dear_mun | (no subject)

[......oh, wow, how appropriate. My world's a bit more sanitised, though realistically, even if it wasn't shown? I would've seen some pretty bad things on the streets. But I'm a stubborn pain in the ass, just ask Sky, and Z's always kept me straight on the path of helping people anyway.]

We are authorities, sure, but we're closer to police. We don't do everything. There are child protection agencies, that kinda thing. I only have so much power, unfortunately.

[sigh]

[nose wrinkle, seeing your point] There's only so far we could go with that distrust, though. I mean, if I'm understanding you right, I could be one. I'm not! But you'll have to trust a little, sometime, or you'll be on the run for the rest of your life.

It's not like you'd be the first case we've ever dealt with, where someone may've done some things they shouldn't've, but also needs protection.

[In that, at least, you and him share something in common. He's always been stubborn, too stubborn for his own good. It's what got him in trouble with the Animorphs. But it's also what helped him get through that sordid mess to be standing here today. He wouldn't be, not if they'd had their way.]

I'm sixteen, I'm not a child. I can take care of myself, I don't need to be put in some adoption agency.

[And yes, sixteen is still a child where he's from too.]

So if you're the police, I tell you what happened. Who else would I have to tell? The more people I tell about this, the riskier it'll be.

I guess there's some kind of standard protocol you guys have in cases like mine? [he chuckles mordantly] The world's gotta be pretty bad off if you've run into people like me before.

[I'm a big believer in bloodymindedness getting you through a situation when sometimes nothing else will do it.]

[grins] I know you're not a child. But you're still legally in need of people to look after you.

...

[and this would be a goddamn confused look on my part, because I like that I'm in a position to do more than I could if I wasn't in SPD, but if I wasn't in SPD? I could just take you home with me and at least let you get settled, make you feel safe, feed you, for a couple nights before we talked about what to do for your future]

[maybe Sky's right about me leaving SPD in the end]

[rueful grin] Not exactly like you. And I won't pretend to have all the answers, David. I always hated it when adults did that to me, when I knew they were full of crap.

I haven't been in SPD that long. I don't know exactly what we do for something like this. I just know there are people I need to tell, and I have some idea about which out of those are the ones who give a damn and will make an extra effort to make sure you're taken care of properly.

[David nods slowly, but inwardly his mind's racing. He knows it'd be better for him to go along with these, to let whatever system there is try to help him, but he can't. He had parents. They're the only ones he wants. He can't just let his life be at the control of people who aren't him. Even if he tries, he thinks, he'll never, ever belong.

But Jack wants to help him and he wants a way out of here and Jack doesn't know all about his powers yet. So he'll go. He'll go, and he'll see what happens. And if he has to run, he has to run.]

Alright... [he says slowly] I'll try it your way.

[He manages a bemused grin at the part of Jack levels with him.] I appreciate you being straight-up with me about it. Most people wouldn't be, you know?

Are you gonna tell these people you've got in mind everything? [He sounds especially uncertain about that.]

[I'm at a loss, to some extent. I know how much I would've hated being put into 'the system'. But these days, I know sometimes 'the system' isn't so bad, and I know there are people who are part of authority who genuinely want to do the right thing.]

[I'm also aware, both with my SPD experience and my own personal experience, that just because you're obviously a decent person and have been pushed far too hard doesn't mean you haven't done anything undeserving of punishment, or at least some kind of rehabilitation]

[nods] Hey, you want out at any point, or if you have better ideas, you just talk to me, okay? There's only so much I'll do to someone who hasn't proven himself arrest-worthy, without his consent.

Hey, it's much easier to tell the truth sometimes. I'm way too lazy to keep up a decent lie.

My team, sure.

[His problem's that, while he's a good kid who was in a bad situation, he has too much power and too little restraint in using it. He's hasn't mentioned all the petty stuff he's done with his power just because he could - acquiring people without their permission, sneaking into movies and theme parks, or stealing money from banks so he could buy himself a life.]

They're not such terrible things. Some kids would do much worse with the powers he has. But power requires discipline so it's not abused, and discipline isn't something David has much of.]

Alright. [he slowly returns the nod] I'll try it and if it's not working out, I guess I'll come talk to you. [darkly] Unless I end up with a Controller. Then I wouldn't get the chance.

[He shakes his head briefly, amused.] Yeah... I guess that's true. I don't know if that's all it is, but... guess it doesn't matter.

That's okay, I guess. Are they gonna be monitoring me?

[enh, I wouldn't be happy to learn about you doing things like that... but being a kid with too little supervision and too much power and doing stupid things? I understand that only too well even if I don't like it. I still have issues with that sometimes, though I've got way more self-discipline these days. ]

I'm not saying things'll be perfect. Or that I can promise you that you'll never be put in a shitty situation again. But we can try, David, and if you and I make a go of trusting each other, it'll help.

That's a damn good question. Wish I knew.

[grinning]

[He doesn't return the grin. He nods, but his gaze is somewhere else. He's still looking at you, but it's from a distance now. Like he's sizing you up. Weighing his options. Deciding whether or not you might become a threat to him one day.]

Guess I'll find out. [he shrugs, trying to be casual about it] It's not a big deal. It'd just be to make sure I don't get in trouble.

Is there anything I have to do? How does it work?

Edited 2012-06-25 15:41 (UTC)

[I'm philosophical enough about that. Trust comes with time. I'll be pissed at myself if I can't get you to trust me more completely, eventually, and you leave, especially if you leave and get yourself hurt. But I don't expect you to completely trust me right now.]

Yeah. And my world's pretty good, generally. The team and I will take care of Gruumm, don't worry about that. So once we've got you safe, you'll have options, David. You won't have to watch your back constantly.

No idea. Haven't tried to do it before. I think I just... take you with me.

[Knowing you're not taking his suspicion too seriously is helping. A little bit, but it's helping. And that's a good thing, because this feels like the kind of decision he'd change his mind about if he thought about it too long. He's been on his own a long time now, and for good or ill, he's gotten used to it.]

I guess if you've got technology advanced enough to time travel, it can't be too bad. Is your world still Earth, or are you guys stationed somewhere else? You mentioned aliens earlier so I guess people are doing spacetravel by now.

You've never tried it? That's not really encouraging. What if something goes wrong? Like, part of me goes and part of me stays here? That can't happen, can it?

[I had similar issues with being on the street versus working for SPD. There were obviously good things about it, as well as bad, but it was so new...]

Our tech's pretty good. Just don't ask me to explain how it all works. Yeah, we're based on Earth, but SPD's bigger'n that. We've been elsewhere, too.

[eyebrows go uuuup]

...maybe I need to talk to Bridge.

[Well, at least you're taking his concerns seriously. That earned you a few more points. Because maybe he's overthinking it (and he is prone to that), but he doesn't want to go to your world minus his lower half. That's just not cool.]

I'm guessing Bridge is... your tech guy? Either that or a supercomputer.

[I'm quite fond of all my parts, too, and I wouldn't want to lose anything if I travelled to YOUR world.]

[snorts] Both, really. Incredibly smart guy, and one of my best friends. Though he's prone to sniffing dogs.

He's prone to... what?

[Sorry, Jack, you might have to run that one by him again. He's not sure he heard you right. See, he thinks he heard you say this guy likes sniffing dogs.]

[rubbing my forehead] It was all part of an investigation. A little worrying at the time, but...

[and here I'll fix you with a philosophical look and a half-shrug] ...but he was right. He found the answers. One of the weirdest things about leading has been dealing with the fact that sometimes I just gotta trust my team's abilities even if they don't react like I would.

[He'll just keep staring, before shrugging in an awkward sort of way. That's weird, and he's not gonna pretend it's not.] I guess that as long as it works that's all that matters, huh? I've known some weird guys but I never met anyone that sniffed dogs before.

I met a guy who was a bird though. If that counts for anything.

He figured out that the woman who owned the dog was lying. [wry grin] Yeah, he's weird, but he's really smart. And I can trust him with anything.

Yeah? We have a guy from a bird-based species as our supreme commander. Was yours an Earth bird?

He can talk to animals? [Okay, this is definitely getting filed away for later.] Is that like his superpower or something?

Yeah. He was a kid who got stuck as a hawk. He has the same powers I do, he's just stuck in a hawk body. It's... complicated.

Ah, no, sorry. It was more to do with looking at her shoes and stuff. Though he does have powers! Psycho- psychim- um, psychometry. That's it.

[stares at you blankly] That... that sounds horrible. Does he still have his own mind, or is the hawk mind taking over?

That's a kind of psychic power, isn't it? Can he read minds?

[For a moment his eyes harden, like he's remembering something he's very intent on forgetting.] ... Yeah. It's horrible. He's got his own mind, but the hawk's in there with him. Like having two minds in his head.

Don't think so, but maybe if he works on it? I don't know.

[exhales in horror]

Shit. Shit. Why's he stuck?

Still, that's pretty cool. Bet it comes in handy.

[At that, his face goes very still. All expression seems to leave it, and when he speaks, it's in a flat, even tone. It's obviously a lie, but he just as obviously doesn't care.]

I don't know.

Yeah, you bet! I've been thinking about ways he can use it. Y'know, if he's comfortable enough.

[measuring look]

You try to help him?

How was I gonna help him? He was already trspped when I met him. He was more bird than human by that time.

[Notice the pointed avoidance of the question.]

So you didn't?

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this is me getting a tag from you on the Archer post and realising I owe you a tag here... XD