Save The World RP

[filledwithdiscomfort]

[It's bring your kid to work day, today. Chisk has been left in a corner, sitting quietly by a pot plant with their legs up to their chest, picking at a scab on their knee and apprehensivly avoiding anything resembling eye contact with anyone. They're a good kid. They won't move, even thought it's been six hours since their parent left them here and they're hungry and maybe they've been forgotten about.

They kind of hope they haven't been forgotten about. They kind of also hope they have been forgotten about. Maybe they could live here. Hide in the daytime and come out at night and live off the cubicular land wild and free, never to go back.

That's bad thinking. Bad and wrong, Chisk. So they stay put, fidgeting with their shirt hem. It's only a little longer...

...but maybe it would be okay if they just went looking for a bit? Just a little bit. Just to make sure. Not for long.]

Comments

[web_mistress]

[Lily Moffatt is just passing by. Everything's been running smoothly, more or less, and she doesn't have much to do. A walk round the offices, for limited exercise, perhaps. A conversation with the closest thing this floor has to a gossip.

Then she spots a child, in a corner, making themselves very inconspicuous. Interesting...

Bending down, her boots making little scuffing noises on the carpet, she addresses the kid in the striped sweater.]

"Um... are you lost?"

[filledwithdiscomfort]

[oh god, someone's talking to them. Words. They need words. It's rude not to reply.

Their words come out as a squeak, and they shake their head, going red. No, they're not lost. They're right where they're supposed to be, thanks. They swallow.]

Um. Who're you?

[Someone who works here obviously.]

[web_mistress]

[Lily smiles at the kid, gently, not to alarm them. They look frightened already, and she's not going to add to that if she doesn't have to.]

"My name's Lily," she says, regarding the kid up and down. "I do web design here."

[And a heck of a lot more, but the kid doesn't need to know about that.]

"Who are you?"

[filledwithdiscomfort]

[Chisk hugs their knees tightly. The gentle smile does help ungum their vocal cords a bit.]

Chisk.

M'mom works in accounting.

[They let gravity tip their head to one side, the side in the direction said parent left.]

It's um. Nice to meet you?

[They should have said that earlier, that was rude.]

[web_mistress]

[Lily nods.] "It's nice to meet you too." [She'd offer to shake their hand if they were older, but this kid looks like they're crumpling in on themself.]
[The immediate next thing that comes into her mind is:]

"Are you comfortable down there, Chisk? You look... a bit cramped."
[Said with a smile, and still a gentle tone.]

[filledwithdiscomfort]

[They've been sitting here entirely too long and they are starting to not be able to feel their butt but that's not the sort of thing you tell a stranger. Or anyone, really. So they nod instead and hurriedly try to look less cramped. See? They're fine. It's nice here. This plant is friendly. They're not thirsty at all.

Their hand goes to their pocket and they begin to fidget with the small pink rock they found while guiltily exploring on the pretense of looking for their parent. They hoped nobody noticed them do that.

...they realise they've been too quiet. Quick, say something!]

...I like your hair bows.

[WHY]

[web_mistress]

"Thanks!" [Lily unconsciously touches the bows. After a second, an idea comes to her, because Chisk still looks like a mouse in the middle of a big, open floor.]
"Would you like one?"

[She takes off her back bow, to keep the symmetry of her hair intact, offering it to Chisk.]

"I'm told they're the height of fashion." [Lily winks conspiratorially.]

[filledwithdiscomfort]

[Chisk's eyes widen. Take the bow, be nice. Not allowed to take things from strangers. But it'd be rude not to. You shouldn't take people's things. But if it's being given it's okay, right? But what if she wants something in return. But it is nice looking... oh dear she's holding it out don't leave her hanging decide decide!

They carefully take the bow and just kind of... hold it. The mouse comparison is a little apt, in the way they do. They swallow.

Manners, Chisk!]

Thank you.

[They fiddle with it. The texture under their fingers is nice. They smile just a little. They feel just a little less uncomfortable now.]

Who. Um. Told you?

[web_mistress]

[Lily smiles.] "Myself, of course! That's the fun part of fashion."

[She grins quirkily at Chisk; and then the strain of stooping down gets to her, so she sits down cross-legged on the floor.]

[filledwithdiscomfort]

[Oh, okay.]

Oh. Okay.

[They shuffle to make space for Lily as she sits. They feel a little bit blocked in, and they fidget, twining the ribbon in and around their fingers. But it's okay, they can deal with it, it's fine. And what she says about the fun part of fashion...]

How do you... wear this?

[They hold the ribbon up to their hair. They haven't the foggiest idea how to get it in so it doesn't fall out immediately or knot everything up, let alone as a fancy bow like she has. Had. Oh, they made her take the other out. That... wasn't the intent.]

[web_mistress]

[Lily smiles, taking another one of her hair bows out and untying it by way of illustration.]

"Just watch me. You start by making a loop around the hair the ribbon goes around..."

[Slowly, she shows Chisk how to tie the ribbon, into a bow for good measure.]

"Now you try!"

[Lily smiles at Chisk.]

[filledwithdiscomfort]

[Welcome to almost instantaneous performance anxiety, Chisk. They've decided they like Lily. She's nice. Screwing this up in front of her... the thought alone kind of makes them want to disappear into their sweater. Oh man, why did they ask, they could have just thanked her and left it at that. Oh no.

Chisk pays a perhaps un-nerving amount of attention to every single movement as Lily ties the bow. They really are trying to hammer every single instruction into their head, but they can feel bits slipping out of their memory even as they do, which only increases their stress, which makes their memory worse...

They bite their lower lip, and fumble with the bow. They actually don't do too bad for someone who's never done something like this before and doesn't have a mirror: It's recognizably meant to be a bow, at least, if a rather forlorn looking one with mismatched and oddly numbered loops.

Chisk looks down, hesitantly picking at their sweater sleeves.]

Um. Um. Is it okay?

[web_mistress]

[Lily nods approvingly. They'll get better with practice.]

"There! Now there's no need to be blue..." [She gestures at the indigo ribbon.] "Purple is a much better look on you!~"

[filledwithdiscomfort]

[Here, have a small child trying to hide their entire face in their sweater sleeves

They can dish it out but they can't take it.

They make a small squeaky mumbling noise that could be a thanks or could be a 'don't look at me': anything, really. Even they don't really know.

And then... there's an uncomfortable hollow pulsing sensation in their chest and their breath hitches and there's a flash of purple and a tugging sensation-

Suddenly the small cubicle is criss-crossed with glowing purple strings at various angles and attachment points; floors, ceiling, walls...

And poor Chisk tries to jerk away only for the tug to flare to pain as they pull against the purple heart ensnared on a strand. Their breathing rate is rapidly skyrocketing, and they are vibrating in place.]

[web_mistress]

[Lily blinks at Chisk's obvious discomfort. It's not her, is it?]

"I have to go, but I hope your day goes—"

[Her breath catches; for a split second, in front of her she sees a small figure, cocooned, wrapped in spider's web, her own web (wait, what?!), her standing over them, triumphant, her fangs at the ready (again, what) and all because of a squished spider.]

"—well, Chisk."

[She pushes it back as best she can, but her very much human and non-webmaking body is freaking out right now, and she needs to leave now. It takes all her self-control to walk away, heading back towards her office like there's nothing wrong.]

[Her first thought, when she's back in control, will be:
What the hell was that?!]

[filledwithdiscomfort]

[Chisk's expression doesn't change as she leaves, and that in and of itself is a warning sign. It's a distressed blank.

They whimper as she leaves, and struggle, and only succeed in sticking themselves to another strand. Part of them wants to cry out for her to come back. Part of them wants to throw something at her. Instead they just... shut down.

Fortunately, unbeknownst to them, Moffatt leaving the area counts as 'sparing' them, and the strands disappear shortly after, and the heart sinks into their chest, and they're just going to lie bonelessly here and stare unblinkingly at the carpet like a corpse. The bow flops over their face.]