InsaneJournal

Tweak says, ""I have many skills.""

tranquilstrife (tranquilstrife) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2011-10-21 16:52:00

Entry tags:

loki, melinoe

I’m a loaded gun
Who: Iris and Richard
What: Iris tries to be friendly and knocks on Richard's door, but will Richard answer?
Where: Richard's door
When: October 18th

One day after work, around 7:00, Iris looked around her apartment, drinking from a bottle of water. The snake tank was set up, as was her television, computer and bed, but beyond that, she really still didn't have much. Her mother had given her bare essentials and she was surviving, but she desperately needed a trip to some stores. She knew of where an IKEA was and had the address for the closest store, but she also wanted to check out some local shops before giving into the big name store. Sometimes you found some great things at little local stores, even vintage shops. Iris checked to make sure Katie's cage was locked, something she did religiously ever since the incident with Juliet occurred, not that it had anything to do with the lock. As she locked the door, Iris thought of her neighbor Richard, the one that had mentioned he was a new resident as well. He probably didn't need anything, but it didn't hurt to ask, especially since they had agreed to go out on the town together at some point and learn the land so to speak.

As Iris headed to Richard's apartment, she wondered if she should've showered and changed out of her zoo clothes. There was a certain scent associated with reptiles, and since she had long stopped smelling it, she was never entirely certain if she smelled ever so slightly of zoo or not. The truth was that she really didn't care what people thought of her. Normally she wouldn't have even been knocking on Richard's door, there would always be a part of her that didn't trust people and would always be wondering what someone's alterior motives might be. That combined with the fact that she had to completely force even a slight smile, meant that a lot of people saw her as stuck up and bitchy. However, she was trying to be friendly at Pax, and not her normal ice queen self. As awkward as this would be, she had to try to make friends. This is what led her to Richard's door in a short sleeve button down maroon blouse and black dress pants, knocking.

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atrickstertype
2011-10-23 07:27 pm UTC (link)

It had started with the erratic sleep and the nightmares. Those made sense, at least, considering the recent move and the ridiculous amounts of stress he had been going through. He had dealt with them. The freak coincidences at work- opening files he shouldn't have had access to, walking into offices that should have been locked - those were harder to explain. The mood swings had been even worse. It was almost impossible to talk your way out of the shit that sudden moments of brutal truth or ribald mockery could get you into in the workplace, especially when your out-of-character comments had been directed at your boss. And of course, he couldn't forget the strange growth of facial hair from about a week ago. A full beard over the course of an hour-long nap? That was most definitely not normal. It was a good thing that after Richard had shaved it hadn't come back, or he would have been convinced that he was stuck in the sequel to a bad Tim Allen Christmas movie.

As it was, he was pretty sure that he was stuck in the first act of a made for tv movie about a man moving to a new city, losing his job (it hadn't happened yet, but it was inevitable at this rate), and dealing with his mental breakdown. That is, he would have been sure if there wasn't a frustrating, irrational, absolutely insistent part of him that was insisting that this made sense, that there was some outside explanation for everything that had happened to him. It was probably just a symptom of some part of his brain shutting down in a display of fireworks, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing some alternate explanation besides the "You're going bug-shit insane" theory. Something to do with the dreams.

They always ended the same way. The beginnings were different- everything from camping in the snow with a small group of familiar men who he had never seen before to what he was sure was a wedding of some sort - but they all ended with him by a fire next to a bearded man. He was saying something urgent, trying to make himself understood, but Richard never remembered anything solid. It was excruciatingly frustrating, and there had been a couple of times when the feeling of missing something of real importance had ruined his mood for a whole day.

Today was the worst so far. He had woken up that morning with the image of a man grabbing him by the shirt and speaking, earnestly and insistently, in a language he didn't understand. The scene bothered him all day, itching in the back of his mind like a song that he couldn't remember the words to, and by the time he got home it was nearly all he could think about. He was sitting on the couch, watching SLC Punk and trying to remember the strange man's face, when the headache hit. There was no prodrome, none of the usual warning that his migraines came with, just a sudden slam of pain. Richard gasped, raising a hand to his forehead and closing his eyes.

The man who turned his head towards the sound at the door was in a much better mood. Fucking finally. He liked Richard, but the boy's determination was a pain in the ass. By now he should have a pretty good idea of what was going on, not an internet page of local psychiatrists bookmarked on his laptop. That would need to be fixed. Right after he answered the door.

Loki eyed his reflection in the glass of a picture frame near the door. It showed Richard's face well enough to get a general idea. Not bad. And it was still Richard's, which was nice. He got the feeling that would change as he got more control over these manifestations. The outfit wasn't bad either- still the trim suit that Richard thought of as work clothes. Dressed to impress, that was the phrase, wasn't it? Regardless, he straightened the tie and tossed on the jacket before opening the door.

The woman on the other side wasn't anybody he remembered. She was too nicely dressed to be here casually, and she smelled like snakes. The look he gave her was too long to be polite and too curious to be flattering. Loki didn't recognize her, but the smell... No, she couldn't be. Though if she was, he would probably burst with pride and laughter.

Anyway. Introductions. "Hello," he said, maintaining a casual tone. "Can I help you?"

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tranquilstrife
2011-10-23 09:19 pm UTC (link)

The long look she received from Loki made Iris pause, looking at him with silent wonder. Normally she would be standing here wondering if she had something on her face, or if, even worse, an animal had an accident on her shirt earlier that she had completely missed, that would've been absolutely horrible. However, none of those thoughts crossed her mind. Instead she looked at Richard with a curiosity. There was something about him that made her want to sink back into her own skin and observe him from a far, yet part of her also wanted to stay right where she was and continue to talk to him to find out more about him. "Hi, Richard right? I'm Iris, the one that said she was new to the apartment complex. I was just about to do some shopping for apartment things and wasn't sure if you still needed anything."

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atrickstertype
2011-10-24 12:22 am UTC (link)

"Apartment things. Yes." He remembered a brief exchange of messages with this woman. Richard had been friendly, but noncommittal. "You were going to explain the West Coast to me." He smiled, making eye contact with her. People in this culture seemed to like eye contact. "It is nice to meet you in person, Iris. Do you have any idea where you are going?" Really, he had several things he could think of that he would rather do than go shopping, but there was no point in turning down an opportunity before he knew exactly what it was. He gestured to the apartment behind him. "As you can see, I already have most of what I need."

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tranquilstrife
2011-10-24 01:02 am UTC (link)

"Originally I was going to go to Ikea, but I know there's a downtown area with some local shops I wanted to explore. I know where it is and had passed by it before but never gone in any of the stores. I'm heading out either way, I just figured I'd invite you along if you wanted to go." There was something rude about the way he was interacting, but then again, that was her as well.

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atrickstertype
2011-10-24 01:16 am UTC (link)

"That sounds pleasant" he said, knowing that it wasn't exactly the right answer, but for the life of him unable to grasp exactly what the right one might be. "I am just in the middle of something, though. Would it be acceptable to, as you say, 'head out' in a short while?" The language was easy enough, but he knew that it wasn't quite working the way that Richard would have used it. It didn't matter. He guessed that he wouldn't have much time to try and communicate with Richard, and that took precedence over this conversation.

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	tranquilstrife 2011-10-24 02:04 am UTC (link)
	"Of course. I'll see you in a short while," she said, using his odd choice of words. "I'm in apartment 902, just knock when you're ready." Iris nodded to Richard and headed up to her apartment, deciding to take the stairs since she was in absolutely no rush. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

atrickstertype
2011-10-27 06:30 pm UTC (link)

Loki closed the door as the strange woman left and turned to look at the rest of the apartment. He needed some way to communicate. Vellum...no, that was entirely out of date. Paper, then. He strode across the room to the bookshelf and pulled down the largest volume there. The first page was filled with a large drawing of a man in a hat, standing before a tower of some sort. The second was blank. Perfect. He cast around for something to write with, coming up with a small implement on the table. Some of Richard's memories suggested it would work. He set the point against the blank page and wrote:

Þú ert a þrjóskur ódámur. Það er í the blóð. ÉG hafa ekki been fær til tala með þú í gegnum draumur enn. ÉG vilja halda áfram til reyna því ÉG er einnig a þrjóskur ódámur. Á meðan ÉG vinna , ÉG stinga upp á þú lesa nokkuð með the orð Edda í the nafn. Þeir ert allur lies en þeir vilja gefa þú sumir bakgrunnur. Þeir gera ekki hafa orrustuþyrla í þá. Lesa þá engu að síður. ÉG vilja reyna til reikna út hvaða er að fara á. Góður heppni þýðing.

Satisfied, he set down the pen. It wasn't much, but he wasn't sure how much time he had. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his nose.

And Richard looked up. He had moved. Had he just talked to someone? The movie had stopped, and he was...

Who the fuck had written in his copy of The Dark Tower?

He didn't recognize the language, or the handwriting. This was doubly concerning, because it was his hand holding the pen.

Sweet baby Jesus, he really was going insane.

Hand shaking, he set the pen down. What had just happened? He had been sitting on his couch, watching a movie, and there had been a knock on the door. Iris? He was pretty sure it had been Iris. Something about shopping. He dropped the pen as if it was alive, slammed the book shut, and headed out the door and up the stairs to her room. Which was, he was pretty sure, 902. (How did he know that? When had he put on a coat?) When he got there he knocked, fist a bit heavy as it hit the door. He didn't know what he would say if she answered, but he needed to know that he hadn't hallucinated this too.

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tranquilstrife
2011-10-27 07:55 pm UTC (link)

Iris answered the door, not expecting Richard this quickly, and if she were to be honest with herself, she hadn't been entirely sure that he was even going to knock at all. She had just enough time to change her clothes, changing into a pair of black jeans, and a long sleeve black Nightwish tee-shirt with wolves on the front. "That was quick. Ready to go explore the stores here?" Iris grabbed her small grey purse and slipped on a pair of flip flops.

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atrickstertype
2011-10-30 09:39 pm UTC (link)

"I..." What? What exactly was he planning on saying to her? Obviously, she had been expecting him to show up and what, go shopping? Richard ran a hand through his hair and tried to pull himself together, at least a little.

"Hey, I didn't come across too strange, did I? It's just been... a really hard day." It was a lot better than most of the things he could say. He didn't think "Sorry, I might be having a psychotic break due to my high stress levels and genetic predisposition towards mental illness. Probably not a good idea going shopping right now" would go over terribly well.

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tranquilstrife
2011-10-30 10:05 pm UTC (link)

"You actually came across a bit strange, yeah, a twinge rude, but really I can come across as a huge bitch sometimes, so I'm not exactly one to judge. To be honest, I didn't mind, and I appreciated the honesty. It's been a long day for you, come in and have a cup of tea or something instead, the stores aren't going anywhere." Iris smiled, and ushered Richard inside, wondering what was wrong with him and if he was feeling quite alright. Her apartment was still being put together and Iris had a couch that was covered in a black slipcover. Currently her coffee table were to end tables pushed together, and the apartment was still only partially unpacked, a pile of boxes sitting next to the television to prove that fact. The only thing that was entirely set up was Katie's cage, her six foot long red tailed boa constrictor. The tank took up the majority of the wall. "Are you afraid of snakes? I probably should've reminded you about that before I welcomed you inside."

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atrickstertype
2011-10-30 10:29 pm UTC (link)

Before he could think of any way to politely bow out, Richard found himself inside Iris's apartment, being directed to look at a huge mound of snake coils. "No," he managed. "Snakes are fine. We had one in our Biology lab in college." And he had bothered his mother for a pet snake for years, before he realized what exactly a tight budget meant. The past seemed determined to remind him it existed today, for some reason.

At least, whatever he had done, it hadn't seemed to phase Iris too much. He found himself looking around her apartment curiously, fighting a sense of deja vu. Where had Adam been for the past few weeks, anyway?

The thought reminded him that he was just standing there, taking in the view. "Uhm. Tea might be nice, I guess," he said, still disoriented. Tea wasn't exactly his favorite drink, but turning down hospitality seemed like putting a little too much pressure on the proverbial camel's back. "But if we're not going anywhere, I could help you unpack, if you like." That would give him a way to be helpful, something to focus on (other than the weird writing upstairs), and even give him an excuse to leave once they were done, or so he hoped. For once, Richard found himself scrabbling for the correct way to deal with a social situation.

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tranquilstrife
2011-10-30 10:46 pm UTC (link)

"Good, a lot of people can't even be inside my apartment because of her." Iris headed into the kitchen to fill her giraffe shaped tea kettle with water, placing it on the burner. Once the water was on, she headed back over to Richard. "Make yourself comfortable." She looked at the sea of boxes next to the television as he offered to help her unpack and was instantly grateful. "That would be very nice of you, thanks Richard." She only hoped there was nothing embarrassing in any of the boxes, probably not. "I have absolutely no idea what is in half of these. My home is officially your home, help yourself to anything I have in the fridge or kitchen."

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atrickstertype
2011-10-31 04:53 am UTC (link)

"And that's very kind of you," Richard replied, making his way over to the pile of boxes. They weren't as bad as they could have been, he supposed, though the thought of more unpacking did not exactly fill his heart with joy. It was hard to focus on that, though. His mind kept going over the last half hour or so. Hadn't he been in the middle of a migraine? He couldn't have been, there was no way he would be standing here now if that had been true. He set one hand on the top box and used the other to rub his temple, going over things again. Downstairs, the movie, the knock at the door, going over to the book...

He only looked up when he realized he had been spacing out, staring at a box for almost a minute. "So," he said, looking over at Iris with a brief, fragile-feeling smile. "Any preference on where we start?"

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tranquilstrife
2011-10-31 05:05 am UTC (link)

Iris watched Richard with curiosity, the man was certainly different wasn't he? Again, she was certainly not one to judge, and he seemed like a good guy, even when he was annoyed and frustrated he seemed cool, just very different. "Absolutely no preference. How about you unpack the boxes and I'll start putting stuff away as you unpack them." Iris looked at the boxes, wishing they had been labeled a tad better. Since they hadn't been labeled well, every box was open and riffled through.

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atrickstertype
2011-11-02 01:15 am UTC (link)

"Sounds fine," Richard said, more than willing to put the rest of the day out of his mind. He pulled one of the larger boxes to him and reached into it, unwrapping an item at random and handing it over to his new neighbor. As he did so, he chuckled quietly to himself. This whole thing was ridiculous, and nothing more so than how he was behaving. If he had to insane, at least he could do it in a way that didn't inconvenience his neighbors.

"So," he said, with a smile that invited Iris to share the joke, "Now that we've gotten past the basic greetings and know all the important things - you have great taste in pets, we can both be bitches sometimes, I have a nasty habit of staring at cardboard boxes... Tell me about yourself, Iris." It wasn't quite his usual charming smile, he didn't feel comfortable enough for that yet, but it would have to do.

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tranquilstrife
2011-11-02 01:26 am UTC (link)

Iris told Richard all about her life, eventually spilling more details than she had ever meant to spill. She told him all about what a difficult time she had making friends, and the fact that despite her best efforts to put herself out there, she had only met and talked to two people at Pax so far, Richard and a sweet woman named Juliet. She told Richard that she found it impossible to fake being sweet or nice, and it inevitably got her in trouble and destroyed potential friendships. Iris talked about her love of animals, especially reptiles, and how they were so misjudged and she understood that on a deep level. She did keep one major detail about her life to herself, the abuse inflicted upon her at a young age, at the following disbelief. That was something best kept to herself, she hadn't told a soul about that since she was called a dirty liar. So in this way, Iris and Richard unpacked her things slowly, holding conversation, even though it was terribly awkward. After everything was unpacked, she swore that she would return the favor somehow to Richard, and told him that if he ever wanted to have a snake as a pet again, she would let him know the next time she came across a rescue snake that needed someone's love.

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