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 Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 6:45 pm
The Scene was bustling, as it usually was, with the wierdest and strangest denizens of The City. Among them was a young, rainbow-haired kid in an outfit that was...to be honest, dull compared to the rest of those around him. He had been walking mostly aimlessly for the better part of an hour, and his young legs were ready to rest. He dropped down onto a curb and sighed heavily, much to the dismay of the crowd that had to part around him.
Quinn glared at the club across the street. It was a dance club, with loud music and bright lights he could see through the window. Everyone in there looked like they were having far too much fun for him to not be participating. When he had tried to slip in, the bouncers had turned him down for being too young. The jerk. Quinn was currently devising plans to either sneak past him or break off both of his kneecaps, and neither was looking particularly possible as the man was at least a foot taller. He grumbled to himself, and somebody made a comment for him to 'Get off of the street, ya bum.' He stood back up, and walked back over to the club. He tried to mingle with a crowd of people walking in, but he felt himself being pulled up by his collar up to the face of the bouncer.
"Erghm...Hi?"
"You want something, kid?"
Quinn swallowed.
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:20 pm
On any other day, Fish would have kept walking. However, on any other day the bouncer would not be holding a certain rainbow-haired ten year old a foot above the ground by the scruff of the neck. It would appear that he needed to save the kid's a** - after all, they were technically in an alliance, and he'd feel bad if he didn't intervene. The Scene was rough if you were under fifteen or so.
He put on his most intimidating face and stepped up to the bouncer.
"You would appear to have found my little brother," he observed, hoping the bouncer didn't question that they looked absolutely nothing alike. "If you'd be so kind as to return him, we'll be on our way."
He gave Quinn a 'look'. It said, 'You had better be grateful because I am saving your sorry a**.'
"He won't do it again," Fish added.
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:48 pm
Quinn sighed with relief as Fish walked up. He returned the look, only his said, 'I am completely oblivious to the meaning of your look, and please make him drop me!'. The bouncer grunted at Fish, and tossed Quinn to the ground. He got up and brushed himself off in a dainty way. He stuck his tongue out at the bouncer, then stalked off with his arms crossed.
"Stupid jerk won't let me in there! And they look like they're having all the fun. I'd be the life of the party, too! When their fun runs out, you can bet they'll come crying to Quinn, saying, 'Oh Mr. Moreau, We need you! We need you, as our lives have become horrible dreary and dull and depressing and dank and dark and other d-words that suck in general and can't you save us from our misery?' and I'll say 'No, now get your sorry butts over to your party and sit your miserable butts down and I'll miserably leave you to your miserable boredom.' And they'll cry. and I'll be happy." Quinn shot a glare at Fish, but it wasn't directed at him. "Thanks for helping me out. You shouldn't have had to, though. Jerkfaces." Having run out of breath for the moment, he paused, and plunked down on the curb he had been previously sitting on.
"You want some chocolate?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:55 pm
"Not really," said Fish, who was still trying to sort out what the boy had just said. What were they feeding kids these days that they were so... spastic? Then again, he was sure he'd known kids just like that when he was Quinn's age. But that felt like it had been forever ago.
Technically, he didn't have time to chat with a Newbie because he was supposed to be figuring this whole growth thing out. But Newbies didn't tend to stay Newbies for long... Quinn would probably turn into a proper prophet once his god figured out what a strategic advantage being older was.
"What are you doing back in the scene?" he asked. "I thought you lived in Middling."
He cast a glance back at the club. "Don't worry about that. You'll be able to get in before you know it."
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:03 pm
"Eh. This is where I make money. Mom doesn't go to work enough these days, so I hang out here most of the time." Quinn pulled the beanie down further over his head, trying to cover as much of his ears as possible. He softened up when Fish gave his encouraging comment, though.
"Thanks. I figure all I need to do is grow another inch or two, and then I can put on some sun glasses and," he cleared his throat and put on a terribly fake deep voice, "Talk like this. Or something. I'll get in. I think the bouncers change shifts in twenty minutes, maybe we can-- Nevermind." He stood up, chocolate bar already in his hands and his mouth, and looked at Fish.
"What are you doing here? And why don't you want chocolate? Everyone loves chocolate! Wierdo." Quinn took another bite, and spoke with his mouth full, "Maybe next time, I guess." He swallowed. "You need any help with anything? I haven't really done much about the game recently. And Mr. Q's been pretty quiet. Which is wierd, I guess. Sure you aren't hungry?" Quinn shook his head at the sacrilegiousness of not wanting chocolate, and then looked down at the ground and threw a square onto the sidewalk. A rat ran up and snatched it in its mouth, running off.
"You're welcome!" Quinn said sarcastically, "Ungrateful jerks."
You're in a foul mood. This is unusual.I don't like the cold.
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Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:45 am
"Don't mess with bouncers," said Fish, in all seriousness. "They can break your spine four different ways to next tuesday."
He waited for the boy to finish eating and shook his head. "I'm pretty much done with work for the day. I was heading home when I saw your sorry a** needed saving."
"When you're older, you'll appreciate it when the gods are quiet for a while," he added. "It's when they get loud that they're b***h. You need to do a better job of not drawing attention around here, at least until you're older. There are hardly any kids in the Scene, and you're hardly subtle."
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:36 pm
"Well, that's why I have you," Quinn grinned, "Because you know FIVE different ways to keep it from breaking!" He laughed, and poked Fish in the side. "Thanks, though. I probably would have gotten beaten up."
He sighed, and kicked at the ground. "It sucks to be small. Everyone else is all...older-than-me-ish. Getting older takes too long." He mumbled and knocked a pebble into the back of someone's ankle, and they turned around and yelled at him to quit it. He shrugged and muttered a 'Sorry'.
"I can't help it! I get bored, and The Scene is more fun than all the other places in the City. So much prettier!" He spun around happily. "So, do you have to be home right now, or can we hang out for a while?" He looked hopefully at Fish. "I promise to not be too lame. Oh, can we go see all your friends? I haven't seen them in forever!"
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:56 pm
Fish's eyes boggled at the boy for a minute as he struggled to figure out when he and Quinn had become such good friends. Well, he didn't remember it, which probably meant it hadn't happened.
"No, actually, I'm pretty sure I know five ways to break it," he said, only half joking.
"It doesn't take as long as you'd think," he shrugged cryptically. There were advantages to being an older player. On the other hand, it probably sucked to have no idea what was in store for you. At least when Fish had joined, he'd had a chance to know Ciro and Writ before they grew, and then after. And then with Writ, after... again. He briefly wondered how Poseidon was progressing with that puzzle.
"The scene attracts an... interesting crowd," he said, nodding. He thought for a moment.
"I guess we can chill for a bit," he said, and hoped he would not regret saying so.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:45 pm
Quinn grinned widely. "Hooray! What do you want to do?" His mood immediately brightened, till he was practically radiating flowers and sunshine and puppies and love. He skipped happily alongside Fish.
"You wouldn't break my spine. You're too nice for that!" Quinn giggled. "How are all your roommates doing? I don't remember everyone's name." He furrowed his eyebrows, "I know one of them was named, like, Dwayne. He liked my art! And then there was Sunflower or something. And...Marshmellow?" He said, weakly, "Or maybe not Marshmellow. Something like that. Marshmellows are tasty, though. Do you like marshmellows? Mm..." He was distracted by himself, again, and forgot what he had originally been talking about.
"And, yeah. The scene does gather a bunch of interesting people, huh? Like, you. And me. And that dude over there with the mohawk and the...what IS that? I don't think I want to know." He looked up at Fish, with a sudden pitiful expression. "You don't care, do you? I'm sorry I talk so much. I'll shut up." He covered his mouth, and held it there for about five seconds. Then he giggled again. "Imagine someone named Marshmellow! How funny would that-- Oh, yah, shutting up." He covered his mouth again, and looked at Fish for approval.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:26 pm
Fish rolled his eyes and contemplated the literal uses of the phrase "babysitting". Now if only he could find a sumo wrestler! "Sunshine," he corrected. "And I don't have a roommate named Marshmallow." But he didn't feel like actually talking about his friends. That was another life, one Quinn didn't need to know about or pretend he belonged in.
He looked the man up and down, trying to decide what about him had Quinn so shocked.
"It's a subdermal implant in the shape of a cockroach," he shrugged.
"I've seen weirder. Where do you want to go?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:55 pm
"A sub-What now?" He shook his head. "Cockroaches are sweet. Ugly, but sweet." Quinn looked up at Fish, quietly annoyed that he had to look up at him, and gave him a look. "You know where I WANT to go. But stupid ugly miserable tall buff bouncers determine where I GET to go. Apparently."
"Oh! I know! I'll show you around the cool graffiti spots!" He grinned, "Or we could get something sweet. I'm hungry," He added, apparently forgetting that he had just had a chocolate bar a minute earlier.
"My favorite is just down the road! It's a huge mural that this guy did of, like, a big boat. Full of animals. It rocks! C'mon!" Quinn immediately took off at a run, weaving in and out of the people. "You're a slowpoke, Fish! Keep up!" He laughed happily and came to an abrupt stop in front of a huge stone wall.
"My favorite part of this picture is over here," He walked down to the very end of the mural, and pointed at a tiny spot. "I bet he thought no one would notice them, but I did! It's two little teeny butterflies! Aren't they cute?" He grinned. "The wierdest thing about this picture is that it sprung up over night. Like, literally. And it's HUGE. You'd think more than one person would have had to have done it, but the style is the same all the way through. And no one knows who drew it. It wasn't signed," Quinn leaned in towards Fish conspiratorily, "And some people say ghosts did it. Apparently, ghosts who really like animals!" He giggled. "It's pretty, though, so I hope whoever did it is proud of it."
"Have you ever done anything like that? Done something good that nobody knew about?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 8:34 pm
Fish stared up at the wall, too in awe for words. So much detail! Graffiti wasn't really his forte - it was Dwayne's thing, not his - but even he could see the artistry of this thing. He stood for several minutes, simply trying to take it all in. He would think he'd seen everything, and then a new detail would catch his eye, and he'd be lost again in the delicate swirls on the back of a tortoise or the glittering eyes of a monkey-like thing with irises as big as tennis balls.
"This is amazing," he said, a slow grin coming across his face. "This is so cool."
He laughed a little, happy with the discovery of fine art, and considered Quinn's question. Within the Game, you always did things for credit, for points, for an advantage. Nothing was sacred when the Gods extended a challenge to you. Rational human behavior was off. Random and anonymous acts of kindness, well, those were practically obsolete. And he had reason to believe Persy knew everything he did, anyway.
Fish shook his head. "No," he said, "I don't think I have."
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:13 pm
Quinn grinned, genuinely glad that Fish enjoyed it. "I think that whoever did this is the coolest person ever. He or she didn't do this for being popular, or whatever. He just kind of, you know. Painted." He ran his finger around the mane of a lion.
"Like, I could only hope to be as good as him some day, you know? Like...He's so amazing, and no one even knows who he is. I'm alright, but not this amazing," Quinn smiled up at Fish, "See? I can be fun to hang out with. I know some other nice spots, too, but none are as cool as this one," He jumped all of a sudden.
"Ooo, let's go get some icecream! The guy who owns the place knows me really well! He'll probably give you a free cone if I say you're my brother or something. He gives me a free cone every time! 'Course, I always buy one anyway to keep for later, but..." He giggled. "You okay with that? It's just a few blocks down. The guy's name is something funny-sounding. Me-shull-yo, maybe? I dunno. It was wierd."
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:31 pm
Fish was still fairly engrossed in the painting. The subject matter seemed almost familiar, but not fully. All those animals on the boat, they seemed so uncertain, almost scared. But at the same time, the emanated a sense that they were incredibly lucky.
"Why would you put a bunch of animals on a boat?" he asked, finally. It didn't really make a whole lot of sense.
Deciding to ignore that Quinn's stomach seemed to be a black hole cleverly disguised as an internal organ, he shrugged. "I guess I could stand to eat something," he said. "Lead the way."
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:44 pm
"I dunno. But there's two of all of them. So at least they all have company of people like them, you know? Everyone needs someone like them," He smiled a bit, "Even butterflies."
Quinn hummed as he walked down the block, a tune that he had heard somewhere, but couldn't remember any specifics. He kept walking for a while until they reached a little vendor that said 'Michuleo's' above it.
"Michuleo! That was your name! Hey, Mr. Mitchy!" The man laughed, and began scooping up some mint chocolate chip. "You always know my favorite, Mr. Mitchy! This is my brother, can he have some too?" The man looked at Fish, and nodded, despite obviously not believing the 'brother' story. He muttered something about scales and feathers.
"What flavor do you want, boy?"
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