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 Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:05 pm
Camelot was sitting atop one of the overhangs they set up around bus stops that provided exactly two inches of rain protection for half a person during inclement weather. It was sturdy enough to support his weight, though, so that was fine for him. The buses had long since stopped running for the night, and he had been out patrolling.
Now, though, he had stopped for a coffee and a hot dog. He'd dropped into a gas station to buy the food, having not had time during the day for a proper dinner. He had powered down then, but powered up again to sit down and eat just in case he felt anything coming for him, or causing trouble nearby.
Always vigilant, even when he wasn't being vigilant at all.
He wasn't much for junk food, though he ate it all the time. It was out of necessity more than personal taste: he just never had any time for anything home made. And he never had the energy or will to pack himself anything any more. He usually ate lunch at work, at the diner down the street. But that had been far earlier in the day.
He'd missed dinner all together.
So the hot dog was actually tasting pretty good at that point, considering how hungry he was. He told himself it was fine to take a break during patrol if only because it would give him more energy in case anything bad popped out for a fight.
He had to take care of himself first, right? So he could protect anyone else.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:07 am
For the most part, Jett was a good worker. He was passionate about his job at the antique shop—loved the items that came into the shop, loved having conversations with the patrons, loved appraising items and listening to his boss prattle on about pieces. What he didn’t particularly care for were the occasional nights where he was required to stay late, clean up, take stock—the menial tasks that made qualified it as work. Tonight, he’d worked.
Though the antique shop typically stayed open until six, he’d been kept an extra half hour by an old couple that couldn’t take a hint, no matter how many times he mentioned needing to close; he could have forgiven them for wasting his time if they’d actually purchased something, though they had the gall to treat the store like a museum.
He had imagined that he would be done by ten, but grossly overestimated the time it would take him to move a bunch of boxes and give the place a good cleaning. He was lucky that there were even fast food restaurants open so he could grab a very late dinner.
Fast food was never a problem for him; he had absolutely nothing against it despite the fact that he’d have much rather had a nice sit-down dinner with a pretty girl sitting across from him. He’d have loved a well cooked slab of steak, but at this hour? He was happy with his fresh coffee and the burger and fries. Though he had the opportunity to sit down and eat, he missed home and figured he could handle slightly chilled food if it meant the difference between eating on some park bench or in the warmth of his house.
He was distracted with sipping from his Styrofoam cup when he turned a corner and continued to walk at his brisk step; he passed behind the bus stop entirely, though suddenly paused a few steps away. He had to do a double take to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, and backed up a few steps to stare at the knight sitting atop the overhang.
Camelot was easy to recognize; the conversation Jett had with him in the Surrounding had made a strong enough impression that even from this angle he was certain he was looking at the squire. Still, if Jett had been told to think of the oddest way to meet up with the male again, he wasn’t sure he could have come up with something as strange unexpected as this.
“…What are you doing up there?” he blurted, rather surprised to see the older man up so high; he never had any suspicion that the man wouldn’t be athletic, but it was already established that Camelot was older than most of the others he’d seen, so it was a bit more surprising to see him of all people up there.
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:22 pm
Camelot must have made quite the sight. Sitting on top of the bus stop like he was, powered up in his golden brown armor, eating a hot dog. It was probably the least knightly thing he could have possibly been doing, but there he was, and there it was.
He looked down at Jett, blinking as if just as surprised to see someone walking along down the street in a completely normal fashion as the young man was to see a knight sitting on the bus stop overhang.
"I... ah... I'm eating some dinner," he said with some chagrin, shaking his head and wrapping up the last half of his hot dog. He looked at Jett sheepishly, recognizing him from the Surrounding and smiling softly. He remembered that Jett had been an interesting and intelligent young man, and it was nice to see him. Of course, Camelot knew all the civilians had been returned home in some form, but he couldn't help the relief he felt.
"I thought I would ah... stay out of the way up here. I guess it is a little... dumb... anyway, what are you doing out at this hour?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 8:25 am
“Oh, no, no. Not dumb at all,” Jett said, smile still faint on his face. “Seems like a good method to stay out of the way. I almost didn’t see you up there, so you seem to have the right idea. I was just on my way home—heading back from work, though…”
He had gestured over his shoulder, as if that was explanation enough of where he’d come from. “Camelot. You certainly don’t walk around like that all the time, do you? Wouldn’t it just have been easier to eat your dinner somewhere nice and quiet and peaceful and—you know. Warm?”
It would have been far less conspicuous if he were just some man eating his dinner at some restaurant than some man, dressed like a knight, sitting atop a bus overhang, eating his dinner. If he’d been powered up, himself, he might have considered Camelot to be an easy target up there. If he’d been just a normal civilian, Jett might have given him an odd look and been on his merry way, though that the male was powered, just hanging out up there, caught his interest.
He shifted position on his feet and took a sip of his coffee, please with the jolt of warmth. He half considered getting into the fries in his bag and snacking while they spoke, though for now the coffee was quite enough to sate him.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 11:19 am
"Well, I was on patrol, and I wanted to keep... ah," he didn't think he needed to try and explain auras, and why he had remained powered up rather than powering down to eat his dinner before heading back to patrol. He shook his head, laughing.
"Maybe you're right. I probably could have picked a better time and place to give in to hunger."
He watched Jett, feeling bad that the young man had a job that kept him out so late. Such was life, of course, but it was still a bummer on one hand. On the other, he was glad to see there were still young people who knew how to work a hard day, or at least a long or late one. His son, Nathan, did not know any of these things, and was likely never to learn no matter how hard Tony tried to make him get a job.
Short of literally kicking him out of their house, Tony wasn't sure what to do there.
But for now, he could focus on things as Camelot. Patrolling and keeping people safe from youma and energy stealers. Odd that saving lives was easier to deal with than parenting, but that was how it was.
"How have you been? I mean. Since the last time I saw you." A lot had happened since then, after all.
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Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 4:38 pm
Almost indifferently, Jett shrugged in response to his question. A lot had gone on since he’d last seen the knight, so it was difficult to summize exactly how he’d been in all that time. “Good,” he answered then, not particularly inclined to give the impression he was willing to whine about it all. “Glad to be back home. Still adjusting, I guess, but.”
He shrugged again and allowed himself to divulge in a few more fries. “Definitely not complaining about being back on Earth and back home. It’s nice to have my own bed again.”
There were other commodities that being home supplied, but they really seemed too personal to divulge in such a meeting like this. It was unfortunate that Camelot was aligned with Order and seemed so very devoted to it—Jett would have liked very much to consider the man some sort of ally. He had a nature about him that made Jett feel relaxed, though if he had been in his powered form he could only imagine what might have transpired.
Instead, he was pleased to have run into Camelot on Earth; that meant he hadn’t died some time while up in space. Realistically, he should have been disappointed that there was still another soldier to fight against, but Camelot didn’t seem the sort to just jump into battle like nearly all the other senshi and pages he’d encountered.
He allowed himself one more fry before he prompted, “Hey, did any of you ever find out how we all got sucked up into space, or is it kind of just general knowledge that it was some big magical fluke?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 12:53 pm
Camelot nodded his head. Adjusting was probably the best word for it, though he didn't understand the specifics of Jett's situation. He did know some of the others were dealing with it as best they could. Harmony was, and he was well aware of how difficult it was for her. He hoped it wasn't like that for all of them.
But then, could they really complain? He certainly did not want anyone to suffer, and he knew that their worlds had been flipped upside down with the knowledge and experiences they were forced to endure. But they had survived it. They had the opportunity to adjust. That was important.
Very important.
"I haven't found that out yet, no," he said, shaking his head. He sighed, wiping his hands on a napkin even though they were mostly clean. Still, he wanted to avoid getting grease in his hair as he knew that when he was thinking about something he had a habit of running his hand through his hair.
After he put down the napkin he did just as he had foretold to himself.
"I think everyone is just going with fluke. I'm sure there are answers out there, I'm afraid I've been a little busy since getting back to actually hunt them down. Maybe I should, sometime. Still, as long as it doesn't happen again, I think we're good."
He sighed, then hopped down from the bus stop, throwing away the food items he had brought with him.
"Well, if you don't mind the company, I'll walk with you where ever you're going. I think you've had enough of random monsters attacking you for a while, right?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 9:49 pm
Jett watched as the knight moved from the overhang; he was disappointed that neither the agents of Order or Chaos seemed to have fully understood why they’d ended up spending several weeks in space but didn’t let it show; he shrugged indifferently and wiped his salty fingers off on his pants, lowering the bag of food to his side.
“If you’ve got nothing better to do then, you’re welcome to walk with me some. I guess.”
It wasn’t that Jett sounded unconfident, but the offer was just slightly odd to him. He knew Camelot was only trying to do a good deed and make sure he got home safe, but Jett suspected that the Knight would be of much better use running through the city and—who knows, doing whatever knights were supposed to do. Catch criminals, put out fires, feed the homeless—whatever.
Jett wasn’t the sort of person who was ever wanted to accept (God forbid ask for) help, and Camelot’s offer seemed to imply that the Knight was willing to protect him should danger arise.
Jett was not helpless, and tried not to appear to take offense at the offer to be walked home, though he figured that as long as it was just company and not some expression of chivalrous machismo, he could go along with it.
”Don’t feel obligated to walk me there, though. I’ve been out way later than this and been fine, so if you’re worried about me running into any random monsters, I think I’ll be safe. The only time some monster ever decided I looked good was up in space. Otherwise,” he shrugged slightly, “I guess they don’t think I look like a good snack or something.”
The thought made Jett pause, though; he wasn’t one to mull over past events, though thinking about random monsters always drew him back to the attacks on the Surrounding. With the whale? The bats? The salamanders? He could have easily been a snack. Now, he was powered, but the thought sent a shiver down his spine.
He glanced to the knight next to him, wondering how long he’d been fighting in this war. Jett was fighting—not for long. He hadn’t lost any friends or allies, never seen someone killed. “Hey, Camelot,” he said after a second. “Personal question, feel free to ignore it if you want,” he said, waving his hand indifferently as he took a step forward, intent on actually making it home before his blood froze. “You’ve been doing this for a while. And I know you told me that you were doing it to help people and make the world good and put together, but…I mean, theoretically. If something happens to you? If you get hurt or—you know—killed.”
He trailed off for a moment, considering his question. “…Is what you’re fighting for worth what you’d lose?”
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 5:50 pm
Camelot smiled and nodded his head. He had nothing better to do. Well, of course he did, in a sense. He had lives to potentially save, and youma to potentially dust, but since neither were acting up at the moment, he felt no bad guys in the area, things were fine.
He could escort Jett home, so he didn't get hurt. He didn't realize that this was something Jett didn't like. to Camelot, he was just doing his job and, really, taking care of someone he liked and didn't want to see in danger.
Jett seemed to be a good kid, as far as Camelot could tell.
"Well, we can just talk, if you don't want to watch for monsters."
He moved to walk with the younger man, wishing he, Camelot, had pockets to put his hands in but alas, his armor lacked them. So he just had to keep his arms at his side, feeling the weight of his shield as it rested on his arm.
He thought about the question, walking in silence for a long moment.
"If I can do more with my life then just dying in vain..." he shook his head. "I have family. I have pets. I have a life that I love, and would enjoy living a while longer yet. But there are so many people who can't defend themselves, and find themselves in the middle of dangerous situations. I have a much better chance of surviving then they do, and it's my duty... my duty and my honor to defend them, and give them a chance at living a normal, full life. If I died... I hope it would be worth it."
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 4:32 pm
God, Camelot would have made for such a good ally. Jett was almost angry that Order had gotten to him before Chaos could have. He always seemed to have an answer that pleased Jett phenomenally, and though Jett couldn’t imagine dying, he knew that certainly there were others out there that were more likely to lose their life than he was.
He was young—in his prime—untouched by death in any manner. He’d never lost something that he loved, never had a family pet die—never even had a gold fish he had to flush down the toilet. The closest he’d come to death was when people were dropping during the Surrounding, but even then—so far as he knew—they had all come back to life, so even that was terribly untraumatic.
“What happens when you die?” he asked as he took larger steps towards his place now that Camelot was walking alongside him. He figured this was a logical question that he suddenly had a good lead into. “I mean, while you’re out in the field, being Camelot. Do you turn into gold sparkles, never to be seen or heard from again? Or do the police find, say, Camelot? …Or do they find whoever you are under all that magic? The guy you are when you’re not running around in costume?”
…Because, if Jett ever kicked the bucket, it would be totally awkward if suddenly that glamour wore off and it was just Jett they found, decked out like some stage actor. He didn’t want to know how they were going to try and explain that to his mother and was almost afraid to leave it to Raven to come up with a good excuse.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:00 pm
Camelot was older, and had seen death in its different visages. From his hamster dying to friends being killed, he had witnessed many things in his life. They fortified him, gave him a deeper passion, and allowed him to see and know what he was really fighting for.
No matter how impossible the fight seemed.
"I don't know," he said, shaking his head, "I imagine it's like any other death. I would be a body on a battlefield. Unless I died with particular gusto or in a uniquely un-bodied way."
He wasn't sure if he would power down when he was killed. He supposed he had never paid that close attention to it all. He knew there would be some story in the paper of his death, some fake reason for the librarian to be gone, given to his son and his loved ones to believe. They would not know he was Camelot, he decided. He had never heard of it.
"I'll try to avoid finding out, if I can. Though, I suppose if it happened, I wouldn't be the one finding out." He sighed, shaking his head as he walked along. It was a heavy conversation, one he had never really explored before, save when he was talking to Shalott and they agreed to take care of the other's kid if anything happened to them.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:44 pm
Just a body on the battlefield.
It was slightly reassuring that Camelot didn’t know what happened when you died, and brought him both comfort and unnerved him. Camelot had never seen someone die in battle while powered up and therefore didn’t know what would happen. This either meant that severe casualties in this war were few and far between, or that no one on the Order side had ever been effectively removed from the battle. Which kind of sucked when you were fighting against them.
Still, Jett didn’t necessarily want to see people die, just correct them.
It was his experience that people were more like sheep than they thought—more than willing to settle into a simple frame of mind once guided there. They wouldn’t rebel or fight up, they just went with the flow of things and never questioned why.
If he could avoid a fight, sure. For the greater good. No matter how belligerent he was, he wasn’t going to let down his Court because he liked the rush of a good brawl.
“Well. Don’t go getting yourself killed. I’m sure a lot of people would miss you, yeah?” Jett said; he was glad he was only a block and a half before he could say that he was almost home. It wasn’t that he didn’t like chatting with Camelot, just that it seemed a bit weird to be conversing with the enemy so casually. Not that Camelot knew that and—hell, a part of Jett found it hard to think Camelot was evil.
Just misguided. He was fighting with good intentions, but was aligned with the wrong side.
“I think,” he continued, “Out of all the people running around out there trying to do good for the city, I like you the best. So I’d be disappointed if something bad ever happened to you, I think.”
Considering the senshi he ran into were inclined to freak out and attack, the chibis were obnoxious, and all the pages he ever run into were gung ho for blitz battles—yeah. He’d take a few extra Camelots any day. At least he didn’t seem batshit crazy.
…Plus, he seemed a little beat up and old already, so worst comes to worst, you could probably run away pretty fast and not have to worry about him catching up with you.
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 1:26 pm
Camelot was feeling oddly sobered, which was a strange sensation because he hadn't been feeling particularly drunk before. He had been in what he would consider his usual mood. Slightly upbeat, but clear headed and focused. Warm, comfortable, dedicated to his duties. Now he felt heavier, in a way, sluggish and thoughtful. It was the conversation, the ideas, that weighed on him now.
Thinking about death just reminded him that he was fighting to stop it.
When Jett told him he liked Camelot the best, the knight smiled and almost laughed, then found he couldn't consider it a joke. He was oddly touched, though he was sure it was just because Jett hadn't met too many powered people yet, so the pickings were slim. Even in the Surrounding, the numbers hadn't matched just how many there were out there. Still, he couldn't shake a feeling of being slightly honored by the thought. He had no idea, of course, that he was talking to someone who fought for the other side.
"I'll try not to," he said with a nod. That was true: the last thing he needed in his efforts to end the war was to become a casualty of it. "Get myself killed, I mean. And I'll make sure you don't get yourself hurt either. If you ever need help, or want to talk, I usually patrol around the library at night."
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:55 pm
That was fairly valuably information to know, considering that Jett really didn’t want to run into Camelot. The library was a bit out of his way anyway, but he made a mental note to avoid poking around the area for energy since there were plenty of other places he could go to fight some agent of order. “Ah, I don’t think you have to worry about me,” he said, deeply afflicted with the cockiness of youth. It helped that he at least had some brawn to back it up, and if he had enough time, he could even henshin up and have more power to defend himself.
He briefly wondered if someone from the Negaverse or his own Court would ever try to sap him for energy and if there might be some genuine concern he needed to start investing in the concept. Sure, there were a few members that he’d met and was at least slightly convinced they wouldn’t pull some cheap shot and attack him while he wasn’t powered up, but there were still a fair few of whom he hadn’t met outside of being powered up. And—forget about the Negaverse, like he had any idea of how he was supposed to get them off his back if one of them tried to jump him.
What do you say, ‘Hey, back off, or Ares is gonna be pissed at you?’
Hell, he didn’t even know if she would. Leto might go off on someone, but maybe it was his own damn fault for putting himself in danger to begin with.
He continued, slightly more gruff, “I’ll watch my back, though. I’m not exactly the type to go running for help, but I guess if I ever have some big ol’ bad guy chasing after me, I’ll make a stop at the library if I have to. Speaking of, though—I think I’ll be fine getting home from here. Just another block or so and I’m where I need to be, and it doesn’t look like any big beasts are waiting to jump out at me, so don’t feel obligated to walk me all the way to the doorstep. You can mark this off as another good deed done.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 5:33 pm
"That I will do," Camelot said, smirking. He knew that kids could be very stubborn and prideful, but then, so could adults. Still, for some reason, it did not just seem like bravado with Jett. Maybe he could actually hold his own against a youma. Or, even better, maybe none would attack him.
Maybe they wouldn't consider him a target. And even the negaverse liked to focus on the easier looking prey.
Tony was well familiar with that one. Considering how long he had been that easy looking prey.
"Well, alright then. Good night, and stay safe. I'd better get back to my rounds now, just in case there are some monsters out there." He bowed his head, a habit that he had picked up and could not shake now, just playing into the role of a knight without really thinking about it any more. He was a knight, after all: it was all part of the role.
He waited for Jett to walk out of sight before he turned to head back the other way, to continue his patrol while he pondered the things they had talked about.
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