☞ 034. (accidental video + text)

[wouldnotkindly]

[When the feed clicks on, it shows . . . a pair of jaws adamantly chewing at the camera lens. They retreat after a moment, revealing the owner to be a small black dragon, evidently one of those left over from the infestation a few weeks ago; it cocks its head, scratches at the camera lens, and then resumes chewing on it.

After about a minute of this, though, it's interrupted by a noise: a loud, low rumbling sound reminiscent of the bellow of a whale. The dragon's head jerks back at once, looking somewhere beyond the camera, and it makes a high-pitched trilling noise in response before it tries to chew on the camera again. Before it can do much more damage, however, the device is lifted up and away, and the feed clicks off.

A short time later, a text post follows:]

Sorry about that, if anyone saw
I dont know how he got a hold of this thing
Anyway

1 wrench, $25
4 first aid kits, $60
3 EVE hypos, $75
1 pistol, $100
36 pistol rounds, $150

This is all thats left of what i brought from home
I dont know what anything else here might be worth
In terms of money i mean
But thats all

Comments

[wouldnotkindly]

[Oops.]

No
There are hypos in the first aid kits too but EVE hypos are different
And i dont know how much the stuff inside the kits cost on their own
They were all together when i found them

[spotlighted]

Oh.

[More than a little disappointed. If there was a whale somewhere in the city, that would have been far too wonderful for her.]

Well, whatever it was, it seems like it did the job. I don't understand why anyone kept one of those scaly pests anyway.

When you ... found them? You didn't run off with some poor unsuspecting people's bandages and aspirin, did you?

[wouldnotkindly]

[It's a good thing text doesn't convey tone, because he's a feeling a bit defensive at that.]

I kept him because hes my friend
Anyway
Whoever bought them originally, they werent using them any more
Or going to use them at all even

[You know, on account of them being dead. Or spliced into oblivion.]

[spotlighted]

You must have gotten a much better one than I did. Mine tried to burn down my apartment.

And that's a little better, I guess. [Not that she likes the idea of stealing first aid kits of all things.] Well, I guess they must have kept you in one piece, anyway, and that's a good thing.

[wouldnotkindly]

Well he cant really burn anything down
So that helps

I never stole any of them
Im not a thief
And i wouldnt have taken them at all if i didnt need them to not die

[spotlighted]

I'm very envious, then. I still need to replace the curtains and the rug in my living room, the one I had burnt them to cinders. I don't know what I'd have done if Meyer hadn't taken care of it for me.

No, you're a very good bouncer and a very nice man, and anything more than that I don't care about, even if you'd got a stash of a million first aid kits. [There was a time where she'd have been far more disapproving of either thieving or looting, but with the amount of criminals she was on friendly terms with here, she'd had to relax a lot. Besides, she certainly didn't put Jack in the same category as them.] Just ... don't put yourself in that position again, okay? I wouldn't like it one bit if you died.

[wouldnotkindly]

He can probably do some damage but not that much
He might like you actually

[And then there's a pause.]

Thank you
Whenever i go home again though
I wont really have a choice

[spotlighted]

What about when he grows bigger?
Well, if he really doesn't try and spit fireballs at me then maybe I'd like him, too.

Well, let's hope you don't go home any time soon, then.

[wouldnotkindly]

He wont
He already got bigger when all the others got bigger too
But then he turned small again
Somehow
And he cant breathe fire at all
He makes electricity instead

I hope so too

[spotlighted]

Oh, okay. At least there aren't any bigger dragons around to tease him about being a runt or anything. It's far easier to take him on walks, too, I bet.
Electricity could be as dangerous as fire, in its own way. Far less destructive, though. Just be careful, okay?

[wouldnotkindly]

Thats definitely good
And ill be fine
Ive been electrocuted before

[spotlighted]

[She'll only worry more knowing something like that.] All the more reason not to have it happen again.

[wouldnotkindly]

I guess so
But he knows not to try and shock me
All it took was a little training

[spotlighted]

In that case, you could train him to be your personal attack dragon. That would be pretty neat.

[wouldnotkindly]

I guess i could
But i dont think that would be necessary
I can defend myself well enough on my own

[spotlighted]

I know you could. But if not an attack dragon, you just have him for the companionship?

[wouldnotkindly]

I suppose so
But thats more important i think
Especially in a place like this

[spotlighted]

It sure is. Although I still think I prefer people to reptiles when it comes to company. And if it was companionship you were looking for, you didn't have to look any further than me.