#lasthail

[savestcrs]

@lasthail || wacky alien roommate time go!

The miscalculation on Rocky’s part is abysmal. That is, he still doesn’t wholly understand—if he ever will, and he’s long since decided he doesn’t really care—the noises that accompany what he’s grasped of Grace’s language: not words, not sentences, not speech at all, but noises. The occasional grumble of frustration, fine. The wet sniffles when the human’s upset, okay. Begrudgingly, Rocky’s learned to accept a thing called “coughs” and, more importantly, learned to not be alarmed . . . unless they’re frequent.

But when he hears what’s been expelled into the otherwise quiet atmosphere mere minutes ago, he assumes that must be it.

. . . until Grace does it a second time.

And the abrupt “sneeze” (that’s what Grace calls them) not only makes Rocky flinch—fully jump—in surprise, but fumble his tools after the fact. Two arms tuck to his carapace by reflex alone, making himself smaller against the frightening sound, but a position he stays in for a mere fraction of a second before his brain catches up to his instincts. Then, it’s his turn to let out a grumble. And stomp one of his feet.

“No,” he declares. “Stop.” As much as he knows he’ll be called out for what can be considered an attitude, he swipes up his lost work with more force than necessary. It’s about as huffy as he can possibly be without actually sighing. “Do not like when you do that. Enough.”

[ircnlung]

@lasthail // plotted

Nothing really felt... real. It was almost like Simon was stuck in a dream. There was no C.O.I. here. He had shelter and was offered food every day. Wasn't expected to do anything in return for any of it. Simon wasn't used to being taken care of. At all. And his caretakers? Not even human. Which he wouldn't lie... did freak him out at first. The last time he had to deal with aliens, well he was almost eaten.

Waking up surrounded by what he would describe as fucking huge rock spiders was not a pleasant experience. And he didn't have any of his clothes, which only served to make the experience worse. Until one of them placed some clothing on the bed next to him and backed away.

Simon was a bit jumpy around them for a while. But he could tell they meant him no harm. Maybe it helped that their natural sounds were kind of, soothing? Plus a huge part of him just couldn't believe he wasn't suffering from some kind of hallucination. Apparently he was on a planet? The creatures needed a device to tell him. They brought it in a couple days after he woke up. They told him that their planet was called Erid. What star it orbited. Asked him basic things like, what his name was and how he got here. Simon couldn't give them most of the answers they wanted. But they knew his name. And they told him their names.

The Eridian leading his care was called 'Rocky' in 'Earth' language. Which was very on the nose. Sounded like something you'd call a pet. He learned very quickly that Rocky... liked to do puppet shows. Not just that but would ask Simon to do them too.

Simon declined every time. As nice as it all seemed, he just wasn't in the headspace to accept that any of it was happening for real. It was just his wild imagination. He was still actively dying in the SM-13 at the bottom of that damned blood ocean on AT-5. He felt numb to everything.

Over the next few days the Eridians would often bring devices in to do what they explained were for health check ups. It made Simon uneasy, but he let it happen. If he was right then, it didn't really matter, did it? Eventually, he would wake up or just finally bite the dust. Whatever that meant for him, he didn't know anymore.

Rocky encouraged him to go outside. Explained that their planet wasn't habitable to humans, but he was currently in a small habitat meant to allow a human to live there. Simon wondered why they would need that and also thought about how weird it was that they knew how to talk to him in the first place. But he didn't get to ask any of his questions. Once he was outside, he saw the water. Visions of blood entered his mind and next thing he knew he was back in the shelter they'd been keeping him in. He refused to go back out for a long time. Days probably. But Simon didn't keep track. The dream was shifting back and forth in front of his eyes every so often. Into a nightmare of blood and rusted metal. He couldn't predict when either. He didn't feel safe. Would he ever?

Eventually, though. He asked himself if it even mattered. None of it was real after all. He'd gotten the urge to fight the fear. His instincts, rational thoughts, and will to really live were all at odds with each other. The next time Rocky showed up, Simon tried again. It was just as terrifying. But he allowed himself to actually look at everything else around the water this time. It... helped.

The water was at least a fair distance from the shelter. It just felt really big. There was enough land between them that Simon could push past the fear. He wondered as Rocky led him to a giant clear wall that cut land and sea in half, if the little creature could tell he was exhausted. Days in the shelter and he hadn't been able to rest much at all.

Upon reaching the wall, Simon could only blink and stare. The reason Rocky had him come here was clear as the wall itself. And it answered some of his previous questions.

Simon wasn't the only human here.

This wasn't real. So why would the dream or hallucination or whatever want him separated from other humans? Of course, his brain supplied enough answers without him needing to ask.

Rocky's melodic sounds were directed at the human beyond the glass and Simon was silently repeating in his mind terrible things. He watched the two of them interact but made no move to get any closer to the glass. How could he argue with his own logic.

Simon didn't deserve human interaction. Not after the things he'd done for Eden, as a child. The C.O.I. was pretty clear that he deserved less than nothing. Not even a name.

It should have been obvious why there was a wall between them. This was just how the dream interpreted things were meant to be for Simon. It was the way things had always been. Even on Eden, his own brothers were steered away from interacting too much with him. Even if he was devoted to the tree the same as them. Even if he called them his brothers. He questioned the way things were too much.

Rocky turned expectantly towards him and gestured to the other human. Simon recognized it as being introduced to someone. He wanted Simon to come closer and say hello, he guessed. The translating device was back at the shelter, so movements were all he had to go on.

Simon didn't move even an inch from his spot a few feet away from Rocky and the glass. But he awkwardly gave a weak wave to the person beyond it. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do more. Run back to the shelter or think about ways to wake himself up. There was no way the oxygen was going to last much longer in the SM-13 and he'd established there was no C02 scrubber in that death trap.

[wasdiamond]

“  MY STARS, LOOK at you. ” a sense of wonder laces her tone, seeping from every word the matriarch speaks. pink has lowered her form for a better look at @lasthail, resting comfortably upon her knees. bringing her otherwise towering twelve foot form to a more manageable six feet. gloved hands are fidgeting within her lap, fighting the urge to poke & prod with intrigue. most organic beings didn't tend to like that, she found. “ you are quite an awfully long way from home. it must be so lonely on that ship of yours. how ever do you stay entertained? ”

[askrossiel]

(for @lasthail - continued from here)

Rossiel laughed, a merry silver-bell peal that set her curls and outsized ears bouncing, at the mortal fellow's confusion. "Nay, no planet, that, and no goddess either!" She made a grand, sweeping gesture toward the bright dot in question before turning her attention back to the man on his bench.

"It is he who pleaded for the intercession of the Valar in the War of Wrath, the saving grace of both Elves and Men! The shining Silmaril he bears as his ship voyages the sky is the first star we greet at dusk and the last to leave us at dawn, a sign of hope and one of the few things that has remained true and constant amid all the swift change this world has endured. It is a pity that Men have forgotten him."

This last observation was soft, as she wondered what Elrond might think of how few remained on this side of the Sea who recalled the deeds of his father.

[earthssprout]

🌼🐌 @lasthail wants to play ! // one - liner call ( accepting ! )

" RRRUH ... WUH ... ROCKY IS F - FAT, PEAS? ve ... very, very, misser Gayce? 'cause he's hef ... fff ... he's heffff ... he's heffy? "

[scapeg0ated]

" i speak 9 languages and i have no idea what any of this means "

[cseavers]

“ you’re shaking . ” <3

it hurts . he hurts . its like a constant loop in his mind . pain , on pain , on pain . a circular misery he can't seem to find his way out of . he's been wedged into this corner -- all tangled up in those always drifting , racing thoughts . but they're all bad now . and he can't get out . he hurts , so bad , and he's miserable -- he's sad , and he's so fucked up and . . . and it's only been a week since he got out of the hospital . a week where his brother has been firmly , and stubbornly by his side the entire time . no matter how many times colt lies and says he's okay , that he knows ryland has work , that he'll be alright on his own ( he won't . and this is proof enough of that . that he's laying there shaking , and nearly in tears . that not only is his back screaming in agony but there is a crushing weight on his chest and a voice in his head that whispers failure , failure , failure -- )

" huh ? " ryland's voice is like a lifeline , like a light through his darkest thoughts . and he's so grateful for it , he's so grateful he can't even think of something smart to say back to him . he wants to cry , and keep crying , and never stop crying . because he feels like he's ten years old again , and he broke his wrist because some asshole kid pushed him off the top of the slide and he's gasping for air and the only thing in the world he wants is his big brother holding him together .

" oh . . . oh -- it's , um , " it's the incision site -- spinal fusion surgery . the place where they had to cut him open , had to carefully move around his spinal cord to make sure the crack in his spine didn't permanently paralyze him ; the place where he will forever have metal rods and screws holding him together . and on top of it , he gets a back brace that colt can only describe as ' industrial ' every time he sees it . the real issue is he's being forgetful , and left the very important bottle of prescription painkillers in the bathroom , and didn't take them when ryland stuck his hand in the door and shook it at him until colt put his out and accepted the bottle . and now he winces , fights to draw in a breath , and even his hand shakes when he lifts it and waves towards the bathroom . " it's -- fuck -- left them in . . . there -- "

[ideamade]

“ I REMEMBER LONG ago another starry night like this, @lasthail. ” / lyrical sc.