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 Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:00 pm
He did recall seeing a drum set in Otto's room. Gale opened his mouth and then shut it again, his heart sinking in his chest.
"That's one reason, yes," he said quietly, because he couldn't extinguish that hopeful look no matter how hard he tried. "And, well - I mean, your parents couldn't afford the lessons, so we're taking them up for you. As well as your smarts," he added, because, well...he was going to at least try.
"You're very smart, Otto."
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:06 pm
Okay. This guy had to be pranking him. Not a single human alive told him he was smart. He had a hard time paying attention to his mother's lessons, and got in trouble for every failed mark. But.. but maybe, just maybe... they saw something in him past book smarts? Or lack there of, as it were. He was hopeful, damn him but he was hopeful that there was more to his potential than he'd come to believe. He looked doubtful, but that small hope was still alive in Otto's eyes. "Whatdya mean?" He asked cautiously, a wavering in his voice.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:17 pm
This was not how he had wanted the conversation to go. Gale stared at Otto, swallowing hard.
"That is...you're clever," he said, after a moment. "You're street smart. You know how to get things done, and you go after what you want. That's a good quality in any sort of person, I think. You're awfully stubborn," Gale added, because, well, stubborn was basically Otto's middle name. "But you're smart."
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:25 pm
"Y'er graspin' at straws here ain't you?" Otto asked, his eye lids falling halfway over his eyes as hope died. "None of that sounds like good things to me. N' it don't explain wastin' time gettin' me to this big old building. Wheres all the teachers if its so fancy, huh?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:50 pm
"I'm not," said Gale, with a shake of his head. "I'm not grasping, I promise. I've - I've looked at your files, Otto, I know how you are. I've done extensive research here, I work here."
He took a breath.
"I wasn't lying when I said you were here because you're special, because you are."
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:59 pm
He was feeling dubious, his guard slowly coming together again. No matter how much he wanted to be special, he felt the need to be wary of it. His kept his arms crossed, glaring at Gale to wait for even a shred of uncertainty in the other boy's facade. Blue eyes pierced daggers at Gale, thinking deeply about all this. "Files..." They'd been stalking him? Had they talked to the townsfolk? His parents? "Did my parents send me here?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 6:16 pm
He had gone from bad to okayish to bad and now to worse, Gale slowly realizing that he was starting to tank.
"No," he said, "No, we keep tabs on who we think are capable and deserve to be here."
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 6:20 pm
"This is all real fishy." Otto said with a huff, flipping his bangs away from his face. They fell over one eye again anyway. "I call bullshit. What's the real reason I'm here? Stop bein' so..." He groaned to try and think of a word, waving a hand to try and help him think"... wishy washy? With the details. Why am I here?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 8:14 pm
"I told you," said Gale stubbornly. "You were brought here because you have special talents. Because you're gifted. I wasn't lying about your parents not sending you here, that's perfectly true. No one sent you to us, we found you and decided that your gifts were better suited here than anywhere else."
It was, for the most part, honest, if not in a slightly roundabout way.
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 3:26 am
"Found me. Stalked me. Kidnapped me.." He needed to get out of here, and fast. Otto turned heel and began quickly making his way to an exit. Rather, he would have, if he wasn't so lost in this place. Had Gale cared to follow, it would be evident the young man was walking in near circles.
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 10:56 am
He did indeed find Otto a minute later, wandering around looking relatively lost. Gale eased out a long breath.
"Look, no one kidnapped you," he said. "And no one stalked you. You were observed over a period of time, found to be gifted, and brought here. The reason you can't remember is because the ride is long; we had to sedate all we brought in order to ease anxiety."
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 12:08 pm
It was that guy again. He really was being watched! Where were the cameras? Did he had a tracker in his skull? "You still ain't explained this gift." Otto grumbled back, taking slow steps away from Gale. He had no reason to trust this guy or anyone else in this place. This whole experience was far beyond everything he knew. Anything outside the funeral home he grew up in were a total mystery. Outside people came to them, angry and crying, and that was about it. Outside never took him away with them. This only happened in books and movies. "Sedate me? What am I, a ******** dog bein' brought to the vet? Am I so stupid that you can't even talk to me like a real person?" He stomped once toward Gale, "Quit tryin' to trick me. I dunno what you want, but leave me out of it! I'm going home!"
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 5:03 pm
Gale debated for a moment, then decided.
"All right," he said, and bent down, slid an arm around Otto's waist, and hoisted him bodily into the air, tossing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
It was so much easier to do this when Otto was tiny.
Well. Tinier than Gale, at least.
"You can't go home, we're on an island," said Gale firmly as he carted Otto down the hallway. "Listen to me. I am not going to hurt you, Otto. I am telling the truth. I need you to trust me, and you will be all right."
Probably.
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 5:17 pm
Otto tensed as Gale loomed closer, every hair on his body bristling. "What're you--" He'd not expected this. Sure, Gale was bigger than him, but he wasn't all that intimidating looking. He'd never have imagined the dude could lift him like Otto was a little kid. He was right ready to start kicking and pulling at his hair until Gale confirmed what he'd been wondering. An island? He was stranded on an island away from his (albeit shitty) home, with no way out? Otto didn't kick him yet, but he did squirm a lot. Panic mode was initiating. "All right?! I'm on a ******** island! I don't swim good! Why the Hell did you ******** do this to me without askin'! No one ever asks me permission for anything!" His voice became shrill, and his face lit up redder than Rudolph's nose. "What if I don't want this, huh!?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 7:40 pm
This was probably the one and only time Gale would get away with picking up Otto, and he was taking advantage of it.
Even if he wasn't actually that much taller. But taller was still taller.
He carried Otto down the hall, feeling less like he was carrying a sack of potatoes and more as though he was carrying an octopus. Gale made his way to the nearest common area in the Death offices and then stopped, all but throwing Otto down onto the couch and blocking his path to get up again.
"Okay, listen here," he said, a foot pressed to the couch to prevent Otto moving, arms folded across his chest. "I'm not the bad guy here. I'm trying to help you, because, heaven forbid it, I actually like you. You can be obnoxious and maybe sometimes a little too stubborn for your own good, but - I do like you. You're smart, and you're creative, and you're probably one hell of a musician, and I know you can handle this."
He lifted his head, Gale fixing Otto with a Look.
"So calm down and talk to me, don't run away."
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