exsiliumlogs | [open]

Date & Time: 5/12, day
Location: EVERYWHERE. Around the apartments, around the Hold, NIK IS GONNA FIND YOU.
Characters: Nikolai/Cherkesov/Maletski (

thleepy) + you???
Summary: Dumb android baby is havin' some maaaaad hallucinations over here. And is therefore busy rolling around screaming and crying and crashing into walls.
Warnings: idk Maletski and his obnoxious self might show up...

It'd started two days ago. It'd started with a bad feeling, at first, the sort that he'd gotten used to back home -- that something was always watching. Something that did not wish him well.

Only this time, it had stopped watching, and gone on to hunting.

Nik had fled his room as soon as he'd heard his window crack open. He'd launched himself off his bed and landed running, and he'd kept running until he crashed into the front door. A few moments wasted fumbling to get it open-- a few moments too many. After kicking the door open, he'd glanced over his shoulder just in time to see one of the Masked emerging out into the hallway, all strange and misshapen and twisted. And turning towards him.

Nikolai hasn't bothered looking behind him since.

[ ooc: FEEL FREE TO JUST RUN INTO NIK ANYWHERE. And he'll probably even be pounding on apartment doors of complete strangers and demanding to be let in. Or he'll just burst RIGHT ON IN uninvited, if the door's unlocked :'C

ALSO WILL MATCH TAG FORMAT B) ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She likes to leave the door of her flat open while she works. The air is nice now that the weather's improving, and it makes it easier to keep an eye on things.

She can't say she was expecting Nik to crash through it, though. In fact, that was pretty much the opposite of what she was expecting. Oh geez. Shutting her netbook, she jumps up and stares. ]

[ Nik doesn't bother staring back. He sees an adult. His natural instinct is to run and try to latch on to them for protection. ]

There's things outside again they were in my room they're chasing me the lady said they were going to take care of them but they're still there and I don't know where she went and I wanna go home!

[ Oh god no why is there suddenly a yelling baby android attached to her legs and are those tears and why can't she just magically be somewhere else, anywhere else. ]

Nik, what - I don't see anything anywhere, you're safe now, okay?

Could you let go my legs. By any chance.

That's because they're outside! They're outside.

[ Speaking of that. Nik does let go of Ros' legs, but not because she'd asked -- because he realized the door was still open. With a yelp, he ran back as fast as his tiny legs coule take him and slammed it shut. Locked it, too, for good measure. That done, he slumped up against the door and sank to the floor.

But his moment of peace was short-lived. Almost immediately, Nik's head snapped up again. Wide-eyed and fearful. ]

They're... they're here.

They aren't -

[ She pauses to watch him, confused and bewildered. She hasn't been sleeping well, but these hallucinations are - another thing entirely. Hesitantly, she steps towards him and crouches down to his level. ]

Nik. Listen to me. There is no one in this room but you and me.

[ Nik is, quite unfortunately, not listening. He gets up to stumble back towards Ros, hands outstretched, looking to grab on to her arms or shoulders, all shaky with terror. ]

They're here. [ Looking back towards the door. ] They're here they're here can you make them-- make them go away--

[ She lets him grab her shoulders and freezes for a moment before uncertainly putting her arms around him and tugging him closer, looking around in worry. There's an edge in her brain, now, like a current. Paranoia.

She doesn't like it. ]

I'll make them go away. Close your eyes.

[ Nik is so incredibly grateful for Roslyn's hug that he all but throws himself into it, tiny fingers digging tight into her shoulders. ]

Okay!

[ He's more than glad to close his eyes. ]

[ Well, this part she hadn't fully thought through. How to take care of imaginary things that were entirely in his head?She drew her gun thoughtfully. ]

I'm going to cover your ears, Nik.

And then they'll be taken care of and you can drink some tea. [ ... Would sleeping pills work on an android? Did he even sleep? ]

[ Nik cracks an eye open, looking unsure. That wasn't how things were usually taken care of. Usually people told him to go hide and be very quiet, and then he'd go, and he'd stay down there for hours until someone came to fetch him....

But he's not going to doubt Roslyn's word. ]

Okay. Okay.

[ He shuts his eyes again and covers his own ears first. ]

[ She holds the gun as far from them both as possible and fires it at the floor twice. Still too loud, and for a moment her ears ring, but it's not bad. A moment passes, and then she flicks the safety back on and tucks the gun into her holster. ]

I think I have juice. Would you like some?

[ Nik yelps and cringes and buries his face into Roslyn's arm -- but truth be told, the gunshots are more comforting than they are alarming. Because he knows that Ros' gun, and he knows it's aimed far away from him.

His expression is still entirely unhappy and wary when he dares to look up again, though. He doesn't answer the question immediately. Instead, he takes a moment to look back over his shoulder towards the door. Small shoulders tensing, entire being ready to bolt should something come through even after Roslyn's shots. But nothing does.

Nothing heard, nothing seen.

He looks back to Roslyn with big, sad eyes, and tugs at her sleeve. ]

What kind? I don't want grape juice.

[ That's very important right now. No grape juice. ]

[ She waits for his assessment, tenser than she'd like. She wants badly for him to calm down and be all right, the instinct harder to push down than she'd like.

When he seems to remain calm she relaxes, breathing a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that worked. She didn't know what she would have resorted to next. That had been her only real idea. ]

I have apple juice. And I think cookies, if you like those.

[ Nik sniffs and casts another glance back towards the door. At the same time, he steps even closer to Ros. ]

I want apple juice and cookies. Right now. [ Somehow the idea of being fed is calming him down, too -- or maybe it's just the knowledge that someone is taking care of him. Right down to food and drink.

He swallows and, briefly, remembers his manners: ] Please? Thank you.

[ She offers him her hand as she stands up to move to the kitchen, trying to keep him reassured and happy. ]

Good manners.

And yes, I think we can take care of that. [ This feels terribly familiar, in the way that still leaves a dull ache in her chest. The sort of thing that never leaves. She licks her lips and opens the fridge. ]

And it is in fact apple juice. I'm just that talented.

[ Nik takes her hand and lets her lead him away, his grip tense and tight. He doesn't let go even when the reach the fridge, but he does move in to peer inside himself.

He looks up at Ros, then, and manages a small, shaky smile. ]

You are, miss. You're very.... [ He's tongue-tied, uncertain, fumbling at words. Trying to convey the extent of his gratefulness and not quite making it. So he finishes: ] Thank you.

Uhm. Can... can I have juice now?

[ She nods and gets out the juice, pouring a glass of it and handing him the glass before grabbing the tin of cookies and holding it out for him to select one. ]

Feeling better now?

Yes. A little. [ Or a lot: he's certainly quite a lot calmer now than he was when he first burst in. ] ...I'm really hungry.

[ Nik takes the glass in with one hand, and reaches into the cookie tin with his other. He doesn't grab just one cookie, though. He goes for two. But then he holds his findings up to Ros. ]

Here, miss. One's for you.

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THAT NEVER HAPPENED

OF COURSE NOT B)

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