hadriel | 01 duckling ; video

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01 duckling ; video

[ Like probably many people in hadriel, Duck hasn't had the best few months lately. Distractions are really good when things suck though. And of course hadriel is usually pretty good at throwing some kind of distraction at him - and this one actually isn't a bad one. Not really.

So, that brings him here; a skinny boy of around eleven or twelve, freckled face a bit too close to the video feed. ]

Hi everyone! My name's Duck. Those new houses in the city are pretty cool, right? I decided to move into one of them - look, it's this one - [ The camera moves to the side, showing that Duck is standing next to this slightly unsettling little house. It swings back to Duck again a few seconds later. ] See the face on it?

Anyway, it's really cool, but it's got nothing inside, and I was wondering if anyone would come and help me move some stuff? Not that I'm not strong enough, but... [ But he's not strong enough. Not to bring in all the funny looking furniture he wants anyway. ]

Well, I'd really owe anyone who helped me! I have some canned carrots, I could give you them as payment if you want.

Also... if anyone, like, wanted to live there too, that'd be okay! I wouldn't mind. Especially if we're friends already. Living by yourself is kind of... [ Insanely lonely and sometimes a little scary. ] ...I don't know, boring.

Oh, and also if any of you ever find any comic books around here, or if you have any from before you got here - you should show me! I'll show you mine too! Besides the ones I borrowed from Ellie, I haven't found any around here, and it sucks.

So. Yeah, that's it. Thanks to anyone who helps! [ And with a friendly wave, the feed cuts off. ]

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[Oh. Oh dear. Oh dear dear dear. There are children here. This makes Delmar very unhappy, becoming immediately flustered with worry]

I can help!

[He sort of blurts it out awkwardly in his concern]

But where are your parents, young man?

[ Any smile Duck might have had at the promise of help - especially from someone (he thinks) he recognises - slips immediately. Talking about his mom and dad kind of is the opposite of what he was wanting today. After a moment though, he'll give an odd sort of shrug, frowning now. ] They're not here.

[ Another pause, looking somewhere away from the camera. ] They're dead.

[Delmar inhales sharply, fingers coming up to cover his mouth a moment]

I'm so very sorry.

[He bites his lower lip, unsure how to proceed]

I, oh dear.... My friend James, well he always said that I say stupid things. This is most certainly the kind of thing he must have meant. I'm very sorry, I should have not asked you about your private business

[ He shrugs, attempting a small smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. ] That's okay, you didn't know.

A lot of people ask that kind of thing, but I don't think anyone's parents are here. I mean, my dad was here, kind of, but... [ He shakes his head, smile slipping again, hand balling into a fist. ] Doesn't matter. He's not now.

[He wants to say 'that is awful' and to apologize again but Delmar fears that this will make the matter worse where he's already made it bad]

W-well...would you still like help moving things? I'd be very happy to help.

[ The reply might take a few extra minutes, but when Duck does reply, he's looking less upset, leaning back against the door of his new house with a small grateful smile. ]

Yes, please! I'm near the armoury place. Know where that is?

Oh, I'm afraid I don't. Would you be so kind as to give me directions, young man?

Sure! Where are you now?

I am at the library.

Oh - okay. That is pretty far, but I think I know the way... First, you've gotta go south 'til you see one of those temple things. Then to the side of that there's a bridge you need to cross.

Got that so far?

[Delmar nods diligently as Duck speaks, trying to be sure to memorize his instructions]

Yes. I believe so

Then you just keep going south. Past the shops and the springs, and you should see the armoury soon. My new house is kinda near it - to the, uh, to the right.

[Well, when it comes to kids Rydia can't just ignore...]

Hi Duck! What a wonderful house you found, it looks so happy I can't help but smile!

[To be fair she feels absolutely sad to know there are kids around but she shouldn't make him feel bad, right?]

I will help as much as I can, I'm not too strong but I know some nifty trick to move things around. And if you need company,I'll be happy to provide that too- just don't try to move anything too heavy, okay? I don't think I can move in because I have this friend near my apartment and he's a disaster, someone needs to help him around, but that doesn't mean I can't spend time in your place.

oh! And I don't have comics but I have a lot of empty boks, maybe we could make our own comics!

Thanks! It's good, right? I wanted a house that seemed happy. [ And distract him from how very not happy he is when he stops to think for more than two seconds. ]

Don't worry about moving in, it was just in case anyone was bored or - well, don't worry. You can come round whenever you want though! And you can come right now to help move if you want - it's in the south, near the armoury place! I'm trying to push a bed inside, but it's heavy.

Making our own comics sounds like an awesome idea! I'm great at drawing! [ Actually, no, he's not especially great at drawing. But he tries hard. ]

Are you still in need of assistance moving?

Yeah, if you don't mind! There's lots of stuff! It's in the south, past the bridge.

[oh no this kid is adorable. Harlan will even turn on his video for you, bud. Congrats.]

Nice house you got there. Where is it? My geography's still pretty fuzzy. Anyway, I'll head over, just let me know when. I'll see what I can do about hooking you up with some comics.

[Time to draw the movie Alien in comic form from memory (what do you mean that's not appropriate for children???)]

Oh, right. I'm Harlan.

[ He's honoured! ]

Hi Harlan! It's cool, right? It's down in the south, uh, near the armoury? And the bridge?

Have you seen any comic books around? I really like superhero ones, and space ones! And dinosaur ones! [ But... maybe he's getting ahead of himself. ] ...Any's fine though.

Hm. [He thinks for a moment. Doesn't ring any bells, but whatever. If he can navigate New York, he can navigate this shitty little town.] Okay, I can figure that out. I'm up in Spire 4. I'll be there soon.

[Hope you wanted help like right this second, Duck. It'll take him a bit to get there, and he might need to ask for directions, but he is on his way!!

He'll keep the video rolling in the meantime, though.]

I haven't, but I haven't been here that long. Where'd you get the ones you have already?

Oh, okay! That's not so far. [ Probably. Duck has been here months and has been almost everywhere, but he still doesn't really know things by name or number yet without double checking. ]

I already had these comics. They were in my backpack when I got here. I haven't found any in this sucky town though. There's nothing fun here.

[ Nothing fun for a kid, anyway. ]

Ah, bummer. [He thinks for a moment, checking out the picture of the map he took with his phone.] There's a library around here, isn't there? Or did you strike out there already?

Yeah, I tried there. Everything is like... in a different language, like alien languages. And I couldn't see any comics.

[Harlan frowns.] Really? That blows. [He makes a note to check it out anyway.]

You said you like superhero comics, right? What kind of superheroes are you into?

Batman! [ His reply is immediate. ] I had hundreds of his comics back home, but here I've only got six.

Do you know Batman? I know lots of people have never even heard of him. [ This bothers Duck more than it should in a city of monthly death traps. ]

[Harlan scoffs.] Batman? Dude. Of course I know Batman. He's obviously the best superhero.

[He's not even lying. He loves Batman??]

I never read the comics, but I liked the movies. And I grew up watching Super Friends, if that counts. Anyone who's never heard of Batman is missing out.

[He pauses briefly to consult the map again, having arrived at the river.] Okay... You said you're across the bridge and down by the armory?

Right?! [ Duck looks like Harlan has just told him some special secret; indeed, that's how it feels to Duck, as silly as it seems. There aren't many around here who know of Batman. ]

Wait, you mean you've never read any Batman comics? Oh, man, you've gotta see the ones I have! I can lend you them, if you want. They're really cool! I can only give you one at a time though, and you've gotta really look after it, and give it back after - uh, two days. I've seen the movies too. I had all the videos back - before. [ There's a brief flash of something on his face, his heart clenching briefly as thinks of those videos lying forgotten now next to the television back at his old home, but he pushes on before he can think about it too much - ] I even had Batman and Robin, even though it sucked.

[ As a kid from the early 2000s, he's unfortunately not thinking of the later Nolan Batman movies. ]

[ Wait. There was something slightly less important in Harlan's video, wasn't there?

He sends another video a few seconds later. ]

Um- yeah. Straight on after the south bridge, left of the armoury.

[Look Duck, it's that pink haired lady who got you food when everything went to hell a few months ago.]

Hello, Duck. You are welcome to the sofa I found outside.

[She turns the camera to a weird cow themed sofa. It's much less creepy than some of the other things she found, so it's probably okay for a child. Probably.]

[ Creepy to some, maybe. To Duck, that looks like exactly the kind of thing he needs for this house. ]

Uh - yeah! That sofa looks awesome. Where is it?

[Awesome is not the word she'd use for it, but if he likes it, it's all his.]

Not far from the library.

Okay, I know where that is, I'm on my way! It's a long way though. Will you help me take it back?

Let me get in contact with a couple of my friends who might be able to help. It is a fairly large sofa.

Awesome, thank you! I'll meet you just outside the library

[ It takes a little while, since Duck has to travel across to the other side of the city, but he's as good as his word, wandering over to the library to see if she's there. ]

[She arrives shortly afterward, having sent messages to Anakin and Kylo. Hopefully they'll arrive as well. The Force would make moving Duck's furniture much easier, and she suspects he'd enjoy seeing it in action.]

The sofa is this way.

[She leads the way over to the odd cow-shaped sofa.]

[ Duck follows quickly behind her, and runs forward to jump on the sofa as soon as he sees it, testing it out. ]

Awesome! It's just as cool as it looks! Those smiley cows will go with the house.

[So Duck is by himself, too... Ellie isn't, uh, keen on the creepy looking place he's chosen, but she's even less keen on the idea of him staying by himself. She makes a point to drop by often.]

Hey, nerd. I'm gonna come round and help, okay? On my way.

[She leaves no room to say no.]

Also... How does a sleepover sound?

[ As if she'd get any kind of argument from him. On the contrary, Duck is grinning widely when his reply comes. ] Yes, okay! It's down near to the armoury place.

And yeah, a sleepover sounds awesome! I've seen a bunch of pillows and covers around now [ - some oddly shaped or with less than nice pictures on them, but still - ] - we could make another fort.

[She grins and gives him a double thumbs up.]

Okay! See ya in ten.

[It's perhaps a little longer than that before Ellie arrives, but all the same, she's there as promised, with a, uh... 'housewarming' gift in hand. It's a coat, perhaps a little too big for Duck, that she's pilfered from one of the stores. Maybe it's oversized, but it's sure as hell also warm. Looks like the sleeves can zip on and off...? She slings it over his shoulders.]

Happy not-birthday. Where we gonna start?

[ Startled, Duck looks down at the coat suddenly flung over him. ]

Oh- thanks! [ He puts his arms through the sleeves. ] Still might be my birthday, never know! [ As far as he's concerned, anyway. He has no idea what the date is.

Duck might prefer toys or comics for a present, but he can't deny he... probably needs more things like this as winter gets closer. His wardrobe amounts to about one pair of pants and two t-shirts. ]

Hm, I was gonna try and get this inside first. [ He points to a nearby bed that's parked a little down the road from his new house. It looks a little like this, but it's much bigger, and the head of the t-rex has no need of any wires as it's metallic and fitted firmly to the head of the bed. Of course, the metal frame and dinosaur make it quite heavy. The bed is on wheels, but still very difficult for a skinny pre-teen to push alone. ]

Edited 2017-09-15 22:23 (UTC)

[She considers that with an easy nod, grinning at him.]

Okay, fair. Shit, it's probably been my birthday already.

[That's a weird thought. The bed distracts her from thinking on it any longer though, because wow. Holy shit.]

Oh my god. You don't mess around, do you? This is- shit. Oh my god. [She can't stop saying it.] Thank god for the wheels, basically, because this is fucking cool.

Right? [ He jogs on over to the bed, reaching up so his hands brush against the T-Rex's long metallic teeth. ]

A lot of the stuff that's been showing up is kinda creepy, but this is the best bed I've ever seen in my whole life!

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