"Stand by for shit to get stupid."

[whiskytango_rto]

In the opinion of this Marine, Baghdad was likely more interesting than the inside of his eyelids, but he dozed regardless.  Three weeks into this bitch and he was finally in the back seat of the Humvee, letting Walt lead the team through the dusty streets.  It was never really an issue who drove the thing, three weeks in and nobody had a license

Comments

[loaded_wolf]

Angua paused as she was about to pass the man in the soldier costume. "Excuse me," she said, absently tugging at the bottom of her skirt, wishing it was at least a few inches longer. "Have you seen a little boy in a pumpkin costume run by?"

Dean was still himself - an adult, technically - and could in all reality take care of himself, she was sure, but he was just so...small, and seemed so innocent. She'd lost track of him and anything could happen.

[whiskytango_rto]

Scary as the whole thing was, really, Ray couldn't help but appreciate his timing--of all the days he could show up on this magic island, he picked the one where the girls went out dressed like lingerie models. "Isn't it early for Halloween," he asked, knowing the invasion hadn't taken that long. "I've seen a few kids, but no pumpkins."

[loaded_wolf]

It took a moment, but even through her concern what he said clicked. If he didn't realize it was Halloween, then that couldn't be a costume, and that meant he was new.

"Thanks." She glanced past him a moment. But she knew she couldn't leave someone new to just...wander around. "You just got here, didn't you?"

[whiskytango_rto]

"Not, you know, a second ago or anything," he said, stuffing a hand into his pocket, holding his rifle strap with the other as he balanced his extra gear in its bundle, on his shoulder. "I know I'm not dreaming or anything, much as you ladies seem to be trying to prove otherwise," arching his brows at her skirt, but returning his gaze to her face with only minimal difficulty. "Is the kid you're looking for actually a kid," he asked, thinking of the last few he met.

[loaded_wolf]

Angua stared daggers at the man when his eyes dared venture lower than her neckline, but she managed to rein it in when he finally looked back at his face.

So it seemed someone had filled him in not only on island things, but what was going on today. That was probably for the best, lest he think half the population was ten and under.

"He's not usually a kid, but he's stuck at four, and...he's just little," she tried to explain, fingers tightening around the handle of her basket.

"His name is Dean," she said as an afterthought, "I'm Angua."

[whiskytango_rto]

"Dean, little, looks like a pumpkin. That's a hell of a missing persons file you've got going." He didn't laugh, but he didn't have to, arching a brow, before a yawn forced him to cover his mouth. He rubbed his face and breathed deeply. "I'm Ray," he offered, holding out the hand. "You need some help finding him?" The Brad in his head was almost jealous, finding this pumpkin kid was closer to a recon mission than they'd had in ten weeks.

[loaded_wolf]

"Thanks for the offer," Angua said, taking his hand to shake. Her head tilted a little to the side, chin pushed out a moment to motion to him. "Are you sure, though? That was a big yawn, I don't want to keep you up."

[whiskytango_rto]

Ray shrugged, knowing he still had some instant coffee and Ripped Fuel in his pack, if he needed it. "I'll sleep when I'm dead." One hand on his hip, the other on his rifle strap, he looked around at what seemed to be "the path" he'd been told about. "Where is there here for a dude in a kid's body to go?"

[loaded_wolf]

Angua glanced at the giant gonne the man was carrying. Having learned to shoot one herself it wasn't so unnerving, but she doubted she would ever be completely comfortable around them.

"Anywhere," she said with a long exhale. "That's the problem. But I guess the playground would be a good place to start." She motioned for Ray to follow her, and began walking toward the Compound.

[whiskytango_rto]

"A magic island with a Ferris wheel and a playground, Jesus. Why didn't I land here when I was six," he asked, seeing if he could put her a bit more at ease. He imagined he could ditch the whole uniform and the weapons that came with it, but then he'd be naked and some kids might find them, and no. It was easier to just make a stupid joke.

[loaded_wolf]

Angua smirked, looking over at Ray. "You really wouldn't want to, this place isn't always this," she paused to consider what exactly she'd call today. Halloween, to her, was just an altogether strange concept. "Fun."

[whiskytango_rto]

"It's probably always fun if you're six," he argued. "Or if you just get to wake up six, once in awhile." The sun was as bright here as it had been in Baghdad, and now that he wasn't napping, he plucked the sunglasses from his shirt collar and put them on, scanning the area for something round and orange and bipedal.

[loaded_wolf]

"Not if you show up without your parents," Angua countered, because that happened more often than not. "Or they disappear and leave you behind."

She glanced at his glasses, wondering how he was supposed to even see with them on. "Are you from Earth, then? Most here are."

[whiskytango_rto]

"And you're not?" He'd concede that she was pretty hot, but not in some out of this world bullshit kind of way. She was running around after a boy in a pumpkin suit, and that seemed a lot more suited to a middle-American mom than some kind of...magic, extraterrestrial fairy-tale chick.

[loaded_wolf]

"No, I've heard of the Roundworld but I've never been there. Although some believe this is Earth," Angua added, but she didn't know how they could be sure when it was different even for them. Either way it wasn't home, so for her it didn't much matter. "I'm from the Disc, held up by four elephants who stand on the back of the star turtle, Great A'Tuin."