bad weeds grow tall — joining

[michael t.]

Another kid came trotting up to the impromptu little gathering of souls in the desert, and Michael found himself wondering, absently, if this place actually had any adults in it besides he and that Caustic guy who had helped him at the border. However, unlike Aine, who while shy was still speaking in a quiet and curious tone, Juno remained silent, with nothing but a faintly joyous smile gracing her face once she had joined the group. It made Michael feel awkward, his skin itching a little bit. Kids were supposed to be talkative, weren't they? Juno seemed excited, but she wasn't exactly blasting off with questions or offering any kind words to the mask wearing stranger, so perhaps he had his wires crossed about kids. Either way, Michael found himself only glancing at Juno for a moment before he forced his eyes back to Nikolai, watching as the boy looked all three of them over carefully. It sort of reminded Michael of how he often scanned others over for weaknesses in case they ever came to blows, but it didn't seem like Nikolai was planning on attacking them. Rather, he just seemed curious, and perhaps a little bit bemused by the ragtag group before him. At least, that's what Michael could get from the one eye he could see, which wasn't exactly much.

Unfortunately, this was when the language barrier reared its ugly head, ready to make what should've been a relatively simple process a million times harder in the end. Michael watched the way that Nikolai's eye narrowed minutely, a flash of something akin to frustration glittering there for a moment before the other spoke. When the horseman was done speaking, Michael found himself blinking dumbly, having picked up exactly nothing from the strange twisted words that exited Nikolai's muzzle. His previous curious question was quickly forgotten, mainly due to the fact that he couldn't even begin to understand what the fuck the other was saying. Michael had only ever known English, and he was pretty sure it was going to continue to be the only language he knew, which meant he was virtually useless in this exchange. Frowning, Michael glanced back and forth from Aine to Juno, speaking hesitantly, "I don't suppose either of you picked up on what the hell he just said?" He knew there was very little chance that either of the girls knew Ukrainian, yet alone any other languages – even though Aine actually did know some others – but what was he supposed to do? It wasn't like he knew an expert translator around here.

[glow=#75603C,1,000]" oh, it's a setup, no, no, we won't fall. "[/glow]