tentacletrainer | Chapter 19; Voice for John

[When Dave had failed to return to the the room that night, but Meme somehow managed to find her way back to the room on her own, John was worried. The message Karkat had posted on the network had only confirmed his fears.]

[He'd been sitting on the couch since then, legs curled up to his chest and surrounded by his pokémon...well some of them. Flighty Broad and Slimer had been put in the PC so that he could keep Meme and take out Lestat again. He needed cute things right now...they weren't really helping though, cute though they were.]

[He wasn't really all that surprised when the 'gear rang. He was wondering if and when either of his friends would call. For once, he was actually awake at stupid o'clock, meaning he actually answered this time.]

Hey...

[He's quieter than usual, and his voice is kind of hollow.]

[[To say she wasn't surprised by the sound of his voice would be a lie, and she replied in an equally quiet volume. Though tries to put a little more warmth into her voice than she's actually feeling right now.]]

...Hey.

Are you okay?

[There's a long pause.]

...No.

[No point in trying to lie about it, he knew Rose would just pick at him till he admitted it anyway.]

What about you?

...Not really.

[[And there was little point in her lying either. Just...because there wasn't.]]

...I'm not really sure how to feel about this.

I don't either...

How's Karkat?

[Even though he told him to fuck off, he was still worried about the former-troll who wasn't actually his friend even though they totally are.]

...Not the best.

[[As soothing as it was to just hear his voice, she's finding just that less than helpful.]]

Hold on a second.

[[With that, she ends the call, but is soon calling back, requesting video feed this time.]]

I didn't think he would be.

[For once a warning before a format switch! This would be a cause for joy were the circumstances less shitty. He accepts the call.]

[Hello again, Rose. Have a lovely view of John sitting on the couch, his legs still curled to his chest The gear seems to be sitting on the coffee table now. On his head sits Sassacre, who looks slightly less clueless than usual. Casey and Selina are draped over his shoulders, the former trying to hug her daddy and the latter licking his face. To his right sits Meme, drooling and looking a little lost, and to his left sits Lestat, who for ONCE has an expression other than contempt on his face. He might be nuzzling John's leg a little. Just maybe.]

[He's not really sure what to say now.]

Edited 2011-03-23 04:58 (UTC)

[[Rose is in a similar state, a blanket pulled over her head and around her shoulders while she's curled on the couch. Only Guile and Tick are out, the former huddled up against her, the latter perched and trying to curl up on her head. Knees are curled up to her own chest, and she's just staring at the Pokegear, which is similarly set on the table by the couch.]]

...this is...a little better...

Yeah, it...helps. A bit.

[Actually, it helps a lot. Though, not as much as it would if Rose was actually sitting on the couch next to him. He needs hugs. Real human hugs. Not that he doesn't appreciate Casey's effort...it's just really not the same.]

[[And Rose is feeling about the same, hugging her knees tighter to her chest in response to that feeling.]]

I see Meme is adjusting well, at least.

[His head moves a little to look at the little blue amphibian next to him. She looks up at him and tilts her head. Kiiip?]

Yeah...she is. I guess...

[[...why was this so hard? She thought it would be better talking with someone, but this was almost making it worse...

She just buries her face into her knees, offering little response and making no further observations.]]

[He grips his legs a little tighter and looks away from the screen. Isn't silence fun? No. No it isn't. He looks back over to the screen again, trying to put on a convincing smile. It's more pained than convincing though.]

He'll...he'll be back. He's too...stubborn. Johto won't be able to get rid of him this easily...

...yeah.

[[She glances up, peering over her knees at him, and her brows furrow. Your smile is not convincing, John.]]

...would you. Would you mind if I came over? If you're too tired, I understand, but...

[He stares at the screen for a second, not quite sure if he heard what he thought he heard.]

No, I don't...I don't mind...

[[Even after that answer, she stares at the screen a moment. Finally, she reaches forward to turn off the feed. Gathering Tick and Guile, she actually leaves a note for Karkat - just in case - before leaving. It's about ten minutes before she's at Dave's door. Though she stands there a few more, hesitant to knock.

And when she finally does, she fidgets. Part of her hoping Dave answers.

"Oh, it's the flighty broad. What do you want?" or "Jesus fuck it's like three am Rose."

"What's up, Rosie?"

Clutching the strap of her shoulder bag tighter, she bows her head at that thought. Tick re-situates herself to make up for the sudden movement with a soft coo, Guile pressing up against her a little from her spot on the bag.]]

[There is silence for a moment as John continues to sit on the couch, staring at the static feed of his pokégear. He heard the knock, sure, but it takes him a few seconds to actually make an effort to move across the room.]

[Sorry to disappoint, Rose, but John's the one who opens the door. Sassacre's still on his head, and Casey has managed to keep a grip on his shoulder somehow, but the other three remain on the couch, peering curiously at the door. Well...except for Meme, who is chewing her tail.]

[Silence, as once again, John has no idea what to say. He has nothing to say, so instead he stares at Rose morosely.]

[[The door opens, and Rose glances up at it, staring at John in return.

She takes the initiative here. Not asking to come in, but instead stepping forward to just lean against John. She rests her cheek against his shoulder and closes her eyes, nuzzling her forehead against his neck. Closer than she would normally want to be, but right now she just can't help it. Comforting Karkat earlier left her desperate for comfort herself, and here John was.

Again, Tick re-situates, staring into the room at the Pokemon in there. Upon spotting Meme, she invites herself in, fluttering over to sit by the Mudkip with a hoot.

Guile, meanwhile, looks up at Casey. WHY ARE THEY SAD, CASEY? D:]]

Edited 2011-03-23 06:37 (UTC)

[Saying that John was "surprised" by this would be an understatement. Perhaps the understatement of the century. Normally, a situation such as this would leave him a lot more flustered and unsure of exactly what to do. But, given the circumstances...]

[He hesitantly brings his arms up and wraps them around her in a loose, awkward hug. He wasn't sure if this would help or if she would be okay with this, but he figured it was worth a try.]

[Meme just...drools and then looks up at Tick. Oh hey...she knew that bird! She rolls over onto her back and waggles a little arm up at her former teammate. Mudkiiip!]

[Casey looks down at Guile, a distressed look on her face. SHE DOESN'T KNOW, GUILE! SHE CAN'T STAND IT THOUGH. DADDY IS SO SAD!]

[[She tenses a little, but soon enough leans into it, her own arms coming up to lightly clutch at his shoulders, fingers gripping his shirt.]]

It's cold. Maybe we should go sit down.

[[Tick simply stares down at the mudkip. And hoots once more with a flick of her wing. It's nice to be with someone she knows. She'd ask if you knew were Dave was, Meme, but she knows you.

Guile simply whines up at Casey. Eeeveeeeee....]]

In a minute...

[He moves his arms up to her back, gripping a little tighter now since she was obviously okay with this. He was finding it rather difficult to let go now, even though sitting down sounded like a really good idea. His legs were a bit shaky, though it was hard for anyone other than him to tell that.]

[Good thing you didn't ask, Tick because Meme really has no idea. She's not really sure what's going on at all, honestly.]

[Once the hugging starts, Casey lets go of John's shoulder and slides down his back, falling off at some point and landing right on her fluff. Bun! That kind of hurt! Doesn't stop her from scampering over to Guile though. Maybe the two of them can figure this out together!]

Edited 2011-03-23 07:15 (UTC)

[[She was definitely okay with this, hugging him tighter when he does the same. Opening her mouth to respond to his reply, all that really comes out is a quiet whimper, so instead she nods to acknowledge his answer. Sitting now or in a minute, it didn't really matter to her.

Meme, this is Tick, fluffing her feathers up in response to you in general and settling down beside you.

Guile, meanwhile, hops down as well, nuzzling Casey. This was so sad. Why were they so sad?]]

[He gives her a little squeeze when she whimpers and eventually tries to pull back a little. It's been well over a minute by now and he's not certain how much longer he'll be able to stand here. He really just wants to collapse on the couch and fall asleep. And maybe, just maybe when he wakes up this will all have been a dream. Dave will wake him up with a flick to the nose and some snide remark, and everything will be just fine.]

[Only it won't.]

[Tick, this is Meme, tongue lolling out of her mouth as she stares at you blankly.]

[Nuzzles for Guile! It is the most sad, and she doesn't know why. What's even sadder is that Uncle Dave didn't come home tonight! Where could he be, Guile?]

[[You're not going anywhere, John. When Rose thought she'd be okay with moving, she hadn't estimated the actual act of it.

When John tries to pull away, her grip tightens, face burying further into the crook of his neck. She wanted to sleep too. Wanted to wake up and still have Dave around to be irritated at.

...but it was as if her mind was telling her not to let go, or John would disappear too.

Now, much to her dismay, she's trembling, a few tears sliding down her cheeks as she tries to stop them by biting her lip. Focusing on that pain to hopefully avoid focusing on the idea of her other friends disappearing. And that's when she thinks of it.

Looking up at John, not caring at this point that she's crying, she frowns.]]

...we need to go see Jade, John. She's all alone too.

[[Her daddy didn't come home, Casey? Clearly, Guile is upset by this, whining loudly at the information.]]

[Okay, looks like they weren't going to go sit down after all. Well, he was okay with that. He would stand here for as long as Rose needed, or as long as his legs would hold out. Whichever came first. He didn't grip her any tighter, but he did tilt his head a bit to rest his cheek against her head.]

[He wasn't prepared for the tears though. When he feels them on his collar, he's certain he must be imagining things. But then she looks up and he actually sees the tears rolling down her cheeks. In that moment everything finally sinks in. It finally all seems real.]

[At the mention of Jade, he nods and once again tries to pull back from Rose's arms. Not because he wants to, but because they won't be able to walk down the hall and hug at the same time.]

...Yeah.

[Casey looks sad and gives Guile a hug. It's okay! He'll come back! He's probably just out playing in the grass with his pokémon! Meme must have just gotten lost...Tick too. They're so silly.]

[[This time she does allow him to pull back, one hand finding his shirt sleeve and gripping onto it however. The other moves to rub at her eyes. Glancing over John's shoulder, she watches the Noctowl a moment before giving a weak whistle to get her attention.]]

Come here Tick.

[[The owl does so, fluttering over to perch once again on Rose's head. Guile, meanwhile, whimpers and nods, calming down. They are silly. Maybe mommy and Uncle John can go find them. Meme and Tick should be with daddy, or he might miss them after all!]]

Edited 2011-03-23 19:20 (UTC)

[He turns a bit to look over at the couch.]

Come on you three.

[Selina and Lestat hop off the couch and scurry across the room. Meme...Meme just kind of...flops off the couch. John sighs and calls her back to her pokéball. He'd let her back out once they got to Jade's room.]

[Taking Rose by the hand, he leads her down the hallway. Once again trying to smile and lighten the mood. Hopefully Jade would still be awake this late.]

[Yes! Of course! Daddy and Rose will go find him, because they are friends! But now we are going somewhere, apparently! I wonder where we are going?!]

[[She follows quietly after him, fingers tightening around his hand and looking back once to make sure Guile was following as well.

And she was, however she is also very interested in this other Eevee. Hold on Casey, she needs to go meet him. Hello other Eevee!]]

[John stares straight ahead for the remainder of the short trip to Jade's room. He knocks on the door once they reach it, still holding Rose's hand in the other.]

Jade? It's us. You awake?

[Oh? Another Eevee? Lestat supposes this makes you slightly superior to the rest of these morons, Guile. He will indulge you on this short trip, you have his attention.]

[Jade is indeed awake. She's sitting on the couch, curled up with Bec and Second, when she hears someone knocking on her door. Upon hearing who it is, she puts down her Pokégear (the screen is blinking with an error message; she'd just tried to get in touch with Dave one last time), gets up, and walks over to open the door.]

Yeah, I am...

[There's no cheerfulness in her voice when she speaks and when she opens the door, she has a sad, almost lost expression on her face. It's only to be expected. After all, he was one of their best friends... And he was one of the few friends she had back home. She had been so happy to finally be able to see him in person...

In her conversation with Karkat she had tried to be optimistic, not only for her sake but also for his... but later on she had made the mistake of sitting down and thinking about the situation. The memories they'd made there, the time they spent together... If Dave ever came back, would he really have forgotten it all? And then she made the mistake of thinking of Soul. All of them had to go back home sooner or later... right?

Needless to say, it looked like she'd been crying.]

[[Rose leaned around John a little to see Jade as the door opened and almost immediately her hand tightened around the boy's at the sight of their friend. She wanted to tell her everything would be okay, wanted to tell them both something that would make it all okay, but nothing came to mind.]]

...may we come in, Jade?

[[Guile, meanwhile, quite happily tried to make conversation with Lestat. The idea of John and Rose going out to find Dave had calmed her considerably, even if they were still pretty sad. She knew they'd be happy finding her daddy though, so she wasn't worried!]]

[John just stood there, looking at his friend/sister and once more feeling his heart break. He was glad Rose was the one to ask if they could come in...he didn't trust his own voice at this point. It was hard enough just trying to look like he was okay. Or...at least, less upset then he actually was.]

[Guile, Lestat may seem to be listening to you, but don't be fooled! He may be nodding his head and occasionally making a comment, but he is actually bored out of his skull. He is feigning interest in everything you have to say because, oh my god you are just so chatty! You are as bad as that silly little bunny!]

[Bec's wandered over to the door and is hanging out at Jade's feet, a concerned look on his face.]

... Sure. [She manages a weak smile. It's nice to have people to talk to about this.]

[[She tries to return the smile, not really succeeding but hoping it would at least suffice that she tried. This time, Rose takes a small bit of initiative, gently tugging on John's hand as she heads inside, Tick quietly hooting down at Bec from her head-side perch.

Guile notices and, even though she is having an enthralling conversation with this handsome Eevee, she follows, chirping to Lestat and Casey to do the same. Come on guys! Maybe we're having a sleep over or something!]]

[He follows Rose, entering the room and then closing the door with a small click once the last member of the pokétrain was inside. He's unsure of exactly what to do next, so he just stands there, his grip on Rose's hand loosening a bit. Just what were you supposed to do in a situation like this. It had been so easy to tell Sollux that it would be fine and he would just have to believe that Feferi would come back...]

[Suddenly he felt horrible for saying some of those things. It was really hard to be optimistic about this. If Karkat was right about all of them being doomed back home...]

[Sleepover?! Sleepovers are so much fun! This will be great! Casey and Selina so for this, they are all about sleepovers and fun. Lestat rolls his eyes, but follows. He's not sure which is sadder. The fact that something is actually wrong (he's not sure what it is, but something is bothering his dumbass of a master) or the fact that these silly girls are so oblivious to it.]

Edited 2011-03-24 23:12 (UTC)

[Jade really isn't sure what to say... so she just walks over to John and Rose and holds her arms out. Group hug?

Bec looks curiously at the new arrivals. What's going on? His master has looked so sad today and her friends look kind of sad, too! He curiously barks at Rose and John's Pokémon.

Upon hearing Tick, Second immediately perks up, gets up, and starts wandering over.]

[[Group hug. At the offer, Rose reaches out and tugs Jade over to them, wrapping an arm around the other girl's shoulders and hugging her close. The other tugs John closer as well, giving his shoulders a similar grip.

Guile dashes into the room, glancing around excitedly. Daddy is most definitely here, she can feel it. They are over for a sleepover with his and mommy's friend and it's going to be great!

Tick, meanwhile, notices Second and leaves her perch, landing next to the Absol with a flutter of her wings. Noct.]]

[John has no objections to a group hug. None whatsoever. He wraps one arm around each of his friends, drawing himself as close to them as he can. Please don't let them disappear too. Maybe if they all just...hugged each other tight enough...]

[Ooo! Are we looking for Uncle Dave, Guile? Casey will help! Perhaps he is under the couch!]

[Selina sniffs curiously at Bec...for a dog, he doesn't seem too bad. Lestat however, disagrees. He takes one look at Bec and turns his nose up in the air. ~~Don't take it personally, Bec, he's like this with everyone.~~]

[Group hug it is, then. Jade... does not even want to think about the possibility of John and Rose disappearing too right now. It's just too heartbreaking.

Boo, who's been hiding... somewhere (she wasn't sure what to do to help her master feel less sad and didn't want to risk making things worse), hesitantly comes out when she hears other people. Hopefully they'll be able to make her master feel better... ! Upon noticing Guile and Casey, she wanders over to them, looking curious. Gen? What are those two up to?

Sol... Second is quite happy to see Tick! He wonders if she has any idea what's going on. Surely their master didn't abandon them... right?

Bec doesn't think Selina's too bad Upon seeing Lestat turn up his nose, though, he looks a little sad! ~~What a dick.~~ But that isn't what's important right now. Bec wants to know what's going on and why his master has been so sad! He's tried to comfort her, but he can only do so much...]

[[Yet another thought that's weighed heavily on her mind, but one she too wants to avoid thinking about for the time being. They're here now, and that's all that mattered in her world. She would worry over them disappearing later.

Guile instantly greets Boo, chittering questions about her daddy and where is he hiding? He's pretty silly like that sometimes!

The Noctowl gives Second a solemn hoot, a confirmation that she doesn't believe he's there anymore. She offers Bec the same hoot in explanation, moving to curl against the absol some.]]

Chapter 19; Voice for John

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...HERP DERP THIS IS A VOICE POST.

Voice => Video?; ...yeaah

video; i am the derp. it is me.

Video; Who also forgot to change this in the thread, hmm?

Video; we are both derps.

Video; we are both derps.

Video; this icon forever!

Video; Pfft <3

Video; it's not my fault there's not a lot of serious/sad john art

Video; He's just too derpy.

Video; and too happy.

Video => Action;

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