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Summary: Late evening for Soleil…Training exercise for Bruce, fate dictates that they should meet to find something that was lost. Also, there's a possibility that granola bars might induce hallucinations.
Date: August 12, 2012.
Log Title:Dingos Didn't Eat The Baby
Rating: PG
NYC - Central Park
Central Park is a large public park in upper Manhattan, largest areas of green with people reading, having a picnic, or playing Frisbee. Walking paths can be found all around the park. In-between the large area's of grass, the park is shadier with many trees. A large road circles the park where joggers, bicyclists, and inline
skaters are commonly found.
The night is warm, but not terribly hot. The breeze is quite nice this evening, rustling the branches in the trees as it blows through. The park is pretty well populated considering the time. Several people are out jogging or riding their bikes, taking advantage of the fact that the sun is not up to make it too unbearable to exercise. A few police officers saunter along the paths, tipping their hats to people walking by or ignoring the general public as they chat with their partners.
One man looks almost as though he is lost, glancing around as though he is looking for something. One of the officers stops to chat with the man, but he just shakes his head and wanders away from her. He stops near an underpass of a foot bridge. "Damn it, where did you go? It's good you can hide that well…But….I'm just talking to myself, aren't I?" Bruce took a couple of his "students" into the park for training. This particular boy can camoflauge his body. Bruce is finding it troublesome.
This is where Soleil has made his…'home' so to speak as he's settled in near the base of a tree on a patch of grace, unstrapping his duffel bag from his back and letting it rest near his leg on a blanket he's spread out. To most, it might seem like the young man is having a picnic but Soleil is resting on his stomach, ankles crossed behind his head and chin propped up on a hand propped up by an elbow as he is handling his 'finances', scribbling numbers down on a napkin with a 'borrowed' pen.
From a distance might look like a girl resting there considering the fact that his hair isn't covered with a hat, piled up into a bun and secured with a couple of chopsticks at the nape of his neck…but he's shirtless, just sporting his dark blue cargo pants that are a couple of sizes too big. Scribble Scribble. Soleil is hard at work, looking up from time to time…to take a bite of his…granola bar. Mmm. Dinner.
Bruce wanders past the boy near the tree and scratches his chest as he glances around. He does a double-take with a shocked expression as he believes he sees a topless woman, but he sees that it is just a boy with extremely long hair and shakes his head. "Oy, might want to watch out. The cops'll know you're planning to spend the night. Probably come bother ya in like…An hour or two. 'Specially if you zonk." The man is wearing brown cargo pants and black boots. He is wearing a tan tank-top which make his swirling-Aboriginal arm tattoos quite visible. He has a set of dog-tags around his neck which glint faintly in the streetlight.
There's a startled 'meep' and a 'merde!' as Soleil turns on his side, revealing his navel piercing and he falls flat on to his back during the momentum of being frightened and trying to catch himself. A deep breath and then another deep breath. "Ahh…monsieur…I am apologizing, I will not be staying the night-" Then he catches sight of the dog-tags and his entire body goes rigid, expression blanking out and it might be dark but he pales a bit.
Bruce waves a hand at the kid, "Eh, sorry. Didn't mean to startle ya." And then the kid is frozen with…fear? Bruce looks around and then stops and turns slowly toward the boy. He must recognise Bruce from the TV. He shakes his head, "Look. I take it you know who I am? I'm not causing trouble. Not that I ever really CAUSED…Well…Most of it. Anyway, just looking for a friend of mine. He's…Well he can be invisible kind of…"
The words don't mean much to Soleil who already has to translate them in his head but he moves a shaky hand to tug his oversized dark red hoodie closer and he shifts from laying down into a crouched position as he slips the garment on, zipping it up with a weak and nervous chuckle. But those eyeliner rimmed eyes are kept…focussed on Bruce with a wariness dipped in restrained panic. "I am not knowing you or who you are Monsieur, forgive me your…" He gestures around his neck before zipping up his hoodie. "The light, it is startling me non?" His accent is indeed thick but there's a purr to it that softens his words as he slowly rises into a standing position. "…your friend? Ahh, oui…if invisible, how can you find him?"
Bruce stands a little awkwardly, thrown slightly by the odd actions of this boy. He tries to look as non-threatening as he can. "Ummm…My light?" He reaches down and grabs his dogtags, suddenly looking a bit saddened. "Oh…" He tucks the tags away. "I'm not active anymore. Just wear those as a…Momento. Not even US military." His accent is Australian, though some may think English. "Well you DON'T know me…Not a bad thing. And finding the invisible. It's not easy. Especially in such a crowded place.
Soleil gives a small nod. "I am…understanding momentos." He exhales shakily before tugging a knit cap out of his hoodie pocket so he can pull it on over his hair and offer a thumbs up. "I am sure by your attractive and athletically fit figure y-you were a fine soldier." A strained smile. "Now!" He tugs his granola bar into a back pocket before clasping his hands together. "To find your lost invisible kinda friend! Perhaps you can use a water…or…" He moves to the tree and peers around it before carefully selecting a couple of falling branches and he offers one to Bruce as he works on stripping his new 'stick' of leaves and little twigs. "We poke."
Bruce looks down at himself after the compliment and crosses his arms over his chest. "Um…Th…Thank you?" It's probably just a language barrier thing. Maybe. He laughs, "Poke? That'll take forever. I mean, I can sense with my…" He looks at the boy suspiciously for a second, but he didn't seem to think an invisible friend was so odd. "With my sand. But over large areas it's hard to tell who's invisible and who's not." A pause, "If…That makes any sense to you." He reaches out and takes a stick anyway.
Soleil hmms softly and gives his stick a couple of experimental swings before pausing and just eyeing Bruce with a quirk of an eyebrow. "We are /not/ on a beach, it would take longer for you to go and find the sand and then to be coming back and then going to-" Then he goes quiet and looks Bruce over a bit more suspiciously, teeth worrying his bottom lip and finally he just sniffs and shrugs. "Do you play the…baseball or the golf? Good, then you…swing…" He reaches out with his stick, waving it around in the air and turning in a circle before he mimes…swinging a golf club…and then after that he mimes swinging a bat and then pokes around. "And eventually you will find…"
A passing jogger gives the boy an odd look. And an officer gives Bruce a concerned glance from the bridge above, but the Aussie puts up his hands and nods to show that it is ok. Once the passerby are gone, "Well he can see us. So he'd avoid the sticks. And I don't need to GET the sand. There's some here. I can do….This.." He holds out his hand…"Two joggers, coming out way in three…two…" Two joggers come around the corner and dodge back, thinking Soleil will hit them with a stick. The look back at him disapprovingly as they jog along. "But it doesn't work if too many people are around…Unless I sense someone I can't see…"
Soleil sighs and lowers the stick as he turns to watch the Aussie with a hand on his hip, the other idly twirling the stick like a baton and turns to murmur a soft apology after the joggers before turning back to Bruce. "Ahh. You are…cursed then. Have special tings that cannot be explained by sanity." He points a finger at the Bruce. "But it has blessed you with pecs." Then he turns back and stares at…nothing in particular, idly lifting the stick to poke around. "I know with a camoflauge, sometimes to uncover a person buried in sand or hiding against a wall or to make sure there are none, you must do a sweep. Enough wind sometimes is helping…because the wind will look like its blowing debries and bits /around/ an object that cannot be seen oui?" He taps a finger against his chin.
Bruce gives the boy an odd look. "Curse? It isn't a curse, it's a…What?" He crosses his arms again. "Pecs aren't a gift, you have to work out to get them." Bruce is an interesting shade of pink right now. He is not usually complimented in such a blatant and nonchalant manner. He does not think he likes it. There is a bit of giggling and then an "Ouch!" from over by Soleil before a boy appears laying on the ground by his foot.
The boy laughs and rolls on the ground, pointing up at Bruce. "Oh Dingo! You've been blessed with such mighty pecs! Hahaha!" He stands up. "Oh man, wait till I tell Lil." He dusts himself off. "And you were looking for me standing up. I know your little sand trick. I'm not going to be dumb enough to stand still when you're around."
"Do not worry, I will not think of compromising your imaginary virtue in my library of mental fantasies, Monsieur Beaches. Your worked out muscular man boobies mean nothing to me." Soleil actually is still doing his search. And that…is what truely startles Soleil, the sudden appearance of the boy and with a girly/muffled like scream he brings the stick down and unless he moves out of the way SWATS the suddenly appeared boy with his stick. "Mon DIEU!" Then stumbles back a few feet, clutching his chest. "…what…in the hell was in that granola bar…"
There is another "Ouch!" Followed by "Stop that!" And then another bought of laughter as the boy hears what Soliel is saying about Bruce. "Oh man, Dingo! Hahahaha! Oh man! You should see how red you are right now!" And then the boy is quiet. But that probably has to do with the large sand hand that constructed itself out of the ground and wrapped around the boy's face.
"Shut it!" Bruce looks around and dismisses his power, letting the boy and the sand fall back to the ground. Too many people around this park. "And don't call me Dingo…In public…Outside of Mutant Town…Unless I'm in costume." And then back to Soliel. "Congratulations! You found him!" It is said quite awkwardly. "You win!" What does he win? "Um….Because you're on hidden camera TV!" Yes, that will explain why an invisible man appeared and then was attacked by sand. Bruce decided after seeing this strange boy's reaction to Camo showing up, maybe he doesn't know about mutants.
Soleil just catches his breath and watches as there's a sand hand there…and then the boy is quiet and he blinks several times. "…Din..go…" He plays this over in his head before he points his stick at Bruce. "There are no hidden cameras that are for entertainment TV around here, Monsieur. And your freaky sandy pimp hand…is not someting I am thinking you would want on a camera, non?" Then he arches an eyebrow. "So. You must…be honest with me." There's a long pause. "Do you eat babies?"
The boy on the ground bursts into laughter again, literally rolling from side to side. Another jogger seems confused by him, but it seems this jogger DOES recognise Bruce. He turns and bolts in the other direction. The boy on the ground is gasping, trying to say "A Dingo ate my baby" in a terrible Australian accent.
"What? No! You ARE on TV! And that was…Special effects! And NOT a pimp hand! Because this boy makes me no money!" He's trying to talk like he's on TV…But it seems not to be working at all. After a few moments of listening to Camo laugh on the ground he drops the act. "No I don't eat babies. Unless you count chicken eggs…"
With one eyebrow raised and his lips pursed, Soleil does take time to carefully translate, process, and evaluate the words being offered him. The TV stuff gets no reaction but reassurance that he does not eat babies gets a vague wave of his hand as he takes note of the reaction from the Jogger in reference to Bruce. He finally just nods. "Non, chicken eggs do not count. Fowl have no personal rights…it isn't murder to devour their still gestating young." He assures the man before he peers at Camo and extends that stick again to poke the boy again curiously. "/This/ is the boy you really /wanted/ to be finding? Not much meat on the bones…you will not get decent cuts of steak from it ahh, but perhaps if you geld him and feed him more, he will soften right up. I have a knife? No more laughter and he could hit higher octaves in singing."
The boy stops laughing and tries to wave the stick away. "He doesn't eat people, you dumb…Itallian?" He guesses. "He was finding me as an exercise."
Bruce shakes his head. "Yes well. We'll talk about that later. And no I don't eat people. Why would you think I eat people? That is not at all a logical conclusion to someone finding an invisible boy in the park." Because that is a common thing? Actually to Bruce it probably is.
Soleil points to the boy. "He has stopped laughing, non?" He shrugs helplessly before eyeing the boy. "Is French…while I enjoy the occasional pizza, mon petite monsieur…I do not believe I am Italian." Then he looks back to Bruce. "I don't assume you are eating people, Monsieur." He gives a little bow. "I am Soleil, and I am apologizing for…interfering with your exercise."
Camo is quiet now, ignoring Soleil out of spite it seems. Bruce just seems oddly confused by the boy still. "Uh, right. I'm Bruce and you…Didn't interfear with the exercise really. You kind of made it easier. I guess…" He waves a hand at Soleil while looking at Camo "And OBVIOUSLY he's French. Are you an idiot?" He shakes his head and looks back to Soleil. "I guess we're sorry for…Making your night so strange.
Soleil giggle-snorts and shrugs a shoulder. "Hm? Well good. It would a shame…the interfering ting. I am new to the city, can't become a nuisance in just a couple of days." He gives another bow before waving a hand and turning to head back to his blanket. "Merci for allowing me to assist!" Then he's working on packing up his 'picnic' area.
"Oh no…Not a nuisance at all." Bruce gives Camo a "let's go" look and nods over his shoulder toward the south. Camo vanishes and there is the sound of someone moving through the bushes as he leaves. "Well…It was nice meeting you. You're ever near Mutant Town stop by Nowhere, a bar I work at. Have a good night." When the boy's back is turned, Bruce seems to blow away as a cloud off sand.
Soleil turns back to reply to Bruce, looking over his shoulder as he reaches back to retreive his granola bar and then he just falls back on his ass and stares, eyeing his granola bar once more with suspicion before he mutters in French. "…I should've gone to LA…" And that's all he's going to say.
