#51 - The Bitty Invasion Continues

[inthecenterfold]

Looks like I'm stuck not working until I can use . my weapon again. Guess we better hope things stay quiet - weird, but quiet.

And don't think _ I won't still kick your ass if you try anything.

- Smoke

[Okay that last bit was mostly for Black lol]

Comments

Re: QL - lol

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

Cloud? [Because really, who else in Edenpshere had short white hair that covered one eye and recognized him? He scrambled to his feet and offered a hand to help Cloud up.] Sorry 'bout that.

QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

Yeah. [Cloud accepted the hand, allowing Smoke to help pull him to his feet.] That's ok.

[He glanced over at the stall. The man was watching them in a way that suggested he was thinking about coming after Smoke after all.] C'mon, let's get out of here.

Re: QL

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

Good plan.

[And together they started walking away from the stall. For awhile Smoke didn't say anything, just alternated between aggravated and pouting-quiet looks. However, this was still Cloud, and he was still Smoke. In a game of chicken for who could stay quite the longest, Smoke would lose any day of the week except to someone like Goku.]

Didn't lie. Really can't use my weapon an' it really does suck.

Re: QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

[Cloud wasn't really interested in breaking the silence first--he was a bit preoccupied thinking about all the people who had changed, and most notably the ones who had changed into children. Krile, Smoke, himself... those were the ones he knew about for certain. Of course, the weirdness wasn't over; who knew how many others would find themselves in a smaller form before it stopped?

When Smoke chose to speak, Cloud glanced over.] ...you know, I don't think I knew you had one. [At least, he didn't remember noticing one the times he'd met up with the other man... but then, he'd met him when he was in any condition to notice that kind of thing maybe once.] I can understand not wanting to say that kind of thing over the journals.

Re: QL

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

Well. I have one. It's like a staff. And even if I was stuck like this, if I had my weapon, I would still be able to work.

[Smoke was going to keep pretending like that was the biggest issue at the moment if it killed him.]

Leave it to someone like you to guess, ugh, why is that way too familiar. Read me like a freaking book.

QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

I see.

[Cloud paused for a moment. Knives he could understand, or a gun, or even a sword. But where would you conceal a staff? Or at least carry it so that it wasn't immediately obvious to someone looking at you.

Well, only one way to find out.]

...I've never seen you carrying a staff?

[His voice only rose slightly at the end, leaving it to Smoke to take that as a statement or the question it was, as he saw fit. And since Smoke only seemed comfortable with addressing the issue of his weapon... Cloud would stick to talking about that.]

Re: QL

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

Oh.

[It had been a pretty long time since it'd last occurred to him that his weapon was a strange part of his daily existence in Edensphere.]

Well, normally it just works like this... [Smoke held out his left hand, balled like a fist. He then quickly opened it, palm up.] And it's just there. I can make it go away like that too, whenever I want to.

[He grumbled then and finished his explanation.] Somehow I can never seem to use it when I'm not myself, though. Normal me, anyway, I guess.

QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

...oh.

[Strange, but not as strange as suddenly being in the body of a child. So.]

..that's pretty handy. [Cloud could think of lots of ways it could come in handy, especially if you had your hands full but wanted to carry a weapon anyway.]

Can you do it with other things, too? Or just your weapon?

Re: QL

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

[Smoke looked a little dumb-founded, then stared the ground where they were walking.] I've actually never tried.

... You think I should? I mean, I never even thought about it before. I just saw Kenren do it once and tried it myself.

Re: QL - wrong icon

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

...maybe? I mean, the worst that could happen is you can't do it. But if you can, it would be handy for carrying a lot of things without having to use your hands.

[Cloud hesitated, curious... he'd never heard that name before.] Who's Kenren?

Re: QL - wrong icon

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

I guess you're right... [Smoke took the pack of cigarettes in his left hand and tried to focus on it as they walked, then pulled his fingers in like he did with his weapon. Except nothing happened.] Maybe it won't work no matter what because I'm like this.

[He shoved the pack back in his pocket and stared up as he answered the other question.] Kenren's the name my evil twin used, uh, two years ago or something like that.

Re: QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

Yeah... guess you can try again when you're back to normal. [It made a certain amount of sense that Smoke couldn't do it now, since he couldn't use his weapon. Actually, Cloud was very curious to see how pulling something out of thin air worked...] ...you're going to have to show me how you can do that, once you can again.

[He blinked a little.] ...evil twin? What do you mean? [Sometimes he forgot how long Smoke had really been in Edensphere... from his perspective, the man had shown up long after he had arrived.]

Re: QL

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

Exactly that. [He tapped out a cigarette and put it in his mouth as if it were the most natural move in the world.] Guy who looked exactly like me showed up one day calling himself Kenren & wanted to kill me to prove he was better than the original flavor~ [He said that mockingly, obviously not believing it to be true himself.] Happened to a lot of other people back then too.

Re: QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

[Cloud's gaze rested on the cigarette for a moment, and then he reached for his obi and the bag he had hanging there. The most annoying thing about kimonos, he had decided, was the lack of pockets... but luckily, a pouch fixed that nicely.

It was the work of moments to pull out one of his cigarettes and some matches. Really, things were a bit better organized in the pouch than his pockets usually were. Lighting it and inhaling, he had to suppress a cough briefly. This body wasn't used to the smoke.]

I see... how strange. [He held out the matches a little, offering them wordlessly to Smoke.]

...did he? Kill you? Or...?

Re: QL

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

[Smoke accepted the matches with a nod and went about inhaling, then exhaling, exactly as when he was an adult. Somehow the body didn't seem to protest at all. Then he replaced the cig again.]

Nope.

[He sighed, more breath than smoke that time, as he let the dead match fall to the ground.] Buddy of mine and I faced our twins together. It's hard to explain, but breaking this object it actually killed his twin. Made it pretty easy to promise that I'd never let that happen to the real him, but that still left mine. And also hard to explain - not that I won't, it's just complicated - but he couldn't kill my twin.

[He shoved his hands in his pockets with the pack there too. Then he turned his head to face Cloud directly, eyes serious.] So I did.

Re: QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

[Cloud listened to all that without interrupting, though he was certainly tempted. What object? Was his friend still alive? But he holds his tongue until Smoke finishes.

It's not an unexpected conclusion.

He nods slowly. Kill or be killed, he can understand that... especially since it sounds like the 'evil twins' weren't about to listen to any sort of reason.]

Alright. [He honestly can accept the idea that Smoke has killed someone without flinching. He's not quite sure why... but he's pretty sure that Smoke doesn't go around killing people randomly, so... anyway.] ...I'm guessing your friend isn't here anymore? I am a bit curious about this thing that killed his twin so easily.

Re: QL

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

Nah, Trust hasn't been around for a long time, [Smoke replied with a sigh. It sucked, no doubt about it; Smoke hadn't gotten to say goodbye to him... not that anybody got the chance to say goodbye to anyone, usually, but it was different when he wasn't around for it to happen. In spite of himself, he sounded wearily resigned as he explained all of it.] And if he'd been reborn, wouldn't have taken long to spot him walking the streets. White tiger that walks on two legs and wields a sword kinda stands out. He was the Captain of the Guard before Bastet.

[He removed a hand to pull at the stick in his mouth and exhale again, then replace the cigarette.] Trust had some kinda thing where he couldn't do all of his cool powers unless he was contracted to someone - bonded to 'em. The way his partner told him to do this or that was with a toujinki - little electronic bracelet sorta thing. Made little beeping noises and you had to make symbols in the air with it. [He made some motions, a little sloppier than he used to do when he was Trust's partner, but it was enough to give Cloud an idea.]

Apparently our evil twins had something identical to that, and breaking it killed Trust's twin. I was the one Trust was contracted to, so as a friend and his partner... it was my job to keep that thing safe.

Re: QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

...huh.

[A tiger, really? And... that bond thing...

Cloud doesn't really understand how a 'bond' would allow someone access to their abilities, but it must just be the way things worked for this 'Trust' person.]

I see.

[It felt like a very understated thing to say after all that...] Nnnn... about this bond. Do you think you'd be able to tell if he came back?

Re: QL

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I could tell if he came back... [He looked up at the sky, into the leaves of the tree] But I can feel it every day that he's gone.

[It sounded really pathetic, Smoke knew that, but it was true. There also wasn't really any way to sugar-coat it, nor any reason he felt obligated to. It was Cloud, someone who didn't judge on that sort of thing, and he was in a pretty piss-poor attitude already that day by virtue of being small. He was just very raw. The guilt over losing the toujinki didn't help that.]

Re: QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

[Cloud can understand missing someone like that. It's the same way he misses Pollux, really... he just tries not to think about it. It hurts a little less, that way.

He looked thoughtful for a moment... this discussion was getting kind of depressing.]

...hnnnn. You hungry? I am.

I think it's about lunchtime anyway.

Re: QL

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

[It was understandable for someone like Cloud, having never known Trust let alone what all the contract entailed, to assume that Smoke was being metaphorical. But the truth was that he wasn't. It was an incredibly strong bond that Smoke and Trust had forged; they'd been friends before, but being contracted partners after that... and then when Trust disappeared. It'd hurt like hell when he first escaped the elevator and he realized what'd happened. Now it was a dull ache he lived with, like some people lived with a lost eye.]

I wouldn't mind a snack. I'm supposed to meet Amurui later. [He pulled his hands out of his pockets again to hang them loose] As long as it's someplace that won't give us crap for being ... like this.

Re: QL

[eatenbylight.livejournal.com]

[Unfortunately, Cloud couldn't read Smoke's mind, or really understand how deep the bond had been. If Smoke wanted to explain it further, that was his business... for now, Cloud was only able to assume things based on his own experiences.

He shrugged a little.] We've got money, it's not like we're asking for free food. A lot of people probably know there are more kids than there should be running around--it's been mentioned a few times over the journals.

[And they could always leave, if the restaurant they picked gave them any trouble.]

Re: QL - lol

[inthecenterfold.livejournal.com]

And yet that guy wouldn't let me buy cigs. [He jerked his thumb behind him] But alright. You pick.