Players:
Summary: The discussion of religion comes up among various park walkers.
Date: June 13, 2011
Log Title: Theology In The Park
Rating: PG-13
NYC- Thompson Square Park
Thompson Square Park is a small park in the middle of Mutant Town. The benches might need a fresh coat of paint, the fence might be rusted in places and the pavement is raised and has cracks but it's all part of the mutant haven and fairly relaxing. Trees and grassy areas are in between the many paths, there are a few structures and benches along the path as well as a special area of the park that is marked 'the dog walk'.
//Two trees have been planted in the park as a Memorial to Carmencita Florez and Detective Baxter each with a plaque stating the tree is in their memory. //
While it's not exactly the warmest day out, actually it's pretty cloudy and it'll probably rain but enough about the weather, Kai is sitting under a tree with a pair of earphones in listening to a band he found on the internet called Chameleon Circuit, he's dressed in dark jeans, red converse, a dark blue t-shirt with a picture of the TARDIS on it with two weeping angels either side with 'the angels have the phonebox' written underneith, he's going though the pictures on his camera while he waits for a phone call.
Hosea's muscles don't just exist. He doesn't have muscles like Brock Lesnar by sitting around all day. He works at them, and he works hard. A pair of gray Wal-mart brand gym shorts are on his legs, and a plain a-frame T-shrit on his chest. The current workout? A fifteen mile run. He's been running for a long while now, and his course is almost finished. Sweat pours down his face, and the water bottle in his right hand is nearly empty. Across the path he runs, good form with cheap substandard running shoes as he passes through the Thompson Square Park.
It was a late night for Aiden and even though it's late morning he's just making his way home now. He's dressed in skinny black pants with all sorts of zippers on them tucked into his signature boots with a short sleeved back button down shirt with a few buckles on the shoulders. His wings are wrapped around him a bit as he looks like he's a bit cold from the damper weather. Sleepily he walks down the path, almost running into Hosea from not paying attention to where he's heading.
"He is like fire, burning through time, As old as forever, but fast in his prime, I saw his blue spaceship materialise, He stepped out and said to me, "run for your life!", Kai grins as the song changes, in his opinion the best song on the album, looking up from his camera he spots Aiden, "Hey Aiden, watch out!"
As Aiden steps before him, Hosea reaches out with one large arm to prevent a total collision. His left hand plants on the winged man's shoulder, and with a forceful move he pushes the man to the side as he runs past. He continues on for a few steps and then stops, turning around to check on the man he just shoved aside, stopping in front of Kai. He lets out a few strong breaths, and puts his hands on his shoulders. "I am sorry," he says in his deep African accent. "I did not want to run you ovah."
Aiden wasn't expecting the shove so he stumbles back and lands awkwardly on one of his large wings. He pushes himself up to a sitting position with a bit of a wince and nods. "It's okay." He says with an intake of breath as he flexes the wing behind him with another wince of pain. "Hey, how's it going?." He says to Kai giving him a wave. The green tattoo like markings start to take on a colour of pale red that slowly takes over the previous colour. "You okay?" He asks to Hosea.
Kai just watches as Aiden goes down, well he did try to warn him, "Good, you alright?", that looked like a solid shove and on to those wings aswell which if they're anything like birds wings are pretty breakable, he turns off his camera, puts it in his bag and pulls out his earphones.
Still short of breath, Hosea trods back to Aiden, and reaches a rather sweaty hand out to offer to help him back to his feet. "Yes, I am fine. I am only tired." He still manages to have a bright smile across his face. "I remembah you, you ah da flying man at da resivour, yes?" He nods back to Kai, whom he is not familiar with. "Hello," he offers in greeting, though his attention is primarily still on Aiden on the ground.
"I'll be fine, just landed on the right wing wrong." Aiden says as nothing is broken. "Also could be cause I drank too much last night." He admits sratching the back of his head. "Probably, I hang out at this one resivour sometimes cause it's quite up there. And I'm tired too. I haven't slept yet."
~You might mistake me for a heaaaart breaker, cause there's blood on the floor. I know you're checking me, my heart is up for keeps, there's an open door.~ Rather busy on rollerblades and iPhone music as well, Jem comes gracefully gliding through the part, in her own little world, wearing a blue pleated skirt, lined with a yellow at the bottom hem, and a blue and white blouse on the upper, her hair pulled up into a ponytail, singing to whatever she is listening to. ~I know I can be a good, good girl, I know I a can be a good, good girl. I know I can be a good girl, but I've been bad before. Good girl, but I've been bad before.~ It is obvious that what is filtering into her ears is pretty poppy, giving the way she moves on her blades, the pace and general bop is to the beat of the music. There appears to be a roadblock of guys in her way which catches her attention, having her skid to a stop.
"Whoa.." she pulls her earbuds from her ears, "What's up with all this? I was totally in a groove. You guys have an accident or something?"
"Hey", Kai raises a hand in greeting at the rather large man who pushed Aiden, geting to his feet he walks over to the other two, he watches as Jem approaches and asks if they had an accedent, because thats not obvious at all, they just feel like standing in the middle of the path blocking eveyones way, "Well a narrowly avoided collision which wasn't actually avoided because there was contact but it wasn't a full on…", he claps his hands together, "More of a…", he does the claping motion again only this time one hand catches the other at and angle smacking it sideways.
The large Nigerian keeps his hand out for Aiden to get up, "Yes, I accidentally knocked him down," Hosea tells Jem. "You look familiar," he says to Jem. Of course, they go to the same school, so they may have passed each other. However, when you're 6'8" with hair like his, you stand out a bit more than others might stand out to him.
"It's no big deal." Aiden says with a yawn as he's still sitting in the grass. "I wasn't looking where I was going and this guy was trying not to straight out flatten me over." He stretches his wing out a few more times behind him and Aiden makes sure not to knock anyone over with the ten foot wing by looking over his shoulder. "Though I hate to admit this, I know I recognize you guys but I can't remember any of your names."
The large Nigerian keeps his hand out for Aiden to get up, "Yes, I accidentally knocked him down," Hosea tells Jem. "You look familiar," he says to Jem. Of course, they go to the same school, so they may have passed each other. However, when you're 6'8" with hair like his, you stand out a bit more than others might stand out to him.
"It's no big deal." Aiden says with a yawn as he's still sitting in the grass so he takes Hosea's hand to get up. "I wasn't looking where I was going and this guy was trying not to straight out flatten me over." He stretches his wing out a few more times behind him and Aiden makes sure not to knock anyone over with the ten foot wing by looking over his shoulder. "Though I hate to admit this, I know I recognize you guys but I can't remember any of your names." (re)
Jem wrinkles her nose as she looks at Kai, "That was.. a bit of an over explanation, but thanks? I guess?" She wasn't expecting visual aids and the like. But still, Hosea is rather large, and trying to go around both he and Aiden would have proven a little difficult, warranting her stop. "Good god, you're fucking huge!" the girl cries out as she looks up at him, and she literally does have to kind of look up at him. "I'm guessing you get that all the time because.. well, you're huge but.. damn, seriously? I'm pretty sure I've seen you at school, but not up close. I thought you were a teacher.." She looks over at Aiden for a moment, "Are you serious here? He'd have killed you if he would have landed on you. You and I met a few days ago. I was with Cloud, my name is Jem? The fireball girl." she pauses, putting her finger to her lip thoughtfully, "Which I still haven't run with that idea yet. Hm.. Should probably get on that.."
"Yes we've met, i'm Kai", he raises an eyebrow at Jem, "Why was it an over explaination?, you asked what happened and i told you what happened, i don't really see the problem", ok his radar isn't always right but he's pretty sure Jem is being pretty rude".
Hosea's cheek twitches slightly when Jem takes God's name vainly. "God is always good," he answers with his deep Nigerian accent, as if she had used it seriously. "He has blessed me in many ways. I am big, dat is true. But some people are not, and it is no bettah to be a large man den to be a small one, yes? God gives generously to all who ask Him, and witout reproach." His body might suggest otherwise, because with the a-frame on, many of his muscles are exposed, as well as scars that can be seen, several of them on his body, indicating some possibly violent encounters in the past. "I am not a teachah, I am only eighteen. Probably be a student longah, too."
"My name is Hosea Ikbuku," he tells answers Aiden, though he's actually informing all of the present parties, since they don't know his name either. He unscrews the cap on his water bottle, taking a drink of the remaining water, which isn't much.
"Kai! That's right. You always remember my name but I'm horrible at remembering names. Jem…okay I remember that now." Though he does't remember the fire ball thing or her idea. "But honestly…I don't think he would have killed me. He's definately taller but I like to think I wouldn't die that easily." Aiden says with a chuckle. "Nice to meet you Hosea, I'm Aiden, though…you'll probably have an easier time remembering my name then me yours the next time." Hosea gets a raised drawn on eyebrow from Aiden as he starts talking about god but no comment is made.
"Problem?" She peers at Kai, "I didn't say there was a problem. I wasn't expecting as vivid of a description as that. I mean, thumbs up to you for taking it there, it is just that most people these days are about going the minimum distance. Just surprised is all." The blonde shrugs, not really meaning any offense. Standing still in one place on roller blades isn't the easiest thing to do, especially if you aren't in the grass, so Jem is drifting backwards just the slightest bit. "It was a little bit of an exaggeration." she chuckles at Aiden, "There aren't too many people that are about 7 feet tall at his age, let alone 7 feet tall period so.. yeah, you know." A second later, she shakes her head a little, "I dunno. I'm in an odd mood or something I think." It happens from time to time. And as Hosea starts speaking about God, Jem gives almost the same reaction as Aiden, save for one difference.
Jem says what is on her mind. "I guess so. If that's your belief. I mean, congratulations for spiritual fulfillment on your part, you're better off than most people who don't know what to believe. I'm just saying.. you're probably the biggest person I've ever seen in my life, so far. Not really a bad thing, I'll know who to stand under when it rains." the girl smirks.
Kai doesn't have much of an opinion either way on the God Vs No God arguement he knows enough about the whole thing as he needs to but overall just finds it rather uninteresting, "Not explaining things probably i what causes people to make their own assumsions, which are usually wrong and will make you look like an idiot", , he frowns, "That sounded kind of rude didnt it?"
"Ahh, it is best to know da truth," Hosea states. "Many people put deir belief in things dat fail, but God does not. I am tall, yes! I am 6'8", I am not yet seven feet, see? But I am much larger den most people. I scare some when I walk into stores I think!" He lets out a laugh, though it's not the most hearty, given that he's still rather winded from running. "I shall try to remembah your name, Aiden, and Kai, it is good to meet you. But it is true, sometimes people look foolish if dey do not explain things properly, yes?" He finishes off the last of the water in his water bottle, and screws the cap back on.
Aiden keeps quiet about the reglious talk as he hasn't done anything with a church or bible in many years. But now it's Jem's turn to get a raised 'eyebrow'. "Minimum Distance? And with height…well yo never know what you'll run into in mutant town. I've seem some pretty wonderful people out here." He just shrugs at Kai. "I dunno, I figure sometimes the stuff other people assume about you or what happened are more interesting then the truth. It keeps things more interesting."
"Okay.." Jem says and then pauses, "This conversation is a little strange. I mean.. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but it strikes me as weird to be going into in depth detail about giving detail. It's typically not my normal topic of conversation when meeting someone new." she shakes her head, sending her ponytail to bounce a little. "I also tend to avoid religious topic, as that becomes a really touchy borderline for some people more than others, and if someone says the wrong thing, they could end up getting stones thrown at them or accusations of being the spawn of some demon or something." Such as what happened to her not but a week ago in front of the mall. "So for the sake of avoiding awkwardness, let's just start with something more neutral. Like what your favorite food is."
Kai can help but ask now, "Hosea what makes you believe in your supposed god so unwaveringly?", it must be important if it's a touchy subject so he's genuinly interested, "But if people assume they might never get", "Pizza", "the right answer, but i can see your point, the unpredictable parts of life generate exitement which in turn gives a reason to keep on living, good point".
Hosea grins, "Topics dat are important usually get people angry. But it is those things that are worth talking about, yes?" He then answers Kai's question. "Well, He has redeemed me from my sin. I used to be a vedy dangerous man before He changed my heart. To deny him would be as silly as to deny dat you are standing before me. Dat would be vedy silly, would it not?" He chuckles a little. "He speaks to me, and I speak to him." So much for Jem's suggestion to talk about favorite foods.
Aiden shrugs. "To each their own. I wouldn't call myself religous but I've met people of a variety of different religions. Lots of wiccans in my circles." He says with a nod. "Some of it is cool, like I've always found tarot cards facinating and I used to love to have Jing read my cards." He says not aware that he might be being insensitive to Hosea's beliefes. "And favourite food…anything less than five bucks for a meal?"
"Ugh!" Jem groans as Kai pretty much ignores what she just says and presses the issue to get Hosea's personal views about religion. "Are you serious?" The fact that he used the word 'supposed' probably poking at her more. She isn't one to trample on people's beliefs, she just doesn't like to get fights started over them. "You guys can sit here and discuss this all day. I'm outie. I'm gonna go get a smoothie, which happens to be my favorite food." It happens to be one of those things that pushes Jem's fire in another direction entirely. Speaking of fire, she suddenly bursts into a bright, blazing inferno of flame, covering her whole body. "Deuces.." she offers out as a farewell for now and then bursts up into the air, quickly soaring away from the group.
Hosea arches his brow. "Dat is dangerous to deal with," he tells Aiden. "I should warn you dat such things will lead you to destruction. It is not something to make a game of." He backs up a little from Jem as she self-ignites and takes off into the air. "She is vedy sensitive I think," he observes.
Kai hmms, it doesn't seem to be a clear as Hosea thinks it is but he doesn't press the subject, he knows what he wanted to know, to Aiden, "Tarot cards, thats the cards with the pictures representing the future right?, i've never seen them used before, they accurate?", he literally jumps back when Jem ignites, fire isn't good for him.
Again Hosea gets a raised 'eyebrow' from Aiden as he shakes his head. "Eh, nothing dangerous about cards. They're paper, ink and whatever coating you put on them to make them water proof." He says with a shrug. "Honestly…who knows. Jing could see the future and she always said the tarto cards helped her focus with her ability. I've always felt to each their own. There's so many different beliefs it's impossible to say this one or that one is definately right."
Kai is stopped from asking anymore questions by Hosea returning to his run, "He takes that rather seriously doesn't he?, going as far to can the wiccan religon dangerous is similar to the druids getting condemed hundreds of years ago, though with less human sacrifice", a mixture of basic info given to him to blend in and his natural thirst for knowledge has him nowing some pretty pointless things.
Aiden shrugs a shoulder. "To each their own Kai. He has his opinions. And as for druids and stuff, I don't know much about that. Religion has never been something I've been subjected to. I know very little about it in general." He admits.
Kai smiles, "I only know this stuff due to exessive googling, it's not something you need to know", he checks his phone he really should've got that call by now, "Hows the wing feeling now?"
"Googling?" Aiden asks. "Wait…you mean that inter..webnet stuff right? It's that one webpage where you can find anything right?" He's so shaky when it comes to computers. "So Googling is the act of looking up stuff on the interwebnet right?" He then flexes his wing a bit to test it out. "Still sore, though I'll finally get some sleep and it'll probably feel fine when I wake up. I work late again tonight."
Kai nods, "Yeah thats pretty much it, it makes information very easy to get hold of", he reaches into his bag and pulls out his ICT textbook, "I've pretty much finished classes for the year, do you want this?"
Aiden shakes his head. "No, that's okay. I'm not the studying or school type. I never finished middle school let alone went to High School and I'm just fine with that. I don't need to know American History or Canadian History to swallow a sword." He says with a chuckle. "But I should be heading to my apartment, I can feel the hangover taking over."
Kai shrugs, "Fair enough, i'll keep it for next year then", Aiden's timing for deciding to go home is pretty good as it's at that moment his phone finally starts ringing, "Well i guess i'll see you some other time then, i gotta take this, bye", he turns and starts talking on the phone as he walks away.
