Trespassing [Open]

[Waddle]

If there had been a way into the Kingfisher, Evan would have found it by now. He had spent the last two hours, no, three hours pacing around the store, pulling at loose-looking boards, trying to pick the locks on the door and windows, trying to force them open. Wading through the dump part at the front of the store. Climbing onto the roof to try to find a hole to jump down through. Making a fool of himself to anybody who passed. Well... That last part doesn't count. I do that all the time.[/color]

Now, he was standing in the front of the shop, on top of a bag of trash, staring at the door that was welded shut, brow furrowed and a home-made lock picking kit in one hand. Both hands were in fists and propped on his hips. Huffing a sigh, he swayed his weight onto one foot and let his hands go limp. How the hell did the objects in the store's windows change themselves every day if no one went into the store? Someone must live in there. If someone lived in there, they were probably bat shit insane. That should daunt him. That should make him want to leave. That should make him feel fear. Someone who lived in a dusty place like that would have to be crazy. Crazy people were not good to be around. Depends on what type of crazy. Anyway. He had been bored. He had wanted something to do. He had been wanting to get into the Kingfisher for a while. Today was a good day to do that.

Pushing all doubt aside, Evan jumped off the bag and jogged to the window to the left of the door. Pulling a pick and a tension tool. The problem probably lay in the age of the lock - no matter if it was a style different from those used today, he should still be able to open it. The issue was if the lock had been frozen and/or melted in place. The former was most likely here in Canada. Even in the summer, the lock may have been frozen solid so many times that it was permanently damaged. If it hadn't been damaged just right, it wouldn't open to a shove. It would have to be picked. But it wouldn't be budged and it wouldn't be picked.

With a sigh, Evan paused to glance over his shoulder. He had to be careful of cops. If a cop saw him, they would arrest him for attempt to trespass. No one of the people passing would tell the law. Evan was known in the town for causing harmless trouble. He would only break into the store just to see what was there, then he would leave, locking the door back behind him. No one was behind him. If Evan managed to get the window open, he would have to move the objects occupying the shelves aside then slide between the slats, then close the window and replace the objects just as they had been before. That is, if he didn't want some passing cop to notice the window open wide and come investigating. Evan had already been thrown into the Noatak jail once for trespassing. He hated jails. He was determined to not be caught in this adventure.

As he turned his attention back to the window, he realized the padlock had sprung open. His eyebrows shot toward his hairline in surprise. Had he unconsciously opened the lock while he had been thinking about cops, or had the lock been open the whole time and he'd just not realized it? It didn't matter. It was open. Evan took a deep breath to steady his excited nerves, then followed through with his plans. Move objects. Slide. Close window. Replace objects. In just three minutes, he was covered in dust, had four splinters, but he was inside. Standing from a crouch, he turned, dusting his hands off, to examine the shop. It was just an ordinary antique shop, if one that hadn't seen human life in decades. Evan coughed at the dust floating in the air, his eyes watering. He wasn't allergic to dust -- No, just cocaine [/i]-- but the pure amount of it floating in the air threatened to send him back outside, hacking his insides out. He held his breath and paced deeper into the store, sandaled feet raising dust puffs as he went. Pulling out a small flashlight, he looked at everything, jumping occasionally as a freaky painting or a stuffed grizzly bear loomed out of the dust just a couple steps away.[/size]

[Mothtoto.]

Hours before Evan appeared outside the store, there could be seen a small blue snake slithering along the sidewalk. This snake was Ace. He happened to be looking for some place where he could be alone. That was something he found this town needed more of: Privacy. The real reason he needed somewhere to be alone at the moment though? Ace was in desperate need of a nap.

That's how he stumbled (or rather, slithered) upon The Kingfisher. It was perfect. Or at least it seemed that way. He found a perfect snake-sized hole to crawl in through, and the rest was history. Sweet, undisturbed history.

Well, until Evan showed up.

Ace was peacefully curled up while in his talisman form, basking in a sunny spot in a box in the corner, when he suddenly awoke. What the-? His thoughts were quickly interrupted when the box he was in was roughly kicked over and he came tumbling out in a tangle. Whoever it was that disturbed him... Well, they were going to pay.

The sun had set since he'd fallen asleep, and the disturber was creating a huge cloud of dust. Ace could see nothing, as it was. He quickly changed back into his human figure, and walked up to the other man, loudly clearing his throat.

((It's really short but.... At least I posted for it? xP))

[Waddle]

(Hah, it's great :{D)

That damned grizzly bear he'd seen three times already had to have been following him. This time, when he jumped, he knocked over several boxes, letting out a fluent line of curses at the same time. He was too busy trying to right the boxes that he didn't notice his half brother walking up behind him. If he had, he would have run right then, probably his only chance to escape. But he didn't, and the noise of someone clearing their throat behind him made him jump out of his skin again, knock over the re-stacked boxes again, and let loose curses once again. In the darkness, it was hard to see the other man, but Evan didn't need to see much to know just who the hell it was. He froze like a deer in headlights, eyes wide, staring up at Ace.

"Uh-oh..." he murmured at a very high pitch. Only then could he get his body to move. He jumped back, tripping over the boxes and landing in a heap on top of them. Scrambling backwards only put him against the corner, trapped between another wall, that giant grizzly bear, and the giant Ace who seemed much bigger than he really was from Evan's low vantage point on the ground. Evan's normally smooth tongue wasn't working. All he could think about was the last time they had met. It had taken weeks for Evan's face to stop hurting. He'd almost died, and his face hadn't looked the same. It wasn't very obvious, but it was obvious enough to him. He had been lucky it had healed like it had. He could have ended up with permanent and very unpleasant damage.

But his pretty-boy persona had returned and he was back to normal. He hadn't seen Ace since that day, which was a miracle. He'd hoped the guy had left town. Guess I'm not that lucky. It was a pitiful attempt at looking tougher than he felt, but he had to say it. "Hello again, you big lummox." It was the same thing he'd called Ace ages ago. Coming from his position on the floor, it wasn't nearly as defiant as it should have been. Evan slid back to his feet, back pressed against the wall, using it for support. He thought he might pass out. Ignoring the light-headedness, he continued, trying to seem conversational. "Were you hiding behind that bear? Thing's fucking scary." He laughed shakily. "Kinda like you. But.. unlike you, it doesn't move." He wished Ace didn't move either. But that wasn't going to happen.

[Mothtoto.]

Ace actually wasn't exactly shocked at seeing Evan. It was a small town and he figured they were bound to run in to each other sometime. Why shouldn't it be now? He didn't really understand how he could have gotten in, but didn't bother with pondering over the different possibilities. He was here. In front of him. Right here. Right now. He had to do something.

Over the course of time that had come and gone between the last meeting of the brothers, Ace had thought of many cruel and twisted things to do and things to say to his half brother. He had thought about these things. Thought about them long and hard. But when he saw the small figure on the ground in front of him, this small figure who was his brother? He decided not to do any of it. He decided not to fight him any longer. They were brothers, after all. What was the point of it? Taking his anger out on Evan would solve nothing. It would probably be better directed towards his father, but even there... it was just a drunken mistake. Evan was a drunken mistake. And that seemed like enough punishment for anyone.

Ace extended his hand toward Evan, despite the insults, despite their past history, hoping he'd trust it enough to let him help him up. "Need a hand there, brother?" He said this kindly, with a genuine smile.

((How's this for character development? I really hope it's not rubbish. And it is rather short. And delayed. It is what it is. Enjoy.))

[Waddle]

(it's beautiful. I love it. And you.)

... Ace had to be kidding. Evan looked from the offered hand, up into Ace's face, then back to the hand, then back to the face. He had no idea what to do. He was paralyzed by fear while his mind was racing in circles, going nowhere. He's said 'brother'. That kind smile, that looked real. Evan was a therapist, he knew what to look for when people were talking to him to see if what came out of their mouth was the same as what their body said. There were no signs of aggression, nothing but a kindness bordering on apologetic. Bordering on a trap. He didn't know what to expect. All of his normal cocky, easy-go-lucky attitude was gone, leaving a scared little bunny rabbit. It had taken a near-death beating to make it happen, but one time was one too many, and Evan didn't want it to happen again. All this thoughts were simply childish. He didn't want to be hurt. He didn't want Ace to be there. He wanted Ace to be nice and to not trick him. He wanted to do something but he didn't want to do the wrong thing.

Things were so much simpler when he wasn't the one with the problems. The solution was clear to him when the issue was someone else's. But when he was put in the spotlight, he just didn't know what to do.

He didn't know how long he stayed there like that, huddled on the floor, back against the wall, eyes as wide as dinner plates. But he did finally move. He took Ace's hand (which seemed a lot bigger than his own) and pulled himself up, quickly letting go. No punched came. No sudden burst of pain. Without that, his fear faded, and shame came. He blushed and ducked his head, refusing to look at Ace. "Sorry for calling you a lummox.. again," he mumbled quietly, side-stepping away from Ace. You could sense the awkwardness with every fiber of your being. Evan tried to break it by finally looking at Ace and offering his hand out. "I don't think we ever got introduced right... Um.. Evan Morgan. .... Hi."

(This sucks. I have absolutely no muse. Sorry. ><)

[Mothtoto.]

(Aw, Zoe loves you too, sweetheart. (Sweetheart? What the fuck? That sounds really creepy. (Unless you think of it in a sort of sarcastic way, but it wasn't supposed to be taken as sarcasm, really.)))

Ace stood above the cowering man on the ground. He looked so small and defenseless, it was almost impossible to not pity him at that moment. As he examined Evan's face, he saw many emotions flit across his face. Fear. Disbelief. Maybe a bit of relief. Confusion. Ace noticed a lot of confusion. Evan had every to each of those emotions. Fear caused by their last encounter. Disbelief that Ace could be the same man, or that he could actually be acting friendly. Relief that he wasn't beating the absolute shit out of him. And confusion... Well, that one's pretty self explanatory. Ace honestly wouldn't blame him if he didn't take his offer.

Right about the time when he was deciding that the attempt was completely futile, that he and his half-brother would never be more than enemies, Evan took his hand. It was a start. To most people, it would probably just be considered taking his hand. Because that's what it was. But it was more than that. So much more. To Ace, it showed trust, and that was really more than he could ask for.

He helped him up, with titchy amounts of cruel thoughts bubbling in his mind. Ace just shrugged at the apology, hoping to also shrug away the awkwardness.. "It's understandable, I have a tendency to be clumsy at times." He really doesn't, but who's a good-natured lie gonna harm?

Ace took Evan's extended hand gratefully, clutching it like a lifeline as he shook it. "And still, I feel like we're so damn close already." Yet another harmless lie. "Ace Ikron. Pleasure to... err... meet you?" He finished with a shaky laugh. Wiping the cold sweat from his palms onto his jeans, he smiled again as he said, "Let's say to a fresh start, eh, Evan?"

(Don't really know if you can milk much outta this. If you can't, I could try adding more? xP)