[center][img]http://cdn1.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/migration_catalog/article25776946.ece/dee2c/ALTERNATES/h342/Gerard+McCarthy[/img]
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/8858/posts/ooc?page=11#post-780979]Nick[/url][/center]

[i][b]Smoke filled the air...[/b][/i]

[indent]Nick bellowed out a loud cough and pounded the palm-facing portion of his fist into his chest as he expelled what smoke was left in his lungs. His entire apartment had smoke that was as thick as downtown Detroit, albeit this smoke only took an hour or so to accumulate. The television was on, but being ignored - everyone had their T.V.'s generally tuned to the news, especially recently with the crazy-as-fuck events that had been unfolding. Nick, although following the trend, rarely paid attention to its details. Mostly because he refused to accept such a gruesome reality, but also because he didn't want any fuel for a conversation at work - that included religion, politics and the tragedies on the news.[/indent]

It was about an hour, give or take ten minutes, until Nick started his shift at his newest job: guest service management at a local McDonald's. In addition to overseeing the service crew, he also dealt with all the fuck-up orders and douchebags that insisted their food was wrong when it wasn't. This go around, Nick had a lot of just plain annoying shit to deal with, and moreover annoying people. If it wasn't the customers, it was the ingrates for employees that worked evening shifts: teenagers. With that in mind, Nick did what Nick does best... get high. Really high. So high that when Pink, his companion, shared his feelings with him, Nick was just inebriated enough to have a full-term conversation with her.

As a matter of fact, it was this capability that led Nick to where he was now. It was only a few days prior that Nick was in the states, working as a secretary for a computer repair shop, that he began feeling these weird sensations. Considering the amplitude of drugs Nick done in his lifetime, he took no real notation of it and went on his business smoking pot and answering phones. After his shift, however, Nick had this odd urge to just trek into the woodlands of North Dakota - his previous state of employment - and get some fresh air. It wasn't long before Nick ran into the porcupine he now knows as Pink, but that's a slightly more enthralling story.

[indent]Although Pink has no greater intelligence or sentience than a common house cat at this point, Nick treats her as if she's another person, and arguably their deep connection makes it so. When Nick found Pink, she was scared in the wilderness; she was just involved in an intricate hunt where her quills were her only salvation. Nick, possibly because he had just smoked a roach joint after leaving work or possibly because he was so enthralled by his instinct, attempted to pet the porcupine, ultimately being stabbed by one of her quills. Nick went through various stages of hallucination, but at the same time Pink stayed by his side and tried to comfort him. This was the first step of their bonding.

As Nick and his condition grew worse, he saw flashbacks of his father screaming and beating his mother. Simultaneously, Pink saw these images, too. Nick was flooded with a new perspective, as if seeing through eyes not his own. He saw how just a few hours old, Pink was thrust from her litter with just enough feeding to survive. Forced to chew on pine needles and surviving only by following her mother at a distance, Nick relived what it was like to feel fear without complex thought. Then, at the epitome of his fever deluge, his intense rage and subsequent depression of never being accepted by his father and self-guilt for the whorish depravity of his mother was shared by Pink whom may not have fully understood, but somehow felt the same empathy that Nick felt for her.

Nick woke up hours later, the quill removed from his hand and with Pink curled up next to him. Although it seemed like a nightmare at first, Nick could feel himself tethered to pink, and ultimately laid with her 'til she woke. When she did, it was as if the rodent was more akin to a pet canine as she laid down her quills and nuzzled into Nick. Nick took her home and named her Pink, mostly because it was spelled similar to porcupine.A single, feverish moment between man and beast and brink of death brought these two beings together, and the bond that formed was deep enough that both could understand perspectives that alone they could not.[/indent]

It seemed rather simple, but upon his first instance of toking it up with Pink, both went through an incredible journey. They reconnected on an incredible level, sharing basic instincts and essentially rebounding over the inebriated state of the other. Pink was granted another notion, however. Pink, for whatever reason, had the sheer instinct to flee. Not out of fear, but out of necessity. It could not be explained in the same reason a goose could not tell you why it migrates; it just does. Nick felt this desire and did what he did best; looked for somewhere new. After trying several avenues, he found that the best method was simply to let Pink watch him over his shoulder as he went through Google maps, and eventually picked out the place he wanted: Calgary, Alberta.

From there, it was as simple as any other job. Call in with an amazing resume, get the job, move. He started work in two days, and that was that. Since then, Nick is on his second day as management at the specific McDonald's in Calgary, and has outshone most other manager there... while high as fuck. This leads us to where we are now; Nick sitting beside Pink, petting her gently while they both watch the news. Aware of his powers, Nick swirls the air with his finger, creating intricate rings of smoke that he assumes he does out of sheer practice and since he's a badass, 'cause that's what stoners think about smoke tricks. Little does he actually realize he's manipulating the smoke, and it's essentially been that way for every other application of his new found powers.

After his shower and change into clothing, Nick made his way to work, sullenly leaving Pink at home on her favorite channel: National Geo. It was an early morning for him since he came in at the first shift after the nighttime break down, meaning lobby had to be opened up. He had to set up the registers, tell the opening workers where to go, and essentially lead the team for a little while since mornings were always slightly understaffed. What he didn't realize is that this was the true application of his power. Not just his element, not wind, but his leadership. Every person he came in contact with that morning was bonded together just a little bit and as a whole that McDonald's worked slightly more efficient. It wasn't a whole lot, but in combination with his experience it was enough to make him excel further than some more veteran managers on his second day alone.

---

[center][i][b]Collab between Prince and Jakhi[/b][/i][/center]

[indent]It was brief. Incredibly brief. Sitting in the manager's office in an attempt to get over the odd anxiety that he felt - which was completely alien to him - Nick felt as if what he had been waiting for was soon to arrive. It was instinct. He glanced over the cameras, but was specifically drawn to one of them by a force that seemed to silence the murmurs of worry and concern in his mind. Nick watched as a red sedan passed his camera, and knew by pure instinct something was important about it.[/indent]

Nick was overcome with panic. The car didn't stop at a window. The car didn't make an order. This red sedan that for a brief moment integrated itself with Nick's very subconscious just seemed to keep going. What he felt was an overwhelming relief when the car slowed and stopped at the dumpsters, which to his luck had their own set of close-up cameras to deter vandals and thiefs. As soon as she stepped out of the car alongside her friend to throw something into the dumpster - which was not permitted, although at the moment he didn't care - he fixed his gaze on one of them, and knew. He knew that whoever it was - whoever she was - must have been one of the driving forces as to why Pink led him to this place.

What happened next only cemented in this belief. A large scene outside involving what appeared to be a man defending a wild cat caused a small crowd to form in the parking lot, which Nick followed on screen. He rushed out to the lobby to watch through the large glass windows and the blond girl again, a rabbit, a wildcat, her friend and a McDonald's employee. Instinct drew Nick to look at his nametag which read [i]Nikhil[/i] - an action Nick normally would not have had the cunning to commit.

The events that transpired next were mostly a blur. The other two managers, one being his 'trainer' and the other being the present day-shift general manager essentially told him procedure was to stay inside, while the grill manager was taking part in the scene outside. The red sedan he saw on screen quickly pulled a move straight out of an action flick and ultimately led to the get-a-way of the blond, Nikhil and the friend, as well as the rabbit and the wildcat. 

The rest of the day was crazy. Local news showed up, the video of them all was given to the news crew in favor for an interview with the 'milkshake man' and Nick was left with little training that day (although he didn't really need it) and a migraine (unknowingly caused by the emotional distress of the crew that was pouring in on him) . Nick pressed on through the day and, with what ingenuity he had, acquired Nikhil's cell number from his employee file.

His shift ended at 2 PM; training days were shorter than regular shifts. As he drove home, he felt immediate relief from the headache that had plagued him while at McDonald's, and with that clarity (and somewhat sobriety, as he hadn't smoked recently) he remembered the number, and surmised he could find the connection between all of this. It crossed his mind that those people might be fugitives. It also went through some level of processing that he had no idea why he was doing what he did. In opposition to the normal rides home that left his car full of smoke and wonder that he could drive at all, this one was full of thought and contemplation.

Once at home and in the comforting pressence of Pink the decision to text Nikhil's number seemed much easier. It was as if the pressence of Pink made it easier for Nick to give in to the somewhat illogical, mostly instinctual method of thinking that he was beginning to develop. It was an oddity considering normally he sacrificed his sound mind through the use of drugs and as of late he had been doing so slightly less as his instincts were doing the real work for him. After loading his bong, it was set. He would text Nikhil and see where it went:

[indent][b]2:14 PM: Yo nikhil im nick. i got an animal too man. wtf is up[/b]

Nikhil's head was still reeling from the quick escape they had made.

He had managed to convince the girls to stop at his house so he could grab some clothes before they ditched town. They were clearly ditching town, it was the only obvious decision he had made in what felt like months, but was really more like the past three days.

The girls were sitting awkwardly in his kitchen as he packed, he barely knew their names and there they were in his filthy bachelor-pad living room sitting on the only peice of realy furniture he owned...He'd just abandoned them there to give himself a second to breathe, to think things through.

Now, as he frantically stuffed clothes in a travel bag Nihkil felt his phone vibrate. Guessing it was one of his friends he'd been working with he put off checking it for a few minutes, zipping the bag shut and then grabbing a second bag to fill with bathroom stuff.

He'd been locked in the bathroom for 15 minutes, both bags packed and at his feet as he perched on the edge of the tub, before he worked up enough courage to check the message.

[b]2:14 PM: Yo nikhil im nick. i got an animal too man. wtf is up[/b][/indent]

It wasn't from any of the staff he'd have guessed, it was the new guy. The brand new manager on his very first day. Nihkil exhaled loudly and ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it as he thought.

One of the regulars, an older guy who came by about once a week, had seen Nikhil's eyes the day before and handed him an address on a scrap of paper without a word. Outside of work Nikhil had been wearing sunglasses, but there was no way he could get away with that on the job. He'd accidentally made eye contact with the old guy, and something had shifted in the other man's posture. Nikhil had mumbled something about contacts, but he knew it wasn't remotely believable, especially to a guy who'd seen him regularly for the past year and hadn't ever seen him wear anything even remotely 'odd' or 'outside of the norm'.

Nikhil fingered the paper as he considered what to do. He wasn't going back to the McDonalds, no way. But if the guy could get himself to the address...

[indent]2:41 PM: Hey. How do I know ur not lying?[/indent]
[indent][b]2:53 PM: [MMS: Selfie of Nick and Pink.] her name is pink bro[/b][/indent]
[indent]2:55 PM: OK [/indent]
[indent]2:55 PM: We can't get you[/indent]
[indent]2:56 PM: We're going here[/indent]
[indent]2:57 PM: Lat: 50.630986 Long: -115.140613[/indent]
[indent][b]3:01 PM: I can be there i dont work tomm. u 420 friendly?[/b][/indent]
[indent]3:03 PM: Dude, if you're coming you won't need to worry about work. I dunno about the 420 thing, but since we'll be in the middle of the woods I don't think anyone will mind...as long as you don't burn the forest down.[/indent]
[indent][b]3:07 PM: I doubt ill burn anything down bud haha see ya there[/b][/indent]

As insane as it seemed, Nick intended on leaving his job and his current station to essentially trek off into the wilderness to a place Google maps shown as an abandoned campground. Prior to packing his belongings, which were normally never completely unpacked anyway as he moved frequently, he called the McDonald's he worked for to tell them he would be unable to work under the conditions of their store and used the cougar scene as the foundation for his excuse. Considering just how batshit crazy the events of that day were, the General Manager of the store had no qualms with Nick leaving and offered his condolences for the events transpired. Pink, all the while, had been doing nothing more than feeding Nick encouragement through their connection. It may have just been her instinct just as it was Nick's when he was drawn to the blonde girl and Nikhil. Either way, it was essentially set. Nick loaded his 2008 Lincoln with his personal belongings [i](the only open seat was the passenger's side)[/i] and set off to the coordinates via GPS. With that last note, he sent a final text to Nikhil:

[center][b]5:12 PM: OMW[/b][/center]