Kwik Stop, Wednesday Morning

[nottrivial]

Contrary to what was often the case, Alec was not oblivious to the recent weirdness that had been affecting the island. There were inept mundanes carrying guns. You'd better believe he was paying attention.

In response, he'd been carrying his bow strapped to his back lately and making sure to have a seraph blade or two on him at all times, something he'd gotten out of the habit of since moving here. It wasn't that he was worried about the mundies with guns -- hardly -- but people starting to arm themselves usually coincided with other problems, and Alec didn't want to be caught off-guard, not even when he was just out buying a bottle of water.

It went without saying that he was probably going to be, one way or another.

[[open, expecting one!]]

Comments

[nottrivial]

Alec very gingerly put a hand on Sparkle's upper back, keeping his touch light, ready to withdraw his hand at once if this wasn't allowed.

"You can give me the gun," he offered quietly. Almost soothingly, even. "I'll put it with the Freedom Arms used stock. So you don't have to look at it again."

[myownface]

"Dropped it," Sparkle murmured into Alec's shoulder, which was getting a little soggier, what with Sparks' face mashed into it. "It and like... some... beans or some shit, I dunno. S'on the floor. 'M not going back for it."

Nooo way was he ever going to the Kwik Stop again. Ever.

[nottrivial]

"I'll move it," Alec said, immediately starting to move, without thinking, to pick up the gun from the floor.

What? It couldn't stay there!

...Extracting himself from Sparkle might be challenging, though.

[myownface]

Yeah, the way that Sparkle tightened his grip and made a whimpering sound of protest probably suggested about as much.

"I got it using money I found on the street out of a fucking vending machine," he protested, right into Alec's shoulder. "A five year old could very literally do it themselves and get something meaner. You are not fucking going back in there, Alec. S'not worth it."

Who knew how many more of those things were in the back room? They hadn't come out at the sound of gunfire, but that hardly meant anything. They weren't exactly anything approaching sane. Maybe some other idiot would wander in there unarmed or something and be relieved to find a weapon on the floor.

Yes, Sparkle was going to use hypotheticals in order to help himself sleep easier at night.

[nottrivial]

Alec didn't like that idea at all, but Sparkle did have a point. On the other hand, one of the monsters could probably pick it up, and one of those things holding an automatic weapon was not something he wanted to unleash on the town.

Then a thought struck Alec that stopped him from thinking about that or anything else. He laughed suddenly, surprised. "I think that was the first demon I've killed. If it even was a demon."

Sigh, multiversal mythology diversity.

[myownface]

Alec, you were seriously tempting Sparkle to kick you again.

"What? Back there? You... fucking seriously, Alec? Seriously?"

Okay, no kicking. But Sparkle was going to lean back and stare incredulously all the same. He'd thank Alec to not point out what a mess his makeup was.

[nottrivial]

"Yeah," Alec said. He took advantage of the personal space in order to wipe sweat off of his forehead, because that had needed to happen a while ago, sorry Sparkle. "I've never done that before. It's always Izzy and Jace who get to that part."

He wouldn't normally have told someone else that at all, but this was Sparkle -- Alec trusted him. Trusted him a lot, it turned out.

[myownface]

"Huh." Sparkle never would have guessed. He frowned a little, thoughtfully, and then plastered a grin of his own across his face, shaky though it was. "Well, I guess that makes it a first for both of us, huh?"

It still bothered the hell out of him, but hey, if Sparkle was making his first... possibly demon (he was dubious about the demon part. His brain was insisting there was probably PCP involved or something, though) kill on the same day as a guy who had trained his whole damn life for it, and he managed to do so with slightly less dying than Alec, he could almost consider that a point of pride.

Once he got his head around the 'murder' part.

[nottrivial]

"I guess so," Alec said. He was a little bit shocked. That wasn't likely to go away anytime soon. "Congratulations."

Or something.

"Uh," he said, "this is going to sound stupid since I just, you know, died, but since I normally don't: if you ever don't feel safe walking around, I can walk with you if you want. At least as long as all this is going on."

[myownface]

"I... might even take you up on that," Sparkle admitted, looking down at the twin cans of dog food in his hands. "Pretty sure Homestyle Tender Meaty Bites aren't going to be able to hold off those freaks forever."

But if Sparkle did manage to take out a psycho using reconstituted beef cubes in gravy, he'd probably be thrilled about it.

[nottrivial]

"And you don't want a proper weapon?" Alec checked. "There are melee things at the store you could look through, if you don't like guns."

[myownface]

"I don't want anything that'll let them get close," Sparkle replied, cringing. "I mean... can't hurt to have something in case. Just to be on the safe side. I guess. I was going to just get a baseball bat."

He felt kind of stupid saying that.

"At least I know how to use one of those."

[nottrivial]

"You have to get pretty close to use one of those, though," Alec reminded him gently. "Do you -- oh. What if you tried a bow?"

[myownface]

"A bow is great if I can see them coming, and shit if they come up from behind," Sparkle pointed out. "I keep a bat on-hand just in case, and a bow for if I spot them first, and then I figure I have my bases kinda covered."

Kinda. Right? That's how that worked?

[nottrivial]

Alec seriously evaluated that suggestion before he gave a hesitant nod. "I think you can do that," he said, and it didn't even occur to him that that sounded a little bossy. "You know where to aim for?"

[myownface]

"With the baseball bat? I'd be going straight for the fucking kneecaps and then taking off at a run," Sparkle replied, because it seemed like the saner option than sticking around and trying to bludgeon a lunatic to death with a blunt object.

[nottrivial]

"Okay." Alec nodded. "Good." Some tension drained out of his shoulders now; he hadn't even been aware that he was tense at all. Today had been strange. "And if you... if you want to... if you decide you want to leave town or anything and you need to borrow money for a hotel room or something, I could..."

Stop it, Alec. Stooooop.

[myownface]

"S'fine," Sparkle promised. "If I take off to Baltimore, I've probably got a place."

Which was to say, if, for any reason, Hannibal turned him away at the door? He was still a street kid. He'd cope. He gave Alec a reassuring smile, and then shrugged.

"Either way, let's get out of the street for now, yeah? If they have friends, I don't wanna meet 'em."

[nottrivial]

"Definitely," Alec agreed. He looked up and down the street cautiously, and, when neither his Sensor nor his eyes detected anything unusual, he gestured for Sparkle to follow and started back toward the dorms.

The gesture was probably unnecessary.