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Post by X2 on Jan 10, 2020 23:41:18 GMT -5
Rage was stunned as he gazed at the piece of meat handed to him. It was a decent size, he'd had that much meat in the past, but it wasn't an everyday thing for him. He tore into the meat in a very uncivilized way and was finished in the amount of time it took Alonzo to finish his thought. He saw Alonzo look away, and he did vaguely wonder if it had something to do with his eating habits. And while he was still hungry, he wasn't sure if he should overindulge. On the streets, he had to scrounge, and he didn't want to get use to eating plentiful and regularly when ...when he left.
However, there was this one voice in his head telling him what would be the harm. He wasn't going to do it all the time, just this one occasion. He was hungry, the tom was offering. He may never get a chance to eat like (what? Normal? Was that normal, or was his way normal?). In any case, his mind made up and he moved quickly as he grabbed a few more pieces of meat, before sitting back down. The kitten chow was ignored. It was little brown pebbles, the look and smelled leaved much to be desired and just didn't interest Rage. Just before he inhaled his next piece of meat, he stopped short.
Gazing about the immediate area, he saw no one else. Heard no one else. This time, he decided to take it slower. No one was going to readily attack him and he highly doubted the white and black tom wanted to watch him scarf everything down like he wasn't going to live tomorrow, tearing and ripping into the meat like some crazed bumbling fool. So he took a big bite, and let the taste wash over him. After he swallowed, he flicked his eyes up at the Harlequin. "...'ave a..." He growled softly under his breath before the word popped into his head. "Name?"
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eliaza
Wonderful Jellicle
By singing songs about themselves, of course!
Posts: 525
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Post by eliaza on Jan 11, 2020 12:09:51 GMT -5
Though Alonzo could hear Rage tearing ravenously into the piece of meat, it didn't bother him all that much. Heck, some of the kits around here treated their food in a much more disgusting manner, and they didn't even have the excuse of being starving. He did hope Rage wouldn't eat so much so fast that he made himself sick; that was a thing, wasn't it? Starving and then not being able to keep food down when you finally did get to eat? Well, at least he was eating, and didn't seem worse off for it so far. From the corner of his eye, Alonzo thought he saw Rage take another piece of meat, which was encouraging. Finishing up his own portion, Alonzo especially savored the kitten chow. Though he'd never admitted it to anyone, kitten chow was a bit of a weakness of his - perhaps because, having no human family, he seldom got it. A lot of cats, he knew, thought pet food was disgusting and would take fresh fish or meat any day.
Cautiously, Alonzo slowly began to look over at the other tom, just to gauge how he was holding up. To his surprise, Rage had looked up at him as well. And instead of immediately snarfing down the second piece of meat as he had the first, he was asking Alonzo for his name.
Alonzo had completely forgotten that, in this entire conversation, they'd never even bothered to introduce themselves to one another! Then again, they'd both been a bit preoccupied. "Alonzo. And you?"
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Post by X2 on Jan 12, 2020 13:41:45 GMT -5
Ah Lon zo. Rage had mentally told himself while his mouth moved pronouncing the black and white tom's name wordlessly. He hoped he'd be able to remember that. He should. It was the only other cats name he'd learned, besides Snowmane. And he knew he wouldn't bother with any other cats in the tribe, if he did stay that is, unless they bothered to interact with him; like this Alonzo was doing. He gave a short, barely there nod, before he focused back on his food.
His name. He had been called different names on the streets, so eventually had come up with his own name. But he wasn't about to give the history lesson that was his name. That might go into awkward questions about 'your parents didn't name you?'. It was an issue he had never brought up with Snowmane, though she had asked on occasion who his parents were or if he had any family. But after dodging and avoiding those questions so many times, Snowmane had eventually dropped them altogether.
"Ragnvald."
((Pronounced Rag-na-vahld))
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eliaza
Wonderful Jellicle
By singing songs about themselves, of course!
Posts: 525
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Post by eliaza on Jan 14, 2020 10:13:45 GMT -5
Alonzo practiced the other tom's name in his head several times before he attempted to pronounce it out loud. Rag-na-vahld. Rag-na-vahld. It wasn't all that difficult of a name by any stretch, certainly no more unusual than some of the Jellicles' names. Still, Alonzo wanted to take a moment to get accustomed to it; last thing he wanted to do was offend the newest tribe-member. Okay, potential tribe-member, he reminded himself. Ragnvald hadn't actually said for certain that he'd stay. Accepting the food was certainly a step in the right direction, but even now Alonzo felt he was walking on eggshells, hoping he didn't do or say the wrong thing to cause Rage to want to leave.
He briefly wondered who'd named Rage - his parents? Or had he perhaps had humans at one time? Or perhaps he'd never had either of those, that he could remember, and had simply come up with the name himself? But to Alonzo, Ragnvald seemed a bit of a mouthful for someone who didn't enjoy talking much. But then, maybe Ragnvald did like talking more - under more normal circumstances. He'd certainly been talking more just now. Probably made a difference that now he wasn't being pursued by humans who wanted to skin him.
Shaking those thoughts aside, reminding himself that everyone was safe now, Alonzo nodded at the other tom. "I'm glad to meet you...Ragnvald." It sounded a bit formal and awkward, but he didn't know how else to respond. He popped a few more bits of food in his mouth, buying himself time to think of something else to say.
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Post by X2 on Jan 16, 2020 22:36:45 GMT -5
Ragnvald gazed at Alonzo as the tom spoke and then proceeded to pop more food into his mouth. Meet him? Nice? This had confused Rage. They met...back at the pipe. And nice was not the kind of word he'd have used to describe their meeting. But trying to put all of his thoughts, and confusion into words would frustrate him, it was already making his head hurt. So he ignored Alonzo's confusing statement, assuming it was one of those social things he missed out on. He shrugged his shoulders.
"On ...ssstreets. Was called...Rage." Well he was called Rage, eventually. He had always been indifferent towards the name or (small name?); it had been accurate. He hoped he said enough to indicate that he was fine with Alonzo also calling him Rage, as he ate another bite of his meat. Still slowly eating it, and still savoring the full flavor of it.
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eliaza
Wonderful Jellicle
By singing songs about themselves, of course!
Posts: 525
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Post by eliaza on Jan 18, 2020 14:49:45 GMT -5
It didn't surprise Alonzo that Ragnavald had mainly gone by a shortened version of his name; certainly a time-saver. He was somewhat startled by the fearsomeness of the nickname. Rage. But then, what better name could there be? Anything else that came to mind sounded a bit silly. And for someone surviving on his own on the streets, Rage certainly fit the bill as a name that might make any potential challengers think twice about crossing him.
"Rage," he repeated, nodding again. Then he felt rather foolish. He gathered Rage had been giving him permission to use the nickname, but that probably didn't mean he needed to repeat it out loud. Was he just going to sit here nodding and repeating everything Rage said? Surely that would get old. He cast about for some further comment to make. "I don't...heh, I don't really have a good shortened form of my name." Somecats had been known to refer to him as "Lonz" or "Alz," but neither of those was all that interesting, or even that much easier to say. And besides, it was too easy to turn "Lonz" into something babyish like "Lonzi." He reached out automatically for some more kitten chow to hide his awkwardness behind, but found he'd finished his portion. So he started drawing shapes in the dirt with his claw instead.
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Post by X2 on Jan 21, 2020 10:50:27 GMT -5
Rage had finished up his piece of meat, savoring the last traces of flavor before he regarded Alonzo once more. Honestly, Alonzo was a bit of a mouthful for him. He preferred speaking as little as possible. "Al." Rage spoke. He wasn't sure if he was asking permission or not. All he knew was that he wasn't going to say the toms full name ever; at least not if he had to. It was too confusing for him.
He stretched out and watched the black and white tom as he ate. Rage had finished, already eating more then he usually did. That had been a days meal for him and he didn't dare eat more and risk getting sick. But aside from having food; so he wouldn't go hungry, he wasn't sure if he was a right fit for the junkyard. What would he really do there, honestly? What could he do? He wasn't just going to stay at the yard, take their food, and sit on his butt. He didn't like that. If he were to join a gang or group...he'd want to contribute somehow. All while thinking these things, his face had turned into one full of concern and a small pout found it's way to his lips.
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eliaza
Wonderful Jellicle
By singing songs about themselves, of course!
Posts: 525
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Post by eliaza on Jan 22, 2020 8:34:59 GMT -5
Al, eh? Well, Alonzo didn't love it, but it was better than "Lonzi" or something. And at least it was a sign that perhaps Rage was feeling comfortable—comfortable enough to start handing out nicknames, at any rate. Or…"Alonzo" is just too much trouble to bother saying. Which was probably true enough. He tried it out. "Al. Not bad. Nice and…punchie." He looked up as he spoke, just catching sight of Rage’s less-than-pleased expression. Not that he’d been grinning like a Cheshire cat before, but… "You…okay?"
Now that they’d both finished their food, Alonzo was at a bit of a loss again as to what to do or say next. Was Rage still considering just up and leaving? Should Alonzo keep trying to convince him to stay? What more should he say about the Jellicles? He knew there were plenty of advantages to staying here, but now that he had to...well, sing the praises of the junkyard to someone, he was having the worst time coming up with anything. We need some sort of training on this. He made a mental note to mention it to Munkustrap. But that didn’t help his present situation… On the other paw, perhaps Rage was merely feeling sick from eating a good meal after going so long without.
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Post by X2 on Feb 4, 2020 10:01:24 GMT -5
Good. That was good. Al was so much easier for him; not just to say but to remember as well. It had taken him a long time to remember Snowmane. He was sure Al would be easy enough. His eyes snapped over to Alonzo at the toms question. Always with the questions. Once he processed the question he shrugged his shoulders.
"Thanks." He spoke softly as he gestured toward the direction Alonzo had gotten food. And he meant it, it had been a while since he had food without having to constantly look over his shoulder. Paranoid that someone might try and steal it out of his mouth.
"But..." He looked around at the empty area, save for himself and Alonzo. "...'m not sure I-I-I'd fit in here."
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eliaza
Wonderful Jellicle
By singing songs about themselves, of course!
Posts: 525
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Post by eliaza on Feb 11, 2020 9:28:44 GMT -5
Alonzo's shoulders sagged slightly with disappointment. He knew he shouldn't expect Rage to be jumping up and down to stay, not just because of one meal and Alonzo's feeble attempts to explain the Junkyard's advantages. Still, he'd hoped the tom was at least beginning to soften to the idea. Hoped that at least the thought of not having to scrounge around and fight off other felines for a meal would be appealing. But, he supposed, streetcats didn't just think about food all the time. It was true that being part of a group had its complications and difficulties - adding any fellow cats to one's life came with complications. Sometimes going it alone probably did seem the easier option.
If that was what Rage truly wanted, Alonzo certainly didn't want to take that from him. And the last thing he wanted was for the tom to think he was being tricked or forced into staying, like some sort of prisoner. But he also didn't want the tom to decide too quickly, before he'd even really had a chance to try life here for a while. Well, Alonzo wasn't going to keep trying persuasiveness; that wasn't his forte.
"Fit in," he echoed. "I'm not sure any of us exactly... fits in. Everyone here's completely different. Some get along. Some don't really. But we're all here because we want to be. And if anycat finds himself in danger, the others're sure to back him up, even if they were arguing two seconds ago." He chuckled. "It's sort of like a crazy family. Not perfect by any stretch. But good in a crisis. Good for survival."
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Post by X2 on Feb 27, 2020 12:29:05 GMT -5
"Family?" Rage himself echoed.
What was that? Friend was a concept Snowmane had been attempting to teach him, but family was a new one for him. He just didn't get it. How could you go and defend someone you were just in conflict with and arguing and screaming at? Confusion hit him. And while a small part of him, that Rage didn't want to admit to, was looking for a reason to stay. If only to have a safe place to sleep at night. His curiosity was now peaked over the family concept. "Whats....that?"
((Think Alonzo's up for a tour? We can just throw NPCs in if they run into anybody. Then throw them out just as fast.))
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eliaza
Wonderful Jellicle
By singing songs about themselves, of course!
Posts: 525
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Post by eliaza on Mar 23, 2020 8:40:29 GMT -5
Family. Alonzo'd just used the word without thinking twice about it; he'd never thought he'd be called on to explain what it meant. For him, of course, the answer was slightly complicated, which would make it doubly difficult to answer Rage, who preferred - maybe even needed - answers to be short and to the point. Probably if he started in on this whole long explanation of how you could have both 'blood family' and 'chosen family,' both were real, etc., it would be very unhelpful in this case. "Family," he repeated. "Well, for me, it means the ones who look out for you and you try to look out for them in return. Jellicles took me in when my parents died, so I consider them my family." He paused. "Look...would you maybe... like to take a tour? Er, have a look around the junkyard, I mean? See if you think you'd like it here or not?"
((sounds good to me!))
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