Ducking around (Elina)

[Jack McCarthy]

Don’t get him wrong, there was nothing Jack McCarthy enjoyed more then being apart of a rowdy party or being engaged in most definitely not innocent things with members of the opposite gender. But nothing really can compare with Jack’s alone time, A time where Jack can take a moment to escape the harsh realities of his ho-drum existence and take a moment to meditate on life and the mysteries of the universe as a whole.

…Or to smoke at the pond. That works too.

And that’s just what was on the agenda for today called for, which is how jack first found himself sat on a bench close to the ponds edge, wearing a grey hoody with his ever present golden Celtic-cross around his neck. With a satisfied grunt he light up a cigarette and took the time to gaze around him. It was mid morning so the place was pretty much abandoned, witch suited Jack down to the ground. In fact the only other sign of life was a small gathering of ducks just in front of Jack, so naturally Jack took it apon himself to pick up a tiny rock and chucked it at them causing them to scatter in every possible direction which caused Jack laugh out loud.

Life was good.

[Deleted]

Elina tended to stay in bed quite late. If anything, she wasn’t an early bird. Ever since there wasn’t a lot of fun to experience in the clubs though, mainly because her favorite party buddy had left, she went to bed rather early and in turn woke up earlier than anticipated. Today was no different. The girl had taken a quick shower, had gotten dressed and then opted to go for a walk to the pond. Some fresh air would do her good, instead of staying in the room during all her spare time. Within minutes, Ellie had hands tucked in the pockets of her hoodie while dragging feet down the path that led to the pond. Something, however, made her pause those steps. Or, rather, the noise coming from it. It brought a frown to her face. Elina might not always be nice to people, but animals were a completely different story. She loved those… and someone was bugging the ducks.

Without announcing her presence, the blind girl slightly patted her foot on the ground to locate a small stone. It did not need to be a big one, in fact she preferred it not to be, seeing it might hurt the one sitting on the bench. Then again, perhaps it should hurt… Without even pondering about it any longer, Ellie picked up a small one and perfectly aimed it to the back of Jack’s head. It was the little sound that she got in return that confirmed it had reached its target.

”Not fun, huh?” The brunette shot at him.

[Jack McCarthy]

Why do people in Vermont have the nasty habit of trying to spoil Jack pleasant mood?

Case in point, Jack was having a perfectly satisfactory taking the local wild life down a peg, maybe later he would take a little nap right on this bench, just because he could. Really he could stay the whole day here if he wanted, but he was a busy man. He needed to think out a plan of action, there was still a lot of undiscovered ground to cover.

Suddenly as he began to think things through, he felt a sharp pain hammer into the back of his head causing him exclaim out loud.

“Ow!”

Rubbing the back of his head with a grimiest he looked behind him a girl around Jack’s eyes with light brown hair and wearing a satisfied expression on his face.Jack looked her in disbelief before flipping her off.

“Bitch! What the hell was that about?”

At the girl’s words, Jack eyebrows raised in disbelief as his head dramatically switch from the ducks and the girl.

“Seriously? The ducks?! I wasn't aware you were “Duck-gal” lord high guardian of the pond. Trust me, they had it coming. All ducks are wankers! This one time, when I was eleven I tried to give one some bread. Next thing I know a swarm of the bastards attacked me, and tried to peck my eyes out. I was traumatized for life after that. Fuck ‘em”

[Deleted]

Elina smirked at the words being shot back at her. ”Duck-gal to your service. Glad you found out aobut my identity now.” She retorted while taking a couple of steps closer. The girl remained cautious though, not exactly sure what to expect of this guy. His voice did not sound familiar, so it was a wild guess of how he might react to everything she did. So far it had not been positive.

”Seriously? You’re one of those guys who generalizes… and clearly these ducks aren’t the ones that attacked you back then. Besides, you probably must have scared them.” For a second she opted to add ‘with your face’ because feeding bread was not negative, but that would be too rude. Plus, at the moment Ellie hadn’t been able to make a mental image of him yet. Who knows… Perhaps he was a good looking one after all. ”Maybe they think that all humans are wankers. Maybe at this one time, when they were one, someone attacked them with a stone and tried to hit their heads. They might have been traumatized for life after that.” There she was, using his explanation against himself, but she did hope it would be effective.

At that point Elina moved close enough until she was standing next to the bench. ”You plan on doing it again?” Her head dipping to the side as blue eyes drifted over.

[Jack McCarthy]

Jack was almost tempted to point out that the girl was breaking superhero etiquette revealing your secret identity to a random stranger you’ve just met in a park. For all she knew he was some kind of big game hunter super villain…, which would be a lame gimmick for a super villain, but it, was a damn shade better then duck-gal!

It was at this point that Jack got a first look at the girl…and when he did his eyebrow, his eyebrow curled upwards, she was quite an attractive young thing which caused Jack to quickly forgive her for hitting him in the head.

“Oh yeah? I didn’t know I was talking to an expect. How do you know that ducks don’t have some kind of hive mind shit going on? Sure, they might think all humans suck, but maybe that’s what they want you to think? Maybe ducks are evil bastards trying to lure humanity into a false sense of security, before they begin the great duck invasion. For all you know I’ve just saved the world from the great duck conspiracy. You’re welcome, by the way.

When the girl asked him if he was going to throw another stone, he had to admit, he was surely tempted to, just to spite her. He jingled the stones in his hand in contemplation looking at his hand and back to the duck, his other hand absent mindlessly stroking the golden celtic cross around his neck, before seemingly coming to a decision. “Naa, I don’t want to risk the concussion.” Jack said in his thick Irish accident as he discarded the pile of stones. “I’m Jack by the way.” He added almost as an afterthought as he lights another cigarette.

“You’re from the school right?”

[Deleted]

Elina once more smirked while tucking hands in the back pockets of her red pants, ever so slightly wobbling back and forth on the same spot. ”Saved the world? Seriously? If ducks are indeed evil and set on taking over the world, I highly doubt that throwing rocks at them will make them change their minds.” If anything, it would probably anger them even more and therefore fuel the conspiracy. ”But,” Ellie continued. ”You have nothing to worry about. I will keep them in line with my awesome super power.” Being duck gal and everything.

When Jack seemed to take his time contemplating whether or not another rock would be thrown, she was relieved when them hitting the ground reached her ears. Elina actually considered stepping away again to mind her own business, but the brunette did not exactly get that chance as the guy introduced himself. It would be rude to leave at that point… and maybe she would miss the chance of getting to know a cute guy. She still decently had to study him though… before getting that confirmation.

”Um, yeah. What gave it away?” Had he seen her there before? Not that this would exactly surprise her. ”And Elina. The name is Elina. Or duck-gal. Whatever you like more.” While Jack replied, she studied the bench to detect if there was a spot left for her to sit. And there was, so Ellie moved over and sat down at the side. ”I bet you’re gonna brag about whatever awesome power you have now?” Kind of felt typical for his type of personality, for as far as she could tell.

[Jack McCarthy]

Again how does she know about the workings of what ducks think? Maybe rocks are their only weakness? Maybe they’re terrified of a rock? Who knew? Certainly not her, even if she was “Duck gal?”

Jack shook his ruefully as his Left arm lazily trailed against the arm bench

“Nothing like discussing conspiratorial evil ducks to break the ice right?”

Jack smiled inwardly at his correct guess? That was another cool icebreaker, showcasing his awesome powers to the amazing of every dumb chick he tried it on, even though it seemed like this girl was a damn shade brighter then the usual dime and dozen bimbo’s that Jack often of. “Would you believe a lucky guess?” Oh he was so very witty.

Jack slid over on the bench give her some space, before pulling a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket and offering them to Elina wordlessly. His eyes lit up in mock surprise as Elina gave her his theory that Jack is about to brag.

“Me? Brag about myself, in the vain attempts to impress you? It’s like you don’t even know me…I…I’m hurt…I’m hurt and stunned and hurt some more…I guess I’ll just have to console myself with MY AWESOME PROBABILITY MANIPULATION! I’m like the luckiest guy in the world!...What’s your shit….Beside the whole duck thing you have working for you.”

[Deleted]

The chuckle given was genuine, especially since Jack had a point when he mentioned the topic that had functioned as an icebreaker for them. ”I don’t believe in lucky guesses, so you must have seen me around. Or you go and ask everyone if they are from the school.” Ellie wasn’t being rude or anything. She was simply stating her opinion, even though there had been something to his voice which made the girl suspicious. There had been a meaning behind it and she couldn’t decipher that.

Once seated on the bench, Elina grinned. ”Vain indeed.” And then listened to the rest of his I-am-so-awesome speech. It made her smirk, even though amusement was mixed in there as well. She liked conversations like this… conversations that were nowhere near serious. And she also liked the fact that Jack confirmed her suspicions. Oh, she was so good at this! ”Probability manipulation, huh? How is that working out for you? Bet it prevents you from ever getting hit by small rocks.” Making fun of him.

”Well, being duck-gal is my main power, but I also have clairaudience on the side. It’s like the perfect combination because I can hear danger approaching and then command my duck soldiers to attack.” Elina paused. ”Oh… did I just gave away that they work for me when it comes to taking over the world? My bad… just ignore I said anything.”

[Jack McCarthy]

“Yeahhh….”Jack said reluctantly scratching his head, “It kind of works when it wants really…there’s like a bunch of bullshit rules and crap attached, That tiny stone may have hit me but if you wanted to say hi with a brick to the back of my skull, it would have missed by a mile.”

Jack nodded his head, interested by what her deal was, Clairaudience. That was a brand spanking new one. It wasn’t a cool or as useful as probability manipulation but hey, what was?

Jack faced rolled his eyes at the latest revelation about our fine feathered friends, Jack throat admitted a faint chuckle.

“Damn….this great duck conspiracy runs deeper then I thought. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before every nation falls before the girl that hears slightly better then others and her duck army. They can’t hold guns, but at least you can hear the other guys coming”

Jack looks down at his hand and raised an eyebrow surprised that she still haven't taken a cigarette.

“…There not there for decoration, y’know.”

[Deleted]

”Oh, really? Mmmm, I must give that a try next time we meet.” A playful tone joined her voice as she replied. Of course Elina would not consider throwing a brick to the back of his head. Especially since she did not believe that it would miss him by a mile. The girl rather didn’t kill anyone.

Ellie nodded in agreement when they continued to reason about the duck conspiracy. ”Just you wait and see. I am sure nearly everyone has a childhood trauma involving ducks… It will be so simply to cause panic and despair.” The smile that appeared did faint some when Jack referred to something that she hadn’t taken notice of before. Her attention had been on him… and not on his hand in particular. ”Oh… sorry. Didn’t notice them.”

A little sheepish grin appeared as she reached out to pluck a cigarette out of the package. In all honesty, she was not a major fan of it because of the smell. But at least Elina would be able to deal with it better if she was smoking one herself.

Holding on to it, she held it out for Jack to lit it.

”So, Jack… do you happen to like parties?”

[Jack McCarthy]

“You could try. But I think you should know, I run like…super fast” hitting her back with an equally playful tone, He was enjoying Elina’s company, it was nice to find a person that didn’t treat him like dog-do-do just because they take personal offence to a couple of a harmless humorous comments.

Jack raised his eyebrows at that little comment about Duck’s before taking another draft on his cigarette. “Wow! This is a very well thought out underground conspiracy”


He was a tad bit confused how Elina didn’t notice the packet, he was practically waving it in front of her face, which would…odd to say the very least, but he would imagine he was simply mesmerized by his sheer charisma to notice anything else around her.

“Oh all the time! I’m like the party king! This one time, yeah? I got stoned, I fed this guy’s dog pure vodka and the thing exploded at both ends! Classic!”

[Deleted]

Elina only took personal offence if someone offended her appearance… because it clearly was what brought along her ego. Plus, she could tell that Jack was being just as playful, so no harm was being done. ”I have been brooding on it for years,” she proudly informed him. ”It is destined to be a success.”

With the cigarette lit, the girl first inhaled and blew out the smoke. ”We seem to party in a different way though.” She frowned a bit, not able to manage a sign of amusement when he brought up feeding a dog some vodka. Poor canine. ”You should have kept that vodka for yourself.” She mused as a soft smile reappeared. Why give alcohol to an animal if you could drink it yourself? ”You would have had even more fun that night.”

Elina shifted on the bench, placing her back against the armrest while sitting with legs bend Indian-style. ”We should party together.” The student decided while bringing the cigarette to her lips again. Of course she did not know Jack that well, but he did sound like a fun guy to hang out with. That was all she needed.

[Jack McCarthy]

“Yeah, I’m sure it will be too, it’ll only be a matter of time before you and your ducks rule the world….for about five seconds, then the fighter jets will be called in and massacre you…because you know. Their fucking ducks.”

Ok this has been officially the longest possible conversation two people could ever have regarding ducks, and not seem crazy. In all honestly, he was kind of glad he ran into to someone who could let him run with his crazy ideas and go with the punches. They really needed more girls like Elina around the school.

“Oh hey, don’t worry about the dog, he was fine, he was scratching his own balls like five minutes later, boy did that dog know how to party.

Jacks face suddenly screwed up in confusion.

“Actually thinking about it, It may have been just another random dude we called “Dog”…Now that I think about it, did it even happen? I don’t know, I was wasted that night.”

Jack raised his eyebrow and grinned slightly at Elina’s offer, There was most assuredly a connection being build here, and he enjoyed the girl’s company. He couldn’t think of a single reason why he wouldn’t party with her…despite her potentially unleashing her duck army on him.

“Oh yeah? What sort of party are we talking about here? Something to do with ducks…or maybe you want a private party, those are way more fun then all the ducks in the world”

Oh Jack you dog…

[Deleted]

“Oh, no worries.” Elina mused. “We have figured out all those details.” With a little grin, she opted to not prod that topic any further. By now the ice definitely had been broken and there was no point making ‘her plans’ any clearer. That would just be putting everything at risk. She wasn’t going to create the option of failure.

As for the dog and the party, a smirk was given. “I almost pity Dog.” With a shake of the head, the cigarette got brought to her lips again. It did sound like a blast, even if that memory had not occurred. It actually intrigued her to the extent that she made the offer to party together. He clearly knew how to have fun!

Ellie shifted, bending legs Indian style while pondering about his question, despite her already knowing the answer. “Duck parties are fun… but a private part does sound way better.” Lips pursed slightly as if in deep thoughts. “Are you good at organizing those?” Of course this was his moment to brag, even though the brunette didn’t exactly need a lot of convincing to participate.

“What did you have in mind?”

[Jack McCarthy]

Oh, the things Jack had in mind for a private party between him and Elina…well lets just say that it would have nothing to do with our fine feathered friends known as ducks, unless Elina was into that kind of freaky stuff, Jack was an open minded young gentleman., what ever she was into was cool by him.

Jack stretched out a little like a feline as he took a moment to examine Elina a little more closely, Jack frowned a little as he’s attention was drawn to her pale blue eyes, lovely as they might be, was it just Jack’s imagination or were they a little unfocused, like she wasn’t even looking at something? Meh. Probably nothing.

“Oh don’t worry about that! I’m kind of legendary for my party's, basically they take place in a darken room with a bed…pants are optional if you know what I mean”