chikaidestroyer | ∞ 83: A chronicle of life and death [action]

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∞ 83: A chronicle of life and death [action]

[What a wonderful afternoon. The sun is shining, the sky has cleared up, and the ground is drying after two days of rain. And Albert is around the village today, weaving through the streets and between houses and even to the edges of the forest.

Little do people know that Albert received a beautiful flower last night, and he happened to smell it. When he awoke up the morning, getting out of his room proved to be an ... arduous battle. And getting out the front door? Well, he had at least discovered what a doorknob was by then.

He has a vague, wondrous look on his face as he looks at swaying tree branches and flowers he would have otherwise ignored. His hair is in slight disarray, as if he had rolled out of bed and fought his way through a bedroom door. His clothes are in a similar state, and notably the same as the ones he had been wearing last night.

This isn't strange at all.

He will be wandering around for the entire afternoon. Attempts to talk to or capture the 6'1" strategist will be bizarre. ...And he won't be returned home until sunset or so.]

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[Albert is in fact not staring at the tree, but at something fascinating he had never seen before -- a honeybee. It seems to be ... doing something to the flower he had been looking at a moment ago, but what exactly escapes his processing ability. When the bee buzzes away and goes about its own business, Albert does the same -- wandering off in the grass.]

[...what on earth. Caesar watches him wander off and decides to follow him. Maybe he just... didn't notice him. It was possible, he hadn't exactly tried to make his presence known or anything. So maybe he'll go and do that now.]

Hey. Uh... Are you okay?

[If he heard your voice, Caesar, he sure doesn't react to it. He crouches down to look at a patch of flowers growing by the river, cupping a flower in gloved hands. It's like he's off in his own little world.]

[Uh. Okay. That was definitely audible. Or... so he thought. But he hadn't given Albert a reason to ignore him recently, had he? They'd parted on pretty good terms last time, so there wasn't any reason for him to... no. Maybe he just didn't hear him. Um. Again. That was the only thing that made sense. So Caesar follows him again, standing next to Albert as he admires the flower in his hands.]

...are you drunk?

[Albert releases the flower after a few moments, standing up to go on his way. The absentminded smile on his face and the haze in his eyes should be much more visible from up close.]

[It is, and that's why when Albert stands up to continue his wandering, Caesar can't help but stare. He's not ignoring him, he can tell that much now. He's just... not all there. But why? Caesar snaps out of it quick enough, determined not to let his brother wander off again. He reaches out to grab his arm, speaking a bit louder than he had been a moment before.]

H-hey. What's your deal?

[When Caesar grabs hold of his arm, a faintly perplexed look appears on Albert's face. He looks down at where he's been latched onto, giving a few faint tugs in quick succession like he's testing whether Caesar will let go.]

[He ignores those tugs and doesn't let go, but his grip loosens for a second when he notices that he feels... really warm. That wasn't right. It wasn't the weather, that was for sure. And if he was sick, he definitely didn't look it. Maybe he was hallucinating?

Wait. Who cares about any of that? The last time he'd gotten this close to his brother, he became stiff, and that wasn't even the case this time. This is weird.]

Uh... maybe you shouldn't be out today, Al.

[Albert doesn't seem at all interested in what Caesar is suggesting. But the confusion is quickly slipping away, replaced by ... panic. He couldn't be stopped here -- this wasn't fun anymore and he wanted to go somewhere else. His pulse quickens, his expression becomes more anxious, and--

He lets out a sound like a primal cry, jerking his arm away from Caesar hard.]

Edited 2010-06-16 05:25 (UTC)

[Caesar winces and doesn't bother trying to hang on. Not because it hurt, obviously, but because, well, he's a little scared. This isn't normal, and he's not completely sure what to do. But just like when Albert decided being a strategist was a stupid job, Caesar isn't going to just let his brother wander off and do things he'll probably regret later. He was going to be responsible, dammit.

He's not going to latch on to him again right away, though, not like this. He'll wait to see what he does first.]

[After successfully getting away from Caesar's grasp, Albert gives him the most lucid look yet -- but it's a look of wariness, like one an animal might aim at a pit it had managed to climb out of.

And then the anxiety is gone as he finds his calm again, walking down the road in the general direction of his house.]

[He frowns.] H-hey, what's that look for? [But his words are more of a mumble, because he knows he's not listening to him. Caesar watches Albert walking down that road, and once he realizes what's in that direction, he decides this is a good thing. If he gets distracted, he can just push him in the right direction, or...

Hah. He gets a silly idea as he's watching him. Then again, maybe trying to play with him was too risky. He'll just follow Albert from a distance, since he's not really acknowledging him anyway, trying to pretend that it at least wasn't kind of amusing. Inappropriate, Caesar. Inappropriate.]

[Thankfully, it doesn't take too long for Albert's wanderings to lead him back to house #42 -- especially with Caesar there to steer him back on track along the way. There are fortunately no other panic attacks, so Albert looks quite content as he slowly approaches the house.

It only took until sunset for him to get back.]

[Raine's on the side of the house, wearing her straw sun hat again while cleaning up the garden. She glances up when she hears the sound of someone approaching. Albert's still far enough that she can't tell the exact state of his hair and clothes. Nonetheless, it's the first time she's seen him all day.]

Good evening, Albert. Hello, Caesar. [It is strange to see them both together like that.]

Hey, Miss Raine. [Caesar lets out a sigh. It was mostly because he was tired, and every time he had to shove that jerk back in the proper direction, he felt a little more hopeless. He just wasn't sure what to do.] Uh... Do you have a minute? [He pauses, looking at Albert, who looks so damn content that it almost makes him angry.] I think we should talk.

[Albert walks over to the morning glories growing on the trellises, and looking at them longer than anything else around the village. Perhaps it has something to do with the flowers, or something to do with the time of the day. But he appears very calm, very at peace.]

[She rises to her feet once they get closer, frowning when she gets a better look at Albert and his... expression. His hair. His clothing.]

Caesar, what's going on?

I don't know. [And his voice shows that he's very obviously frustrated by this.] He won't talk to me, and he won't listen to me, either. He just... keeps wandering off like that. And staring at things. And... smiling. I guess he could be sick, but he wouldn't have gone out if that were the case, and... I don't know. But that's not my brother.

[Oh. There's a honeybee in a flower. Albert crouches down to watch it, a vaguely nostalgic look on his face. Like he's remembering something he saw once a long time ago.]

I know he was working hard, but this...

This is the first time I've seen him all day. He was fine last night. [She steps a little closer to Albert that she can feel his forehead.] ... Albert?

[Somehow, Caesar isn't satisfied by this. Could he really have been just fine the night before? He watches Raine a moment as she attempts to approach, and he shakes his head.]

Can we do this inside? You have no idea what it took for me to get him here.

[Albert pauses in his looking at the honeybee when he feels the hand on his forehead. That's a new feeling. He tilts his head up, as if trying to see what's touching him, but he seems to give up halfway there. One hand reaches out to trace the heart-shaped leaves of the moonflowers.]

[Raine is quiet for a moment, trying to process what she sees in front of her, observing Albert's actions with slowly widening eyes, before gently brushing the hair back from his forehead with her hand.] He seems to have a fever. We may need to ... entice him into the house with a distraction, if coaxing doesn't work.

Edited 2010-06-16 19:11 (UTC)

[Caesar groans. This wasn't much fun anymore.]

I know, I know. [He walks over to the morning glories that Albert had been looking at earlier. He'd been staring at them for a while, so maybe Caesar could use them to get his attention. He grabs a few of them and starts heading up the stairs.] Sorry, Al. [And he begins littering the stairs with the flower petals until he gets to the door.] We just need his attention long enough so I can shove him inside, got it?

[Something was moving out of the corner of Albert's eye. He followed the movement, watching some of the flowers being picked away. He hadn't seen that before.

Albert slowly rose, watching the petals fall as Caesar began tearing them up. He followed after the fascinating sight, dazedly trying to catch a few along the way. His steps slow as he climbs up onto the porch, and his eyes begin to wander in search of other things to see.]