Find the Angle and Make it Stick [Chao] *Finished*

[seraaches]

It was a beautiful day in the neighbourhood. Or some other rot like that. Rounded ears flattened in vague irritation. It wasn't that the boy necessarily disliked nice days, it was just that there were too many people out to pull off the pitiful orphan thing. People tended to assume you were just lost if there were too many of them out and about. That would be a waste of his time, so now he had to choose his mark very carefully. Who in the world could he choose?

There was a nice looking couple right over there... but they had three children chasing after them in a giggling line of not enough birth control. No, he wouldn't mind a sibling, but no more than two. There was a man over there... seemed a bit surly, but that might be perfect.

Tosiek watched him for a moment, trying to decide on his angle.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Seth's ears flicked back as he stared at the same line of giggling children and the happy couple. It made him feel like gagging, in all honesty. As close as he and Heilyn would get, he hoped that they never turned into that. Where was the fun in being a happy bubbly perfectly sugar-sweet couple with dozens of children who followed you wherever you went with their high-pitched voices and awful, horrible, sticky fingers, anyway?

His stomach turned. Right. He had gotten Heilyn pregnant. He was going to have his own children soon enough. There was still some hope, though. Maybe they weren't his children?

Oh, he would kill whoever had touched her, if that was the case. Heilyn was his, but the children couldn't be. He wasn't suited to be a father, not in the slightest!

He slumped back slightly, then glanced up, inadvertantly making eye-contact with the young boy, who seemed to be considering something. His mouth turned down at the corners as he did. What was he looking at, anyway? His ears twitched slightly.

[seraaches]

The man was looking at him now and Tosiek knew it was time. Time to tell... a notoriously huge lie. The skunk/bird hybrid tucked up his wings and headed for the man.

Whoa, whooa! The bat was a -lot- bigger than the child had first realized and there was a sort of hardness to the man's gaze that made the boy leery. Still... there was knowledge there as well. Perhaps he'd have a lot more luck with this man than any of his previous efforts.

"Hello," the winged hybrid said quietly, confidence in his voice rather than the usual pitifullness that he would use to approach a new 'family'. "My name is Tosiek." There would be no pity from this quarter. He already knew that. The better approach was spunkiness. "You look like you need an assistant. I'm well read and more able than most of the others you'll find around here." He lifted a taloned claw. "These are a bit easier to work with than hooves or paws."

[carcinoGeneticist]

Seth was just beginning to enjoy looking at the young man, grinning to himself. Those little glasses were so silly! And a sparrow-skunk? That was the weirdest hybrid that he'd ever managed to encounter. He looked awfully young to be wandering around alone as well, and the bat glanced around, eyes seeking out someone who even slightly resembled the mixed-region mixed-breed. As he looked around, he was dimly aware that the child was walking towards him, but he was relatively sure that it must have been a coincidence.

Then the boy was actually speaking to him, and Seth blinked slowly, looking down at the child. If he wasn't so surprised by it, the bat might have been amused by his forward attitude and the strange words that he was speaking. He looked like he needed an assistant? With what? Standing around?

"Seth. Do I, now?[/b]" he replied, rasing his eyebrows slightly. Those huge ears of his perked forward, eager to hear the child's explanation for his abrupt approach. "I believe you when you say they are, but I just can't see what exactly I need help with. Care to enlighten me, perhaps?[/b]" He knew that he should be finding out who this kid belonged to, but he was far too amusing to give up so soon.

[seraaches]

Blast. Normally his marks were willing to give him some sort of clue on how to proceed next. The little he had read up on the Solandria Glacier-- and that had been awhile ago-- had not been helpful about wot the Solandrians even really did. He needed to be vague yet obvious in his ability to help out. He just had to get adopted today!

"Why, wotever business you're in," the boy replied lightly, doing a fairly good job of hiding his inner unease. He hadn't meant to choose such a tough mark! "I can read, clean, even cook alittle. I'm good with numbers and have already begun work learning a variety of languages. I'd be an excellent help in either a domestic or business type setting. Anything you're in, I can help with somehow, someway."

Actually, he was rather proud of his little spiel; he would almost believe himself.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Seth was all-too-familiar with the speech given by the boy, it was one that he'd heard on many different occasions while he still lived in the Glacier. He felt it was safe to assume that the lad wasn't trying to cheat him out of his money, however. This seemed to be something far more innocent, more childish. He didn't look weathly in the slightest.

What it was, however, the bat had no idea. Why was this kid so desperate to get work from him? Had his parents told him to find a job, and not to show his face at home until he'd gotten one?

"You can cook, eh?[/b]" he chuckled. "I might not need help with my job, but I sure need help with my cooking.[/b]" he considered the boy thoughtfully, tapping his fuzzy chin with a claw. To someone who didn't know what was going on inside the bat's brain, it would seem as if he was honestly taking the offer into serious consideration. "What about your parents? Couldn't they use your help?[/b]"

[seraaches]

As this was Tosiek's first real interaction with a Glacier resident, the little hybrid thrilled that he was actually doing so well. Maybe he'd finally found his new parent! His tail undulated in a swift motion as he gleefully listened to Seth's encouraging response.

Tosiek instinctively knew that the best lies had a little bit of truth in it. "Sadly," he said with very little hint of sadness in his voice. "My parents have far more children than they can care for." That much, at least, was true, whether or not the pair wanted to admit it. "I've taken it upon myself to relieve them of some of the terrible burden of so many kids. I will become a success on my own and they shall have one less child to care for."

Not that his Noble family couldn't afford to care for him, though his parents were notoriously busy. So stupid.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Seth snorted to himself, grin a crooked one. Well, that was interesting indeed. "So what're you telling me, kid? Don't like your siblings much? I can sympathize, but I killed mine as soon as I was old enough.[/b]" Perhaps he shouldn't be telling the boy that, but he couldn't sense the harm in it. The kid might even be amused by it. "Not that I'm suggesting anything, of course.[/b]" he added as a hasty sort of side-note.

He gave the boy a nod that said that he should follow the bat, setting off at a fairly brisk pace. "Still, I don't understand why you asked me.[/b]" he muttered, giving the boy a sidelong glance. If he could get at least that much information from the hybrid, he'd be somewhat satisfied.

Depending on how nice of a meal he could whip up, he would consider letting the lad stick around, too. Maybe even teach him a thing or two about manipulating people, though he seemed to have at least some idea of how to go about it.

[seraaches]

He couldn't stop his response; Tosiek's eyes widened in something between shock and vague fear, but it slipped away quickly enough. Obviously the man wasn't on a killing rage right this second and Tosiek was fairly certain of his ability to slip away unnoticed if needed. After all, he got past all of the Palace Guards nearly everyday as well as the bodyguard his parents had stuck on him in hopes of keeping tabs on their 'wayward' son. They were morons.

The idea of killing his siblings had never really occurred to the boy; there was no reason to. "My siblings aren't too bad," the boy answered easily. "There's just too many of them. Being the youngest, I would be overwhelmed in any attempt to kill them." Most of them were fully grown now anyway. "But," he continued a bit piteously. "It would be unfair to take out on them the *ahem* indiscretions of my parents."

When the bat began to walk off swiftly, Tosiek followed right after. The Glacier resident's final statement wasn't a question and Tosiek wasn't entirely certain how to explain. So he simply followed quietly for now; unwilling to risk losing his thus far tentative hook in the man.

[carcinoGeneticist]

The reaction was priceless, and Seth was feeling quite sad that he didn't have a camera or anything to capture it. As it was, he had to work quite hard to keep from laughing, or at least letting his amusement show. He was relatively sure the serious young man wouldn't appreciate it. Watching the boy try to figure out an appropriate reaction to that news... Well. He was happy to hear that the young man was following him, though. He didn't want to chase the boy off just yet, but he was more than willing to see how far he could get without risking it. Even if Tosiek did bolt, it wasn't a huge loss. "Sometimes adults have trouble, you know. Keeping it in their pants.[/b]" he had to laugh at that. "But you seem to be coping well enough. I'll be happy to give you work until you're willing to go back.[/b]"

And there was that little voice in the back of his mind that told him that this was the perfect opportunity to test the ability that had been nagging in the back of his head.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty?[/b]" the bat suddenly stopped, turning to face the boy with a small smile. Yes, this plan was perfect. "I can get you a beer or something. Can you even drink beer? I'd like to tell you more about my brother, if you'd like to hear.[/b]"