004✖; (text)

[circumitus]

need a gun.
particularly one that doesn't shoot rainbows or a sign with the word "bang!" on it. [Yes, she is being dead serious about this.]

rifles are preferred, but any firearm will do.

services offered in exchange.

protection if necessary.

will also kill extra if you're in want of ammo.

[How does that sound, Hadriel? SPECIAL PRICE, EXTRA NICE. JUST FOR YOU.]

Comments

[circumitus]

frisk.
there's more than one here?

[skelebro]

yeah, two of 'em.

[Whoof. Some of the tension rolls out of his shoulderblades, though not all.]

but frisk, they're a nice kid.

[not as nice as they could be but still]

[circumitus]

they seemed alright.
who's the other one?

[Just so that Rey has a general idea on who to watch out for. Not that there are that many children in the city, which narrows down the list.]

[skelebro]

all i can tell you is that they've got red eyes and a fondness for knives.

[That's really all he knows about them, period. They're not exactly amenable to his probing for answers.]

[circumitus]

[Red eyes and knives. That doesn't sound ominous or anything.]

take it they don't use said knives for whittling cute animals out of wood.

[skelebro]

you'd have to ask them.
we don't talk much.

[circumitus]

understood.
so do humans and skeletons live together where you're from or something?

[Hhhhahahahhaa...]

[skelebro]

[Oh boy.]

not exactly.
where we're from, monsters live underground.
humans fall down there sometimes.

[circumitus]

do people at least try to get them back out?

[skelebro]

stories that surround a mountain like that, with all those nasty monsters trapped inside it?
most people don't expect anyone who goes near it to return.

[circumitus]

you were trapped there?

[skelebro]

all monsters were, yeah.

there was a war.
we lost.

[circumitus]

have seen some pretty shitty deals for the losing sides in war, but that is some shit.

[skelebro]

from what i understand, yeah, monsterkind was pretty miffed.
that was before my time, though.

[circumitus]

can't really blame them.
so you've never even seen the surface before?
how do you manage to live down there?

[skelebro]

not like we got much much choice.
we make it work. get whatever crap falls from the surface.
there's maybe a handful of monsters old enough to remember what the surface looks like. i'm not one of 'em.

[circumitus]

and fate was "kind" enough to trade you one underground city for another.

at least this one is somewhat habitable.
not as well lived-in as the AUC from back home tho.

[skelebro]

yep. at least it ain't too different from normal.
auc?

[circumitus]

suppose so, if you find comfort in the familiar.

the underground city. was born there.

[skelebro]

guess you and i are in the same boat.
or i guess "submarine" would be more accurate.

[circumitus]

more or less.
can't say that being on the surface was much better tho.

[skelebro]

[...huh. Looks like they independently reached the same conclusion, though he's assuming the reasoning is different. Interesting.]

what makes you say that?

[circumitus]

was not exactly sent to the surface to have a good time.

[skelebro]

ah.

[Now that could mean any number of things.]

well, sometimes those kinds of things ain't all they're cracked up to be.

[circumitus]

on the plus side, when your lives has been one long running marathon of disappointment it's easy not to expect much.

[Yes, that's a... plus...]