mayfield_rpg | action; phone (forward dated to Monday!)

Entry tags:

action; phone (forward dated to Monday!)

{ACTION} Mayfield Elementary; before class
[Despite seeing and hearing some things he didn't want to encounter during the trip into the void, Czeslaw has been attending school without missing a day. Dressed in a white shirt with a tie (fixed to be straight by his drone mother) and jacket but missing his usual hat, Czes makes his way on campus, arriving a little bit early.

He bumps shoulders with people sometimes, uttering a small "sorry" whenever he does. But if he sees a face he recognizes, he looks up with the best smile he could plaster on his face.]

Hi... good morning! How's it going?

{ACTION} Stone Street; afternoon
[Czeslaw received something in the mail after coming home from school. It was just an envelope with a card inside, but what's important to Czes is what is dran on the card. It's a two-panel comic, a simple picture of a human with a wound in the first panel; the human's wound is healed in the second. He looks at it for a couple of seconds before he pales and nearly drops it, turning white and running inside the house.]

{PHONE} filtered to Firo Prochainezo
Firo! Hey Firo, can I talk to you?

[First he calls Firo, because this is the guy he was living with back home. First he's got to call Firo and see if he's still alive and around, and tell him what happened. He already tried to see if the mail wasn't joking, and sure enough it was real. The cut on his lip he bit down on it earlier healed in seconds.]

Not over the phone, though -- I can come to to your house or meet you anywhere, but I need to talk to you!

{ACTION} Nelson Street; nighttime
[Czes was also going to try calling Elmer C. Albatross but instead he runs. He remembers that Elmer lived on Nelson Street, so he runs as fast as he can to that street, hoping he'll find the house. But it's the one with the treehouse, right?

He's running so fast he might crash right into a passerby, saying "Sorry!" and hoping he won't get pulled into a conversation.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not all the time!

[He doesn't sound convinced himself, so he adds:]

You know how this place is. I'm just... on guard.

I know. But you're worried about one thing or another back home, too. It's okay.

[Maybe if you get grey you might look older. But Czes doesn't say it because he knows it'll hurt Firo's feelings.]

[He slouches down further.]

Oh, come on... I have work to do when I'm back home.

[Good move, Czes.]

You worry outside of your job anyway. I bet you'll still keep around band-aids or something.

... I mean, it's not a bad thing. It's just... you don't really have to, you know.

[Pouting fiercely now, he stiffens so suddenly that his stool almost tips over.]

I do not-!

[Damn it, Czes, were you looking around in his room?

He looks away and mumbles to himself:]

...And what if I do have to worry? About other stuff.

... Do you really? [Firo he was joking...]

But I'm telling you you don't have to worry so much about me. Okay?

I just said I don't!

[He drums his fingers on the counter as he thinks.]

...I'll worry about you when you need worried about.

...

Thank you, Firo.

[He can believe that Firo's worrying is genuine. He can believe it with all those guys in New York. He just has a hard time believing he deserves it.]

Of course. It's what I'm here for, right?

[He musters a smile now that Czes seems to have (somewhat) accepted his concern.]

You can't go around making someone your reason to be somewhere.

Oh, come on, that's not what I meant! Just that we're family, you know?

[Or at least they will be, going by Firo's timeline, but he likes Czes enough already and the kid probably needs somebody.]

... What if I end up being, like.

A really bad person?

Huh?

[He looks Czes up and down; he just looks like a kid, nothing bad about him.]

You? What would you do to be a bad person?

Because... we live long. Because lots of things happen when you live long.

[He pauses for a long second, but shakes his head and smiles. Kind of nervously.]

I'm joking.

[Czes doesn't seem so amused, but Firo cracks a smile in response anyway. Whatever came over the kid for that moment, maybe it's better forgotten. He reaches over to gently pat Czes's shoulder.]

Right. I can't imagine you ever doin' somethin' that bad. You can't even be more annoyin' than Claire when he was a kid, I bet.

[Even with Czes saying he's a "bad person," Firo assumes he's referring to misbehaving like kids do, despite Czes's maturity.]

[That makes Czeslaw's stomach drop a little, but also makes him feel a little warm inside. It's a complicated feeling. He feels like he's deceiving Firo, and he's scared the secret's going to come out one day, and that Firo will see him as a traitor or a liar and he'll lose his place to be again. But at the same time the trust is nice to have, and he likes the feeling that someone can think he's a good person.]

... Right. Y-yeah.

[His face is a little red and he smiles a little bit more.]

[Firo's not sure what to make of the reddening of Czes's face, but the smile is heartening. Still smiling, he keeps his tone light and teasing.]

I'm glad it was only a joke, but don't say such crazy things next time, okay?

I won't... I promise.

[He's still a little red-faced, and he can't deny it. That put him in a little bit of a better mood. He judges Firo.]

But really you can't judge people by just the way they look, okay!

Good.

[He blinks, then shakes his head quickly.]

I didn't say that just 'cause of how you look! You act like a nice kid, too!

[But mostly because Czes looks like one.]

So? Maiza acts pretty nice all the time too!

[Maiza's Dark Side is not like his own, he knows, but that is the easiest name to throw out.]

Yeah, so what?

[He rarely thinks about Maiza participating in the less savory aspects of their business for that very reason.]

...Look, if he does somethin' to somebody, it's 'cause they deserve it.

Mm, if you say so.

Still, you should be more careful about people Firo, really.

I do. He's a really good guy.

[He knows it's probably not intended as a dig at the Family, since Czes mentioned hanging out with the Alveare crew, so he does his best not to snap at the kid. The juxtaposition of the mention of Maiza and that question almost make shim bristle, though]

What's that supposed to mean? I am careful about the people I need to be careful about. Maiza isn't one of those people.

[What Czeslaw wants to ask is "he's over two centuries old and you're hardly two decades. What do you know?" But Firo looks like he might punch him if he went that far so he decides to keep Maiza out of it this time.]

... They thought they were careful about Szilard.

[Good move by Czes. Insulting Maiza probably would have provoked some sort of physical violence. Bringing up Szilard only makes Firo freeze up and stare at Czes. That wide eyed staring turns into a glare as he slams his fist on the table.]

Don't compare anyone to him!

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]