(no subject)

[shambler]

Who|| R and [Semi-Open] – PM me if you want to bump into him so I can write a prompt.
What|| R wakes up to realize he’s a zombie all over again and the Cure, in fact, wasn’t a cure after all. He’ll be in a funk. Mostly he’ll be blocking traffic (cue finding him in the District 4 shower, creepy-staring, or else where). Basically R needs cheering up, pep-talks, even the awkward ones telling him he’s better off as a zombie.
Where|| Around the Tribute Tower and Training Center. Also District 4’s suite.
When|| After reviving in the Capitol from Howard mercy-killing him and before the next Arena. Basically a catch-all.
Warnings| Zombie references, depressed zombies.

Prompts in the comments for each character. Heads up I may be slow posting, so a post per day or every other day (so backtag central?).

Comments

[shambler]

R can only nod, a jerky motion of his head that was in danger of slinging drool across Orc's rocky feet. "They...can't...know. Im..." R paused, and then tried to get out the multi-syllable word in one go. " - possible."

R wasn't too short what Orc meant about "normal decent guy". He'd seemed okay the few times he'd bumped into him: a little gruff and grumpy, sure, but R operated under the assumption that any friends of Howard had to be, inherently, decent people. Or rock people.

[paidinbeer]

"Exactly." He heaved a massive sigh feeling winded from the small outburst.

"Ya don't know what you've got till it's gone." He muttered rubbing his fingers together hearing the sound of stones scraping over one another.

Hopefully R wasn't expecting anything encouraging out of Orc.

[shambler]

R has to wonder where you even stick lungs inside a metal boy. It was one of those food for thought things. "True. Sucks," R grunted.

Encouragement? Not so much. But someone who intimately understood just how much this sucked and didn't reply with "it gets better"? That a zombie could get behind.

[paidinbeer]

Orc looked back at him puzzled and then a rare smirk crossed his lips. It was dark and sardonic once he agreed.

"Well it sure as hell can't get much worse right? I guess we could both be zombie rock monsters. But at least then we wouldn't be the only ones around right?"

Because being alone was one of the worst things you could be.

[shambler]

R makes a strangled sound deep in the back of his throat. It might have been a laugh withering away. "Good...point. Worst...both worlds."

Sorry, Orc. When R looks at him, he doesn't feel the same dull envy he feels when he looks at living people and wishes he could have soft skin and working blood vessels. Instead he sees segmented rocks and a life that's incapable of touch - or most of the things he daydreamed about. It's just a different brand of suck, basically.

[paidinbeer]

And Orc would not particularly disagree with that on any level.

"Have you seen Howard?" He asked changing the subject. "He hasn't spoken to me since he yelled at me in the arena...I mean he kinda did...I was a zombie at the time trying to eat him and he just screamed at me. But I only saw that part on TV later."

Not for the first time it occurred to Orc just how insane his life was.

[shambler]

R winced. The wince was slow, with a few seconds delay, and a little saggy at the edges, but it was definitely a wince. He hadn't bitten Orc, hadn't even run into him, but he assumed it went down like it always did: someone got infected, someone spread it along. Eponine? The man or the kid he bit?

"Better not...re...member," R said with an unhappy moan. He lolled his head back the way he'd come, flopped a limp hand out and then turned back to Orc. "Saw...him. Talked. Fight."

Maybe not so much screaming, but it was definitely a fight. Words were said (and groaned).

[paidinbeer]

His brow knit in a familiar expression of confusion. It wasn't peculiar that Howard would get into fights with people...at least verbal fights. But he couldn't imagine anyone having the patience to argue with R.

"What were you guys fighting about?" He pressed trying not to appear threatening since he didn't get the feeling R had hurt Howard.

[shambler]

Sadly, it was easy to run circles around R in a fight - maybe Howard had sensed he was easy prey or maybe, just maybe, he cared enough to suck it up and listen to the words between the rest of the groaning. At this point R wasn't even sure. All he knew was the fight left a bad taste in his mouth and this was coming from someone who'd had maggots and rot in there before..

"A...rena," R muttered. This was new territory for him. Zombies didn't have much of a concept for privacy, personal space or even what was appropriate conversation topics. The instinct to lie just wasn't there anymore. "He...killed me. I'm...angry...?"

R didn't sound too sure as he gazed up at Orc. This was anger, right?

[paidinbeer]

It was a good thing Orc was so gullible, because the acting to him was perfect. He just wasn't sure he understood.

"Were you trying to eat him?" Orc suggested guessing at why Howard would kill a friend.

[shambler]

"No!" R blurted. He hung his head. "Not...this time."

He had to give Howard that much - he'd hunted him before with another zombie and then he'd actually ripped a chunk out of him before, back in the same desert he first met Orc. It would've been a logical assumption to make.

[paidinbeer]

Well that just made things more puzzling. Orc's craggy brow knitted and it took him a moment to decide how best to pose his next question.

"Then why?"

Nailed it.

[shambler]

R's shrug was miserable, a flop of his shoulders as his head lolled side to side. It looked listless, even for a zombie. "Said...favor. Because...in pain."

He grunted out an "ugh" at that, starting to get upset all over again. Sure, yeah, it'd hurt especially toward the end, but even that had been novel. His, at least. Now he was back to his natural state of decay, unable to feel pain or anything else.

[paidinbeer]

"So...OK wait..." He rubbed the back of his head making the scraping sound of stones rubbing together.

"So he killed you, because you were in pain and he said it was doing you a favor?"

From the low rumble in his voice he didn't approve.

"Did you actually want to die again?"

[shambler]

If R still had the Cure, he would've been grinding his teeth together and wincing at that sound. Mostly he just stood there and listed to the side, listening as Orc put the pieces together. His head wobbled in a nod.

"Said...favor," R paused and shook his head. "No. Want...life. This. Was...still mine."

R touched his hand to his still heart. He had difficulty conveying the feeling of its emptiness and Orc wasn't exactly the most subtle of people, he'd noticed.

[paidinbeer]

Orc's grumbling turned into a growl and he felt like punching something again.

"He's turning into one of them. Like the Capitol." He snarled.

"What gives him the right to say who should die? Who the hell does he think he is?!" He stomped a foot in frustration and cracked the floor.

[shambler]

"He think...friend," R found himself stumbling, trying to explain Howard's actions despite the fact he was sure they just had a fight. "Thought...better dead...than pain."

R swayed from side to side as Orc stomped, nearly losing his precarious sense of balance. An Avox stared at them and silently slipped away, probably to report the damage to the floor.

[paidinbeer]

"Yeah well, Howard's a shitty friend sometimes. And he knows it."

Orc was actually taken aback to hear himself say it with such venom. Was he really that upset about R being betrayed? Or was it something else?

Trying to calm down he closed his eyes and silently counted to ten. When he opened them again the pounding in his temples was gone but he still felt tense and irritated.

"I'm sorry...for him. He probably was still freaked out about...I guess we had a fight too. Except it was mostly him being mad at me. Anyway...he's...well..."

What was there to say about Howard really?

"He probably really thought it was for the best. Stupid ass."

What Orc neglected to mention was just who Howard might have thought it was best for.

"Like he knows what it's like for either of us." It was enough to make him mad again. But he wouldn't risk another booze fueled rampage so soon after his last one.

[shambler]

R opened his mouth to argue that Howard wasn't a shitty friend and surprised himself by pausing, swaying there gently from one foot to the other with his mouth frozen in a little gape behind the muzzle.

"Said...as much..." They had so much in common that R could almost forget that Orc as large, hulking; creaking when he moved instead of that rustle of a Dead shedding maggots (or body parts). "Think...friends do...that, but..."

R searched for the words, his eyes on Orc's face that had creases and cracks in it instead of lines. Stuff that looked like granite instead of muscles.

He shrugged, a little helplessly. Julie would've gotten on his case about shrugging but she wasn't here right now, so he shrugged away. "He's...squ...squirrely."

Which was probably one of the more polite labels anyone's tagged onto Howard. R still felt a sense of loyalty to him despite the Arena, despite nodding along with Orc.

[paidinbeer]

That actually made Orc smirk and nod gently.

"Yeah, but he's our squirrel ain't he? And without us looking out for him he'd be even more miserable."

Finally he was allowed to relax his muscles as he considered the next step.

"We just gotta let him know where he screwed up so he doesn't do it again."

[shambler]

Watching Orc smile was...interesting. Like watching a cliff chipping away in fast-forward and just as awe-inspiring.

"Try...that. Still...friend," R felt a little better talking to Orc now: he thought he was still upset with Howard, but thinking about it some more, he didn't want to look at an un-life without the little guy in it. "But need...space."

For now. It worked with zombies, so he assumed it worked here.

[paidinbeer]

There was an understanding grunt from Orc and he folded his arms thoughtfully.

"Yeah...just remember the more space you take the more you'll have to fill back in when you want to talk to him again."

Something his mother had said once, it stuck with him even if he hadn't found much use for it given his "charming" personality.

Figure we could wrap up around here?

[shambler]

R took the advice seriously, nodding to show he understood. "Keep...in mind."

This friendship thing was way more difficult than he remembered it being. In a way, it was comforting to know that he wasn't the only one having trouble here.

"Wish...luck."

I like how this worked out~

[paidinbeer]

Another slow nod, speaking with R was relaxing because it could be done so slowly.

"Thanks, you too. If the Capitol can fix our lives once...they can do it again. We just gotta survive till then."