Alcohol, the alternative to feeling like myself

[paidinbeer]

The world was busy, and so fast. Always moving faster then Orc could move, or think. It seemed like life was passing in the slow solid blinks of his beady little eyes.

Ever since Howard's death he didn't feel as compelled to be useful. To take care of himself. What was the point really? They were all going to die sooner or later. And it's not like he deserved that second chance Howard was always going on about.

Howard...how long had it been? Between the drinking and Stacy's own peculiar grasp of time he had lost track.

But it didn't matter. All that mattered was forgetting. Forgetting where he was, forgetting what he was. Forgetting about Howard, Betty, home.

And so he kept drinking. And he kept moving. To stay in one place for too long risked trouble. People finding him, feeling bad for him. They were just being nice. But he didn't deserve nice. Not after what he'd done.

The city was perfect for this because there was so much of it. He didn't move fast, and he got tired easily. But he had plucked the beertree clean and drug a cooler with him. One of Howard's last gifts. Maybe Howard had more beer in the warehouse...he would have to stop there and see.

Comments

Around the city

[paidinbeer]

((Orc will be traveling, want him to wander by a particular place simply name it in the header and post away!))

Howard's Warehouse

[paidinbeer]

It took Orc some time to find the warehouse again, and by then the buzz was wearing off and he was starting to feel again. It always started with dryness in his mouth.

Then a dull throbbing pain in his head.

Then the aching in his chest, and his stomach twisting about and feeling toxic. He felt sweat somewhere between the cracks of his stone covered skin and wished for an ice cold one.

In his haste to enter the warehouse of loot Howard had left behind he couldn't remember where the key was, so he ripped the lock off and let himself in.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the labyrinth of useful and purportedly useful items that Howard had horded for so long. Now it would all go to waste or be found by the rest of the crew.

But Orc wouldn't be the one to tell them. Maybe that thief that had been stealing things before Howard died would take it all.

As long as they left Orc the alcohol.

The River

[paidinbeer]

Orc had seen the river more then a few times, had trudged through it too. Some areas were deeper then others, and some parts moved faster then others.

But in the end it always just made him thirsty or made him want to use the bathroom.

He'd been crossing it this time, with no real destination in mind when he'd slipped and fallen. He lay half submerged as the water rushed around him and once he was sure his cooler wasn't floating away...decided he was too tired to keep moving and remained there. Like so many other boulders that split the stream.

Except this boulder wore pants and looked miserable.

Ripping the top off another bottle he poured the mixture into his gaping maw and felt the familiar cool thickness rushing over his tongue. This particular beer was a red ale, all he knew other then that was he liked it. Maybe some day he'd actually look into what the name of the beer meant.

Re: The River

[splendid_roman]

Ian did a double take when he realised that there was a big boulder in the river wearing clothes and drinking beer. He stopped on the edge of the bank and looked at Orc. "Going for a swim?"

Re: The River

[paidinbeer]

Orc turned his head to follow the sound and let his eyes focus on Ian. "Too shallow." He mumbled turning back to stare into the sky. The water seeped into the cracks of his stone skin and chilled him deeper then anything to this point. More then that it retained the chill.

A cold numb was different from a beer numb. Not as comforting.

Re: The River

[splendid_roman]

He wondered just how much Orc had had to drink or whether he was happy sitting in the river like that. Ian wasn't about to leave him therefore. "Would you like a hand out?" He held out his hand for Orc to take, if he wanted.

Re: The River

[paidinbeer]

Orc didn't move at first. Then his hand groped around and felt the half empty bottle caught between two rocks bobbing in the river.

Lifting it up he poured the contents into his mouth, a mix of ale and river water that had splashed into the neck of the bottle swallowing it hard making his eyes water.

A burp that reverberated through the air strong enough it felt like it should have it's own cloud attached and then he lay his head back once more. Ears hidden by stones just above the surface of the water.

Re: The River

[splendid_roman]

It was obvious that Orc wasn't going to come out on his own and Ian couldn't just leave him there. Even though the water wasn't very deep, it was enough that Orc could drown in it, especially when he was drunk.

So Ian took off his shoes and socks and rolled up his trousers. He hoped there was nothing in the river that was going to bite him. The water was freezing, he found, when he stepped into it and he gasped as his feet went numb.

"You can't possibly be comfortable in here." The trouble was that even though Ian was now in the river with Orc, he wasn't strong enough to pull him out.

Re: The River

[volatile_vespa]

Hank had been really spontaneous with his love for her recently, saying sweet things awkwardly and taking her out on dates, it was a vast improvement from his nerdy scientist self.

Janet was eager to return the favour when Hank needed a sample of the river water. It was the least she could do for her boyfriend.

She reached the river and was about to collect the sample when she spotted what appeared to be a rock that wore pants and was drinking. "Ben?" Wasp said curiously as she shrunk down to fly over to inspect.

((OOC: Does Orc look like The Thing from The Fantastic Four?))

Re: The River

[paidinbeer]

((OOC: As I understand it yes. Similar in size and shape. The only difference is his stones are grey and he sounds younger, after all he's only 15))

Unfocused eyes blinked a few times as a bug came into view. He had never seen bugs this far away from Hydroponics. And even then they weren't that big.

He tried weakly to wave it away with a dripping stone hand with water running through the cracks, but he knew he was too slow and clumsy to really swat at something fast and small. Even waving his hand a bit seemed exhausting and he let it fall back into the water with a splash.

Re: The River

[volatile_vespa]

Up close, she noticed that while the rock person looked like The Thing, it wasn't him since the colour was vastly different. Still, she did notice that he appeared disoriented and she flew closer with concern showing on her face.

"Are you alright? Do you need help?"

Re: The River

[paidinbeer]

He waved a massive paw dismissing the strange talking bug. "Yeah...probably." But he couldn't imagine there would be any help coming for him. What help could there be? He was a murderer, a monster, there was a very special spot waiting for him in hell right next to Howards.

Thinking about it made the cold water feel better.

Re: The River

[volatile_vespa]

He sounded quite young and that made Janet pause in her tracks. Poor guy, no wonder he was submerging himself in the river.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm Janet. What's your name?" She hovered just above his chest, being as friendly as possible.

The Public Bathroom

[paidinbeer]

Sometimes...enough was enough.

Even Orc's mutated body could only stand so much abuse and when that time came he usually would simply let loose wherever was convenient. He didn't have the energy to care or be embarrassed by it.

When this bought of sickness hit it just so happened he was passing the public bathrooms, so he forced his way into a stall that was too small for someone of his size, his shoulders forcing the walls to bend and dent, and upended the contents of his stomach in one of the toilets.

Hardly a moment to reflect upon, and it left him even more exhausted then when he started. He hated knowing that if he washed the taste out of his mouth too soon with more beer it would just come right back out. So he slumped on the floor staring at the dirty scribbled on walls and tried not to think. Tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his head or the way the taste in his mouth got worse the longer he say there.

At least it was dark and cool in here. The tile floor radiated a chill through his stones that was a relief. It reminded him of the bathrooms at school where he had tormented more then a few geeks, nerds, and other assorted weaklings for money or just for fun.

Ironic that now he was the one feeling shame and humiliation. Not that he could appreciate the irony at the moment.

Re: The Public Bathroom

[kaya_waterwave]

Kaya hadn't stopped running. It would only be a matter of time until they caught up with her. and when that happened, she'd take her punishment gracefully. She hadn't stopped running, however, because she at least wanted to take care of a few things before they took her. She'd lent a hand during Clef's salvaging operation and healed a few people before she kept moving. and even now she had to keep moving, and right now she was tired.

She ducked into the bathroom just in time to see Orc on the floor, seemingly exhausted. She walked over, looking bruised, hair a bit awry and cut up, but otherwise all right.

"Orc? Are you all right?"

Re: The Public Bathroom

[paidinbeer]

Orc blinked at her with bleary eyes. Who was this person? How did they know his name? She was familiar but in his stupor he couldn't remember her name.

Slowly a memory came of the Med bay. He had seen her there while visiting Howard.

"M'fine." He lied and closed his eyes, for all his size he had very little energy. Very little lasting power.

Re: The Public Bathroom

[kaya_waterwave]

Right now would have been a moment for Kaya to take off. Granted, she was sure that Orc's loyalties were not with the Daligig, but even she knew that she needed to make herself scarce. This didn't stop her from moving closer to Orc though.

"You don't look ok," she said, leaning forward to inspect him. She already had an idea of what he had been doing the last few days. "Hung over?"

Oh, she'd been there before.

Re: The Public Bathroom

[paidinbeer]

A rancid burp was her answer and he groaned with the fresh wave of sickness that came with it. How much longer would he have to wait before he could wash all of this out of his mind with the bottles and cans in his cooler? The wait was almost as bad as the hangover.

"Sucks."

Re: The Public Bathroom

[kaya_waterwave]

She really didn't like enabling this kind of thing, but she remembered how Howard had reacted when she talked about trying to make Orc better. If there was one thing she at least wanted to do since Howard was no longer with them.

So she was already hovering over him, water in hand.

"If you want, I can at least help you feel a little better. Will you let me?"

Religion Row

[paidinbeer]

Orc had been moving in slow, steady burst of action for a long while before he realized he didn't know where he was. Stopping to open another beer he stopped with the bottle halfway to his lips when he saw the shadow of a cross on the ground.

Slowly his eyes followed the shadow to it's owner, a large church, the kind he had only seen in movies. There was a sudden wave of guilt that churned his stomach and he felt like throwing up again.

He hadn't been to church since the FAYZ started, and he had only prayed in the depths of absolute alcohol fueled depression. It had never been proper either but always a cry for a god he no longer thought would welcome him. A god who might not even exist.

The bottle slipped form his hand and shattered, precious mind numbing fluid spreading over his foot but he barely noticed as he was caught up in a guilt soaked memory of the first time his sunday school teacher had caught him smoking in the bathroom with some other delinquents. She had lectured him and made sure he understood how offensive it was to god and how horrible a boy he was to be so rude in the house of the lord.

For a moment he considered going in, saying a prayer for Howard's soul which he was sure was probably waiting for him in hell. But that was probably rude as well.

Perdido Mineshaft

[paidinbeer]

An uneasy sense of familiarity began to set in as Orc's travels continued. Through blurry eyes he tried to figure out if he was traveling in circles, if maybe he'd been this way before. The way the terrain was set seemed hauntingly similar. He just couldn't place it.

It wasn't until he saw the cliffs that it came crashing down. Like a brick wall had just been dropped on his back. It hit him so hard he actually sat down in the dirt for a minute like a child who had fallen.

Perdido Beach...Stacy had saved a small chunk of it.

It took him some time to process this news. How much of it was here? It took a bottle of something similar to Vodka before he had the nerve to rise to his feet again and begin exploring leaving the large empty bottle behind. His trail of cans and bottles was probably easy to follow through the city but he hadn't considered that anyone would want to.

There wasn't much of Perdido as far as he could tell...but what he did find made his blood run cold and snapped him stone cold sober despite the burning in his stomach.

Like the maw of an angry hungry beast the Mineshaft seemed to loom even for someone as large as Orc. His knees felt weak and he knew here...here was something dangerous. Something wrong. Even in his haze and longing to die Orc had heard the stories of the Mineshaft and what evil lurked inside.

Unable to think of what to do next he sat down...more like fell with a thunderous thud, and stared into the darkness.

Why hadn't Howard told him this was here?

What should he do about it?

Should he do anything?

Another bottle was opened and the vodkalike drink from before made a powerful return into his pickled brain while he tried to think.

Re: Perdido Mineshaft

[keep_surviving]

“What the hell are you doing?”

A slender girl came marching towards Orc, curtain of black hair flowing behind her.

She stopped a few paces away from him, eyes flickering to the mine behind him, apprehension flashing across her face for a moment before she placed her hands on her hips, frowning at him.

“Are you trying to get killed?” Diana paused and shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, stupid question, but are you trying to unleash hell and get the rest of us killed too?”

Re: Perdido Mineshaft

[paidinbeer]

Orc gave a little start when she first called out and turned to face her, probably faster then he'd moved at any point since he'd gotten on Stacy. Then he stared in confusion.

"What?" Came his dumbfounded reply. He hadn't seen Diana since she told him about Howard so for her to appear just after finding the remains of Perdido was eerie.

Re: Perdido Mineshaft

[keep_surviving]

Rolling her eyes she moved closer. The look that crossed her feature clearly showed she did not want to be any closer to the mine but she forced herself to not look at the offending object, childishly pretending it wasn't a close as she knew it was.

"I would have thought even you knew to keep away from this place."

A crow suddenly alighted on Orcs stone shoulder, cawing at him in a fashion that resembled chastising.

Re: Perdido Mineshaft

[paidinbeer]

Orc actually winced at the crowing and tilted his head slightly as if that would help. "I didn't know it was here...I just...found it." He commented suddenly reminded of being caught stealing a piece of cake at his cousins wedding. His mother had used the same tone on him then and it was an unpleasant echo of the same kind of guilt.