raisetheearth | Would it be wrong to clamp down on your racing heart? [Shepherd's Haven][Open]

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Would it be wrong to clamp down on your racing heart? [Shepherd's Haven][Open]

Who: Luca "Nux" Dantonio and YOU!
Where: Around Shepherd's Haven to start, then maybe to Woodend or Christchurch!
When: Backdated to September 1
What: Nux got a car back as an echo in August. He's been working on it. Now it's finally ready for a proper drive!
Warnings: Language? Updated as and if needed!
Status: Open!

Nux's car, a 1934 Ford Coupe, wasn't much to write home about it when he'd first echoed it back. Hell, it barely ran, but after many tender loving afternoons in the garage just feet away from Shou's drool-worthy Lamborghini and Lazarus' ambulance, he's managed to get the engine purring. He's thrilled with it, even if it's pretty basic and unsouped for the time being. He's so excited to take her out for a test drive that he forgets, momentarily, that he invited a dangerous psychopath to Shepherd's Haven and painted a big red X on his door to ensure he knew who to go after.

He rolls down his windows, feeling the wind in his face as he pushes down on the gas and the old car lurches forward. He goes off the dirt road and into one of the grazing fields, taking a few giddy sharp turns and hollering as the adrenaline starts coursing through his veins. For all that Nux has something of an inferiority complex around the other Numbered sometimes, when he does this he is truly happy and can't get enough... even though he's wasting precious fuel and tearing up some of Factor's land just to get a rush.

If he sees you, he'll react just a bit like a child caught fingerpainting his mother's wallpaper with mud. "Oh!" he screeches to a stop, staring wide-eyed through his windshield at you, whether he almost ran you down or not. "Uh, sorry if that was... you know, uh, disturbing you. I got her running! You... you want a ride into town, maybe?"

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Jacob feels the lurch in the car, but feels it drive smoothly just as quickly after. This... isn't bad. It's actually kind of nice. Jacob leans back in his seat and enjoys the ride.

He blinks and looks at Nux at the question of where he's from. Definitely something he's not used to being asked.

He chuffs a laugh.

"Well, I guess I couldn't pass for a New Zealander, anyway." Not that those kinds of things matter in a haven for the Numbered. "I pretty much grew up in Locke, then we had to leave town for a while. But I ended up here after x-amount of years, and we liked it so much that we stayed. It's pretty quiet around here. My family lives on the outskirts."

He thinks for a moment. If his old name brings up bad memories, he doesn't want to prod an unpleasant past for Nux.

"So, how long have you been working on cars? What started it?"

Despite his intimidating appearance and almost maniacal enthusiasm, Nux is actually a very good driver, and he's thrilled to see that Jacob no longer seems like he's nervous about sharing a ride with him.

"Oh? Huh, yeah... I grew up in Locke too. Lot of people around here did. Bunch of New Jersey transplants, but technically I grew up on a dairy farm outside of Locke. And what started my car thing was... really my echoes! Used to be, all I liked doing was painting, and even that kind of fell by the wayside.

"What about you? You're doing a, uh, flower thing right?"

"That's quite a dramatic change, to go from painting to cars. Echoes can really affect you that much?"

He gives a silent thanks that nothing has changed his personality yet. And, he rather hopes it will stay that way. He can't imagine losing his love of flowers to something he did in his former life, whatever it may be.

"Yea, the flower shop, again." He smiles. "My oldest sister taught me when I was still a kid. She really liked them, too. She was happy when I took up interest and, when she had to stay home, she showed me how to make them look pretty. As I got older, I learned the language of flowers and I like to use it in my bouquets, whether for myself, family, or customers. It became a business easily enough. I like it alot."

Nux laughs, showing his teeth, eyes crinkling up at the corners.

"Well, you can paint cars," he chuckles. "Not like they're completely unrelated."

He seems interested in the flower shop. "If I had a girlfriend I think I'd definitely stop by," he admits. "I kind of like someone right now, but she's pretty famous. Got no reason to pay attention to me. Where is your sister now?"

Jacob chuckles at painting cars. "Yes, I suppose you can."

"Well, if you ever change your mind, it sounds like you know where to find me. What's she like?"

Jacob stays quiet a moment at the question of his sister. His expression doesn't change, but his thought process does. He doesn't want to make this poor kid upset at the mention of death, something he has no idea that he's asking about. He's seen that reaction enough times in his life at the mention, and he rather hates that someone can go from up to down so quickly over a circumstance he's long since forgiven. But dodging the truth has never been Jacob's thing, either, and he's not about to start now.

"Well... she passed away a long time ago. When I was still a child. But it's okay. I still smile when I think about her."

"You need a special kind of paint, but... ah, sorry, this is kind of a boring thing to talk about, isn't it?" he apologizes sheepishly. "I, uh, I know it's not interesting to everyone to talk about cars, and car paint is probably the least interesting thing about cars. This one didn't even come with it on. Not really thinking about new colors anyway right now."

He grins fast at the mention of the girl he likes. "She's... well she's nice. And pretty. And famous. Heh."

He seems reluctant to say more, seeing as he probably doesn't have a snowball's chance with her.

His expression does fall at the mention of the sister. "She died?" he asks. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't a car accident, was it? I'd feel like a really big doof if I've been going on about cars this whole time and it's sore for you..."

"It's not boring at all. At least, not when you talk about it. It makes you seem so excited." He can't imagine it being dragged on by someone else who's probably all technicalities and so on. Seeing someone with innocence behind it made it easy and enjoyable to listen to.

"Famous, huh? I hope you get a chance with her."

And there's that classic expression. Jacob gives a light, helpless huff.

"No, not at all. It was an illness that couldn't be treated. Not that I know what illness. Nonetheless..." he gives a smile. "I wouldn't have gotten in the car if that were the case."

That cuts right to the cockles of Nux's heart, and he beams happily. "Yeah... I guess you're kind of right there. I get pretty excited. Sometimes gets me in trouble or puts people off, but at least I can say when I love, I do it all the way. Ha! Listen to how corny I sound."

He just shakes his head and smiles to think about the possibility of getting with his movie star. He knows his chances, and he knows that they aren't good. He personally knows at least one unattractive man who's had no shortage of far hotter partners, but he doesn't think their situations are that similar, or that he really has much to offer.

"You must miss your sister every day, huh? What was her name? If you tell me I'll say a prayer for her. Raised Catholic and all that."

Edited 2015-09-24 13:33 (UTC)

Jacob chuckles when Nux says how corny he feels. But it's honesty. Something that Jacob really appreciates.

The amount of unusual that Nux is to Jacob is practically phenomenal. He asks all these weird, yet insightful questions. And, though Jacob is used to keeping the attention on others, he finds it a little welcome in a way to be asked about his story for a change.

"Well, I would like it if she were still around. But, it's something I've come to accept." He considers Nux's offer for a moment. "Erika. Erika Howland. Thank you very much. You're the first one I've heard offer that."

Sometimes Nux seems like he doesn't even know how to lie. He's sweet, open, and highly eager and determined to please. He reacts like a puppy wagging its tail when he's given that chance.

"Oh, huh! It's no problem. Praying's fun. I mean... well not 'fun', maybe, it's gotta be sincere and reverent and stuff. But I like it. It's peaceful. I'm sure you're sister's at peace, uh, if there's a Heaven and stuff. Really hope there is."

"I really hope so, too. It would be nice for her."

It shouldn't be too much longer to get to Jacob's house at this point. When they finally reach it, Jacob is cautious with his groceries as he gets out. He walks around to the driver's side to talk to Nux.

"Thank you again, I really appreciate your help. Do you want to come inside? I could show you my treasured projects, since you were nice enough to share yours with me." He studies Nux for a moment, unsure of what he might drink. Kids-at-heart were kind of tricky for him. "I have coffee, and I just bought some juice today, if you're thirsty."

"Nice for her, and you too when you see her someday."

He's confident and while it might be uncomfortable to talk this much about religion, he thinks he's being relatively unobtrusive about it.

"Really? You want me to come inside?" he asks, putting the car in park and thinking about it. For all that he does around Shepherd's Haven, he actually doesn't have many friends... except for Tony, but things are strange right now with Tony. "Yeah! Sure, sure I'd really like to. Your projects must be awesome."

Jacob chuckles a bit.

"I don't know about awesome, but I do certainly try. I'll let you be the judge of it."

He nods, indicating for Nux to follow. They go up several series of stairs to Jacob's favourite floor. As he opens the door, Nux will see almost a jungle of foliage, most of them flowering. Plants hang from the ceiling, rest on tables, and even along the floor. Overflowing, but organized, Jacob keeps his home relatively tidy. There's a couch that rests on the left hand wall that might almost be buried in plant life if not kept well-maintained. Jacob walks into the kitchen to start putting away groceries.

"Would you like anything?" he asks. "You can have a seat, I'll be done in a moment."

"Well, uh, if you're letting me be the judge, then I'll say it's awesome," he says, opening up the driver's side door and hopping out of his vehicle after killing the engine. He follows Jacob, entering the cottage and peering around at the plants practically surrounding them.

"Whoa, you grew all these?" he asks, looking for the nearest piece of furniture not covered in leaves, flowers or sprouts and sitting down. "You have like every shade of green thumb!"

Jacob is still facing the fridge, but it can be heard in his voice how much he's smiling.

"Yep. They're all my pride and joy. Most of these I use to keep my flower shop stocked in the off-season."

He pours Nux a glass of apple juice anyway and offers it to him when he comes back into the living room.

"I wanted my room to be something of an Eden, in hopes to make my sister proud of what she taught me. I always think she'd like someplace like this. Maybe with some bigger flower varieties. But, I'll need more room and probably a greenhouse to manage that."

"The off-season? Yeah, it was a cold winter," Nux agrees, peering behind him at a full rosebush. He happily accepts the apple juice, raising it in a little half mock-toast before taking a sip.

"Well, I don't know about an Eden, but my idea of one has more cars and engines," he jokes. "Anyway, it's nice. I think more people would agree with you about it."

Jacob chuckles when he hears Nux's version of Eden. Everyone has their own happiness, he supposes.

"Thank you. So, I'm sure there's more to you than just cars. As happy as they make you, what else do you enjoy?"

Nux seems surprised by the question, but ultimately pleased. It's not often that people are interested in what makes him him.

"Uh... well, in school... I didn't finish high school, but when I was in it I liked art a lot. I've done some drawing but I really like graffiti. And animals. I like animals, I help out Lazarus with taking care of them. Taught him a lot of what he knew about them, because of the dairy farm stuff from when I was growing up."

"So you worked on a farm? That's pretty amazing. You must have a really high endurance. It's pretty great that you're able to help someone with animals, too. Did you ever handle rabbits? They're one of my favourites. So soft and fluffy." Jacob chuckles at himself for talking about rabbits. But, when it comes to flowers, rabbits are the animal he associates them with.

"Do you graffiti often? I bet Locke is a good place for that kind of thing, anymore." Of course, he's referring to rubble. He doesn't know if it will ever get rebuilt, but he's sure it's not virgin territory, either. There are probably plenty of people who go to old, destroyed grounds and graffiti.

"Worked, and lived," Nux laughs. "I mean, you kind of have to. Cows have to be milked really early. We were big enough that we had machines to do it, but there's a lot of work for even modern farmers to do, and my parents said it built character to do it manually sometimes."

He shrugs modestly, but he does have high endurance, and he actually does know it.

"Rabbits, uh... sometimes. It's like, they're for fur and meat, and I'm always scared I'll get too attached to them to skin them. That's one thing I was never good at, killing the animals for meat. Guess that's why we don't have pigs here, though I know some people are pushing for it."

The question seems to surprise him, even though he's the one who brought it up.

"I haven't done any art since we were trying to fix up that old school in Locke City. Was painting a mural in one of the hallways. It was really hard to leave when it was all under attack. We made it out in the nick of time, just barely."

Jacob might visibly cringe at the mention of skinning the rabbits. Of course, that's his fault for asking. Didn't cross his mind to breed them strictly as that kind of thing. He'd ask about the pigs, too, but he's a bit wary of any further answers he doesn't want to hear.

"An old school? That's a shame that it couldn't get completed. I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad that everyone made it safely, though. Have you thought about maybe doing one of those here in Shepherd's Haven? I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated by many, mural and all."

He's trying to think if he can remember an old school in Locke that was needing attention, but he can't recall anything like it. Quite a shame indeed. However, if they did look to do one here, Jacob would be more than willing to contribute what effort he could for it. It seems like a wonderful idea to get more schools up and running, especially in this day and age.

That cringe actually goes a little ways toward endearing Jacob to Nux a little more. For someone who acts so tough and macho, it's true that Nux is fairly gentle at heart, and slaughtering animals has never appealed to him on any level. He'll milk, clip, and muck out stalls, he'll even deal with births, but that's as much blood and gore as he's content handling.

"It was, uh, it was Lazarus' project. He thought it could be like a safe place for us. After I got out of the, uh, the Mafia, he gave me a job as the groundskeeper even before I got my Number. I looked really different back then... more like a lizard. Literally. Had surgeries to pull it off and everything."

Lazarus'? Guess the kid does try to help in any way he can. Impressive.

"Oh, really? I guess I could see him doing something like that." And then Jacob gives a small jolt when he hears Nux mention the Mafia, with both of his eyebrows shooting up. And a lizard, no less! For a moment, he's not entirely sure how to react to that.

"You... you seem far too nice to be a part of the Mafia." It's actually possible to get out of that group alive? He looks Nux over, trying to imagine a lizard-like appearance. "How did you get it reversed?"

"Yeah, uh... he gets really into things and I still owe him. So yeah, I help out. Just where I can."

He rubs the back of his bald head, looking down self-consciously. "Thanks. I... I guess that didn't used to be true, though. I joined up with everyone before I was actually Numbered. Worked as a custodian and stuff, to make up for some bad stuff I did. But an echo made me look like a human again, even if I guess I'm not handsome or anything. I have a crush on a pretty actress, so that sucks for me."

Jacob gives a smile. "Well, it seems like you rely on each other. I'm glad he could make such a difference to you."

It sounds like Nux appreciated that he didn't look like a lizard anymore. Lucky break on the echo.

"Well, what matters is that you made the effort to fix the things you did. That makes you a good person, no matter what." And, as he listens to Nux's crush confession, "Well, that depends. Did you tell her how you feel?"

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