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I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Dec 15, 2017 10:15:24 GMT -8
On the bright side, Nik was sooooo happy to be on Sinclair again. It had been-- okay so less than two weeks and he did like Pahala so far. He-- wanted to say more than liked in a lot of ways. He was quickly falling in love with the neighborhood, even if he hadn't had much time to explore it yet. The climate was nice, it felt pretty 'safe' by his senses, and.... fuuuuuck Sinclair was still his dream city though. This was fine; she did stop by about once a week and he could visit her. Orion was a better partner than a train, shockingly. But it didn't mean he couldn't relish every second of his trip here.
Or, well... He could have if it had been a pleasure trip. And he did visit his favorite coffee shop (apologizing to one of the baristas who'd missed him for moving so suddenly, as well as getting to explain a bit about his new appearance, heh), and went shopping a bit (sending Lucy home with the groceries and other purchases), and took a walk through his old neighborhood to see if anyone was doing anything with the gym building yet.
But Nik had another reason for coming today, and eventually couldn't put it off any longer. Nerves or not, he headed to Luke's lab, hoping he'd be in right now. (Or maybe on some level, hoping he wouldn't.)
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Dec 15, 2017 10:37:15 GMT -8
As Nik came up to the lab, the motion sensor doors would briefly open for him and close a little after. The first floor looked almost like a tea shop with shelves upon shelves of jarred plants all labeled extensively. At one time, it had only been the walls that were covered, but now several smaller shelves situated in the middle of it as well holding still more ingredients and concoctions. A lazy looking store manager was leaned over the counter flipping through a magazine but did look up when Nik entered. If Nik asked specifically about Luke, he’d direct him to the stairs at the back and mention something about the second-floor lab.
Once there, Nik would find still more people hard at work, but when prompted, the more peppy of the group would quickly direct him to an office off to the side whose blinds made it impossible to see inward immediately. Her last quick warning was to knock before entering before she went back to work again. If Nik knocked on that door, a couple of seconds would pass before a “Come in” would be issued. Swinging inward, the door would reveal a densely packed office full of book cases of varying sizes and several oddly squished filing cabinets. Behind a large desk in the middle of the room, Luke sat reading one of the many articles that cluttered it. Looking up at Nik, however, he stopped and stared. Lips pressed together, and he didn’t say anything immediately.
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Dec 15, 2017 10:51:23 GMT -8
Nik followed directions as needed. This wasn't so bad... He made his way to Luke's office, knocked, opened the door and saw him. This wasn't so bad?
Luke looked up, and made that quiet face at Nik. ... He took it back this was a terrible idea.
For a few seconds, his tongue just kind of swelled up as his mouth worked against him and his body froze, but he finally pushed past it enough to vaguely raise a hand. "...Hey." That... was not helping, at all, was it. Maybe not hurting exactly but he was gonna have to do better...
"I was.. kinda hopin' I could talk to you a bit if you're free, or when you're free. I..." He shifted a bit to lean slightly against the doorway he still stood in. "I wanted to thank you first off. For.. I know making the Chroma Cookies is a business and all but it... still felt like I should thank you personally?" Or more like.. the way Luke emphasized all he'd done for Orion during that fight, Nik wondered how often Orion ever really thanked him, and hoped he might appreciate someone showing some gratitude...
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Dec 15, 2017 11:38:12 GMT -8
Luke did not want to talk to Nik. It was pretty evident in the way his gaze shifted and the way his lips pressed together a bit harder. He could guess whatever it was about, and he wanted none of it at the moment. At the thanks, however, a slow breath did draw in and out of him. Setting his hands on the table, he forced himself to stand. “You’re welcome,” he stated pretty flatly. “Is there something you needed specifically?” If it was a question about the Chroma cookie, he could just as easily get one of the assistants to answer questions. If not…
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Dec 15, 2017 15:13:24 GMT -8
Right... Nik let out a slow breath. Well, accepting the thanks was something, at least. Luke could have immediately thrown it back in his face and told him to fuck off, so avoiding that was. something...
But that still left him struggling to proceed. "Yeah... It's..." He took a deep, steady breath, steeling his nerves as best he could. He knew this could easily explode if he wasn't careful, and quite possibly even if he was. But he had to try, if nothing else. "I wanted to.. apologize, for some of the stuff I said that night.. If you'll let me..." His face burned a bit as his eyes fell to the floor, not really wanting to see Luke's reaction.
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Dec 15, 2017 15:53:07 GMT -8
The apology as it came had his features tightening. Anger threatened to well up inside, and the prehensile locks of hair twitched ever so slightly. His mind raced with thoughts, but after a moment of silence, an audible inhale and exhale reverberated through the room. “Let’s take this conversation upstairs,” Luke finally answered, walking out from around his desk and pushing passed Nik in the doorway if he didn’t move.
He’d walk the short way to the elevator, swipe his keycard so that it’d go up to his private room, and stepped inside. The elevator ride would be short but silent, and as it pinged into his living quarters, Nik would see the way the space was put together resembled the lower floor. The benchtop areas were now the kitchen and the living room. Luke’s bedroom was right above his office. Stepping in, Luke made a gesture to the kitchen table before walking to the cabinet. Without a word, he pulled down two mugs and started some hot water into a kettle. As it warmed, however, he’d finally call back to Nik over his shoulder. It was… easier this way in many ways. “What specifically did you want to apologize for.”
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Dec 15, 2017 17:14:45 GMT -8
Nik would move out of Luke's way, or try to, but as Luke pushed past he felt maybe the hallway was a bit too narrow or he hadn't moved enough or-- maybe just Luke wanted a lot more space than he'd given. That wasn't really the best start but... at least Luke was agreeing to talk to him? (Or wanted to get away from the witnesses before getting rid of him but ahahaha...)
He'd follow Luke's lead and wait for him to speak first or give Nik some kind of signal to do so, though. He wouldn't rush this, wouldn't risk botching the attempt over something as dumb as bad timing.
When Luke finally did prompt him, he found it a lot harder to answer than expected. "...Ah.. I don't... actually remember exact words all that well now. I was... really upset about everything, and it's all kind of a blur now. I just.. feel like I came off like I was trying to push you out of Orion's life, or... belittling all you've done, and I don't want that."
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Dec 15, 2017 17:40:22 GMT -8
As Nik spoke, Luke fished through the cabinets pulling down some thin grained coca powder and mint extract. Fishing in the drawer, he found the measuring spoons and measured out an oddly specific amount of each. He stepped at angles to the kitchen in order for Nik not to see his face and subsequently his expressions. Nik’s choice of words, however, had him stopping briefly. Hands set in a curled format on the rim of the counter, and his back muscles tensed a little. “I mean you did,” he finally answered still not looking back. “I haven’t talked to Orion and Jazz in weeks, and I do not want to.” Even then, even after everything else that Nik couldn’t have had any knowledge of, he didn’t want to. Not then.
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Dec 15, 2017 17:52:49 GMT -8
That--............. Nik hadn't realized... He wasn't sure how he'd managed to not notice, but he guessed he just... assumed things went back to normal. He was never really around when Luke was so he just assumed that kept being the case. This revelation was... kind of crushing.
"I didn't want that..." Nik all but whimpered. "I..." A pause, a deep inhale, slow exhale. His first thought was to get.. almost defensive, but he made himself slow down and think. Put himself in Luke's shoes as much as he could. He would not appreciate the kinds of stuff he'd considered saying, would he. All right, then...
"I'm really sorry again, and... I understand if you need time and space." He wanted to be understanding, at least. "I just.. don't want it to be forever. I.. don't have to tell you how Jazz feels, and I especially get needing some space with him but..." He winced, almost choking. "Orion.. might not always show it well, but... I know he adores you. You're so important to him, not.. just for what you can do but just... being there." Nik had seen dogs less loyal than Orion, and knew how much he valued loyalty in turn.
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Dec 15, 2017 18:25:45 GMT -8
A small snort escaped into the after Nik’s whimper. The words that followed, however, had him slowly looking out the kitchen window. “I came to Veria because of Orion.” And Jazz by extension but that wasn’t the point right then. “I could easily have denied the professorship position and gone back to Alola when my trip was supposed to end.” But he didn’t. “Even now I could probably get more work done in Alola at the moment.” Maybe not in his chosen botany but in helping Nilly get home.
“Orion and Jazz are important to me.” He looked over his shoulder and frowned at Nik. “But they have caused me so much stress.”
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Dec 15, 2017 19:17:41 GMT -8
Nik was a little worried for part of that, but then as Luke went on, he felt himself relaxing, tension he hadn't realized he was carrying slowly dissolving. It wasn't gone by any means, but.. This... felt like some progress. "I know..." he answered simply at first. He could feel that deeply just on his own, and only imagine how much deeper it ran for Luke.
"I love Orion from the bottom of my heart, and I'm so proud of how much he'd cleaned up these past months, but he still causes me a lot of stress. And if he's still like this now I can imagine..." Then Jazz was... heh. Not quite the same catalyst for Nik and pretty absorbed in his own projects lately but Nik also had to take a knife from him that night and kind of generally worry about him hurting himself over any upsetting stimuli so there was that.
"...I don't... know if he's ever said it, but... thank you... for putting up with both of them this long." Nik was... getting a little choked up now, whoops. "As much as I want to take credit for pushing him to change, he never would have made it this far without you."
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Dec 15, 2017 19:36:59 GMT -8
Luke’s lips quirked a bit before falling again. His eye fell a bit too. Nik’s words rolled around in his mind even as the kettle whistled. Luke glanced sideways and flicked the switch to silence it. Taking the pitcher and pouring its contents into each of the cups about half way. Turning, he’d open the refrigerator, grab out the milk, and finish off both before grabbing a spoon and stirring slowly.
Only after that would he speak again.
“Era was not a good place for either of them…” he stated quietly. “Or me, for that matter.” Changing cups, he kept stirring. “Some part of me already resigned to the fact that I would lose them to Era’s bloodshed— even right up to the point we all left. I’ve had to bury plenty of people.” Setting the spoon down, he picked up both mugs and started walking back to the table. Setting one mug down in front of Nik, Luke sat down across from him and held his own. His gaze met Nik’s and would hold it after. “Seeing them alive and thriving in Veria was ….” Luke took in a slow breath. “A relief.” Slowly, he took a drink.
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Dec 15, 2017 19:49:21 GMT -8
I've had to bury plenty of people. Fearing he'd lose loved ones in the war Nik could relate to, but that... The closet he had were acquaintances, secondhand relations like Claire and later Sunny, and... two Pokemon, but... he never had a chance to bury them.
"I went home pretty recently." Was it over a month back now? Or something like that? Still recent in his mind. "Just... seeing a lot of the wreckage, and visiting graves... was almost more than I could take.." That was also because he felt responsible, but Luke as a practitioner of medicine must have felt a different brand of responsibility, mustn't he... "I can't imagine what you went through..."
He'd blink back tears, shaking his head and wiping his eyes to clear them before they could break free on their own. "I love Veria.. I love.. all of us having another chance to build a real life..."
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Dec 15, 2017 20:07:43 GMT -8
A weak sigh escaped from Luke. He knew better than anyone that there were limits to his abilities. No matter what he could have done differently, he still wouldn’t have been able to save everyone. And yet… He blinked hard and took a slow sip of his drink. “I know,” he answered softly, his gaze dropped to the mug again.
“I understand those feelings... and I’m—“ he paused not entirely sure he even wanted to explain this to Nik or not. Breath in, breath out. “Happy that I can serve people here…” Both eyes closed briefly. “Happy knowing that I can make a difference— a real difference – in someone’s life.” His hands curled a little tighter on the mug. “I felt helpless for a while. All I could do was patch wounds— on Orion, on Jazz, on a soldier that came in…. Only to watch them go out into that fighting again… Knowing that some day they’d come back in and I wouldn’t be able to patch their wounds anymore.”
Luke’s lips pressed together in a hard frown, and his eye opened again. “I’m happy knowing Veria’s not like that. But I’m also deeply skeptical….” he gulped but went on. “Seeing Orion’s injuries was… like…. like going back.”
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Dec 15, 2017 20:24:25 GMT -8
As Luke explained, a lot of things felt like they were shifting more into focus, moving more into place, in Nik's head. Was that... why Luke had reacted the way he did? More than just Orion's past, but.. that entire persistent trauma being brought back to the surface?
Nik took a long drink, in part simply to buy time to gather his thoughts.
"I'm sorry..." he murmured at last. "For Orion's recklessness but also..." Breathe, Nikolai. Don't start panicking mid-sentence. "I'm sorry for failing Era. Or taking that mantle when I wasn't ready." Or both, honestly. "When I started filling in for Akira, I... didn't really care about people much." This physically hurt to talk about, and his stomach flipped over. "I only focused on what I thought would look good at the time, and maybe PR improved a bit shortterm but... it didn't address any roots, and by the time I learned how people really worked, I... it was too late to make a difference.."
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