savetheearth | [Mission 3 - Nuisance] Action

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[Mission 3 - Nuisance] Action - open / Text later

[Action around Locke City]

It wasn't until recently that Anthony finally gained an understanding for exactly how destructive, and annoying, the strange little monsters infesting the city were. Sure, he'd caught the news here and there and watched the network, but from a distance it didn't seem so bad. That was right up until his hoodie was set on fire while he was sitting on a curb taking a break. The heat and flash of flame were noticed quickly enough that Anthony was able to pat it out before it caused more than a singe, but even so the threat was clear enough. Now that he was back on the street for the time being, suddenly everything was more dangerous that ever before. Exactly what he wanted to deal with right now.

He jumped up, spotting the tiny lighter as it fled into the bushes. Foolishly Tony gave chase, intent to stomp out the animate lighter before it could cause more harm and of course blundered directly into the now burning bush. He gave a shout of surprise and pain, hopping away as he was singed and lightly burned. The fire spread quickly in the still-dry plant, too fast for him to reasonably attempt to put it out. Someone was just going to have to call the fire department or bring an extinguisher, because he certainly did not have any way of doing either of those things at the moment. Besides, as soon as he spotted that lighter moving off again he was after it like a dog on a scent.

Once a threat was established and an 'enemy' detected, something clicked over in his mind that Anthony just couldn't quite turn off. A level of focused aggression that was almost frightening when he wasn't in its thrall. The opportunity for a fight became the most thrilling thing he could imagine, even if only against a lighter that was mostly harmless until it caught something on fire. Eventually he was really going to need to learn how to control himself.

Unfortunately for him self control was the furthest thing from his mind, so as he gave chase again, this time over park benches, rails, and even out in the road completely blind to traffic. Eventually he lost sight of the lighter, but worked up as he was he was quick to go after any further nuisances he encountered. A mob of toothpicks, the occasional pencil erasing crosswalks, running away from exploding Altoids. You name it!

[OOC: Basically feel free to bump into Tony (or nearly run him over) at any point in his adventure against madness! IDK I am so bad at open posts please help yourselves.]

[Text:]

Is it just me, or are these things getting worse? First lighters, then toothpicks and magical pencils? This is getting out of hand. Anyone got any tips for dealing with these things. A repellent, maybe?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

L shuffled by, without a thank you or even a nod of acknowledgment, but by the time they came to the counter and L was digging through his coat pockets for some cash, it was probably pretty obvious why the door had posed a problem. Though his index fingers and thumbs seemed to move and bend normally, the rest of his fingers were stiff, atrophied, and seemed to be in the way more than anything else.

He gave his coffee order quickly and quietly, noticeably asking for a great deal of sugar, before glancing aside at Anthony and waiting for him while he carefully peeled a $100 dollar bill away from a rubber-banded roll of them and placed it on the counter.

A little rude, but whatever, Tony wasn't the sensitive sort by any means and someone having lax manners wasn't going to get to him any time soon. Besides, again, free coffee. Can't complain about that! Although it definitely became clear why L had waited for Tony to get the door, though to his credit he managed to only cast a quick curious glance and not stare.

Yes sugary coffee, good. The kid certainly didn't have a taste for black and also ordered some kind of ridiculously sugary concoction that sounded delicious.

When all else failed, L knew better than anyone that money talked, and could win over people when charm and good manners were nowhere to be found. He accepted his change, stuffing it clumsily back into his pocket.

He made his way over to a table, fingers finding a paper napkin and beginning to methodically tear it into strips as he waited for the coffee to be brought to their table and for Tony to join him.

Money, or in this case a delicious sugary treat after a lot of running around like a lunatic. Goodness knew Anthony could use the energy and calorie boost after all of that fruitlessly chasing lighters around.

Tony followed, then fussed around with his chair until he found a comfortable compromise with being able to watch L and having his back to a wall so that he could more easily watch the rest of the coffee shop as well. The teenager was wary anyway, and everything going on with this numbered business had only served to make him more so. Something told him it was only going to get worse with time.

"So..." Yeah, total master of conversation, this one. Maybe he'll just leave it up to L and his awkward questions instead, that was easier to deal with than trying to lead a conversation himself.

It was behavior that L recognized, having cultivated an appreciation for good angles and nearby mirrors for the sake of being aware of what was going on around him. L considered telling Tony to relax, but then decided that he somewhat liked the young man's vigilance, and left it alone.

L tilted his head, blinking, expression slipping into something blank and vaguely unimpressed when Tony started a sentence and simply trailed off without saying anything.

"Are you worried this looks like a date? Don't be. It doesn't look like a date, because it isn't."

Sometimes, saying something was in fact monumentally more awkward than saying nothing at all.

Their coffee arrived, set before them by a cheerful barista who left them, swiftly and blithely, to their continued awkwardness.

Tony blinked at L owlishly, somewhat taken aback by that statement. What even?

"Uh, well I wasn't until you said that. What."

Sometimes silence definitely is better, now he was just going to sit there and make confused faces for a little bit. L please. He did manage to thank the barista before she escaped leaving them to the most awkward statement in the world.

"Why would I think this is a date?" It actually wasn't a date, right? Because Tony didn't remember singing up for a date. He didn't remember signing up for a lot of things though, so who even knows anymore.

The barista shot a quick, grateful smile over her shoulder at Tony's thanks.

"No reason..." L said. "Just... forget I said anything. I don't always read others well and I just want to make sure you realize that there aren't any expectations or anything. Not like that."

"Oh..." He mulled that over for a moment or two, drumming his fingers idly on the table before giving a nonchalant shrug. "Don't worry about it. But thanks for clearing it up anyway," Even if it didn't need to be said in this case. At least, Anthony hadn't assumed that there would be stipulations to this.

"Anyway, I get the feeling you weren't done with our little chat out on the curb. Yeah?"

"Yeah... that is, if you still feel like talking," L said, after the worst of the awkwardness had faded somewhat. "I don't want to pry or make you uncomfortable, but I do want to know more about you. Where did you grow up?"

"I could a little longer, you did keep me from getting hit by a car," For now. He may not be so lucky later on if his aggression kicks in again, but that's nothing to worry about at the moment. "If you ask something I don't wanna answer, I won't." Easy as that. He wasn't obligated to answer L's questions after all. "I've been wandering around for a long time, but I used to live further up north, closer to New York. Settled in Locke a few years back. Dunno why I decided to stick around, just kinda felt like I needed to. You know?"

"OK," L agreed, easily enough. The terms were fair. "Just as long as you don't feel any pressure."

He leaned forward to take a sip of his coffee, seeming to prefer keeping the cup close to the tabletop since his odd finger situation prevented him from lifting it very steadily or very far.

"You wandered, before? What kinds of places, and when was the first time you came to Locke? You said your first echo was nine years ago... were you here visiting?"

"Don't sweat it, I'm not exactly the let people push me around type." He'll only tolerate so long as he's still okay with answering, otherwise he'll stop. Easy enough.

Tony was curious about the fingers, but he figured it'd be rude to ask. Arthritis, maybe? Or an injury? Either way it was impossible to miss.

"My parents used to visit here once in a while, I forget why exactly. And just other cities for the most part, hitch-hiked my way around for a while. Well, in between foster homes." Which he ran away from. Frequently. "And yeah, they were here doing whatever it was that they did and were dropping me off at a sort of weekend camp thing."

"Even if you were, I'm probably not up to the challenge," L answered with a pale smile. Indeed, he didn't look like he could push around a mildly errant toddler, much less a determined young adult, even if he wanted to.

"If you don't mind... what ended up happening to your parents?"

True, he did look rather frail. Not that Tony would try to test that theory, he wasn't the violent type by nature (or at least wasn't until recently) and L really didn't pose any threat to him. It wasn't often he met someone he could confidently say he could overpower, being rather small himself.

At that question he grew quieter, distant for a moment while he played with his coffee cup uncomfortably. That was... probably one question he wasn't completely comfortable with answering, but it was harmless enough. And expected, given his situation. "They're dead. Truck took them out as they were backing out of the driveway onto the highway. That's when I got my first echo." Suffice it to say it wasn't exactly the best experience.

Though L looked creepy and said some creepy things, Tony's instincts were good in that regard. Nothing about him was remotely threatening, and if he caused any kind of concern or worry to well up in others, it was for his sake and not theirs.

He listened intently as Tony related the death of his parents, dark eyes casting downward toward the tabletop. "I see," he answered, it being one of the only vaguely appropriate ones. "There are a lot of orphans getting echoes, aren't there? I guess you could talk to some of the other ones who have lost their parents..." he trailed off, looking mildly troubled before clearing his throat. "I imagine that if you started seeing monsters after that point a lot of people might attribute it to the stress and trauma of that experience."

Tony's unusual world perspective made L perhaps a little less creepy than he was to most. The homeless were often largely comprised of the less than sane, and of those that were they sometimes just had very poor social skills. He was used to it, it didn't bother him so much as long as he wasn't directly threatening. So far he hadn't been, maybe a little nosy, but that wasn't anything to get worked up over.

"Not really into the group therapy thing, but thanks," He meant the thanks even if it came out terribly dry and sarcastic. Anthony wasn't looking for sympathy or pity, but it was nice having someone to listen that didn't automatically think he was crazy. "Exactly. That's what they kept telling me. I was imagining it, just having delusions caused by stress, that kind of thing. Trying to put me on drugs that made me feel like I wasn't really there or just put me to sleep. Anything to get me to shut up, I guess."

If the dry sarcasm affected or bothered L, he didn't indicate as much, expression remaining neutral to the point of being almost blank as Anthony explained further.

"Were you ever in a hospital?"

It was good he wasn't bothered by it, as that was the only language Anthony spoke fluently. Especially when he was discussing a fairly uncomfortable topic, even if it wasn't bothering him at the time.

"Nah, I'd been to a therapist a time or two. More of the same bullshit, stress-related delusions and all that. They talked about it once or twice but never forced the issue, I wasn't violent or uncontrollable. I just talked about monsters." He gave a vague shrug. That was one nice thing, he didn't want to go to a hospital, as far as he was concerned he wasn't ill and hadn't been imagining it.

And maybe he was right, sometimes he still wasn't sure.

"It's good that they never forced the issue, at least... but it's also where the gaps in the timeline become more noticeable. Did you have family that cared for you after the death of your parents, and if so, where are they now?"

"Gaps?" What is this, an interview? You sure are a strange guy. "Nah, at least not as far as I knew. If there were any they probably didn't want to take on a runt they didn't know a damn thing about. Got shoved around between foster homes back and forth until I got fed up."

L was a strange guy, and he knew it, based on the slightly self-conscious way he glanced sideways at Tony's tone. Sometimes he asked things that were too invasive or inappropriate, but the unspoken agreement seemed to be that Tony was free to speak, or not... and L was free to ask.

"How old were you at that point, when you were 'fed up?' That is to say... I suppose, how long have you been homeless?"

L was edging on it, but Tony hadn't stopped talking and he wasn't afraid to stop the conversation as soon as it got to the point of being too uncomfortable.

"I'd been running away on and off for a while, but I guess I was 14 when I finally stuck to it. So it's been what... three years? Somewhere around there."

He tried to look as nonchalant as possible but it was clear he was still a little uncomfortable with the topic at hand. "You know, if you plan on writing a book about this I want in on the profits."

"Sorry. I'm just trying to make conversation..." L mumbled. "And no, you're wrong... if I wanted to write a book, you'd want no part in it. I'm a lousy author."

"Don't sweat it," Anthony was uncomfortable, but not bothered. There was a very important distinction between the two. Besides, he was kind of interested in telling his story, he just didn't really expect it to be to L or today. Maybe he should have had a day to prepare or something.

No that wouldn't have helped. "You say that, but I see a lot of lousy books get published. Besides, you couldn't write worse than that awful romance novel, right?"

"I say that because it's really true in my case. Before I started getting echoes, I tried to publish a novel I'd been working on since I left school. It got rejected 17 times. I've edited it so much I don't even remember what it was about when I started it."

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[Action!] sorry about my slow lately

[Action!] Don't even be sorry it is that time of year

[Action!] Man is it ever. Springtime slows XD

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