The Monkey God Wears Inlines
Chapter - 5
Two languages fought for dominance at the front of Maize's brain before she managed to wrap her tongue around just one. "Nice to finally meet the legendary inliner." She chuckled lightly. "Legendary? Hardly." He returned with a smirk. "Really? To hear it, you were a hero, swooping in to take up arms against the wiles of evil - throwing blows and taking out bad guys." She raised her hands while embellishing it, then chuckled, smirking with a hint of sarcasm. Tucker smiled from his position, leaning back to straighten his back.
"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.
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