Post by Majin Laezi on Jun 19, 2024 18:38:04 GMT -5
PL: 53,400
"Alright, already! Just put the money in back!"
Laezi peeked around the corner of a brick building and into an alley, watching as a trio of masked thugs went about doing... something. Two of them shuffled in and out of the building the Majin hid behind, taking out BIG long bags from the truck before going in... and coming out with them full to the BRIM with dollars before replacing them and repeating! The third guy lay against a wall, a small burning stick in his mouth, appearing to nibble on the end as smoke periodically puffed from his nose!
...How ODD! Her eyes were drawn to the small box of of those sticks that hung out of the man's pocket, her silver eyes alight with curiosity. By the way he bounced it around between his lips, it must've been reeeally tasty! The smell made her think of paper burning or something kinda savory... but also like car exhaust...? It was weird, made her head a little bit fuzzy when the smoke-clouds drifted her way on the breeze... but she liked the smell! It smelled... comfortable.
But what were they...? And why was he burning one so close to his face!? Deciding she would do well to find out, Laezi would walk up to the man, her small frame, dark skin and the shadows of the alley hiding her from his peripheral vision as she drew closer.
"Heya, mister!" Laezi greeted, pulling on the man's jacket! As if a switch had been flipped, the man JUMPED to attention, whipping around a weird metal object and pointing it in her face! It was like a weird L-shape thingy, the man holding the short end with the long end practically shoved against her forehead! It kinda reminded her of those long stick-tube-things those wierdo mean-men carried when they came after her.
"Wha...? A kid?" The man croaked, his eyes filling with realization... before he doubled over in a coughing-fit, a particularly thick cloud of smoke expelled from his lungs. Surprise and smoke don't go well, it seemed!
"Hey, I'm not a kid anymore! I'm 11!" Laezi huffed, a puff of indignant steam escaping the holes on her arms. "...And I wanna know... what are those?" She pointed at the man's pocket. His eyes flicked down, following her gaze, before snapping back up, his face contorting in an ugly sneer.... Well, uglier. From what she could see of the space around his eyes and lips, his face was pretty ugly before.
"Get out of here, kid. This ain't no place for you." Just then a voice called out from the building.
"All good out there!?"
"Yeah!" The man called back. "Jus' get the money already!"
"You got lots of money!" Laezi observed nodding at the truck. "Can I have some?"
"Uh, no." The man snorted. "See, this here's ours. Now..." He pushed the gun harder into Laezi's face. ...It was really starting to get uncomfortable. "...Last chance. Beat it." He pulled back something on the back of the L-shaped thingy with his thumb. It made an attention-grabbing "clicking" noise.
...By now, Laezi's patience was starting to chafe. She had been nothing but nice and polite and stuff and this guy was being all mean and rude and stuff! Huffing, the Majin reached up and YANKED the gun away sharply, flipping it around and BOPPING the man with the short end he had been holding! ...Laezi thought she had done it lightly, akin to a low-effort knock just to show him what's what. ...The man's eyes crossed deadly and his jaw dropped... and he dropped limply to his knees. Laezi could hear his raspy breathing so she knew he was okay... but wow... WOW he was weak. The Majin grimaced, somewhat... disquieted by his fragility before squatting down beside him and pulling out a few things! He had a toothpick (or what she thought was a toothpick), a really long metal one whose blade-like point was hidden in the handle until you flicked a switch on the side! Only then would the thin metal picker POP out! ...Laezi liked the sound so she popped it a couple of times.
While she absently dug at her teeth with the pick, she pulled out another thingy: the box of sticks! She grinned, flicking open the box and pulling out one of them. Curiously, she held it up to her nose and sniffed.... Maybe a little smoky...? Mostly nothing. She would then lightly lick it's side. Her face scrunched up slightly. Eeeeh... kinda bitter. She then remembered how the man held his and put it between her lips... backwards, but she didn't know it. She just... lightly sucked on the end as she continued to rifle through his pockets, maybe looking for some extra money she could leave him... You know, for the sticks that were now hers! She felt something smooth... leathery and square. She was about to grab it when-
"HEY!" Laezi's eyes snapped up, catching sight of one of those in-and-out building guys, him having one of those weird L-things pointed at her! "What'd you do to Bill!?" Laezi looked up at him, then down at his friend. Then up at him again. Suddenly, she felt anxious. Exposed.
"Nothing!" Laezi insisted... stick still in her mouth, toothpick in one hand, L-thing in her other hand. The man noticed these things and his eyes narrowed.
"Nothing!" Laezi insisted... stick still in her mouth, toothpick in one hand, L-thing in her other hand. The man noticed these things and his eyes narrowed.
"You lyin' to me?"
"No...?" Laezi retreated back a step holding the toothpick to her chest anxiously. "He kinda just... fell over...?"
"Oh yeah...?" The man growled, stepping closer. She could smell the stick-smoke on him too. "Then why you have all his stuff...?" Well, Laezi had no response to that one. Panic JUMPED in her throat and, quick as a flash, the Majin would BONK the man on the head with her L-thing! Like his friend, this guy collapsed like a fingerless puppet, his head almost making a coconut-noise as the hard wood handle bounced off his noggin. Laezi was sweating now. She didn't like being here... What if the other guy came? The Majin, anxious and not thinking correctly, jumped towards the building door. Maybe if she closed it, it'd buy her time to slink away! ...But just as she reached out for it, the third guy came out of the building, eyes pointed over her head... towards his unconscious friends.
He opened his mouth to say... something. Whether to call out to his buddies or yell in shock, Laezi would never know because, faster than a flash, her L-thing came up and cracked the guy across his head, sending him to the ground too, still.
...Suddenly, there was quiet. A deep, oppressive, quiet. Laezi could feel it pressing down on her from all sides as if the air itself had gotten like a bajillion times thicker, her silver eyes flicking back towards the alley entrance... Oh no... She just beat up a buncha normal people... What would the police say...? What would ZUQ say? In her nervousness, Laezi had already nibbled her stick down to a nub and was reaching with a tentacle for another. She could fly away but.... what if a really STRONG guy saw her? Could she sneak away...? What if...? Laezi heard a CRUNCH behind her, nearly causing her to SCREAM! In a panic, she SPRUNG for the back of the truck, jumping inside and curling up behind a pile of bags! Only time would tell how her makeshift hiding-spot would favor her. She could hear her heartbeat from in here.
WC: 1258