wondertwits | strayverse + bitty silver dumb family shenanigans

[So, a couple weeks ago, Pete's apartment was relocated to some weird island in the middle of the ocean. Not the building-- just the apartment. It's a little surreal walking in and out of the same shitty door (with its four nice locks for, y'know, security) in the same shitty concrete wall covered in grafitti that he has for years, out into... nature. Like, real nature! Trees, bushes, tall grass, the whole lot. As a young man who's spent his entire life in the city, it's just--

Weird. And it's just one of the many, many weird things about the island. There are grade schoolers who keep pointing at him, calling him Petrel, and accusing his face of looking weird without a beard. There are weird gadgets lying around for free. Money isn't an issue, which would be cooler except that he can't find any goddamn cigarettes. (Seriously?! Just because he's living with a priss, a kid, and a pregnant lady?! Completely unfair!)

Even if there's no economy on the island, there's one thing Pete can't help himself from doing: pickpocketing. It's an old skill, one he hasn't needed to exercise since he was much younger--but it's fun way to keep sharp. This afternoon, he's working the crowd near the shops (can you really call them shops, if you don't need to pay for anything?), lifting wallets and coin purses. He's an old hand at it; many people don't even realize they've been robbed until he's long gone. He ditches the wallets as he goes, taking only one item from them:

Trainer Cards. Every Region has a different kind of card, and Pete is interested of what it would take to make reasonable forgeries of them. Stealing ahoy!]

[As much as it's been stressed that there's no need for money here, that doesn't mean there's no need for money ever. Besides, the shops are full of supplies that he'd like to hoard, so picking up a few wallets along the way doesn't sound like a terribly bad idea to them.

Of course, he didn't expect some tall guy to be casually tossing wallets aside. Silver picks one up, and surprisingly, it's still full of money, so... He pockets it.

And then he starts following this really strange tall guy around from a slight distance. It saves him and Sneasel some work to just pick up his leftovers, so he's definitely taking advantage of it.]

[The thing is, since coming to the island, Pete has picked up more than a few wallets. He's been bored, okay? And it was novel at first, being able to steal a ton of wallets with no cops looking out for shenanigans and hoard the money he found in them. But once he had enough money to pay for rent and utilities for six months hidden away in the couch cushions, an empty coffee can in the kitchen, in the back of his sock drawer, underneath the bathroom sink, etc. etc. etc., it began to wear off. And today was so nice, it'd be a shame to waste it by bundling up in one of his coats with tons of pockets for stowing cash away!

Pete doesn't notice Silver at first. He's more concentrated on his work, and making sure no adults have caught him behaving suspiciously. It's the Sneasel that gives him away, in the end--ducking behind trash cans, into alleyways, and rooting around in bushes for the wallets he was dropping. It's not hard to tell that the Sneasel is one half of a duo, with the way he hangs around the kid...

Huh. Some scamp is taking advantage of him taking advantage of the local idiots. ... good on you, scrappy-looking redhead.]

Edited 2014-04-17 22:32 (UTC)

[It's not hard to realize when they've finally been noticed... But tall guy doesn't seem to be stopping them. Maybe he doesn't want the money...?

...Well, if he's not gonna stop them, they're not gonna stop collecting his discarded wallets- they're perfectly content to have less work on their hands and less of a chance of getting in trouble. Thanks, purple.]

[Now, as he works, Pete has one more thing he keeps an eye on: the scrappy kid picking up the abandoned wallets. What could a kid that young need money for? ... well, Pete can think of a few reasons, even if they're living on an island where everything is free. Especially if the kid is on his own.

There are plenty of young trainers... but they're not this young.]

[At the very least, he tries to look inconspicuous as he continues following Pete. It's not the easiest job, especially since he's also trying to keep his eyes focused away from anyone that passes by. There are too many overenthusiastic people willing to try and battle. At least there are enough people around that he can disappear into the crowd pretty easily.]

[After a while, Pete's pretty satisfied with the number of Trainer Cards he's stolen on totally legitimate grounds. When he sees that Silver is still following him, his thoughts are:

"Wait, this kid is still following me?"
"Huh. ... ... he's not half bad."
"Well, whatever."

Before he can go home, he needs to head to the grocery store. Archie wants skim milk and Ariana will skin him alive if he doesn't come back with fancy pickles and ice cream. To the store where he doesn't have to pay anything, yeah!]

[It's only once tall guy reaches one of the stores that Silver realizes that he's probably done pickpocketing. Well, he can't say that he's disappointed- he's collected a pretty nice haul of money from him.

Since he's also at the food store, he might as well pick up something to eat before leaving him alone, but not before running up to Pete and bowing his head and shoulders down where he can see it. Thank you.

With that, he heads over with Sneasel to get something to eat. Of course, since it's all free? He doesn't have any qualms with heading straight to the ice cream instead of trying to pick things that are within easy reach.

...The only problem with grabbing ice cream from the freezer section is that it's really high up on the shelves. He tries climbing up, but he can't get a good enough grip on a shelf to do so. He tries giving Sneasel a boost, but the tub is still just outside of reach of his paws...]

[Silver's gesture does not go unnoticed. Pete flashes him a quick, crooked smile and a thumbs up. No problem, any time, from one thief to another. He doesn't expect to see the kid again--or, well, not in any situation where it would matter.

But as fate would have it, his quick trip to the grocery store also takes him to the ice cream section. Pregnant ladies are scary--you don't just "forget" their ice cream and pickles. When he sees Silver and Sneasel straining for the gallon pail, he can't help but chuckle. What kind of could wouldn't eat a gallon of ice cream every day, if it were free?

He reaches over the teetering tower of scrappy kid and Sneasel, and pulls out the tub of ice cream for him.]

Here y'go, kid. [Only a jerk would deny two partners in crime their ice cream. And Pete is a lot of things, but he's not a jerk to kids.]

[They are struggling, they are struggling, oh nope nevermind the tall guy is helping them out.

Sneasel secures the tub and gets down, and Sneasel and Silver exchange glances with each other before looking back at purple hair.]

Thanks. [It's a little tempting to dash off right away, but... he's curious. He wants to get a better look at the stranger that helped him out for a good part of the day first.]

No problem. Cookies and cream is good, but you really outta give chocolate chip cookie dough a try, yeah? [That's not the flavor Ari has demanded from him. It's some weirder, more obscure and honestly kind of gross flavor, which he pulls out from the case.] It's like snitching cookie dough, but way better 'cos it's in ice cream.

[Cookie dough in ice cream...

...He nods his head. He'll keep it in mind for next time. If he takes more than he already has, all he'll have is a huge melted mess.]

[Shuffling his groceries, Pete holds a hand out for Silver (or Sneasel) to shake.]

Call me Pete. What's your name, kiddo? [Considering the bright red hair and dark clothes................ probably Silver. But, why not give him the chance to introduce himself?]

[A handshake isn't a gesture he's completely familiar with. Sneasel kind of has an idea of what to do, but he's currently preoccupied with carrying ice cream, and neither of them are too big on that close of contact, especially since his hand could easily hoist one of them up and drag them away.

But he's seen the other versions of himself. His name is no secret.] Silver. [There's no point in not sharing it.]

[Although Pete could easily hoist Silver and/or Sneasel up, it'd be kind of an effort with the groceries he's carrying. He would at least drop the pickles, which is a sacrifice he's not ready to make.]

Nice t'meetcha. You usually work the shops? [Not offended in the slightest, Pete pulls his hand back and wiggles his fingers.] The theme park has better crowds, but it ain't good to work the same place twice in a week.

The food's free here. [So he doesn't have to steal it, which makes it a nice place to stay more often.] The theme park's more crowded. We get pushed around too much there.

[While crowds are good for getting lost in, they're also very easy to get pushed around in. The theme park have a lot of people, but it's just too much...]

Pretty great, ain't it? Makes it easier to feed the picky assholes who live with me. [Every single one of his roommates is picky. It's made balancing the grocery budget a real pain in the ass.] It's a total madhouse in the afternoon, yeah. But it's better in the morning and evening.

[In the morning and the evening...]

We'll check it out. [He and Sneasel, that is. They're partners in crime, you see.]

You two work together long? [They seem pretty tight.] You and, uh...

[Pete scratches the back of his neck. He can tell it's a rare Pokemon, but the name is escaping him. Archer would know it... but Archer's a nerd.]

... your buddy.

[...He's not sure how to respond to that. His grip on Sneasel tightens.]

We've always been together. [His words are careful and deliberate- a little more than you'd expect from some kid...]

[Pete notes Silver's careful choice in words. ... it's weird, seeing a kid that small take such care with his words.]

Well, s'good that you've got someone to watch your back.

[...He glances over at Sneasel for a moment- that's the understatement of the century- before nodding. Yeah, it is.]

And it's just you two, right? [He grins again, gesturing with his free hand.] Two free-spirited youngsters roaming an unknown island, looking for adventure... it could be a TV show, yeah?

Edited 2014-07-11 02:30 (UTC)

[...A TV show. Right.

Silver nods his head once more before starting to duck out of the store.]

[And there he goes........]

Bye, kid... [Silver's not even looking, but Pete will wave anyway.]

[He looks back one more time- just when he says bye- before running off and disappearing into the crowd.

What a strange guy.

Little did he know that he'd be running into him several times a week over the next few months- each time a little less cautious than the last.]

[Pete's a strange guy who always seems to have some food on hand that he's willing to share with a fellow thief. At first, he didn't go out of his way to run into Silver. But, as the months wore on and it became clearer and clearer that Silver had no one too look after him... well, he can't help it. Someone should try and make sure the kid's eating something regularly.

Even if it means waking up in the morning, he can at least make sure that Silver has something decent to eat for breakfast. Today, it's muffins. Blueberry muffins. Blueberry muffins with cream cheese on them.]

So what're your plans for the day, kiddo?

[Silver has absolutely come to associate Pete with free money and food, and he comes a lot closer than he would to some other stranger when he sees those muffins.

...He's not sure about answering questions, though. they're going to explore and train some more. Maybe practice that cool thing Sneasel's been learning to do a little more. Maybe grab some food from the stores- he'd grab cash from people, but he has plenty stored away.

And of course, if Pete manages to nab more wallets, they're ready to leech off of his rewards.]

Why? [That's the closest he's getting to sincerely answering, at least for the moment...]

No reason. I was just thinking of putting together a monte. Wanna help? [If you can't tell, Silver, he's kind of bored...]

[...] A monte? [What the heck is a mon-tee? Is it some kind of Pokémon?]

It's short for the "three card monte". It's a swindling game you can run with just a deck of cards.

strayverse + bitty silver dumb family shenanigans

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