|
|
Post by Vespyr on Feb 2, 2013 1:52:23 GMT -8
There he goes again
should have been dead. should have been dead. should have been dead.
Ari ran. Before he ran, he was bounding down three flights of stairs. Before that, he was creeping nervously toward the door of Cain's apartment; the man who should have been dead.
Ari didn't know why he was running; no one was chasing him. He left Cain and Teal talking in the apartment, struck by a sudden feeling of dread and an urgent need to get away. Something was wrong. Cain's eyes seemed strange. Something just wasn't quite right about them. The whole situation was fucked up to begin with and he should have been relieved that it was over, but instead, Ari found himself fearful, haunted by some inner instinct that knew something was definitely not okay. Something. What? Cain shouldn't be alive. It repeated in his head as he ran, a mantra of foreboding: something's wrong. should have been dead. it's a fucking miracle.
A fucking miracle. The dreaded feeling of relief welled up uncomfortably in his chest. He wanted to throw up.
...Not to mention, it was a miracle that he hadn't yet, or that he was even breathing at all. Ari was never a strong runner (or a strong anything, for that matter). The sixteen-year-old slowed to a trot and promptly collapsed, panting, into the overgrown grass in the street. That was dumb, he thought, as he glared up at the early evening moon, waiting for his lungs to become functional again. His mouth was dry and his throat burned a little, but after a few minutes he felt the claustrophobic urge to get up and keep moving. To get away from that damn apartment. Get out of the territory. Let himself and his thoughts wander away from the things that scared him and wouldn't let him go.
He visited the ruins of 259 a few blocks away, and felt next to nothing as he gazed upon the remains of his old high school. He walked past his old neighborhood, lacking courage to go inside, to see what shape his old home was in. He meandered down the hardly-ihabited streets of Long Beach that he used to know, but didn't know anymore. He only vaguely knew where he was, but it wasn't Long Beach anymore; what it was now--Barker territory? Crows?--Ari had no way of knowing. He only hoped he wouldn't have to find out the hard way as he wandered down the seemingly empty streets with hardly an air of caution. Shrouded in his black clothes and his long black mane of hair, the slender boy was next to nothing but a lone shadow drifting quietly along the dark moonlit road.
Ari stopped by a puddle, a pothole several paces from the sidewalk. He crouched next to it and gazed down into the clear reflection of his brooding blue-grey eyes, then reached down and swiped at the surface of the water with his fingertips. His pale face broke into agitated ripples. After a few moments, the puddle should have grown still again. The faintly glimmering pool seemed to shiver unnaturally as Ari stared at it, strange focus in his sullen slate-blue eyes. The longer he stared, more shivers rippled across the surface until, after about a minute, the small volume of water was thrashing as if it were a miniature sea during a tiny tempest. Faint beads of sweat adorned Ari's forehead but were ignored as he concentrated further, lifting a trembling hand over the water. The possessed puddle shivered violently for a few moments, and then suddenly splashed up toward the boy's hand. The fountain of moonlit water fell into droplets and made a mess on the pavement. Ari lost the balance in his crouch and rolled back onto his ass with a frustrated grunt. He shivered as a wave of fatigue overtook him, and wrapped his skinny arms around his knees, hugging them tightly to his chest.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 2, 2013 14:31:10 GMT -8
Lucien walked hurriedly. It wasn't like he was supposed to be anywhere in a hurry, it was just a patrol. Ever since he had been assigned to Marcus' Wolfpack, though, everything seemed hurried. Like there really wasn't any time for walking. And so, off the main roads he walked, every so often climbing up to a reconnaissance perch, to see the entirety of the area. It was during such a scan that, from rooftop, Lucien noticed a slim teenager. He was out of breath, having a look of panic on his face. Slightly more disturbing than that, he was curled up into the fetal position in the middle of the abandoned street. He was alone. Scared. And, he needed to get out of the street before something happened to him. So, Lucien climbed down from the perch, his slender form smoothly descending the intact fire escape. When he reached the ground, he walked over to the area where he spotted the boy. Staff in hand, he would air on the side of caution, and activate his Qi, becoming invisible, but still moving closer to the boy, slowly. As he approached, he looked over the boy with more detail. Panic and fatigue were written on his face, eyes shut tight. His long black hair almost blended into his black clothing, and if it weren't for the moonlight, it would have blended into the broken pavement, as well. He stopped, enclosing himself in shadow, though it wasn't entirely necessary. Once he stopped moving, he was perfectly invisible. At least, that's what he hoped. He was about 5 or 6 feet away from the boy, his back to a building's front wall. If it wasn't that the boy looked terrified, he would have came rushing up to him in full view. As it was, which might have been slightly more or less terrifying, at least by Lucien's standpoint, he kept his invisible form, and asked the boy, "Are you alright?" In a soft, caring voice. The voice would just sound like it was coming from the shadow, which could have easily obscured most of the visibility of a normal human.
If he's noticing, he would be able to see ripples in the air, and maybe hear some quiet footsteps depending on his senses. This is, of course, assuming that his charisma score is not three times mine.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vespyr on Feb 2, 2013 15:02:00 GMT -8
Rogue instincts
Ari flinched at the sudden voice but didn't turn around, frozen where he sat. Damn it, he seethed inwardly, for failing to notice that someone had approached; a critical blunder, one that could have been fatal. Hadn't he learned better?
"umm… yeah, i'm fine." Ari answered, calmly clearing his throat in an attempt to seem less startled. He mustered up the grit to turn around, to put a face to the voice he'd heard only a moment ago, but he found no one there. The boy furrowed his brow and glanced around in the street, into the shadows, where someone could have been hiding. The voice sounded so close, though…
Slightly perturbed, Ari rose to his feet and stood beside the puddle, his thin frame subtly rigid with the onset of fight-or-flight instinct. His small hand crept toward the pocket of his black jeans, prepared to grab his knife. He didn't just yet, though, and seemed to stand with a sort of forced lack of emotion, as if trying not to appear alarmed. The stern, defensive look on his face would be half-hidden by the veil of black hair that always hung in front of his brooding eyes.
"hello," he said, not sure if there was even anyone still there. |
|
|
|
Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 2, 2013 15:27:33 GMT -8
Studying the slight man, Lucien watched as he rose to his feet and searched for the voice's source. His hand was going into his pocket, maybe for a weapon, maybe a defense mechanism, maybe to look at ease? Lucien didn't know, and didn't want to act just out of assumption.
"Hello," He replied, knowing his position was compromised. He deactivated his Qi as he took a single step forward, hoping the transition was smooth enough that he appeared to just walk out of the shadow.
"Don't be afraid, I don't mean you harm." A sincere statement, which he tried to emulate in his voice. It was true, in fact, unless the boy were to attack him. Lucien smiled at him, keeping mostly still, as to not scare the boy off. Lucien compared it in his mind to dealing with a wild animal, in that a sudden movement, even of a miniscule amount, could act as the trigger for the boy to start running again.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vespyr on Feb 2, 2013 18:53:41 GMT -8
Social decay
The boy's leery eyes darted to the shadows as a slender silhouette appeared and stepped forth, smiling.
"oh, i didn't see you there." Ari mumbled. His hand slid away from the pocket and instead clutched loosely at the side of his jeans, idle. He brushed the thick locks of hair away from his eyes to get a better look at the young man, giving him a cautious once-over: not much older, not much taller, and slight in build like himself. Ari hardly felt threatened; he was just startled to find himself suddenly much less alone. His narrow shoulders relaxed a little but his guarded stare never wavered, fixed to the stranger's face as he tried to glean what the young man's intent might be. The glint in Ari's slate-blue eyes was feral, as his mind scrambled for what to do next. He supposed he could have cut the awkward silence by asking what the man's name was, or introducing himself, but instead it occurred to him that he hadn't spoken to anyone outside of Rogues in more months than he could even recall. It had been over a year, perhaps. The concept of introductions seemed strangely foreign to him now; the points of sociability that he'd never been good with in the first place were beyond rusty, never practiced, even scorned.
"huh…" he began, his voice cracking a little as he found no direction to continue in. |
|
|
|
Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 2, 2013 21:31:10 GMT -8
As Lucien looked on, the boy seemed confused, almost not knowing what his next action might be. His hair waved in and out of his face, and Lucien felt an overwhelming need to fix it. He refrained himself, though he was quite antsy about it.
Trying not to let it show on his face, he approached the man, hands in the open. He stopped about three feet away, and placed the end of his staff on the ground. His green eyes stared into the blue of the boy's, and he felt a slight trepidation emanating from him. It made sense, situationally, anyway.
"My name is Lucien DeChain. Are you okay?" He decided to ask again, seeing that the boy was still distraught. The hair thing was really bugging him, and Lucien silently wondered how someone could handle those flyaway strands constantly obscuring their vision. He certainly couldn't handle it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vespyr on Feb 2, 2013 22:07:23 GMT -8
Naturally, Ari felt compelled to take a step backward as the man drew nearer, and perhaps he would have if this were a few months ago. Instead, Ari let himself be approached but he kept his steely gaze dauntlessly fixed to the stranger's green eyes like a warning. Any nearer and he'd either have to flee, or fight. Honestly, though, he felt too physically drained for either alternative and hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"i said i'm fine," he repeated in a quiet, emotionless tone. The young man, Lucien, seemed benevolent but Ari could never be so sure… especially in times like these.
"did you want something," the boy asked, plainly. He tilted his head back a bit, unruly tousles of raven-black hair falling further away from his sickly brow and sullen eyes as he regarded the other with a defensively inquisitive look, still sizing him up. Lucien didn't seem like a soldier--at least not one of Barker's--but unlike most of the other civilians, he seemed relatively dauntless. Then again, it had been a long time since Ari had actually interacted with anyone outside of the vitiated clan of criminals. But then again (again) Ari wasn't exactly the most daunting individual by appearance. |
|
|
|
Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 2, 2013 22:48:28 GMT -8
At the boy's reaction, Lucien stopped moving forward, thinking about how to proceed. There was a few avenues that he could take, though Lucien wasn't sure how stable the younger boy was. At the very least, he kept calm, and tried to reassure the boy, and himself.
"I was patrolling the area, and you seemed like you needed some help." Lucien decided to give the boy a straight answer to his straight question, though at the same time trying not to give too much away. He was aware of the rivalry between gangs, even now that so much time had passed. And there were always insurgents trying to overtake areas that were previously occupied.
A small breeze rolled by, causing Lucien's hair to wave and tousle. Damn, it bothers me. He resisted the urge to pull out his pocket comb and address his hair, since, at the moment, the boy was the most pressing concern.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vespyr on Feb 2, 2013 22:59:21 GMT -8
"patrol?" the boy reiterated, beginning to wonder again where exactly he'd wandered off to. His knowledge of the other groups in Long Beach now was only vague due to the isolated nature of his own loosely-associated tribe. As far as he had experienced yet, all the territory outside of Rogues had been under Barker's control. Everything else existed only in rumor, names spoken disinterestedly and then forgotten, having no relevance within the bounds of their savage indifference. Ari, however, found his interest ever-so-slightly piqued, as if he'd encountered a sort of living myth.
"patrolling for who?" he asked, intentionally making himself seem a bit oblivious. |
|
|
|
Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 2, 2013 23:12:29 GMT -8
Lucien made a small inward eep as the boy questioned him further. It seemed like an innocent enough query, but nothing could be seen at face value nowadays. He had learned a few lessons since coming to California that had taught him at least that. As the silence grew thicker, Lucien thought about what he should say next, and every moment made his potential answers a bit more awkward.
In the end, Lucien decided to just display the truth, with the hope that there was no qualms about him being a Crow. And, it seemed like the boy genuinely didn't know which territory he was in. Like he had been 'out of the world for a spell', so to say.
"Patrolling for the Crows, of course."
He let that ring for a few moments, trying to be nonchalant about his potentially life threatening answer.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vespyr on Feb 2, 2013 23:22:43 GMT -8
Crows. It meant nothing to him aside from the fact that he'd heard the name mentioned a few times by Vespyr and the others, but he had never quite gleaned the context, or their relationship with the group, if there even was any (he doubted there was). There was only one thing he was sure of: Rogues was a group that did not exist, its name or presence neither admitted nor acknowledged by its own members to anyone on the outside. By that logic, if Lucien suspected him of running with a gang, he'd have no way of knowing which. There was a certain degree of security in that, a veil of lies Ari could safely hide behind while he satisfied his own curiosity about the goings-on in the world outside of the vacuum he'd been living in.
"Crows?" he repeated, playing up the oblivious tone a little more, raising his feverish brow. His blue-grey eyes peered curiously at Lucien and he appeared to have forgotten his lack of trust for the stranger, for the moment. |
|
|
|
Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 3, 2013 0:01:29 GMT -8
"Yes, Crows. This area is controlled by the Crows. Were you not aware?" Lucien replied, seeming a little more open, now that the man had dropped his guard slightly. There was enough out in the open now that if he were to get into any trouble from this altercation, it would have been a few moments ago. With that thought in mind, all that was left was a desire to help the boy, as he was obviously distraught when Lucien had watched.
Lucien gave the boy another once-over, looking for any gang signs that he could see on the slight figure. Dragons get tattoos on their arms, don't they? He thought. Even if that was the only group he was more than slightly familiar with, it still helped him discern who, if anyone, the boy was affiliated with. Having found nothing to help him identify the slight man, Lucien simply waited for his answer.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vespyr on Feb 3, 2013 0:20:10 GMT -8
Lucien would find the boy to be rather nondescript, wearing only black jeans and an oversized black T-shirt that hung off his slender frame in an almost dress-like manner, reaching about halfway down his thighs, the sleeves cutting off just above his elbows. His unruly mane of black hair had grown out and reached nearly halfway down his back at this point, and as Lucien had noticed, hung over his face like a veil most of the time when he wasn't paying any attention. But now it was mostly swiped out of the way, as Ari watched the young man watching him, feeling himself being inspected. The only tell-tale sign of anything at all might have been the jagged little scar on his bottom lip, but even that, the boy from Crows wouldn't have any context of. The marking was unofficial, anyhow; certainly not every Rogue had one… just the unlucky ones.
"never heard of Crows. only Barker. i stay out of the way." Ari lied, a little, already crafting a sort of alibi in his head. He finally dropped his pensive gaze and stared at the pavement for a few moments, reaching up to swipe yet another misbehaving strand of hair from his eyes.
"sorry for intruding," he conceded, perhaps earnestly despite the little façade he had begun to put on. |
|
|
|
Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 3, 2013 10:39:23 GMT -8
As the young boy made his statement, there was a slight look of confusion that ran over Lucien's face, as the boy didn't seem to know about anything. Well, besides Mr. Barker. Anyone who was unaware of that was too far gone, as far as Lucien was concerned.
"Don't be sorry for intruding," He started. As he continued, he thought that this might seem more intrusive than anything the boy had done. "I just want to know what you were running from."
He once again looked at the boy, or, rather, the top of his head, noticing the roots of his hair, and how chaotic some of the strands were behaving. Oh, God, it bothers me.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vespyr on Feb 3, 2013 10:51:14 GMT -8
"uhh…" Ari stuttered, at a loss for words; how long had the man been watching him? Was he followed, even? Pangs of alarm rose in his chest but he shrugged them off as best he could.
"i just got startled," the boy mumbled, unsure even why he had been running in the first place. "and i wanted to go for a walk to clear my head, i guess." That part was honest, as far as his intent, but for the past hour or several (he hadn't been keeping track) as he wandered through the city he found that instead of clearer, his thoughts became more derailed and convoluted. It was upsetting, really, that his emotions always betrayed him like this. It came with age, perhaps, or it came with the circumstances. But nothing came easy.
The teen flicked his blue-grey gaze back up to Lucien and regarded him with a curious look, hoping to change the subject, away from himself in case he blew his cover somehow.
"so Crows is like a gang?" he asked interestedly, even though he already knew the answer-- prompting elaboration, maybe. He wanted to learn more; who were these people he'd only vaguely heard of? Were they as bad as Rogues? Lucien, at least, didn't seem like the malevolent type. And that was a good start. |
|
