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Post by orls02 on May 29, 2008 9:43:08 GMT -5
&babe you leave me c o n f u s e d; don't know if i s h o u l d let you know; Sydney honestly didn’t understand herself sometimes. To be perfectly honest, something in the back of her mind warned her that having lunch with them might not be the brightest idea. But, she still couldn’t help but accept the invitation. She had an idea that it wasn’t something David offered often, and since things were currently going so well she thought that she might just have to take him up on the opportunity while it was available. Besides, if they got to know each other a little better while they were being civil then it might just entice them to be more civil with each other more often. And, despite the million other reasons Syd could BS about why she wanted to go to lunch with them, Sydney knew that the real reason she wanted to go is that she was slowly starting to realize why she had liked him in the first place. Just looking at the grin on his face made Sydney realize that he was spouting all that crap just to see if she could follow it. She couldn’t, but she doubted he really did either. He probably just spouted the most random things he could think of and then pulled random lines to connect them together. It worked, and he was clearly practiced at it.
When David looked away as he spoke, Sydney could have kicked herself. What did he care that Jenn was sick of being single? She had just said it to keep from standing there awkwardly. Looking back, she probably should have just kept her mouth shut. Sydney herself had no bears or other stuffed animals. Zeus had seen to it that they all became tufts of fluff and fabric strewn across the house when he was a puppy. And he’d probably do the same thing if Sydney ever dared bring another one into the house unprotected. This, of course, is why Jenn’s bear would be put into a wrapped box immediately and then hidden on the top shelf of her closet. Zeus was nothing more than an overgrown puppy. He was a full grown Boxer, weighing in close to 70 pounds, and still insisted on being a lap dog. He often took up several laps if the opportunity allowed him to. But, all that being said, Zeus was the friendliest dog Sydney had ever met. He absolutely loved children and was more likely to lick you to death than bite or bark. Boscoe on the other hand was a little more reserved. He would never do anything bad, but he preferred his space and didn’t participate in the rough and tumble games that Zeus seemed to live for.
Sydney arched one brow when she saw David tense up, as if he expected her to hit him. ‘It’s probably reactionary by now,’ she thought, feeling slightly guilty. It was usually around now that the civility had completely gone from their conversations and the screaming and hitting began. But, as far as she could tell, David hadn’t even said or done anything that warranted a hit. When he spoke again, Sydney was caught off guard by the tone of his voice. It was almost cheerful, and that coming from David was almost creepy. But, she shrugged it off, who was she to judge? “All right,” she said, glancing down at Rocky with a grin. “I’ll be right there.”
After David and Rocky headed off to the cashier, Sydney began to fill the bear. She was actually surprised at how quickly it filled; she had somehow thought it would take longer. But, once it had been filled, Sydney tied the ribbon she had selected around its neck. It was a simply purple ribbon, since Jenn’s favorite color was purple. Once the ribbon was on in a simple knotted bow, Sydney went to the cash. On impulse, she also bought a gift certificate, just in case Jenn wanted to make herself a new bear, just to try the experience. It sounded like a Jenn thing to do and it would top off the gift nicely. After the transaction had been completed, Sydney made her way over to the bench where David and Rocky were waiting. &wish i k n e w just what to do; &i'm so c o n f u s e d;
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Post by david on Jun 2, 2008 21:50:34 GMT -5
That that don't kill me Can only make me stronger
» When it came to his past or anything remotely related to it, David severely shied away from talking about it, to the point of making up ridiculous excuses as to why he couldn't do it due to being needed elsewhere. Mostly, it was because it was too painful for him to talk about, or he was afraid of seeming weak. Really, even vaguely mentioning the things that were done to him made him feel like he was regressing back to a time when he wasn't a freakishly tall man with lots of muscles; back to when he was just a scared little boy with a little brother to protect. As far as his military service, he didn't much want to talk about it. He wasn't ashamed of it by any means- no, if anything, he was proud of it. Damn proud, he was. In fact, while for most men seeing some of the wartime images David had seen would be something they would hate recalling, David was just twisted enough to claim that being in the Persian Gulf was the best time of his life- and not only because of Miranda. Still, he didn't often talk about it, and those who knew him didn't often ask. There weren't many things that David felt strongly about, but honor was one of them- and he kept getting the sneaking feeling that, if he were to explain what he'd done, someone would make the mistake of calling him a hero, when he in no way felt he deserved such a title. Sure, he had a few medals, saved a few lives... But as the men in Flags of our Fathers said, "the real heroes are the ones who don't return home"; and David had most certainly made it home.
» Still, David had serious issues about lying to his own son. Sure, someone else's kid he would simply say that the picture was from a Halloween party and BS his way through the conversation... But this was Rocky! The poor little guy had been through enough; didn't need the father he just met, lying to him. David sighed a little, then laughed uncomfortably at his boy's query- "Why were you wearing that in the picture?" "Well," he started, fumbling as he tried to put the clothes on the monkey- let's just say, Thank God that David had never had to clothe a baby. "Because I was a Marine." He smiled at the little boy, then growled a little at the monkey, who, even though it was a decidedly inanimate object, seemed to be resisting David trying to put its clothes on. He hoped that would be the end of Rocky's conquest for knowledge, but, as with most 5-year-olds, the boy didn't know when- or didn't want- to shut up. "What's a Marine?" he asked innocently, genuinely curious. David stopped wrestling with the monkey and looked at Rocky. "Well, it's... they're... " He wasn't sure how to finish the sentence without doing the very thing he was always trying to avoid- making himself seem like a hero. "Marines are men and women who..." He stopped and sighed, looking over just in time to see Sydney approach, and flashed her a pathetic-looking "help me" type of look. Why was a grown man having such trouble explaining something so seemingly trivial to a small boy?
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Post by orls02 on Jun 9, 2008 18:21:54 GMT -5
&all of my life i was in h i d i n g; &wishing there was s o m e o n e just like you; After paying for the newly created bear, Sydney tied the vivedly purple ribbon from her pocket and tied it around the bear’s neck. She knew that purple was Jenn’s favorite colour and knew that her friend would appreciate the unusual shade she had chosen. When it came to teddy bears, Jenn was a bit of what some might call a purist. She didn’t like clothes on her bears, but ribbons tied in bows were always welcome. On impulse, just before she left, Sydney had grabbed a gift card and added it to the purchase of the bear. Simply because she had a good feeling that Jenn would think the bear was so cute that she’d want to make one herself, just to say she had. Then, tucking the card into the box beside the bear, Sydney steeled herself for the crowds as she turned to make her way over to meet up with David and Rocky. She managed to make it out of the store without any incidents, but once she was out in the corridor Sydney had the feeling she would be less fortunate.
And she was right. Barely 30 seconds after exiting the shop Sydney felt the clonking of other peoples purchases against her legs. She set her mouth in a determined line and slowly worked her way toward the benches. It wouldn't have been so bad if everyone had been all moving in the same direction. At least then she could have just angled herself "upstream", as it were, and then arrive at her destination. But, there were pockets of people moving one way and other pockets of people moving the other way, making plotting a logical course through the crowd nearly impossible. So, instead of trying to take the path of least resistance and dodge around people, Sydney dropped her shoulder slightly and just started pushing her way through the crowd. "`Scuse me ..... coming through ..... move it or lose it, bud," she growled as she plowed through a particularly large pocket of milling teenagers.
While most of her was focused on getting over to the benches with as little bloodshed as possible, part of Sydney was thinking ahead to the lunch "date" she had agreed to. What in the hell were they going to talk about? She doubted even she and David could make a superficial conversation about teddy bears span the entire lunch. They could, and probably would at first, try, but there was just no viable way for them to do it. She was relieved when she finally made it across the corridor and over to the benches. She quickly found David and Rocky and headed their way.
She had just drawn into earshot when Rocky put the Marine question to his father and she couldn’t help but grin when David began stumbling out a reply. But, it wasn’t a question he seemed ready to answer as he looked over at her, silently pleading for her help. But, his inability to answer the question made Sydney wonder if there were certain things about the Marines that were off limits as topics for discussion, but she decided to plow ahead anyway. “Well, little buddy,” she said, sitting down on the other side of Rocky. “Marines are brave men and women who want people like you and me to feel safe when we’re at home. So, they go out, sometimes very far away, and stop the people who would want to hurt us from coming any closer to our homes. And despite what anyone says, they’re all heroes for putting others ahead of themselves.” &now that you're h e r e, now that i've found you; &i know that you're the o n e to pull me through;
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Post by david on Jun 12, 2008 23:48:56 GMT -5
That that don't kill me Can only make me stronger
» David had always believed there was a reason people chose the occupations they did. Obviously, some people cracked under the pressure of the occupation they originally wanted- med students who drop out because it's "too much stress", for example- and ended up having to do something else, or just didn't meet the academic requirements for what they truly want, but the principle was the same. He always believed that people had specific characteristics and abilities that made them choose one job over another. For example, he'd joined the Marines because he was big, strong, and could take a beating. He wasn't a teacher, because he couldn't explain the simplest thing to children, unless it involved one of the few things he was an expert at- none of which were generally considered appropriate to be sharing with small children.
» In a way, he was glad she said it- that way he wasn't calling himself, indirectly, a hero- but that didn't mean it didn't sting him a bit. He smiled a bit as Sydney explained to the intently-listening Rocky what a Marine was, but the second she said hero his expression faltered. As soon as David realized it, he forced himself to look what would be "normal" for him. If she didn't know already, she didn't need to, at least not from his mouth. Granted, all she had to do was look at his personnel file, which really wasn't all that hard to get a hold of, but why would she do that? Was she a stalker? Before he realized it, David was in his own little world, staring up at the ceiling as if he were the only one there, off in a daydream. Damn, he thought as Rocky's voice brought him back to reality, I really need to start taking my medicine again. He hadn't taken the Ritalin in years, and wasn't exactly intent on starting to any time soon. "What?" Rocky frowned. Like David, he didn't like to have to repeat himself because some asshole wasn't paying attention. "Are you a hero?" David grunted, sitting up fully again, and looked away. "Short answer- no." he said absentmindedly, glancing in the direction of the food court.
» With a little bit of a yawn, he picked Rocky up with one arm and, standing, held him somewhat like a football, seeming to do so effortlessly. "Well he needs to eat if he wants to look like me, and I need to eat so I don't look like him." Bad joke, admittedly, but all he could think of. Besides, horrible humor was better than a rude, "Let's eat, damn it!".
{OOC- Made of fail. Dx Sorries.}
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Post by orls02 on Jun 15, 2008 19:09:55 GMT -5
&b e l i e v e it or not; &everyone keep most things i n s i d e; [ooc]Don’t worry about it. I love it![/ooc]
Even though her eyes had been on the captivated Rocky as she spoke, Sydney had kept a close eye on David as well. There was certainly a reason he couldn’t bring himself to tell Rocky what a Marine was, and she wanted to avoid any sensitive subjects. And, judging by the earlier conversation in the store, David had some sort of Marine background if Rocky had gotten the idea for his monkey from a picture of his father. The last thing she needed or wanted was to touch on a sore spot and set David off at her. She hoped he recognized the fact that she was keeping her definition as basic and nonspecific as humanly possible. And, where she’s usually one to just tell it like it is and not try to soften anything just to save face, it was a real effort on her part not to delve into the bloody deeds that Marines often had to be part of. Not that she wanted to scar the kid or anything, but the blood and gore was all part of the job description for anyone joining some sort of military force. But, all in all, the only thing she really could do was give her opinion on what defined a Marine, and so she had.
She had seen David’s expression falter slightly when she mentioned that Marines were heroes, no matter what anyone said and she hoped that it wasn’t anything too big. She then watched as he sort of went off into his own little world and stared at the ceiling, wondering if such things happened often. It would certainly make for awkward moments if in the middle of a serious conversation he decided that he’d had enough and drifted off to la-la-land while staring at the ceiling. She’d just been wondering how aware David was of his surroundings when Rocky asked David if he was a hero. He didn’t answer, but he did bring himself back to the present enough to know that he’d been asked a question. Sydney was struck by just how alike Rocky and David looked when Rocky frowned at his father when asked to repeat himself. She had been half expecting David to deny that he was a hero. Most people who came back from overseas held firmly to the belief that only those who didn’t come home were heroes.
When David stood up and picked Rocky up like a football, Sydney grinned. It was almost a typical dad thing to do with a kid that size. It was such a simple act, but it made David seem even more human. She stood up too, stretching her shoulders to crack her back softly. “Food sounds good to me,” she said, ignoring David’s poor attempt at humor. ‘Oh well,’ she thought. ‘At least he tried.’
[ooc]Bleck. This post was truly made of fail. Epically.[/ooc] &believe it or n o t; &e v e r y o n e have things that they hide;
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Post by david on Jun 16, 2008 16:39:34 GMT -5
That that don't kill me Can only make me stronger » "But I want a long answer," Rocky half-pouted as he was picked up, just kind of letting David do whatever to him. He was a curious little bugger, as David put it (to himself.) He didn't mean any harm- five-year-olds rarely do- he just wanted to know everything he could. At home, David was always on the lookout to make sure Rocky did not attempt to get into things he should not be. For example, under David's own bed. He himself wasn't even sure what was under there- single guys aren't exactly the most thorough of cleaners- and didn't want the boy to choke or see things way too inappropriate for such a young child. David sighed a little, but instead of getting irritated he grinned down at the boy in his arm. "Fine. Long answer? Nooooooo." Rocky laughed, seemingly appeased by the "long" version of the "short" answer. And with that, his attention was directed elsewhere. David didn't care where that was, as long as he was no longer getting grilled. After a short moment to allow himself to feel relief, he took off running towards the food court, holding Rocky tight with one hand, and the other hand extended out, to ward people off.
» In High School, to no surprise of anyone he knew, David was an athlete. He played football, lacrosse, field hockey, and wrestled. It was not because he particularly liked those sports, but because he needed something to do. He got good grades, but honestly- studying bored him. He didn't need to study that much, and whenever he finished studying and did his homework, he was left with hours of nothing to do but watch TV. His foster parents weren't the most active bunch, and not exactly willing to go out and run or play. So, to keep himself up and not getting soft, he joined every sport his schedule allowed for. He was by no means the best- it wasn't like he could spend his entire life in the gym, or sucking up to the coach so he could start in every game or play whatever position he wanted- but he was good. Very good. It didn't really affect him now-a-days. He didn't sit around on Sundays watching football or anything, but occasionally he'd do something subconsciously referring back to those times. Like now, running with his young son as a football. "Touchdown!" he yelled, putting Rocky down on his feet so he could stand on his own. The little boy giggled and looked back. David looked as well, wondering if Sydney was still following, if she got lost, or if she decided he was just too weird to deal with for a short lunch. {OOC- *hangs self* Bad post. Will do better next time.}
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Post by orls02 on Jul 17, 2008 18:31:28 GMT -5
&be careful what you w i s h for; &'cause you just m i g h t get it all; Sydney grinned when Rocky pouted a little bit, demanding a longer answer. All the same, he just allowed himself to be picked up and held loosely in David’s arm. She could remember a similar thing happening with her own father. She used to leave being picked up and thrown into piles of leaves or snow or even onto the bed. She used to pester him really bad, every time he got home from work, to wrestle or something. It was the rough play when she was young that led to Sydney being a tomboy when she got older and into school. Always hanging out with the boys, Sydney had been taken into sports right from her first year in high school. She started out with just playing soccer with the guys during breaks, but when she hit grade 10 she started playing on the girl’s rugby and lacrosse teams. She had tried out for the girl’s hockey team, but found that the pace was too slow. So she tried out for the boy’s hockey team and managed to get in on the team. It was almost too fast and too rough for her at first, but being the determined kid she was, Sydney didn’t give up and was soon up to their level. By the end of her high school days Sydney was easily the most, for lack of a gentler term, butch girl in the school. The majority of her friends were guys and if the girls she hung out with were all the misfit girls who no one else seemed to like.
Sydney barely managed to haul her mind back to the present to hear David’s amusing retort. It sounded like something her father would have said to her when she demanded a longer or different answer. When David suddenly took off like a star football player through the crowd, Sydney was shocked into laughter. It was unexpected, and yet almost not, considering how it was, after all, David. Without even really thinking about it, Sydney did what she did best in field sports. She was never the fastest runner or the most skilled player, but she could clear a path through the opposing team like Moses parted the Red Sea. Rounding her shoulders, Sydney lowered herself a few inches and charged through the crowd. She laughed as people went skittering out of her way, the unfortunate few being clobbered out of her way.
When she reached David and Rocky she stopped. Grinning, she demurely tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Nice moves,” she said, nodding to David. “Football?” &you just m i g h t get it all; &and then some you d o n ' t want;
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Post by david on Jul 18, 2008 12:36:15 GMT -5
That that don't kill me Can only make me stronger
» One of the (many) things that always seemed to surface on the occasions people had nothing better to do than talk about David, was how un-adult-like he was. Yes, in many ways, he was much more adult than the rest of them. He'd seen things that no person should ever have to see; seen more of them in the earliest years of his life than most people do in their entire lifetime. He was still alive, if that said anything about his adultness. A weaker person could easily have resorted to suicide many times if they were in David's shoes, for any number of reasons. But despite that, he was still shockingly immature. He had to have an answer to everything, and usually it was a bunch of bullshit that he just pulled out of his ass, instead of a straight-up answer. Most of the time, he knew damn well what the other person was referring to when they asked him a question, but if there was anything- anything at all- that David could latch onto to weave one of his ridiculously sarcastic or off-topic stories, he would find it. He was an expert at finding such loopholes without really having to put forth much effort to do so.
» Now, for instance, he knew Sydney was asking him, in one word, if he had played football, but being the dick that he was, he just had to start on one of his sarcastic streaks. "No," he said, feigning a tad bit of anger. He picked up Rocky in one arm again, who shrieked in surprise at the suddenness with which his feet left the floor. "This is my son. " he put the boy down and turned to Sydney. "Footballs are about this big," he gestured as to the size of a football using both hands, "And made of pigskin. Or leather. Or whatever the hell they're using to make them nowadays. Rocky, however, is this big," he reached out one hand, hovering it just above Rocky's head, "And made of people skin and... whatever else kids are made of." With that, he offered a large, childish grin. He wasn't sure how Sydney would receive his humor; judging by their past, she probably was quite wary of him, and he didn't want to scare her off quite yet, or make her think he actually was angry. "Yeah, I used to play football. Among other things. Not the greatest, but I managed to not get killed, so that's a plus." He shrugged. He'd never really valued sports as something as awesome as most other men seemed to think. To David, football, or any sport, really, would only serve any purpose to him if there was nothing else to do, and they had the right equipment- or a satisfactory substitute. Like in the Desert, when David and other Marines were bored out of their minds, yeah, they played a bit of football...
» David tilted his head back, drifting off into his own little world once again as he started recalling days way back when, when he didn't have as much weighing on his mind. Yes, at that point, there were still memories of his mother and those men, but there wasn't a dead fiance` and child. None of that. Despite the fact that any second could have been his last, the camp could have been bombed without warning, David actually considered those days to be his most carefree... He was brought back to Earth when someone dropped a metal tray too hard onto the designated dirty-tray-leaving area. David jolted suddenly, realizing he was in a mall, not in a war, just in time to stop himself from doing something embarrassing, like diving for cover. He was poised to, judging by the way he'd pivoted at the abdomen, but he didn't actually go anywhere. That was when he realized something else- Rocky wasn't in his immediate line of vision. "Shit," he swore. "Where's Rocky?"
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Post by orls02 on Jul 21, 2008 22:01:10 GMT -5
&w h e r e do we go from here?; &now the day is g o n e; Sydney had merely questioned David out of her natural habit of making polite conversation. She could care less if he’d acquired those skills playing women’s field hockey with a bunch of old hags. And, knowing David, even as little as she did, Sydney figured that he knew she was merely making conversation to conversation’s sake. They needed to occasionally act like normal adults around Rocky at the very least. After all, the kid needed some solid guidance, and how could he get that if he couldn’t ever take his father seriously? But, at the same time she knew a straightforward answer from David might be asking a bit too much at this point, as he had already proven that those were no fun. Should prove to be interesting...
She knew right away when he spoke angrily that David wasn’t truly angry. This was just more of that juvenile side of his showing through. But, she had to admit he knew how to think on his feet, which probably helped him a lot in the various situations he’d found himself in over the years. Sydney knew that she could never come up with some of the complex things he seemed to be able to, but then again she was well grounded in facts and what she saw in front of her. It was her job to see what was there, and occasionally what should (or alternately, shouldn’t) be there. She didn’t really have much time to do a whole lot other than laying the facts out as quickly as efficiently as possible. Creative thinking always took the backseat with her, although she could come up with a very believable load of crap when getting out of extra hours, blind dates, and requests to dance.
“Well, I guess a little girlie like me is just too ignorant about the world of manly sports to know the difference,” she shot back at David with a grin. Girlie? Her? Yeah... okay... and her dogs were really the President of the United States and a long-lost descendant of the Russian Romanov family. She figured David knew enough about her to know that she had been laying the sarcasm on thick, though in a friendly way. She laughed again when he spoke of his football days. “I’m sure not being killed is a big plus. Kinda hard to do a lot of things when you’re dead,” she said, shaking her head. She’d been about to say something else, but she looked up and saw that David had completely gotten lost in his own mind again. She made a face, wondering what he was thinking of. Best not to know, actually...
Movement out of the corner of her eye caught Sydney’s attention next. A couple having a moderate lover’s spat in the middle of the food court. That was really quite tacky, in Syd’s opinion. Even the quietest of arguments should be saved for the privacy of the home. No one else really needs to know how much you wish you were having more sex, or how you wished that your significant other would mention their ex-lovers less, or how much you hate your significant other’s mother. Not that Sydney was an expert on anything like that, she just felt it ought to be common courtesy. Sydney, truth be told, had the track record of a relationship lasting a total of 7 months. And that was the longest she’d ever had. Not that she really cared though. He turned out to be a jerk. But, that was not something worth dwelling on... he hadn’t been abusive or anything, just a complete idiot and Sydney needed something more than he could ever give in the mental department.
Like David, Sydney was brought back to the present when someone dropped a metal tray too hard. She jumped, rather badly to be honest. In her line of work, loud noises were blissfully rare and could never mean anything good. She felt her heart rate shoot up, giving her a rush of adrenaline. Very slowly, she concentrated on lowering her respiratory rate, which in turn calmed down the rest of her. But, when David spoke again all her calming techniques went out the window as a jolt of panic clutched at her stomach. She looked around wildly. “Oh my god...” she said softly, mentally kicking herself for not paying attention when David clearly hadn’t been. Someone needed to the responsible adult, and they had both failed miserably. &how do we face our f e a r s; &with n o t h i n g in our hearts, baby?;
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Post by david on Jul 28, 2008 15:57:43 GMT -5
That that don't kill me Can only make me stronger
» Okay, sure, so he was new at this, and it wasn't like he'd known Rocky for the boy's entire life. Maybe he didn't have as strong a connection with the boy as he would have if he'd been there with Rocky since he was born. Maybe David wasn't as bad at this parenting thing as he thought he would be when he was first told about Rocky. But there was no excuse for this. There were bad foster parents that could keep track of their children better than David had just made perfectly clear he was capable of. He'd just dropped the metaphorical ball, and while the little boy was probably just a few feet away, and there was really to use panicking quite yet, David was overcome with the need to find the boy and make damn sure he was safe. But finding a little boy in a crowd of people would be easier said than done, and this was one case in which David's height did not offer him much help. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to stay calm, and started walking forward, subtly looking for Rocky in his peripheral vision. People might think he was creepy if he made it obvious he was looking for a little boy.
» To his relief, Rocky hadn't gone far. He was actually, as David suspected, just a few feet away, standing on the grate beside those fake trees the mall personnel seemed to have "planted" everywhere. David sighed, going over to Rocky, and looked down at him. "What are you looking at?" "The tree. It doesn't have any coconuts. Why?" David had to laugh. Typical child, he thought, thinking all trees had coconuts. "Because this tree is fake. And even if it were real, the mall isn't a coconut tree... Palm tree? Well, whichever it's called, the mall is not its best environment." Rocky simply looked up at his father with a look that made it obvious he really didn't care. With a smile, David picked the boy up and held him in one arm, turning back toward Sydney. "It's okay, I found him." Still, if asked for his opinion, David would be very anti-child leash. Children, while they could be quite irritating and act like animals, were not actually animals. Maybe a leash would prevent a few abductions, but any child worth its salt would be able to take itself out of the harness anyway, so to David, it was a pretty useless invention.
» But now, the matter that brought them to the food court in the first place: Rocky was hungry, and David was too. Looking around at the various little food places, David wondered where he'd like to eat, but figured Rocky was probably less patient than himself, and needed attention first. Looking over his shoulder, he called to Sydney, "I gotta get this little guy his grub. We'll meet you at a table in a little bit." And with that, he set Rocky on the floor, took the boy's hand, and let Rocky guide him to wherever he'd like to eat.
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Post by orls02 on Jul 30, 2008 17:34:46 GMT -5
&prison gates won't o p e n up for me; &on these hands and knees i'm c r a w l i n'; Sydney couldn’t quite figure out why, but she was seriously worried about David’s son. It was funny, because she honestly thought that she might be more worried about Rocky than David was. But, then again, she had a pretty damned good reason. Working as a medical examiner tended to expose one to horrors unimaginable to the majority of the general population. Well, no... thinking that made it seems like she thought all the terrible things David must have seen like they weren’t as bad as people made them out to be. And, that was a really stupid line of thinking. David had probably.... scratch that, had seen things far worse than Sydney could probably ever imagine in her worst nightmare. But, on the other hand, the things Sydney was privy to were certainly no walk in the park to handle. What bothered her the most, and probably the main reason she was on the verge of panic over someone else’s missing child, was that the things she saw were all done by people on this very island, in this very town. It made her sick to think of coming into work one day and seeing Rocky laid out as cold as ice on her table.
Shaking her head, Sydney forced the thoughts from her mind. Working herself up wouldn’t help them find Rocky. She noticed that David was remaining unnervingly calm as he seemed to not even be looking as he walked around. She tore her eyes from his and began winding through the crowd. David clearly had his own method and it didn’t matter so long as it worked. She decided that the most semi-reasonable idea would be to get to the edge of the crowd and watch the people leaving, to make sure none of them had a kid that wasn’t theirs in tow. Barring that situation, she would be able to skim the perimeter in case Rocky had seen something interesting down the hall and had simply wandered off, as kids are wont to do, to go see it.
Luckily, David was nice and tall so despite being on the outer edge of the crowd, Sydney could keep track of him. She barely noticed him in the very edge of her visual field as they were both in motion, but his sudden stillness felt almost like a smack upside the head. Her head jerked around quickly to see him standing near a tree. It was one of those phony palm trees that malls often have for decoration. Sydney thought they were ridiculous things to have in here, since the real deal was just a few feet outside the door. Seriously... everything was a gimmick these days. But, letting herself get lost in a silent rant about the commercialism in the world would not help them find Rocky. But... David was still standing there. So, she started making her way back... maybe he had seen something.
When he bent over and picked Rocky up, Sydney felt her stomach unclench and released the breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. When he turned around to reassure that Rocky was alright, Sydney flashed him a warm smile. She gave him a thumbs up when he indicated that he was going to get Rocky something to eat. Making sure to stay within sight so she would know where to go, Sydney went over to one of the little places in the food court. She felt like something moderately healthy... but only moderately. A toasted sub should do nicely....
After getting her food, Sydney wound her way back through the crowd, trying to spot where David and Rocky had run off to.
[ooc]I apologize for the epic amount of fail. Dx[/ooc] &heavens gates won't o p e n up for me' &with these broken wings i'm f a l l i n';
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Post by david on Jul 31, 2008 18:48:52 GMT -5
That that don't kill me Can only make me stronger
» David didn't claim to be a good father yet. At best, he was decent- his son had just wandered off because David failed to pay close attention to him, after all- but in any case, he was better than his own male parental unit. Hell, he was better than both his own parents combined, despite the lack of experience. Sure, he might not have been there Rocky's entire life, but he'd already established that it wasn't his fault. There was no way he could have known he'd knocked up Rocky's mother- and even if he'd known she was carrying a child, he would have no way of proving it was his. But, back to now. One of the first question's he'd asked when he got the DNA tests back was "What do they eat?" a funny question, sure, but he wasn't exactly sure what to feed a five-year-old. Did they eat what adults did? Was there some sort of special formula they needed? Ah, poor, delusioned David... Luckily, by now, he'd gotten a hang of meal times with a small child, and would consider himself something of an expert on the eating habits of the five-year-old. After those first few shaky days everything seemed to fall into place, and things settled down.
» They found an empty table- a rare feat, indeed- right after David got his own food, and quickly sat down at it. Luckily, it had four seats, so David wouldn't be forced to grab another chair, or give up his own. He could be a gentleman if he wanted to, but he'd be damned if he was going to eat standing up at a table that didn't even come up to his hips. He and Rocky had gotten food from two different places. Rocky got what any self-respecting five-year-old got: a Happy Meal, very much demanding the boy's toy, not one of those frilly little Barbies they gave the girls. David, on the other hand, refused to eat there. He hated McDonald's with a passion. Besides, they had nothing he particularly wanted. Instead, he towed Rocky over to a little Chinese place, where he got some sort of chicken, and was glad they'd given him both chopsticks and a fork. They sat down at their table- which was round, and had a really lame-looking umbrella over it, which David hated, since they were indoors, and thus had no need for shelter from the sun- and David started looking around to see if Sydney had gotten her food and was looking for them. He spotted her and immediately raised one hand, waving it in hopes she would see it. That was when he felt something hit his face, and looked over to see Rocky with a straw in his mouth, giggling. He'd blown the wrapper, which is what hit David. David laughed a little and, temporarily forgetting about Sydney, obtained his own straw, which he ripped off a small portion of, blew on, and sent it sailing toward Rocky's face. Both of them were soon laughing.
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Post by orls02 on Aug 4, 2008 20:44:55 GMT -5
&s e a r c h i n g for something; &i couldn’t f i n d at home; Sydney had almost forgotten how crowded the mall’s food court was, at any time of the day. Families with small children looking hassled, groups of teenagers with nothing better to do, and the occasional older couple out for the day, all mingled together with the mall staff, making the food court an ever-morphing maze to navigate. Tables big enough to seat the number needed were hard to find, which was why Syd always opted for food that she could easily eat standing up. Granted, subs had an annoying tendency of falling apart, but it was still easier than something you needed some type of utensils for. Besides, Syd was used to “working lunches” on the job. She often opted out of leaving the office and socializing during lunch hours. Instead, she typically just ate something over paperwork or electronic files.
She cast her gaze around for David and Rocky once more. They must think I got lost or something, she thought with a wry smile. Curse this crowd! It was hard to see much of anything aside from varying angles of the heads of these punk teenagers. Sydney couldn’t help but shake her head at some of them. If she’d ever tried to leave the house looking like that when she was that age she would have had her hide tanned. There was just no modesty these days. Sydney, herself, had a painfully low level of shame, but it was brought on by her blunt nature, not from her desire for attention from the male gender. One thing she had never fully understood was the “taboo” about a guy seeing a girl in her bra and underwear while it was perfectly acceptable to ogle a girl unabashedly when she wore a bikini or skanky clothes. Because she thought the taboo was laughable and stupid, Sydney had absolutely no qualms about stripping down to her underwear in front of anyone. It was actually kid of fun to watch the varying reactions from mortified embarrassment to stunned admiration. Deep down, Sydney had the feeling that David would be more inclined to glance over at her then continue with whatever he was doing rather than being an ogler or one who looked away horrified.
Ah! There they were! Sydney had seen David’s profile a moment before he turned and saw her. When he waved her over, Sydney assumed they had managed to find a table. As she made her way over, Sydney was surprised into a short laugh when something white hit David in the face. It wasn’t until she had almost reached the table that both she and David realized that it was Rocky’s straw wrapper. Ever the immature, albeit adorable, newish father, David had simply retaliated in kind. This action sent both Rocky and David into a laughing spell as Sydney sat down. Looking at the pair of them, it was a rather cute, almost picture-perfect moment, and Sydney wished she had a camera with her.
“You guys are sooo immature,” Sydney teased, putting in an exaggerated British accent and pretending to be offended. &fallen leaves, f a l l e n leaves; &fallen leaves on the g r o u n d;
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Post by david on Aug 24, 2008 13:12:07 GMT -5
That that don't kill me Can only make me stronger
» David was generally accepted as a short-fused guy. While he could hold in the anger brought on by general everyday situations like the person in front of him driving too slow, or having to wait too long at a red light, but there were certain things that, when uttered in David's direction, were almost certain to evoke some sort of violent response. Certain things just conjured up parts of his past that he wanted so badly to let go of; and the worst part of it was, most of the time, these things were said in jest. Like now- there was no way Sydney could know exactly how her words hit him, how much weight they carried. But, after simply clenching his jaw for a second and going silent, telling himself she meant nothing by it, and that it wasn't a personal attack, he resumed his version of normalcy. "Oh, you have no idea," he half-grumped, bending over to pick up the straw wrappers. He crumpled them both up and set them on his tray, to be thrown away later. Having to care for Rocky had changed David a lot, most noticeably- to him, anyway- was in his ability to set aside random anger. He was also grown-up enough to know that him being grumpy about the smallest things could ruin an innocent social interaction, and knew ways to find something else to focus- or attempt to focus- on.
» Unwrapping his chopsticks, he frowned at the fact that they were the wooden kind that were all but fused together. "These things are a conspiracy," he said, giving the chopsticks an evil glare. "I can never get them apart right. One of them always ends up with a massive chunk missing, and the other with an additional, unnecessary chunk. I think they make them like that on purpose, so nobody but Asians can eat correctly with chopsticks, so they can sit there and laugh at white people that try to use them." In all technicality, he was Asian- or Eurasian, whatever- since he was from Russia, but what he was talking about were the people who actually looked Asian. It wasn't meant as a racist comment, but a humorous outlook on the chopstick conspiracy, as he called it. After struggling with his, trying lightly bending them to see in that worked- it didn't, perhaps because he was such a big guy- he gave up, gave them a quick jerk and, just as he'd predicted, one ended up missing a chunk out of the top. Oh well. He was hungry, and if he had to eat with malformed chopsticks, he would- that fork could kiss his ass.
» Of course, eating with the chopsticks was a whole other problem unto itself. He could never seem to hold them right, and when he finally got that part down, he found it impossible to move them to pick food up without having them fall right out of place. Still, that didn't stop him from trying. Sydney probably already thought he was an idiot, so what was failure to use chopsticks right going to hurt? He picked them up, placed them as close to correct as they were ever going to get in his hands, and began attempting to use them. He chased a piece of chicken around the bowl with the sticks, looking increasingly peeved as he continued to fail to catch it and eventually stopped, glared at the chicken, and swore at it in Russian. Not very loudly- someone sitting at the next table would really only be able to hear it if they were listening to him- but it did reach Rocky, who thus far had been in his own little world, eating his own food. Rocky looked up at David, who also looked up, and met Rocky's gaze with a small smile. He pointed at the boy with his chopsticks. "You never repeat that, hear?" The boy, like David, was easily picking up a language that was not his native tongue, and unfortunately, David had not yet perfected the art of watching his mouth- even if it was just in Russian- around the boy. He glanced at Sydney. "I've been teaching him..." He turned away, trailing off as though his words were drowned out by background noise. Then he looked back at her. "He likes to repeat everything I say. Hah."
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