RedXCross

The Runaways

Malcolm Priest

Location: Motel > Motel Roof
Interacting With: most of the people
Mentions of: most of the people

The sun setting in early January couldn't come soon enough to save him from voices that weren't his own. He listened to them as they faded slowly on his mind until there was truly nothing left on his mind, and he was left with his own thoughts once more. He sighed in relief as he slammed the book shut for the first time in several hours and got up from his seat to stretch his neck. It always took a few after to readjust to what his thoughts sounded like, and what new information had ingrained itself into his brain. Malcolm was never the best at memory. His attempts at memorizing Bible verses for Sunday school were evident of that, but these words were stuck like rabbits in a trap.

He knew that there had been a possibility of people leaving, but he as ever thankful that said decision was thrown out the window. He thought. Or maybe they went out without him. He didn't notice much else when he was absorbing information, but he doubted they'd leave him alone. Maybe.

Still, with the small hours of darkness to refresh his thoughts and his mind, now was the time he took to sneak into the shower. The others were probably busy with something, so he slipped in for a precious few moments under cold water. Subtlety: A trait that was practiced despite never being learned. It was something that he tried hard to keep. Even though he was aware that sometimes he looked away a second too late and someone would notice his blatant discontent at specific actions, but maybe it was alright if they noticed this time. Andy looked like someone who could make good use of the information. Even Glo might be a good confidant. There were many responsible people in this room, and there was an equal amount of people that weren't so responsible. He still kept a sizeable distance from Tish and Amelia just because they were so loud and... in all honesty, maybe a little much in large doses.

Then Lia burst through the door like an exploding building with excitement bright on her face, and Malcolm didn't know whether to be worried or excited with her. He heard her throw the bathroom door just as he stepped out of the shower.

"W-what's going on!" he shouted through the door as he barely stopped himself from tripping over the rim of the tub.

He clutched the book tight after pulling on one of the three sweaters he grabbed and the same pair of jeans and followed the trail of red hair up and up several flights of stairs. Cold wind greeted him as it sent his hair in a flurry before he pulled his hood back over his head. The chairs were all set up, but Malcolm was focused on the brightest thing standing there.

Ophelia: the torch that led them away from something that was far worse, and the hope that stood with them to pull them forward. His hands clutched the tome as literal sparks ignited behind her, bringing a soft smile to Malcolm's face as he glanced over the other buildings towards the busy streets below.

He looked around at the group, standing near the exit as always, "Fireworks... They're gorgeous," he muttered before a few other thoughts started coming to him all at once. Fears, doubts, worries; but he bit his tongue. Lia was right. This wasn't the time to make the others worry, and this moment was just too special to give up.

It marked the first time Malcolm tasted the freedom he didn't even know he needed.

"I just hope we can get more moments like these."

The Runaways

Yeah, I'm in McHaggis' position. I don't really have much for Malcolm to do at this moment in time.

The Runaways

@McHaggis

Welcome back to the land of the living.
Perhaps, if the intention is still to sneak out against the permission of the slightly-older-children, you force Malcolm to come with you for "experience"? (BY experience I mean desperate shenanigans of a teenage rebel and a boy who doesn't know how to internet???) :P

The Runaways

I'm all down for plot happening!

The Runaways

<Snipped quote by RedXCross>

Gosh darn it?
Watch out,

@Silent Observer

forgive the small child for being a scrub. he doesn't know better.

The Runaways

@RedXCross take your time! :)

@Write

Well I didn't so sue me :P

The Runaways

Malcolm

Location: Motel - Living Space
Interacting With: Lia @Write
Mentions of: Tish @Silent Observer, Jay @McHaggis, Cody @Undine, Andy @Roosan, Amelia @MiddleEarthRoze

One thing that this adventure was forcing everyone to learn was a little virtue known as adaptability. Some people had it in spades, others had a lot of learning to do. For a creature of habit like Malcolm, for example, the amount of new things being thrown at him all at once was similar to the force of an avalanche. His father had a mighty influence on his town, down to the point where most children felt the force of their parents’ religious fanaticism, so it really shouldn’t have been that surprising that Malcolm almost dropped his plate at Cody or Jay’s F-bomb, or shot side-eyes at Andy for his use of “holy” in a sentence outside of a respectful sense… if that actually mattered anymore.

It was rather amazing that he hadn’t completely lost it at this point, but Malcolm hated confrontation more than he feared breaking down. Perhaps it was only divine intervention that kept him going at this point. Well, seeing as he now consistently had the voice of a deity twirling words into his knowledge, it seemed more probable than ever.

All in all, the amount of life that was censored for Malcolm had a rather curious effect: he took other people’s superhuman abilities in stride. Tish’s shapeshifting was a comfort when Malcolm was being fed magical words of power, and Cody’s condition, while sad to consider, was not something that dissuaded Malcolm from being around them. The swear word thing… he would get over slowly, he hoped.

He finished eating and placed the plate next to the sink, where either he or someone else would probably clean things a little later. It was once source of distraction in this small space, but he knew how to take advantage of limited freedom. For once there was an explanation for why he wasn’t allowed to leave, and that was plenty to relax him. With the Tome held firmly in his hands he squeezed out of the way as Tish’s small form came through, dodged out of the way of Amelia and squeezed into the corner of the small living space, taking a spot on the floor that kept Lia in his sight-line, and the kitchen not too far out of sight. The tome opened on his lap as he rubbed at his tired eyes once more, and the gentle sunlight of early morning wafted through a window in the building.

It brought a soft smile to his face. Regardless of what sunlight meant now, it didn’t stop him from appreciating the gentle light of day that at least reminded him that there was still much to come.

”I’m sorry I don’t fit in well…” He muttered, half to Lia, but more like she was an excuse for his statement than the receiver of his comment, “but I’ll try to do better. Everyone has so many different experiences… but they’re all nice people.”

He held open the Tome. The words on the pages seemed indecipherable and unique in its characters, but Malcolm was starting to be able to pick words off the page. He knew that the magic was accessible. Lunara herself had told him.

“Gosh darn it, I will get better at this.” He clenched his teeth.

The Runaways

Working on a draft soon. Might post it tonight or tomorrow. I don't have a lot of free time anymore ;-;

The Runaways

Malcolm

Location: Motel Room - Kitchen
Interacting With: Lia@Write, Andy@Roosan, Glo@Liriia, Jay@McHaggis, Mia@MiddleEarthRoze
Mentions of:The Group

The break of dawn brought Malcolm’s eyes open with a snap as the voices of the Tome flooded his brain-space all at once. At first, he scanned the dark room with his eyes, and tried his hardest to emulate sleep, or as close to it as he could get when everything in his head just wouldn’t. Keep. Quiet.

When did I fall asleep? He thought, glancing at the cheap desk and stool he was crumbled next to with exhausted blue eyes. He remembered scanning his tome until pretty late the night before… he must’ve just run out of energy and fallen out of his chair. The night was the only time he had to process without distraction. Otherwise…

The whispers of words still echoed within his head. Their language abstruse and aggressive. It was like those moments before memorization, when you had the ghost of ideas starting to form within your brain and you can catch the gist of it without knowing the full details. That was the language of the tome. Which apparently he’d used as a pillow after his fall. For a while, he lay still. Only when he heard more active movement did he hazard to move his head.

Groggily, he lifted himself off the floor using the stool as leverage. His dark hoodie was still draped over his spindly figure as his hand snatched the Tome from the floor. He did a quick cursory glance of the pages.

Same information as always, same as the words in his head, but there were still many secrets that he had yet to understand. And many that he wishes he didn’t. The clearest the voices had ever been being still on the day they got up and ran – the same day that he discovered his family’s awful secret. He shook his head. The quick image of the pile of corpses was muted by the ancient language. Regardless of its understanding, the book had become something of a security blanket. Both something he needed to protect from serious harm and something that helped comfort him, despite the serious codependency that had developed from that moment.

He still felt really awful for freaking out the last time someone tried pulling the tome away from him.

The commotion from the kitchen grew in intensity as he heard a familiar southern twang add to the cacophonous sound. He steeled himself with a deep breath before he stumbled towards the kitchen, feeling as tired and off-kilter as he looked.

“M-mornin’,” Malcolm stammered, rubbing his eyes with the back of his scarred hands as he glanced around the gathering. He carefully scuttled towards the food and piled a meager amount onto his plate as he leaned against the back corner of the tiny kitchenette. Sure, Lia would probably lecture him on not eating enough, but how could he eat his fill before someone else had taken some?
He found himself nodding with Mia’s inquiry, “Yeah, what are we planning on today?”

“I mean if it’s figured out yet. I-I’m sure that you guys will figure it out if you haven’t...”

His eyes locked with Andy’s for less than a second. Malcolm was aware that he was probably the smartest of the group, which just made him feel like a bigger idiot for rambling like he did. He put the plate on a counter nearby to take a bite and thus retreat into his own corner.

The Runaways

I might just post links to songs that might relate to specific situations or themes regarding the RP.

So this is something I came across in my late-night Spotifying...

Love in the Middle of a Firefight - Dillon Francis (feat. Brendan Urie)

^{"The world stops turning
I'll be searching for dreams we've never known
If the words of saviors
fight unwavered
there's no place we won't go..."}

Land of Opportunity - A Great Big World

^{"I'm running away, to a place where you won't bother me.
We won't talk for a while, we'll be okay.
And I'm changing my name to a word that's really hard to say.
It's no one's fault, I'm just too young, and you're insane."}