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Ghost Camping
First outing Gaiea and Forrez do alone together after talking with Mimi the ghost. Forrez's plan is to take a camping class to help Gaiea with the gear he promised to pay her with.
Tucking her free hand into her jacket pocket she eyed the car that pulled up nearby to the abandoned gasstation she was currently calling home. She was sitting on the roof, her legs dangling off the side, eating the last of the muffins she got from Donut Rolls a week ago. Usually she liked watching the sun come up and the city around her slowly wake up.
"Friend?" Blau asked, seeing the familiar truck and pointing at it with his stubby arm.
She shrugged, crumpling the paper lining and shoving into the bag. "He's here rather early." He did mention he wanted to come visit her again, but she didn't think he'd be doing it at the crack of dawn.
"You normally like visiting people this early?" She asked when Forrez was in earshot.
Forrez looked up, luckily not needing to shield his eyes from the rising sun as the building took care of that for him. "If you're still asleep I can wait." He answered with a bit of a smirk. "You usually eat on the roof?"
She snorted at him, putting her other hand into her jacket to keep it warm. "Only in the mornings, people are too groggy to care about seeing me tresspassing up here." Looking down at him for a moment she jerked her head to the left.
"If you want up there's a dumpster, the ladder is useless."
He made a face at the word dumpster, but strode around the building to it anyway. Atleast he was in his jeans and farm boots today, no way was he cound to be able to clime in a suit or leather. He'd had plenty of practice climing on shit he shouldn't, so it wasn't a huge deal to get up there. He slung his satchle around behind him and heafted himself up onto the dumpster.
"Do you like coffee of juice more?" He asked before trying to climb up the rest of the way.
She lifted an eyebrow at him as she watched him climb up. "You actually hefting up coffee in that thing?" Hopefully it didn't burst, that would be a bad day.
"I prefer juice."
"Hello friend!" Blau greeted over the side at him, waving both his little arms at him.
"Hrm? Yeah." He walked across the roof and got a good look around at the area from his new vantage point. Blau made him a bit uncomfortable, but he wasn't about to be rude and not greet it. "Hey Blau, do you like juice too?" Did it even eat or drink?
"I like both!" He spun around and ran back to sit next to Gaiea on the edge.
"Coffee helps him stay out longer in his true form." She gathered her trash to make room for him, setting it on Blau's side. "It takes alot for him to stay out like he did last time."
"Maybe you should carry some around with you too then." He shrugged and sat down next to her. He pulled out two bottles of juice and handed her one, taking the other for himself. "Blau like iced coffee or hot?"
"He's only ever had hot, so I'm not sure." She took the bottle with a nod and twisted the cap off.
"I'd like a try!" He replied, leaning against Gaiea's leg. "Burger Hut's always look tastey!"
Gaiea snorted thinking of Blau covered in whip cream and chocolate sauce, "Yeah that'll be a mess and a half."
Forrez pulled a thermus out of his satchel and offered it to Gaiea. "Should you hold onto this durring our outing? Just in case you need it... for Blau."
Taking it she gave him a look, "Is what you're planning going to warrant him needing it? I don't know what your definition of an outing is, but I don't find negociating with ghosts at all fun." She untwisted the top and let Blau sniff at it since he was tugging at her arm.
"Ooooh! This nice!" He complimented.
"Better safe than sorry right? I was thinking of trying a nature walk. Something away from the city a bit, if you're up for that." He had a lot planned, but divulging it all now might be overwhelming, also he'd hate for her to feel bad if they didn't have the time for all of it.
She looked back at him with surprise, "Outside the city?" She felt a little silly after asking, there wasn't really any parks around here that anyone would really call it 'nature'.
Twisting the lid back onto the thermos she said, "Ah yeah I wouldn't mind that honestly." She glanced over at the edge of the property, already seeing her frequent ghostly visitor lumbering about. In the mornings they slowed down, the light of day slowed most of them down while during the night they were the most active. This one here had been giving her quite a bit of trouble lately, constantly testing the wards Adan helped her put up. They weren't that strong to begin with, but it was enough to keep the weak ones out. Though the stronger or cleverer ones figured out the weak spots.
Forrez nodded. "Adan thought it might be easier on you if we were away from populated areas." He'd go ahead and let Adan take the credit on that part, and if she didn't like it well... guess who he could blame it on. "We wouldn't be completely alone though, they hold events there now and then. And the area does have a few campsites."
"Still be less people than here, which is appealing." She disliked crowds, it meant people bumping and pushing into you. Also meant having to try and hide more so no one would see her face and try forcing her into a conversation.
"I was thinking of stopping for breakfast on the way, would you like some?" He asked as if he hadn't been planning on stuffing her silly as much as he could on this trip. As well as leaving her with gifts. He fully planned on 'forgetting' to get his thermos back. He was getting worryingly good at giving gifts without them actually being gifts. Just a side effect of working in the government, he supposed.
"Yeah I could eat." Even though she had eaten half a muffin not too long before he got there, it wouldn't keep her full for very long. It was also two weeks old so it was unsatisfying to eat, and the thought of getting something fresh was already making her hungry again.
Taking a swig of the juice she sat it down along with the thermos and got up to her feet to take care of her trash. Tying the bag up she handed it to Blau who took it in his little arms and skipped over to the side with the dumpster and jumped off the roof hitting the lid with a soft thunk.
"You okay if we go ahead and head out?" She asked, looking again over at the fence.
Forrez tried to see what she was looking at out of habit, but saw nothing. "Yeah, it'll be a bit of a drive anyway, the sooner we start the better." He got to his feet after her and streached a bit. "Do you have a preference, I should I just take you where I was thinking of going?"
She shrugged, bending down to get the drinks. "I'm not picky, I'm fine with wherever you were wanting to go to." Pausing she then added, "If we're going in to eat, I don't want to be sitting out in the open."
"We can eat in the car if that would make you more comfortable." He didn't like the idea but he was more than willing to compromise on that point, it was his goal to make her comfortable today after all.
Thinking on it she then nodded, "Yeah I'd like that better." She wouldn't have to worry about hiding her face the whole time so it'd be easier to eat.
Eyeing the spirit again she asked, "Could you move your truck over onto that street first?" She pointed to the opposite side of the property. "I want to avoid the spirit on that corner you're on....if um that's not too much trouble." She added, realizing she probably was being a bit fussy.
Forrez tried again to see what she was looking at as he started climbing down. Of course he still saw nothing. It was a bit unerving to think about, things lurking around that he couldn't see.
"Yeah I can move there, give me a moment." Usually a request like that would be annoying, but that was mostly when he didn't know the reason or that it was silly. But he knew better, and he wanted her to be comfortable so she wouldn't hate being around him.
"Thanks." She said before he was out of earshot. Looking back she gritted her teeth, seeing it crawl at a sloth like pace over the fence. Moons it was it persistent, maybe she should spend the night somewhere else for good measure.
Gaiea stayed up on the roof until Forrez's truck parked where she told him to. Looking around to make sure she had clear path before decending down.
"Here!" Blau wiggled his arm, he had gone inside and dragged her bag out for her.
"Good thinking, thanks." She placed him on her shoulder as she took the bag and went over to wiggle under the fence. As she got to her feet she heard a door slam close and a male voice yell at her.
"Hey! What are you think you're doing?!"
Gaiea didn't even pause, she sprinted to the truck, flying into the seat as soon as she opened the door.
"Get your ass back here little girl! I have some words for you!" The man growled, stomping over.
"Drive, just drive." Gaiea buckled herself in and slunk down in her seat.
Forrez was torn between wanting to get out and have a few words with whoever this was for harassing his friend, and doing as she asked and taking off. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel with a hyper energy as the man got closer. Finally he decided and took off just as the man was reaching the truck. He let out a laugh and tried to keep his manic mirth under control, lest he loose said new friend to his strange behaviors.
She slumped in the seat in relief when he finally drove away. For a minute there she thought he was going to talk with the guy, which was the last thing she wanted. Adan talked with him a few times, despite her protests, and it still didn't do much good.
When he started laughing in delight she commented, "Glad you enjoyed that." It was a better reaction that him fussing her out over what she could've done to get him pissed.
"He up early." Blau moved to look out the side window.
"Hrmmm, maybe they are right that the stick up his ass really does keep him up at night."
Forrez went quiet at her comment, cringing internally at his momentary lack of self control. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He needed to join this new conversation and try to keep the focus off himself for the time being. "So, what's his problem?" Wait no, maybe it would be better to completely change the subject. Maybe he should talk about breakfast, or where they were going.
"A stick!" Blau answered helpfully, not looking away from the window.
Gaiea snorted in amusement, "He's the landlord to the apartment next to us, he acts like he owns the property I'm on. Keeps trying to call the inforcers on me whenever he's bored or we had a noisy night." She let her bag slide out of her lap and next to her feet, giving her room to curl her legs up under her on the seat.
Wasn't much Forrez could do about that, at least not without getting into trouble with Assai. He wasn't willing to do that. "If you like the guy, don't tell Heike about it." It won't really help her not get harrassed.. but revenge always just made him feel better.
She gave him a funny look at first, not sure what she said gave him the impression that she liked the guy. Then her eyes widened when she got it and gave him a smirk.
"Guess I better not also tell him about his pediophobia."
Blau gave a very creepy sounding giggle at that.
"What sort of person fears children?" Forrez snorted, actually confused that such a thing existed. "Yeah don't tell Heike anything about the guy or he'll come cause trouble. Wouldn't want that." He smirked too and tried hard to to be creeped out by the doll's giggling. It wasn't working as well as he'd like.
Gaiea made an amused sound, thinking it wouldn't be that far fetched to her if the guy was also scared of tiny children. "Pe-di-o-phobia is fear of dolls. It's why I'm not worried about him poking his head into our area. Sometimes if I find one I stick it on the window sill just in case."
"Oh, never heard of that before." He wondered how helpful it would be for his boss if he did a bit more research into phobias. No, no work right now, he chastised himself. It was just so hard not to want to take everything new he learned and immediately find how it could be used for Assai. "Did he have that fear before or after meeting Blau?" He chuckled, though he had a feeling the guy hadn't actually met the spirit in the doll.
"Before, though I think it got a little worse after meeting Blau." She should feel bad about it, but he never made an effort to endear himself to her so she wasn't that conflicted over the whole thing. "If I know he called the suits on us Blau will just sit outside his window for a week and he'll leave us be for half the year."
"If that worked I doubt you'd be running from a confrontation like just then." Forrez considered. "Sounds more like revenge than getting him to stop." He smirked again, cocking his eyebrow up. What hot blooded Groo didn't love the idea of getting a bit of revenge?
She admitted to herself that she was surprised he wasn't chastising her yet for her behavior. Adan would, but then again he was a nerdy good boy who wasn't bored all the time.
"I.... miiiight be still be bitter about something he did." She admitted. "Just a little." She made a motion with her fingers to emphasize. "Though I'm keeping to my story that Blau just likes visiting him at night."
"Just let me know if something needs smashing or set on fire." He laughed, hoping that sounded like a joke and not like something he was actually wanting to do, despite the fact that he had considered it seriously already.
"Long as you don't tell Adan, then I'll consider it." She mushed Blau's face playfully when he waggled his arm at her in a 'tsk tsk' manner. He didn't really feel anything in this body so she wasn't worried about hurting him on accident.
Forrez wondered if she really would be fine with that side of him. He assumed Adan was more into wild stuff since he seemed to like when Forrez bullied him, but maybe that didn't extend to setting things on fire. Actually, maybe Forrez was the odd one for thinking it was the next logical step.
"How many people have met Blau?" He changed the subject just to keep himself from the topic of being a destructive asshole. "You usually okay with that? Or do you not get much choice?"
Taking a moment to calculate in her head she replied, "So far just the landlord, Adan, you and that weird wolf friend of yours. Hrm...and this one other nerdy friend of Adan's, but I haven't seen them for awhile now." Looking at him she shrugged, "I leave it up to Blau to choose if he reveals himself. I only really care if they start flipping their shit at him or me. He's usually a good judge of when it's safe or not."
Forrez tried not to get excited at that. It was creepy that Blau was even a thing, but it made him happy he was on such a short list and was 'safe'. Then again the landlord was on that list... but more to scare him.. right? "Wait, Adan has friends?" He was teasing, mostly because Adan was too damn friendly and just about everyone would be his friend. He was also maybe a bit jealous of how He and Heikie might or might not be.
Gaiea made a long suffering face, "Who isn't his friend? He made friends with the one bully he had in school, it's absolutely infuriating." She was always a little jealous over how easily he made friends with people, he made it look so damn easy.
At least he wasn't the only one being envious. "How many he force you to meet?" He probably shouldn't have asked. He wondered if he was just another in a long line of people she just barely tolerated.
She snorted, "He's been trying since second grade, so however many that is."
"He good friend!" Blau defended, getting another hand to his face for his efforts.
"Yeah Yeah I know, but I can still complain." She rolled her eyes.
"Sounds as bad as Heike, honestly." He shook his head slightly and pulled up to a building, swinging around to the back for parking. "Would you mind sitting with the truck while I get the food? I'll leave the keys with you to stay warm."
"I'm ok with that." She looked relieved that she wouldn't have to go inside. The thought didn't cross her mind that she would have to go inside to order the food, but now that it was brought up she was glad she didn't have to.
"Also yes I have to agree, from what I've seen of your friend."
"Any parking spots I should avoid?" He suddenly thought to ask before he parked. He didn't want to park on some invisible monster or some shit and make her uncomfortable. She was worth the trouble, he had to remind himself. He wasn't use do dealing with supernatural bullshit, but he was used to dealing with differently abled people, so he just had to think of it like that and it all made sense.
Blinking in surprise at the question she scanned the area in front of them and shook her head, "Any of them are fine." It was weird having someone other than Adan be asking that sort of thing.
After a moment she added, "Um...thanks."
He nodded and gave her a slight smile, trying to ignore the flutter in his heart.
"If anything makes you feel unsafe while I'm inside, just honk the horn a lot and I'll come take care of it." He said as he pulled into a spot and shut the truck off. "Even if its something I can't see, alright?" He thought of Enzo for a moment, feeling a profound respect. Being blind to just this one aspect of the world was humbling, now that he knew it existed. Despite how he tried he couldn't really keep pretending it wasn't there. That wasn't going to get him very far.
She gave a nod as she looked around at the building just to be sure. Nothing looked to be too out of sorts as of yet, and she didn't sense anything big either. She had gotten better over the years of being able to sense the nasty ones that were out of sight.
There was a few small ones here and there, but nothing that would be bothersome. They normally stayed at a distance because of Blau, they knew they were too weak to take him on.
Feeling safe for the moment she leaned back in her seat to people watch.
He didn't necessarily like the idea of leaving her, even if it was just to get food. It was going to be torment when he dropped her off again at the end of their day out. 'don't think about that right now, breath.'
Forrez took a deep breath and a last glance before getting out of the truck. He locked his door and closed it, willing the vehicle to protect her in his mind as he did. Everything would be fine. He tried to relax and headed in to order the food.
It was mostly uneventful after Forrez left, she was feeling sleepy from how cozy it was in the truck. She allowed herself to take a little nap, knowing that Blau would warn her if needed.
Suddenly she was awakened from her nap when there was a loud tapping noise from the window. Jolting upright she looked over and stiffened when she saw two enforcers looking in on her.
"Roll down your window." One barked, his hands in his pockets as he looked around inside the truck.
Fuck fuck fuck, she bent down to reach for her bag.
The other one circled around to get the identification on the truck and to cover the other door. If they ended up taking her in he'd want to run it to make sure it wasn't stolen or unregistered. "That wasn't request." He added then looked over at his partner. "Might not understand us."
The first guy rolled his eyes in that 'Ugh, they never do' sort of way. Seeing her reach for the floor he tapped on the window again. "Hey! Hands where I can see them."
Resisting saying something snarky back she let go of her bag and did as he asked, though she only rolled it only a sliver of the way. The guy never did say how far to roll it and she didn't feel comfortable giving him that much access either.
"I've got residency papers in my bag...sir." She gritted out the last word when he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Sure you do." Scoffing he gestured to the door. "Get out and hand me the bag, I'll check for you."
"It's illegal to camp in parking lots in this part of town." His partner said, giving a tire a little kick.
"I'm not, I'm just waiting on my...friend to get breakfast." She eyed the steering wheel, weighing her options. This definitly warranted a warning honk, but she was in a sticky spot. Anything she did that they deemed 'suspious' they were going to overreact. While she didn't want to cooperate with them she was going to have to play along and hope that Forrez hurried up.
Raising her hands up to show she had nothing in them she opened the door and stepped out, feeling a wiggle in her pocket letting her know that Blau had stuffed himself in while she was talking.
"It's in the front pocket." She told him as she reached slowly back in for her bag to hand over to him.
"Check the truck." He told his partner, unzipping the bag in the wrong place on purpose. "Friend huh? Well we'll wait for them to get out here. They have their papers too?" He wasn't at all careful about rummaging through her bag, spilling clothes and items onto the asphault.
She kept her eyes to the ground, not wanting to see the onlookers that passed staring at them as they were interrogating her. It was bad enough she hated people staring at her, now here she was the center of the whole spectacle.
Meanwhile, inside the building...
Forrez had ordered and was now waiting. He was sure Gaiea would be fine, but he also hated leaving her alone. His anxiousness must have been showing because the owner came out to ask him if he was alright.
He reassured them he was, but they gave him a complementary desert anyway, and some unwanted dating advice. It made him smile though, they always had the worst dating advice and were so happy to give it out.
Back at the truck... The other enforcer nodded and came back around to check inside from the girl's door, since the one on his side was locked. There wasn't much to find in the truck, the thing looked it had been cleaned very recently, it still smelt faintly of some sort of air freshener. "Oh they are, are they? Pretty upscale place for breakfast, where did you get that kind of money?" He asked, it was pretty clear in his voice that he didn't believe her about the breakfast.
He reassured them he was, but they gave him a complementary desert anyway, and some unwanted dating advice. It made him smile though, they always had the worst dating advice and were so happy to give it out.
Back at the truck... The other enforcer nodded and came back around to check inside from the girl's door, since the one on his side was locked. There wasn't much to find in the truck, the thing looked it had been cleaned very recently, it still smelt faintly of some sort of air freshener. "Oh they are, are they? Pretty upscale place for breakfast, where did you get that kind of money?" He asked, it was pretty clear in his voice that he didn't believe her about the breakfast.
It was annoying her that they kept digging in with their petty reasons to be shitty to her right now, it was getting grating.
"Its not my money it's my friends." She rolled her eyes.
"Don't get sassy with us, you're on thin ice as it is....Ms....Riva?" He looked at the Groo sounding last name, then eyed her critically. "If you're going to forge documents you could at least make it believable."
She let out a frustrated sigh, "Well it's my name I don't know what to tell you. And it isn't forged, it has the official watermark just look."
"That doesn't mean much now a days." He took out a ziplocked bag with several folded up documents and eyed them critically. Just from looking he noted a couple that was lightly dyed purple, which made him take pause. Those kind weren't easy to get, and very few forgers actually attempted to try copying them.
"So how long until this hypothetical 'friend' comes back out?" The other asked as he dug through the glove compartment. The pulled out the registration and frowned, handing it off to his partner.
She shrugged, "I don't know, how long does it take to make food here? I told you he's inside if you want a chat." She watched as the other guy took the paperwork and read it over, his expression matching his partner's. The last name stood out, having been in the area for awhile and the recent buzz about the sudden rise of the Velliara and the families working close with them.
He eyed the car, it fit the description of what a farmer possibly would have to drive around in. It was rough and had mud caked onto the bottom carriage area. Ugh great, maybe she was telling the truth then. Tapping the papers against his palm he pondered on his next move.
Suddenly he jumped when the truck gave a loud sharp beep, glaring at Gaiea when she snickered. He glanced at his partner who was nowhere near the steering wheel.
"What the-"
Out of character
Action: Release
Theme: Ability
Descriptor: Obscured
Focus: Settlement
"Old piece of shit.." His partner muttered, also startled by the sudden honk. He tried to hid how much it had made him jump, but he was clearly a bit jumpy.
Meanwhile, inside the building... Forrez looked toward the door, thinking he heard a horn. It was hard to tell through the walls if it was his or not. Should he check to be sure? He didn't want to seem too clingy and chase her off, but he also didn't want her stranded if she was getting harassed by ghosts or something. He said he'd be there, he should keep his word. He smiled and held up a finger. "I'll be right back." The owner laughed thinking his date must be in the car, and he wasn't wholly wrong.. but it still made Forrez want to roll his eyes.
Meanwhile, inside the building... Forrez looked toward the door, thinking he heard a horn. It was hard to tell through the walls if it was his or not. Should he check to be sure? He didn't want to seem too clingy and chase her off, but he also didn't want her stranded if she was getting harassed by ghosts or something. He said he'd be there, he should keep his word. He smiled and held up a finger. "I'll be right back." The owner laughed thinking his date must be in the car, and he wasn't wholly wrong.. but it still made Forrez want to roll his eyes.
His brows furrowed, but didn't think much more on it agreeing silently that it was just an old fucking truck.
Gaiea resisted to look over in the truck, not wanting to give Blau away where he might be hiding. Course it was sort of a silly worry since no one would suspect that her doll got up on their own. Hopefully it was enough to get Forrez's attention, it could've been easily missed.
Shaking his head he looked back at the papers then back at Gaiea. "Go ahead and take her back to the car, if she's legal then her 'friend' can come pick her up." He moved forward and grabbed Gaiea by her arm, ready to handcuff her.
"Don't. Touch. Me" She snapped out of habit, punctuating each word with a slap to his hand.
Uh oh. Crap... She reliased her mistake abit too late seeing the glint in his eye before he shoved her harshly into the side of the truck. Gaiea cursed as her chin bounced against the side of the cabin, smarting something fierce.
Forrez made his way around the building at a brisk pace. He wanted to hurry, but if he was mistaken he didn't want to look like an idiot. As he rounded the corner and saw what was going on he broke into a light farmer's jog, sprinting quickly across the parking lot while bearly looking like he was giving it much effort.
"Hello!? Can I help you with something?" He called as he got closer, as if they where solicitors at his door, and not enforcers holding his friend in a compromised position. He was doing his level best to keep the farm boy feel intact when all he wanted to do was smash both men's heads into the concrete until they were unrecognizable pulps of flesh. He smiled cheerfully and put his hands on his thighs to stop and breath. As if that little jog could even have winded him at all. "Hope they don't give my lunch to someone else." He forced a chuckle and wiped at his forehead. Starting out simple farmer was always his first go to, though he knew he'd have to stop that soon enough if he wanted respect in his his more important line of work.
Cursing under his breath he moved back, keeping a firm hand on Gaiea's back so she was pressed against the truck. "This your vehicle sir? Mr. Fortunato Genevia?" Over at his partner he tilted his head towards the mongoose, indicating to come around to the front.
Gaiea's relief was instantly overshadowed by her shock over the innocent farmboy act, feeling super out of place for her. She was used to the other side of Forrez, not this...sanitised version of him. In her mind she imagined him punching both these guys, not sweetly asking what the trouble was.
Forrez's smile never wavered. "Fortunato is my papa, truck is a hand-me-down. Saving up to get my own, can't really take over as head of the family without earning my own way, right?"
Hearing that he eased up on his hold on Gaiea, allowing her to make some space between her and the truck but still pinned to the spot.
"She with you then Sir? We found her sleeping in the truck so we weren't sure if she broke in or not." He asked in a polite tone.
"Yes, she's with me." He almost lost hold of his persona as his anger and possessive feelings tried to find their way into his voice. But Flannel managed a smile and hook his thumbs into his pockets. "She looks small but she's a good worker. She's helping me with some errands today so I thought a nice lunch was in order."
Letting her go he bit back a sigh, dissapointed that all this effor they put in was going to be wasted. "Ah I see, sorry to trouble you then sir we just want to make sure she's here legally. Can't really let the foreigners think they can just come here without going through the process you know?"
Gaiea made a disgusted face behind the man in clear sight of Forrez as she made strangling motions with her hands. "You have my papers in your hands!" She gritted through her teeth.
"Not implying we'd hire illegal's I hope." He tried to sound gently concerned. They totally would, and he was dating one... but they didn't need to know that. Thye jsut had to keep on thier toes and hope they didn't insult him too much.
Forrez walked toward them again, to keep eyes on him and off of Gaiea's gestures. "Oh, haha yeah might want that back." He held his hand out for the papers.
"Not at all sir, just want to check on your behalf. Never know if their documents hold the weight they should you know?" He avoided looking at his partner, knowing he slipped up there with almost insulting the man.
He handed the papers over to him when he asked, making Gaiea exhasperated. With a big huff she bent down to scoop her stuff back into her bag, even the ones that fell ontop of a bit of dirty snow and gotten wet.
Forrez nodded like he understood. "I'm glad you take you're job seriously, makes me sleep easier at night."
Now if they would just go away so he could kick something, that'd be lovely.
He gave a nod then motioned to his partner, "Well we'll get out of your hair then, have a nice day." Well it looked like they were going to have to find another place to eat then, no way was he wanting to hang around him while waiting for their food. Sticking his hands into his pockets he headed back to their car.
She didn't look up at Forrez as she finished getting her stuff back together, her face was red with embarressment over the whole situation. The bag was fine, Adan had enchanted it to not get wet, though that did very little if her stuff was shaken outside of it. She was glad she at least had the documents in a ziplock bag, not trusting her bag to keep the documents from getting fully destoryed.
Forrez waited for Gaiea to stand back up before handing her papers back to her. "Is any of it mising?" He asked curtly, not sure if hey removed any thing important and were jsut big dickish about returning it.
Tucking her bag under a arm she opened the plastic bag to check, she didn't think he even checked inside though she wanted to make sure.
"Yeah it's all in there." Didn't do the job they were suppose to do, but thankfully all still present. For a moment she stared at them, getting annoyed over thinking how many hours she and Adan had wasted getting them. She would've felt more guilty than she did if Adan hadn't looked like he was having the time of his life chatting up strangers and staff.
With an annoyed grunt she pressed the air out of it before sealing it up and putting it back into her bag.
"I do good?" Blau asked, he was on the passenger side of the truck now hanging out on the floorboards.
"Yeah you do good." Gaiea reached for him and stuffed him back into her jacket pocket.
Forrez noded and headed silently back toward the building without checking if she was okay.
He needed to get his mask back together before ordering. Not to mention he was embaresed she had seen any of that. He hated it when his two lives crossed paths. It stressed him out worring about how either side would be seen by the other.
She watched him walk off as she stood there feeling lost at what to do. He definitly seemed pissed off, which she didn't blame him for. No one really wanted to have to deal with government officials going through your property. They were both lucky he didn't have anything illegal inside or it would've been messy.
While she thought she closed the doors to the truck and checked that they hadn't thrown anything out of it. Even though he was mad and didn't want to be near her, she didn't feel comfortable staying in the truck anymore. The interaction left her shaken up and wary that the men might come back even if that was highly unlikely.
Tugging the hood down over her head she crossed her arms and slowly shuffled to the resturaunt, keeping her eyes to the ground.
Forrez was so busy brooding hat he didn't notice she was followig hi untill he had to turn the corner and happen to catch her out of the corner of his eye. Was she comig in with him?
He paused tp give her time to catch up, since he walked quickly when he was upset. He still didn't trust himself to say anything. Not to mention it would put the mask he was perparing at risk if he let himself acknowledge he was upset.
She didn't dare to look up as she got closer to the building, not wanting to catch the people through the window or going in and out of the door. Her body was tense from her anxious thoughts, thinking that everyone was watching and staring. She didn't need any visual confirmation that it was actually happening.
Gaiea stopped a few steps away from Forrez, suddenly regretting her choice to come to the resturaunt. Moons she was dumb, stupid feeling of wanting to be near someone she knew for comfort. She should've just walked to the gas station next door or something.
By the time they got back in he food was ready and Forrez was all charm and smiles again, though he still didn't look at, or talk to, Gaiea. He made his farmboy small talk and lingered as he gathered up he food, despite wanting to get out of there right away.
She shuffled in and tucked herself up in a corner on the bench, tucking her knees up into herself. In her pocket she felt Blau move, reminding her that he was there. Reaching in she grabbed him out to hug him tightly to her chest. His presence calmed her down a degree, though she wished he was in his bigger form, wanting to be enveloped. Her fingers rubbed on his stubby ears, it was well worn compared to the rest of him.
"You alright dear?" A voice asked, making her jump.
"I'm fine." She mumbled.
Forrez gave the owner a last smile and gathered the food up as he tried to gather his own feelings. He just had to make it through the day, then he could go home and cry over loosing Gaiea's friendship before even getting to have it. Assuming she could even put up with him long enough to go to the camping seminar. He was still getting her that stuff, even if she decided to burn it.
He avoided looking at her again, afraid what she might be thinking, but paused as he headed out so she could keep up. She'd at least want a ride home right? Or would she call Adan to get her instead? Moons where was Heike's nosey ass when you needed him?
The woman next to her wasn't leaving her alone, continuing to sit near her and ask her questions. She wasn't quite sure what they were though since her brain was buzzing, preventing her from hearing much else. Her hands gripped and worried the fabric of her jacket as she stared at her knees, unable to see that Forrez was standing at the door waiting for her.
Blau felt helpless being stuck in her pocket in a public place, unable to force himself into his bigger state or tell the woman to back off.
Forrez waited a bit before he dared to see what she was doing, fully expecting her to be done with him ready to call Adan for a pick up. Instead he saw her trying to curl in on herself, clearly in distress. Right, she didn't want to come in here in the first place or a reason. He relaxed a bit, pushing his selfish thoughts about how he was feeling away.
"Gaiea?" He went over and knelt down, offering a hand, not that he expected her to take it. "Sorry she gets a bit dizzy when she's hungry." He lied to the woman sweetly, "Thanks for looking after her."
"Oh! Of course." The lady smiled, scooching away from Gaiea . She had been getting a little miffed, thinking she was being ignored. Though getting to feast her eyes on Forrez brightened her mood considerably.
"Hope she feels better."
It took Gaiea awhile to realize there was a hand in front of her face, her eyes were blank as they stared forward. Her hands slowed in their fidgeting then her eyes slowly moved towards him. Her eyes blinked with her eyebrows knitting together, unable to figure out what she was looking at.
"Got the food?" She asked, looking away as she forced her hands to let go.
Forrez knew she didn't like touching people, and what with her looking at his hand like it was a piece of trash blowing down the road made him reconsider offering it. So instead he held one of the bag's of food towards her. It was a paper bag with a woven paper handle, she could grap that instead and he could indirectly help her up, if she let him.
She looked questioningly at it then her hand reached out for it, in the process nearly dropping it when it was heavier than she expected.
"You buy out their whole breakfast menu?" Peeking she looked inside, the bag was full with different opaque containers.
He kept hold of the bag, and, after she'd felt the weight of it, tried to see if she'd let him help her up by keeping hold of it. At least she was talking to him.
"No, but they might have talked me into getting a side item or two. The owner is very persuasive." Some of that was true at any rate. "At least it keeps well."
She looked at his hand wondering if he was going to let go of it now that she had a handle on it. He still had a grip on it and was pulling it towards himself. Giving him a puzzled look she moved to hand it back. If he didn't want her to have it then why did he offer?
"Good thing you're the one getting the food then if they were able to brow beat you into getting more food." She gave a smirk, imagining a little old man intimidating Forrez into buying more muffins.
"Afraid you'd leave with the whole restaurant?" He laughed and helped her to her feet.
As soon as she was standing he also headed for the door, ready to get out of there and be able to talk to her honestly without putting on his public face. They walked quietly back to the truck.
As soon as she was standing he also headed for the door, ready to get out of there and be able to talk to her honestly without putting on his public face. They walked quietly back to the truck.
She was all too eager to get out of the restaurant, it was getting too loud for her ears. Once outside her head felt less buzzy, even if her anxiousness had yet to fully abate.
When they got close to the truck she slowed, eyeing the parkinglot to make sure the two suits hadn't decide to hand around or pop back up.
He kept going at the same pace as she slowed, wanting to avoid her saying she didn't want to get back in for as long as he could. He went ahead and unlocked her door first before going around to his and setting the food into the back half seats. Then he carefully checked to make sure no one had left any nasty surprises for him. It could be those guys were just racist asshats, but it could also be they wanted to spy on him or blow him up. There were pleantly that were unhappy with the Velliara gaining power.
Certain that it was safe she briskly went over to the passenger side and got on in. For good measure she locked the door and sunk down in her seat.
"Smells good!" Blau commented, popping out of her pocket. Now that they were back in the car he felt it was safe for him to talk and move around. "You have hats under your seat." He pointed at Forrez's seat. "I like the 'I back up for booty' one, that's funny."
She choked on air as she said, "W-what?"
"Its.. a long story." He said, glad to have something other than apologizing to focus on for a moment. "My sister thinks I'm sweet and chased and that hats like that would embarrass me. So she gives them to me as gifts." They weren't really his style, but he wasn't going to toss out a gift from his sister. Especially when wearing it around her made her laugh.
"Are, are you still okay with our trip today?"
She had to smirk at that, moons bet his sister would implode if she knew about his boy butt grinding habits.
At his question she blinked, wait...he wasn't just going to take her back home? "I...uh yeah?" Pausing she ventured to look over at him, "You're....not irritated?"
"I'm very irritated." He said, misunderstanding her meaning. "How could I not be with how they treated you? I'm.. I'm sorry I didn't... I didn't want you to have to see that side of me."
Her confusion doubled as she thought back on the interaction, "The.....super sweet act? I....." She shook her head, "Sorry I must be missing something, is that something I wasn't suppose to see?"
Rubbing her aching chin she continued, "Couldn't really act like anything else in that situation anyway, getting angry and in their face doesn't work."
She was right, that's why he'd acted that way after all, but it still didn't sit well with him. But she seemed fine with it, so he tried to relax and accept it. Even if his mind was winding through so many reasons he was wrong and she secretly hated him but was too scared to say so.
"Do you mind if we eat after we get to the campgrounds? I don't think I can stand to be here any more right now."
"This parking lot doesn't really do much for my stomach either." She agreed, glad that he suggested they move on.
"Those prickly bushes just make me want to barf." She said with a deadpan look as she nodded towards the building.
"Picky about your shrubbery?" He laughed at her flat look, feeling better now that she was joking around. At least he pretty sure she was joking around. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before starting up the truck and getting back on the road. She didn't want to cancel the day or get out of his truck, he had to take that win instead of stressing out about possible losses the future could bring.
"I mean who isn't? You're in denial if you don't have an opinion on them." She leaned back in the seat, slowly relaxing again once they were on the road.
"Even a nerd like Adan has his opinions." Moons this conversation was so dumb, but it was helping her ease up around him and best of all not to think of what had just happened.
"Bet he likes them with flowers he can make dyes out of." Forrez continued the random conversation going since she was doing it too. He didn't really know enough about Adan to make a good joke. Well maybe.. "Or ones with thorns."
She gave a snort, "Bet he would, so he could get 'stuck' and ask for help." He was pathetic looking enough that anyone would buy into his ploy.
"He is pretty sad as is, especially if he's trying to put on or take off turtlenecks."
"Oh, here I was thinking it was because he likes the pain." He smirked and shot her a conspiratorial glance, raising his eyebrow.
"I don't think bushes could give him the kind of pain he's going for." She glanced back at him, "It isn't the kind of prick he's going for."
He couldn't help but give a chuckle at that one.
"That so? You sure he's not into both?"
She opened her mouth about to answer then tilted her head as she thought on it then sighed in exhasperation. "I really wouldn't put it past him honestly. Horticulture being a new thing he's into."
Forrez laughed again, "He's special for sure." Somehing about Adan made him simltaniusly like him and want to punch him in the face. He was endaring and annoing, and his hair...
He stole a glance at her hair, fantasizing about getting to touch it. He felt his face get a bit hot and forced himself to look where he was going.
"Thats putting it mildly." Surely there had to be something wrong in his attic to be still attempting to be friends with her. Must be something wrong with her too that she wasn't trying harder to get Adan out of her life and allowing him introduce her to people she was getting attatched to.
She glanced back at him when she thought he wasn't looking then quickly back out the window, feeling embarressed.
"I'm sure he's shown off how much of a big nerd he is already to you."
Forrez chuckled and nodded slightly. "I have a soft spot for people who know what they're talking about." He admitted, thought he wasn't sure why.
"Do you want me to pull over somewhere? I think there's a park nearby with picnic tables." The mongoose offered. He really didn't want anyone eating in his truck, but if its what made Gaiea more comfortable, he'd gladly break his own rule to accommodate her.
She thought of teasing him about being careful of Adan not taking advantage of him, but she refrained since that was highly unlikely considering it was Adan. He got sucked into helping out other people so much that the government would be envious over the favors he accrued.
"Yeah that'd be fine as long as it isn't crowded." She had little reservations if they were out at a park, it wasn't as dense as a restruaunt and easy to run away if a spirit decided to show up. She was glad he suggested they stop to eat, the smell of the food was waking up her stomach and it ached to try out what he bought.
Forrez hoped it wasn't crowded. The warmer weather defiantly brought the grendha's out of the wheat field, as it where. Well, one way to find out, he supposed.
Forrez turned off onto a side road and it wasn't long before he was pulling up on the park. The area's near the fire bits and grills where pretty crowded, but anything near the water was empty. No one really wanted to get cold from the wind coming off the lake. He hoped this would be good enough for her to relax a bit, though he wasn't going to hold his breath.
As they passed the pits she didn't feel very hopeful about the crowded situation until they got to the lake where she perked up. Oh yes this was much better, plus with the lake there was a less likely chance of something appearing behind them. Hopefully.
Soon as he parked the truck she didn't hesitate in hopping out and looked around.
"This the same place as the tent demonstration?" She asked, turning back to the truck to try helping with getting the food out.
Forrez took his time starting to gather the food while she jumped out to look around. "If you could get the drinks..?" He asked, seeing her turn back to help.
"No this isn't the place, though they do have a camping area I think." He pondered as if he wasn't sure. It was a bit of a misdirect though, as he'd spent over a week researching parks in the area. He wanted to try and see if she'd go camping with him eventually and wanted to see what choices where available near by. It wasn't the main reason for all this, but it was a nice side perk option for sure.
"You go out camping at all?" She asked, curious, as she got the drinks and headed to the table with them.
Getting to the table she looked out over the lake, feeling the tenseness in her body slowly ease and melt away. It was nice being out here without worrying about having to be on the move the whole time. The silence was a little unsettling at first, being used to hearing city noises at all hours.
Looking down she felt Blau's little hand poking her in her side in question which she responded with a light press on the top of his head. While it was possibly safe for him to be out she didn't want to risk it with how many other campers were here in the vicinity.
"Yeah sometimes." Forrez gave her a slight grin. "When I need to get away from my parents, and simi-camping out at my new place while getting it ready. My papa used to make us camp out in the fields in the Malyrnchael." He gave a sort of conflicted seeming smile, thinking about camping with his sister as children was defiantly an experience.
Forrez got to the table and set out all the food in a typical 'Groo spread, meaning for them to share everything by taking what they want and putting it on their personal plates.
She waited until the food was all set out before sitting at the table, choosing the seat that put her back to the lake. She would've liked to have the scenery as she ate, but she felt safer keeping an eye out towards any other campers that might appear.
"Lucky, my foster parents wouldn't even let us camp out in the back yard. I think they thought we'd bring in bugs in our hair." It was mostly her foster father that was against it, she was sure if it wasn't for him they would've been allowed.
Forrez listened to her, curious about her childhood but not currently willing to pry. "Hopefully the tent will keep the bugs out." He chuckled to himself and handed her a plate.
"I can handle bugs fine." Taking the plate from him she looked at the spread before reaching for a biscuit then a sausage. "Now I think on it I'm sure he didn't want to give me the opportunity to bring more of them inside as pets." She used to always have a few jars she'd try to hide under her bed, which would always get found when her Foster Mom had a cleaning day.
"My sister used to collect bugs too." Forrez commented, getting a soft look on his face. His little sister was a pain in the ass at all times, but he loved her just the same. Thinking back on their time together as children made him some what sappy feeling, despite the trouble she'd get them into.
"Did you have any favorate types? He asked, taking a plate for himself and started getting a bit of everything. "Oh try one of these, they're the star of the show."
Looking at the dish she went for putting that one on her plate next, putting just enough to sample figuring if she wanted more she could get more of it later.
"I liked anything with alot of legs and pinchers to them. The Hissing Blithe and Green Rythl were my favorites....and the most fun to make Adan freak out." She gave a little giggle remembering the last time she showed the Green Rythl to him as he squealed and fell over a trashcan in fright. It was it's long body with tiny little legs and million eyeballs on it sides that really creeped him out. They got really big around her Foster family's house for some reason and you had to hold them with two hands. Because of their size she was never able to fit one in a jar so she had to leave them outside unfortunately.
Forrez's face twisted into a sadistic smirk at the thought of scaring Adan with bugs. "Oh what I wouldn't give to have heard that." He laughed. "Heights and bugs, what else is he a chicken about?" Adan was a safe topic they both knew about, even if him knowing her so long did make Forrez a bit jealous.
She couldn't help, but smile in reply when he asked. Messing with Adan was always a fun pastime for her, especially when she felt he was being particularly annoying. Also it was easier to talk about Adan than it was about herself.
Sitting back after she got her food she waved the plastic fork around as she said, "I'm not sure if he's still scared of it, but there was his Nonna's garden (gnomes) she had littered all in the backyard. Like I'm not just talking four or five, she had about thirty of those ugly things. I snuck one into his bed once when he was napping."
Forrez snorted, choking on his laughter. "Moons I'd be scared too, those things are creepy. I got in trouble for breaking the one my mama had. Or I would have if it hadn't bothered my papa so much. He gave me a 'talking to' about being careful in the garden." He recounted the ordeal, remembering it well. His parent thought he'd accidently hit it while playing, not knowing he'd gone out of his way to utterly demolish the thing.
"Maybe we should sneak him one and see if he still flinches." He added between bites. "Set one outside your... area, and see how long it takes him to get past it."
She flashed him a big grin at that, "We'd have a great view from on the roof to see if he does his little frightened dance." If Forrez didn't insist on it, she was going to have to try that now, for you know....science purposes. Can't let a good theory go untested right?
Snickering she started in on her food, taking little nibbles of the new foods to see how she liked them. The dish he insisted on she had to close her eyes for a moment to process the flavors. Oh Moons, that was good, so good she decided to go ahead and get a bigger portion of it.
"I kind of want to get some on the way back tonight." He snickered to himself, wondering is she was open to the idea for real or was just hypothetically considering it. Hopefully she didn't think he was strange for wanting to do it for real. "Hide some around the 'club' to keep his blood pumping."
He gave a genuine smile as he saw her enjoying the food so much. There was very little Forrez loved more than getting reactions from others. Especially those he was invested in. Being the reason they felt things, for better or for worse.
"I know the perfect place to liberate some if you want a suggestion." Well if he was going to offer to actually help with the plan she certainly wasn't going to say no to it. She was 80% sold on the idea of doing it herself if he wasn't planning on it. It'd been a long time that she last had a chance to playfully mess around with Adan.
Looking up she caught his smile and felt her face get hot.
"I think the only question now is, will this be our little secret project, or is Heike going to join us?" He would have liked it to be just them, but she might feel more comfortable is he invited others. So he left that up to her.
Heike was good at liberating things, and finding just the right place to put some thing that it won't be expected. And the more he got busy with work the less time and ability they had to cause trouble together. He needed to get his scheduling more in order to make time for causing a ruckus the way they used to. Getting the club together and working his day job and still helping on the farm.. He was lucky he had time to piss to e honest.
She took pause to think on it then asked back, "I dunno is he a snitch? Isn't going to be fun if he tips Adan off to what we're doing in advance." All she knew of Hieke was that he was very nosey and climbed like a (spider monkey).
Forrez considered her question. It was a hard one to answer with Heike. He could keep secrets better than most, but he also loved saying things he shouldn't. It was just as likely he'd drop sneaky hints no one would get as he was to just pull a (gnome) out of his bag and shove it right in Adan's face.
"In this case... I have no idea." He admitted. "I don't really know much about how he and Adan get along or what they do together." He tried not to let his jealousy sound in his voice, but it was a futile effort.
"I'd be more surprised if Adan didn't get along with him on some level." She rolled her eyes as she stuffed a biscuit in her mouth, finding them highly addictive. It was her second one so far and she was already thinking of getting another.
"If you want to risk it I don't mind if he comes." She shrugged.
Forrez wasn't sure he wanted it left up to him. He knew Heike goofing off around Adan or Gaiea would make his two very different kinds of jealous.
"There's a none zero chance he'll invite himself some how by surprise anyway, we can leave it up to fate to decide."
Forrez leaned back a bit and looked up at the sky, enjoying the nice weather a bit. Something about eating in a park on a nice day had a peaceful air to it. It had been a while since he'd felt the freedom of just going out and enjoying the weather.
"I can work with that." She shrugged, liking that neither of them had to choose. While he enjoyed the weather, she was finding her zen in the food. It didn't seem like he was in a hurry so she let herself take time savoring the flavors. Other than it tasting really good, it had that soul fulfilling effect, the kind that gave you that cozy feeling inside. It reminded her of when she came across a cabin off the main road where two elderly men lived. They had invited her to sit and have breakfast on the front porch, stuffing her silly with biscuits and honey berry jam.
Suddenly she felt a weight in her lap with the sound of tinkling metal. Her eyes snapped open to see a furry little face panting close to hers.
"Oh uh...where you-eehhhhuugh." The little mini Mun licked her right into her open mouth. Before she could figure out what to do about the critter, it turned on it's little paws towards the table, grabbed a biscuit, then bounced away towards the forest.
Forrez reached for the critter but by the time he reacted it was gone. "Rotten little mutt." He laughed, not actually upset about the animal snatching a bit of bread.
"I think that little bugger stole my bite too." She used her sleeve to wipe at her mouth as she looked over to see a second Mini-Mun trot over. It was slower and rounder than the other one, panting hard. With it's little paws it made a half hearted attempt to get up into her lap, then gave up as it flopped itself onto her feet.
Looking amused she reached down to pet the critter, it's eyes closing happily as it got a scritch.
Forrez looked around for who they might belong to, they didn't look like strays. Not with the collars and the well-kempt-ness. Mostly to avoid thinking about how many nasty things that mun might ahve licked before getting its nasty little snoot in Gaiea's mouth.
"Wonder where they came from."
She shrugged after picking up the Rolly polly Mini Mun, setting him in her lap as she continued rubbing between his ears. Gaiea adored Mini-Muns, and they always seemed to like her back. There were times she wished she could have one, but with how she lived it wouldn't be fair to put them into that situation.
"Bliiiiinkkyyy! Scoooops!" A voice from the woods called out, sounding winded and worried. "Bring your furry butts back here! Come ooonnnn! BLINKY, SCOOPS!"
"Yeah I can see why you ran away if that's your name." She snorted to the critter who gave a big yawn. Behind her she heard splashing sounds, the biscuit theif had gone into the Lake with his loot and was having a grand time getting himself and the food wet.
Forrez chuckled at her quip and leaned over to mess with the helpless mun's little paws as it got belly rubs. He didn't want to interact with anyone talking about their muns, but he didn't want to spoil Gaiea's enjoyment.
The little mun was blissfully soaking in the attention, his little eyes drooping then popping back open when he caught himself drifting.
Chuckling at the cuteness she looked up to see if the owner was around. They were still yelling for their pets but they didn't sound like they were getting any closer or farther away. Gaiea sighed, she also wasn't thrilled at the idea of having to talk to a stranger or getting up to find them. Couldn't she just pet a cute Mun without paying the social tax?
"I'm glad I don't have to worry about giving him a bath." She commented as the biscuit thief paddled on over to them, panting in mischievous glee. The soft brown of his coat was now decorated with dark brown mud with flecks of moss and algae.
Sighing again she said, "I guessss we better tell their owner they're over here." It was odd though, the voice was still sounding like it was coming from the same place.
"Meh, they can find them on their own, I'm off the clock. I'll be a good functioning member of society when I'm at work." Forrez talked a big talk, but it was likey he'd give it up in a bit and go find them just to get it over with.