forum Please roleplay with me I'm so bored // OxO // CLOSED (but I'm open for more)

Started February 24, 2022 by @Fraust

tune

Avrey frowned, rubbing Lumi's arm tenderly. "I-It's a-alright. I have money, and I can drive you there. I-I'll take care of you, okay?" He assured. "Y-y-you don't have to worry about that"

"Okay… I don't think I've ever been in a car before." Lumi shuddered a bit at the touch and shrugged Avrey's hand off again. "Is it far away? Should I just follow you?" Clearly, he had never been taught about 'stranger danger', and they didn't even consider that they might not be able to trust Avrey. Avrey wasn't going to hurt him, of course, but it wasn't necessarily wise to just blindly trust a stranger regardless.

Avrey raised an eyebrow. If he was this kid, he would never have accepted a ride from a stranger. Even now, Avrey never did that. It made him wonder what Lumi had been through.
"Oh, well, uh, i-it's- my house is two blocks away. I-is that okay?" He said, pulling his hand back while he pursed his lips. "He didn't want to scare the kid, and knew that probably wasn't a good idea now.
"Here, let's just do this for now." He muttered softly, taking off the green scarf that hung around his neck and bringing it close to Lumi's injury, before freezing again. "A-a-are you okay if I wrap it up?"

"Two blocks, uh…" Lumi considered for a few seconds, pretending that he knew what distance a block was. "I guess that's fine." They replied decisively, nodding a bit. He watched Avrey as the man approached his wound with a scarf, confused and wary. Once he explained and asked for permission, Lumi nodded again and seemed to relax. "I'll probably be fine. It's not the first time I've gotten bit, and obviously I'm not dead yet, so…"

Avrey chuckled, then gently wrapped the fabric around the boy's arm, carefully covering the wound and tying it tight. "There. Th-that should help for now." He nodded, then pointed down the street. "Here, follow me this way." He explained, the paused once he stood up to his full height. "Make sure you stay close, a-alright?"

Lumi winced a bit as Avrey firmly wrapped the scarf around their arm, seeming uneasy, but thankfully leaving it be for now. "Mmkay." He was visibly unsure when Avrey stood up, intimidated by the man's height considering their own small stature, but soon shook off the wariness and followed him anyway. He trotted along behind Avrey, ignoring any disgusted stares from passerby who were far more comfortable with dirty little strays like them sticking to the alleyways.
(Lumi is probably a little over 3 feet tall at this age)

(Awwwwwe)

Avrey kept his unthreatening smile, starting toward his apartment complex slowly so Lumi would be able to keep up. When the sight of them earned disgusted glances, Avrey just glared back and put an arm around Lumi, making sure he wouldn't lose him. "Almost there." He said sweetly as they approached the door and Avrey took out his keys.

Lumi was panting softly as he followed Avrey to his apartment; they were very malnourished, and lacking that nutrition destroyed any chance of him having any amount of endurance. They were riddled with injuries as well, of course, which didn't help, and he definitely needed a nice hot shower. He didn't seem especially comfortable with being touched, but they didn't push Avrey away this time. Once they finally reached the apartment complex (it felt like it had taken ages, although it had only been a few minutes), Lumi stood beside Avrey, struggling to catch his breath.

Avrey gently took his arm off Lumi, clearing his throat while he crossed his arms and opened the door for the boy. "M-m-my car's in the garage th-this way." He smiled, leading them through his small home, pausing to grab a few granola bars, and to the back where his beat up yellow truck lay waiting. He Opened the back door for Lumi, making sure there were functional seatbelts, and then handed him the snacks. "H-here, you can have these." He said softly, before getting in the front and turning on the warm air. He was still very frazzled, with most of his concerned directed toward the well being of Lumi. I really hope he's okay

Lumi followed closely behind Avrey, looking around the apartment curiously during his brief journey through it. They were mostly quiet for now, primarily because he didn't really have much to say, but they seemed to be doing overall okay. He managed to crawl into the backseat of Avrey's truck (its height made it somewhat difficult for them to do so, but he got there in the end) and accepted the granola bars. "Oh, thanks…" They examined the snacks, tugging and struggling with the packaging until he finally managed to rip one open to start eating it.

Avrey managed a small chuckle, before clearing his throat and plugging in the nearest pediatric hospital into his phone. Luckily, it was about a 20 minute drive. He sighed nervously, starting out onto the road while he continued to look back at Lumi. He seemed so frail, so scared. Avrey wanted nothing but to help him.
"D-doing okay?" He asked once they were on the main road. "We're a-almost there"

Lumi soon got the hang of the finicky granola bar wrappers and had managed to open and eat three or four of them by now. He was hungry, clearly, so they were going to eat anything they could get. He looked up when Avrey addressed him, half a granola bar still in their mouth. His feet barely touched the floor of the truck. "Mm? Yeah, I'm… uh… I'm doing fine." They glanced down at their arm, where he had started bleeding through the fabric.

Avrey let out a shaky sigh, pulling into the parking space while he helped Lumi out. "Alright, l-let's go fix you up." He smiled, trying to act as happy as he could. His heart pounded while he fumbled with the buttons on his jacket, trying to calm his racing thoughts.
Avrey opened the doors for Lumi, then strode inside, still anxious as hell. "I-I-I d-don't have an appointment… b-but he needs help." Avrey quickly explained to the receptionist while he gestured to the boy. "D-dog attack."

Lumi allowed Avrey to help them out of the truck and followed him into the hospital, still eating one of the granola bars he'd been given. They looked uneasy in the sterile environment, which felt foreign and unwelcoming even with all of the toys included in the waiting room to help kids feel safer. He looked up at the receptionist and waved when Avrey explained his situation. "Is it gonna hurt to fix my arm?" They asked, standing on his toes and grasping the edge of the counter to see better.

The nurse froze with confusion, then looked down at Lumi and frowned nervously at his malnourished and dirty appearance. ''Are you the guardian?" He asked timidly, looking over Lumi while she promptly started to type something on her computer.
Avrey shook his head, leaning in a bit in an attempt to be out of earshot. "I… I just found them like this. I think he's homeless." He said quietly.
The receptionist pursed her lips, then picked up her phone. "I'm calling the nearest urgent care to send someone over." She stated.
Avrey nodded, still fiddling with his clothes, as he led Lumi over to the glass aquarium on the wall. "Look at those fish!" He said brightly, masking his worry as he went to find toys for the boy to be entertained with

Lumi fidgeted with his hands a bit, shuffling their feet with discomfort. He didn't really like it here, and they didn't like how the receptionist was trying to be hushed and deceptive. He seemed to snap out of it when Avrey led him over to the aquarium, glad for the distraction.

"Fish!" They trilled brightly as they placed their small hands on the glass. His eyes were wide with curiosity, and he stared at the colorful little fish as they darted around in the aquarium. Thankfully, he seemed to have forgotten about his injury for the time being, and they weren't asking any more questions.

Avrey chuckled, pointing out some fish. "Th-that super bright one is called a yellow tang, and that funny orange one inside that w-weird looking plant is a clownfish." He explained in a hushed, gentle tone. He then paused, looking over Lumi with curiosity. Their ears and tail twitched, drawing his attention to them. "I-I-I don't think you ever told me your name." Avrey said, holding out a hand. "I'm Avrey."

Lumi smiled for the first time as they watched the fish, clearly intrigued by them. They felt so separated from what he was used to; a glowing, clean, fluorescent tank full of creatures that weren't sick like him. But that foreign feeling was what made him so drawn to them.

They looked up when Avrey addressed them. He stared at Avrey's hand, evidently entirely unsure what he was supposed to do with it, and so ignored it for now. "Um… my name is Lumi." They replied softly. "I live outside."

Avrey quickly put his hand in his pocket, embarrassed that he even implied the gesture. He watched Lumi as they admired the fish, only wondering what he was thinking.

"Th-that's a really cool name." He smiled, then pursed his lips at the boy's last response. "Would y-you rather… live somewhere? In a warm house? wh-where someone can take care of you?"

"Hm? I guess so. It's been a while since I lived in a house." Lumi hummed thoughtfully, evidently trying to remember the last time he had lived in a house. Considering they didn't really know how to do basic math, this task was more difficult. "I dunno… my mom gave me up and I was in a couple of… 'foster homes'? Is that what they're called? Well, they didn't like me either, so I ran away and now I live by myself." They nodded decisively.

Avrey smiled leaning down again so he wouldn't have to look down at Lumi, he tried to hide the sadness, the fear, the remorse for the poor child from his face the best he could while talking in his nervous, yet calmed tone. How on earth could they give him up??
"G-guess what? I-I've been needing a roommate, a-a-and you seem like the perfect fit. would you want to stay with me? m-maybe?" He asked nervously, wanting nothing but for the boy to be safe

"Mm…" Lumi trained his eyes back on the aquarium, considering. It would be nice to have somewhere to live again, but what if Avrey just kicked them out too? He'd gotten tired of being tossed between foster homes, which was a big part of why they'd run away. His past trauma and issues subsequently caused by it were too much for most foster parents looking for a quiet, well behaved kid. If Lumi didn't want to do something, they refused to do it, even if it meant being rude. He didn't like to be told what to do, and would often do the opposite solely out of spite. Avrey didn't know what he was getting into, but… maybe he could handle it

"I don't have anything to lose at this point, so I guess so. They said I'm not old enough to get a job, though. I can't exactly help you with a whole lot." Lumi yawned and sneezed, shuddering as he looked around. "Why are we still just standing here? Are they gonna stab me with those… those needles? I don't like the needles…"

Avrey watched the emotions play across Lumi's face, left wondering what his past families and experiences had done to him. He really knew he had to give them a supportive environment, and he would stop at nothing to do just that.

"Hey… hey it's okay. Y-you don't have to do anything for me, alright? I-I just want to take care of you." He assured, smiling softly. "S-some doctors are coming to pick us up soon so they can help you b-bite. A-a-and… Oh, uh… they… um… they might have to." He muttered, feeling incredibly sorry. He himself was still afriad of needles.
He was about to go back to naming the fish, when he felt a tap on his shoulder from a redheaded girl… levitating about a foot in the air behind him.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to be the smart one! And you're taking in this kid??" She ranted, very confused.

Avrey seemed unfazed by this. looking around before lowering his voice. After all, it was a little strange to be taking to your late sister whom no one else could see.
"A-a-and you're supposed to be supportive! He's hurt, a-and hungry, and scared!" He whispered angrily

Lumi tried to keep his focus on the fish, struggling to force away any feelings of unease. This is good, right? I'll get taken care of, both the bite and in general moving forward. I'll have a place to stay. Even with these thoughts, their chest was tight, as though a balloon were uncomfortably expanding within his ribcage. "I don't want needles… I don't like letting people stab me."

They glanced up when they heard Avrey talking, very confused to find him talking to… himself? It seemed like he was having a conversation, but Lumi couldn't see anyone or hear the other side. Great… I guess he's a weirdo. Oh well. It's better than nothing, still. "U-Uh… are the doctors coming soon?"

Avrey turned red, noticing Lumi's confused expression while he cleared his throat and looked out the windows.
"Okay. M-maybe I can convince them to give you something else. I-I hate needles too, to be honest."
He swallowed hard, thinking maybe Lumi didn't want to be around him. Maybe he could just… find the kid a different home? No no no that was a terrible idea. Besides, he needed to take care of them.
"I-I think so." He muttered softly as he receptionist stood, letting in some emts who had parked a non-sirening ambulance. "They're over there." She explained, pointing to the odd pair