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 Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 10:45 pm
 It happened often. Small communities went bankrupt. Roads were bypassed and areas of town that had once been mainstream become all but forgotten. Such was life. Businesses closed, families moved, buildings became evicted, and eventually while illegally became the homes for people who had similar runs of luck. Creatures that once had a meaning in society, they were somebody’s babies once. Held in the arms of a loving mother, playing ball and eating bugs just like anyone else. Some people were bypassed for greater individuals, and like the empty homes they dwelt in, they found no more use for themselves within society.
Though despite all that, it was pretty uncommon a jivvin to fall to such a low. A solitary dusty-pelted creature lurked his way back towards the abandoned carpenter’s shop. His home, a small hole down at the bottom of the door left unboarded, the only way into the house. Previously, he’d shared his flea-bitten life with another Jivvin that had all but left in the months that Jim had been gone. Not surprising, though no less unpleasant to return to an empty, dusty home just as ridden with termites as ever. Gripped in the pointed teeth of the stray dangled a large bag of fast food. Snatched at a drive-in just as it was being handed between customer and cashier. A small crime, not worth an investigation or long-time search but one that would add to his building record of crime.
He’d left it all behind. The filthy money earned by the blood of those that had been killed on his horn, in his maw, or under his claws. Each of their dying screams haunted the jivvin who retained the appearance of a fighter. Much the way a dog would after even a few months of living in the ring. Cropped ears, pointed and scarred. Far shorter than any jivvin’s would be. Had they not have been cropped they’d be full of holes, infection, and all but useless anyway. Scars covered his body under the fur though the larger ones were still apparent as the fur had begun to thin.
The jivvin paused, glancing around sharply, both pointed ears lifting up to listen. Only the howl of wind through the dusty road met him. For the moment he wasa in the clear. The olphyn shifted back into his fouth form, taking a seat on an old log that sat at the head of what was once a small parking log. “And the spoils.” Jim smirked, digging around in the bag, delighted to find not one but two meals. No drink, that was a bit of a bummer, but he had a few bottles of water inside. A double cheese burger meal with a large order of fries and an order of chicken strips. He reclined himself back, casually munching the fries out of the bag. A bit cool now, but they’d been crisp at least- an improvement over the soggy, limp, and greasy abominations normally expected out of such restaurants.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:16 pm
Naomi padded along the streets, looking back and forth from side to side, trying to find what he'd seen coming down here. Something that looked a lot like him. Perhaps it was another Jivvin? That would be almost too good to be true. He had not had the company of his own kind for a good long while, and frankly... he was rather lonely. It wasn't that he didn't actively seek out companionship - it was that he couldn't. Ever since he had taken to wandering about, people seemed to shy away from him - human and non-human alike. It wasn't his cleanliness. It wasn't his manners. Both were nigh impeccable. It was simply the fact that he was not like them. And this saddened him. What he wouldn't have given to be like one of the two-leggers... or to have wings like the birds that fled from him... But those were thoughts that were better saved for private. He had to find that-
And he found him, munching on leftovers out of a trashcan. What a way to live! He ached for the poor Jivvin, and as he slid into the alley quietly, he couldn't help wondering whether or not this one might be as a friend to him - if he played his cards right. But then again, he could just end up running away like everyone else. It wouldn't surprise him if that DID happen. And if it did.... If it did, he was prepared to leave well enough alone - though he would have severely preferred not to. He approached. Padding on quieted paws, his tail held high and out of the way as he picked his way through the trash.
"Excuse me...." he said quietly, in the language of the Jivvin. "Did you need any help?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 12:54 am
Jim lost himself for a while in his meal, watching the sky as he chewed, rolling a few things through his mind over and over again. He couldn't stop thinking about the kid... it saddened and sickened him that the boy had accepted his fate. No kid, no person should have to live like that. No dignity. He'd never grow up, never walk without shame, never know that he was free. He could leave and see the world, have a family settle down with that....guy. Jim wrinkled his nose a bit. Not his choice of lifestyles. Tayn seemed happy with it, power to that. Whatever got a smile on the kid's face again.
Not gonna be you, Jimbo. He likes his life. You waisted your time trying to get him out... He scolded himself quietly, Kama knew the whole time...there was no price on the kid's freedom. He'd have kept fighting me till I bit the dust. Waste of time. Waste of life.
He shuddered a bit. The voice from the night he'd been shot. The only voice from the darkness that had been kind to him as he sat huddled and confused in a cage that was damp and smelled of unspeakable attrocoties.
Both ears perked up sharply, snapping him from his thoughts. Claws on the gravel road- not an easy sound to mask. Even to the most trained in stealth, half of why he chose this place out of the lot. His fighting instincts would likely never die. His first reaction was to sit right up, shoulders squared and eyes locked on the intruder. The look of a killer, something he'd likely never loose.
The language? He spoke only two. English and bad english. As a kid he might have known it... he didn't use it for years. More than a decade at least. Language often died if never used or if it was rarely heard. "...what do you want?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:11 am
"I said, did you n-" He broke off, realizing that this Jivvin no longer spoke the original language. Typical of his luck.
Instead, he cautiously crept closer, trying to show the boy that he meant no harm. He was older than the boy by at least a year or so - perhaps more. The fact that this one was a Fourther and he was not should not make any difference in their communication in terms of body-language. His tail flattened to the ground as much as he could make it. Non-threatening. Not a threat. Not going to hurt. Just by looking, Naomi could see that 'hurt' had been something this one had been - and often. He didn't know exactly what, but his face had that look to it that he often saw at the hospital. That soulless gaze of those who have nowhere to go, nothing to do. That stare that showed the fighting reflexes intact, the willingness to defend to the death. The hardships and the trials faced were as clear to Naomi as the pages of his favorite book. He knew that feral expression. Had seen it so many times... and he knew that he was TOO close. The patients he'd dealt with that had that expression very often were not too trusting of people, and tended to lash out. He didn't want to be proven right in that sense. He'd rather KEEP his limbs, thanks much.
Instead of advancing again, he plopped on his haunches, and tilted his head to show, once again, that he meant no harm. And to ask without words if everything was ok, or if anything was amiss that could be addressed. The answer was likely as not to 'f-off', but he could at least try. It was his duty as a doctor-in-training to do that much. Besides, observing was not touching, though he had this overwhelming urge to sidle up to the boy, and cuddle him for reassurance. He cut a pitiful figure. One that shouldn't have to exist. He met that defensive stance with his own of peace, and those hard eyes with his own soft. He could smell the filth all around, and he was not sure if any of it was coming from the other, but he could really care less at this point. It wasn't as though he wanted to harm the other Jivvin in any way... but he had to somehow let him KNOW that... and he was doing all he could with body-language to project 'I am not a threat to you' without words.
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:53 am
His eyes never left the other Jivvin. He didn't tense or relax either. He didn't seem to be overly eager to jump into a fight. He watched, waiting for some kind of answer. It didn't seem to know how to speak his own language. Unfortunately for both parties, Jim had very little exposure to his own kind. After having found his mother's body nearly completely devoured by the abominations in the forest, he'd left the village, seeking revenge. He'd never have it. If the creature was still around it was unlikely he could reconise it. His father? He had one, yes, that was a given. However he'd never met him. The creep had left before he'd been born. For all he knew Kama could be his father. The thought brought a slight shudder.
Other than that it had pretty much been Kama and Rillian, though he ignored the overly ritious squirt. It wasn't aggressive though. At least not at the moment.
"...can't talk huh?" It was a question, but one that he said more as a statement. Of course it couldn't. "If you're hungry you're just gonna have to go somewhere else. To the victor go the spoils and all that. Sitting and starring will get you two things out of life-
Jack and s**t."
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:42 am
Trying not to roll his eyes in frustration, Naomi patiently wrapped his tail around his feet, and waited. There was time. And he had to get it through to this kid that he was not some mangy mongrel looking for food, but an intelligent creature that only wanted to help. The doctor in him was dying to examine this kid - if only to see what made him tick. But the caretaker in him was concerned. Children should not have to live like this... regardless of their situations. He very patiently crossed his paws in front of him, like a human would cross their arms, and continued to meet those hard eyes. But his own had grown slightly harder as well. More insistent. Not those big puppy eyes that called out for attention or food but eyes full of knowledge.
He sighed. It seemed as though his intense gaze was not working, so he rose from his haunches, and began to approach again. Slowly, yes, but with an authoritative aura. The way he walked, how he held himself... even a human could have picked up that he meant business. Let this Jivvin take that as he may. The golden gaze traveled up the kid and down, looking for anything that might be particularly paining him, or anything that might show some hint of illness. He was close enough now that he could see if there were any obvious injuries. It was the most he could do without touching this one. And frankly, the boy looked like he was one that did not want to be touched. Fourther or no, he was a bedraggled piece of flotsam is ever there was one, and Naomi half sympathized, half empathized. He'd been homeless before. But he doubted it was anything like this.
It was then that he got an idea. Stopped moving. Perhaps he couldn't SPEAK English.. but he could write it. With a pen or his paw, whichever came first. As with all street alleyways, things were always lying around. He found a pen within moments, and pulled a scrap of paper from the garbage. Using his mouth to hold the uncapped pen, he scribed the words that he could not say.
[You look like you are in need of help. Is there anything I can do?]
Long years of practice with pen in mouth had given him the ability to write legibly using only that. It was one of the main talents that had impressed his current employers at the hospital. THEY still considered him just a big, fluffy dog with an entirely too-long tail. And after all, who better to have on staff than a dog who could write? He waited patiently for the reply, making SURE the kid saw it by picking up the paper with his teeth, and holding it up so that the writing faced him.
I'm so going to have to brush my teeth and gargle with mouthwash after this... he mused, but did not let the thought influence his expression.
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:30 pm
Physically Jim was fine. Beneith the old rugged leather coat and dirty t-shirt, however, lay many scars that would all but betray the year of hell he'd come to know as an every day routene. Claw marks, bit marks, knife wounds, various other forms of assault. A life of fighting in the worst kind of ring. No rules, no regulations. The only scar that would be somewhat visable was a large, nast burn scar on his right wrist. The imprint of a simple band could be seen at the center of it. Scarred now. Much of the skin in the area no longer had feeling.
Another sacrifice to such a lifestyle- the loss of his sense of taste. Though it would be hard to note with how he ate and dispite his 'home'- he was well fed.
Jim tensed as Naomi approached, his cropped ears pinning back and eyes narrowing in a silent warning. However he watched, letting it approach, and even taking a moment to stuff his face with a few more fries as the creature wrote. He wasn't an idiot- he knew jivvins were smart and it didn't seem to surpise him that this one was writing. Just like Rillian, that snotty little do-gooder that spent a lot of his time in the first level of the mansion.
"Ooh...", He reached back, scratching his neck, "I don't need any help. I'm doin' just fine."
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:06 am
[You don't look fine.]
He wrote, and showed it to the Fourther. He was concerned. Generally, people who look that disheveled who say they are 'fine', aren't really paying attention to their own bodies. He could be sick. Injured. Or scarred in places that weren't physical. He'd seen enough of those at the hospital to wince at the implications. Just what had this boy BEEN through? He was sure it was -something- at any rate. Only, just WHAT it was... Perhaps he'd find out. He set the paper down, and wrote again, having to pull another piece of scrap to continue his words halfway through.
[I'm a doctor, of sorts. I can tell you've been through a lot. I'm not going to ask you what because that would be]
He pulled another scrap.
[Insensitive. Allow me, however, to offer you my place. At least for the night. It's in a safe area, most of my previous roomate's clothing would fit you, you would be able to get a shower and]
And another scrap, this one larger.
[Probably a bite to eat that's not out of the trashcans. Mind, I'm not just GIVING this to you - There's something I'd like to know in return. I'm trying to find my old Bonded. Just to see how he is, and if he's doing well. If you have any information, or none at all, tell me. His name is Brandon Light. About your age. Little taller than you, blonde hair and blue eyes. Pretty pale skin, and generally wears a long red duster.]
He looked expectantly at the boy. Ok, so he fibbed a LITTLE. What he was offering in price for the... he assumed LACK of... information was way more than the information was worth. But hopefully the other Jivvin would bite. He looked like he was in need of a good shower, and a place to WASH his clothing if not change it. Naomi's apartment - lent to him by the hospital staff when they found out he was intelligent - was the perfect place to get those things. And Naomi's current roomate would CERTAINLY not mind. Where his last one had been a rather scruffy male, his current one was a long-haired, and... rather well endowed ... female. Who could cook like heaven. Not that he had a relationship with her other than friends. Perhaps even less than that. After all, to her, he was a dog.
He pulled another piece of paper from the trash, and wrote some more, after giving the other time to absorb the first.
[While you're thinking - if that's what you're doing, why don't you follow me back? At least I could get some... decent... food into you, and a shower.]
Perhaps a nap, too... Naomi observed clinically. There didn't seem to be much about this boy that wasn't tired, strained, or otherwise beaten. A nap certainly couldn't HURT things...
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 2:06 pm
Jim's expression darkened the more and more tha other Jivvin scribbled on the paper- well more than scribbled. To be completely honest he couldn't even boast half decent handwriting using his hands. He had to give the guy that much at least. It just seemed strange to him... a jivvin, yes a fellow jivvin, offering help without knowing him. Naomi had no way of knowing that he stood in front of a murderer, a killer that had once taken life so he could live his for one more day. For money to save someone who would rather not be saved. He could end him right there in the allyway and no one would know...
The thought sickened him. How his mind would revert back to that now and then. Perhaps in time it wou go away, perhaps not. He could still remember his opponent's soft voice, he'd been kind to him dispite knowing they were to face eachother in the ring. It had driven him mad...but it proved that he still had a heart. At least to himself.
"I'm fine." Jim repeated, "And I don't know anyone like that. You're digging for info in the wrong half of town, guy." The offer was nice but neither of them were in a position of such trust. Naomi for one had ever reason -not- to allow Jim into his home. Past aside, they'd known eachother for all of ten minutes. Secondly, Jim didn't alltogether trust Naomi. He didn't know the guy's name or if he was or wasn't another Jivvin like Kama had been. ready to sell him out, slap him around in front of yet another unfortunate soul. It was a gamble...and the dice were never in his favor.
"Thanks but no thanks. I live here." He jerked his head back towards the old carpenter's shop, "Got a roof over my head and food when I need it. Got all I need."
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 7:25 am
Naomi had expected a reaction similar to this, so it didn't really bother him when the reply came out as it did. He simply smiled, gently, for a moment, then continued to write.
[You don't have to stay.] He scribbled. [You can come by just to get a bite, or to get a shower or a nap without having to be on the streets. I'm not going to make you stay. But in the VERY least, come with me to wash your clothes?]
He titled his head to one side, thinking about what the other Jivvin might be thinking at the time, and coming up to the same answer over and over again. He bit his lip. This was going to be tougher than he thought. He doesn't trust me. Who would blame him. After all, he had walked up to him, without knowing him, asking to help. It wasn't something your normal every day Jivvin would DO. Let alone your normal, every day human being. He thought to remedy this dilemma. So again, he pulled a scrap paper from the heap, and began to write.
[I know you don't know me, and I don't know you. I don't care what you did in the past, or what you will do in the future. Please at least consider this point: I am someone who doesn't know your history, and frankly doesn't care to. All I want to do is help out a fellow in need. You say you have shelter and food - but somehow I don't feel that's quite true. Or even if it is....]
He paused for a moment to think, and to get a better grip on the pen.
[Please think about it. Here's the address to my apartment.]
He wrote that down, and slid it over.
[I can't make you come, but I'd like it if you'd drop by every now and then to have dinner, clean up, wash your clothing, or generally just hang out. If I'm not at home, my roomate Sionea will answer the door. I work at the hospital down on Justice and Mainstreet, right across from the old resteraunt. My name is Naomi. Naomi Whitecross. Listed as N. Whitecross on the hospital staff board. I'm in the security team there, and I work with the children's ward. Stop by sometime.]
He sat on his haunches, thinking if he had anything else to add. He couldn't come up with anything at all.
[Like I said before - I can't make you come, but I'd like it if you did. I'll be at home all night, and I think Sionea is cooking spaghetti tonight. We'd be more than happy to have you join us.]
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:55 pm
Jim picked up the note, reading it over slowly. He considered it... it would be nice to shower, wear clean clothing, and maybe even get to lounge on something that wasn't already half-eaten by termites. However, the trust issue still remained. The last house he'd stayed at- by all normal rights- was the good life. He had his own room, his own bed, he had money coming in and the chance to wear clean clothing, bathe, and even have someone else cook for him. There was always a catch. It often times went unspoken until the host decided to call out a favor.
"It's a nice offer." He admitted, balling up the paper and adding it to his McDonald's bag. "But we don't know eachother. I'm not so down with it. Just tog out of a nice place and I'd rather let things settle for a while." He stood himself up, kicking the bag away from him, "'cides... garbage food isn't so bad. Not that I'll get fat for one and for two I can't taste anymore."
He shrugged, slipping back into his third form, "Thanks though. But I'm gonna hafta say no for now."
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