It's broad daylight when you hear the laugh. Light. Airy... Mocking.
Leaning against an old, sunbleached wall, is Weiss. An unlit cigarette between his fingers, a single blue eye locked onto you. Half amusement, half appraisal, like he's measuring how many bullets you're carrying... or how many rings he could lift.
"You lost, sweetheart?" His voice is a warm, teasing lilt.
The kind of tone that doesn't say whether he's about to point you towards safety, or trouble.
Your gut already knows the answer.
Do you risk it?
Wick jumped as he turned around and saw a strange blue haired man staring him down. He was on his way to his next concert, confident he wouldn't take long to get there. He was quite wrong, and it had taken him nearly 2 hours to walk to the venue.
The small red haired robot was lost for words before he sighed in defeat.
" ...yes.... "
Weiss' previous expression of playful curiosity shifted to something downright giddy, though, he did reign back the urge to tease Wick for his unfortunate situation.
"Hah! You got lost, all the way out here, in the wastes?" Weiss was practically vibrating with energy, "Alright alright, alright. You tryin' to get to the city for a gig? Or did someone think it'd be funny to have a Wasteland Show all the way out here?"
"I could help you..." The glint in Weiss' eye told Wick that any help would likely come at a price, though how steep or short depends entirely on how Weiss is feeling.
" You...could? " Wick replied, looking skeptical about the offer.
" To answer your question, yes, because I figured I would not need to walk very far....clearly I was wrong. What do you...wish for me to do for your help then? And...please do not call me childish names.... "
He said that last part poutily, covering his irritated, yet embarassed look on his face with his hand.
"Yeah, of course I could" Weiss echoed, leaning back on his heels, "For a price, of course. What, you think help out here comes free?"
Weiss laughed, swaying slightly, "Naw, I'm polite, but I ain't generous, hon-" Weiss cut himself off, "Got it, got it. No pet names for you."
"You got a name I can call you, then?"
The robot glared at Weiss as he was about to nickname him again before sighing in relief.
" ...Wick. Now what price are you looking for, exactly? I had better keep my mechanisms intact... "
Weiss let out a hum, "Wick, eh?" he flashed a grin, his teeth catching the light.
"Well, Wick, how 'bout this, you tell me what you have of value, and I decide if it's worth the trouble of showing you where you wanna go?"
" What do you mean of-...I suppose I did receive quite a hefty pay from my last gig....not that it means much. I am a self-employed musician, after all...what is YOUR name, anyway? Why must I trust YOU?
Weiss' grin was downright devilish, dramatically bowing, though his eyes did not leave Wick, "How rude of me, I didn't introduce myself? Weiss- As for why you should trust me?" Weiss stood up tall, opening his arms and motioning to the wastes around the two of them, "You could always trust the vultures or scrappers instead! I'm sure you'd fetch a pretty price on the market... mind, I'm not offering you protection, that's more my girl's thing..."
Weiss brushed invisible dust off of his shoulder, still grinning, before adding, "How much do you charge for admissions to your show?"
" Perhaps I must charge extra for the likes of you... " Wick muttered. " Weiss...you do have a point....I have been given bad looks by multiple people here...you are the only one who has not tried to intimidate me, " he said, as if he didn't feel intimated previously. Which he did.
" The most you have done is...admittedly be quite condescending. " He covered his face again, a little embarassed. " But I suppose we can get along for now. And my tickets are not free, for the record. "
"Intimidation? Also my girl's thing" Weiss couldn't keep from giggling, his sharp toothed grin catching in the light. He did not comment on being called condescending. Whether it be because he knew full well of how he was coming off, or didn't care, was unclear.
"Fantastic! Your tickets aren't free, and neither are my services! You let me into your show, and I take you to actually perform in it! No creds, eddies, or other form of payment necessary," he leaned in, adding, "besides, money's pretty much useless to me."
Weiss stood up straight, and then held out a hand to shake, "Deal?"
Wick stared at the hand before shaking it, the concern not leaving his eyescreen, quickly retracting the hand seconds after shaking it.
" Do lead the way, my..." friend ". "
"Fan-tas-tic!" Weiss rolled his shoulders, dug into his pocket, and then gleefully led Wick to the other side of the wall- where there was a car. It looked like an old muscle-car from the outside, but you could see a glimpse of clean plush once he opened the door. He made no move to open the door on the passenger side for you.
Once you get a better look inside the car itself, you can see it is a thing of pure indulgence. Windows tinted near black, fairy lights lining the ceiling, a little stuffed doll of someone with blonde hair and red eyes hanging on the mirror instead of dice- you get the feeling the backseat can be turned into something much like a bed. Blankets and pillows were haphazardly thrown around back there, but the front seat was clear- granted, it was also pushed far back, as if whoever sits there is quite tall.
Weiss did not wait for you to buckle his seatbelt before he was ripping out of there towards where he estimated your show to be.
Wick slowly immersed himself into the muscle car with the surprisingly poignant and decorated interior. He crouched just a little to get a seat, choosing the one next to the front seat, which had been pushed way too far back to find a comfortable position.
" Do give me some time to rearrAAAAAAA- "
In an instant, the car blasted forward and down the street, Wick clinging to the nearby seatbelt for dear life that he was going to click on before Weiss slammed the gas. He prayed to himself that this trip wouldn't be his last.
" S-slow DOOOOOOOOOOOWN!!!! " he yelled, his red LED eyes in a panicked stated.
Weiss did not, in fact, slow down. He did start laughing, though.
"No can do, Wick! You got a show to get to, and I got a show to see!" His grin was far too at ease with how fast the car was driving, "'siiiiides, we'll be fine! I've never crashed... this car."
He laughed again, pulling out a pack of gum that was slightly crumpled, and pushing out a stick towards Wick, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Gum?"
" W-what do you mean you have not crashed THIS car?! " he yelled as he managed to buckle up right as they hit a speed bump. If he hadn't, there was a good chance he'd bonk his head hard on the roof.
He stared at the gum and pushed his hand away. " I am not capable of eating or drinkiiiiiing!!!! "
Weiss swerved, barely dodging what could have been a cactus or perhaps the old carcass of a car. Hard to tell at this speed. The stick of gum that he offered Wick went into his mouth when rejected.
"A shame-- gum's not easy to come by out here!" Weiss laughed again, a musical sound that conflicted with the sound of road dirt slamming against the metal of his car.
Thankfully, whatever road god Weiss prayed to, did get you to the site of your show, without so much as a scratch. Weiss seemed very proud of himself over this fact.
Wick was busy recollecting himself after his head had inevitably banged against the car window after the hard swerve away from...whatever it was that Weiss was trying to avoid. He turned his head slowly and was able to make out that he had in fact reached his destination once his vision stopped glitching and warping.
" You better not have dented me, " he remarked as he pushed loose strands of hair from his face before he stepped out of the car, not giving one look at Weiss as he approached the venue. Looks like he was NOT having it.
Weiss followed Wick out, hands in his pockets and posture loose, comfortable.
"Awhh, but then you could pretend you're like..." Weiss waved his free hand in the air, as if searching for the thought he had lost, "Copper Behemoth, or whatever!"
...He was definitely talking about 'The Iron Giant'.
"I 'on't see any dents, for the record," Weiss' eyes softened for a moment, something more genuine-- more vulnerable-- flashing for a moment, before vanishing, "What kinda music do you make anyways? Prolly should'a asked earlier..."
" ...stop following me... " Wick muttered quietly, not looking at Weiss.
" Mainly electronic pop, like that of Porter Robinson, 1980s synth-pop, and, the erm, what is their name, Owl House? Owl Town? Close enough... "
The two were walking towards the venue's backstage, Wick's " many " fans waiting outside. It wasn't a desolate venue, but it certainly wasn't packed, either. Those who were there, however, certainly looked dedicated, wearing all of Wick's merchandise, from his shirts to special flags and banners to even dressing up as Wick in a sort of interesting cosplay. Wick looked at these people and waved, which made a few of the fans squeal in delight, but he only did so because some of them looked familiar, or even from different countries. When you're a pop star, you can certainly have the most dedicated fans in the world.
Wick could feel a slight headache coming on, but decided it wasn't much to worry about (he did in fact have a dent higher up on his head, thankfully invisible to the naked eye behind his head of hair.
As he stood outside the green room, he looked back at Weiss. " ....thank you, I suppose, for your time...you can leave now... " He said the last part quietly before he looked at the door and realized something.
" Looks like the security guard is late... " he grumbled to himself.
