pinch {Oriel}

[Deleted]

Contrasting to Erik's childhood, Oriel had no problems about simply stealing his meals from the corner store or staking out the back ally of some restaurant. Or maybe invade the community gardens, those always proved fruitful(or veggie-ful). Hunting or fishing for his own food had never occurred to him, and he doubted it would have been legal in the middle of the city anyway. Of course, the other things landed him in trouble anyway and often had him running from the cops, or if they happened to catch him, taken back to whatever lowlife foster parent was in charge of him that year who was only in it for the extra cash from the state.

There was a lot of stuff that the city-boy had seen and been around as he grew through his 16 years; drugs, sex, alcohol, gang violence, complete apathy for the lower class by those who managed a "job", gunshots and sirens in the distance in the middle of the night…..the list goes on. He'd spent nights in abandoned buildings filled with piss and shit. He'd cooked food out of an aluminum trashcan on New Years Eve.

But he'd never really seen, never really seen, anything like this before. Nature just being nature out here like this. It was creepy, and scary, and gave him the willies…..but he couldn't help but watch.

"Huh….guess that makes sense. Probably'd disagree with him…" Oriel managed a half-smirk as he continued to watch. It was fucking weird to see the snake's body distend with the lump of "food" slowly moving down it's body.

"Huh?" Oriel looked up, not really expecting such a straightforward question come from Erik. "Didn't I just say? New York. Manhattan. Well, sometimes Brooklyn too. I think. I forget which parts exactly. Never stayed in one place long enough." He turned his attentions back to DJ, wondering if he should keep up with this simple chat that actually seemed to be going pretty well. "What 'bout you?"

[Erik Stewart]

Like Oriel couldn’t imagine the deep southern life, Erik couldn’t imagine the steel jungle. During the summers, Erik was more or less feral; he’d spend the whole day outside, bare-foot and half-naked, exploring the full-throated August glory…it was a wonder he hadn’t broken his leg and died somewhere out there in the woods.

He seemed to shrink from the information. His distaste was apparent straight away. “Oh, New York,” he reiterated. Had Oriel told him before? If he had, he’d forgotten…probably wasn’t paying attention, but as far as he was concerned, New York was the king of cities. Dark alleyways, Broadway, skyscrapers; all far away things. He couldn’t wrap his head around it.

He blinked. “I’m from Louisiana,” he replied. “…Small place.”

Didn’t have much more to add than that. “Y’don’t got fishin’ out there?” Erik’s brows furrowed. Did they? “Everyone knows it takes a while for fish t’bite, shit. ‘Least, it ain’t hard t’figure out. What’s th’ matter, y’guys short on common sense or what?”

He’d heard that city folk were woefully unprepared when it came to the great outdoors, and it seemed Oriel followed that pattern. “Ain’t hard,” he muttered. “I can…”

Erik left the offer hanging; he wasn’t sure if he wanted to commit to it.

[Deleted]

"Louisiana…?" Where was that? At least Oriel was smart enough to not ask that particular question. "What's that like? I mean, I never been out of the city really. 'Cept when I came to Hammel." It was approaching on the two year anniversary from when he first came to Hammel. The timeframe seemed both long and incredibly short at the same time.

Oriel stood, scratching the back of his head. "I wouldn't know. Guess there might, but I never seen it." Maybe if he had someone to care that he learned stuff like that, he might. "Maybe off one of the harbors?" He actually hadn't been to any of them. They had nothing to do with him, so why would he?

Oriel glared sharply at Erik when he mentioned lis lack of common sense. "Fuck that, it ain't my fault nobody fucking cared enough to teach me. I don't know what I don't know," he said defensively. That really irked him, more than it should have. It was just like when people expected him to do what he couldn't do…like reading. Fuck that shit.

"Yeah, that's what they say 'bout a lot of things." This was a little strange. He and Erik were actually having a civil conversation for once. It was a little off-putting, talking with someone without the intention of completely annoying the shit out of them.

[Erik Stewart]

Erik wasn’t sure how to answer that question. “It’s a swamp.”

The outdoors was the best memory he had of the place. Now that he was here, at the retreat, he was able to summon some of that childish happiness, but it came at only a fraction; before he was a child and every stone or fallen tree was a fortress, his to explore. He was no longer able to conjure up that same creative world. Growing older and growing jaded did that to you, he supposed. Still, the cicadas buzzing and the fireflies and the water lapping at his feet was comforting, in a way. And DJ was enjoying himself.

“Well I guess you gotta point, my pa taught me how t’do it,” he said, before he realized that the word ‘pa’ would probably earn him some funny looks around these parts, “but it really ain’t hard t’figure out…ain’t fuckin’ rocket science…”

Or any kind of science. Erik could read – he was alright in that respect – but anything else and he’d blow it off. He was never very good at school work. A lot of people would write him off as plain stupid, seeing as he lacked the basics of education, and he was belligerent, and he’d the accent to boot, but really it was all a result of his constant war with authority figures…that, and his self-destructive streak.

“You can try it but you gotta fuckin’ sit still for a while,” he said.

[Deleted]

A swamp. Oriel had no idea what swamps were like save for what he saw from movies. "Like…what? You live in a bamboo hut propped up on sticks? And you gotta boat your way out past the crocs to get to the next hut or something?" Yeah, Oriel wasn't sure that sounded right himself, but it sure sounded cool….and it would be fucking cool is Erik actually did live in a house like that.

As Oriel was quickly finding out on this camping trip was that he was an outdoors person as well, it just never occurred to him how much time he actually spent outside considering he lived in the city. His outdoors were complete with asphalt and concrete with the best trees being around the metropolitan park.

So different, yet…

Pa? Paw? What? Was that supposed to be his dad? Hmm…

Ok, yeah, maybe Oriel could figure it out on his own but…it just never occurred to try before. Of course, now that he'd seen it, there's no way Oriel wasn't going to give it a go himself! "Hmmph…guess you're right, don't seem all that hard. Bet even I could do it, yeah?" He folded his arms, looking out at the dock and the water, contemplating….analyzing….pondering…..

"I can swing that, yeah. Sitting's no problem for me. Though there ain't no guarantee I won't just fall asleep." He grinned arrogantly at Erik. "What do you think?"

[Erik Stewart]

“No, y’dumbass. I didn’t live in the fuckin’ Amazon.” He rolled his eyes.

Whatever – probably a lot of people got the impression Louisiana was one great bayou and people got around by walking on boardwalks lifted from the swamp. Some of those places still might have existed. Erik’s town had not been so quaint, but they’d been close: he could see on the edge of town the vast, uncross-able marshlands. In the distance there had been lights. Fallen tree stumps stuck out of the stagnant waters like bones in a tar pit. It was a land some considered cursed by what they called “the injuns”.

Erik paused, wondering if he should trust this kid with his fishing pole. It wasn’t his per se – it was given to him by a camp instructor – but he couldn’t go about losing it. They might not give him a second one, and fishing was one of the prime reasons he’d wanted to come in the first place.

“Well…” Erik handed him the pole. “When you get a catch – and you’ll feel it – you just wind this little thing towards you ‘til it pops out th’ water. After that…” he shrugged. “You can do whatever y’want. Probably just throw it back. Don’t know what you’d do with a fish, an’ don’t give it to DJ, he’ll get fat.”

The snake was still lounging on the wooden dock, digesting slowly the headless fish heading down its gullet.

“Just don’t lose it,” he responded, with a scowl…though he felt a bit happy, that someone would find his hobby of interest. He supposed flattered would be the word for it. Erik was so often defensive; it was nice to find that he needn’t be all the time…though, at the same time, it did feel strange.

[Deleted]

"Well, fuck me, I ain't never been nowhere but the city. You gotta give me something more than just "swamp"." And now the idea of Erik living in the Amazon was running through his head, with Erik swinging from tree to tree by the tail of his snake and then hunting for food with nothing but a sharp stick.

The imagery made Oriel snicker and shake his shoulders in pure amusement.

Oriel didn't expect Erik to trust him with the fishing pole, so when he handed it to him, Oriel kind of held it a little like it was a ticking time bomb. "Uh….what little thing?" There were a lot of little things on it.

So he couldn't just give it to the snake again? Well, that was no fun! Oriel didn't know what he would do with a fish either, but…he still wanted one! Well, he wanted to catch one! And then….

Well…

This was probably a bad idea. Oriel was more likely to hook himself than any dumb fish. "So what…? You just, fling it into the water?" Hesitantly, Oriel started to arch the pole over his shoulder like it was a baseball bat…or an iron pipe….with bloodstains on it…..

[Erik Stewart]

Erik raised his eyebrows as he watched him. Oriel was hoisting the thing over his shoulder like he wanted to hit someone with it. He reached out and took the pole from him, brought it back and flicked it forward with ease; the bob landed neatly on the water’s surface.

“There,” he said, giving it back to him. He pointed to the handle. “Just wind this thing back when you feel it tug.”

Then he laid back on the dock, like he was thinking of taking a nap. It wouldn’t have been too bad of an idea; it was comfortably warm and the wooden port made him feel comfortable. He wouldn’t, though – he wasn’t altogether sure of Oriel or what he’d do unsupervised.

Maybe he’d eat that fish, he thought.

[done! ^^ I think]