Novus Coeptus @novuscoeptus - Tumblr Blog

Welcome to the Family // The Detective: Alternate

bastardbabysitter‌:

These daily emails were something they shared and treasured. Between them both they’d gotten rather close, even if only through talking about work and computers. It was nice.. for both of them.

For Yubiwa he had a helpful voice of reason to talk him through the nuances of computers. For the other.. it was the only companionship he had. And it was clear. This email was like many of the others.

[To: ███████████████@█████████.com] [From: [email protected]] [Subject: Urgent! Read immediately!] [Message: Is your refrigerator running? Then you should go catch it! Kidding~ I saw there’s a new update for windows don’t forget to let that happen! Keep up to date! Also dont be alarmed if it just shuts off to reboot the update it’ll do that. Stupid i know but no worries its fine you didnt break it. Hows work going though? anything fun? Are you keeping up with the work load? -Dot ]

He signed this way on help forums, so it mad sense to just stick with this name.. he had plenty others.. anything but his real name online.

“Pff, like we have a working fridge in the building,” he scoffed. Like a drag from a cigarette, Yubiwa took a long sip from his coffee and sighed contently before setting his cup aside. His lunch consisted of some beef and veggies he had made prior that had some seasoning and a small bin of rice. Grabbing a fork, he dug in for a couple of bites before turning his attention to the computer. Doing as he had been told, he rested his fingers along the home keys to begin typing back his email.

[To: [email protected]] [From: [email protected]] [Subject: Steve Wonder to the Rescue] [Message: Gah! I just missed it! Dang those tricky appliances...]

“Hm? A Windows update? Again… Ugh.. It better not be like Windows .. what is it..? Are we on 11 now?” Yubiwa murmured as he looked over his computer and sure enough, in the background was something about an update. He’d delay that for the time being until he finished his email with Dot. He didn’t know much about the kid except for the fact that he was a kid and he did all kinds of things with technology, which often left him in a bit of a loner situation. Dot felt like he was a bit of an introvert though he had a fun personality that Yubiwa found refreshing. His job sounded interesting, but Yubiwa didn’t press on it too much given that Dot always got a little tight-lipped about it. As for Yubiwa’s work, it was similar to police work, so it wasn’t anything he felt that he needed to be so secretive about until it got a little peculiar.

[Well, being on the field is fun. The job really keeps you active and the training bit is fun too, they’ve increased it due to some issues a while back. It’s a bit difficult, but I’ve managed to keep up with the older guys. And now I’m just stuck at my desk with piles of paperwork at my side. It always takes me the longest. I’ll be here for… too long. I’ll be here for way too long, I imagine. What about you? How have you been? It’s been a while! -Yubiwa]

He didn’t much care if the other knew his name, people had these things called ‘personas’ but that seemed like too much trouble for him. Yubiwa couldn’t use his work email since that included private and classified information within its records so he used his personal. After all, it was after hours and nobody would be needing him for a while. If they did, they’d probably come crashing in and yelling at him.

#Welcome to the Family #bastardbabysitter #The Detective; Alternate

bastardbabysitter

“Fire In the Rain” [deathdealsat198pergallon]

novuscoeptus

bastardbabysitter‌:

The air between them felt cold. His own curiosity had piques with the others dismayed face in response to seeing him. He came close to ignoring him, but something prickled.. a sense of fear in the other. What was thee to fear? Him? Or did he know something.

“What kind of idiot goes around grabbing strangers arms?” He watched Mori closely his eyes crisp and clear.. mind sharp.. focused, “Sides if you were concerned about being taken you shoulda screamed or something– You let me. So then why is that?”

He leaned up in the others face, “How do you know me?”

…

He had him there. But the last thing that was on Mori’s mind was that the guy was going to up and forget him, just like that.

There was still a chance that this was a different person, he had the same face but his personality was completely different. Not at all like the mutt that kept creeping around when he hung out at the gas station.

His eyes were completely different, though Mori didn’t see Kindred’s very often… They were sharper, not dopey-- and came off more icey than the blonde’s more doeful blue--.

This was ridiculous. He shouldn’t even be interfering in the first place.

Then why was this bothering him so much?!

Ducking a bit as the other leaned in close, he narrowed his eyes at the other before looking away.

“I own a gas station not too far from here, near the school and residential district… You happened to come by often… Too often… Nearly every day and bug me for hours on end.”

What was probably the most uncomfortable thing about this was: Mori didn’t really know all that much about Kindred “Mendax.”

“Then one day you didn’t. Then a couple days. Then about a week… After, I stopped keeping track. When I saw you today…”

What did he want? To say, ‘What the heck? Where have you been?’ It wasn’t like he was worried--the guy was grown enough to take care of himself. Clearly, he did, judging by the hotel. Because it was annoying to messed with? Like kids playing ding dong ditch? So he got mad and.. Chased him? Ah.. This was looking weird. He didn’t know how to finish his thought.

#Fire in the Rain #bastardbabysitter #tbt #Mori Akuto #Mori Akuto; Threads

Nuts and Bolts Build a Bridge // The Dragoness

@cosmicxcauldron

“Nope… not here...nothing...nope….nata...no? Really??”

The drawer closed with a slam, having been one of the many that Drew had gone through, grumbling all the while in her search for her bolts to which she could not find any. Had they really gone all that quickly? Well, she was growing, but at this point, this was ridiculous. She was told these years would be difficult but she didn’t imagine it would be nearly impossible like her teenage years had been.

With a sigh, she conceited defeat and grabbed her phone with her left hand, searching for the nearest garage she could go to for supplies, she might as well stock up while she was there, making a list of things she had observed she was running out of.

Slinging her bag over herself, she stepped out of her father’s garage and pulled down the door, the defense systems kicking in with a glow along its lower border once it hit the ground.

A shop was nearby, one that she didn’t quite know off the top of her head, but she hadn’t visited any junkyards so she couldn’t make any supplies. It wasn’t all that busy and after nodding to the greeting, she set to the shelves to look for what she needed, shuffling through the items with her left hand, usually the nondominant.

Her right arm was in a bit of a malfunction at the moment after it had splintered, so she had made a sling for it for the time being. At first glance, it was a normal arm in a normal sling—upon closer inspection, the arm was made of metal, glimmering in orange and silver if one didn’t focus on the broken segments around the elbow. And the sling was not of normal cloth but was a fabric that glimmered and seemed to emit from the arm it was holding, tied at the girl’s shoulder. A tough fabric that was difficult to burn, tear, or wear down.

Otherwise, a completely normal customer.

#Nuts and Bolts Build a Bridge #The Dragoness #The Dragoness; Threads #cosmicxcauldron #here come the mech princesses

Out of the Shadows // The Beast Tamer

@cosmicxcauldron

The day had gone by relatively normal, customer flow had come in and come out with the usual census… Perhaps there had been one problem person, but it had resolved without too much of a hitch. And so the day went on… It went on quietly, peacefully, meaningless time just ticking away as the afternoon continued.

Scritch scritch.

Calm day. Peaceful afternoon.

Scritch scritch.

...Coming from the door?

Scritch scritch… click.

The handle moved, shaking until the door swung open and a hound slipped through into the lounge-like area. It stood out along the door with its gray fur as it stepped inside, sniffing along the floor and along the door frame. Multiple snouts, multiple feet stepping into the building and out—like a ghostly apparition, it appeared to be several canines in one place. It stepped out into the lounge, sniffing around, a yip in the back of its throat to alert the owner. It came out like a ghostly hiccup, several overlaying the other as it walked around the lounge.

It perked up when it caught attention and with three whooshing tails, it made its way back to the door—the ghostly apparition falling silent as it lowered its jaw. With three to four separate jaws, it reached down behind the door, its teeth clicking shut three times before it seemed to grab onto whatever it was reaching for.

Once it had hold, it began dragging the dark form into the lounge. At first, it appeared like a body, but it was hard to recognize. It looked more like a small blob than anything, the dog dragging it across the floor, the body looking like it had sucked into the floor. But the red hair and the patterned scarf was unmistakable; like a drowning victim, his body looked like it had sunken through the floor, his legs shadows underneath the surface of the floor.

His cane and suitcase fell to the side with a clatter, three blooming flowers looking to have been hanging onto his shoulder went back to their position and kept the case locked, twisting vines around the latches. It appeared the only thing keeping him from falling completely through the floor was the interdimensional hound.

#Out of the Shadows #The Beast Tamer: Threads #cosmicxcauldron #boy down! i repeat! boy is down!!

deathdealsat198pergallon

Order in the Court: Death on Trial!

novuscoeptus

cosmicxcauldron‌:

Why was he even the lawyer in this case? He felt nothing towards this guy, so why should he even be here?

…but the guy seemed to have no one else, and so he talked to the detective, running through his usual dialogue. Who’s the victim, why is my client the suspect, murder weapon, autopsy and how can I investigate things further.

What do you mean he used a scythe, probably.

Is this dude the grim reaper?!

However what he never, truly expected was his client to show up next to him, asking what he was looking at.

“E-Eh?! Wha…..what?!” ‘Who’s the victim? What do you mean by that buddy you’re the one who killed him!!’

But he can’t bring attention to this guy. He’s the accused! Why the fuck was he here?! Phoenix will grab the other and bring him to the side. And then hiss at this man, hoping attention doesn’t come to them.

“Are you crazy?? What the hell are you doing here?? You’re gonna get more charges piled on to you for being here!! Go back!”

Having arisen as a rather concerning client, who had no affiliated family and no emergency contacts—it was not all too unusual, things like that did happen around the office from time to time though they were usually without a home and without a paycheck, but this guy had both. Owner of a modest gas station and convenience store with an upstairs apartment, yet he had no one.

Though, yes, what was most peculiar was his running out and about and—how did he even get out?!

Mori was dragged off by the other, limply following along and staring at the lawyer who seemed quite panicked and did not answer any of his questions, rather, seemed to throw many back his way.

“Because I was bored,” he answered.

Looking back at the yellow tape around the park, he was eager to find out what had happened and how he had been caught in consequence.

“I can’t find out anything in there, so I’ll tag along for the time being. And don’t worry, nobody will notice I’m here.”

If he willed it, he would remain unseen by any mortal eye. Though with strong perception would be able to which… This man seemed quite keen, he had obviously been exposed in the past to such oddities and there was a...smell to him, Mori couldn’t quite point it out, perhaps it was something on the man’s person. Or perhaps a person around him. Nevertheless, he wasn’t going back.

“What is your name?”

#Order in the Court: Death on Trial!#cosmicxcauldron #tbt #huuussshhhh your icons are awesome~#Mori Akuto #Mori Akuto: Threads

novuscoeptus

Another Face on the Wanted Poster // The Surgeon

novuscoeptus

bastardbabysitter‌:

“mnn..” He stirs slowly his eyes hazy with exhaustion, blinking once.. twice.. slowly waking enough to look to Oro in a sleepy state. He stares a bit as he puts the sequence of events back together again and groggily rubs his head, sitting up.

“You’re serious about this…?” He murmurs wondering if he can actually trust this. The vague uncertainty prickling at his mind but.. weirdly enough looking at Oro he couldn’t really feel as though this man would poison or hurt him. At this point it was maybe his own biast principle that let him be that naive. But even so he’d address that elephant head on, “ya know if you were gonna kill me this’d be the way to do it. drug me, poison.. bash my head in my sleep–” Or maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. Even so he held his hand up to accept the medicine that was brought to him. “at this point might be the better way to go out..”

“Oh, Gavino…” Oro started off softly, brushing his free hand underneath the other’s chin. “If I wanted to kill you, I would be a bit more creative about it~.” His tone took to be a bit sickly sweet, but the smirk that touched his face afterward signaled he was kidding…. Right? Patting the other’s face, he handed over the medicine into the officer’s waiting hands and waited until he took them before handing over the glass of water as well.

It was in a small cup that he had found, there were nearly four to five tablets in that cup of medicine from things like cold prevention, and vitamins to make sure that Gavin’s system would be working full tandem into knocking out whatever was ailing him. It was the only thing Oro could do at this point when the other insisted upon continuing to go to work.

“Now stick out your tongue, aaaaaah.” Oro demonstrated a common thing he did with his usual patients—well, years ago. Often children. And the elderly. Just to make sure they weren’t jipping him. “Heh, he used to always pocket them in his cheek, stupid..”

Somehow, the trait reminded him a bit of a home, his features softening with the memory, but who was him?

“Now, get to bed. And yes, I mean the bed. No back talk or I will wrestle you to the mattress and make sure Beo doesn’t let you get out.” Oro shooed him to lie down properly and set aside the tray, he would take it up later once he found a blanket for himself upstairs.

#Another Face on the Wanted Poster #bastardbabysitter #The Surgeon #The Surgeon: Threads

bastardbabysitter

Guest 01: Lihen & Bela

novuscoeptus

bastardbabysitter‌:

“Whatever it’s not like it really matters in the end–” He grumbled and went off to the store and pulled Lihen in with him going up to the counter (likely cutting off the line ahead–) “He’d like to pay for his candy so if you’d hurry up we can leave–” He was not in a great mood for all this nonsense.

His expression had become rather surly, Lihen doubted that he could handle the male at his worst when he could barely tolerate him at his best. His moods rolled like a rollercoaster and Lihen had never been too good with those… To keep from upsetting him further, he kept quiet as he was lead/dragged back to the sweets shop where the owners were looking none too happy at the expense they were having to deal with today.

They knew him well enough; quiet kid, good with the children in the store if they needed help reaching things from high places or asking about certain candies, they thought once or twice about hiring him on, but Lord forbid if a parent or someone around his age started talking to him then he withdrew like a turtle into its shell. This kind of company seemed odd, but they were holding hands so it must have been fine.

The behavior, however, was not.

Lihen imagined that if they were upset with him before for taking off with the very loud blonde and with a bundle of candy, they were going to be none the more when Sylas just cut them right in front of the line.

Keeping his protests in his throat, he instead focused on paying for the candy, apologizing to the sour-faced owner and getting his wallet out of his bag with some difficulty due to Sylas’ grip on him. It wasn’t till he was swiping with the glittery card that he realized if he was given enough slack, could he manage to worm his way out of this?

Much to the dismay of the people behind him, he took his time paying, trying to see if the other’s growing boredom might lead to some carelessness. After he wrote off his signature and grabbed the candy to put it away into his bag, he tried to wiggle away from the crowds into somewhere less crowded, somewhere less Blonde and Loud--.

#Guest 01: Lihen & Bela #bastardbabysitter #The Twins #The Twins: Thread

blueeyedorihara-deactivated2017

The Case of the Body Swappers: Rubi Yubiwa

novuscoeptus

bastardbabysitter‌:

“….. Good morning to you too…” Was it being a smartass…? Or was this just how it socialized. Azami watched the bird a bit, frowning. Maybe she just wasn’t that bright, “Well at least you’re a pretty bird..” He rolled another ball looking around at the various toys that he could play with, where were those cups anyhow.

“Well if you’re not gonna talk I guess I’ll talk for both of us.” He pulled the cups over, his hands feeling heavy but slowly getting a bit of strength back. He still wasn’t sure what happened. “I can’t say I’ve ever talked to a bird before this. My only encounters with birds are usually the ones that steal things from my balcony… I’m better with like.. cats.. or dogs.. My cousin has a dog, big fellow.. German Shepard. Very reliable, smart.. doesn’t talk though. So I suppose you got a leg up on him in that regards.”

He watched the bird teeter about softly smiling as he hugged his knees watching her at play. Was fine to just sit back right, she was scared of him still.. and he wasn’t keen on being bitten. “Honestly.. this whole time.. as messy as its been.. its been really nice.. isn’t that strange.. All the grief and stress.. is it selfish of me to be happy?” He trailed his fingers over the floor, his mind trailing over the events, “I’ve never had someone look after be like that before… Though im not really sure what happened.. It makes me kind of sad.. I think I’m going to miss this..”

He fell quiet. It was not the first time he’d confessed his thoughts to the bird. He’d talked when Rubi had gone to bed, the sound of distress something he simply blacked out.. his room was set up in a way the sound didn’t escape much anyhow.. It was just something he knew to be proactive about. The bird was good for venting out thoughts.. maybe that’s why Rubi grew fond of her? though she had her own charm too.. she was rather cute.. something he found never changed even now that he was back.

Ah speaking of changing back. He moved his hands back and pulled up his phone. Youch, the battery was barely hanging on. Vira had likely shifted to power saver. He clicked over the keys, several messages, various things from stores he subscribed to.. junk mail.. one from work, just checking in on him. they assumed he was still sick. He’d planned this well at least. He’d shoot back a small message thanking them for their concern. He’d come into work on monday… hopefully.. That would be the aim at least.. For now he would be off until.. wait.. was it friday..?

Angel waddled about, taking wide steps and swaying as she walked around her toys as if trying to decide which one to play with. Her black beak picked up the ball with the bell inside and shook so it rang while the other talked—rude. Letting it go, she tilted her head and raised herself up to watch it roll away, tinkling all the while like a fairy trying to escape—.

It couldn’t be made sure that she understood anything of what Azami was saying—wait, scratch that, how could an animal understand what a human was saying—it was an animal. But in some instances, it did appear that Angel argued with Rubi about some things, especially when they were around in their apartment, going about their daily lives and she wanted to do something, he didn’t want her to do it, and she didn’t much care for his attitude—getting off track. While she may not have understood what exactly Azami was saying to her, it was like she could hear the tone in his voice for she perked up, raising herself to her full height as she watched the other withdraw into himself in thought, spiraling down into those same thoughts that had happened before the incident on the train…

Then she lowered herself to the floor and sidestepped over to him. Not suddenly. But one at a time, as if she was watching to see how the raven would react. When he didn’t, she would advance, closer and closer. When she was at his feet, she reached forward with her beak to nibble at his pant leg then withdrew. Seeing if he would do anything. When that too yielded no results, she scooted closer again and sat on top of his foot. Her feathers raised, fluffing until she was a perfect round ball and sat there, eyes closing.

Was she… supposed to be comforting him? It looked more like she was trying to nap, more than anything. Her feathers were up to, was she bothered by something? Never the less, if having a cat was bad then having a bird was worse, how did one move now???

#The Case of the Body Swappers: Rubi Yubiwa #bastardbabysitter #The Detective #The Detective: Threads

Welcome to the Family // The Detective: Alternate

bastardbabysitter

It was unlike any place he had ever been to, stepping a foot out onto the crackling forest ground, a young man stepped out of his vehicle and surveyed the area. The trees were as tall as skyscrapers and the air was hot, humid, sticking to his skin in seconds just being under the hot waves of the sun and in the moist air. And while he had been outdoors several times, it had never been quite like this.

Not just a forest, but a swamp; the trees, the ground, the branches, everything was in a hue of brown instead of the rich greens that he was used to seeing when going out or camping. Birds didn’t chirp, but he could hear heavy caws in the trees above yet he didn’t see a single feathery body from his vantage point.

Gripping the car door, he slammed it close and looked towards the dirt path that would lead him deeper into the area, glistening in the midday sun as if beckoning to come and trek on its surface…

--Approximately a week earlier--

Another day in the hustle and the bustle of the office, Yubiwa Rubi was going about the most menial of tasks on what could be considered one of the more...slower days he’s had since joining the STPD. While he was good on the field, he was a little… slow when it came to reports so there were often times where he would be away on the field for a while… Only to be kept at the office until he had finished filing away his reports and finished writing off any incidents, charting, and reports that needed to be properly formed and filled.

All on the computer too, so it… to be fair, it took a while. Not completely incompetent, he was a bit slow when it came to computers, he’d rather write it all down--it felt so much quicker that way.

Yubiwa was preparing for what was going to, inevitably, be a long time sitting at his desk and staring at the screen so he grabbed his lunch from the breakroom, filled his coffee cup to the brim with only a touch of sugar to overpower what was….the crappiest of coffee’s and made his way to his desk, settling his bowl of food down along with his cup, noticing on the bottom bar of his desktop, one of the icons was blinking.

An email!

Some time back, he had made acquaintances with a child who was a natural when it came to technology and had given him plenty of pointers while also--ridiculing him for his subpar knowledge. But at least he wasn’t ignorant enough to not know the value of technology in this day and age… It had become a friendship of sorts--though they did most of their talking through emails, course, Yubiwa had more than one reason to keep in contact with his newfound penpal.

Though, it had been a while.

Wonder what he was up to now.

#Welcome to the Family #bastardbabysitter #The Detective: Alternate

amonsterofbeauty

𝓝𝓸𝓿𝓲𝓬𝒆𝓼

novuscoeptus

amonsterofbeauty:

←~∋(｡◝,‿,◜｡)o━━∈ Once again disguised Zhào was looking very unlike himself, and today he wasn’t all that impressed by it either. The short, layed ear to chin, soft tassels of blonde hair, and hazel contacts made him look even more pale.

However, he did enjoy wearing a type of perfume that drove all the supernatural in the room crazy annoyed: because it interfered with their smelling abilities. Of course this was a double edged sword as he too was hindered. But, today he was about stealth, and information only. ←~∋

❝ As you wish sir. May I take your empty glass, if you are done with it. ❞ 🦇 They replied back, thankfully always a step ahead.

There had been a number of reasons they had waited for this moment to interact with the other boy. The first the dogs were no longer guarding their master, and one had given an opening by leaving their empty drink by the younger’s side.

Hopefully, the boy wasn’t attached to it. They were being watched after all, and it would be just enough to seem suspicious if he simple handed the note over normally. ←~∋

The butler persisted and as Colt looked to the glass that had been set down by his company, he realized that he would have to pick it up. Surely it’d be fine. Paulo taught him how to be careful to leave his presence as scarce as possible and thus he lifted it by the rim and handed it over to the person working. Partial fingerprints were useless to the host of the party and anyone else who was interested in him. Admittedly, he didn’t think that that the other was trying to get him to reveal himself somehow but Paulo had been insistent on being careful and considering that he was attending the party for his guard once again, he needed to follow all the rules that came along with it.

“My apologies, yes. Here you are.”

Looking at the other properly, he could have sworn he had known him.. But perhaps he was just used to that sort of thing, after all, he didn’t think that there was anyone that looked like him back at his school was there? But.. Something.. Something about this person… Maybe it was the way his hair frayed around his face or how the color of his locks and the hue of his eyes just didn’t seem to quite match.. He scoffed at himself, surely he knew better to judge someone based on that. After all, he wasn’t one to talk..

#𝓝𝓸𝓿𝓲𝓬𝒆𝓼 #The Underdog #The Underdog; Threads #amonsterofbeauty

aestheticly-my-life

#The Shaman Heir #The Shaman Heir; Musings

rp-meme-glaceon

Check my muse's inventory!

Send “Open”+a muse to see a list of their items.

Send “check”+an item to see a description of it.

#Tricks and Giggles; Memes for Mischief #Be sure to specify which muse!

novuscoeptus

The Best of Pen Pals // The Amazon

novuscoeptus

bastardbabysitter:

[Mizutan] Today at 1:05 p.m You just want an excuse to slack off.

[Mizutan] Today at 1:05 p.m Don’t be lazy.

[Mizutan] Today at 1:05 p.m You’re not a child.

[Mizutan] Today at 1:05 p.m Grow up.

Mio listened to the other spur off a bunch of grumbles and complaints, finding it rather amusing that they were so upset about lazyness. what a hard worker.

[Mizutan] Today at 1:07 p.m and since you asked his name is poki, and if i let him out for a walk i’d never see him again so no thanks.

[ShiroiMe] Today at 1:08 p.m You sound like my brother he is very work focused too.

[ShiroiMe] Today at 1:08 p.m I have a dog myself. Axel the German Shepard. Big mama’s boy. Very Snuggly.

This was kinda fun~

[JessePrice] Today at 1:09 p.m.

Hey! I’ve worked hard! This is my day off, I’m supposed to slack!

She puffed out of her cheeks and wondered if she should order dessert, the thought sounded like it would be delicious but was it really necessary? The comments from Mizutan made her want to think otherwise, she did have a bit of homework but it wasn’t like she was going to blow it off. Just.. not get to it until later? Sometime when she had been typing, they had started talking about pets. So Mizutan had a cat and ShiroiMei had a dog, that sounded adorable~. She debated talking about her own pet; was it normal for city folk to have pet.. pigs?

She went ahead and ordered a slice of pie, just finishing off the last of her salad while she looked at the chatroom with pondering eyes.

[JessePrice] Today at 1:13 p.m

Too cute! I have a little cutie too named Teacup!

Did cats have a tendency to run off? She could see it from a dog but she didn’t quite understand how a cat could run off, don’t they usually find their way back? It was nice to see more activity in the chatroom, especially with ShiroiMei, the name didn’t sound familiar at first, were they here often? She didn’t immediately recognize them.

#The Best of Pen Pals #The Amazon #The Amazon; Threads #bastardbabysitter

King of the Trash Heap //The Underdog

@lontanodacasa

“Ha? So what?”

The young voice cut through the afternoon silence ironically like a knife through goat cheese.. It had been peaceful and tranquil as they headed down the familiar streets to the market where Colt Ray worked. The bored tone held no qualms about his bodyguard’s concerns but not lenience when it came to consideration. He was bundled up to his chin in layers, wrapped in his favorite parka to protect himself against the cold breeze that pushed against the two of them. Paulo, his closest while not consensually, bodyguard always walked just half a step behind him and always seemed to be fretting. The image that often stuck in the high schoolers head was something of a chicken running about worrying about its chicks, clucking the entire time and counting and recounting to make sure each of its hatchlings was amongst it. Hilarious considering that his companion was quite large in nature, toned and trained in many arts that Colt couldn’t pronounce the names of with an expansive knowledge of weapons that he had only seen in video games. His soft platinum blonde hair stood out uncharacteristically against his dark skin and in the sleeveless shirt he wore today, the lightest of tattoos could be seen standing out across his shoulders and upper arms.

While Colt accepted his role as being guarded, he didn’t welcome anything else that came with Paulo’s job; to prepare him to become the head of the mafia that his grandfather now ran. And yet again today, there was another subjected to his usual paranoia.

“He has been hanging around the coffee shop, Rei-don..”

“Yeah, customers tend to do that.”

What a bother.. It wasn’t that big of a deal when people often did that. Revisit the shops they like and for those like food and drink shops, visit every day. Though their prices were a bit.. pricey, it was a surprise to see him come back so much considering that the first time Colt had seen him, the man had been slumped against the door after what he could only assume was the aftermath of a heavy night on the town during the weekend.. That was the thing about crime stricken towns like the one he lived in, all the gangs here knew just how to party, had the best clubs around, and well… let’s say drug and alcohol and gentleman's joints seemed to outnumber the schools, libraries and community service buildings..

“This isn’t like any other interaction.. You should take caution around him..”

“You worry too much.. Maybe while you’re waiting in the park over there, you can take a lap or two. You need to work off all that unnecessary stress.”

Colt chided to the man surely his elder but with the two of them together, it was hard to figure out just who was more senior than the other, the way Paulo so often bowed his head when he spoke out of turn signaled that there was more to their relationship to what could be seen. And it was even more bothersome.

“My shift will be over in four hours.. I’ll see you then.”

The boy stopped just outside the shop to give his guard a sharp look before disappearing inside. He waved to the people at the counter and headed to the back to change into his uniform. It wasn’t much.. His school uniform already required that he wear slacks and so when he came to work, he was already half dressed but his shirt uniform had to be changed out for the stiff white button up that his manager had ordered for him along with the green apron he half wrapped around his waist, never one to wrap it around his neck like he was supposed to. The blonde tended to be clean, so he wasn’t chastised all that often, he buttoned his shirt all the way to the second and left it as such, straightening his collar instead. He pulled his sleeves up to his elbows, neatly folding them and cleaned up his hair in the murky mirror and went to go straight to work. Already, he had some cups that needed to be taken to tables along with a few cakes, so he picked up the tray and went to go deliver them, apologizing to each customer for the wait, one after the other until he came upon the last table and set the cup down.

“Excuse me, sorry for the wai… for the wait.”

Paulo’s nagging interrupted him. Not in person but in his head, as he stared at the person seated there; the same one that he had helped upon that morning, having gotten him a cup of coffee and started on his day instead of hanging out half passed out on the front door of the coffee shop. Paulo had said he had been coming by the café more, but he didn’t think much of it. It was a coffee shop. This was normal. He commanded in his mind to the Paulo in the corner of his mind and he managed to bow his head and fold the tray against his side.

“If you need anything more, please let me know.”

The usual line of script. Everyone else had excused him, he just needed to go back to the counter, get ready to take the register from his coworker—He just needed to step away.

#King of the Trash Heap #The Underdog #The Underdog; Threads #lontanodacasa