Dusty "THAT DUMBASS THAT SLEPT WITH COBY" Baker (dusty_storm) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2009-11-30 02:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-24 |
Evening Swingset Ride
Who: Dusty and Kenny
When: 9:00pm and onward
Where: Scarlet Oak Public Park
Dusty had spent the last twenty-four hours brooding, going from mildly uncomfortable to intensely dissatisfied, touching in on angry every so often just for good measure. He had nothing to do with his time and no one to talk to. After Gareth had neglected to come home from "going to Gideon's for a while", Dusty had just put two-and-two together. He assumed the other man was simply staying there, and even though the argument had been on both their ends, he couldn't help but hold it against Gareth. Somehow they seemed to just spend all their time arguing lately. It had only gotten worse, and Dusty couldn't quite pinpoint the cause of it. Maybe it had something to do with their new friend...
Whatever the case, Dusty had landed his ass on a swing-set and stayed there, having found his way there without really thinking about where he was going. His boots dragged through the dirt as he sulked, swinging back and forth absently. He was dressed casually, a loose fitted tee-shirt and jeans, his favorite pair of boots and a black cowboy hat. "Fuckin' queer," he grumbled to himself, of course referring to Gareth. It was easy to just feel angry, to want to project on others and steer clear of his own emotional issues.
Kenny, who'd been walking since he left the house he now shared with Mercy, happened to hear those two words and thought he was being talked about. Though he was slightly grumpy, being full made him not lash out at the words and he simply raised a brow at the man there on the swing-set who'd uttered the words. "Excuse me?" he questioned. Kenny was decidedly not 'a queer'. Queer in the 'weird' definition perhaps, but not 'queer' in the Adam Lambert and Britney Spears music video marathon sort of way. Still clad in his bell bottoms that hugged his backside and thighs and flared out below the knee with the tunic sort of shirt that hung from his body with the bangly bracelets he supposed to people of this time he either looked like 'a queer' or a hippie. "Last I checked I was quite fond of the female persuasion."
Dusty looked up the second he heard another voice, shocked that he hadn't noticed the abrupt company before now. He was normally so good about picking up on footsteps, presences creeping up behind him, hearbeats... But this man didn't have a heartbeat, and very quickly Dusty assumed it was the reason he'd neglected to notice him. That, or the level of dwelling he'd been doing may have had something to do with it. "I weren't talkin' about you," he grunted, sitting up a little more to get a better look at this guy. What the hell was it with hippies around town lately? This place really was a mix-mash of crazies, wasn't it? Reaching up, Dusty pressed his forefinger into the brim of his hat, tipping it backward slightly to see easier. "The hell you think I was talkin' to you for, huh? I ain't even seen you yet." He gestured to the ground and added on, "I was watchin' the damn ground. Shit."
"Well I didn't know the ground could be queer." Kenny told him, trying not to let his eyes do that squinty thing they sometimes did when he was annoyed or angry. Right now he was annoyed. He wondered if he acted that way when he wasn't happy with the moon being more hidden than visible. That thought made him feel pretty shitty and he forced it out of his head as quickly as it entered it. "If you weren't talking about me, who were you talking about?" he asked. Leave it to Kenny to bounce right over the line of 'don't ask about these things'. It didn't matter if it was his business or not, he was curious and damn it, he'd asked now so there was no point in going back and retracting the question.
Dusty's eyes squinted right back at the other man, his blue eyes sharpened and calculating. What the hell was this guy's problem, anyway? He was a little rigid as he tried to decide what to do with himself, how best to respond to that. At the question, Dusty visibly stiffened further, hands tensing around the chains of the swing. He wasn't sure what had possessed him to be here, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now...? He wasn't so sure. "A goddamn person I know, that's who," he answered, not offering anything more than that for the moment. "An' he is a fuckin' queer, probably off havin' nasty sex with our damned neighbor right now. Fuckin' selfish asshole."
Kenny let out a sigh as he listened to the man speak of the guy he knew and the neighbor that he was apparently having 'nasty sex' with. "Okay..." he said, pushing his dreds back over his shoulder and letting his eyes find the man's face or as much of it as he could see beneath the hat. "And if he is doing that, then how does that make him selfish. I'm confused."
This conversation was wearing thin on Dusty's nerves, and instead of offering up a straight answer, Dusty kicked the ground and pushed back with his boots. He dug the heels into the ground and sat there, suspended and held by the rubber swing cradling him. "It don't fuckin' matter. I don't even know you. What makes you think I need to tell you about it?" His jaw jutted out, his underbite coming out much more obviously.
Another unneeded sigh left his lips before Kenny could stop it and he shook his head. "Well, no, you don't know me." he shrugged. "But keeping whatever's pissing you off inside probably isn't helping you any now is it?" he prompted, folding his arms across his chest. "Are you always this angry?" he prodded, tilting his head at the man as he pushed himself back in the swing. It'd been a long time since Kenny had been on a swing and part of him really wanted to sit on one but that would mean getting closer to this guy who didn't seem too pleasing to be around really. Damn him. "It's none of my business anyways." he muttered. "I'm Kenny though, so now you do know me."
"I like how you think just 'cause I'm in a bad mood you can just tell me what is and ain't good fer me," Dusty commented, breaking eye contact to stare straight forward instead. He drew in a breath and then let it out in a long, slow sigh, appreciating the movement of his body even though he didn't need the oxygen on any level. "Yer right about that, though. It ain't none'a yer damn business, boy. Kenny." He chanced a brief look in the other man's direction, wondering what type of vampire he was rather than thinking about how many different ways he was going to hit Gareth later. "What kinda vampire are ya?" he demanded, not quite having bothered with his name just yet. "You ain't gotta heartbeat, so no sense lyin' to me or nothin'."
"I didn't plan on lying to you." he told him. He didn't like being called boy either. The guy looked to be in his forties but since he was a vampire, having no heart beat himself, Kenny couldn't be certain how much older than forty he really was. "I'm sixty years old." he told him. "You don't have to call me boy. But I'm a Luna House vampire. What about yourself? Obviously you don't have a heartbeat either so I'm pretty certain you're a vampire as well." Kenny didn't mind in the slightest telling the man what he was. There was no need to be ashamed of it or to try and keep it hidden and he didn't plan on doing that now. Letting go of the annoyance, at least for the moment, he moved to settle himself at the farthest end of the swing set, plopping his behind down in the little seat and looking over at the man in wait for his response.
Dusty narrowed his eyes a little and shrugged, not really intimidated and not particularly ready to stop calling him 'boy'. To him, this Kenny person looked like he was half his age. That was good enough a reason to continue with it in his eyes. God damn he was fucking aggravated right now. "Yeah, I am. Vampire, I mean. It's great. Best thing to ever fuckin' happen to me." He was said with a snarl, his distaste obvious despite the words he'd chosen. "Fuckin' Garbage House," he told Kenny. "Shitty little monsters with nasty bites and big fuckin' wings. You wanna see mine?" Dusty was feeling aggressive, and the offer was much more in the tone of someone trying to pick a fight rather than somebody looking to make conversation. He'd been forced to meet his House members, fought with his best friend and had spent the day alone -- something he hated having to do.
Well if he wasn't a bundle of fucking love and affection. The more cranky he acted, the less happy Kenny became. Sigh. And he'd been doing so good since Mercy let him bite her that evening. He was full and despite the tiny sliver of moon that was in the sky, feeling alright and then he happened upon grumpy Gus of the Vampire type over there. Apparently someone didn't want to be a vampire. Kenny decided to not rub his own house or his turning in on the guy because that would just be wrong. "No, thanks." he said, shaking his head a little, though his eyes stayed on Dusty. "I'm sorry." he said. "For the wings. And the bite apparently. Was it recent?" he asked. "Your turning."
"Yeah," Dusty said, turning away to stare off through the park. He was silent for a long while before shifting his weight. "Little over five weeks ago, now. Maybe six. I gone an' lost track'a how long it's been..." He took off his hat a moment to run a hand over his scalp, an anxious and somber sort of movement before setting his hat back where it had been. "Ain't been no fuckin' wonderland, neither. You vampires are insane if you think this is anyway for a man to live out his life. I ain't never asked for this shit."
Kenny couldn't help but frown a little. "Well yes, if it's not your choice, I suppose it is a shitty way to spend your life." He could sort of understand the guy being cranky the way he was if he'd been turned and not even told it was going to happen. "I was turned because I wanted to be." he admitted. "So I can't say I know what you're feeling because I don't. Not all of us vampires are completely insane though. At least the last time I checked I wasn't but who knows. How'd it happen?" he asked. Kenny was awfully curious at this point. Someone being turned against their will was intriguing. He'd never do it himself but he wondered what sort of vampire would do such a thing to someone. How they'd do such a thing.
"Huh," Dusty said, watching Kenny with slightly more curious eyes. He'd loosened up at least a little, having gotten out the initial feelings of anger. "I don't... I don't know. It... it was an accident. Gabriel House vampires ain't required to ask permission to turn people. They just do what they want, and everyone else be damned. Like I said, it ain't a fuckin' wonderland in my neck'a the woods." He recalled his time spent with Ava, and how relaxed he'd ended up feeling, how much fun it had been to fly with her through the night sky. Everything else that had come after it, though... it was all a load of shit. Nothing seemed to go the way he wanted it to anymore. "Still gettin' used to all this," he admitted into his hands, bending over to lean on his elbows.
"I don't doubt that you are." Kenny nodded. "Even if you choose this life, it's a hell of a thing to get used to." he sighed. "I bet it's even more so for someone who didn't choose this life." Kenny liked to not imagine that. It was better that way. "It does get better though, I suppose. Eventually. At least it did for me, but I can't really say how it'll be for you."
Dusty sighed as Kenny talked about it, as though the other man had any idea how hard it was. He'd spent most of his life, quite literally, on the other side of things, killing vampires and weres for pay and without conscience. Here he was, in the midst of his mortal body's life and he'd been taken from it, plucked out for punishment and turned into a monster. He would never age, never lose another hair from his already balding head, never worry about lung cancer setting in, never need a wheelchair or a retirement home -- and somehow these things made Dusty feel robbed, as though they could have been great. What if he'd wanted children? What if he'd wanted to marry, or grow old side by side with his best friend? Now, he would have to watch Gareth die over the course of many years, his vampire's eyes picking up on every new wrinkle, on every new pop in Gareth's body. It was depressing, thinking that he would age, grow old and die, fading away over centuries until Dusty wasn't even sure he'd existed at all. "You're probably right," he muttered, though it was crystal clear that he didn't agree with the sentiment, not even in the slightest. He didn't want this for himself. "How long you been a vampire," he said, his tone not quite making it a question. Turning the attention off of himself seemed like the smart thing to do.
"Since the sixties." he told him. "1969 to be exact. Going on Forty years now come August." he shrugged. "I think I look good for my age." Kenny even managed a smile at that though it wasn't very big. He hoped to up the guy's mood and not down it, but he doubted that he'd be of much help. If people wanted to dwell on the bad parts of life - or death as it were - they were going to do it with or without reassurance. "I've had time to get used to seeing things I never thought I'd see. Not that I'm used to any of it, actually. Still can't figure out how to work a damn cell phone. Those things are just beyond me." he chuckled. "There are parts that aren't happy." he allowed. He didn't care for making friends and loved ones and having them grow old, but he tried not to spend too much time in one place because of that particular thing. It was easier to say goodbye after a year or two than after a life time.
Listening to what Kenny had to say, Dusty allowed himself to relax slightly. If he didn't, he risked pulling a muscle or something probably. The thought was naive, but amusing. "You look like a damn hippy is what you look," he told the other vampire, sitting up a little straighter. "Cell phones are fuckin' overrated bullshit attire for the snooty upperclass assholes that run this world. I got me a fuckin' two-way piece of shit, an' that's good enough fer me. My damn friend made us get 'em. He thought it'd be good fer uhh... when we go out jogging." It was easily the worst lie Dusty had ever said, but he didn't feel like fishing for a better cover-up than that.
Kenny tilted his head slightly at Dusty, not believing 'jogging' for a single second. The guy just didn't look like a jogger in the slightest. "Well yeah," he began. "That's cuz I guess I am a hippie. Stuck in the days of psychedelic colors and peace signs and huge drunken, stoner orgies." he chuckled. "Guess not much has changed in the world huh?" he teased. "At least I'm not the only one that doesn't like a damn cell phone. I figure there's no point to them anyway. Everyone's always complaining that there's no damn reception. Not like it does much good to have one."
"Yeah," Dusty said, eyes narrowed a little at the bit about drunken stoner orgies. Damn, he missed his youth. "Believe me, plenty has changed. Least of our problems are the fuckin' cell phones. Now, we damn vampires have rights and shit. What the hell's that about? Used to be this supernatural lifestyle was secrets and shadows. Dunno why it needed to go an' change like that." It made it harder to kill them, was what he wanted to say. He wasn't going to, though, not even if Kenny attempted to bait it out of him. Dusty had learned a long time ago that it wasn't smart to out oneself to somebody that wasn't already in on the game. It was a lesson Gareth hadn't learned easily.
Shrugging a little, Kenny pushed himself back on the swing and picked up a lazy sort of rhythm. "I don't know." he admitted. "In some ways I suppose it's good that I don't have to pretend I just like to be outside in the dark. But in other ways, I quite liked it when things were more secret." he said. "It's sort of a situation that doesn't really make sense either way. Hiding didn't help, but being out doesn't help either. People still look at you like you're crazy. Yet another thing for people to be racist about. Some things'll never change." Kenny liked that he didn't have to hide himself most of the time, but there were always the moments he wished things were the way they were years ago. "So is your friend a vampire too?" he asked. "The one that's with the neighbor?" Having nasty gay sex. Ha.
Dusty listened to Kenny, musing over the comment about racism. He himself was right at home in the familiarity of racism. He carried it with him with every step, regardless of whether or not he actively considered it. It was something he'd been raised around, raised inside of. At the very least, his feelings extended to the supernaturals and their hordes, the very root of all the world's evils. There was nothing a black man or an asian woman could hold next to a werewolf in his eyes. They were the very core of all things bad. "What?" he asked, snapping out of his thoughts to meet Kenny's eyes. His friend. Gareth. "No, he ain't no fuckin' vampire, and he ain't never gonna fuckin' be one." The tone was sharp, warning, as though he was protecting the man that was currently miles away from them both.
"Okay then." he said. "I was just curious." he told him. "Not like I'm going to run out and nab him off the streets to bite him and turn him and have him do my bidding or anything. I've yet to turn anyone in my almost forty years of vampiredom and I don't plan on turning someone I don't know either. I just wanted to know if he was too. But he's not, so that's enough about that. That's good though. That he's not. For him I mean." God this was not going well. "So um... do you have a name?" he asked. "Don't think you ever told me yours."
Dusty felt a rise of something similar to being sick in his throat. He knew he couldn't physically be sick, but he felt it all the same. It was mostly in his head, the thought of Gareth being nabbed like that an impossible horror. He didn't even want to think about it. "Yeah, it is good for him. He's gonna live a normal life an' die a normal human." Dusty shook his head and kicked the dirt, picking his legs up to swing once and come back again. "I have a name," he said, not quite looking in Kenny's direction. "Dusty."
"Dusty." he repeated back to the man. He looked like a dusty. Of course that made him curious if he, himself, looked like a Kenny. Whatever. Not that it mattered either way. "Well, guess that means he's got you watching out for him. No better way to not be a vampire than to have a vampire on your side."
"Yeah, I guess so..." Although in all honesty, Gareth would probably be better off without him entirely. Given the nature of his recent feeding habits, he probably wasn't actually helping the blond out very much. He was always sleepy, always weakened... It didn't sit right with Dusty. He thought about the advice Gideon and Ava had given him on the matter with a heavy sigh. "You got any humans you look after?"
"Well... usually not, but a friend of mine asked me to watch over a girl she's had living with her. She had a conference out of town. That's the whole reason that I'm here in the first place. Doing a favor. Guess vampire babysitting is in my description, but she's nice, the girl I'm taking care of. Met her this evening. Sort of reserved. I think she's got a lot of baggage she doesn't care to talk about." he frowned. Shrugging a little, he looked over at Dusty. "Gotta do something good with my life right?"
"Vampire babysitting?" he asked, shaking his head. Sounded ridiculous to him. "That's right, though. Gotta do good with it. Just 'cause the human part of it's over don't mean you get t'stop helpin' people out." He fussed with his hat a little and swung again on the swing, wondering yet again what Gideon and Gareth were up to. He could see them laughing and hanging out together, maybe even talking about him. It was incredibly infuriating. He was always the one in the dog house, even if he hadn't been kicked out this time. Rather, he'd been left behind and that was almost worse.
"Well she's not a vampire so I guess I'm the vampire babysitter not the babysitter for the vampire. Or something like that. Sorry, hell I'm confusing myself. But yeah, I like to help people out when I can." Kenny nodded. "There's no point in being inhumane just because you're inhuman." he shrugged.
"Yeah, whatever," Dusty said, nodding in agreement. He fell silent again, turning to stare off into the dark of the area, his eyes scanning back and forth absently as though searching for something. Really, he as just filling time until he headed back to the trailer. He didn't really know what he wanted to do with himself. He had the rest of the night to be active if he chose, and that seemed like a long damn time.
"Well," Kenny said as he pushed himself up and off of the swing. "It was nice meeting you." Sort of any way. It could have been much worse, Kenny supposed. "I hope things get better for you." That much was definitely true. Dusty had a hell of a life ahead of him and being happy in it would be much better than being miserable. "I should probably be getting back to the house before it gets too late. I promised I'd come home before she went to bed." The last thing Kenny needed to do was break promises right off the bat. It wasn't a way to start a friendship, that was for sure.
Dusty looked up at Kenny as the other vampire stood, blinking at him in an almost bewildered sort of expression. Of course he was fucking leaving. "Good to meet you too," he said, though the words lacked any spirit to back it up. He swallowed and shrugged, glancing down to the ground, to his boots, and back up again. "I guess I'll be seein' ya around," he offered weakly. "If you hang around places like this late at night, that is." It wasn't that much of a long-shot, anyway.
Kenny gave him a little smile, despite the fact that he doubted Dusty really cared if he saw him again or not. "I'm sure I'll be out wandering around for a few days yet. If you're around places like this, I'm pretty certain we'll run into each other again." Taking a few steps towards the guy, he lifted a hand and lightly rested it against Dusty's shoulder, giving him a bit of a rub. "It'll get better, Dusty." Kenny told him. "I know it probably don't feel like it now, but it will."
"Feels like that most'a the time," Dusty said, shrugging when the hand dropped away. He watched Kenny, eyes squinted slightly as though the sun were in them. "Seeya 'round, though." Dusty considered what he would do with himself for the rest of the night and dropped his gaze to the ground. Maybe he'd practice flying again... More likely, though, Dusty would retreat back to the trailer and lay down to sleep, hoping that when he woke up things wouldn't be so damned difficult. There was a hard weight crushing his chest, and it didn't seem to want to leave.