IC Contact

[garbagechild]

"... So I just talk? I start talking? .... Now? ... What's the light mean? ... Oh! HI, I'M WRATH, THIS IS MY MAIL VOICE, PLEASE LEAVE A--" BEEP.


[OOC: Want to thread with me but don't have a current post to do it on? Wanna send Wrath a private message? Wanna prank-call him in the middle of the night and then instantly regret it as he dials you back over and over and yells "Hello? HELLO?" into the mic? Pop a thread on here with the IC date and time and let's get playing!]

Comments

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Wrath listens, and for the VERY FIRST TIME... seems to intensely relate to exactly what Henry is saying.]

[He straightens up, rolling his shoulders in an expressive shrug and shaking his head.]</sub>

Yeah, half the time I have no idea what anybody wants.

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry, in turn, snaps to attention. That was...such a human thing to say. Of course Henry considers all his housemates human but the conversations he's had with Wrath tend to be pretty stilted. He's never been around kids enough to watch that incredible transition take place where they stop spurting out random statements and then start sharing thoughts.]

[He's never really thought about what Wrath thinks about--specifically him considering other people's wants and needs.]

[The toaster pops up and startles a small strangled noise out of Henry.]</sub>

Me neither...I think that's part of it. I won't know the right thing to say, they'll get angry, they'll laugh at me, or they'll just be one more person who thinks I'm too weird or stupid to talk to.

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Wrath generally doesn't spend a whole lot of time thinking about other peoples' wants and needs... mostly because they're always so confusing, and never seem to make a whole lot of sense.]

[It's so easy to get frustrated trying to untangle the ridiculous bundled web of "what humans want".]</sub>

Most of the time people get angry at me.

When they laugh it isn't so bad.

I'd rather be mad than scared.

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry assembles his own sandwich in silence before joining Wrath at the table, sitting across from him.]}

Maybe...they just expect you to know things. And they don't know about...you know. How things are just different for you. And it's not fair for them to do that.

_{[He rubs an arm self-consciously, smearing chocolate syrup up one sleeve.]}

I'm guilty of that sometimes. I've been scared a lot lately and it's easy to get mad when I'm scared but that's not an excuse.

[garbagechild]

_{[Wrath nods again. He's noticed the way Henry's temper had gone from mild simmering irritation that was easily ignored to shouting more and more lately. Hadn't thought about it a whole lot, but he'd definitely stayed out of Henry's way more.]}

Sometimes when people think I should know things that I don't know, they ask me if I was raised in a barn.

But I wasn't.

I was raised from the dead and also there weren't any buildings.

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[He pauses, mid-bite, and nearly snorts due to just...how blunt Wrath's little add-on to that statement is. Once he swallows, he shakes his head.]}

If they can tell you're a new-comer to this world they shouldn't expect you to grow up just like them. I met someone once who used to be a pony. Now she might have been raised in a barn but...the barn's not the thing.

_{[Henry stops himself before he makes things confusing.]}

It's just a thing people say when they're so sure everyone else thinks just like them that they think the only reason you wouldn't know the rules is because you grew up in a place without any. In a barn. Like an animal.

_{[He frowns down at his plate.]}

What a mean thing to say to a kid...I never thought about it that much.

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Wrath watches Henry muse, jaw working with mindless rhythm at his snack. It could be spooky, but weirdly enough they seem to be reaching some kind of understanding here, even if it seems to take the human awhile to reach his meandering point.]

[Once he finally does, Wrath nods slightly and shrugs his bony shoulders-- yeah, mm, that sounds about par for the course.]</sub>

I guess some humans here are the same as back home after all.

_{[He says this mildly-- because truth be told, being compared to an animal is pretty flattering after the things he'd been told he was in the past. Nothing like looking up into the revolted eyes of a grown woman and hearing the words "This is my mistake to fix" in reference to you.]}

[no_ufo_ending]

If I've learned anything from meeting so many people from so many worlds, I think humans are about the same no matter where you go.

_{[Henry stares down at the goo pooling in his plate.]}

I'll try to be easier to understand from now on. Maybe...maybe I can let you in on some human secrets too. Make them think you're a super expert.

[garbagechild]

_{[That doesn't seem so surprising either. A little depressing, but...]}

Human secrets?

Most human secrets I know are about when humans do bad things.

_{[:T like FORBIDDEN TRANSMUTATIONS THAT RAISE THE DEAD.]}

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry shakes his head and puffs out a hollow little laugh. While he isn't thinking of the same things Wrath is, he kind of gets it.]}

The secrets I'm talking about are how to pretend you've been paying attention to an entire conversation when someone asks you a question. Or how to keep people from asking you questions when you're busy. Or how much of a tip to leave at a restaurant.

[garbagechild]

Oh.

I could use some of that knowledge.

_{[He pauses, briefly wondering why Henry specified 'restaurants'. The only context he'd heard the word 'tip' used in was getting a hot tip from some informant somewhere.]}

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Finally there's a little smile from the scruffy photographer.]}

I got your back. Which means--I'll be looking out for you, making sure to help if it looks like you need it.

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Wrath smiles back. It's not one of his wild rabid goblin grins, it's a smaller one.]

[Henry is being nice. He likes Henry!]</sub>

Me too.

I've already told the other human you don't like that he's not allowed to hurt you.

But I'll look out for you from other enemies, too, if you have any.