(Untitled)

[themanclion]

There's the roar of an engine coming from somewhere near the forest. It's a deep, throaty sound and soon accompanied by the squeal of tyres though at first, there's nothing to be seen.

Until there is.

Out of nowhere, a car appears. It's big and bronze and makes a hell of a racket. But possibly not as much of one as Gene.

'...bloody 'ell is goin' on!'

Comments

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy was standing about twenty feet from the back door. And as such, gets the full force of the mudslide whilst trying not to get run over.

"WHAT THE BLOODY FUCKING HELL!" he yells, getting up and squelching over towards the car to find out which delinquants just ruined his clothes.

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate is a pair of round blue eyes hovering above hands pressed to her face in mortification.

(And surprise. She's never heard Guppy shout like that before.)

"Guppy!"

[themanclion]

Gene...frowns and gets out of the car, looking him up and down.

'You need some soap f'that gob, mate?'

Swearing like that in front of ladies = no.

'Blimey. What did you wanna stand there, for?'

Twat.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy sees Kate, and goes red, then he sees Gene. He half wonders whether Gene bundled her in the car against her will.

"I was just standing there, minding my own business." he says, curbing his language now.

But, more to the point in his opinion, nearly running people over = no.

"What the hell are you doing driving around a public garden like that?! You could have killed someone! What if any of the bar's kids had been playing out here? And a couple of feet further, or a bit wetter grass, and you could have taken both yourself and Kate out and half a dozen people inside and all."

[themanclion]

'Oh shut it, you bloody girl.'

His tone is nothing but blunt.

'No one's aroun'. An' it weren' like I had a choice anyway.'

He looks at Kate as he lights a fag, as if asking you believe this bloke?

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate actually can believe this bloke, which is evident enough in the way she leaps from the car, squelching over to make sure he's okay.

Guppy will also notice that she's dressed wholly unlike herself, in 70s clothes, makeup, and hair, and aside from a few frazzled hairs she looks no worse for wear.

"Are you okay? My god, you're..."

Beat.

"A mess."

She tries her best not to laugh.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy is trembling now that the anger is starting to die down. He often brings Alex out here, both kids in fact, and if that had been the case today, he's not convinced he could have grabbed them in time.

Slow breaths, calm down...

He wipes the mud off his face and looks at Kate. Suppress the panic, suppress the panic, nobody died, you're okay, she'll get upset and he'll take the piss.

"I'm not hurt." he says. "Are you all right? Did the stop hurt you? Did he make you get in the car?"

Because if Gene's hurt Kate, he's getting the stun gun.

[themanclion]

Gene just huffs a massive, theatrical breath and crosses his arms emphatically, looking away as if searching for the presence of sanity elsewhere.

'Oh yeah, I regularly kidnap Yankee birds an' shove 'em in my car. My weekend hobby, that is.'

[ikissdhimbck]

"Gene, shut your trap."

She gives him a Look -- it's not a hateful glare, but a softer, almost pleading request. Take it easy, eh?

"I'm fine. Gene offered t'teach me how t'drive. It was actually rather nice of him."

Those last three words come out stiff, along with another look. She touches the side of Guppy's face reassuringly, and lowers her voice.

"He wasn't tryin' t'hurt nobody. It was just an accident, okay? Calm down."

[guppy_sandhu]

She might be able to feel how much he's shaking. He's really trying to calm down.

He knows Gene can be nice. He was really impressed with how nice Gene was to Alex the other day. He'd started to think better of the guy.

It probably was accidental, he knows. Combined with fixing the accident with some over the top showing off.

Deep breath.

"That is not how you stop a car." he says to Kate, taking her hand. "On a slippery surface, you need to pump the brake and bring it to a slower stop in a straight line. You're lucky he didn't land both of you in the lake or through the wall. You're sure you didn't hurt your neck or anything?"

[themanclion]

'Oh bloody hell.'

He'd started to think Guppy was alright too. But now his estimation is plummeting again.

'Let me know if he's abou' t'start cryin', I'll fetch 'im a teddy bear from the bar.'

He knows how to drive a car. You can't drive like him unless you know what you're doing.

[ikissdhimbck]

"My neck is fine, Guppy. Don't worry yourself."

She eyes both men.

"And I expect you boys not t'start any fights in front of a lady."

[guppy_sandhu]

"I'm not planning to fight him." Guppy reassures Kate. "If he wants to mock me for having post-traumatic stress, let him."

He does however face Gene.

"No, I'm not going to cry, twatbuster. I'm making sure my friend is okay. And if you have a problem with that, you can go and stick your car's exhaust pipe in an orifice where it doesn't belong."

[themanclion]

'Oh yeah, like I don' give a damn if her 'ead fell off.'

Does Guppy think he'd let any random bird drive his most prized possession? Man must be stupider than he acts.

'Post-traumatic what? Wha's tha' then, the clap? Full round of applause or jus' a polite ripple?'

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate mutters an exasperated little exhalation.

Oh, to be in the warm glow of all this testosterone...

"Can we concentrate on the fact that everyone's heads are exactly where they ought t'be?"

[guppy_sandhu]

"Post traumatic stress disorder." Guppy says to Gene, having started to calm down. "It's an anxiety condition that causes panic attacks. I developed it after being beaten nearly to death by a patient and his gang who took offence to my skin colour. Surprised you haven't come across it in the police, actually."

Glancing at Kate.

"Actually, that was kind of my point. I don't think you want her hurt, Gene, so I don't see any reason for you to object to me checking she's okay. You have just had a car accident after all. If it'd make you feel better, I could check you're okay too."

In emergency medicine, the term accident is no longer allowed, since it implies there is no guilt. But it's not really what he could call a collision.