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Who: Arthur Curry and Richard Locke
Where: A grocery store with a lobster tank.
When: The evening of September 10
What: So there's this dude out in a grocery store talking to lobsters, and someone should maybe get him to stop before the police get interested.
Warnings: Arthur, lobsters, and a public place.

Sure, Arthur had been told that the police were on the lookout for odd behavior, but odd might have also meant suddenly changing established patterns of behavior, right? If there were things he did often enough that people might wonder why if he stopped, well, then, stopping would draw attention!

Besides, without him, the lobsters might have gotten lonely. Some days, if he had enough money, Arthur would buy one, bring it home with him, and then take it to the beach later on to release it back into the wild. The lobsters at this particular grocery store were all wild-caught, and most of them were pretty happy to be going back home where they'd come from. They didn't know why they'd been caught in the first place, at least, and Arthur wasn't about to tell them.

Today was different from no other day at the grocery store...at least, no other day Arthur chose to do his shopping. He was there at the lobster tank in the center of the seafood section of the store, happily chatting up the lobsters. "Well, hello, everyone! How have things been? Have they been treating you well?" There was a pause. "Why, I know it's hard when the little ones tap on the tank, but they don't know any better..." The conversation went on in much the same manner, with the employees of the store trying to pretend like Arthur just wasn't there.

The lobsters, at least, seemed to enjoy the attention.

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Grocery shopping: about the most dull and uneventful thing about the week. For Richard, it consisted of seeing how much insta-ramen he could fit into a basket. Some healthier foods and drinks were in there, too, but why bother wasting time cooking when work needed to be done (granted, he did actually boil it on a stove and season it lightly himself but nothing holding much nutritional value)? Maybe a bemused expression crossed his face at the reaction his mother might have to such a wonderful diet.

Rather than dwelling on all the details that conversation might entail, all attention shifted towards putting in another chicken flavor. This should be sufficient. Ramen? Check. Some varied fruits and vegetables (who cares what they were as long as they serve their nutritional purpose, right)? Check. Hmm milk and trash bags remained.

En route to pick up the milk, an odd sight caught his eye. The oddity of it was enough to make him stop and double check if this wasn't a trick of the mind. A man was speaking to the lobsters. It wasn't some odd decision making about which to purchase or lamenting on their fate, no; this appeared to be a full fledged conversation. Odd. Very odd. And suspicious.

Wait a moment... The gears in Richard's brain began turning quickly. An individual conversing with aquatic creatures... There could not possibly be two with this outlandish of a hobby, could there? No matter. Whether or not there might be didn't matter as much as preventing this man from becoming a person of interest to the police force, the consequences of which were unlikely to be pleasant.

Richard approached from behind with every intent to stop this if only for the man's own safety. As soon as he was close enough, he didn't hesitate in speaking up, "Behavior of this sort will draw unnecessary attention."

Usually, Arthur didn't get bothered while he was talking to the sea life, be it fish in the pet shop or lobsters in the grocery store. When he was, it was usually an employee asking him if he needed any help in an attempt to get him and his crazy fish-talking ways to leave the store. Most other shoppers were more than happy to leave a man talking to sea life alone in the hopes he wouldn't start talking to them next. It was, therefore, completely understandable when some other shopper telling him that sort of behavior would draw unnecessary attention caused him to jump a couple of feet in the air, startled at being noticed. (Which was really rather silly, because a man of Arthur's size loudly carrying on a conversation with lobsters would be enough to draw anyone's attention.)

"Behavior? What kind of behavior?" Arthur decided that the best thing to do at this point would be to play it cool. Nothing to see here, just a harmless crazy man. He turned to the lobsters. "You guys see any strange behavior around here?" There was a pause. "No, they don't see anything strange around here, either!"

Judging by that little jumping out of his skin, it's highly likely few people ever come over to say anything. Then again, when someone is talking to lobsters it simply feels best to leave them be.

Richard eyes the man for a moment before glancing over at the lobsters. The conversation with the lobsters held far more sanity and rationale than the present dialogue. Given that fact, this is going to taken to be an attempt to scare him off. A good try, but not enough to shake off a seasoned cop.

"Your craziness would prove more believable were you to display the same level of it prior to and after being approached." Attention shifts back onto the other man. Barely a beat passes before Richard adds, "Your occupation wouldn't be that of a bus driver, would it?"

Arthur had been just about to make another comment to the lobsters regarding his craziness and the level thereof when Richard asks that question. "A bus driver? Me?" He turned back to the lobsters. "Do I look like a bus driver to you guys?"

At this point, he was resisting the urge to ask the lobsters to nod in confirmation just to answer this guy's question. Talking to sea life was so cool! And they listened so well! Not being able to show it off was killing him. He turned back to Richard, for something had occurred to him and he was too much of a nice guy to deny anything when he realized he hadn't done the best parking job with his bus out there. "I'm afraid I am, old chum. Was the school bus in the parking lot blocking your way?"

The change from crazy to suddenly conscientious only solidified the theory of the craziness being an act. Few people who were not in their right might would be concerned about blocking someone in, after all. Richard shook his head, "No, you needn't worry." Though that begged the question of how the guy parked, but that wasn't important right now.

What was important was determining this individual's identity without potentially giving away information about the network to someone not involved. Not overly difficult of a feat, especially not for him. All it took was a bit of clever wording. "It's just that I had once spoken with a bus driver who introduced me to a particular, outrageous song."

Arthur's face broke out in a somewhat relieved grin at that. "An outrageous sort of song? Really, now?" He had an idea of what was going on there. So he'd been spotted by another person on the network. "I have been known to sing a little on my route now and again." He whistled a few bars of his Rousing Song of Heroism, not much, but enough to be identifiable to anyone on the network who'd heard the song.

Edited 2013-09-29 03:20 (UTC)

No doubt remained after the whistled song: this definitely was the individual from the network. Maybe his expression softened a bit, though still retained some of the prior seriousness. "A tune unforgettable to any who've heard it."

Richard turned toward the lobsters. Nothing gets said for a moment due to a couple passing by. Best to not risk being overheard, especially given what he planned to say next. Once certain they're relatively out of earshot, he finally spoke up. "Though you hadn't mentioned you converse with marine animals outside the pet store." Maybe Richard didn't sound overly pleased in having learned this.

"Why, thank you! My song is rather unforgettable, isn't it?" Good move, Richard, getting in Arthur's good graces like that...not like getting in his good graces was hard to do in the first place.

"I didn't?" Arthur sounded so innocent there. So very innocent. "Well, you know...lots of stores have fish! Like the lobsters here, and the tank at the dentist's..."

Yes, Arthur was just the most innocent guy ever, wasn't he?

"Indeed it is." The likelihood of Richard forgetting it is slim to none. Not that the song is bad or anything, just... outrageous. The very definition of outrageous, honestly.

The innocent act doesn't get bought so easily, especially considering Arthur had just tried to sell an insanity act before this. Insane or innocent: do not attempt to be both within a span of a few minutes, at least not when with a cop. "In locations where patrons might be more than willing to inform the police about a suspicious man talking to the fish about the weather." Perhaps the amount of deadpan in that had been a bit much.

"Welllll...you know, I usually don't talk to them about the weather. And besides, I've been doing this so often, I bet no one even bats an eye at it anymore!" Nice try, Arthur.

"Except for those who do." Tearing Arthur away from his fishy friends really isn't the main objective. Were it up to Richard, they could throw underwater tea parties at city hall if they wished. It isn't, however. Suspicious behavior may get rewarded with imprisonment or worse.

He turns away from Arthur and gazes at the lobsters as he speaks, "If you end up getting arrested, you will no longer be able to speak with any of your friends, the ones at your own residence included."

Arthur would love an underwater tea party at city hall, although the logistics of such an endeavor might be a little difficult to deal with.

There's a bit of a sigh from the big man. "I know, I know...but I've been doing it for so long before the cops decided to start spoiling our fun, it's easy to forget!"

"Understandable, but attempt to be less forgetful in the future." There's no harshness in that, just an honest, if serious piece of advice. Getting someone out of trouble with the police isn't easy, even for Richard given the current circumstances. Hopefully Arthur takes to heart these words.

Rather than drag this out or lecture a grown man further on something which has been repeated several times, Richards turns back towards the lobsters. He had been wondering this for a good while now. "You can truly understand them?"

"I'll try!" There was a nervous laugh. It was easy for Arthur to get swept up in his own sheer enthusiasm for the fish.

"Of course I can understand them! I wouldn't be going through so much trouble talking to them every chance I got if I couldn't!" He seemed almost offended by the question. "Sure, some of them aren't the best conversationalists, but it's still OUTRAGEOUS!"

Richard gives a nod at the trying comment. Trying is all he asks for. Maybe the trying will be for naught, but it may also successfully keep Arthur out of trouble.

"Some people converse with animals even if they are incapable of replying." Maybe that had gotten said with a hint of an apologetic tone. He hadn't meant to insult Arthur, it's just that some normal people really do talk with animals like that. "What do they enjoying talking about?"

"Oh, yeah, I've got an aunt who talks to her Chihuahua ALL THE TIME even though all it really does is pee all over everything. I know how that goes!" Fortunately for Richard, Arthur wasn't easily offended. "Lobsters aren't the best conversationalists, and these guys really just like getting paid attention to! Mostly, I'm just having to explain what the tank is and why it can hold them there like that!" Then, in a stage whisper, ostensibly so the lobsters couldn't hear, he added, "They thought it was magic!"

"Magic, hmm?" Maybe the teeniest of smiles formed at that. Lobsters thinking tanks are magic seemed oddly amusing. Something so dull to one can be so abnormal to other. Yet, another question regarding the lobsters popped into Richard's mind, one far less cheery. His eyes darted over at Arthur. "I take it they know nothing of the fate that awaits them?"

"No, and I'm sure not going to be the one to tell them. I just tell them humans like looking at them there and taking them back to their human nests. And they know all humans aren't going to be as nice to them as me..." He shrugs. "I can't save 'em all, you know? But I can make their stay more pleasant."

"Very noble of you." Kindness to make their lives as nice as possible, admirable really. Tragic, too. Blissfully unaware of their fate till the very end. Maybe thinking of that even got to Richard. He remained quiet for a moment while tossing around an idea in his head. "...Were I to rescue these, might I in exchange get your word to keep your conversations with aquatic life as inconspicuous as possible?"

Arthur was positively beaming at that point. "You bet I would! I mean, I still can with the mind-to-mind thing, but it's so much more natural to just talk while I'm doing it..."

So it seemed some unexpected spending would take place to-- Wait, what had he just said? "Mind-to-mind thing?" Did that mean Arthur could have talked to them WITHOUT talking this whole time? Really?

"Yeah, when I talk to the fish, it's REALLY with my mind! What's the word...televis...no...telepita?...no...TELEPATHICALLY! THAT'S the one!" Arthur shrugged. "But it's more natural to talk out loud, y'know?"

"Appearing to be watching them with fascination is far less attention catching than someone carrying on a verbal conversation with them." The fact that this isn't obvious... Well, it seems keeping an eye on this man to keep him from getting arrested might not be a bad idea.

"Well, yeah, but like I said, it's more natural to talk! I, hah, well, I kind of forget sometimes!" Have fun keeping an eye on him, Karl. Because at the rate he's going...

...At the the rate he's going, Richard may have to provide a 'get out of jail free' card at some point. SIGH. "Attempt to remember, then. It may make the difference between the police ignoring you and them deeming you a person of interest."

Issuing such a card might not be a bad idea, though it might make Arthur tell the story of this one REALLY WILD NIGHT he had in college, which was the last time he ended up in jail... "Right, right...it's still a lot to remember, not being able to trust the cops. I mean, they've got guys like you! Hard to believe you're working with guys like that!"

Why can't Arthur just have NORMAL wild college experiences, like dressing up as a cheerleader, or at least something WITHOUT involving arrest? "...Which is all the more reason for caution when one cannot even trust those whose role it is to protect." The comment about him working with guys like that was ignored. Best not to think about the type of person he is.

Well, who's to say he didn't have any of those experiences? But, see, that one particular fraternity prank got kind of out of hand and they had issues with the donkey, not to mention the stolen hubcaps. "Right, right...EXCELLENT point, my good man!"

At least it seemed as though Arthur were becoming more agreeable to this idea of staying quiet. Maybe.

...It's kinda sad when dressing up as cheerleader can be considered normal, just saying. Arthur should just write a book about his time at college. Insta-best seller right there.

Karl's attention fully turns onto Arthur just as they reach the entrance to the mall. "So I trust there won't be a repeat of today's incident?" Please say the correct answer. There is only one. Mr. Undercover Cop would like to hear this one.

"Oh, no way! From now on, I'm carrying around a bottle of water with me at all times, just in case something like that happens again!" Though it wasn't entirely for the reasons Karl was thinking; dehydrating that much just felt really terrible, and Arthur was in no rush to repeat the experience.

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