Il pleut.

Lumiose City was absolutely massive by any standards, but Ren, who had grown up in a tiny town where you were on a first-name basis with every neighbor, had been overwhelmed. He’d been living in the city for a month now, and he didn’t feel any closer to learning his way around. He still got lost on the way back to his apartment more times than he’d like to admit. Ren had tried to take a taxi back once, but he wasn’t about to make that mistake again. When the driver had told him the price, he’d been so flabbergasted that the driver had actually laughed. The memory alone was enough to bring with it a swell of embarrassment, though he’d tried to laugh along at the time, of course.

But then...the city was beautiful, especially at night, with all those lights. That much Ren could admit, even when he was hopelessly lost.

When Ren went back into the dining room to collect the next set of plates for the washing machine, he was relieved to see that they were the last. The couple that had been sitting there, chatting happily and holding hands over their dessert, was now hovering by the door, saying their last goodbyes to the maître d’. By the time he wiped down the table and carried the plates back into the kitchen, the last customers were gone and the owner was turning off the ambient music and getting out his keys.

Once Ren had finished the last of his work, he said his goodbyes to the kitchen staff and grabbed his things from the back room. He pulled out the map that he had bought this morning and stopped to examine it by the back door. Absently, he undid the bowtie and the top few buttons on his uniform as he read.

Ren had bought the map from one of the hundreds of stands catering to tourists that morning, determined not to risk getting lost any longer. The city’s wheel-spoke streets and criss-crossing alleyways made a little more sense when seen from above, but not much. The restaurant, famous as it was, was marked plainly on the map. The neighborhood where Ren lived, undesirable and uninteresting as it was, was decidedly not. Ren frowned down at the map, scanning for a familiar street name and willing himself not to get frustrated too easily.

Movement at the edge of Ren’s vision drew his attention upward. He glanced up, and saw a girl walking by...one of the waitresses, he thought. He’d seen her working around here nearly every night. Her name is...Lucille? They hadn’t talked much. 

Ren gave her a small wave. “Good night,” he said.

It’s just temporary, Ren tried to tell himself. No matter how much he was unpacking. He swore that he wouldn’t let himself take advantage of Andrew’s kindness for too long; just enough to get back on his feet. That was all.

Still, when he finished up the last of the unpacking and tucked his suitcase under the bed, it felt all too much like he was moving in. The idea made him feel awkward, uncomfortable.

Claustrophobic.

Finally, after Ren had straightened his clothes in the drawers for the third time, he was forced to admit to himself that there was nothing more he had to do in the room. Everything was put away in its place, fastidiously neat. Just like his room back home. Ren tried to shake the thought out of his head.

When Ren left the room, he shut the door quietly behind him. Even the small sound of the latch clicking into place seemed entirely too loud to Ren. To his ears, any sound he made seemed obnoxious, an annoyance to these people who had been so kind to take him in.

There was someone in the living room when Ren stepped inside; a girl. Though Andrew had of course mentioned her to Ren, he was still somehow surprised. Looks like I’ll have to get used to living with other people again, too.

Ren swallowed tightly, then paused in the doorway to wring his hands. Come on, you’re stalling. If she sees you, she’ll think you’re a weirdo, he told himself. Still, he couldn’t quite bring himself forward. You have to make a good first impression. You don’t want her hating you if you’re going to be living in the same space, do you?

Ren stepped forward lightly. “Um, hi,” he said, finally. “You must be Andrew’s sister, right? Dakota? It’s a pleasure to meet you.” When Ren took a closer look at the girl, he saw that she had to be a few years younger than he was. How must she feel, having a strange man living in her apartment? Ren curled his shoulders in and slouched, making every attempt he could to appear non-threatening. He offered her a smile that he hoped came across as kind.

Ren needed this job. He’d finally had to check out of the hotel where he’d been staying because he just couldn’t afford it any longer. He’d try to find a cheaper place to stay for the night, but even that would only be a temporary measure. His meager savings from his last job were already wearing thin.

He really needed this job.

And he was running late for the interview.

Ren tried to focus on just getting there. Worrying about what would happen if he didn’t make it would be counterproductive, he told himself. 

Easier said than done, of course.

Across the road, Ren caught sight of a deserted alleyway headed in the direction he needed. Once there was a break in the crowd, he quickly cut across the street. Just as he was about to step back onto the sidewalk, though, the indignant beep of a car startled him. He flinched, and his foot hit the curb wrong. Ren’s ankle twisted with a burst of pain, and he went falling down onto the ground. 

Passers-by scattered as Ren smashed into the pavement; he heard their gasps of surprise. His palms burned where they’d slammed into the cement, and his ankle throbbed. This isn’t what I need right now, Ren thought, frantically. This is the last thing I need. If I don’t get up, get there, then I’ll--

Ren could feel his panic rising. He stopped, pushed the thoughts down, and took a few moments to steady his breath. He remained immobile for a few moments, all his focus on his breath, before he tried to stand.

When he did, Ren’s ankle screamed out in pain. He might have gone tumbling right back down to the ground if he hadn’t caught himself on a lamppost. Gingerly, he leaned his weight against his twisted angle, testing it. Almost immediately, he had to stop and suck in a sharp breath at the pain.

There was no way he could walk on that. Or, at least not quickly. Not quickly enough to make it on time.

Stop. Think. What else can I do? Could he find some way to contact the park officials, tell them he’d be late, and why? Maybe, but would they be willing to let the lateness slide? He didn’t want to risk it. Maybe he could hitch a ride...?

As he thought, Ren tightened his grip on the lamppost. He was met with a flare of pain from his hand; at first, he assumed that it was just from where he’d rubbed it raw in the fall, but when he glanced over, he saw blood dripping down from the bottom of his hand, far more than a mere scrape would warrant.

There was a deep gash in the heel of Ren’s palm, he saw when he examined it closer. He must have caught it on something in the fall. It was only an inch or so wide, but it was deep, and bleeding profusely.

Oh, fantastic. He watched for a moment, dumbfounded, as the blood dribbled out and pooled in the center of his palm. Was that gonna need stitches?

Shit.

He really, really wants to believe it. And in his best moments, he probably does, though he’d be too embarrassed to articulate it even to himself. But when he’s feeling bad, and afraid, and hating himself, it becomes harder and harder to convince himself.

☆ : Would they ever wish upon a falling star? If so, what would they wish?

Probably not seriously. He’s a little too much of a stick in the mud to do that. He might think something in passing if he ever saw one, like “I hope everything goes well.”

☁ : Describe how they would spend a stormy, overcast/rainy day.

Ren hates how afraid he gets. It’s his default reaction to most things: get nervous, start to worry, and search for a way out of the situation. He knows how anxious he gets, and that most of the time it’s illogical, but he just can’t help himself.

❣: Describe a way that will earn affection (whether platonic or romantic) from them.

Ren finds the sound of rain really calming, so I’d say storms.

☾ : On a sleepless night, what would they be found doing?

Ren’s actually got issues with insomnia, so he has a lot of sleepless nights. Back when he was in school, he’d spend the time studying. Now, though…he tries to avoid just lying there with his thoughts, because that’s almost always bad news. Usually he’ll just find something to keep his mind occupied. Most often, it’s reading.

♆ : Are they prone to violent outbursts or thoughts?

No one seemed to know what was going on, where the fire had started, why the destruction had spread so quickly. Some people--Ren’s father included--seemed to be trying to stage an evacuation, but they were too few, and the panic was too great. Ren could hardly blame everyone for freaking out--not when he himself had been frozen in place, watching the scene unfold before him, suddenly unable to breathe in anything other than short, rasping breaths.

A terrified wailing close by broke Ren out of his trance. He turned, and saw a woman--Wasn’t she the school librarian?--trapped under a collapsed house. Luckily, this house in particular wasn’t on fire, but the flames from her neighbor’s home were already growing dangerously close. And with her legs trapped like that, she wouldn’t have time to get away. Ren watched, entranced, as a group of people rushed to her and tried to shift the beam enough for her to get away. They struggled, but it amounted to nothing, nothing.

The flames licked at the rubble, and the woman screamed.

Before Ren could give himself time to think about it too hard, before he could talk himself out of it, he lifted his hand towards the beam, concentrated, and pushed. The people struggling with the beam gasped at the sudden release of weight, turned to stare in Ren’s direction. He squirmed under their gazes--to him, they felt cold, questioning. They said nothing, though, and Ren didn’t let himself falter until the woman had crawled out and away from the danger.

While the rest of the townsfolk helped the woman up, Ren ran.

After that, Ren couldn’t find a reason not to use his once-hidden psychic power to get people out of danger. Everywhere, people saw him, saw what he was doing, but he forced his thoughts away from that every time they strayed in that direction. He moved almost without thought, as if he was in a dream.

Ren heard another gaggle of voices, and he followed them to their source. However, it quickly became obvious that these were not another group of frightened residents. Their voices were too light, too unafraid. Ren slowed his pace until he was creeping along. And when he finally came upon the group, all of Ren’s suspicions fell into place. These people, unfamiliar to Ren, were all uniformed in an orange only made more bright by the flickering flames surrounding them. They made no move to help, but rather only added to the destruction around them.

Did they do this? Ren wondered. It seemed likely. His veins seemed to have turned to ice just watching them. He clutched at the corner of the house he hid behind as his fingers started to tremble.

Hello hello everybody! Adele here, aka Fire/Bill-mun. Aaaand this here is Ren! I wanted a more serious-ish muse to balance out my two other happy nerds, so please forgive him his drama. Anyways, please treat him kindly! 

If you’d like to thread, I’m up for pretty much anything! (some pre-established relationships would be super cool wink wink). I’ll post an open as soon as I get an idea for one (aha) but please feel free to drop into my ask box! Or else soon I’ll just start ambushing other people’s.