ArchivedLogs:Underwater Castles

Underwater Castles
Dramatis Personae Ash, Jim, Rasputin
In Absentia	2014-01-23 '
Location <NYC> - PetHaven - Morningside Heights
Nestled in Morningside Heights, PetHaven is, as it says, a pretty good place to go for all things pet-related. Marked into different sections varying on the type of pet you're looking to buy for, the store has a wide variety of different toys, treats, and smaller animals, like reptiles and avians and fish. Relatively mutant-friendly, the store has a policy to allow mutants, but to throw them out at the first sign of trouble. Petstores harbor an odd symphony of noises; bubbling of tanks, shk!-shk!-shk! of a gerbil vigorously digging in his bedding, the periodic querulous noises from the caged birds - all BROKEN with the abrupt chime at the door: "-and /I/ don't fucking know," here is Jim, shouldering his way in miserably, his breath emitting a final frosty plume from the outside chill as he speaks to his present company, "The poor bastard just /floats/ there all god damn day with those god damn /bulging/ eyes and fishlips. It's fucking depressing." A saleswoman lifts her head, asking reflexively, "Can I help you, sir-" "No." Jim answers JUST as reflexively. And promptly looks LOST. "Well. We could get him a larger tank. Give him more space to float around in... looking depressed," Ash offers sweetly, his hands stuffed deep in the front pockets of his treated brown canvas coat. It's thick and hooded, though the hood is down and a knit scarf and hat cover him in its place. He's forsaken the legging portion of his construction warm gear despite the temperatures damn near demanding the warmth. He does have his hefty boots on, crystallized salt starting to build up on the tan suede. When Jim freezes up next to the saleswoman, Ash reaches out and grabs Jim's shoulders, giving the woman a bright smile. "If you just want to point us in the direction of fish slash aquarium supplies, it'd be wonderful." Towards the fish section, there is a fluffy white cat looking around, staring at fish and watching them swim around their tanks calmly. Rasputin's getting a /ton/ of stares, mainly because ze is also talking to the fish and naming them all as they swim along. "Faster, Jethro, faster!" Rasputin is currently goading on a clownfish, looking around, grinning like a maniac. Though, ze might be one, as well. "I swear to Christ, Ash, he's getting this fucking - /mold/ on one of his eyes." Jim, for all purposes, seems to /ignore/ the saleswoman when she gestures towards fish section. And just incidentally begins heading in that direction, hands thrown out like the /world/ is conspiring, "And the dumb bastard doesn't even give a shit. Just goes on floating there with SMILE on his face- cat." Said like 'watch out for the cat'. And then, for ONE moment whips his head back towards Rasputin - and then TURNS AWAY again and amends with zero change in tone, "Talking cat." It's one of those days. "Mold? Really? Should we get ...drops or something?" Ash looks a little horrified, but dutifully looks down for the cat when Jim mentions it. Tripping hazards, those. He opens his mouth to speak again but stops, glancing between Jim and Rasputin before settling on his roommate, his face relaxing. "If it helps any, I see it too - and hear it, more appropriately." He pulls his phone out of his pocket, turns on the screen and heads for the camera app. "Going to do what you told me to do anyway, just in case we've both been gassed by noxious sewer fumes, hallucinatory mold, or evil government agencies." His voice takes on a clinical tone as he turns on the video recorder and points his phone at Rasputin. As Rasputin hears the talking behind hir, ze takes a glance, also spotting the recorder, before /recognizing/ Jim. "JIM! Hey, how you doing?" Rasputin's grinning at recognizable face, and then recognizes Ash. "Guy who I've met twice before who thought he was insane! Woah! You two know each other! Rasputin's turning completely away from fishes, walking closer. "It's me, remember? Rasputin. THE UNKILLABLE." Rasputin says this with /honor/, laughing, before turning to Ash. "HELLO YOUTUBE." "-Don't put that on Youtube," Jim says almost ON TOP of Rasputin's words as he wanders right past, scowling in various tanks at all the pretty fish that are /pissing/ him off. Because he is a master mutlli-tasker, he does this WHILE speaking, "Yo, puss. How's tricks," he leans over to one side to drop down a hand as he passes the feline in question, for... a high five or hand shake or what the fuck ever. And just goes right back to old topics, "And - drops? How's that work. You can't fucking give eye drops to a god damn /fish/." CAN you? "I think he likes it, anyway. The little bastards started doing this - thing. Where he floats sideways for a few minutes. Like he's trying to fake you out or something. One of these days, man." "Dude, if you knew a talking cat, you should have told me." The flat tone remains in Ash's tone, his thumb working to turn off the recording and repocket his phone. He gives Jim one last dead-eyed stare before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and rolling his neck. When he opens them once again, there's more life in his expression and a smile on his lips. A little one. "Well, you don't really apply them to the eyeball itself, but I totally had a job once where the manager was a huge fan of fish tanks and she said that her fish were sick once and she put drops in the tank water... a couple a day, watching to make sure she didn't over do it, and then they got better. Fish sick is kind of like mold, I guess. It's not like they really cough shit up like humans do. Or cats." eyes narrow on Rasputin before his expression softens once again. "Sorry about that, kid. Sometimes other factors make it really hard to accept a talking cat, you know? Like people stick shit in your brain. Makes reality hard sometimes. And things not really standard seem so much more irrational." "I'm not a kid! I'm like..uh..maybe..19? I think?" Rasputin says, looking around in thought, before /batting/ Jim's hand with a paw. "Uh, tricks, I don't, uh, I'm good? ON A MISSION. Top secret. Okay, not really." Ze laughs a bit, before turning back to watch Jethro again. "Yet people accept, well, acknowledge I guess, that colorful mutants exist. I still don't get why I'm so weird. Talking cats, birds, reptiles, mammals, that's /normal/, okay? Atleast for me. Probably just me." Rasputin grins, before adding onto their conversation. "Fish are so adorable. But pretty dumb. I, sadly, have never been a fish so I have no idea what fish sick is like or even fish..things." That little batting-paw will find Jim's palm oddly rough in texture. Just in case he was thinking of using claws. Paranoid? Jim? Never. "Yeah, we met," is all the explanation he gives Ash. And pauses to scrub his FACE, "Fish're /assholes/. Look at this." He points at a gorgeous beta swimming in a gorgeous cloud of huge gauzy red fins, "This mother fucker is taking a shit. In the /same/ god damn water it /eats in/. And it'll /fuck/ in the same water it breathes in. They just float around hoovering up /rocks/ and spitting them out again - what do you think of this?" He's sour-faced grabbed a small fish-tank ornament in the shape of a castle off a shelf and holds it up for both Ash /and/ Rasputin. "He could have a fucking /castle/." "Kid, I am really, really sorry, really," Ash begins, his voice truly apologetic, "that my history made me doubt myself around you. I apologize. It's not going to happen again, okay?" His eyes implore the cat for forgiveness, or at least a topic change. Then, Jim's explanation of the grosser qualities of fish drags his attention back, an amused sparkle in his eye. "Wow. That's kind of amazing. Teeny, tiny, sunken castle. Heeeeyyy. That gives me an idea. What if we made an entire little Atlantis for the fish? I bet I could, if I scuplted little columns and Parthenons and... oh." He casts his gaze here and there as he considers but when he spies little fishy sized columns, he stops. Right hand reaches out and holds it up, looking at the price. "Or, I could buy it, apparently. Huh." he puts the piece back. "OH! Hey. Look. A pirate ship." It is definitely too big for the bowl. "I am not a kid, I just said that like a minute ago! But, alright, I guess." Rasputin, in according to Ash's wishes, changes the topic, eying the castle. "King Goldfish XV, pirate king of all of Atlantis. Yaaargh." Apparently, the idea of pirates is making Rasputin slightly interested, as ze being speaking. IN THE VOICE OF JACK SPARROW. The only pirate who Rasputin can really remember the voice of, anyways. "SAIL THE SEVEN SEAS, YAARGH." Aaaand, Rasputin's bringing more stares in, it seems. Luckily, no staff. Yet? Jim looks rapidly over a shoulder, hissing, "Christ, you wanna keep it down?" He sidesteps a few degrees away from Rasputin and notably /not/ be looking at hir. Speaking a little lower through his teeth, "-fucking death wish. -- can you do that?" He's eyeing Ash speculatively. "Like. Custom up a fucking castle? --hey, check it." He just found a SKELETON decoration wrapped around a treasure chest. "Think Sushi'd like a corpse-buddy? Bony enough could almost mistake it for Hivey." You know in Jim's mind, Hive is the fishMOM. "Sure, Jim. I can do that," Ash agrees, his gaze quickly darting from the yowling cat to the other customers and then the staff member, attempting to ignore some of the fall out from Rasputin's behavior. "My hands are super skilled, man. I can sculpt you pretty much anything you like. We just have to get the right material, you know? Something that won't get weird in the shittysexedup water." He smiles when he studies the little skeleton, thoughtful. "I should go make him some food, you know? See if we can't put some flesh on his bones. But yeah. Get the treasure chest. that's pretty awesome. Does it do that bubble thing?" One hand cups into a circle while the other hand mimics a lid popping open in a wobbly fashion. As soon as Rasputin noticed what hir behavior is causing, ze gives a small "Sorry" as an apology, before turning to the others. "You named a fish Sushi? I think that's like, illegal in fish government or something. Do fishes have government? I know cats and birds have sorts of things I'm like a cat president or something but, man." Ze grins, having noticably quieted down, and quickly, everyone who is staring is getting back to their shopping/work. "I knew a dude named Hive, he was a telepath. I sang Disney musicals at him. MENTALLY." "Yeah well, if the fishPolice wanna come and fishArrest me they can get in fucking... fishLine." Jim says this /staring down/ an angel fish, his face all pressed up near the tank, making a 'augh' face. It involves curling back his lips like he smells something foul. While poking at the treasure chest to see if the lid bobbles. It does. He doesn't actually know what this MEANS, "Uh... yeaaah? Let's do it. Make a whole god damn skeleton-castle." He SIDE-eyes Rasputin for his Hive-hazing. And inquires, kind of /cautiously/. ..yeah? Hivey? ...how'd he take /that/." "Awww. Come on," Ash speaks quietly, his face the picture of disappointment. "After drawing so much attention, it's probably not best to go announcing stuff about other people, you know? Especially something sensitive like this. You know all those people are just waiting for another reason to stare at you." He shifts his weight and eyes Jim. "Bone palace, okay. But you gotta get the bobble top bubble chest," Ash tells Jim quite seriously. "I love those things." After what Ash says, Rasputin looks embarassed. "Woop, sorry! I, uh, as is obvious, speak my mind a lot. Even when I'm alone." Rasputin frowns, before turning to Jim at his cautiousness. "He..sang along. No joke, really. Though, he shouted at first, since brain singing must be weird." Rasputin is slowly and slowly lowering the sound volume to encompass their general area to try and avoid more stares, calmly. "It was...fun, though." Rasputin then sighs. "I think I should leave. Let you guys, uh, not get ostracized." "'course he did," Jim grumbles, teeth bared and kind of un/sure/ if he's grinning or gritting. It's an expression /identical/ to the skeleton figurine he's holding up at eye level. Maybe they're planning something sinister together. "Just in general, puss?" He comments... to the skeleton, but presumably is meaning Rasputin, "Don't say a lot about freaks in public as a general rule. Saves trouble." He SIGHS and tucks the skeleton under an arm, "Deal. Christ. Maybe one of these. 'n this." He angrily pulls a few more fish tank decorations off the shelf - a sea turtle. A mermaid cupping her naked breasts. A log painted to have barnacles and moss growing on it. He holds the holds up the mermaid and the log in either hand like they're Barbie and Ken dolls. And GRINS at Ash, "These two're going side by side." "Ha! That's pretty awesome." Ash looks over the selection and grins, too. "Okay, Kitt, but I wouldn't worry too much about this pet shop. There are others." He surveys the area around them and nods, maybe to himself, perhaps to Jim and Rasputin. "Do we need food too, or are we good?" He is starting to inch toward the register. "No, no, this pet shop is very important to me. I can't give it up." Rasputin grins, before walking towards the door, shaking a tail as a wave. "Catch you guys later sometime, maybe?"