A Day

[Carmichael] It's a day, and Emily's still being weird, and Chuck's buried in computer parts when he's not on calls - with or without Riley - working on something. There have been talks - about forty-two (which is not the meaning of life, but the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything, as everyone should know), about goals and intent, about how things work and why, but for the past few days, there's been working on a new commissioned computer, and being rather distracted from it. There's also been a bit of binging on things he shouldn't eat - comfort food, really.

A candy bar here.
A non-diet pop there.

Nothing too extreme, but enough that his sugar tests come out abnormal a bit more often, and that he's giving himself his insulin a bit more often.

Now, though, it's video games and cuddling on the couch - it's Chuck's turn, so he leans over Riley's feet in his lap to beat the level of some Mario-ish game in record time. This is the geekboy's world.

"Everything alright, you?" It's asked as the level completion music plays and his score rockets up.

[Poole] Emily's not the only one who's been weird lately. Though the Orphan's behavior has shifted over the course of the past few weeks, Riley's has only been off for a couple of days. She's a little quieter, a little more thoughtful. Sometimes, she's a little paler. Except yesterday. But no one but her father knows what yesterday was like, because Riley took the day off from work and stayed holed up in her room all day. Her bedroom window is open, and her room is still airing out the smell.

Chuck doesn't know about that, though. They're at his place, Riley still in her pajamas (a black t-shirt ("I'm not slacking off. My code's compiling.) and a pair of dark grey jersey shorts) and sitting with her back against the arm of the couch, her feet resting in Chuck's lap while he takes his turn at the old 2D platformer. It makes the lanky female nostalgic for her childhood, and right now she needs that, as well as the soothing, laid back, easy going presence of her mentor.

That doesn't mean it's any easier to extract information from her. She simultaneously does and does not want to talk about the events of the other night. So she hasn't brought it up.

"Enh," she says, watching his score get closer to her own before surpassing it. So far, they've been more or less evenly matched. "Today's good."

[Carmichael] "I know you don't want to talk about it," he says, setting his controller aside so he can absently rub one of her feet as she plays her level; they're pretty evenly matched in a lot of things, these two Vdepts are. "But you're going to have to eventually. Festering doesn't do anyone any good - it's like running a buggy old OS instead of upgrading. It only gets buggier until it fries your system, y'know?"

There are drinks and snacks at hand - iced tea, unsweetened in Chuck's case, and cut up fruit and veggies with some cheese and crackers. It's a good lunch when it's nearly 70 degrees in May. And he is laid back, soothing, easy going - he goes out of his way to be, a lot of the time, and wasn't always. At least not so much so.

"So, what I'm saying is, I'm not going to push you right now. But I will if it seems like I need to, and I don't like doing that, so I'd rather make sure you know you can come to me with anything - and I mean anything - first, just in case you didn't. 's what I'm here for, you know? Both as mentor or whatever and friend. Whatever it is you're going through, it's not alone."

[Poole] They're evenly matched in a lot of things, which in most would foster rivalry, which could lead toward animosity. Outside of a little friendly ribbing now and then, though, these two make a pretty good team. They're both relatively laid back, relatively chill, and when one (always, always Riley thus far) isn't, the other (always, always Chuck thus far) is there to calm them down. They work well together, which had been the hope when they'd been paired up at work. Sometimes, they work in an unconscious sync. Like now, switching back and forth as their turn comes up. Chuck's hands start to move to Riley's feet, and without so much as turning her head, she crosses her feet at the ankles, offering up the one that didn't get attention her last turn.

His words make the corner of her mouth lift. A second later, she's pausing the game and turning to look at him.

"I know. Thanks." She hasn't forgotten the basement, and pressing against the taller VDept for comfort. It had been so much better than the reception she'd gotten from her former mentor just a few days later. "And I know I need to talk about it, just to decompress and be able to just, get over it and move on. But at the same time, I don't know, I just...I still can't get over how crazy and insane it is to be Awake, you know? When it comes to the mundane stuff, like meeting other mages, it's pretty cool. But when the crazy happens, it's still all weird."

[Carmichael] "Oh, hon. It's still all weird for me, too. I've told you a lot of stuff, but I guess I didn't tell you that the first time it actually came home - like, in meatspace as opposed to a dedicated IP - was only a couple years ago. I just deal with it the best I can, you know? I can't decide if I like it better this way or my old way. I've been mentored by and taught people I've never seen so much as a picture of. I've worked with people like that, too. This, hanging out with you and Em and rubbing elbows with Ashley and everyone? It's relatively new."

Even in grad school, when he'd been engaged, he hadn't Worked with anyone he knew face to face, and the same goes with mentoring or being taught. Chuck can count on one hand the Awakened he met in person before moving to Chicago. And now, here he is, massaging his apprentice's foot - quite well, it must be added - and playing video games with her, with plans to meet Ashley for drinks in the not too distant future and an Awakened girlfriend. It's enough to boggle the mind.

"And it is insane. It will always be insane. But you'll learn to deal with it, over time."

[Poole] Riley can't even imagine living in a world where she's not tripping over mages at every turn. And if she could, she wouldn't know if that kind of world would be better than this one. In spite of her temper, she's a people person. She would want to meet the mentor teaching her about the spheres from the other side of the world. Have drinks with her or him, chat about things non-tech related.

That part of the Awakened world isn't so bad. She likes hanging out with Emily and Ashley, and she actually doesn't mind running into new Awakened when she goes to the park or to get a coffee.

It's the botched sacrifices, the zombies, the demons that are starting to get to her. It's almost enough to keep her locked in her building for the rest of her life. Almost.

There's a brief pause after what Chuck says. Riley's mouth quirks and a shadow forms between her brows. Before she says anything, she opens her mouth and breathes in. Closes her mouth again. Frowns harder. Then she rests the controller in her lap so her hands are free to scrub at her face.

"Augh!" she groans. It's not going to do anyone any good (least of all her) to keep it in. Besides, an utter lack of communication is what drove the wedge between Riley and her first mentor. When she drops her hands, her face is pink where her hands rubbed, her eyes slightly watery from being rubbed. "I ran into Ashley and Nico, I told you about him, right? My new upstairs neighbor the Orphan? I ran into them and we were attacked by these demony things. Big leathery wings, crazy sharp claws, tails, the whole demon deal."

[Carmichael] As far as Chuck can tell, the botched sacrifices, the zombies and the demons go hand in hand with tripping over other mages at every turn; sure, he's had a few odd things like that happen on occasion, but never with such frequency and regularity as since he met Ashley and began making friends amongst the Awakened community here. Never so often as since he realized there was a mage community all in one place, as opposed to just grouped on a better IRC.

As far as he can tell, the two things are the same.

"Yeah, you told me about Nico," he says first, then listens to the rest; at some point the foot massage stills and he draws her into a hug, giving comfort again. He's good at and for that. "But you're all in one piece, yeah? Obviously you are, or we wouldn't be here right now. Where'd they come from, do you know? What did they want?"

It's a lot of questions, of course, but mostly to make her think - clearly, the most important part is that she's alright, and secondarily, that Ashley and Nico are too.

[Poole] He pulls her into a hug, and Riley doesn't resist. Chuck is warm and comfortable, and right now she needs that. So when he wraps his arms around her, she sighs and leans her head against his shoulder. Her clothing still clings to the faint odor of pot, but the rest of her smells clean. Her hair smells like Suave, her skin like Dove. Chuck smells like Chuck, and there's comfort in that, too.

Asking if she's still one piece actually gets a laugh from her, startled but not quite as manic as it would have sounded yesterday, not hysterical like it might have been Tuesday night. "Oh man. One of the demon things clawed my arm pretty bad." She pulls away enough to lift her left sleeve. The arm exposed is a little olive toned, a little muscular, all in one piece and as flawless as ever. "But there was this priest guy, Brother Noah Ward. He healed us up pretty well." There's nothing sexual, no sense of want or tension in the way Riley puts her head right back on Chuck's shoulder. Maybe if she thought of him as something other than her friend there would be. Hell, maybe if he wasn't dating her best friend, there would be. "Which in itself was pretty surreal. Noah said he was doing God's work, taking out a Nephandus. I got really sick when I saw the body."

[Carmichael] There's nothing sexual in it when Chuck holds her, no want - he's a pro at being the friend, the go-to guy. For a long time, he was asexual for all intents and purposes; he has his own issues and drama, of course, just like everyone else. Regardless, there's comfort given, and taken in the fact that she's well, and whole, and right here playing video games with him. As far as he's concerned, there's been enough loss for everyone, and it's time to start building again - pushing forward, onward, upward.

"I'm glad you're alright now, anyway. And there's a reason I look away anytime anyone's bleeding - don't feel too bad. It's gross." He doesn't really like sweat or any of that either, at least other than his own - it's gross and dirty and too physical, too real, too immediate. "A lot of things are. It's the biggest reason I'm not sure which way I like better - virtual or physical. I still want to hurl when I run into a lot of stuff; it's different than a line of code out of place."

[Poole] For someone who doesn't like the sight of blood, who doesn't like a lot of sweat or any of that, things that are gross and dirty and too physical, Chuck is doing a pretty good job having a Riley pressed against his side, her arm wrapped around his waist and her head on his shoulder.

"The blood and stuff, that actually doesn't bother me so much." She's also alright with sweat and the like, things that occur naturally when one leads a fairly active life. She's alright with being personal and too close. Right now, she's alright cuddling with her friend on the couch without any expectation or desire for anything more to happen. "You're lucky you weren't there, then. The body was pretty bad. Noah didn't seem to care, though. I got the impression he does that kind of thing a lot."

She sighs then, and finally pulls her head up. Moving back a little so that her legs are still across his lap but their shoulders aren't even touch anymore, she quirks a smile at him. "Thanks. For all of this. Just, thanks."

[Carmichael] Cuddling in an air conditioned condo is different than, say, rubbing up against a sweaty someone on the dance floor (Chuck doesn't do that) or dealing with an open wound. He's alright with his own fluids, of course, but not so much with the messiness that is other people.

"I have a feeling I'll end up being a hub more than anything else. I'm fine with that," he says with a smirk, and a beep of her nose as she pulls back to sitting in her own space, with just her feet in his lap. "It means my hands stay clean, and while you guys are out getting all hands on and stuff, one of us is here making sure you're not leaving a trace that could cause us trouble later."

Slowly, he begins rubbing her feet again - and to say there's no desire would be to imply that Chuck is dead. Or gay. And he's neither, but he also has a girlfriend, and is hanging out with his buddy. He's not pushing anything, nor is he likely to do so given the circumstances they find themselves in, and he has no regrets about that. Everything is for a reason, to help him grow in some way, to help his progress or, if not that, to make sure he's strong enough to forge ahead. "Any time, you know that."

[Poole] "I wouldn't mind being back the hub," she says, picking up her controller again so she can finish the level. She won at rock-paper-scissors and so gets to be Player 1 today. Her score shoots up again, and Chuck will have to work to catch up this time. If Riley is feeling any desire for her friend at all, it's buried so deep it hasn't even been acknowledged. That's the only way it wouldn't show up in looks or seemingly casual touches.

It's for the best if it is buried, though. Chuck has a girlfriend, after all, and that girlfriend is Riley's best friend.

"So what's been going on with you? You've been kinda scarce lately."

[Carmichael] "Just a lot of stuff. May's full of important anniversaries for me," he says with a sigh and sips his iced tea before returning to rubbing Riley's feet as she plays, an eyebrow hiking high at her score. "Girl, you're going to be the death of me. I can't remember the last time I had to try so hard just to stay even in score. It's Mario, for goodness' sake!"

It's handy that he's not (usually) particularly competetive, at least not in this setting - being so evenly matched could lead to all sorts of antagonism, but as is, the tone's admiring . . . of her score, and skills, not her measurements.

"You staying for dinner tonight? I've got hot dogs and beer, or we can do carry out. I'm easy."

[Poole] [Pause!]