1x1 with Consulting_Angel

[BarkinqCoyote]

(⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+ 1x1 between myself and consulting_angel !! idk what else to put here 💪😎

[BarkinqCoyote]

"... Guilty feet have got no rhythm," Fingers drummed on the steering wheel along to Careless Whisper as Maus drove down the dark and snow dusted road. It's been coming down for some time now, though it didn't seem to really stick until the sun bid its temporary farewell. He hoped to leave the function he was at much earlier given that his social battery died hours ago, but he was going to be free for the next day or so! Plenty of time to recoup and run the week all over again.
And again. And again-
Windshield wipers squeak obnoxiously on cold glass, thankfully the music drowned that out for the most part though. Driving in any kind of bad weather was something Maus detested-
Or probably just driving in general. Playing his favorite songs always helped sooth his nerves; there's a reason he never traveled in silence. It usually got quiet pretty early, and it was a fairly small town so he didn't have to worry too much about traffic, either.

... He initially thought that would be the case, at least. As Maus rounded another curve in the winding road, he noticed tail lights in the distance. "So I'm never gonna dance again! The way I--... Oh?" As his vehicle drew near, it became clear that the tail lights he'd seen from afar appeared to be off-road; in fact, it front ended the ditch, steaming billowing up from where ice cold water seeped under the hood. Yikes! The music quickly turned off and Maus came to a gradual stop on the opposite side of the ditch, then flicked on his hazards for safe measure. The leader pushed open his door and stepped out, unable to help but recoil at the stinging cold of the outside air... Yuck. Maus glanced both ways before crossing the street, cautiously approaching the car as if something was going to jump out from behind it. You can never be too careful around here... The thick woods surrounding the town were known to be merciless, and things from the woods did not always stay in the woods.

At first, he simply observed the scene here - yes, this road has quite a lot of twists and turns, but not nearly enough to throw someone off like this. Besides, the roads weren't even that bad! Driving under the influence...? No, no, surely not. That would deduct too many points - nobody truly devoted to their path of enlightenment would find that to be an exchange worth making.
Unless, of course, this was an outsider. Now that he thought about it, he didn't recognize this car at all! The more he stood there, the further he got side tracked by his own suspicions; someone could be hurt here! With a little shake of his head and a quiet huff, Maus drew closer to the driver's door while carefully placing his steps, not wanting to slip or drench his shoes in water.

"Hey...? Someone's in there, yeah?" Maus didn't want to startle whoever was seated inside in case they weren't aware of his presence, but the window was cracked slightly. Well, what if a lack of response was a bad sign? Maybe it wasn't a fatal accident, but considering the circumstances... Hopefully he wouldn't have to try the handle. Even if this situation could call for it, he still felt like it would be an invasion of privacy... Whatever! Maus pulled in a short breath and then finally tapped a gloved knuckle to the glass. "H-Hello? You-..." He paused for a moment. "You know you crashed, right?" Duh. "Are you... Y'know, are you okay?"

[[ SKFJFMMEMAKAKDKFMEJAKS AEEHHEHEE bro im low-key so nervous this is like my second or third starter in abOUT 4 YEARS BAHAHAHA 🙏🙏 I'm defo a bit rusty buuutttt dwdw I'm gettin' back into da swing of thaaannngsss B^3c ]]

[Consulting_Angel]

What a waste of five days. Investigating reports of mysterious attacks and sounds that occurred in what had been an unassuming town next to a forest, it was the perfect set up for a story to include in his next book. Interviews, reading into the town's folklore and trying to piece together what may be happenings - especially with the reports of attacks - were all part of Elias' process of his investigations. Anything that was out of the ordinary, that seemed to be involved in some dark magic, all of that was his sort of thing. With two fairly successful books already, he was trying to work on his third. And what did nearly a week of little sleep and tireless research get him? A brown bear that was protective of her cubs. A boringly ordinary - though admittedly understandable - conclusion. All of those notes he'd made... wasted. He supposed he could include it as a chapter if he was really stuck later on, as a comment about how 'not everything is something weird and spooky' but that wasn't what his readers wanted.

And so, was the journey back home. It would be another three hours of driving before he'd get there, and he'd already been driving for two. Why did he leave so late? Couldn't he have let himself actually sleep for the night and then drive the next day, when there was actually some daylight?
The road was quiet, the drive monotonous. Elias fought to keep his eyes open, determined to not pull over. He could make it to the next service stop. A motel. Anything. Anywhere that was not the middle of nowhere, because he did not want to risk being attacked, thank you.
But. There weren't any other cars. No, he had to stay awake.

Before Elias knew it, exhaustion and sleep won. He didn't know how long it had been between him remembering being awake, and then suddenly hitting a tree. Actually, he didn't remember hitting the tree, just that he woke up and it was there. Since when did trees grow in the middle of the road? Ah... they didn't. And he definitely knew that the front windshield hasn't been completely smashed before,
the airbag deployed. The... front of his car smushed. Well, that wasn't great at all, but he figured that maybe he'd be okay if he could find his phone... ah. That was missing, not in it's usual place in the cup holder between the two front seats. And... he couldn't pry his legs out. Uh oh. His left ankle had a sharp pain, but at least other than that, his legs didn't feel broken, just stuck. His head, though... he was sure that was bleeding, and at least one rib felt broken.
Defeated, Elias put his head back onto the airbag. It was uncomfortable, but maybe he'd wake up at it would have all been a weirdly realistic dream.

No such luck. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sat there before he heard someone approaching. Welp. He was going to die.
Or... maybe not? Elias stayed put, even as he heard someone speak, asking if someone was in the car. He waited, trying to figure out what to do, when there was a tapping on the glass of his window. Okay. Time to face whoever was there.
Elias sat up, turning towards the window, looking up at the young man that had approached.
"I may have taken a wrong turning." he replied, as casually as he could, given his situation. "I'm still alive at the very least." Elias added.

[BarkinqCoyote]

Maus peered through the window with a narrowed eye, pursing his lips as he tried to get a look on the guy on the other side of the door. From what the leader could see, he certainly didn't look alive, but thank the countless potential gods that he wasn't freaking out! If the stranger was freaking out then Maus would probably be panicking too. Nothing would be accomplished at that point. "Wrong turn, huh?" He repeated quietly through chattering teeth, glancing back at the road behind him for just a moment. By the time he whipped around again, his features had shifted from an almost deadpan to a cheerful smile, bursting out into a short fit of laughter. "A wrong turn! Ahaha! Hey, that is-... That is actually pretty funny! And impressive, because your head looks like it is busted open."

"But uh... I-I mean, yeah? Alive issss one word for it! I guess. I would have said something more along the lines of the-
The opposite after looking at you." Maus commented with a vague gesture of his hand waving over his own face before wrapping around his middle in an absentminded attempt to retain what was left of his body heat. Eugh, it's just way too cold out here! The snow is getting worse and he wasn't particularly keen on waiting to see if anything else was lurking around-
There always is in this town. There always is. "Annnyyyyways, it is probably not the best idea to just sit here. Unless you want to freeze to death! I am not here to judge, but... But if I stay out here, I think I might freeze with you. No offense or anything, but no thanks. It is nothing personal, I just need to catch up on my points, you know?"

Maus paused, he clasped his hands together and leaned forward towards the glass that separated him from a proper view of the stranger's condition. "With that being said! Do you need help?" The redhead clicked his tongue and then shook his head with a dismissive swish of his hand. "Actually... Do not answer that. I have a spare bedroom you can use tonight because I do not think your car is going to go anywhere else right now. Can you stand? Walk? Move? Ohh! How can I help? That would... That is probably the right way to say it."

[Consulting_Angel]

Elias could only wait for the stranger's reaction - given that there wasn't a whole lot else he could do, of course. He was getting a little concerned that he'd managed to annoy the stranger, or he'd been thrown off. Elias was more surprised at the eventual reaction - laughing, and not in a sinister way. At least, he didn't perceive it as such. He'd figured that his head was busted already, but decided to pretend like he didn't know. "Ah, it is? Well... the alternative is to panic and I'd really rather not right now." he replied. It was true - panicking would do nothing to aid the situation, and while he'd definitely had a few scrapes and close calls before, this was probably up there as one of the worst.

The stranger had carried on speaking, mentioning how cold it was, and something about points, which piqued Elias' interest, wondering what he'd meant by 'catching up on his points'. But that could be focused on later, as he was shortly offered help - not that he would be able to say no.
"Freezing to death isn't quite the way I'd like to go, to be honest." Elias commented, still trying to keep it light, though the adrenaline was slowly starting to wear off, which had been keeping any pain and tiredness at bay so far. He was just now realising how cold it was, and the snow was not going to let up any time soon, it seemed. He could not afford to wait for someone else, and he highly doubted that if there was a next person, they would be as helpful as this stranger was offering. It was his only option.

"Thank you. I..." he tried prying his legs free from under the crushed dashboard again. "Okay, my legs are stuck, I think one of my ankles is... something'd." he explained, unable to think of a word right now. He was at least able to slide his seat back a bit, creating a bit more room. He glanced to the seat next to him - a small rucksack miraculously still there. He'd use it to carry the important things while out doing his investigations, a larger suitcase in the back for most clothes and anything else he didn't need to carry at all times. He leaned over to grab it, going through it - clean clothes, two notebooks and an assortment of pens, voice recorder, phone charger... laughably, a first aid kit, and... a big, battery powered flashlight. He pulled it out, clicking it on, and then managed to get the driver seat door open.

[BarkinqCoyote]

That was quite an interesting inventory, how adventurous! Maus managed to squeeze out a bit more patience than he was prepared to have out here, rocking on his heels as the other accounted for all of his gear. Truthfully his attention lay more with the man himself - the way he moved, the wounds, that exhaustion in his eyes... Oh, he just couldn't wait to really delve into it all! There must be some kind of fascinating story behind him! Out of the short handful of words exchanged, Maus already had a tantalizing swarm of questions flooding his mind. Visitors passing through was something far and few between - it was mainly his position in his town that he was able to meet so many unfamiliar folks, but none for quite some time. Nothing like this, either; this is all natural, baby! And that was exactly why it took the force of a thousand suns not to completely bombard him.

Where's he from? What's with being out in a storm like this? How did he crash anyways? Why does he look so tired, what's the recorder for --
Yeah. It's probably a good idea not to think too hard about it yet given how out of it the stranger looked by this point. Maus took a path less traveled for someone like himself and simply held his tongue to the best of his ability. For now!

A half-patient smile held steady over freckled cheeks, curling his fingers around the frame of the door to pull it open the rest of the way. "Hey, no need to- uh... No need for thanks! Anybody would! Uh, p-probably, yeah. Maybe? I guess it does not matter, does it? Here, let me--" Maus took the bags; the small one first, which he slung over his shoulder, and then the other one that he placed atop the snow covered median of the road. "Alrighty! How about w-we get you, um, situated over there, yes? I am gonna help you up over-... Over to my car since you are currently something'd-- which is also hilarious, by the way. N-Not that I am laughing at you! I am sure you are in a wooorld of pain, huh? It is just because I have never heard anyone phrase it so... You know!"

The leader waved his hands about in tandem with his speech before redirecting his train of thought with a snap of his fingers, looking back at the seated man. "But! That is probably - definitely - the last thing you want to hear, I would bet." He gave a quick nod with a matter-of-fact confidence, before lowering himself to a slight crouch to offer his shoulder as a means of support. "No worries about it if you can-... Uh, if you cannot put any weight on it. 'Kay? Lean as much as you need, I will help you."

[Consulting_Angel]

Elias tried not to think too much about why the stranger was helping him. It was all a lot - getting his bags out for him, making sure the door was open and even allowing him to lean on him for support. That, and the awkward way he spoke, like he was nervous. Again, it wasn't really as if Elias had much of a choice, but he did wonder if there was another motive for it. And, he reminded himself of the mention of 'points' earlier. There were a lot of questions that he wanted to ask, and it was quite the effort to make sure he focused on actually getting out of his own car and to what would hopefully be safety, instead of whipping out his recorder and asking all the questions that came to mind.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as the stranger had said his wording of the situation was hilarious. He didn't take offence to it, but was curious about the reaction. "Once the adrenaline wears off completely I'm sure the pain will hit properly then. And maybe I'll figure out the right words." Elias commented, deciding to try and keep things light still. At least with the door fully open now, though, something shifted enough so that he could pry his legs free. "Let's find out what that something'd is." he added, using the flashlight to check. Visually, his legs were okay, so at least he hadn't lost anything.

Then, Elias started to move his way out of his car, using the stranger's offered shoulder. "Thanks, sorry if I lean too much, let me know." he said, quickly, not wanting to accidentally put his shoulder out or hurt him or something. Even so, Elias only leaned a little on his shoulder, not as much as he probably could have done. At least, not until he was actually stood, gingerly putting weight on both legs. As he'd thought - his left ankle immediately sent a sharp pain up his leg, but his right leg was okay, perhaps a little numb from being stuck. "Okay, yeah, my left ankle is not happy." Elias explained, rather hoping the stranger didn't mind that he was still leaning on him.