Caution: watch for flying yo-yo [open]

[imcondiments]

Characters: H.M. Murdock and any who wander by.
Setting/Location: Caravan Level 2, Lobby
Date & Time: Day 1, morning
Warnings: Yo-yo usage and general lunacy? idek
Summary: Stuck in an alternate dimension? Stranded far from family and friends? Clearly, the best solution to this . . . is to practice your yo-yo skills.

Comments

[screamingftw]

Courage hadn't slept that well the night before. He'd gotten his 'screaming at the sight of the (much larger than anticipated) giant' long out of the way, and looked around the inside of the caravan... but none of that could get his mind off the journey to Loophole, and hopefully home. Sure, he was no stranger to weird shenanigans, but they were usually settled within a day tops. Now a day was gone and he still wasn't home where he needed to be.

Yet even with all this on his mind as he entered the second level lobby, he couldn't help but stop and get distracted at the sight of Murdock's yo-yo tricks. It was neat to watch, and it made Courage miss his own yo-yo back home a little. Curious, he drew closer to get a better look.

OMG Courage <3

[imcondiments]

Murdock caught the movement out of the corner of his eye as Courage approached, and he casually flicked the yo-yo up into a Rock-the-Cradle, turning to get a better look at . . .

He blinked, momentarily startled; it was a dog. Oddly colored, yes, and standing on its hind legs -- but most certainly a dog. Murdock grinned. Well, he had said on the Junogam yesterday that he was keeping an open mind about talking animals.

"Well, hey there." Murdock disentangled the fingers of one hand from the string of the yo-yo, dropping it out of the trick and into a regular pattern, still grinning. "Come here often?"

'SUP <3

[screamingftw]

He really had to try remember the hand positions for the cradle trick -- focus, Courage. When Murdock started talking, and didn't seem too surprised at seeing a little pink dog walking around, Courage had to admit it was a pleasant surprise. In a way, it almost felt like he was back in Nowhere again.

Looking up at Murdock, he grinned and shrugged at the question. Because really, how else does one answer in a situation like this?

[imcondiments]

Murdock chuckled, rolling the yo-yo along the floor in a Walk-the-Dog (hey, it only seemed appropriate). "Yeah, I'm new in this neck of the woods, m'self. Figured I'd corner the yo-yo performance market before the rush started, know what I mean?"

He cocked his head, examining the dog. A corner of his mind wondered idly if this might be a hallucination -- he was in a high-stress situation, after all, and he did have a history of seeing things -- but he wasn't too worried if it was. Heck, milder hallucinations could make decent company in a pinch. "Name's Murdock. You got somethin' you go by?"

[screamingftw]

Giving a low noise that almost sounded like a "Uh huh" if one listened closely enough, Courage got out his Junogram. He was quickly learning that the device made things really convenient when it came to his... communication issues. Plus, he couldn't help but think that it looked a lot spiffier looking than the computer in the attic.

After a few clicks of the keys, Courage held up the Junogram high enough so Murdock could see the screen easily. It was only set to the login page, since there was no need for him to access the network so early in the day, and in the space for the user's name the word "Courage" was typed in.

[imcondiments]

Murdock grinned in delighted fascination, examining the screen of the Junogam. "Courage, huh? I like it. Good, solid name. Well, Courage, pleased to meetcha, I'm sure."

He kept the yo-yo in constant motion as he talked; keeping his hands busy was helping with that knot of nervous tension in his chest, and so was talking to this unusual new acquaintance. "Seems like you're pretty handy with the gizmo, there. Still gettin' the hang of it, myself -- keys're too small for me to do much quick typing."

[screamingftw]

Courage nodded at that, remembering how others had commented on the size issue over the network earlier. He probably should have considered himself lucky that his paws were just small enough to deal with the keyboard without too much difficulty. That'd been one upside in the midst of the past day's events, at least.

Another upside was that most of the folks he'd interacted with so far seemed okay (in varying degrees) for the most part, including Murdock. Speaking of which... Courage's eyes were gradually focusing back on the yo-yo again as he wondered what trick the man would do next.

[imcondiments]

Murdock caught the look of interest and obligingly swung the yo-yo into an Around-the-World, pleased to have an audience. "Lucky thing I still had this in my pocket when I jumped worlds." He remarked. "Needed somethin' to do with my hands."

He glanced back down at Courage; the fact that the dog was apparently not much of a talker did exactly nothing to dissuade him from carrying on a conversation. Some of his best friends (real and imaginary) were the silent type, after all. "What about you? Ever given one a try?"

[screamingftw]

Oh boy, did he ever. Courage couldn't have nodded any harder or any more excitedly in response. He might not have known as many tricks, but at least he practiced a lot at the ones he did know. Setting his Junogram down for a moment, the little dog walked closer to Murdock while avoiding getting in the way of the yo-yo. Both arms reached upwards in what was definitely a silent request to see the toy.

[imcondiments]

"You want a go? Sure thing." Murdock nodded and caught up the yo-yo on its next return, obligingly slipping the looped string off his finger and crouching slightly to hand the toy over to Courage. "Knock yourself out, pal -- just not literally, huh?"

[screamingftw]

Flashing a thumbs up in response, Courage gratefully took the yo-yo and set it in motion. Up, down, up, down -- and then maintained the toy's position to do a Sleeper. It was a basic move... but hey, it'd been a while and he needed the practice. When he went through the motions a second time, his free paw grabbed the string so he could perform a Pinwheel.

[imcondiments]

Murdock grinned delightedly, burying his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and rocking back and forth on his heels to relieve some of his nervous energy. A dog that knew his way around a yo-yo . . . if this was a hallucination, it was one of his best works. "Well now, ain't that somethin'? Y'got a good technique there. Never woulda guessed it -- but then, I never woulda guessed most of the last couple days, so there ya go. Know any others?"

[screamingftw]

That got another nod from Courage, just before he started going through what tricks he knew. The whole while, his mind had gradually slipped off a lot of the worries he'd been having -- chances to play around with someone without being yelled at or interrupted by some horrific creepy thing came so rarely, after all.

Once he'd gone though his last trick, a shaky attempt at the Cradle, he carefully winded the yo-yo back up and held it up for Murdock to take again. A low noise could be heard from him, which almost sounded like a pleased "thanks".

[imcondiments]

"My pleasure -- anytime." Murdock took the yo-yo back from Courage and added brightly "I mean that, too. Caravan's more'n big enough to have room for two yo-yo performers. Besides, I don't hardly ever run into anyone who's bothered to learn their way around one. Kind of nice to meet someone who has."

[screamingftw]

Courage had opened his mouth like he was about to comment back, then closed it again in favor of picking up the Junogram from where he left it earlier. He quickly logged in and got to typing, paws practically flying across the keys. In just moments, he held the device high with the words, Same here! displayed on its screen.

And after a brief pause: Come to think of it, I don't see a lot of people back home with one either. Weird.

[imcondiments]

Murdock scanned the message and nodded thoughtfully. "My guess is most folks figure it's for kids -- don't want to get pegged as someone who still plays with toys." His grin took on a mischievous quality. "Y'know what I call folks like that? Grade-A, top-quality boring."