Forums » General Roleplay » Hide and Seek (1x1)

He followed a step behind Jonah, making sure the kid got out of the alley okay. "Do you need to rest? When was the last time you got any sleep?"

Jonah opened his mouth to answer but fell forward, landing on the ground unconscious before he could speak. Evidently he was exhausted, even though he had napped a little while ago in the alley. He laid there silent for a moment and then started snoring rather loudly.

Sterling wasn't quite fast enough to catch the kid from face planting, but he wasn't exactly surprised either. Dismayed, yes.

He kept the crossbow in the crook of his arm as he bent down to grab Jonah and hoist him up enough to get some sort of purchase around the kid's scrawny torso before hauling him out of the alley.

To any passersby, if they had been watching, it would have looked like Sterling had knocked the kid out. Sterling looked around for a place to set the kid down--he wasn't all that light--and take a breather. A bench across the street looked good; it was near a bar which had a few guests, so it was populated.

He began the weary trek.

Jonah groaned a bit at being picked up but kept on snoring, he also started to drool a bit, which would have embarrassed him terribly had he been awake while it was happening. "I'm not..a monster.." He mumbled, apparently dreaming.

"No?" grunted Sterling as he finally got the kid over to the bench and settled. "You're just a bear. Heavy, too."

He settled the crossbow across his knees, the bolt aimed at whatever was opposite him, which at the moment was a wide open area of street and alleyway.

Jonah curled up, hugging his tail. "Mrrrh.." He shoved his face in his tail, using it like a pillow. If he had been littler people might say he was adorable, but he was really too old to be sleeping like that.

Sterling doesn't wake him; there's no point. The kid needs to rest and right now is as good as any. There is the hotel room he got earlier, but he'd rather not carry Jonah there, and have to worry about meeting up with a vampire along the way.

One body was more than enough to worry about. So he'll order a hot drink from the bar and sit where he is, relaxing in the night for once.

Jonah yawned and unconsciously bit down on his tail. "Mmmh.. Ow!" He woke with a mouthful of his own fur and looked around "Huh..?" He spit out the fur and yawned again, scratching his head. "Guess I passed out.. Gah I'm pathetic.." He muttered and rubbed his sore tail.

Sterling flinched at Jonah's 'ow', and bit back a smile. "You're hardly pathetic. You keep pushing yourself too hard, though, and you might get into trouble. It's all good though. I got your back. For now."

He sipped his drink. "Are you thirsty at all? I can get you something to drink."

Jonah stared at the bald spot on his tail, twitching a bit. "I think I mistook my tail for food.. somehow.." He brushed his fingers through his tail and sighed, trying to hide the bald spot as best he could. "Thanks I guess.. I'm not thirsty at the moment, but I'm a little freaked out. I keep acting so weird, and its starting to make me wonder if somethings wrong with me." He hugged his knees and stared at the ground.

Sterling turned to take a better look at Jonah. "Well, what's considered normal?"

He was a little worried for the kid, and not just superficially. He'd been through a lot and he was still on his own. The kid could use a friend--not that Sterling was going to be that friend. He didn't make friends--just acquaintances.

Jonah shrugged. "Normal is.. well.. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it, but I know theres something weirder about me than usual. But I can't figure out what it is, its like my mind goes blank and then I get really tired." He clutched his head in frustration. "I just don't get it at all, and its driving me crazy!" He grumbled.

"Perhaps a demon ability is trying to surface?" Sterling inquired. "Do you have a brother you could call or find to ask about such a thing?"

He didn't know the first thing about demon powers, but he knew ways of finding out information. Some were less painful than others.

Jonah bit his lip and stared at the ground nervously. "I have one I can call.. But he's likely to yell at me for running away." He sighed, wondering if it was really worth all the trouble to have a little freedom. "I'm beginning to think it was stupid of me to leave home, even though life sucked there." He would've smacked himself for saying that, if he didn't think it was true.

"Nothing you did was stupid, Jonah. Running away was the only option you had, and you were smart to take it. But at the very least you should call your brother. A little yelling is worth getting a little insight about what's happening to you, right?"

Sterling eyed the kid, trying to give his best stern expression, which, was pretty stern.

Jonah got up off the bench and stretched. "I guess so.. But its gonna be ugly if my father answers the phone instead of him." He looked around for the nearest pay phone, a little uneasy about contacting a member of his family.

"Would you rather I called? I can weed through whoever picks up. What's your brother's name anyway?"

Yes, prying, but also trying to help. Seriously, what kind of Hunter was he that he was starting to help his targets?

Jonah laughed a bit. "If you called they would hang up in seconds, and his name is Graham. He's the only one that was ever kind to me, but I'm not sure if it was really kindness or pity." He spotted a pay phone a little ways away and started walking towards it.

Sterling had thought of that; but he had a trump card about contacting Jonah's family via phone. Still, he watched as Jonah went off to the pay phone, readying his crossbow just in case anything tried to take a pass at him, and then waited for the result.

Jonah got to the pay phone and sifted through his pockets, pulling out a few coins, mostly nickels and pennies. "Hope this thing works.." He put a few coins into the little slot and picked up the phone receiver and started to dial the familiar number. The phone rang a few times before someone finally answered.

"Hello?" Graham said hesitantly.

Jonah sighed in the relief upon hearing his brother's voice. "H-Hey.. Its me, Jonah." He said nervously, preparing for the earful he was about to receive.

"Jonah?! What the hell? Where are you? Come home now, you idiot! Dad's blowing a fuse because of you!" Graham said with a growl.

Jonah froze up for a moment. "I can't come back.. I only called cause I need your help! Theres something wrong with me, and I don't know how to deal with it, so please just help me out!" He pleaded, not wanting to get yelled at further.