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 Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:24 am
“I didn’t say don’t put every ounce of effort you have into it,” Jack patiently countered. “All I’m saying is be careful when you do. Be smart about it, yeah? Don’t jump right in. Figure out the lay of the land. Learn who to trust, and who can help you achieve what you want. You need allies. We all do, but a lot of us have the benefit of being born on Earth. You don’t have that, so…”
Jack shrugged, unsure where he was going with that thought, other than that Quinn needed help, whether he wanted it or not. He needed it more than a Senshi born here, because he knew no one and had nothing to prepare him for the situation he found himself in.
Quinn was lucky the Captain he’d encountered hadn’t been as ruthless and skilled as the ones Jack knew were out there. Quinn was lucky he’d been found by someone who sort of knew how to help him, who had the wherewithal to eventually recognize that he wasn’t even from here. Everything about Quinn being here, in Jack’s condo, was a result of luck. Things could have easily turned out worse for him.
“You don’t have to believe I don’t want anything in return,” Jack continued. “Let me prove it to you. You’re safe here, so stay and let me help you out, and you’ll realize sooner or later that I mean what I say. You’re not going to be able to make it on your own. You wanted to get enough people together to stage an attack. I don’t know if we can manage that, I told you I haven’t been doing this for long, but you’re right that we do have to band together, so… let’s start with you and me.”
It was the best he could offer in terms of the war, when he had so little experience with it himself.
“I figure Earth is like any other place out there. There are good people and bad people, and we all have to figure out who’s what, on either side. I like to think I’m good. You might disagree. But I like to help people when I can. If I have something to offer, why shouldn’t I offer it?”
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:34 am
Quinn huffed and grunted and tried very hard to bite his tongue around snapping at the one person who was helping him on this Chaos infested world.
He did need allies if they were going to destroy Chaos. And he shot a glare at Jack when he said he wanted to prove that he didn’t want anything in return. Quinn still didn’t believe him, but if he was being sincere, then Quinn would be a fool for not taking him up on his offer.
Besides, he did house him for the night without asking anything of him. And he was trying to feed him, if Quinn would sit still long enough to eat.
Eventually, after pacing out the majority of his apprehension, he moved back over to the counter to sit down and drink some more of that yellow water.
“You help everyone like you help me?” he frowned, because Quinn certainly didn’t see other people hanging out in Jack’s apartment. “Or is it because I’m a Senshi? Or alien?”
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:42 am
“All of the above?” Jack answered. “To an extent. I mean, I don’t usually invite just anyone into my condo. But you’re a Senshi, and we’re technically on the same side, so…”
He shrugged. He was doing a lot of shrugging this morning, it seemed.
Regardless, the entire thought process made sense to him. Quinn needed a place to recover, then probably a place to stay for a while, since he was an alien with no money and no possessions here on Earth. Jack was pretty easy to get along with (or so he liked to think), so wasn’t it obvious that Quinn should stick around for however long he needed? It wasn’t like Jack didn’t have the room. It wasn’t like he valued his privacy enough to not want a roommate. It wasn’t like he didn’t have the means to help Quinn get established.
“Plus, Roxy likes you,” Jack continued, like this fact solved everything. “Dogs can sense trouble, and they tend to know when someone’s bad news. As long as Roxy wants to be around you, I figure you can’t be all that bad, even if you might be a little…”
He trailed off. It probably wouldn’t be the best idea to accidentally offend his alien guest by spouting off whatever the first thing that came to mind was.
“Uhh… rough around the edges?” he tried to recover. “Not that you don’t have any reason to be. You’ve been through a lot. It’s understandable.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:42 am
His eyes narrowed at the hesitation, wondering what it was that Jack intended to say, but decided not to at the last moment. It probably didn’t matter, but it was a little more than obvious that he was sugarcoating whatever he wanted to say.
Quinn sniffed indignantly, and used his fingers to pick up the sausage and brought it to his mouth. He sniffed it first, and then took a bite. He’d seen Jack give a piece to Roxy, so he figured it wasn’t something horrible to eat. It was just… not a texture he was used to. And a strange flavor, but not horrible.
“I’d say Roxy has good taste, but I think I saw her licking her butt earlier,” Quinn grumbled, but figured that if Jack wanted to kill him (he couldn’t, because he was too strong to be killed by some brand new Page), he would have done it by now. And he could have left him out in the cold. It was a lot warmer here at least.
“What am I supposed to do when I’m not out looking for those Chaos bastards?”
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:43 am
“Well, first thing’s first, we should probably get you some clothes that actually fit,” Jack said. “So when you feel up to it, like after you’ve eaten and rested some more, we can go shopping. Or… I can go myself first if you don’t want to go out in oversized clothes. Sorry, I don’t have anything smaller.”
Quinn wasn’t a large dude. Jack didn’t think he knew anyone locally who’d have clothes in his size. Maybe he could ask around the condominium complex, see if any of his neighbors had anything better for Quinn to wear until they got him some stuff of his own?
Jack scratched at his jaw again. He wasn’t used to putting this much thought into things. He didn’t usually have to.
“I can get you a phone, too, so you have a way to communicate with me when I’m not around if you need to,” he continued, pulling his phone out of the pocket of his sweatpants to show Quinn what one was again. “I don’t know what the tech was like on your world. This lets people here on Earth talk to each other over long distances, either by voice or by text. Or video. Which is, like… uhh… live images. Sorry, I don’t usually have to explain this stuff to people who don’t know what it is. But I can teach you how to use the basic functions. Then we can go talk to Chris and Paris’s cat. She can get you set up with Senshi tech. I don’t know a lot about that stuff. Knights have different things, I guess.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:43 am
“Is it not considered socially acceptable to wear this around other people?” Quinn asked, looking down at the clothing he was wearing. He supposed it was rather large, but it was also warm so he wasn’t going to complain. He supposed it would limit his movement if there was an emergency and he had to get away quickly. He was going to guess that wearing a blanket around his shoulders was a no-go too.
He frowned a little, not sure he liked the idea of being left alone. He supposed at least it wasn’t like he’d be waking up underwater. He hoped.
The explanation of electronics was a bit overwhelming. They had technology, but not like that. They had devices to communicate, so he was just going to assume they were similar. He was just going to have to do a lot of blind trusting it seemed.
Which he absolutely hated.
Quinn shifted uncomfortably but took another bite of sausage to chew on as he thought about Jack’s offers. It wasn’t as though he really had a choice, so he nodded.
“Whatever would be easier for you,” he decided, because that seemed like the most polite thing to do. “Thank you,” he added, because he didn’t want to seem unappreciative. There was just a lot he didn’t understand.
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:44 am
“I guess if drowning in fabric is the style you’re looking for, then it’s fine,” Jack said. He smiled his usual good natured smile, then took another bite of his own food.
Jack had no idea what he was supposed to do about this situation, but he figured doing his best was all anyone could ask of him. It wasn’t as if either of them really knew what they were doing. They were stuck figuring things out together, working through a series of problems as those problems came to them.
Jack liked to think there were worse people out there for Quinn to get stuck figuring things out with. The important thing was that they were trying, and learning, and maybe they’d kick some Chaos a** along the way.
Well… between the two of them, Quinn would try. Jack didn’t know how much a** kicking he’d be good at himself.
“You’re welcome, though. It’s seriously no trouble. I can’t say I ever thought I’d have an alien at my place, but… you know, I just kind of go with the flow. It is what it is, so I’ll make the most of it. If you need anything, just let me know.”
Jack’s smile grew, but the sincerity in it never vanished.
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