in which Rick decides to play Ruana's game this time

[bashfulshifter]

Characters: Patrick Dawn and you!
Setting: Almost everywhere, from the 20th to the 25th of October. See prompts for specific floors.
Format: Action-spam to start, will match.
Summary: Catch-all for candy-hunting shenanigans! Each day will have its own top-post, along with the floors searched, people Rick is searching with, and any other relevant details. Of course, just because he's searching with specific people doesn't mean he can't run into others in-between floors, or even while engaged in the hunt itself! Just specify where and Rick will poke.
Warnings: Towards the end, Rick will be very paranoid about this whole business and might start acting funny. Or violent, if someone attempts to interfere/raid his stash. So potential for angry blonde man?

[It's almost as if he knows exactly what to do. Perhaps not why, but does he really need a reason? What else could compel him more than the opportunity to finally face Ruana in her own game? This is her game, right? It must be. Rick is just as certain of this as he is about scouring the Tower for candy—and in the same way, he has no idea how this will work towards catching the infamous administrator's attention.]

[But regardless of the "how" or "why," this hunt has given Rick more purpose than he's had in months. So he searches, frequently without breaks, in a blind, frantic fervor that becomes increasingly more panicked and paranoid as the week draws on...]

Comments

20th October

[bashfulshifter]

Setting: Starting with floors 27, 26, 18, 15, 14, 13, then working his way back up to floors 19, 22, 25, 28, 29, 38, 39, 43, and 48.
Method: Rick paces from floor to floor as a dog, sniffing out areas with the largest stashes of candy before searching them more thoroughly as a human or a cat (whichever can reach/fit into the spaces where prizes hide). This particular day's exploration is done in one trip, without lingering too long on any one floor until the end—at which point he stays for a significant amount of time by Zel's grave. He then deposits his candy in his room and goes about his usual Tower jobs of cleaning the morgue and laboratory.
Accompanied by: Ryoji, meeting up with him on floor 27, and possibly continuing to search with him after floor 13 (when he stops perceiving candy).
Notes: Rick is as amicable as he is typically, though obviously distracted by his task and perhaps a bit short on small-talk—though as always, he appreciates the company.

21st October

[bashfulshifter]

Setting: 47 and 48 to start, at which point he'll drop off his candy in his room and start up again on floors 99, 93 (then very quickly to 92), 40, 39, 28, 25, 22 and 21, then catch the elevator back to the dorms and search floors one and two (technically all five, but by floor two he stops perceiving candy).
Method: Same as yesterday. This time he lingers at Feferi's grave.
Accompanied by: Ryoji on floors 47 and 48, Veronica from floors 99 to 28, Sealand from floors 25 through 21, and Amelia (the bird one) in the dorms.
Notes: Minimal change. If anything, having to look after his new troop of bitties will distract Rick from his candy more than his work, since he still thinks to make a good example. There will be much lecturing if he finds any of them eating the candy they've gathered. Rick will start locking room 1-16 when he leaves for any extended period of time.

Floor 40

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica was thankful that her eyes could see infrared, or else searching in this floor would have been almost impossible.

This whole candy business was nonsense to Veronica. She'd almost never celebrated Halloween, certainly never went trick or treating. And now, for some reason, she was now compelled to search high and low for any sugary treat she could find.

Oh well, at least she wasn't alone.]

Find anything yet?

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick doesn't answer immediately--not because he's at a loss, but as a dog he physically can't. His nose is pressed to the floor as he trots by Veronica's feet, never straying too far from her side. Being separated from her in a dark place like this doesn't sit well with him.]

[Eventually the heavy scent of sugar permeates around them and becomes impossible to trace. Toby the dog paces a quick circle before whining and, within the next second, shifting back into Rick's more familiar form.]

...S-Somewhere a-around here, I think. [He takes a moment to adjust his glasses and squint at the towers of boxes surrounding them.] H-Hard to say...

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Inspecting a corner, Veronica nodded slowly.]

Y-yeah, feels like a tough room to search.

[She casts a nervous glance at Rick.]

Do... do you feel it too? The feeling?

[bashfulshifter]

...Huh?

[Rick looks back at Veronica from staring at the wall of crates in front of him. They make a relatively sturdy shelf about halfway to the ceiling, which he could climb to if he's careful about it. Of course, his companion takes priority.]

...I...m-maybe? [His brow knits with concern.] --S-Something wrong?

[stitchedupbodyguard]

I... I think there is...

[She shrugged a little as she searched a crate.]

That urge I have... to look for candy. You have it too, right?

floor 25

[bydefacto]

[Sealand is crouched down in the grass, tongue peeking between his mouth in concentration as he searches. When Rick had turned up on this floor earlier and offered to help, Sealand had been more than happy. He figures he could do with the help, and the company is nice.

He turns to Rick, sitting back in the grass.] Finding much?

[bashfulshifter]

[The dog sniffing his way through the meadow is at about the same height as his companion, leaving a trail of waving grass and half-dug holes in his wake. His wagging tail makes a convenient beacon above the tall fronds so that he can be found, although he never moves so far away that this could be a problem. Even on as peaceful a floor as this one, the idea of losing the child he's just met makes Rick very uneasy, so he answers Sealand's summons almost as soon as he's called.]

[And he comes bearing a prize! Clamped in the dog's mouth is a single chocolate rose, which he looks quite proud of having found.]

[bydefacto]

Good boy! [He grins and pets the dog as soon as he comes. Rick reminds Sealand, rather sadly, of Hana back home, and all the time he'd spend playing with her. It makes him sad; but it's a good sort of sad.

He takes the rose from the canine's mouth, looking it over.]

Chocolate! Shall I have this one? And then you can have the next one we find!

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick shamelessly begs for pets and is very glad to receive them. He has a tendency to slip into Toby's simpler mindset when able, if only to ease his nerves. Besides, Sealand seems happy--so he's happy, too.]

[The dog nods, then perks his ears and tilts his head. Hopefully context is enough to convey his question, that being, has his companion found anything yet?]

[bydefacto]

[Sealand grins, continuing to pet the dog for a little while longer.]

Hm... I'm still looking! I don't have a good nose, like you. Keep looking! And soon we'll go to the next floor!

[He kneels down in the grass, continuing to search, and as he looks for more he nibbles a little on the chocolate rose. Sealand has never been one for keeping chocolate without it being eaten soon enough.]

22nd October

[bashfulshifter]

Setting: 78, 77, 76, 60; dorm floors five and four; 13, 14, 15; then ending on 40.
Method: Same as the last two days in terms of bulk searching. On the dorm floors, Rick will comb as many uninhabited rooms as he can get into, and may even poke his head into some of the inhabited ones as well (although he won't steal anything). He'll spend a very long time on floor 40 knocking around boxes and getting lost.
Accompanied by: Veronica (78, 77, 76, 60), Amelia (dorms), Sealand (13, 14), Quark (15, 40).
Notes: Rick will start to take a lot more risks to get to where he thinks candy is hidden, and in between each "block" of searching (when he switches companions) he'll go back to his room and make sure all candy is accounted for. He will only eat after he stops perceiving candy and will not attend any of his jobs.

23rd October

[bashfulshifter]

Setting: Dorm floors two and three, then travel down to floors 94, 92, 89, before returning to his room and ending on floors 51 and 53.
Method: Same bulk search methods, including sneaking into many rooms in the dorms and the hotel (still no stealing). He will frequently stray away from his companions to reach hidden areas, sans Sealand.
Accompanied by: Veronica and Amelia for dorm floors two and three, just Veronica for 94, pick up Quark for floors 92 and 89, then finally drop both of them and join Sealand on floors 51 and 53.
Notes: Rick probably isn't as fun to be around anymore—he gets very agitated when people try to distract him from searching, and the idea of losing any candy he's collected makes him extremely anxious. His personal hygiene has also started to wane. He'll start to stash non-perishables from the cafeteria in his room so that he doesn't have to waste time getting meals.

Floor 94

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[In the darkened floor stepped two people. Both of them searching for the same thing, but in different spirits about it.

While Rick might have been going at this full throttle, Veronica was starting to back off. She didn't want to do this, this feeling in her brain telling her that she wanted to was wrong. The urge though was still there, but Veronica was stronger than it. She had already cut back on the floors she was going to and how much she was searching.

She was disheveled, lack of sleep evident on her face as she spent time guarding her candy. Her hair was a mess and her stride was becoming sluggish. Still, she entered the room with Rick, prepared to search once again.]

So... heard anything about this floor?

[bashfulshifter]

[The dog has already trotted ahead into the room, but he doesn't remain that way for long. There's a very clear look of disdain on his face when he shifts back, which goes surprisingly well with his unshaven jaw and scraggly hair.]

...N-Not that I r-r-remember, no. [He frowns at the nearby workstations with tired, critical eyes.] --I d-don't s-smell anything here. We sh--should p-probably m-move on.

[Not worth wasting their time here if he can't sense anything at the outset. Besides, the dim lighting makes him uneasy.]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[on the contrary, Veronica felt pretty good in this room. And she was positive something was in here.]

Not yet. You never know what's in these floors.

[She walked in further and started inspecting the various equipment. Her searching wasn't as thorough as it once was, her desire to having drained considerably. Something that Rick might notice.]

Maybe... maybe there's something in these cameras?

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick thinks to argue with her, but she does have a good point--just because one method fails doesn't mean all of them will, and he's noticed that Veronica's heightened senses account fairly well for lapses in his own. He sighs and trudges further in with a similar level of listlessness (although for different reasons).]

C-Could be. [He wanders to the opposite end of the room, where trays of chemical baths stagnate in the shadows. Rick crinkles his nose.] ...These m-might be c-c-covering up the s-scent. O-Or there c-could be s-s-some at the b-bottom...?

[Definitely not sticking his hand in any of them, that's for sure. He looks around for places to empty them out without making a mess--unlike whoever else was in here before and left their undeveloped photographs lying around. They couldn't be bothered to store them out of the way, at least?]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica wanders around the floor for a minute, checking out all the corners and coming up empty. She stands in the middle of the room and thinks for a moment before joining Rick at the chemical baths. She was briefly stunned, the scent of chemicals in the air burning her nose.]

I don't t-think there'd been something in the chemical baths. A-at least not anything made of candy.

[She yawns and rubs her eyes. This game was beginning to wear out its welcome for Veronica.]

Odd though, someone left some negatives out.

24th October

[bashfulshifter]

Setting: Starting on floor 1, then 15, returning briefly to his room before going to floor 62, back to his room again, then finishing up on floors 88 and 80.
Method: He'll explore floor 62 most extensively, not only digging through the sand but also swimming into the deeper parts of the ocean (as a tiger, who is a fairly agile swimmer). If he runs into any fish, he'll try to catch them as either a tiger or the Dinosaur, depending on if he encounters any dangerous ones, and see if they have any presents hidden in them. He explores the other floors with equal tenacity, and stays long after his companions for those floors have gotten fed up with him and leave.
Accompanied by: Amelia (floor 1), Sealand (floor 15), Quark (floor 62), and Veronica (floors 88 and 80).
Notes: Rick is noticeably distant in communication, and when his attention is diverted, he's prone to snapping. In between searches, he'll spend a decent amount of time organizing and counting his collected candies, and might not even leave his room if he hears someone walking around outside. He takes naps throughout the day, but never actually sleeps.

25th October

[bashfulshifter]

Setting: 75 then 73; the rest of his time is spent in 1-16, once he realizes he can't find anything else.
Method: Since Rick no longer has to look after anyone, he'll go full ham today, initially with the intent of spending the whole day searching the more intricate floors but, of course, he'll stop seeing things after the first two. Not to mention he will get horribly distracted and lost in the ones he can. Searching floor 75 is pretty straightforward, apart from trying to avoid the monsters (which he can hopefully see with the cat's improved night vision and be nimble enough to dodge as well). Floor 73 can be searched just as thoroughly (he hopes) with the help of the tiger's thick, waterproof coat to fend off the cold. Not that Bengal tigers are especially acclimated to freezing climates, but it's the best he has.
Accompanied by: No one.
Notes: Rick will waste no time in exploring as much as he can, purposefully avoiding people so he doesn't put them in danger (and so his concentration isn't broken). As soon as he can't find anymore candy, he immediately goes to his room and stays there, door locked, guarding his stash. He barely eats and sleeps on top of/with arms wrapped around his candy bowl, and to pass the time, he continues sorting and counting what he's gathered. Even joking attempts to interfere will be met with hostility.

73

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica wasn't searching for candy today. She had had enough of this nonsense.

Those admins thought that they could just control her with paranoia and the urge to look for sugary treats, but they were wrong. Veronica was a warrior, a soldier. She could take anything they could throw at her, up to killing her.

The paranoia had taken root in her mind though. She was being watched wherever she went. People were always following her. It was just like before.... back when she was alone.

It had taken a considerable effort, but the Frankenstein had finally left her room, and her bowl, to go look for those she cared about. And Rick was one of them, even if things had gotten a little rocky between them as of the moment.

So here she was, stepping gingerly across the snowy ground, making her way to the large ruin in the middle of the floor. She could feel her heart beating in her ears, her nerves jumping at any noise around her. But she was still going.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Veronica's frazzled nerves probably won't be helped along when she sees the large, snow-covered cat walk past the broken gaps in the ruins, listlessly rummaging through piles of rubble and fluff. The tiger might be mistaken for a monster if not for the blue Tower collar and the small bag of candy that he keeps close by. The smell of it and the dampness of the snow numbs his senses; he doesn't see Veronica approaching, and probably won't unless she does something to purposefully get his attention.]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[veronica knew for a fact that tigers weren't native to areas like this. Even if they did show up in snowy places, they wouls just as soon try to get out. Either this tiger was an extremely lost animal, or, judging from the collar around it's neck....]

R-r-rick! [she shouted in the general direction of the cat, her voice not carrying as well as usual.] I-is that you?

[bashfulshifter]

[The tiger abruptly looks up from burying his face in the collapsed ruin corner with a clear expression of confusion and worry. What on earth is Veronica doing in here? Did she expect to find him? If not, what was she doing wandering around by herself in a place like this? Hadn't she stopped looking for candy--for the better, probably?]

[Though in fearful anticipation of how much colder he's about to get (and regret for momentarily abandoning the candy hunt), Rick shifts back into a more familiar human form.]

--V-Veronica! W-What are--? [He pauses to brush the snow out of his hair.] --Y-You'll--c-catch cold or--s-s-something!