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 Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 5:44 pm
Being the son of a grocer had it's perks. Namely, knowing some of the best locations for picking up food, a skill very handy when one is on his own.
Ever since his meeting with the dark stranger, Koa had been trying to learn more about whoever his opponents were supposed to be, but it was hard to do so while trying to remain incognito himself. His nose and ears made him stand out too much. Thus, he'd adopted a hooded sweatshirt he kept worn up - it helped hide his ears, as well as protect him against the chilly winter air that was gripping the city.
His hunt had brought him down to the Harbor South area - best place to swipe a bit of produce here and there as they were being unloaded, as long as one didn't attract attention and looked like you belonged there. Mostly, it took patience, waiting for the perfect moment.
Koa was hanging around a warehouse he'd often frequented on errands for his father, but this time he was keeping his distance across the street. A truck had just pulled up. All he needed was for the men handling the crates to go inside for a moment...
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:22 pm
Crouched on the tin roof of one of the warf storage buildings with his staff strapped to his back, Jubs was also waiting for the men to leave. He had yet to notice the pig-nosed boy hiding in the shadow of the building he was on.
As soon as the men walked off to take a break, he made his move, launching himself off the roof towards the truck. One of the reasons he had chosen this method was to try out his new flying abiliy. Unfortunately, he was a long way from mastering it, and the most he could do was float down to the ground. He still managed to make it to the truck, and he quickly grabbed a crate.
As he turned, he saw the other person that was waiting, though he didn't see the nose. "Quick! While they're gone!" He said tersly, indicating the kid should gome grab a box.
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 7:36 pm
It was the perfect moment, the men had just left, but all Koa could do was stare in disbelief as the strangest boy he'd ever seen leaped from the roof right above his head. It was like watching a slow-motion scene in a movie as he landed easily beside the truck and made off with some of the goods.
Koa was snapped out of his state by the urgent call and scrambled over, grabbing the first box that looked manageable. Goods in hand, the boy bolted off down the alley beside the warehouse, but paused to hiss back at the strange, older boy. "Quick! This way!"
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 7:46 pm
Harbor was one of the areas he had little experience with. While he could get away easily enough, there was a good chance he'd get lost. There was nothing for it; he would have to follow the kid.
He made a quick turn, his tail flying out to the side to balance him. It wasn't long before he caught up with the kid. "Where are we headed?" It would be fairly noticable that he had feathers in his hair, and furred ears.
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:03 pm
...not to mention the guy had a tail twisting this way and that as he ran. Koa would have had to be blind as a worm to miss that, and as it was he had a hard time not staring and focussing on where he was going. To someone not familiar with the area, all the warehouses could look the same, and even to someone familiar it was a challenging place to navigate, with surprising dead-ends. Koa glanced around, then darted down a side-street heading towards the waterfront. It was less-crowded. A perk, he figured, for a couple thieves, particularly one who would stand out pretty badly.
Thankfully, they seemed to have made it away clean without anyone spotting them. Koa turned them down an alley and flopped against a wall, clutching his box and panting for breath. It was only after he'd recovered a bit that he took a chance to really look over his strange partner in crime, though he was careful to keep as much hidden by his hood as possible. "...What's with the fur? You some kind of mutant?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:20 pm
It chafed Jubs that he had to slow down to the kid's speed, but as it was he was lost. Several side alley's later, they seemed to be well away from anyone who wuld interrupt them.
While the kid was taking a breather, Jubs set his box down, seemingly unphased by the sprint. He opened the box to see what was inside. A small assortment of fruit on one side of a divider, and some packaged jerky on the other. Score.
He looked up when the other kid spoke. His tail lashed in agitation. "It's not your buisness.." He started to say, when he saw the kid's nose. There was really only one explaination for it. "You in The Game?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:33 pm
Koa's eyes widened and he ducked his head, pulling his hood up. He should've figured this freak would be a Game-player. And thus, his opponent. Last one standing...
"What game?" he muttered. "I don't know about any game..."
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:53 pm
Was he that naive when he was a kid? He certainly hoped not.
"There's not a kid in this city that hasn't heard of the game. And I don't know any normal kids that have a pig nose." He opened up a pack of jerky and bit into a peice.
"Beshiseds," He said with his mouth full. "I'm not going to attack you when I don't even know who you god is."
Good. You're learning. Hermes spoke up.
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 9:04 pm
Koa glowered, but allowed himself to relax. "Alright, so what if I am?
Taking his cue from the older boy, he tore off the tape on his own box and pulled out a green apple. Not bad, at least they were fresh, if a bit under-ripe. With the cold, they should last a while.
"So who's your god anyways? Did you always have that tail and those weird feet?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 9:17 pm
He shrugged. "Well, it's good to know who the players are. And who knows, you might make a good ally."
Jubs was already through several pieces of jerky, despite how tough it was. He'd learned to take advantage of food while he had it.
"My god?" He supposed there was no harm in telling the kid. he'd find out from some other player eventually. "His name is Hermes. And I didn't always have them, but it's been awhile now." No reason to mention the tail and ears were new.
"What about you?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:13 pm
"Ah," the pig-nosed boy said, as if he understood what 'Hermes' was. Maybe he should've stuck around for history class more often...
Ally... Yes, he'd need those. That much was obvious. He was up against kids older than himself, if this guy was any indication - though he was pretty scrawny. Still, he could jump off roofs without harm and was armed with a staff, and those clawed feet looked like they could do some damage too. Koa decided he needed a weapon. A weapon, and a gang. What he lacked in strength, he could make up for in numbers. Get others to cover his weaknesses.
But first, he needed to learn more, and find a more permanent shelter, a base of opperations he could work from.
"Huh? My god?" Koa felt at the front of his jacket, feeling the boar tooth hanging beneath his shirt. "Oh, he's pretty strong. His name's... Kama... Kama-pa'a. Really bad news." That was something else to add to the list: Learn more about his god. Koa took a bite of his apple after rubbing it on his jacket. "You said a while? How long have you been playing this game?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 7:35 pm
Kama-pa'a? What kind of name was that?
"I have no idea, must have been someone newer." Hermes said, reading his thoughts.
"I think...it was in spring, maybe. I know it was really starting to warm up. But I don't have a calendar out here, so I wouldn't know."
Speaking of living on the streets. "You're clothes look pretty clean. just run away?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 7:47 pm
Koa glanced down at himself at the boy's comment. He hadn't really thought of himself as 'clean,' at least by his mother's standards, but compared to some of the homeless around the lower streets, he was pretty pristine.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I just joined recently, and I don't think my family would be very happy with this nose. I'm looking for some place to live in, though."
He looked over the contents of his box - seemed to be a lot of fruit and produce. Koa glanced wistfully at the jerky in his temporary partner. "Hey, trade you an orange for one of those jerky packs..."
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:16 am
Jubs scoffed. "Tell me about it. Just a few feathers and they throw you out on the street. You're better off." He didn't notice, but his claws were diggin into the pavement as he flexed in anger.
"Here." He tossed him a couple jerky packs, feeling a slight kinship at having been kicked out of home. "You gotta name?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:39 pm
Koa caught the packs against his chest, in return tossing an orange towards the strange boy.
He bit into a piece of the dried meat and chewed as he considered the question and his response, whether it was worth the risk of giving out his name, or if he should adopt some kind of alias. In the end, he deemed the boy safe enough. "My name's Koa. Means brave, or something like that." He waved a jerky stick at his companion. "I gave you mine, now you have to give me yours!"
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