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

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...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...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?

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?

...Oh.

[He has a good ponder over that. It's been Rick's impression so far that he wants to search for candy, because it's part of Ruana's game and...well prior experience tells him that he doesn't not want to play her games, so there's that. But if he thinks about it hard enough...yes, she might have a point here.]

...I th--think so? But...i-it's for the g-game, right? We d-don't r-r-really have a ch--choice.

[She'd been thinking long and hard about it previously. It was just odd to her, suddenly having this craving to search... and not for people even, for candy.]

I-I don't know.... m-maybe we do? I m-mean, w-what if we just stopped looking?

[Rick shrugs, giving the shelf above him a hard glance as he steels his resolve. Those crates look awfully unstable...ah well. He's fairly light, and so long as Veronica doesn't stand underneath them, they should both be fine if the boxes fall.]

I-I'm n-not...sure. T-Testing R-R-Ruana d-d-doesn't seem like the b-best idea.

[He holds up a hand--he's going away for a bit, but he's still listening--and is promptly replaced by an orange tabby cat, which starts scaling the stacked crates with minimal effort.]

Still, we should try to resist her at least.

[She goes over to a dusty desk near her cat/friend, and starts rummaging through it.

There's a second of silence, then a small gasp, and she pulls out her hand. In the palm are two pieces of candy, clear as day.]

[Rick meows a reply from halfway up the crates, which is obviously lost in translation, so for the moment he focuses on getting to the top. His search is likewise fruitful--there's a small pile of jelly beans carefully stacked against the wall. He thinks to push them off the edge, but then they might roll underneath something and be lost...no, best carry them down one-by-one. At least there aren't that many.]

[The cat gingerly grabs one of the soft candies in his mouth and hops back down to the bottom, depositing it on the desk where Veronica has made her discovery before shifting back.]

...I-I've t-t-tried that b-before. It, ah...d-didn't w-work out so w-well.

[The paleness of his face should convey how unpleasant that memory is for him. Still, he's explained what happened before to (at the time) less familiar company...telling Veronica about it shouldn't be nearly as uncomfortable. Right?]

[She notices the paleness and instantly quiets down. Even if she hadn't been through much of anything yet, Veronica still knew a look of abject fear when she saw one.]

Still, to j-just do as she says...

[She looks down at the candies in herhand. A moment of curiosity overriding her, she takes one and pops it in her mouth.]

...I know. [Rick sighs and scratches the back of his neck. Now he's starting to sound like Diarmuid...] But th--there's n-not a lot w-we can d-d-do while she's h-hiding l-like this. A-All we c-can do f-for now is--

[He looks up just in time to see Veronica munching on a candy piece. Now if she thought that last expression was one of abject horror...]

--V-Veronica! What--!? [Rick waves his arms and stammers like a stalling car.] --W-W-We n-n-need those!

So? [She munches thoughtfully on the candy, raising a quizzical eyebrow at Rick's reaction.] We're being forced to collect all this candy, and we can't have the pleasure of having a few ourselves?

[She shakes her head.] Honestly, this is ridiculous. The candy does taste pretty good though.

Edited 2013-10-29 16:44 (UTC)

W-Well-- [Rick's shoulders slump and his hands fall like weights by his side.] --y-yes, it--i-it is kind of--w-weird--but-- [He revs up again.] --w-what if we d-d-don't f-find e-enough for...w-whatever it is that R-Ruana n-needs these f-for? We c-can't--w-waste them like th--that!

There a waste if w-we don't e-eat them. [Veroncia shrugged again.] What could she possibly need for this much candy? Making us run all over the tower, who doe s she think she is?

[The blonde man flails in exasperation.] --I-I-I d-don't know! I m-mean-- [He facepalms.] --I mean I d-don't know w-what she n-n-needs them f-for, not...she's v-very d-d-dangerous! I-It's not w-worth r-r-risking yourself to t-try and...p-prove a p-point to h-her. Please.

[She watches Rick in panic. Looking down at the candy in her hand, and bck up to him, Veronica sighed.]

O-okay, okay. I'm sorry. No more eating candy, okay?

--Yes. Thank you.

[Rick folds his arms in a huff. There's a decently long pause before he realizes what's just happened.]

...I-I-I r-really o-o-overreacted about that, d-didn't I?

[Veronica briefly doesn't look at him, instead focusing on the other drawers. She does eventually look up, a small smile on her face.]

Y-yeah, a little b-bit.

[Rick's face immediately falls and turns a deep shade of red.]

--I-I'm s-so sorry, that--th--that was r-r-really u-uncalled for, I--I d-didn't m-mean to--

[She blushes a little from the apologies, waving her hands in disagreement.]

N-no, It-t's okay, really. you're j-just t-trying to protect m-me is all.

...I t-try to. [He tries for a small, embarrassed smile.] I h-hope I'm n-not too...o-overbearing.

It's.... it's o-okay, really.

[Hoenstly, having someone care about her was kind of nice. She didn't see that much of a problem in it. At least now.]

C'mon, let's keep l-looking for c-candy.

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

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