apocalypsehowcomm | LOG | October Catch-All

Entry tags:

LOG | October Catch-All | OPEN

Who: Raine Whispers, TBA
When: Throughout October
Where: Around Gloucester
Summary: Raine is going around town and trying to cope with..well, everything.
Warnings: Heavy Drinking/Alcohol, Guilt, Anxiety, Grieving, potential discussions of Genocide and Deaths of loved ones.

Drinks On Me

Raine is drinking. They haven't really been seen much around Gloucester, mostly sticking to the ADI's grounds.. until now. After the incident with Eda caused a bit of a stir with the ADI and everything that came with that, they've been struggling to keep a clear head at their dorm.

So here they were. They find themselves seated in a booth at the local pub, sequestered off to the side so as not to be in the more bustling sections but not so out of the way that they'd be notably out of the way.

They're thumbing around the edge of their glass idly with one hand, the other holdig open an informational pamphlet about Bonnie's Flophouse while they read it over again. They don't make a habit of drinking, or try not to anyways. Yet now it was going down a bit too smoothly and burned a bit too good. This was their third, maybe fourth. They weren't exactly keeping track but things were definitely getting fuzzy around the edges.

Shallow Waters

Raine has been exploring more places they wouldn't have really considered going before, the beaches of Gloucester were such a subject. They never gave them much thought, especially after the whole debacle of various sea-related anomalies. Though with things getting colder and the sea seeming calmer they have been making routine trips to Pebble Beach in particular.

Their pants are bunched up to the knees and their sleeves rolled up as they stand in ankle-deep waters. Feeling the tide push and pull gently around their feet as they bend over and scoop up a few rocks. Raine idly picks through them until they find a good, flat rock. The rest are discarded and their weight shifts with the gentle but swift movement of them tossing it. It skipped a few times before sinking to the bottom.

Gulls cry faintly in the distance as Raine lets out a heavy sigh. Lost in their own thoughts they don't even notice another person approach.

One man's trash...

Here Raine dared to venture deeper to the city, rather than sticking around the docks. They didn't want to just avoid all their problems but distractions were a necessary evil at this point. In their mind at least. Hearing word about town in their little trips sparked interest in a particular little curio and antiques shop. Things of Beauty, they called it.

Raine made their way inside the cozy shop. It looked like it'd seen better days but who were they to judge? Their eyes were gently skimming over the present wares as they quietly moved through the store. Keeping their head down and only offering a chaste nod to Nassir, who was busy at the counter, before averting their eyes.

Their interest was quickly snagged and drawn to a corner with some few instruments that looked worrse for wear but likely still functional. Raine shuffled over immediately and started pouring over the small selection. It's around then the bell above the door chimed, signalling another patron.

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"You look a bit of a sadsack, don't you?" Donna's come in to scout out the bar as a potential place for after work drinks, and spots one of her coworkers immediately. The witch's silver hair and tanned skin stick out, even if their longer ears are hidden.

She settles herself across the booth from them, even if they offer no invitation to join. "Still rowing with Eda, then?"

Raine glanced up at the pointed comment and nearly crumpled up the Bonnie's pamphlet in their sudden grip as they noticed it was another ADI member- the one who found them when they first got here. The witch watched Donna make herself comfortable across from them as they blinked like a deer in headlights.

"Uhh.." They stalled as their brain caught up with what was happening. "No- Well. It's fine now, I think.." They then paused and raised a brow skeptically at her. "Did she.. talk to you about it?"

"Little bit." She shrugs as she reaches for whatever menu is sitting nearby. "She wasn't keen on going in depth with her new shadow hanging around. Did they put a guard on you, as well, or were you a good little witch who didn't need one?"

Raine didn't look too appreciative of that. The moment Donna called them a good little witch their brows furrowed a bit and nose scrunched as they bit back practically barking at her in favour of a calmer but still.. less appreciative response.

"Don't patronize me," They started with a bit of a snappish tone, before pinching the bridge of their nose and sighing, "Please."

They rubbed their arm anxiously as they shook their head. "She wasn't going to hurt me, not really. I only ran because I was scared of telling the truth to her. She doesn't deserve the way they're treating her." Raine narrowed their eyes sharply at Donna again, "Are you just here to make fun of the situation?"

"I was being sarcastic, actually," she snipes back. "I assume that's what they think of you if you didn't cause a fuss when they were going after her. I was here to commiserate, actually. maybe buy you a drink if you want it." Donna sniffs. "But if you're gonna be a pill, I can just go, too."

Raine winced a slight bit as she talked and fought back the burning sensation of slight embarrassment rising to their face as they rubbed a hand over it while shaking their head. "No- no it's fine.. I'm sorry for-" They paused and took a slow breath before lowering their hand back down to fiddle with their pamphlet idly.

"I'm sorry for snapping, it's just.. hard not to be tense right now. That was rude of me."

They paused a moment before managing an awkward wry sort of smile, holding a hand out to her. "I think we're due for a better introduction?"

Donna gives them a long look before nodding. "Right, well. Tell me what you want to drink then. And hullo. Donna Noble, admin extraordinaire and known tea-tosser."

Raine paused, withdrawing their hand quietly as their face burned even more. They weren't good at talking with people, even just to people.. in their general direction or in front of a crowd. They didn't want to come off as standoffish or a fool but they weren't sure they were doing a very good job.

"Donna, got it." Raine then paused and looked down at the empty glass they had been fiddling with. "I've had some of those- the uh.." Raine floundered for a moment, "Ciders? That's the name I think. But if you have a recommendation I wouldn't mind trying it out?"

"Oh, a cider's nice. You can do more than one without putting yourself under, especially if you don't drink much." She doesn't know them, but they look... small. Probably not the heaviest drinker. "Like a fancy martini now and again if you're looking for something fun and colorful.

"So... whatcha? New and daring or old and reliable?"

"You're asking for trouble," Hickey points out, slightly teasing tone in his voice as he walks over towards Raine. Notably, he does not go in the water, staying far enough away from it that he won't get his shoes wet.

"Every month or so we deal with some nonsense that wants to drown us. And here you are, almost inviting it."

Raine jolted a bit at the sound of someone's voice suddenly cutting through the chilly air behind them. Their head swivelled around and their eyes flickered quickly over Hickey as they seemed more alert and defensive. Steadily.. they gathered he was (probably) not much of a threat and slowly relaxed.

It took them a few more moments to process what he said and they managed out a half-amused but mostly exhausted kind of chuckle. "The things here are.. pretty par for the course where I'm from, actually. I'm used to it. Besides," They continued on, not having the restraint to avoid a morbid joke about their particular situation.

"In my experience, a little death isn't that permanent, at the very least it'll take more than that to make it stick."

Raine gave a small shrug and looked out at the waters again, a slight breeze jingling their earring as they crossed their arms over their chest.

"It's.. nice here. Quiet. It's easier to think."

Hickey certainly doesn't seem like a physical threat. He's scrawny, not that tall. He's thin, but not skin and bones. Though there is something a bit off about him. He looks at Raine as if he's constantly sizing them up, as if he's trying to figure out their place, their intentions, just by sight.

"Not permanent, yeah. But it sucks." There's a pause. And there's absolute seriousness in Hickey's voice as he points out, "Dying and living to tell the tale's something I would only wish on my worst enemies."

After all, he arrived here on death's door. It wasn't fun.

Raine.. didn't exactly appreciate what he was trying to do with that statement. If he was even trying to help at that. As their gaze returned to him and noticed his sizing up. They didn't like the way he was looking at them either.. like he was appraising them. It made them stand a bit straighter and narrow their eyes with skepticism.

"Thank you for that." They said a bit too quickly and a bit too snappishly after his comment. "I'll keep that in mind next time I think about brushing it off."

Raine looked back at the water and knelt back down, sifting through the rocks again. They sighed and looked through the handful again. "Sorry. Just.. working through some things regarding that right now."

Then a pause, and Raine glanced over their shoulder.

"I don't think I caught your name?"

"Cornelius Hickey," he says, with a little nod. That slightly creepy staring continues before Hickey blinks and adjusts his posture, like he's got to remind himself to seem normal.

"You're also with ADI, yeah? I've seen you around the place."

Raine hesitated a moment before breaking their gaze away from Hickey and taking a deep breath. "Yeah. I am. I don't think I've seen you but I suppose I haven't exactly done the best at keeping a low profile. Nor have I been as attentive as I should be."

"How long have you been here?"

"Longer than you have," he chuckles. "Since...May? Coming up on six months now."

Six months. Such a long time and yet such a short time as well.

"Wouldn't change it for the world."

Wouldn't change it for the world.

Raine's face twisted up somewhat at that as they nodded slowly. "Right.." And maybe they should have left it at that, but that nagging, burning sensation was building up in them again.

"There's nothing you'd change? You're.. fine with all this? With the ADI?"

Edited 2022-11-13 22:20 (UTC)

"I'll leave ADI eventually," he shrugs. "Don't plan to stay with them forever. But I came from a dicey situation back home. Here I've got a roof over my head. My own room. Food in every store."

He frowns, looking over at Raine as he points out, "That's a hundred times better than what I dealt with back home.

Raine nodded sympathetically, they certainly didn't judge him for it. Not that they're sure they would have really judged him for any other reason. No point in projecting their issues onto everyone else.

"I understand.. I can't argue it's nice as far as those aspects go."

Raine sighed and rubbed their face, before turning and pacing out of the shallow waters to the sand.

"Do you trust them? What they're doing here?"

"ADI?" There's a pause before Hickey shakes his head.

"Mate, I don't trust anyone here. What I trust is directly in front of me. Everybody's got an ulterior motive. You just need to make sure theirs match yours."

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LOG | October Catch-All | OPEN

Drinks On Me

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shallow waters

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