Post by Jude Dorrian on Apr 23, 2008 17:52:25 GMT
One of his most unsavory habits had to be the tooth-picking.
“Sure, I ain’t got floss.”
“Sure, but do you have to use… a knife?”
He’d been a skinny kid; with a crooked nose (it’d been broken several times in mysterious circumstances), a bald patch above his left ear and sci-fi eyes. One gleamed green, the other shone with an amber glow. He was a scary kid- a real mis-fit- an outcast- but he could sure rake in those dollars. Tommy had one hell of an aim- he could throw knives like darts, and ten times out of ten he hit on target.
“Dude,” Tommy spat as he withdrew the blade from his teeth, “my knives are an extension of me- my identity- who I am. If y’all got a problem with it, y’all take it up with Joanna.” The silver blade glinted at Jude menacingly in the sunlight.
“Poor Joanna,” Jude muttered, looking away.
It was an incredibly hot summer evening. The sun hung low across the dusty horizon, and the yellow grass was a perfect reflection of the sky above. This particular night, the heat was so intense, the kids had sought out the shade of the nearest tree, and they sat now in a circle. There was something official about it- Tommy sat against the back of the tree, slightly above the others and perched on one of the long, dry, cracked roots that protruded from its base. The others had to crowd around all the closer for shade. But they didn't mind.
After all, Tommy was their undisputed leader.
“Aw, Judey,” Shell smiled at him. “Y’all don’t understand Tommy like we do.”
Jude returned her smile. “Don’t I?”
“Uh uh,” her two front teeth protruded over her cut, chapped lips as she shook her head. “No-one does.”
“Exactly, Shell,” Tommy smiled kindly at her. “No-one does.”
Shell had never looked out place with the performers; and she always sat at Tommy's right-hand side. He called her 'cutie', and she adored it. Shell pulled the pity money- Tommy muddied her up a bit, messed up her hair, ripped her clothes and she was on her way- a poor, little Downs Syndrome beggar with a pronounced stutter and deliberate hunch. Tommy was always real gentle with Shell- that’s why she liked him so much.
“Judey,” she repeated his name with a slight slur, leaning backwards against the tree. “Judey just dunno stuff.”
“Aye, but he gets a good screw, don’t he?” Tommy’s blade winked with him. “Jude knows how to get the crowds going wild.”
“Wilder and wilder!” Ralph threw up his skinny arms in the air with a high-pitched giggle. “Gee, Jude! I didn’t expect it- you just looked like such a city-slicker and then whoa!”
“Whoa?”
“Who - a.”
“Well, he’s awesome, alright,” Ricki’s head appeared through the leaves as she grinned down at them all. “Jude! Where’d you learn to ride like that anyhow?”
“I got a teacher,” Jude laughed. “A real good’ un. She teaches me for free. She likes me.”
“For free? How did you con that’ un?” Ralph gaped at him.
Poor Ralph and Ricki didn’t understand the concept of ‘some things in life are free’. The twins had spent too long conning their way through the world to understand- they’d cheat- they’d lie- and look so gosh-darn cute while they were doing it, nobody suspected a thing. Ralph was an excellent pick-pocket; his sister was an incredible gymnast- they would gather the crowds, and then whilst she performed Ralph would lift wads of cash from any careless spectator who wasn't paying attention to their backpocket. They were skinny too- almost as skinny as Tommy- but their rounded, baby faces hid this; and most people found their badly chopped hair kind of endearing and goofy teeth.
They could make anything cute.
“Jill’s my friend.”
“Sure,” Tommy snorted. “Jill’s your friend. Then how come she ain’t helping you out?”
“She don’t know my current situation, that’s all.”
“And how long will this current situation,” at his last couple of words, a slight sneer upturned Tommy’s crooked nose, “be lasting for? How long are y’all planning to live off my money?”
“I’m getting you your dollars,” Jude answered evenly. “It’s share and share alike now... unless... you don’t want any?”
“We want lots!” Shell clapped her clumsy hands together excitedly. “Lots and lots of lolly, Judey!”
Tommy smirked slightly. “Yeah, Judey- after all, y’all know our current situation. You tell me- d’you think we don’t want any?”
“I reckon… without me…” Jude said slowly, “y’all are screwed.”
Silence answered his words, and for the first time, Jude felt his nerves slip. It was one thing to observe it, but another entirely to say it aloud. He’d no idea how much Shell, the twins, or any of the others really knew… but when he’d found Tommy with tears in his eyes and a knife against throat, Jude had confirmed what he’d known all along.
“Y’all are screwed.”
Tommy was failing them.
The fierce gleam in Tommy’s mismatched eyes told him he’d already managed to overstep his mark. Luckily, any reaction to his words were drowned out by loud laughter as Ricki lost her balance and fell into George’s lap.
“Gerroff,” George growled, pushing the small, giggling girl aside.
George. Sounds kind soft to say, don’t it? George was sure soft to look at- a cuddly, round-bellied little kid; with eyes as blue as the ocean and he had several colorful bruises to match. But when he opened his mouth, it sounded like his vocal chords were being dragged across gravel. How did he sell himself? Easy- he was the Wolf Kid- the wild boy with ‘rabies’ who could turn in a second. He was a real live Jekyll and Hyde. And he could sure howl.
Tiredly, there was a yawn as Dog moved slightly out of the way of the rolling Ricki, and for the first time, he seemed to notice Jude. His brown eyes gave Jude one of the dirtiest looks he’d ever received, before Dog got up, stretched and with a slight toss of his floppy ears, sauntered off behind the tree for some peace.
“Awk, Dog’s not so happy, huh?” Ricki giggled after him. “He’s the grumpiest dog I’ve ever met.”
“I wouldn’t blame the goddam dog,” George’s light eyes looked almost black as he bent his head in the shade of the tree. “He just don't like strangers.”
“Jude isn’t a stranger anymore,” Tommy said swiftly, setting down Joanna beside him. “He’s one of us.”
“He sure don’t look like one of us,” George glared at him. “Go on, then, cowboy- tell us- y’all gonna rat us out to the Services?”
“Hell no,” Jude shook his head firmly. “I’m no tell-tale.”
“You sure?” George’s knuckles cracked against the dusty ground beneath him.
Ricki made a soft howling noise, evoking an eruption of laughter from Shell and Ralph, but neither Tommy nor Jude reacted to it.
“Come on, Wolf Kid,” Tommy said softly. “Y’all gonna make a scene?”
“I ain’t gonna do nothing,” the threat dropped out of George instantaneously as Tommy’s finger slid along Joanna's edge. “I’m just saying.”
“Well you don’t have to,” Tommy replied, nodding back at Jude. “Cowboy here’s one of us.” He said it as though that settled the matter.
“Cowboy?” Jude frowned slightly at the word. “Like… them guys with the hats?”
Tommy did crack a smile at that one, but it twisted his features horribly. “Oh yeah, hell yeah, Cowboy. Everyone loves a cowboy in Texas.”
“I need a hat.”
As if on cue, a silvery giggle came from behind him, and suddenly, a pair of hands were covering his eyes. “Go on, Jude! Guess who?”
“Hi… Lola,” Jude blinked in the sudden blackness her palms provided.
“Oh, he’s good, this cowboy is,” bending down affectionately, Lola’s cascade of long blond hair fell over his shoulder, and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Lola… she’d been so pretty; so open; so loving. One smile from her, and any sucker would melt. And she had this kinda lisp- and a sort of limp whenever she walked- but she was one hell of a guitar player, and when it came down to it, Lola could belt out a couple of tunes without a single trace of that oh so endearing little lisp. Contrary to her appearance, she didn’t have any problems at all with getting her hands dirty, but for the most part, she carried herself with grace.
“Oh, Lola, good,” Tommy sat up straighter as she linked arms with Jude and sat down beside him. “Did you get it?”
“Yuh huh,” from behind her back, a frayed, peaked brown hat seemed to magically appear out of nowhere. Triumphantly, she waved it in Jude's face. “Isn’t it pretty? I got it dirt cheap too- from the second-hand store.”
“A cowboy hat?” Jude caught it and examined it with a frown.
“A Stetson.”
“Try it on, Judey!” Shell leaned forward with a happy smile. “Try it!”
Letting go of his arm, Lola stood up, and snatched the Stetson back, placing it proudly and jauntily on Jude’s head. A cheer went up from the surrounding kids and Tommy gave an approving nod.
“Y’all look good, Cowboy.”
“Really?” Jude’s hands felt the peak of the hand cautiously. “I feel kinda… stupid.”
“It suits you,” Ricki said, tilting her head. “Yeah.”
“A real cowboy.”
“Haha, he’s a real boy!”
“Ssh, Ralph! Y’all gotta ruin everything?”
“Welcome to the team, Jude,” Tommy laughed, leaning forward and extending his scarred hand. “On your own head be it.”
Jude awoke with a start, a slightly shaky feeling settling over him. The goose pimples had started; creeping up all over them as the sick vision of their smiling faces blurred before him. He hadn't thought about it in so long- Dakota had weighed heavily on his mind since she had left, and Ailith had been one of the best kind of distractions any guy could ask for.
But he always came back to them eventually.
Tommy... he was the only one Jude couldn't really... figure out. Where he'd gone. What he was. Why...
Well, he'd scared easily. He couldn't handle the sight of blood. Jude had always known that; ever since the time Shell had tripped and cut her knee. The sight of the torn flesh had turned Tommy. He acted tough, but in a lot of ways, he was more scared than the rest of them. That's why Jude had had to do it- that's why he'd had to clear up the broken, bloodied mess-
And she'd still been so warm. She still looked like she was sleeping; like any second she'd open her eyes and inhale that sweet, fresh oxygen.
And he'd cried like a baby. Jude had cried, and cried, and couldn't stop. No-one else had cried. Maybe some of them couldn't. But Jude had shook, and retched; and those stupid, fat tears had come bubbling out thick, fast and furious.
It was funny, though. After being named... 'Cowboy', he kinda... became like a protector. Cowboys were always good guys, right? They saved people.
A real cowboy?
Sometimes, when he put that Stetson on his head, he felt nothing short of sick.
“Sure, I ain’t got floss.”
“Sure, but do you have to use… a knife?”
He’d been a skinny kid; with a crooked nose (it’d been broken several times in mysterious circumstances), a bald patch above his left ear and sci-fi eyes. One gleamed green, the other shone with an amber glow. He was a scary kid- a real mis-fit- an outcast- but he could sure rake in those dollars. Tommy had one hell of an aim- he could throw knives like darts, and ten times out of ten he hit on target.
“Dude,” Tommy spat as he withdrew the blade from his teeth, “my knives are an extension of me- my identity- who I am. If y’all got a problem with it, y’all take it up with Joanna.” The silver blade glinted at Jude menacingly in the sunlight.
“Poor Joanna,” Jude muttered, looking away.
It was an incredibly hot summer evening. The sun hung low across the dusty horizon, and the yellow grass was a perfect reflection of the sky above. This particular night, the heat was so intense, the kids had sought out the shade of the nearest tree, and they sat now in a circle. There was something official about it- Tommy sat against the back of the tree, slightly above the others and perched on one of the long, dry, cracked roots that protruded from its base. The others had to crowd around all the closer for shade. But they didn't mind.
After all, Tommy was their undisputed leader.
“Aw, Judey,” Shell smiled at him. “Y’all don’t understand Tommy like we do.”
Jude returned her smile. “Don’t I?”
“Uh uh,” her two front teeth protruded over her cut, chapped lips as she shook her head. “No-one does.”
“Exactly, Shell,” Tommy smiled kindly at her. “No-one does.”
Shell had never looked out place with the performers; and she always sat at Tommy's right-hand side. He called her 'cutie', and she adored it. Shell pulled the pity money- Tommy muddied her up a bit, messed up her hair, ripped her clothes and she was on her way- a poor, little Downs Syndrome beggar with a pronounced stutter and deliberate hunch. Tommy was always real gentle with Shell- that’s why she liked him so much.
“Judey,” she repeated his name with a slight slur, leaning backwards against the tree. “Judey just dunno stuff.”
“Aye, but he gets a good screw, don’t he?” Tommy’s blade winked with him. “Jude knows how to get the crowds going wild.”
“Wilder and wilder!” Ralph threw up his skinny arms in the air with a high-pitched giggle. “Gee, Jude! I didn’t expect it- you just looked like such a city-slicker and then whoa!”
“Whoa?”
“Who - a.”
“Well, he’s awesome, alright,” Ricki’s head appeared through the leaves as she grinned down at them all. “Jude! Where’d you learn to ride like that anyhow?”
“I got a teacher,” Jude laughed. “A real good’ un. She teaches me for free. She likes me.”
“For free? How did you con that’ un?” Ralph gaped at him.
Poor Ralph and Ricki didn’t understand the concept of ‘some things in life are free’. The twins had spent too long conning their way through the world to understand- they’d cheat- they’d lie- and look so gosh-darn cute while they were doing it, nobody suspected a thing. Ralph was an excellent pick-pocket; his sister was an incredible gymnast- they would gather the crowds, and then whilst she performed Ralph would lift wads of cash from any careless spectator who wasn't paying attention to their backpocket. They were skinny too- almost as skinny as Tommy- but their rounded, baby faces hid this; and most people found their badly chopped hair kind of endearing and goofy teeth.
They could make anything cute.
“Jill’s my friend.”
“Sure,” Tommy snorted. “Jill’s your friend. Then how come she ain’t helping you out?”
“She don’t know my current situation, that’s all.”
“And how long will this current situation,” at his last couple of words, a slight sneer upturned Tommy’s crooked nose, “be lasting for? How long are y’all planning to live off my money?”
“I’m getting you your dollars,” Jude answered evenly. “It’s share and share alike now... unless... you don’t want any?”
“We want lots!” Shell clapped her clumsy hands together excitedly. “Lots and lots of lolly, Judey!”
Tommy smirked slightly. “Yeah, Judey- after all, y’all know our current situation. You tell me- d’you think we don’t want any?”
“I reckon… without me…” Jude said slowly, “y’all are screwed.”
Silence answered his words, and for the first time, Jude felt his nerves slip. It was one thing to observe it, but another entirely to say it aloud. He’d no idea how much Shell, the twins, or any of the others really knew… but when he’d found Tommy with tears in his eyes and a knife against throat, Jude had confirmed what he’d known all along.
“Y’all are screwed.”
Tommy was failing them.
The fierce gleam in Tommy’s mismatched eyes told him he’d already managed to overstep his mark. Luckily, any reaction to his words were drowned out by loud laughter as Ricki lost her balance and fell into George’s lap.
“Gerroff,” George growled, pushing the small, giggling girl aside.
George. Sounds kind soft to say, don’t it? George was sure soft to look at- a cuddly, round-bellied little kid; with eyes as blue as the ocean and he had several colorful bruises to match. But when he opened his mouth, it sounded like his vocal chords were being dragged across gravel. How did he sell himself? Easy- he was the Wolf Kid- the wild boy with ‘rabies’ who could turn in a second. He was a real live Jekyll and Hyde. And he could sure howl.
Tiredly, there was a yawn as Dog moved slightly out of the way of the rolling Ricki, and for the first time, he seemed to notice Jude. His brown eyes gave Jude one of the dirtiest looks he’d ever received, before Dog got up, stretched and with a slight toss of his floppy ears, sauntered off behind the tree for some peace.
“Awk, Dog’s not so happy, huh?” Ricki giggled after him. “He’s the grumpiest dog I’ve ever met.”
“I wouldn’t blame the goddam dog,” George’s light eyes looked almost black as he bent his head in the shade of the tree. “He just don't like strangers.”
“Jude isn’t a stranger anymore,” Tommy said swiftly, setting down Joanna beside him. “He’s one of us.”
“He sure don’t look like one of us,” George glared at him. “Go on, then, cowboy- tell us- y’all gonna rat us out to the Services?”
“Hell no,” Jude shook his head firmly. “I’m no tell-tale.”
“You sure?” George’s knuckles cracked against the dusty ground beneath him.
Ricki made a soft howling noise, evoking an eruption of laughter from Shell and Ralph, but neither Tommy nor Jude reacted to it.
“Come on, Wolf Kid,” Tommy said softly. “Y’all gonna make a scene?”
“I ain’t gonna do nothing,” the threat dropped out of George instantaneously as Tommy’s finger slid along Joanna's edge. “I’m just saying.”
“Well you don’t have to,” Tommy replied, nodding back at Jude. “Cowboy here’s one of us.” He said it as though that settled the matter.
“Cowboy?” Jude frowned slightly at the word. “Like… them guys with the hats?”
Tommy did crack a smile at that one, but it twisted his features horribly. “Oh yeah, hell yeah, Cowboy. Everyone loves a cowboy in Texas.”
“I need a hat.”
As if on cue, a silvery giggle came from behind him, and suddenly, a pair of hands were covering his eyes. “Go on, Jude! Guess who?”
“Hi… Lola,” Jude blinked in the sudden blackness her palms provided.
“Oh, he’s good, this cowboy is,” bending down affectionately, Lola’s cascade of long blond hair fell over his shoulder, and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Lola… she’d been so pretty; so open; so loving. One smile from her, and any sucker would melt. And she had this kinda lisp- and a sort of limp whenever she walked- but she was one hell of a guitar player, and when it came down to it, Lola could belt out a couple of tunes without a single trace of that oh so endearing little lisp. Contrary to her appearance, she didn’t have any problems at all with getting her hands dirty, but for the most part, she carried herself with grace.
“Oh, Lola, good,” Tommy sat up straighter as she linked arms with Jude and sat down beside him. “Did you get it?”
“Yuh huh,” from behind her back, a frayed, peaked brown hat seemed to magically appear out of nowhere. Triumphantly, she waved it in Jude's face. “Isn’t it pretty? I got it dirt cheap too- from the second-hand store.”
“A cowboy hat?” Jude caught it and examined it with a frown.
“A Stetson.”
“Try it on, Judey!” Shell leaned forward with a happy smile. “Try it!”
Letting go of his arm, Lola stood up, and snatched the Stetson back, placing it proudly and jauntily on Jude’s head. A cheer went up from the surrounding kids and Tommy gave an approving nod.
“Y’all look good, Cowboy.”
“Really?” Jude’s hands felt the peak of the hand cautiously. “I feel kinda… stupid.”
“It suits you,” Ricki said, tilting her head. “Yeah.”
“A real cowboy.”
“Haha, he’s a real boy!”
“Ssh, Ralph! Y’all gotta ruin everything?”
“Welcome to the team, Jude,” Tommy laughed, leaning forward and extending his scarred hand. “On your own head be it.”
* * *
Jude awoke with a start, a slightly shaky feeling settling over him. The goose pimples had started; creeping up all over them as the sick vision of their smiling faces blurred before him. He hadn't thought about it in so long- Dakota had weighed heavily on his mind since she had left, and Ailith had been one of the best kind of distractions any guy could ask for.
But he always came back to them eventually.
Tommy... he was the only one Jude couldn't really... figure out. Where he'd gone. What he was. Why...
Well, he'd scared easily. He couldn't handle the sight of blood. Jude had always known that; ever since the time Shell had tripped and cut her knee. The sight of the torn flesh had turned Tommy. He acted tough, but in a lot of ways, he was more scared than the rest of them. That's why Jude had had to do it- that's why he'd had to clear up the broken, bloodied mess-
And she'd still been so warm. She still looked like she was sleeping; like any second she'd open her eyes and inhale that sweet, fresh oxygen.
And he'd cried like a baby. Jude had cried, and cried, and couldn't stop. No-one else had cried. Maybe some of them couldn't. But Jude had shook, and retched; and those stupid, fat tears had come bubbling out thick, fast and furious.
It was funny, though. After being named... 'Cowboy', he kinda... became like a protector. Cowboys were always good guys, right? They saved people.
A real cowboy?
Sometimes, when he put that Stetson on his head, he felt nothing short of sick.
