|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 6:55 pm
Curfew?
Pfft. On a Friday night? As if. Dominic was whistling a merry little tune, walking his bike on the way back to Hillworth almost without a care in the world. He'd had a pretty productive day and was pretty happy with the new items he'd procured for his collection of coins, on top of which he also found and bought yet another novelty Rubik's cube. Hey, you could never have enough of either, right? Well... he certainly didn't think so.
The teen was going down a familiar enough road, so even in the dark he could navigate it pretty easily. That is, of course, until his penchant for getting drawn toward "interesting" things eventually caught up to him and he deviated from the sidewalk. A soft mewing came from somewhere in a darkened alleyway off to his left. It was way too dark for it to be a smart move for anyone to go in without a flashlight for company, but that didn't really stop Dominic. So, when another mew came from behind what seemed to be the silhouette of a dumpster, he propped his bike against the wall and carefully made his way over to whatever it was.
"Here kitty..." he said as gently as he could, squinting his eyes as they had yet to adjust to the darkened alley. There was a glimpse of something...glowing?...up ahead, as well as a mew as though in reply, which piqued his curiosity a bit more so he kept moving forward. It was probably some kind of lighting that was thrown out; nothing to worry about. He'd check it out after he found whatever was mewing.
"C'mon," came another call for the cat, he assumed it was a cat anyway, hoping it would hop out and head over to him.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:57 am
Camelot was out on his patrol, as per usual, thinking about things that had nothing to do with his patrol. He was fretting about the baby that was on the way, and how close it seemed to be getting now. His wife was going to have his baby.
Sometimes that still made his brain stop working and made him wander in a straight line, unaware of his surroundings until he bumped into something.
That was usually something that woke him up. Tonight, though, he didn't need a wall. He spotted a youma and then, too close for comfort, heard a voice. Camelot was above, leaning over a roof and watching a cat-like youma while thinking of a way to drop down on it and not get himself stuck in a dumpster.
He heard the voice and saw the young man that was coming down the alley. Calling for the cat? Not good. It didn't take long before the youma turned to see what it considered to be a meal, and lunged for him. Camelot scrambled to leap off the roof.
"Look out!" he yelled, as the youma ran for Dom. That was all Camelot could really get out before he landed in the dumpster.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:15 am
It was kind of like one of those online "DAFUQ" moments for the him as he heard someone call out from somewhere above him, followed by that same someone eventually landing in the dumpster after jumping down for whatever reason. Dominic, who was poised to attract a cat at ground level, straightened himself out and ran toward the dumpster, doing his best to avoid all the crap that was sent flying (and barely succeeding) upon the guy's collision with the insides of the container.
He didn't even notice that the "cat" wasn't exactly a "cat," and it narrowly missed him. Maybe it wasn't the smartest of things, since it actually paused and checked to see if whatever it was trying to eat was actually in its mouth.
"Hey man," he started, genuinely concerned about the poor guy and trying to dig him out of the garbage. "That was a hell of a jump. You trying to kill yourself or something?" At this point the "cat" was all but forgotten, which probably wasn't a very good thing. It finally caught on that it didn't hit its mark, and so was getting ready to lunge once more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 12:39 am
"No!"
Camelot struggled to free himself from a bag of rubbish that caught on one of the protrusions of his armor. He tugged at it uselessly, as it seemed incredibly determined to remain firmly attached to him. He gave up, letting it stay clinging to him for now, hoping there wasn't something horrifying inside the bag for him to discover later.
"That monster you were petting," he said, sounding like a crazy person, dressed in armor, that hated cats, "I was trying to protect you."
He saw the youma not too far off, moving to climb out of the dumpster, taking a lot of its contents with him. He was going to need a bath. And then another one. And maybe a third.
"It's coming back!" He lifted his shield, hoping to defend them both from an attack, and maybe prove he wasn't a psychopath, or a drunk, in the process. Without anyone getting hurt, of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 9:30 pm
"Monster?" the teen said with a quirk of his brow. He hardly thought that innocent little cats were monsters, so he wondered for a second whether the guy just didn't like cats. He did help him out of the garbage though, regardless of his stand on the domesticated felines, holding his breath because whoever he was, was covered is gunk and junk. It hanging off of him and his armor like.. wait, armor?
Dom didn't really have time to think too much on the fact that the guy who'd just jumped off the roof of a building was also covered in armor and holding a.. shield?
"Okay, that's just--" he started, but was cut off by the sight of an oncoming cat. Except it wasn't a cat. At least not a normal one anyway. It was a big cat. A big, big cat. With a wicked set of teeth and a nasty glint in its eye. The teen went bug-eyed for a second before ducking behind the other guy and mentally praying, "Eat it, eat him!"
The youma lunged and made contact with the shield to no avail, bouncing right off and letting out a cry of frustration before trying again, this time aiming for Camelot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 10:26 am
Camelot braced himself as the youma hit his shield. He looked at the young man behind him, a quick glance over his shoulder, just to make sure he was safely out of the way.
"Terra Viridis Crystal Power!"
The eye of the dragon on his shield began to glow brightly, and a green beam of light burst from it soon enough. It struck the youma, causing pain but not any physical damage, enough to be a strong distraction and allow him to follow up with an attack.
Which he tried to do, swinging his shield to try and bash it into dust.
If he could defeat it before it went after the civilian again, he would feel much better about falling into the dumpster.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:30 pm
After a few words in what Dominic guessed was another language, the cat-thing was hit by a beam of light from the guy's shield and get pushed back. When Camelot rushed forward, the teen took the initiative and ran around the dumpster to cower/observe from behind it. He watched as Camelot swung his shield, then his mouth sort of formed into an "o" when the thing suddenly just...vanished, almost.
It was all quiet again, and his heart was still pounding a few moments following the youma's demise. When he felt it was probably safe enough, he came out of his hiding spot and approached the armored man with squinty eyes.
"So..." he started, speaking slowly and choosing his words carefully. "Are you some kind of vigilante? Like...DC's version of Batman or something?" he asked this while pulling a banana peel off the guy's shoulder, wrinkling his nose in the process.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:08 pm
Camelot waited a moment before taking a breath of relief. He had at least learned, in his time and many fights, not to sigh thankfully until the youma dust had settled and he was not in danger of breathing it all in.
It did not taste that great.
And he was worried what Chaos dust did to a person. It couldn't be better than cigarette's, in his mind. And he had stopped smoking years ago. This hardly needed to be his new habit.
"Ah, you could say that," he chuckled, rolling his shoulder. "I'm a Knight. I defend this city from monsters like that, and forces... that would do harm to innocent people, like you. Ah... thank you, I didn't see that there." He looked just as disgusted by the banana. He hoped there wasn't more on him that he hadn't found yet.
Yuck.
"You weren't hurt, were you? I'm sorry for the sudden drop in... I could have done that all better."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:21 pm
That probably would look good on a resume, Dominic thought. Not likely you'd get hired though, unless you were applying for some makeshift Justice League or something.
"That's pretty cool," he said, and he really meant it despite the previous little afterthought on the guy's "occupation." Hey, at least it kept the questions from just pouring out of him. He was doing a really good job of keeping his them at bay at that moment, and this guy's answers weren't doing anything to keep the huge list he already had in his mind from getting any longer. If anything, he was adding to it.
"No problem, and no, I wasn't," the teen replied with a little shake of his head and a quick glance down at his dirtied school uniform. "A bit rattled, but I'm in one piece so I guess that's a good thing."
Okay, now to the questions, beginning, of course, with the most basic. "So what do you call yourself? Just 'Knight,' or something else?" he asked, moving toward his bike and the exit of the alley and kind of hoping the guy would follow. He was hoping to get more than a few answers that night, specifically how to avoid running into cat-demon-dust creature things in the future. "'Knight' would be pretty accurate though, considering you're costume."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:34 pm
Camelot's night job was much better than his day job: he was just a librarian after all. Being a knight sounded a bit more spectacular, though it certainly had its drawbacks and definitely did not lend itself to happy days and easy times. It was a lot of hard work and no pay.
He doubted there was a retirement plan.
"My name is Camelot," he said, with a knowing smile. Whenever he said that, he got comments. But it was an easy name to recognize, and something most people had heard of. So making jokes to take the edge off was fine by him, he could take whatever they threw at him.
So long as they didn't tease him about his age. He still didn't really enjoy that. He let the younger man circle, watching him patiently and even holding out his shield a bit so Dom could look at it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:49 pm
"Camelot, huh?" the teen said as soon as the man introduced himself. He paused to think on a bit, eventually just nodding and deciding that it was a good name. "Well that's definitely a lot better than just 'Knight,'" he laughed lightly. "And you've got a pretty wicked shield too, wow." So he must love this night job of his, Dominic thought. Hell, he probably would too if he had something that cool.
Now that introductions were done, the ever curious Hillworth senior started spouting his questions. "So what in the hell was that thing, and why did it try to kill me? How'd you shoot your beam? You said something.. was that some kind of language that you learned from wherever you got this vigilante costume idea from? Come to think of it, why was it a cat in the first place? Also, howcome I've only ever seen one now? And you said something about forces, is it like a Jedi thing with the Sith - or maybe it's equivalent in your terms - being the bad guys trying to kill people like me?"
And he went on for a bit, his questions touching on just about everything that went on during the little scuffle, and not really giving too much time for Camelot to actually answer. It wasn't on purpose, just a... habit.Lithia_Brandon Feel free to shut him up.. >o>b
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:16 pm
Camelot nodded his head.
"I did get lucky with this shield. It's pretty nice," there was a dragon head on the shield, and it had a green eye glimmering, a crystal lingering just underneath its surface. That was the source of the beam Dominic had witnessed. He chuckled, shaking his head. He had come a long way from his start, with that flimsy wooden shield and page's attire.
"Ah, well... it's all a bit complicated... and the less you know about it, the safer you'll be, I'm afraid. These monsters are all too common, and those that create them, the agents of Chaos, are dangerous. They could bring you to harm if they realized you knew too much."
He'd seen it before.
"Just understand that what the news says about terrorists isn't entirely true. There are more than one force out there, and the ones being corrupted by Chaos... they're the ones that people need to be protected from. Chaos is an evil force, corrupting innocent beings into doing terrible things. But people like me are out there, fighting it, and doing our best to find peace. Ah... it's all... a little complicated..." He'd already said more than he meant to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:31 pm
Dominic, who eventually shut up long enough to give Camelot the time to answer all of his questions, felt a bit...strange about the answers he was given. It kind of felt like the Knight was just scraping the surface and choosing not to go into detail. Apparently for Dominic's own safety, but he walked into a dark alleyway without thinking that even a simple mugger could have been waiting to ambush him, so someone else worrying about him was probably a good thing.
"Complicated," huh? Dominic shrugged, as if to let it go. It was a rare occasion for him to let something this interesting go, but it did happen. It was only for now anyway...
"Alright," the teen said with a slight nod of his head. "I think I've got it. Avoid Chaos, don't get killed by these cat things, pay attention to, but don't believe everything, on the news." He repeated the list a few times to himself, before giving a final nod.
So there was definitely a lot more to DC than he originally thought.
"Okay, so thanks for saving my a**. I'm not entirely sure how I'm supposed to pay you back, but maybe we'll run into each other again?" He actually needed to get home to take a shower. Then maybe burn his clothes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 8:31 pm
"Hopefully you won't have to pay me back," Camelot smiled, laughing a bit, even. He was the type to much prefer things being peaceful and if he didn't have to save anyone or be saved then it was a good day.
He couldn't ask anything from the younger man, anyway. He just wasn't the type to hold debts.
"Just keep yourself safe, and I think we'll be even. I'm at your service if you need me, and I can usually be found around the library and diner. That's my usual ah... patrol street. In any case, I'll be going now. Are you okay to get home by yourself?"
Not that Camelot would just let him: he'd probably keep watch from the rooftops, just in case, anyway, until Dominic got himself home safely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:27 pm
Dominic only smiled when Camelot seemed to wave off the debt the teen felt he owed the Knight, and nodded. Though he was still hoping to pay him back in some way, he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to match the fact that Camelot had saved his life. "Alright, well if you're sure," he simply said with a shrug and a scratch of his head. "I'll definitely try. I'm actually breaking curfew though, so..."
Dominic then grabbed the handlebars of his bike and got ready to get on it while the other shared his usual patrol routes and if he'd be fine getting home. "Library and diner," he said as he threw his leg over the bike and took a seat, resting a foot on one of the pedals. "I'll try and remember that, and I'll definitely try not to get killed. I'll be fine getting home though, so thanks again.You keep safe too, Camelot."
With another smile and little nod of his head, the dark haired teen was on his way back to Hillworth. He was smellier, a little rattled, and a lot more tired, but he was also going with a bit more awareness of the happenings around the city. It was certainly a lot more interesting than he first made it out to be, so he was kind of looking forward to running into another individual involved in what sounded like a war.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
