Day 255 - Yeah no

[polariity]

When: Day 255, midday
Who: The Helmsman and anyone who trips over his prone body
Open/Close: Open
Where: The middle of the Bastion, facedown
What: You know what's nice? Grass is nice.
Format: I'll match
Warning: Blood warning/minor self harm in Aoi and Disciple threads

Ever since he'd been brought to the hospital in the middle of the night by Aradia and the Disciple, the Helmsman has been quiet. His throat has been in no condition to really speak, which had been one thing, but besides that... Any attempts to speak with him have just earned a narrow eyed look and thinned lips, although he'd gone along with attempts to feed him and put him into some cleaner clothes.

Apparently, today's the day that changes because anyone going about their business in the Bastion is liable to notice the gray-skinned and horned alien laying facedown in the middle of the little settlement. The clothes he's wearing are far too big for his food-deprived skinny body but despite what it looks like, he is breathing and is alive.

Don't mind him, he's just gonna be here for a while. If you trip, well, that's your problem. Suck it up.

Comments

[amphibian]

Um.

[Shrugging and squinting is not entirely reassuring? She picks herself up, largely unperturbed by the fall—she's an athlete; she's had worse bruises—and holds a hand out to help him up because that's probably what you're supposed to do when someone answers "are you okay" with a tacit "I'unno"???]

[polariity]

[That is generally what you're supposed to do, and you are good people, Aoi. A shame that this asshole doesn't care anymore, but he has a feeling he'd just make her more worried if he refused. So a peculiar red-blue glow settles along his arm as it moves up to take her hand.]

[He doesn't actually need much help. That same glow spreads to the rest of his body, clinging closer to it instead of a general area, and lifts him up effortlessly. 'Hovering' is the answer of 'how the fuck did he get out of his hospital bed', if you were curious.]

[amphibian]

[UM???? UM???????

okay, no, give her a second; this isn't that bad, she just needs a moment to adjust to the fact that this was a thing she just witnessed and then decide that it probably isn't the weirdest thing she's seen, even if she is much closer to unusual psychic business than is the norm for her.]

You look okay, at least. Ah, but I'm sorry I stepped on you! A-and that I kicked you...

[polariity]

[There's another shrug and then he sort of gestures to himself. Look at him, Aoi, there's not much you could do to him at this point that would make him hurt anymore.]

[A pause goes by, and then he remembers to gesture towards his throat in a kind of slicing motion. Talking isn't happening, for the record.]

[amphibian]

[no psii, no, the throat-slice-y gesture usually means killing things where she comes from, now she's all freaked out—not as freaked out as she might have been if he didn't look so damn impassive but still]

Wh—th-that's a little extreme..!

[polariity]

[Wait, what]

[Now he just looks confused, hand falling down to rest in his lap. Aoi you lost him, what's extreme? Not speaking? Well yeah but y'know that's just how shit rolls? Goddammit why doesn't he know any of the languages these aliens apparently do in his head]

[amphibian]

[And now we're all confused; way to go, team.

She kind of...stares at him for a moment and then slowly mimics the slice-y gesture.] This—y'know, like...like killing someone? [no???]

[polariity]

[Interspecies relations are clearly going swimmingly.]

[After a second, he shakes his head- no, not what he meant. Let's try again. Holding up his hand, he starts to make the typical 'blah blah blah' gesture. Hopefully that's universal.]

[amphibian]

[HEH, SWIMMINGLY!!! ! HEH]

...Talking. [Aha, she gets it!] Well—you're not talking. I figured that one out already.

[polariity]

[Good, that's one pain in the ass explanation he can skip out on now. There's a satisfied nod and then a pause.]

[...Okay, what now?]

[After a moment he pats at the grass. Hey feel this thing]

[amphibian]

Hm? [She crouches down and leans in a little like she's expecting him to whisper at her.] What's up?

[polariity]

[Another insistent pat of the grass.]

[amphibian]

[Heeeaadtiiiiilt?]

It's...grass. [She gently pats the grass in front of her and then she grins.

Congratulations, Psii; you've found the one person who might be as excited about this grass as you are.]

[polariity]

[Hell yes. About goddamn time. The grin actually makes him grin back, and he flops back down onto the grass again, arms wiggling a little bit as he feels the grass better.]

[Look at this grass, Aoi. Look at it.]

[amphibian]

[Looking at the grass is far from enough and so, giggling, she joins him in flopping grass-wards and rolls over.

This is definitely not the funniest thing that's ever happened to her but she's laughing like it just might be.]

[polariity]

[Hey, he won't judge. If his throat didn't hate him, he'd be laughing too because holy shit grass. It has been so long since he's gotten to touch grass. It's amazing.]

[He can make what sounds suspiciously like happy cricket sounds, however, rolling along a bit.]

[amphibian]

[She has to make an active effort to pipe down enough to figure out what those chirpy noises are and where they're coming from—and then she does, and she laughs harder, completely delighted by all this happy noise.

It's grass. It's grass, you fucking losers.]

[polariity]

[Fuck you grass is an amazing miracle and he loves it.]

[But unfortunately, there's only so much endurance this poor twig of a body has, and he goes still, sprawled out in the grass with his face utterly yellow and breathing heavily.]

[amphibian]

[She doesn't know much about aliens in general but she's mostly certain that faces aren't supposed to be yellow. Done laughing, she shoots up.] H-hey are you all right?

[polariity]

[Not understanding why she's concerned, Psii just gives a nonchalant shake of his head.]

[He's been a ship for more than he wants to remember. He is definitely not okay, but that's normal.]

[amphibian]

[WRONG ANSWER, PSII; "not okay" is not a default she is used to! So she immediately rolls over and picks herself up to crouch down next to him.]

Are you breathing okay?! How many fingers am I holding up?

[polariity]

[WHOA WHAT-]

[The sudden surge of concern startles him a bit, and all he can do is nod slowly while his other hand comes up to mimic how many fingers she has up.]

[amphibian]

...

You sure you're good? You got all wheeze-y and your face went yellow, so I got worried...

[polariity]

[But isn't that normal? Oh, wait, alien- might not realize his blood is yellow.]

[In what is obviously a choice made in a stable state of mind, he bites down hard on his lower lip, tearing through it easy until blood is gushing that. As if such an action is normal, he points at it. See, that's why his face got yellow.]

[amphibian]

[DUDE

DUDE

BRUH

She shrieks, jolts forward, and then hops back.] Wh-what'd you do that for?! [As if searching for something, she glances rapidly around—then springs to her feet and holds out a hand to help Psii up.] W-we gotta get pressure on that...