What a day for a daydream ["Open"]

[Delilah A. Black]

Delilah would be striding through the Crow territory, looking in on the various citizens that were trying to eke out a living in their domain. The Taylor's and Mr. Roberts were trading chicken eggs for regular repairs for shoes and clothes. Ms. Hurscht was selling her handmade tables and chairs for a few weeks of fire wood and food; they looked like shit because they were made from scavenged materials, but she made them work and they were well balanced. Misters Mitchell and Lockey were peddling fish for whatever goods people could spare. They were good men and women.


All waved cheerfully as Delilah continued her daily pass through that early afternoon day. Unaware of what awaited her round the bend.

[Mr. Kaar]

And around that particular bend would be non other than Leon Sudeki holding the hand of a small ten year old boy. His tan skin and brown hair where offsetting but he had deep sapphire blue eyes. Much like how Leon's used to be though his eyes where hidden behind sun glasses at the moment.

Leon wore his leather battle suit, though no helmet. While the boy wore a dark purple tank top and black cargo's. He wore miniaturized combat boots.

Leon would trying to trade a couple days worth of food for a box of randomized toys.

[Delilah A. Black]

The portly Mrs. Zekora would be examining the food rations the Lightning Dragon provided her. Impressed with the quality, she would nod after a moment, pulling the bags towards herself and the mixed box of handmade and scavenged toys towards the large, blonde man.

"Here ya go, hun. Thanks for stopping by."

Delilah's heart nearly stopped as she rounded the corner. Oh good Lord she called Leon 'HUN'. They obviously had no real idea who the leaders of the Dragons were. She would have to change that.

So, she put on her best smile and stepped forward, her eyes travelling down to the tan, blue eyed boy in Leon's care. That was strange. Approaching him, she clapped her fist over her heart and inclined her head, the tarditional Dragon greeting if she wasn't mistaken. "Good afternoon, Sudeki-sama. And good afternoon to you as well young man," she positively beamed at the boy he brought with him. God, she loved kids. She turned her eyes back to Leon.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?"

[Mr. Kaar]

Leon would take the bag and give it to the boy nodding and bowing his head while saying thank you. Then when Delilah came up, Leon could sense presence, but wasn't entirely sure who it was until she spoke.

Leon and the boy in turn would return the salute and nod.

"Hello, Delilah. Well-"

The boy spoke up cutting Leon off entirely.

"No one sells toys in dads country."

Leon would simply smile and nod while scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"Oh thats right... I guess the prince here is a little unknown to the outside world. The little conqueror here is Hageshi. I call him Spike, he is my first born."

[Delilah A. Black]

Delilah's eyes widened. A son? LEON of all people? Now that she mentioned it, the bright blue eyes were exactly like the boy's fathers. A slow smile spread over her face. A little wonder, this one. Children in this day an age were a treasure in her eyes.

She bent her knees a little, extending a hand to Hageshi...er, Spike. "It's nice to meet you, Spike. I'm Delilah," whether or not he took the hand, she would rise back up to her full height, putting her hands on her hips. "Anything I can help you with?" her eyes drifted back to the young Spike, an idea forming. "I can get someone to bring down Oliver, if you like."

[Mr. Kaar]

Spike would take the hand and give a respectful shake and a firm grasp to show he was a man. As his dad showed him anyways, though at the mention of 'Oliver' both of them would tilt their heads in unison.

"Who's Oliver?"

Yes Leon is that out of the loop.

[Delilah A. Black]

Delilah blinked.

Oh God he had no idea who Oliver was. Oh boy where to start. "Well, he's--"

"Mama!!"

Delilah turned at the sound of her son's voice, just as the little white haired boy with one solid black eye and one eye as bright and blue as his mothers, hugged her around her thighs, grinning. Up at her. Hot on his tail was Birch and Talon...who saw Delilah glowering at them and sprinted back the way they came. She would deal with them later.

She pushed the five year old away from her legs to present him to their dragon guests. "This is Oliver Pott. He's my son."

"Uh...hi?" he looked up at the large blonde man shyly. He was biiiiiiiig.

Surprise?

[Mr. Kaar]

Spike was the only one to watch the actual goings on, Leon didn't move his head anymore since he didn't really see it go on in the traditional sense. Leon would however lower his head so the child could see his face better, keeping a smile on his face.

"Hello, Oliver... Pott, hmm... The last name sounds familier, but its not yours."

Leon was more speaking out loud.

Spikeon the other hand had moved away from his contemplative father, and pulled the hair he had on his head back into a top knot as the sides of his head where practically shaved. He put his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out trying to look cool.

"Hey, I'm Spike. I'm a warrior."

The only evidence would be the bandages on his entire right arm.

[Delilah A. Black]

She nodded her affirmation. "Stu Pott is his father, that might be where you heard the name," a small colouring of her cheeks to be admitting such a thing, but a lift of her chin as if to say 'what of that?'. "My name fit nicely enough, but I wanted to include Stu's name as well. But I hate hyphenated names and both variations of 'Black' and 'Pott' sounded ridiculous, so here we are,"

Oliver meanwhile would tilt his little head to the side as Spike proceeded to look VERY impressive in comparison to the skinny young boy. He smiled uneasily, bowing slightly at the waist, as his mother had taught him.

"It's an honour, Spike-san. I'm Oliver and I'm a warrior too!"

In spirit at least, if nothing else.

[Mr. Kaar]

Spike would lose his puff and bow in return as his mother had showed him. Coming upright he would walk over.

"Well, Oliver. Lets go on an adventure."

Leon however would nod to Delilah.

"I think thats right, but yes its a good choice. Do you have time to sit and talk?"

[Delilah A. Black]

Oliver would positively grin at Spike. Adventure, huh?

HE LIVED FOR ADVENTURE TIIIIIIMMMEEEE

"YEAH! Follow me!"

He beckoned to Spike to follow, taking off towards the pile of rubble/junk that was the death realm or the harvesting zone for all building materials on the left of the Crow's Nest. That place was FULL] of AWESOME TREASUREZ.

Meanwhile, Delilah would smile at Leon, nodding. "Sure," she gestured to a makeshift park bench across the way. Once they were both seated, Delilah leaned back against the wood, lifting an ankle to rest on her opposite knee. "What can I help you with?"

[Mr. Kaar]

Spike would follow after Oliver a large grin on his own face as he'd practically dive into the pile of AWESOME!

"Wow! We don't have anything like this in our territiary... I think is the word."

Leon would follow his sense for the time being as Delilah walked he'd follow. Using his foot to find one of the legs to the bench before bending down to find the arm and lowering himself to a seated position.

"Well, I was simply curious is all... How do you run the government for the Crows? Is it similar to the government the U.S had before, or are you acting as simply a police force?"

[Delilah A. Black]

Oliver nodded vaguely as he rushed to and fro in the junk pile, moving with careful hopping steps over sharper materials. He grabbed a hunk of driftwood and tossed it in a small clear patch, doing the same with a bit of aluminum piping, a deflated tire and what looked like a half melted microwave. TREASURES.

"Mama says that this stuff is good to keep around just in case she needs to fix stuff. Like this!!!" he attempted to drag out of the middle of a pile a large peice of brass, once an old bell.

Delilah however would be watching Leon with a crease forming in her brow, concerned. Leon's eyes looked fine, but....he was acting like he was blind. Disconcerted at the thought, she nearly missed the Lightning Dragon's question.

"Well, a little of both. We've taken those we can who were big shots in life; economists, lawyers, that sort of thing, and made them into a council of sorts from the civilian population. Zero Winters takes advisement from them as much as we can and the Crows deploy those methods. We are active in our citizens lives, trying to be as equal and fair to citizens as we are to our own. But we make sure they're still living freely as possible. We try not to place too many restrictions on the people; we have laws, sure, and there are things we absolutely do not tolerate; anything someone does that threatens the survival of another human and is found guilty is put to death, end of story. It shows that we will not tolerate the destructiveness of human nature and that no one life is above another, including our own.

"But that's why we also do our investigations. A crime is reported to a Crow and the Tengu follow the suspect(s) around for ten days in secret. If they are found doing the action again--or if there is more than enough evidence at the beginning to convict them- then they are killed then and there. If not, the issue is dropped. Because of this, the crime rate has plummeted to near zero...and those who DO commit crimes know what's coming for them and flee the area. The guards are then given the order to kill on sight.

'Everyone wants respect and appreciation. I try to bring that to the people as well as earning it from them by following through."

[Mr. Kaar]

Spike would follow looking at all the things, until Oliver started pulling on something. Spike would hop over and help best he could. Simply curious what it was or what they could use it for. In his head they where miners or scavangers of some sort pulling up some buried artifact of unknown origin. Some sort of symbol of an ancient civilization to be used for Oliver and Spike to rule the world!


Leon's hand would move to adjust the sunglasses on his nose. He as of yet was not used to the shades being on for so long.

"Huh, kind of Tribal in a sense, rather interesting. I like the concept and practice. I wonder how this world will be shaped for future generations... I don't know if you have heard yet or not, but my particular chunk of territory within The Dragons has been named an Empire, and I have named myself its Monarch. Though I still take council and people come to the 'court' off the streets to tell us the problems, my men are posted throughout the territory and on common patrol shifts.

Its not just enemy or hostilities they are looking for its so each of my soldiers can deal with as many problems as possible and mingle with the civilians as much as possible."

Leon would lift his left ankle onto his right knee.

"I'm trying to give the people some sort of symbol to rely on, to hope and strive for tomorrow. I see your doing the same with the comfort of familieraty, and why not? There had once been professionals in our civilized world who dealt with this stuff on a daily basis."

Though Leon's head was fifty moves ahead of what he was saying he did enjoy the smaller details of what all this meant.

"What about an end game? When everything is said and done, Barker is dead his forces pushed to extinction from our world... Will you simply hand everything you've done back to a 'President of the United States'? Or will The Crows become something more than freedom fighters?"

[Delilah A. Black]

Delilah indeed hadn't heard about the change in politics, but smiled nonetheless. King Leon? Emperor Leon? How grand. She nodded her agreement as far as 'mingling' with the civilians went. That was why she went on these walks, spoke to the people, purchased from them as much as she could.

But the end game...

She let out a short breath, tilting her head back onto the bench to look up at the sky. What about 'after'? The idea still seemed so far away that it was remarkably hard to comprehend. That saddened her, a little.

"The needs of the people are our first priority," she said with a soft sigh. "I'm not sure what 'Unfettere'd's intentions are after all this. Maybe we'll fade back into society and let ourselves be forgotten. Help rebuild what was ruined. But that's rather far down the road.

" I'd like to think, though, that all the gangs and factions will be allied for eachother. Working together. A council of survivors looking to remake the world. Like a United Nations, if you want to call it that. That might be impossible on a global scale..but if we end Barker, it becomes a much more viable possibility."

She studied him for a moment, eyebrows drawing together again as she made her decision to ask him, "And I don't mean to pry but...I've been noticing you're not always using your eyes. Is anything wrong?"