1384/What the Ears Heard; What the Eyes Beheld

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What the Ears Heard; What the Eyes Beheld
Date of Scene: 09 July 2017
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Tendril, Cypher




Tendril has posed:
    It's late at night, everyone is supposedly asleep. Except for the students who like to sneak out for a midnight snack, either because they get the munchies or because they're like Alexia, and almost always have the munchies. High metabolism like a volcano, that's her. And she needs to sacrifice to the mighty stomach god with chips and salsa, or something similar.

    But quietly!

    She slips in silently by using her whips to swing from support to support down the main hall, above where most people usually look, then slows as she approaches the kitchen door, before unwinding them to land softly on her feet with only a minor thump. She then peers slowly around the door, seeing if the coast is clear.

Cypher has posed:
A young man beat her to it. He's standing in his slippers and his baggy jeans and loose t-shirt in the kitchen, and he's making himself a sandwich, all sneaky-like. And when he looks up, the reason why is obvious; chalky, unhealthy pallor, skin threaded through with black veins, a dull red glow in his eyes. Not one of the students.

He looks faintly guilty, when he sees that he got caught--but then he puts his finger up to his mouth. "Shhhhhhh."

Tendril has posed:
    Well, he's a student, at least. Score! And she's not the hall monitor or something. Soooo this is not her issue she feels! "Hey..." she says curiously, stepping fully inside. She's wearing an oversized t-shirt with a picture of a kitten...that has a mass of Chuthulu tentacles coming out of its back. The caption reads. "Chthcute". It hugs her fairly close, though it's long enough to fall about to midthigh on her, though she's barefoot other than that. Which makes it really easy to see enough of her that the mauve skin, silver hair and gold eyes tend to stand out something.

    She doesn't immediately approach because...well, first she doesn't know him, and he's looking fairly guilty so she doesn't want to be pushy, and second, he does...not look well.

Cypher has posed:
Doug Ramsey says, quietly, "I'm supposed to be out of the infirmary. But dinner today was broth, jell-o, and a cookie." He says. "I had to get something else to eat." And what he's eating tonight is a baloney sandwich. He's got it cut in half, and he's cut off the crusts.

Then he gives a little smile, and he says, "Hi. I'm Doug. What's your name?"

Tendril has posed:
    Ooookay. Well, Alexia would be a hypocrite if she called someone on doing exactly what she's doing! Sorta.

    "I'm Lex...are you recovering from something?" she says, a faint note of concern on her face. He really looks totally pale. He might just be an indoor sorta computer guy or something. The black stuff...no idea.

    "Hey, no problem. Ya gotta eat, ya gotta eat." she says, heading over to the kitchen. 'Is it just balony open? Is there peanut butter?" she says thoughfully. She needs the calories.

Cypher has posed:
Doug pauses, and thinks about how to respond to that. "Yes." He says. "Up until a few days ago, I was dead." He opens up a cabinet and pulls out a can of crunchy Jif which he then slides over to Alexia.

"Ah, I suppose I should unpack that a bit." He says, "When I was a student here, originally, I befriended an alien, a Techno-organic lifeform. We were very close. Best friends. Only, his race had the ability to infect organic life with a techno-organic virus that would convert them into techno-organic matter that could then be harvested. My friend would never have willingly hurt me. But it seems like being so close to him, I wound up infected anyway. And I'm beginning to suspect it was a mutated form of the virus. I was killed, before anyone ever knew I was infected. And recently, a scientist was able to activate the techno-organic virus and use it to revive my corpse, after which he collected a sample, and then left me to the mercy of the Juggernaut." He means that unironically. "Who brought me here."

Tendril has posed:
    Lex pauses at that, turning her head to blink, her gold eyes watching him more intently now, her lips parting slighty as she stares a bit. She closes it again with a soft click as he starts to explain, listening.

    There's a long moment of silence.

    "Okay, that's the trippiest thing I've heard, I'm pretty sure." she says after a moment. "So..you're..dead, but you got better, because someone Frankenstein'd you back to life, basically, by jumpstarting stuff in your body that repaired everything?" she repeats, just to make sure she's got this straight. "And the mountain that walks like a man brought ya back here. Cuz you used to be a student."

    Another pause.

    "...well, you do...look pretty good for a formerly mostly dead guy?" she offers after a moment, blinking at him. I mean, what do you say to that really??!

Cypher has posed:
Doug smiles, and the faintest tinge of pink tinges his cheeks. "Thank you. It's mostly my complexion, actually. While my body temperature and body functions are elevated, the techno-organic virus hasn't reached the point of doing me systemic damage, yet. It will probably get there, though, so I need to do something to calm it down. Funnily enough, while I was *healthy* before I died, coming back," He makes a bicep, "I'm in much better shape. I'll have to do something to stick with it."

Then he takes a bite of his sandwich, and puffs his cheek out with it, before he muses, thoughtfully. "And yes. I've been dead for a period of several years."

Tendril has posed:
    There might be a longer moment of a pause that that sort of sentence requires. But it's broken up nicely as Lex's stomach loudly announces that it is still empty and that this needs to be fixed. On the other hand, Doug gets to see that she can also blush, though it's more of a dark purple. She resumes rummaging, starting to add to the sandwich fixings that are already out. She looks like she's planning to build a Dagwood style sub, from the sheer amount of ingredients.

    "So...you're alive, but you're infect, and the techno-thingee virus is...what, going to change your body now, completely, if you don't get it out fo you? Will you still be alive if you do that?" she says, starting to lather on some mayo after cutting a baguette she found in half, then starting to create her masterpiece.

Cypher has posed:
Doug Ramsey takes another bite of his sandwich, chews, and swallows. "Short answer, I don't know. Based upon the examination I got, the virus hasn't yet reached the point where it's compensating for my organ function. So I'm not sure." He looks down, and then says, "I admit that it's a possibility. But either way, the virus will kill me eventually, so I have to take a gamble and go ahead."

Then he says, "I apologize if I'm coming off somewhat blase about it. There's a lot on my mind, but I did most of my crying last night. So at the moment, I'm just kind of staring uncertainty in the face and daring it to blink. Remembering how the Techno/Organic virus affected organic matter, yes. As my organs start to fail, it will compensate for more and more of my functions, until ultimately I'm more it than me, and am essentially dead. I believe it will do this to try and keep me alive, because it doesn't know it's killing me all over again."

Tendril has posed:
    Alexia IS listening, as engrossed as she seems to be in constructing her monster sandwich, as she looks up at Doug's apology. "...dude, it's...well, okay, it's not cool, because being dead sucks, and being dead for years definitely sucks, and being infected on top of that really sucks sweaty dog balls." She tilts her head at him. "...I can totally understand if you're feeling a little in shock..." she adds, something in her eyes suggesting she's been in a similar state herself before. "...can't your friend help? The one who got you infected in the first place?" she asks after a moment. "Or are they gone?"

Cypher has posed:
Doug looks down. "Honestly I don't know where he is. I worry about him. He was learning fast but he wasn't human, and... well, people could take advantage of him. And honestly, I miss him. Without him it feels a little bit like I'm missing an arm. But contrary to what some people thought," Doug says, "Warlock wasn't my pet. I worry about him... and I hope if I don't see him again he's happy and safe. That's all you can do."

Tendril has posed:
    Her greatest invention is COOMPLEEEEETE! To quote a little redhaired inventor boy. Lex slaps the top of the baquette back on top of the bulging monstrosity, then lifts it up, taking a good sized bite as she mmmmmmmmphs happily, munching away. "Mrphsh.." she starts to say, then pauses, finishing chewing and swallowing. "...well. Did you have any other friends you hung out with, maybe he's with one of them?" she suggests. "Have you, like, asked around already? Or are they not letting you out much yet?" she adds sympathetically.

Cypher has posed:
Doug looks down, and says, "I don't know. I imagine they've all moved on, they've got lives." He puts his hands on the counter, and then picks up the other half of his sandwich. "Well, I've been out a little bit but I'm not pushing it. If something goes wrong, it could go really wrong." Then he sighs, and says, "Maybe when I get out of here I'll go looking for him. I've been thinking maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to stay in Salem Center -- my parents live here. And considering that they buried me, I don't really--" He pauses. "They made their peace with me being dead. And... well..."

Tendril has posed:
    THAT makes Lex actually pause in her ongoing demolishing of her snack, as she sets it back down on the plate, Her golden eyes shimmer a bit as she gets a more sober expresson, meeting Doug's eyes. "...I don't know." she says slowly. "...if you'd lost your parents...wouldn't you be overjoyed to have them back?" There's a faint questioning tone at the end...she's not really sure what kind of relationship Doug had with his parents. She knows some of the kids she's met here have had it rough, and she's one of that number.

    Her silvery hair makes an odd rippling motion, shifting as if a breeze catches it for a moment. "I mean..it's...it's your family." She looks down at her sandwich again, frowning, then scoops it up again. "You must have friends who want to see you again too..." she adds.

Cypher has posed:
Doug is quiet. "They never knew." He says. "About this." He waves a hand around, "About me being a mutant. About any of it. I didn't... have the heart to tell them the truth, and I thought the truth would hurt them more than not knowing. They fobbed off my death as a hunting accident. I found that out."

He looks down, and says, "And I guess I'm just kind of afraid. Afraid to hurt them. I loved my parents--" He says, "But they're innocent in all of this. Ha." He says, "Master of Language and I can't find the words to talk to my mom and dad."

Tendril has posed:
    The other girl ahs, nodding slightly. She pauses to demolish another third of the sandwich, then sets it down again. "...I don't know then. If they didn't know...it might freak them out. But they might just be happy to see you. I guess...it depends how they feel about someone like you or me." she murmurs, smiling weakly over at him. "Um, and I don't know about this stuff, so I probably shouldn't be tossin' ideas your way when I don't know nothing about it really."

    She pauses uncertainly.

    "Maybe, if you can get rid of the techno stuff. You could make something up, maybe it was another guy who just looked like you or something? No, that's lame..." she mutters to herself, frowning more. She siiighs.

    "Sorry dude. I wish I could...give you a way to go there. But it sounds like it's up to you in the end, either way."

Cypher has posed:
Doug Ramsey gives Alexia a bright grin. "No. No. I appreciate the ideas, I really do." He moves to put his knife in the dishwasher and throw out his paper plate. "Ah." He says. "I should probably get back." He looks down at his slippered feet. "They do check on me, and I might be missed." He looks back up at Alexia, and beams wide. "But thank you, for giving me something to think about."

Tendril has posed:
    Lex smiles at him, some of the somberness leaving her face. "Sure. Um, feel free to bounce return from the dead ideas off me anytime? I mean...I'll at least tell you if it seems dumb." she says, a little bluntly, but trying to be helpful. "And...feel better soon, okay? I hope it works out..." she says softly.

Cypher has posed:
Doug tilts his head, and then says, "You have a beautiful language, Alexia." He gives a shy little smile. "Speak out a little more."

Cypher has posed:
...Then he's padding out the door, and back to the lift to return to the infirmary below.

Tendril has posed:
    He doesn't get to see the result of his words, the flush that returns to Alexia's cheeks. "S-sure..." she calls after him, then leans back against the counter, before letting out a sigh. "...beautiful language?" she muses to herself, a tendril sprouting out of her shoulder to grab the remains of her sandwich as she folds her arms. "Mmm." And the rest of the sandwich meets its fate! Before she tries to sneak back up to her room again.