09 - Security, Home and Otherwise

[imjustpicky]

[Action A - 7132 Brooks Street, Morning - Backdated to May 15th]

[Mother's Day came and Mother's Day went, and Picky was just as effected as any other little boy in town was. And having a drone for a mother didn't dissuade him from showing his love and affection. He had gotten up early and managed to make her toast and (only slightly over-browned) scrambled eggs for breakfast in bed. He made her a card. He did every chore she asked him to do. And he felt good the entire while that he did it. It felt right to be a good son. And the praise... even if it was drone-praise, empty words and empty smiles... it was the best.

Waking up the morning that it was all over was... kind of awful. First it hit him that all those feelings had been fake.

Then it hit him that he didn't really have a mom here. Or anywhere.

Then he sort of felt like he had to throw up.

His blankets were tossed aside and he made a bare-footed dash out of his bedroom and down the hall. Bathroom, he had to make it to the bathroom... If anything was different in the house this morning, he hadn't realized it yet.]

[Action B - Around Town - Backdated to May 15th]

[This is one kid that is skipping school today. If it's bad to do... well, so what? What did it matter? It didn't, not in this dumb town. Maybe he had his backpack and his school stuff with him, but he wasn't going to actually use any of it!

Well, maybe his history notebook. History was a pretty dumb class, here, and he had a lot of extra pages in it. Pages he could draw on. Draw cool things on, like... like his plan for the best home safety system thing ever. If Engie could do it, and Pokey could build things, then... then someday, he'd do that too! He'd just have to get the plans ready.

So maybe he's sitting in the park. Or at a booth in the diner. Or on the sidewalk in front of one of the stores. Or somewhere on your front lawn. He's got a pencil, an eraser, and a look of intense concentration. If you were to peer over his shoulder, you'd see something more or less like this:]



[Give or take a few traps in the yard. Or canon-looking things. Maybe art isn't his best class... but enthusiasm and creativity is what really matters, right?]

Comments

[ceasetoexist]

[There you are. Pokey's made sure to at least check in with you at school, and when he didn't see you there today he was kind of worried. Don't mention the fact that Pokey usually skips class pretty shortly after he checks up on you.

Still, instead of calling you out Picky he'll just come up and look over your shoulder to see what you're drawing.]

....

It needs more canons.

[imjustpicky]

[He's startled when Pokey comes up behind him, oh yeah. And he pulls the notebook to himself, trying to hide the drawing. It's Pokey! What if he makes fun?!

...oh. He's not making fun.]

...yeah. Yeah!

[He relaxes and lets the notebook flop back to his lap.]

I... I bet I can put more hanging under the roof!

[ceasetoexist]

You know what we should do?

[Pokey taps the page of the notebook as he looks at it. Specifically, he taps some of the grass Picky has drawn.]

We should put some that spring out of the ground and surprise any intruders for close range fire.

B.

[birdinfro]

[Sazh is doing what he tends to do during the day, which is to take a walk around the park. It sure is nice out today.. Hm? He recognizes the kid on the park bench and walks up to him, standing near him for a moment before clearing his throat.]

Shouldn't you be in school? [He has his arms crossed and he's assumed the dad tone of voice, but should Picky look at him, Sazh doesn't seem to look too concerned. Education is important, but hookey isn't going to kill anyone...Once in a while.]

[imjustpicky]

Huh? [His head snaps up, startled, but any fear or worry leaves him when he sees who it is. It's that nice guy from before!]

Uh... [He's trying not to smile too much, having been called on not being where he should be. So he bites the inside of his cheek and looks away and mumbles.] Didn't wanna go t'day...

[birdinfro]

[Sazh misses the suppressed smile and actually sounds a bit concerned. Picky seems like a nice kid so he draws the worst parental conclusion as to why the kid's not in school.] No one's picking on you, are they?

[To ruin the seriousness though, there's a peeping from Sazh's fro and the baby cocobo pops it's head out. Sazh is talking with someone and it wants to see what's going on.]

7132 Brooks

[wrench_and_ruffles]

[With how alike all the Mayfield houses look, it took Kaylee a moment to realize she's the one somewhere new. Even after coming across Picky.]

Oh... hi there!

[imjustpicky]

[Nope. Didn't quite make it to the bathroom. And running into some completely new lady on the way isn't helping to keep his stomach stable. But at least he's not barfing quite yet.]

You... you...

[He weaves, he looks left, he looks right, and then he stares at her, actually brushing the hair from his eyes to get a better look.]

Who're you?!

[wrench_and_ruffles]

[Okay, he's not acting new, but that's not either of the drone children. Is this the right house?]

I'm Kaylee... this ain't 730 Anderson, is it?

B

[beetlemania]

[Ted wonders what the kid's doing out of school, but he sees the kid's deep in thought. Ted's kind of curious to see what it is he's working on, so he'll walk up behind Picky and take a look over his shoulder. He can't help but smile at the childish drawing...and here in Mayfield, the cannons and traps probably aren't a bad idea.]

Not bad, kid.

[imjustpicky]

[It took intense concentration to put little extra details on the canons and cameras... and to letter everything and remember how to spell it right, too. So he didn't realize he had someone spying over his shoulder until the guy spoke up.]

Aah!

[He almost dropped his pencil! Almost. It was caught, and he turned halfway around to see who had commented.]

Th.. Thanks?

[No one he knew... but he didn't seem bad. Probably.]

action B

[theboywiththebook]

[Henry was a good kid for his first day going to the elementary school. But having a drone teach you and be completely upbeat, sunshine and lollipops to the point of frightening kind of makes you want to take a day off. Besides skipping school was nothing new to him. He did it a lot since Emma got to Storybrooke.

Henry however in his wandering finds a boy possibly his age in the park drawing. Peering over his shoulder Henry stares at what he's doing.]

What are you doing?

[imjustpicky]

[A kid was less startling than an adult. Picky jolted a bit, but there was no pencil-tossing or shouting. He was quick to hold his notebook closer, though.]

Drawing stuff.

B

[ghostlygames]

What are you drawing?

Re: B

[imjustpicky]

Mindy! [That was actually a face he was really happy to see. And though there was an instant of an attempt to hide the notebook, when he really thought about it.. yeah, he wanted to show her.]

I'm making plans to make my house really safe! See?

B

[queen_of_swords]

[On her way to work she spots the familiar kid, hard at work on something. She approaches and takes a look.]

Not a bad idea, just try not to make your traps too obvious. You should probably also invest in better doors.

[imjustpicky]

[Hey! It's that really tough lady! Where did he remember her from, again? Sometime in the winter, right...?]

Yeah, they've gotta be hidden! I'll put fake grass on them!

...what kind of doors are better?

B ; Action

[balzams]

[As Latvia catches him sitting on the pavement he hovers over his shoulder for a bit]

You should probably add a few snipers on the roof too.

[imjustpicky]

Eh?!

[Again with someone surprising him! It had to stop being so surprising, eventually... but hey! Raivis! So he was smiling when he turned his head around to look up at him.]

Snipers? Like... gun turret things, too? Yeah! I should!

[derp_detective]

[Gumshoe is walking from work during his lunch break when he notices a kid sitting around drawing. Not that he thinks that's too much of a big deal, but it's a weekday...]

...Um hey, is there a school holiday today or something?

[imjustpicky]

Huh?

[He glances up from his art, sees that it's a pretty adultish looking adult doing the asking, and immediately looks guilty.]

Uh... no....

[snacklist]

[Al wasn't exactly skipping school, he was just incredibly late and hurrying when he tripped over this unexpected obstacle in his rush.]

O-Oh! Are you okay?

[Poor little thing. He bends down, look of worry at his brow.]

Shouldn't you be in school?

[imjustpicky]

Aaaah!

[Getting tripped over hurts! It sends Picky half-sprawling, knocking his notebook and his pencil from his hands. He's already trying not to make a fuss and not get all teary when the guy that tripped over him calls out to him.]

I'm... I'm okay. I'm okay!

[He sniffles and rubs at his back, and picks his work back up slowly.]

...I took the day off.

B

[sheneighnigans]

[Another boy is skipping school today. Because, let's face it: school is the worst thing ever. And definitely not something that a young troll needs to suffer through any more than necessary.

Heading down the street with his hands glumly in his pockets, Equius spots Picky and recognizes at once that the boy is concentrating hard on whatever it is that he's drawing. Manners overflowing, he makes his way over to see what he's doing, observing the sketch with deep scrutiny before he grunts.]

...Your draft has potential, but lacks focus.

[imjustpicky]

[With this much observing over his shoulder, Picky actually had the idea that someone was watching him. But he was working really hard in putting some details in on the new pit traps. Robot crocodiles were hard to draw.

He turns his head upwards and makes an uncertain noise when the older boy finally speaks.]

...Lacks focus?