|
|
Post by mrcrazycakes on Apr 9, 2010 19:59:28 GMT -5
Seifer Almasy sat alone and bored out of his skull on a door step in Market Street of Twilight Town. He didn't had much to do at the moment; the other kids seemed to be behaving themselves, and the town was relatively quiet and uneventful today. That was odd; usually, some knucklehead always came along to ruin it.
"AARGH!" Seifer said, startling the store's owner who just happened to pass by the door frame the instant Seifer gave his utterance of irritation.
"Something wrong, Seifer?" The store owner-- The local baker, to be specific-- asked, looking concerned. Seifer craned his head back curiously, shrugging.
"Bored outta my mind. Ya got anything I can keep busy with 'till Fuu and Rai show up?" Seifer asked, standing up. "C'mon, lifting crates or something, I'm sure ya need a strong guy like me."
"Well, truthfully, I was needing to run out for a bit," The baker said, smirking. "If you don't mind keeping shop for me while I run out, I would certainly appreciate it, Seifer. You'll be allowed to keep what you make if someone comes in, of course."
"Sounds better'n nothing. If no one stops by, I still want to get paid, you know," Seifer said, glad for a change of pace. And, it was an opportunity to make some cash.
"Of course; twenty Munny if no one stops by. Thank you, Seifer; the prices are listed next to the cash register. No handing out freebies; I'll be back in about five... maybe ten minutes," The baker said, rushing out to do... whatever. Seifer grinned and entered the bakery, slipping behind the counter and leaning on his elbow beside the cash register. Sure, he was STILL bored out of his skull, but now he was getting PAID to be bored out of his skull and make sure no one tried to steal anything.
Some people would have argued that Seifer wasn't fit for the job; they might argue that Seifer would try to take something. While for other bullies in towns, this might be true, but Seifer had his morales; if it was given to him, fine. If it was confiscated, it went back when he said it would. But he wouldn't just outright steal something. That wasn't Seifer's way of doing things; never had been, likely never would be.
For now, Seifer was content to stand behind the counter and stare at nothing and get paid to do it. To keep himself amused, he took a toothpick from the box on the counter (They WERE complementary) and started seeing how quickly he could twirl it between his fingers.
|
|
|
|
Post by prythian on Apr 9, 2010 20:07:03 GMT -5
"Bwahahahahahaha!" came the laugh from outside. Only one person laughed in such a way that they sounded stupid... except Rai, of course.
Malthus Eronus, Twilight Town's local homeless kid and thief, dropped down in front of the store, apparently having jumped down from the rooftops. "Lost your little partners-in-bullying, Seifer? You even have to pick up an outright honest job, no menacing involved? A step down for the great Disciplinary Leader."
Malthus looked dumb, acted dumb, even sounded dumb when he spoke, a simpleton... though his actions when he and Seifer crossed paths often indicated he had a cleverness far past what he showed to the world.
|
|
|
|
Post by mrcrazycakes on Apr 9, 2010 20:21:53 GMT -5
"Quit immitating Rai, chicken-wuss," Seifer retorted, not looking very impressed. "If you're gonna come in here and insult me, at least have some decent insults ready. I happen to be in need of some spending munny, so unless you aim to buy somethin', scram. I don't feel like trading insults with an idiot. And keep your mitts off the merchandise unless you got the cash to pay for it! You give us kids a bad enough name as it is, chicken-wuss; either buy somethin' or beat it."
Seifer returned to his twirling of the toothpick, but he kept an eye on Malthus. Wherever the kid went, something seemed to disappear mysteriously. Seifer wasn't stupid, either; he'd seen the way Malthus acted a bit too dumb; an obvious faker. Even Rai wasn't as dense as Malthus acted sometimes. Tch... What's this fella hiding, anyways?
|
|
|
|
Post by prythian on Apr 9, 2010 20:29:43 GMT -5
"Imitating Rai? Am I ending my sentences with the same word every time or something?" Malthus cocked his head, seemingly puzzled. On the inside, though, he was laughing. Seifer was so paranoid, he suspected everyone of something half the time. It was just his luck he happened to be right about Malthus, though.
"I was just wondering just how glad the owner of this nice little shop would like it when he found his goods all dripping wet?" With an almost evil grin, he raised one hand from behind his back where he was keeping it... revealing a large, wobbly water balloon. "Though, who'd he blame? The poor homeless Malthus, living off the streets... or the bully he placed in charge of the place? Hard to blame someone he can't find."
...Malthus didn't like Seifer.
|
|
|
|
Post by mrcrazycakes on Apr 9, 2010 20:55:33 GMT -5
Seifer didn't say a word. He casually checked the time... Then whipped out a digital camera and snapped a photo before returning the camera to his pocket. "Go ahead, chicken-wuss. I got proof now, and then there's that thing," He said, pointing up at the security camera nestled in the corner.
"It's like I said; if you aint buying anything, then scram, 'cause I don't got the time to be dealing with freaks who get rejected by their own folks," Seifer said, intending to send a jab straight home. "You got some nerve, chicken-wuss, comin' in here and threatning me of all people. Go mess with someone who don't know you're a liein', stealin' chicken-wuss whose own parents hated him so much they threw him out on the streets. Now beat it, shrimp."
...Seifer didn't like Malthus, either.
|
|
|
|
Post by prythian on Apr 9, 2010 21:08:06 GMT -5
Malthus's eyes narrowed, and he tossed the balloon casually behind him. "Good move, good move." He looked like he was genuinely impressed. "Though... if you're in charge here, I suppose I don't even want to buy something anymore." He drew out a rather slim munny pouch, obviously with just enough to buy one thing. "After all, I heard when you were talking to the owner that you get the profits, and I'd rather not fund someone that cheats at Struggle."
|
|
|
|
Post by mrcrazycakes on Apr 9, 2010 21:19:00 GMT -5
Seifer pounded his fist on the counter at that comment so hard that the shelf of baked goods a good five feet down shook with the impact. "Who're you calling a cheater?! I won fair and square and you know it! I don't cheat, ya got me?! I don't NEED to cheat. If I can't win by my own power, I'll just make myself tougher! Forget that again and I'll hit you in the head so hard you'll forget you ever said that, idiot!"
Seifer was obviously mad by now. He wanted so badly to run into the back room and return with the emergency fire hose. That'd teach this no-good brat to even THINK he had cheated. Cheaters didn't DESERVE to be in the Struggle tournament, and Seifer didn't need to cheat; If he didn't win that year, he'd just train harder for the next tournament and win then. That was just his style. Seifer almost had to grab the edge of the counter to keep from darting into the back room for the fire hose, but he chose a different alternative.
"Either buy somethin' or get outta my sight, chicken-wuss! Ya got five seconds to either pick somethin' or leave; take your pick," Seifer growled, resisting the urge to throw a nearby pie in the little brat's face.
|
|
|
|
Post by prythian on Apr 9, 2010 21:23:35 GMT -5
"Oh? That's not what I'VE heard." Malthus said, grinning. "I'm just passing on the stuff I hear, and I hear you aren't a fair fighter in the Struggle. As for me leaving... it's a free town, ain't it? I can loiter in here all I want; the owner hasn't banned me, you don't have the authority to, and there's no rules against loitering in THIS shop." He gave an innocent smile, leaning back. "Besides, I'm still browsing."
|
|
|
|
Post by mrcrazycakes on Apr 9, 2010 21:43:47 GMT -5
"Passing on the stuff you hear, are you?" Seifer asked, giving an equal grin back. "Well then, let me be a good sport and tell you what I've heard. I heard your folks forgot you even existed they hated you so much, so much that they even struck your name outta the school's attendance records."
Seifer was a bit surprised when the baker returned not five seconds after he said it. The baker eyes Malthus for a second before returning his attention to Seifer. "How did it go, young man?"
"Didn't sell anything, but this loser was gonna soak your goods. Keep an eye on that brat; he aint up to no good," Seifer said, shooting daggers from his eyes at Malthus. The baker gave his thanks, giving a scolding to Malthus shortly after as he surrendered the twenty Munny he owed Seifer.
"Thanks again, my boy. Keep those kids in line now, young man," The baker said, waving farewell as Seifer exited, paying no more heed to Malthus since he didn't need to worry about it any longer. He was still seething from being called a cheater, but now that he didn't have to worry about someone else's stuff, he was free to use his anger to fuel more physical training. The Struggle tournament would be here soon enough, after all; he had to be ready so he could do his best, hopefully even win. No; definitely win. After all, he was Seifer Almasy; he wouldn't go down without a fight, and a very intense one at that. He slipped his munny into his wallet and strode down an alleyway at a noticeably faster pace than he usually walked.
It wasn't his thing to deal the first blow in a fight. If they struck first, that was his invitation to let loose on whoever it was. If they didn't, he found another way to put his anger to work. He couldn't recall being quite so mad, though; He was going to find whoever started that rumor and hang them from the flagpole by their underwear. I aint no lousy cheater! Seifer thought angrily, sticking the end of the toothpick in his mouth as he walked. I got higher standards than that. You better not enter this years Struggle, Malthus; I'm not forgetting this any time soon...
|
|
|
|
Post by prythian on Apr 13, 2010 21:08:36 GMT -5
"You know, Seifer..." Malthus actually landed in front of him, jumping from the rooftops again. It was almost impossible to believe how the thief jumped around, but people paid no attention to it anymore... at least, most people didn't. "You could probably get some smarts if you hung around with the right people. Not me, of course, but certainly not dumb-as-a-rock and too-stupid-to-string-two-words-together Rai and Fuu."
He grinned. "With no one intelligent on the disciplinary committee, it's no wonder I can get away with as much as I do."
|
|
|
|
Post by mrcrazycakes on Apr 14, 2010 18:24:16 GMT -5
"Buzz off, Malthus," Seifer snorted, pushing past Malthus. He almost erupted again, but instead thought better of it and turned the insult against the other boy. "You could learn something from Fuu; how to keep that big mouth a' yours shut before someone less tolerant than me shuts it for you. Don't worry, Malthus, just you wait; I'm going to get proof you're a theif one of these days, then you're gonna get what's coming to you. Now unless ya got somethin' important to say, I have a test to study for, and that's way more important than listening to a theif try to rag on about my friends."
With that, Seifer set his mind on ignoring Malthus. He couldn't break his moral rule for him, of all people. A petty theif wasn't worth his attention; someone who couldn't be trusted to leave other people's things be didn't deserve him listening. He'd prove he wasn't a cheater at Struggle, however; this year, he would be using one of the tournament's foam bats instead of his own, which was sitting at home for now. He'd met people like Malthus before (Fuu was very similar, if less talkative), the sort of person who tried to bully the bully. It was annoying, and they were the type not to show their feelings easily in front of others, so it wasn't possible to shoot a comeback at them and be done with it; they just kept following you and trying to annoy you.
Most of them would give up after a while, thankfully, so it wasn't a big deal. To avoid whirling and smacking Mathus in the face, Seifer focused his anger into mentally reviewing for an upcoming test in his Biology class. A little known thing about Seifer was that he had all honor classes, and was surprisingly smart in school. Can't believe I forgot about that test...
|
|
|
|
Post by prythian on Apr 15, 2010 19:36:48 GMT -5
"You know..." Malthus said softly. "I pity you, Seifer. So single-minded... so unknowing of any difficulty besides the simple ones... You know nothing of reality. You only know what you want to know, and that is your weakness. You cannot imagine what lies behind another person's eyes... you only see what you want to see."
He shrugged. "If it's proof you want that I'm a thief... a confession will do. Unlike you... I don't lie about what I am. But also unlike you... I've known both the harsh pains of not being able to eat for a week and the beauty of the night sky on a rooftop. I know the bite of the chill wind and the view from the tallest tree."
"I pity you, I truly do." He finished. "For I know so much more than you do... and so much more than you ever will. I am rich beyond your wildest dreams... And not the kind of riches that can be taken." And with that, knowing that his words, while deep, were probably lost on Seifer, he jumped away to the nearest rooftop, leaping 40 feet into the air at a time.
|
|
|
|
Post by mrcrazycakes on May 27, 2010 20:34:51 GMT -5
Hmph! Good riddance, Seifer thought, thinking about what Malthus said. It reminded him of something he'd read in a book one time; 'You can't judge situations you don't know about'. It sort of fit, so Seifer thought, to this situation; how was he supposed to know how often everybody but himself ate? Who kept track of that for anyone but themselves, anyways? And, more importantly, if Malthus had a good reason to take what he needed, did that make Malthus right and him wrong?
"Tch... I'm gonna hate this..." He commented, finding a conveniently placed stack of crates to climb up to the roof, where Malthus usually lurked. If he'd been in the wrong, then the only thing a hero was to do about it was try to help if possible, even though Seifer would have rather locked the kid in a closet. He wasn't going to appologize; he'd never do that, espescially to someone who didn't just ask for help instead of taking it. Really, in Seifer's opinion, other than being annoying, Malthus wasn't a bad kid beyond stealing from people, or so it seemed.
And now I'm chasing him across rooftops. Man do I feel like a class A idiot right now, Seifer thought with a snort, spying Malthus not too far away. "Hey! Come back here! You can't just change the topic and walk... err, jump... away! I got something important to say!"
(Finally thought of something >.>)
|
|
|
|
Post by prythian on Jul 19, 2010 21:55:51 GMT -5
"You know, actually I can?" Malthus said, cocking his head and not looking behind him at Seifer. "I've been told it's a free country, and I've been told parents make the rules for kids. I may not be smart, but even I can put together that kids without parents don't have that many rules that apply to them unless they let them."
He shrugged lazily. "Not to mention if it wasn't for you, I would've gotten to eat lunch today. So if you have something important to say, than say it and be done with it so I can go elsewhere."
|
|
|
|
Post by mrcrazycakes on Jul 19, 2010 23:20:00 GMT -5
"Tch... Thanks for saving me the embarrassment of apologizing!" Seifer retorted, rolling his eyes. He really wished he could push this annoying kid off the roof... or something similarly bad. But that was against the rules. Not just anybody's rules, they were against HIS rules; if he didn't follow his own rules, who else was going to?! No one but Vivi, Fuu and Rai, probably. And that wouldn't do him any good. Not to mention he'd get a bad rep for probably breaking the kid's leg if he pushed Malthus off the roof.
"If you're in a bad place, what's so bad about askin' people for help, eh? Heck, half the town would probably help if you just asked! Even you couldn't have that bad of a reputation that nobody'd spare some food if you said you're hungry," He said, mentally hitting himself for every word of it. But, this was a hero's duty; heroes had to help people in need, even if said hero hated said needy person's guts. Since when did heroes discriminate because of something like that? Well, good heroes, anyways.
"I'm willing to cut you a deal, all right? If you quit running around stealing stuff from everybody, my folks have plenty of food to spare," Seifer continued, doing a good job of hiding his expression. Of course, his tone was just as cocky and rude as it always was, but he sounded sincere anyways. And he was, to some extent; he was doing this to make one less thief in Twilight Town, even if he hated it. "I got no idea what sort of problems you have, but I'll help... so long as you stop stealing fro folks in this town!"
Seifer sighed inaudibly, turning his back on Malthus. "...and I might'a crossed the line with some of the stuff I said. I can't judge a situation I don't know," He said, just loud enough to be heard if the other boy cared to hear it. "So... we have a deal?"
|
|
