Building a family [hella open]

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

 Slobo had been puttering around the ship for an hour, thinking and looking. He quickly found that if you looked hard enough, between W&P and the City itself, you could find anything. In the end, he was standing outside a Courtyard by Marriott hotel about a click outside of "Escherville" with spraypaint and a very large block of stone. At first he had thought about the Vatican, but it was too wrecked from the zombie fight. Plus, this place had an indoor pool. He spraypainted a large message on the wall next to the door, red with black outline.

"OUTSIDERS
COMMUNITY SERVICE
FIELD TRAINING

PEER COUNSELING" 

 

On the sandwich board tucked near the door, he wrote "12-21? Info and Tryouts inside" and left it out in front. Now, he took his large rock into the lobby and began carving. And waited.
 

 

 

Comments

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

Slobo looked up at the dragon.

"Yo. How can I help ya?" Slobo said nonchalantly.

[thekohakuriver.livejournal.com]

Haku leapt off the roof in a streaming flow transforming as he touched the ground, standing before Slobo as a facsimile of a human. He studied the graffiti, since he'd been invited and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"What are you doing?" he replied, with derision.

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

"Basically? Makin' a supergroup. It's my way o' lendin' a hand ta the ship." He wasn't sure what this dragon-kid was, but that was certainly one neat trick.

"Basically, ya get a bunch o' gifted peeps together, give 'em rooms, let 'em hang out, and train with them. When the crew needs help they can count on, that's us."

[thekohakuriver.livejournal.com]

Haku tilted his head thoughtfully through this explanation, still frowning. The humans in this place were so strange. Take this boy, for example— his coloring made him look like some twisted version of a grave-spirit or a corpse, but he smelled too much like a mortal to be anything else.

"I meant, to the wall," he drawled, "Who are you?"

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

"Oh, the wall? Just lettin' everyone know where we are, so they can find us." Slobo looked at Haku, contemplating the question. "I'm a Czarnian, I guess. Or a clone o' one, anyway."

[thekohakuriver.livejournal.com]

"It smells of poison," Haku muttered, reaching out to touch the still-wet paint with two fingertips. He glared at the mark on his fingers as if it had personally insulted him by being there, then shifted his eyes up to Slobo.

"I've never heard of your kind," and it was almost an apology, "What is your name?"

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

"Slobo. Also called the Top Teen. Don't feel bad about not hearin' about my race, they were wiped off the map long before our universe kicked the bucket." This kid was definitely interesting. He reminded Slo' a bit of Reddy in the way he talked. "What's yer name?"

[thekohakuriver.livejournal.com]

Haku opened his mouth to give the name he still thought of himself, the one Yubaba had forced on him, 'Haku.' But he hesitated. No, that wasn't his name, not anymore. He remembered now.

"I am the Kohaku River's god," He said, which was as simply as true name could be translated, "I'm also called Kohaku, by a friend."

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

"Huh. God. Nice resume." Slobo said, slightly impressed. "Well, mind if I just call ya 'Kohaku' till I figure out somethin' even shorter than that? I ain't big on too much formality..."

[thekohakuriver.livejournal.com]

"Do they not have rivers where you live?" he snorted, turning away. He didn't care about what Slobo used as his name, so long as he could remember it's proper form. After all it isn't what you're called that matters most, it's what you answer to, "I was once called Haku, if that's not to complex for you."

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

"We got rivers, and gods, just not river gods. And gods... well, most of 'em are on a first name basis with people where I'm from." He nodded. "Haku sounds good, saves time. So, Haku... Whatta river gods do where yer from?"

[thekohakuriver.livejournal.com]

"We bring the rains, and guard the waters as the flow to the sea," He explained, with a detached callousness, "Depending on the river, there are other duties, to feed the marshes, or to purify mortals bring to us. If they fall in, we're allowed to eat them, drown them, do whatever we want."

Not that he'd done such a thing in nearly a century, but it was always a temptation. Like newts, humans smelled terrible when alive, but were tasty when roasted.

"What is it you do?"

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

"Generally? I fight, frag, find, and fix." Slobo said, slightly beaming. "I'd like ta think I'm the best there is at all of 'em. Right now, and fer a bit, though, I've been playin' hero. It kinda... suits me in a weird way." He shrugged.

"Guess goody-goodies just rub off on ya if yer around 'em long enough."

[thekohakuriver.livejournal.com]

"You're right," He had to smile at that, thinking about how Chihiro's courage had inspired the same in him, "And now you're advertising yourself as an 'outsider'?"

Perhaps this Slobo was worth more time. Even the rough-voiced Lin had proven a good ally and friend in the end, despite her inconsistencies. This boy could prove the same.

"It's a name that has power."

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

"Well, I'm all fer savin' the multiverse, but I ain't ever been good at followin' orders, so I wanted ta stay seperate from the crew. On top o' that, if ya ain't seen it yet, the crew couldn't agree on the color o' water if ya plopped a glass in front of all of 'em." He laughed a little. "It seems ta me, the best way to help the crew is ta stay outside them and their arguments, and be ready ta lend a hand if they need it. I figure others might feel the same way. It's been workin' pretty good all day."

[thekohakuriver.livejournal.com]

Like a bunch of frogs, arguing over who got the choicest cut from a meal that had already fallen in the mud. Maybe it was something that was true, for all groups of people who must work together.

"The water within is poisoned," Haku decided, and gave Slobo a curt nod, "If it were not regularly purified, it could make you sick."

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

"Uh, then... Feel free ta do yer thing?" Slobo shrugged. "I ain't easy ta make sick, but others here may seriously appreciate that. The pool's inside... big room... Go fer it?" He had no idea if Haku was joining or not. But gods are always better on your side, in his experiences.

[thekohakuriver.livejournal.com]

"Hm," Hakur nodded solemnly, then offered Slobo a polite bow, "I'll be there, if you need me."