wing_attack | IC; Pokegear Contact Post

"Uh. It's Tobias. Leave a message."

... You're a stranger. I... I'm not supposed to have strangers over. ... But this is a stranger's house...

[He's... not sure what to do.]

...Why don't you ask one of your animals there if I'm trustworthy? Some of them know me.

[From the battle when Tobias kicked his ass, if nothing else.]

[... He doesn't know these animals, but if they're smart enough to understand things...]

[He looks off-screen to Rachel. She seems... nice. There's also a really big bird there.]

Is he okay?

[There's a grunt and a squawk, and he looks back at the screen, biting his lip for a moment before nodding.]

O... okay. But if you hurt me, I'll yell.

Scout's honor, I'm just here to help. I'll bring food. Are you hungry? What's your favorite?

You... you're too old to be a scout. I think.

[And... favorite food? He looks genuinely puzzled.]

I... I like. Um. Pasta. Like those... um. The cheesy stuffed pasta kind? I don't remember what they're... called.

[He tenses up a little, hunching his shoulders as if he's trying to disappear into his shirt.]

B-but they're expensive! S... so don't bother. I... I'll eat whatever...

[Because he is hungry and he doesn't want to eat a stranger's food, but he doesn't have money so it's either risk being kidnapped and poisoned or whatever or die of starvation.]

[Actually, York is no kind of scout, unless being an infiltration agent in Special Ops counts as being a scout of sorts, BUT.]

Cheesy, stuffed...you mean tortellini or the big shells? Or, oh, what are the other ones. The ones that're like big tubes? Man, it's right on the tip of my tongue...

[In the meantime, he walks into his kitchen to check what they've got in hand. He and Carolina are no gourmets, but North runs a good ship, here.]

Tortellini I think. I don't... know Italian. I think it's Italian. B... but I don't want to be a bother...

Hey, it's okay. I don't know Italian either.

[Deliberate misinterpretation, the finest bastion for the horrified-but-friendly. Leapin' lizards, what happened to this kid?

There's the sound of a freezer opening, and--]

Aha! Okay, awesome, Carolina musta bought the frozen kind for us. Uh, is it okay if some of them are green? You know, the type where the pasta part's all spinach-y. I remember what my kid brother was like about veggies.

[Actually, Benjy was perfectly fine with veggies, but he wants poor Tobias to have as many choices as possible. As much control over his situation as York can provide him.]

Th... that's fine. Like I said, I'll eat whatever. Like the school lunches... they're really bad sometimes, but they're... free.

[Thank you low income school lunch program.]

Well, I'm pretty sure our tortellini's a little better than cafeteria fare.

[He rummages around a little more, and--]

You got a kitchen, where you are right now?

Y... yeah. I saw it... before. I'm in the... the den I guess?

Great. I'll bring some other things, too, then. Fruit and bread and ice cream. ...You allergic to peanut butter?

[There's a rustle as he grabs a plastic shopping bag and starts throwing stuff in.]

Y-you don't have to do all that! B... but I'm not allergic to anything... I think...

Well, you're worried about it being a stranger's house, right? I wanna make sure you have food you don't have to be nervous about eating.

On that note, you mind if I cook the tortellini at your place? That way you know it just came right out of the package, no funny business.

... Yeah. Yeah, okay. That's... that's okay.

All right. I'll be over in five. And remember, you can sic Rachel on me at any time.

Okay. I'll... I'll be here.

[Just. Being nervous around all of these giant animals.]

[It takes less than five, actually, before York's knocking at the door, half the Freelancers' groceries in tow.]

Hey, kid, it's York.

[There's a moment of fumbling, and then Tobias opens the door part of the way... okay. That looks like the guy on the communicator thingy. He opens the door the rest of the way, Rachel a few feet behind him. He doesn't say anything, just looks at the groceries, his eyes a little misty. It takes him a few moments, before he finally glances up at York's face, though not his eyes.]

[The blanket's still wrapped around him like a cape, dragging on the floor a little bit. He pulls it a little tighter, protectively, as he tries to figure out what to say. Finally, he manages something, albeit in a very small voice.]

... Why?

[Ohhh, no. Oh, no no no. No, this is not okay, who did this to him.

York stands there for a second, then crouches low, so he isn't towering over the kid anymore. So he has to look up rather than stare down.]

Because, Tobias.

[His voice is as gentle and firm as he can make it.]

Every kid deserves to feel safe.

[He's silent a few more seconds, before the hiccuping starts. He's not a baby, he shouldn't be crying, but he can't help it. He can't help that everything, all of the stress and sadness, is coming rushing in on him, and he pulls part of the blanket up to wipe his nose.]

N... no... I... I mean... my dad didn't want me which is why he... he walked out. Th... then Mom went and died on... on them s... so I got left with... with m... my aunt and uncle. I... I'm just t... trouble. Trouble they have t... to l... l... legally al... allow in their h... houses. A... and neither of them w... want me e... either and they've to... told me that and s... so that's why they m... move me around between the c... c... coasts. Th... they don't want me. I'm just trouble. I don't d... deserve it. I d... don't. I... I'm a drain on r... r... resources and t... time and th... they don't w... want me. N... no one w... wants me. Y... you don't have to l... lie to me.

[Awwwwwwww, shit.]

Hey--hey, Tobias...hey...

[York isn't brought up short by much, but they don't cover crying children even at the highest levels of Freelancer training. Still, he hesitates for only a moment before he puts his groceries down, shifts onto his knees in case he has to stay down here a while.]

Tobias, dude. I know you just met me, but believe me, I'm the worst liar you ever met. It's the one reason I couldn't grow up to be James Bond, I'd never cut it. You're a good kid, all right? You're one of the good guys.

[Should he...? No, the kid doesn't know him, he's too scared. Instead of a hug, York pats the blond hair gently, just long enough for Tobias to know he's not gonna hurt him before he lets his hand fall away.]

Maybe you'll see it, a few years down the road.

[Rachel grumbles and shifts her weight forward a bit. She knows you mean well, York, but small crying Trainer is still small crying Trainer.]

[Tobias, for his part, flinches back a little at the touch, eyes a little wide. He shakes his head and rubs his face with the blanket again, sniffling.]

M'not. Spider-Man and Superman and Legolas and Aragorn, they're good guys. I'm not. I... I'm just trouble. S... sorry for making you b... bother...

[And that's when Rachel just picks him up in a giant bear hug. Carefully, but enough to pull him off his feet. Tobias freezes, and she tilts her head at York. Come in so they can deal with this because she's not sure she can take small crying Trainer much longer. She trusts you can shut the door behind you, York. She's just going to deposit him on the couch.]

[It may not be the best thing to do, but she doesn't know what else to do.]

[Geez Louise. Thanks, Rachel, what would we do without you.

York does indeed take his groceries in and closes the door behind him, quiet and easy, no sudden movements or loud noises. He doesn't try to touch Tobias again, just puts a bag of Cracker Jacks in Tobias's reach and smiles as softly as he can.]

You're no trouble, man. Let me get started on dinner.

[And he goes to stock Tobias's fridge and freezer and get started on the tortellini, keeping an ear out for the kid but not wanting to push his presence on him.]

[He's quiet for a tiny bit, before the sound of him going for the Cracker Jacks comes from the living room. He's trying to keep it quiet, but it's hard when you have short fingers with no real nails. Rachel grunts and pokes it open for him, and he mumbles a thank you before starting to munch and turn the pages in his book. So many bird things... they don't look like any birds he knows, though.]

[The kitchen, at least, is fairly neat. Tobias - at least the older version of him - has tried to keep it tidy. There's not an overabundance of food and cooking supplies, but there's enough. After a few minutes, Tobias wanders into the kitchen, having left the book and blanket on the couch but bringing the snack with him.]

There's some pots in the cabinet up there. I saw them but I couldn't get a chair the right height.