[Blackjack would probably be more affected by it or notice it more than Percy too. As a horse or well, pegasus, he's bound to notice the severe lack of his kind as well as all animals, magical and not. Gyro knows Valkyrie has to deal with it after all, and it was plain in how excited and starved for attention from his kind he was when he met Blackjack too.]
[No animals but he'd definitely see the temple already. Hell, he would've been able to see it a little from where they started. The Tmeple was huge and while the desert's sandy hills rolled, they still weren't large enough mounds to obscure the strange, angular temple on the horizon.]
Hell no I'm not, number one, you're looking at number one here- but we're closing in on our finish line.
Real fast, faster than a bullet, hah! I'm betta' on harder ground though, sand's right foolish unda' me hooves.
[Said as he holds tight on his reins and Valkyrie starts to slow down. Gyro falls back into his saddle, sitting up as they near a small collection of rocky ruins. There's a few small toppled walls, a dried well or fountain, and small, spotty paths here and there. He slows to a stop before looking around and finally hopping off Valkyrie, letting go of his reins and patting at the side of his rump.]
(He had seen it though it didn't mean he knew what it was yet. He was still fairly new to all of this, new to the maps and the locations. That and he hadn't bothered to look too much into things outside of the places he thought he'd use the most. For right now anyway. Percy grins, snorting a bit.)
Yeah? I'm surprised you can ride so well at your age. If I were you, I'd be afraid to break a hip.
(Now he's just being a little shit. He knows perfectly well that Gyro isn't old- not even all that much older than him maybe -but Percy Jackson had a bit of an attitude and welp. Gyro was going to get to experience that sooner or later. Looked like it wound up being sooner. Percy had a way of being a little jerk though that was somehow lacking hugely in malice. Like he really was just joking in good nature - cause he was.
Sands a real pain on all hooves. Human hooves too. They sink and slip all over real bad. Poor suckers only have two little wobbly legs.
Blackjack catches the wind and uses it to buffer his speed, slowing himself down without landing. It isn't until Valkyrie has stopped that Blackjack lands neatly beside the other horse. Percy slides off and Blackjack at once is going up to Valkyrie, sniffing at him and nudging up against him. He even starts to nip lightly at Valkyrie's neck, affectionately grooming him. Percy takes a moment to appreciate the forming bond with a smile before looking to Gyro.)
All right, sure.
(Percy's been on enough quests that he knows a pretty impressive amount of survival skills for a kid who grew up in New York City. He shoves his hands in his pockets and walks off, looking about curiously for a nice area. When he gets to one of the crumbling fountains, he bends over and plants his hands on the edge. The fountain itself wasn't all that big - no bigger than a kiddie pool really.)
How about we put one in here? Should work just fine. Kinda like a fire pit.
[Spluttering at that, he stands up straight, giving a shocked expression and snarling a little as he points at him before thrusting an arm up, elbow bent, and slaps his other hand down against his forearm. Jerk! Fuck you!!]
[He is really quickly distracted by their two steeds though and has quite the cocky smirk when he watches Blackjack practically prance over to Valkyrie. Valkyrie's own response is to bow his head, turning to hit his neck up against Blackjack's a little in an affectionate thanks. He ends up lifting his head again to sort of huff at Blackjack's wings, brushing his face against them before stopping and realizing he's getting sand from his face on him.]
[Gyro looks back, unable to hear at all how Valkyrie fawns over the other horse;
I couldn't see ya, too high, up in those clouds, ya looked like something else, really, once you flew down too, not a piece a dirt on you! And 'ere I am, bogged down in a nun's nasty desert and with the coat ta show for it!
He follows Percy for the most part, leaning to let him pick and nods, moving over to Valkyrie once more with a casual little 'sorry' before he's pulling out some things from one of his packs and heading back towards Percy.]
Works I guess, yeah.
[Can kind of sit on the sides of it and what not. He moves to take out some of the 'wood' which is really like a sort of purple wood-LIKE substance, combustible though, lasts a good deal longer than actual wood too. He kneels into the fountain and starts to set up the fire, setting the other supplies behind him as he stacks the 'wood'.]
Twenty four?! Ohhhh man. I should never have agreed to racing you out like this. I'm so sorry, sir.
(Massive puppy eyes of apology going on over here and even a bit of a pout as if that'd really save him any face. He barks out a delighted laugh when Gyro gives him such a crude gesture.
Blackjack rustles his wings occasionally and doesn't seem remotely bothered by anyone touching them, Valkyrie or otherwise. As long as they didn't touch the very, very tips, the pegasus would remain relatively calm.
I'll make sure an' fly nice and low for you next time. It's too bad I can't strap you up and fly you with me. Bet that'd look real weird though. Naw. Flying in the sky is clean goin'. Don't take it so hard! You got character on ya. Look like a real don.
Percy doesn't mind- not a natural leader or a follower. More just someone who goes on gut instinct and whatever works the best. Sometimes that means taking the initiative and sometimes it doesn't. Simple as that.
He sits down and watches Gyro start the fire with fascination. He's started fires before, sure, but purple wood? That's a new one.)
What is that? That's not wood, is it? Or - I guess since they don't have plants here or animals then it must be something synthetic. How weird.
[Tossing up a little hissy fit at that. No one's ever called him OLD before!! But it's just for play of course, soon he's got his hands into dusty sand and purple wood, setting it so it points to the sky in a pyramid before he's pulling back and turning to fetch his flint. Does it the good ol' fashioned way, and he'll continue to speak as he sparks the two small rocks together.]
Not wood, no wood here, remember what I said? Everything's synthetic, usually digital too, don't ask me how that works I have no idea. Even the food we eat's all coded some how. Imagine what it does to our digestive system.
[Click... click- spark! Fire! He takes both rocks in one hand and ducks down low, blowing into the small fire and helping it grow before he pulls back. Seems like the mauve material really lights up well too, it doesn't take long to get a nice size, Gyro moving to sit at the side of the fountain on the worn rocks.]
Tried asking a friend of mine who codes but even he wasn't sure the exacts. This place makes a lot of no sense. [A sigh, moving to pocket the flint and replaces it in his hand with a tarnished gold flask, opening it and taking a drink. He sucks the liquid through his teeth and lets out a gasped sigh, watching small sparks flicker up from the fire, dancing in a strange, blue-ish white smoke.]
Ummm. Definitely at least six, last time I checked.
(Percy takes the attempted insult in stride. Percy doesn't think he's crossing any lines. If he was? Well actually he would probably snicker a little bit about that because really.)
I listened, I listened. I just said there's no plants and animals. Just wondering what it was. Snytho-wood stuff. Got it. I'd rather not imagine that, thanks.
(He grins a bit though when Gyro gets a fire going. Not that it's much of a surprise. He's fairly certain anyone decked out as a cowboy needed to know how to start a fire. At least Percy believed they should.
He swings his feet over the edge of the fountain and scoots closer to both Gyro and the fire. For a while, he stares at the fire, having nothing much to say about the coding thing. He barely understands technology and it's one of those things where if it was broken down, plain and simple, he's pretty sure he still wouldn't understand it.)
Are you drinking alcohol?
(He asks this completely harmlessly, looking over at Gyro with some curiosity. He's pretty sure people only drank alcohol out of flasks but who knows?)
In a way, this place is kind of a vegetarian's dream, I keep thinking. How all the food is coded and stuff. They don't even need to kill plants. Er- I guess that'd be more of a vegan's dream?
[He fans the flame a bit, lowering his head to blow on it a bit more, shrugging at Percy's words.]
You get used to it.
[Looks a little weird but it seems like it works as a normal campfire at least. Warms in the same way, burns, will burn you too if you get too close. You can even cook over it, digital fare or actual. He certainly has. He practically lives out here during the late part of the rainy season and through the summer, scorching or not.]
No it's juice.
[Said as he hands the flask to him.]
Don't vegans want to eat plants? What is vegan anyway? That wasn't a thing back on my world. [Or it was later, but he has no idea. Certainly wasn't in his time at least. Too many people barely could eat at all, let alone could be picky like that.]
(He'll give Gyro that and then some for pity. Poor old guys never get their chance in the spotlight anymore, do they?
Percy merely shrugs.)
Hey man, seriously whatever works. I've seen some really weird stuff. Coded-fire isn't actually at the top of my list.
(He does however look quite surprised when Gyro clarifies that it's juice. He tasks the flask from Gyro and gives it a curious sip.
He pauses and stares up thoughtfully for a moment. What's a vegan.)
Uh....an aggressive vegetarian, I guess. Vegans don't eat anything that comes from an animal usually. So like, nothing with milk or eggs. Like that's your standard vegan. But then you can get into the deeper-set vegans who refuse to use any sort of living creature thing in their lives like wool or leather or honey. Stuff like that?
(Which isn't actually a bad thing and Percy doesn't have anything against it. He's a pretty big tree-hugger himself but he's seen some seriously nasty vegans being unnecessarily awful to people in the streets of New York City. Who promotes good things via harassment?)
There are people though who only eat plants that have naturally fallen but I don't think that's a big thing. Most vegans are hugely ethical-based instead of dietary so they would probably appreciate a world where neither animals or plants have to die. But I guess you don't have to be a vegan to appreciate that. That is cool.
Back in my world, a lot of animals are treated badly and nature is really disregarded as being worthless and pointless.
(His voice takes on a bit of a sad tone. Percy wasn't a vegetarian by any means but he had a massively tender heart for nature. Animals and everything else.)
Coded everything you eat though? It sounds simple but considering we get nourishment from us and it passes through us into poop, isn't that something to consider? It's a lot more confusing when you look at it like that... coding that actually acts just like food, so I guess what I'm saying is... I wonder what the down sides to it are.
[He's tried to figure it out but there's nothing to find. Maybe it really was a good alternative to growing food, maybe this place just hit that nail on the head. That or it's helped lead to a lot of the problems in Amoi. Sterilization being a big one, of both men and women. Women not being able to have babies even IF they're sterile, and memory loss. Maybe he wasn't looking at it right.. maybe it was a lot of things leading to it. But so far he just has a lot of questions and no answers.]
[He lifts a piece of the purple wood and prods at the fire, letting sparks flutter up from it while he stokes it.]
So they just want to waste away then, vegans? I guess in a futuristic world they can afford to do it. I guess we're all vegans here on Amoi too, aren't we? Well except me, I'll keep wearing leather 'till I die.
But this vegan thing, doesn't it just sound stupid? I won't argue with vegetarians, but vegans? Going that far's just making yourself suffer, do they die earlier? But I guess if you have enough processed foods and artificial shit happening in your time, maybe they could. Back where I come from, no way.
It's less cool when you consider there's no animals or plants around at all. Besides... in nature plants and animals have to die to feed eachother. So it's like some natural law, it's how it has to be.
[He sits with a smirk when he watches Percy sip from the flask. Definitely not juice. It's straight gin, and so he'll get a sudden shock of juniper berries in his mouth. His joke doesn't last though when Percy makes the topic a little more sad, and it's Gyro's turn to shrug, flitting up a hand in gesture.]
Humans doing, right? In my era... we were just starting to claim all the land in the Americas. [A glance up, watching the fire.]
Claiming land from people... taking it rather, building towns, mining for gold and oil, laying tracks. It's how we humans found to survive, seems like it was only natural that it'd lead to carving into the Earth enough to change it.
It's how things are. Things have to die. The only way to fix it's more death too, killing a lotta people. I'm guessing the population numbers high there, right? And not only that... but people won't just change or learn.
So in some way, death has to be involved. It's a part of life, nothin' we can do about that.
(Percy shrugs. He's sixteen, man, and he's barely been able to make it through a year of high school. As if he has a single clue about nourishment and the effects of it. On top of that, he doesn't full care either because again- sixteen. Pizza constituted as all the necessary food groups to him. Really, Gyro.)
Dunno, man. I'm surprised people here aren't running around with STDs like crazy but hey, no one seems to be questioning that any more than the synthetic food and fire wood. Don't you think if they can prevent diseases, they can probably provide nourishment? I saw other non-humans here and I mean really nonhumans and their nourishment requirements might be completely different than a human's. Kinda like how you can't feed a dog chocolate. Well, not like that, but you get what I'm saying. We're all eating the same food and no one's dying from lack of vitamins so...
(Again, he has no idea and it's not like he fully trusts the place but considering the circumstances, he literally has no choice but to trust Amoi. Otherwise he would just starve and he's a little bit too into living to do that.)
Well, no? They eat other healthy alternatives. It's a bit extreme and a lot of them are pretty rude about their opinions but it isn't like it's not a livable lifestyle. And I'm pretty sure the anti-leather ones are the ones who take it to the absolute extreme, so, you know.
(Percy raises his brows at Gyro, tipping his head.)
Vegans who can manage a better diet are usually perfectly healthy. I'd say Vegetarians are the healthier though - and kind of the most logical. I mean, I don't know about your world, but in our world red meat is super dangerous for your heart and people who over eat it wind up with a lot of heart problems so it isn't like meats the best for you. There's a lot of fat in it and stuff, I think. The vegan thing's only stupid because they don't seem to understand how cows need to be milked or how chickens just naturally lay eggs. But like I said, they take it to the extreme and a lot of extremists don't always think too clearly.
Sure, but again, I don't think that's what vegans are really fighting against. Okay, some of the crazy ones, totally, but like...a lot of vegetarians and vegans are just taking a stand against the industries because they do messed up things. So it's not really like you can fault them.
(The gin hits his tongue like acid and you know what's unfortunate about this Gyro?????
You're sitting near him and he's facing you because he's polite when he talks so when he spits it out- yeah.
You get some of that right back in your face in nice mist form. He makes a face and wrinkles up his nose.)
Dude, you're a jerk.
(That's fine, Gyro. Just take another drink of your flask. Gin has got some water in it so he keeps an eye on the next time Gyro decides to take a drink because he is sooo shooting that all over Gyro's face. You want a prank? That's fine but Percy will serve it right back.
Percy snorts, looking a bit somber.)
Yeah, well, we did a real good job of killing nature. That time especially. It isn't against you but I'm from quite a ways in the future from that. People only just started realizing how awful they've treated the world and how there's no fixing it. It's how we survive, maybe, but it wasn't the only option.
(Percy glares at Gyro a little bit.)
You're not getting it, are you? 'Things have to die'. Sure, I agree with that. But I really don't understand why an animal has to be beaten through it's whole life and then be killed horrifically just to 'feed people'. Like, no? You love Valkyrie?
(He points over to said horse.)
Do you actually want to know how some people treat their horses? Or are you going to just argue that 'welp, animals gotta die sometimes'. It's not about that. It's about how they're ...."allowed" to live until they die that's the problem. And you know, that's the problem- that mentality. "People won't just change or learn" - that's total bull. That mentality keeps everyone rooted to the past. It's stupid.
(Percy's actually getting fully worked up now. The kid had a stringent set of morals. It was actually this very topic, this idea that people just didn't want to change ever, that had caused the war that he was about to enter. He turns away from Gyro a little bit, glaring at the fire. He had seen friends die because people didn't want to change. It was such bullshit in his head and his morale didn't leave much room for feeling too keenly on it.)
You're close-minded, aren't you?
(He muttered quietly, feeling oddly disappointed. All adults were so close-minded. The gods were so stuck in their ways, all of the adults he had ever yelled in the faces of of why can't we change things?! had only ever shrugged and seemed to say: "That's just the way things are, Percy." He didn't get that. He never would and he never wanted to understand that. He'd rip apart Mount Olympus himself before he would and funnily enough, wasn't that what Luke was doing? Funny how sometimes you start to understand the 'villain'.)
[He listens and considers what is said about food and vegans. It's hard for him to make much commentary of Percy's world and how food works. His main problem with the idea of being vegan mostly just comes from how many people he knows are starving and are unable to get food at all in his own world. So people choosing just not to eat what's out there due to some high up opinion bothers him. So many people can't get any food, let alone highly specific types of it.]
[But before he has anything more to say on it, Percy's sputtering from the gin and Gyro's laughing, even as it sprays at his face.]
Nyo-hooo! Don't like it?? It's 'Juniper juice', hohoho!
[He'll take the flask back though, wiping his face and cackling before he'll somber up too. Seems to him that Percy's not the one who gets it here, even if he thinks Gyro isn't. His point was things die and it's natural. He never said it made sense for things to be tortured, or killed horrifically. ESPECIALLY not those things. As an executioner of criminals, he was taught to kill them as cleanly and perfectly as possible without any sign of suffering, he'd say killing should always be done like that, especially for food. He has no idea where Percy is getting all this shit about killing horrifically, after all, he never mentioned how things should die, just that they do and it's natural. Though he doubts it's Percy's own strong opinions leading him to just jump into this anger.]
[So Gyro will stay calm, quiet, and let him talk. Just let him get it all out. It seems that Gyro's quite able to put on a serious and emotionless face, doing so now as he watches him, staring.]
No, we're not going to talk about something else, it seems like you got the wrong idea, I'm not going to let you keep it.
Did I say a word about how people go about killing anything? Listen here.
People won't change.
You know why? They won't change completely, like you think anyway. But they won't because 'consent' exists.
[A breath, looking out now as he talks.]
People can be good or evil, or something like it... 'good' and 'bad' things exist, they will. Always will. And people will always be able to choose one or the others. That's consent, that's 'free will'. You can hope all you want that everyone's going to make the right choice about everything, but that's not going to happen.
Yeah, the world can change, more people can be smarter, figure out how to be better and stop hurting others and animals, and everything. But as long as 'free will' exists, the world's never going to be perfect. I get it, I get wanting it to be, I get wanting things to all be better, but sometimes it's not like that.
Sometimes... people are going to make the 'bad choices'. You can either have everyone choose the same good decisions over and over without actually choosing, or you can have free will. If you want 'free will' as a part of life, then you have to consider the down side...
that free will means people can't completely change. Not everyone.
[Lifting the flask, he holds it there, not drinking yet.]
As for what I said about life and death being part of it- why'd you ever think I meant people and animals should suffer? Did I fucking say that? No. Stop jumping to conclusions like that.
[And he'll drink. He feels sick on the subject, but people like Percy... they'd find out eventually that the world couldn't be all that they wanted. The point Gyro was trying to make was that you can go and try to change things all out want, and yeah, you could, you needed to keep going and making the right choices and try to get others to as well. But it was that people, that EVERYONE still won't, and you can't just make them either. Even after all your work there will still be people out there that not only choose to do the bad thing, but don't actually care at all either. It was just how things were. And you had to accept that. If you went around thinking you could make every single person do what you believed was right, free will wouldn't exist anymore. And like death, free will was a necessary choice in life.]
[He just hope the kid gets it, but maybe he won't.]
(Percy could understand how it'd make no sense for someone surrounded by people who had little to no food. It's not like he didn't get that. He grew up poor and living in New York City. He saw people starving on the streets all of the time. It's not like he was a vegan or preaching it, merely explaining it because Gyro asked. He thought some of the ideals were right but most of the execution wrong. Simple as that. Not that Gyro seemed to not get that part.
As for the rest of it, well. Miscommunication, really. Percy's loud and passionate but he's also not dense and stubborn enough to ignore when someone else is talking. He listens when Gyro starts to speak, looks at him and sits there quietly, not interrupting, because it's important to listen and he understands quickly enough that he misunderstood Gyro. Percy's a good kid, is the thing. He has a good heart and it's in the right place, even if he fumbles a bit with it and winds up getting more snarky than thoughtful.
After Gyro finishes talking, Percy rubs at his chin thoughtfully and stares briefly at the fire.)
I think you're right and I think you're wrong. I agree that people are always going to do bad things and that it sucks. But I agree that that's what free will is about. I know a perfect world is impossible- trust me on that. But I do thing people can change. I think people can change for the better, even the majority, even if it means that there will still be bad people. I get that. I do. I agree too. Evil is always going to exist.
I never said it wouldn't, you know. Just that people could change. Cause they can. It's dumb to say they can'. I mean, you don't know the future yet but people outlawed slavery, fought for the rights for African Americans, fought for the rights of women, and are fighting for the rights for gay people. I mean. It's slow and there's always crap and racism and sexism still exist but...things are better because people started to change. Bad stuff will always exist, people who want to hurt animals or people who want to hurt people for being different. Dude, the monsters in my world, the ones I fight? They don't die. They turn to dust and it takes years for them to reform. Wanna know why? It's cause they're more of a concept than a living blood-thing like you or me. Evil is a concept you can't kill. You can only push it out of the way for a while. I get that. Trust me, I really do.
(His voice is softer than before, his knees bumping together. He looks at Gyro and offers a genuine sort of smile.)
I'm sorry. That I called you close-minded. I can get riled up sometimes and jump to conclusions. I uh. Get in trouble for that a lot. But I am sorry. I didn't mean to jump to any conclusions with you. I know you're a cool dude.
(He means it too. He didn't mean to offend Gyro or insinuate anything - though he knows he did. He wouldn't even say he didn't. He's done it before and would likely do it again. Percy doesn't always think. He feels and then does. He tries to do what he thinks is right and sometimes he messes up. He's still learning though, still a kid, and at least he can admit when he's wrong and he had been in the wrong. To an extent, anyway, in having gotten worked up.)
I guess the subject just hits close to home, you know? It isn't personal. I shouldn't have made it personal. But I guess some things are hard to not make personal.
[Yeah and Gyro grew up pretty well off honestly. He was a servant of the king after all. But just because he knew what it was to have a house and food on the table, didn't mean he lived in luxury. And it didn't mean he didn't see the down trodden starving and sick in his family's clinic. He saw it more often than he liked.]
[He's happy though that Percy stops to listen to him. After all, a passion like that in the kid could mean they'd fall into interrupting eachother and eventually whatever sort of friendship this was would've crashed and burned. Gyro didn't show this happiness, but he felt it, and again would fall back to listen to Percy again, the fire crackling on. Valkyrie couldn't help but worry a bit at the 'vibes' gotten from that direction, but so like a horse to leave whatever was going on to who was involved. If anything he moved to stand a little closer to Blackjack as they rested and continued their own far less vehement conversation.]
Yeah, I'm not going to argue on that. 'Course people can change like that, but not everyone, and so in a way we don't change completely. Maybe saying 'people don't change' is a bad way of presenting it. I shoulda said 'they won't change completely' how about that?
[A breath at that though. It really means something to hear what he does. That things got better for people, that slavery stopped being a thing, that things changed for African Americans (though he does flinch a little at that term, people still had a bad way of speaking in his time after all, it's weird to hear someone casually use 'African Americans'.) It's weird too to hear about gays getting rights, he never even considered that but that did lead people to getting incarcerated in his time, even killed... it was a problem, a big one, it all was. But hearing that it does change in a version of Earth made him feel a bit more relaxed. It might in his own then, he hoped so. It didn't change his opinion on things though, after all, he'll stick by 'people don't change completely'. He's really not a pessimist though, it's not like he thought things couldn't change at all large scale.]
[He's even more happy to see that Percy understands him though. Gyro's a good person too, even if he can be an ass sometimes, but that was usually just for laughs. They're both good hearted and he felt like they'd be good friends. So it's nice to see he was right and they this conversation didn't spiral down into something they couldn't reverse. After all, some of the biggest feuds were sparked from merely a misunderstanding.]
Heh, yeah? Maybe it's too late, you already said it. I'm close-minded, am I??
[Said as he smiles back and moves to shove a hand at Percy's head before sitting back again and taking another drink of his flask. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his wrist.]
It's a crack. [A breath, pointing to him.]
A crack in your heart made by 'sentimentality'. But don't worry, that's a part of life too... [Staring into the fire.] No matter what anyone tells you.
(That was true enough. Percy had seen people as passionate as he was dissolve into pretty awful people because they let their passion control everything. He didn't think that was right either. He tried to listen to everyone. The kid even felt compassion towards his own enemies and not just the big ones. The foot soldiers, the ones at the very bottom just trying to do what they could do. Of course he's felt hatred towards people who had wronged him. He's wanted people to pay the price for taking the lives of those he's loved but he's also understood people just as much as he's resented them. Things were never black and white in his world. He thought listening was important though. That listening was half the battle of changing for the better- whether himself or others.
He grins at Gyro then and gives a nod.)
Yeah, I think 'people won't completely change' is fairly accurate. I can get behind that statement.
(He could too. He isn't the sort of person to just agree to avoid confrontation. It's more than obvious now that he isn't. He thinks that's a better way of putting it, that's all. People don't change was way too stringent and allowed no wiggle room. 'People won't completely change'? Now that fit the bill. Percy was trying to remind himself too that Gyro was from the past. One of his good friends Nico was also from the past and far enough from the past that he didn't understand certain things in the new world. He had to remind himself to give Gyro some wiggle room. It wasn't fair to think Gyro would automatically get certain aspects of the current world. But it was clear that Gyro was a certain sort of goodness that ran through human life and could result in change. Maybe not Gyro himself but Gyro....he didn't seem bad. Not even slightly. And Percy thought that even the smallest bits of good accounted for a lot. A man who diligently took care of his own horse, a man who helped others at a clinic.
He didn't think Gyro was pessimistic. Not really, not after they discussed things in greater detail. He would maybe peg him as more of a realist. Which Percy could respect. Percy himself was a bit of an optimistic realist. He wasn't completely blind to the faults that lay in the system of basic human comprehension.
Percy smirks a bit and pops his chin into his palm.)
Oh, super close-minded. I can't believe you don't even get the vegan life style.
(Completely teasing now and it's more than clear from the tone of his voice. He outright laughs at the shove to his head and yeah, things are just fine between them. He really did like Gyro.
He looks at Gyro, blinking sea green eyes. He looks down at himself, like he would be able to see his heart if he tried hard enough. He looked over at Gyro again then. Eventually, he grins, a soft sort of grin.)
[It was true his mindset was a lot different from Percy's. Really, Gyro was heavily forward thinking in his own time, and often marked as eccentric or stupid because of his choices. He just came from a whole different time, the sort of time where people still called native americans 'indians' because they didn't know any better, and sometimes he wouldn't know any better either. It was just how it was. Not everyone did things out of malice, sometimes it just never seemed harmful enough to stop. It was a completely different world back then after all.]
[Either way it's why he didn't just leave the conversation where it had been even though normally? He would have. But when he knows something it happening between him and someone else, he still wants to preserve it. It's just a good thing he has an easier time talking about this sort of thing than something really personal about his own feelings or history. It was a difficult thing to get Gyro to talk about how he felt on a more specific and personal level. What his opinions were here was personal, sure, but not to the same degree. It wasn't like he was talking about his feelings on his father, or what family or love meant to him. Those things came harder to him.]
Vegans just sound like assholes freaks. I bet they're green coloured and their teeth fall out, nyeh-heheh.
(Percy could honestly empathize with that. Mostly everyone he met assumed he was a complete idiot. Damn, even some of his long-term, good friends thought he was a complete idiot. He's been called stupid more than anything else in his entire life and really, he doesn't care. He'd rather be called stupid or ugly or whatever else before he was called something like disloyal or a liar. Percy was smart though. He was aware and observant and he knew Gyro was from the past and that things Gyro said and did had to be taken with a grain of salt. Which Percy was fine with doing. Outdated mentality didn't mean a bad person and it didn't even mean a stupid person. He got that.
Percy's glad Gyro had preserved it. Chances were good Percy would have cooled off later then regretted being dense. It was a lot better this way. He wasn't used to adults talking to him like that either and it shifts his respect towards Gyro. Percy was a relatively open book. The kid didn't have many secrets. It's hard to when you were as passionate as he was. But there were things that he carried with him that he'd be more reluctant to share.)
Um well, you're not wrong. They're not green colored or anything but uh, they're not always smart. Some of them are actually stupid enough to put their dogs or cats on vegan diets and it's kind of like, stop?
(He's quiet after that, looking at the fire. Then after some time of silence, he grins over at Gyro and pokes him in the shoulder. No touch laws, sure, but they're completely alone.)
Hey. You know, you're probably one of the first adults that isn't completely backwards that I've met.
[Luckily Gyro's sort of a kid at heart so he can meet him half way more than a usual adult can. He's willing to be as stupid and silly as Percy is but at the same time doesn't mind buckling down on certain topics if it seems like ignoring them's going to be an issue, because he's pretty damn good at ignoring things and moving on too. But this was a less 'personal' topic and thus something easier to tackle. That and Gyro's gotten far better at communication now after being here for so long. He's started to understand how to better treat people, and how to speak to those he feels are becoming close. Percy's already falling onto that list.]
Whaaaat, dogs and cats don't eat that shit more than humans don't. [Baffled by that, it sounds like a damn lie. But-]
Hnf- humans are always thinking they know better, don't we?
Hm-?
[A glance over. That's right. No touch laws in Midas but look where they are. No one's out here, it's one of the perks of coming out this far. And so when he's poked, he grins, and lifts a hand to shove back against Percy's shoulder.]
(Yeah Gyro really does seem the type to be a bit more kiddish than full-blown adult. It probably did factor into why Percy didn't feel too awkward around him. That was definitely a good thing though. He liked to think that they were going to be good friends. Percy had a big heart, generous and endlessly open to whoever was a good person and had good intentions. Those were the kinds of people he liked to surround himself with. Gyro was a pretty nice staple into that sort of group.)
Oh trust me, I know. I hate that stuff. Like it's cool if you wanna change your diet but don't force that on animals. They don't have a say. Same with kids. (Percy is completely with Gyro here. The only part of veganism he even remotely supported was the general intention of wanting better treatment of animals. Otherwise? No.
He laughs then, smiling bright.)
Honestly, yeah. People are really good at being arrogant.
(Percy laughs again when Gyro shoves him back, laughs even louder than before, and he's automatically glad that Gyro isn't shy to touch. Not for any perverse reason. Percy was a teenage boy is all. He sometimes showed his affectionate through dumb shoves and hair ruffles. Not that he'd ruffle Gyro's hair. Gyro's hair was the play-with kind of hair, not the ruffle. Not that he was about to tell Gyro that.)
You don't think I'm cool, huh? I'm the coolest person I know.
[Said as he takes another drink of his flask and offers it again.]
Sure you don't want any? I have water and some beer too, up to you. [Said as he pushes himself up and moves back to Valkyrie and gives him a pat, apologizes for 'interrupting', and goes to look around in his satchel. He pulls out what looks to be a coffee pot, a water skin, and a small cloth bag.]
Think I got some Amaretto in here too... [Mumbles to himself as he continues to look.]
It's okay. I don't think I'm all that cool either so I'm not really the president of what is or isn't cool.
(At the offer, Percy shakes his head.)
No thanks. The drinking age is 21 and I'm a few years off from that. My mom would have a hernia.
(Not really. She wasn't the type to get mad or yell at him but she'd be disappointed and that would be significantly worse. Blackjack wasn't bothered by the minor disagreement between the men. He knew his master enough to know he wouldn't start anything serious and he was used enough to general confrontations like that. When Gyro came over, he gave a pleasant whinny of acknowledgement and nudged at Gyro's side, sniffing for treats.)
Some Amara-what? (Percy asks from where he is, not having really hard Gyro all that well.)
There's a 'cool president'? Why's no one told me??
Nyeh- heh, drinking age where?
[What a cute thing to reply with though. He won't push it on him anymore. He WILL keep trying to find everything to make a-]
Ah ha! Amaretto, it's an almond liquor. If you're Earth side, it's usually from Saronno.
[Said as he lifts a small bottle out. He'll quickly click a greeting against his teeth at Blackjack, give him a wink. The bottle is tucked under and arm and he'll move back into the satchel to remove a packet of dates. Hope you like these, they're Valkyrie's favorite, he'll mumble and give him one, giving one to Valkyrie as well before he puts them back and moves back to accompany Percy by the fire. He sets everything down and moves to start preparing the coffee pot, filling it with water.]
You drink coffee? Or are you not old enough for that too?
Cause you're not in deep enough to be told. It's a complicated thing.
In New York. And present time. I'm not so sure what the drinking age is from when you were around.
(He looks thoughtful for a moment but knows it's a lost cause. He was awful at school and school never covered 'drinking age laws' way back when. The only drinking laws they covered were bootleggers and then the speakeasies.)
Ohhhh. Of course.
(Almond liquor. He knew that. No he didn't. But he's going to nod his support anyway. Blackjack perks his head up, ears flicking about madly.
What you...? What this! Ayyyyye boss!
Percy looks over but sees that it's only a date so he snorts, watching as Blackjack doesn't even wait for permission to eat and just dives right on in and munches on the date.
Valkyrie, my man, you got some STELLAR taste that was ugh- the stuff of dreams. You gotta another? Hey....hey! Where you going?
He calls after Gyro but of course, Gyro would hear nothing but a little bit of shuffling around on Blackjack's end. Percy laughs at his horse's despair.)
He liked the date. And is sad you left without giving him more.
(A beat. He looks at the coffee and then at Gyro.)
I know you envy my youth and vitality but harsh man, real harsh. It's okay. I still think you look good for your age. Women are probably into the silver fox thing sometimes.
Was never a big deal. [Near 1860 was when they started to establish drinking laws, but even then it wasn't as heavily enforced in his era. It wouldn't start to be a big push to getting away from liquor until closer to the 1900s and nearing the 20s. So he'll just shrug, setting the pot down on the fire, sparks crackling up from it and spiraling up into the quickly darkening sky.]
[Gyro chuckles at the comment about the date, glancing back. He'll see Valkyrie nudge at Blackjack's neck a little, pushing the end of his snout near his neck in comfort.]
We can't mate, not here. But I'm guessing your guy, that Percy, you lot live over in that fancy city, do ya? So he probably still gives ya a lotta grub, eh? Don't work like that hea.
[It may sound rather sad to both Percy and Blackjack, but it's the truth. Gyro can't hear his horse to know that Valkyrie's understood so well, so he'll mention it himself as well. Still... it'd really mean something were he to know that Valkyrie realized that it wasn't because Gyro was punishing him that he had to be scarce with things like treats. it'd mean something that Valkyrie understood what his master was going through, and the lack of funds he had here.]
That's the only bag for the month, not sure if I'll afford more next one either. [A shrug, pouting as he looks to Blackjack.]
Sorry for that, Blackjack.
[Really sorry actually, but, he tries not to dwell on it. He looks back to the fire, chuckling at Percy's words.]
Women are into me fine, and not a grey hair yet, you wanna look? I pluck them out and use them to floss, nyo-hoho! Fuuuu!
[He swats at that hand, shoves him again, and this time ruffles Percy's hair too. He sure is okay with touching, and Percy has very ruffle-y hair.]
Doubt you want it spiked though, yeah? You're lucky, this stuff took me a while to find, good enough without spirits.
That makes sense. I don't really know when drinking ages started becoming a big deal. Maybe it's because kids started being stupid and killing each other or because they drove drunk. That seems to be the main reason but I don't really know?
(He had never really had a huge urge to get wasted or anything and he was sixteen. Two years off from the old age of drinking. Twenty-one seemed so far off and old to him.
Blackjack looks at Valkyrie and snorts. One thing about Blackjack? He's a natural glutton. Doesn't even need to be spoiled that way.
No way. Boss gives me only what I need and a teeny bit extra on the side. He's all picky on my diet. Says I'd get fat otherwise.
Which in Blackjack's case? He absolutely would. If Blackjack could, he'd likely do nothing but eat sugar cubes from dusk til dawn and splurge a bit between on anything else.
Percy does notice though and glances over before at Gyro. He's aware enough about how mongrels couldn't afford much. Percy grew up dirt poor and that wasn't really something he was surprised about. He still had no idea what to do with the money that he had been given. He hadn't splurged at all. The most he had done was eaten out a lot until he actually figured out how to make food in his place.
But he also gets that most people don't really enjoy hand-outs. He didn't either but it was aggravating to know that someone like Gyro and his horse were just squeaking by. He considers this closely.)
What do you do for Valkyrie? I mean, like, living wise? Does he just stay with you at your place?
(It was a genuine question as much as it was a mildly prodding one. Blackjack mostly flew around. Pegasi weren't fans of stables and needed to be able to stretch their wings far more than regular horses had to stretch their legs. But otherwise, he stayed in Percy's place and that wasn't all that horse friendly in atmosphere.
Aw it's okay, man. Don't sweat it.)
That's - gross. And also sad. I have gray hair but that's totally not my fault.
(He pouts a bit and rubs his fingers through the streak of gray hair in his hair by his temple. Stupid titans. Then Gyro is ruffling his hair and Percy whines though does absolutely nothing to stop it.)
Awww c'mon. My hair's already a total mess. Ugh ew. Why do you drink anyway? It tastes so bad.
[Said with a raised brow. Because they sure as hell do. Makes you wonder why alcohol is legal at all. Sure it won't be for a bit, but it turns out we find out during that period that you can't just take something like from the public, it'll raise crime rates. They'll get it anyway, that and it'll sap money from the economy. So dangerous? Seems like that's not really why people get shit taken away, not really.]
[But yeah, kids do tend to be stupid on a wider level with it. Doesn't seem to stop Amoi from letting them drink though.]
You'll get fat, really? Ya dill! How do ya get fat when we're movin' around all the time, yer favorite things to hitch and bog down?
[Said with a lower of his head and a whinny and huff, laughing at the idea of it. Valkyrie was a very healthy horse, treated that way and in habit. He's not the sort to eat himself huge and takes a lot of enjoyment in moving around. You can tell by how often he moves and how easily, he's very similar to his rider in that respect.]
[Despite the comment about the dates, Gyro doesn't really seem that distraught or bitter about it. It was a normal sort of life, to struggle a bit, wasn't it? A cowboy life, even if he was in no way an actual cowboy. But he wasn't the sort to whine or dwell on his problems, he just did what he had to do to get over them. He sure wishes opening his clinic had made it easier to take less help though... it did a little, but not as much as he'd like. It would if he upped his prices, but what's the point when he wants to keep his clinic more accessible to the Mongrel populace?]
[He takes a drink of his flask, turning the kettle a bit and whipping his hand slightly to get the heat off his palm.]
Mnh well- yeah, depending on where I am, he's in there with me. Most places don't stop him at the door, they don;t know what to even do about a horse and most of the time they think I some how got ahold of a digital version. [Makes them assume he's a pet then though, a lot of the time, and then it fucks him over ugh.]
Still do now, he used to only live in my apartment too, I got a bigger one when I showed up, first floor. But now... a friend of mine got me set up with a small stable at my place here in Diedo. [A pause, sighing out of his nose before he looks down to the fire, busying himself a little by stoking it.]
Big help, stable's a lot better on his hooves. [So he... took it, grinned and dealt with the help. But this place has shown him through constant pressures to be a little more accepting of things like help. Friends often... did that sort of thing anyway, he learned that too. Though he only ever took help when it was associated with Valkyrie or that clinic of his. Otherwise? Nope.]
Nyeh- huuu, you got grey hairs?? Then you have more than me! You're a god's son, right? Maybe you're a liiiar too and you're really like eighty in my own world's years.
[Moving to ruffle his hair again but he stops short this time, psyche-ing him out and hissing a laugh through his teeth.]
You think so? Well I like the taste sometimes, and if I don't like it, I like the feeling afterwards. Being drunk can make things a whoooole lot better. [A shrug.]
Not all the time though. [He's not some alcoholic after all.]
Besides, a little red wine's good for the heart, didn't you know?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[No animals but he'd definitely see the temple already. Hell, he would've been able to see it a little from where they started. The Tmeple was huge and while the desert's sandy hills rolled, they still weren't large enough mounds to obscure the strange, angular temple on the horizon.]
Hell no I'm not, number one, you're looking at number one here- but we're closing in on our finish line.
Real fast, faster than a bullet, hah! I'm betta' on harder ground though, sand's right foolish unda' me hooves.
[Said as he holds tight on his reins and Valkyrie starts to slow down. Gyro falls back into his saddle, sitting up as they near a small collection of rocky ruins. There's a few small toppled walls, a dried well or fountain, and small, spotty paths here and there. He slows to a stop before looking around and finally hopping off Valkyrie, letting go of his reins and patting at the side of his rump.]
Let's pick a place to set up a fire.
no subject
Yeah? I'm surprised you can ride so well at your age. If I were you, I'd be afraid to break a hip.
(Now he's just being a little shit. He knows perfectly well that Gyro isn't old- not even all that much older than him maybe -but Percy Jackson had a bit of an attitude and welp. Gyro was going to get to experience that sooner or later. Looked like it wound up being sooner. Percy had a way of being a little jerk though that was somehow lacking hugely in malice. Like he really was just joking in good nature - cause he was.
Sands a real pain on all hooves. Human hooves too. They sink and slip all over real bad. Poor suckers only have two little wobbly legs.
Blackjack catches the wind and uses it to buffer his speed, slowing himself down without landing. It isn't until Valkyrie has stopped that Blackjack lands neatly beside the other horse. Percy slides off and Blackjack at once is going up to Valkyrie, sniffing at him and nudging up against him. He even starts to nip lightly at Valkyrie's neck, affectionately grooming him. Percy takes a moment to appreciate the forming bond with a smile before looking to Gyro.)
All right, sure.
(Percy's been on enough quests that he knows a pretty impressive amount of survival skills for a kid who grew up in New York City. He shoves his hands in his pockets and walks off, looking about curiously for a nice area. When he gets to one of the crumbling fountains, he bends over and plants his hands on the edge. The fountain itself wasn't all that big - no bigger than a kiddie pool really.)
How about we put one in here? Should work just fine. Kinda like a fire pit.
no subject
[Spluttering at that, he stands up straight, giving a shocked expression and snarling a little as he points at him before thrusting an arm up, elbow bent, and slaps his other hand down against his forearm. Jerk! Fuck you!!]
[He is really quickly distracted by their two steeds though and has quite the cocky smirk when he watches Blackjack practically prance over to Valkyrie. Valkyrie's own response is to bow his head, turning to hit his neck up against Blackjack's a little in an affectionate thanks. He ends up lifting his head again to sort of huff at Blackjack's wings, brushing his face against them before stopping and realizing he's getting sand from his face on him.]
[Gyro looks back, unable to hear at all how Valkyrie fawns over the other horse;
I couldn't see ya, too high, up in those clouds, ya looked like something else, really, once you flew down too, not a piece a dirt on you! And 'ere I am, bogged down in a nun's nasty desert and with the coat ta show for it!
He follows Percy for the most part, leaning to let him pick and nods, moving over to Valkyrie once more with a casual little 'sorry' before he's pulling out some things from one of his packs and heading back towards Percy.]
Works I guess, yeah.
[Can kind of sit on the sides of it and what not. He moves to take out some of the 'wood' which is really like a sort of purple wood-LIKE substance, combustible though, lasts a good deal longer than actual wood too. He kneels into the fountain and starts to set up the fire, setting the other supplies behind him as he stacks the 'wood'.]
no subject
(Massive puppy eyes of apology going on over here and even a bit of a pout as if that'd really save him any face. He barks out a delighted laugh when Gyro gives him such a crude gesture.
Blackjack rustles his wings occasionally and doesn't seem remotely bothered by anyone touching them, Valkyrie or otherwise. As long as they didn't touch the very, very tips, the pegasus would remain relatively calm.
I'll make sure an' fly nice and low for you next time. It's too bad I can't strap you up and fly you with me. Bet that'd look real weird though. Naw. Flying in the sky is clean goin'. Don't take it so hard! You got character on ya. Look like a real don.
Percy doesn't mind- not a natural leader or a follower. More just someone who goes on gut instinct and whatever works the best. Sometimes that means taking the initiative and sometimes it doesn't. Simple as that.
He sits down and watches Gyro start the fire with fascination. He's started fires before, sure, but purple wood? That's a new one.)
What is that? That's not wood, is it? Or - I guess since they don't have plants here or animals then it must be something synthetic. How weird.
no subject
[Tossing up a little hissy fit at that. No one's ever called him OLD before!! But it's just for play of course, soon he's got his hands into dusty sand and purple wood, setting it so it points to the sky in a pyramid before he's pulling back and turning to fetch his flint. Does it the good ol' fashioned way, and he'll continue to speak as he sparks the two small rocks together.]
Not wood, no wood here, remember what I said? Everything's synthetic, usually digital too, don't ask me how that works I have no idea. Even the food we eat's all coded some how. Imagine what it does to our digestive system.
[Click... click- spark! Fire! He takes both rocks in one hand and ducks down low, blowing into the small fire and helping it grow before he pulls back. Seems like the mauve material really lights up well too, it doesn't take long to get a nice size, Gyro moving to sit at the side of the fountain on the worn rocks.]
Tried asking a friend of mine who codes but even he wasn't sure the exacts. This place makes a lot of no sense. [A sigh, moving to pocket the flint and replaces it in his hand with a tarnished gold flask, opening it and taking a drink. He sucks the liquid through his teeth and lets out a gasped sigh, watching small sparks flicker up from the fire, dancing in a strange, blue-ish white smoke.]
no subject
(Percy takes the attempted insult in stride. Percy doesn't think he's crossing any lines. If he was? Well actually he would probably snicker a little bit about that because really.)
I listened, I listened. I just said there's no plants and animals. Just wondering what it was. Snytho-wood stuff. Got it. I'd rather not imagine that, thanks.
(He grins a bit though when Gyro gets a fire going. Not that it's much of a surprise. He's fairly certain anyone decked out as a cowboy needed to know how to start a fire. At least Percy believed they should.
He swings his feet over the edge of the fountain and scoots closer to both Gyro and the fire. For a while, he stares at the fire, having nothing much to say about the coding thing. He barely understands technology and it's one of those things where if it was broken down, plain and simple, he's pretty sure he still wouldn't understand it.)
Are you drinking alcohol?
(He asks this completely harmlessly, looking over at Gyro with some curiosity. He's pretty sure people only drank alcohol out of flasks but who knows?)
In a way, this place is kind of a vegetarian's dream, I keep thinking. How all the food is coded and stuff. They don't even need to kill plants. Er- I guess that'd be more of a vegan's dream?
no subject
[He fans the flame a bit, lowering his head to blow on it a bit more, shrugging at Percy's words.]
You get used to it.
[Looks a little weird but it seems like it works as a normal campfire at least. Warms in the same way, burns, will burn you too if you get too close. You can even cook over it, digital fare or actual. He certainly has. He practically lives out here during the late part of the rainy season and through the summer, scorching or not.]
No it's juice.
[Said as he hands the flask to him.]
Don't vegans want to eat plants? What is vegan anyway? That wasn't a thing back on my world. [Or it was later, but he has no idea. Certainly wasn't in his time at least. Too many people barely could eat at all, let alone could be picky like that.]
no subject
(He'll give Gyro that and then some for pity. Poor old guys never get their chance in the spotlight anymore, do they?
Percy merely shrugs.)
Hey man, seriously whatever works. I've seen some really weird stuff. Coded-fire isn't actually at the top of my list.
(He does however look quite surprised when Gyro clarifies that it's juice. He tasks the flask from Gyro and gives it a curious sip.
He pauses and stares up thoughtfully for a moment. What's a vegan.)
Uh....an aggressive vegetarian, I guess. Vegans don't eat anything that comes from an animal usually. So like, nothing with milk or eggs. Like that's your standard vegan. But then you can get into the deeper-set vegans who refuse to use any sort of living creature thing in their lives like wool or leather or honey. Stuff like that?
(Which isn't actually a bad thing and Percy doesn't have anything against it. He's a pretty big tree-hugger himself but he's seen some seriously nasty vegans being unnecessarily awful to people in the streets of New York City. Who promotes good things via harassment?)
There are people though who only eat plants that have naturally fallen but I don't think that's a big thing. Most vegans are hugely ethical-based instead of dietary so they would probably appreciate a world where neither animals or plants have to die. But I guess you don't have to be a vegan to appreciate that. That is cool.
Back in my world, a lot of animals are treated badly and nature is really disregarded as being worthless and pointless.
(His voice takes on a bit of a sad tone. Percy wasn't a vegetarian by any means but he had a massively tender heart for nature. Animals and everything else.)
I hate thinking about it. It pisses me off.
no subject
[He's tried to figure it out but there's nothing to find. Maybe it really was a good alternative to growing food, maybe this place just hit that nail on the head. That or it's helped lead to a lot of the problems in Amoi. Sterilization being a big one, of both men and women. Women not being able to have babies even IF they're sterile, and memory loss. Maybe he wasn't looking at it right.. maybe it was a lot of things leading to it. But so far he just has a lot of questions and no answers.]
[He lifts a piece of the purple wood and prods at the fire, letting sparks flutter up from it while he stokes it.]
So they just want to waste away then, vegans? I guess in a futuristic world they can afford to do it. I guess we're all vegans here on Amoi too, aren't we? Well except me, I'll keep wearing leather 'till I die.
But this vegan thing, doesn't it just sound stupid? I won't argue with vegetarians, but vegans? Going that far's just making yourself suffer, do they die earlier? But I guess if you have enough processed foods and artificial shit happening in your time, maybe they could. Back where I come from, no way.
It's less cool when you consider there's no animals or plants around at all. Besides... in nature plants and animals have to die to feed eachother. So it's like some natural law, it's how it has to be.
[He sits with a smirk when he watches Percy sip from the flask. Definitely not juice. It's straight gin, and so he'll get a sudden shock of juniper berries in his mouth. His joke doesn't last though when Percy makes the topic a little more sad, and it's Gyro's turn to shrug, flitting up a hand in gesture.]
Humans doing, right? In my era... we were just starting to claim all the land in the Americas. [A glance up, watching the fire.]
Claiming land from people... taking it rather, building towns, mining for gold and oil, laying tracks. It's how we humans found to survive, seems like it was only natural that it'd lead to carving into the Earth enough to change it.
It's how things are. Things have to die. The only way to fix it's more death too, killing a lotta people. I'm guessing the population numbers high there, right? And not only that... but people won't just change or learn.
So in some way, death has to be involved. It's a part of life, nothin' we can do about that.
no subject
Dunno, man. I'm surprised people here aren't running around with STDs like crazy but hey, no one seems to be questioning that any more than the synthetic food and fire wood. Don't you think if they can prevent diseases, they can probably provide nourishment? I saw other non-humans here and I mean really nonhumans and their nourishment requirements might be completely different than a human's. Kinda like how you can't feed a dog chocolate. Well, not like that, but you get what I'm saying. We're all eating the same food and no one's dying from lack of vitamins so...
(Again, he has no idea and it's not like he fully trusts the place but considering the circumstances, he literally has no choice but to trust Amoi. Otherwise he would just starve and he's a little bit too into living to do that.)
Well, no? They eat other healthy alternatives. It's a bit extreme and a lot of them are pretty rude about their opinions but it isn't like it's not a livable lifestyle. And I'm pretty sure the anti-leather ones are the ones who take it to the absolute extreme, so, you know.
(Percy raises his brows at Gyro, tipping his head.)
Vegans who can manage a better diet are usually perfectly healthy. I'd say Vegetarians are the healthier though - and kind of the most logical. I mean, I don't know about your world, but in our world red meat is super dangerous for your heart and people who over eat it wind up with a lot of heart problems so it isn't like meats the best for you. There's a lot of fat in it and stuff, I think. The vegan thing's only stupid because they don't seem to understand how cows need to be milked or how chickens just naturally lay eggs. But like I said, they take it to the extreme and a lot of extremists don't always think too clearly.
Sure, but again, I don't think that's what vegans are really fighting against. Okay, some of the crazy ones, totally, but like...a lot of vegetarians and vegans are just taking a stand against the industries because they do messed up things. So it's not really like you can fault them.
(The gin hits his tongue like acid and you know what's unfortunate about this Gyro?????
You're sitting near him and he's facing you because he's polite when he talks so when he spits it out- yeah.
You get some of that right back in your face in nice mist form. He makes a face and wrinkles up his nose.)
Dude, you're a jerk.
(That's fine, Gyro. Just take another drink of your flask. Gin has got some water in it so he keeps an eye on the next time Gyro decides to take a drink because he is sooo shooting that all over Gyro's face. You want a prank? That's fine but Percy will serve it right back.
Percy snorts, looking a bit somber.)
Yeah, well, we did a real good job of killing nature. That time especially. It isn't against you but I'm from quite a ways in the future from that. People only just started realizing how awful they've treated the world and how there's no fixing it. It's how we survive, maybe, but it wasn't the only option.
(Percy glares at Gyro a little bit.)
You're not getting it, are you? 'Things have to die'. Sure, I agree with that. But I really don't understand why an animal has to be beaten through it's whole life and then be killed horrifically just to 'feed people'. Like, no? You love Valkyrie?
(He points over to said horse.)
Do you actually want to know how some people treat their horses? Or are you going to just argue that 'welp, animals gotta die sometimes'. It's not about that. It's about how they're ...."allowed" to live until they die that's the problem. And you know, that's the problem- that mentality. "People won't just change or learn" - that's total bull. That mentality keeps everyone rooted to the past. It's stupid.
(Percy's actually getting fully worked up now. The kid had a stringent set of morals. It was actually this very topic, this idea that people just didn't want to change ever, that had caused the war that he was about to enter. He turns away from Gyro a little bit, glaring at the fire. He had seen friends die because people didn't want to change. It was such bullshit in his head and his morale didn't leave much room for feeling too keenly on it.)
You're close-minded, aren't you?
(He muttered quietly, feeling oddly disappointed. All adults were so close-minded. The gods were so stuck in their ways, all of the adults he had ever yelled in the faces of of why can't we change things?! had only ever shrugged and seemed to say: "That's just the way things are, Percy." He didn't get that. He never would and he never wanted to understand that. He'd rip apart Mount Olympus himself before he would and funnily enough, wasn't that what Luke was doing? Funny how sometimes you start to understand the 'villain'.)
Whatever. Let's talk about something else.
no subject
[But before he has anything more to say on it, Percy's sputtering from the gin and Gyro's laughing, even as it sprays at his face.]
Nyo-hooo! Don't like it?? It's 'Juniper juice', hohoho!
[He'll take the flask back though, wiping his face and cackling before he'll somber up too. Seems to him that Percy's not the one who gets it here, even if he thinks Gyro isn't. His point was things die and it's natural. He never said it made sense for things to be tortured, or killed horrifically. ESPECIALLY not those things. As an executioner of criminals, he was taught to kill them as cleanly and perfectly as possible without any sign of suffering, he'd say killing should always be done like that, especially for food. He has no idea where Percy is getting all this shit about killing horrifically, after all, he never mentioned how things should die, just that they do and it's natural. Though he doubts it's Percy's own strong opinions leading him to just jump into this anger.]
[So Gyro will stay calm, quiet, and let him talk. Just let him get it all out. It seems that Gyro's quite able to put on a serious and emotionless face, doing so now as he watches him, staring.]
No, we're not going to talk about something else, it seems like you got the wrong idea, I'm not going to let you keep it.
Did I say a word about how people go about killing anything? Listen here.
People won't change.
You know why? They won't change completely, like you think anyway. But they won't because 'consent' exists.
[A breath, looking out now as he talks.]
People can be good or evil, or something like it... 'good' and 'bad' things exist, they will. Always will. And people will always be able to choose one or the others. That's consent, that's 'free will'. You can hope all you want that everyone's going to make the right choice about everything, but that's not going to happen.
Yeah, the world can change, more people can be smarter, figure out how to be better and stop hurting others and animals, and everything. But as long as 'free will' exists, the world's never going to be perfect. I get it, I get wanting it to be, I get wanting things to all be better, but sometimes it's not like that.
Sometimes... people are going to make the 'bad choices'. You can either have everyone choose the same good decisions over and over without actually choosing, or you can have free will. If you want 'free will' as a part of life, then you have to consider the down side...
that free will means people can't completely change. Not everyone.
[Lifting the flask, he holds it there, not drinking yet.]
As for what I said about life and death being part of it- why'd you ever think I meant people and animals should suffer? Did I fucking say that? No. Stop jumping to conclusions like that.
[And he'll drink. He feels sick on the subject, but people like Percy... they'd find out eventually that the world couldn't be all that they wanted. The point Gyro was trying to make was that you can go and try to change things all out want, and yeah, you could, you needed to keep going and making the right choices and try to get others to as well. But it was that people, that EVERYONE still won't, and you can't just make them either. Even after all your work there will still be people out there that not only choose to do the bad thing, but don't actually care at all either. It was just how things were. And you had to accept that. If you went around thinking you could make every single person do what you believed was right, free will wouldn't exist anymore. And like death, free will was a necessary choice in life.]
[He just hope the kid gets it, but maybe he won't.]
no subject
As for the rest of it, well. Miscommunication, really. Percy's loud and passionate but he's also not dense and stubborn enough to ignore when someone else is talking. He listens when Gyro starts to speak, looks at him and sits there quietly, not interrupting, because it's important to listen and he understands quickly enough that he misunderstood Gyro. Percy's a good kid, is the thing. He has a good heart and it's in the right place, even if he fumbles a bit with it and winds up getting more snarky than thoughtful.
After Gyro finishes talking, Percy rubs at his chin thoughtfully and stares briefly at the fire.)
I think you're right and I think you're wrong. I agree that people are always going to do bad things and that it sucks. But I agree that that's what free will is about. I know a perfect world is impossible- trust me on that. But I do thing people can change. I think people can change for the better, even the majority, even if it means that there will still be bad people. I get that. I do. I agree too. Evil is always going to exist.
I never said it wouldn't, you know. Just that people could change. Cause they can. It's dumb to say they can'. I mean, you don't know the future yet but people outlawed slavery, fought for the rights for African Americans, fought for the rights of women, and are fighting for the rights for gay people. I mean. It's slow and there's always crap and racism and sexism still exist but...things are better because people started to change. Bad stuff will always exist, people who want to hurt animals or people who want to hurt people for being different. Dude, the monsters in my world, the ones I fight? They don't die. They turn to dust and it takes years for them to reform. Wanna know why? It's cause they're more of a concept than a living blood-thing like you or me. Evil is a concept you can't kill. You can only push it out of the way for a while. I get that. Trust me, I really do.
(His voice is softer than before, his knees bumping together. He looks at Gyro and offers a genuine sort of smile.)
I'm sorry. That I called you close-minded. I can get riled up sometimes and jump to conclusions. I uh. Get in trouble for that a lot. But I am sorry. I didn't mean to jump to any conclusions with you. I know you're a cool dude.
(He means it too. He didn't mean to offend Gyro or insinuate anything - though he knows he did. He wouldn't even say he didn't. He's done it before and would likely do it again. Percy doesn't always think. He feels and then does. He tries to do what he thinks is right and sometimes he messes up. He's still learning though, still a kid, and at least he can admit when he's wrong and he had been in the wrong. To an extent, anyway, in having gotten worked up.)
I guess the subject just hits close to home, you know? It isn't personal. I shouldn't have made it personal. But I guess some things are hard to not make personal.
no subject
[He's happy though that Percy stops to listen to him. After all, a passion like that in the kid could mean they'd fall into interrupting eachother and eventually whatever sort of friendship this was would've crashed and burned. Gyro didn't show this happiness, but he felt it, and again would fall back to listen to Percy again, the fire crackling on. Valkyrie couldn't help but worry a bit at the 'vibes' gotten from that direction, but so like a horse to leave whatever was going on to who was involved. If anything he moved to stand a little closer to Blackjack as they rested and continued their own far less vehement conversation.]
Yeah, I'm not going to argue on that. 'Course people can change like that, but not everyone, and so in a way we don't change completely. Maybe saying 'people don't change' is a bad way of presenting it. I shoulda said 'they won't change completely' how about that?
[A breath at that though. It really means something to hear what he does. That things got better for people, that slavery stopped being a thing, that things changed for African Americans (though he does flinch a little at that term, people still had a bad way of speaking in his time after all, it's weird to hear someone casually use 'African Americans'.) It's weird too to hear about gays getting rights, he never even considered that but that did lead people to getting incarcerated in his time, even killed... it was a problem, a big one, it all was. But hearing that it does change in a version of Earth made him feel a bit more relaxed. It might in his own then, he hoped so. It didn't change his opinion on things though, after all, he'll stick by 'people don't change completely'. He's really not a pessimist though, it's not like he thought things couldn't change at all large scale.]
[He's even more happy to see that Percy understands him though. Gyro's a good person too, even if he can be an ass sometimes, but that was usually just for laughs. They're both good hearted and he felt like they'd be good friends. So it's nice to see he was right and they this conversation didn't spiral down into something they couldn't reverse. After all, some of the biggest feuds were sparked from merely a misunderstanding.]
Heh, yeah? Maybe it's too late, you already said it. I'm close-minded, am I??
[Said as he smiles back and moves to shove a hand at Percy's head before sitting back again and taking another drink of his flask. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his wrist.]
It's a crack. [A breath, pointing to him.]
A crack in your heart made by 'sentimentality'. But don't worry, that's a part of life too... [Staring into the fire.] No matter what anyone tells you.
no subject
He grins at Gyro then and gives a nod.)
Yeah, I think 'people won't completely change' is fairly accurate. I can get behind that statement.
(He could too. He isn't the sort of person to just agree to avoid confrontation. It's more than obvious now that he isn't. He thinks that's a better way of putting it, that's all. People don't change was way too stringent and allowed no wiggle room. 'People won't completely change'? Now that fit the bill. Percy was trying to remind himself too that Gyro was from the past. One of his good friends Nico was also from the past and far enough from the past that he didn't understand certain things in the new world. He had to remind himself to give Gyro some wiggle room. It wasn't fair to think Gyro would automatically get certain aspects of the current world. But it was clear that Gyro was a certain sort of goodness that ran through human life and could result in change. Maybe not Gyro himself but Gyro....he didn't seem bad. Not even slightly. And Percy thought that even the smallest bits of good accounted for a lot. A man who diligently took care of his own horse, a man who helped others at a clinic.
He didn't think Gyro was pessimistic. Not really, not after they discussed things in greater detail. He would maybe peg him as more of a realist. Which Percy could respect. Percy himself was a bit of an optimistic realist. He wasn't completely blind to the faults that lay in the system of basic human comprehension.
Percy smirks a bit and pops his chin into his palm.)
Oh, super close-minded. I can't believe you don't even get the vegan life style.
(Completely teasing now and it's more than clear from the tone of his voice. He outright laughs at the shove to his head and yeah, things are just fine between them. He really did like Gyro.
He looks at Gyro, blinking sea green eyes. He looks down at himself, like he would be able to see his heart if he tried hard enough. He looked over at Gyro again then. Eventually, he grins, a soft sort of grin.)
Yeah, I know it is. Thanks though.
no subject
[Either way it's why he didn't just leave the conversation where it had been even though normally? He would have. But when he knows something it happening between him and someone else, he still wants to preserve it. It's just a good thing he has an easier time talking about this sort of thing than something really personal about his own feelings or history. It was a difficult thing to get Gyro to talk about how he felt on a more specific and personal level. What his opinions were here was personal, sure, but not to the same degree. It wasn't like he was talking about his feelings on his father, or what family or love meant to him. Those things came harder to him.]
Vegans just sound like assholes freaks. I bet they're green coloured and their teeth fall out, nyeh-heheh.
No problem.
no subject
Percy's glad Gyro had preserved it. Chances were good Percy would have cooled off later then regretted being dense. It was a lot better this way. He wasn't used to adults talking to him like that either and it shifts his respect towards Gyro. Percy was a relatively open book. The kid didn't have many secrets. It's hard to when you were as passionate as he was. But there were things that he carried with him that he'd be more reluctant to share.)
Um well, you're not wrong. They're not green colored or anything but uh, they're not always smart. Some of them are actually stupid enough to put their dogs or cats on vegan diets and it's kind of like, stop?
(He's quiet after that, looking at the fire. Then after some time of silence, he grins over at Gyro and pokes him in the shoulder. No touch laws, sure, but they're completely alone.)
Hey. You know, you're probably one of the first adults that isn't completely backwards that I've met.
no subject
Whaaaat, dogs and cats don't eat that shit more than humans don't. [Baffled by that, it sounds like a damn lie. But-]
Hnf- humans are always thinking they know better, don't we?
Hm-?
[A glance over. That's right. No touch laws in Midas but look where they are. No one's out here, it's one of the perks of coming out this far. And so when he's poked, he grins, and lifts a hand to shove back against Percy's shoulder.]
That's because I'm really cool, nyeh-heheh!
no subject
Oh trust me, I know. I hate that stuff. Like it's cool if you wanna change your diet but don't force that on animals. They don't have a say. Same with kids. (Percy is completely with Gyro here. The only part of veganism he even remotely supported was the general intention of wanting better treatment of animals. Otherwise? No.
He laughs then, smiling bright.)
Honestly, yeah. People are really good at being arrogant.
(Percy laughs again when Gyro shoves him back, laughs even louder than before, and he's automatically glad that Gyro isn't shy to touch. Not for any perverse reason. Percy was a teenage boy is all. He sometimes showed his affectionate through dumb shoves and hair ruffles. Not that he'd ruffle Gyro's hair. Gyro's hair was the play-with kind of hair, not the ruffle. Not that he was about to tell Gyro that.)
Uhhhh....huuuuuh.....Suuuuuuure you are.
no subject
[Said as he takes another drink of his flask and offers it again.]
Sure you don't want any? I have water and some beer too, up to you. [Said as he pushes himself up and moves back to Valkyrie and gives him a pat, apologizes for 'interrupting', and goes to look around in his satchel. He pulls out what looks to be a coffee pot, a water skin, and a small cloth bag.]
Think I got some Amaretto in here too... [Mumbles to himself as he continues to look.]
no subject
(At the offer, Percy shakes his head.)
No thanks. The drinking age is 21 and I'm a few years off from that. My mom would have a hernia.
(Not really. She wasn't the type to get mad or yell at him but she'd be disappointed and that would be significantly worse. Blackjack wasn't bothered by the minor disagreement between the men. He knew his master enough to know he wouldn't start anything serious and he was used enough to general confrontations like that. When Gyro came over, he gave a pleasant whinny of acknowledgement and nudged at Gyro's side, sniffing for treats.)
Some Amara-what? (Percy asks from where he is, not having really hard Gyro all that well.)
no subject
Nyeh- heh, drinking age where?
[What a cute thing to reply with though. He won't push it on him anymore. He WILL keep trying to find everything to make a-]
Ah ha! Amaretto, it's an almond liquor. If you're Earth side, it's usually from Saronno.
[Said as he lifts a small bottle out. He'll quickly click a greeting against his teeth at Blackjack, give him a wink. The bottle is tucked under and arm and he'll move back into the satchel to remove a packet of dates. Hope you like these, they're Valkyrie's favorite, he'll mumble and give him one, giving one to Valkyrie as well before he puts them back and moves back to accompany Percy by the fire. He sets everything down and moves to start preparing the coffee pot, filling it with water.]
You drink coffee? Or are you not old enough for that too?
no subject
In New York. And present time. I'm not so sure what the drinking age is from when you were around.
(He looks thoughtful for a moment but knows it's a lost cause. He was awful at school and school never covered 'drinking age laws' way back when. The only drinking laws they covered were bootleggers and then the speakeasies.)
Ohhhh. Of course.
(Almond liquor. He knew that. No he didn't. But he's going to nod his support anyway. Blackjack perks his head up, ears flicking about madly.
What you...? What this! Ayyyyye boss!
Percy looks over but sees that it's only a date so he snorts, watching as Blackjack doesn't even wait for permission to eat and just dives right on in and munches on the date.
Valkyrie, my man, you got some STELLAR taste that was ugh- the stuff of dreams. You gotta another? Hey....hey! Where you going?
He calls after Gyro but of course, Gyro would hear nothing but a little bit of shuffling around on Blackjack's end. Percy laughs at his horse's despair.)
He liked the date. And is sad you left without giving him more.
(A beat. He looks at the coffee and then at Gyro.)
I know you envy my youth and vitality but harsh man, real harsh. It's okay. I still think you look good for your age. Women are probably into the silver fox thing sometimes.
(He pats Gyro's shoulder sympathetically.)
I'll try some coffee.
no subject
[Gyro chuckles at the comment about the date, glancing back. He'll see Valkyrie nudge at Blackjack's neck a little, pushing the end of his snout near his neck in comfort.]
We can't mate, not here. But I'm guessing your guy, that Percy, you lot live over in that fancy city, do ya? So he probably still gives ya a lotta grub, eh? Don't work like that hea.
[It may sound rather sad to both Percy and Blackjack, but it's the truth. Gyro can't hear his horse to know that Valkyrie's understood so well, so he'll mention it himself as well. Still... it'd really mean something were he to know that Valkyrie realized that it wasn't because Gyro was punishing him that he had to be scarce with things like treats. it'd mean something that Valkyrie understood what his master was going through, and the lack of funds he had here.]
That's the only bag for the month, not sure if I'll afford more next one either. [A shrug, pouting as he looks to Blackjack.]
Sorry for that, Blackjack.
[Really sorry actually, but, he tries not to dwell on it. He looks back to the fire, chuckling at Percy's words.]
Women are into me fine, and not a grey hair yet, you wanna look? I pluck them out and use them to floss, nyo-hoho! Fuuuu!
[He swats at that hand, shoves him again, and this time ruffles Percy's hair too. He sure is okay with touching, and Percy has very ruffle-y hair.]
Doubt you want it spiked though, yeah? You're lucky, this stuff took me a while to find, good enough without spirits.
no subject
(He had never really had a huge urge to get wasted or anything and he was sixteen. Two years off from the old age of drinking. Twenty-one seemed so far off and old to him.
Blackjack looks at Valkyrie and snorts. One thing about Blackjack? He's a natural glutton. Doesn't even need to be spoiled that way.
No way. Boss gives me only what I need and a teeny bit extra on the side. He's all picky on my diet. Says I'd get fat otherwise.
Which in Blackjack's case? He absolutely would. If Blackjack could, he'd likely do nothing but eat sugar cubes from dusk til dawn and splurge a bit between on anything else.
Percy does notice though and glances over before at Gyro. He's aware enough about how mongrels couldn't afford much. Percy grew up dirt poor and that wasn't really something he was surprised about. He still had no idea what to do with the money that he had been given. He hadn't splurged at all. The most he had done was eaten out a lot until he actually figured out how to make food in his place.
But he also gets that most people don't really enjoy hand-outs. He didn't either but it was aggravating to know that someone like Gyro and his horse were just squeaking by. He considers this closely.)
What do you do for Valkyrie? I mean, like, living wise? Does he just stay with you at your place?
(It was a genuine question as much as it was a mildly prodding one. Blackjack mostly flew around. Pegasi weren't fans of stables and needed to be able to stretch their wings far more than regular horses had to stretch their legs. But otherwise, he stayed in Percy's place and that wasn't all that horse friendly in atmosphere.
Aw it's okay, man. Don't sweat it.)
That's - gross. And also sad. I have gray hair but that's totally not my fault.
(He pouts a bit and rubs his fingers through the streak of gray hair in his hair by his temple. Stupid titans. Then Gyro is ruffling his hair and Percy whines though does absolutely nothing to stop it.)
Awww c'mon. My hair's already a total mess. Ugh ew. Why do you drink anyway? It tastes so bad.
no subject
[Said with a raised brow. Because they sure as hell do. Makes you wonder why alcohol is legal at all. Sure it won't be for a bit, but it turns out we find out during that period that you can't just take something like from the public, it'll raise crime rates. They'll get it anyway, that and it'll sap money from the economy. So dangerous? Seems like that's not really why people get shit taken away, not really.]
[But yeah, kids do tend to be stupid on a wider level with it. Doesn't seem to stop Amoi from letting them drink though.]
You'll get fat, really? Ya dill! How do ya get fat when we're movin' around all the time, yer favorite things to hitch and bog down?
[Said with a lower of his head and a whinny and huff, laughing at the idea of it. Valkyrie was a very healthy horse, treated that way and in habit. He's not the sort to eat himself huge and takes a lot of enjoyment in moving around. You can tell by how often he moves and how easily, he's very similar to his rider in that respect.]
[Despite the comment about the dates, Gyro doesn't really seem that distraught or bitter about it. It was a normal sort of life, to struggle a bit, wasn't it? A cowboy life, even if he was in no way an actual cowboy. But he wasn't the sort to whine or dwell on his problems, he just did what he had to do to get over them. He sure wishes opening his clinic had made it easier to take less help though... it did a little, but not as much as he'd like. It would if he upped his prices, but what's the point when he wants to keep his clinic more accessible to the Mongrel populace?]
[He takes a drink of his flask, turning the kettle a bit and whipping his hand slightly to get the heat off his palm.]
Mnh well- yeah, depending on where I am, he's in there with me. Most places don't stop him at the door, they don;t know what to even do about a horse and most of the time they think I some how got ahold of a digital version. [Makes them assume he's a pet then though, a lot of the time, and then it fucks him over ugh.]
Still do now, he used to only live in my apartment too, I got a bigger one when I showed up, first floor. But now... a friend of mine got me set up with a small stable at my place here in Diedo. [A pause, sighing out of his nose before he looks down to the fire, busying himself a little by stoking it.]
Big help, stable's a lot better on his hooves. [So he... took it, grinned and dealt with the help. But this place has shown him through constant pressures to be a little more accepting of things like help. Friends often... did that sort of thing anyway, he learned that too. Though he only ever took help when it was associated with Valkyrie or that clinic of his. Otherwise? Nope.]
Nyeh- huuu, you got grey hairs?? Then you have more than me! You're a god's son, right? Maybe you're a liiiar too and you're really like eighty in my own world's years.
[Moving to ruffle his hair again but he stops short this time, psyche-ing him out and hissing a laugh through his teeth.]
You think so? Well I like the taste sometimes, and if I don't like it, I like the feeling afterwards. Being drunk can make things a whoooole lot better. [A shrug.]
Not all the time though. [He's not some alcoholic after all.]
Besides, a little red wine's good for the heart, didn't you know?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Maybe let this one end, just due to age so we can start something new? That cool?