forum “You are terrifying, and strange, and beautiful... something not everybody knows how to love.”// No more people please // OcxOc

Started July 17, 2021 by @michael_rainer_eats_uranium group

tune

Pogo nodded solemnly.

"I get that. You can only bottle things up so much before it all forces itself out."

He sat upright, pulling up his legs to sit in a comfortable cross-legged position.

"Sometimes, when I get anxious like that, it helps to take deep breaths and start naming random things around me that I see."

He leaned forward, propping an elbow on a leg and resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

"A lot of the things I think about when I'm worried turn out to be, well… super exaggerated. Some of it not even true. And it helps to remember that."

Ender tried to keep his thoughts out, to no avail.

HE HATES YOU HE HATES YOU HE HATES YOU HE HATES YOU HE HATES YOU

"……my head….won't…..shut up…."

make him leave before he leaves you. no one could ever see any good in you, not even your parents. you know how you got here. they left, just like everyone else will in the end.

He started crying again. his tears were clear. he tried to wipe them away, but more kept coming.
"……..it….it never stops…..they k-keep leaving……"
his voice sounded broken, almost staticky.

Pogo's gaze drifted away.

Oh, don't do it, drawled Kapnos. Please. I'd beg you to take that salt bath if you're doing what you think you are.

It wasn't often he did this; he wasn't much one for physical contact. But once in a while never hurt anyone.

He opened his arms and pulled Ender close in a gentle embrace.

Ender froze. he had never been hugged before. he didn't know how to reciprocate it, but he relaxed in his arms. this was nice. his mind went quiet.

maybe he does think i'm okay.

"Maybe things aren't okay right now," murmured Pogo, tightening his embrace, "but if I've learned anything, it's that the bad things don't last forever. Sometimes you've just gotta wait it out."

Ender broke down in tears, burying himself in his shoulder despite him being taller.

"………t-thank you……."

why does this feel so…nice?

He had never felt the warmth of a human before. Mothman was soft, but was always cold. this was different. warm, and soft, and… good.

Oh, Gods, he's getting his eyeball juice all over us, Kapnos complained. Why are you just sitting there? It's getting all over the shirt. Don't you like that shirt?

Since when did you care about my shirt? snickered Pogo.

Since two seconds ago, when there was no eyeball juice on it.

After a few minutes, Pogo pulled away, taking a gander at his wounded friend.

"Are you gonna let me take care of those, now? I still haven't bandaged them."

He nodded, calming down a little. He sat still.

Pogo pulled the first aid kit onto his lap and took hold of one of Ender's arms, carefully wrapping the bandage around any wound he thought was at risk for reopening.

"Had to take some medical classes," he mused, partly to himself, partly to Ender. Sometimes he just talked for the sake of saying words. "Dunno if you know, but my day job's being a performer. All of us know basic first aid and CPR, just in case someone gets hurt."

He chuckled to himself. "Had CPR done on me, once. I was unconscious the whole time, but it really is weird to think just a couple chest compressions could make the difference between life and death."

"….yeah…..humans are weird….."
Ender snickered. "i saw that like i wasn't one once…."
He kept ahold of the compass.

Pogo's brow furrowed.

"You were human before? I thought you said it's always been like this for you?"

"….well….i was really young…..just a baby, really…..i dunno how i got here, my parents just…..dumped me out here, i guess….." he frowned.

After he finished bandaging Ender's wounds, he packed up the bandages and set the first aid kid aside.

"They didn't take you to an adoption center? No friend or relative? They just… left you in a radioactive forest?"

He pursed his lips.

"I guess it's a good thing you got away from those kinds of people."

Ender shrugged. "i never really knew 'em… Mothman found me near the edge of the woods and raised me…..i only ever heard about this from him."

Pogo nodded, more in acknowledgement than understanding. Certainly a strange upbringing.

So the guy knows a cryptid, mused Kapnos. Mothman's like, the main man. He's what people think of when they think cryptid. But this guy… I don't get those vibes. Maybe the forest did something to him.

"Does Mothman ever check up on you?" asked Pogo. "You mentioned a few, uh, 'neighbors' of yours, and come to think of it, I haven't seen 'em around."

He nodded. "yeah, he visits about twice every moon cycle. i used to live with him until a few years ago, when he showed me this place and i moved out." He lowered his head. "the Lost are…..a lot less friendly. they usually only come during the full moon, since it's brighter. the light carries really well in here. the sun seems to hurt them or something….i've only seen a couple up close, and they always look different. like…..humans, but with extra…..lumps, and more limbs, and less face…." he shuddered. "i suppose they didn't age well…" Ender got up and felt around for the small fridge in the bunker, chuckling a little. He pulled out a slightly dented can of what looked like a locally brewed beer.

Pogo raised an eyebrow. Alcohol? This far out in the middle of nowhere? Impressive.

"Didn't know you drank," he commented, his head tilting slightly to the side as he tried to get a glimpse of the beer's label. "I, uh, know a thing or two about alcohol. Mixology put me through college. If you want — and if you've got the stuff to work with — I can spice it up for you."

"you can look in the kitchen….i mostly have canned stuff and spices…." he turned towards Pogo. "….how many of these does it usually take for someone to get drunk? i don't have these often, only on special occasions….but i usually have to stop about halfway through…."

"Oh! Depends," replied Pogo. He got up from the couch and made his way to the kitchen, where he began rummaging through Ender's cabinets for anything that could add a little more to a beer. "Everyone's got different levels of tolerance. It usually takes a drink or three to get me tipsy; I mix, but I don't drink often myself. I also just can't hold my beer that well," he added with a snicker.

"You, uh, got any flavors you prefer? What's the taste of the one in your hand?"

"ummm…." He took a sip of it. "kind of lemony….i've only ever had lemon candy, but it tastes a tiny bit like that…..i like lemon….."
The single sip of beer had already made his head feel a little fuzzy. This man has no alcohol tolerance whatsoever.

Lemon… lemon…

Lemon is sour, acidic. You can either build on that or start with some sugar to ease the taste and go from there, Kapnos offered.

Pogo hummed thoughtfully to himself, forgetting he was now talking out loud as opposed to thinking. "How about mint?"

Mint? Are you sure?

"Mint, and… vanilla. Make it creamy, make it a little sweet, then let the taste end on a lemony sourness."

…Maybe, Kapnos conceded. This sound crazy, but crazy makes a good drink.

Pogo went to work. He took another beer from the fridge and poured its contents into a cup. Then, he threw in some mint leaves, a bit of vanilla extract, and some heavy cream. He put a covering on the cup, secured it with some rubber bands, then shook it all together. He poured the new substance into another cup he retrieved from the cabinet.

Definitely on the cheaper side of drinks, but it's not like he could make something exquisite out in the middle of nowhere. He took the cup, and took a sip.

Oh, damn, Kapnos piped up. That's not half bad.

Grinning, Pogo held out the cup for Ender to try.

"Lemon, mint, and vanilla, with a beer base and added cream for texture. It's not much, but it's flavorful."

His face lit up in surprise as he took a sip. "woah! i didn't know people could do that!" Ender took a couple more drinks of it.

Pogo's smile became more bashful, and he averted his gaze.

"Takes practice, is all," he replied dismissively. "Knowing what tastes good with what, and all that."

Oh, what the heck. He hadn't planned on it, but a drink or two wouldn't hurt. He threw together a drink for himself.

"Here's to being alive," he said in a toast, raising his glass and taking a swig of it. A loud crack of lightning and the accompanying rolling thunder, however, startled him in the middle of his drink, causing him to sputter. Looks like the rain had become a storm outside.

He coughed, the coughing slowly devolving into laughter.

"Oh, jeez," he gasped, still trying to catch his breath. "Guess I'm spending at least a day here. Storms are dangerous."

Ender nodded. "especially here…" He took another sip. his anxiety had quieted down, but he was already starting to get tipsy.

Pogo sat back down on the couch, drink in hand, listening to the sound of the rain pattering on the roof of the bunker.

"Y'know, this place ain't half bad. Weird as hell neighbors, but it's waaaaaaay quieter than the city," he mused, gulping down a good portion of his drink. "Dunno what friggin' vultures are doing in a forest, unless they're usually in forests and kid me was lied to about them only living in deserts."

Al, watch how much you're gonna drink, Kapnos urged sternly. Your thoughts are already getting scrambled, and you've only got one drink down.

It didn't seem like Pogo heard them, or cared. Kapnos sighed. Why'd you pick this up as a hobby when you can barely hold your own?

He chuckled. "i've got no idea if they're supposed to be in forests, but then again, neither are glowing vines and rocks that make you hallucinate. ive got alllll kinds of stories from this place ive never been able to tell….but depending on how long you end up staying, they'd probably come in handy."
His words were starting to slur together a little bit.

Pogo was halfway through his second drink before he even realized it.

"An'… I dunno how long tha's gonna be," Pogo mumbled, his own words beginning to blend.

"Bein' drunk's prolly easier than bein' sober in a place like this. Less need to, uh… make sense'a stuff."

He cackled quietly to himself. "I mean… ain't complaining. You're kinda cute. Wouldn't mind stayin' in a place like this."

Ender blushed. "reaaally?" He took another swig of his drink. his face was already flushed from drinking, but it found a way to get redder. "i thinkk you're…..pretty cutee tooo…."

Pogo uneasily made his way back to the couch with his third drink.

Alessandro. You shouldn't have another bottle.

"Me?" he snickered. "Cute? I'm a damn city boy, nothing cute about… pollution. Overpriced apartments."

His eyebrows lifted. "Aw, shit. I 'ave an apartment I live in. I hope my plants're okay…"

Alessandro.

He leaned on one of the couch arms, chugging a bit of his bottle. "I 'unno. Saw some pretty women, liked 'em, but… haven't really thought 'bout dudes, y'know? A guy's never come up t'me and said 'hey, you're cute'…"

He hiccuped, clutching his chest with a hand, a grin plastered on his face.

"I mean… you're cute. Found you cute when we firs' met, lookin' back on it. Then ya turned into, like, Satan, an' then I forgot. Blood ain't cute."

His expression changed, and his visage relayed someone confused and unsure.

"But I 'unno if that's it. If you're jus' cute and nothing else. Haven't really… thought about it."

Ender downed the rest of his drink. His voice sounded staticky and a little wobbly, similar to the sound of playing back a tape recorder while shaking it.
"…..dunno howw….likingg people worksss……"

youu knnoww…….he doesnnt reeeeaaaallly likee youu, riighht?

"shhut ittt, stttupid fuckkin' headd…." he mumbled aloud.

he was incredibly drunk. he looked like he could pass out cold at any given moment. He stumbled to the fridge and grabbed another beer, opening it up and chugging it.
"….wanna knnow…..ssecrreeett?"