Could've been a street-rat (Open)

[Henri Rosario]

It was Henri's first night off in ages and where did he find himself? Back in the Club District, instead of studying. Though, he was actually considering dropping out of college, he had been keeping up with his work and figured he needed a night off from that as well. As he stretched, he leaned against the wall and took in the night around him. It was slightly chilly, but that rarely bothered him. In fact, he preferred it when it was cold out. 

More than likely due to his past, but he rarely thought of that anymore. At least not in any serious fashion. Dropping himself onto a nearby bench, he pulled out his packet of cigarettes and lit one. As the smoke billowed from his mouth he chuckled softly. Part of him wondered if that's what his powers looked like to others. Shrugging off the thought he looked around and noticed a few people walking towards him. 

Nothing unusual on any given night, but Henri was never exactly a people person. Standing, and not paying attention to where he was going, he slammed right into someone. He grumbled out something that sounded like he was more mad at the other. 

"Sorry." Was the only gruff response that was even remotely audible. 

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryphon thought he was recovering somewhat well. Valentine's Day had been a kick in the gut for him, being alone and all, but he still went to work that day, and served with a smile. He couldn't afford another fuck up after that stuck up brat from about a month ago had come along and trampled over his reputation. Whatever, he was doing something that wasn't just sulking in his apartment, so that was... something. And he didn't just have the waiter job, he had another job too, working at SuperKwik, where he usually picked up night shifts. The only reason that was important was because he wasn't working tonight, he was out with some of his coworkers from the restaurant - and both of the couples had decided to desert him. That's what Gryph was saying, but he had actually lost them.

If he was in his right mind, he would know he was in the wrong, but he wasn't, thanks to four shots of vodka, two shots of whiskey and two pints of lager. He was stressed out and annoyed over the fact that he was still single, because for whatever mad reason he couldn't manage being alone after three crappy relationships (well... one hadn't been completely crappy, but still...).

Being in such a foul mood and completely hammered, he was the exact opposite of his usual self, trying his best to walk in a straight line just until he got to his apartment, wherever that was. He was focusing on this so much that when some random guy decided to stand up in front of him, he didn't notice until he had stumbled backwards a good amount. "Sorry?" He slurred out, "Nothing else? Fucking bastard." His eyes stopped on the cigarette in the guy's hand and his hands worked before his brain did, stumbling forward and snatching the smoking stick out of the guy's hand and sucking out a long draft before coughing painfully, throwing it to the floor and stubbing it out, "Yuck, why do people use those stupid things?" He mumbled, coughing some more before flopping onto the nearby bench, looking up at the poor sucker who had gotten in his way, "Who the fuck are you?"

[Henri Rosario]

The slurred speech instantly caught the man's attention. He knew all too well the "mating sound" of the "wild drunk". Looking up, he saw the other guy and raised an eyebrow. Was this kid even old enough to drink? Not that it really bothered Henri, but still. He heard the typical name calling, as if it had been the first time he'd ever been called a bastard in his life. Rolling his eyes, Henri attempted to ignore the guy until his smoke was snatched from his finger tips.

"Hey man.." He started to protest, but the guy carried on. "Ou komik, estipid, bwè timoun." ("You silly, stupid, drunk child.") The cajun man shook his head and sucked his teeth once. The thought of fighting with this kid was the last thing Henri wanted to do, but he would if he had to. "Well, ya didn't have to snuff it out." His eyes glanced down to the dead cigarette on the ground and groaned. "Those things ain't cheap ya know?" A flare of his temper threatened to come up, but he managed to hold it back. Even as the guy cursed at him again.

"Name's Henri, and you are?" He let the words drip out from his lips with almost poisonous sarcasm.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Okay, so maybe he was being a teensy bit illegal, but people had told Gryph they couldn't really tell how old he was most of the time anyway, so it couldn't be that obvious that he was underage, right? And in a few months he was going to be twenty-one anyway, so really, it was okay. And the guy at the bar had been nice, he didn't even ID him! At least, not straight away. But he was covered, he had a chinese friend who let him use his ID as his own, and since the guy couldn't really tell the difference, it worked out fine.

He was still trying to get over his coughing fit when the foreign words came out of the man's mouth and Gryphon looked at him like he was an alien, "The fuck's that, some voodoo shit...?" He mumbled, confused and not sure how else to respond. He shrugged, "Deal with it, life is full of disappointments, shithead." All the same, at the complaint about them being expensive, Gryph pulled out his wallet and threw a couple twenties in the guy's direction, "Buy some more then, I don't need this stupid cash." He emptied the rest of his physical money out onto the ground after that and kicked it away. Money made him think of Dad, and thinking of him would make him hurl his guts.

Or maybe that was the vodka.

He clucked his tongue, "Gryphon." He pushed his fingers through his hair in the most angsty way possible before resting his head on his hands and squinting through his fingers, "I shouldn't be drunk. Alcohol makes people fuck up, and fuck other fuckers." He ruffled his hair angrily and got to his feet again without much balance. He looked at Henri again and snorted, "Go ahead and hate me, Scruffy. Can't go one day without that happening." Feeling sorry for himself, he walked about three steps before slumping against a wall and sliding to the ground, curling up in a ball.

[Henri Rosario]

Oh no. This little punk did not just make fun of his culture, did he? Henri calmed himself quickly over the smart ass comment about voodoo and rolled his eyes. This poor kid had no idea what disappointment was and Henri was just about to tell him so when money was suddenly being shoved at him. Well, more like clumsily thrown towards him. This act pissed him off and at the same time made him wonder what was so bad this kid had done this. "Dude, I don't want or need your money."

He grunted as he squatted down and began picking up the bills that were scattered. Glancing up when Gryphon introduced himself, he saw the tell-tale signs of "drinking regret" only moments before he voiced just that. Honestly, it made him chuckle softly as he stood with the money in his hand. "You're right, getting drunk can make ya do some pretty stupid shit." He slowly moved toward where the younger man had come to rest. "Believe me, I know. And not just because I'm a bartender." Maybe letting Gryphon know that he dealt with this kind of thing on a regular basis would put him at ease.

"It's Awn Ree, not Scruffy." The cajun tried to make a joke, but that usually failed anyway, so there was no reason to think it would work now. Clearing his throat, he knelt down in front of him. "Gryphon, right?" Henri was sure he got it, but he asked just the same. "Look man, I don't hate ya. I don't even know ya." He held out the money to the drunken mess. "Take your money back and hold on to it, there can be some less than reputable people out at this time of night."

Henri thought of leaving him, but seeing him curled up in a ball made his stomach lurch a little. Internally, he cursed the kind people he worked with for somehow managing to get him to actual care once in awhile. "Okay, tell ya what. Let's get some coffee, calm that buzz of yours a bit and we'll call the whole cigarette thing even." This was new to him, so he wasn't really sure how being kind would work out for him. "Then maybe we can talk after you sober up a bit? I'll even let you insult me some more." With this, Henri added a cheeky smile.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

"Then don't complain about the price of your death-sticks, then." Gryphon muttered, blowing some of his hair away from his face. Obviously, he had poor opinions about smoking and cigarettes, despite having just tried one moments before. He was in a confused state of mind, really.

Gryph didn't appreciate being laughed at (which was how he saw the situation), but he wasn't really in a good place to be standing up for himself, so he just mumbled some. As Henri spoke, he looked up at him with tired eyes. "I don't usually get drunk." He slurred out, as if it would change the bartender's opinion at all. And knowing that Henri was around drink a lot didn't exactly help in the way he had hoped - it just made Gryphon more embarrassed. I probably just look as stupid as the rest. He thought, only letting out a pitiful sigh otherwise.

The birdman snorted, "It's a nickname, Awn Reh." He didn't mispronounce the stranger's name on purpose. He did know French after all, he would usually be able to say it correctly, but his tongue was being lazy apparently. Gryphon looked at him like a little kid, nodding his head in answer to the question. He sniffed and sighed again as Henri continued, looking at the ground, "You're one person..." He mumbled. His eyes fell on the returned money and it took a few long moments for Gryphon to actually take it back, carefully, and shove it into his pockets, not bothering with his wallet again. "Thanks." He said softly, wrapping his arms around himself. At the extra offer for company and help, Gryph's ears perked up, and he couldn't help wanting to do it. Well, except... "I don't like coffee..." He muttered, "Tastes like... like... stuff." The words in his brain didn't want to go to his mouth apparently. "B-But... yeah, I... can we...?" He glanced at Henri hopefully, before taking the effort to pull himself to his feet, which cost a lot of energy and a lot of balance Gryphon didn't really have. Once he was on two feet again, the chance of him walking in a straight line was miniscule, but he still tried.

"I don't like insulting people." He said, eventually, "I didn't mean to, I don't... not usually... I like people..." He said, with yet another sigh, "I used to be happy." He said, but he didn't come near to tears. It was more of a heavy sense of loss that he was finally encountering and acknowledging... even if it was at a terrible time for it.

[Henri Rosario]

At this point, Henri thought his eyes would pop out if he rolled his eyes anymore. So, he let out a little sigh. "Yeah, I complain a lot about everything. Kinda my thing." With another sigh, he rubbed his face and scratched at the stubble that speckled his chin. "Oh, I can tell you don't usually get drunk. Least not this drunk." Giving another smile, he offered a hand to help him up. Henri was feeling lucky that Gryphon seemed to not be the violent kind of drunk, at least not yet. Plus, he wasn't acting as dumb as most other drunks he'd seen, himself included.

"I know it's a nickname kid." The gruff man smirked. "That was my poor attempt at a joke. Not really good at it." He still had his hand sort of outstretched to the other, but in a way that suggested he could take his time. Tilting his head at Gryphon's next words, Henri's hair fell in his face and he blew it away with a short puff of breath. "Yep, just one person, sometimes that's all it takes." There was another thought behind those words and he took a moment to chew his lip before continuing. "Besides, a person is fine. People as a whole are scared and panicky animals. Which leads to bad decisions...like getting drunk." It was another terrible attempt at a joke, but the thought of joke fading when the other male seemed to accept his offer of company.

To an extent, Henri was a little surprised. Usually, people (Well, guys) only wanted his company for one reason and one reason only. Something told him Gryphon actually wanted just that; company. At least that's what he assumed. "No coffee then, but definitely gotta get some water in ya. You'll thank me later." Henri stood as the other did and awkwardly shoved his hands in his own pockets. "Maybe some hot chocolate after the water?" It was just an offer, he knew the younger man would need something in his stomach. As he spoke, he noticed the wobble in his legs and instantly started steering him towards a bench. "Hey man, think nothing of it. Like I said...bartender. I've heard a lot worse, been called a lot worse. By people who weren't even drunk." Again, Henri attempted a smile.

"So, you sit there for a moment. I'm gonna go right there to get you a bottle of water." He pointed to the bench and then to a nearby vending machine. "I'll be back in two seconds." Normally he didn't make promises, but something about Gryphon made him feel very sympathetic.