Half day at high school! Which means Darwin fills the rest of his schedule with mundane errands. And nothing is going to stop him. They are HAPPENING come hell or high water, so Javi is along for the ride when he reaches out to chat. This also means that Javi gets to carry a basket as Darwin peruses the grocery aisles for very specific things. Candles. A wooden cutting board. Twine. But he can't forget eggs and milk. "They switched up the aisles again," he notes bitterly, squinting at his list and the signs above. "We have to backtrack. Take the shortcut."
Javi doesn't seem to have any problem tagging along with Darwin on his errands, so that's good! However, he also doesn't add anything particularly helpful to it, except that he can certainly hold a basket, so maybe that's //somewhat// helpful. Other that that, though, he's likely to slow Darwin down more than speed him up. His face doesn't particularly hide anything he's feeling, and right now it's pretty clear he's the kind of person who gets overwhelmed in grocery stores if he doesn't have a //very// specific list. He does a lot of staring at shelves, getting distracted by displays, and various other //un//helpful things. "I hate when they fucking do that," he mutters, pulling his eyes away from a rather precarious stack of Coke.
Darwin pauses just long enough to spot the look on Javi's face, and navigates to the produce corner, open and relatively sparse. "Javi," he begins, quieter, taking the basket from him and plucking nectarine from the fruit stand to examine. "You wanted to talk?"
"Huh?" It takes him a second, but Javi refocuses, and while he does look a little self-conscious, there's also something grateful, too. "Right, yeah," he replies, "sorry." He shakes his head quickly like he's trying to clear it, and then gets to the point. Quietly, at least, and with a look around the aisle, but no one's paying them any attention. "So, like...you're for real a werewolf?"
Darwin sets the nectarine down and picks up a cluster of unripe bananas. He doesn't answer right away, moving towards the wall of tofu and salad dressing. He parts his lips, then startles when the water misters trigger along with that damn thunderstorm sound. "...Yeah," he finally says with a small smile. "For real. Are you alright? Do you wanna' go outside?"
"Damn." Javi must have had at least a //little// time to process, because he just looks kind wide-eyed about it. "That's fucking wild." He glances briefly to another display, but at least it's not too long this time before he looks back to Darwin. "Don't let me make you not finish your shit, man," he says quickly, "it's fine." Another wry laugh escapes him as he admits, "To be honest whenever I go to the store I gotta have a list otherwise I'm there for like a fucking hour and a half staring at all the salsas or whatever. But I'm good."
Darwin promptly hands Javi the list. It looks like a torn strip from one of those yellow legal pads. All that's left is meat. So much meat. Chicken thighs and sirloin and ground beef and pork chops...
"I'm sorry your first impression was... the stuff you saw at the Allthing. There's all kinds of wolves. Some don't care how they're perceived and have little regard for humans." Darwin seems sincerely apologetic, basket handles folded through the loop of his arm and held close to his chest. "But you're pretty familiar with weirdness at this point, yeah?"
Once the list is in his hand, Javi visibly settles. Of course, all that meat might be a little concerning, but that can be concerning later! His entire demeanor has shifted as he looks around a lot more purposefully, then starts them toward the butcher counter.
"Hey, it's all good," he replies. "I get it, man. Like I said, you know? Everyone's got that fucking racist uncle or whatever." A beat; then: "I mean, you know what I mean. Not like you know that guy. People gonna do what they wanna do and no one can tell 'em anything. But yeah, I'm used to it. Don't really know, like...a lot? Mostly about, you know, lost people. But yeah."
Darwin grins. "Barely know him. There's... I think four packs around here, but I'm not really looking to join any. Politics, you know?" He follows Javi, keeping his voice low. "Oddly enough I've felt more comfortable with the lost. Mostly. Some of 'em can be kinda' wild. Your date seems chill though. Very composed." He catches Javi's eye, waggling his brows.
"//Four//?" Javi's head snaps back to Darwin, before he starts looking around a little more quickly, as if he's expecting to suddenly see wolves //everywhere//. Shockingly, he does not. "Damn, man. That's crazy. You in one?" He pauses, then adds, "Can I ask that? Don't really know what I'm not supposed to ask." Soon enough they get the the meat counter -- having been given a job has definitely given him a purpose, so now that he's on a mission he's doing pretty well with himself. Maybe this is why he always seems to be doing //something//.
The mention of the date, though, has him cutting another look to the other man with a snort, even as his smile warms a little bit. "Yeah," he agrees, "pretty much. But it's like, you know. That thing they say about water. Got a ton of stuff going on underneath." Which is not exactly right, but maybe it's close enough. "Not sure how I got that happening when I'm all over the fucking place."
"No," Darwin says, looking over the lunch meat beneath the glass. "I've never been in one. And you can ask anything. I'll try to answer the best I can." As Javi manages the meat situation with aplomb, Darwin watches with quiet interest, waiting for the butcher move back to the kitchen.
"Yeah. It's fun when you get a glimse and see that there's more. More stuff. More layers. More pages to read." Darwin tilts his head, looking at Javi sidelong. "All over the place?"
The ordering only takes a half a minute or so, and once he's done it Javi can return his focus fully to Darwin. "Really?" This does seem to surprise him, though admittedly his knowledge about werewolves is close to non-existent. "Man, if I coulda had like, a //group//, prolly woulda jumped at it to be honest." Though a moment later he does have to concede, "Maybe not whatever one that dude at the thing was in."
He starts to say something else about it, too, but he's briefly distracted again by the last. "Oh, you know," he clarifies, waving a hand vaguely next to his head. "Like..." And then he flicks his fingers outward and presses his hand quickly against the air as his eyes widen. Does this explain further? Well, he seems to think it does. "But yeah. Exactly. Like I just wanna see what's under there."
There's something bittersweet in Darwin's smile when Javi talks about jumping into groups. His vaguely wistful expression fades to complete confusion when Javi attempts to describe a complex emotion with his hands alone. "Oh. /Oh/," he laughs. "Yeah. New stuff. New things. But hey, you're still Javi, and Javis are great! I told Gareth to talk to you. He is... freshly enlightened, and I figured you'd have advice or something." He shrugs.
"Does Razi want to know more about you, too? Does he show interest? That's important. It can't all be one-sided, gotta' be an exchange," Darwin says, perhaps /slightly/ protective.
Javi catches the look on Darwin's face, and his brows pull together as his head tilts just a little to one side, but he's distracted -- momentarily -- by the rest. "Yeah," he says, "that." The mention of Gareth has his eyebrows raising, but he's pretty quick to continue, "Sure. I mean, yeah, why not? You can pass him my number if you want. Pretty fucking crazy when you figure it out for the fist time." He is certainly not unsympathetic to it. As for Razi, he adds, "Oh yeah, he does. I mean, he asks me about myself and stuff. Just my shit's not that interesting, you know?" He shrugs. "Mostly kinda depressing. Maybe I should be tryna make up something better, except I'm a bad fucking liar." He grins, then nudges Darwin with his elbow as the butcher starts to lay //all the meat ever// on the counter for them.
He starts to load up his basket with the pink-wrapped packages, his smile shifting into a slightly more thoughtful look. "How come you never joined a pack?" he asks after another moment, circling back to the beginning. A little delicately, but he does ask.
Yesss all the meat. "Depressing? You? A ray of sunshine?" Darwin pfffts and waves him off, moving for the self checkout as soon as they're wrapped up. He stares at Javi for an odd moment, fishing through his multiple coats for his wallet. "Ideally, when it happens... when you're just living your stupid kid life and something feels weird... something feels off, you feel like you're being followed, you swear you see /monsters/ on the edge of your vision--" He pauses, smiling briefly at Javi, "--I imagine you'd know a thing or two about having creepy visions." He continues, "/Ideally/, when you first change and you're terrified, a pack comes to pick you up. Show you the ropes, make it so you don't feel so alone. They give you some sort of structure, a framework to make sense of things. But not in my shitty town. Sometimes you're just... out there. By yourself." *Beep* goes the checkout kiosk.
Javi's eyes drop briefly, and he lets out a little laugh. Maybe not //quite// up to his normal ones, but it's close. "That's me," he agrees, and he lets it go without further comment -- but he's also focused on Darwin now, and the answer to his question. He does his part setting everything up where it will be the easiest for the other man to scan, but it's a mindless task that's easy to listen through. He nods slowly as Darwin speaks, mostly thoughtful -- right up until the end, where he winces.
"Oh shit." Yes, he can certainly see how that would be a problem. He hesitates, before he reaches up to rest a hand on Darwin's shoulder and squeeze it briefly. "I'm sorry, man. That really fucking sucks." He takes a breath, letting it out slowly as he considers. "So you just had to, like...figure your shit out on your own?"
Darwin reaches up to pat the hand on his shoulder. "Thanks. It's alright. Things lined up eventually. There was just a few years where life was... extremely confusing. I couldn't figure out why I felt so bad sometimes, why I felt so hungry for something that I couldn't name." He shakes his head and starts bagging everything up with Javi's help. "My pack is my students. And... well. This past month I've learned about weidos I didn't even know existed. And ghost-whisperers." He winks. "I don't feel so alone these days."
"Hm, yeah," Javi murmurs, "I get that." He starts to place the items into the bags -- actually pretty efficiently, it must be said, in a way that might speak to having done it in a professional capacity before. "I mean, kinda," he amends. "Not the same for me but yeah. Sucks." His grin returns at the mention of ghost whisperers, though, or maybe the wink. Or both! "But yeah, now you got so many fucking people it's like damn, why can't I be by myself again?" He's //mostly// joking. "Man, I dunno how you spend your time doing that. I was such a shit in high school." It's an off-handed remark, though, and he follows up with, "You never think about joining one now?"
Darwin seems surprised to be bagged and set to go so swiftly. He totes a number on each arm, leaving the meat to Javi as he leads the way out onto the sidewalk. "I mean they can still be little shits! But they're /my/ little shits," he says, fondly. "No, not really interested in... something formal like that. I dunno'. I mean it was all I could think about when I needed one, but now it's just... bad feelings. Plus you gotta' make a deal with a spirit and set up a territory--" He flicks his hand. "It's a /whole/ thing."
It's clear out, the sun bright and blazing, a pleasant breeze whistling through the buildings. "There's /got/ to be a way to help you tune these dead guys out when you don't wanna' listen to 'em or see 'em. /Surely/, right?" Darwin asks.
"You gotta make a deal with a spirit?" Something in what the other man has said has Javi's gaze returning quickly to him again, with a sudden and surprisingly intense study, when all the energy that is usually buzzing around more chaotically is suddenly focused in the same direction. "But you never did that, though?" He doesn't sound //skeptical// or anything. He's clarifying, for whatever reason. And, again for no obvious reason, then his eyes drop to the man's shoulder. Not //past// it, like it might if he were looking at his own personal ghost companion. //At// it.
"Huh?" If he sees anything there, it is not obvious, and he's distracted by the question anyway. "Oh. Uh..." He reaches up to rub his forehead, his mouth pulling a little wryly to one side. "Nah. I mean, maybe but I got no clue how you do it. But like, for real, it's fine. They're everywhere but you get used to it. You know?"
"No, not for... that. I mean I've made deals with spirits before, but not in hopes of making them a pack totem. I mostly just... hunt them. When they get a little too spicy." Darwin grins, cheeky. As Javi peers over his shoulder, Darwin glances briefly, just assuming the ol' Ghost Buddy. "No, I don't know," he answers honestly. "I legit cannot wrap my head around getting used to it. But you can clearly roll with the punches, so..."
The sun continues to burn, so it might be odd for Javi to see what appear to be the faintest glimmer of snowflakes dusting Darwin's jacket shoulders. As if suddenly aware of Javi's perception, they wink out of existence. Darwin maneuvers his bags around to zip up his coat. "Thanks for helping out. When you come over next time I'll make some ribs or something. You like ribs?" he asks, hopeful.
"You have?" Well, maybe it makes sense that Javi would be interested in bargains with spirits. They aren't //exactly// ghosts, but maybe he feels they're similar. But he's really //particularly// interested, apparently. "Wait, you //hunt// them? How?" These aren't the sort of questions he was asking before. Maybe they're not particularly different in content, but the manner in which he's speaking is quite different.
But suddenly, he blinks, and shakes himself like he's trying to dislodge something from //his// shoulders. As soon as he does, his smile shifts self-consciously. "Never mind," he murmurs, "sorry. Yeah, I like ribs. Definitely, man, for sure. Always down to hang out with you." There's another little hesitation, before he reaches forward impulsively to give Darwin a hug. It's quick, only a second or two before he's pulling away again.
Darwin arches a brow at the sharpened interest. Not that he'd ever deny a questioning mind answers! He blinks when Javi shakes himself, and remains puzzled even as he's hugged. But not for long, because he loves hugs. "Aw, okay. Good. I'll buzz you when my nights clear up, and then you can get a proper lesson on spirits. Disclaimer, I'm not an expert, per se." For those brief seconds, Javi will feel like he's hugging one of those wayward mountaineers on Everest. "Take care, yeah?"
Javi does not explain himself. Maybe he just likes hugs, too! "Okay," he says as he steps back again. "Sounds good. And no worries. To be honest I'm happy knowing whatever you got to tell me, you know?" He shivers a little bit, for whatever reason, despite the heat of an August evening in Chicago. "Gotta figure this shit out now that I'm kinda in it more so nothing eats me." He lifts a hand to the other man with a smile, maybe not //quite// as bright as usual but certainly with nothing particularly amiss. "You, too. Night." He turns then, heading in the direction of an L station.
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