Ralph Tyranis's page

Ralph looks down at the order giving cat briefly wondering what she'd do if he didn't pick her up, though not having any reason to refuse other than curiosity he leans down to get her holding the small fuzzy being in his arms. "Ok Chief, where we goin? fer dis party."

The young man cracks a grin at Rashibot "Well not so 'citin when yer inna coma, or stuck book lernin. Glad ta see yer in good spi'its Cleo, also likin yer new relaxed look. Not dat ya ain't look good 'fore jus' more hoity toity 'n I'm really used ta. I know ya wanna run out an' see stuff, but yer gonna come ta Chief's party right?" Ralph really didn't have that much trouble getting comfortable with Rashibot, it might have helped that he never knew Rashida, didn't know Taraz, and hadn't been part of the crazy death party that pushed them all together. Also apparently the fact that she was made up of gears and springs didn't seem to matter to him. On the other hand it could just be that Ralph didn't have trouble acting comfortable around anyone, any formality was pretty much lost to him.

"I c'n git ya Chief... well n'a so much wit da catbrain n da drugs, but I feel yer bor'dom. Jack managed ta find an' block of mosta my 'scape routes meanin' I gotta stay put an' lissen ta da book learnin' all day. Ain't da most 'citin time, a shindig oughta do sum good. I needs a 'scuse ta spend sum time wit sum dolls, 'fore all i c'n tink of is nav'gation an ship functions... I ain't even seen Kit in prolly 2 weeks."

Ralph shrugs his shoulders hearing Kittington's admonition "Well momma says no on da self-induced coma, but I ain't her her say no party. Maybe good time ta unwind. I ain't re'lly tink da coma was such a good idea anyway."

Ralph matches Vorian's grin "Well ta tell ya a secret Ringo, I ain't ne'er been one fer formalities ta begin wit."

He taps his chin smudging the soot with his finger. Noticing the black smear on his finger he produces a handkerchief from his pocket, which up until now was probably the cleanest thing on his person, and proceeded to wipe his hands clean, more or less clean anyway. "Come ta tink o' it you Joes ain't so hoitey-toitey 's I'd 'spect wit all yer fancy titles, ya put alotta fait in some gu'ersnipe witout a penny ta his name. Ain'tcha wurry I'd letcha down?"

The young man known only as Squirrel shrugs his shoulders "Seemed a' good a name 's any. 'spose ya could use ma full name if ya like Squirrelonious Van Reddenbaucker da fort... seems kin'a formal dough"

He nods towards Kittington "Well if ya tink it'll help I'll try ta come visit 'er when I can... Jack keeps a purdy tight leash dough 's gettin hard ta 'scape."

Ralph nodded to the Duchess "We gots sum Joes dat're purdy good wit 'lectronics but dey ain't f'milia wit kitty helmits. Seein as she's stable, ain't wort da risk be'er ta wait fur sumone ' knows wut dey're doin."

The young captain turns his head towards Vorian as he appears "Hey Ringo, good ta see ya. Tanks fur yer help back den, we'd'a ne'er made it outta dere witout 'cha" He shook his head "Dis cap'in ting's still weird, ain't 'xactly used ta havin no 'sponsibility."

Ralph waved his hand at Rashida's bow "C'mon Cleo friends ain't bow ta each udder. 'sides I ain't do nuttin special wit'out Ringo's a'vise dat cannon wudda ah'blitr'ated us."

The young captain smiles towards the Duchess when she arrives "Good ta see ya Rani."

Looking back to Rashida when she announces she has things to do an nods "A'right, come see me latuh Cleo I 'ppreciate da break from bein' cap'in."

"I'll come wit ya darlin'" the soot covered youth says to the Duchess "I wanna see how da Chief's doin' 'fore Jack finds me 'gain."

The captain is responsible for just too many different things Ralph was not used to this, he wasn't used to be responsible for much of anything let alone a big ship and full crew. The young street urchin had never really intended to take up any sort of position of importance on the ship he was just giving Ysillith a hard time because he thought it was ridiculous that she insisted on being called captain when she had no ship. The helmet cat who seemed to own the ship, or was at least in charge, came upon their argument, and put official titles on them both naming Ysillith captain, and Ralph first mate and high chieftain, titles which, at least in Ralph's case, had been in name only. However with the newly appointed captain AWOL before the ship even left the dock, and expected to never return, captaincy fell to the first mate. Of course they could simply have chosen someone else, but that would require Mittens admitting she'd been wrong to pick Ralph as first mate, something Ralph was pretty sure the helmet cat was incapable of doing.

Being thrust into the captain's chair meant there was no nice relaxing cruise for the boy. Instead Ralph's days in the voyage to Morocco were crammed full of learning all the things he needed to know about the ship and about being captain, every crew member seemed to have something they needed to teach him. The little vagabond actually found most of what he learned quite interesting Despite his complaints on all the learning, and his attempts to sneak off to find Alyce, Cassie, even Drake, as an excuse to take a break.

Morocco was a mess, how many were injured in the incident? How many were due to him not being up to snuff as a captain? Ralph didn't think he wanted to know the answer. No one seemed to blame him, some among the crew had even sung his praises attributing the victory directly to his actions in one way or another, in his mind it didn't feel much like a victory at all. From the Captain's point of view it seemed more like the savage lion monster found something more interesting to do than massacre his crew it didn't really feel like they forced him to retreat. If nothing else Ralph at least got aid out to the injured efficiently.

A report came from the field that one of the group was down with severe injuries, but that their insides were made up with cogs and springs, not the usual goo one would expect. Ralph very politely replied "I ain't care if d'ey're made o' sunshine an' good inte'tions, if d'ey're one 'o ours get 'em a'board an' get em da care d'ey need. Ah.. an' Jack? maybe keep dis baloney 'bout cogs 'n springs unda yer hat." They'd already set off again for their next destination before Ralph found out that the mechanical person in question was Rashida.

Now well on their way Ralph had snuck away from his captainly duties again, and emerged out of some sort of ventilation shaft covered in dust and soot, he'd had to get more creative about his escape routes, and they weren't always the cleanest. Speak of the devil, there was Rashida leaning against the rail, since her door was closed every time he snuck off to try to visit now seemed like a good time to see how she was doing. "Cleo! How ya holdin up Dollface?"

After the trip to the past the name Squirrel sounds somewhat foreign these were the only people that called him that "Uh me?" it was somewhat out of character for Ralph to not be paying attention, if it weren't for Alyce's outstretched hand he might not have even noticed she was talking to him; it was pretty obvious the performance has affected him as well.

The young urchin however doesn't take long to recover, he decides to leave the past in the past, and smiles back at Alyce "Kit darlin when ya gimme a smile like dat I ain't tink I could possibly say no ta ya." He reaches out to take her hand "We betta stay clear'a Jack dough, he finds me wandrin 'round 's likely ta put me back ta work wit da cap'in learnin."

The memory of the last encounter with his parents is very vivid in Ralph's mind. It was as if he were back once more brooding in the dark after the fight with his parents, despite the sound from the concert he can clearly hear his mother softly knocking on his bedroom door, and entering to talk to him one last time. She'd attempted to smooth things over as she had many times in the past when the boy had had a spat with his father, but it was different this time, the effort was futile, and she probably knew it. After a short time Elenna Tyranis gave up on the talk, and stood to leave she paused in the doorway and looked back at her son to say goodnight.

His mother made it more difficult, the sadness in her voice, and the way she said 'Goodnight' that made it sound to Ralph like she really meant 'Goodbye' might have swayed him normally but he had made up his mind this time, there was no turning back. That night Ralph climbed out window on the second floor of the family mansion and into the gutter, hiding behind a mask of filth in an area his father would never stoop to going himself. By the time his parents could arrange to hire someone willing to search through the filth Ralph would be long gone.

The young street urchin starts to come out of his reverie, the vision of his mother's last goodnight lingering in his mind "Always wondered if she knew..." he said in a barely audible murmur. Back in reality he finds that the performance is over, the spotlight already fading away and the hand of the young girl sitting next to him was still lightly squeezed in his own; it may well have been a very nice and possibly even romantic date had he actually been present. Releasing the hand in order to give well deserved, although somewhat late, applause to the performance he leans towards Alyce to whisper "So'ry Kit off in ma own wurld fur a bit."

Feeling Alyce's soft hand in his, the young street urchin can't help but feel a bit of nerves,and that his hands are maybe a bit sweatier than they should be. He may talk a bit big, but truthfully he's only have a couple of dates before girls tended to sneer and give him and make disgusted remarks. Of course for most of his life he was caked in an inch thick layer of grime, it was hard to blame them.

The pleasant voice of the helmet cat pulls his focus away from the pretty girl next to him...

Ralph smiles warmly at Alyce then chuckles softly when she mentions his tailored suit "Tailud well dis one is, just ain't tailud ta me... I tink 's one a Jack's he got it fer me. I ain't gots nuttin a ma own. So he got dis fer me." He looks down at the suit he's wearing "Purdy gen'rous o' him 'sidering whut hap'ned ta da last coupl'a suits I had." He looks towards Drake as he's told he might give the man a run for his money, considering the young girl said she was a huge fan of Drake's he figured that was quite a compliment.

With a small sigh the young urchin, with some reluctance, lifts his head from Alyce's shoulder "Yeah... I ain't used ta dis book lernin... 's wearin me out. Well eider dat 'r I jus needed a 'scuse ta git closer ta ya." He gives her a wink then finds himself being taken along by the hand.

Settling into the comfy seat it actually is rather tempting for Ralph to just close his eyes and take a little snooze. Having only just recovered from his injuries it probably wasn't a surprise that the young man was tired. The nudge from Alyce helps bring back his focus and he chuckles softly "Doll 's prolly back ta lernin fer me when dis is o'er, I ain't gonna spend da lil' bit o' time I gots wit ya sleepin." Besides he wanted to hear the Duchess sing, and see what all the fuss was about.

Ralph comes in to join the others, he hasn't changed his clothes, still wearing the same oversized suit, thankfully it wasn't s big that he looked totally ridiculous, only somewhat. At least someone managed to convince the young vagabond to clean himself up before coming for the show, they somehow even got him to shave, maybe they pinned him down and took a razor to him themselves.

The youth takes in a breath and looks about, spotting Alyce coming towards him he smiles, he couldn't think of anyone he'd like to see more, and what a sight she was; that dress was really something. "Kit" he says when the girl comes near "Wow darlin, ya really gots it ya know? Yer da bee's knees, must be da keenest doll in da joint. 'an ain't I lucky ya came ta see me." Well possibly him and Drake, but close enough.

The young urchin lets out a tired sigh seeming to be running out of energy. Hoping Alyce doesn't mind too much he leans his head against the girl's shoulder. "Dis learnin's hard Kit... I only been at it fer a few hours, but feels like days. Dis tug shure is comp'icated."

Ralph comes over to the others as they're talking about sunning and rubbing oils. He approaches from behind Alyce, and moves to lightly put a hand on her shoulder "Can' take ma eyes offa ya fer a sec'nd cin ah Chuck?" He smirks towards Drake "Ah step out fer a minnit an' ya try ta steal 'way all da purdiest dames?" The young man leans in closer to Alice saying in a mock whisper loud enough so the others can hear "Dis Joe's wurse'n me." The street urchin smiles towards the young woman "Course, I s'pect he has sum be'er luck'n me" he continues with a soft sigh "whut wit dat dashin mug o' 'is an' dem fancy werds. Sad sack like me ain't got a shot ya know?"

The young man is dirty again, not nearly as bad as when Cassie first met him, but certainly not as clean as when he was last seen. He has a smear of dirt across his cheek and spots here and there on his clothes, which are relatively nice, but clearly too big, they were quite likely tailored to someone else.

Squirrel's eyes turn towards the Dutchess " 's real nice o' ya ta put onna performance fer e'eryone. Not sur I cin be dere dough, I still gots lots ta lern 'bout dis ship I oughta spend summore time learnin from Cheif an dat Joe... Jack?" This arbitrary name could refer to pretty much anyone. "I ain't real fit ta be cap'n if I ain't know nuttin 'bout da ship. Ain't sur I's fit ta be cap'n eider way, but 'll do whut I cin."

Ralph blinked a moment after being called acting captain, he'd forgotten about that, and supposed that meant Ysillith was never found. The answer to the question he really had no idea, he hadn't really explored the ship or talked to the chief to see what rooms were free. "Umm sure Kit, ya cin have 'ny room ya like, take da cap'n corders if ya wants em. I ain't really know much 'bout stayin inna Hotel, but it shure beats da pants offa sleepin inna dumpster." He's pleased to find this is in fact not a hospital.

The young street rat was pleased to have the assistance getting out of the bed, though he didn't have an overabundance of difficulty doing so. Of course any excuse to get his arms around such lovely ladies is a good one. He looked towards Drake curiously "Hey Charlie... yer a great Joe, a good fr'en an all, an' I'm greatful ya fix'd me up an' all." He lets out a long sigh as the doctor takes the place of the pretty women "But didja hafta chase da dames away? Dis walk woulda been much more fun."

Despite the complaint young Ralph finds his legs to be wobbly and unsteady, they're not very cooperative as he tries to take a step. Without someone to support him he would have some difficulty getting to the room. Drake, knowing how much blood the young man lost, would probably note that the fact he can even stand on his own is miraculous. "'m 'ssumin dat if yer callin me actin cap'n da cap'n ne'er showed up. 'm gonna hafta chat wit da chief... I ain't know much 'bout runnin a ship." The young street rat enters into the room Alyce found for him, and sits on the bed. Looking at the remnants of his only set of clothing he lets out a sigh then gets out of the shirt, relishing the time to rest and recover also rather pleased to have a nice soft bed, rather than a smelly gutter to sleep in.

Ralph nods towards Cassie "Yeah whute'er it wuz dat Chuck did seems ta be werkin, feelin be'er an be'er, not e'en so tired no more." He wonders a bit what the French woman was going to say when she trailed off.

At Alyce's touch she gets a smmile from the raggamuffin and he chuckles softly at her words "Ain't nobuddy dat calls me Herr sweethart. Jus' Squirrel's good." The youth considers Cassie's words of people being taken for granted, and shakes his head "I ain't tink ya gots ta wurry too much 'bout me takin eider o' ya fer gran'ned, it gen'rally ain't com'liments purdy dames 're trowin at me 's more like disgus'ed sneers, 'r rocks. i ain't want da couple dat treat me good ta tink it don't matter."

The sighs softly and nods agreeing as Cassie says Alyce should maybe stay there. "I ain't real keen on da idea o' sendin ya off on yer own Kit, if ya needs ta go I oughta walk ya home." He starts to make his way to the edge of the bed "I aint' really wanna leave ya dere all on yer own eider... not after whut's all happined t'night."

The voices around him seemed familiar, one was unmistakably Minx's, the man they referred to as Drake must be Chuck, he probably insisted on being Ralph's doctor, that was nice, he wouldn't ask so many questions. The other girl was young, she must be Kit good he'd have not been happy with Drake if he'd left her.

The bed ridden young urchin listened quietly, his heart skipped a beat at the mention of the name Tyranis, and he hoped it didn't register on the EKG. Being fairly certain that it was only the three others in the room and there were no untrustworthy types Ralph carefully peeked out with one eye after they're rocked by the explosion just to make sure, no one else was there. "Ne'er a dull moment wit you Joes is dere?" He pushed himself to a sitting position finding it already easier to move, despite the lack of any real treatment so far.

With a warm smile towards Alyce "Kit darlin, glad ta see yer ok, I wuz wurried aboutcha." The peers towards Drake when the man says he has to stay "If ya wanna go so bad den go Chuck, make sure ya keep my Kit outta da danger dough, I's still gonna hold ya 'sponsible if she gits hurt. Feels like ya fixed me up purdy good, I shood be ok now, Kit, maybe yu'll stay wit me?" He looks at the ledger they're speaking of "Ya cin leave da book wit me too if ya want, 'll make sure it ain't fall inta da wrong hands; er give it ta chief, she seems purdy reli'ble."

All the jostling and movement as he's brought onto the stretcher and carried about, slowly push some consciousness back into Ralph. The youth slowly becomes aware of the surroundings as he brought into the med bay. He doesn't recognize the people moving him along on a stretcher, but they sure were in a hurry, they didn't seem to notice he was aware of them as they talked of blood loss and bullet wounds... couldn't they be quieter and let him rest? Suddenly a realisation hit him 'Oh no, I'm in a hospital... I can't stay in a hospital they'll give me away.'

When the attendants carrying his stretcher weren't looking Ralph tried to move, he found it possible, but difficult, and sluggish, like trying to swim through a mass of gelatin. He was certainly doing better than before, either Drake or Cassie must have worked some healing magic. After the people carrying him switch him over to a bed from the stretcher, and attached what must be monitoring devices the majority of them must have left. The young street urchin listened carefully, he was pretty sure there were only a couple people left in the room, but his heart was pounding so hard it made hearing difficult, he started to think it might actually punch through his chest. He needed a chance to escape, but in his current condition that was certainly impossible, especially with someone watching him. He decided to just feign unconsciousness for now, get some strength back, and wait for his chance.

Searching through the street urchin's clothing Drake would find rather fruitless, no wallet, no papers, nothing that would identify him even in the slightest. The only thing found in the rapscallion's pockets is a single Mark note, which if Cassie's paying attention to the search she may notice is only half of what she gave him earlier.

Mitten's query to the unconscious youth is left unanswered, though the blood on his clothing is clearly red in colour offering a very literal answer to her question.

There is a small sound of complaint as he's taken away from Cassie's warmth indicating that he still at least has some small form of awareness. He tries to open his eyes again as Drake insists on taking him himself, and almost succeeds, but not quite, and lets out an incomprehensible murmur.

Behind the hastily applied bandages it should be clear to Drake that the injury is definitely a bullet wound, it appears the bullet itself went straight through. The pulse isn't as strong as it should be, but is certainly there. The wound itself probably looks horrible to most, an ugly hole in the youth's shoulder, but with Drake's trained eye he would be able to tell the injury shouldn't be life threatening. The young man in Cassie's lap has however lost a lot of blood, and there are signs he may be suffering from exhaustion as well, though that is hardly the main concern could contribute to his unresponsive condition.

It's a bit difficult to say for sure without proper medical equipment, but most likely Ralph will recover fine with the appropriate treatment, though he may need a transfusion.

Ralph wakens a bit at Cassie's touch, and tries to make his eyes open; they refuse. He can't seem to make his body cooperate at all, he's never felt so weak, but at the same time it's very relaxing. From outward appearance it probably didn't seem like the street urchin was conscious at all he was paler than normal, and quite still, the only movement being his steady breathing as he lay in Cassie's lap.

Ralph accepts the hand offered to help him up "Tanks Minx... Feelin kinda lazy right now... 's hard ta git ma body movin." Holding Cassie close with his good arm he moves along with her back into the facility.

When the lovely French woman questions her choice of wardrobe, and once they're back inside out of the cold, he runs a hand over her uncoverd back. "But dat wouldn't be nearly 's much fun darlin." He heals his head against her slowly closing his eyes. "Maybe 'll take a lil snooze waitin fer da udders."

Cassie must be pretty well off if she's looking to throw all this money around, and start soup kitchens and the like. Ralph chuckles softly "Minx, ain't ya da one dat told me I gots ta live ma life? How ya gonna live yers if yer too busy wurryin 'bout e'eryone else's? I 'spect if it were you in dey're p'sition ya'd find a way ta get yerself outta it."

He sighs slowly noting that the French woman's voice was starting to take a similar slow and thick quality to his own "Soup ki'chen'd be be'er den dough, dey can' blow it on useless junk." He tries to get up and fails finding his body reluctant to obey him. With a second attempt he manages to sit up. "I ain't tink we oughta ditch da udders, Cleo knows we went dis way, she'll bring da rest. We maybe oughta move inside dough, I ain't wantcha freezin."

"Sorry, lost ma jacket sumwhere 'r I'd give it ta ya." He sighs softly and shakes his head when Cassie asks about helping "Yer a sweet dame Minx, but ya can' help e'eryone, I woodn't e'en be able ta tell ya where ta start sendin yer dough."

Ralph smiles and shakes his head "Nah, ain't nottin special I 'spect anybuddy wudda dun da same. Not like ya cin jus leave da lil twins an da ol' blind Joe wit nottin ta eat." Since Cassie has nestled her hip against him, he lays his head back against her.

The warmth of his Minx against him was quite comforting, he hadn't actually realised how cold it was getting out here, he shivers a bit probably should have kept better track of his jacket. "Startin ta git a bit chilly innit?"

Ralph smiles a bit and opens an eye to look towards Cassie "'s 'lot more serious answer den I 'spected." He assumed she'd take the opportunity to tease some more, as was their typical response. Maybe she's had people walk out on her before, and she's really is worried about it.

"Well y'ain't gonna git rid o' me dat easy Minx. We hadda deal, I help ya out and ya gots ta take me wit ya." He sighs softly "Da hart says not ta let ya go, so 'm willin ta deal wit yer trubbles if yer willin ta deal wit mine... le's jus' hope dey don' find me. I wouldn't want ya ta regret takin me 'long."

Cassie's talk of trust being hard to come by is no news to the little street urchin "Trust... now dat ain't sumtin I given out fer a long time." That may seem strange coming from someone so young, but it had been years since he'd told anyone so much as his first name. "Ain't used ta folks d'pendin on me neither, not fer more den ta swipe a chunk o' bread for em ta make sure dey ain't starve anyway." Speaking of people depending on him reminds Ralph of his newly appointed position on the ship; it may have simply been given to him to keep Ysillith and himself from squabbling, but he was first mate, and high chieftain none the less. If Ysillith really was gone would that make him captain? ...and high chieftain.

With his eyes still closed Ralph smiles a bit as Cassie takes his hand, the feeling of her smooth soft skin was really nice against his rough hand. "Well... I wuz hopin fer sumtin a lil squishier, but I guess dat'll do." Despite saying otherwise his tone implies that he was indeed after her hand, though in his opinion this was definitely a rare date, also he seems to remember a dance number during which Minx got a little grabby, and she wasn't after his hand.

At the question of whether he'll come along Ralph chuckles softly, there shouldn't really be any question if he'll come, that was his condition for helping her. Of course he wouldn't give that away so easily "Hmmm, I dunno darlin, whut's innit fer me?"

A hand rubs Cassie's arm lightly, a slow breath in and out then slowly blue eyes open to peer at her. "Ya look so sad Minx, yer not wurried fer me 're ya?" His speech is slow, but clear and deliberate, well as clear as Ralph's speech ever is at least. "'m awright Minx, be right 's rain once Chuck fixes ma showder."

The young man closes his eyes again leaning against Cassie as she comforts him. "Don' wurry... I ain't goin nowhere, we still gots ta go fer anodder date sumtime." He hand searches for hers and gives a small squeeze, hopefully reassuring despite the lack of strength.

His Minx now once again fully covered by her dress, and the excitement from the impending danger waning Ralph's heart beat starts to slow as his body relaxes. He smiles and shakes his "I tink I oughtta git Chuck ta gimme a once o'er b'fore dat." His smile turns to a playful smirk "Ya shure I oughtta go alone Minx? y'only paid fer one night ya know."

At the question of Ysillith's whereabouts he furrows his brow "Cap'n? I ain't seen hide ner hair o' 'er since we gots hit by dem colours. Prolly runnnn off wwwit dat crrrrazy doc." The young man's sluggishness is more and more apparent as his speech slows down and his words start dragging out, his eyes half closing. "Mmmmaybe I juzzz' sit ferrr a bit... wait ferrr da udders." He moves to sit on the ground practically falling to a sitting position.

"A secn'd date would be great Minx 'n I guess ya paid fer it... so I can' e'en really deny ya da goods dis time. But dat ain't count da same."

Ralph can't help but feel a bit of guilt seeing Cassie struggle somewhat with the door feeling like perhaps he should be the one opening it. Of course the lithe French woman was probably stronger than him on a good day let alone one that he's weak with blood loss, and has one arm totally useless.

The guilt doesn't last long though as his Minx puts on quite a nice show of opening the door. He can't help but feel she's doing it on purpose, she seems to be opening the door in such a way that she can tease with her body as much as possible while she does. After a few tantalizing moments of exposed thigh and black lace the door is open, and the dress is back in place.

"Tanks Minx, sawry I couldn't help ya wit da door, wuz fun watchin dough." He steps outside and sighs breathing in the cool air "Are we safe now?" His shoulders sag "I could use a nap..."

Not really sure what he's done to receive a reward, but he's not going to complain.

Ralph laughs softly and shakes his head "A smile usually ain't da foist ting dat comes ta'a dame's face when she sees me. Dough I been havin summore luck since I'm togged ta da bricks like dis." He looks down at his suit now torn in places, and covered in blood. "Well... not like dis, but b'fore..."

Following his date down the corridor, he'd offer for her to lean on him, but he's not in the best shape himself. Also they'd be better able to deal with anything they might run into if they're not tied together at the hip. Ralph draws the blade Cassie gave him, and makes towards the airlock and responds to her question "Minx, yer a real special dame an' all, but promised m'self I'd ne'er on da foist date."

With a chuckle and a grin "'m glad ya tink so Minx, some dames ain't take too well ta a Joe tryin ta sneak a peek... Err... Not dat I know anytin 'bout dat." The perfectly innocent young man explains.

Something about the way Cassie mentioned Mimi made it seem like she wasn't sure if she should consider her a sister or not. His natural assumption was that Mimi was a half sister, or something similar, Ralph was pretty sure he had a whole slew of half siblings that he'd never met, his father wasn't really known for fidelity. "Mimi? Nah, I ain't never 'eard 'o er sweets." Of course he didn't know the proper names of most of his closest friends either, at least if he's ever caught and interrogated the villains won't be able to make heads nor tails out of what he says.

He's quiet, somewhat pensive at the mention of Cassie's father, it had seemed like a touchy subject earlier, which he could understand; he'd certainly rather his father wasn't brought up the less questions the better. Instead he focuses on the last bit, although he's not entirely sure which compliment she's referring to. "Sweet tongue huh? Well play yer cards right darlin, and maybe I'll letcha have a sample later."

Ralph chuckles softly at the French woman's flushing "Well I ain't see dat much, but I wuz sittin right next ta ya, dere mighta been a peek."

The street urchin sighs and nods "I"m shure dey're ok... seem ta be able ta take care o' demselves." He nods when Cassie mentions Alyce being pretty "Yeah Kit'sa real cutie, y'know when I furst met 'er I tought she wuz yer sister er sumtin."

Coming over to the lady in the doorway he puts his good hand on her shoulder "Darlin Cap'n's crazy 'n all and I'm purdy shure she's gonna try ta kill us at sum point, but I ain't 'spect ya'd go 'round callin 'er a maniac."

Ralph smiles mischievously towards Cassie and nods slowly seeming to think back at something "Well ya already showed a peek at sum 'sights I neva dreamed of' back in da steam room." He winks towards her "Maybe we cin have sum promise later."

He peers towards the parchment "Minx darlin, I ain't gots da slightest idea whut yer talkin 'bout wit da protatypes an da repi'cants." He takes a look around seeing if he can spot where Ysillith or that crazy doctor went off to. "Minx didja see whut happened ta dat doc'r? 'An we ain't heard frum da udders fer a while now, I hope dey're ok... 'specially Kit, 's my fault she's dragged inta dis mess."

Ralph smiles at the French woman "Yer gonna pertec me from da league Minx?" He wonders what she would do if the league actually does come for him, it doesn't seem like she'd have much of a chance.

With a sigh and nod of his head "Well I ain't gonna fergive him fer it, but like ya said I ain't gonna just dwell on it eider."

He smiles and takes Cassie's soft hand "Well darlin, I like ta tink I live a good 'nough life, but... I am kinda lookin forward ta ya showin me now. Mebbe we cin git started on dat once we git outta dis place."

"Mmm da greatest houses..." Ralph smiles and shrugs his good shoulder at the comment "Well Minx lemme tell ya, ya gots a lot more infl'ence on me den dey do."

The young man laughs softly at Cassie's question of if he worked for a Family "Nah dey ain't wanna Joe like me, a flity street rat, I'd be too much trubble, and I ain't willin ta be no slave." He sighs softly, the emotional purge seems to be slowly wearing off as somewhat conflicting emotions start to surface. "I had sum friends dat were, but dey're all gone now." Teeth clenched for a moment as he remembers, then he waves his hand to dismiss it "But I ain't gonna bore ya wit dat... less jus' say if da league's hand reaches fer me, I ain't 'spect it'll be ta help me up."

Ralph waves his hand to dismiss Cassie's apparent concern "I ain't mean you Minx y'ain't like dem." He pauses for a moment "Y'ain't parta da league are ya?" 'Or worse a bounty hunter for them...' He looks at the French woman somewhat suspiciously 'Could she be? why else would this beautiful sophisticated woman be interested in a filthy street urchin? I'd really have to hand it to him if he's got Minx on his payroll.'

The young man shakes his head pushing away the thoughts "Shure I ain't mean e'ery single hoity-toity's da same, jus' most o' em ain't innit fer anyting dat ain't helpin dem, e'en da char'ty werk ones."

"I ain't goin ta da league" he states as a matter of fact, apparently he's willing to follow her into a strange laboratory chasing after an immortal blue alien, but not to the league.

Ralph nods agreeing with his date "Dem hoity-toities ain't care nottin 'bout us." Sounds like he knows at least enough about the noble houses that he doesn't want anything to do with them. "If it ain't linin deir coffers er' makin it seem like dey's be'er'n normal folk dey ain't gonna lift a finger." the youth shrugs his shoulders "Ain't know why dey's so high 'n mighty. Most o' em ain't do nottin fer what dey got, jus' had it handed o'er by daddy."

Although it's hard to be sure with his current emotional purge, there may be some bitterness there. As someone who's lived his life in the filth working hard so he can scrounge, and probably steal, to eat, it might not be a big surprise that he has less than amiable feelings towards those who simply inherit fortunes. Or is there more to it than that?

Ralph shakes his head "If yer ok den dat's fine, jus' tought wit all da weird lights messin wit yer mind I just wanned ta make shure ya were ok." Despite having said he was worrying about her the young man doesn't really sound worried, or really anything else he sounds bereft of emotion.

"So dis is sum kinna evidence 'gainst dis place? Whutcha gonna do wit it?" He peers towards her and the ledger wondering why Cassie was so obsessed looking for it, and how she knew it would be there.

With the immediate danger appearing to be gone Ralph slips the stiletto into his belt, and moves carefully over to Cassie as she frantically searches for something. "Minx? are y'ok darlin?" Maybe something was still affecting her, the sudden sorrow he had felt came with that blue light, there didn't seem to be any light with Cassie now, but she was definitely acting strange.

A hesitant hand reaches out to be placed on the French woman's shoulder "Yer kinda wurryin me, whut's goin on? whut're ya lookin fer?"

Ralph sucks in a quick breath when Cassie's hand comes in contact with his ankle, but he can't seem to make himself look towards her. As he's dragged further from the blue light it seems to get easier to think and his sight started clearing up again.

With an intense sadness still tugging at him from inside, the young man found himself against a warm soft body, and a gentle comforting hand stroking his hair. 'Momma' the initial thought is quickly discarded as his mind clears a bit 'No, it can't be her.'

Cassie..." He mutters barely audible, realising who it is he lets out a soft sigh relaxing more against her, content to let her comfort him and take the sorrow away. As he leaned into her something brushed his shoulder causing the youth to jump slightly in pain, the sudden jolt reminds him of the situation, and that they are by no means safe here. He closes his eyes and concentrates trying to force himself to snap out of this.

The bit of blue light which still remained clinging to Ralph seemed to jump away, and even Cassie's green light cowered away from him. Moving his head away from the French woman's bosom he looks towards her, tears clearly on his cheeks, but no longer in his eyes "Minx, ain't no time fer cuddles now, we's still in trubble." He gently pats her cheek "Tanks fer pullin me out." He stands and offers her his good hand to help her up.

Ralph is caught full on with a jet of colour leaving a similar glowing effect as the light enveloping Cassie, though deep blue as opposed to her emerald green.

The youth takes in a shuddering breath as the coloured light seems to force unwanted emotion into him. His attempts to resist are futile the sudden emotional barrage is just too powerful and quickly overwhelms him. Sinking to his knees as if having lost the will to stand Ralph puts his face in his hands. Uselessly knelt down on the floor his shoulders quiver as the boy shakes... or possibly sobs.

The light surrounding Ralph, unlike Cassie's, appears totally uninterested with his wound, if a light can really be interested in anything, instead it seems to focus around his hands covering his face. A translucent blue tinged liquid seeps through between long fingers travelling down the arm and dripping to the floor.

Sorry to hear about the hot water, hope it's fixed soon, not having your house in working condition really sucks :/

You might want to steer clear of the green for joyous and giddy, just as Cassie has already used it for something else (relaxation and healing I think), and that could get confusing. Most often I've seen yellow associated with joy, as in the example page linked in Cassie's previous post. Not saying you have to follow that, it just gives a good idea of what emotions are generally associated with each colour.

Colour: 1d8 ⇒ 5 Blue

Going with blue for Ralphie

Did we explain what colours invoke what emotions somewhere? I thought green would probably be envy, but Cassie doing the worm and trying to tear off her dress, although it makes her the life of the party, isn't the reaction I'd expect. Figured I better check before deciding on a colour for Ralph.

Ralph clutched the stiletto tightly in his hand as Ysillith saunters towards Cassie and himself, as if having to deal with one invincible alien wasn't enough. He supposes she's referring to him when she says gutter snipe, as she seems to assumes that's all he is, that wasn't very surprising Ralph purposefully kept secretive and was more or less free loading off of Cassie for the time being. He did wonder briefly how much of a different tune she would sing if she had any idea who he was.

The little gutter snipe is ready to spring if the Satyxis so much as points the staff in either his or Cassie's general direction. Impressing her was somewhere around the bottom of his priority list, however she might be surprised just how much of a fight a cornered street rat can put up. Thankfully that would remain a surprise for now, as fires off in the direction of the doctor. Although the shot wasn't fired at himself or his date Ralph still keeps a firm grip on his blade, and a suspicious eye on Ysillith.

The woman's last comment before firing the device confused him somewhat, he honestly wasn't sure if that one was directed towards him or not, there were a lot of things a person could call Ralph, but ungrateful wasn't really one of them, 'Is she talking about me? I thanked each of them, the captain included, for their help in the underwater corridor. Her on the other hand, although I haven't known her very long, I can't recall her ever uttering a word of thanks to anyone... I hadn't really thought of it until she mentioned it... but she's too arrogant to call herself an ungrateful wretch.' A shake of his head forces tangent thoughts out of his mind and allows him to focus once again unfortunately it's not quite soon enough for him to avoid the sudden burst of colour crashing towards him.

Swear I posted yesterday and today it was nowhere to be found v.v

"Cleo musta seen more in dem clockwork tings den you did." Ralph says in response to Ysillith's likely rhetorical query "Dey did seem ta have more 'telligence den I'd 'spect from a machine. It wouldn't be dat s'prisin if dey wuz alive... 'r sumtin like it anyway; seen stranger tings today. Iffin it makes a difrence ta ya" Which he suspects it doesn't to the captain "Ya prolly shouldn't 'ssume dat sumtin ain't livin jus' cuz it looks like a machine."

The young street rat smirks at Cassie's teasing "If a dame chooses ta run 'round in er all tagedders den, it ain't my fault if I sees her." At her mention of Ysillith looking amazing Ralph chuckles softly "Ain't know ya swung dat way darlin."

He lowers his voice as the French woman leans against him

Ralph chuckled softly at Cassie's teasing and shakes his head "Darlin, I followed ya down an airtight, underwater, glass tube after an immor'al, killer blue alien... sportin a gunshot wound da whole way. I tink 's pretty safe ta say I ain't goin elsewhere." He gives the French woman a smile whens he leans into him "As fer bein a good man... well I'm glad ya tink so, but dat's prolly not da first ting ta come ta most peeple's minds."

The young street rat furrows his brow as Cassie explains she wouldn't hurt others "Fer a pacifist yer a pretty mean shot wit dat popgun, gots yerself a real nice swing wit yer kicks too, savate maybe, not dat I'm real su'prised wit dose legs." He winks towards her then sighs softly becoming somewhat more serious "It ain't like turnin a Joe's tinker ta yesturday's jam sits real well wit me eider... I didn't really mean it littrally, jus' dat stoppin 'im normally seems purdy unlikely, but if ya cin heal Kit wit yer Seering den I thought maybe ya maybe gots a way ta stop Wesley too."

Ralph nods slowly listening to Cassie "I knew ya were a special dame when I metcha Minx, but I gots ta say dis is da only date I been on where I gots ta wurry 'bout capture, torture, an' bein sold... well all tree at da same time anyway." He considers the talk of capturing and possibly changing them "So he could be after more'n jus' you, waitin fer da udders ta join up wit us 'fore droppin da cage on us. An' Curly's here ta make sure all da right people are tagedder whe da trap springs."

The injured youth shrugs his good shoulder "It ain't da will ta stop him dat wurries me darlin, but da way. How 'bout dem mind powers 'o yers? Ya used em trough da link wit me ta help Kit git be'er real quick right? Can ya use em ta make tings tough fer bluey? Ya know melt 'is brain er sumtin?"

Ralph sighs a bit watching the crazy man and winces feeling a twinge in his shoulder. "Nottin's e'er how it seems izzit? Could be dis Joe's only stallin while blue man 'scapes er sets up his trap." That brings the question, why would an unbelievably strong, immortal alien need to escape? He should be able to just bull his way through anything we throw at him...'

The moves along to Cassie's side keeping pace with her, and leans in to talk quietly with the woman "Minx darlin, 'ssumin Jack here leads us ta big blue an ugly, an ain't wastin 'r time, we gots some sorta plan on jus' how we's s'ppose ta stop him?" Ralph looks towards the dancing man as he smacks his head an finds he needs to force himself to keep his eyes focused, the adrenaline must be wearing off letting fatigue slowly creep in. Ignoring the weariness he continues to Cassie "Maybe he ain't 'spected a couple o' us, got spooked an' beat feet, but dat ain't mean we actually gots a way ta fight him. Physical 'ttacks ain't seem ta do much."