[ text | un: jkent ]

[supersweet]

One of the things people don't do often is talk about the good things they've done or have right now. Sometimes being away from home is hard, so sharing helps!

So what's one good thing in your life right now? Yesterday, I got a cat out of a tree! It wasn't very happy but the owner thanked me a lot.

Comments

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[ Jon nods slowly. ]

It's hard on them too. Which is why we keep this stuff a secret.

[ And he hesitates. ]

Promise you won't tell anyone? I don't like lying but . . . people have tried to get to me before.

[smokedout]

....I'm not surprised.

[He finds it endearing that Jon asks, since... he's kind of the king of secrets.]

My world's got a lot of crime, and a lot of it is run by mutants... we don't get treated like normal humans, so a lot of us can't find work unless it's under the table. Sooner or later humans who think they're helping try to kill off mutants... and everything just gets fucked to hell. Wouldn't surprise me at all if a kid like you got caught up in things like that.

[supersweet]

I . . . don't want to talk about it.

[ Hunching his shoulders, Jon pointedly looks away. Manchester Black's oily touch in his mind still held sway. ]

You promise?

[smokedout]

Yeah. I promise.

[He should probably stop talking about this. Gang rivalries and moonlight garrotes seemed so normal to him when he was Jon's age, but... this kid had a normal childhood, it seems. As normal as a mutant kid can have.]

...Let's go find a nice spot outside to eat, yeah? You know your way around enough to find a spot?

[supersweet]

[ Jon relaxes slightly at that. Promises are the cornerstone of his life. ]

Yeah, there's a bench near the park that's nice.

[smokedout]

[Dodger relaxes in turn, and a smile spreads onto his face.]

Wanna race there?

[Ignoring the fact that he can absolutely cheat with his powers. He figures Jon is smart enough to cheat as well.]

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Yeah!

[ Jon loves getting to race. And he's fast too. Even faster than his father. ]

Ready?

[smokedout]

Three- two- ONE.

[He tips Jon's hat over his face again, right before teleporting and dashing off toward the park. He may not have powers related to speed, but he can teleport himself a few times in a row and use his strength to boost himself further. Regardless of who wins, he'll be winded by the time they get there, but it's worth it to expel some energy.]

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Hey!

[ Jon yelps as he pushes his cap out of his face and runs, a mere blur, barely detectable. He makes it under a few seconds without even needing to catch his breath. ]

[smokedout]

[Wow. WOW. He hadn't expected Jon to be that fast, holy fuck.

Dodger skids to a halt shortly behind him, having exausted most of his energy to catch up. He won't be able to teleport for a while in this state... and he's definitely gonna need a break on that bench. He lets out a groan as he slumps into it.]

Jesus Christ... how do your parents even keep track of you?

[His teleportation slows the world around him to nearly a halt... and he swears he saw Jon running as if it was in real time.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon grins, folding his arms smugly. ]

I'm really fast.

[ Sadly, he can't boast about being faster than Superman. ]

[smokedout]

I can see that.

[He grins, snatching Jon's hat off his head to ruffle his hair. And then he takes out the bottles, smacking one against the bench to pop the tops off and... leaving a dent on the wood in the process. Not his problem. Unfortunately the running shook them up, so... he's letting out a stream of choice swears as he holds the bottle away from himself and it spurts fizz all over him.]

God- fuck- SHIT-

[It's getting all over those bandages on his wrists. God damn it.]

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Language.

[ Jon digs through his pockets and hands Dodger a hankerchief. ]

Are you okay? What happened to your hands?

[smokedout]

Crap... I mean. Right. Sorry.

[Dodger takes the handkerchief, wiping off the soda now that it's done spilling and passing it over to Jon.

It takes some hesitation to decide if he should talk about his wrists, but... he's going to have to take off the wraps, or they'll be uncomfortable as hell the whole time he's out and about. He'll just have to go straight home after they're done here.]

Can you keep a secret?

[supersweet]

[ Jon gives him a flat look but he nods. Jon can keep secrets. He's been doing it for most of his life after all. ]

Yeah, of course.

[smokedout]

[Dodger hesitates a moment, before slowly unwrapping the gauze over his wrists. Underneath, the tattoos continue down to his wrist on one arm, but more importantly... the entire area the bandages covered is riddled with scars. They reach from his mid-forearm to his wrist, and there are easily over thirty of various ages on each arm. Most seem close to fading, but... there are several that definitely happened while he was in Riverview.

And once he's shown them, he busies himself getting a soda for himself so he doesn't have to.. think about the fact that his wrists are bare.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon doesn't grasp the meaning behind the scars. He's not old enough to fully see how desperate men can be, how hard they can be pushed. He's only ever seen the worst and the best, never the middle ground. And Jon lives in the company of heroes.

Carefully, Jon reaches out to touch them. There's no fear in his eyes or judgement. He doesn't need to understand to know that this is a wound. ]

[smokedout]

[With anyone older, he'd be likely to flinch, but... he's sure Jon is too young to know what they mean, and he isn't tripping over himself to reassure him. So he pauses, letting Jon touch them even as he bristles at the touch.]

Wouldn't be surprised if you meet more people with scars like this, but.. I'd say ask your dad what to do when you see them. I'm not the person to ask.

[supersweet]

[ Jon pulls his hand back quickly. Something about those wounds unnerve them. The bandages weren't there to heal, but to hide. Jon wasn't built to understand that kind of grief. ]

Okay.

[smokedout]

[He nods silently, opening his own soda bottle with some effort, dealing with the overflow better this time and opening his chips to eat while he tries to think of something to talk about that isn't... this.]

So, uh... you're in school, right? You'd be in- 5th grade?

[supersweet]

[ Jon nods back. ]

Yeah. I'm still in Elementary school though.