oo1: actual intro!

[cursedtolive]

[action - around town in the afternoon]
[There's a small little boy walking around town. A flat cap pulled down over his eyes, and a brown jacket even in the middle of July. His outfit choice looks a couple decades out of date, too, although the clothes are definitely from the right era. Fashion statement?

Seemingly lost in his thoughts, Czeslaw Meyer-Stanfield is not paying much attention to where he is going. He passes by houses, by shops, by people. He might accidentally bump into people, at which point he will blink the surprise away and smile sheepishly, with a natural-sounding]

Oh...! Oh, I'm sorry [mister, or miss]. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going. I didn't mean to run into you. Good afternoon!

[action - 459 Stone Street]
[Nope. Nope. Nope nope nope. He can't handle this family arrangement. His "mother" won't let him hole up in his room, though, so he's sitting in a chair in the corner of the front room watching the door so he'll never be surprised by his "father"'s homecoming.]

Comments

[action]

[cursedtolive]

Miss Ennis? [He smiles. He knew that was going to come up sooner or later.]

She's doing fine! We eat lunch together sometimes, and she's really nice to me.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

She is really nice, isn't she?

[Wait, he probably should't have said that out loud.]

U-um, I mean... That's good that you two get along.

[action]

[cursedtolive]

Yeah. I think she's having fun. She plays with the dominos, too.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

The dominoes?

[Isn't that a kid's game? But if Ennis likes it...]

[action]

[cursedtolive]

Uh-huh. It's something Isaac and Miria started after we got to Manhattan. You pick a design and line up the dominoes to draw a big picture on the floor, then you knock them all over. Everyone's really into it -- even you've been joining in nowadays.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

That sounds like an awful lotta work just to knock it all over.

[In a few years he'll be into that stuff? Everyone will? Firo can't help but a be a bit skeptical. Czes did say his only friends are the Alveare crew, but surely that doesn't include all the Martillos. They have more dignity than that, right?]

What do ya mean by "everybody"?

[action]

[cursedtolive]

Then work on it for over an hour sometimes, and it's all knocked down in seconds. They really like it, though.

And well, it's everyone! They make awfully large, intricate designs so they move around the tables to clear space... Mr. Randy and Pezzo, Ronnie and Mr. Yagu. Maiza likes to make the designs, too.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

Maiza?

[Just when you think you know somebody... Firo runs a hand through his hair as he digests this new information.]

So what about you? You like 'em too?

[action]

[cursedtolive]

Yup, Maiza. He said it's relaxing.

As for me... well, I help sometimes. It's not too bad, I guess.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

Relaxin', huh?

[Well, whatever floats his boat.]

Isaac and Miria think up some pretty weird stuff, don't they? Between the diggin' for gold and the dominoes I gotta wonder where those two'll go next.

[action]

[cursedtolive]

Well, they've got all the time in the world now, don't they?

I get the feeling they haven't even realized it, though.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

They can't be that stupid, can they? I mean, I know they're sorta outta touch, but...

[Firo finds it hard to believe that somebody can just not realize something like that, but if any two people could, it'd be Isaac and Miria.]

Maybe you're right. I guess it wouldn't do much good to try and explain it to 'em, either.

[action]

[cursedtolive]

It's only been a couple years since you and they became immortal, and they're normal people aren't they?

... Er. Compared to you and the Martillos, at least. Maybe they haven't died or gotten hurt yet so they didn't notice!

[Except that one time Isaac's arm bled on Czes' face and he didn't notice. Or that time they fell of the train and got slammed into the ground. But nbd.]

[action]

[justdumbluck]

[He'd protest that, but even he has to admit that he and the Martillos don't lead quite a typical life. Not that Isaac and Miria are too much better in that respect.]

Yeah, they are. They seem to get into some trouble, though.

[From what little he saw, at least.]

[action]

[cursedtolive]

I guess so. Isaac talks a lot about the things they did before.

They're thieves, huh?

[action]

[justdumbluck]

They say they are. I can't really help but find it hard to believe, ya know?

[action]

[cursedtolive]

Well, I don't think gangsters typically crawl about on the floor linin' up and knocking down dominos, either.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

[He frowns. Whether or not Czes meant that as an insult to the Family, he can't let it slip by without comment.]

I'm sure they had some reason for it.

Isaac and Miria just seem a little... odd, don't they?

[action]

[cursedtolive]

"It's fun." That's what they told you when you asked them what they were doing.

You're right, though. Isaac and Miria aren't easy to compare to anything. They're really fun people.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

Oh. Well... I'm sure there was more to it than that.

[They deserve to have fun once in a while, but Firo has to be concerned about their reputations.]

I didn't get to know 'em too well before they left town, but they sure didn't seem like thieves to me. I dunno about "fun," but they're definitely lively.

[action]

[cursedtolive]

I think they're just thieves in their own way. They misunderstand some things a lot. [Train robberies do not mean committing a robbery and escaping on a train, for example. But that worked out very well for Czes.]

... They're a little bit of both. Fun and lively. I owe a lot to them, too.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

[He nods; he can't see them being smart or aware enough to actually get away with a big crime, or even just to pull it off. Like robbing the family of a millionaire. No way.]

Really? Ennis says they helped her out, too.

[He wants to ask Czes why he owes them, but that question might fall under the "future things Firo can't know yet" category.]

[action]

[cursedtolive]

[He smiles.]

Did she? I still don't know everythin' about Miss Ennis since we only met recently.

Isaac and Miria... were very nice to me. They were the ones who helped me become friends with you and Miss Ennis, otherwise I'd only know Maiza.

[action]

[justdumbluck]

She didn't really go into specifics, just said they cheered her up when things were rough. They were the first friends she had.

[He laughs.]

I'm sure Maiza wouldn't have let us ignore you. Still nice that they introduced you, though.

[action]

[cursedtolive]

Yeah, it was nice o' them. [He was introduced as a souvenir, Firo. An adoptable one too...]

... Anyway, how've you been while here, Firo?