Hatchling -Public-

[Reddo~]

[enter]

Fletcher stood at the edge of the river, his left eye blackened and his lip bloody. HIs clothes, however, were still clean. HIs shirt still pristine and his pants unwrinkled. He stared into the river, stared at his reflection, at the blackened eye and the boody lip. A drop of the crimson liquid fell into the rivver and distrubed his image for a moment.

His punishment hadn't been as harsh as he had expected, only some brutal sparring with his loving brother. The punishment wasn't the fight itself, it was the loss. It was the painful knowledge that he was still the weakest in the family, he was still the slowest, the worst. He stared at himself, gripping his tonfa so tightly his knuckles were white and his hand trembled slightly.

The sun was shimmering on the surface as it made it's leisurely rise over the horizon to greet him. "... Late." He said softly to himself, breaking out of the trance of self-pity he was locked in. He would be late for school if he didn't go straight away, but he had left his jacket at the park, and he had no intention of going to school without it, especially if he had a black eye too. This, was a matter of pride.

[Uuhayd]

[Enter-cake]

"Ugh, my back." Nire mumbled to himself. Shaking the last remnants of sleep from his head, he sat up. Pale sunlight danced across his face and hair, the latter reflecting brightly against the sun's rays. He had slept on a bench next to the river. Not exactly the smartest choice, as the wood offered no give and put pressure on his spine. He decided he wouldn't do this again without a blanket.

He looked around, noting the beauty of the new morning. However there was one thing that didn't fit in. It was that student from before. He stood still, staring out into the river. His jacket was missing but he could have easily left it at home, nothing to worry about. What did stand out was his eye. It was black, and his lip told a similar story of violence. Nire thought this was strange. He clearly saw that student leave before Gouriki ever touched him. "Trouble at home?" Nire thought.

Now he had a decision to make. Go over and attempt a conversation or leave well enough alone. Normally, he would have chosen the latter without much thought, but there was something about this new kid. A simple talk couldn't do much harm and he did wish to learn more about the student. Nire made his choice.

"Hey." Nire called as he lifted himself off the bench. A standard male greeting that conveyed no intent or emotion, perfect for starting a conversation with a new person. He needed to learn everything he could during this talk. As a fiction hero once said, knowledge is power.

[Reddo~]

Who was this talking to him. If he was ever in less of a modd to talk to strangers, he couldn't think of one that could possibly compare to now. "What." It was less of a question, not that Fletcher didn't hear the blonde speaking, he wasn't even asking what for what did he want, he was hoping it would scare him away. Maybe Fletch was a bit anti social, but fuck if he cared now.

[Uuhayd]

"Hostile. His injuries obviously aren't a result of submission. Maybe he got in a fight with someone else after that boxer. Sure seems like the belligerent type. Better avoid the subject. Maybe something nicer." Nire's thoughts raced through his head as he tried his best to choose words carefully.

"Like watching the sun rise? It's one of the better parts of this town, especially over the river." Nire said in a calm tone, staring out at the shifting waters. Eye contact wasn't a good idea at the moment. He stood still, not wanting to make any sort of moves just yet. "Name's Nire if ya care." Whether the new kid did or not really didn't concern him, but a show of friendliness couldn't hurt much. He waited to see what kind of reaction he'd get, still staring at the golden sun.

[Reddo~]

Sun Rise. It was nice, Fletcher could admit that. Calming and quite beautiful, and for such a quiet place if they didn't have something that looked so good, it would probably be a ghost town.

"I guess it's alright." Of course, Fletcher would never say that out loud. Never admit defeat, never show your enemy weakness, and to Fletcher, admiting something like that would be showing weakness. "Fletcher." He gave his name in turn. This one seemed much more sensible than the boxer.

[Uuhayd]

"Fletcher huh?" A name was better than nothing. Coupled with a lack of hostile movements, things seemed to be going well. But how far should he try pushing this encounter? Only one way to find out.

"Where ya from?" Nire said in the kindest tone he could muster, daring to turn and face Fletcher. "Hope ya didn't have to come too far." He kept his expression light and warm, seeming as non-threatening and friendly as possible.

[Reddo~]

"It doesn't matter where I'm from, I'm stuck here now." Random guy being nice to him. Fletcher's grip loosened on his tonfa, and they slid neatly into two loops on his belt, spare holsters for them when he was without his jacket, like he was now. A cool breeze blew and he remembered he had to go to school early to be properly signed in. "Nire... Right? You go to Karakura high?" He asked as he crossed his arms and turned completely to face him. Not that Fletcher minded going by himself, but if he was going to be stuck here without fighting, he might as well find himself some... Allies.

[Uuhayd]

"I show up every once in awhile. But yeah, I'm enrolled there. I can take ya if ya want." Nire added with a friendly smile. Despite this lengthy facade, he really didn't mind having at least one person to talk to. Maybe this guy would make a friend. He didn't seem like the other idiots in this town. Not to mention he carries weapons on him; being on his side was an all-around good idea. He'd save talking about his fight for another time.

"That's that then. A new ally."

Nire glanced at the sun. It crept ever higher into the sky. "We'd better go, don't wanna have a bad impression on the first day, do ya?". He chuckled and turned to the street. "Common."

[Reddo~]

"Yea I guess you've got a point." Fletcher responded with a half smile. This guy seemed okay. Level headed, relaxed, and his comment of showing up every once in a while sounded familiar. There was also something strange about him, but he couldn't exactly place it, although it could have been his mind playing tricks on him. Fletcher turned on his heels, parting the slippery, dew soaked grass with each step he took following Nire. Things may be better here than he had though. Sometimes it was nice being wrong.

"This school does have a uniform, right?" He asked before they left. Fletcher didn't want to go back and get his; not because he was lasy, but because he was quite sure it was gone. It was a nice damn jacket, and the chances of it not being stolen were slim.

[Uuhayd]

Nire looked back over his shoulder. "Yeah, but you can probably borrow a uniform from the office or somethin', you are new after all."

The two walked on, out of the dew-laden park to the streets of suburbia. It was pretty quiet, most people had left for school or for work already. Nire stopped abruptly at an intersection. He lifted his arm and pointed down the north street. "School's that way, ya can't miss it. I wasn't planning on going in today so I gotta run home and throw on my uniform. Maybe I'll see you in a class or two later." Nire grinned at Fletcher.

Strangely, Nire actually hoped he'd see Fletcher in a class. He told himself it was because he wanted more information about him, but there was something about the idea of not being alone for once that he liked. But it also came with a price.

Nire shook his head, clearing his troublesome thoughts. "You'd better get going, class starts in a few minutes."

[Reddo~]

"Thanks." A simple, classic male thank you. Fletcher spoke it with a quiet tone, a sort of detatchment to it. Maybe he was distracted, because that boxer was going to be at that school most likely, and he wanted to make sure he was well dressed for there next meeting, and inevitable battle. Of course, their battle would not happen on school grounds or in the presence of any teachers, that would be disrespectful.

Separating from Nire, Fletcher walked his own path down to the school, leaving the other boy to whatever he needed to have done.

[/exit-beans]