InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "He's dead, Jim."

oscardarton (oscardarton) wrote in light_of_may,
@ 2009-10-17 19:22:00

Entry tags:

2009-06-18

Somebody's a little preoccupied.
Who: Oscar and Teluah
When: Late afternoon
Where: Around town
What: Doin his job

Oscar knew that he had been neglecting work lately, but he had valid reasons. Getting into the hospital was one of them, taking care of Logan was the other. And his family being crazy, but he didn't like to go into that with the city. They had been kind enough so far, but he wanted to make up for time lost. So he was going up and down the streets with a watering can, making sure the flowers alongside the street had enough water. That would keep his body and mind busy until he confronted his family about Logan tonight. Not thinking about where his feet were going, he lifted his foot up to get over the curb and to some flowers, and tripped.

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teluah
2009-10-22 02:38 am UTC (link)

She was tiny period. A deer could probably knock her over in her wereform, not that any of them had ever tried before. Probably all too afraid. A lion was a lion no matter how small. Buried in his own thoughts. Now there was a familiar concept to her. Before she could write anything down in response though he offered out his hand to her. She shook it, not caring at all if it was dirty. She wasn't a prissy girl, and she liked getting dirty. It hadn't really been a day worth living if she wasn't either drenched in sweat or covered in dirt and scratches at the end of the day. Oscar. Now that was a name. She wanted to ask him which one was his favorite character on Sesame Street for that. But she held back. She had just met him. If he only knew, he could count his blessings and consider himself lucky. She gave him a devious smirk instead.

I'm Teluah Jenner. But most people call me Lua. Or freak, or loser, or band geek, or lion girl, but she was hoping that he wasn't going to resort to any of those names just yet. And your job is...different, not exactly weird. Just different. Guys could water flowers right? It'd be hypocritical of her to disagree with that statement as she did things that were masculine by societies standards but still hated it when anyone accused her of being anything other than 100% female.

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oscardarton
2009-10-22 02:48 am UTC (link)

Oscar was surprised and glad to see she didn't mind shaking his hand. He read her handwriting, and smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you, Lua. And thanks. Yeah, different is a word used to describe me a lot." He managed to chuckle after that. "So do you just..not talk?" Oscar asked. Not that it bothered him, it was just...different. That was a good word. He jumped as a car came precariously close to the sidewalk and sighed. His hearing was so well tuned, thanks to his were senses, that it sounded much louder and much closer than it actually had been.

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teluah
2009-10-22 03:00 am UTC (link)

Well join the club, she thought to herself when he said that different was a word used for him a lot. It didn't come much more different than a born werelion who didn't talk and spent the majority of her day drumming.

When he jumped, her eyes followed him instinctively. Her instincts told her he was taunting her, but she knew it wasn't that way. Whatever he was, he was far too jumpy to taunt. You guessed it. She wrote down. I haven't since I was 10. Which made it sound like it was some kind of decision made on principal - like being a vegetarian (which she never could be). She arched her eyebrow slightly, studying him before finally showing him what she had written. In the loosest of ways, he kind of looked like Connor, which made her mind race to predetorial thoughts. Screw that. She didn't want to be some crazy stalker, though she was well aware she had already crossed that line.

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oscardarton
2009-10-22 03:07 am UTC (link)

"What made you decide to stop talking?" Oscar asked. It was out of his mouth before he realized that was probably way too personal, and probably had something to do with some kind of trauma. He covered his mouth and apologized promptly.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to pry, I was just curious," Oscar said, getting the feeling he was digging a deeper hole for himself as he tried to explain. He was nervous under her gaze, but did his best not to show it. It felt dumb to be nervous of a young girl like Lua.

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teluah
2009-10-22 03:19 am UTC (link)

Wow. He actually asked. Most people wanted to know, but they never actually asked. It was gutsy of him, she almost wanted to applaud him for the effort. And because he was so forward with her, she decided she would tell him.

When he started to appologize though she held up her hand and shook her head. He definitely didn't need to do that. My sister's father killed her right in front of me. I couldn't save her. She must have screamed for 10 minutes straight that day. She couldn't even force words out if she wanted to for months after that. Though she knew now she could talk if she wanted to, she never did. That was 9 years ago. Which made her 19, even though she knew most of the time with her hair a mess, her clothes from the junior's department, and her tiny frame she looked about 14. Finally she showed him what he had written, hoping that he wouldn't say something on the lines of I'm sorry to her again. She didn't really care for those words. Not from anyone.

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oscardarton
2009-10-22 03:26 am UTC (link)

"I--wow. Damn. Wow. I--" Oscar paused, realizing she probably didn't want an apology. She didn't seem too keen on the one earlier. "That must have sucked," he finally said. It didn't convey what he felt, which was sorrow for the young woman, but he understood not wanting someone to apologize who couldn't possibly understand the situation.

"So you don't speak in memory of her?" He offered, looking at her. Oscar wondered how long it was going to be before the young woman whacked him with the notebook for being so rude and asking so many questions that were too personal.

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teluah
2009-10-22 03:40 am UTC (link)

Hmm. He learned quickly. Maybe he was worthy of her few and far between acts of kindness. Regardless, Oscar truly meant what he said, which was refreshing.

You could say that. She wrote down with a nod. She was the only one in her family that seemed to remember the severity of what happened. Well, her brothers sort of did, but they were too busy blaming her for their family falling apart to care. It felt weird, talking well writing so much about the things no one asked her, but she showed him what she had written anyway. She could add Oscar to the list of the few she had ever really let in. Perhaps it was because he was a stranger, one she really never had to see again. He looked about the same age as her brother Jacob and she couldn't help compare the two though they were nothing alike.

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oscardarton
2009-10-22 04:00 am UTC (link)

"That's nice of you," Oscar said softly, then realized how asshole-ish it sounded. Not realistic at all. "I mean, to do something like that in her memory. For so long. You must be a good sister."

He was on a record for how many times he could embarrass himself in one conversation. Oscar wasn't very good at talking to strangers and getting across what he actually meant. Anyway. He looked down the street at the flowers yet to be watered, and then back at Lua.

"Do you like flowers?" The weredeer asked, partly to be polite and carry on a conversation, and partly out of curiosity. She hadn't minded shaking his hand when it was dirty, it seemed she would get along with him just fine then.

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teluah
2009-10-22 04:10 am UTC (link)

It wasn't nearly as asshole-ish as he thought. He didn't sneer when he said it, and he had yet to look at her like she was insane. Which was probably a world record. The boy needed his damned medal before he passed out from the weirdness of the entire situation. She shook her head, scratching nervously at her nose. It made her uncomfortable to be considered a good sister when she had been called the opposite for so long.

She bit down on her lip and shrugged. Flowers were okay, but she didn't feel any sentiments toward them. Maybe it was because she never got them as a sign of appreciation or lived anywhere that they grew. Group homes weren't the ideal place for such things. Her fingers twitched, moving to her back pocket, curling around the familiar and comforting feel of the wooden ends of her drumsticks. In a way they served as her security blanket. Figuring it was something he liked, she grabbed one of the drumsticks and pointed at the flowers in front of them with it. When she was sure she had his attention on it, she wrote down, What kind is that? after placing her drumstick in her mouth. She must have looked very silly as she showed the note to him, a pen in one hand, her notepad in the other, and a drumstick in her mouth.

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oscardarton
2009-10-22 06:59 pm UTC (link)

Oscar could hardly look at the young lady like she was insane, since he was probably about as crazy as she was. A weredeer who was pretty much afraid of everything would probably be seen as crazy. He watched her take out the drumsticks, intrigued. Oscar had seen drumsticks before of course, his boyfriend was in a band. Somehow, they reminded him of antlers. Probably just the color.

"That's a chrysanthemum," he said with a smile. "They're very easy to grow, that's why I planted them here. They also grow year round, so they're easy to replace."

The weredeer then looked up at her and his smile grew a bit wider. It must be harder to multitask when she had to write everything down. He picked one gently, grasping it at the base and snapping it off. Oscar slid it into the hand that held the pen, and smiled at her again.

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teluah
2009-10-22 11:41 pm UTC (link)

Crazy was a relative term, as she was diagnosed with no less than three mental conditions in her life - and stopped taking her medication when she got out of her group home. If the drumsticks reminded him of antlers, he'd be horrified to see her stockpile of discarded, demolished drumsticks. On a bad week she'd go through a pair a day. Drumming became a costly hobby because of this.

She tilted her head. How could a flower grow year round in Michigan? Maybe he meant in nicer weather. She never really paid attention to the flora in town anyway. If it was in her way, it usually got stomped over. She wouldn't dare admit it to the gardener though.

She didn't quite understand why he was smiling at her like that. Probably because she didn't realize how ridiculous she looked right then. But when he gave her the flower, she looked at him utterly confused. People didn't just give her flowers. People ran in fear from the terrible Teluah Jenner. Or threw crap at her. Or both. She gave him a nervous smile before writing down What was that for? I mean thanks, but why? She showed him the note as she glanced back down at the flower. Sometimes she wished it wasn't in her nature to question everything.

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oscardarton
2009-10-23 12:10 am UTC (link)

He did mean that they grew year round in greenhouses, but he didn't elaborate on it. When he read her note, Oscar shrugged. "You look like the kind of girl who deserves flowers. Don't try to give it back to me, I've got too many to take care of as it is. Nobody's going to miss that one."

On that note, he went back to watering the flowers, adding a quick, "Thanks again." He didn't want her to give back the flower. She looked like she needed it more than the city did.

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teluah
2009-10-23 02:14 am UTC (link)

She gave him a small heartfelt smile when he said that. She highly doubted she was the sort of girl who was worthy of his attention, let alone flowers, but it was a nice sentimint to say the least. One she wouldn't soon forget.

When he went back to work, she tucked the flower behind her ear, the pink streak in her hair falling loose so that it was now exposed. She came up to him and wrote down Thank you, Oscar Darton. She tapped him on the shoulder holding out the note and handing him her drumstick. It only seemed fair. Then she waved and walked back to her bike.

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oscardarton
2009-10-24 08:49 pm UTC (link)

Oscar remembered what it was like at her age, he had been that young not too long ago, and it had been shit for him. So anything to make someone else's day better who had the decency to talk to him.

He smiled at the note and nodded at her, taking the drumstick hesitantly. That was awfully nice of her.

"See you around, Lua," he said after her, and stuck the drumstick in his back pocket. He'd have to put that somewhere nice at home, on a shelf maybe. Make sure Logan's bandmates didn't use it for practice.

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