means his first choice is already occupied. Naturally.]

Do you always sit alone in the dark or is this a special case?

the sarcasm is here for you

[bywolves]

[ You'd think after years of the whole cloak thing Royce would've learned by now, but he hasn't. No, there he is, lurking and waiting for people to bother him. Cloud makes his way over, and Royce stares up at him, shivering a little. He's irritated that he's shivering, too, because apparently this place not only took his sensitive hearing and sharp eyesight, but his crazy internal temperature adjustment too. ]

I always sit alone in the dark. [ Royce answers flatly. ] What do you want?

[meteorrains]

[All shivering alone in a corner is going to get you is a worried Tifa. And believe him, Royce, you do not want that. You do not want that at all.]

Just making sure the shivering guy was okay. [So instead, in an attempt to keep you from getting fretted to the moon and back over, he's going to sass you instead. Isn't he a good friend?] There are blankets for a reason.

[bywolves]

[ He very much does not want a worried Tifa. He'll be getting one regardless, but he won't like it. ]

I'm fine, I'm not shivering. [ Royce lies, letting his hood fall further over his eyes. He's still watching Cloud's feet from under it, though. ] I don't have a blanket, so this does fine.

Later in the night

[seekthelight]

[While he has a means of keeping track of the time, everything still feels really off. Feels strange. The cabin is far too quiet for Sora's liking, the young man so use to the hum of the Gummi Ship or even the noise is constant companions always made, and the feeling in the air is a bit unnerving.

Too serious. Too tense.

He's making a conscious effort not to wake any of the others so instead of wandering around to try and cure his boredom he's taken up residence in the living room. His backpack is pillowed underneath his head as he lays on the ground, tablet held up over his head as he messes around with it a bit. If nothing else, it's a good distraction since he doesn't really know how to use it.

It's still hard to shake the disoriented feeling though. It's even harder to shake how lonely he feels even with people in the cabin with him.

A soft sigh escapes him and he let's the tablet come to a rest on his chest, one of his arms dropping over his eyes as he tries to stop thinking so hard. Tries to stop thinking so much. They were all going to get out of this. He and Zack had agreed on that. He and Zell too. This was just all a minor setback in what he had to do back home, that's all.

Yeah.]

[powersouls]

[Tifa doesn't sleep well. She hasn't since she arrived in Norfinbury, and lately, she's been jumpy. It's like every once in a while, she'll see something out of the corner of her eye, even though she knows nothing is there. That means it's not unusual for her to be up at night, playing on her tablet or trying to read one of the terrible books she's picked up. She's gotten good at sneaking around without waking anyone, so when she finds she can't sleep this time, she slips out of one of the bedrooms and heads to the living room.

Sora's on the floor, with his arm over his eyes and his tablet on his chest, and she hesitates for a moment, not sure if he wants to be bothered.]

Sora? Are you okay?

[seekthelight]

[He can't help but startle a bit when he hears Tifa's voice, his arm falling away from his face as he pushes himself up causing his tablet to slide off his chest.]

Tifa!

[Despite his surprise Sora manages to keep his voice low, a guilty, almost sheepish look on his face.]

I'm..okay. I didn't mean to wake you up if I did.

[He's not okay. His heart hurts and his head feels heavy and he misses his friends. A lot. And it's only been a couple days in this place.]

[powersouls]

No, it's okay. I was already awake.

[That was the least convincing "I'm okay" she's ever heard, and she's heard a lot of them.]

Do you want me to keep you company?

[It seems like he needs it, but she also doesn't want to push him.]

[seekthelight]

Are you okay?

[Why yes, that is a hint of worry in his voice now. Because obviously if someone wasn't sleeping, there was something wrong. Case in point: Him.

And hey, he tried. That's what matters.

Her offer gets a small smile out of him and he situates himself completely upright now, legs folded underneath himself as he nods.]

Sure! If you want. I mean, you don't have to--I'm really not doing anything. I was just thinking about--

[Sora cuts himself off, glancing down at his tablet.]

..Is it dumb to be homesick already?

[meteorrains]

[Sleeping wasn't exactly on the vast list of things Cloud was good at. Nor was it something he was particularly fond of doing. Couple those two things together with the current situation and their current surroundings, and you had the perfect recipe for insomnia.

Which meant he could either lay next to someone and keep them awake trying to find a comfortable position in which to read by tablet light in, or he could find a corner and huddle up in it until day break.

And so here he was, stumbling across Sora, the tell tale soft glow emitting from device placed upon his chest providing just enough light to see the arm tossed haphazardly across his face.]

Hey, you doing okay down there?

[Probably not but hey, that seemed like a pretty good opening line.]

[seekthelight]

[Sora starts some but his arm doesn't move from it's place over his eyes. It shifts a little, sure, just so he can look over at Cloud in the darkness but he's find it hard to actually want to move around too much.

Sitting still for too long is apparently a good way to drain his energy. Who knew.]

...I guess. Just..a little homesick is all.

[He can't bring himself to lie to Cloud. There's something about the other man, something he'd felt back home even, that makes Sora comfortable. And well aware that lying is pointless.

His arm slides backwards and ends up tucked under his head so he can peer over at Cloud better, nose scrunching slightly.]

Can't sleep?

[meteorrains]

[Excuse you, Sora. He's not here to talk about him and how he seemingly only needs three or fours of sleep every single night and somehow still has enough energy for two people. He's here to talk about you and why you're trying to hide behind your own arm.]

That all? [Something that seemed simple on the surface usually wasn't.] Think talking about it might help?

[Hearing about Sora's world was probably vastly most interesting than the romance novel he had stolen from Tifa.]

Evening

[majorlazer]

[Of course. Of all the people to run into, it had to be Tifa. He already had to deal with Grumpy Of The Cloak all day, slinking around like he was in an Assassin's Creed video game, and now, where they finally found shelter, it was to stumble upon Tifa, Cloud, and a tiny innocent looking kid named Sora, which - well. Zach's been burned by kids in this place, so he's not pretending he's not suspicious.

Really, he should be happy - he's wanted to meet up with Tifa sinc he got here, but their relationship was. Awkward, to say the least, and the last time they spoke, they fought again, not that Zach would be able to say what about. Maybe they just do that, around each other, who knows. Anyway - he knows he's staring at her, sitting on the floor just under a window, his snapback pulled low over his hair and eyes, but he can't help it. He wants to see her interact with other people, understand what he does exactly that always makes her mad at him. He's exhausted.

Curling up even closer to himself, his knees up against his chest and his arms wrapped around them, Zach tries to make himself as small as possible, hopes he gets some sleep, at some point. Maybe no one will try to speak to him. Maybe no one will even realize he's still here.]

[powersouls]

[Snapback or not, Tifa has had that tingly feeling that someone has been watching her all evening. To be fair, she's had that feeling a lot lately, and the fact that Royce has been blatantly keeping an eye on her doesn't help. But Zach has been curled up out of the way for a while, and it's bugging her. They haven't spoken since their argument and that vague apology he'd given her, and really, she's not sure how talking to him again will go. Having him refusing to speak to anyone the entire night is going to be horrifically uncomfortable though, so Tifa finally approaches him, a little wary. She's just going to cut right to the chase.]

What's wrong?

[majorlazer]

[When Tifa steps up closer, asks him what's wrong, there's a hollow, sort of cracked laugh that escapes Zach, and he looks up at her. She's still pretty, even with the dirt over her face and the ridiculous layers she's wearing, but Zach doesn't even care at this point.

Who knows who's going to be the next person to betray him, he can't help but think; will it be Tifa? Zach might have tried to keep some kind of face and faith in people when he met Duster the day before, but that was what it was, a face and a need to be contradictory against someone who knows no one in this town yet.

But Zach knows some people now. It's stupid to trust anyone.]

What isn't seems like a better question.

[His voice is softer than it usually is, and he tightens his hold around his knees, looking back down and away. He sighs.]

I'm fine, Tifa. I'm sorry.

[Sorry I was staring. Sorry for being a dick before. Sorry for believing Kesara genuinely liked him. Sorry for leaving Lil T behind. Sorry, sorry, sorry.]

[powersouls]

Sorry for what?

[She's just... watching him, not sure how to approach this. It's hard for her, when she feels like every conversation they have ends in an argument. He's upset, yes, and she feels bad for him, but... Well. She's not really sure how much he respects her, so she doesn't waste her time saying anything else.]