Raven’s hand twisted around the base of her parasol a little as she softly tilted her head over, feeling a slightly…unnatural rise of bile rise through her spine and settle in the base of her skull, the way that James said the word, father, telling her instantly as to what kind of person the man standing at the gate was and she abhorred those kinds of people.
The figure at the gate was a man of average height, seen some sun, but cleanly styled back dark hair, a pencil thin mustache and matching goatee, glasses low on a slightly bulbous nose, a bit heavier set stretching the fabric of his blue pin-striped suit around his shoulders and arms, standing with an uncomfortably straight posture probably due to seeing James and by what Raven could glean from how he looked; just seeing James was enough to make his father angry. He was empty handed with no kind of welcome gift, Raven could tell that he didn’t even have kind, welcoming words to offer on the poison laden tongue he bore. Hair probably mostly pomade that she could already smell from the few yards between herself and him, dark eyes, beady, sharp and tiny on his face behind the lenses of his glasses making him akin to a human chicken with his proportions: the tiny, sharp, cold eyes, a beaky nose and a double chin that she could see waggling as he yelled, nicotine stained teeth and nails painting the picture properly, making the expensive suit and shoes he wore tasteless and crude, but she couldn’t help, but take note of the expensive brands he was bedecked in compared to the extremely worn, patched and well-loved clothing that James wore.
“What…are you doing here?” His father asked, voice starting in a sharp, cold and pointed lilt that paused when his eyes flicked to her before twisting in the way akin to someone putting on their “customer service” voice, but only made her that much more knowledgeable about the poison that soaked it.
“I was…just going home.” James said, instantly almost collapsing within upon himself to make him look as small as possible, actually shifting a touch back on his feet as he slid to subconsciously hide behind Raven’s shoulder, just a touch, but not make it obvious.
“I hope so” he said, still in that “customer service” tone, but Raven had the idea that he did not develop that voice from having to actually work customer service, but because of how many people he’s walked on the backs of, how many people he’s besmirched and belittled to make himself better, how many lives her steamrolled to build himself a pillar of broken bodies, lies and absolute rotten bullshit. “Hello, I’m Randolph Smile, I’m sure you’d love to have my son out of you and your family’s hair, so I should be getting him home.” He said looking towards Raven before his expression soured as he took in her appearance the first time, instantly giving Raven that look that she has seen all too many times, the look of “What are you doing here?” the look where people are instantly whispering about her, anyone else in her family and already think there is something wrong or strange about her because of how they dress. Luckily, Raven knows how to handle people as rotten to the core as Randolph.
“Oh, quite the contrary, Mr. Smile. James is an absolute delight.” She said, putting on her own service voice that made everyone uncomfortable, but how hollow and empty her voice is of humanity, but also unsettled by how chipper it was. She rested a hand on James’ shoulder, “James told myself and my parents all about Boughburg and my parents are absolutely delighted about having chosen to move here and my parents offered to let James in at any time he wants to come over, they want to learn as much as they can about the area and all of the fun little places that we can find here.” She added, feeling James’ shoulder, taunt and stiff, softly ease at what she was saying. She smiled as she softly gripped his shoulder in support, “But I’m sure you’d also love to talk to my parents about whatever you want to, just ring the doorbell and tell Sulk that you want to talk to them and he’ll get them for you.” She said, “I’d like to see the town, so you can talk to my parents and please, do me the pleasure of returning James home.”
“Um…uh…” he sputtered, completely taken off-guard by the way her voice suddenly twisted to that sickly, sickly sweet, but just as toxic and venomous tone.
“We don’t want to trouble you any more, shall we, James, I still have a few more questions about the area” Raven said as she ushered the two of them past the gate and off down the sidewalk free road back towards the town. The moment they were out of ear and eyeshot of his father, she sighed deeply as she shivered softly. “God, I hate people like him.”
“Raven” James said quietly, softly reaching up to grip the upper sleeve of her jacket making her pause as she turned to face him, “Thank…thank you, I know we’ve only known each other the past…maybe fifteen minutes, but…I’ve never known someone who would so readily jump to my help.”
“How couldn’t I?” she asked resting a hand on his shoulder as she could see how…jarred he was by how Raven broke his father down. She smiled softly as she looked down towards the man in front of her: he’s petite, maybe five foot five at max, softly tanned with no freckles, but a present scar vertically through his left eyebrow, this flop of tightly curled ginger hair onto his chest and vibrant, doe-like emerald green eyes, soft and gentle features that made him look gentle, kind and not feminine, just…innocent and sweet, as if there is no wrong he could do, she didn’t want to say cherub-like due to the fact he’s not baby-faced, but more pixie-like. The silver wire framed glasses he had on were mid-way down his nose, the frames probably in need of being replaced due to the wear marks on the wire, dressed in a slightly swamping dark purple jacket that hung onto his hands, hood low down his back and neck, the bottom of a white/gray/black check shirt showing below the bottom hem of the hoodie, well worn jeans that had a few rips at his knee and well loved brown work boots that were in well need of being re-soled by how they sounded against the pavers. He stands with his arms folded, his head down a little as he just stands as the pinnacle of meekness, quietness and reserved.
“It’s just…you met my father, my mother is not any better, she’s actually probably the worse of the two.” He said
“You don’t need to tell me anything if you don’t want to, James” she said, resting her hand on his shoulder again, “I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything, I came to your support because, I hope I could call you a friend and even if we weren’t friends, I’d protect you like that because nobody deserves to be treated like that.” She said as she started walking again, James stayed beside her, hand still softly holding her upper sleeve.
“Just…most people in the town, the people I was in high school and all…they don’t like me.”
“Oh, I highly doubt everything dislikes you.”
“Oh, you’d find yourself wrong in that report. I was just…I was that kid that went too far with rebelling against their family and stuck with it, nothing I could ever do was enough for my family and sense I was always rebelling, there was just…nothing I could do to make myself liked by people. People didn’t like my actual personality because I’m depressing as shit to be around, but when I tried to be not myself, they didn’t like me because I was fake.” He said, though Raven was just glad he was talking, she did care about what he was saying and all, she was just happy he was talking at all.
“Well, we have a similarity in that way too.”
“People didn’t like you?” he asked shocked, she shrugged softly
“When you look like this, you refuse to be in the sun no matter what, you’re the weird rich kid and everyone in said family is like this and all, I was the weird band kid that liked weird music, weird arts and all that. I got yelled at by art teaches for being too dark and creepy with my art and all, but my parents loved it and confused my teachers more.” She explained making him laugh softly. “People find difference challenging, but being different, being strange and weird and all is what makes people them, nobody is 100% normal, it’s boring and stupid. People like the two of us flock to each other because nobody understands unnaturalness more than someone else whom is unnatural.”
“Thank you, Raven…I…I like talking with you.”
“Likewise, I hope you drop in on the house again. I’m sure we can find a way to have fun in a way to make everyone absolutely loathe seeing us.” She said with a soft laugh.
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