[ Fashionably late to Enma's cleanup party, J's arrival coincides with the start of Yuuji's little speech. If he didn't know what was going on before, a touch of eavesdropping fills him in well enough. Ah, youth! He's been sorely lacking this kind of hot-blooded presence since coming here. How refreshing it is, watching a youngster kick up such a fuss again.
Ears perked and arms folded he listens with intrigue as this fellow practically throws himself to the wolves. And make no mistake, that's what they are. What they've had to become here. Anything that lives in Hell's slums knows those who reveal their soft, vulnerable underbelly don't last. And this fool of a boy might as well have rolled over and bared his throat to them, after practically begging for a deal.
How do you think humans who live in Hell, in the worst and shittiest parts of it, with no weapons or abilities to defend themselves, fend off interlopers who are stronger, more powerful, and blessed with powers mere mortals don't have?
Through strength in numbers and attacking like a swarm of angry hornets: Death by a thousand stings. Or whatever they can throw that's sharp-edged and liable to shatter into eyes and skin. ]
What an admirable philosophy! Humbly giving of yourself to appease the desperate, unfortunate masses.
[ The sound of clapping barely disturbs the scene. At best there's a momentary pause as the growing mob assembles, but when J appears to pose no immediate threat their courage returns. Figures rise from the lengthening shadows to take shape, amassing numbers all around them. There were plenty enough bodies to make a mob before the boy's rousing speech. Now there must be double that.
Territorial, fearless, and willing to cede nothing to no one until blood is shed. What's lacking in strength they make up for in numbers and raw, animal determination to survive. Because bowing down, sniveling, and taking a payout is never so easy. J knows as well as they do a golden rule of the slums: Don't trust a free lunch. You always pay in the end. And they're paying now, with the place they call home. Handing over their territory for a few meals and some boy's promise isn't a good enough bargain for the most desperate of them. ]
I have to wonder if the Enma has been blessed to find a true saint among its ranks.
[ Taller by a good margin, J strides over to flank Yuuji in a way that keeps the restless crowd's main bulk in his line of sight. This way his third eye can flick around to catch the sight of latecomers slinking into this shindig at his periphery. ]
It's a real shame that even if you offer to sell yourself and the shirt off your back- [ He smirks, leaning in closer to polish off his thoughts in a whisper. ]
Negotiations
Ears perked and arms folded he listens with intrigue as this fellow practically throws himself to the wolves. And make no mistake, that's what they are. What they've had to become here. Anything that lives in Hell's slums knows those who reveal their soft, vulnerable underbelly don't last. And this fool of a boy might as well have rolled over and bared his throat to them, after practically begging for a deal.
How do you think humans who live in Hell, in the worst and shittiest parts of it, with no weapons or abilities to defend themselves, fend off interlopers who are stronger, more powerful, and blessed with powers mere mortals don't have?
Through strength in numbers and attacking like a swarm of angry hornets: Death by a thousand stings. Or whatever they can throw that's sharp-edged and liable to shatter into eyes and skin. ]
What an admirable philosophy! Humbly giving of yourself to appease the desperate, unfortunate masses.
[ The sound of clapping barely disturbs the scene. At best there's a momentary pause as the growing mob assembles, but when J appears to pose no immediate threat their courage returns. Figures rise from the lengthening shadows to take shape, amassing numbers all around them. There were plenty enough bodies to make a mob before the boy's rousing speech. Now there must be double that.
Territorial, fearless, and willing to cede nothing to no one until blood is shed. What's lacking in strength they make up for in numbers and raw, animal determination to survive. Because bowing down, sniveling, and taking a payout is never so easy. J knows as well as they do a golden rule of the slums: Don't trust a free lunch. You always pay in the end. And they're paying now, with the place they call home. Handing over their territory for a few meals and some boy's promise isn't a good enough bargain for the most desperate of them. ]
I have to wonder if the Enma has been blessed to find a true saint among its ranks.
[ Taller by a good margin, J strides over to flank Yuuji in a way that keeps the restless crowd's main bulk in his line of sight. This way his third eye can flick around to catch the sight of latecomers slinking into this shindig at his periphery. ]
It's a real shame that even if you offer to sell yourself and the shirt off your back- [ He smirks, leaning in closer to polish off his thoughts in a whisper. ]
I don't think they're gonna buy it, Kiddo.