[i'm not crazy, i'm just a little unwell]

[majorlyugh]

WHO: Major Lilywhite
WHERE: The fountain, around the village
WHEN: July 23, then July 24th - the end of the month
OPEN TO: OTA; specific thread for Ravi.
WARNINGS: N/A

---

[Arrival - July 23, Early Evening]

The first thing Major notices when he breaks through the surface of the water is the sudden rush of air in his lungs, making his brain vibrate and buzz in his skull. It's a feeling he hasn't experienced since .. well, since he was last human. Does that mean that he's no longer a ... ? Huh. Will have to come back to that one later.

The instinct to survive, gather his bearings, figure out his sudden location change override any inkling he has to focus on the very human sensations he's experiencing. He crawls his way out of the fountain, tumbling up and over the edge of it, rolling onto the ground. On his back, he catches his breath and stares up at the sky overhead for a few seconds before the feeling of the fabric clinging to his body finally sizzles a few nerves in his fingers, and he realizes he isn't wearing the henley he remembers wearing, nor is he wearing the jeans he'd had on. Instead, he's wearing a .. very vibrant pair of magenta .. well, for lack of a better word, scrubs, and there's something digging its way into his back.

He sits up, loosening the straps of the strange pack he has on to take a look at it before deciding to get out of the open and somewhere sheltered. No weapons, no bullet-proof vests .. no hungering for brains. There's that weird buzzing in the back of his skull again.

He gets himself up, slips the pack back onto his shoulder, and begins to wander around the town.

[From July 24th to the End of the Month]

Major's memorized the layout of the town; it isn't all that large, and from his preliminary investigations, it also seems like there isn't a clear way out of the place. He's mostly stuck to the outskirts, having found some shelter in what appears to be an abandoned cabin somewhat near the river's edge (he thinks it's a river, anyway). He takes the subsequent days after his arrival to do more exploring of the village, this time venturing closer to the heart of it, as well as exploring the river to what he thinks is the southeast of his new "home."

He eventually finds himself wandering into the Inn at the center of town, intent on interacting with and asking the others any of the question he hasn't already gotten answers to.

Comments

[zomboligist]

It would have been so much better if Blaine had looked old, then Ravi wouldn't have had to worry so much about Peyton somehow falling for his annoying charms. It's in the past, though, and Ravi's got a new thing going on, so he tries to leave old wounds in the past. He gives Major a dubious look when The Crow gets quoted, because this is just a sad new side of his best friend that he's just learning about.

Ravi reaches out for Major's wrist, checking the pulse and feeling a lot more beats per minute than a zombie would ever have. Letting out a disbelieving, relieved laugh, he grins. "You're human," he says. "Human and in for a great deal of disappointment, because there isn't a single pizza place in sight," he tells him. "That said, I think there's still some rabbit stew on, which I'll feed to you while I tell you about my recent slide from friends with benefits to an actual tentative relationship."

[majorlyugh]

"What? Like you didn't see The Crow and didn't love it? If you say no, you're lying," Major argues, looking disappointed for the judgment, but only barely. He's done worse than quote a strange and ridiculed movie from the early 90's, and Ravi still dares spend time with him. Besides, if Major can't geek out over random stuff with Ravi, then who else?

His features light up at the confirmation but then grow sullen at lack of pizza. He opens his mouth to scoff, mortally offended by this newly acquired information.

"Geez, who even are you? Eating rabbit stew like it's nothing? What has this place turned you into?" he asks, scanning his friend up and down as though searching for the one clue to unravel the mystery. "Oh, I, uh - I've sort of set up camp in what I think is the southern-most cabin, by the river. Did .. you .. I mean, I imagine you've already got a good living situation on, maybe with your Lady Friend," he nudges Ravi with his elbow, "But the place has got two rooms if you .. wanna .. y'know." Move in, is what's implied, though he doesn't quite say it.

[zomboligist]

"You've made me watch it once, that was enough," he protests, because he'd had to make sacrifices when he'd moved in with Major and college football and some very odd movie choices just so happened to be some of the downsides of gaining a new, incredible best friend. Who is now human, inexplicably. Honestly, his head is starting to spin when it comes to Major's inability to pick a team.

"I've been here nearly a year, I think I might actually murder someone for fried food," he says, not entirely sure how hyperbolic he's being. "If you'd brought a pizza with you, I might have actually kissed you," he warns. "That said, a warm offer to live together again is a pretty good second," he admits with a grin. "It's not just me and Helen, there's another bloke, so it's hardly like a love shack."

"Major," he begins, mock-serious, "would you do me the honour of letting me move in with you again?"

[majorlyugh]

"Yeah, and who tried to make me watch cricket? More than once, I might add!" Major retorts with a bit of a humph. The Crow wasn't even a favorite movie of his; he just found it entertaining to quote on occasion. And it also annoyed the hell out of Ravi, so it was really a win-win situation for him all around. "It doesn't make any sense, man. They have like, frat spanking paddles, there are sticks behind them, they wear cream and white-colored polos with sweater vests, I mean .. come on. Even if you could get Branson to join the team. At what cost, man, at what cost?"

He recoils a bit, playfully, sympathetically patting Ravi's shoulder from a distance large enough to allow his arm to extend almost entirely.

"I mean, I tried, but TSA here is terrible, you know?" But then in a moment, he's back at his friend's side, beaming at his agreement. He can't help it; it's the best news he's had .. well, since the first time they'd moved in together. He pretends to get emotional, fanning himself while tucking his lips in under his teeth, glancing around as though trying to keep himself from crying. His other hand comes to his heart as he sniffles.

"Yes! A thousand times yes!"

[zomboligist]

"Cricket is an excellent sport that should be given patience and time," Ravi counters, because it's not proper cricket unless it threatens to go into the next day, but he can see why Americans don't have any proper cultural respect for a game like that. They prefer football, after all. "It's dignified," he replies. "Besides, it's just a better version of baseball," he points out.

God, he's missed Major, he realizes. He's missed home, but having this part of home really reminds him. Out of nowhere, he surges forward and hugs Major with a forceful glomp of his body onto him, trying not to look too keen, but it's probably a lost cause.

"I can't lie, this place isn't great," he says, more serious. "Still, I'm glad you're here with me for it."

[majorlyugh]

"No. No, no, nope. I won't hear it. Some things just aren't worth the effort, man, and cricket is one of them. It's the most British-looking sport I've ever seen. Even more than friggin' Water Polo. Is that why you wear sweater vests so much, though? Dreaming of a bygone era when cricket was considered .. I don't know, a good sport? I might have to start calling you Carson from now on." He's obviously joking; he doesn't have any personal vendetta against cricket, even if he understands literally none of it. He just has to give his friend a hard time.

The embrace surprises him, arms awkwardly stiff at his sides, but after the rest of him catches up to what's going on, he reciprocates, patting him on the back some while letting out a laugh.

"Geez, is this what happens after you've been in this place for a year? You start having emotions and sharing them with people?" Despite his teasing, Major tightens the embrace a little bit, feeling just as glad, just as happy to have Ravi with him. "I guess I'll get a head start on the Emotional Overload to come if I last that long by saying that I'm glad you're here, too, man. I .. don't really know what I would've done, if I'd arrived here without you."

[zomboligist]

"One day, I'll get into that brain of yours and teach you to be British. You really should have just eaten a British person's brain that wasn't mine, maybe we could have had actual bonding time over proper sport," he maligns as he disentangles himself away from Major, feeling a little embarrassed for the sudden affection, but it really has been a long time. No steady job, no real tasks, no hobbies, and he's started to go out of his mind.

"I mean, one of my current roommates lived on Mars for a while..." he drawls. "He's also handsome. I'm afraid I tried to replace you," he informs Major. "Now, though, comes the dealing with it part. I'm still not sure how to do that," he confesses.

[majorlyugh]

"We seem to get along plenty despite me being a Yank," he says, imitating Ravi's English accent as best he can and doing a fairly decent job of it. At least he thinks so. "Do you think I'd suddenly start speaking like that? If I ate a Brit's brain? That'd be so trippy." A pause. "I mean, I guess it doesn't matter now since that's not a Thing anymore, but hypothetically, it's kind of fun to wonder about it."

He claps Ravi on the shoulder with some force, to help ease up the embarrassment.

"I'm not entirely sure whether to be really offended or really flattered that you straight-up tried to replace me," he says, squinting in thought. "I mean, how did it go? Is he like, Major 2.0?" He exhales a bit of a sigh, splashing about some of the water idly. "Some Gandalf you are; it's like if he didn't know the way to Mordor and just told Frodo and the others like, 'well, I think it's that way, but good luck!'" He reaches out to nudge him with his elbow, eyes going wide for a second. "Going back to previous conversation, but if you went zombie, you could totally pull of a Gandalf the White look!"

[zomboligist]

"I hope not," he says, because the last thing he wants is to have to deal with Liv going all anything but American, because that's just an explanation he doesn't want to give. God help him, what would he tell Clive? That it's amateur accent hour?

"I mean, he went to Mars, so I think he's just a little better than you. He hasn't been a zombie, that I know of," he points out, "but he did live on an uninhabitable planet longer than any man alive," Ravi boasts, as if it's his own accomplishment. "Incidentally, when we're talking about weird things, my girlfriend's immortal," he throws in helpfully. "Or was. I'm fairly sure she's robbing the cradle, either way."

"If I went zombie, I would buy all the hair dye Seattle had," he counters. "My skin tone?" he says, gesturing to his face with a finger. "Not made for white hair."

[majorlyugh]

"Come on! It'd remind you of home! We'd have a spot o'tea and eat some biscuits and lollies and .. whatever else it is. Bubbles and squeak? That's a thing, I think? Honestly, all of my English references come from Downton Abbey, so, I'm behind by like, almost 100 years," he says with a bit of a sheepish shrug.

"Better than me? Excuse me? Why am I even here still? You're obviously doing just fine without me, having replaced me with a literal handsome Martian." He holds a hand up, palm facing Ravi's face as he turns his own away a bit. "You know, I need a minute. I need a minute to process this and get over the hurt and betrayal that I feel down in my soul." He's 100% joking. Okay, maybe 95% joking. He doesn't blame Ravi for having tried to make the best out of the situation, especially given that he's been here a year already, but ..

Still.

Ouch.

[zomboligist]

"I think that all of you should never pretend to know anything about England, but also this is severely disappointing given that we've all been friends long enough for you to know better," Ravi accuses, no longer feeling bad about befriending Mark and thinking multiple times that he was filling a Major hole in his life (why didn't he say that one out loud, that was a quality pun!)

"He's just an Earthling," Ravi admits, though if he were a Martian, that would've been even cooler. "Besides, you know that deep down in my heart, no one could replace you," he vows. "You're singularly perfect as my best friend," he confesses. "Even if I never saw that coming."

[majorlyugh]

"But we only exist because of you. You know. The whole, 'colonizing the New World' thing? I thought the Brits would be happy to have their like, grounded children sent to their rooms return feeling apologetic and asking to play a game of cricket," he says, pouting a bit. "At least I'm trying," he adds, splashing a handful of water at him.

He makes a sound of disgust as he shifts himself, turning further away, a bit catty-corner to Ravi's side, now, with the bulk of his back facing his friend. But at the admission of being his best friend, he peeks over his shoulder.

"You're saying I'm perfect?" Obviously it's the 'best friend' part that gets him and makes him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but he can't give in that easily. He wouldn't be Major Lilywhite if he didn't give Ravi a hard time whenever he could. It's all out of love, of course.

[zomboligist]

"That's just playing dirty," he accuses, sniffing as if he's insulted when, really, he knows that Major is definitely right. His own background is a testament to the Brits conquering the world and drawing from its gene pool, sucking everyone in. Ravi makes a face when the water gets splashed at him, but doesn't quite whine, which is a promising thing, indeed.

"I'm saying that you're okay," he huffs, even if he is the perfect best friend for Ravi, but he can't have that going to Major's head anytime soon, that would just be a travesty.

[majorlyugh]

"And you love me for it. I know it, you know it, the rest of the world knows it. So you might as well just drop the charade and embrace it the way you embraced the whole zombie thing." Come to think of it, Ravi's accepted a good number of things with minimal to no upset. Even when he'd discovered the bag of kidnapping goods in his room, he'd gotten understandably upset but hadn't blown up the way Major had expected. He isn't sure if that makes Ravi crazy or understanding.

Either way, he's grateful for it - even now.

"Nope, you said perfect, that's the word you used, so I'm going to cling to it like a flotation device. Perfect." He scoots himself back around to be shoulder-to-shoulder with Ravi again. "I'm enjoying this like, Titanic moment we're having here - and I promise I'll never let go - but like, can we get out of the water now? Go dry off?"

[zomboligist]

"I do," Ravi admits, like it's a begrudging thing torn out of him when, really, he's already grinning like a madman because he doesn't feel bad at all about being soaking wet or having his emotions played with, because Major is his best friend and he loves him and it's true, that pretty much most of the world knows it, but he doesn't even mind a bit.

Not when it's the truth. "I think we ought to get dry before this becomes the mud wrestling match Liv once wanted to see," he agrees with a nod of his head, because he's not really in the mood for that, given how awkward that could get. "Come on, let me show you the rest of this god-forsaken village from the past."