[FIN] With nowhere else to go

[insidiousEnigma]

"The Yarrow has to steep for a few minutes before I can soak a washcloth in it." Zacharie explained, rolling his head a bit to work out his stiff neck. "Then I'll just have to let it sit on my forehead for awhile, we can leave when I get the first washcloth ready." If there were people who would be able to take a look at him when he got there, it should be okay for him to travel. "I'll be able to see someone when I get there? I can take care of the cuts myself but since I don't have the equipment to make any medicine I'll need someone to help me get the fever down." Hopefully, he'd break the fever on the way there. It was highly unlikely though, it was still pretty high from what he could tell. With the proper medicines though he could have it broken by tomorrow evening and could start resting to actually heal. "Shuppet?" He ignored Jabari's curiosity for the moment in favor of taking the jar to shake it up. "Can you wait a few minutes or are we in a hurry?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Yea" Jerome grunted "S'a big a** place. My first days there were in th'hospital too. Got shot not a ********' second before I was recruited."
Jerome lifted one side of his shirt to show Zacharie a faded scar on his waist. One that looked like it got much higher medical attention then anyone on the street could expect to get.
"S'legit" He made a gesture with his hand toward the jar, lowering his shirt. "Ain't in no rush, S'my night off, Ya get whatever rest ya need N'just shout when yer good t'go." He shrugged lazily, he certainly seemed like he was fine with just chilling out there.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie wouldn't say it out loud but...he felt bad for dragging Jerome away from the other things he could possibly be doing. "...You don't have to sit here, you know." He said, keeping his gaze intent on the hot jar in his hands. The warmth actually felt really good. "If I've been keeping you from doing something important you could do that and I'll just sit here." He muttered with a soft huff. He liked having Jerome around to talk to, but he didn't want to be a burden or anything. Carefully, he swirled the contents of the jar around. Trying to get the Yarrow to steep faster. He could feel himself getting anxious, he really needed to get this fever down before it got worse and he became incoherent again. The water turned a faint greenish color though, meaning that it was ready enough to be used. With shaky hands, he pulled a semi-clean washcloth from his bag and opened the jar to dip it inside. Once ringed out and folded he tilted his head back and all but collapsed back as the warmth settled over his forehead. Letting out a tired groan, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth seeping through him. "....I'm glad that you were able to find me." He admitted. His own way of thanking the older man.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Jerome just shrugged again when Zacharie told him that he didn't need to stay. "S'cool, ain't right t'just leave ya like this, This place ain't safe."
Jerome wasn't one to just leave someone behind, he had always been like that, It was engrained in him from his past gang, past family, and even now with Rocket, it was all just the same. Plus this Kid was not in good shape, Jerome could not leave in clear conscious while Twitchy suffered from these cuts and a ********' fever.
"I ain't got anythin'" He reassured, leaning back in the trunk as he folded his hands behind his head.

At his last comment Jerome glanced over at Zacharie "Smart t'go t'Tyler. He told me ya were lookin'"
Jerome was glad he was able to find the kid too, too much longer and Jerome didn't even want to think of what might have happened to him...  

[insidiousEnigma]

"...I just remembered you were standing around outside the shop...and you have tattoos so I figured you would know the owner." Zacharie yawned as he relaxed against the floor. He could feel the soothing effect of the Yarrow working already and he could feel himself drifting off to sleep. "Wake me up in fifteen minutes." He slurred sleepily as he turned to peer over at the other male. "I'll soak the rag s'more then we can leave." After shifting a bit to get more comfortable the teen promptly passed out.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Jerome replied with a quiet nod, but otherwise didn't say anything. He let the boy lay down and get some rest. glancing down at the time on his Rocket Dex before he pushed himself up and walked over to his pokemon.
Not wandering far, Jerome let the kid get some rest, leaving Hirss by the car as he wandered around the streets close by.

When the fifteen minutes passed though, Jerome couldn't really bring himself to wake the kid up. so instead, he left him in the back of the SUV, closed everything up, and let the kid sleep more, if he needed to or if he could though the movement of the car, and starting the drive back to HQ.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie managed to sleep for most of the ride, only waking when he was jolted to the side. "....s'that?" He slurred, pulling himself into a seated position only to fall backwards as they went over another bump. "I told you to wake me up." The teen groused as he pulled himself to the little window that led to the front of the car. "Shuppet, shup-shuppet." Jabari scolded, gently headbutting him back into the bed of the truck. "...Okay, okay." He muttered, settling his back against the wall and reaching for the still heated jar of steeped Yarrow. He supposed it wasn't bad that Jerome had let him sleep longer, it'd been quite some time since he'd gotten some quality sleep. Letting out a soft sigh, he soaked his rag again and dropped it onto his forehead with a wet 'plop'. "...Are we getting close?" He asked curiously, carefully opening an eye to look at the back of Jerome's head.

He couldn't help but feel a bit...nervous, about all of this. It was very likely that there would be a lot of people that he would be expected to interact with and...he wasn't sure he would be able to do so successfully. There was also the fact that he had absolutely no experience in training pokemon. Which was glaringly obvious with the way that Jabari acted. Would it be just like school? Where people would condemn his as odd and unapproachable and bully him because of his differences? Jerome wasn't particularly odd in the same sense he was, but it seemed that he got along just fine. If he stuck close to the older man hopefully no one would bother him.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Jerome could tell when Twitchy started to wake up, just by the noise and the movement he could hear from the back seat. He said nothing though, paying attention to the dark road ahead of him until the boy int he back seat said something to him.

"Yea' I know." He grunted, glancing to the side as Bro' who had been in the passenger seat drifted toward the back toward Zacharie.
"Y'looked like ya needed t'sleep though. So I let ya,"
Letting him sleep a little more, clear his head and give him time to think about what his choices were.
"We're bout ten minutes t'HQ" He spoke again. "Once we make it I'll get a doc t'look at'cha, worry bout' gettin' ya papered later... ya chill wit that?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

"...I don't want anyone to see." Zacharie said softly as he drew his knees up to his chest. He didn't want people to pity him, he didn't need anyone's pity, least of all from strangers. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone about the...the cuts." He reminded the older man, catching the rag as it fell of his face when he rested his cheek against his knees. "I can take care of it myself." As long as he could have access to some medicines and a place to lay down he'd be on his way to recovering in no time. The back of his hand to his forehead confirmed that his fever was already going down thanks to the Yarrow. Again, he felt a wave of relief and gratitude. If Jerome hadn't found him...

"...Thank you...for helping me."

He said it so quietly he doubted the older man could have heard it, but it felt good to say it out loud. "Will I see you around the..headquarters?" He asked curiously, quickly changing the subject. It certainly would be nice not going into this all alone, but if Jerome was just going to disappear as soon as they got there.....He didn't really want to think about that. "...And I have to fill out paperwork?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Naw, I ain't ganna tell no one." Jerome said, keeping his eyes turned ahead of him still, watching the shadows around the headlights grow thicker the further into the desert they got.
"Ain't ganna bring ya in if ya don't want, but ya should let em help. F'helped me a few times now."

It was up to him though, Jerome wasn't going to force him into the med wing if he didn't want to go.
Letting the drive fall into silence again, Jerome partly assumed that he had fallen back asleep, until he spoke again, this time a quiet thanks.
"S'cool." Jerome shrugged, thinking nothing of it really, he wasn't going to leave him to die.

"Yeah, S'big, but ya get t'know lot a' people. I'll be round"
This was followed with a slight deep chuckle "yeah, gatta fill out some papers. I mighta' taken a beat in." He half joked.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie sighed and hid his pout behind his knees. "...I guess I could go...for a bit." He muttered with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He could hear Jabari's muttering in the front seat though he paid it no mind. The teen's pout deepened at the obviously condescending tone. "The doctor wouldn't...tell anyone about it, would they?" He asked, just to make sure. He was certain that doctors weren't supposed to release information about their patients, but who knew how things worked in Team Rocket. For all he knew they went around talking about all of the awkward, horrible medical conditions that they had treated that day. The thought alone stressed him out.

"Oh...okay." He had mixed feeling about the whole 'lots of people' thing. "...Are they...decent?" He asked haltingly. The question seemed stupid, even to himself. He was joining a criminal organization and was asking if everyone was decent. Though he meant it as a 'they aren't going to beat me up and take my pokemon, are they?' Jerome was a Rocket and he was pretty nice, so not everyone could be that bad...right?  

[Blood_Goddess]

Jerome tilted his head slightly "Naw... don't think so, ain't really the type to go round spreadin' s**t about anyone, ain't said nothin bout when I saw em."
He answered, he didn't think they were like that anyway, they seemed pretty professional, in his opinion.

"Decent?" Jerome asked, pausing as he thought over the question. "S'that mean? Th'other Rockets?"
It would make sense. He paused at this "Yeah." He answered at length. "A lot of em are."  

[insidiousEnigma]

Well...that was a relief.
"Not that I care or anything. As long as they leave me alone."

The purple haired teen huffed as he started shoving things back into his bag. They should be getting close to their destination within the next couple of minutes. "...Except you." He added awkwardly, "It'd be nice...to hang out or...whatever." He muttered, ducking his head to hide his mortified blush. Good lord, that was enough of that. What was he, some twittering teenage girl? He most certainly was not.

With a grunt he shifted so he could peer into the front of the truck. "Do you know anything else about the labs? What sort of equipment do these use? Is there a place for me to grow plants?" He fired off the questions in hopes of covering up his embarrassing moment.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Naw." Jerome added, "S'cool."

Bro made a cackle of his own at the boy's notable blush. What was that then!? This kid was so hilarious, obviously not very social at all, Bro liked this kid.
"Sounds cool." Jerome replied casually, having no problem with that. He wasn't about to take this kid into Team Rocket and just dump him. Jerome had a certain responsibility for him now... and he took that seriously.

"Plants?" Jerome repeated, not being too sure about how to answer the rest of the question, but at the mention of plans, someone did pop up into his mind that might know how to answer it better.
"I ain't t'sure. But I know this dude who's probably ganna know. I'll talk t'em"  

[insidiousEnigma]

He had figured that Jerome wouldn't know anything about the labs. It was obvious that science of any sort wasn't the older man's thing but he was glad that he'd asked regardless since apparently he knew someone who could help him get set up. Despite his nervousness about joining team rocket and meeting new people, he was excited. This could be his chance to really make some breakthroughs in his experiments. "When will I be able to start working on my experiments?" He asked, nearly toppling over when they went over another bump.