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 Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:41 am
Dimitri was quite sure that he really, really wasn't allowed in this part of town. Army green backpack slung over his shoulder, slightly dirty and torn jeans, and a large hoodie made him seem as if he fit right in with the neighbourhood; run down, and abandoned. Nobody lived here except for hobos and drug dealeers. Neither of which his father or cousin would be happy with him hanging around.
Of course, he wasn't here for them. He was here for the buildings.
His backpack contained a number of things. A first aid kit, just in case. Some rope. A flashlight. Matches. Candles. Food and water. A cellphone, which was technically Kali's, but his had gotten crushed when a bunch of roof tiles fell off and nearly hit him. He was fine, but he'd dropped his cellphone, and it wasn't as indestructable as one would think. And, his emergency supply of cheesy poofs. Those were just in case he needed to distract Luka to get out of the house, or to lure him away from Katia to play with him.
It sucked, he thought, not being the favorite. He may have been a bit bitter about it.
But today wasn't about how Katia was a ******** spoiled princess. Today was about how he had snuck out of the house with nobody noticing, and how he was going to go explore that abandoned laundromat he had found last week. Green Cleaners. He looked up at the broken sign as he came near the building, pushing his hood back from his face and tightening the straps on his backpack. He pulled some brown gloves out of his pocket and slipped them on, a pair of goggles over his eyes, completing the ensemble with a medical mask around his face. He didn't know what kind of chemicals were in that building, and he didn't want to take any chances.
The front door was pretty boarded up, and he didn't want to break anything to get in. But there was a window higher up that was broken, hanging open and squeaking in the wind. Clapping his hands, reaching up to grip a pipe that ran up the side of the building. He heaved back on it, and it didn't so much as creak. So, he began to scale the wall like a spider, using the pipe as an anchor. He made it up to the window and breathed a sigh of relief, poking his head inside. It was dark, and dusty inside. He dropped down to the shelf beneath him, clambering quickly to the floor and pulling out his flashlight.
Now, he thought as he flicked the light on. To explore.
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Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 6:56 pm
Down in the lower half of the building was the main area of the laundromat. It was mostly empty, save for the front desk, and a few washing machines and clothing dryers that were no longer functioning. Everything was coated with a thick layer of dust, and dust bunnies were running rampant in the old building. These facts weren't really a big surprise, since the laundromat had closed down a good 30 years ago. It had been around the same time that the rest of this area of town had become abandoned.
However, a little bit of life had recently been returned to the old building in the form of a shadow. Currently, that shadow was sleeping in one of the old washing machines, curled up on an old rag. He had no name, no home other than this one, and no family. However, he seemed to be quite attached to this building.
Which was why he growled a little when he heard a sound on the floor above him. Crawling out, he headed for the old staircase and began climbing them, intent on finding who had come into HIS building.
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Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:09 pm
The abandoned washing machines were definitely neat. He was walking along them and peering inside. Had anyone left their laundry here, he wondered, opening one and reaching into the back with one gloved hand. He scared a couple spiders, but found nothing. The next one rewarded him with a pair of jeans, rumpled in the back. He took them out, and heard something jingling. Frowning, he opened the pocket, and pulled out a pile of change and two bills.
Forty three dollars.
He laughed out loud, slipping it into his own pockets. What else could he find here? He rummaged through the shelves and around the building. Old detergent, change that had rolled under the mashines, socks stuck inside broken dryers. A love note, stuck to one of the washers walls. He found himself grinning constantly as he searched through the building, finding its' secrets long forgotten.
He loved this. Nothing, nothing at all, could make this better. Or ruin it.
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Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:21 pm
Upon hearing a noise, the dog-like shadow peered around a corner, listening intently for more movement. He caught the sound of washing machines opening and closing in his ears, followed by a laugh. Making no noise himself, he entered the room, feet leaving prints in the dusty floors. His weren't the only one's there though - the boy that had come in had left his own footprints. The shadow tilted his head, curious, before following them around the side of one of the old machines.
And then he saw him - the redheaded human that was currently looking in one of the machines. For a moment, the shadow watched the boy's back, not making a sound or letting his presence be known.
Then he growled.
"Rrrrrr..." He crouched down slightly behind the boy, yellow and orange eyes narrowing slightly. What was this boy doing in his host? Nobody had ever come here before between now and the time of his creation, so why would someone come now?
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Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:46 pm
Something was ********. ********, something was growling.
Dimitri froze, half in a dryer, hand clamped down on the flashlight. What was growling? Good god, he was going to get eaten by...by...by a rabid squirrel!
Slowly, he turned, looking around for something. He couldn't spot any animals, though. Just two eyes, yellow and orange; wait. Were they connected to anything?
A quick and cautious sweep with the flashlight revealed something that Dimitri could deal with.
A Shadow. But...what was a Shadow doing here?
"Oh...hey, little guy..." He said softly, reaching around to his bag. The bag of cheesy poofs crackled as his fingers brushed it, and he pulled them out.
"What're you doing in here, all by yourself..?" He smiled, crouching down. "You hungry? I've got something I think you might like..." He popped the bag open, and held it out tentatively.
"They're cheesy poofs."
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Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 11:29 pm
"Rrrrr..." For a moment, the shadow continued growling at the boy. He didn't understand what this person was doing here. No one else had come before, and there wasn't anyone who lived nearby either...
However, the shadow's ears pricked as the boy began to speak. When the smell of cheesy poofs entered his nose, however, he spotted, suddenly interested. Apparently, even a shadow who'd never had cheesy poofs before was taken in by the smell. Tentatively, he moved forward, sniffing at the snack that the boy held in his hands.
Then, he stuck his head into the bag and began eating ravenously. It appeared as though he'd been very hungry.
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Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 12:09 am
Dimitri grinned as Balto came closer, watching as he scarfed down all the cheesy poofs. Tentatively, he reached out his hand, and patted his head.
He wasn't scary at all. Or rabid. He was..actually, kind of cute.
"...I guess you don't have a name, huh?" He asked, moving his hand to scratch behind his ear. He looked like a dog, he thought. And...he needed a name.
As he thought, he scratched the Shadow's ear. Why was he even here? Who was his host? Or...what? There was so much in the laundromat, there was no telling what it could be. How would he have gotten there, anyways?
"..How does Balto sound to you?" He finally asked quietly, looking at the dog like Shadow's mismatched eyes.
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Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:29 am
The shadow jerked slightly in surprise as he felt the initial pat on his head, but soon found that he didn't mind the action - in fact, it was kind of nice. And besides, the cheesy poofs were good too! It only got better when the boy began to scratch him behind the ears.
It didn't take long at all for him to finish off the cheesy poofs; when he did, the little shadow looked up at Dimitri, tilting his head slightly as the boy suggested a name for him: Balto. "Rrrrr?" The little creature seemed to contemplate the idea before his tail wagged happily. "Rrrrrr!" Apparently, he liked the name, and he showed it by nudging at the boy's hand with his head. It appeared as though he'd made a new friend today!
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Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:58 pm
Dimitri giggled, though he preferred to call it chuckling, as the dog Shadow nudged his hands. He obliged and scratched behind his ears some more, beaming from ear to ear.
He had never had a pet before. Never had a shadow of his own.
Part of him, a large part, knew that he could not be Balto's host. But a smaller part hoped he did.
And all of him knew that this was his secret. His fun thing.
Something he didn't have to share with Katia.
"Is this your building, boy?" He smiled at him, moving his hands to scratch under his chin. "It's real nice. It's got lots of fun stuff to poke around in. Do you have any toys?" He wondered if he could find something in here to play fetch with...
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 3:29 pm
"Rrrr!" Balto's tail wagged again, as if to confirm that yes, this was his building. He was quite proud of the job that he'd been doing of guarding it too! Sure, Dimitri had gotten him, but that was okay - he was pretty nice.
The dog-like shadow tilted his head as Dimitri asked if he had any toys. He wasn't entirely sure as to what the young boy meant. Toys? He didn't have anything like that. Though, he DID have a few cool things that he could show Dimitri!
Balto pulled his head away from Dimitri and scurried to one of the doorways. "Rrrrr!" He wanted the boy to follow him. After waiting another moment, the shadow hurried into one of the adjoining rooms where he stopped in front of an old counter. Atop it was a fairly old looking cash register - whether or not it had anything in it wasn't something he knew, but it was his treasure. Not that he could USE it, but it was one of the more interesting things in the building, aside from the old washing machines...
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 3:53 pm
"Cool..." Dimitri muttered, following the Shadow over to the antique cash. He highly doubted there would be anything in it, but you never knew.
Had this not been Balto's, he would have tried to pawn it. It was antique, afterall, and had to be worth something. But, it wasn't his. It was Balto's, and it obviously meant a lot to him. But if this was the best toy he had, Dimitri made a mental note to bring him something better to play with. A chew toy, or something. He was sure he could find something that would suffice. Maybe one of his old teddy bears.
Or better yet? One of Katia's stupid unicorns.
"Do you mind if I touch it?" He wasn't sure how much speech Balto would understand, so he pointed at the old register to emphasise what he was saying. He just wanted to see if it would open.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:24 pm
"Rrrrr!" Balto nudged at one of Dimitri's ankles, as if to encourage him to do so. He didn't think that the boy would be able to break it, and he very much wanted to show his treasure off. It was the most interesting thing that he had in the building, after all! Well, next to his washing machine bed. That was pretty fantastic too.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 4:58 pm
Dimitri chuckled (Giggled) again, stepping over to the register. Carefully, he tested the keys to be sure they wouldn't break, before pushing down one in each category. The drawer slid open with a merry ring, and, as predicted, there was no money. There were a few expired 'free washing' coupons in there, but really, nothing else.
He grinned anyways.
"Cool. Hey. How did you get in here, anyways?" He asked as he slid the drawer shut, looking around. He didn't know if that shelf would support him climbing back up it to his window. Maybe he could get out, however Balto got in?
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 9:38 pm
"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" The sound that Balto made indicated that he was pleased with Dimitri's reaction to his treasure. He'd been certain that the boy would find it just as cool as he had!
In? The look on Balto's face showed that he clearly did not understand. He hadn't gotten in, as far as he knew - heck, he didn't know how to get out! The dog-like shadow didn't even really know ow Dimitri had gotten in! "Rrrr...?" He tilted his head to the side, like a child who didn't understand the question that the teacher was asking him.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 9:45 pm
Didn't he get it? Dimitri frowned, crouching down to be nearer Balto, as if it would help.
"Out. You know. Outside? Fresh air? Blue sky?" He pointed up at the window he had broken in through.
"Like, that. A hole, or a door, or something." He cocked his head to the side as well, raising an eyebrow at Balto.
"...Nothing? Anything at all?" He really couldn't imagine him not having a door! How else would he have gotten in here?
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