|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 9:14 pm
"You pay now."
"But I don't have the money."
"No money, no shirt."
"Mrs. Ching..."
"Pay. Now."
Darry sighed, scratching at his head wearily and presenting his empty wallet to the angry looking dry cleaner lady currently scowling at him behind the counter.
"Mrs. Ching. I'm good for it."
"You get out. Nothing but trouble, you come in with gray baby, gray baby throws up all over wedding gown, I get in trouble. You leave!"
"Mrs. Ching, that was like two weeks ago. And the stains came out alright."
"YOU LEAVE!"
Katya, the wedding dress ruiner, burbled and grumbled in her baby carrier, chewing toothlessly at at red bell pepper. She had since lost all her pacifiers, and lacking Darry's fingers to chew on she'd dug around in the grocery bag until she'd found something nice to drool on.
"MRS. CHING YOU HAVE MY ONLY OTHER SHIRT," Darry said, voice raised and utterly patient and calm at the same time.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:34 am
One of the downsides of living with his guardian was that he had to play errand boy every now and then. The shopping he didn't mind, since it meant he could buy what he wanted for the recipes he was trying. He got all of his pet supplies at work, and he even didn't mind going into town to get some of the little things Pryderi needed. But dry cleaning? Oh hell no. Mrs. Ching had been giving him The Evil Eye ever since she first caught sight of the multiple holes in his face. Now every time he came back she would glower at him, even going so far as being hesitant to hand over the dry cleaning for Pryderi. Honestly, what did she expect him to do with it? Burn it? Jeeze.
The dark chocolate Sin'aeis skulked into the dry cleaners, hoping to get what he needed and leave as fast as possible. Unfortunately, it seemed another customer was holding up the line. Damnit. Did people not have better things to do than argue with the dry cleaning lady? Maelon lowered his headphones and set them around his neck, surveying the situation with a scowl.
"Should I come back later, or can I get my dry cleaning?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:42 pm
Mrs. Ching stared at Maelon, and turned a remarkable puce color.
"No! No troublemakers in my store! You, you and hippie and gray baby, you get out! No more business here!"
Darry sighed.
"Mrs. Ching, c'mon..."
"Out! I call police on you, you no good!"
Darry shrugged, and placed Katya's carrier at Maelon's feet.
"Would you kindly watch her for a second?" he asked, before turning directly on his heel and jumping the counter. Mrs. Ching let out a scandalized shriek and started hitting Darry, but she was very small and Darry was, well, not.
"Thief! Thief!"
"Just gettin' my shirt, Mrs. Ching..."
At Maelon's feet, Katya gave a sedate burble and chewed at her pepper.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:54 pm
Aw crap.
"Look lady, I need my guardian's dry cleaning and he's not going to take 'the angry Chinese lady threw me out' as an answer," Maelon replied, reaching up to rub his temple. Why did she always do this? Just because he didn't want to talk to people didn't mean they didn't have to talk to him. She was running a business for petesakes!
Maelon nearly blanched when the baby carrier was placed at his feet, not sure what this strange man was about to do. "Watch her? Um.... alright.... if you say so." The teen chanced a glance down at the baby. Urg. She was drooling and everything Disgusting. He cringed, before turning his attention back to the strange man getting his dry cleaning.
"Uh, while you're in there, you wanna grab that funny looking blue shirt right there? I need that." The dark chocolate Sin'aeis reached into his pocket for the money Pryderi gave him, and tossed it towards the counter. The faster they could get out of here the better. He didn't need a run in with the police.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:00 pm
"Get out! Get out! No more hippies and gray babies!" Mrs. Ching shrieked. She turned on Maelon as he approached with money, and thrust an accusatory finger in his face. "And you! Bad, bad man! You BAD MAN! You never come back!"
Darry, who was collecting shirts, looking at them carefully, and then putting them neatly back on the revolving hanger, sighed and took the blue shirt off the rack.
"Mrs. Ching, did you even do my shirt yet?"
"THIEF! HIPPIE!"
"'Cause I'm not seeing it back here. I sorta need it."
"YOU OUT! I CALL POLICE!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:19 pm
Gah. Why was this woman so difficult?
"Look, it's not my fault Pryderi brings his stuff down here to get it dry cleaned. Believe me, I wouldn't be in here otherwise," he ground out, resisting the urge to just drop the money and go. Instead, he set it neatly on the counter, and moved back towards the baby holder, making sure to keep a safe distance.
"Your shirt not in there? Check the back maybe?" Maelon really wanted to leave right now, but that man had the shirt he wanted so he figured he had better co-operate. The faster this guy got what he wanted, the faster they could leave.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 5:18 am
"I'm startin' to think she doesn't like us," Darry said after another ten minutes of Mrs. Ching screaming and threatening police involvement. "I didn't find my s**t, so might as well go. Thank you anyway, Mrs. Ching."
"YOU GO TO HELL! BAD MAN!"
"Yep, let's go."
Darry handed off the blue shirt to Maelon and picked up Katya's baby carrier.
"Were you a good girl?" he asked Katya politely.
Katya eyed him with tolerance, slobbering over her pepper.
"Attagirl."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:13 am
Maelon had put both fingers in his ears to help block out the sound of Mrs. Ching yelling. It did very little to stop it, however it made the screeching slightly more bearable. It was a wonder the little squirt in the basket hadn't added to the noise with her own wailing. He would have definitely ditched the store then, Pryderi's shirt in hand or not. The teen could stand the yelling of old Chinese ladies, but crying babies was asking a little too much.
When Darry decided it was time to go, the dark chocolate Sin'aeis could have sighed in relief. Out! Freedom! He took the shirt with a mumbled 'thank you' from the man, and began a hasty walk to freedom. It was only once they were outside that he addressed Darry from over his shoulder. "I dunno if picking fights with that devil woman is a good idea. Might never see your shirt again."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 11:12 am
"That's true," Darry said agreeably. "She might throw it out. But then a homeless guy might find it, so that's okay. Then he'll have another shirt. It works out, y'know?"
Katya burbled pleasantly in her carrier, gnawing with the beginning nubs of her first teeth at the pepper. Seeds dotted her lips and cheeks like freckles.
"So, yeah. I'm Darry, this is Katya. Nice to meet an' get your laundry for you. Right, Katty?"
Katya gave an indulgent belch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:27 pm
.... Did this guy just agree with him? Maelon really should have expected this. The man had been incredibly good at dealing with Mrs. Ching. In the whole time that the woman was yelling at him he hadn't even changed his facial expression or gotten angry with her. Clearly this man was either drugged, or was one of those people who acted like they were drugged. It was always hard to tell which was which.
"Yeah, depends on what you define as 'working out'." Maelon was sure that if it had been his clothes in there, he would have taken them, and not left it for some homeless person to pick up. Not to mention most homeless people wouldn't fit into his clothes, especially his pants. "Thanks, for getting it for me, Darry." Bleh, kids were disgusting. Maybe if he didn't acknowledge it it would go away. "It's Maelon. Your kid's been pretty quiet, so far. I know a bunch of kids who would have started screaming the moment Mrs. Ching did."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:16 pm
"No problem," Darry said, absently digging around in his back pocket and pulling out a box of wooden matchsticks. Privately wishing for a cigarette but at the same time enjoying what he had left of his lung capacity, he stuck the match unlit into his mouth like a toothpick.
"Maelon. Huh, cool name."
Katya gurgled, and Darry paused to wipe her face clean with his shirtsleeve. The girl showed no gratitude.
"Anyway...heh, I ain't scared'a Mrs. Ching. She's okay. Short people are usually very angry at everything. They can't help it."
He looked down at Katya. She looked back, and her face crumpled like a rotten prune.
"See? Anger."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 2:44 pm
Aaaand now he had a match in his mouth. Was he some sort of arsonist on withdrawal? Needed to have an unlit match sticking out of his mouth? But who knew. So long as he didn't light that match and throw it at him, the dark chocolate Sin would be fine. Maelon did have to admit he was surprisingly calm for someone who could be an arsonist, but you could never be too sure about people these days. He'd heard someone had thrown a firecracker in the in box at the library just for kicks. People were just plain weird.
"Yeah... thanks," Maelon mumbled with a small shrug. He thought his name was pretty cool too. But he wasn't really used to compliments, hence the shrug. The teen blinked when Darry said he wasn't afraid of Mrs. Ching, resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow. Had he not just seen the display in the shop earlier he would have seriously doubted the man. Even the toughest men alive would fear Mrs. Ching. She was just plain dangerous. "Why can't short people help but be angry? Tall people can be angry too."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:51 am
"Napoleonic complex," Darry said, idly polishing his sunglasses on the clean spot left on his shirttail. "S'like....they have to compensate for the height by being batshit insane. S'how it usually works."
Katya made an angry gurgling sound, and Darry reached into his grocery bag again. He pulled out another bell pepper and handed it to the girl, who let out a shriek as though he'd given her a magical rainbow spewing fairy-puppy.
"But, like all people, a Napoleon can always be placated to an almost insulting degree if ya give 'em the right sorta love."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:33 am
"Yeah... I can see how that works..." It definitely applied to Kilah, even though Maelon wouldn't quite call her batshit insane. Okay maybe just a little bit. He did remember very clearly the day they'd gotten into a rather nasty fight as toddlers, thus starting their childhood hating. Not that they'd gotten any better really, but Kilah had stopped hitting him and started using other means to get him. He wasn't sure which he liked better.
Maelon looked ready to bolt when Katya started making what the dark chocolate Sin liked to call "the rumbling before the storm" noises. There was no way in hell he would stay if the kid started screaming. Yeah the guy was nice and saved his shirt, but his ears were more important than that. Besides, he had already said thank you. That was more than you could usually expect from him. Luckily, Darry seemed to know what to do. Maelon could only stare, the expression on his face a mixture of wariness, wtf, and possibly a little bit of awe. "... so it likes peppers then? That's a bit... interesting. Never met a baby who liked peppers."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:50 am
"She just likes spicy things," Darry said, cleaning pepper-guts off the infant's face with infinite patience. "S'like it's a sedative for her or somethin'. I'm not complaining, it gets her through the night and I get to sleep."
Though he slept at least eighteen hours a day usually, so it really didn't matter if the sun had set or not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
