Streets 11} Pequie and Saline

Pequie played by Deku, Saline played by Kiki

After tumbling headfirst down an embarrassing amount of hills and pushing their way through many bushes and thorny patches, Pequie took a final tumble onto a road close to the woods they lived in. They examined the sidewalk. A gob of gooey pink stuff, a small plastic bag... What was this? Then, they gasped. They were in the city. The city Kionni specifically told them never to set foot into. Standing up, they took in the many buildings that lined the street. It was a lot to process in their little brain. Would they meet other trolls here? It was the daytime, so... Maybe not? The chatroom they frequented was filled with a lot of pretty colors in the daytime. They started walking down the street, letting their legs take the lead, not really knowing where they were going. It felt almost sinful to be there, the feeling growing with every step, but still, they pressed on.

Saline was sitting on a bench, lighting up the surrounding area with a very light violet - almost white - glow, despite the sun. He paid no mind to the young troll coming up to the streets, too busy researching... something.... on a palmhusk that they could barely hold with a half-corporeal form. The streets were exceptionally empty except for him, which was strange for this time of day - usually there would be humans running about, but today was different. Maybe it was about to rain?
The palmhusk fell through his hands and directly onto the concrete, leading him to quickly bend over and try to grab it. He couldn't muster up the power to keep enough form to hold it, so he just sighed and sat back up, looking around for anyone that might be able to help him.. or steal it. He didn't see anyone, but... was that a.. child? That was definitely a child. One much too young to be walking around on their own.
"Hello? Um, have you lost your... lusus?" he asked awkwardly, definitely not knowing how to talk to other trolls, especially trolls younger than him.

The tiny troll looked up at Saline. "No... Who are you? Are you a highblood..? Are you gonna use my head like a beach ball..?" Pequie shuddered, remembering the dreadful exchange in full detail. "And... And drink my blood?" They were scared, and definitely did not want any of that to happen, especially if it happened because they disobeyed Kionni. "I'm sorry..."

He pulled his head back some, bewildered. "Wh...what? No... why would I do that? Besides, I'm dead, kid." He held his hands out in front of him, then shoved them directly through the bench to prove it. "I'm a highblood, but I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to. Who told you all that would happen, anyway? You're a bit.. young for that kind of violence, aren't you?"

They took a moment to process that notion. Dead..? Okay. Dead people coming back to life! That's a good thing, right? But... A highblood... "A man on the internet told me I was weak and you guys're my superiors... And it made me feel really bad in my tummy. Like sick from eating beetles, but... Cold? I don't know how to say it." They were frozen in fear, but they really wanted to believe that this person was good.

Saline stood up and tried to pick up their palmhusk again, to no avail. "Well, kinda. You are. But I'm not going to kill you or anything. You haven't done anything that would make me have to." He looked them up and down, trying to figure out just how old they were. "...really, though, where is your lusus? Do you have one? It's not really safe for you to be out here alone."

Pequie decided to lie about Kionni, not wanting to get in trouble. “I have nobody. No lusus, no nothing. I live in the forest all by myself.” They bent down to pick up the tiny bag with a sort of dust inside, and tilted it around, grabbing it from different angles and watching the powder flow, hoping it would calm their nerves.

Saline thought for a second, not sure what to do. He couldn't really take the kid anywhere, he didn't know where to go. "Did you run out of food or something...?" He looked at Pequie for a bit, not processing what the bag was. "I can get you groceries if you're out, I can't really use my money for anything. Did you just recently lo-" The Fun Bag clicked. Oh no, how is he supposed to get that away without explaining drugs to a 6 year old???? "Hey, um. Can you hand me that bag, please?"

They looked at Saline with a quizzical look. "Why? It's just sand... I never seen sand like this before though. I wanna keep it to show- Someone." They almost slipped up. "Someone not important."

Saline took a look at the palmhusk on the ground, and squatted down to Pequie's height with his hand out. "So, um. This isn't just.. sand. This is something ... different, and not legal. Who were you going to show? Are they the person that takes care of you?" he asked, desperately trying to get this kid somewhere safe.

"No. He's just a friend." They hoped that would get the man to stop asking questions. But... Pequie was not malicious by nature. "...Pinkie promise you won't tell him I'm in the city? I'm not a'posed to leave the forest." They held out their tiny finger, then retracted it. "Oh... Can you pinkie promise?"

Saline nodded, and held his pinkie out at a distance, just to show them. "Pinkie promise. But.. did you come to the city because you needed something? Are you guys okay out there?"

Pequie shook their head. "No, I just got out I guess. I wasn't really watching my feet. There was a trail and I went down it, and I ended up here!" That explained why they were absolutely filthy. They almost looked bloody, what with how much mud and soil covered them. Sticks clung to their boots, just barely showing the scuffed up teddy bears on them. Disheveled would be a gross understatement.

"Yeah, I can tell. You need to get washed up, or someone's gonna think you're homeless. ... Can I have that bag, please?" he asked again, his knees starting to strain from the effort of squatting for so long.

They held it away from him. “Only if you can guess if I’m a boy or a girl.” Smiling mischeviously, Pequie laughed. “I’m a riddle goblin from the forest of japes and jokes! Answer right and the treasure is yours.” They really didn’t act well, but at least they looked the part.

"N...neither?" he asked awkwardly, assuming it was a trick question. ...and also not knowing his own gender anyway, so it was a perfectly reasonable assumption. They weren't wearing the most obvious clothing, either. Were they? Agh, hard to tell.

Pequie nodded. "Correct-a-mundo! Here is your prize! Illegal sandy stuff!" They handed Saline the bag. "Here you go. I dunno what to do with it anyways. Mosta my toys get boring after a bit."

Saline took it, as it fell immediately through his hand. Still not sure how to keep form long enough... he tried to pick it up again, and surprisingly, it worked! He shoved it in his pocket. "Thank you. I promise you don't want to use it anyway. Not good for you." He is truly the best role model Pequie could have.

“What does it do?” They inquired curiously. Pequie wasn’t in a rush to go home right away, they figured that Kionni could wait. “Can you eat it? What does it taste like? Is it alive?” They spoke as fast as they thought, like children do. “Is it yours? Whose is it? Should we give it back? Maybe they dropped it!”

To be Continued...

"Well, umm." He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, making it very clear this was a difficult question. "Well, it like.. It messes with your brain. It makes things not work right." He brought it out of his pocket again, trying to figure out what it was. "It's not safe for adults, much less humans. You can't really eat it, but..

I feel like the person who dropped this already got some more." He put it back, unsatisfied with his knowledge. March 5, 2021

Asmo — 03/05/2021 1:07 PM "Then why does it exist?" Pequie sat down in the wet gutter, not acknowledging the dirty water. It was pretty painful to watch, since it had evidently rained recently. They made little stoppers in the water with their fingers, watching it flow around them. March 6, 2021

Orchard — 03/06/2021 12:55 AM "Well, uh.. hm. Some people will... Hey, you might not wanna sit in that. Sometimes if the sewer gets backed up it could.. fill that up. Probably pretty germy." He moved a bit closer, offering to pull them up. It wouldn't help because he's a ghost, but it's the thought that counts.

Asmo — 03/06/2021 2:16 AM "What's germy?" They questioned, not familiar with hygiene standards, having lived their whole life not knowing what soap is and instead playing in sticky, slimy insect goo. They splashed around in the water a little. The little troll seemed incapable of staying still. March 14, 2021

Orchard — 03/14/2021 10:21 PM "The water. Like, the puddle you're in." Oh man, the younger troll was sitting in.. slime and sewer mud. Even though it didn't matter, Saline was reluctant to come near them. "They can make you sick. Germs. Germs make you sick." Hadn't anyone told them about this? Their parents must have been Alternian...

Asmo — 03/14/2021 10:34 PM Pequie shook their head defiantly. "No. Bugs make you sick, silly! But okay, I'll stand up." With some trouble, they stood up and shook all the water off themselves animalistically. It was almost creepy. They smiled, revealing a couple lost teeth. "Better?" March 15, 2021

Orchard — 03/15/2021 2:42 PM Oh! Bugs! They know bugs! "Germs are kinda like.. really, really small bugs. Super small. You can't see them. They make you sick. They're not fun, I promise." He was taken aback by the shaking, trying to cover themselves from the drops. Which, again, didn't matter, since he was a ghost.

Asmo — 03/15/2021 5:40 PM The tiny bronzeblood was pretty keen on behaving in a crude, almost bear cub-like manner. They didn't exactly know NOT to. They would also frequently indulge themselves in habits like sucking their fingers or biting their shirt sleeves. They had a bit of an obvious oral fixation. "Oh, invisibugs! I'll stay away from them if they're bad for me. Waaaaait, you can't touch stuff. Why are you hiding from the water?" March 17, 2021

Orchard — 03/17/2021 2:02 PM He relaxed, realizing that he really couldn't touch the water. "I kinda forget sometimes. It's weird being a ghost when you'd been.. alive.. for so long. It's a very different experience." He was definitely taking note of that, and was thinking about getting them a toy or something to chew on instead. First and foremost, though, this kid needed a shower... and clean clothes... what was it like at their hive?

Asmo — 03/17/2021 2:12 PM Pequie’s feral nature aside, they were really interested in what Saline had to say about being a ghost. “How... How did you... You know... Die? Are you s’posed to be dead like me? Did the pink lady kill you?” They inquired, hoping to find a friend that knew of the horrors of the trials. They were still fresh in the 3 sweep old’s mind, after all. A little foggy, but they could still recall exactly how it happened.

Orchard — 03/17/2021 2:21 PM "Well, no. I'm not supposed to be dead. I'm really supposed to be very alive, in fact. But I got in a fight with a purpleblood and... well, he won. Alternians don't tend to be very nice." He huffed. "Who's the pink lady?"

Asmo — 03/17/2021 2:27 PM “I’m Alternian, excuse you! ...But I never got a chance to grow up there. I was a’pposed to die in the trials. Do you know what the trials is?” They looked down, kicking a couple rocks. They never got over telling that story. A couple brown, translucent drops hit the pavement.

Orchard — 03/17/2021 2:37 PM He crossed his arms and sat criss-cross, floating. "Well, I've heard about them. I don't know much about them, though. Just the few things I've heard from Alternians."

Asmo — 03/17/2021 2:45 PM The little troll took this as permission to keep talking. “They kill kids like me. After you get your arms and legs, they try and kill you. I wasn’t good enough, I guess.” A few more tears hit, creating two wet spots on the road. Pequie’s bangs obscured their eyes, and their messy pigtails hung forward. A small hiccuping noise could be heard from the child. (edited)

Orchard — 03/17/2021 2:52 PM "Well, you seem pretty alive to me! So you were good enough. See?" Oh, no, what do you do when there's a little kid crying right in front of you? Oh! Distract. "You wanna hear what happens over in Beforus? It's not my favorite, but.. it happens."

Asmo — 03/17/2021 3:02 PM They perked up a bit. “What happens on your planet?” Pequie’s tears ceased slightly and they wiped their eyes, continuing to bite and suck on their sleeves. “Is it better than... Than death?”

Orchard — 03/17/2021 3:45 PM He nodded. "Yeah, it is. It's still not fun, but it's better. Lowbloods just get like.. coddled. Taken care of. But the problem is.. this doesn't give them much of an option to speak for themselves. I don't like it. But it is better than death..." July 21, 2021