Nothing Else Like It [PRIVATE RP w/ Devika, Narinder, and Nigel]

Last edited by Devika on Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

She hadn’t seen anything like it before.

She leaned down to touch the flowers. Sadly, they were all artificial, but there was something about this room that felt alive. It was comforting to her, seeing how the garden had been so delicately quiet. It was away from all of the ruckus of the house, all the fear, all of the panic of what it could be.

Devika hadn’t seen nature in a long, long time. She had seen it from outside her window, and had a few potted flowers and succulents in her house, but they were nothing compared to the vivid nature of the garden.

Sitting down, leaning against a big tree and plucking one of the small (yet artificial) gardenias, Devika closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She would be here often if she lasted. She knew it.

"Nice place," a familiar constantly groggy voice muttered.

Narinder, who had crept up so silently as to be nearly unnoticeable, was leaning against the other side of the tree, staring as intently as her tired eyes could muster up at the sky.

"'s a bit disconcertin', it being fake and junk," she continued, "but it's quiet and shit. That's what matters to you, I'm guessing."

Devika eyes widened upon realizing Narinder was here, yet she didn’t jolt out of nerves. The garden made her feel at ease. She nodded in response to Narinder.

”This is the only place in the entire facility with anything this beautiful, yet quiet,” Devika said, tucking her hair behind her ears, “I feel kind of silly for saying it, but it reminds me of the great outdoors. I think it’s the perfect place for a serious conversation.”

”Being surrounded by nature makes me feel... happy. I haven’t seen it in a long time.”

"City girl, huh?" Narinder replied. "Fair enough, I guess. I don't get as much nature as I'd like either." She chuckled a bit ruefully. "It's definitely the only place 'round here that invites like, calmness and things like that."

Narinder stretched out on the Astroturfed ground. "Might try sleeping here one night, see how it goes. Get back to the roots, as it is. Even if they're plastic." She bangs one of the tree roots and chuckles lightly.

"Isn't it just wonderful?" Nigel not-so-casually bumps into the conversation, plopping up one of the fake flowers and doing a monologue as he does. "The universe has crafted such an amazing thing for us to live on, something so complicatedly wonderful and still, the humanity is able to perfectly imitate the arts of nature with no more and no less than plastic. Funny how the harmful substances for mother nature emulate it so well. Oh, anyway..."

"Hello, guys!" He didn't really realize he just butted in their conversation.

Narinder...absorbs the intrusion with a few blinks. Nigel is far from the most annoying person she's had to deal with, but she can't pretend to understand his existential babble. Maybe if she had a few more active brain cells.

"...Yeah," she says at last. "What he said."

Oops. Devika covered her mouth. A bit too calm to talk about her life so candidly is a bit much right now, especially this early on in the game. She doesn’t know if she would even consider opening up about her life outside the game.

”Yes, city girl,” Devika replied, “I just wish we had so much more time on our hands. Go see... well, not this, but something like this. Gardens, and forests, and...”

She lost her train of thought. Don’t go mumbling now.

”The outdoors,” she took a deep breath, only to laugh lightly at Narinder’s comedy. Maybe she had been too easily scared off initially?

”I wouldn’t mind being out here for the night, either. Set up one of those... blanket forts, I did when I was a kid. My mother and father, they... when I was a kid, at the end of every year I graduated school, he’d set up all these stringed lights and hang up all of these blankets. They were so tired after every day, but to put in that effort? It meant a lot.”

EDIT!

Devika had been caught off by Nigel’s intrusion. Having felt like she had talked so much, all she could do was wave. He was a kind, young man. Spoke fondly of her the first day when he didn’t have to.

"Yo, that actually sounds freaking sick," Narinder acknowledged. "Screw it. Dunno if they'll let us do it while Hell Week is going on and shit, but if we survive, you wanna see if we can pitch one of those? Might be neat.

She's nervous, don't scare her off.

"I mean. Only if you're down and junk, of course."

Devika was pleasantly surprised by Narinder’s proposal. She hadn’t expected her to offer something like that, and Devika herself hadn’t thought of the idea of it. She smiled to herself, fumbling with hands.

”I would like that. Thank you.”

She paused.

”I’m sorry.”

What was she doing?

”I was scared the first day, because... well, I thought you were angry and I hadn’t known what I did,” Devika looked down, “I’m sorry for assuming. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Frankly, Naz isn't sure what Devika is talking about or apologizing for, but she doesn't have the energy to press the issue. Besides, it might be rude.

"Hey, no worries, it's all good and stuff. Guess you just got bamboozled by my major RBF or whatnot. I look sullen and hostile when I'm tired. Which is, y'know, all the time. Blessing and a curse, dig?

RBF?

”O-Oh, yeah... working towards a degree of your caliber must be a lot.”

"You have no idea," Narinder laughs. "Like I was telling Mark earlier, I've been juggling six or seven jobs at once ever since my assclown parents cut me off. And school and crap is on top of that, so yeah. 's a lot. That's why I wanted to come here. Needed a break, y'know? I mean..." She rubs her eyes, collecting her thoughts. "Not that this place ain't intense or nothin. It's just different, which is neat."

”Narinder, I’m so sorry,” Devika faced towards her, “I understand. Life is... messy. It’s been a lot for all of us, and I think all of us here we’re looking for a change. Even if it’s stressful, you get a chance at newfound adventure.”

”I—... I, um, I think we’re all starting over? Or have a break from everything? One way or another?” Devika grabbed her wrist, “I’m glad you get the chance to do that, too.”

"Yeah, I guess that's probably true. Pretty weird of us to use reality TV as a fresh start."

"I mean that in the best sense and shit, of course," Narinder continued. "It's called Mad House, after all. We're all a biiiiiiiiiit cray cray just to be here in the first place."

"But that stuff you said about a newfound adventure and junk? Man, that sounds sweet. Beats...well, anything I do in the real world, honestly."

”I think this’ll be something for the better. Mad House is... this transformative experience. There is nothing else like it.”

"Oh, girls, we are all on the same boat here!" Nigel was still paying attention to their conversation even while holding the fake flowers. "Mad House is a bright change for someone like me, who is always fearing about the damned night shifts!"

» Dissonance [Private RP; Narinder and Nigel]
» Not So Zen [Private RP; Devika and Nigel]
» Blanket...Fort? (Private RP--Devika/Narinder)
» Break [PRIVATE RP w/ Devika, Mark, and Narinder]
» A Chill Breezy Afternoon [Private RP; Devika and Nigel]