[log] IT'S A MONSTER PARTY [closed]

[devoutish]

Characters: Alfie Solomons, Ecks, Fiona, Francel de Haillenarte, Haurchefant Greystone, John Watson, Tifa Lockhart, Royce Melborn
Location around U4/V4, and then in various houses
Date: evening of 138 through morning of 139
Summary: various merry traveling bands are set upon and scattered by a RUDE AS FUCK anomaly
Warnings: n/a; will edit if anything comes up

Catch-all for EVERYTHING - running from the anomaly, settling in various houses, etc. Top-level and tag as you see fit.

Comments

[jumpthegun]

[John's in the kitchen and stands immediately when the door opens, hand going to the little fruit knife in his pocket as he moves quietly to the entryway. It's unlikely to be an anomaly, but he doesn't know. When there's no telltale sense of sickness or white body, he relaxes marginally. It's dim, though, and he can't make out who it is.]

Evening! John Watson and Duster in here already. Who's that, then?

[ecks]

[She already has her scissors in hand herself, basket left behind to give her a hand free. She tenses at the faint sounds of movement, silent in the entryway as she tries to gauge the positions of the house's occupants.

It is good that Doctor Watson is the one to greet her, and it is also bad.]

Ecks. It is Ecks, Doctor John Watson.

[jumpthegun]

...Ecks?

[John lets go of his knife and comes out into the entryway.]

Hey, what're you doing here? You didn't need to come.

[ecks]

[She, in turn, slips her scissors into one of her many pockets. No sign of Duster, and now a question she can't answer.]

I wanted to come.

[She's...not moving further inside, not making any move to put her things down. She's just really thrilled to be here, obviously.]

[jumpthegun]

[There's a brief pause, and then John smiles and walks over to give her a brief hug before letting go.]

I missed you, too, Ecks. Duster's in the bedroom. Best leave him be. Not feeling terribly sociable and he's got a concussion and broken fingers.

[ecks]

[She lifts a hand in a confused gesture that ends in a momentary pat to Doctor Watson's back, surprised by the hug. Surprised, too, that she did not mind it and that it leaves her with a strange feeling of regret.]

A concussion?

[That is important new information. It is also strangely comforting information, if it means that Doctor House did not go down without a fight. Maybe he is not entirely useless in matters of survival.]

[jumpthegun]

[He awkward little pat has his smile turning wry. Well, at least she's not attacking him, which he imagines might have been her first instinct to being held when she first arrive. At least from what he's understood of her so far.]

Yeah, dunno what from. He's being mum about it and so's Solomons. [He shakes his head.] Really, I'd take a lie out of them at this point rather than the 'it's none of your business' nonsense.

[ecks]

[Many other people would not have gotten away with it. Even Doctor Watson did right to keep the hug brief.]

Maybe he was in a fight. Maybe someone punched him in the head.

[That's how you get concussions.]

[jumpthegun]

Well, yeah.

[John huffs a light laugh and motions for her to follow him into the kitchen, just as there's a loud click that seems to echo in the room. Lockdown.]

I'm wondering with who. Have you had any dinner, yet? I've got proper food from the school for you.

[ecks]

[Maybe if she told him that Duster killed Doctor House, he would do something about it. Maybe if she told him, he would stop her from doing anything about it.

She follows him into the kitchen, finally setting her pillowcase with the cushion in it on a counter.]

I have had some food but not much. Not corn nuts. I left the food in the dark house for Zach and Kesara. I have been waiting there.

[jumpthegun]

[John goes over to his pack and pulls out a mixed tin of peas and carrots, along with a sizable handful of chicken nuggets. There's also a little package of vanilla ice cream.]

Here we are. Much better than corn nuts. I need enough to be able to make it back for a restock, but you can take the rest of the food I've got for yourself and them while you explore inside that tunnel. Anything interesting you've heard from them that they've turned up?

[ecks]

[Ah yes, canned peas and carrots, kids and kid-golems love those. Given how insubstantial a lot of the food she's been eating ultimately has been, though, she won't object.

She's also going to reach for the ice cream first.]

It is very dark in there and it is difficult to traverse. The ruins do not protect from the elements but there are places where it is enough to spend the night. I do not think they have gone very far yet.

[jumpthegun]

[He'll give her a bit of a look, but it's more exasperated than anything. You've been eating junk food for weeks, Ecks. Eat something substantial first. John doesn't stop her, though, just clucks his tongue.]

Mm... Have you got any specialized equipment to help you make it through there, then? Ropes or the like? That'll come in handy, if you do. Otherwise, just make sure you go very slowly. I don't want you getting hurt.

[ecks]

[The ice cream is the part she's been looking forward to, though. She has not yet learned the concept of saving the best for last.

Or basic nutrition.]

I do not have any specialized equipment to help me make it through there. I thought I might find things when I went to get food but all I found were condoms.

[Wait, she wasn't going to tell people about those yet.]

Do not tell anyone about the condoms yet. I am going to trade them later.

[jumpthegun]

[John can't help snorting.]

Won't tell, no. Handy those things. Wouldn't have made it through that electric puzzle without the condoms I picked up a little while ago.

[ecks]

Maybe the condoms are specialized equipment.

[Is...is that a joke?? She delivers it so flatly that it might be indistinguishable.]

It is a joke because condoms are equipment for sex.

[Yep, it was a joke.]

[jumpthegun]

[She's trying out jokes and it's adorable. John grins and laughs lightly.]

That's good, it was funny. You don't have to explain a joke, though. Sometimes it can ruin it if you do. Just throw in a smile after a moment or two so the other person knows you're only kidding, yeah?

Where've you been learning how to joke? Just watching everyone else on the network?

[ecks]

[She nods, face still a blank.]

I see jokes on the network. I like it when people say a joke is a joke and why it is a joke, because then I know why it is funny. If the other person smiles, that means that they are saying it is a joke? How do you know it is a joke if you do not see their face?

[jumpthegun]

Sometimes you can just infer it. Like if we're already not being serious, you can probably guess that if I say something weird or that doesn't make sense unless I mean the opposite of what I'm saying, it's a joke. It can be harder to tell with text. Some people add emojis to let you know that they're joking. Like the faces that Angel has in her texts.

[ecks]

I like the faces in the texts.

[Unlike real faces, they tend not to have ambivalent expressions.]

I will try that the next time I tell a joke.

Shall we wrap this up?

[jumpthegun]

Sounds good. [John smiles before turning his attention to his food once more.] I'll look forward to that. Eat up, now. There's more than just ice cream.