forum When the Dust Settles, Only I Shall Remain (Closed, 2/2)

Started March 13, 2023 by Deleted user

tune

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Aster was walking down the sidewalk, his shoulders squared and head high, exuding his usual air of strength, determination and command as he strode purposefully down the street. '

One would think he was a secret government agent with the way he held himself, but in all actuality, he was merely another office worker in a rectangle of other office workers, stuck in a 6-by-5 cubicle for 10 hours a day, every day.

He was getting tired of it. But you wouldn't see that looking at him.

Despite the clothing he was wearing, which would usually hang off of anyone else, the seams seem to bulge a little, on his jeans, black t-shirt and leather duster. Another reason to convince people to get out of his way.

He was lost in thought. His hard, cool, light grey eyes were staring intently. It was because he was lost in thought that he didn't notice the two people rushing from another street, and so tripped over them, scraping his hands against the concrete.

His concentration broke, he looks at the pair.

"My apologies to both of you. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." he says, his voice solid and bassy. He surreptitiously tries to wipe off his hands, which were scraped and bleeding, but all he succeeded in doing was smearing his blood.

Akeem was walking with his friend, seemingly just having a normal day. At least he thought so. As he was talking, he bumps into another man and yelps in surprise. He watches as the man falls onto the pavement. He gasps and immediately reacts to help. “I am so sorry! Are you alright?” He offers his hand, looking extremely worried. He pauses, however when he sees the man wipe his hands on his jeans.

Akeem stares in slight shock at the man, blinking. “I- uh- um-“ He clears his throat, “Are- uh- are you okay-?” He stutters, searching for the right words.

Reo was laughing softly, gesturing with his hands as he talked, explaining something stupid he had seen to Akeem. When they run into an older man, Reo falls silent, going mute.

Reo looks at the older man, silent, and then looks at Akeem and then back to the man. He frowns at the smear of blood, and looks him over again, mutely watching to see what he would do next.

Aster stares both the younger men and narrows his eyes, at Akeem more than anything.

"I'm fine. Now, I know you're fine physically. But you both will have to come with me. I need to have a word with you both." he says. His words simply left no room for argument, as he turned and walked towards a smaller sidestreet. His gait said he fully expected them to follow.

Akeem glances at Reo, wide eyed. “Should we-?” He whispers. He definitely felt uneasy about this.

Akeem fidgets slightly, shifting as he takes a sharp breath. “What if he tries to kill us? Or worse?” Scenarios started playing through his mind. Mostly gruesome ones. He shivers and shakes his head.

Reo looks at the man’s back, shaking his head, taking Akeem’s arm gently, and whispering, “I’m not.” He looks at Akeem. Then back to the older man. He was not going to follow some random man just because he ran into him. And especially after the look he had given Akeem. No one looked at his friends like that, especially when they were trying to be nice.

Aster looks back at the odd pair and sighs.

"I'm not a killer. That would be an extreme waste of my time and energy. Just follow me." he says bluntly.

Akeem crosses his arms, seeming to forget how to ‘human’ as he called it. “Uh, no. We literally just met and you looked at me weird.” He looks to Reo, then back to Aster.

Reo nods slightly, sending a glare at the man. He would not follow him, if he wanted to say something to him and Akeem, he could say it right here, right now. Otherwise, he wasn’t going to get to say what he wanted.

"You want to talk about blood in the middle of the street? Fine. Be my guest. I'll even show you mine right now." Aster snorts.

Akeem shrugs, “Go right ahead-“ He says bluntly. He wasn’t trying to, but he honestly sounded a tad rude.

Reo looks at Akeem, ducking behind his friend. Despite his bold manner, Reo wasn’t a fan of the older man’s tone. He stares at the man, standing behind Akeem, keeping his gaze on him. Staying mute, but he shook he head. He wasn’t going to talk about blood.

Aster holds out his palm for Akeem to see. "Black. How about you? You going to ask me why I have black blood? What I could have possibly done for God to give me black blood?"

He stares down the two men. "I was born. That is it. What about you? Pale white? A bit darker? Rose red? From what, pirating movies, songs and shows? Maybe you hopped a fence in the wrong place. Oh, or maybe you cut in a line a few too many times."

He was matching Akeem's tone, but multiplied by 5.

Akeem seemed to take this as a ‘be as truthful as you can’ match. He huffs, “Light pink. I lied to my family about stuff a lot.” He shrugs, “And I hated on ‘god’ so I guess that too.”

Akeem didn’t mean to sound rude, but his straightforward facial expression and tone claimed otherwise. He simply had just accidentally dropped his mask. He seemed so intrigued with this man, that he completely forgot to put it back up.

Reo stays mute, shifting more behind Akeem, getting more uncomfortable with the man’s tone. The man reminded him of his father. He looked similar to the man. Reo’s left hand clamps onto his right elbow, a gesture he uses to let people, or people who knew him, like Akeem, that he was uncomfortable.

He keeps staring at the man, watching his every movement and stays tense.

Aster tilts his head at Akeem. "'Hated on God?' Well. . . this is certainly a fortunate turn."

He holds out his hand for Akeem to shake suddenly. "My name is Aster. I work at 105th and Ash. I would like to discuss the matter of toppling God from his throne. If you are interested, meet me there at 9:00 AM sharp. This is not a joke, nor is it a scheme against you. That would be inefficient and a waste of everyone's time."

Akeem looks at the mans and shrugs, not even looking at his hand. “What day? Today? Tomorrow? Next month? What should I wear? Are you positive you’re not just tryna kill me?” He crosses his arms, keeping the blunt expression on his face.

Reo keeps staring at the man, then looks at Akeem, watching the encounter between the two, a puzzled expression on his face. He opens his mouth and making a small noise before closing it, ducking his head. God. . . Why can’t I just speak. . ? He thinks to himself.

"Tonight. Wear whatever you wish, I have no time for discussions of fashion. And I, again, have no intention of wasting my time killing two. . . random people. I'd rather spend my time doing other things, such as discussing how to kill God." Aster replies.