Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 23, 2020 19:51:29 GMT -5
I've waited way too long to say Everything you mean to me
What's better than two versions of our favorite father/son duo, Nico and Kelsier? Three versions! (And more on the way)!
The Story (Phase I):
Kelsier is a detective, on a case he can't quite seem to crack. His investigation brings him to an old abandoned house, just outside the city limits. What he expects to find is a clue. What he doesn't expect to find is a boy huddled in the attic, visibly trembling when he sees Kelsier. It's clear the boy's been there for a while - he's got a tattered pillow in the corner, just out of sight of the window, as though to prevent someone from seeing him if they looked inside. His minimal belongings are stashed in the corner, and on the boy's face is fear, plain and simple. When Nico is found, he expects to be taken to the police station and interrogated. He expects to be arrested or sent back to his father. He thinks Kelsier is there for him, for the few crimes he had to commit to survive. He chose the house on purpose - it was run down and far away, and nowhere near where Hades would expect his son to run, if he even cared to try to find him. The floorboards in the attic were strong enough to hold his weight, and the insulation was good enough to keep out the worst of the late autumn heat. What he doesn't expect when he sees Kelsier is for the detective to tell him he's going to be okay. To tell him that, and mean it. The Story (Phase II): When Sam's boyfriend disappears, he doesn't expect to be pulled into an investigation as the last person who saw Nico before he disappeared. He doesn't expect to find out that his boyfriend was kidnapped by a detective - someone who was supposed to help keep them safe. He also didn't expect to be working with yet another detective - supposedly the World's Greatest (but also an old friend of his) - to find his boyfriend. When L gets called in to investigate, he's pleasantly surprised that he gets to work with someone he's met before. But there's something about this case that he doesn't quite get. It should be simple enough: a kidnapping. But he's seen the way the boy looks at his kidnapper: that isn't the face of someone afraid or even uncomfortable. He thinks there's a lot more to uncover, and he's not so sure bringing the kidnapper and his "victim" back is the best course of action. Especially not when the boy's father seem so desperate for it to happen. The Story (Phase III):WIP. Will involve Orpheus and PaxtonThe Characters: Nico - from PJO - strider Kelsier - from Mistborn - hawk Samuel - OC - mint Orpheus - Hadestown - stri L - Death Note - hawk Paxton - OC - mint
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 24, 2020 15:05:25 GMT -5
Detective Kelsier was running out to places to look. Not that he was looking for anything too specific. He was looking for clues to a tough case, anything that might give him the boost he needed, and so far he was coming up empty handed. It was actually starting the bother him a little, and he wasn’t easily bothered by his cases being tough to crack. What tended to him was more the substance than anything else typically, and even then it wasn’t something that crippled him. Some cases were, of course, harder than others. So when he discovered the abandoned building outside regularly searched areas, he jumped at the idea. What better place to go when you had something to hide? It was where he would go, and that was a good sign, not because he especially prized himself on his criminal mastermind, but because if he could come to that conclusion, someone else might too. When he asked to go check it out, his superiors said he could. Of course they did. They had no reason not to, no idea what was going to happen next, and neither did he. All this was, was a planned investigation after all, and Kelsier was a good detective, only breaking the rules in situations where he thought it was necessary. He took his work seriously, and he was respected enough to be given the opportunity to go alone, which he took because he didn’t tend to work well with others. And that was how he ended up standing outside an abandoned building, mist dancing around him like something alive. It shined away when he moved, and when he stayed still it played over his skin, swirling and coming and going as it pleased. He shook his head and headed for the building. There was of course no need to knock, but he did it anyway out of habit. Then he opened the door and stepped inside, hand resting casually where he could easily reach his gun. He was a detective, after all. And that could get you killed.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 24, 2020 15:59:16 GMT -5
Nico hadn’t been set up in the abandoned house for long – just about a few weeks, though every day seemed to drag by as he waited to be discovered. As he waited for the world to come crashing down even more than it already had. Nobody had come near yet, and Nico had been watching carefully. There were countless hours spent at that dirty window, trying to see if anyone was coming near, if he had to run. Today was different. Nico had let down his guard, he hadn’t been watching the window, he had just let himself relax for a few minutes. That was his mistake, apparently. Nico’s heart hammered out of his chest as he heard something at the door of the house. A knock. Who knocked on the door of an abandoned house? Nico grabbed his few belongings, shrugged his tattered jacket on, and tried to find someplace to hide. Chances are he was making too much noise, but he really was being as quiet as he possibly could. Were people looking for him? Nico didn’t know, he didn’t think he had left any sort of trail leading here, but… he didn’t know how to tell. If he boarded up the attic, maybe whoever it was wouldn’t try to open it up and look in. Heart pounding, Nico pulled the ladder up into the attic, placing the wooden board over the entrance and wincing as a splinter of the wood broke off and dug itself into his finger. He dropped the board, making a noise that was too loud. Way too loud. He scrambled backwards, pushing himself up against the wall and edging his way behind a stack of boxes. Tears were welling in his eyes, and he tried to force them back. He shouldn’t be crying, he couldn’t be that weak right now. “Don’t come up here,” he whispered, hoping that whoever had knocked was just looking for a place to stay that night and was scared off by what could easily have been an animal in the attic. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to calm his pounding heart. Nobody was after him. Hades wouldn’t have had anyone out looking, because he had kicked him out. If someone was here, they wouldn’t care about him. Unless they were a police officer… Nico pushed the thought away. He had stolen some food from the nearby grocery store, but he hadn’t been caught. Or… he might have, but he hadn’t been stopped, and he didn’t think anyone had gotten a good look at his face. It was going to be fine. It had to be.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 24, 2020 23:04:03 GMT -5
Kelsier froze as something thumped further in the house, and his weapon was out before he even registered the sound. “Who’s there?” He called, voice calm and firm, like talking to a child who wasn’t listening. “My name is Detective Kelsier. I work for the police, and I’m armed. I’m coming further in now.” And he did. He was moving slowly, careful not to give away he position, because he didn’t know what he was dealing with yet. If that thump had been a raccoon he was going to have to dump a bucket of ice water on his head, because it had sounded more like something being dropped than something dropping itself. So there was probably someone here. And what would someone be doing in a place like this that was legal? I mean, you’re here. Mare pointed out calmly in his head. I’m supposed to be here. Kelsier pointed out right back, but he was smiling, the imagined exchange exactly what he needed to keep his head. If there were armed people ambushing him right now, for example, he would need to think fast and react faster. He’d given up any chance of a stealth attack on his part the moment he’d rapped on the door, after all. “I’m coming up the stairs.” He called, weapon still firm in his hands as he began the ascent. If someone was ambushing him, they were taking their time about it, he thought wryly as paused halfway up and listened. For anything, really. Any signs that it was just an animal, or sounds of whispering, or scuffling that could be either one. He heard nothing and kept going, slowly and carefully, up the steps. He wished he had some idea of what he might be facing. If he just knew whether the threat was active or not, for example, that would be a huge help and he could know whether to keep his gun out or not. Or if he could know whether anyone was actually even here, that would be nice too, but he’d settle for active threat/no active threat, if he was being honest. Which he tried to be, as a rule. If only whatever it was would answer him. No, that would be too easy. Kelsier hadn’t taken this job looking for something that simple, he’d taken it to give himself something to take his kind of Mare’s death, which was no easy feat. And that’s exactly what fighting the bad guys did. In a way, he was actually grateful to them for the distraction. In a way. Which meant mostly he just disliked them. A lot.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 25, 2020 0:56:51 GMT -5
Nico sucked in a breath, trying to remain as quiet as he could in his corner. There was a detective in the house, and he was armed, and Nico was never going to be able to see Sam again. He was never going to make it out or grow up or find a way to get an actual job and say this was all an unfortunate past. Either Kelsier would find him and he would shoot because there was someone else in the house that shouldn’t be there, or he wouldn’t. He’d just take Nico back into the police station and he’d be arrested and his theft and loitering would probably be put on his record and make it impossible to get a job later. In a different world, he might have found Sam again and asked if he could stay with him and Paxton, but… Sam had a lot going on, and he didn’t want Sam to know that Hades had kicked him out. He didn’t want Sam to blame himself. And then Kelsier’s voice came again, closer this time. Coming up the stairs. Would he even notice the entrance to the attic or the board that had been placed over it? Would it be possible to get up into the attic without the ladder? Not for Nico, certainly… he was too short, but if Kelsier were tall… it wouldn’t really be that hard to get in. It was only a matter of time before Kelsier either decided there was nobody in the building or he found the attic and found Nico. He glanced across the floor, realizing that he had left his water bottle in the corner he’d slept in, open. That was an indication that someone was probably still in the attic for sure, and Nico paled at the thought. He had to hope that Kelsier didn’t find the attic. Or… or maybe if he was quiet enough he could get the water bottle and go back to where he was hiding behind the boxes. There really was no choice. Nico took a step forward, forcing himself to go for it, knowing full well he wouldn’t dare if he didn’t go now. One silent step, and then another, until it seemed like he might make it. Until his foot hit a creaky floorboard and it was like his entire body reverberated with the sound. He really had to hope that Detective Kelsier didn’t have good hearing… though if he had heard the board falling, there was slim chance of that. Why this house? That was what Nico didn’t understand. Why would a detective choose to come here? It could have been a report of suspicious behavior, but Nico hadn’t seen anyone the entire time he’d been here, he came and went in such a way that he thought he avoided any chance of being seen. He didn’t think that detectives just did routine checks of abandoned houses, either. Not that he was an expert, but… he froze, trying to decide whether to keep moving, stay still, or try to get back behind his stack of boxes. He had a feeling he wouldn’t have long to choose.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 25, 2020 17:36:35 GMT -5
If there was someone in the house, they were being pretty quiet. Not that that was at all unlikely, but he’d prefer to see what he was dealing with rather than have who-knew-what ambushing him from wherever they were. At least the downstairs wasn’t huge, or it would have taken him a lot longer to prepress to the stairs, as he was doing now. It reminded him of so many other cases. Sometimes, it was just a wild animal lurking where no humans went. Sometimes it was some kind of gang or an escaped criminal hideout, something like that. Those were the things he was expecting as he moved, slowly, so slowly, up the stairs. Then he froze as he heard a creak. Someone was moving up there. It could have been an animal, but it sounded an awful lot like they were trying to be quiet, and animals tended not to bother in situations like this. Oh sure, they huddled down and pretended not to exist, but floorboards? Not something they were as familiar with, not typically. It still could have been a raccoon. He was just...prepared for it to be something else. He reached the top of the stairs, creeping even more carefully than before. He didn’t call out again. He didn’t want whoever had ignored his call the first time to know where he was, because they could have come quietly and they didn’t. That was usually a bad sign, when it came to the whole avoiding confrontation thing. He was at the attic now. He peered up at it, There was a board over it. Like someone had tried to hide it. He gave a silent sigh. So yeah, there was someone here. He didn’t give them the chance to drop on him from above. Instead, he counted to three silently and then he shoved the board aside and poked his head suddenly into the attic, gun ready and aimed at anything that might be up there. Once, when he’d gone into an abandoned house alone, he’d found a stray dog with a littler of tiny puppies. They’d been tiny and so thin he was surprised he couldn’t see right through them, and the mother hadn’t been much better, though she’d barked and snapped and put up a hell of a fight when animal control got there. He’d talked to her, kneeling by her crate as the officers gathered the tiny puppies one by one, and he’d told her it would be okay. Even if she couldn’t understand him, she’d calmed down a little just at the sound of his soothing voice, and by the end she just looked...sad. Like they were taking something away, instead of giving something back. He remembered feeling like he’d interfered in something that didn’t belong to him, and wondering what she thought of the man who had stumbled across her home and destroyed it. That was how he felt as he stared into the open space, and saw not a dog, not even an escaped guy in an orange jumpsuit...but a boy. A kid. He was aiming his weapon right at the heart of a kid.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 25, 2020 18:19:59 GMT -5
Nico’s heart froze in his chest as he listened for any indication of where in the house the detective could be. If he knew, then he could plan for it, and if he could plan for it maybe he could find a way to hide. However, given that Kelsier was already on the stairs, if he’d been telling the truth, Nico knew he didn’t have a chance. Would he get in even more trouble for not announcing himself when Kelsier had knocked? His initial plan was to just hope that Kelsier wouldn’t think to search the upstairs or the attic, but… looking at the way he’d replaced the wooden board he had a feeling he had just drawn more attention to himself. If only there had been a way to get lessons on how to properly hide from the police if you had done something wrong but not that wrong. Before he had a chance to wait in dread any longer, the wood moved and Nico leapt backwards, attempting to scramble back behind the boxes before Kelsier’s gaze caught on him. The sight of the gun froze him in place though, and he turned to face Kelsier, eyes wide and frightened as he tried to back up, as though that could get him out of the way of the weapon. He didn’t have the chance to take more than one or two steps before he felt the hard wood of the wall pressing up against his back. He’d worked himself into a corner, and Kelsier had a weapon and Kelsier could shoot at any moment if he wanted to. Nico had the oddest feeling that he should say something. That there was some way to make this better if he just… could give voice to it, as if he could save his own life, but his brain wasn’t providing any of the right words to say and he didn’t know what would just provoke the detective. He tried his best to sand still, trying not to draw attention to himself or make Kelsier think he was a threat. Was he? It wasn’t like he was armed, but he had technically broken the law, and he didn’t know if it was illegal to be staying here, he didn’t know who this place belonged to. He could lie, of course, but that would just get him into worse trouble. “I…” he couldn’t get any more than that out before his mind went fully into overdrive and the reality of the situation hit him. His breath quickened and he wanted to run, but he wouldn’t get far. Kelsier was still in the entrance to the attic and as far as he could tell there was no other way out. Nico had been grateful for that while he was sleeping, because it meant the cold didn’t get in, but now it meant he was trapped. “Please don’t shoot.” His voice sounded small and strangled to his ears, and he felt like he couldn’t suck in a proper breath. He just had to hope that Kelsier wasn’t the kind of person where those words would just goad him into emptying his weapon a little more quickly.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Mar 9, 2020 0:20:09 GMT -5
Kelsier stood very still, his gun pointed at the kid’s chest, his expression a look of blank surprise. It was like he’d forgotten what he was doing. Or maybe more like he’d just been shocked into stillness, his hand steady and his eyes bright and confused. He hadn’t expected this at all. He hadn’t expected the whoever was here to be so...small. So frightened. And he certainly hadn’t expected to find himself aiming a deadly weapon at a child’s heart. “Hey, woah, easy.” He said quickly, and out his hands up, pointing the weapon firmly in the other direction. “I’m not going to hurt you, okay? My name is detective Kelsier, I work with the police.” He let that sink in for a moment, in case Nico thought that was a good opportunity to say something. His goals here had just changed drastically: he was now on operation-diffuse-the-situation mode, and that meant reassuring Nico as best he could that this was a misunderstanding. That he’d never intended any harm. If Nico was here, he had nowhere else to go. He was either lost - which would be easiest to fix - someone had intentionally abandoned him - harder - or he had run away - perhaps the hardest. Kelsier studied the boy’s face, but all he saw was fear. Of Kelsier? Well, he had just been pointing a gun at his chest, so that was fair. But maybe there was something more to it. Maybe he was afraid of something else, something…like whatever had caused him to end up here in the first place. He looked too thin, like he’d been alone for a while now. Strange that no one had reported a missing child. Kelsier’s hazel eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. He hoped he could at least undo any damage he’d done with his rather violent appearance. He lowered the gun to the floor and kicked it away from both of them, into a dusty corner. Then, slowly, he eased himself into the room and crouched, hands still raised in surrender. And smiled. Just a small, reassuring expression. “What’s your name?” He asked finally, keeping his expression neutral, his tone gentle. He’d never been the best with kids, but this was hardly the time to worry about that, and besides, Mare had always said he would make a great dad. So maybe he wasn’t as bad as he thought he was…. And then he felt his heart break a little. “I’m not going to shoot you.” He said carefully. “I’m sorry I scared you. I thought...I assumed you were someone else. Pretty dumb of me to go assuming things without any evidence, huh?”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 9, 2020 0:57:24 GMT -5
Nico’s heartbeat stuttered as Kelsier put his hands up, obviously as startled to find himself face to face with Nico as Nico had been to be discovered. With the gun not pointing directly at him, Nico found he could breathe again. Then again, perhaps he’d been safer wit the gun pointed at him than he had been with Kelsier trying to figure out who he was and what he was doing here. It didn’t make it any better if he worked with the police or not. It actually probably made it worse because what if he took Nico in and then they found out that he was a thief and then they arrested him or worse still made him go back to his father? He stared, unblinking, at the weapon. He could fathom that. He knew what a gun would do to him. He hated the idea, but at least it was predictable. Kelsier… well, Kelsier was not, and Nico found he couldn’t quite look at his face. What was he most afraid he’d find there? Anger? Pity? Frustration? Kindness? Nothing? Unless Kelsier just left and said it was okay for him to be there, Nico saw no favorable way for this to end. Even if Kelsier intended to help, Nico had technically committed crimes. Nico cringed away as the gun was kicked across the floor, waiting for it to go off accidentally and shoot one of them. Okay, so maybe he watched a few too many crime shows where people died in unexpected ways like that just for the shock value. But the gun didn’t go off and they were mostly unharmed, only Kelsier was moving into the attic and Nico was squeezing himself against the wall, trying to get as far away as possible from Kelsier. The smile on the detective’s face made him halt. It was the sort of smile he wanted to believe in. He didn’t even know why, because it belonged to someone who could make Nico’s life so much worse in just a snap of his fingers. “Why do you wanna know?” Nico asked, voice shaking. The delivery was therefore not as cutting as he’d wished it to be. All he knew was that if Kelsier knew his name, then he could be tracked and it would be easy to get Hades involved. Nico didn’t want that. “Who’d you think I was gonna be?” That question was asked more out of curiosity than anything else, and it took everything in Nico not to yell at himself for letting his curiosity get the better of him. Again. Although he didn’t meet Kelsier’s gaze, Nico didn’t try to back up any further. As though waiting for an answer was keeping him there.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Mar 10, 2020 17:33:43 GMT -5
Kelsier had no idea what he was dealing with here. Actually, that wasn’t exactly true. He’d figured out a lot in the last few seconds. One: Nico was probably not a runaway. There would have been calls to the police, missing person reports, something. Unless they just didn’t care, which was neither impossible nor likely, but something to keep in mind. Two: Nico knew what a gun was and what it was for. Considering his age that wasn’t surprising, but again, it was worth noting. And three: either Nico had been on his own a while, or he’d been neglected. He was too thin, he needed a bath, and he needed a long time to sleep in a bed with blankets and pillows. None of which he appeared to have had for a while now. Kelsier didn’t move once he was all the way in the attic, not wanting to startle Nico any more than he already was. The damage was done, but he could at least not make it worse. “Hey, easy, easy.” He said gently, making no sudden moves. Kicking the gun had been a mistake (he was used to dealing with adults who would appreciate him not being armed) but it was fine, he could still deal with it, it was fine. Nico was scared, but Kelsier didn’t think the boy was desperate enough to try anything just yet, which gave them both time to work this out. There they were, two people waiting for something to happen. Kelsier wasn’t sure where to go from here, because he hadn’t expected to be in this situation in the first place and now he felt a little bit stuck. He knew Nico probably felt the same way. Neither of them had expected this, and so neither of them knew what to do about it. “Because I like to know a little bit about the person I’m having a conversation with.” He explained calmly, letting his expression portray as much calmness as possible. The key was his smile. Kelsier found it was a lot harder to be terrified of someone giving a genuine smile. It even worked on high-stakes suspects sometimes. And of course, it was a necessity when it came to interrogations, because would you rather answer someone with a cheerful smile or a dangerous scowl? “I thought you were a man named Henry.” He explained, completely factually. “He escaped prison and we’ve - us officers - all been told to keep an eye out for him. Then I thought maybe you were a raccoon, but I decided to check it out anyway. What he didn’t say was that he was glad he had. Nico shouldn’t be there alone, there was no doubt about that, and Kelsier wasn’t going to leave him. They both probably knew that, deep down, although Nico was probably trying hard to think something else was a possibility. He probably wished Kelsier had never walked through that door, but here they were anyway, so they’d just have to deal with whatever happened next.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 10, 2020 21:05:39 GMT -5
Nico eyed Kelsier, waiting for him to make the next move. Waiting for him to attack, or pull out handcuffs, or something. Nico didn’t know what being discovered meant, but he did know it wouldn’t end with him getting out of this with any freedom. Even if he didn’t end up arrested, he’d probably end up back with his father, and although being sent away had hurt, Nico had found that living on his own had been somehow easier to handle. Easier was relative, he supposed, as he hadn’t eaten in a while and god knew when the last time he’d gotten a good night’s sleep was. What he didn’t understand was why Kelsier was being nice to him. Smiling like this was something that could be solved with a few careful words, like it wasn’t Nico’s entire life on a very thin, very fragile line. Nonetheless, something about the detective’s tone eased the hammering in Nico’s heart, encouraged him to take a deep breath and realize that nothing really was going to happen right now. The future was too nebulous and far away to worry about, and the past couldn’t be changed. All that existed in this moment was Nico and Detective Kelsier, each waiting for some sort of answer about what to do, all the while knowing they weren’t going to get it that easy. He relaxed slightly, leaning forward so the small of his back wasn’t pressed quite so tightly against the wall, and crouched so he could still see Kelsier but so that he could rest a little bit. Turned out fear, once it had stopped electrifying your body, was exhausting. “Are we having a conversation?” Nico asked, eyebrows raising. This hadn’t seemed like a conversation when Kelsier had burst in, weapon pointing at Nico’s heart. Somehow though, the feeling in the room had changed, and Nico found himself willing to listen to Kelsier if the man had anything to say that didn’t require them leaving this place. He still pointedly left his name out of the equation. “If you thought I was a raccoon why did you have the gun out?” The moment the question left his mouth, Nico cringed away from it. It hadn’t been mocking or even asked with any sarcasm or malice, just genuine curiosity. Still, it wouldn’t help his situation if he was found to be impudent or rude, and the question could very easily be seen as either. Yet somehow Kelsier had put Nico at ease enough that the question had just… slipped out. When he was younger Nico had been notorious for asking too many questions and making himself an annoyance, and though it was a habit he’d tried to curb later, sometimes it still slipped through. What was going to happen next? Nico didn’t know, wasn’t sure he wanted to. All he knew was his throat was dry, and he wanted to reach down for his water bottle, but if Kelsier couldn’t see what he was doing would he think Nico was armed? Would his gentle demeanor become something harder once he realized that Nico had stolen food a few days before? Would he make Nico go back home, or arrest him, or? Or, or, or, all things Nico couldn’t answer, all things he couldn’t ask Kelsier because it could incriminate him.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Mar 20, 2020 10:59:00 GMT -5
Kelsier was eyeing him right back. He didn’t, of course, know everything that Nico was thinking in that moment, but he thought he could guess the gist of it. That Kelsier was a threat. That Kelsier was going to do something, something bad, any moment now. It didn’t really matter that he wasn’t. He had already pointed the gun at Nico’s chest, he had already come banging into the boy’s only safe place and ruined it. He almost felt bad, but truthfully he knew that Nico wouldn’t have survived on his own that much longer, not even if he thought he was doing fine. He wasn’t fine. He was starving and cold and tired and he needed someone to come pick him up and carry him home. Wherever home was. He wished things were different. But he would deal with the situation as it was, because that was the only thing he could do. He didn’t move, didn’t look at the gun on the floor, barely even let himself breath for fear of startling the child. But they both knew this was temporary. They both knew he couldn’t walk away like he hadn’t seen a thing. He relaxed as Nico did, his body language easing into something a little more natural, less forced. His smile had been genuine before, but now it was easier, softer, and he blinked and room a deep breath as he realized he’d barely been breathing at all. What to do now, that was the real question. He wanted to come over and take Nico’s hand, lead him to the car, and drive him to the station right now. Maybe stop for burgers and shakes on the way, because he looked like the boy could use some fast food in him. But he knew this was too fragile for that, and he had to treat it like something that could go sideways at any moment. He had to treat him like a threat for now. “Well, I’m talking, you’re answering, and then I’m talking again.” He pointed out reasonably, his hands still where Nico could see them. “Sounds like a conversation to me. And so far it seems to be a pretty good conversation, too.” His smile deepened a bit. “I thought you might be a raccoon.” He corrected easily, no sign that he was at all annoyed by the question visible. He wasn’t annoyed, he was glad Nico had summoned the courage necessary to question him. That was so very much better than him being catatonic with fear, right? And besides, it was obvious he hadn’t intended any meanness, he was just genuinely curious. “Remember, you could have been anyone. And if you were really a raccoon, and you were, say, rabid and craving fresh blood, the gun would have been pretty darn useful.” They were both stalling and he knew it. But he didn’t want to get to the next part of this conversation. “You know I can’t leave you here.” He said finally, almost regretfully. He didn’t know what Nico was going to do, but...well. Desperate people did desperate things.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 20, 2020 13:30:38 GMT -5
To say that Nico was frightened was an understatement. However, Kelsier was a much more calming presence than most other stereotypical detectives Nico could think of. He was worried he was being lulled into a false sense of security, but he didn’t feel secure. It was just that he was fairly confident that Kelsier wasn’t going to kill him, at least not right away. No, Nico was much more worried about what would happen when he left here, when Kelsier did what he was required to do, when Nico was faced with only bad options. Not that he saw any good options in front of him right now. Although he didn’t move towards the detective, and he didn’t dare reach down for his water bottle, Nico didn’t move backwards either. Didn’t do anything to put the detective on edge – well, any more on edge. It seemed they were both tense, waiting for the other to do something catastrophic. “If I were a rabid raccoon, maybe you wouldn’t have needed the gun if you had entered a little more cautiously,” Nico pointed out, eyebrows raising. Okay, so he was walking a fine line between stalling and keeping the conversation somewhere other than where it was bound to go, and flat out insulting Kelsier. But if Nico had been a criminal, then the element of surprise would have been necessary. Nico’s gaze flickered towards the gun in the corner, and he seemed to almost shrink away from it. There was no way he was going to make a beeline for it and attack Kelsier. Even if he had wanted to – which he didn’t – he was sure that Kelsier had other weapons on hand. He just had to hope that Kelsier didn’t think he would do that, because that would just make this whole situation worse. The thing was… they didn’t know each other. They had no idea what to expect from the other, and therein lay the dilemma. Because Nico wouldn’t go, but he wouldn’t attack either. And then, almost as if breaking a spell, Kelsier mentioned the one thing Nico had been hoping to avoid. The boy tensed again, dark eyes trying to read Kelsier’s expression. Trying to determine if there was anything he could say that would change the detective’s mind, that would convince him to leave and pretend he hadn’t seen anything here. “You could, if you wanted to,” Nico protested after a few moments, his voice sounding pathetically childish to his ears. “Nobody knows you saw me, you could just… leave and catch your criminal.” Maybe not the strongest argument, but it was all Nico had, and Kelsier was right about one thing: he was desperate. The thing was they both knew how this was going to end. Like it or not, Nico was leaving with Kelsier, and he’d end up at the police station, and then maybe he’d be arrested for shoplifting, and maybe he’d spend the rest of his life in jail. Would that be better than seeing his father’s face after this? Nico didn’t know. The only thing that was really up in the air about how the next hour was going to go was… well, whether Nico would go willingly or if Kelsier would force him. As long as Nico had anything to say about it, he wouldn’t go willingly. He wouldn’t. He realized in that moment he was hyperventilating, his breath coming in quick, ragged gasps as he tried to fight down everything that might happen next. He fixed Kelsier with a glare, hoping it would prevent him from trying to help. He didn’t need Detective Kelsier’s help. He just needed to be left alone.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Mar 26, 2020 22:10:30 GMT -5
There were really no perfect options here, were there? Kelsier was trying his best to stay calm, keep himself as easy and non-threatening as he could, but it was obvious the boy was scared and who could blame him? Who wouldn’t be frightened, trapped here with a stranger who you didn’t have any way of knowing their intentions. Kelsier was, in fact, telling the truth about everything, but he knew the boy didn’t know that. He knew the boy had no reason to trust him, at all. Except maybe the fact that he hadn’t killed the boy. He almost smiled; because that had to be the most pathetic attempt at a defense ever. He hadn’t pulled the trigger, go him. He had still aimed the gun. But that he was made at himself about that. He wasn’t, because he hadn’t known it was the boy, he hadn’t even known it was a person and not a rabid animal ready to take his face off. He would never be sorry for being careful, because careful was what kept him alive this long. He hoped Nico would understand that. If they were both waiting, then one of them would have to act. Kelsier didn’t want it to be him, but he knew he probably would be, for the simple reason that he was the adult here, and this kid wasn’t. A rush of laughter escaped Kelsier at that, and he grinned, eyes bright with mischief. “True enough.” He agreed, though he thought they both had a good idea why he’d burst in like he had. They both knew that raccoons weren’t the only thing Kelsier tracked down. They weren’t even the main thing. He was a hunter for his own kind, for people who deserved it. He was actually working with the police, despite his preference to play by his own rules. He was a detective. A real one. He couldn’t forget that. He did notice the boy eyeing the gun and he tensed a little, waiting him to run for it, maybe start shooting everything in a blind panic. But the boy seemed to pull away from the weapon, and Kelsier suddenly understood: he wasn’t eying it at all. He was afraid of it. He didn’t need to be. Kelsier may have had a backup weapon, but it wasn’t as good and he wasn’t going to use it anyway. And there it was, out in the open. The thing they'd both, deep down, been wanting to avoid. Kelsier knew he couldn’t avoid it though, and he knew better than to try and inspire false hope. The kid deserved better than that. He deserved the truth. There was nothing the boy could say to change his mind. “You know I can’t do that.” He said gently, watching his face carefully. Watching to see how it would change when he realized there was no getting out of this. “I’m sorry. But I am a detective, and you’re not supposed to be here. Leaving you here wouldn’t be good for anyone in the end.” Like it or not, he wasn’t old enough to take care of himself. Kelsier knew that. So why was this so hard? “You’ll just stay at the police station for a while.” He added, hoping that would make it better. “You aren’t in trouble, okay? But you know you can’t stay here forever.” Then he saw the boy was hyperventilating and he pursed his lips, thinking fast. “What’s your favorite food?” He asked abruptly, because it was the first thing to come to mind. It was a distraction, and besides that, Kelsier could probably get it for him somewhere around here.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 26, 2020 23:18:33 GMT -5
Nico grimaced as Kelsier conceded, mostly because he knew the detective had just done it to appease him. They both knew why Kelsier had needed to use the gun, and there was no use philosophizing over other options, because first of all it was done, they couldn’t undo it, second of all Kelsier had been right to come in that way, and third of all they were just stalling. He didn’t trust Kelsier. He didn’t want to go with him, didn’t want to listen to anything he had to say even if it made sense. Best case scenario, Kelsier turned around and walked away. Nico could leave when he felt it was safe, and be somewhere else by nightfall. They would never cross paths and Nico wouldn’t get his father into trouble. He was tired of having nowhere to run. This… this hadn’t meant to be a dead end. He hadn’t meant to fall into a trap, but here he was and he couldn’t take it back. The gun forgotten for a moment, he stared at the ground as though he could melt a hole through the floorboards and escape that way. But superpowers didn’t exist, and he wasn’t the protagonist of some movie where the runaway kid goes and does something meaningful with his life. He was just the kid who had landed himself in this situation, and now he had to deal with the consequences. The one thing he knew was no matter what happened, he couldn’t go back to his father. He wouldn’t. The thing was, if he went with Kelsier, he wasn’t going to have a choice probably. The police were good at what they did. They’d connect the dots eventually, even if Nico gave them nothing to work with. He shuddered at the thought of what they might do to get him to cooperate. How far were they allowed to go? “You can’t know that,” Nico protested, suddenly glad that he didn’t have anything with him that could tie him back to Hades. He had a letter from Sam, but there were any number of Sams who lived nearby, and the letter was addressed merely to ‘N,’ not ‘Nico.’ A clue, but not a big enough one to matter. Nico hoped. He also hoped they wouldn’t go through his stuff, but… he knew they would. “You can’t know how this is gonna end. Maybe it’ll be worse if you take me to the police station.” His voice was quiet, as though he knew Kelsier wouldn’t listen to him but he had to try anyway. For Kelsier, maybe, things would be better if he took Nico in. Maybe he’d fill some sort of quota, and maybe he wouldn’t be kept up at night knowing he’d let a kid stay somewhere alone. But it would be much worse for Nico to go with Kelsier, of that he was confident. What were Kelsier’s motives here? If he really cared, he would just let Nico go. “Nobody else is here,” he tried. The legality of staying here was… questionable, but it wasn’t like anyone was going to notice for a good, long while. “You can’t make me go, I haven’t done anything wrong.” That you know of, Nico added silently, trying to get a hold of himself, trying to calm his breathing, trying to… What? Favorite food? What did that have to do with anything? “Panettone,” Nico replied automatically, applying an Italian lilt to the word. The proper pronunciation of it. Then he reddened and almost cracked a smile – key word, almost – as he added, “And also French fries. Not.. not together, of course.” Kelsier’s distraction had worked, it seemed, though it only served to remind Nico how long it had been since he had eaten. And how much trouble he would be in when the people at the police station found out he’d been stealing food for the past three months. Yet another reason to not go with Kelsier.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Mar 27, 2020 16:34:25 GMT -5
Kelsier had the sinking suspicion that he’d messed up somewhere. At least, he thought the boy was looking a little bit more wary than he had been before, which might have been because he want ahead and conceded that he was probably right about the gun. He knew the boy didn’t trust him, and he didn’t blame him for that at all. Of course he didn’t trust the man who had just broken into his refuge, who was probably going to take him away against his will. Trust wasn’t even really something he was thinking about at the moment, because it was so far out of reach. He didn’t wish Nico hadn’t been here, though. He knew this was for the best, it was just also painful to see him huddled there, waiting to be dragged away. Knowing that he was the bad guy here. Except he wasn’t really, he was the one rescuing a kid, but the kid in question wasn’t going to see it like that. In the boy’s world, Kelsier was the bad guy. And he was going to have to deal with that. The silence stretched between them, and Kelsier let it, not wanting to disrupt the boy’s train of thought if he didn’t have to. The image of the dog he’d rescued flashed in his head again, and he almost closed his eyes to get it out, because he didn’t want to feel that guilt again, he didn’t want to be the bad guy. He was dragging this kid out of here either way, though, not because it was his job, but because it was the right thing to do. He thought of Mare, and it calmed him a little, knowing she would support him here. She would say he had to think of the kid’s safety, even if he didn’t know what was good for him, even if he hated Kelsier forever for it. And it wasn’t safe here, alone. He wouldn’t last that much longer alone. He was already so thin. “I know enough.” He answered calmly. “I know that you’ve done well to survive this long on your own, but I can’t rely on that. I know that you haven’t eaten in a while now, and you’re probably dehydrated too. I know that maybe, somehow, maybe nothing bad would happen if I left you here, but I also know that the chances of that are much lower than I’m comfortable with. And I might be wrong, but I’m willing to bet there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to stay here either. Isn’t there any part of you that doesn’t want to be cold and hungry anymore?” Was he hitting home? He didn’t know. He didn’t know whether any of what he said would make a difference, but in the end, the kid wasn’t staying here and they both knew it. The question was only this: could Kelsier get him to come willingly? “I don’t want to make you. I want to convince you that it’s the best option.” He answered, keeping his voice steady. What would Mare do? That was the question he wished he knew the answer of, right now. He watched the boy silently fighting with himself, resisted the urge to reach out...and watched his distraction take effect. And give him an interesting clue. Italian, huh? He could work with that. “French fries are actually the best food.” He agreed seriously, inclining his head slightly. “The question is which place serves the best ones.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 27, 2020 18:06:55 GMT -5
Nico thought he might hate Kelsier. The detective was nice, and he was trying so hard to be gentle, and calm, and Nico hated him. Because he couldn’t just live his own life without butting into Nico’s and taking responsibility for it, because apparently Kelsier was the only person in the world (other than Sam), who cared about Nico’s life. It wasn’t like Nico was going to die, anyway. He could keep going for a while, as long as he made sure to steal a bit more covertly, as long as he stayed here, as long as he found his way to water fountains in parks and got water that way. He could do that until he was old enough to get a job, and then… and then maybe he’d find Sam again, and he’d have enough money to maybe get an apartment somewhere… but it was a good three years before he’d be old enough to work without questions coming up about his parents, without having restrictions in place… Nico may have had high ambitions, but if he thought realistically about it, he knew he likely wouldn’t survive until the end of the year if he was completely on his own. Winter would be impossible, especially if he was here. Nights were already getting colder, more miserable. “I’m not dehydrated,” Nico mumbled in protest, looking down at his water bottle. It was a lie, even if he didn’t know it. Getting water every two days, when he wasn’t afraid to leave the attic, or when he wasn’t searching for somewhere new to go, wasn’t nearly enough. Nico met Kelsier’s hazel eyes with his own dark gaze, looking almost like he’d been shot. Of course he didn’t want to be cold or hungry, of course he didn’t want to spend his days trying not to get caught, trying to ignore everything that had led him here. He didn’t want to live out of a tiny bag with only three sets of clothes, none of which had been washed lately because he didn’t even have enough money to visit the laundromat. “I’d rather here than anywhere else,” Nico replied, the attempt at bravado failing with the shaking of his voice. He wanted somewhere safe. He wanted it so badly it hurt, but he couldn’t have that. The police station wasn’t safe. Or maybe it was, but it wouldn’t be for long. Besides, even if he went with Kelsier, even if he stayed at the police station and they didn’t find his father… wouldn’t they charge him for any food or supplies he used? He didn’t have any way to pay for that. “Fine,” Nico whispered, blinking back tears. He couldn’t cry here, in front of Kelsier, when he was trying to convince him he’d be fine on his own. “Tell me why it’s the best option. Convince me.” It was a challenge, of sorts, because Nico was fairly certain that nothing Kelsier could say would make him go willingly. What would this come to? If Kelsier had to force Nico to go, what would he do? The man didn’t seem to be violent, but he was a detective and he had a gun. Nico didn’t stand a chance if Kelsier wanted to trap him and carry him out kicking and screaming, and Nico didn’t want Kelsier anywhere near him. He didn’t want anyone anywhere near him at the moment. Anger surged through Nico very briefly as he realized what Kelsier was trying to do, but he couldn’t hold it against him for long. If Kelsier thought a distraction was going to convince Nico to come with him, he was wrong. But that didn’t mean Nico couldn’t play along, merely because he hadn’t talked to anyone in too long, and a distraction of any kind was comforting. “McDonalds,” he replied, not daring to relax as he said it. “But they sort of under-salt them.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Apr 4, 2020 10:34:17 GMT -5
Kelsier wouldn’t have been surprised to know that the kid hated him. He had come into the boy’s only refuge and turned it on its head, and now he was going to drag him away from the ruins. Of course he hated him, who wouldn’t hate the man who seemed so intent on ruining their life? Kelsier knew he would hate anyone who tried it with him. The problem was, Kelsier didn’t have a choice any more that Nico did. He couldn’t just walk away, even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. The boy would freeze before he would starve, probably, but winter was coming and soon an abandoned building would be far from enough to keep him warm, especially considering how thin he was already. Kelsier would have his blood on his hands, and he refused to let that happen, even if he had to drag the boy out kicking and screaming. He really hoped he wouldn’t have to do that. It he’d known more, maybe he would have thought about avoiding the police station all together, but he didn’t know, how could he? He had no idea what Nico was running from. “Right.” Kelsier clearly didn’t buy the kid’s assurance that he wasn’t dehydrated. “You have water. How often are you replacing it?” He wasn’t trying to be mean, but maybe if he could convince the kid that surviving on his own wasn’t doable, maybe that would be enough to convince him to come willingly. Because Kelsier really, really, really didn’t want to drag him. He really wanted this to go smoothly, even if the chances of that were slim to none. He wouldn’t be a proper detective if he didn’t believe in hope, right? That was his job, to do his best to fix situations such as this. Like it or not, this kid was exactly the kind of situation Kelsier was trained for. Well, maybe not exactly - so far, guns hadn’t been necessary or even recommended - but close. And Kelsier had the oddest suspicion that weapons might come into this at some point somewhere along the line. Assuming he could even convince him to come. They were both kidding themselves if they thought the detective would leave him behind, no matter how this went. But maybe they could kid themselves a little bit longer. It hurt, to hear Nico’s voice tremble. To see the way he was trying hard not to cry. But Kelsier couldn’t break, wouldn’t tell him he could stay here. He couldn’t do that to him. He cared too much. Convince me. “You’re alone.” He began, choosing his words with extreme care. “You’re stealing to live. And yes, I know you’ve been stealing, and no, you aren’t in trouble for that. It’s not your fault, you didn’t have a choice. But the point is, how long until you get caught? And I promise you, if some store owner catches you they’re not going to be nearly as forgiving. Then what happens?” He paused for emphasis. “Then you get processed. Parents get called. People wonder why exactly you were stealing peanut butter and bread, because most kids go straight for the sugar rush. Maybe someone suggests that you don’t have parents, and that angle gets investigated. Best case scenario is shoplifting charges get dropped and you land in the system.” He paused again, this time for air. His hazel eyes were so serious, so warm, as he gazed at the boy. “Or say, somehow, you don’t get caught. You make it to winter. Storms roll in, the fountains turn off. Where do you get water now? Do you go outside, where it’s -20 degrees? Do you stay here and starve? Because I promise you, when winter comes, your only choice will be between that and freezing to death trying to get food and water.” It seemed harsh, but it was the truth, and Kelsier knew that was the only thing that was going to get through to him. He would detect a lie instantly and call bs, and then they’d be even worse off than they’d started, and no one wanted that. He hoped the shock value would be enough to convince this kid how desperate things were. He smiled a little. “Or we can go get some under salted French fries and I don’t mention the shoplifting.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Apr 4, 2020 12:02:52 GMT -5
Nico watched Kelsier carefully, waiting for the situation to turn south in a hair’s breadth. Waiting for Kelsier to decide he’d had enough of the kid who didn’t want to cooperate, who was more trouble than he was worth. “Every other day,” Nico replied defensively, “I’m not stupid.” He wasn’t going to let himself be weakened by a lack of water, though he did have to ration it on some days. Mostly on the days when he went for “runs,” scouting the nearby areas for places that might have better insulation than the building he’d currently set himself up in. No such luck. He had found his best bet, and he had planned to stick with it. At least until Kelsier had shown up and ruined it. He almost reached down for his water bottle, but remained frozen in case Kelsier took it as a threatening action. In the back of Nico’s head, he knew that as terrified as he was of Kelsier, as certain that he was that Kelsier would attack if provoked… Kelsier probably had those same thoughts about Nico. He must have looked desperate and half-deranged. It had been days – maybe weeks, even – since he had last seen a mirror. Keeping track of time was no easy task when he had no schedule to measure by. The boy’s dark eyes flicked up to the detective, then. He was just doing what Nico had told him to do, but every word hurt. Every word hurt because he couldn’t escape the truth behind them. He only had a few options, and none of them were appealing. Getting dumped in the system, ending back up with his father, spending a decent amount of time in jail, or dying. Of those options, he wasn’t convinced dying wasn’t the lesser evil. He couldn’t hide the guilt in his expression when Kelsier called him out for shoplifting, and he immediately looked away. No matter what Kelsier said, he knew the charges wouldn’t be dropped that easily. It didn’t work that way, even if Kelsier said he wouldn’t tell. Why would he do that? Best case, easiest scenario for Kelsier was that Nico end up in juvie until he came of age. No trouble finding parents that may or may not exist or having to offer him up to a social worker. “Or I make it through winter,” Nico replied quietly, his voice lacking the conviction it needed. “There are public spaces with heating and water fountains, within walking distance from here.” Walking distance was what… four or five miles? Doable in the summer months, but not in blizzard conditions. Nico’s plan – which was barely formed, he had to admit now – wasn’t holding up under scrutiny. “Besides, what happens if I go with you?” he asked, a bit more courage coming back to his tone as he forced himself to meet Kelsier’s gaze. As he forced all of his anger and this loosely formed hatred into his expression. “You try to find my parents, but even if you do, even if they exist, do you really think I’d be here if I had a better option? So then what? Even if you don’t try to pursue the shoplifting – which you have no proof that I did, by the way – I end up in the system anyway. How is that any different than if you let me stay here?” Deep down, Nico knew it didn’t matter how compelling his argument was. They were not in a negotiation, and even if he claimed he could help, Kelsier knew as well as Nico did that there was no good situation here. There was no good option. And Kelsier not only had the law on his side, he was bigger and stronger and Nico was weak from months of living on whatever was the least obtrusive to steal. At least Kelsier had the common sense and the dignity to not insult him by lying. To not tell him that everything would be okay if he just came with him. Because he hadn’t said anything at all about what would happen if he decided to go, did he? Just enumerated his options while staying. It might have worked on some kids, but Nico was far more afraid of what his father would say when he was found out than death. Nico would be blamed for ruining Hades’ reputation, of course. Besides that, nobody would take the word of a kid over someone a bit more in the public image as a successful businessman. The thought of McDonalds set his stomach grumbling, and Nico frowned. Was he that tempted by a warm meal and an empty promise that he wouldn’t end up with a criminal record?
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on May 3, 2020 14:18:57 GMT -5
Kelsier waited for the boy to make some kind of move, though he wasn’t sure what he expected exactly. Maybe for him to make a run for it? But there was nowhere for him to go, because Kelsier was blocking the only exit there was. Of course, the boy shouldn’t have chosen a location with only one exit if he didn’t want to be cornered. But there was no way he could have known that. “No, you’re not stupid.” He agreed seriously. He meant it, too. Nico was far from stupid, in fact, he was quite smart judging from everything he’d done so far, managing to stay alive and in relatively good condition for however long he’d been here. Plenty of kids would have given up and gone home by now. Then again, plenty of other kids had no home to go back to. Was Nico one of them? Or did he have a home, but one that came with something else? Something darker? It was true that he was wary of the kid. Desperate people did desperate things, and he looked about as desperate as you could get. Kelsier wished he could trust him right off the bat, but of course there was no way he could do that. He was a detective, and he knew better than to give his heart too freely. Even if some people would have said he did exactly that. He wished he didn’t have to say those things. He did. But he also knew that Nico needed to hear them, needed to hear exactly what was going to happen here. He needed to know that there were no options, not really. Not in any way that mattered if he wanted to stay alive and safe. What was safety? Nothing Kelsier could promise, he knew that. But he could promise he’d do his best. Was that enough? Was it enough that he wanted the best for Nico, and he was going to do everything in his power to keep him out of trouble? Was it enough that he would even omit the part about Nico stealing from his report? He hoped it was. He also knew it probably wasn’t. “You know that won’t happen.” He said softly, letting a gentle note sleep into his tone. Or rather, trying and failing to keep it out. He wanted to sound tough and sure of himself, but the truth was, he was scared for this kid. He wanted him to come, he wanted to protect him, and he was afraid. Not for himself. For the boy who had obviously been through too much. He considered mentioning that it would be fairly easy for a different officer to pick up a kid huddled in a public place and obviously trying to stay warm, but he let that point go. They both knew Kelsier had won this argument. He listened to the kid try and fight back, and he had to admit he did a decent job of it. He almost physically winced as he pointed out that he had nowhere better to go, and he had to agree that was the conclusion he’d come to himself. The truth was, Keliser wanted this kid to survive. He wanted him to be okay, and he knew that the chances of that happening were low, too low. But he could do his best, couldn’t he? He had to try. “Because if I let you stay here, there’s a good chance you’ll die.” He countered, keeping his tone quiet and calm. “And if you go with me, there’s a chance we can work things out. I don’t know what your situation is. Of course I don’t. But if you tell me what’s going on, maybe I can help. That’s a possibility you won’t have if you stay here.” He wished he had more to offer, he really did. But the truth was that he didn’t know enough to make any promises. Besides the one he’d just made: he would try. He would try and try and keep trying until he couldn’t anymore. He also wished he didn’t have to force him, if he didn’t choose to go. But they both knew that was exactly what he had to do. There was no scenario where the boy stayed here, there was no world where Kelsier would let him. They were at a stalemate, but only because Kelsier didn’t want l drag him kicking and screaming. The moment he decided he had to was the moment it was all over. I hope you appreciate how hard I’m trying. The fact that the kid wasn’t taking the bait told Kelsier he was afraid. Of what they would find when they looked for his parents, maybe. Or of whatever foster system he came from, assuming he came from one at all. There wasn’t much Kelsier could do about that fear, because he didn’t know where it came from, and because even if he had, he might not have the resources to make a difference. This was the part of his job that he hated. This was the part he would rid himself of, if he could. “Please?” He said finally, offering a warm smile. He didn’t have anything else to give.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 6, 2020 2:31:39 GMT -5
“What if I’d prefer to die here?” Nico’s voice was shaky as he spoke, and he couldn’t meet Kelsier’s gaze. “What if that’s a better option?” Deep down, Nico wondered if it would be, but he didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to die alone and cold and scared and knowing there was even a chance he could live a life that didn’t involve his father. “At least if I stay here it’s on my own terms,” he murmured, looking around. The space wasn’t much. It was nothing but a place to hide from the rain and the wind. Yet it had become Nico’s sanctuary for a very brief time. A hope that maybe he could get through this. If only he’d been quiet when Kelsier had entered. If only he hadn’t tried so hard to conceal his location. “You can’t help.” There was certainty in Nico’s voice, along with a whole mixture of other emotions even he couldn’t begin to parse out. Even if the police were to go head to head against Hades, Nico doubted it would end well. The best thing would just be for him to go into the system and survive it long enough to make it out. The best solution would be to not involve Hades at all, because his heart constricted every time he even thought about his father. What were the chances they wouldn’t find out who Nico was if he went with Kelsier? What technology did they have that could reveal who he was? His hands were clenched into fists at his side, and he was close to crying again. Not for the first time, he felt the overwhelming need to go home, followed by the immediate realization that he didn’t have a home. That there was nowhere that would fill that hole that threatened to swallow him alive. Kelsier was trying, Nico could see that. Trying to make the most out of this situation, trying not to end up with a dead kid on his hands. Nico was doing his best just to survive. To make it through the next day before he blew up either physically or emotionally. “I won’t tell you anything,” Nico murmured, voice quiet. “If I go with you, I won’t tell you anything you want to know.” Was being honest about that a smart idea? Nico doubted it, but it was all he had. He wanted to go with Kelsier. He wanted to pretend, for even a moment, that he could have a happy ending. That there could be something worked out. “If you want to know who I am,” Nico continued softly, “You’re gonna have to figure that out without me telling you. And you’ll have to look for my parents with nothing to go off of. And then I’ll end up in the system, and you won’t ever think about me again. You’ll get to wash your hands of me.” He shifted, a bit of his frustrating and anger at the world seeping into his tone. “Or I stay here and you find just as much about me, You’ll just get to wash your hands of me sooner.” There was determination in Nico’s expression, Perhaps the determination to make Kelsier’s job a living nightmare if he chose to take Nico now. Perhaps the determination to just do anything he could to control the situation that he was in, because he wanted everything to be on his own terms. Because he still hoped he could make it through the winter without being found. Nut Kelsier hadn’t been lying. The chances of him surviving even a few more weeks were painfully slim, a fact Nico was horribly aware of as he tried to recall when his last meal had been. Finally, he forced his gaze up to meet Kelsier’s. He knew they could do things that would make him talk. The nice thing now was that they didn’t have leverage over him. They could do what they wanted, and if he got placed in the system he’d run away if he had to. It beat going back to his father. “I’m sorry,” he added, and there was something in his voice that sounded much more genuine. Like there was part of a real boy – a terrified, exhausted boy – hiding underneath the surface of the Nico that was currently speaking. “I’ll go with you, but I won’t talk.” The words sounded like they’d been forced out, because Nico was desperate. They both knew that. He searched Kelsier’s face for anger, for annoyance, for anything that would cause the man to lash out. He fully expected that. He expected no shortage of vitriol and anger once they found out he was serious about not intending to talk. And Kelsier was a detective. He knew people only stopped talking when they had something to hide. When they wanted to avoid something. Which meant that Nico had secrets he didn’t want anyone knowing, and now he had all but admitted to that. Would Kelsier think Nico was on the run from a crime of some sort? Would he think it had something to do with his family? Nico didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. The thing was, it was the only way out that Nico saw, short of just throwing himself at Kelsier and hoping the momentum would be enough to knock the man over and orchestrate an escape. But that was the sort of thing that only happened in movies.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on May 17, 2020 13:19:38 GMT -5
“You don’t want to die. You can’t fool me into believing you do.” Kelsier replied firmly, because there was no doubt in his mind that this kid didn’t want that. He wouldn’t have tried so hard to stay alive if he was willing to give up that easily. Whether it was an option or not, it wasn’t the best one, and they both knew it. Kelsier may not have known the kid, but he knew that he was trying to stay alive. He knew that he didn’t want to give up. “Dying isn’t on your own terms.” He pointed out. “You don’t have any control over death. You’re fighting to stay alive. Therefore, if you die, isn’t that the opposite of on your own terms?” He knew what he meant, of course, but Kelsier had a good point, too. A point that had more to do with the situation at hand. “I know what you mean.” He conceded. “And I understand wanting everything to be on your terms. But you don’t have to stay here for that. You can come with me on your own terms.” He was grateful, in a way, that the kid had been as reckless as he had been. What if Kelsier hadn’t decided to search here? What if the kid had gotten his way and been left alone? He would probably have died in a month, maybe two. “How do you know that I can’t?” He countered, his voice firm. Because he didn’t believe that for a second. He had to be able to help, he had to have that power, or he was just...what was he? What kind of detective couldn’t even help a lost kid go home? He wouldn’t let that be the case. He couldn’t. The best thing would be for the boy to come willingly, to spare them both the pain of Kelsier forcing him, however the detective thought he would do that, anyway. It wouldn’t be easy to physically drag a kicking, screaming kid. Even one as weak and malnourished as he was. Trying wasn’t good enough. Kelsier had to succeed. He had to get this right, or this kid was going to get hurt. Well, more hurt, because he was obviously hurt already. But if Kelsier could help, even just a tiny bit….wasn’t that more than worth anything he had to go through to get there? He looked at the boy in front of him, and he saw a child pushed to his breaking point. He saw someone who needed help, and didn’t want to admit it. And he understood, god he understood, because he never accepted help either. “I know.” He said it gently, but firmly. “I know you won’t tell me anything, but I think I’m a pretty good detective. Maybe I don’t need your cooperation.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. But if the boy was gonna be honest, then Kelsier wasn’t going to pretend he wasn’t trying his hardest to find his parents. He wasn’t going to lie to him and tell him he didn’t think he would succeed. “Maybe.” He said, just as softly. “Maybe. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think that if you come with me, I’ll figure out what’s going on and I’ll protect you from it. Because whatever it is, it hasn’t had the pleasure of meeting me yet. Whatever it is, it doesn’t know who it’s messing with.” He paused, then smiled, and there was so much behind that smile. So much meaning and emotion and the fact that he meant every word. “Wrong. I don’t get to wash my hands of a single person I interact with. If you think I’m going to move on and forget about you as soon as you’re ‘not my problem anymore’, you’re dead wrong about me. I don’t work like that.” Looking into the boy’s eyes was like looking at himself. He recognized that look, that fiery determination to make it through an impossible situation, the determination to live. Maybe he was just surviving right now. But he wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and Kelsier respected that, even if it meant his job was much harder. He respected the kid’s decision not to tell him anything at all, even if it meant he was going to have to uncover the facts anyway. He could still respect the sentiment. He met the kid’s eyes. If he wasn’t even going to get a name out of him, he was going to have to make one up, wasn’t he? Calling him “the kid” and “the boy” just wasn’t all that practical. He wished he had more leverage here. But the kid was desperate, and desperate people did desperate things. He knew better than to think he had much of anything to offer here, but he hoped that what he did have would be enough. He hoped, because otherwise this was about to go extremely badly. Then the boy said the words Kelsier needed to hear, and the detective relaxed, his smile growing deeper. “Maybe you won’t tell me anything.” He agreed, dipping his head respectfully. “Maybe you won’t even give me a name to work with. But that’s okay. That’s your decision.” He didn’t look annoyed. He looked...happy. Because the kid was coming willingly, because he didn’t have to figure out how the hell he was going to force him, because this was a big step towards building something that wasn’t antagonist. He wasn’t the bad guy here. He just needed the kid to see that. “I wasn’t kidding about McDonald’s, you know.” He added, and glanced at the gun on the floor. “I can’t just leave that here, by the way. Do you mind if I get it?”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 18, 2020 2:15:02 GMT -5
Nico looked away, the truth of the words striking just a little bit too deep. No, he didn’t want to die, not really. Not even if it meant he could avoid Hades for the rest of his life. Nico had a feeling he knew how this entire investigation was going to go if he went with Kelsier. They would search for information about him for months, but without a name they couldn’t get anything. His fingerprints or DNA weren’t going to be in any databases, so they couldn’t find out that way. And eventually, they would give up. Eventually they would shove him in the foster system because there wasn’t anything they could do with him. Maybe, maybe Nico would end up with good people. Or maybe he would end up with people who took advantage of the foster system and didn’t actually care about helping kids. It wouldn’t matter, it was probably better than going back home to Hades. “Going with you won’t be on my own terms either, at least not once we get where we’re going.” He may not have known all the details, but he knew the basics of what it would look like. “You’ll put me in a holding cell and you’ll pull me out to interrogate me, and you’ll keep doing that until whoever your boss is realizes I won’t talk, and then you’ll decide my fate without any input from me at all. How is that on my terms any more than dying is?” It wasn’t a fair comparison and they both knew it, but this wasn’t exactly a fair conversation. Perhaps, Nico realized, what he hated most was that Kelsier was willing to listen to each of his arguments and refute them one by one. He was wasting time, trying to find a way out of this situation, and he had struck out. Kelsier probably knew that, but he was so kind about it, even when he didn’t need to be. Not everyone in the world was like Kelsier. In fact, there were very few people in the world who were like that. Which made Nico even more resistant to going with him. “I know you can’t help because there are no good ways out. There are no options that work. And maybe you have good intentions, maybe you don’t, I don’t know you. But I do know that this is my life and I’ve been living it long enough to consider what all the options are. Your goal is going to be finding my parents or placing me with a set of new ones. That won’t help.” Telling the truth was hard when he had to be vague. When he had to be sure not to give anything away, not to sound too certain about the fact that he had parents, not to imply that they were still alive. “Besides,” he added very quietly, jaw set in determination. “I don’t want your help.” That was a point he figured he had made abundantly clear beforehand, but that he figured he might as well try to get across now. This was the turning point. This was when Nico ran out of options, when he had to face that going with Kelsier was the wrong choice, even if he didn’t say anything. Even if he kept his secrets close to his chest. Kelsier had probably spent his entire career catching criminals who didn’t tell him anything. Criminals who may not have had a record yet. Tracking them down and discovering who they were even when they weren’t right in front of him. Detectives were good at finding things out, and the last thing Nico wanted to do was be found out. “Maybe you’re right,” he conceded, still not quite looking at Kelsier. “But I wouldn’t bet on you being able to find much at all without a name.” The one thing Nico had going for him was that there was no way Hades would filed a missing persons report. It was Hades who wanted him gone in the first place. But if Kelsier succeeded somehow, if they contacted Hades… Nico shuddered against the thought of what would happen. Hades would be angry about the negative attention on him, and Nico would be blamed. The promise of protection was almost too much to bear. It was the promise that Hades wouldn’t bother him, that he’d be safe, that Kelsier could stop the bad things from happening. It wasn’t even a promise, really, but that was what it felt like to Nico. He hated Kelsier for it, because he wanted to believe it. He wanted so desperately to believe that this wouldn’t end up with him going back to Hades. But there was no way Kelsier could fight that. Maybe if it had been a bad foster home placement, or a situation with proof that bad things were happening. But it wasn’t, and on the surface Hades looked the perfect father. “Has anyone ever told you you’re idealistic?” Nico asked quietly, dark eyes meeting hazel. He didn’t want to assume Kelsier hadn’t been hurt by the world, but for him to still hold on to everyone he interacted with? For him to make that his business model? It certainly implied that he hadn’t ever worked with anyone where it would be easier to just forget. Perhaps Nico would prove him wrong. Perhaps Nico would be the person he’d choose to forget when it was all said and done. It was hard to ignore the way Kelsier’s smile deepened. It was hard not to feel like had just done something right. “It’s a decision you’ll probably hate me for in a few days,” Nico commented. If he took off once they got outside, how far could he get? Would he be able to escape? Probably not. Nonetheless, Nico felt he had to try. Even if Kelsier was right. Even if staying alone meant he was going to die out here. It was still a chance he was desperate enough to take. He ignored the comment about McDonald’s, either not falling for it or pretending outright it didn’t exist. He didn’t believe Kelsier was going to take him to McDonald’s, even if he wanted to. Adults lied. That was one thing Nico was very clear on. “I don’t mind,” he said instead, focusing on the last thing Kelsier had said. As the detective reached for the gun, Nico busied himself preparing everything he owned. Not enough to even fill the small, nondescript black bag he carried. Enough to survive with, barely. He was ready. For what, he wasn’t sure. To run or to cooperate was a choice he had yet to make.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on May 26, 2020 15:04:53 GMT -5
The kid was probably right about that part, at least. Without a name or fingerprints, it would be extremely difficult to track down this boy’s parents, Kelsier knew what he was getting into, he knew it would be difficult and he knew there was a very good chance he would fail. He also knew that he had to try, whatever happened, to do his best to help this kid. Even if he didn’t want Kelsier’s help. Maybe especially if he didn’t want Kelsier’s help. He knew the foster system was unreliable and he really, really didn’t want the kid to end up there, if there was anything at all he could hope to do about it. There had to be something, right? He couldn’t stand by and let the kid - damn, he really needed to think of a nickname for him or something - couldn’t stand by and let the kid end up with people who didn’t care. That would be almost as bad as leaving him alone here. Almost. Which was why he was willing to risk it. He was smart, this kid. Kelsier actually looked away, because he was right, that was exactly what was going to happen. He wouldn’t like interrogating a kid, even for his own good, but what could he do about it? The kid needed someone to figure out where he belonged, and that someone was going to have to be Kelsier. Because that was his job. And because he didn’t want to leave the boy to die. Besides, he wasn’t completely right. Kelsier was going to ask for his input every step of the way, even if he had to drag him along kicking and screaming. Which he honestly might. Hopefully not, but it wasn’t like the kid was exactly going along with this so far. Not that he could exactly blame him, but still, it made things harder. “I’ll listen to you.” He promised quietly, looking Nico in the eye. He meant it. He would listen, if Nico decided he wanted to say something. “I can’t promise you it’ll be fun, and I can’t promise you that you won’t get stuck in a holding cell being poked and prodded by people who want answers. But I can promise that I’ll do everything in my power to protect you from whatever it is you’re frightened of. I can promise that I’ll give you my best effort. I’m afraid I can’t offer you much more than that.” He stopped, listening as the kid explained. Well, he wasn’t wrong. Kelsier knew that the chances of him being able to help were slim, especially if he the kid was right and finding his parents wouldn’t help. Did that mean they were dead? Not necessarily, but it meant they might be, so Kelsier decided to keep that possibility open for the time being. See? He said internally with a smile. Maybe I can figure out more than you give me credit for. “You may not want it.” He agreed, nodding. “You may hate me for giving it. But you have my help anyway, and I’ll not pull it away. You have my help and you’d be wise to use it. It might be worth more than you think it is.” Or maybe he was wasting everyone’s time here and the kid would really be better off alone. But Kelsier had already made up his mind not to leave him, so that was that. He didn’t go back on his word. Besides, he couldn’t tell the future. He was just doing the best he could with the information he had. It seemed like he was wavering. Of course, he may have been pretending to waver in order to catch Kelsier off guard. That was what Kelsier would have done in his place. But maybe he hadn’t thought of that, maybe he was actually considering going with Kelsier willingly. He could hope couldn’t he? And he was good at this. He knew what he was doing. Kelsier had experience on his side, as well as training as a detective, and he thought maybe his chances were better than he was giving himself credit for. After all, the boy wasn’t the one who had taken classes on how to make people talk when they didn’t want to. And then the kid finally conceded, and Kelsier almost grinned, but barely managed to stop himself. It probably was a bad plan to start bragging right now. So instead, he just nodded, and offered a smile. “We’ll see. You don’t have to give anything up, but I can’t promise I won’t find it on my own. That’s kind of my job after all.” It was a promise Kelsier was going to do his very best to keep. It was a promise, like it or not, because he had said it out loud, and that made it a promise. He wasn’t going to go back on his word. He was going to do everything he could to protect him, from whoever was pushing him so far in the first place. Whoever was responsible for him being out here alone. Even if it was just a couple of dead parents. He smiled as the boy continued. “All the time.” He agreed, straightfaced. “I’ve been told I’m idealistic, annoying, and a know-it-all. I’ve even been occasionally accused of talking too much. I don’t expect the charges to stick, though.” He was messing around on purpose, trying to get a smile out of the kid. He had no idea whether it would work, but well, he had to try, right? A smile would do this kid a lot of good. A laugh would do him even more good, but Kelsier wasn’t going to push it too far just yet. “We’ll see.” He continued. “My bet is that I won’t hate you after all. Hopefully, you won’t hate me too much either. Maybe if we don’t hate each other, we can figure this out faster.” And what he doesn’t say is Maybe we can figure this out before anyone gets too stressed and snappy. He was also completely serious about McDonald’s. Not that they would be going in, of course, but he planned to go through the drive through and get the kid anything he wanted. It looked like he could use some good greasy fries, honestly. Kelsier wasn’t completely sure he was supposed to buy food for someone he picked up as a detective, but he was damn well doing it anyway, and if someone had a problem with it then well. Maybe he just wouldn’t tell them actually. He nodded and carefully retrieved the gun, putting it away and turning to face Nico with a smile. “All right then.” He said cheerfully, as if they weren’t going to the police station after all. “Do you have anything you want to take with you?”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 30, 2020 21:44:52 GMT -5
Nico felt as though he were dancing on the edge of a knife. There was so much at stake here, and Kelsier had him cornered. That was what Detectives did, though. They caught onto criminals and they backed them in a corner until they had no other options, until they ended up in a cell. Nico may not have been a criminal (well, besides the petty theft), but he was going to end up in a cell anyway. He was going to be poked and prodded and asked questions he didn’t want to answer, and he wasn’t going to say a word. Even if it made things more difficult. Was it really that much of a crime to not want to end up back with his father? To enjoy the brief moments of freedom he had before they were wrenched away from him by bad luck? Deep down, Nico knew the truth. He was never going to survive without being caught. Even if he escaped detection, he didn’t have money, he didn’t have a way to purchase warm clothes for winter or any way to pay for water or heating. If he could find a way to hide out in a house that wasn’t abandoned that would have been ideal, but the chances of getting caught there were impossibly high. “I don’t believe your promises,” Nico replied honestly, meeting Kelsier’s hazel gaze. “And even if you keep your promises to try, even you can’t make another option when there are only three available and none of them are even decent.” One. Nico stayed where he was, and likely died. Two. Nico was sent back to live with Hades and lived in fear until he was eighteen, or until he died before then. Three. Nico ended up in the foster system, exposed to whatever horrors he might be subjected to there. He wasn’t the kind of kid that could just adjust well to a new home, especially one that expected him to be a problem. He knew nobody there would give him a chance. Kelsier couldn’t create a fourth option. Nico knew that well enough. “You give me one good option, just one, and I’ll gladly accept your help,” Nico murmured. Calling Kelsier’s ability into question probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but he knew Kelsier couldn’t help, not really. He might think that he was helping, he might genuinely believe that his actions would help, but only Nico knew the truth. Unfortunately, if he shared why he was afraid with Kelsier… it didn’t matter what Kelsier wanted. It didn’t matter if he believed him (and Nico knew he wouldn’t). Hades would get Nico back, and he’d make him pay for getting involved in all of this. Suddenly, Nico wished he’d been brave enough to leave town. He wished he hadn’t been so tied here. “And I’m not frightened,” he lied for good measure. Better not show any weakness. If he could make Kelsier believe that… then maybe he wouldn’t try as hard. Maybe Nico wouldn’t feel guilty when Kelsier failed. “Good luck finding anything about me,” he added after a moment, crossing his arms. He doubted there was much out there to draw on. Hopefully, nobody would notice the family resemblance between him and his father. Hopefully nobody would dig up the reports of a girl who had died a few years before, who shared the same eyes as Nico. Hopefully. Is that all Nico had now? Hope? If it was, then it would have to be good enough. He wasn’t sure what Kelsier was trying to accomplish. Was he trying to make himself seem more human? Nico already knew he was human. That was the whole problem. He was one fallible human being who thought he was going to do good when really he was just going to doom a boy he was trying to save. “Good,” he murmured instead, meeting Kelsier’s eye again. “I’ve been told I don’t talk enough. Perhaps we’ll balance each other out.” Or maybe they would just frustrate each other, and one of them would lose their temper and Nico would get arrested for something or Kelsier would give up and just throw him into the foster system, or… well. They would just have to try not to annoy each other, even if Nico didn’t give any answers. He still figured that Kelsier would end up hating him, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. He was just doing what he could to stay alive. And staying alive meant drawing out this case for as long as possible, meant avoiding Hades for as long as it took before Kelsier and whoever else was involved gave up. At least if Nico stayed silent, he had some control over the situation. At least if he kept his name to himself he could keep himself safe, he wouldn’t end up where he didn’t want to be. That was what he told himself, at least. He knew, deep down, it wouldn’t work like that. Nico watched Kelsier fetch the gun, staying perfectly still where he crouched behind the boxes. Once Kelsier had put away the weapon, Nico finally edged forward a bit, lifting his bag carefully over his shoulder. He eyed Kelsier carefully, fully prepared for the man to take the bag from him then and there. “I don’t have to hand this over before we get to the police station, do I?” Nico asked, some of his fear edging into his voice. He knew he wouldn’t be allowed to have it on him then, but… he wanted it now. If he decided to run then the supplies could help him. And even if he didn’t, it was everything he owned. He wanted to hold onto it as long as possible. There was no guarantee that he’d get any of it back once it was handed over to the police anyway. He had a feeling the letter from Sam in particular – written so carefully so they could explain it away to Hades in a variety of ways if they needed – wouldn’t ever find its way back to him once taken. It was the only important bit of evidence in there. Fortunately, it didn’t even say Nico’s name. He hugged it close to his chest as he emerged fully into the light, waiting for Kelsier to go down first. Did the detective expect him to run? Did Nico expect himself to run?
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 25, 2020 13:43:05 GMT -5
The difference was, this kid wasn’t a criminal. Not by Kelsier’s standards, anyway. The worst he had done was steal to survive, and Kelsier would have done the same thing in his place. There was a reason he knew that, too. Kelsier didn’t want the kid to end up in a cell. He didn’t want to punish him for anything, because he hadn’t done anything wrong. He was just a kid trying to deal with a shitty situation, and Kelsier just wanted to help. Unfortunately, there was no good way to do that, really. He knew the kid didn’t want his name known, let alone details about his past, his parents, anything. And yet how could the detective help him without knowing the details? How could he possibly make his coworkers understand? He was as trapped as the boy was, really. Well, maybe not quite as trapped. The kid was stuck between death and getting caught. While Kelsier knew the feeling, he wasn’t currently in the same predicament, and he knew the kid wouldn’t appreciate him acting like he was. He didn’t plan to. He nodded, not surprised as the kid made his blunt remark. “You have no reason to believe me.” He agreed, undeterred. “Not yet, anyway. I’m just the detective who ruined your life. Sorry about that, by the way.” He meant it. He still felt rather like he had ruined something precious, and though he didn’t regret finding the kid, he did wish he didn’t have to drag him away from the only thing he could really call home. And what if his fate? Kelsier realistically had very little control over that. He would probably be in charge of the case, yes, but he would also have to follow orders, and his fellow detectives would have their own opinions. A fourth option. They needed a fourth option. The problem was, Kelsier didn’t have one. For all his optimism, there was still the slight problem of reality. “Alright.” He agreed, just as softly. “Come with me. Tell me your name. I can protect you. I can keep whoever you’re afraid of from hurting you.” It was a long shot, and he knew it. He didn’t expect the kid to tell him. But he had to throw it out there as an option. The fourth option Nico claimed didn’t exist. He met the kid’s dark eyes. If he was going to make this difficult, that was his right. But he could save them both a lot of trouble right now, just by saying one word. Just one. Not frightened. Kelsier didn’t say anything in response to that. He didn’t want to lie and say he agreed, but he also didn’t want to make the kid feel any worse, and he knew that was exactly what he was at risk of doing. He did grin a little when the kid offered him good luck. “Thanks. I’ll need it.” He said seriously, as though luck were a palpable thing he had just been offered. “You don’t like to make things easy on yourself, do you? The offer still stands. If you decide you want my protection, you know what to do. We can skip all the rest.” He chuckled a little. “We’ll work out nicely, then. I’ll talk and you’ll stare at me like I’m losing my mind.” He agreed. Then his expression went a little more serious. “Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t be in this line of work if I thought I couldn’t handle it. I like a challenge, okay? And I know you don’t want me to know about you, but I wouldn’t worry, it should take me a while to figure it out.” Of course, with that came the promise that he would, in the end, figure it out. Was that as comforting as it was supposed to be? Probably not. But there wasn’t a lot of comfort he could offer, so he hoped he was good enough. He knew he wouldn’t hate the kid. Even if he proved to be as stubborn as he seemed, how could Kelsier hold that against him? It was his life, his happiness in the line, and who knew what else. How could he possibly hold any of this against him? How could he begrudge him the bit of control he had left? Kelsier himself would do the same thing in his situation. Of course he would. No one liked to be out of control anywhere, let alone in their own life. And the kid was in a very precarious position. He was at the mercy of those he didn’t trust, he didn’t have much left to lose, and most importantly, he had something he was afraid of. Something he was running from. Of course he didn’t want to give anything up. He nodded to the kid, encouraging him as he stepped forward, bag in hand. He would probably have to search that. Just in case. Did he have to do that right now? He probably should, but he wasn’t sure he had the heart, really. Then again, he didn’t know this kid, and anything was possible. Yes, he should definitely search the bag, and probably the kid too, but maybe just the bag. Then the kid asked the very question on Kelsier’s mind, and he felt himself melt. He didn’t want to take it. He offered his best smile, and made no move to take it as he answered. “Would it be okay for me to take a quick look? Then I’ll give it right back, I promise.” That was really the best he could offer, under the circumstances. He moved aside, letting the kid go down first. He didn’t really want to turn his back to a desperate boy with a bag of unnamed materials, after all. He may have thought with his heart more than he should have, but he wasn’t stupid, and he did have his training in his head, yelling at him for being a mushy idiot.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 29, 2020 16:58:59 GMT -5
Nico blinked. Kelsier was… apologizing? Even more strange, Nico wanted to believe him. He wanted to take that apology at face value, he wanted to believe that Kelsier meant it, but he didn’t know. He didn’t trust him, didn’t believe him, and he still wished that Kelsier would just leave him alone. But there was something about that apology that was genuine, and part of Nico’s heart reached out for it. “I get that you have good intentions,” Nico murmured, not wanting to say anything that might provoke Kelsier now that it seemed they were actually getting somewhere. It was already going in a direction that Nico didn’t like, though he had agreed to it. “And it’s not like my life could be ruined much more than it already is, but… yeah. I’m sorry too.” He watched Kelsier for another couple of seconds, not entirely sure how this whole situation was going to go down. He was still afraid of Kelsier – it was hard not to be, when the detective literally held Nico’s life in his hands – but he was even more afraid of what the others at the station would be like. He was even more afraid of what could happen to him if Kelsier didn’t find a better option. If Kelsier found out the truth. “No.” The word was still quiet, but resolute. He wasn’t going to change his mind. “I don’t think you can protect me, even if I knew for sure you wanted to.” Nico didn’t want to become a statistic, but the idea of starving to death on the streets was infinitely preferable to going back home. The moment Kelsier or another detective figured out his name, he’d end up back with Hades, and everything would be so much worse. Hades would be angry that Nico had been caught, would claim he engineered the whole situation to make his father look bad, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Kelsier wouldn’t understand. Surely, he thought it was simpler than that. Surely he didn’t think Nico was connected with anyone with quite as much influence as Hades had, because this situation was a lot more delicate than he seemed to understand. Nico could tell he was treating it with care, but not enough. Not nearly enough. “And it’s not about making things either or harder on myself,” he added, a bit of an edge to his words. “It’s about surviving.” Nico was doing the best he could to survive, and he needed Kelsier to see very clearly that he was the obstacle here. This was the path Nico was going down because he was out of other options, but Kelsier was the reason he needed to. Nico couldn’t blame him for doing his job, but that didn’t mean he didn’t resent him for the fact that he seemed to care, and still had to push Nico towards the things he was most afraid of. If Nico were to give his name, to tell the truth, it would be Nico’s word against Hades’. Even if Nico somehow managed to convince Kelsier, Kelsier wasn’t likely to be able to convince anyone else. And then what? The foster system? It was better than nothing, but still not a good option. Nico could tell that Kelsier was trying to make him laugh. If he weren’t terrified out of his mind, it might have worked. Unfortunately, Nico wasn’t much in a laughing mood, even as the detective made jokes at his own expense. “You’re one of those detectives that’s actually good at his job, aren’t you?” Nico asked, as though it was a bad thing. If Kelsier were the sort to slack of, if he cared just a little less, they’d work on Nico’s case for a while, decide it was a dead end, then turn him over to the foster system. It wasn’t going to go like that with Kelsier, Nico could tell that already. As long as he had a home to return to, Kelsier wasn’t going to give up until he found it. Normally, Nico would be grateful for that kind of persistence, but not when it could ruin any chance of future happiness he’d managed to hope for over the past several months. Maybe if it took long enough, anyone else on the case would decide they had had enough and just turn Nico over. Unless they decided to charge him with something… if there was a crime that seemed to fit Nico, if he didn’t have a proper alibi… they could pin something on him, and then he could spend the rest of his life in jail. Not likely, Nico scolded himself. Innocent until proven guilty, and Nico really hadn’t done anything wrong other than shoplifting what little he needed to survive. Slowly, Nico looked at his bag, then at Kelsier. It seemed as though Kelsier was letting him go down first, before he checked the bag. Which was rather stupid of him, but Nico wasn’t going to insult him when he knew full well it was a kindness that Kelsier hadn’t needed to grant him. And then he hit the floor, and took a few steps towards the front door, and he wasn’t thinking anymore. It was like his body took over when his mind was distracted, and suddenly he was sprinting, running as fast as he could as far away as he could get. Blood roared in his ears and he didn’t seem to register the way his heart was pounding and his breath was labored. If he had been thinking, he wouldn’t have run. He was making it harder on himself, but once he started, he couldn’t stop. He didn’t care where, but a glance behind him told him that Kelsier was probably out of the attic by then, which meant he’d be in pursuit. Tears escaped Nico’s eyes and he angrily brushed them away as he kept running and running and running, ducking between houses and through bushes when he could, hoping to lose Kelsier. He couldn’t go back to Hades. He wouldn’t. He was going to find somewhere else to stay, and he’d get a job, and then he’d save for college, and then he’d see Sam again. More tears burned at his eyes, but he kept moving. He was running on pure adrenaline, his legs and heart ignoring the fact that he hadn’t eaten in days and that he was surely suffering from dehydration as well. He couldn’t keep this up forever. He didn’t need to, though. He just needed to keep it up long enough to escape.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 12, 2020 8:14:57 GMT -5
Maybe an apology didn’t necessarily mean that there was any trust between them yet. Maybe it was just Kelsier apologizing for how things were. Maybe he was just saying “I wish things were different” and yet continuing on anyway. Wasn’t that possible? He smiled a little. Now they were getting somewhere. He nodded, accepting the apology, not for himself but for the situation in general. Maybe they were both just apologizing for the way things were, even though they had no control over it. “And you might be surprised. It might actually get better, not worse.” He had to throw that out there. He had make sure Nico knew he still had options, even if he didn’t feel like he did. Things could improve. Of course, they weren’t likely to when Kelsier didn’t know the truth. He was trying to find out, but Nico wasn’t making it easy on either of them, a fact which he was all too aware of. He was trying to help, but Nico wasn’t making that easy on either of them. He was probably right to be afraid of the station. Kelsier couldn’t vouch for everyone there, after all. He could only vouch for himself, he could only promise he’d do his best, and what was that worth? Probably not much, he figured. Still, it had to be better than nothing. He sighed, looking away. He wasn’t surprised...far from it, actually. Still, he wanted the kid to believe there was a chance this would go well. He wanted the kid to believe that he wasn’t actually doomed, that maybe, maybe this was a good thing. Did Kelsier know that? Of course he didn’t. How could he, when he was just a detective trying to do his best? But it was possible this would go well. It had to be. The kid was right about one thing, though. Kelsier had no idea what he was getting into. He was intending to treat this case with as much care as possible, but he had no idea where Nico was from. Even if he had known, he might not have realized the full situation just based on that. No, he was going to have to meet Hades to really understand. Would that happen? Maybe. He didn’t know. He hoped it would, because it would mean he’d found the boy’s home. “I know it’s about surviving.” He added, his fine calm. He didn’t seem disturbed by the kid’s tone. “But I’m also right, it’s also about making this easier or harder, because this needs to happen one way or another, and it’s up to you how it happens.” He was being honest, as honest as he could be. He wasn’t threatening the kid, he was just making sure he knew all the facts. Like the fact that Kelsier wasn’t going to back down. And the fact that Nico didn’t really have any good options here, besides cooperating. “I like to think I am, yes.” He acknowledged. He wasn’t going to give up. He wasn’t going to slack off, and he wasn’t going to let this go. Not ever. Maybe that was why Nico hated him. Because he wouldn’t drop it, he was never going to drop it. Maybe that was reasonable. Kessler knew it would be much easier for everyone involved if he could just walk away, but he wouldn’t. He couldn’t just leave a kid to die. He also couldn’t put a kid up for adoption without even knowing whether he had parents out there somewhere, no matter how much the kid wanted him to. He also wasn’t going to charge Nico with anything. Because there was nothing to charge him with. He hadn’t done anything wrong, all he’d done was try to survive, and since when was that a crime? It wasn’t. Kelsier would have done the same thing in his place. So he couldn’t in good conscience charge him. That was how it worked in his head, He probably should behave checked the bag. But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to believe ill of this kid, even if he was a detective and that was quite literally his job. Well, screw that. He wouldn’t let this kid be alone because of a stupid career. And then the kid ran. Kelsier swore and took off after him, running for the door but he was already gone. Kelsier ran, dodging past bushes and ducking under trees. The kid was faster and Kelsier was going to lose him. Unless… He ran for the shortcut he always took to work. Almost every day. He knew this place like the back of his hand. He could lie in wait for Nico, and he could grab him. He ducked down under the bushes to wait. He hated this, he didn’t want to do it. But he didn’t have a choice. All that mattered now was catching this kid, not letting him go. All that mattered was making sure he was safe, whether he wanted to be or not. Probably not. But he wasn’t going to let that stop him now. He had already let this kid fool him into being too soft for his own good, because not taking the bag had clearly been a mistake. He didn’t move. All Nico had to do was run through here. Then it would be over.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 16, 2020 18:13:31 GMT -5
Evidently, Nico had chosen to make this harder. It wasn’t really a conscious choice. It wasn’t like he had considered, before he took off, that his new goal in life was to make Kelsier’s life harder. He hadn’t even stopped to consider anything, he’d just turned and fled, because he knew the sorts of lies adults told. He knew that when Hades was charming, it usually meant he was hiding something. He was usually luring you into a trap, and you wouldn’t notice it even once you fell right in. No, it was easier not to trust anyone being charming or kind, because there was usually something underneath. Kelsier wanted Nico to stay so he could solve the case and move on to more. He wanted to add to his numbers, and maybe he was vying for a raise or something. Money was an important motivator. Maybe he did care about Nico as more than just a statistic. Maybe he was actually trying to save his life. Maybe he was a good person, and maybe he was going to work the case for as long as it took to get Nico home. In a way, that made him even more dangerous. That meant he wasn’t going to rest, and there would be no compromises. It meant they would be stuck together for a good long time, if he managed to catch Nico. Heart pounding and breath coming hard, Nico turned to see if he was being followed. He didn’t see Kelsier, which wasn’t a good sign. Because the detective should be following, and it didn’t seem his car had moved. Nico took a moment, throwing off his balance as he shifted his bag off of his back and hugged it close to his chest. That was one more thing he could be grabbed by, and he wouldn’t take that risk, especially when he didn’t see Kelsier. Was he calling in backup? That would be bad. The horror at being found rose up in Nico then, causing him to stumble a few steps as the tears that had escaped when he started running came more steadily. There was no way out of this. He’d been stupid, and now his life was over. Was he being overdramatic? Maybe. But going back to Hades might literally kill him. His vision was blurred by tears, but still he kept running, hearing nothing but the rush of wind against his ears. His lungs were burning as he tried to force in more air, and his mouth felt incredibly dry, but he had to make it. He just had to get out of the neighborhood, and then he could hide somewhere. It wasn’t like they could track him, he didn’t have a phone on him or anything. There. That seemed to be the quickest way, and even if Kelsier weren’t pursuing him, there would be officers arriving soon who would be. He still needed to get out quick so Kelsier wouldn’t see which direction he went. He put on a burst of speed as he approached the passage he saw, promising himself quietly that he’d be able to stop running soon. It would all be over soon. His tears were tracing paths in the dirt on his face, and by the time he reached the bushes he wasn’t sure how much of it was sweat, and how much of it was tears. Please, he thought, to whatever deity was listening, Please let this lead to freedom. And then he ran right into Kelsier’s trap.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 3, 2020 22:40:55 GMT -5
Kelsier didn’t think it was fair to assume that the kid was trying to make his life hard. That was, bluntly, giving him too much credit. He wasn’t the main antagonist of this story. He wasn’t even sure he was a supporting character, actually. He just knew he was trying his best to help, and the kid was trying his best to stay okay. Stay alive, really. It wasn’t fair to either of them, but life was rarely fair, and Kelsier knew better than to expect anything else. Still, he wished things could be different. He wished the kid wasn’t so afraid that he felt the need to run into the unknown to escape. He wished the kid trusted adults, that he’d had any reason to trust them in his short life. But he hadn’t, clearly. Kelsier was going to have to fix that. His intentions were good. How was he supposed to know that that made him even more frightening? He didn’t intend to be, certainly, he was just trying to do his best to help. Which made everything that much worse, intentionally or not. He wasn’t going to let this go, though, not ever. He would never give up. He didn’t even know the boy’s name, and here he was, laying in wait to catch him, so he couldn’t escape help. He wouldn’t thank Kelsier for this, not for a long time, if ever. Kelsier waited, letting the moments tick by. He knew he was faster than the kid, so hopefully he had gotten here first, thought he couldn’t be sure. He might be sitting here waiting while the kid escaped elsewhere. That was the chance he would have to take. Come on. He mouthed to himself. He didn’t dare make a sound. He didn’t dare do anything that could tip the kid off. If this failed, it was likely he would never see this kid again, and he didn’t want that. He needed to fix this, somehow. Whoever had hurt this kid needed to pay. He probably should have called backup, in hindsight, but he didn’t want to. What he wanted to do was fix this alone first, get the kid calmed down, and then deal with his coworkers. They were going to be as difficult to handle as the boy was, if he were honest. He held his breath. Footsteps. Someone running, getting closer. He tensed, readying himself, and took a brief moment to thoroughly loathe what he was about to do. He didn’t know how the kid felt about being tackled, but he was guessing it wasn’t warm and fuzzy. But it was necessary. The kid had made it necessary. He was ready. And then the kid was there and Kelsier launched himself out of his hiding place, aiming to pin the kid before he knew what hit him. It was something he unfortunately knew how to do quite well, for various reasons. He hoped it worked. He hoped someday, the kid understood why he’d done it. - L walked in the shadows, keeping out of sight as best he could. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself. Or the way his bare feet looked on the sidewalk where everyone else had shoes. Or the way his black hair fell in dirty waves over his face and down his back. Or the way his clothes didn’t fit him at all. He felt like he hadn’t slept in years. Time went by slower and faster, everything seemed to blend into one and he didn’t know why. The only way he could even tell thst time was passing at all was the fact that the sun still traveled across the sky, and the moon still came and went. Life on the street was nothing like he would have expected it to be. It was bitter and it was dark and nothing was the same if you didn’t find food. Hunger. He hadn’t really known what hunger was, before. He hadn’t known what it was like to think of nothing but where your next meal would come from, or how it felt to be so empty your stomach felt like it might eat itself instead, just to punish you. He hated it. But at the same time, it was something he thought he could get used to, if he had to. And, it seemed, he did. He headed back towards the makeshift shelter. He hated to come back empty handed, but luck had not been on his side today. Maybe Orpheus had had a better time.
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