dataBURST: IC Inbox

[breakaleginhalf]

Hey, it's Gil. Either I haven't got my phone on me, OR I'm actively ignoring you. Text me if it's important, try harder if you're dying. TEXT | VOICE | VIDEO | ACTION

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[breakaleginhalf]

Dude, Artie's chill, alright? He's just got some catching up to do.

[His tone is... not quite dismissive, but certainly he thinks that's the final word on the topic. Besides, Mono's way more interesting and delighting to talk about.]

But yeah, Little Man broke into my apartment at like three a.m. and fell off the couch when he saw I was awake. God, he's so fucking small - you should've seen him get an apple out of my fridge, it was a whole fucking deal.

[push_that_pesticide]

He's so fuckin' small, and he just breaks my damn heart. I used to know street kids like him. 'd have offered him a place here already if I didn't think he'd prefer to go it by himself. Well- that and the fact I freak him out a bit.

[breakaleginhalf]

[Gil's ears perk straight up.]

Yes, oh my god, he can see through our Masks! Fuck, I said I was gonna get a bite to eat and he felt like he was gonna shit himself until I went to the fucking fridge.

[push_that_pesticide]

The lil dude got himself stuck in a trap because he got spooked when he saw me, I ended up having to pledge that I wasn't gonna hurt him on purpose, and look- I don't think he's one of us, but he understood it. Like, calmed right the fuck down.

[breakaleginhalf]

Hah, you're soft. [Not that he's being mean when he says it. That's legitimately pretty sweet of Bugsy, he's honestly fascinated.] But yeah, he told me that most adults are like, kid murderers? Or just, like-- tapped out, somehow, he said they don't talk and he and other kids have to protect themselves from them.

[push_that_pesticide]

Oh fuck off, I'm hardcore, I just didn't want to let a kid be terrified around me, alright?

[ Touchy, touchy. ]

For real? Shit, man- I knew he didn't have parents but that's fucked up.

[ Bugsy reached his leg out to gently boop Gil with his foot. ]

You think he's gonna want to live with us, if the adults are all... like that?

[breakaleginhalf]

[Gil's ears remain at their consistent 'relaxed' perk. He's not saying anything else there.]

I dunno. I mean, he seems like he's happy to sit and watch movies with me, so long as my stomach doesn't growl too loud. And he knows you can't-slash-won't hurt him now. I straight-up told him most of the adults here won't hurt him, but that's gonna be a hard one to believe for a bit.

[He climbs into the nest a bit further so he's more comfy. Easier for Bugsy to poke.]

Think as long as we set up a TV so he can come and go whenever, probably he might.

[push_that_pesticide]

... a TV? Why would that let him come and go whenever?

[ He'd met Mono in the alley, after all, he hadn't seen what the lil guy could do just yet. ]

[breakaleginhalf]

[Gil stares for a moment.]

...dude. That's how he broke in to my apartment, he came in through the TV fucking Ring style!

[push_that_pesticide]

... what?! Like the fuckin- what's that darkling contract, the one that lets 'em go through mirrors? Like that?

[ Bugsy openly gawped, which slowly slid into a goofy grin. ]

That's so fuckin' cool. I love this lil guy- we have to look out for him.

[breakaleginhalf]

I think that's Fairest. [Irrelevant, though.] But yeah, Mono's fucking rad. We should get him a little fucking mini-fridge, he was fucking starving.

[push_that_pesticide]

No, I'm sure it's a Darkling contract. I was learning it from this banshee dude before I came here, and he learnt it from another Darkling who knew it when he escaped.

[ He couldn't help but laugh at that though, affirming- ]

Yeah- lil mini fridge, make him a lil bed and everything. Shit- it'd be like furnishing a dollhouse, he's so, so fucking tiny.

[breakaleginhalf]

[Sorry, he's being distracted by Semantics and Bugsy Being Wrong.]

I dunno why Darklings were teaching you, my dude, that is one hundred percent Fairest. I think it's part of the whole Reflections set.

[push_that_pesticide]

Because it's a light thing. Mirrors and shit operate on light, and Darkling magic is all about the manipulation of light. The fuck are you talking about- Fairest magic is about charming people.

[breakaleginhalf]

Dude, my Durance was with two of them, you think I don't know how obsessed with being pretty they are? A mirror's like a signature Fairest item, of course they can use them as fucking doors.

[push_that_pesticide]

You know what? I'm texting Coda. They'll know, and they're gonna prove I'm right-

[ He got his network device out and started tapping away. Literally tapping, one finger poke at a time. Someone teach this man how to type on a phone. ]

[breakaleginhalf]

Oh my god.

[He's not wrong, though, is probably the thing, and Gil can't resist scrambling into the nest properly so he can crouch beside Bugsy to read the reply when it comes in.]

[push_that_pesticide]

[ Bugsy tapped out 'hey coda mirror walking is a darkling contract right?' and leaned on Gil's shoulder as he waited for a response. It pinged a moment later- ]

The fuck do they mean it's a Beast contract?!

[breakaleginhalf]

[Gil barks out a laugh. He's not even mad that he's wrong, Bugsy is too.]

What the fuck happened to Contracts in America?!

[push_that_pesticide]

You think this is a fuckin' regional thing?

[ He tapped back a thank you a moment later, because they did ultimately settle that argument, even if he didn't like their answer. ]

Shit- are there regional differences in contracts? Is that a thing we're dealing with now?

[breakaleginhalf]

I mean, it's gotta be, right? [He drops on his ass and leans against the wall, leaving a leg pressed against Bugsy again. His thighs are thick enough to be an armrest.] How else is mirror walking a Beast thing and not Fairest? Shit, what d'you think that'd even count as, Den? It's not Fang and Talon, that's for fucking sure.

[push_that_pesticide]

I don't know what the fuck either of those things are. If it's Beast, then it has to be a Steed contract. The fuck is 'Fang and Talon'?

[breakaleginhalf]

[Gil throws his arms out in empassioned idiotic outrage.]

The fuck is Steed? Oh my god. What d'you call Ogre contracts, then?

[push_that_pesticide]

I'm not a fuckin Ogre, why would I- wall or shield, I think? Fuck me- how the hell did we just never know y'all weird ohssies call them different names? I swear I've met changelings from other places before.

[breakaleginhalf]

It's Ozzy, fuck you. [eat shit bugsy] And they're like- Stone and, and Oathbreaker or some shit, I don't even have any-- why the fuck should I know, I don't exactly have a fucking excess of American Changelings to ask, you and Coda are the first I've ever fucking asked about this.