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 Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:39 am
|✦| Entertainment on the Street |✦| Leukos and ChrysantheLeukos needs some help from an unexpected source after rather unsavory men give him a hard time after another street performance. Link
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:53 am
|✦| Peeping Toms |✦| Leukos vs vs. Kehtra(x3) Leukos learns the hard way that skinny dipping in unfamiliar territory can attract uninvited guests. Link
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:14 am
|✦| Just A Minor Inconvenience |✦|
The day had been a surprising all-around success thus far. The three different crowds he’d performed for had all luck-of-the-draw been of the more generous variety, parting with their coin more readily than he could have hoped for. Perhaps there was some Matoran holiday Leukos was not aware of that put them in such giving spirits? Well, the reasoning behind it didn’t really matter all that much, what did was that he was blessed with more money than he had started out the day with. And that’s all he could ask for in his situation.
So Leukos had stashed away the sum in his rented room, having learned the hard way that carrying too much coin around with you was a mistake in this country. Peeling his sweaty ‘costume’ off and freshening up as best he could, a treat seemed like it was in order for his admirable results, heading back out as the sun was setting to fill his empty stomach with something more flavorful than the bland mediocrity he’d been slating his hunger with as of late. There was a vendor he kept passing every day that was handing out the most scrumptious looking little meat-pies he’d ever laid eyes on, so it was with single minded determination that he made his way there.
Whistling a peppy little tune that had wormed its way into his brain since yesterday, he waited in the short line to make his order, smiling warmly at the young boy that took his precious money in return for a little numbered wooden chit, moving aside to join the little crowd awaiting their food. He struck up a conversation with the woman beside him, assessing the attributes of the weather that day, as the rules of small-talk dictated. Then his number was called and he eagerly strode over to another man behind the counter holding a steaming little pie. Leukos handed him his number and reached out for the food, smiling politely at the man. “This was actually the final pie we made with the last of the meat before the new batch, so it’s larger than normal,” And he grinned back, hefting the pie in his hand before moving to place it in Leukos’ eager palm, “Hope you’re hungry.”
Leukos’ hand froze, nose catching the faint smell of something he hadn’t encountered in months wafting from the man … a particularly cheap liquor brewed back in Oba, with a sharp bite and spicy tang. It seemed to crawl its way through the cracks of his grin in the dying light like lazy snakes. Leukos honed in on that smile, that smell. Those words.
“Hope you’re hungry.”
He felt a hand grab at his chin, forcing a thumb between his lips to rub against Leukos’ perfect teeth, looking up at the dark figure of the man with the grin that flashed even in the dimmest light. He was so proud of his teeth. Made a point of licking them while he talked, as if reassuring himself that they were all still there.
“Too bad we had to cut off all his hair; he really looked like a girl with it. Did you get to see how thick it was before he was locked up? Nearly came down to the floor, you wouldn’t believe it. Looked like a little doll, all covered in silks.” That was from the man with the chunk missing out of his left ear. He had the bad habit of rubbing it when people were cross with him.
He handed off the bottle to the fat man with the limp. The other slaves say he’s the one who enjoys using the whip the most. Leukos would have to agree with them. “Don’t really matter, they’re all the same at this age anyways. He's prettier than the hag you've got back home. Think he might actually cry for us this time around? The cuts from last time haven’t healed yet, bet they hurt like something else.” He wiped at his mouth and moved behind him, gripping Leukos’ trousers and pulling them out of the way, the cold air stinging the wounds there. “I get the back, you do the front. It’s my turn.”
Leukos inhaled sharply at the sudden pain, tensing up as his small hands curled up into fists on the floor, knuckles bone white as they started to shake.
And it was tempting. So tempting to cry.
But he couldn’t, he wasn’t allowed to. He’s ugly when he cries. Have to be pretty. Have to be perfect. Cry and The Lady hits harder. She hates it when he cries.
Don’t make a sound. It has to be secret. Master says so. Do as he says and maybe he’ll stroke your hair after. Have to be good for him. Want to be good for him.
But they aren’t here anymore.
They didn’t want him anymore.
He’d been a bad boy.
He’d tried to run away.
They didn’t like that.
He was being punished.
He deserved to be punished.
“Let’s put your pretty little mouth to work...”
And then the bright smile gets wider and the pants are opened up and he’s shaking and he shuts his eyes just leave don’t stay here it hurts if you stay and he’s choking it’s hard to breathe the smell is everywhere make it stop don’t want to see anymore please stop
Stop
Stop
Retching the contents of his empty stomach onto the cobblestones, Leukos was shaking and gasping and dry heaving as he knelt, curled up and clutching his hair into shuddering fists at his head. He sucked air into his starving lungs, coughing and choking, spitting out the bile in his mouth. But then his eyes focused again, becoming aware of the sounds around him, sea birds cawing in the distance, the smell of fish, his long hair gripped in his hands.
This was the now.
Then a hand was on his back and he twitched, recoiling away from the touch with an inhuman sound, a strangled noise halfway between a snarl and a gasp.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
He tilted his head to look up, at the source of the voice, the woman who he’d been talking to, the one with the kind eyes. She was on the ground with him, hand to her chest, like she wanted to touch him again, but was too afraid to try.
Everyone was silent. They were staring. The forgotten pie was splattered on the ground next to him, like an insect that had been crushed underfoot. Apparently he’d dropped it.
His heart thundered inside his chest, blood rushing to fill his pale cheeks in a tidal wave of emotions: anger, confusion, guilt, shame. Leukos unlaced his fingers from his hair, sitting up a bit more, still quivering. “Oh, I…” He glanced down at the mess in front of him, “T-that is… uh…”
Looking at the spilt food, he shrugged his shoulders a bit. “I-it was the smell. Of the pies. The meat. It just… it hit my s-stomach the wrong way…” He lanced at the woman and bit his lip, smoothing out the disheveled hair at the sides of his head.
She looked concerned, reaching out again to tentatively touch his back. “Do you need help? Should we get a physician? That seemed… rather intense. Do you have someone who we can send for?”
“No,” He shook his head and clenched his fists in his lap, “No. Don’t worry. There’s no one. No one else needs to deal with this. I… I’m fine. This is… nothing. Nothing at all.”
Leukos made to stand up, wobbling a bit as his head spun, but then steadied himself. He reached a hand into the bag tucked away on his person and pulled out a fat coin, pressing it down onto the counter in front of the man, avoiding looking at his face. “My humblest and sincerest apologies. For the… the mess.”
The woman’s hands flittered about as he turned to leave, touching her skirts, her face, back down again. “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t need help?”
Giving her a well practiced smile to fit onto his pretty face, Leukos tucked his hands behind his back as he bowed slightly, then pivoted to walk away.
“It’s just a minor inconvenience.”
[Word Count: 1,375]
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 2:57 pm
|✦| Rugged Good Looks |✦| Leukos and ManoLeukos goes shopping for a new rug, but ends up seeing something else that gets him far more excited~ Link
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:25 pm
|✦| Deep Water, Deeper Fears |✦| Leukos vs. Sirenns(x3) Endeavoring to remedy his rocky relationship with water, Leukos seeks out a deep pool to conquer. He was not prepared. Link
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:29 pm
|✦| The Butterfly Chaser |✦| Leukos and SajahkaSajahka would not leave Leukos alone. Which he used as the perfect opportunity to teach the thief a hard lesson. Link
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:32 pm
|✦| Things That Go Bump in the Night |✦| Leukos and SajahkaAfter their last encounter in which Leukos took some things that were precious to Sajahka, the thief decided to take matters into his own hands, breaking into Leukos' room to get them back. Both got a little more than they had bargained for. Link
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:34 pm
|✦| Right Where We Are |✦| Leukos and SajahkaAfter another night spent together in convoluted sexual confusion, Leukos draws the line in the sand for the parameters of his relationship with Sajahka Link
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:37 pm
|✦| One Step Closer |✦| Leukos vs. Alol Executing a plan he had spent weeks cultivating, Leukos lands his first official tamed beast. Link
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:42 pm
|✦| Flying Colors |✦| Setting down the large reptile onto the worn cobblestones, Leukos took the bag off his shoulder and began rummaging inside to draw out the items he’d need. Kyro blinked one, then two of his large orange eyes at him, nosing his way into the bag to find the treats he could smell. After pushing the scaly snout away, Leukos pulled out the smaller pouch the lizard could smell, tying that to his waist as he set a small cup on the stones in front of him. He then took a loose pebble off the ground and stood, taking a few steps away from the lizard, which gazed up expectantly at him.
“Alright Kyro, let’s give this a try. We’ve done this so many times, you should get it by now,” Leukos talked down to the alol, looking up as he rubbed the small stone between his fingers. He’d chosen this spot because it wasn’t as busy as the usual one he’d been setting up his performances in, but still had quite a few people going about their business around the pair. They’d worked on his routine back in Leukos’ room, but the lizard needed to prove that it could handle the many distractions that life outside held before he committed to having it perform alongside him officially.
So he turned his attention back to Kyro, holding the rock up for the alol to see, “Just ignore everyone, and pay attention to me. I know you know this.” And with that he tossed it to the ground. Immediately Kyro was on the move, picking up the rock between its minuscule teeth and scurrying over to drop the stone into the cup. Once inside, he pushed it across the stones to Leukos’ feet, looking up with an unblinking intensity. “Perfect! Let’s do it again, that was flawless,” Leukos beamed as he fished a little chunk of meat out of his pouch, dropping it to be snapped up by the greedy lizard while he retrieved the rock.
Again and again the reptile performed the trick, receiving a small scrap after every success. And then Leukos was pulling other props out of his bag to test the lizard: small bells on strings for him to ring, rods to walk across, balls to balance on his unmoving body, and other such things. On occasion he was distracted by something happening nearby, or the people who stopped to wonder what the two were doing. But overall he was performing splendidly, and Leukos could not be prouder of his little companion.
“Alright, you’re doing great! Last one, then we can take a break for a while,” he said as he pulled out a child’s colorful ball and a simple wooden flute, setting Kyro atop the sphere carefully, “Let’s finish with a bang!” And as he began playing a lilting little tune, Kyro balanced atop the ball, bobbing his head and tail along to the music. This last trick drew in a small crowd of curious onlookers, who with delighted smiles marveled at the talented little alol, as enchanted as Leukos was by all of its hard work. Kyro was doing better than he could have hoped; it almost felt like being back home at the circus. If only they could see him now―pushing for pennies on the streets with nothing but his wits to keep him fed and warm....
It was both an embarrassing and pride inspiring thought at the same time.
But whether or not these were conditions he could be proud of, the fact remained that this was the way things were for him now, and he was going to make the best of it. Treat the whole trip abroad as a learning experience, a test to see how he could fair on his own in the real world. And as the last note floated from his flute and quiet applause could be heard behind him, Leukos couldn’t help but feel that perhaps everything had gone wrong for a reason, by some higher planning beyond his control. He’d made some stupid mistakes along the way, taken dumb risks; but all in all, things could be worse.
He wasn’t begging for coins in some ditch, or resorting to other, more unsavory means of supporting himself. He’d trained a wild animal enough that it was now obediently following his commands, was content to live with him amongst civilization. And he’d gotten this far himself, with no one else’s help. That had to mean something in the long run. Every time he’d faced a daunting task in his life, or circumstances so dire it just felt easier to give up entirely, he’d been able to make it out stronger. Sure there were always scars that came with the struggle―some clear and others that couldn’t be seen as easily―but he was still here. He was alive.
And that was something he could be proud of.
So as he strode over to retrieve his well trained companion, Leukos walked with his head held high and a smile on his face, a pep to his step that couldn’t be easily extinguished. He scooped up the scaly animal, setting it atop his shoulders as he fished out one last treat for Kyro. “You did wonderfully today―truly a marvelous little creature. Thank you,” he cooed, stroking the reptile beneath its chin as he nuzzled it with his cheek. Kyro chirped happily, munching away on his treat in a manner that made it very clear he was quite satisfied with himself as well. And as he knelt to put the ball away with the last of the props in his bag, any onlookers departed as well, going on with their day. Which was fine: earning coin wasn’t the purpose of this current venture. He’d simply come out today to test whether or not he’d grown as a beast charmer, if his companion had learned anything.
By his regards, they’d both passed with flying colors.
[Word Count: 990]
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:43 pm
|✦| Mistakes Made |✦| Leukos vs. Alol When an opening is exploited, Leukos sees for himself how his mistakes don't just hurt him anymore. Link
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 4:35 pm
|✦| Do You Like Fish Sticks? |✦| Leukos and NiamhLeukos meets a young man who treats him to more than a few surprises on an impromptu first date. Link
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