[mostly open] Been a long time gone

[deadlylittlething]

Who: Number Five and whoever wants to deal with him, also Taako
What: Five finds the Denny and The Store, is a menace
When: early April, before the 11th
Where: the Denny, the temple
Warnings: alcoholism

i. OTA
It's been a rough couple of days for Five. For one, there's the matter of being dragged to another universe; a problem he is forced to admit he won't be able to solve in a matter of days or even weeks, though he's certainly gonna try. Living in a frigging tree house has not been great either, not to mention the throwback to scavenging for food. Not that he's been doing a whole lot of that, far too busy either running through calculations or exploring the island he's apparently gonna be stuck on for a while.

And then there's the slow realization that his brothers and sisters are nowhere to be found. That he lost them somewhere during his ill-prepared jump, that they could be anywhere in time or space, or simply... never made it out.

Let's just say, by the time he comes across the Denny, he could really use a stiff drink or three.

The boy that steps through the door is dressed in his full school uniform, tie and all, as if spitefully refusing to give up on some goddamn standards around here. But there's some nasty scabs on his knees, dirt and sand on his clothes, his hair hasn't seen a brush in about a week, and the bags under his eyes would be more at home on the face of a 60-year-old war vet. Still, his spirits lift for the first time in days at the sight of an honest to god bar and he climbs onto a stool, letting his knapsack slide to the ground beside him.

"Bit rustic, but I've seen worse dives," he mutters approvingly to himself while he waits for some sort of service to appear.


ii. OTA
Whether he's managed to convince somebody to actually serve him alcohol or simply teleported into the back and helped himself, Five has finally got his hands on some sweet sweet whiskey. He's migrated to a corner table to work on his calculations in his notebook, occasionally pausing to observe the people around him with a keen eye. Though as the afternoon and the cups of whiskey pass on, there's less of that and more just sort of staring into the middle distance with a forlorn expression.


iii. closed to Taako
Obviously it doesn't take Five long to find the temple, clearly a central location if just as much of a shithole as the rest of this place. He wanders inside, taking in the state of the building with an assessing glance until his eyes land on the spread of items laid out in one corner of the large chamber. Now that's interesting. Is that paper and pen he sees? And knives?

"Oh, yes," he sighs enthusiastically and hurries over, paying the guy behind the counter literally no mind as he picks up a knife to inspect the sharpness of the blade.

Comments

iii

[ohshitsweetflips]

The guy behind the counter doesn't accept payment in mind, funnily enough, but he doesn't offer free samples, either. And even if politeness doesn't buy knives (it super doesn't), does it hurt to talk to people behind counters?? Kids and knives, why's it always kids and knives on this island. Taako clicks his tongue, unimpressed with this formerly fancy lad's appalling lack of manners.

"Hey, if you bleed on it you have to buy it. Store rules."

[deadlylittlething]

Well gee, if he'd known showing an interest in the merchandise you're presumably trying to sell is impolite, he could have pretended this is all incredibly beneath him instead. For someone who has only fairly recently returned to civilization, Five is actually pretty capable of being civil to customer service. If said customer service isn't getting on his ass about store rules, that is.

At being addressed like he's an idiot who can't handle a knife, he finally looks up to say something no doubt rude and condescending. And then takes a second, longer look at the clerk's incredibly stupid hat and improbably long ears, squinting like he's confronted with a bad Twinkie mirage.

"What circus did you escape from?"

[ohshitsweetflips]

It was a friendly warning, gosh. Taako's suspicions are confirmed; this is a rude fancy boy. That's fine, even rude children deserve knives, assuming they have the necessary compensation. And rude or not, that was kind of a good comeback, even if Taako's response is an offended sniff and a healthy dose of judgment.

"Hoo boy, you are not ready for island life. I'm probably the most normal thing you're going to see today, lil dude. And you're in the circus right here with us, may as well get used to it."

[deadlylittlething]

The idea that he isn't the person most equipped to handle 'island life' on the damn planet is so absurd that it does put a few things into perspective. Stupid ears don't rate all that high on the weirdness scale, all things considered, he was just taken by surprise. Which he quickly brushes off with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah well I'm not here to be patronized by a guy with popcorn stuck to his pointy hat," he retorts, slipping one hand into his pocket and gesturing dismissively hat-wards with the knife. "So are you gonna try to sell me something or are you just here to make balloon animals?"

[ohshitsweetflips]

In Taako's defense, most of the edible hat ornaments have long since been devoured by birds, but maybe as defenses go that one should be kept under the hat and in his mind. Also he's pretty sure most stores ban you if you wave knives at the staff, so he feels like he's really gone to the middle of this bridge and beyond, already, in terms of effort made. Gremlins today.

"I'm not going to try anything, that's not the Taako way," he says, audibly secure in the knowledge that this infant in fact is here to be patronized by a guy with a statement-hat, and now a rather defiantly proud stance as well. "This is the island's first and best store, stocked with only the finest magically sourced goods money can buy. Except we haven't gotten around to inventing money yet, so it's barter only. Whatever, this is basically your one-stop-shop for survival, if you're new."