Filling in the blanks...? [Closed]

[usedrocketpunch]

Who: Rex Salazar (naniteknight usedrocketpunch) and Trevor Belmont (poweroflegend)
When: Backdated to the evening of Monday, July the 25th because LJ is fail
Where: The commercial district nearest the Outlander Community Block
Format: Prose.
What: After seeing that Rex has been de-aged like so many other Scorched, Trevor decides to go find the kid before trouble catches up to him.

Comments

[poweroflegend]

As brave a face as Rex had shown him over the Forge, Trevor knew a scared hungry child when he saw one. He'd seen it often enough in his own reflection, back when men had equated 'Belmont' with 'heretics' and 'fallen angels'. He'd be damned before he let any child go through what he had. Let alone one who'd been beaten half to death mere days ago and probably still had disgruntled participants looking to finish the job.

On top of that, Trevor just wasn't the type to leave a friend to himself. Whether or not that friend could even remember him.

Tides of riff-raff scouring the marketplace began to part like the Red Sea once the hunter entered their midst. They'd had plenty of time to test his mettle. Few wanted repeat demonstrations. Thus he had no trouble locating the alley from Rex's video feed. The lad himself was leaning back against the wall, warily scanning the unfriendly crowds just outside of this safe haven.

"Rex. There you are." Trevor stopped before the boy and knelt to his level, willing a smile to lighten his usually hard visage. "Sorry if I took too long. Are you well?"

[usedrocketpunch]

Rex glanced up at the sound of the familiar voice, almost a little taken aback at first by the sheer size of the man who had come looking for him. Clearly, the Forge had failed to properly get across just how tall Trevor Belmont was in person. Rex himself was a good few inches shorter than he was a sixteen, perhaps seventeen year old, making the gap between them greater than before.

Not that he recalled that at all, of course.

As Trevor knelt down, offering him a smile, Rex considered the question and shrugged. "I...don't really know. I guess? Kinda hard to tell when nothing around here makes any sense." A brief pause. He stole another glance at the people on the street. "And when I don't know anyone."

Brown eyes turned toward Trevor again. "How do I know you, anyway? I mean, if what someone else said is true and I'm supposed to older, do we work together or something?"

[poweroflegend]

"To a point. Nearly all of us work together here, to some extent or another. Otherwise, you and I are simply friends." The hunter set his jaw, and the way he delivered his next words showed he meant every word of it. "And if there is one thing I hate, 'tis leaving friends alone when they clearly need a hand."

From somewhere just a few paces away came the hiss and sizzle of cooking oil. Then the mouthwatering scent of some exotic meat frying in a pan came wafting into the alley. Trevor's smile took on a warmer hue. "Or a bite to eat. Didn't you say you were hungry? Let me take care of it. What do you say?"

Up came a gloved hand and extended, palm up, towards Rex. A bridge to the gap between lost child and caring grown-up.

[usedrocketpunch]

Well, if there was one thing Rex definitely needed then...it was a friend. Trevor and Gwen seemed like his best possible bets and with Trevor offering food? How could the youngster say no, especially with the tempting smell of meat cooking so close by to remind him that his stomach was empty?

Rex eyed the offered hand with only a moment's hesitation before committing to the decision. At least one part of this was reassuring so far... If trouble came along and Trevor was being truthful, Rex would have one hell of a fighter on his side. The man looked strong enough to punch someone's jaw clean off.

"Yeah, like everything else I can't remember, I don't know when the last time I ate was," Rex admitted. "I just know my stomach feels totally empty. I feel like I could eat a whole pizza by myself right now!"

[poweroflegend]

Trevor could actually see one in his mind's eye. Not the oven-baked American ventures that began in the 20th century, but the open-air street delicacies brought over by Neapolitan traders in the 15th. The mental sight tickled his taste buds despite just having had lunch.

"Ahh, pizza. Who could blame you? Come." Trevor stood and, making sure a guiding hand was never far from Rex's shoulder, began to carve a path through the Marketplace with him. He had the air of a man who knew exactly what he was looking for.

"I've been here a year and I've yet to see someone hawking it. But you'll find this Marketplace has the next best thing." He led Rex up a short flight of stairs, round two corners, and in no time they were facing a plump old lady from behind a weathered stall. She looked up from where she was applying roasted meat and cheese to folded-up flatbread and offered a toothy yet jolly smile.

"Mr. Belmont! You're late this fortnight. Does dear old Gretchen have competition now?"

Trevor cast a sidelong sheepish grin at Rex. The implication that he stopped by here every two weeks was pretty obvious. The lad would soon know why. "By no means, m'lady. I've yet to see your rivals pass muster." A gentle pat on the boy's head. "Would you give my friend here a large one? He's absolutely famished."

Her smile went to Rex. "Of course. But don't you think you should let him pick what he wants on it first? We don't all have your tastes, Mr. Belmont."

True, that. He waved a hand at the ingredients stocked before and behind Gretchen. Meats, cheese, tomatoes, sauces... everything you'd need to closely simulate a good old fashioned pizza. "What would you like on it, lad? Go ahead and pick."

((OOC: So yeah, this is a gyros stall. If a very pizza-like one. =d))

[usedrocketpunch]

Oh, awesome. Someone who was familiar with pizza and liked it, too, even if the city didn't have it as Rex knew it. If Trevor knew anything about tacos and burritos as well (or at least rough equivalents) he'd be Rex's new best friend in no time at all.

"Bummer this place doesn't have the real deal, but I'm totally up for trying that next best thing. Not like I can really be picky at this point anyway."

He allowed Trevor to guide him through the Marketplace, gaze constantly jumping from stand to stand and building to building. There was so much to see and so many people around! The every shifting crowd was not something Rex wanted to be lost in at any point, however, especially given the way some people had eyed him previously. Being at Trevor's side made a huge difference, though, and for the first time since arriving, Rex felt an increased sense of security.

When they finally came to a stop, Rex peered over the stall's ledge at the woman who greeted them, instantly interested in what she was doing via the tempting smell of food, alone. He listened to the adults converse briefly, one eyebrow arching just a bit. Now that he stopped to think about it, both Trevor and Gretchen had a weird way of speaking. Not that it was so unusual he had trouble understanding them. Still, he wasn't about to point that out. Not when the big man at his side was giving him a pat to the head and telling him to pick out whatever he wanted...because wow, that was a lot of food.

Rex took stock of what was available in a quick glance before he began picking out ingredients, eagerly pointing out some fire roasted meat before deciding on some tomatoes, onions, two different kinds of cheese, mushrooms and olives. It might not have been the sort of pizza he managed to remember, per se, but everything smelled way too good for this to turn out poorly.

[poweroflegend]

Gretchen was all heart. In no time, she'd filled up the flatbread with a generous helping of every item Rex had pointed out. She then 'signed' her work with one swirl of sauce before rolling it all up and extending the finished product over the counter. "Here you go, boy. Take a big bite and chew slowly. It's the only way to enjoy it."

Trevor paid and silently motioned for a small one for himself. Looks like he would skip dinner tonight. Or at least tea with his fellow hunters. The way he observed Rex was the manner of a man who knew something wonderful was about to happen.

"Best try it before the crows swoop, Rex." Okay, no crows plagued the Anatolian Marketplace. But the lad seemed so spellbound at the masterpiece before him that he ran the risk of never sampling it despite his hunger.

[usedrocketpunch]

Rex accepted the thick roll with both hands and, indeed, those eyes of his were rather wide as he realized just how much food he'd been handed. He stared at it for a moment before looking back at Gretchen again, a smile on his face. "Whoa, thanks!"

He then turned to Trevor, the comment about the crows making his eyebrows arch a little. Because oh no... If there were birds around who wanted his food, they were going to have to fight him for it!

And oh, right!

"Thank you," Rex said before he forgot, remembering that while it was the kindly woman who had made the food, it was Trevor who had brought him there and paid for it in the first place. He then shifted his attention to said food, following Gretchen's advice and making his first bite a big one. Given how good it tasted, he might as well have been without sustenance for several days. He was tempted to say it was the best thing he'd ever had, but...well, he couldn't be sure of that. However it was amazing, that much for was for certain. "Wow, this is awesome."

Given a few minutes, he'd really be able to do some damage to that loaded flatbread. One might assume he had a hollow leg for as easily as he put food away.

((OOC: And that appetite is so canon. When Six first got him back to Providence HQ after finding him in the field, Rex somehow managed to eat fifteen burritos. D: ))

[poweroflegend]

((OOC: Must... have... burrito, later. Have a weakness for it and chili con carne. *_*))

Trevor took a bite in perfect unison with Rex's first one. Pardon the cliche, but the flavor really did melt in one's mouth. Most days, the hunter wolfed his meals down whether or not something urgent was at stake. It was a carryover from the days when he was a wandering outcast. But Gretchen's pizzas just had to be savored. He'd learned this the first time he'd come to this humble little stand. And now Rex was learning this too.

He turned his eyes to the youngster. They promptly widened to blue icebergs at the sheer speed with which Rex attacked the flatbread. And it definitely had more to do with burning hunger than fear of non-existent crows. "By God. You weren't jesting, were you, lad?"

Still chewing on his own pizza, Trevor quickly signalled for another one. Gretchen laughed and began to load a second flatbread with the exact same ingredients she'd put together for Rex.