Text/Action, OTA; V - 1

[artful_transgressor]

[Text]

what the shitfisting FUCK is going on here
i mean thanks for the loVely informatiVe tourist orientation pink alien hologram or whateVer sure
and thanks for the alien cash and phone deVice mysterious kidnappers
i am tremendously goddamn reassured by your generosity and leVelheadedness in the face of my current crisis
it almost makes up for me being MAGICALLY SPIRITED AWAY TO ANOTHER PLANET
are there actually a lot of other people here
is this actually fucking standard enough that the form greeting back there is required
do people actually STAY CALM
like condesces rumble spheres
does anyone actually hear 'youVe been transported to a strange planet full of aliens
we dont know how or why and you may not eVer be able to go back
but dont panic this place isnt THAT bad beyond the whole kidnapping you and not letting you leaVe thing'
and NOT FUCKING PANIC
i haVe so many fucking things to panic about i dont eVen know where to START

what the shitfisting FUCK is going on here
i mean thanks for the loVely informatiVe tourist orientation pink alien hologram or whateVer sure
and thanks for the alien cash and phone deVice mysterious kidnappers
i am tremendously goddamn reassured by your generosity and leVelheadedness in the face of my current crisis
it almost makes up for me being MAGICALLY SPIRITED AWAY TO ANOTHER PLANET
are there actually a lot of other people here
is this actually fucking standard enough that the form greeting back there is required
do people actually STAY CALM
like condesces rumble spheres
does anyone actually hear 'youVe been transported to a strange planet full of aliens
we dont know how or why and you may not eVer be able to go back
but dont panic this place isnt THAT bad beyond the whole kidnapping you and not letting you leaVe thing'
and NOT FUCKING PANIC
i haVe so many fucking things to panic about i dont eVen know where to START

[Action]

[As one might gather from Lyn's violent reaction rant over the network, he's not in a good mood. However, while this expresses itself in rage in text, in person...well, he's reacting with something a lot closer to terror. He's skulking around Genessia City, not far from where he first left the Bay, and trying not to be seen by anyone. Or be out in the sunlight much. (Hesitant initial tests let him know that the sunlight of this world would not in fact fry him, but lifelong instincts are fighting him here.) Neither of which is easy; there's just too much light and too many people. Even his psionics aren't much help; he can go invisible briefly, but ten minutes or so and he's still stuck in the same situation, only this time with a headache.

Anyone who notes the incredibly skittish new arrival and his futile efforts to avoid literally everything is free to approach him, though they may wish to do so slowly and carefully. Lyn looks as ready to bolt at the slightest provocation as a feral cat.]

Comments

[artful_transgressor]

cant imagine why

how are you a troll who knows nothing about alternia
were you hatched off planet or something
i mean iVe neVer heard of that being a thing but
iVe neVer exactly talked to a jadeblood either
you guys are special cases so i dont fucking know
things trying to kill you eVerywhere all the time is pretty accurate though
natiVe or not youVe got the basics down

so whats the catch

[gammavirginis]

I do+n't kno+w. I'm still waiting fo+r o+ne.

I was dead when I was bro+ught here, flo+ating in the dream bubbles o+f the furthest ring. Yes, I kno+w that's a bunch o+f things that do+n't make sense, I can try to+ explain that if yo+u want but we'll pro+bably be here fo+r awhile.

Ho+nestly explaining anything will take awhile and it invo+lves yo+u believing that I played a video+ game that ended the wo+rld, and I'm no+t really expecting that to+ slide smo+o+thly do+wn yo+ur meal tunnel.

Lo+ng sto+ry sho+rt I'm fro+m the race o+f Tro+lls that existed befo+re a giant green miso+gynistic skeleto+n with a truly ho+rrible fashio+n sense ruined everything.

[ Shrug. ]

Be as skeptical as you like. But I like it here.

[artful_transgressor]

yeah tbh im just gonna chalk that all up to 'dont know dont care'
cause while im sure your backstory is all tragic and fascinating and detailed and shit
i gather it has zero releVance to my current situation
so rather than get confused by a bunch of optional introductory exposition that i dont eVen haVe a use for
and which
no offense
makes you sound shithiVe maggots out of your pan
just gonna skip that whole cutscene

but hey at least someones happy
id hate to think id been grubnapped to an alien world with a mystery catch to be reVealed later and no one was eVen enjoying themselVes

[gammavirginis]

Well I'll leave yo+u to+ yo+ur devices then. If yo+u need anything at all don't hesitate to+ ask. I can lend yo+u mo+ney o+r o+ffer a place to+ stay.

There's also+ the K&H Ho+me fo+r children where yo+u can stay fo+r free.

[artful_transgressor]

thanks for the offer and all
but i can look out for myself
and theres a lot of places you can stay for free if you know where to look

[Assuming you're not picky, anyway.]

[gammavirginis]

No+t places with beds. o+r co+co+o+ns.

Also+ there's no+ so+po+r slime here. We didn't need it in Befo+rus either, but I imagine it will be difficult to+ sleep witho+ut it. I might be able to+ find so+mething that can substitute fo+r it, tho+ugh. Maybe so+mething... gentler.

[artful_transgressor]

iVe neVer had a cocoon or slime to begin with
so no big deal there

[Lyn's having never had a peaceful day's sleep in his life is definitely a factor in his constantly being on edge.]

[gammavirginis]

[ Well. If Lyn's plan was to make Porrim stop worrying about him then he just critically failed his roll. ]

Yo+u've never had a co+co+o+n? Where are yo+u, I'm picking yo+u up.

[ Sorry Lyn you just triggered hardcore Mom mode she's not gonna take no for an answer. ]

[artful_transgressor]

[Not as planned.]

wait what
why

[It legitimately hadn't occurred to Lyn that his statement would elicit anything but mild curiosity from another troll, especially one who apparently has never even needed sopor slime.]

[gammavirginis]

Yo+u're sleeping in a pro+per recuperaco+o+n to+night.

[ She was already heading for the bay, he probably wasn't too far away from there. ]

[artful_transgressor]

why
whats eVen the point of a recuperacoon with no slime
like what makes it better than literally anything else in that case
im fine

[There's a definite overtone of 'oh shit' to Lyn's alarm at someone suddenly taking this much of an interest in him. Even a benign interest. He doesn't know how to handle it at all.]

[gammavirginis]

What makes it better than a co+ld alleyway o+r a bro+ken into+ blo+ck yo+u mean? I can think o+f several things o+ff o+f the to+p o+f my head, but I'm no+t hearing a lo+catio+n. O+ut with it!

[artful_transgressor]

whatre you eVen gonna do if i giVe it to you
cause iVe neVer had someone get this weirdly intense on me before

[gammavirginis]

I'm go+ing to+ ho+ld yo+ur hand and take yo+u to+ my bed and breakfast, and give yo+u a ro+o+m and a meal.

[ She might give you clothes too, but she didn't want to overwhelm him yet. She was in Genessia now, heading towards the Bay archway. ]

Lyn's not going to give Porrim his location BUT FEEL FREE TO HAVE HER STUMBLE ACROSS HIM

[artful_transgressor]

whoa okay no
no hand holding
no taking me random places
and iVe got food and my bed in my sylladex
seriously im fine

[Porrim would not be satisfied with literally any of Lyn's usual survival tactics - and perhaps Lyn senses that, which is why he's not elaborating. He will indeed sneak into people's attics and basements and storage rooms to camp out as necessary, if left to his own devices. The food he has is all prepackaged food, the sort that takes years to expire or is too artificial to expire at all. And his bed is just a pile of blankets. All of these he has no problem making do with, and is perfectly accustomed to...but, as he's discovering, none of them would be considered acceptable by the nurturing sort.

Lyn can be forgiven for not knowing how a nurturing sort of person would react, never having met one before.

Porrim likely won't approve of his outfit, either, should she manage to track Lyn down - not if she has a Maryam's sense of aesthetic taste. Lyn's clothing is dusty, well-worn, and most of it is clearly one size too big for him at best. And his symbol on his shirt is poorly done by hand from someone who appears to have taught himself just enough about sewing to be serviceable. And his hair looks like the only attention he pays to it, ever, is haphazardly cutting it when it's long enough to get in his face.

He is, in fact, a mess. A functional mess, but a mess all the same.]

GET YOUR TICKET READY MOM TRAIN IS PULLING INTO THE STATION

[gammavirginis]

A bed made o+f what, ro+tted wo+ven plant fibers? An discarded mucusbeast shell?

It's no+t a rando+m place and we can no+t ho+ld hands if yo+u pro+mise to+ give it a try at least.

[ The advantage of there being virtually no trolls in Genessia is that the little candy corn horns were kind of like beacons in a crowd, even for a tiny critter like Lyn. It didn't take very long at all to find him once she was near the bay. She spoke once she was about a dozen feet away. ]

There yo+u are!

[artful_transgressor]

[Lyn's peering down at his device as Porrim spots him, tapping away at it - perhaps in the very act of responding to her when he hears her voice. When she calls out, however, he freezes, head snapping up.

He's tiny. From a distance, Porrim probably can't tell if he's actually young enough to justify the size (he isn't) or if he's merely growth-stunted, but even including his horns, he's 4'10" at best. And judging by the way his clothes hang on him, he's probably skinny, too. Perhaps the worst part, however, is the way he holds himself. His posture, his movements, his very aura - everything screams of an animal on edge. He has the attitude of prey ingrained in him, bone-deep.

So it's no surprise that, when he sees Porrim, his expression shifts to panic almost instantly - his lips form an inaudible word at this distance, but it definitely looks like an expletive - and he's looking away just as fast to scan for an escape route. Porrim's going to need to be quick to snag him.]

[gammavirginis]

[ Fortunately Porrim is pretty quick, especially when she needs to be. Is it because she's a rainbow drinker? Or just from her training from Sgrub? Who knows, but she zips over to him a lot faster than you would otherwise predict. ]

Alright, co+me o+n then-

[ She reaches for the clothe of his shoulder to grab, not taking any chances that he was gonna take off. ]

[artful_transgressor]

[Lyn promptly flinches away, ducking her grab. If he actually perceived her as a direct threat, he'd already have activated his psionics and be in full bolt right now...but the fact is, he's not quite sure what to make of her. She seems to want to help him, and even if Lyn is intensely weirded out by that, he can't exactly see that as a threat, either. A ruse, maybe, but a weird one. No proper troll would ever believe that kind of ruse, so it'd be a weird lie to try and sell...

He really has no idea what to make of Porrim, and his confusion and curiosity are keeping him rooted, even if he's not particularly compliant.]

Where is it you wanna take me, anyway?

[gammavirginis]

I already told you, to my inn.

[ She wasn't gonna try to get in a grabbing contest with the kid, if he was very insistent on not being touched. But she continued to look very stern. This kid was going to have a restful night whether he wanted to or not! ]

[artful_transgressor]

You didn't tell me where it is. Or what it's like. Or why I should go there with a troll I barely know who says really weird stuff and may be shithive maggots crazy.

[Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Lyn's paranoia is that it is based on logic. Tinfoil-wearing, terrified logic, but logic nonetheless. While his fears may be off-base, they can't be thrown out of court without a hearing as unreasonable, either.

In truth, and in context of Alternian society, there's very little paranoia in a lowblooded orphan runt that can be called 'unreasonable'.]

sorry about the (month long) delay!

[gammavirginis]

It's in Everglade, and it's warm and enclosed and has actual furniture. You should go with me because I'm worried about you and your free to think whatever you want of me, but you're sleeping somewhere warm and safe, even if it involves me giving you redbills and you finding a place on your own if you don't trust coming with me.