Name ;; Outlet
Gender ;; Male
Name Meaning ;; 'a pipe or hole through which water or gas may escape.' though it also refers to 'a point in an electrical circuit from which current may be drawn.'Personality Traits ;; Suspicious | Elusive | Quiet | Collected | Paranoid | Curious | Inventive | Skeptical | Questioning
Personality ;; Outlet isn't the type to just accept an answer from anyone. Partially because of how anxious he gets around others, and in another part due to how unsure he is of everything. He choses not to accept the 'truths' of the world-- rather, he challenges them. He stubbornly refuses to believe anything anyone says and often doubts others due to how insincere he perceives them to be. He was always over-analytical as a child, in both his surroundings and other viscets, so it wasn't a huge surprise when one day he simply... went missing. He had scouted a strange place in the outskirts of the forest-- an abandoned white building. He never saw anyone go in or leave, and his curious nature prodded him to investigate. He's elusive because of how rarely he ever leaves 'The Compound' as he calls it. The large lab building was stalked for any sort of emergency, and full of food for a whole crew of staff to survive for what Outlet assumed were decades. He's closed off from other viscets for the most part and keeps entirely to himself. He doesn't care much for society, he despises crowds and he's terrified of small spaces-- that and being forced to interact with others. He gets anxious and nervous when forced to talk-- as if his voice always seems to abandon him when he needs it. On his own he's a grouchy, feisty viscet-- but in the presence of others he often melts into a timid and shy individual. He hates that he tends to stutter when talking to others, and he talks to himself periodically to try and coax the stutter out of his voice. Outlet, ever since being a young viscling, had always harbored a fascination for the things nobody else could explain. When he saw the building it piqued his interest because of this-- and once inside, he began to study everything cautiously-- curiously. He's figured out how to tinker with things and make new things for himself-- though he's still learning, he's trying as best he can.
Outlet's eyes flickered open as he heard the nearby sound of crashing metal. He cringed at the sound, gritting his teeth and covering his hears with mixed dismay and annoyance. He growled under his breath before dragging himself up from his resting place. It was reassuring to feel the metal under his feet, but he did so hate when others decided to make a racket... The empty lab building had been Outlet's sanctity-- calm, quiet and secluded. That's all he ever really asked of much of anybody-- 'leave me alone'. He tended to stay on his lonesome, which is why he'd picked this place to be his in the first place. He felt drawn to its metallic insides, its long, ornate hallways-- and most of all, its permanent silence. He hadn't any idea why, but the walls seemed to block out any sort of sound-- and with the lack of windows, he found himself in a world all his own.
And that was why this noise was driving the poor creature insane. He snarled, spat and growled at nothing-- wherever the noise was coming from, he was going to find it and make it stop. He hadn't the patience for this nonsense! grudgingly he followed the sound-- which was no longer a crash but now a ring-- a gong, or at least, it sounded that way. He frowned and muttered things to himself about what a horrid annoyance this had been, and how whomever had did this was going to certainly have to deal with him. He'd give them a piece of his mind, that's for sure!
Then again, he hadn't talked to anyone in a very long time. It'd been years, perhaps, since he'd last had to humor discussion with another. He furrowed his brow at this, hissing under his breath. He glared down the straight white-walled hallway as if at the end of it, there might be something lurking. The lights in this place were working fine-- motion activated, they turned on wherever it was Outlet needed them, but... the ends of the hallways never seemed to abide by this rule. He hadn't made his way there yet, he figured, thus why things would still be dark-- un-pierced by the bright luminescence of the lightbulbs that sliced the rest of the shadows like warm butter.
He'd lived here for awhile, he thought to himself. His mind had begun to wander as he absently followed the lingering rings of the metal resounding down the corridor. The light ringing sensation in his ears set his mind on edge and he felt himself growing a bit worried. What had even made the noise? How did it get in? The place had been boarded up and completely isolated ever since he'd holed up there-- he knew full well there was nothing here. There couldn't be anything. He'd chosen this place for its lack of anything.
Outlet scrambled up to the door, his claws sliding and scraping as he halted abruptly. He felt his heart pulsing in his chest and he gritted his jagged teeth, placing a hand on the straight, flat grey door-- it rose up into the doorway. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing it-- nothing.
Nothing of interest, anyway. It was just another of the lab rooms, they all had the same generic layout and appearance-- he knew by heart how everything should look, where everything should go-- it was perfect. He turned to leave before he heard it again. A slight noise this time, a light clicking across the marble floor. A shiver ran him through, chilling him to his core.
What could've invaded his perfect peace and silence? He shuddered at the thought, grumbling more things angrilly under his breath. He looked around the simple laboratory room with suspicious eyes, squinting and analyzing everything presented before him. What a pain, he thought to himself, and all because of a silly little noise. He sighed, finding nothing out of the ordinary except a single photograph lying on the ground.
It seemed to Outlet that the thing had fallen off the wall when its nail had broken under its weight, the metal frame clattering to the ground. He went over to it, lightly poking the rectangular shape with his tail before flinching and scrambling like a mouse behind the bed, only daring to peek his head out when there wasn't any noise from the metal object. He stared at it doubtfully, challenging it to make its move-- only to find it was still painfully inanimate.
He glanced up at the nail, then down at the steely rectangle, putting the pieces together he came out of hiding and grasped the frame in his claws, looking at it. It was a quaint image, really. A small pack of viscets outside the compound had been photographed by a scientist who worked here-- with another scientist smiling and posing at the camera with a peace sign up in demonstration of good will. Outlet felt a smile tug at his face and he didn't bother to stifle it as he usually did. He could've sworn he saw some viscets he'd known, once. That is... before he'd holed himself up here.
He frowned, had this really been such a great idea? It'd been so many years now... he hadn't seen another living thing in so long he wasn't sure if they really existed beyond the Compound walls. He shifted on his feet uncomfortably before bolting off, holding the picture frame tightly. He felt tears welling in his eyes as he ascended to the highest floor with as much speed as his body was capable-- practically beaming to the top of the stairs.
When he reached the rooftop door he paused before opening it, stepping out into the open air he inhaled a breath of fresh oxygen. He looked out at the jungle-- this was what he'd given up for the sake of perfect silence. He heard the noises of the forest as they graced his ears, and he felt himself warm with the feeling of life-- truly being alive. Technology was nice, yes, Outlet loved it quite fondly-- but was it really fair to keep himself totally... alone? To keep this fantastic place of his away from everyone else? There was food, and he'd found many interesting trinkets that might help viscets, somewhere... He might be able to help them.
When that thought crossed his mind, he felt a pang of guilt. Stepping closer to the ledge he heard the calls of other viscets in the distance-- playing and laughing. He wanted to help them. Could he do it? Could he really leave the Compound after so long? He could open up the doors-- go say hello to everyone for the first time in so long... He wondered whether the pack had moved since he last encountered it. He sighed to think so, but he believed it to be true. Mentally, he vowed to himself that he'd have to find it-- one day. And apologize for disappearing. Apologize for everything.
He took a seat up at the rooftop, staring with wonder at the horizon. He made a mental note to remove the blockades later, he'd made his decision. He couldn't do this anymore. He'd been denying himself something he'd really needed-- but never wanted to accept. He was lonely. Painfully lonely. He wanted, truly, to see others-- to be around them. Even their noises didn't bother him anymore. Their dishonesty didn't bother him anymore. That smile on the scientist's face had been sincere, yes-- but the viscets in the photo had been genuine as well. If human beings could get along so well with other viscets... couldn't he?
Nothing mattered to him so much as the hope that one day, now, he'd be able to help someone. Save someone. Teach them something. He'd learned so much-- the things in this lab were so fascinating! He smiled to himself, mentally projecting himself as a teacher-- standing before children and showing them all sorts of wonders within the building.
Looking out at the world, Outlet smiled. He knew in his heart that things weren't going to like this anymore-- things weren't going to be the same, dysmal routine. Now he was going to make a change for the better. He was going to do this for himself-- and for everyone else, too. He wanted to know them again-- the smiling faces of friends and family. He needed to see it, just one more time.
When he went back inside, he made his way to the room he'd designated as his own-- and he set the rectangular frame up near his bed. Still smiling like a fool, he went to work removing the barriers between himself, and the world he'd stupidly locked himself away from.
Now, he thought,
it's time to live. 
.
