Their words mostly noises

[Alejandro Riviera]

"Uhh... we... could try," said Alejo slowly, thinking of their reactions when he and Jack returned with armloads of fish. Nobody appreciated having animals foisted upon them, not even shelter people! They would probably prefer this to having fish dumped into any old lake, though. Alejo didn't know—he saved people, not fish! But it wasn't a bad idea, all things considered.

He was just wary of Mik trying to hit on Jack again... Although Jack playing dumb did seem to indicate that he wasn't into the whole thing. Maybe he kept the card to be polite. Sighing, Alejo turned around, back in the direction of the tent that Shelby and Mik had set up. "All right, let's go and talk to them again. It can't hurt! They'd probably take the fish and give them away to people who can actually raise them properly."

He smiled at Jack though, a little ruefully. "Then you can visit the cats and their snacks if you ever go around to the shelter." Which he hoped Jack wouldn't, but at the same time, Alejo had no control over what he did. He could only give unsolicited advice and express disapproval, and maybe ask Marge to keep Jack under lock and key until he came to his senses!

The look on Shelby's face, though, when they came up with all those bags of goldfish... Alejo winced inwardly.

[Ripper Nightshade]

Even Rip could tell that Shelby wasn't happy when she saw the many fish that Rip had so foolishly tried to save... without thinking about where they would go. Instead of asking if she could take them, though, he strode up. There had to be some way of doing this that would benefit everybody...

"We have to save the fish," he said to the woman. "How do we save them? If I take them home, they will die. And if we let them free, they will be eaten..."

Which made rescuing them pointless. So there had to be a way to rescue them that everybody could help with. All their heads together had to be able to form a plan.

"I saw a koi pond, when I was little," he said. He didn't really--it was one of his Jack memories--but it was there and he remembered how happy all the fish were in their pond. "Can we build a goldfish pond maybe?"

[Alejandro Riviera]

"You're back!" Mik looked positively delighted, while Shelby looked as if someone had dumped horse manure all over her front porch. It was... not unlike that, to be honest, with their eight hundred bags of novelty pets. Alejo smiled in what he hoped was a winning way at her, while Jack outlined a plan to build a pond for them. That would take a lot of money... and resources...

"Where did you guys even get all these fish? From the games tents?" Mik rounded the table to get a better look at the goldfish, prodding one of the bags and making it jiggle. The fish inside swam a nervous circle. "Wow, how much did you spend on them? A fortune I'd bet!"

That did NOT make Alejo feel better! He sighed as he set the goldfish onto the table just to let his arms have some rest. They were heavy bags of water! "Well I think a pond will take a couple of weeks, sadly. I can pay for a tank but I can't look after them. Is there a way we can keep them at the shelter, Shelby?"

"I think so," said Shelby slowly, shaking her head. "But I'm too busy to look after them."

"Rip and I can look after them!" Mik beamed at Jack. "Right Rip? All they need is to be fed, and we can change the water once every few days together!"

[Ripper Nightshade]

Following Allie's example, Rip slowly and carefully placed the bags he held onto the table along with Allie's fish. It was starting to dawn on him that he was... stupid and careless. His recklessness left them with all these fish that he foolishly thought they could free, as if they were wild animals. Bringing them home wasn't an option, although he wasn't really sure Keith would care one way or the other about fish. Still... better not to try and rile him up...

"Ah..." He hadn't meant to really keep them at the shelter; he was trying to come up with some way to fix his bungling mistake. But they would still be there, at the shelter. The card in his pocket practically burned a hole where it was tucked away. He knew where to go, though. To see the fish...

And he could see cats, too...

"What?" He lifted his head and stared at Mik uncomprehendingly. Well... He could hardly say no, since they had become his problem and Mik was only trying to help him. "Oh... right! How close is this shelter to Greenwood?"

[Alejandro Riviera]

"It's along the bus route! 210, I think, will take you right to us Rip! Ooh look at that one, isn't that the prettiest? Black and orange go so well together."

Mm. Mik. Mikky. Mikko. Such a bright, lovely young thing.

Who needed to get his mitts off of Jack now, before Alejo had to wrangle him off or cuff him to the back of the tent! Look, he knew Jack was, as they say, a hottie. He was more than eager to get into his pants and he had not been disappointed. But Jack was taken. Claimed. By Brayden. Alejo wasn't a fanboy, he wasn't trying to ruin Jack's life. He wanted what was best for his friend, someone he grew to love platonically, and he knew that Mik the shelter volunteer was not going to cut it.

Shit. He needed to get to Brayden and talk to him, and see what was up! Later, though—after he got this sorted.

"Well that settles it I suppose. I'll get the tank and bring it around to the shelter, Shelby," he said reluctantly, watching Mik pulling on Jack's arm to get him to look at the orange and black goldfish. Alejo exchanged a Look with Shelby, who seemed equally unhappy about her nephew's apparent interest in... an older man. Mik was a good kid, really, but this wasn't right. What if he decided he didn't want to date someone that much older? Would Jack be thrown for another loop? Alejo didn't want to see him hurt again!

"We'll load these up and take them with us while you get the tank, Allie," Shelby said, also trying to separate them by the looks of things. "Mik honey, could you bring the truck around?"

[Ripper Nightshade]

Rip knelt down to get a better look at the black and orange goldfish. It certainly was the best looking one of the group. The smallest of serene smiles formed on his face as he gently placed a finger to the bag. The fish came to it eagerly.

"It has pretty fins, too."

He looked over at Mik, the smile still on his face. So far, Mik was the only one that didn't seem angry with his decision to save the fish. That made him feel better. Hostility... didn't sit well with Rip. Not even perceived hostility. It bit bone deep, even though he was accustomed to it. That didn't stop it from having an effect on him.

"I'll help load the fish," he decided, because he wasn't clear on his role and he couldn't very well leave the fairgrounds with Allie, even if Allie wanted him to. "I can't leave the fair," he told Allie. "Keith will be waiting."

[Mikko Ashby]

"That's the queen of the bunch," Mik said decisively as he knelt beside Rip and poked the bag too. The other fish came in various colors of gold and orange, white, red, even black, but this one was clearly the prettiest, especially with its fins like delicate fairy wings, and it made him feel rather happy that Rip agreed. He turned and Rip was smiling at him peacefully, and it made his heart skip a beat.

Sheesh! How was it fair for someone to be that handsome? And Rip was still wearing the cute kitten t-shirt—the one he designed—which pleased him to no end. It looked funny and silly but it was also endearing. Rip didn't seem to care what other people thought and his confidence was definitely something to be admired. Not that Mik was gushing! (He was gushing a little bit, okay, he'd admit that.)

"I'll be right back with the truck!" Mik straightened, bright as ever. Things were looking up! He loved spending time with Aunt Shel but a lot of people ignored them and their booth, which was kiiiind of dispiriting! Having someone take interest in their poor shelter and all of the little kittens and kitties was a nice change of pace. He grabbed the keys of the truck, grinned at Rip, and then set off.

Behind him, he heard Allie talking with Aunt Shel about the tank and the fish, and he shook his head. It was a pretty big shock when they came back with all of these fish but Mik was nothing if not optimistic, and they could find people to take them, he was sure! Honestly he was kind of glad Rip and Allie rescued them. He'd been eyeing those kids running around with bags of water and fish and it made him nervous to think of them not taking care of the little creatures properly!

The truck was parked a little ways off in the parking lot, but it didn't take long for him to pull up and reverse it so that it rested closer to their tent. Mik hopped out twirling the keys on his index. "Okay let's load 'em up!"

[Ripper Nightshade]

She was definitely the queen, Rip agreed. She was pretty and she knew it, the way she moved so gracefully in the water. It was too small for her, though. She needed more space to zoom and twirl. Even when he moved his finger around in a circle, she followed it. She's lonely, he thought. All she wanted was to get out of her tiny bag. No more tiny bowls and bags for her. She would soon have a tank where she could be a real queen.

Holding the bag steady, Rip also straightened up.

"Okay. I'll... be right here." There was nowhere else for him to go; he offered to help load the fish so he would stay with them and get the job done. As for getting to the shelter later... It shouldn't be that hard. With how often Keith left him at the apartment, he should have plenty of time to take that bus to the shelter and back again.

It felt good, actually, to have some kind of... plan. A goal. Something other than pacing around an apartment all day, looking at Raphael's collections, listening to music, dancing on his own. Now he could do something productive.

Once the truck arrived, Rip helped load the fish carefully into the back, inside cardboard boxes to keep them steady and not slamming around the truck bed. He stepped back to admire their handiwork when they were finished. Tilting his head, he smiled slightly at the sight of all the little fish packed up together. It was a little sad but they were going to a better place.

"I think," he said wistfully to Mik, "I would take them all if I could. Cats and fish and dogs and raccoons and birds and coyotes... Our neighbors hate the raccoons because they get into the garbage cans but if they didn't throw out so much food, I'm sure it wouldn't be such a problem."

[Mikko Ashby]

That didn't take as long as he thought it would! Mik stepped back to make sure the boxes were secured, and then leaned in to adjust some of them to make them fit more snugly. Didn't want anybody flying out on the drive back! Since Allie was still conversing with Aunt Shel, he was more than happy to keep Rip company. Mik hopped up onto the bed of the pickup and sat there swinging his legs a little bit while he waited for his aunt to finish up. He patted the space beside him, to let Rip know there was plenty of space for two to take a perch!

"Aww, I know how you feel, Rip. I can't help myself when I see an animal in need. I just want to take them all in and keep them safe, you know? Aunt Shel gets really fed up with me bringing animals home but... well what am I supposed to do? Leave them to die?" The shelter was filled to capacity, though—hence their desperate bid to get people to adopt some of the cats and kittens. He glanced behind him at the boxes, with the fish settling into their new temporary home.

"They should really... not do things like this. People don't think about them as living creatures but I mean... they are. They're alive, even if they can't talk. Every life is a life, right? It's not fair to stick them into bowls and treat them like objects just so somebody could make a quick buck off a dumb kid." He turned back and poked Rip in the shoulder gently, playfully.

"Good thing you and Allie came along to save them all! You guys are like superheroes now!"

[Ripper Nightshade]

With the work of loading the fish done, Rip sat down where Mik patted. It seemed Mik agreed with him. Not surprising, since he worked with an animal shelter. It had to take a big heart and a lot of work to care for all the abandoned animals that needed help. Rip supposed if he was promising to help with the fish, he was helping in his own way, too, which satisfied something inside of him. He smiled to himself.

Shelby got fed up? Rip sidled a look over at her. But not Keith's brand of fed up, surely. She seemed more... of an exasperated person. Rip felt bad; she had been kind enough to give him a shirt and... a bag, that he still didn't know what to do with. Currently, it just sat nearby on his other side. But she had been nice and what did he do? Dump more animals on her while she was here trying to find homes for others.

He was going to apologize but Mik seemed to have a different view on things. See, that was how Rip felt when he saw the fish, too. Sliding his linked hands over one knee, he stared into the middle distance.

"I--" Oh! Poked? He turned his gaze on Mik and then poked him back, since it seemed to be a game. And a joke; Allie and Rip--superheroes. How at odds their views were. One moment, Rip was feeling guilty for preying on somebody's kindness and now he was half smiling at a joke about being a superhero--and both about the same exact situation.

"I wouldn't say that," he said, abashed. "Honestly, I wasn't thinking when I saw those fish trapped in those tiny bowls. I just wanted to save them all and set them free, but apparently that's not allowed." He leaned back slightly, hands back at his knee. "Admittedly, I don't know much about fish..."

[Mikko Ashby]

Oh, aunt Shelby was definitely exasperated, all the time. All. The. Time. Mik wasn't a handful in any other part of life except with animals. He just couldn't take it—if he saw the slightest sign of abuse, he had to get in there. He had to save them! People called him a bleeding heart when it came to animals but how could anyone stand by idly and watch another living being suffer? And not want to do something?!

Smiling over at Rip, who seemed oddly embarrassed by his little joke (but not really because anyone who saved animals was a hero in their own right!), he reached over and patted Rip on the chest very lightly, over his heart. "That's because you have a big heart. Only somebody who has a genuinely good soul could think the way you did about those fish."

Buuut... dumping them into a lake was a big no-no! Mik laughed. "It's against the law to dump fish around here. They take over, you know! They eat all the food and that kills the native fish that live in our lakes. If they breed fast like goldfish do, then eventually all you have in the lake are goldfish and nothing else! It messes with the natural balance, so it's always just better to give it over to us! We can find them new homes, or find a place where they can live without disrupting the natural wildlife!"

[Ripper Nightshade]

A heart, he said. There was a beating heart inside of him, although it was supposedly made of a special stone. The spell cast to make him a living, breathing being turned that stone heart into a real heart, one that pumped both blood and magic through his system. He was a magical being in that way but his access to actual magic was limited--another spell cast by Keith.

A big heart, but a small soul. But a good, small soul. A small soul was still a soul. And now that it was inside of him, it was his and nobody else's. He didn't care how he got it; he was keeping it. But... He slid his gaze sidelong at Mik, then lifted his chin slightly as he was laughed at.

"I told you I didn't know anything about fish."

How was he supposed to know that it was that bad for the environment? He wondered what happened to the fish people flushed down toilets. But those were dead... he hoped. A live fish probably wouldn't do well. And toilet water didn't go into lakes. ...At least he hoped not. He didn't know a lot about sewage systems, either. Get off his back.

"I never had pets."

[Mikko Ashby]

Mik laughed again, gently—not mockingly. "That's okay! You can't know everything, or else you'd be a computer and not a person!" It was okay to not know all the things—that was what friends were for! If everyone pooled their knowledge, then more of it could get spread around. Besides, learning new things was fun, Mik thought. Knowing everything took the joy out of life, definitely.

"Pets are a lot of work and commitment," Mik replied slowly, gazing back at the fish again. "And when they die, it... It's not very nice, at any age." Even now, when he was grown up (technically) he didn't feel good when they failed to save an animal. That happened more times than one would think—not every animal could be saved, not every one found a forever home. The heartbreak of that was horrible, but then there was so much joy in having pets, too. It was kind of a toss-up!

"You're always welcome to come to the shelter!" Tilting closer to Rip, he bumped their shoulders together and then whispered, "You can unofficially adopt one of the cats as your pet, if you want! But shhh, don't tell Aunt Shel. It can be our secret. I'll keep it just for you. Okay?"

[Ripper Nightshade]

Uncomfortably close, but not quite! Keith said he wasn't a person, though deep down, Rip felt like a person. He had a body like a person, a heart like a person, a soul like a person... He had feelings and thoughts, too, like a person. What made him so different then, say, Jack? What made Jack a person and Rip a non-person? The way they were created? But they were both crafted on purpose and they both had no choice in the matter.

"Yeah..." He was a person.

Rip glanced back at the fish, too, following Mik's gaze. Pets, he said. That was one of the terms Keith used for him, when he was in a rare good mood. The other terms were a lot less... nice but he had come to think of them as terms of affection coming from Keith. That was just how he was. Honestly, sometimes... Rip thought he--as a supposed non-person--was more person than Keith was. But... he wasn't going to share that thought with anybody else.

Death, though. Rip lowered his gaze as he remembered the bird being crushed to death and he closed his eyes against the memory, trying to slam his mind shut. Even as he opened his eyes again, he could hear it--the awful sound it made. It made his stomach churn uncomfortably.

Mik tilted toward him and Rip's gaze wandered over him, from the shining hair in the waning late afternoon sunlight down the length of his throat and his chest, to his legs, so casually swinging as he spoke in his conspiratorial whisper. Flicking his gaze back upward to meet Mik's, a sly little half smile formed.

"Our little secret?" Despite the decidedly sexual way he'd just looked Mik up and down, though, he lifted up a pinky finger. Pinky promise.

[Mikko Ashby]

Ah... he was being checked out. Yup. That he was, and he knew it and it made him feel a little squirmy inside, like a wiggly worm. Mik was hard-pressed to stay still; he gripped the side of the truck a little tighter as he felt Rip's gaze rake down him, then up again. Hopefully he liked what he saw... because Mik liked what he was seeing and he was interested in getting to know Rip better. Even if nothing came of it, they could be friends, right?

There was an age gap, obviously, but Rip didn't look that old. And Mik was an old soul, he'd been told, so hey, it could happen! It didn't hurt to try, and Rip seemed interested in taking him up on his (repeated) offer to visit the shelter. He imagined that Rip probably lived in a place that didn't allow pets, as so many places in town did nowadays. It used to be that people were more lax with dogs and cats but lately, everyone said no. No pets, just a solitary existence. That was so sad, actually; everybody needed a bit of animal love in their lives!

That smile, though! Mik felt squirmy again, but he grinned back. His pinkie looped around Rip's, curled tightly around it. "Our secret. Pinkie swear."

Gosh Rip was cute! He didn't act like a grown-up, either, not like Allie or Aunt Shel or any of the adults that Mik knew. There was a kind of strange, childlike innocence to him that Mik found attractive. It helped him to see Rip not so much an adult as maybe... a friend or a peer, someone closer to his age. Mik winked. "But that means you have to come see your pet... and me... often!"