something has to make sense soon [OPEN]

[theguideless]

Date & Time: 3/12, most of the afternoon and into the evening
Location: Throughout the Hold
Characters: Martin and you!!
Summary: Hermit mode disengaged
Warnings: 800 apologies for no reason




Hiding was no good. It was weak, cowardly, and only wasted time. He had no time to waste, and yet there he was, curled up in a strange bed in a strange room in a strange world where the only thing that really made sense was nothing making sense. Dead people and dragons and magic and...and so many things were just so wrong, wrong, wrong. All the advice and training in the Darkov world wasn't enough to prepare Martin for how to handle.

How long has it even been...? There were no calendars to consult. He'd lost track of time out in the wilderness, for sure. Everything was off-kilter; he was even sleeping through the night, which was absurd. What kind of monster hunter slept through the key hours? Useless, useless.

At least he'd ventured outside earlier? Or...or maybe that was already a while ago. He forgot. But the chip nonsense was taken care of, certainly. Unless he imagined it. Maybe it was pretend? I don't know.

Apparently, though, the danger had passed. The immediate danger, anyhow. People were no longer advised to stay hidden, in any case; Martin ought to have gotten out, started looking again...but he didn't. He stayed where he was, in bed, staring at a blank wall thoughtlessly until he became too hungry to even sleep. That was a Monday, but he didn't know. All he knew is he'd been doing nothing but waste time and helped nobody. He felt awful.

After rummaging through what food was in the room for three and munching a little, he left the apartment, blinking blearily into daylight he was just not used to. Olvoski's sun was smaller, distant and cold by comparison, where this world's was warmer, but no more unkind. It made him wish it was dark already, even if the night was for terrible things. I'm terrible, too.

The first time he had made rounds about the Hold had been a near-blind panic; he remembered little and less. This time, he walked and looked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. The buildings were so odd, and there were traces of smells he just couldn't identify if his life depended on it. Maybe it did? He still didn't know why he was here. It was a big mistake, and he had to leave...The thought quickened his steps and widened his eyes, searching for something that would give him the clear way out. Anything. From the vast training area to the markets, there had to be something...

Comments

[stonefaith]

Bariyan had found himself incapable of facing the dark with no company but himself, so he'd been out stalking the Hold all night and morning. It wasn't the first time. It wouldn't be the last. Any more of this, and he would soon know the entire area by heart.

His wandering had eventually taken him outside, behind the apartments, where he'd discovered a blighted tree that had twisted its way up between the cracked remains of a sidewalk. Figuring now was as good a time as any to test himself, he put his hand up against the trunk and -- focus--

No. No good. There was a marked wilt in the branches and the few remaining leaves, but it was slow. Bariyan took his hand away, shook it out, and tried again, oblivious to anyone who might be approaching.

[theguideless]

The stink of Bariyan's efforts (and Bariyan himself, unfortunately) reached Martin well before any sight or sound of them. It caused him to hesitate, bringing a sleeve to his nose and grimacing, feeling very nervous very quickly. Oh, no...

He'd spent the whole weekend hiding; there was no excuse to ignore something so potent to his senses. It would be the least he could do for...for whoever he was supposed to be helping. He didn't know anymore.

Of course, peeking around the last corner and seeing Baryian instead of some nameless horror wasn't what he expected. It was better, but...well, now he felt guilty for assuming the worst.

But...what was he doing? It was rank, and...

"Bariyan?"

[stonefaith]

Bariyan hurriedly withdrew his hand as soon as he heard his named called, and the tree froze halfway through its second round of decay. He turned, hoping that wouldn't have to explain himself, but relaxed when he saw Martin.

"Oh. Hey," he said. He immediately felt a twinge of guilt, but forced it down. If there were more apologies to be made, he wasn't going to spring them all on Martin right away. "Where have you been?"

[theguideless]

Martin inched away from the corner, standing just barely out in the open, shifting focus from the sick tree to the dead man with an increasing amount of worry and confusion. He swallowed his questions, faced with one for him.

"Uh, I've..." Been hiding. "Just in the place the key works for. One of the buildings..." He gestured at the distance behind him.

[stonefaith]

It took Bariyan a bit to figure out what Martin was getting at, gaze flicking from Martin to the apartments. He did the translation in his head.

"Your room," Bariyan guessed. He didn't blame the kid. After all that trouble, he would've been glad to shut himself up and take a couple days off too. If he'd been capable.

Behind him, the tree was slowly starting to fall apart as gravity took over his work. Bariyan took notice and started to move away.

[theguideless]

He only nodded, his attention sent to the tree as branches broke and fell in their disease. The smell was horrendous, causing his stomach to go sour.

"What..." He grimaced, looking back at Bariyan, pointing to the tree. "What happened?"

[stonefaith]

Bariyan gave the tree a disinterested look. "Me," he said.

His stare flickered for a second as he spotted movement in the trunk as it peeled away. Borer larvae? That was interesting. He dealt almost exclusively with maggots, so these were new to him. But hardly useful. He turned away again and started to walk, gesturing for Martin to follow.

[theguideless]

Him?

Martin gulped, giving the tree another look. It was...it looked horrible, almost as bad as it smelled. Corrupt. Rancid. Dead. Was...was that always happening around Bariyan? He couldn't recall...

He startled, seeing Bariyan move through the corner of his eye. He made a small sound, trotting to catch up and fall into place a step or two behind Bariyan, same as before. Habit.

[stonefaith]

Bariyan waited until the tree was well out of sight before speaking again.

"So how have you been doing?" His voice was guarded, careful. They'd parted on good enough terms, but the whole of that trip left a bad taste in Bariyan's mouth and he'd spent quite a while beating himself up over his failures. At least Martin seemed all right. At least the Masked were gone.

[theguideless]

Martin was quiet for a length of time. What was he supposed to say to that? I've been hiding, pretending I wasn't awake and that I didn't have to do anything. I didn't eat anything until today. I...think I had a bath. Yes, I did. I forget when. The strangers in the room told me to. I don't really know them.

"I've been staying out of trouble," he said at last, answering but not truly answering. He didn't want to talk about himself. "Are...you alright?"

[stonefaith]

Seemed like a good enough answer to Bariyan. So long as the kid wasn't running around in a panic again, as he apparently had a tendency to do.

"I'm fine," he said. And he was, mostly. His fingers had healed, the wound on his back had closed up.... The chip was still there, though. Bariyan frowned. "Did you go to the clinic yet?"

[iwasinpakistan]

Eliot had actually broken down and taken up residence in his assigned apartment, at least for now. Not that roughing it wasn't all fine and lovely, but there was something to be said for showers and a roof over one's head, and nobody had been able to come up with any evidence that the places were bugged (not that he hadn't swept the place to make sure, because come on. That was basic, basic stuff).

They were also equipped with kitchens, something of which Eliot was a fan, since he vastly preferred preparing his own food and knowing everything that went into it. So it was that he could be found at one of the market stalls that sold food, attempting to round up some basic supplies that ran a tolerably low risk of having been tampered with or poisoned. Let it never be said he wasn't a paranoid bastard at heart.

[theguideless]

Munching a little had consisted of finding something similar to the bagged chips he'd unearthed in one of the abandoned homes he and Bariyan had come across out on excursion. It wasn't a very wholesome, filling thing, and Martin was by no means much by way of cooking or foraging; there were Darkov cooks, but he was not one of them.

It went without saying the little pick-me-up only picked him up for a small margin of time, and it wasn't long before his stomach was once again reminding him of his lack of foresight. If only he'd been given fair warning about being practically kidnapped – he could've brought something to eat. Something familiar, anyway. Not like...like whatever it was served around the Hold. He didn't really know. Some of the packaging was labeled strangely and was hard to read.

In fact, he didn't know that's where he was, nearing food vendors, when he got there. There wasn't much by way of variety in Olvoski – lots of root vegetables, certainly, but hardly anything by way of fruit. The climate couldn't sustain anything like that.

Which was why he kept staring and staring at the colorful fruits openly displayed. They looked too...bright to be edible. Even the red ones, redder than meat.

"Ya gonna buy something or what?" the vendor said at last, perhaps a little impatient. Regardless, it caused Martin to startle, backing away, mouth twitching.

"N-n...Sorry, no, I'll...I'll go."

[iwasinpakistan]

Elliot was developing a Theory. The theory was that if he ever needed to track that Martin kid, all he'd have to do would be to follow the trail of apologies.

"Hey." This was addressed to the vendor, accompanied by a flat, unimpressed stare. "That your idea of customer service? 'Cause it sucks."

[theguideless]

Huh-?!

Martin's head whipped back and forth until he spotted the source of the voice, and even then he did a double-take. Wait, that's... He knew that person. He squinted for a second more, before his eyes blinked and widened with realization. Oh!

Oh, but...

He flinched, lifting his hands to try and quell any response from the vendor, who was shooting stern looks. "N-no! I mean, I'm sorry! For...for lingering. I wasn't going to get anything." He looked up at Eliot with a wincing look. "So it's alright."

He started backing away quickly to prove his point, one hand going to the back of his neck, embarrassed.

[oxfordian]

The tone of the man's emotions were enough to startle Charles in his working office, even without going out of his way to particularly seek the thoughts of passersby. It was certainly enough to get him to place down his things, pushing his papers out of the way and peering out into the hallway of the Hold.

Even if there were not necessarily anything he could do for someone in this sort of emotional state, it would be against his better instincts entirely to just leave them alone. Stepping into the hallway fully, Charles caught sight of Martin soon enough. Yes, this must be the source of the unusual levels of upset. Charles calls out after a moment; "Are you all right?"

[theguideless]

It had been near two weeks since Martin had tried exploring this part of the Hold. Not that he'd recalled; the last tour was a lot less...observant, for one. And full of dragons and people spouting magic for another. Details like location took a back seat to the near-nightmarish quality of things he'd seen.

Such things added an extra layer of uncertainty to his already-anxious mood, causing a good, horror-movie startle at the shape emerging in the hall without announcement. Hopefully he was still a little too far away to have been heard gasping; that was always humiliating.

"Uh--" He floundered, squinting. Was he...Did he know that one? He didn't think so, but... "Y-yes, sir. Sorry. Am I...not supposed to be here?"

[oxfordian]

Charles certainly hadn't anticipated that reaction, though a part of him chided himself for it; after what he'd gathered out of the man's behaviour, it would be only logical for him to be startled in such a way. Charles clearly felt somewhat guilty for it, and he hung his head for a second and shook it. "Ah! No, I'm quite sorry. You're all right, here!" he said then, smiling. He would have taken a few more steps forward, would have attempted to create a more peaceable distance -- ah, but he didn't want to startle him further!

"You're certainly allowed. Are you -- feeling all right?" Charles ventured then, eyebrows raised somewhat in his curiosity.

[theguideless]

It was good to know he wasn't getting into trouble again. Or, at least...that's what the man was implying. Martin sure hoped so. He straightened up, hands behind his back; it didn't take long for his head to start lowering and his shoulders to begin to hunch again, however...especially with the question. He didn't really want to talk about any of that, but he didn't like lying, either.

"Uhm." I guess it's alright to lie to humans, though? he thought. His mouth twitched. "Y-yes, sir. I'm...I'm fine." I guess... "Thank you."

[oxfordian]

Watching the man's shift in disposition made Charles incredibly curious; it took much of his own strength not to pry and seek further reasoning. Even if he was certain that this man wasn't exactly telling the truth, it would be rude to bring it to attention. However, once he caught the underlying thoughts -- as though he needed them, it was dutifully apparent from the man's behaviour alone -- Charles just smiled, chuckled.

"I'm not so certain I believe you," he said then, before he was gesturing to his office with one hand. "Would you like some tea? You're welcome to take a moment to relax, if you need."

[theguideless]

Martin flushed quickly at the remark, caught, but only not-so-certainly. He gulped, blinking a few times, making little case for innocence, and his mouth opened and closed without words as he lost his chance to try and babble out an excuse. The man might as well have been speaking gibberish then and there – Tea? What's that? He didn't mean a drink, did he? after all, complete strangers...

Of course he meant the drink. Unless he didn't. Martin was well aware of how this place had a way of sending a dozen or so things over his head at once, not utterly of his own doing, either. Over-thinking sure didn't help things.

"Uh--"

Well, he'd be more suspicious and probably in trouble if he said no, wouldn't he? "A-alright. If you want. Sure."

[oxfordian]

Charles had never quite felt like he was awkwardly forcing anyone to do anything so -- well, polite, and it surprised him that Martin was so nervous. Charles was trying his utmost not to chuckle, not to seem as though he was making fun of this man as he was giving him such offers. Taking a step back from the door, Charles gestured into it and took a step under the opening but waited for Martin to follow.

"It's nice to meet you," he said then, trying to lighten the man's peculiar mood. "I don't believe I have seen you before. My name is Charles Xavier,"

[theguideless]

As he drew closer to the door, Martin's shoulders began shrugging up to shrink himself. His eyes continuously flickered from the floor to Charles himself, staying on him seconds longer at the name.

No. Nobody he knew.

He hesitated at the entrance.

"I'm Martin," he said, more to the man's pockets than his face. It was the tiniest, stiffest, and most afterthought bow. "Hello."

[oxfordian]

Charles was still quite curious about the man's behaviour, and he was desperately trying to not make it obvious that each movement of Martin's was making him more and moreso. He figured the man would only feel much worse if it were evident how deeply Charles was studying him, and he tried to make it less conspicuous.

"Martin," Charles repeats, with a smile on his features. He ushers Martin into his office, where he gestures to a chair and hurries to tend to the electric kettle in his office and produce two cups of tea. "Ah, I assume you're familiar with tea? Do you have a preference as to the flavour?" he asks, glancing over his shoulder as if to ensure that the man hasn't hurried off entirely like a mouse in his short seconds of inattention.

[theguideless]

Obedient, Martin took to the seat, curling his fingers into small fists on his knees as he stared around the room. He'd spent so long rushing around not looking...trying to put something to memory would've been nice. Whether it truly mattered or not after a point was...wasn't something he was thinking on at the moment.

His attention snapped back to Charles, silently thinking on the questions. Tea? Yes. Certainly.

"Uh, yes...I mean, I know it. But I don't really mind either way." His fingers scrunched up some of the fabric of his slacks. "Whatever you have is fine. Thank you."