Day 1 - Morning

Morning: 06:00am - 12:00noon

[ IRL Timeframe: February 18th - February 25th, 2019 ]

The day begins quietly, with no indications that anything strange could occur today. The Princess and the Knights have all arrived on the island. Maybe you arrived a few days ago or maybe you just got off your red-eye flight before the sun came up. Everyone's on Harsen Island and so is the Wizard.

Things start simpler for Luka Eutychia, Olivia Walkyr, and Rory Honeycomb. The instant they set foot on the island, Olivia and Rory will both get an image of Luka in their heads and realize that they are the good-allured knights and he's the Princess. Luka, meanwhile, will see both Olivia and Rory in his thoughts and realize they're the good allured knights.

The Weather

Sunny.

72°F / 22°C

Slightly breezy, makes the trees wave.

Prompts:

6:00am: It's the early morning celebration van! In all three towns, someone's driving around a vehicle playing blaring music and shouting "Let's go Knights! Let's go Princess! Beat that Wizard!". Seems like someone wants the heroes to succeed, hopefully your characters weren't sleeping. If you confront them, maybe they'll have something to say?

8:00am: Far Haven: All Knights and the Princess are invited to a big breakfast banquet. Come one, come all! Maybe meet some of the locals? Maybe chat with your fellow heroes? All knights are given lanyards, but the princess gets a lanyard and a crown if he's here, and they're all seated at the big hero table.

9:30am: Bamborough: All Knights and the Princess are invited to an oceanside brunch! Wether they live in Bamborough or they live elsewhere and visited here, they're welcome to eat the brunch and participate in waterfront games. Thank the resort owner for this welcome! Or chat it up with your fellow heroes by the water. By now everyone should be full.

11:00am: Craydon: Craydon's welcome is much more modest, the locals have invited the Princess and his knights to the local Multipurpose Center. They've set out a spread of light appetizers, chips and dips, vegetables and spreads, fresh breads and cheeses, modest drinks. It's the least extravagant of the welcomes but the locals are still here to meet and greet everyone. With a smile and a handshake they wish everyone the best of luck. How are you and your fellow heroes holding up with all this attention? Did you skip all these events? Attend all of them?

11:30am: The Wizard (Year 40 She/Her/Hers) strides in to the Craydon Multipurpose Center with her hands in her pockets and casually looks around the room with a gentle smile on her face and huge bags under her eyes. Her eyes are black with cyan sparkles in them, looking very much like outer space itself as she scans the room and everyone in it. Good luck for anyone here, they get first dibs on seeing the Wizard. She'll be shuffling around the multipurpose center in her light blue pajamas and bunny slippers, occasionally adjusting her tiny glasses as she looks around. At least she's got her wizard hat on so no one could miss what she looks like this year. It's a shocking difference from the big muscled dude (Year 39 He/Him/His) she was last year or the slick suit-wearing smooth talker (Year 38 They/Them/Theirs) they were the year before but it's still absolutely the same wizard.

Procedure::

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around. Several simultaneous wizard conversations can exist in the replies, she's going to stick around to talk to everyone. Feel free to OOCly decide what order they spoke in or leave it a mystery.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Zafika hears the heavy footsteps first, and as they recognise them immediately they peek to the direction they're going to, and see Garrot slipping out of the room. Well, more like storming to the hallway, his dramatic exit surrounded by a 'bit' of murmuring.

Which, cuts short the moment a loud crash comes down the hall, and at that moment Zafika just, immediately goes to check what's going on, because that didn't sound good, not at all. They dare to keep their blindfold up with their hand as they slink out of the room -actually unnoticed- and until they spot Garrot.

And, oh dear. Bad time huh. Still, he'd gone out of his way to check on them, they can at least return the favour. They walks over to him, remaining a tail's length away from him. With that said tail, they fish out a food bar from the pocket of the suit jacket that's neatly and carefully folded over their other arm. They've made sure not to wrinkle it, even while they're not wearing it.

"Food bar? I've heard snacks do miracles to bad temper." Their voice is quiet and steady, and they offer the food bar to Garrot with their tail, because, again, safety distance. "Are you... okay...?" They peek at the wall where they see Garrot's fist has made a hole in it, and notice the two other, identical and evenly spaced holes on either side. What the fuck...? Ok, no time for that yet.

With all the rage boiling his blood, Garrot wouldn't have heard most people, let alone his favorite highly-trained assassin. But he hears a voice, any voice and his eyes snap to Zafika, flickering teal for a moment before the doctor realizes who's speaking to him. The words barely register as words let alone as sentences, so he just scoffs... at least until the words "are you okay" hit him. And boy oh boy do they hit him.

"Of course I'm not." He snarls, and the corner of his mouth curls into a wry little smirk at his own expense. "That bastard gets to stroll in here like this is all a game, and I can't do anything!" The words are hissed, and the doctor's whole body is shaking. He's doing everything he can not to raise his voice, not to shout, because then that Wizard might happen to walk by. But then he sees an opportunity, and he starts to grin!

"All I want to do is break every single bone in that fucker's body. Slice the arteries, gouge the eyes, collapse the lungs..." Garrot takes a moment to flash his toothiest, most monstrous smile. He knows exactly how horrible he sounds, and he shows no signs of remorse. "How do you stop yourself from killing someone who's hurt so many people? Someone who deserves it? How am I supposed to wait for almost two weeks?"

But then that sadistic smile fades away and the doctor's back to angry-looking hyperventilating. He doesn't want to talk about his murdered father, the skeletons in his closet, the orphans he's adopted in the wake of this sick game... But he knows that all the monastic training, deep breathing, and therapy aren't doing much against a grudge he didn't know he was holding for almost three decades! But Garrot can't say any of that because it'll open the floodgates, and he needs to get ready to protect all twelve of his allies, and fast. His body however will betray him, with the tiniest hints of tears glistening in the corners of his eyes.

Zafika's hands twitch at the hostility in Garrot's voice, and they withdraw their tail away from him, but they also take a step closer to him, they don't want him to think that he's driving them away. They listen quietly to what he's saying, and honestly, the brutality and hostility of his words, it's such a huge contrast to when they were talking with him in Bamborough. It's almost difficult to remember that he is, in fact, a doctor.

Then he quiets down, but they can hear his breathing clearly, and he sounds like he's about to hyperventilate, so they risk a peek up at him. And then they see the hints of tears, glistening in the corners of his eyes. Oh no...

They lower their head for a bit as they bite their lip, contemplating on what to say. They've never been good at comforting people, but they owe Garrot for his kindness. So, they sigh, and shift their position so that they're leaning their back against the wall, giving Garrot some space but not closing him off.

"I remind myself that if I just, go and attack her without thinking, she could kill everyone here with the snap of her fingers. It doesn't make it any easier though, but all you can really do is think about it logically, weigh the consequences against how much you want to do that, and decide which is the best option. It's, easier if you can just think about it logically."

They don't sound judgemental over Garrot's, well, quite horrific words from earlier, in fact, they.. almost sound understanding, their tone soft and hushed. Their tail curls around their leg for a bit, and they seem to be fidgeting with the sleeve of Garrot's jacket. "But... you know... us assassins, we're good at keeping secrets. So, if you want to talk... I can listen." They don't know if the offer will be accepted, but at least they can make it. "Or, I can just, stay here with and sit down with you, so you can take a breather and, try to calm down."

"Tch." An eyebrow twitches at Zafika's words, and he rolls his eyes. "Logic?" One side of his mouth raises into a tiny little smirk, condescending as hell. "Logic doesn't really matter against a body-swapping psycho who can defy the laws of physics." Garrot chuckles, and just shakes his head. "No, logic ain't worth a damn." He sees the curling tail, the fidgeting with the sleeve and part of him does want to cry, because he doesn't want to be this angry, he thought he was done with all this hate. But here he is, staring down a highly-trained assassin and carrying himself like he used when he made a pretty penny puncturing people's pride and smashing skulls with a smile. So much for progress...

"Take off your blindfold. Now." That tone is about ten degrees of magnitude more commanding than when Garrot proclaimed he was their doctor. See, he knows logic doesn't matter, this is raw emotion. "If the Wizard shows up, paralyze me. Since I did my research, I made sure to pack some antidotes in case you turned out to be a problem." He doesn't know Zafika's got a few of their own, and he doesn't care. What sort of doctor would he be if he wasn't prepared?

"If you can't, then..." The doctor contemplates being gruesome again, but as he blinks the tears fall in faint streaks down his cheeks. That single display of sadness is all he'll allow, though. "...Then you're in my way." Garrot's fully aware that he's implying that Zafika's the only one who can stop him from throwing his life away right now, and his slasher smile is gone because he just can't muster the energy anymore when he's this mad at himself. Instead, he's just scowling, and his tone turns dour.

"And I can't avenge my father if I die today. You understand." He exhales, and the tiniest fraction of tension seems to dissipate. Garrot doesn't really keep the circumstances of his father's death a secret, but he knows Zafika didn't get a chance to do the research like he did. That means this feels like sharing a secret, that the assassin might empathize, might trust him more, and that they might be more willing to stop him in his tracks if it comes down to it. Can't leave a thing to chance.

Garrot'll have to figure out a better way to cope with that floppy-hatted bitch's presence. Fast. Horribly inefficient to keep an assassin lurking in his shadow, after all.

Zafika couldn't miss the condescending tone even if they couldn't read people for shit, it's that obvious, and it makes their tail curl oh so much tighter around their leg, their entire body tensing, and they look visibly uncomfortable. His hostility isn't directed at them, not fully at least, but it's bringing back too many memories they're rather keep locked up.

And then he tells them to take off their blindfold, and they're certain their heart stopped for a split of a second, and they feel their stomach drop as they get a cold chill down their spine. He... he wanted them to paralyse him. They didn't want to do that. They absolutely did not want to do that. First of all, paralysing requires six seconds of eye contact, and with Garrot being like this, there's no way they'll be able to hold eye contact with him that long. They'd have to petrify him. They'd have to petrify him, and that'd raise so, so much bigger commotion than paralysing him, if they did that it could be passed off as him just passing out, but there's no other explanation to one of the knights being turned to stone.

There's a painful pang in their chest when Garrot says that if they can't do it, they're in his way. They can tell the true implication, but it still hurts being told that if they can't do the one thing they absolutely don't want to do to an ally, they're just in the way. It's almost enough for them to refuse. But then he brings up his father. And fucking hell. Now they can't even refuse.

They're so, so very hesitant, but they say fuck it to their own comfort, and reach up with one -admittedly bit shaky- hand to undo their blindfold, and let it fall over Garrot's suit jacket, and they take a deep breath before they turn their gaze to the doctor next to them. And the look they're giving him, oh lord.

They look hurt, worried, and rightfully a bit angry. Garrot's taken several steps too far, and as much as they want to be kind to him, even they have a limit. "Fine. I'll do it. This one time. But after today, I refuse to be a thing you get to conveniently tell what to do to keep yourself from screwing up and throwing your life away. I'm very grateful for the help you've offered to me, but I absolutely refuse to... to just, keep, using this power for other people's convenience, just because they tell me to-" They bite their lip to make themselves shut up, but they defiantly keep looking at Garrot, not initiating eye contact, no, but they're not going to look away from him. If he blows up in their face, they can't do that, or they'll be the one who's going to have their neck wrung.

All of his pain, all of his rage focus with the fire of a desert sun on Zafika for just a single moment. "You're not a thing, dammit!" And he looks away, in the opposite direction of those holes in the wall that he... still hasn't paid attention to.

"If the Wizard tries to talk to me right now and I walk away, I bet they'd follow me." He's back to forced stoicism, and his hands aren't quite balled up into fists as they are... lightly shaking. "I can deal with about ten, fifteen seconds based off earlier, and then I'll snap. I'd sedate myself, but then I'd be a sitting duck for any monsters. So..."

Garrot sighs, and he's switched from walls to regret. "You're not a thing. You're a good person with the right skill in the wrong place at the worst time. Best part is you probably have to just stand there and deal with me." He even chuckles a bit as that progresses, a hint of mirth peeking through the storm clouds. Maybe the distraction is doing some good?

"You're my jailer if it comes to that, Zafika. And..." He looks down at the ground, at the door, and back to this poor person he's been burdening so much. "I get if you don't want to give me the time of day once the coast is clear. I..." And he can't even finish the thought, because he knows he screwed up. He knows he's supposed to be the one helping the others, and yet here he is. Garrot doesn't feel like a very good doctor or person right now.

"Then don't make it sound like I'm only useful to you if I can use my powers on you!" As they snap at Garrot, Zafika's tail strikes the air, and for the first time in what feels like forever, they actually raise their voice at someone. They quickly close their eyes however and take a deep breath, and try to calm themselves down. Shouting helps absolutely no one.

As they open their eyes again, they watch Garrot as he explains the situation to them, this time more calmly and in a way, way less condescending tone. They lower their gaze to the floor for a while, gripping their forearms tightly beneath Garrot's suit jacket. The fact that he chuckles a bit makes them feel more at ease, but they still don't like this idea.

But yet, yet, as Garrot tells them that he understands if they don't want to give him the time of the day after this, they find themselves unable to say no. They've really, really grown soft haven't they?

"Alright... I'll... I'll do it. But just this once. So, after this... don't.. ask me to use my powers against you... please. I don't want to use it against my friends, against my allies. So, please... don't ask this from me again..."

At least they're willing to do it this one time, but after this, they never want to use their power against the other Knights, the princess was immune since he was apparently blind, and Gyre was immune to the paralysis aspect at least. But still, they don't want to give the public any chances to try and further spread rumours about them being untrustworthy, that they'll turn against the other Knights.

"Hey!" He barks the word out, his temper flaring up for only a moment. "I don't give a damn if you're useful, I give a damn about whether you're gonna live. Whether we all are." Right now, he's just a lot more focused on himself, and as his breathing starts to normalize a bit, he glances past the assassin, his eyes catching glimpses of what Zafika looks like beneath the blindfold. This entire conversation had been more than painful enough for them both. "As long as the Wizard doesn't show up, you're not doing anything you don't want to. Speaking of..."

Garrot shifts his posture, from standing in the middle of the closet to leaning against the wall he hadn't punched. Looks like he's actually getting his composure back. "Shut that door, would you Zafika? So the Wizard doesn't just walk in. That'd... uh... that'd suck." And then he stifles a laugh, even though it's at his own expense and about the one thing that can apparently send him into a berserker rage. Break the tension, shift the focus, and things will be okay.

"And I gotta ask," at this point, while he's still taking deep breaths and staring at those three holes in the wall, he doesn't sound particularly volatile. Stressed, definitely, but... not dangerous. "If you weren't an assassin, what do you think you'd be doing? Or, y'know, what did you want to do before?" Because it seemed pretty obvious that Zafika took little pleasure in their job. May as well talk about something more optimistic? Hopefully not bittersweet, at any rate. Anything is funner than death. And if that life sentence can be thrown away, it's good to think about the future now, right?

Zafika doesn't say anything to that, they don't feel like reminding Garrot about how just a moment ago told them they were in his way if they couldn't paralyse him, that would help literally no one with this conversation. But the reassuring that unless the Wizard shows up, they won't have to paralyse him, is welcome. They really don't want to have to do that.

When he asks them to shut the door to the hallway, they peek behind themselves quickly, and take couple steps backwards so they can shut the door with their tail. That tail could really be handy huh? "Well, she either didn't notice anything or doesn't care, so hopefully she won't show up."

They really hope she won't, they'd much rather just talk to Garrot to distract him, instead of paralysing him. And apparently he agrees on distractions being good, because he then asks them what they'd be doing, if they weren't an assassin. And... they actually look surprised to hear that question, because no one has ever asked them that. Not even themselves, actually.

"I... I don't know... I was recruited for the training when I was young, and... well... after I became an assassin, I didn't really think of other options..." Not that there had been that many for them in the first place. "I mean, the only guaranteed ways out were, you either got killed during a mission, or got caught, like I did... and, if you get caught you don't exactly expect to have a future after that... so I haven't, well, I haven't really think about what else I'd like to do. I can't really remember if I had any plans for my future before I got recruited."

"What? You don't know?" He sounds skeptical, but all he has to do is think back to how he wasn't really interested in the long-term when he was a pit fighter or at the monastery. He looks a bit more understanding with the realization, and just nods.

"Do you remember anything you liked from your training, or from school? Family business?" And then his eyes light up, and his face goes from emotionally expended to typical enthusiasm. "When we get out of here I could get you a job at MurtaCorp! Saving lives is a good look, and I think I know a guy..." He looks so cheeky, so absolutely thrilled with himself! The distraction is going very, very well. Helps that the door is closed.

Zafika actually looks borderline embarrased for not knowing, but hey, it wasn't their fault. They were sixteen when they had been recruited, they'd been in the middle of their studies, and worried about how they'd manage. So, they hadn't exactly made plans, save for wanting to help support their mother.

"Really? Something I liked from my assassin training? No, nothing that would be useful for a normal career. And I'm from a small family of commoners, no way there'd be a family business to take care of." They stop to think if they were ever interested in something specific in school, but then Garrot suggests that he could get them a job at MurtaCorp, and, oh, right, that was a thing.

They give a quiet chuckle, and offer Garrot a small smile. "I appreciate that, but an assassin saving lives would just be contradictory, and even with you knowing a guy, there'd probably be people protesting about me being hired."

Garrot raises an eyebrow and just sighs at Zafika. So stubborn, this one! But he's definitely smiling, because this sounds like a challenge! "My father was a full-on Bugbear; bigger and toothier and scarier-looking than I am! He started MurtaCorp because people assumed he'd only want to hurt people. Plus..." He stifles a laugh a bit, rolling his eyes. "They hired me. Back then, I was..."

Garrot trails off, the energy and cheer put on ice. With the Wizard lurking about, is this really the best time to talk about his time as an inebriated pit fighter? Not at all. Is a storage closet in a populated public building really the best time to take off his shirt and show off all his tattoos? Absolutely not. So he just sighs and smirks.

"That's a story for another time. Maybe tomorrow, over dinner?" And then Garrot shrugs because, well, he's not gonna budge on it. "We're all gonna survive, you're gonna get your future back, and you'll have time to figure things out. I'll help you out if you need it." He says all this like it's as simple as the sun rising in the morning. The doctor can't exactly afford to be pessimistic for anyone's sake, after all.

Zafika tilts their head as Garrot mentions his father having started MurtaCorp because of people's assumptions, and, right, the company had existed for quite a while already. They had never really done research on it though, since there was nothing shady about the company, surprisingly enough. It was one of the only ones that didn't have something going on in the shadows.

They almost want to try and ask Garrot to clarify the sentence he had left hanging, but they hesitate long enough for him to start talking again, and, oh, right, they're still supposed to have dinner with him. "You really won't drop that dinner offer huh?" They chuckle a little even as they shake their head, mostly just amused by Garrot's stubbornness. It's endearing, in a way.

"Well... I appreciate the offer, at least. I don't plan to have false hopes but... a second chance would be welcome, to be honest." Maybe then they could actually face their mother again. With all they've done, they can't imagine even calling her, even if they now could do that.

Garrot just winks as Zafika brings up the dinner offer. Of course he won't forget, he's the one who said it was gonna happen! It'd be rude if he just forgot, and even an assassin deserves a nice home-cooked meal with zero pressure or worry. The words "false hope" make his ears twitch and his brow furrow though, but it doesn't kill his smile.

"It's not false hope, you know." He rolls his eyes, his smile staying strong. "This is the start of your second chance, Zafika. If you act like a model citizen, kill some monsters, and make a few friends in high places, you never know what'll happen!" Sure it might not get anywhere, but that doesn't mean they should give up. If a media-spotlit assassin can help save the world and get people (beyond Garrot) willing to vouch for them, then... If any other Knight is set for life when they survive, why can't this Snake Knight do the same?

On the bright side, his foul temper seems to have completely disappeared!

Did he just-

Oh, Garrot definitely just winked at them. Zafika can't believe this. They're getting one whiplash after another today, from loud vans to loud people and being smacked in the head with a volleyball. And now this. Not to forget the fact that they have plans with a certain other Knight. Three years of no social interaction has done the opposite of preparing them for this.

They're already about to roll their eyes at the 'model citizen' part, but then Garrot suggests that they'd make friends in high places, and their reaction turns to a disgusted grimace. "No thank you... I'm not going to start sucking up to people in high places. You should know since you recognised me, people in high places were my targets. Corrupted ones, yeah, but I doubt the rest like me that much either."

But, the conversation seems to have cleared Garrot's foul mood and temper, so better keep it going. "I think I'll be fine just befriending the other Knights, or at least making an attempt at that."

Garrot's undaunted by the refusal, and visibly happier from Zafika's willingness to make friends. "Fine by me." He shrugs. "I'll butter up the one in high places for you." The tone in his voice is supportive, but it's clear he's not budging. He's gonna metaphorically die on this hill, Zafika, and it should be clear how hard it is to kill him in any sense of the word.

But then his eyes dart around, focusing on the door for a moment. They narrow before he lets out a chuffed sigh. "It's too quiet out there, can you..." His hand gravitates towards a pocket, two fingers coiling around what seems to be a pen. "...check it out?" He looks nervous, those fingers fidgeting and spinning the pen around as he starts to pull it out. It is just a pen, of course.

"Please?" Garrot doesn't want to say it, but he doesn't want to end up back in that emotional state he'd crawled out of.

Zafika is somehow still surprised by how insistently supportive Garrot is, but... they do appreciate it. "Well.. I wish you good luck with that. I don't know how many people would be willing to warm up to an assassin like you have." And some other Knights too, but best not to mention that yet.

Their tail twitches slightly as Garrot's hand moves towards a pocket, their years of assassin training making that gesture suspicious, but then it turns out to be just a pen that he's grabbed, and honestly, they really can't say no to his request, especially with that last, added 'please'. "Alright, just, hold on for a bit."

They turn their back to Garrot as they return to the door, opening it just an inch or two as to not draw attention to it, and peek int the buffet hall. Everything seems alright, most of the buzz from the Wizard's arriaval has just quieted down. They let the door slide shut as they return to Garrot, and this time actually leave less space between them. Well well, would you look at that. "Everything's fine, people are just finally calming down. Are you, doing okay...?" It's fair to at least confirm if Garrot is alright or not.

As soon as Zafika's peeking out the door, Garrot gets to work. His eyes lock on a pack of napkins, but he knows full well they're flimsy. So instead there's a rip of cardboard as the flap of a cardboard box is torn away. The noise is quick and clean, joining two little holes from his claws as reminders of how strong he is.

But it seems Garrot needed a reminder of how fast Zafika was. They're already back, and closer than before. Fighting an assassin must be really stressful! Garrot isn't stressed, because he hasn't lost the element of surprise as much as he thought.

"Might go for a walk and get some air, but... yeah." He's smiling, absolutely grinning. Because he's got a plan. That plan involves his arms, hands full with a pen and piece of cardboard, reaching out and around Zafika's back. Then with the calculated grace of someone who has been wrangling children for two decades, the arms pull towards his chest, like a muscular trash compactor.

This is no hug, it's a Vicegrip Hugbear Attack! He would've announced it like he does most of his attacks, but the moment would've been ruined.

"I'll survive. Thanks to you." He sounds like he's making a joke, since he's talking about his emotions and the whole Not Dying thing. But the hug isn't super vicegrippy, because he's not sure how Zafika can compare to his kids squirming and dramatically(?) gasping for air. No need to make this awkward and cause unintended harm!

Zafika had heard the ripping noise, but they hadn't been alarmed by it enough to check, so now they're glancing at the piece of cardboard Garrot is holding, their head tilted a bit from curiosity. Why does he have that? Wait, why is he reaching behind their back with that piece of cardboard in his hand and a pen in the other? What's going on? Why is he grinning like that?

They're about to retreat, but because of their confusion, their reaction comes too late, and instead they end up squished against Garrot, trapped between his muscular torso and his equally muscular arms, with their own arms pinned between their bodies, because like a fool they were still holding Garrot's suit jacket in front of themselves.

"Wh- Garrot. What are you doing?" They try to wriggle in his grip, to get their arms free at least so they can noodle their way out from his hold, they can do that well enough with their basilisk anatomy being what it is, but it's surprisingly hard to wriggle enough to move their arms.

Especially when their reptilian instincts want them to go into a limp noodle mode because Garrot is so, so warm, he's a walking heater for them, and they're constantly cold, and it would be so easy for them to just close their eyes and enjoy the warmth. Mentally, they stab the thought to death the moment it pops into their mind, this is not why they're here! They can be friendly, but touchy-feely is off limits.

He blinks a few times at the question, the savage bugbear part of his brain taking joy in the futile squirming of his prey. Garrot casually states, "It's a hug, Zafika," until recognition sinks in. Squirming. Questioning. His eyes go wide and his ears droop a bit, and he quietly gasps. Oh no.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" And he lets go, completely and suddenly. "Was that too strong? Did I hurt you?" It won't be good if he debilitates a Knight with a hug, that's both embarrassing and terrible! "I wanted to do something friendly since you helped me out, but I definitely should have asked first, and I guess I forgot my own strength, and-" He hangs his head in shame. "I'm so sorry, Zafika!"

Zafika knew that it was a hug, but they were more asking why Garrot was hugging him out of nowhere. They don't get to clarify that however, before Garrot is suddenly apologising and letting go of them, setting their balance off for a split of a second.

And then he asks if he hurt them, and they look surprised, they're clearly not used to people being concerned for their wellbeing, especially not to this extent. "Oh, no, no you... you didn't hurt me. I was just... surprised, that's all. I'm not really used to people touching me.." They decide to leave out the bit that they can't even remember the last time anyone had hugged them,that would make the situation an even bigger hassle.

"I'm alright, don't worry."

"Oh-thank-goodness!" The words tumble out of Garrot's mouth in a sigh of relief. And then he takes a moment to let that sigh just... take its course. Turns out he still had a ton of tension in his body!

"So, uh..." It's a little awkward now, since the element of surprise is gone and he just had to end the hug out of concern. Garrot takes a moment to actually use the pen, scribbling something on the cardboard. "I think I am gonna go take that walk and clear my head a bit."

And it's clear he's focused on his writing, until suddenly he is not and the cardboard is being offered to Zafika. "Here's my knight phone number," he says dryly, restraining the urge to include his personal phone because it has been only a few hours since they met. "There's a media account aaaaaaand..." Garrot waggles the cardboard and makes a little fanfare noise.

"At the bottom is a direct line to my department at MurtaCorp. Just in case." The number isn't exactly hard to find, but it's the sort that leads to a secretary. Just in case a world-saving Knight gets to make a few phone calls before spending some more time in lockdown.

"You gonna be alright without me for a bit?" And then he winks again. The only way to get rid of him is to kill him, probably.

Zafika tilts their head curiously, he really keeps surprising them over and over again. They have a hard time keeping up with him but, it's in a way endearing, how he can suddenly flip from joking to being so concerned about someone.

They watch him write something on the piece of cardboard, nodding absentmindedly to his comment about actually taking a walk to clear his head. And suddenly he's offering the cardboard to them, and they instinctively take it, frowning a bit as they look over what he's written. And, oh. Oh. Alright.

"Hmm... well, I guess I'll save even that number. Just in case." They look up at Garrot just in time as he asks them if they'll be alright without him, winking at them again and they actually end up snorting at his question, quickly suppressing the rest of their chuckling."Hah, as if I wouldn't be. Don't worry, I'll live." They pause for a moment before they hand Garrot his jacket back. "But, I think you should take this back now. I'm doing better now, so, don't worry. Muraj has been pestering me to eat on few occasions."

Edited 2019-03-12 19:23 (UTC)

Garrot sees that frown, and his eyes widen just a bit at it. He knows what frowns are for, and he doesn't think he's done anything untoward. The good doctor wants to ask, of course, but the moment passes when that jacket is offered again.

"G-Good!" He stammers the word out, looking a bit more crestfallen. He's glad that Zafika is doing better, but... he hopes they're not just pushing him away after his little temper tantrum. The chuckle was a good sign though, so he takes the coat and decides to go back to smiling. "Great to hear I'm not the only one looking out for you."

The hand with the pen snakes around Zafika's back again, and he's pulled them into a quick one-armed hug. Squeeeeze! And then he takes that moment to rotate the both of them, so he's closer to the door. Funner than awkward side-stepping, for sure. But then the hug breaks, and Garrot takes a step towards the door.

"Thanks again. And..." He hesitates for a moment, not wanting to be too pushy, until... "My Knight phone is always on. Let me know if you need anything, okay?" Then he lingers at the door, just in case. And so he can get the last word in, but he won't say that.

Zafika misses Garrot's reaction to their frown, but they certainly don't miss the crestfallen look on his face as they give him his jacket back. Why did he look like that, even if for a bit?

They don't get to question it much before they're once again trapped in a hug, even if a quick and one-armed one. That, apparently includes Garrot rotating them both, and that includes their feet coming off the floor for a little bit, and they instinctively hold onto Garrot, even their tail snapping to wrap around him for security. That, they hadn't been prepared for that, but alright.

They're quick to withdraw their limbs when Garrot lets go of them and steps towards the door, but they see him hesitate, and for a moment they almost meet his eyes, before they quickly look away. No, can't risk it. "I... I'll make sure to remember that. If something comes up, I'll call you, I promise."

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daddykong - 2019-03-13 17:08 (UTC) - Expand

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