[PRP] Fun Times at the Astronomy Convention [Dei + Ephias]

[nepsah]

Two insomniacs meet at an Astronomy Convention... what are the chances?

 

[nepsah]

This was something Deimos had been looking forward to since he'd caught wind of it. An astronomy convention! The perfect place to learn more about the stars he loved to look at. Sure, he didn't focus too much on the science of what they were made of, but it could prove useful for mapping them out later if he wanted to start categorizing them. When the night finally came for the convention to open, Deimos was ready to go. He'd tried to get some decent sleep, but was running on about eight hours over the previous two days - maybe it was just the normal "I can't sleep" bullshit, or maybe it was the excitement. Either way, the small tealblood was too excited to let his exhaustion get the better of him.

The convention was out in the desert - figures - so he'd had to ride on Thypion to get there, but it was worth it. He wandered through the set up, unsure where to start. There were just too many interesting booths! So many interesting booths in fact that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and walked right into another troll. Whoops.

Green Minuet

i hope this is okay!! lemme know if i need to change anything <3

 

[Green Minuet]

∞ Degras Tysson

One day his fascination with the cosmos was going to get him killed.

Hands in his pockets and trying not to slouch, Ephias browsed the informational booths that lined the hallway. Though his face did not show it, he was positively giddy. With the exception of the space race—which turned out to be little more than a political play—it had been nearly two sweeps since he had dared to attend any kind of astronomy event. His only contact with the stars and worlds beyond had been looking up at those over his head. Back in a place like this, this close to Chittentown no less, he almost felt like a kid again. The only difference was the absence of his lusus.* Oh, and the bounty over his head. The thought did little to dampen his mood. He had become numb to fear.

... Or maybe that was lack of sleep talking. Albeit, he had become numb to that too.

Sleepless, heartless, and possessing a strong dose of cynicism, that seemed to sum him up. And yet he was performing mental cartwheels as he strolled from one booth to the next. It was a surprising change in attitude considering how last time everything had blown up in his face. Not quite literally but just about.

As he wandered the hall, a booth demonstrating dehydrated food initially designed for galactic travel caught his lookstub. Ephias shifted his path, weaving through the crowd so as not to to touch anyone. When he reached the table he grabbed a pamphlet, careful only to make eye contact with the booth's owner just long enough to give him a curt nod. His mind flickered back to work mode. Freeze-dried rations, while not ideal in terms of a culinary experience, could provide the initiative with plenty of back stock. Easy to transport, easy to store, and easy to prepare. Bonus: they had more nutrients than those god damn peas Byakko seemed to have an endless supply of. Pocketing the pamphlet, Ephias turned to leave. He...

He did not get to finish the thought as just then his knee collided with something.

Looking down, Ephias saw a young tealblood knocked to the floor, presumably by him. “Er...” He hesitated. “Are you all right?” He asked. And of course, in true Sagine fashion, he made no move to help the troll up.

Meanwhile, a certain shaggy woolbeast, wet and full of brambles, watched the scene from behind several pairs of legs.**

*As badly as the woolbeast had wanted to come, it was too big a risk.
**Oh.

nepsah

Sorry for all the internal dialogue. His posts always run away from me. Also here's the other cert!

 

[nepsah]

Ground, meet Deimos. Deimos, meet ground. He hadn't really expected to get toppled over so easily, but he supposed lack of sleep might do that. It took the kid a moment to realize the world had, in fact, stopped moving. By that time, the person he'd bumped into was talking. What did he say...? Dei lifted his head to stare (more like squint) up at the older troll for a few seconds as his brain registered the question. "I'm fine." Well, he wasn't bleeding and he'd only gained a sore spot on his rear but that was to be expected from a sudden fall, he supposed. He pushed himself up, dusting off his behind.

"I didn't see you." Deimos figured that he was likely the one that should be... apologizing... according to social etiquette but he didn't want to. He wanted to see what was at this booth! "Can--" he was cut off by a massive yawn- big enough that he actually put a hand in front of his mouth for the few seconds that it lasted. "Can you move if you're done looking at the booth?" Rude. So rude.

Thypion was not about to let that slip. The massive lusus nudged Deimos with one of his heads, causing the small troll to stumble forward a few steps. "What? I can't see."

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

∞ Degras Tysson

The request barely fazed Ephias. He preferred it when people were direct, and suffered from the same blunt lack of tact. The boy's lusus appeared to have a different opinion however and bumped the young troll in the back. It reminded him an awful lot of something Wolly might have done... that or he would have buried his face beneath his hooves in embarrassment.

Hands in his jacket pockets, Ephias shrugged. “Sure,” he said. He stepped out of the way. He had no quarrel with the tealblood, and even if he did he had the kid's lusus and blood hue to contend with. Thinking nothing more of it, Ephias started towards the next booth.

nepsah

SORRY, THERE'S NOT MUCH IN THIS POST. I got a plan though.

 

[nepsah]

Not pleased with his charge's lack of manners, Thypion nudged him again. This time with a paw. Deimos batted it away with one hand, stifling another massive yawn with the other. "Okay okay." He grumbled, turning to look back to the older redblood, but as he was about to speak... the other troll just stepped away. Huh. Who'da thunk it. "He didn't care Thypion." Deimos rolled his eyes, then shuffled closer to see if he could get a better look at the booth...

Only for some other, taller troll to fill the void left by the redblood. Drats. He was too tired for this. Frustrated, he folded his arms across his chest and sighed, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. He'd come back later. He started off toward the next booth, Thypion carefully following after him.

Green Minuet

weeps i hope this is in line with the plan asklgj lemme know if i need to change it!

 

[Green Minuet]

∞ Degras Tysson
🐑 🐑 🐑 Wolly 🐑 🐑 🐑

In all his life Wolly had never before seen anything as heartbreaking or tragic. If sheep could cry, Wolly would have... for several hours straight.* He had spent sweeps in preparation for this night: training, socialising, educating. Yet it all came to nothing. Ephias had passed by the tealblood without so much as a second glance. Yet the similarities were glaringly obvious. The boy could have been his twin if not for their bloodhue. He had the same scruffy hair, dark eyes, and lack of manners. He wore a knee-high with space material on it for crying out loud! They were practically soulmates! What more did it take? A Wolly Intervention?

That settled it. Wolly raked his hoof against the floor. If Ephias could not do it, then Wolly would bear the burden. As the redblood's lusus, it was both his duty and his privilege. The sheep choked back a forced emotional sob and in the background several nearby trolls startled at the noise. For peace, for love, but above all else, for Ephias!

With a bleating battle cry, Wolly charged into the crowd. Though the lusus was on the smaller side, the crowd scrambled out of the way. He had horns after all. With the path clear, Wolly made a beeline for the tealblood. He dove right between the unwitting troll's legs, sliding in on his belly. Once underneath, he hopped to his hooves, hoisting the tealblood up on his back. Then he was off like a passenger train,** sprinting through the crowd after his charge.

Further up ahead, Ephias heard a commotion in the crowd. He turned, expression bland but perplexed.

*Big fat Ghibli tears.
**Passenger included.

nepsah

HAHA! YOU HAVE FALLEN FOR MY TRAP! You thought you were getting a RP with Ephias but you are actually getting a RP with Wolly. Sorry Thypion, your son has been kidnapped.

 

[nepsah]

Some noise happened in the background, but Dei paid it no heed. He was much more interested in the mobile over the booth he'd come across. Was that really their solar system? It seemed pretty lackluster in Styrofoam ball form. The paint job wasn't even that great. Dei was pretty sure he could do better, and he'd never picked up a paintbrush in his life.

He was about to get closer when suddenly he was knocked off balance again. He emitted a most undignified squawk as Wolly lifted him off the ground. Somehow he managed to grab hold of the lusus's horns as the fluffy creature barreled onward through the crowd. Where on Alternia was he being taken!? He looked back over his shoulder, panicking as he realized Thypion was not with him. "Thypion!!" It was a rare occurrence for Deimos to raise his voice, but this was just the moment to do so.

Thypion's twin heads rose in an instant. The lusus had momentarily been distracted by some other kid stepping on one of his feet- and in that instant his charge had been wrigglernapped right under his noses! The shame!! He tore off after the sheep lusus, predictably almost trampling several people along the way.

Green Minuet

omg wOLLY. I LOVE HIM.

 

[Green Minuet]

∞ Degras Tysson

Oh no. Oh no. God, damn it.

Ephias stood as a statue, his emotional state located somewhere between horror and rage. Fuming, he watched as his lusus barrelled towards him, parting the convention attendees like the Red Sea. Actually that might have been doing of the monstrous chimera trundling behind him. It had two heads, and both of them looked like they had killing potential. Great. One for him, and one for his well-intentioned but shortsighted lusus.

The redblood took a broad stance and extended his arm, palm out, in the universal sign to stop.“Wolly!” he barked, raising his voice. “S-set the kid d-down!” The sheep neither listened nor stopped. He did however make a valiant attempt.

Wolly straightened his legs, to brace his hoves against the floor. He might as well have been on ice. After a second and a half of frantic windmilling, his legs slipped out from under him, and both the boy and sheep fell to the floor. They went spinning across the tile, gathering no small amount of static electricity. Then, as though fate had been aiming for a strike, the pair crashed into the redblood, delivered a fantastic shock, and down they all went.

nepsah

I need to model my posting style after yours: immediately. LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE.

 

[nepsah]

In his panicked state, Deimos did not immediately recognize the redblood ahead that was addressing the lusus he was currently clinging to for dear life. But as the sheep began to slide across the ground in an attempt to stop- it dawned on him. He'd just spoken to that guy a moment ago. But the knowledge did him no good- before he even had the time to finish processing that he did, in fact recognize Ephias, he was sliding across the tile floor with the sheep lusus. Oh, that was going to hurt later. To add to the misery, as soon as they collided he received what was probably the most powerful static shock he'd ever experienced in his thus far short life.

Thypion began to skid to a halt, padded paws gaining more purchase on the tile than Wolly's hooves. The lusus emitted a low growl as he approached, scorpion's tail raised high as both heads searched the heap of trolls and lusus for his charge.

Deimos wriggled himself free the moment he felt he could move again, hair even more frazzled than usual- sweater thoroughly displaced... feeling rather shell-shocked. "What-- what was- why- you...!!" He scrambled away from Ephias and Wolly, backing closer to Thypion as he raised a hand to point at Ephias accusingly. "You!" His hand switched from Ephias to Wolly, then back to Ephias. That seemed to be the only thing he was going to be able to get out. How eloquent.

Green Minuet

WE DOIN IT WE MAKIN IT HAPPEN

 

[Green Minuet]

∞ Degras Tysson

Ephias had far too much experience with Wolly's tendency to gather static electricity to be stunned for long. Once the initial shock had worn off, he picked himself up off the floor. At almost the same time, the tealblood kid scrambled to his feet, and retreated towards his monster of a lusus. Neither looked especially happy. The tealblood pointed an accusatory finger towards Ephias and Wolly. Behind him, his lusus growled and showed his teeth.

“Okay.” Ephias raised his hands in front of him defensively. He needed to defuse the situation, before things got messy. Messier. “My lusus seems to have taken a liking to you. I promise he's harmless, he's just...” Ephias glanced down towards the sheep. He had nearly doubled in size from the electric shock. Nevertheless he seemed unfazed and waggled his tail towards the tealblood. “Well, mostly harmless,” he corrected.

nepsah

SAME DAY.

 

[nepsah]

Deimos was at a loss. Harmless!? He opened his mouth to speak, though had nothing ready to say, and so closed it again... Only to open it a moment later with similar results. Thankfully Thypion was too busy checking him over for any scratches to make a move on his own - it seemed that while he was pissed off about having his troll grubnapped he wasn't sensing enough danger to immediately attack the two before them.

After a bit of struggling to find what he wanted to say, Deimos took a deep breath and rubbed at his face. "He stole me that's not harmless I coulda died or he coulda died 'cause Thypion would eat him its true he would and how does he even got a liking for me I never seen him before!" Okay. That was a jumble of a mess but at least he'd gotten it all out in... some form or fashion... The redblood would just have to decipher what it was that was upsetting him the most and go from there.

Green Minuet

two........ months later.........

 

[Green Minuet]

∞ Degras Tysson

“Er...” Crap. Dealing with this kind of attention had never been Ephias' strong point. Most times he did better avoiding it before the fact. Thanks Wolly. He shot the sheep as dark a look as he dared. Of course the lusus was not even looking his way. In fact—Ephias' face went pale—he had begun to nibble and tug at the boy's sock. It was as though he were trying to make things worse.

Ephias wanted to scream.

“I guess he... uh... he... likes your socks?” Ephias stammered as he frantically tried to detach his lusus from the tealblood's ankle. Wolly relented only when the sock began to stretch. Yanking him back, Ephias hissed into the sheep's ear, “What the h-hell is... what the hell is wrong with you? For f...”

Ephias stopped. The sheep looked at him with a face of unfathomable sorrow. The expletive dangled on the tip of his tongue. He had not been this frustrated with his lusus since the time Wolly had almost accidentally killed him. And yet... he could not bring himself to break the sheep's heart. “... fudge's sake...” he finished with a slow breath. Wolly wagged his tail, all smiles once again.

The redblood returned his attention to Deimos. While the boy might have been sweeps younger than himself, his blood elevated his status well beyond Ephias. Anyone with that kind of power would have no trouble swinging it around without consequence. He needed to think of something quick, or he risked tangling with a truly unpleasant looking lusus.

Hands stiff at his sides, Ephias folded at the waist. He dropped into a steep bow. “I'm very sorry for all... for all the trouble,” he said, staring at the floor. “Please allow m-me to make it... it up to you.” Without moving his head, Ephias glanced towards the tealblood. All he could make out were the kid's shoes. And the sock that Wolly had been gnawing on. Really. His hands inched towards his shears, should he end up needing them.

nepsah

Only ten days! However you wanna play this is cool with me.

 

[nepsah]

His socks! His favorite socks! Deimos nearly kicked out in retaliation, but Ephias was already pulling his lusus away and scolding him. He rubbed at one of his eyes with the base of his palm, stifling a yawn with the other hand. This was too much, and he was too tired to be dealing with it. All he wanted was to see some cool Astronomy stuff, maybe buy some new things, and then go back to his hive to try and sleep. That wasn't such a bad plan, was it? This guy's lusus just had to mess it all up.

And then Ephias bowed. He'd never been bowed to before. Dumbstruck, the tealblood stared at the older redblood for a moment, mind struggling to comprehend what was going on and what Ephias had meant by 'making it up to him'. Sensing that his charge was on the verge of a meltdown, Thypion nudged at his back with one head, then jerked the other off to one side as if to point at a nearby booth selling some of the higher quality solar system mobiles Deimos had been eyeing earlier. Perhaps he could get Deimos to make the redblood run an errand and the whole ordeal would be solved.

It took him a moment to understand what Thypion was trying to hint at, during which he teetered dangerously to actually having the meltdown Thypion was so keen to avoid. His eyes were welling up and everything. When it finally clicked he scrubbed at both of them with his hands, then stuffed one into the pocket of his shorts.

"I guess you can do somethin useful an' go get me one a those. They don't notice me 'cause I'm small but you're at least a little bigger'n me." Dei pulled out his beetle purse, but paused before opening it up. How much were those things, anyway? He squinted at the booth, having a hard time reading the prices from the distance and the sleepiness. "Mm.... I'll go with you. He better stay away." He pointed an accusing finger at Wolly, eyes still narrowed.

Green Minuet

poor ephias, omg.