The Post-Apocalyptic Doughnut Thief

[ablacksun]

Nothing in Antillioch is clean. Or tidy. Or not covered in a thick layer of desert. Which is why the appearance of a pristine white door that may well lead to some spiffed-up futuristic hospital ward is something of a shock to Zack. There follows a brief consultation with his brother, who doesn't seem to want anything to do with it, as it's so ..spotless, and white, and... ewww. For the two hellgods it's completely out of place and worse. They're so attuned to their hell dimension that anything this hygienic sits in the craw like a stuck fishbone.

Abe, casually examining his fingernails, suggests Zack tries the handle, just, you know, to see if it's locked. We don't want anything pleasant coming in. Stupidly, Zack's curiosity wins over and he does actually open the door a crack... Abe swiftly shoves him straight though it, and the Apocalyptic prince is sent sprawling. He literally faceplants into this new, uncomfortably pure environment.

He's ended up on the main plaza, and lifts his head, not liking anything he sees. But that's Zack all over. He doesn't like anything much. He even snarls at the few unfortunate people closest to him.

Nothing about the Nexus feels comfortable to Zack. Not until he smells something drifting across the plaza. He follows the scent until he comes to a doughnut stand.

Zack is the embodiment of the post-apocalyptic hellscape. He's on nodding terms with all four horsemen, and his own essence combines War, Famine, Pestilence and Death.. or more accurately the after-effects of such things. Away from his own dimension, he feels the hunger of famine, and Zack hasn't actually ingested anything for centuries.

Now he's in the realm of the living, these soft little dough things smell amazing.

He grabs one and tears into it, ignoring the stallholders protests about something like paying, or money, or something. When the stallholder tries to physically take his arm, Zack pulls away, swipes another of the sweet dough shapes, and wrenches himself away from the stand. Zack moves through the crowds away from the still-shouting stalholder, almost bumping into everyone - he's not used to crowds.

And he doesn't understand the concept of theft.

He almost sends some poor person tumbling as he tries to make his exit. But he can't find the infernal door and that stupid sweet-dough-thing person is still on his tail. Zack grabs the nearest passerby by the lapel, demanding... “What's his fucking problem? What the fuck's money? What does that even mean?”


[ooc: Cue argument between your muse, Zack, and the doughnut seller. Mun apologises for his language and behaviour. He's not housebroken yet...]

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[ablacksun]

Small nippy human. Huh. He's not encountered one of these since that one apocalypse where some idiot female was trying to save a small unpleasant lap dog.

This female reminds him of the lap dog .

“Like souls of the dead?” They being the only things that Abe trades with other hellgods, or considers currency. “And I'm sorry if the spirit of devastation is vulgar to you,” Zack adds a little spitefully. “But I'm a little less offensive than a world of mortals systematically destroying everything that lives.”

As for apologising, Zack crosses his arms, plants his feet and tilts his head in a 'make me' posture.

At this point the doughnut vendor appears. “Hey buddy, I'd like to get paid for those.” He turns to the woman. “Is this punk pestering you, miss?”


[ooc: For his behaviour... I hang my head in shame.]

[higginbottom]

"What are you even talking about?!" Esther replies, clearly irritated. "You need to apologize. Now. I'm not your mother, God."

She turns towards the doughnut vendor.

"He's...yes, he is," she says, folding her arms in a similar gesture to the really annoying guy in front of her. "He clearly is some sort of clueless weirdo who doesn't know what money is. I'm sorry he stole from you."

[ablacksun]

Clueless weirdo is fair. Even Zack has to admit that, but coming from a really annoying mortal he almost chokes on it.

“I don't have money,” he tells the vendor. “I've only just barely understood it exists. And I'm not pestering anyone. If I was, everyone would be getting eaten alive by rats.”

The vendor doesn't quite know what to make of that, but the clueless weirdo is clearly new to the Nexus, and he sees a lot of that. “Look. Just pay me when you can. Please,” he suggests, wanting to defuse the situation more than he wants his few dollars.

“Do you want me to call security, miss?” he asks the woman.

Zack feigns a yawn. “Don't trouble yourself. I've met more interesting amoeba. She's perfectly safe from me.”

[higginbottom]

"Oh God," Esther sighs. "Fine. I'll pay." She then fishes out a few dollars from her purse and hands them to the doughnut seller. "There. Situation solved. Right?" Esther eyes the weirdo who doesn't understand how money works, then the doughnut seller.

"Sorry about him. I guess he's new here." She shrugs and makes a face. "And you don't need to call security. I'm fine."

[ablacksun]

It's all a bit awkward for the poor doughnut guy. He thanks the woman sheepishly and extricates himself from the situation as soon as is politely possible.

Zack has no power here, but he doesn't yet realise it. He's looking around and seeing all sorts of odd-looking people and beings in odd-looking clothing. It seems in this place, everyone's a weirdo.

“I'm not scared of security,” he points out, once the vendor has gone. “And I would have paid him, after I'd found some currency. So now I suppose I'll pay you. ...How do you get money, anyway?”

[higginbottom]

"You go to a bank, silly," she explains, sounding a touch exasperated. She pauses then, considering the situation that just occurred. "And...you don't have to pay me. It looks like you're new here, from what I can tell. So I can forgive your debt."

Esther smiles, just enough for him to maybe notice that she's not all attitude.

"My name is Esther Greenwood. I'm from Massachusetts, but somehow I ended up here too, a little while ago. It was confusing for me as well at first. I was doing an internship in New York and...things didn't work out the way I had intended. In some ways, ending up in the Nexus was a good thing for me."

[ablacksun]

He detests being called silly, and glares. Asking what a bank is would probably only invite more insults, so Zack leaves it alone.

Being smiled at however, is completely alien to him. Only Abe ever grins in his direction, maybe some of the demons, but mortal humans? It's usually an expression of horror, or blind pleading. He's a little too wary to attempt smiling back. It would probably look disturbing anyway.

As it happens, Earth is racing towards its own point of no return. The dimensional barrier between it and Antillioch grows thinner by the day, so Zack is aware of it, and of its cities.

“I'm Aisaak.” He pronounces it the same as Isaac. “Or just Zack. The Nexus probably is the best place for you, what with the global pandemic, and the oceans clogged with plastic.”

[higginbottom]

Esther, being from 1953, has no clue about either of those terrible things he just mentioned, so she just raises an eyebrow.

"You must be from a different timeline or something," she says, sounding sort of unsure. "I'm just glad I'm not in a hospital still, that's all."

She shrugs. "Maybe this is a good place for you too? Who knows."

[ablacksun]

“Your future, probably.” It's never a good idea to tell someone what happens in their future, but Zack has no edit button. He doesn't push the point though. Not yet. He also has no concept of being unwell, or being committed to some kind of hospital.

Looking around Zack feels more and more uncomfortable. “I don't think so. There's decay in every world, but what there is here is … managed. It's almost synthetic.”

The Nexus seems alive in some way, too.

“It's all wrong. Unnatural.”

[higginbottom]

"Well, it's better than being stuck in the loony bin for weeks," Esther replies. "Why do you think it's unnatural? It feels safe to me, which is what I care about."

[ablacksun]

"Oh. You're mad." He really is an insensitive git at times. It puts a different spin on her behaviour though.

"I'm a spirit of the worlds that are destroyed by their own. I feel their betrayal. Their pain. That's all born of nature, and this place doesn't feel natural. I'd prefer a windswept dustbowl anyway. Mortals would perish in my world.. but that's another reason to like it."

[higginbottom]

Esther pouts.

"God, that's rude! I am not mad. I only had a bit of a nervous breakdown, that's all. It was stress-related."

Then she rolls her eyes.

"Oh, please. I'm a poet and even I'm not as dramatic as you sound right now."

[ablacksun]

Rude. Check. Mortals don't like being called mad. "I like you better for it," he tells her, thinking that this will make it okay.

And then it's Zack's turn to ..not quite pout, but maybe glare some. "You asked why I thought it was unnatural! I was providing context."

[higginbottom]

"You...like me better for it?" she repeats back to him, apparently incredulous. "Really?"

She sighs at his glare.

"Well, you sound like some sort of brooding anti-hero in a novel or something when you talk like that. Like a Heathcliff type. It's a little much."

[ablacksun]

"A bit." Zack puts his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart, to illustrate how much, exactly. Truth is, he likes her a lot more if she's insane or unstable. He's not about to admit it, because for the rest of the time, he also wants to smack her upside the head.

"It seemed more appropriate than telling you I'm some kind of earth-spirit." He uses the term 'earth' loosely, and only because that's where she's from.

[higginbottom]

Well, the feeling is sort of mutual, Zack.

Esther raises an eyebrow, then reaches to tug at his arm. "C'mon. Are you still hungry? We can find a place to eat, if you'd like."

She adjusts her purse for a moment—it's then that Zack might notice a writing notebook and a couple of pens that happen to fall out.

"Oh, great," she says, reaching over to pick them up. "Sorry. I'm a writer. I always carry these with me. Like I said, are you hungry?"

[ablacksun]

Zack doesn't like being touched without his consent so he's about to slap her hand away.. but food is suggested and it stops him dead. They've done nothing but annoy each other, and now she wants to share a meal?

Well. With the hunger of countless famines gnawing away at him, Zack isn't going to refuse, and he simply takes the invitation as further evidence of her insanity. Which is reassuring.

He cocks his head at the paper and writing implements, and at the explanation. "You're a scribe? .. and yes. Food. That's all I wanted in the first place."

[higginbottom]

Frankly, Esther kind of feels bad for him. Besides, she's trying to practice being kinder to people (including herself!) and since she's a touch hungry, she figures he might be as well.

"Again with the weird language," she says, actually amused for the first time in their conversation. "Yes. I write poetry and prose, and I'm working on my first novel."

She sounds very proud of that last part.

"Do you want to go someplace with alcohol? I could use a drink, honestly." It's partially because of his antics.

[ablacksun]

"My language isn't weird, yours is," Zack protests. "What's a novel when it's at home?"

He considers the options. Abe likes the finer things, so Zack knows what alcohol is. The mortal stuff has no effect on him, so it makes no difference. "I don't object to a place that serves alcohol, as long as you don't object to my table manners."

[higginbottom]

"Okay, let's go to the Sparrow's Rest," she says. "We can get a drink and decent food there, and it's kind of, well...you'll see."

Yes, Zack, Esther Greenwood is taking you to a dive bar.

"I don't think they'll care about your table manners there," she continues, starting to walk towards the downtown area where all the restaurants and bars are. "Besides, I'm hungry and I'm sure you are too."

She's ignoring the comment about her language for now.

[ablacksun]

“Sparrow's Rest?” but he follows along with her all the same, imagining a tree, or something. Or some structure that resembles a nest.

Truth be told, it's probably the best place for him. And of course if some creep paws Esther, Zack will put the literal fear of hell into them, whether he likes her or not. It's sort of what he does.

“I'm always hungry away from home. And at the risk of sounding like a heath-cliff, it's fucking painful.”

[higginbottom]

"Heathcliff is a character in the book Wuthering Heights," Esther says, figuring she should probably explain the reference. "He's kind of a jerk, but an interesting sort of jerk. That's all."

Finally, they arrive at the bar. Inside, it's dark and kind of smoky, with no one really looking anyone else in the eye.

"So! Want to sit at the bar? Things are always more interesting there." And by interesting, she means you get drinks quicker, but hey. "We can get food, don't worry." Her own stomach is starting to rumble.

[ablacksun]

So when she called him a Heathcliff, she was calling him a jerk? He'd glare at her, but at least he's an interesting jerk. That has to be a little better than a regular one.

With his utter lack of understanding of social cues, Zack promptly looks the first three people he sees straight in the eye. None of them seem to be able to hold his gaze, and look down. It makes him want to poke them. Maybe he will after he's filled his belly. Which, like the rest of his body is supernaturally-imbued dust and sand, so technically he doesn't have a stomach. However a good meal does nourish on some level and keeps the pain at bay.

“As long as there’s food, I don't mind. Will they ask me for money?”

[higginbottom]

"Don't worry about the money. I'll cover you. And stop staring! Leave people alone with their meal." Esther shakes her head in exasperation as she sits down at the bar and asks for a food menu for both of them.

"I'm gonna have a vodka soda." Because God knows she needs one, at this point. "Here's a food menu, so you can look and see what you want to eat. Do you want anything to drink?"

Zack will see that the food menu is basically a dive bar menu—lots of fried stuff, filling and greasy.

[ablacksun]

"They're trying to hide! It makes me want to chase." It's a predatory response to someone trying to evade him, even with their eyes. That's going to have to be knocked out of him, or at least controlled.

Zack's eyes light up - some - at the mention of drink. Drought is powerful in him too and he has an unslakeable thirst. "Do they have clean water here?" This seems to please him far more than anything called vodka soda.

Taking the menu, he stares at it for a long time, because he can't read. "I'll have that." Zack points at the first thing on the menu which says 'Welcome to Sparrow's Rest.'