innermonologues | IC Inbox for Empath

[ She's biting down on her lip to keep herself from snickering. He cute. ]

Hard to picture upgrading stuff without tools when that's all I'm used to. Most of these things have been used to fix up everything in my world for... fuck, at least a couple centuries. They haven't changed too drastically, other than expanding in sizes to accommodate newer nuts and bolts and screws or whatever.

[ She grabs the C-Clamps she's happiest with, but there's like... four or five of them so now she's trying to find a basket. ]

Ninety percent of this stuff isn't used for welding, though. I'll come back and expand my tool collection once I start actually raking in cash.

I guess I've just never sat around and watched the guy at work. Usually if you give him the parts he does it on his own, but now... I'm kind of regretting not asking to watch.

[ because all of this kind of seems fascinating... ]

Well, even when I'm not teaching you welding stuff, if you ever wanna come hang out while I work, you're totally welcome.

[ She stands on her tiptoes as she reaches for a pair of pliers she likes, trying her best to not drop the clamps she's holding tight to her chest. ]

I used to watch my dad all the time. [ Success! The pliers are hers. She brings her feet flat on the ground again, staring at them rather than at Squall, because... talking about her dad is awkward, even if she's getting better at doing it more casually. ] He was our handyman, I guess. Used to fix everything that broke in the house. He taught me about cars and how to fix busted pipes and holes in walls or whatever. Didn't know it would come in handy so soon.

[ Squall nods a little as he listens in. Chloe almost seems a little uncomfortable but at the same time she almost seems a bit brighter as she talks about her father like this. He must have been a huge part in her life.

Squall holds out his hands for her to hand over something. No point in making her carry everything unless she really wanted to start juggling. ]

He... sounds like a pretty cool guy. The most I ever learned was how to patch up a stuffed animal from Matron.

[ She nods - her dad had been cool. At least in her eyes. She guesses it might have been different if she'd grown up and gotten to resent him like a proper teenager, but...

She goes to hand off a few of the clamps to him. ]

Patching stuffed animals is a super important life skill, at least. I saved many a wounded comrade teddy bear that way when they'd get accidentally caught up in some of my doll explosion games.

[ Now she can at least grab a few more things.

That gets a laugh out of him, giving her a small smile.]

You must have been a real hero.

[ She snorts, shrugging her shoulders. ]

Hero is a totally overrated title. Least I could do for the unfortunate suckers when it was my fault.

[ She goes to grab a metal file and a wire brush, scrunching her mouth in thought. ]

I wonder if they've got torches or if I'm gonna have to figure out how to make one.

If only you could carry around a portable Ifrit. That'd sure give you the kind of power you'd need.

[ He snorts softly, knowing she probably has no idea what he meant. ]

Gesundheit?

[ She looks over her shoulder at him, because the fuck is an Ifrit. ]

[ Squall snorts at the look she gives him which turns into a soft laughter instead. He expected the reaction, but the look she gave him was priceless. ]

Ifrit. He's like... a summon I guess you could say. He controls fire elements. I have a few that came with me from home, like him or Shiva...

[ Shiva… Her look isn’t getting any less confused. Elemental summons. That’s -- ]

Jesus, everyone here always sounds like they just came out of a fantasy RPG. Arcadia Bay suddenly feels like the most boring place in the multiverse.

I dunno about that. I think what you've told me... it sounds a lot better than where I come from.

[ Chloe's face falls just slightly and she goes to distract herself with the tools again, looking over more files to see if she can find one fine enough. ]

Yeah, well - I must be giving a pretty sugar coated impression then.

Fair enough. They do always say something about Grass is greener or something.

[ Honestly, if he were to pick anywhere it'd probably be the place they were currently living in. This world had so many things he's never been able to experience before, the number one thing being his connections with others. ]

Yeah, I hear that's a thing.

[ She grabs a file finally, along with a couple of other tools near by it, before seeing if she can actually hunt down a torch in here. ]

I guess it's not the worst place ever, but... It's only a nice place if you're rich and you fit in. [ Neither of which described Chloe, clearly. ] It's kinda refreshing to be in a place where people wanna actually get to know each other and not just assume shit based off of how nice your clothes are or whether or not you've got the latest phone or whatever.

Huh. Maybe it wouldn't be that difficult for us to get along back in your world. [ He snorts a little, following behind her with a curious look. Look, these tools are kind of cool looking, okay...? ]

People like that drive me crazy. I'd probably want to punch someone like that if I could.

[ There's an amused smile on her face at that, a small shrug in response. She likes to think she'd get on with most of the people she knew here back home, but she was often quite a different person. Or at least made out to be a very different person by everyone around her.

She slows as she looks over a few hammers. ]

Yeah. I got expelled for doing just that, actually.

Really? I've done it a few times but the two of us just get in trouble and sent to go stupid things around the school. He's the reason I have this.

[ He points to his forehead. ]

Damn, dude. Your fights must've been hella more intense than the ones I got into on campus.

[ She spots some actual torches, though, and gives an Aha! as she rushes over. They're a little more old fashioned than what she's used to, but she figures it'll do. She's just gotta pick the one she likes best now. ]

I was at Blackwell on scholarships. Super prestigious school, hard as hell to get in to, and they got pissed because after my dad died, I just stopped giving a shit. So when I started to get into fights, the rich kids would get a slap on the wrist, and I got suspended the first few times, and then told not to come back anymore.

[ He watches as she rushes off to grab an old looking torch and smiles just a tiny bit. Her eyes really did light up when she was doing things she liked. it was cute in a weird way. ]

The person in charge of your school was a complete asshole.

Principal Wells was a piece of shit, yeah.

[ Her tone is awfully light for something so harsh, but you know, trashing him makes her feel just as happy as finding a torch. She weighs it in her hands for a second, before nodding in approval. ]

He used to mark kids like me as “high risk” so that people would keep an extra eye on our behavior, watching for any sign of a fuck up. That way he had enough ammo to expel us when he got sick of it.

Even Headmaster Cid wasn't that bad. How adults like them even get jobs is far beyond me, but I guess the ones who would care probably get turned down easily.

Well, he was also pretty mild compared to a lot of people in that town. So maybe it was a Best of the Worst kind of deal.

[ She turns to him, motioning between each of their arms filled with tools. ]

I think that’s everything.

[ He gives a small nod and starts heading off to the front to get a place for them in line. It wasn't really busy in the store so they weren't going to have to wait too long. ]