[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Uh, big brother mode just got activated.

Leo

Rory looked… lonely. Leo reached over and ruffled the kid’s hair, not stopping to think that he was probably too old for that. He needed a childhood. “Welp, now you’re stuck with me too, so I guess you’ll see how blessed Quincy is.”

He laughed and scooped up a handful of metal bits, sorting them into the pails Rory had assigned to each. Sure he should probably get to work on one of the work orders now piling up, but he also didn’t want to leave Rory alone in the basement. Liko could get stuff done, right? The fellow certainly had enough hands.

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Leo

Leo chuckled and shook his head. “Do we look related? But I’m the one who pulled the little monkey from a shelled out hole, so I guess I have as much right to claim him as anyone else.”

He leaned back against the couch.

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Oh goodness yes. XD

Leo

Soldier. Yes…and no. Another sigh caught in his throat.

“Yes, but no. I don’t really know what I’m doing here.” He leaned back against the couch. The floor felt cold through his work pants.

“I was apprenticed to Admiral S. Faltack at twelve years old as a novice engineer. Silvia’s always been smart, smarter than most people give her credit for. She got a place at a lab when she was just ten.” Leo smiled a little before it faded into a frown. “But I, um, made something, or didn’t share something, and then, what with Silvia’s research into Supplement and my military position, we sort of got ourselves charged with high treason. But we were already headed to Raí by the time they caught wind of it, so there’s been a warrant out for us. We spent about a year at the Paradise aerospace port before they caught up.”

“Then we found Quincy on Argentil and made that hornets nest mad, so now we’re hiding from both sides of the law.” He looked over at Rory and shrugged. “There’s the short of my life story to date. Pretty weird to think about really.”

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Leo

“All sorts of things. Mostly worked on ships. Built one out of scrap material with Silvia. Took us three years. The other stuff.” He sighed. Looked over at the kid. Well, most people probably wouldn’t call him a kid. “I worked with energy deployment and shielding. I was one of the best.”

It wasn’t a boast, but it also wasn’t something he could be proud of. Doing well meant high stakes jobs, higher survalance, and, when the floor fell out, higher charges.

“But now I’m Leo Boltman. Mechanic and janitor at a fancy boarding school with seriously outdated plumbing and a faulty heating system.”

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

There! See?!? At least he gets this chance at a happy life. *Pouts with arms crossed*

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@loopylin

Ah, me too. If anything RPs can at least give poor, mistreated characters a chance at a happy life.

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Leo

“Of course I have. I’m an engineer, top of my class. It was the most fun I’ve had in… Well, there’s not much like it. So much energy. Such precise, perfect lines.”

He grinned, picking up a bolt. It was a hex bolt, smooth and surprisingly new. Close to the size he used on the Mantis. He rolled it between his fingers.

“I didn’t build buildings though. I didn’t build much at all. I mostly designed prototypes.” His grin faded. He dropped the bolt back into the bucket.

“Might not look like it. Here I am in a mechanic’s suit patching outdated plumbing. But I designed things. And they worked.” His smile turned satisfied. He leaned back on his heels.

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Leo

“Aye, you got it. Nearly everything built out of wood uses nails or screws. Metal stuff like big buildings use heaver screws, welding, bolts, all sorts of things.” He leaned back on his heels eyes going distant. He rolled a bolt on the palm of his hand. “Back home we used a lot more Laser welding, but screws and bolts are cheaper. Lasers weren’t really used on Raí, even at the aerospace port. To high energy cost.”

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Or…Leo didn’t have emotional breakdowns as much as serious temper problems and protective issues. Silvia had a lot more breakdowns because she couldn’t understand what was going on (she’s about 5 years younger than Leo).

Leo

“Sure.” He dropped to one knee by the bucket. “This,” he picked up a screw “is a screw. A Philips head screw – that’s what the cross shape on the end is called – but don’t worry about the head type. And this is a bolt. There’s a bit of other stuff in here too, here’s a nail, and a nut, but not much of those so just leave those in the bucket.”

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

I get it. XD

I wonder how Leo and Rory would have gotten along when Leo was a torn up 13 year old. Or even 16 year old at the beginning of his own book. It’s been great fun to write him as a fully developed character.

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Leo

He frowned. Something was…off. He sat back against the edge of the table, eyebrows quirking and lips pinched.

Rory was tense. Too tense. Kinda like a rubber band pulled tight or a soldier at attention.

Oh. Leo could have smacked himself. Instead he sighed and let a small, serious smile slip into place.

“Rory, I’m not your new captain, or comanding officer. Yes, I’ve accepted you as an apprentice, but I’d rather be like an older brother, alright? Don’t know how to be anything else, really.” He dropped into a chair at the table and pulled out his tablet. It blinked of with a list of work orders and needed repairs. He scrolled through, elbow propped on the table, chin in his hand.

Then he paused, glancing back at the perplexing kid on the couch.

“I don’t care which bucket you put what in. And sorry. I should have gotten to that days ago.”

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Same room we were in back before the gray and run for Quincy, technically yesterday.

Leo

He let the door fall closed behind them and headed for the box piled wall.

“Make yourself comfortable on the couch there I’ll find that bucket somewhere.” Where had he put it? A few minutes search in the tool boxes came up with nothing. He shifted to the cabinets around the kitchenette, finally dragging a five gallon bucket out from under the sink.

“Ah, here we are. This is mostly screws and bolts, but you’ll likely find a random nail too. A couple boxes fell over a bit ago, and I just dumped everything in here. Had to go fix a pipe. You’ll need something to put these in.” He set the bucket down next to the couch and went back to the boxes for a couple empty pails.

Leo grinned as he set them down. “You do know what a screw is, right?”

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Leo

“Aye. We’re headed down. or rather…” The elevator came to a clicking stop. The door swish clicked open. “Looks like we’re down already. Come on.”

He stepped out into the dimly lit basement. Machines whirred and whined, muffling the ring of their boots against the concrete as he led the way around and through. Oil and cold iron left a faint stain on the air. The underbelly of Destina, the unseen backbone that kept the entire school running; his domain. He ran a hand along a shuddering beast of a generator, checking a few gauges and valves as they walked.

“You know, kid, it doesn’t seem to matter what planet or world you’re on, there’s always going to be these background, closed up, spaces that the pretty, outside world is built on. They have to be cleaned out on the regular or they’re gonna get dirty, twisted, broken. People are like that too, except instead of gears and pipes, we’vw got hearts with memories and dreams.”

He shoved open the break room door, flicking on the light, and turned to smile back at Rory. “Now, let’s get you settled in.”

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@loopylin

Oh gracious. Yes. XD

In Leo’s defense, if was a comparison someone else made, and mostly depended on the “galavanting around administering interplanetary justice”, although Leo is more trying to outrun said justice too so…

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Koshka]

@ellette-giselle

Leo

Level 0. This place had a funny floor plan. He punched the button and leaned back against the wall as the elevator began its decent.

Rory was giving him a weird, confused look. What had he said? Done? Leo lifted an eyebrow. “Yes? What is it?”

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Author]

Posts