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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 8:22 am
The alley behind Maverick was more a narrow delivery road for the deli and supermarket down the way, and because of that it was cleaner than other, more traditional alleys. Less interesting, too. Good for a quick, distraction-free smoke break, which was what Rabbit was about to use it for. He came shooting out of the salon's back door like a bottle rocket with a broken stick, an old suit jacket lined with pink suede and a pair of mismatched scarves the only things keeping him warm.
Something about this misty fog really got under his skin, chilling him from the inside out. He took the cigarette from behind his ear and tucked it between his lips, looking out over the fence behind the dumpster. The likelihood of any of those missing kids turning up on this side of it was slim, but over there...
That overgrown lot just creeped him out, okay?
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 10:15 am
It had been raining for a couple days but it didn't stop Wil from doing his business. People needed their stuff, rain or shine, and some of his best business were various kitchen staffs around town. He was standing under the awning behind the deli in a damp flap-eared plaid hat mashed over his curly hair, and a hello kitty backpack catching most of the drips from the rain. He and one of the cooks exchanged a handshake before the blonde skipped down to stomp in a dirty puddle. He blinked up as he passed the salon's back door and the man smoking there, and offered a polite pass-your-neighbor greeting, "Yo.." He skipped another few feet before Wil was hopping backwards like a goofy limp noodle, "You got a light dude?" He pulled out something hand rolled and half burnt, but also bent in half and damp.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 11:24 am
That guy was weirding him out too.
Maybe he'd been phoneskimming too much Creepypasta during lulls at the counter, but even Dudebro von Weedenheim was spooky when he was traveling through the murk via joyous hop-skip. Like Pennywise or something.
Rabbit rummaged in his pocket and held out his lighter once the kid was close enough to come get it. "Sure. Yeah. I'm amazed you don't have fifty yourself." He smirked. It was probably a business thing. A way to break the ice. Why, hello sir. I noticed you like smoking things. How about some of this? Or maybe he was just too lazy to reach around and...
"Oh, hey. I like your backpack."
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 12:32 pm
"Thanks!" Wil had to turn the backpack to figure out which one it was because he had a veritable collection of weird bags. It was a thing. "Lighters are a hot commodity. The number two most stolen knickknack- right after pens." That was probably not an accurate or real statistic. Stepping up to the same level as the other man, the college student seemed to be taller than he looked, mostly because he had a permanent slouch and a gait like he was made of rubber and very near collapse. He took the lighter and lit up, something strong and herbal and not weed but pungent none the less. "Thanks man. I'm Wil." He offered a hand for a shake, or a fist bump or a confusing and made up street shake. He would go with anything!
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 2:46 pm
With the mist monster classified as friendly, or nonthreatening at the very least, Rabbit let his smile broaden as he reached for his lighter, not wanting it to fall victim to kidnapping.
"Rabbit." He shook, sniffing at the smoke that floated past. Interesting, but probably not good to have on him when he was going back in to work. He subtly tried moving out of range of the cloud before giving up. Eh, whatever. It was almost time to go home anyway. "You come back here a lot? I'm surprised I haven't seen you before."
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 7:28 pm
"Ummm yeah when someone calls me." Wil noticed that Rabbit shifted a bit and he made a point to blow his smoke elsewhere. He was deceptively observant in spite of his lazy appearance and bearing. "Guy's gotta get his green ya know." He grinned, "I get around all over. If you ever need anything, lemme know. I'll give you my number." He probably did mean anything. It was hard to tell though.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 11:49 am
"Yeah, all right." Anything, huh? "Give it to me." He didn't know where or with what he was going to record it, but he would make the effort. "If you don't already do, you should come to Maverick for hair stuff. Not that I've got discounts or anything. But... yeah. They're nice." He paused. It was probably too late to keep from sounding idiotic, so he didn't try.
"So, what do you do when you're not getting calls?" he asked. "You must see some weird s**t while you're working too." They were two entirely unrelated statements, one dependent on leisure and one on business, but sticking to a single topic wasn't really Rabbit's strong suit.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 12:27 pm
"I only cut my hair when it gets in my eyes too bad.." His beat up hat was tugged off to reveal a mop of blonde curls that currently lay right to his eyebrows. It was nice hair, curly and thick, if not a bit messy from the hat. It suited his smattering of freckles and blue eyes. His hat was mashed back on again with a smile. "I can put it in your phone. Or text you?" He had his own phone out in a second, flipping deftly through screens with his thumb. "I'm in college. For art." He blinked upwards with lazy eyes and his smoke dangling loosely from his lips, "Maybe I see some stuff. This is a funny place you know. All kindsa mysterious." He grinned again, smoke drifting from his nostrils, "Want me to read your fortune?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 7:46 am
Rabbit nodded. No fancy haircuts for Wil. Noted. A little of the encounter's former creepiness returned at the mention of fortune telling, but he was game, so whatever. He was sure he could get away with a couple more minutes of break time before someone came looking for him.
"If you're for real and can do a ten minute fortune, then yeah. And my phone's inside, but my number is 978-497-8824. Just put your name or something so I know it's you." He had a habit of erasing texts he didn't recognize, which was most of them. "You need my palms or something?" His eyes held amusement and his tone was light, but he didn't smile.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:09 am
Wil had enough smiles for the both of them. "Palm or magic eight ball, if you're feeling adventurous and have a specific question.." He offered his hands, which seemed marked and stained by markers or dyes. It was hard to tell but they looked like artist's hands. "I even have a paper fortune teller.." If you're looking for something real mystical.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:23 pm
Rabbit snorted. "Magic eight ball. No question. I mean, I have a question, there's just no question I'm not going to... Forget it. Bad choice of words. Eight ball. Yes. Let's do it." He might have been far too enthusiastic over the idea of playing with a kids' toy he hadn't seen up close in twenty years, especially since he had chosen it without really having anything to ask, in spite of what he had said. Rabbit looked around, searching for a question.
Will those strays from last spring come back this year?
Does Olivia want pizza for dinner?
Should I attempt a fauxhawk?
All of those were pretty firm NOs, but in the end some would have said the question he did choose was a no as well.
"Okay. Am I gonna get a new job in the next six months?"
He couldn't have said why that was what he settled on, only that despite reassurances that he had nothing to worry about, he was always kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, specifically when it came to employment. From his first day at Maverick, Rabbit had wondered when it would be his last.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 7:41 pm
"Alright," Wil smiled up at the other and pulled his backpack around front to fish in. He produced a standard old school 8-ball, "I got this." The blonde inhaled deep, clasped the ball in both hands, and closed his eyes. He hummed a moment, "Will Rabbit get a new job in six months?" The ball was given a shake-shake-shake, another shake-shake-shake (he was very intent, so much selling it really), before Wil spun it around. The white die inside bobbed and settled. "Don't count on it!" He then turned his blue eyes to Rabbit, "Is that good or bad??"
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:09 am
Rabbit held his breath, most of the rest of his cigarette burning to ash as Wil announced his fate. According to an eight ball, he wasn't getting fired. It was a good thing, but it certainly wasn't very exciting. A salon greeter for the next half a year of his life. He chuckled, then took one last drag before stubbing the cigarette out on the brick wall beside him.
"Yeah. Good news. I hate job hunting." He tightened one of his borrowed scarves. "So. Do I owe you anything?" He hoped the elaborate shaking of an eight ball would come for free, but Rabbit would definitely scrape together something in the future to get more fancy with the predictions. Crystal balls and candles and s**t. Yeah.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:30 am
"Spare change? A buck?" Wil seemed to wave on his feet like a reed in the wind, "A cigarette and a promise of future business??" His grin was certainly friendly enough, with all his scruffy charm. "Next time a real palm reading maybe. Who knows what your future could hold." Perfect mystical voice, btw.
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 2:41 pm
Fair enough. Since he'd only had the cigarette he came out here with, Rabbit handed over two dollars after a little scrambling, one of those dollars in quarters.
"Here you go. We can do a palm reading next time for sure." He wasn't a psychic convert or anything like that, but he'd forgotten how fun stuff like this could be even if he had to pay. Imagining Liv's face when he told her he planned on forking over even more for a real reading was kind of a nightmare. At least that was future Rabbit's problem.
A restless silhouette on the other side of the salon's back door alerted him to how long he'd lingered, and he stood straighter, suddenly attentive.
"I've gotta go now. But I'll text you when I think of something I need." His very... fourth shady back alley deal. Cool.
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