I Saw The Bright Shinies

[gylfie2]

Ooc; This roleplay is between myself and mister Rio. c: At
some stage, we might need other characters, but for the
time being, this is a one on one.

It was the midst of a typical Welsh winter. Sleet battered the pavement of Cardiff, gathering in puddles before rushing off through the roaring drains. Mist danced between the falling drops, gathering into suspicious shapes before falling apart once more. The wind howled and the waves of the bay smashed against the thick concrete wall of the Torchwood Hub.

Jack sat in the middle of the massive room. The others had all left, fleeing from their chilly workplace and leaving Jack to man the monitors. Ianto Jones had left last, of course, placing a fleeting kiss on Jack's lips. That short piece of physical communication with his lover had warmed Jack to his soul, making the next ten hours bearable. Oh, how he loved his Welshman. His soft skin, his bright eyes and adorable little face, his eagerness to please.

The captain's thoughts were cut short by the shrill alarm of the rift monitor.

Species: Unidentified/Foreign
Amount: Unspecified
Technology: Unspecified

"Fat lot of help you are," Jack muttered to the computer.

He stood and walked to his office. It took very little for him to get ready, he just had to pull on some pants, throw on a shirt and then pull his RAF greatcoat on over everything else. Of course, he felt almost completely naked without his cuff links or braces, but feeling naked was what he liked most about life. o___o

I should call Gwen or Owen, he thought as he made his way to the SUV. No, not Gwen. I wouldn't want to disturb Rhys. I couldn't call Toshiko, because she needs sleep. Owen wouldn't come anyway. Ianto... no, he does enough work as it is.

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Ooc; Okay, now you write for Rio finding or chasing the
alien and I'll respond after that. I think I'm getting writers'
block. I should really do my maths homework.

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[Rio Keâts]

Riocard Keâts was not happy.

He hated the rain. He hated the way it made his clothes stick to him uncomfortably, and he especially hated the way it turned the dirt into mud - which later he'd have to step on. He hated the squish noise that the mud made. Hated it, hated it, hated it. He also wasn't fond of the cold that often accompanied the rain, but he had been in colder situations.

Rio puffed out his cheeks, sitting against the wall of a building wearily. He had set out that night with every intention of leaving the miserable country he was in, but the rain and wind had deterred him a great deal - especially since he didn't have a jacket. A drooling Saint Brenard had decided to run off with his messenger bag full of clothes and other items, leaving Rio only in his French t-shirt and a pair of shorts. In the rain. All alone. At night.

Twinkling caught his ears. Bright, shiny, glittery little.. thingies floated by him.

That was all it took to capture the Frenchman's attention. "Hurray!" he said cheerfully, leaping up to follow the bright shiny things. "Are you fairies? Oh! Maybe you're pixies! Is there a difference between them? You'll have to forgive me, I don't really know very much about that," he rambled to the bright things, trailing them with wide eyes.

The bright shinies twinkled again, floating a little faster away. Rio jogged to keep up with them. He was used to running. It's what he had done his entire life; he ran from the Russians that killed his father, he ran from the woman that saved his life, and he ran from his friends constantly. Running to keep up with fairy/pixie things wasn't a difficult task.

"Fées mal poli," the man whined. "Come back!" he insisted, jumping up and down in a feeble attempt to catch the shiny things.

ooc| sorry for the lameness.

[gylfie2]

Ooc; Take two aaand action. -braces self-

The black SUV soared through the rain, guided by the beeps of Jack's rift monitor. The annoying blipblipblips grew louder as he closed in on his target. The device knew what it was after, but Jack had no idea. It was definitely alien, but it seemed significantly small and harmless. Had it been hostile or overly noticeable, he was sure a camera crew would be in the area, but so far, the only life he's seen belonged to one mangy cat and an overweight man standing outside of a fast food outlet.

"Come on, baby," Jack muttered, averting his eyes from the road momentarily to check the monitor. "Give me some news."

Species: Unidentified/Foreign
Amount: ~200000
Technology: None

"Two hundred thousand of them?" Jack said, his voice rising an octave. Where were the camera crews and curious on-lookers if there were two hundred thousand of them? "At least they're unarmed."

One steady beat sounded, alerting Jack that they had arrived near the aliens. He pulled the SUV over sharply, the tires squealing against the tarmac. Through the rain, he could see a cloud of light approaching. He exited the vehicle and rushed under the awning of a near-by store, bracing himself for an attack. The aura was still roughly five hundred meters from where he stood, but it seemed to be approaching fast. His hand flew to his holster, caution resounding strongly in his head.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he said loudly, his voice booming through the rain. "You are trespassing on a protected planet. I order you to stop."

As he spoke, he soon became aware to the fact that the alien mass was being followed by a young man. Was this boy in an alliance with the aliens? Was he a hostage? Or, heaven forbid, was he their mindless controller?

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[Rio Keâts]

He was tantalizingly close to a shiny creature. They tinkled above his head, and he needed to touch one of them. He stood on pointe feebly and outstretched his hand with determination. He bit his lip in concentration, stumbling after them - grateful that he wasn't ballerina. Ballerino? It didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that the light-creatures were drifting higher in the sky.

He really hated being short.

"Captain Jack Harkness," a voice spoke. Rio bristled. "You are trespassing on a protected planet. I order you to stop."

Bright green eyes widened and he stopped mid-step. His hand was still outstretched, and he was still standing on the tips of his toes. Trespassing? Him? He looked around him vainly, trying to figure out if there were any trespassing signs -- not that he'd be able to read them. His mind desperately turned over and over what the man had said, all while staring hopefully up at the creatures.

"I am very sorry, monsieur," he said nervously. "I didn't mean to trespass on a planet," he continued mournfully. Wait - when in his father's name had he switched planets. Did that mean that the man was an alien? Were the bright shinies some sort of alienistic butterflies?

Rio glanced away from the shinies reluctantly, looking over to the man. He certainly didn't look like a captain. Well, maybe he did. Rio didn't actually know what a captain was supposed to look like. He didn't know how to take the fact that the man had one hand on his hip. That usually gave away impatience, right? He took walked closer cautiously, and realized that he had a hand on a holster.

"Don't shoot us," he told the man, his attention returning the bright alienistic butterflies. "Being shot hurts, and they haven't done anything," he insisted. He reached out a hand to catch them again. They tinkled sharply and moved away from him.

He drifted after them. "I wonder what planet we're on if not Earth? I must have gone over the rainbow," he rambled mindlessly. "Down the rabbit hole! Through the wardrobe!" he cheered happily.[/size]

[Gylfie Murdoch]

My goodness, he's mad. He's marvelous! c:

I'll try to reply tomorrow or sometime thereafter. I have a bunch of homework (math, biology, health) that's due, so that should be priority. I think.

[gylfie2]

Jack continued to train his gun on what appeared to be a bunch of sparkling bubbles. They were captivating, but he did not let the extreme look of concentration fall from his beautiful face.

Only one thing made him falter. The young man that had been following the aliens seemed to have taken Jack's order personally. Jack's arm fell to his side, the gun now pointing at the ground. The incredulous expression on his face was bordering a facepalm. He wanted to ease the stranger's worries, but the man seemed to be rambling. By the time Jack got the chance, the man was cheering deliriously.

"We're on planet Earth," Jack said, his words clipped. "We're meant to be here. Them on the other hand -" he pointed at the aliens hovering a meter or two above their heads "- they are meant to be somewhere else. Now, love, why don't you go home? I've got this."

Jack raised his arm again, but this time to punch something into his broken vortex manipulator. To be honest, he had no idea what he was doing, but he figured that if he looked important, then the young Riocard would leave. Jack had enough to deal with without having to wipe the memory of another innocent.

[Rio Keâts]

Rio stopped following the shiny creatures and looked at the man curiously. "What do you mean they don't belong here?" he asked, pouting childishly. "They're nice! They haven't been doing anything, monsieur, I promise. Don't you believe in nice aliens?" he asked, his voice getting weaker and weaker with each defense. To be honest, Rio had left the persuading up to his father.

Now, love, why don't you go home? I've got this.

He bristled, and bit his tongue to refrain from shouting various French expletives at Jack. "You've got this?" Rio repeated, crossing his arms stubbornly. "You mean you're going to shoot them?" he demanded. His angry exterior faded and he shuffled uncomfortably. He followed the bright creatures again.

"I don't have a home to go to," he said sheepishly, tugging on the ends of his shirt nervously. "And neither do they. And they're not hurting anybody," he repeated softly.

Rio bit his lip and glanced back at him. "You shouldn't call me 'love' either, monsieur," he informed the man grumpily. He was pulling at anything and everything he could to make himself appear tougher than he was feeling because he sure wasn't feeling terribly tough right at the moment.

For example, take his fear of guns. The man had pointed the gun in his general direction and he had felt his throat constrict and he was back in Russia - except he wasn't in Russia now, was he? And he had killed those men because they had killed his papa. So why was he still terrified? Rio didn't have an answer.

Maybe usually he would be able to push down all those emotions until he was just plain old happy Rio again, but he was cold and wet. The wind was making his skin icy. He had survived colder temperatures, but his mind was in a vicious cycle. He couldn't distract himself from his fear because he was cold, and he couldn't distract himself from the cold because of his fear - and the other emotions slamming into him. And there were a lot of emotions.

He paused and sighed, amused by how he could see his breath. "Nevermind. You can call me what you like, capitaine," he amended, "but my name is Rio."

[ooc| :c i'm sorry for the craptastic post. i just sort of started rambling. XD

[gylfie2]

Standing in silence, Jack watched the young man. For some reason, this stranger unnerved him. Jack had few doubts as to whether the stranger - or "Rio" as he later called himself - was in a right sense of mind, but he had been wrong before. Perhaps this was the aftermath of drugs? Perhaps this was how the boy always acted? Jack had no intention of finding out, but he was unable to get a word in edge-wise.

After a couple of minutes, Rio stopped babbling about nice aliens and morals and ethics and Jack was finally able to answer the boy's questions. He unfolded his arms, which had somehow knitted together through Rio's little speech, and braced himself for a venom-fueled reaction.

"By 'they don't belong here', I mean they don't belong here," Jack said firmly. He rested his right hand on his holster. This was like talking to a child. "Yes, I do believe in nice aliens. Yes, I've got this, and -" he sighed "- no, I wasn't going to shoot them. It's called threatening and it was going to lead to them going home."

That familiar cheeky grin almost found its way to Jack's face at Rio's provocation. He wasn't allowed to call him "love"? Well, there wasn't a soul who didn't like Jack's sweet talk. But, oh, Rio ruined it by saying that Jack could call him whatever he wanted. Jack fought to keep the disappointment from his face.

"It's nice to meet you, Rio," The captain said genuinely. "I really have to deal with this, though, so could you step aside for a moment. Just for a moment. I need to, ah, gather them."

Jack's blue gaze lifted to the mass of shimmering lights above them. They seemed to be waiting, just setting above the closest shop roof. Taunting.

"Actually... I might need some help."

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[gylfie2]

Ooc; Oh my goodness. My last post sucks.

[Rio Keâts]

...step aside for a moment.

Rio pouted and took a step to the side. "There," he muttered, his eyes returning to the floating lights. "How do you intend on gathering them, monsieur, if you can't even touch them?" He raised his eyebrows curiously, looking between the shiny-pretty things and the captain. Maybe the man could fly?

Certainly he normally didn't think that flying was an option, but lately he had run into all sorts of shenanigans that didn't make sense. Like the flying lights. So why wouldn't a flying person make sense? (Oh, besides the fact it defied all logic.) (...so did flying lights.) Rio rubbed his forehead, about to ask whether the man could sprout wings.

I might need some help.

"Oh. Well, uh, I can't fly. Actually, I don't know. I've never really tried to fly." He flapped his arms wildly, standing on the tips of his toes in a failed effort to defy gravity. "Nope, sir, can't fly." He rubbed his chin, trying to figure out another why he could help the captain-that-he-doubted-was-a-captain.

He was trying to think of all his most useful skills. He could.. tie a cherry stem with his tongue, speak several languages, and... well, he couldn't do absoloutely anything useful. "I'll help you!" he declared blithely. It was better to just let the captain take the reigns. The man knew what to do. Probably. Maybe.

Rio could hope.


[ooc| sorry it took so long. :'3]

[gylfie2]

Ooc; My love! I missed you so much. c:

I should really get back onto MSN, but my
account that I talk to you through has been
upsetting my computer. If you want to add
me on my Torchwood roleplay MSN, then I'd
be more than happy to accept.

[e-mail]

I am not a loser. c;

BEFORE I POST, may I mention that I adore
your last post. Adore, you hear? It was, ah,
beautiful. Quite simply put, it was beautiful.

Jack gazed forlornly at the hovering lights, realizing that Rio was right. He had absolutely no way to harness the aliens. They were meters above him. And even if he did somehow miraculously get at them, where would he put them? How would he get them all without spreading them to every corner of the Earth? This seemed near impossible.

He dragged his attention from the mess, catching Rio flapping his arms around madly. Jack's mouth dropped open. What was the kid trying to do? He raised an eyebrow, a reminiscent smile finding its way to his face at the words "nope, sir, can't fly". Ianto called him "sir". Jack liked the word "sir".

"I don't know what to do," Jack admitted sheepishly, most of his confidence gone. "I probably have a laser cage somewhere in the SUV -" he pointed at the car beside him "- but I wouldn't know to use it. My, ah, colleague archives all our equipment. Alternatively, we could use a net or, like, music of some kind."

He peered up at the lights again. "But what music could possibly draw them near?"

[Rio Keâts]

[Don't worry 'bout it, Gylf. My internet is being kind of shoddy, so I doubt even if you had been on if we'd be talking. xD (the timezones don't help either. curse them. >:C)

Also, was that a hint of sarcasm I detected about my post? :'D Rio was flapping his arms. What was beautiful about that? You silly chicken. (and typo galores. :c)]

I don't know what to do.

"Common ground," Rio grinned, giving Jack a thumbs-up. He put his hands on his hips and glared at the creatures, giving them his serious-est face. He listened (vaguely) to the man's ideas. A laser cage, a net, or music. "Those are certainly ideas," he agreed, nodding solemnly.

He didn't know what a laser cage was. Rio was imagining some sort of strange electric fence type thing; putting collars on each of the pretty lights, and allowing them to wander free until zap! they reached the perimeter. The net idea he liked better. He imagined the two frolicking about catching the pretty-lights in butterfly nets.

Music was a nice way to entrap innocent, scared creatures of outer-space. What kind of music would pretty aliens from the wild west of the universe enjoy? Country? Beat boxing? Classical? Disco?

"I can play the kazoo! I can be like.. like.. Peter Piper! Except with a kazoo. And aliens..." he trailed off. "Nevermind. Aliens don't like kazoos." He thumped his forehead and sighed heavily. He paced back and forth in silent contemplation, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"A-ha! You can serenade them!"[/size]

[gylfie2]

Ooc; I'll get to this within the next couple of days, baby
cakes. I just need to finish a whole heap of homework
first, you know?

I love yew.

[gylfie2]

Ooc; I am the worst roleplay partner ever, okay?
I can't believe I survived so long without reading
your beautiful posts.

Jack watched the young man's comical response seriously, wondering if the boy really was under some sort of influence. It had been hundreds of years since he had met someone with such a fluent and short attention span. Quite frankly, he missed it. This was outrageously entertaining.

"I can't sing," he pointed out a beat too late. "I do have music, though, and most aliens respond well to music. Wait here."

He trotted back to the SUV before Rio had a chance to start speaking to him again. Jack unlocked the black vehicle and leaned into the interior, shuffling through the music on the stereo and pressing play. Immediately, Nella Fantasia, sung by Katherine Jenkins, began to sound. Jack turned the volume to full and flicked a switch, activating the speakers built in all over the vehicle.

He stood back, admiring his handiwork, before turning to send a quick smile at Rio, then, finally, looking up to the sky. The glittering spheres seemed to have paused, suspended in mid-air. Jack waited anxiously, wondering what they would do next.

[Rio Keâts]

I can't sing.

"Really?" he asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "I really would have thought a blatant flirt like you would at least be able to sing. I mean, come on, sir. Isn't being able to sing charmingly the single most important think in being loveable?" he questioned, squirming where he stood. His mind was buzzing with hundreds of things; and most of them were pouring out of his mouth in several different languages.

He was just beginning to talk about the wonders of domestic kittens when he realized Jack wasn't even listening. Jack wasn't even in his direct vicinity. He took a deep breath and held it, narrowing his eyes as he attempted to gather his bearings again. Surrounded by bright, pretty aliens and a handsome stranger. He released the breath, the sounds beginning to drift in his ears.

Right. Music. They were trying to ward off the bright, pretty aliens with music and not with guns. Riocard took a step towards Jack, opening his mouth to comment about -- well, he wasn't too sure, so he pressed his lips together. What was one to say in this situation? Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get through this beautiful alien invasion together. You and me. Hombre a hombre, mano y mano.

Rio rubbed a hand through his hair, watching as the orbs hung in the air. He returned Jack's smile."Pardon my asking, sir, but what was the music supposed to do?" he asked, shifting his eyes back over to the scintillating spheres.

ooc| I'm sorry I made you wait so long and I gave you this crapfest. Forgive me, m'love. -grovel-

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