A Day at the Park (Open)

[ethan]

Oddly enough, the local public park was Ethan's favorite place in town. You could do practically anything here in private without people bothering you if you went to the right places. The hobos certainly seemed to know that, seeing as they slept here free from the attentions of the cops, who would otherwise drive them out for public loitering.

Ethan went up to a tree where a large bearded man was sleeping with a newspaper folded over him. He tapped the man awake, and without waiting for a response handed him some money.

"Here's a ten. Go sleep somewhere else."

The man took the dollar bill and staggered off drunkenly, muttering something about the end of the world, UFOs, and other crazy-people talk.

Ethan was here to train. Ordinarily, he was able to easily outfight the average person, but at Moral Crest he was a nobody in terms of combat capability, since everyone there was a reject due to how dangerous they were. They were blights upon the earth who would someday be judged by a Higher Power; but Ethan wanted their reckoning to be by his own hand. If he was to accomplish this, he would need to become much stronger.

He'd start with punches. Ethan closed his eyes for two seconds, preparing. Then he kicked the tree next to him, hard.

Dozens of leaves began fluttering to the ground lazily. Ethan's hands cut through the air like a tireless machine, effortlessly catching all of the leaves before a single one could touch the ground.

He unclenched his fists, letting them all drop. It wasn't his speed that was lacking. He certainly had plenty of that. Technique? No, he was a refined and sharp fighter. Strength; that was it. He had no impact behind his punches. He'd have to work on that...

[David Blaze]

"Your fast."

David stepped forward, picking himself off the bench by a tree to walk over to where the kid stood. He seemed to show up wherever this kid was, it was like a damn talent. The boy was constantly doing something around him, and it caused him a moment to pause. He had one previous altercation with this guy and it hadn't ended well- he hoped they might move through that. The boy looked like he was a fighter, like thats what he wanted and hungered for in life. David used to be that way, though in a slightly different sense- he didn't pick fights with people who didnt ask for it.

He wore slightly baggy blue jeans with a belt, the buckle clasp being a flame. His white T-shirt shone in the sun as he smiled politely.

"I don't know if you remember me, but we sort of met on the beach a while back." He would hold out his hand respectively.

"Names David. David Blaze."

[January]

Smathers walks towards the park exit, and stuffs the ten dollar bill the kid had handed him into his pocket. His head is pounding and his eyes are bleary, but his thought process is oddly clear for having spent such a rough night.

Smathers looks down and notices something strange about himself...Where did I get this beard...and this gut? He wonders. The beard turns out to be fake; when he tugs at it, it comes away in his hands. The gut turns out to be mostly newspaper. Memory came back...he had stuffed his coat with newspaper to retain heat better through the night's chill. The beard though, he had no idea. Maybe he'd been at a pretty rockin party?

Anyways, he feels like he isn't earning that ten dollars...especially since he has no intention of sleeping somewhere else at all, now that he's awake for the day. His attire, though shabby, consists of some solid jeans and boots, a dark t-shirt, and his big black overcoat that doubled as his home as he wandered the streets. He smells mildly of rum.

Smathers shakes all the newspaper out of his coat and places it all in a nearby trash receptacle. Littering was wrong, especially in a place of public recreation! A grin spreads across his face, drawing the underfed tightness of his features even closer to the bones. He knew how he would repay the guy...

Because you see, Smathers has spotted him training. Yes, the catching of the leaves...he knew this training technique...his "sensei" had put him through such an exercise many times. The guy's speed is pretty good. Smathers knows what he must do.

Smathers turns around and stomps back over to the guy, and plants a foot with a great stomp to get attention, and strikes a pose. He whips the ten dollar bill from his pocket and holds it out.

"I owe you something more for this. The following is a return for your generosity!" he says in a strong voice, and puts the ten away. Then he charges the blonde in a weaving, drunken pattern, throwing his center of balance every which way as he closes the distance. Tipsy Cat Crosses the Bartop as his old master would have named the maneuver.

"LILILILILILI!" he shouts wildly. With the distance closed, Smathers would hurl himself sideways, logrolling through the air at the guy. Winespill in the Sawmill. If he lands on the guy, he would knock the guy over backwards and keep rolling over his face and off of him, coming to rest in the grass some distance away out of range, face up and apparently sleeping. If the guy dodges or even counterattacks, his inertia is such that he will follow pretty much the same path, the difference being that the guy won't be knocked over.

Smathers snores faintly where he lays.

[ethan]

"I don't know if you remember me, but we sort of met on the beach a while back." He would hold out his hand respectively.

"Names David. David Blaze."

Ethan turned his attention away from what he was doing to draw an appraisal of the same older student who had stepped in between Ethan and a potential casualty at the beach earlier before. He was certainly more muscular than Ethan, though usually Ethan assumed with most who were built similarly that they were compensating with muscle for a lack of skill.

But this David held himself in a certain gravity of balance that suggested otherwise. Ethan had a feeling that this one was a well-trained fighter, possibly a martial artist.

Ignoring the outstretched hand and cordial greeting, Ethan turned his back and walked a few steps away from David, fixing the gloves on his hands.

"David Blaze, is it? Yes, I remember you. I remember you have a distinct inability to mind your own affairs." He looked back again at Blaze. "Are you from Moral Crest High?"

<Waits for response>

Ethan was about to give a response when a third voice interrupted again.

"I owe you something more for this. The following is a return for your generosity!"

The bum from before was back; even though he didn't seem much sober than before, the strong tone of voice he carried suggested otherwise. The man started staggering toward Ethan, ignoring David. The man looked incredibly drunk the way he swayed and swerved from side to side. But judging from the speed and seeming coordination of the hobo, Ethan's instinct told him that this was something else. Not in a fighting stance but unsure of how to respond, Ethan unconciously started backing away slightly.

Suddenly screaming some sort of battlecry(??), the mysterious hobo flung himself into the air at Ethan, twirling and coming right at him. Unsure of how to respond, Ethan simply threw himself under the aerial logrolling hobo, coming to a roll to his knee. After landing, the drunkard rolled some ways along the grass, coming to a rest a couple feet away and apparently snoring in sleep.

Coming to his feet, Ethan could only stare. "That was unexpected," he didn't hear himself murmur.

[David Blaze]

David cocked an eyebrow. Man this guy had issues with picking fights.

"Yeah, and your the guy who can't have a good laugh at an accident. You gotta mug people for it."

He kept his hands in his pockets, clearly stating he didnt feel threatened in the least. He was not afraid of what this kid would retort with- people like him always had some smart mouthed comeback, he was sure. So, instead of wait for it, he simply answered the next question.

"And yeah, i go to Moral Crest, why?"

The kid did indeed have one thing right- he saw that David was a martial artist. David was the kind to hide himself, how he carried his weight and his experience. He did it to keep everyone off his back. But even he couldn't gaurd against it all. Every now and then a little of his posture or his walk would shine through the years and years of training he had gone through. The fights for his life, the battles and the victories he had accomplished. He was a two time School Captain, and a four time pillar. He counted himself an elite, or use to, before the move disoriented him so. He sighed as the boy began pulling on gloves. David wasn't here to pick a fight, he was here to make a possible friend.

Maybe before, the guy was just on edge or feeling sour. Everyone had thier days, himself includ-

Suddenly, from nowhere, a strange drunken man attacked the fellow in front of him, and David watched with mild interest. After a lopsided, hap-hazard attack, the drunken master appeared to be sleeping on the ground. David looked between them.

"This a friend of yours?"

[ethan]

"....No. He isn't."

Ethan snuck over quietly to where the bum lay. He guessed that this time, the man had to be out for a while now from whatever he was smashed from.

Reaching neatly into the man's pocket, Ethan took back the money he'd given him and quietly walked back towards David. He hadn't woken him up.

"I suppose you'll confront me now for taking back my own money, even considering he didn't leave like I paid him to?" Ethan asked in a slightly sardonic tone. He didn't have a whole ton of interest in this particular infidel, but since he'd stopped his training for the moment, he had nothing better to do than talk for a few minutes. Although before he hadn't been in a mood to actually fight, he didn't totally ignore the earlier temptation he'd felt to punch this David in the face from getting in his way last time.

"Anyway, I only asked earlier because I figured that we go to the same school. Chances are most practicing martial arts fighters around here are from Moral Crest. Maybe another time we can have a fight. I'm sure you would love to take a shot at a 'troublemaker' like me."

Ethan started doing some kicks. He balanced on one leg, while cutting the air every few five seconds with a kick on his other leg.

"So... what brings a do-gooder like you to a violent institution like 42 anyway? You don't strike me as the violent type."

[Tash]

Tash had been catnapping, head on a lumpy gray sweater she had wadded up and was using as a pillow. She liked to come here and listen to music outside. Sure she could do it on the mini balcony of her loft but she preferred total immersion in nature if she was going to do it at all. The day had been mild and the nap had been wonderful...at least until what sounded like a melee exploded behind her. Thumps and whacks and male voices and a strange wavering shriek.

She sat up, blinking large green eyes blearily and shaking her head to clear wild dreadlocks from her line of sight. One of the guys standing around she recognized as David Blaze, the other two she didn't think she'd ever seen. Tash heaved an ill tempered sigh: she'd come to the freaking park to relax goddammit. She'd had one of her rare days from hell and the waters had just started to calm....and then these clowns came along.

She'd been out of tea in the morning, it was 'that time of month', and her car was getting smog checked so she'd had to walk to school. On the way there a stupid blonde bimbo spilled hot coffee all over her - probably tripped over the dip in the sidewalk because couldn't see past her gargantuan fake tits. She'd had a test in Pre-Calc, they'd had a sub in her Philosophy class, which was usually interesting. But the sub was not. At all. On her way home from school she'd gotten a call from her parents asking her why, for the love of God, was she not participating in some nice after school activities.....The panther that took up residence in the back of her head was lashing its tail furiously. It had taken her almost an hour to calm down enough to nap, which was not normal for her. She was pissy - unusually so - and she woke up hackles raised and in the once in a blue moon to pick a fight. David, as usual, looked like he was trying to moderate things in some way. She wasn't sure what the screaming bum was doing passed out on the pavement, but the shaggy haired blonde kid seemed to be in the middle of it all.

Dragging herself to her feet, she dumped the sweater on the bench, which she placed a hand on the back of, then neatly and effortlessly hurdled to come face to face with the two men standing. Her currently malevolent green eyes fix themselves upon the blonde.

"Alright asshole, what's with the wannabe warrior shit, huh? This is a public park. Some of us are trying to relax. Think maybe you could take your man party somewhere else? Please. Please, don't make me relocate you. I'm very not in the mood to deal with it."

Her voice is husky and harsh, her words abrupt and to the point. A pair of lucid green eyes flash angrily at him - crocodile eyes. Tash is not about to let this one slide. Today is not a happy fun times day. Nope. Not at all.

[ethan]

It was almost insane how confrontations happened even when Ethan didn't seek any. A random stranger who seemed to be stalking him, a drunken hobo, now this. Regardless, he wouldn't allow himself to be talked down to by an inferior, especially from someone like this. He said nothing while she went on her tirade until she finished.

"Are you done?" Ethan asked when she seemed to take a moment to stop. Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "Hm. Well. Perhaps I could clarify some things. First, you weren't here when I first showed up. It was empty, except for that idiot."

Ethan gestured over to the sleeping drunk in the grass. "So, if you don't like the noise...it's a big park. Also, I've been keeping to myself this whole time, so your anger is misplaced. But..." Ethan's voice took on a lower but sharper tone, his hard hazel eyes matching her bright emerald ones. "I don't think I like your tone, either. Relocate me? I think I'd like to see you try that."

He stood face to face with her. Ethan was actually curious to see if she would really do anything about it. She didn't look like the fighting type. If she tried, Ethan held nothing against beating down a woman if she pushed him. Of course, David Blaze would likely step in and try to break it up. Ethan had a feeling he would get to genuinely dislike him.

[Tash]

Of course he hadn't seen her. She'd been sleeping in a little alcove formed by some ferns behind the tree. And blondie here clearly wasn't Superman so he wouldn't have seen her through the foliage. She decided not to address that point. It wasn't worth her time.

Tash's nostrils flared in annoyance and her green eyes sparkled. She looked like a fuming demigoddess, all bronze skin and wild hair and burning eyes. He was only about three inches taller than her and didn't look like he outweighed her by much. It was no difficult task for her to level out her shoulders and meet his eyes. She'd seen him move and he was damn quick but it didn't look like there would be much power behind those hits. Kid. He was a kid.

She crossed her arms, the long white scar on her upper right arm rippling with the motion of subtle muscle there. For a second she looks him over, tilting her head in almost puzzled disdain. The Italiana was a pretty intuitive girl: she could already tell he didn't think much of her, probably thought his shit didn't smell, and considered himself the victim in this situation. She had seen that look before, it was the look that so clearly branded her unworthy. And she didn't give a rat's ass what he thought.


"Kid, just scoot. Go work out in a gym. Trees aren't punching bags. What'd it ever do to you, huh? Beating on an innocent elm tree really really doesn't make you look like a bad ass, okay?"

[ethan]

"Kid, just scoot. Go work out in a gym. Trees aren't punching bags. What'd it ever do to you, huh? Beating on an innocent elm tree really really doesn't make you look like a bad ass, okay?""

How annoying. Was nagging and condescension all she was good for? Her instincts were right, though. Ethan didn't hold much respect for her, though the number of people he respected in the world could be counted on one hand, and they weren't here now.

Eventually, she'd get hers, along with David Blaze, Gabriel, and all the others who had been Marked. In the meantime, Ethan saw no point in being nice to anyone. If he'd been in a worse mood, Ethan would have struck her already. As it was, she'd have to either leave or fight. This endless blather was going to have to stop.

"No...I think I'll stay here, thanks. After all, if I let every little spoiled pissant bitch order me around because she's menstrual, well...that wouldn't exactly leave me with much dignity. But, if you want me to beat on you instead of a tree, I'll be more than happy to oblige. Otherwise, you can leave me alone."

[Tash]

Ordinarily, Tash was easy going. She was the kind of girl who let things roll off her back, who didn't raise hell and didn't pick fights. Most often she got along with people. Insults and idiosyncrasies didn't bother her, she let them fly on shrieking by. If there was one thing she really couldn't stand though, it was arrogance. All she'd wanted was a place to relax and this kid wasn't polite enough to move his macho time to some place more apropos. For some reason he'd come to the conclusion that he was, somehow, better than her. Well she wasn't about to claim superiority over him; she didn't figure any person had a right to make that sort of claim over any other, but she wasn't about to be labeled as some drudge. She was too tired and too angry to put up with any more crap. His petty insults barely registered: they amused her more than anything. When she spoke, her tone was very matter of fact and she made no attempt to sound impressive. If anything, she almost sounded bored.

"Kid, your dignity isn't worth horse shit. Having man junk instead of tits doesn't make you the shit. Get over yourself. Go home and play Halo or something. Or be a real man and beat up a lady for a few square feet of grass, it's your call hot shot. It's your call."

[ethan]

Ethan was vaguely amused, if only in a contemptful way at this last banter. Women were such spoiled little creatures, thinking that they could do anything they pleased without suffering some sort of consequence, thinking themselves the "fairer" sex and therefore untouchable. No doubt if he did attack, she'd only cry and wail for help until someone nearby intervened. Ethan wasn't interested in the effort.

What a waste of time. Clearly, her only intent had been to come over and bitch about nothing, no matter how cooly she was trying to play it off. Not Ethan's problem. He answered her in a tone to match her own.

"My call, huh? Okay. Here's my call: you're all talk and no action, which means I don't have to take you seriously. I'm going to go back to exactly what I was doing before. You can do whatever you want, but you will stay out of my face. A few square feet of grass mean nothing to me, but I will hurt you if you keep this up. Have a nice day..."

Ethan would wait a second for a reply. Then if there was none, he'd go back to his training routine.

[Tash]

She looked at him for a second, her expression almost bemused before she heaved a little sigh and gave a little shrug. He looked like he was just going to go back to his little man moment and so she coolly stepped to his side, her demeanor casual, and moved to take his left arm with her own. It's not a threatening move by any means and gives no cause for alarm. In fact, it seems almost friendly. Her right arm goes to loop about his shoulder, slender fingers coming softly to rest on the right side of his neck.

"Mmkay, bischero," She says, her husky voice sweet and compliant. If nothing else, the 360 degree change will be bewildering. "Here's what going on. I don't mind if you do your little work out. Fine by me. I find that kind of enthusiasm admirable. But there's no reason you shouldn't do it somewhere more appropriate. Not here."

At this point, suddenly and without warning, her hand would lock around his arm to press it close to her side and leave him with very little range of motion. The hand on his neck would hook around, catching his throat in the crook of one elbow and pressing down hard on his vulnerable Adam's apple. She was a lot stronger than she looked. The crocodile green eyes weren't smiling anymore.

"Please, let me escort you."

[ethan]

Ethan had strode back to the tree where he'd started before all this, glancing around for David Blaze, wondering if he'd left. It would have seemed like the older student would have intervened, seeing as he apparently held himself to be morally obligated to police others around him. Not that it mattered...

Then, there she was again. Now what?

She was standing next to him, draping an arm around his right shoulder while clasping hands with his left. "Mmkay, bischero," she said said strangely, suddenly very friendly. Ethan didn't like the sound of that. "Don't touch me..." Ethan murmured, but she ignored him.

"Here's what going on. I don't mind if you do your little work out. Fine by me. I find that kind of enthusiasm admirable. But there's no reason you shouldn't do it somewhere more appropriate. Not here."

Without warning, she seized his left arm, arresting him from any evasive movement. Then, the Italian(?) girl coiled her other arm around Ethan's throat, choking him. It was a good, strong hold. Not something easy to break out of.

"Please, let me escort you."

So, his earlier appraisal of her had been wrong. It had sure taken her a while to finally go at him. Mentally, Ethan smiled. This would more than suffice for a workout.

Bringing up his other free arm, Ethan would place his hand on the arm she had around his neck, moving his hand along the side until he found her hand. Grasping it, he would try to pull on her fingers and bend them until she'd let go. Likely, this wouldn't be so easy to do since he had to practically reach behind his head. But it would likely distract her, in which case Ethan would attempt to sidestep closer to her, crossing his right foot behind his left, and kicking her in her side. If her grip managed to loosen at all on either end, he'd twist out of the hold and face her, prepared to fight.

[David Blaze]

David would fold his arms and lean against a nearby tree, watching as the two exchanged pleasantries, as it were. This kid had a mouth, was cocky and arrogant. He could already see that passive actions and trying to be friends wasn't going to work out since, in truth, the boy was self absorbed and totally concentrated on brutalizing and feeding off those weaker then him. David would step forward, planting his hands on the hips of Tash just as the fellow struck. He picked her up clean and tossed her gently aside, not to the ground or anything, but like a bunny hop- she would land on her feet. Davids arms just released her when the kick crashed into his ribcage, rattling him for a moment. No look of pain or anger crossed his face, though a low grunt escaped his lips.

His left arm whipped down quicker then a snake, wrapping around the leg. His anger had been getting the better of him lately, coming to the surface and bursting like a short fuse. He was not without self control, though, so he took a strong reign on his anger and, instead of breaking the leg like he wanted, he simply let it go, pushing away a little to cause the kid to stumble backwards just a bit to give him room. He hadn't truly meant to catch it anyway, but his immediate respose to an attack was to counter, so his body moved on its own. He just stood, letting the boy get his footing as he watched him with cold eyes. His side had a small, lingering ache. It didn't hurt badly, but no kick to the ribs could just be shrugged off, despite the obvious lack of power behind it.

He almost smiled, really, since he knew this kid wouldn't likely attack again. David had stopped this fellow from brutalizing a boy on the beach, and now he seemed fated to stop him from attacking a girl in the park. David held up one hand as if to say "stop", making sure this kid got the message.

"Give it a rest. She's tired and just needs a little sleep, and i don't think this is really worth a fight. Go dunk you head in some ice or something, that temper could use it." David was done trying to make friends with this boy. It was obvious all the kid wanted was to get stronger and be meaner. Though David spoke in a calm tone, his body language put off a far different vibe. His words said "Just leave it alone, its not worth it" while his body and eyes said "Attack again and i'll break you in half".

He looked over at tash.

"And its not only him- you need to calm down too. Usually your so collected- don't lose that classic cool of yours." When speaking to her, he put off no violent or threatening vibe because he considered her a friend, if a very, very new one.