"What!?" Ralph demanded, as Shawn approached.

Shawn, seeing that Ralph wasn't fleeing at the sight of him, didn't make any aggressive moves. Instead, he sat down in the swing next to him, legs dangling. "I'm glad I found you, Ralph. I was really scared."

"No. I d...d...d...d...do....don't need it!" Ralph retorted, his arms crossed, chin tucked down.

It was petulant, defiant tone that he was striking. Still, he wasn't running away.

Shawn sat on his swing, occasionally kicking the ground. He let the silence linger, partly to give himself time to think of what to say, partly to make it clear that he was listening, that he wanted to hear what Ralph had to say. Finally, he spoke. "It's rough, Ralph, I know. And it's not fair..."

"Why do y....y...yo...you get it all? All of it?" Ralph asked looking at him for a moment, before returning to his ridged, but somehow slumped, posture on the swing.

"And d...d..dd..don't think I d...dd..dd..d..don't know about Bobby!" he said. "Th...there's only o...one reason why he'd..th...th..th..think your Mom was his."

"Because he forgot. And y...y...you made him do it!"

"I...kn...kn..kn..know what grows in the Circus. I do."

Shawn looked dully off into the distance. He'd done a lot of terrible things, but while messing with Bobby's head was one of the earlier ones, it'd by and large been worth it; it was one he felt like he could make his peace with. "His parents are dead. I made a deal to make the Circus leave him alone, but he wanted to go after them. It was either make him forget, or let him get killed."

"Hhrmphhhh." Ralph said. And he crossed his arms tighter. It wasn't obvious what the gesture or sound meant. Other than that it was petulant.

"You get..get...get...get..get it all don't you? You get...get...get...get...get...the parents and the movies. And you get..get..get..get...the friends too!"

Shawn heard Ralph's anger, and wondered if this was the future Melinda had predicted for them back when the younger boy had been kidnapped. He tried to think of ways to appease Ralph, make him feel better. He was silent for a minute or so, then he quietly ventured, "I can't give you my parents, or my movies...but if you want, I can teach you how I make friends. It's kinda tough sometimes, but it seems to work."

"I don't like you right n...n...n..n..now." Ralph shouted. "You make m..m..m..me very angry. I'm s..s...so....arggghhh! Mad at you!"

Shawn had waited for a moment before he spoke. And now, he sensed that his next words might make or break the conversation.


OOC: Shawn Rolls Manipulation + Socialize + Striking Looks (too appeal to Ralph's Reason)

OR

Shawn Rolls Manipulation + Empathy + Striking Looks (too appeal to Ralph's Emotion)

Vs. Ralph's Composure + Empathy

Shawn felt himself responding to Ralph's rage, dredging up his own resentments. "I don't like me either. I don't like any of this Ralph. I wish your and Bobby's parents were still alive. I wish we could all just be safe and go to school and be friends...I just...I just...I killed someone the other day, Ralph. I looked into her eyes as she died. And I'd be dead if I didn't, and she deserved it, and she would've done the same to me...but I'm always lying now, Ralph. Every day I'm pretending to be someone who wouldn't do that. It's all fake; my parents, the movies, the friends. The Shawn they know isn't here...he never really existed. It's all just faking. And you're the only person who knows that, Ralph. You're the only real friend I have. And you can hate me if you want, and I deserve it, but at least we can still be lonely together." His voice broke, and he was clearly fighting tears. But that reedy little survivalist voice in his head couldn't help but point out that while he was telling the truth, it was a carefully chosen one, one designed to get a specific response from Ralph. That Shawn was still showing Ralph a persona, just like he did everyone else.

OOC: 23:55, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 6 successes using 10d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 6,9,2,6,6,9,8,10(+1),8,9. Manipulation + Empathy + Striking Looks + WP.

Ralph's eyes grew wide as he took in the gravity of what Shawn was saying. They grew even wider still when Shawn relayed the tale of the killing.

Ralph's crossed arms and his determination to remain defiant fell apart.  Like a great dam springing a leak, tears began to form on his face. And with that, Ralph burst out into tears. His hands fell loosely to his sides, the sobs coming fast and furious.

"I...I...I...hate...the Circus!" He announced.

"Me too..." There were no tears from Shawn, but his voice was hollow.

"I...love you." Ralph said, his tone one of total, complete exasperation. It was the way a child might speak to his father or his mother.

"But...what are we gonn...gon..gonn...gonn..gonna do!?" He cried out, cords on the side of his neck standing out, head twisted to one side like he was straining against the inevitable power that couldn't be seen. He looked desperate, confused and more than anything else, afraid.

"What are we g^onna doooooooooo....." The last world trailed off in a whine that preceded Ralph crying. He wanted a direction. It was clear to Shawn that the status quo just didn't work for Ralph. He was begging for a plan.

Shawn looked around, as if worried about being overheard. “I know...I have some ideas, and if we’re lucky, I can turn them into a plan. We’ll figure it out, okay? You just have to be good.” Shawn had no idea what he could possibly do, but he guessed he knew more about the Circus than any other human boy. And he knew where he could learn more; a very specific ice cream truck in the park. There had to be a way to escape, he just had to say the right thing to the right person.

Ralph sniffed a few tears away. "Al...al...alright." He agreed. "Y...y...y...y..y..you aren't just saying it?" He ventured, still wary of fully entrusting Shawn with making a plan to get them out of the Circus' shadow. "Y..y..y...you really will figure it out?"

Shawn weighed his options between false hopes that might eventually blow up in his face, and tempered expectations that might set Ralph off here and now. He tried to settle for a middle ground. “I’m going to try, Ralph. I don’t know enough about the Circus to know how to escape, but I’m going to learn more until I can!”

Ralph's face suddenly contorted into something resembling terror. His eyes grew even wider, his hand came up to his mouth, teeth starting to work on the edges of his fingernails. "But...but..but..but..but, you said so!" He proclaimed, his need for certainty and decisive action pressing against Shawn with each whine and stammering utterance.

"You...you...you...you...have to figure it out!" Ralph demanded, saddling Shawn with weighty responsibility each time he spoke.

"How are you g...g..g..going to figure it out!?" Ralph fretted. He wanted a plan. He was like a passenger thrown overboard, flailing for some kind of certainty, something that could serve as a life raft in this sea of chaos that had become their lives. Ideally, Shawn knew from speaking and observing Ralph many times, the plan would include a way back to Ralph's family. A way to claim his own life back. But even if that wasn't the case, it was clear what Ralph wanted to hear from Shawn: he wanted to know how Shawn was going to get them out from the Circus' shadow. He wanted to believe that it was possible.

Looking at Ralph's contorted face and the panic that was threatening to engulf the young boy, Shawn knew that Ralph was on a razor's edge. Ralph needed to believe there was a way out. He needed to have hope.

Shawn tried to calm Ralph down by giving him what he wanted. "When I was looking for you, I found Mr. Cherrywinks. The Order took over the Circus, so he's trying to run away. No one knows more about the Circus than he does, so I'm going to try and get him to tell me more about it. I'm going to try and trick him."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 02:10, Fri 26 Jan 2018.

Ralph was stunned. For once in his nervous tirade, he remained completely silent. He was speechless. His hand dropped from mouth. His eyes were still just as wide as before. But Shawn could tell that might have been the trick. It at least took the pressure off. Ralph, even if he didn't notice, was settling into to the idea of the plan.

"Are...Are...are you gonna be careful?" He asked, suddenly concerned more about Shawn's welfare than his own need to hear a plan.

Shawn nodded seriously, trying to seem like it was a risk he understood and accounted for. "Mr. Cherrywinks is trying to hide from the Order. He knows if he tries to kill me, they'll come after him way harder than they are now." Well, he hoped that was what was going on. Mr. Cherrywinks hadn't tried to kill him before, right?

Ralph sniffles a bit and kicked one untied sneaker out in front of him as he gently swung forward. "So.....so...so....Mr. Cherrywinks isn't gonna get us." He said, voice slightly uplifted by the notion of safety in the chaotic environment.

"So...so...so...if you get Mr. Cherrywinks to talk, what...what....what...what...what...do we need to find out from him?" Ralph asked, voice stammering over itself with the possibilities.

Then he interrupted his own question with an answer.  "How to get away. Or....or...or... How to not be in the Cirucs....or...or..or...how to run?" The answers sounded more forced and less certain each time Ralph spurted them out. What he really wanted was some kind of affirmation. Or better yet, a unique idea that would tie all of these fragments together. An idea, that an older kid like Shawn could provide.

OOC: Shawn Chooses - 1) Shawn Comes up with a Plan to 'Get Away From the Circus' and rolls the Following

Shawn Rolls Wits + Expression + Striking Looks with the following results

0 Successes: Shawn provides that idea in a plan to Ralph, but fails to express the plan convincingly - Ralph's opinion of Shawn is lowered. Raph's jealousy continues

1-2 Successes: Shawn provides a plan and puts on a performance in convincing Ralph - Ralph is no longer Jealous

3-4 Successes: Shawn puts on an interpersonal performance, his best yet - Ralph is convinced, he is no longer jealous. Ralph shares something about himself that Shawn did not know.

---

OR:

2) Shawn decides not to come up with a plan

“It’s not just about running away. We have to make it so they don’t want to chase us. Or better yet, they can’t.”

OOC: 21:26, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 2 successes using 10d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling on 9 or more ((4,2,2,3,3,10(+2),4,8,4,2)).

Ralph got up from his swing and walked over to Shawn, untied shoe flopping on the ground.  "OK." He said, seeming to submit to Shawn's idea of trusting Cherrywinks and finding a way to get away from it all.

There was a softness to his voice now. The hard-set nature of his face was more relaxed, his face was round and his posture was slouched.

"So what..what..what are we gonna eat for dinner? And when....when...when..when are you going to go to your audition?"


"Actually, you...you...you..wanna just go home?" Ralph interrupted himself, his voice sounding genuinely tired, and maybe not as interested in learning the answers to those questions as he might have been just moments earlier.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Mon 29 Jan 2018.

“Yeah, I’m ready to go home. I just have to make a quick stop at the park on the way, okay? Do you think you can make it the rest of the way back from there?” Shawn was exhausted from his day, but convincing Ralph that he knew what he was doing had half fooled himself. Maybe they could do this...

Ralph agreed to go home by himself. He seemed in a better mood. Shawn got up from the swing set and made his way to the park.

OOC: Shawn: The Park Is Full of Surprises