unknownballad | [ archived ] Open RP Post

He saw Aeron press the crossing button, so he doesn't bother to do it again. It won't make the signal change any faster. He stops beside Aeron, focus on the light to tell them when they can cross.

"Can I hold that for you?" The grocery bag. Who knows how long this poor guy's been standing here. That bag could be starting to weigh on him.

At least he knows now that whenever the signal does eventually change, there won't be a sound to tell him. At least he knows now that someone is standing next to him and willing to help. He doesn't have to stand here continuously pushing the button and waiting, only for the signal to change while he continues to wait. Were it a quieter street, he'd probably be fine. He'd hear the vehicles slowing down and stopping. Here? It's not so easy. There's too much traffic. It's too populated of an area. Which also means he can't give in to the urge to tug down his blindfold just enough to see the signal.

So thank you, helpful stranger.

Aeron turns his head a little more toward the sound of the voice. Then he tips his head down as though to look at the grocery bag. "It's okay, I've got it. It's only across the street anyway." Until he takes his shopping back from Jae and continues on home, not that his destination is only across the street. He's still got a long way to go yet.

“I hope they get this fixed soon,” Jae muses. His voice is warm and soft, almost tired in its tone. What Aeron doesn’t see is that his dark eyes are bright and focused, the very opposite of how he sounds. “It’s such a busy street. Someone could get hurt.”

After a moment, the light changes. Traffic in one direction slows and stops while the other takes its place in movement. Jae flashes a smile to his momentary companion even if he’s unable to see it. It’s more of a habit for Jae anyway. “We can cross now. Do you have very far to go?”

"I hope so too. I can't exactly count on there being a helpful stranger here every time, and having to learn a new route isn't ideal." Not even close to impossible or even all that difficult, just not ideal. He has access to Google Maps at home with street view and everything. It's easy enough to virtually map out his route, but it's things like trying to actually remember it while he's out where things have a chance to start falling apart.

Aeron hears some of the vehicles slowing down and coming to a stop just before Jae actually mentions it. It makes him realize just how much difficulty he's having telling one direction of traffic from the other. "Uh, yeah actually. I have a bit of a walk ahead of me. I live outside of the city."

"I see," he murmurs, nodding to himself as he checks the traffic once more before stepping into the crosswalk. He pauses to wait for Aeron to follow. He refrains from putting a hand on his arm to guide him since, well, it's kind of rude to touch someone without their consent.

"I can walk with you if you'd like some company." Not just because Aeron might encounter more troubles with his trek, but because Jae genuinely wouldn't mind some company or a walk. He loves being outdoors! "Sorry," he adds with a little laugh. "That's probably a weird thing to say to a stranger."

Aeron definitely prefers to not be touched, though it's not because he thinks it would be rude. It's for safety. Jae's safety. Aeron tries to keep as much of his skin covered as he can so he'll be less of a danger to the general public when he really needs to leave home, but he doesn't want to take any chances. Not here and not with some kind stranger to decided to help him out, for better or worse.

"You really don't have to. Don't feel obligated or anything." Outside of the city and then into the woods. Far and away from the rest of society. Aeron laughs and nods his head. "It's probably a little weird to say to a stranger, yeah, but I think I can give you a pass this time. I owed you one for helping me out."

"I don't," he answers earnestly. He doesn't feel obligated, that is. He's simply enjoying the fresh air and activity. Walking a bit further isn't any burden for him.

"I don't know about elsewhere, but they're doing some work a few blocks down that might make it more difficult for you to get around." If Aeron didn't come from that specific direction, he might not know.

"Oh." Deliberately and carefully chosen though his routes are, his way to and from home are slightly different. It's more of a loop than a straight line. So the work a few blocks from here is, in fact, news to him. Perhaps he could really use Jae's company on his walk home after all. At least until the way is clear for Aeron, though if Jae really does choose to join him for the entire journey, he wouldn't hate the company. "I'm usually better about checking for that sort of thing before I leave home, but I guess I left in a bit too much of a hurry today."

"They just started a couple of days ago," he points out helpfully. Not that it matters but.... "I think they're replacing the light posts. So they have the sidewalk all... messed up." No worries, Aeron! Jae will help you get through that stretch of road!

"My name's Jae."

"I haven't been in town for a while," he muses out loud to try to further explain his lack of knowledge. It's been even longer since he's come in during the middle of the day. Travel when the least amount of people are out. Leave less space for something to go wrong. Truthfully, he should consider moving to a place with an actual address and start using those delivery apps that have come around in recent years.

Why did the humans have to come up with a convenient service after he'd gotten himself settled and comfortable in his cabin?

"My name's Aeron." He pauses a moment as he looks toward the sound of Jae's voice behind the blindfold. "So, do you often find yourself lending a hand to helpless strangers?"

"Yes," he chirps in reply. Less often when they're awake, but often enough even then, too. It still counts if they don't know he's lending a hand, right? Like, by eating their nightmares for them? "I feel like it's important to be kind to others."

"It is important, yeah," Aeron agrees. He tries to be kind to make up for all of the death he's caused. He tries to be kind to make up for all of the death he will cause. But it's hard when he has to keep his distance from people, when looking at them will kill them quickly and being too close to them for too long will kill then slowly. Maybe his self-imposed isolation is the greatest kindness he can show to people. With that in mind, Aeron actually takes about half a step away from the sound of Jae's voice. Put a little extra distance between them. It's not like anything will happen to Jae if they're just walking together. Just a precaution.

"So, I actually have a cabin in the woods just outside of the city." Just get that out of the way now. Aeron understands that a lot of people may not be comfortable being lead into the woods by a stranger. "I can navigate the woods pretty well on my own..." If Jae would prefer to opt out of that part of the journey.

[ archived ] Open RP Post

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