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 Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:17 pm
Writ was running full speed back to his apartment. He had took a slight detour in Middling to grab a quick pick-me-up at the Wilmot. His parents wouldn't work on a night like this, and Smiling Bob wouldn't recognize him, so it was a perfectly reasonable idea that stuck with his policy of running away from home and staying away from it.
Up until he saw Smiling Bob leave the cafe. It was way too early for closing time. It was a tad unusual, the blockades were making business rough tonight, but he didn't think his parents would tell Bob to close the place down early. Something was definitely up. Bob didn't even bother to turn off the lights. He was about to go inside and finish the job when he caught a glimpse of the storefront window.
Writ froze.
Inside, he saw his birthplace, his childhood memories, his territory-- crawling with Blacksuits.
His first thought was to break the windows down and fling himself at the nearest blackie he could get his paws on, but a swift thought changed his plans to scrambling up the nearest fire escape and dashing towards his apartment. If the Blacksuits knew where his parents lived, they were bound to find out where he lived too!
He was pretty sure his parents would be okay, killing non-player-people wasn't the Blacksuit's MO. They knew Echo was different, they knew Abbot was different, but Writ's parents were just two normal hippies that just happened to give birth to a demigod. The Blacksuits got no grudge against them.
Writ hoped so anyway. Knowing his parents... Well, Writ's dislike of authority figures had to come from somewhere.
He leapt across the rooftops, sometimes shifting his form for the longer jumps, but on two legs or four, he ran.
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:28 pm
Hrrk. His ribs were killing him today. He'd been saddled with some heavier lifting, ironically being the next strongest man next to Rick, who'd been out with a fever that day. Ironic because Rick was twice Valeriu's size, built like a truck, and sometimes carried the youngest member of the workforce around, throwing Valeriu onto his shoulder like a bag of sand.
The magic of being a godling, he supposed. Strength of the jaguar and all that.
Or maybe because the other men were lazy. Valeriu suspected the latter.
Whatever it was, he'd had several hours of lifting to do, straining his old wounds and making his lungs sting from all the dust he was inhaling. The walk back home was not pleasant - sometimes, to bypass the Blacksuits, he had to shimmy up the ladder and out of sight for a few blocks. And that meant jumping, which meant his body hated him even more.
A vicious circle.
He wasn't very far from the blockade when a flash of movement caught his eye, head turning automatically to catch the sight. It could have been some clothes, flapping on a clothesline; or maybe someone chilling on their roof.
Instead, it was a large, large dog, leaping across the long gap between buildings.
"Doggy?" he muttered in bewilderment. Dog. On building. Giant dog--
Giant, giant dog--
He was seated quite firmly atop the highest point of a chimney before he realized it, the fur atop his ears and tail uncomfortably frizzed and a discontented growling echoing through the air.
Damn it all.
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 11:15 pm
Writ stopped and sniffed the air. Someone else was on this rooftop with him. He growled. Writ was a mix of feral instinct and perfectly logical anger. If someone were to ambush him right now, he was going to tear their jugular vein clean off, he was not in the mood for anyone's nonsense right now.
"Doggy?"
The Coyote looked up to see Vale in a very ridiculous position. Writ tilted his head in curiosity, he always figured that the cat/dog rivalry was just a myth. Sure, some of his "friends" (IE: other coyotes) might eat a cat once in a while, but they don't make a habit of it. Writ could vouch for the coyotes around here that most of them preferred their food stiff and unmoving. It didn't seem like Vale knew that. He stepped back and changed into his human form.
"Sorry Vale, thought you were a suit. You alright up there?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 11:28 pm
"Just fine," he answered quite calmly, even as he glared down haughtily. He'd chosen to come up here. It was a personal, life choice, and he was absolutely content to stay up here forever. Writ could just accept this for what it was.
His tail wagged to and fro, and not in the happy way.
"V'here are you going so fast?" His ears lifted curiously, hopping off the chimney to the roof below with a quiet grunt. The jolt did nothing good for his ribs, but at least he landed on his feet. "Animal control on your tail?"
He grinned, somewhat toothily. Even if Quinn and Writ were, well, were like that -- he didn't hold it against Writ in the least.
He just prayed to God Writ would know enough to never, ever bring it up. Unless he wanted Valeriu to will himself out of existence.
Hey, with gods, it could happen.
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 11:48 pm
"Saw the Blacksuits in my parent's cafe." Writ said quickly, "If they know where they work, they might know where I live." He glanced around the skyline anxiously, "Gotta get to Downers to grab my stuff before they try to bust a**." He would've cracked a joke or something, but his mind was focused on planning for those Blacksuits, preoccupied with the what-ifs.
"You wanna come along? Unless you got something better to do. You looked pretty comfortable on that chimney." Writ managed to choke out a little bit of wit.
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 11:55 pm
He scowled at Writ, and hissed for good measure.
"Yeah, I can come help," he answered a little more friendly-like, nodding his head in the direction Writ was running. "You lead the v'ay, I can help carry stuff."
And maybe, maybe, he'd get to punch a Blacksuit along the way.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:19 am
Writ wasn't surprised at Vale's hiss. He got that reaction from all cats that he met. The ones he encountered in his scavenging days weren't the friendliest felines on the block. Usually he'd give them a bark and a scare, but Vale was a friend, and he deserved better than the average tabby.
"Got that out of your system? Good, let's go." Writ smiled, he didn't have a plan, and quite frankly- why the hell did he need one? All he could do right now was look like he was doing. That was one thing he knew he could do well. Anything could happen in the city, it was up to him to figure out what to do with the mess.
Writ jumped to the next rooftop and beckoned Vale, "Try to keep up!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:29 am
He grumbled under his breath. One day, one day - one day he would throw Writ in the Harbor, and give the mutt the bath he so deserved. That'd teach him.
"No problem v'ith that," he challenged right back, leaping nimbly across the roof. "Keep it fast. I don't v'ant to have to shorten my stride," he snipped, though a grin flitted across his face.
To be honest, he missed this sort of thing: verbal contests followed by the occasional headlock. Ever since Ciro had died, he hadn't had anyone to fight with.
Writ would make a good friend, he decided. Not that Valeriu could allow himself any, but...
"Although, by all means, do not push yourself," he added. "I understand - v'ith age, things slow down. Ciro got pretty slow, too." He grinned.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:51 am
"Just don't fall now, we don't want this city to be raining cats!" Writ laughed, leaping onto another rooftop. What more could he do? The anger and the bloodlust will hit when the Blacksuits come. Right now, he was going to enjoy himself. Fireworks exploded in the sky while the MIB desperately tried to herd the rapidly despondent public in the streets.
The city was in chaos, and Writ just laughed. He was in his element and he loved it.
He saw his apartment in the distance, it didn't seem like anyone was there from what he could see.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:09 am
"If I trip you, it v'ill rain dogs instead," he barked back, keeping up with the older player. "And that is a public safety hazard that I v'ish to avoid until you make me very, very annoyed."
He was curious to see what, exactly, the Blacksuits were attempting to do. Whatever it was, it wasn't working. And, quite frankly, it was a killjoy.
He'd like to be their killjoy. It was a particularly vicious thought, but one he had very little qualms with. The government infuriated him like no other. They were callous, and cared nothing for the people. Dictatorial, invaded privacy - Downers was a mess because they hid behind their beloved zones.
"Anyone ever tell you that you laugh like a lunatic?" he asked rhetorically, even as his ribs creaked and another alley passed beneath his feet as his soles pounded pavement and air.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:30 am
"Just enjoying the moment!" Writ caught his balance as he dropped onto a rooftop just a few buildings away from his apartment. He noticed what was happening below. A blockade, right outside his home! A mass of loud and disgruntled Downer-dwellers having their patience tested by a few government goons in their fancy suits. Writ could practically feel the anger simmer in the streets. There was potential there, he just needed a catalyst.
He would need a few things. Writ ran for his apartment building.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:39 am
Downers was a lovely place. And by lovely, he meant it was a hell-hole of despair, poverty, and unwashed bodies. His nose wrinkled.
So kind of Tezcatlipoca to gift him with cat-like senses. So kind. He could've done without the ability to super-smell, by the way. Could've left that one out, really. Hardly used it.
Seriously, take it back.
The people were pretty unhappy as well. He would be too, if he had to wait; and, he was guessing, a lot of their IDs were getting rejected. Because nothing says "no pass" than a fake identity card bought off a scheming dealer.
Following Writ, he wondered how his father had ever grown up in such an area and survived.
"It may just be me, but this particular moment is not very enjoyable. Although the smog blowing against our faces as v'e run is somev'hat refreshing."
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:56 am
Writ more or less ignored the smells around him. Having a keen sense of smell in a city? Didn't quite work out for Writ as Coyote had planned it for him.
"Well, look at them all! They look absolutely pissed right now." Writ said, finally getting to his building. He opened the rooftop door and stomped down the stairs, "I bet all of those guys are rarin' for a chance to give those suits hell. We just need to give them a chance." Writ unlocked his door quickly and ran into his room. He waved Vale in, if the catboy wanted in anyway.
"Don't mind the smell, I'll be out in a minute." Writ said, opening up his kitchen cabinets to find his stashes of fireworks.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:07 am
Curiously, he followed down the steps. Down, down, down - and then he backtracked, fleeing back up halfway at the smell radiating from Writ's door.
Good god. That was more than mold. Something was dead in that room, Valeriu was sure of it. Steeling himself, he slipped through the door.
A mop. He wanted one. A sponge, too, and bleach.
Lots of bleach.
"Got any bleach?" he asked, looking around at the dismal surroundings. Just a few dozen blocks east of here he still had his cleaning supplies at his and Ciro's headquarters. It was still his weekend project, even after all that had happened there.
He could take this abomination under his wing as well.
"Planning to trick them into thinking the agents are shooting into the crowd?" he asked, more than pleased at the thought of a little hell-raising once more once he spied the fireworks. Sure, some of the crowd would flee - but the rest would be furious as all get out.
"Though that might be dangerous, for them," he added on a second thought. The agents might actually shoot, then.
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:51 am
"Nope." Writ said, thumbing through his pantry. He was never in his apartment long enough to give cleaning a thought, when he was in here, he was busy smoking his brains out to even notice the smell.
Writ took out a cherry bomb when Vale gave him a brilliant idea. It was only a moment after he heard it that he thought of a twist to his friend's plan. He went for the fridge.
"You know what? Lets save the big ones for when we actually take those suits on. I bet" Writ said, pulling something out of the fridge, "I can get this crowd fighting with these" He took out a few generic-looking packets of fast food ketchup, in his hands were a cherry bomb, a bottle rocket and some newspaper.
Anyone can light firecrackers and scare people. Lighting fireworks to get people to fight, well- that was an entirely new challenge. He needed to convince the people down below that they had every excuse to sock it to those MIB SOBs. He wrapped the cherry bomb's fuse with newspaper, and secured it with a little duct tape he grabbed from the counter. Writ tossed Vale a lighter, "How good are you in front of people?"
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