forum “You are terrifying, and strange, and beautiful... something not everybody knows how to love.”// No more people please // OcxOc

Started July 17, 2021 by @michael_rainer_eats_uranium group

tune

Ender smiled at him. His excitement practically radiated from his body. “I wanna see it all!” He already loved the city, and was so curious about all the things humans did there.

It did take a good few minutes, but eventually Pogo had gotten around to every plant. He put away his gloves and watering can, wiping his hands on his shirt and his brow with a sleeve, sighing quietly.

"Okay, now I can rest easy. If you don't need something while you're here, I'm all set to go."

“I’m ready.” Ender was hopping up and down, waiting at the door.

Pogo shook his head slowly. Ender's enthusiasm for the city, he had once felt himself — but that enthusiasm had faded a long time ago.

But he smiled. Ender could be enthusiastic for the both of them.

He opened the door, shutting and locking it when the two had left. He took Ender's hand in his, nodding his head forward.

"Lead the way. We can hit whatever place catches your eye."

He looked around; everything looked so different. The city wasn’t very crowded, since most people were at work at this time. Hee was fascinated by screens and TVs, especially. He didn’t understand how they worked, but he loved them.
He pointed at a McDonalds. “What’s that?”

Pogo blinked. "Oh. Wait. Really? You've never seen a McDonald's before?"

Holy cow. He knew Ender didn't get to see the city much, but this made him determined to make sure Ender got to see everything that made it great.

"It's like.. fast food. You don't even have to go inside. If you're in a hurry, you just pull up your car beside the building, get your food, and leave."

He hesitated, seeming to debate with himself.

You can hardly afford rent, Al. There's no way you'd be able to splurge, Kapnos muttered.

But… just once wouldn't hurt, would it?

You say that, and I'll remind you when you get evicted.

He sighed. Fine.

"We just had breakfast, though, so we can come back later."

“Woah!” His eyes shimmered. In his excitement, an extra eye popped up on his cheek. He didn’t seem to notice.

Pogo's eyes widened, and he pulled Ender to the side, facing him, and hopefully so that no one passing by would catch a glimpse.

"Hey, you're.." he began, gesturing at his own cheek to subtly inform Ender of what was going on with his visage.

“Oh-“ He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating hard on keeping up his human form. The eye closed, and went back to its prior scar-like appearance. He gave a sigh of relief.
“Thanks for telling me…that could’ve been bad….”

Pogo smiled, a look of relief of his own on his face.

"Yeah. I-I'm sure it'll be okay, just gotta… keep an eye out, you know?"

You made a pun.

Pogo sighed. Please. Please, not today.

"Hey, have you ever been to a park before?"

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so….unless the woods counts.” He laughed a little.
He made a pun. I love this man.

"Well, I remember on my way to work, there's always a park I pass by. I think it's got a pond, now that I think about it — which might mean ducks."

His little 5'5'' self stood on his tip-toes, trying to get a glimpse of where said park might be.

"Hmm… you ever see ducks before? Not sure if they run on a schedule of some kind."

He shook his head again. “Nope. I don’t think. There are….weird things in the woods that look almost like geese, but…..not quite…..”

Pogo pulled Ender along, deciding he'd just follow the path he usually took to get to work. Lo and behold, the park was eventually in sight.

It was a quaint little place, a refreshing sight of green in the midst of city gray. In the middle of the park was a small pond, benches adorning its corners. In the pond, a little family of four ducks.

"These ducks aren't radioactive, but I can't speak for any other substances they might have," he chuckled. "Actually, wait here. I'll be right back."

He left Ender's side, making his way towards a bakery. He couldn't splurge on a meal, but he could afford a piece of bread.

Pogo eventually returned with said bread, breaking it in half and handing half to Ender.

"People feed the ducks sometimes — probably explains why ducks hang around here so often to begin with."

His eyes sparkled. “And… they don’t hurt you? Or run? They just…. eat it?” He was fascinated by the idea that the ducks wouldn’t be afraid of him.

(hi hi im really sorry these past couple of days have been ungodly amounts of busy and i got a couple other rps to respond to)

"Yeah! They get a little pissy if you bother them too much, but as long as you let them come to you, they're pretty okay."

He approached the pond, and the ducks approached him. He tore off a chunk of his bread and tossed it into the water, and the ducks immediately began diving after it.

"See? They're just hungry."

(It’s okay lol, sorry, I was just starting to get worried)
Ender threw a chunk of bread into the water and watched the ducks eat it. He grinned, admiring the sight. “They’re so cute!”

(hbbbb no you're alright!!)

Pogo cracked a smile. Admittedly, he'd never really taken the time to sit and feed the ducks — never saw the point in it. But now, watching Ender, he realized why people did it.

It made them happy. And it made him happy watching Ender.

"Just be careful not to get too close to the pond. I can't speak for the friendliness of other critters if you fall in."

Gods, you're weird. They're just ducks, not a philosophy lesson, Kapnos muttered.

Ender nodded, staying a few feet away from the pond. He looked over at Pogo, smiling.
Is this that feeling I’ve heard about on songs? And books? It feels…. nice.

Pogo seated himself next to Ender, tossing a few crumbs from his own bread and watching in amusement as the ducks fished around for them.

"Y'know, if you really wanted to, you could—"

And why exactly would he want to do that? If you're not willing to give up your life in the city, you shouldn't expect him to give up his in the forest.

Pogo closed his mouth, gritting his teeth.

"—could, uh… come here. Anytime."

Ender smiled slightly. “I might….I’d miss Dad though…..” Ender’s attention was drawn away from the ducks when a car revved its engine. Loudly. Ender flinched, covering his ears. A few eyes showed up on his arms. The driver didn’t seem to want to stop anytime soon.

Pogo stood, almost instantly by Ender's side. He pulled him away from facing the car, cursing to himself.

"I-It's not gonna hurt you," he whispered frantically, attempting to reassure him. "They're just an asshole, tons of those people here. All they're looking for is attention."

He held Ender's arms just below the shoulder, covering Ender's arms with his own. "Deep breaths, alright?"

Ender tried to breathe slowly, but it wasn’t working much. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on the warmth of Pogo’s hands. The revving stopped, and the driver got out of the car, leaning against the side.
“Don’t like loud noises, huh /insert r-slur here, for extra realism/?” The man chuckled. He stared at Ender, who was still cowering behind Pogo.
“What’s wrong with yer buddy there? Sure got a lotta scars…”

"Fuck off," Pogo sneered, taking a threatening step towards the man — or, well, as threatening of a step as he could, given he was a measly 5'5" and not with much of a build, "and mind your own goddamn business."

Ender stepped behind Pogo, scared of the stranger.
“Heh, you’ve got a lotta nerve, kid. I’ll do what I wanna do. And I wanna know what’s wrong with that freak over there. He mute or somthin’?” The man snickered. “Hey freak! Say something!”
Ender didn’t speak. He was too afraid. This was exactly what he was scared would happen in the city. Humans were mean.

Let me punch this dude's face in, Kapnos hissed.

In the middle of the city? Are you crazy?

Then taunt him, insisted Kapnos. Get him to hook, then let me at him.

Pogo sighed. This was, to put it plainly, a stupid decision. But he had never been all that good at de-escalation, and whether it was from poor social skills or the trigger-happy demon in his head, he didn't care anymore.

"I don't think you will," he sneered. "You ain't tough. You ain't got a bit of a spine on you, the way you're picking easy bait. I'll make a necklace out of the iron in your blood if you don't drop it."

The man laughed. “I just asked what’s wrong with him! Man’s clearly not okay in the head! You break him outta a ward or something?”
Ender was still hiding behind Pogo, terrified.