( open )

[combats]

Date & Time: Backdated to the week before the Uruguay mission, during timeswap.
Location: It's a whenever and wherever you want deal again!
Characters: Jacquese Foran & YOU
Summary: Jacquese is turned into his little acolyte self and is wandering around lost, come say hi.
Warnings: angry uncooperative mute child alert

[ In the compound and even outside of it, a young boy can be found walking around. A boy that might seem familiar to some. Jacquese, even without his horns and his monk robes, can still be quite recognizable. His hair is much shorter, but still long enough to be in a ponytail and the scar across his nose is still there too. The most notable differences were of course that he was much smaller and younger, looking to be about 15 years old, and the permanent scowl he was wearing on his face.

Waking up in a strange place and then being surrounded by people he'd never seen before with no familiar face in sight had been very disconcerting and it hadn't taken Jacquese long at all to decide he wanted out. He'd much rather be in the dreary Prontera Church than here, wherever 'here' was. With that in mind he'd set out to find a way out and regardless of what people told him, he kept looking. People, especially adults, couldn't be trusted after all. Father Remiel had said he'd always be there for him and where was he now? Not where Jacquese needed him, obviously.

So he sulkily keeps wandering around, getting lost and frankly not giving a shit about it. He has a mace if he gets anywhere where he needs to defend himself so he's sure he'll be just fine. ]

Comments

[whatsupcroc]

( She repeats the process from earlier, though tilting the tablet his way to make it easier for him to watch what she did. Knowing he was who he was, and knowing he'd been here for several months, when she finds his name she points it out to him. )

See? There's your name. If you wanted to see if you'd written anything on a tablet like this, you could press on your name and it'd show you.

[allsongs]

[again, she takes her time piecing the word together. priest.]

I do not know this word in the English. Priest [she says it with a bit of a roll in the r] is in Olve, a place for water. Priestt [instead, heavy emphasis on a tutt sound at the end.] is in travel tongues for water on metal.

I know the sound for many things.

[hornedomen]

[Ico left the door open. Besides, the sound and smell of rain was nice. Most of the sea salt washed out of his clothes in the rain but if he concentrated, he thought he could smell it again.

Jacquese broke his attention away from poking the bacon on the pan. It took some while before he knew what he wanted.]

Eggs? You want eggs? I have some here.

[He took two eggs and he waved Jacquese to come over.] I'm not very good at cooking them. Do you know how?

[combats]

[ Yeah, he's just gonna ... reach over and press his name right after she's said that without waiting on anything else she might say. The suspicious squint has been a constant, but it's even more pronounced as he reads what's popped up on the screen. He certainly doesn't recall ever writing that, but what catches his attention most ...

He simultaneously takes a step back as he mouths monk? in shock. ]

[combats]

[ Jacquese could only continue to frown in confusion and slight astonishment. Neither the things she says really make sense to him, they're not (what he can assume she means) languages he's ever heard of at least.

In a last ditch effort to try and convey what he means, he points up, indicating the sky, before putting his hands together in prayer. ]

[combats]

[ Jacquese moved over when Ico gestured for him to do so, giving him a rather unimpressed look at the confession before taking the eggs from him. Seriously, he wasn't the best at cooking himself, but even he could make eggs.

He nudged Ico aside and took the pan from him. He slid the bacon to one side by tilting the pan before breaking the eggs on the rim of it and cooking the eggs along with the bacon.

He does it all rather pointedly and in such a way that Ico can clearly see what he's doing so he can learn it for himself. ]

[whatsupcroc]

( Collette watches him, thinking she's caught the gist of that one word he mouths. )

Not the career path you though you were going to take, huh? You seem pretty happy about it. You know, when you're older. Ugh, look, I'm sorry, this isn't supposed to be the freak-you-out olympics! Some people are more okay learning about their future selves than others.

[combats]

[ It's all wrong. He hadn't told anyone and regardless of how horrible he was doing in classes and training due to his constant defiant behavior, he wanted to become a priest. A battle priest like Father Remiel had been. Being a monk ... their battle style might suit him, but it's not what he wanted.

He finds himself shaking his head fervently, stomping one foot down as he angrily mouths:

That's not me! ]

[whatsupcroc]

( Collette quirks up an eyebrow, settling her tablet in her lap and folding her hands over it. She has nothing to say, not really. )

Not right now, no. Look, you don't need to take my word, or this thing's word, since you've gotta believe what you've gotta believe. How about we forget this stuff, and focus on the thing that really is hard to ignore? We're on a different world, the person you want to see most isn't here, and -- well, I dunno, are you hungry? Have you eaten? A full stomach's best for thinking on.

[combats]

[ Jacquese was working himself up into a rage and he knows it, but that doesn't make it any easier to get himself to stop. Everything was confusing and the confusion fed into fear which in turn was fuel for anger. Lashing out was the only way he knew how to cope with fear after all.

All her questions are met with stubborn shaking of his head. He only wanted one thing and that was to go home and back to the church. Heck, he'd even rather be back on the streets of Prontera. At least things made sense there. Food seemed so trivial in comparison, how could she even be worried about that?

Home is his only silent, but still obviously angry reply. ]

[whatsupcroc]

If any of us knew how to get home, most of us wouldn't be here. I'm really sorry.

( For the first time she looks somewhat deflated. )

That's one thing no one here can do for you, is send you back on purpose.

( She wishes she could, but knew better than to rely on wishes and dreams and those particular hopes, as her own ran contrary to most all of them. Food was just the easier way to find something distracting and necessary. With him taking none of it, she doesn't really know what to do. Collette doesn't generally set people at ease. It's not who she is, or what she does. She's not that sort of caretaker, and sometimes it rubs her the wrong way, wondering what someone with the right mindset might do, how they'd make it better, or more acceptable, or at least lay someone else's worries to rest. )

[combats]

[ The way she deflates diffuses some of his anger a bit. She didn't seem to be lying, but that ultimately doesn't help him in the slightest and the annoyance at the situation doesn't go anywhere. Basically this means that no one could help and so he would just have to help himself.

He mouths a never mind before turning on his heel with every intention of storming off and continuing his futile search. ]

[hornedomen]

[Even a nudge was enough to make him stumble in his present state. He clutched onto the table, which was enough to keep him from falling. He looked confused, but not at Jacquese. No matter how hard he tried, he could not remember what made him so weak.

He did not wonder for long. He watched Jacquese cook the eggs. What Ico found difficult about eggs was keeping the yolk intact. He watched every detail carefully.]

[combats]

[ The stumble earned a raised eyebrow, he hadn't even been that rough, but Jacquese ultimately does nothing about it. Ico had already caught himself anyway and he didn't do apologies (unless made to by Father Remiel) so he carried on as if he hadn't even noticed.

It didn't take long for the eggs to be done along with the bacon and he divided both evenly on plates, shoving one plate at Ico before grabbing the one he considered his own and he moved away to sit on the nearest seat without another glance. ]

[whatsupcroc]

( Collette felt herself frowning and let her tablet sit in her lap when she propelled herself after him, reaching out to nab at his shirt. )

Hey, woah, be careful! If you're going to look, I can at least point you the right way.

[hornedomen]

Thank you.

[He held the plate with care. The smell of the food made him feel hungrier and he could barely wait long enough to take it to the table. He sat next to Jacquese.]

I'm starving.

[He took a bite and something came over him. Usually he had good manners when eating, yet this time he could not bother with it. His mother would have had a fit if she were here. But she was not here. Ico ate voraciously, as if he had not eaten for days. In less than a minute, the food on his plate was gone. He reached over to grab anything available on the table; more bread and a strange fruit. He was so hungry that he ate both at once.]

[combats]

[ Although he could hear her coming after him, he doesn't look back and so he doesn't notice her making a grab for his shirt until she actually has a hold of it. Instantly he wheels around to slap her hand away and give her a fierce glare.

Sorry Collette, he's got ISSUES. ]

[combats]

[ Now Jacquese wasn't exactly the most well-mannered, cleanest eater either, but Ico had him beat there for sure.

He could only stare, a forkful of egg still halfway to his mouth, as he watched Ico practically tear into his food with a raised eyebrow. That wasn't a kind of hunger you got in one day. Having lived on the streets, Jacquese knew that from experience. Had Ico been out on the streets hurt like that for days? But if he had his own place to stay...

He found himself tilting his head as he watched Ico with some confusion. ]

[allsongs]

[that did the trick: Simmaeri's eyebrows lifted, her mouth pursed with some unsung sound.]

Are you a man for gods, then?

[hornedomen]

[He continued like that until the fruit and bread were gone, as well as a sizeable portion of cold pizza. It was salty. He licked his lips.

I'm thirsty.]

Jacquese, do you want…

[He trailed off when he noticed Jacquese watching him. His ears warmed as his face turned red. He laughed, more sheepish than he intended.]

I'm sorry, I was very hungry. You want something to drink?

[whatsupcroc]

( She quirks up an eyebrow and looks a little amused in turn. Hey, personal space was a thing for a lot of people! She holds both hands up in an open palmed motion, asking for calming down and showing she's got nothing up her metaphorical sleeves. Unarmed, she's not intending to harm. )

Hey, sorry about that, I'm just worried. You seem kind of upset over everything, for good reason and all, I just hope it doesn't leave you feeling all the more frustrated. Though it probably will. Um... want to know where the transport pads are?

[combats]

[ Finally! Jacquese nods in confirmation before carefully spelling out with his fingers:

O - D - I - N and then pointing up again. ]

[combats]

[ Jacquese rolled his eyes at the apology, that Ico was hungry had been obvious.

He finally looked away so he could start on his own food without any reservation, although he certainly didn't devour it in the same way Ico had, and only paused briefly to nod without looking back up at the question about getting something to drink. ]

[combats]

[ The hint of amusement only makes him feel more angry and he almost acts on the urge to just give her a rude gesture before making a get away, but her gestures and words stop him short.

He had no idea what she meant by pads, but the transport part he understood perfectly fine. It could be the way out.

So after pushing down the urge, he nods once curtly. ]

[allsongs]

Oh, dee, eye, enh. [she says each as he spells, her gaze flickering from his hands to his face to ensure she was getting them right. truth be told, writing was so very low on her list of priorities...

she lets out a soft sigh, sitting back for a moment.] Man-of-god, what sort of god leaves your face so unhappy? Is it the god at all?