smoke & graffiti

   Luckily she was too amused by his own reaction to let the blood rush to her head, instead giggling out loud to the way he glanced the area surrounding him. He was trying to play it off as if it had never happened, as if she hadn’t noticed and made a comment clearly showing he had done something so embarrassing.

    ``Oh--- oh, that`s what happened?       Yeah, come to think of it, I might`ve       seen that guy too.                            What an idiot, right?"

      he also might`ve tripped again-- over       a few words this time, because the mind       may have lingered over a little `h` word a       second or two (or three) too long.       a hand rises to rub the back of the neck        somewhat sheepishly, although he takes       a few offhanded steps toward the girl in       spirit of the blossoming conversation over       an amazing feat.

   Then there was a poof.

   It wasn’t loud or disruptive, but it was close enough to a hiss that it made the woman open her eyes. She scanned the area that she heard it from, and eventually found a silhouette of a man with the clouds leaking from the vent below him. Had he just… popped out of there?

   Before she could ask a similar question, he would trip over his own feet before regaining any balance he had once had before. Smoothing his hands over his pants and releasing a short cough, she could tell his image had been skewed.

      and he turns, probably to insist otherwise       but--- of course, of course the one who       caught that had to be a good-looking       member of the opposite gender. if he was        a couple of years younger, the sheer       embarrassment would`ve probably already       gnawed a decently-sized hole through his gut.

      but--- wasn`t like he had the best track record       with first impressions anyway.       still, he opted to quirk a brow, give a glance       around their sun-bathed surroundings and a       hefty lift of his shoulders;

       ``Heh. Not gonna lie-- sometimes I kiiinda          wish I was. But nah; no one`s trippin` here."

        and through some casual glancing around,         delsin comes to note the holsters at         rammsteiner`s hips. although the guy wasn`t        donned in uniform, delsin`s been shot at        more than enough these past few days to be        unable to resist the question;

    [ god knows he’s just as frustrated with         the neverending cycle of vandalism         and scolding. he steps back, arms          crossed as he glares. ]

"——why don’t you get it? You’re committing crimes — not bad ones, I know—

        ——but they’re still crimes, Dell. Hell, you’re going to regret this when you’re older, when this comes back to bite you in the ass because once upon a time—”

    [ air quotes, fingers scrunching. ]

    "Come on, Reggie, seriously? Please       tell me how spray painting a few walls       is gonna come back to me later-- it's not       like I'm twelve anymore, man. Just because        you can't put shit like that on your       squeaky-clean cop resumes doesn't mean it'll        be the end of the world."

    [ props for trying, little bro, but nothing         was getting past this sherrif, clearly.         he just raises his eyebrows, looking         suitably amused.]

"——yeah, sure, bud—”

    [ takes a step forward to match him,         and grabs him by the shoulder a little         roughly. glances toward a spray can         that rolled back, and picked it up to         thump against the other’s chest. ]

    ( well, that was a short run. an inaudible sigh         once he's dragged  back. and as it meets his chest,          the can is swiped from his sibling's hand as if mistreating         it had been a dire sin. there's not much other than a scowl         as their routine repeats again. )

           "That so? Huh."

         ( and he wonders why he hasn't            seen some of those things            lurking by a few people, actually. ) 

"I’m not dumb, Dell."

    [ delsin wished he was dumb. nah, this guy read         him like a book. he stares at him sidelong and         rolls his eyes. ]

"——y’could make it easy f’me and point me in the right direction of y’latest artwork.

        "My what? Pfft. You don't seriously             think--? Nah. Learned my lesson last             time. No more 'misdemeanor vandalism'             from this guy."

       ( he knew the chances of playing dumb actually            helping him were pretty close to nonexistent, but it            never stopped him from trying. so, he clears his throat            and takes a painfully casual step backward. )