[PRP] Social Anxiety? Me Too! [Wander + Sonnie]

[Gl!tch~]

If I'M nervous and YOU'RE nervous, who's flying the plane?!

 

[Gl!tch~]

Wander could be found sitting on a big old exposed root and crying into her hands. A little ways from the village, but not out of the swamp. Not very far at all, which made her cry more. After having fun with Poe and Ninfia a while back, she wanted to go out and do something fun by herself. Of course Abby would be with her, but she remembered the lights and the sounds and even though it all had been so mesmerizing, it was also so overwhelming. What if she got lost, or it got too loud? What if trolls from the Outside were mean to her? Not having anyone around to back her up was a scary thought, and even though she resolved to try, only a few feet out her nerve shook and soon she found it hard to keep walking. She was just...too scared.

It felt hopeless.  

[zeflamigo]

It wasn't uncommon for Sonnie to play in the swamp surrounding the village. The greenblood was fairly familiar with the safer places to swim, and all of his favorite trees to climb. What wasn't common, however, was for him to hear faint crying coming from deeper into the swamp.

Curious and concerned, Sonnie followed the noise and observed Wander from afar. He recognized the girl from the village, but she was not somebody he had ever talked to before. She was new, and that was frightening. Still, Sonnie couldn't stomach watching her cry. It would feel evil to just walk away and pretend he hadn't seen it.

Cautious, Sonnie approached with the softest footsteps. He stopped at her side and tapped her with a sock puppet. "Excuse me, miss?" The puppet said, tilting a head curiously at her. "Why are you crying?" It asked.

Gl!tch~

 

[Gl!tch~]

Wander jumped a little at being touched, and she definitely froze at the voice. Someone else was here too... Oh, no. Wander really, really wanted to flee now. She was being stupid and someon saw it... But if she ran, the other kid would probably see her later. It was a small village...

She sniffled, wiping her sniff node, and looked at the puppet then up at the person behind the puppet. She felt confused for a moment, but a flash of TV went through her thinkpan. Like one of those shows for wigglers. Oh.

The orangeblood looked at the puppet again, as if it was really there, then at the ground. She pulled up her knees. "I-it's s-s-silly... Y-you'd probably l-l-laugh at me about it..."  

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie flinched, in pain from watching the other troll cry. He wanted to help, but still didn't know what to say to help her open up. A joke probably wouldn't help here. She looked to sensitive for that. Sonnie paused for a good while, still unsure of what he could possibly say.

"You didn't laugh at me," The puppet spoke, apprehensively. "People u-usually laugh at me. I guess it's okay, because I'm supposed to be funny, right?" Sonnie looked at his feet, his toes fidgeting in the mossy ground. There was an obvious grimace on his face, but the puppet remained perky.

"You can tell me. I like silly," The puppet said, encouragingly.  

[Gl!tch~]

"You're a t-talking sock...th-that's pretty funny," she agreed, almost smiling for a moment. Her mood sank back down, though, at having to talk about her issue. "Um...well...i-it's not f-funny-silly. It's dumb-silly." She had to take a deep breath and try not to just start weeping again. "I-I-I g-got to have fun with some cool t-trolls... We went to a w-w-wiggler casino... It was nice. I wanted to go b-back by m-m-myself but I...I can't. It's hard for me to go anywhere, really."

Her face sunk down behind her knees. "B-but it's not hard for anyone else... It's r-really dumb..."  

[zeflamigo]

"That's not dumb!" The puppet said emphatically. It looked left and right, then leaned in closer as if sharing a secret. "That guy's never left the swamp by himself, either. Spends all day playing in the mud instead of doing cool stuff like that." The puppet made a concerned face. Sonnie looked away, a sad look in his eyes.

"He's scared because he doesn't know how to talk to people, only puppets! Can you believe that?" The puppet asked, tone still hushed. Sonnie bit his lip, and covered his face with the collar of his shirt. He was starting to blush green.  

[Gl!tch~]

Wander waited to be laughed at, pitied, something. She knew she was a mess, because Abby made it pretty clear. And trolls probably only asked her to do stuff with them because they felt sorry for her. She knew she had to do better, but it was so hard...

She flinched a little at the puppet's intensity. "O-oh... R-really?" Wander looked up at Sonnie while the puppet kept talking. The way the greenblood looked, the way he acted, it didn't seem like an act or anything. He seemed...sad. Even if somehow he could talk in this puppet voice without sounding sad at all.

"Talking to people i-is hard... A-and it's s-scary Outside, too. Especially as a l-l-lowblood..." Because there it mattered, and there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"P-playing in the mud seems fun, though. I-I don't d-do that much... I-it's hard to wash out of my clothes. It's cool if you m-make it c-cool f-for you, I think... M-my lusus likes mud, too... Th-though sh-she likes throwing i-it at me... That's n-not so fun. Um."

Wander looked at the puppet again, bit her lip, and looked at the ground once more. She brought a hand up level with her face, though outstretched a little, and stared at it as she started snapping sparks. It helped keep her calm.

"U-um..." she started as she watched her colorful sparks. Wander had to sniffle again. "I could g-go with you somewhere s-sometime, i-i-if you like. It's no-nt the same as going alone, b-but it's still...something, I-I think. I-I-If you like. I'm W-Wander, by the way... Um... D-do you live nearby...?"  

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie watched the sparks with interest, but also with an overwhelming sense of calm. It was mesmerizing to watch such a talent, and it made him feel strangely fluttery. Still, he had no idea how to compliment the girl on having such an interesting power. Perhaps he could think of something nice to say later.

For the first time, Sonnie spoke for himself. "That... That sounds nice..." Sonnie said, although avoiding her gaze. He scratched at the part of his arm that met his sock puppet. He nodded at her question. Glanced around at his feet, Sonnie was shaking with nerves.

"I, uh, live in one of the lower hives in th-the village," Sonnie explained, covering his face with his collar again. "We can... g-go there and play..." He shrunk down even lower into his shirt. "I have puppets and, uh, o-other toys..." He offered, not sure of how the lowblood would take the offer. It was probably a lot more interesting to go to a wiggler casino, but even for both of them that might still be a little too scary.  

[Gl!tch~]

"S-so that's what you sound like, f-for real..." She didn't mind talking to a puppet, but talking to the troll felt like it meant more, in a way.

"I l-live in one of the tree hives... M-maybe we're neighbors... Ahhhh..." Wander let her legs slip down, and started swinging them. Her hands went down to the root to help keep her stable. No more sparks.

"....S-so y-you want to p-p-play with me?" Her legs swung a little slower as she thought about it. "That w-would be nice... It would b-be nicer th-than being out here a-all sad, h-huh." Wander's face went a little orange. Still a little embarrassed, after all. "I mean, i-if you w-want me to come over...a-and if your lusus is okay with it... I-I'd l-l-like to see your o-other puppets. Are they a-as nice as this one?"

Kimbley Kittyxx

 

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie nodded, though perhaps a little too hard. For once, he was excited to meet this new person. Someone soft and like-minded, like him. It made him smile, but he continued to hide his face.

"I don't th-think my lusus would mind..." Sonnie said, looking nervously between Wander and the ground. Kermie never took issue with where he went in the village. Sonnie was fairly independent in that way, if not in his ability to speak for himself.

"S-some of the puppets are meaner... some are nicer..." Sonnie said, petting the puppet on his other hand. "We can make new ones too... if you would want to..." He mumbled, then let out a little squeak. She would think that was uncool, wouldn't she?  

[Gl!tch~]

Wander nodded. She hadn't met many mean lusii up to this point, but having permission was important! And she didn't want to get anyone upset, so. But she felt she could trust this greenblood. Especially to know his own guardian's opinions pretty well, even if she hadn't seen them yet. Maybe they were nice too, whatever they were.

"I g-guess that makes sense... I-I want to meet the nicer ones! I already c-cried enough today, s-so the meaner ones can w-wait..." She slowly got to her feet, dusting off her knees. Wander's attention snapped back at Sonnie once more as she processed the idea of making puppets. And the squeak he made, too.

She blinked at him, then smiled. "M-making puppets would b-be fun! C-can I make a h-h-hopbeast? W-would that be okay? It...it c-can be friends with th-this puppet." She papped it. "W-what's it's name? What's y-your name?" Wander made sure to ask Sonnie directly. He hadn't mentioned it earlier.  

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie nodded at Wander's request. He wasn't thinking of bringing out the meaner, crankier puppets, but it was reassuring to know that Wander only wanted to have fun now. Fun! Sonnie's pumpbiscuit fluttered with excitement.

A hopbeast puppet? That sounded like fun, and cute too. It'd be fitting for the orangeblood. Sonnie looked forward to helping her make it.

His name? Sonnie froze up. Did he forget to say his name? Oh no, that was embarrassing. Wander said her name, and he just stayed silent? He probably looked so rude, and so stupid! Sonnie's mind raced, but the puppet cut through the fog of thought.

"Kimothy!" It said, cheerfully, flipping its head side to side. Sheepishly, Sonnie lowered the collar of his shirt so Wander could see him talking. "And I-I'm Sonnie." He explained, a small laugh escaping him. Thinking some more, his face contorted, and his hand twisted the fabric of his shirt collar.

"C-can we... can we be friends?" Sonnie asked, desperation obvious in his voice. He needed to know if he could call her that— He needed to know if she liked him enough for that.  

[Gl!tch~]

"Sonnie a-and Kimothy.... Th-that's nice... I like h-how they s-sound. L-like my lusus's nickname! Abby. Ahh..." But that was a dumb tangent, probably. She dropped it.

Instead, Wander looked down and wrung at the bottom of her shirt a bit. "F-friends..." she repeated, very quiet. A serious thing, being asked to be friends! She couldn't believe it, really. Having a bad night turn out so unexpectedly, having someone be nice to her who also had a hard time talking to people. She glanced back at Sonnie. "E-even after I-I was a big crybaby? I g-guess if you liked me a-after that... I...I s-super wanna be friends! A-a-and maybe I-I c-can show you some of the stuff at m-my hive, too! I-If we're f-f-friends... Ahhhh... That...th-that would be nice..."  

[zeflamigo]

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sonnie let go of his shirt collar. He so grateful to have made a friend today. Wander seemed so embarrassed that he caught her in the middle of her crying, but Sonnie was just as ashamed of his own shyness. Perhaps they could be good friends, stronger together than apart.

After everything that had been said between the two of them, Sonnie couldn't think of much else to say. He nodded when appropriate, even smiling at Wander's suggestions. He was content as could be, and his silence was a happy one instead of the nervous as usual.

"That would be nice..." He agreed, and— keeping eye contact with Wander—slowly started to move back towards the village.