Rufio (i_cancrow) wrote in we_coexist, @ 2011-10-13 17:31:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | rufio, zoe washburne |
The Amazon and the Pan (Zoe)
Rufio floated through the tall buildings, silently moving through the air and looking for any signs of trouble. That wasn't really hard in the downtown docks, there were always pirates here, men and sometimes women up to no good. They picked on those who couldn't defend themselves, as was their way, and didn’t often understand that there were sometimes people like Rufio watching, and stopping them. But they were starting to learn.
Hearing some yelling and noise Rufio made for one of his traps. He’d placed the ankle catchers specifically, away in back alleys that nobody would go to for a good reason. He left them there for the lost girls to use. They weren’t a group, and some of them weren’t even girls anymore, but grown up women who acted little, and who were almost always out on the streets. Rufio had spoken to them a bit, they dressed funny with very small clothes and a lot of jewelry and they went on adventures with men a lot, but not for long. They always came back, the same night or the next. They were the closest thing to the Lost Boys that the young Pan had found in this City.
But there were still differences. These girls were.... well, girls. And they still had homes. One of them was going to come back with him to his Fort, but then she wanted the paper money and he’d forgotten his, so she left. The other differences only came out when he talked to them; they were empty sounding, and slow, so he didn’t talk to them too much anymore. Still, he made the traps for the times when men they didn’t want came around, so that if they ran away the traps would catch the pirates and Rufio could deal with them later.
As he lowered himself to the first floor of a building he turned himself completely upside down, looking at the man who was hanging by his ankles and struggling. The man stopped when he saw Rufio, then started shouting louder, but when the Pan drew his sword and shoved the point against the elder’s chest he went silent and wide eyed.
“You bothered Sparkles,” Rufio glared at him. He knew this corner. A lot of old, gross men bothered Sparkles, though she never listened to Rufio and stayed home.
“No, I-” Rufio drew back and slung the sword down and across his chest, just deep enough to slice open his skin and start a healthy flow of blood.
“You bothered Sparkles,” he growled. The man gave a girlish squeak.
“Yes! Ok, I did, I’m sorry!” he said, clutching his chest. Rufio drew the sword back, then slowly turned himself upright, still midair. He place the edge of his weapon against the man’s throat, leaning in to hiss.
“If you bother her or any girl here again, I’ll kill you,” he said. The man started to cry, and Rufio suddenly smelled pee. He blinked, then looked up. “Oh, ew!” he exclaimed, pulling back in disgust. He swung the sword again, this time slicing the rope that held them man up, and watched the mess hit the ground hard. The man scrambled to his feet and opened his mouth to say something, but Rufio lurched at him with his sword high up in the air again.
“GET OUT!” he bellowed, chasing the man out of the alley like a bat. He stopped, though, and watched the figure race down the street, shaking his head in bewilderment as he landed on the ground.
He’d peed himself.
- - -
Zoe had been nearly ran over when the man came running out of the alleyway. She wasn’t here exactly to look after the “lost girls” like Rufio; she didn’t have the same opinion of those who did what those “girls” did that others may. She grew up in a time when Companions or otherwise were simply a way of life. Even if some thought illegal or uncertified types were not as acceptable.
She would have stopped the man had he seemed ready to slow down, but after nearly bumping into her, he rolled away and ran on. It wasn’t until he was gone that she caught the distinct scent of fear - or at least a symptom of it. She looked down the alleyway, and didn’t have to look too far to see the boy with the sword. Well, that was different.
“So, you have anything to do with that?” She thumbed in the direction that the fellow had run off in. It wasn’t really a question, not exactly.
----
Rufio blinked as the tall, tough looking woman addressed him. He walked out into the light, using a cloth he kept in his pocket to wipe the traces of blood off the edge of his blade before he sheathed it and looked the woman up and down. Then he smirked.
“Yeah. Course I did,” he said smugly. “And if I see him back here again I’ll cut him open for real. Stupid old man.”
He looked up and down the street, but Sparkles was gone. She’d run away before the men in the loud cars showed up. The so-called ‘Police’. Rufio wasn’t looking to interact with them either, they were too bossy to be sport for name calling and they could summon more of their kind just by talking to their shoulders. Rufio didn’t trust that kind of magic.
That was too bad, Sparkles was funny. Mostly because she wasn’t very smart, but some of the things she said made a lot of sense. “He won’t be back though, he’s a coward.”
----
“You’ll cut him open for real.” Zoe didn’t like little boys who played at heroing. It wasn’t that she had a problem with boys and heroing, but when they played at it without understanding consequences, that was when the trouble began..
“Why would you cut him open?” She couldn’t just tell the kid to knock it off because she had no idea what was going on. She did feel like something needed to be done. The kid’s outfit reminded her of one of the planets they’d been on. It was more rim/fringe than core, and many of the older types were gone due to the war.
---
“Because it would be a good warning to the other pirates,” he smirked and then threw the rag away on the ground, hopping up onto a garbage can and making himself comfortable, taking out his can of bubble juice and starting to blow a few. He was pretty pleased with himself.
He blew a few bubbles, then looked over at her, noting the disapproving on her face. Or maybe that was just how her face looked. “It keeps them from picking on the Lost Girls too much. And I make good on my promises. They pick on the girls, I kill them. That’s how it works down here.”
----
“The lost girls? I don’t think there are girls down here. Don’t think killing the men will work much for the ‘girls’ either. They have to make their money.” Zoe the pragmatist. “You’re mean to the men, the men are mean to them.”
Zoe wasn’t exactly approving, but she wasn’t exactly disapproving either. She watched him carefully. The sword bothered her. She could handle her own against a sword, not that she had reason to fight them much, but she could handle herself. She’d started doing more work when it came to blade fighting, especially after getting knifed recently. The Amazon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“What makes you think the girls want you to help them anyway?” She looked down the street to see if any of the so-called girls were around. “Unless you mean really lost girls, then you should get them to the police - get them back to their parents, they shouldn’t be here.”
----
“Well.... they don’t call themselves that. They’re not really a gang, either,” Rufio paused, frowning and then blowing more bubbles thoughtfully. He called them that and they never told him not to. He didn’t know if they liked it or not but it made him feel better to have something familiar around. “And no. They’re grownup. And nobody wants the police around here.”
Nobody wanted them, and everybody around here was happy to keep them away. He looked over at her, then shook his head roughly and glared. “What d’ya mean, what makes me think they want my help?” he demanded. “I’m the Pan. I look after everybody smaller and weaker than me. And he would have never been caught in my trap if Sparkles wanted him. But she didn’t, and he was bothering her, so she led him into the trap so I could set him straight. They have fun with the old men who they want to, I only cut up the ones who give them a hard time.” The bullies and the pirates. They weren’t tolerated in Neverland, and whatever the rules of the City were, Rufio wouldn’t tolerate them here.
----
“Right. You could also be helping them take advantage of the guys. Or gals, what the gorram ever comes to see them. They could be using you.” Zoe didn’t have the best outlook on the world sometimes, and she was trying not to think less of the women this kid was trying to help. She could understand the need to protect; it was part of why she had taken on a certain afterhours project. Yet, she didn’t think this kid was the one to do the protecting.
“I don’t know what the pan is other than something to cook in, but I think you should go on home and leave this place be.” The Amazon really didn’t like having to tell a would be hero that, but she couldn’t look after said would be hero and everyone else. It wouldn’t work out. Someone would lose, and the files she’d read about the Batman suggested that it was usually the heroes in training that got the short end of the deal when it all came down to it.
“Just go home, or I’ll have to call your parents.” Zoe doubted that would be a very convincing threat. “Or, I’ll just hand you your ass.”
----
Rufio arched a brow when she talked. He leaned back. “I don’t care about the men,” he sneered, turning and blowing a few more bubbles before he started to laugh. This woman felt tough, and she obviously didn’t like to play around, anybody could tell that by looking at her, but what was she going to do? Glare at him? Use those ‘women wiles’ the girls used to get men to do what they wanted?
Rufio closed his container of bubble juice and turned to her, a hand resting on his sword’s hilt. “Don’t have parents. Don’t have a home, neither,” he said, watching her for her reaction, still grinning from ear to ear. He didn’t really find his fort being busted up by the storm funny, but her trying to make him return to it? Yeah, that would be a sight to see for sure. “Why don’t you run home to yours? These streets aren’t safe for girls after it gets dark, and I don’t really wanna protect you.”