#monkeygod

"Nah, they were small fries who just got too big for their boots." Juan shrugged slightly. His blades shifted back and forth in a careful dance of balance. Maize tilted her head in question while Tucker chuckled quietly, hiding the wince of pain from his side. "Sounds like something you know about." She trailed, adjusting her legs from their crossed position to drop them to ground, toes just reaching the floor.He shrugged nonchalantly making a vague, noncommittal sound in his throat. "I've met up with their kind before, that's all." Juan looked up at Maize, his eyes intense and focused. "So… I passed BDC yesterday but I'm getting the feeling they're not the one I should be talking to, huh?" Tucker smirked from his relaxed pose, glancing up and around as if the name would summon the being. Maize shrugged in a non-committal way. "Dunno. Depends on whatcha wanna talk about, Boots. You're pretty flashy, yanno. And you seem to have a little baggage trailing you." She offered a small smile. He returned the smile. "What? You curious or something?" He tilted his head, brilliant eyes watching her carefully. Maize got the feeling of being judged or graded. "I'd be stupid not to be." She confirmed, nodding shortly before pushing herself up and onto her feet.

Tuck tensed up, putting a hand on the fountain's edge to get up, stilled by a wave of Maize's hand and a small reassuring smile. The movements made Juan look from one to the other in concern. "Food Court?" She invited, walking away with the clear expectation of his agreement. Most of the skaters had dispersed, a few still taking laps, others walking in small groups around the arcade and visiting different shops. While there were Pact Rats all around, they had dispersed around the whole outdoor mall. Around them the crowds had turned into milling groups. Small pockets of friends chattering and the overall atmosphere was calm - normal for a large public gathering space in the city.

Juan was up on his trucks fairly quickly and matched Maize's pace easily with even strides, gliding along on his rear wheels smoothly. "Sounds good…" He trailed off casually as he observed people they passed, lacing his fingers behind his head and around his ponytail. Maize walked carefully, doing nothing to hide the mild limp on her right side. "You've healed up pretty well." She commented over her shoulder. "Yeah, I got off pretty easy." His eyes darted side to side briefly, smiling brightly at the people they passed. Maize raised a hand in a friendly wave toward a young black woman that caught her attention, she smiled, then turned toward Juan. He pulled up short and stopped inches from crashing into her. "Hey!" He startled, looking down at the shorter woman. Despite the height difference, his shoulders tensed up in defense as she eyed his face closely. "Obviously…" Her tone indicated she didn't really believe him. She turned on her left foot and began walking again. The shift in her attitude put Juan a bit on edge and he waited a moment before following again. "So how did you hear about the Pact Rats? You do know we're not a fighting gang or anything like that, right?"

"I was up in Farrow and caught wind of a big conglomerate crew down here. Being led by some badass named BDC." Juan visibly relaxed. He shook his shoulders to roll the tension out before rolling along until he was beside Maize as she walked. "The way I heard it, they were bringing together a bunch of crews from all over Garwin and making a mega crew. No squabbles, and no bloodhsed." He chuckled. "I had to see for myself how such a crew could exist. Seems like some of it is exaggerated though. First get here and it's a pretty big squabble." He smirked, his tone mildly teasing. "We don't have any fights between the native crews. We're still trying to find out about the group that showed up with you." Maize's voice was even. Juan bristled, eyes narrowing as he spun around in front of Maize to confront her. "Hey, hey, Hey! They weren't -with me-." He glared, raising a hand in defense and stopping, halting Maize's walk. "I don't have a damn clue who those guys -were- but I promise you I have nothing to do with them. I saw a fight break out, saw them start wailing on your guys, and I jumped in to help."

"You say that. But you don't even have a bruise on you. If you were there as a fighter, you sure cleaned up fast. Even my guys are still sporting their fighting colours. You're as new as a baby's ass." Maize spat back sharply, her eyes narrowing on the skater in front of her. "I told you. I'm a fast healer. Don't you know any fast healers? Fuck. You have to have pretty damn good healing factors when you're a vert skater. I hit the ground, bust my ass, and get back up. Just because I don't stay bruised doesn't mean I'm with those assholes from the other day." Juan defended, squaring his shoulders and eyeing the woman in front of him. "You guys saw me. I was giving it my all in that fight." "My guys saw you fight. They saw those guys trying to go lethal on you. And you claim to not know them. Either they knew you, or you're hiding something." She bit, taking a slow breath. "We'll figure it out eventually." Juan couldn't actually argue that. From their viewpoint, an alien gang shows up at the same time he does and he -had- been fighting earlier in the day. He grumped shortly. "Fine. Fair enough. But don't lump me in with them." He snapped, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Maize took a breath before continuing, reaching up and rubbing the side of her head anxiously. "Fine." She trailed, closing her eyes briefly before pushing him aside and walking toward the food court. "Until I know for sure who they are and who you are. I'll reserve judgement." She glanced back at him. "For now."

Juan sighed in defeat. "Works for me." He watched her walk a few steps, then rolled back up to her side. "So… You're the one who -actually- did all the shit BDC gets credit for in other cities?" "Depends on what BD gets credit for…" She responded cooly. "Lesse…" He raised a hand, tapping on the wrist guards as he spoke. "Ending the crew wars in Garwin, uniting crews who used to fight tooth and nail over every scrap of skateable territory. Staged a bunch of protests and counter-protests. Scared off a bunch of asshole 'speakers' at the campus. Wiped out a whole lot of dealer rings that were peddling hard shit… basically creating a paradise for anyone willing to help protect it." He looked at Maize, despite a cool expression, her ears were red. "I could keep going if you want." He smugly circled around to bend at the waist and look at her face directly.

"Good fucking gods. That makes it sound like some fairy tale." Maize actually seemed flabbergasted by the list as it was. "Fuck that. No… I got guys to stop fighting over everything because I was tired of the bullshit. All I did was negotiate with the little groups until we could talk to the bigger crews. I don't know shit about any drug war fuckery…" She looked concerned, chewing her lower lip briefly. "I just didn't want people being unhappy with everything. People shouldn't be fighting over stupid shit." She chuckled mirthlessly, leaning back on her heels as she rolled her shoulders. "I'm not a big fan of useless fighting. There's times when throwing a punch is necessary. But when it's just petty and stupid; it's… not helping anything. I got people talking and working shit out. That's all. Anything that came after that was just because they stopped fighting and started working together…" She looked thoughtful a moment, then shook the expression away. "There's bigger things to worry about."

"Yeah… there is. The world's all shit right now and yanno…. It's nice to see someone trying to make it better." Juan added. Maize turned toward him, his glowing smile was proud and warm. He then shrugged casually and turned on his back wheels. They reached the noisy din of the food court. Tables were packed with people enjoying food and conversation, all walks of life joined in the simple act of sharing a meal, even if only indirectly with one another. A contented air hung over the whole area. "So you wanna bring around world peace, huh? How very beauty queen of you." He chuckled teasingly, glancing back at her reaction. "Hey, nothing's wrong with peace." She snapped back, but shook her head. Blushing a faint pink across her nose and cheeks. Her voice lowered a touch. "It's kinda naïve though, innit?" Juan smiled, a genuine and soft expression. "Not really. No. I think it's noble." His tone was gentle and warm. "Better than world conquest, at least." Juan smirked, the soft expression turning into a broad, teasing, smile.

She just began chuckling. "Oh yeah… that's me. The Evil Overlord of Garwin City Pact Rats. Eventually I'll take over the city, then- The world." She smirked, raising her hands in a mockery of villainy. Her smirk faded after a moment, leaving a small smile at the corner of her mouth as her hands fell down to her belt, trailing along the patches sewn along its length. "I've laid down a lot of groundwork to get people to trust each other and support each other." She said softly. "I wasn't trying to unite everyone, I just didn't want them fighting." "Is that why everyone thinks BDC is the leader?" "BD looks more like a leader than I do. They're a great skater, they have the look. And I prefer it this way. So do they." "Why?" "Because if someone comes after the Rats, they go after BD first. And they're better at handling conflict." She said, matter-of-factly. It was a practiced answer. Juan smirked, eyeing the young woman from top to bottom a moment before his smirk turned into a snicker. "It was BDC's' idea. Wasn't it?" Maize flinched just slightly, caught. She nods shortly, her nose wrinkled in irritation and she mumbled. "…said it's better if they're a target because if I get hurt the whole crew would rampage." "It's a good strategy. Because it's right. Damn wise." Juan sounded impressed. "When news of the exploits of the Pact Rats reaches as far as Farrow but it's BDC getting the spotlight and not the mouse in their shadow… it also means it's working." Maize bristled slightly. "I'm not a mouse." She snapped. "Oh?" Juan snagged on the nerve, tilting his head and smirking in that teasing manner again. "Are you hiding your wings and you're actually a little flappy bat?" He waggled his hands up and down in mimicry.

"She's a glorious and amazing butterfly." A chortling voice cut through whatever response Maize was about to retort with. Causing both to turn and meet the orange-topped, wide grinning face of BDC. Who was holding out a massive mall pretzel and a giant churro in one hand, while the other held a folded crepe with whipped cream out toward Maize. "As graceful on the breeze as she is alighted on flowers." Maize's ears were bright red at the comment. She snatched the offered crepe with a mumbled phrase. Juan tilted his head in confusion and took the offered churro while maintaining his amused smile. "Thanks." He rolled back a few inches, braking his wheels and leaving room for BDC to join them. "Welcome back, Boots." BDC smiled brilliantly and casually. The skater looked curious a moment, then shrugged and took a bite of the churro. "Has our Maize-Daisy been giving you the shake-down?"

"She's been vicious, BDC, absolutely tearing me to shreds to get at my soft, vulnerable, inner core." Juan made a show of attempting to cover himself with his hands, flipping the churro down into an 'accidently' crude position. BDC gasped dramatically, fanning their pretzel and napkin at the downward-pointing churro as if they were trying to both hide -and point out- the crude snack. "How -crass- of you, Maize!" Maize, meanwhile, was silently dying and her ears were burning red. She muttered something else toward BDC who leaned over with a hand cupped to their ear and exclaimed. "Sorry lovie, I didn't catch that." Maize reached up and clapped both hands around BDC's laughing face, repeating the term to his face as they laughed uproariously. "This happens when she gets flustered. She forgets how to speak normal." BDC teased mercilessly. With all the confidence of this being an everyday occurrence. Juan blinked at the exchange, but was laughing. "Holy shit… was that Taishon? Holy fuck your accent is adorable." The comment made Maize's ears all but glow bright red. "Wait… are you Taishon?" He said, shocked. Maize mumbled a response before tugging BDC down by the neck of their shirt to donk them on the head. To which they made a show of rubbing their forehead and spinning around on their heels, still snickering.

Juan leaned in, trying to see past the curtain of dark hair the woman was hiding behind. She angrily pushed her hair aside. "Half, and BD needs to keep his mouth shut." She muttered something under her breath, to which the lanky, orange faux-hawked feigned insult, while still smiling. Around them, several members of the crowd had turned to see what the commotion had been about. A cheery wave from the orange-haired Rat seemed to quell any fears and many simply shook their heads and went back to their own conversations. "I told you he'd make a good addition. Fits right in with everyone else. Flashy boots and all." They offered, while Juan seemed to simply observe their interaction with mild interest. "Like I need another Tucker and You around to give me grief." She teased lightheartedly. "But yeah… so far so good." The conversation earlier seemed to have been forgotten, or simply shelved. "Wonderball." BDC turned toward Juan with a flourish. "You've made a good impression, Boots. First step's always the hardest." They smiled brightly. Maize seemed to be engrossed in the sweet crepe, licking whipped cream off the top and nibbling along the edge. With BDC there, her demeanor had relaxed considerably and she seemed much more comfortable with the bright-coloured enby.

Juan chuckled again, the relaxing atmosphere was infectious, honestly. It was a comfortable. Juan ripped small bits of his churro off, his trucks locked together. He started to respond when an odd sort of movement caught his eye. Juan looked up, straightening up as much as he could. BDC's expression changed slightly, chin tilting mildly. "Something wrong, Boots?" "Nah… thought I saw someone I knew, that's all." He chuckled, rolling a shoulder back before ripping another chunk of churro off. BDC mimicked the casual chuckle, nodding with all the confidence of a great sage, even rubbing his invisible beard with his free hand. "Ah yes, the curse of former lovers, seeing them in the faces of crowds…." Maize prodded his side with her elbow; making him dramatically 'eek'. Juan laughed lightly, the expression not quite reaching the corners of his eyes. "Something like that, yeah…" He trailed off.

While the general air of the food court hadn't changed, something was distinctly different. The crowds had thinned out, as they tended to do after rush. So it was quieter. A few exhausted mothers and their children finishing up hurried meals and pockets of teens and college students hanging out or browsing laptops. A handful of boys seemed to hang out along the food court's edge, leaning against walls and chatting, taking up a table here and there. They seemed fairly innocuous except for a slash of white and black they were wearing. Some as a bandanna, others as a slash across their shirt or pants. A few had it on their backpacks or hat. To glance around casually it'd be hard to notice the connecting pattern. But for any skate crew, finding a common denominator between crowd members was one of the only ways to stay safe. Maize's voice was low, as if mumbling into her crepe. "I count twenty…" BDC nodded. "Thereabouts, yeah." Juan rolled his other shoulder with a smirk. "Told you it was all lies… place is a madhouse…" He chuckled. "Question becomes though… for whom are they here…" BDC chuckled, looking between Maize and Juan. "Because it couldn't -possibly-…" Their voice was raising bit by bit, projecting. "…be to pick a fight with the Pact Rats." They threw their arms wide out to their full wingspan, spinning on their toes and bowing overly dramatically in a wide circle. The bright orange hair flapping about like a warning crest.

A sharp whistle sounded from BDC's shadow. The extended sound warbled, then ended with a high pitched wheet. The people remaining in the food court looked around in confusion at the odd noise.

In a heartbeat, all hell immediately broke lose.

Around them, some of the crew were joined by other skaters, kids from the surrounding areas who came to show off. "They came in and started harassing some of the shops. Being a nuisance like before. Mugging some of the guys, making asses in front of the ladies. Catcalling and all that. Like the time up near the Square." He gestured with his hands as he spoke. "Probably like… a dozen or so, all spread out. We tagged 'em as Trouble when they first came in but they just kept getting worse. Then one of 'em pissed Roll off." Maize tilted her head to the side, brows furrowed. He shrugged slightly before continuing; taking a slow cautious breath first. "Kicked some little kid when they dropped something I think. She had enough observation by then and just… opened up on the girl. Dunno who threw the first punch. I joined in, and then they started coming out of the woodwork." Maize frowned, nodding in understanding.

"Police?" She looked up to him with a vaguely hopeful expression. "If anyone called, they fucked right out and never showed up. Even after the ass with the bat showed up. Bobby showed up just after, started cracking faces. Next thing I know, Inline shows up with those gold boots and the whole air changes over. He's bowling 'em over like pins and they started scrambling." Maize smiled mildly at the image. "He took half a dozen out on his own, I got clipped when clubby decided to try to home run Inline's head. Patcher already looked me over. Said I'm sidelined for a couple of weeks at least but they're cracked, not broken. Must'a pulled the shot last minute."

Around them, bodies were jumping, flying, and landing, the gathered crowd was ooh'ing and ahh'ing with each trick. Maize caught sight of the trio skating the edge, keeping onlookers out of range of the flying wheeled performers with a mobile wall. She glanced around, then looked back to Tuck. "And he's still around, right? Said he wanted to join up?" "Said he'd heard about us, wanted to meet BDC and got caught up in the fight when some of 'em turned on him after the brawl started…" His expression seemed a bit thoughtful. "But you're not so sure?" Maize prodded gently, eyeing him questioningly. "I dunno. He looked pretty beat up when he joined up. Wouldn't be the first time, ya know?"

A flash of bright metallic caught Maize's eye, distracting her just as she was about to respond. A slender figure on aggressive inlines shot past in a blur of black and gold. Gaining an almost instant chorus of gasps. He had passed so close overhead the breeze he caused ruffled her hair and sparks lit up when he hit the side of the fountain, sliding along the edge before turning and arcing backwards to land on one back wheel. Behind him, a long ponytail fluttered like a black and yellow flag, he turned dramatically coming to a halt and earning a round of thunderous applause from the gathered crowd. Cheers riotously swelled from the gathered ones and the skater circled the edge, high-fiving and bestowing smiles on the gathered faces as if he were some well known celebrity gracing the red carpet. A handful of older ladies seemed to insist on wrapping him in semi-awkward hugs as he came to them. He laughed nervously, and excused himself after a round, leaving most of the Rats to watch as he split from the crowd and started toward the fountain's edge. Though the younger skaters rushed up to him and a cacophony of voices began inundating him with questions. Inundated by the younger members he turned on his front wheels to try to face the speakers. Questions fired at him from all directions leaving him to almost comically spin around in circles between his front wheels with dozens of noncommital sounds being the only response he seemed able to manage.

Maize, after laughing for several seconds, decided to save the showy newbie from her younger peers by raising a loud, piercing whistle. Attention spun from the black and gold newcomer to the pastel-patterned woman sitting on the fountain. A few furtive glances between the two happened between some of the gathered faces before it dawned on them that skedaddling was called for. A handful seemed more reluctant than the others to abandon their questions and the agile blader. Maize chuckled for another minute, while Tuck seemed to be trying very hard to keep his own laughter in. He managed to cough, almost convincingly, to quiet the guffaws before raising a hand toward the black and gold blader. "Yo." Tuck's smile was a brilliant beacon. The inliner smiled awkwardly and carefully rolled to the fountain. "Thanks for the save…." He paused to search his mind for the name, eyes focusing briefly on Maize and looking bewildered before snapping back to the dark BMX rider. ".. Tuck! That's right." He grinned rakishly. "How's the side, man?" "Doing better, patcher put a pretty good wrap on it. Said I'm out for a week or so, but it's just a crack, nothing broken." Tuck kept his smile in place, motioning to the perched girl next to him. "This is Maize." She nodded shortly, watching the boy's body language, relaxed and easy going, little to no tension. Maize relaxed somewhat, then held a hand out. "I'm Juan." He introduced, putting an inflection on the name she didn't expect that told some primal part of her that she misheard it. "Nice to meet you, Maize." The way he said it implied… something… though she couldn't put a thumb on precisely what that was. He spun around on his front wheels, then crouched into an uncomfortable looking squat across from them.

"So about the new guy I've heard so much about?" Maize called out above the general din. Several faces turned toward each other in silent question, then looked around in confusion and shrugging. A small voice from one of a trio on quads circling the square's edge peeped up. "…said he'd be by later…?" She trailed off in uncertainty. Maize shook her head, but still smiled quietly. A tension she didn't know she'd been holding the whole way there melted out of her shoulders. The Rats were alright.

BDC raised a hand in greeting to the others, several smiled then pulled up to a stop as the pair got closer. A tall square-built guy with his dark hair in beaded twists stood abruptly. He hid the flinch of pain behind an easygoing smile and raised a hand in greeting. "Yo." His jovial voice lifted over the general noise of the arcade and fountain. "Tuck…" Mazie's voice rose just slightly and the big guy chuckled nervously, sitting back down on the fountain's edge with a mildly embarrassed rub to his stubbled chin. "Bobby told you huh?" He smiled, but looked away. "Uh-huh." She sat down on the edge next to him. Several of the others laughed and made various friendly teasing comments about how nothing got passed Maize and how one or the other of them should pay up or the like. She breathed a sigh of relief, taking mental stock of what each of her friends looked like. She'd seen it all before in the past. When crews would fight constantly. The way Tucker was leaning attested to a few cracked ribs being the culprit but among the others it was bumps and bruises; a few split lips, one broken nose, and black eyes - all the standard signs of a bad scuffle.

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Signs that had become more common lately in a worrying turn. Alien crews had been showing up much more often lately- outsiders apparently thinking that Garwin was an easy mark. It wasn't unheard of, but the uptick in outside groups seemingly coming in with the express purpose of stirring trouble up was concerning. Of course, then there was also the randomly appearing, and seemingly knowledgeable, skater who swooped out of thin air to help. She wasn't really sure if she should be concerned or grateful for the mysterious stranger.

In a sprawling city like Garwin, it wasn't unusual to have multiple groups of people lay claim to various portions of it. It was said that territory battles between weaponized gangs were common in the larger and more dense metropolises. All out wars would break out between violent gangs and citizenry- or subtle strangleholds would take over. Garwin was wide, but not densely populated. Houses weren't stacked on top of each other; people didn't clamor over one another just to get from place to place. People lived comfortably, communities were fairly tight knit without being suffocating. There were affluent areas where the communities were gated and full of politicians and upper crust types. But a majority were plain people of different backgrounds and their communities reflected that.

Troubles had come and gone for the city throughout Maize's life there. She had a handful of long-time friends like BDC and some of the other Rats but she'd seen a fair amount of ugliness in Garwin already. It wasn't as if the city as a whole was dangerous, but like any large location packed with humans and a constantly changing atmosphere - things happened. Certain areas were always unstable, and you just had to do what you could to keep your own life secure.

Lately, trouble had come into the city with the surge of outside people coming in and thinking they could abuse the city. Desperation had bred Trouble. A new mayor had been elected who hadn't lived in Garwin for more than a couple of years, and brought with her a lot of new ideas. Ideas that would push aside the old town, the established, and the native population to encourage tourism and temporary citizens. Things that threatened the way of live for most of the city. She'd publicly decried how the older parts of the city were eyesores. How 'clinging to an outdated way of life' was detrimental. Most of the city hated her and she'd earned several unflattering nicknames for it.

Her grand plans to bring the unique city into her version of the future had opened up a lot of avenues for trouble. She insisted the newer areas had to be protected by  the police force. So patrols in the lower ends had all but stopped. Older shopping arcades and malls were abandoned by the major brands, and left to struggle with local businesses and smaller contracts. The handful of big-name stores in the older parts of the city were only there because they were entrenched. The Mayor was trying to cut the parts of the city she didn't like off. They held together only because of the communities within them. For a time, local crews took up patrols, like wheeled neighbourhood watches. Current and former students, those who were brave enough to make themselves a presence within their communities began simply existing outside and among the people. Skaters, gamers, the odds and ends. They found that being out and doing seemingly strange things kept trouble away. If there was a group of skater punks who met all the time in the local park and had a habit of skating up and down their streets, it was making life difficult for people who wanted to do things like rob houses, vandalize businesses, or be generally threatening. It got out that the worse types would stay away from areas 'protected' by skate crews. And so, crews popped up all over the place. The largest downside was that common areas where everyone had to go would become battlegrounds from time to time. Crews would mug each other at first, then try to out skate one another to show off. But it continually devolved into yelling and eventually fist fights. Though territorial disputes between crews came to a crawl when a new crew started out.

It was a crew like any other. Misfits, bruisers, the parts of a community that would normally be looked at with caution or disdain. The people that those like The Mayor would rather never be seen in public. With a tall leader with bright orange hair and their second, a smaller chunky girl with a round face and sweet voice they began uniting crews. The smallest ones first. No crew was asked to give up their place or their name. This new crew was an alliance. Everyone wanted the same thing - to be safe in a community and to protect it from outside threats. At first it was a handful of them going to all the smallest crews. Offering support and acting like diplomats between crews. They drew out new maps and mediated territories, they suggested common areas. And all they asked was for the in-fighting to stop. When new construction threatened a part of the city, it was an interesting mix of protestors to arrive. Wheeled defenders from all over the city would show up to public meetings, voice concerns, and encourage districts to speak up against detrimental  additions and speak up for what communities needed. The loud orange-headed Rat leader and the small mousey second were always there. Now, nearly every crew in the city had a patch that proclaimed them as part of the Pact Rats. But with the recent successes, new aggressive crews had been appearing.  Scuffles like this recent one had become more common. Someone had been rallying new violent gangs and trying to push Pact Rats out of their protected areas. They'd been testing the responses lately. Pushing in and openly threatening people, waiting to see who responded and then starting a fight. Most of the time it ended in some standard bruises, split lips, and superficial scars. No weapons had been brought in. This time had been different.