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 Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 8:20 pm
Life seemed to be getting better. Howl Wickham had managed to find a replacement dufflebag. He was no longer bound to his school uniform when making his trips down to the mall for a cup of tea. This was a great relief. He no longer had to avoid his usual routine. The last thing he needed to do was signal to all of his peers away from Hillworth that he was at the delinquent school.
Life seemed to be getting better. Until a stray dog literally ran out of an alleyway and latched onto Howl's pants leg. Perhaps if he used the public bus transit, he could have avoided such a thing (though he had heard horror stories about the bus transit). Yet, the feminine young lad had it set in his mind that exercising would be more beneficial to his figure. Yes, Howl looked out for his figure. Fencing was much more difficult if you were round, and Howl already had plenty of trouble with fencing. At least, he thought he had trouble with fencing. Mediocre fencing apparently meant he had trouble.
Either way, Howl was now standing, leaning against the nearest building (apparently a pizzeria, how revolting), one leg literally being tugged back by the teeth of what seemed to be an angry dog.
"Please, please leave me alone, I did not do anything to bother you, canine." Howl was attempting to reason with the dog. Obviously it was a failing idea, for the dog rattled its head from side to side, threatening to tear his pants leg.
Please do not rip my pants, they are my good pants!
Never mind the fact that all of his pants were his good pants.
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 8:55 pm
Life was good. For the most part, it hadn't changed much. Vanessa still worked at Big Willy's Record Store. Vanessa was still behind in history class, and english class, and physics class. Mr. Rae still refused to remove the 11:00 PM curfew he'd forced upon his daughter in the wake of the danger that plagued Destiny City. Vanessa was still determined to pursue her career as a super hero. John Jr still worried about her everyday.
Pizza was still so wonderful it deserved its own food group.
The tall, skinny girl bit into a slice of pepperoni as she exited the pizzeria and savoured the salty taste of the cheese and the crust where it nested. Super Van was out on patrol today, which was something she made sure to do everyday after breakfast and chores, and once again disappointed in the fruits of her labour. Somehow, and with the exception of that hairy incident in the mall, she always managed to miss the bad guys.
She yearned for another opportunity to test her mettle against the unnatural forces that festered in Destiny City. She thirsted for danger, for the glory of battle-
"Please, please leave me alone."
It was not a shout, but Super Van heard it, accompanied by the vicious growls of a probably starving dog, and interpreted it as a plea for help. Somebody was in trouble! Secretly delighted, Super Van gasped and turned in the direction of the boy (was it a boy?) that cowered against the wall.
As a general rule, Vanessa didn't kick dogs. It was too mean.
Instead, the wannabe super hero stooped low and held out what was left of her pizza.
"Here, dog," she called, "this'll taste much better."
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:54 pm
The dog growled in an almost nervous fashion, nose twitching at the object the new person held. It almost seemed to glare at the human making the offer, as if to let her know that it was still the top dog in these parts. It rattled its current chew toy about a bit more, as if to test this new human.
The teal haired figure glanced up, and his eyes widened at the newcomer. Perhaps he should have had a more grateful expression, since this person was obviously a good Samaritan, but there was something a bit off about the whole thing.
That "something" was the outfit. For the life of him, Howl could not figure out what the heck this girl was wearing. Was that an army helmet of some sort? Combined with such a skin tight outfit, dark glasses, and what seemed to be a cheap attempt at a red cape, it made the Hillworth student wonder if fashion had really changed so drastically since his sentence to the educational facility.
The only thing that seemed to snap him back to the situation at hand was the sudden rattle at his leg, followed by a sharp ripping noise.
"My good pants!!" he yelped out in a less than dignified fashion. The voice should have been a dead giveaway to this strangely dressed girl as to Howl's gender, as well as his heritage. His voice at least had been kind enough to sound masculine (with that light English accent), despite the rest of him looking less than masculine.
It almost seemed as if the dog was content in tearing the cloth of the pants leg, and quickly snatched up the pizza remains before running off.
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:13 pm
Vanessa stayed crouched where she was and waited patiently, a tentative smile on her face, as the dog examined the delicacy she offered. She did not reach out and try to touch it, as she really had to desire for her hand to replace this poor boy's pant leg as a chew toy. Limbs were more important than clothes.
She was unaware of the boy's accusatory expression, as her attention was primarily on the dog, and unconcerned about any feelings he may have had concerning her outfit. It was something she and John Jr had put together and, while Vanessa generally liked people, she didn't make a habit of letting their opinions affect how she felt about herself. If she did, happiness would have been difficult. She had an unfortunate habit of unintentionally pissing people off.
"Sucks about your pants," Super Van spoke to the boy, smiling kindly at him through her sunglasses, as the dog ran off with the rest of her pizza. "The poor guy was probably just hungry. Uh- really hungry. Did he bite you?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:12 pm
There were many things in the world that puzzled Howl. Slang was one of those things. Perhaps a simple "I am sorry about what happened to your pants" would have been more effective in getting this strange young lady's message across. He could only assume that she was trying to be sympathetic to his situation, but it was truly hard to tell with a phrase like "Sucks about your pants."
Rather than remain leaning against the building, the teal haired lad stood up on his own two feet, now that he had both within his control again. "Indeed, the canine was hungry. Though I fail to see how eating my pants leg would rectify this problem." Lifting up the leg with the torn cloth, he proceeded to give it a good looking over while standing on one foot. "It does not look like he bit me, or if he did, it did not break skin."
He set his foot down and sighed. It wasn't a heavy sigh (like he probably wanted to do), but just something to get the agitated feeling off of his chest. His teal eyes flickered over to the girl's glasses, as if searching for her eyes. "Either way, I must thank you, Miss...?" He was obviously searching for some sort of name or title to address this strangely suited young lady.
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 2:24 am
Slang puzzled Howl, and Howl puzzled Vanessa. He used big, unfriendly words like 'indeed' and 'canine' and 'rectify,' and she wondered why he didn't just say 'dog.' She would have wondered why he didn't use 'fix' in place of the last word, but the definition of the word was unknown to her.
"That's good," Super Van informed the boy with a sage nod, "at least, you don't have to worry about rabies or mad dog disease now."
Her heart gave a little flutter of delight when he said that he wanted to thank her, and Vanessa was grateful to him for appreciating her efforts. The hungry dog may not have been a hardened criminal, but it was undeniable that she'd helped this girly boy evade possible disaster.
"My name's Van-
Vanessa stopped short, and clapped a hand to her forehead in bemused embarrassment.
"I'm Super Van," Vanessa corrected herself and assumed an appropriate super-hero pose; nose in the air, legs shoulder width apart, hands on her hips. Clearly, she meant business. "I'm a hero, you know."
"I'm happy to have rescued you," She paused here, and eyed his pants critically. "But, am also sorry I couldn't save your pants. Maybe you could sew them?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 2:27 pm
Rabies and Mad Dog Disease had been the furthest thing from his mind in regards to the recent dilemma. His concerns had strictly been with the pants. Even now, after Super Van had even pointed out there were worse possibilities, his mind was still fixated on the pants.
Apparently his appearance was much more important than his potential health.
"Ah, Miss Van, that is a rather intriguing title." It sounded to him like a desperate cry for attention, but Howl was good at keeping his opinions to himself. He smiled sweetly, biting his tongue as she continued with her heroic display, since it just seemed childish at best.
"I thank you, Miss Van, for assisting me. Is there a way that I can make it up to you? Perhaps purchase you a cup of tea or something?" If Howl had received such an offer, he would have been delighted at the thought of potential free tea (though in all good conscience, he probably wouldn't accept the offer). At least he had left the "or something" at the end to let her possibly name her own reward.
The mention of sewing only received a chuckle from him as he explained "Unfortunately, I am absolutely hopeless with a needle and thread. I suspect I will have to retire this pair of pants once I have finished with my outing today." He might have looked like a flat-chested girl, but there were some girly activities which he could never do, and sewing was one of those activities.
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 3:04 pm
The spotlight was something that Vanessa enjoyed and, on a sub-conscious level, the pursuit of a life as a super-hero may have also been a plea for attention. At their core, however, her intentions were wholly good. Vanessa wanted to make a difference in the world. Saving lives and helping people when they couldn't help themselves seemed liked the surest bet. She was not qualified to be a doctor, nor was she empathetic enough to be a successful therapist. Anyways, Vanessa didn't have the patience or the money to head down either of those paths.
This super hero thing was much faster and fashionable. Her outfit was a testament to that.
"Thank you," Super Van grinned at Howl's compliment, "My brother helped me pick it out. He also helped with my outfit."
Nobody had told Vanessa that it probably wasn't a good idea to talk about her family while parading around in the guise of her alter ego. No harm could come from it as long as she didn't reveal their names. Right.
"Tea?" she squinted at him thoughtfully as she considered his offer. It wasn't that she was opposed to the drink, but that being a super hero (even a part-time one!) kept her very busy. Still, saving lives would make anybody thirsty. She supposed it would be okay to take a short break. "Sure, tea sounds… nice."
She had not been raised to haggle with people who did nice things for her. In all honesty, it was enough that this boy appreciated her efforts. It meant a lot to her that everything had gone right and he hadn't smacked her with his purse.
"I could sew them for you," Super Van offered kindly. She was not a skilled seamstress, but was very capable of stitching things back together anyways. Her pencil case and wardrobe were proof of that. In her home, very little got thrown away.
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:34 pm
The mention of Super Van's brother seemed to stir up a slight reaction in the teal-haired lad. His lips pressed thin, into a straight line, and for a moment, there was a pause in the conversation.
"If I might offer a bit of advice, Miss Van?" He didn't really wait to get permission before offering it. "As a 'hero' as you said, I suspect it would be safest to not even mention you have any siblings at all. Even a small bit of personal information like that could work against you in your future career." It wasn't like Howl really considered being a super hero any sort of career, but he figured he would humor the strange girl, even if just slightly.
It was about this time that Howl noticed he had forgotten something rather important. He let out a small, embarrassed laugh before mentioning "Where are my manners? My name is Howl Wickham." He extended his hand to the lady for a handshake, but uncharacteristically, he did not seem remotely inclined to kiss her upon the hand. Perhaps it was just the fact she came across as the sort who would not appreciate such.
After his greeting, he then pointed down the street in the direction he had been heading. "The cafe is not very far off, so we should be there quite shortly and you can get back to... whatever it is that you do, Miss Van." He began to lead the way, making certain he wasn't leaving the strangely dressed girl behind, but her comment about sewing caused him to slow in step slightly.
"Oh, you need not bother yourself with that. I shall suffice without it, but thank you kindly for the offer."
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:31 pm
Everybody thought she didn't know what she was doing. Everybody thought she needed advice. Vanessa bristled a little when Howl decided to give her some, and had half a mind to ask him if he'd ever tried to be a super hero. If he hadn't, then surely he had no business telling her what to do. What he said, however, turned out to make a lot of sense and Vanessa changed her mind about him immediately.
"Oh, you're right!" she gasped, "You mean that telling people about my family could put them in danger? Right? Right. I never thought of that!"
She smiled at Howl and returned his handshake, appreciating his friendly attitude and acceptance. Unlike Fallon, Howl did not seem to be trying to talk her out of this risky behaviour. Vanessa liked him for that.
"I don't drink tea very often," the would-be super hero informed her new friend conversationally as they walked, Super Van determinedly strolling beside him instead of behind him, "But my mother loved it-
She paused, remembering that she wasn't supposed to talk about her family.
"I mean, if I had a mother she would like tea."
Mrs. Rae had, in fact, passed away many years ago. But Vanessa wasn't thinking about that as much as she was trying to protect the rest of her loved ones. She changed the subject.
"I don't think I know you from school- uh, um- not that I go to school." This anonymity thing was turning out to be very difficult. She struggled with herself for a moment, and then asked him; "What school do you go to?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 3:18 pm
This young lady obviously had not practiced the famous art of omitting information. Howl was very in practice with such techniques. Politely, he laughed at each blunder the girl had made, then he addressed what he observed rather plainly.
"So right now, I know you have a brother who obviously approves of your heroic pursuits, a mother who loves tea, and that you are of a school age. If I were a super villain, I would be able to start working on whittling down the possible civilian identities you could be."
There was a pause before he reassured her "I suspect that would not narrow down the field much, and I can promise you this, my dear, I am no super villain." Another slight pause. "Despite my accent." Somewhere in his mind, he wondered if she'd notice that he had literally danced about the question she had asked him. He had taken the mention of school, readdressed it in a different fashion, and moved on with the conversation as if there had been no question of which school he went to at all.
Almost as if to ensure that the conversation kept moving without idling too long, he mentioned "I find that I cannot live without tea. I mean, certainly there is the issue of tea time, but I actually enjoy all sorts of teas." As he had promised, the cafe really had not been that far off, and soon enough he was opening the door for the girl.
"After you, Miss Van." Manners were apparently something the teal haired boy had in abundance.
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Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 11:04 am
Howl pointed out the possible consequences of her indiscretion, and Vanessa was very relieved when he admitted to not being a super villain. She'd been pretty sure of this fact before, as she doubted super villain's often had their pants torn apart by stray dogs, but it was still nice to hear it directly from his lips.
"I guess I should be more careful about that, huh?" She said thoughtfully to Howl, scratching her temple underneath her helmet. "I don't want anyone being able to find me or my fami- s**t. Never mind. I don't have a family. You won't tell anyone, will you?"
Howl's avoidance techniques worked magically. The second he called her pursuits heroic she'd all but forgotten about her own question. Vanessa enjoyed talking about how brave she was, and hearing it from other people was even better.
She stepped over the threshold of the cafe before him, enjoying his manners, and smiled. "Oh- I could definitely live without tea. Its not so bad, but I like coffee better."
Except she wasn't allowed to drink coffee. Her father had forbidden it. Also, it was better for the world if Vanessa kept as much caffeine as possible out of her system.
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Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:20 pm
Excellent
It was about as much of a pat to his ego he'd allow himself in regards to avoiding the much hated question. If he lingered too long without saying a word, she might get suspicious.
Entering the cafe after her, he offered a chuckle as she bumbled over the partial mention of her family. "I promise, I will not be telling anyone. I doubt anyone would believe me anyways. They would probably believe that I was rescued by a superhero as much as they believed I had been rescued by a Sailor Scout." He laughed, remembering the expression that Franz had when he confessed to his encounter with Sailor Virgo. Even Franz had a hard time believing the whole ordeal, especially the part where he was escorted back to Hillworth, arm in arm with a senshi.
The mismatched pair made their way to a table, and as the gentleman should, he pulled out the chair for Super Van so she might take a seat. When she was in the chair, he scooted it in before making his way to his own seat. "Coffee is too strong for my tastes. Might I ask what your preference in coffee is, though? Any particular type you like best? Or would you consider that being too nosy? Seeing as you are a super hero and all."
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Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 10:24 am
It made her feel good to know that she could rely on him to keep her secrets, even though the reality of her family was arguably probably not a secret at all. Unless everybody assumed she'd landed on earth in some kind of spaceship. Still, Vanessa, reasoned with herself, aliens needed mothers too.
"I haven't actually met a Sailor Scout before," Vanessa confided and resisted the urge to take her sunglasses off so that she could see Howl better. Like Fallon, this boy seemed to be 'in the know,' and if he was, Vanessa hoped that he could share some information with her. Plus, he didn't seem like the type to yell it at her.
Vanessa thought this was pretty awesome.
Howl pulled out her chair, and the spandex-clad girl positively beamed at him with delight. Manners such as his suited her fantastic ideals. With the exception of her father and Richard Gere, she didn't know men still behaved in such ways. A little voice at the back of her head reminded her that Azzo had helped carry her groceries, and that Cassius had bought her lunch. She paused as she digested this train of thought, head tilted to the side, and then decided that she didn't mind being a little bit spoiled.
"Uh- the kind that comes in the can?" She blinked stupidly, confused by his question. Vanessa had clearly never been to Starbucks before. "Are there different types? I just used to sneak sips from my dad's cup- but, uh, I don't have a father. So I actually never did that."
Face, meet palm. This was turning out to be very complicated.
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Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:51 pm
As he took a seat, he had to let a chuckle escape from his lips. "Oh my, that is a rather quaint preference." His laughter was nothing harsh, nothing cruel, and in all honesty, was perhaps kindest laugh at her expense that she'd receive. He drew his fingers to his mouth, as if trying to muffle his obviously rude gesture (wow, he hand very pretty fingernails for a guy) before glancing to the sunglasses. They were far too dark, so he couldn't see her eyes, but all the same, behind the reflections bouncing off the lenses, there were eyes.
"I beg your pardon. I assumed your mention of coffee as a preference meant you were rather familiar with it as a beverage. It was rather presumptuous of me." His fingers abandoned his lips, and soon enough his left and right hand pairs were lacing themselves together so they might rest upon the edge of the table. It almost like a young school boy trying to look proper for his teacher.
"Much like tea, there are many types of coffee. I personally do not keep up-to-date with coffee, since I do not drink it." Thoughtfully, he glanced away from Super Van's glasses to see if he could locate the waitress who would no doubt be nearby soon.
"Since we are here speaking of preferences, do you have a particular flavor you prefer? Are you a fan of sweet, fruity, cinnamon, or maybe even bitter flavors?" He was trying to gauge what sort of tea to order for his current companion.
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