2025-01-01 - Shopping for a Roommate

The period between Christmas and New Year is in that weird, liminal space where time seems to stand still. Do you buy groceries? Or subsist on party food? There's no point starting that New Year's resolution diet yet, so is it alright to eat six glazed doughnuts for lunch? Is Irish Coffee acceptable at breakfast? These and many more questions plague the thoughts of those who arrive at the Tarjay superstore on this grey and slightly damp morning.

Among the shoppers is Knox, though he doesn't seem too badly affected by the post-holiday blues, at least not yet. He's got a cart, which he's pushing along the chilled aisle. He's currently paused in front of a selection of various lunch meats, which he's looking over pretty sceptically. Knox is tall - and extraordinarily so if you count the extra height added by his horns, almost an additional six inches on top of an imposing 6'2" - and solidly built, and the contents of his cart so far seem to suggest he probably eats pretty healthily most of the time. He's already loaded up with a few different fruits and vegetables, as well as a couple of packs of chicken breasts, though currently his indecision seems to be based around whether or not he wants to buy pre-packaged smoked turkey.

Huck steps out from one of the aisles carrying a box of rice crispies and a bag of marshmallows, running right into an older lady's cart. "Oh! Sorry," he shouts as he quickly steps back and turns a bit, but that move sends his tail swiping across the shelf behind him, pushing a dozen boxes of mac and cheese down to the floor. It's a silly ruckus, and Huck immediately apologizes to the lady with the cart, offering her a bright, dimply smile filled with enough charisma to melt even the marshmallow's in his hands. The woman softens, nods with a smile, and then heads along her way as Huck bends down to start picking up the boxes of mac and cheese, his long furry tail happily swinging back and forth behind him, pointed at Knox.

Knox glances up from his deliberations as the first load of items is sent crashing to the floor. Glancing up and down the aisle, it doesn't;t take him long to spot Huck and the older lady standing among a dozen boxes of macaroni cheese. Knox's brow creases into a gentle frown, and as the older woman hurries off upon her way, Knox heads over to offer to help Huck, bending down to scoop up several boxes of shelf-stable cheese products. "Hey, are you okay?" Knox asks, reaching out to grab another box. Knox repeats himself when his words don't get a response and then tries a final time before reaching over to lay a hand on one of Huck's shoulders.

Huck turns when there's a hand on his shoulder, eyes following the hand up the arm to Knox's face. He smiles, "Oh, hey, hi!" His eyes then see the horns, linger there just a moment, and then return to Knox's eyes. "Can I help you? Oh, did I run into you, too? Sorry!" He picks up the last of the boxes and begins shoving them back onto the shelf, keeping an eye on Knox for any response to read his lips. "Sometimes this thing," gesturing with his thumb over his shoulder to his tail, which is also holding a box of mac and cheese and returning it to a shelf, "has a mind of its own."

Knox doesn't seem to mind when Huck's eyes go straight to his horns. They are pretty much the first and most distinguishing thing that most people notice about him, after all. "Naw, you're all good, Knox shakes his head," Rising when Huck does to place the few boxes of mac and cheese he had scooped up back on the shelf. He takes a moment to straighten everything up on the shelf, and then looks back to Huck when he mentions his tail, smiling easily. "Don't worry," he assures, a hand lifting to tap against one of his horns. "When these first grew in I was always knocking stuff over," he explains. "Still do, sometimes," he grins. He doesn't seem to have registered that Huck is deaf yet, but he's polite enough to look at Huck when he is talking to him, so any incidental issues with lip reading are probably easily avoided.

Finished 'restocking' the shelf, Huck turns to fully face Knox. "You're a tall one," he notes offhandedly, an amused but approving tone in his voice. "Did they hurt when they grew in? I didn't notice the claws," he waggles his long fingers and claws in the air, "but the fangs," he opens his mouth, showing the long fangs he has there. "These hurt like a toothache for a week as they came in." He smiles widely, "I'm Huck!" He extends his claw out to shake Knox's hand. "I do ASL tours for Deaf visitors to the parks. What about you? You're behind the scenes, I'm guessing, since I've not seen you before. I would have definitely remembered you."

"I'm just big and clumsy in general," Knox explains with a self-deprecating laugh, lifting his shoulder and spreading his hands in a helpless kind of way. "They didn't hurt" Knox shakes his head. "They itched like crazy though. I went to the nurse's office about two dozen odd times to try and figure out what was going on and then...there they were." he explains, giving a last roll of his shoulders as he retells the story.

When Huck shows off his own claws and teeth, Knox leans forward to peer at them and then nods approvingly. "Seems like the magic here figured you were some kind of raccoon at heart, right?" Knox grins. "I always figured it had a sense of humour, turning a cow boy into a cow-boy and all that" while reaching up to tap on one of them again, making his point. When Huck asks what he does, Knox responds 2I'm a farrier. Like a blacksmith. I take care of all the horses. Mostly their feet,"

"My tail is clumsy, I'm typically not," says Huck, about to note that he's actually pretty coordinated and plays sports. It makes him think, "I don't suppose you play hockey?"

"Raccoon?" Huck laughs, "That's new. I've been told I'm a flyon. Like, a lion that flies. It's adorable. Anyway, I do agree with you, though. I think whatever is doing the magic giving has some kind of sentience."

"A what?" he asks when Knox says farrier. "Sorry, I'm Deaf," he taps his ear, "reading lips can be useless on words I don't know. You take care of horses, though, I got that. So you do horseshoes?"

"Well, hopefully your tail will catch up with the rest of you when it gets a bit more practice," Knox responds, laughing a little as he gets another look at Huck's tail swishing around the place. He looks back to Huck when he mentions playing sports and then shakes his head. "Not hockey, no." He shakes his head. I played football in high school, though. I still enjoy throwing a ball around when I get a chance," he explains, miming the action of throwing a ball.

Knox nods along when Huck agrees the magic at the park seems to have some kind of intelligence, though his eyebrows shoot up when Huck mentions flying. "You fly too? That's amazing!" Knox smiles, clearly impressed by Huck and his strange array of abilities. "Maybe more like a...flying squirrel, then," he nods.

"No need to apologise," Knox adds quickly, with a shake of his head. "Fa-rri-er," Knox repeats more slowly, and then nods in agreement when Huck mentions taking care of the horses and their shoes. "That's about right," he agrees. "It's like...half hoof care, half blacksmithing. It's a strange job, but I enjoy it," he affirms.

"Heh, yeah, I do," admits Huck about flying. "I like flyon, like a flying lion." He asks then about sports, "Do you at least ice skate? I'm trying to assemble enough folks to get a hockey game going."

"That's awesome," he says of the blacksmithing. "Dude, horses are huge. Like, every time I see one, I'm all, 'damn. You're way bigger than you look on television.'" He laughs then, and he offers a big smile to Knox, "Hey, do you know my friend Jett? He does sculpture stuff with metal. I bet he'd love to see your blacksmith office... or... shed... or... whatever?"

"I only ever ice skated once or twice," Knox responds with a shake of his head. "I grew up in a pretty rural part of Montana, so sometimes if the pond froze in the winter we'd go skating on it, but that was about it," he explains, with a slightly regretful lift of his shoulders. "Good luck though!" he nods, when Huck explains he's trying to get a hockey game together. "You should hang out at the ice rink and pick up some people there!" he suggests.

As to his work? "Horses are pretty huge," Knox agrees with an easy smile. "They got a nasty kick to them too, if you don't see it coming, though luckily I know to get out of the way most of the time these days..." Knox laughs a little ruefully, a hand lifting to scratch slightly at his ribs through his shirt. "I do know Jett!" Knox agrees with a nod. "He comes by and plays around with some of the scrap metal from time to time. Gave me this..." Knox extends his wrist, showing off a bracelet made of nuts and bolts that he's wearing.

"Man, that's too bad," answers Huck. "A giant like you would make a killer defenseman, checkin' people into the side boards..." He laughs, thinking about it.

"Shit! You've been kicked by a horse?" Huck's impressed, "That's insane!" As for knowing Jett, Huck smiles and nods as he looks closely at the bracelet. Then he shows Knox the necklace he's wearing, made of stones and rocks. "He made this for me," he says proudly. "He's really incredible."

"How long have you been here? On the island I mean," Huck asks curiously. "Obviously, long enough to sprout those amazing horns." His tail begins to swish side to side.

"More than once!" Knox admits with a laugh when Huck seems so surprised that he got kicked before. "It's an occupational risk when your job is nailing something to their feet," he explains, giving a little roll of his shoulders as he does. "You get to know your horses though, and you can usually tell when one is coming and get out of the way." he explains with a smile that seems to show he doesn't take it all too seriously.

Knox leans forward and reaches over to inspect the necklace Huck shows off to him curiously, turning a couple of the stones over in his fingers before releasing it with a nod of his head. "He's an artist, for sure. And nice to chat to while I'm working when he's down at the forge." Knox agrees with an easy smile. "I've been here a bit more than six months now. Came at the start of the summer," Knox answers as to how long he's been at Spellbund, then asks, "How about you?" with a gesture towards Huck as he does.

"Ouch," Huck reacts about getting kicked. "I'll pass."

He smiles when the necklace is checked out. "He's amazing," Huck agrees, but there's also a lilt in his voice that might reveal he's more than just fond of Jett. "I've been here a year in December, which is kind of hard to believe given that I still haven't found a roommate." He shrugs, but it's done with both shoulders and his tail. "I think people are weirded out by the tail and claws. I was one of the first in the park to have a physical change like that, and I think it scared some people. I mean, it scared me a little, too."

"Yeah," Knox agrees with a laugh when Huck mentions passing on getting kicked by a horse. "Luckily, since I grew my horns, I kind of...well, I can tell when they're getting riled, so I can generally get out of the way," he explains. "Worst I ever got was a kick right here," he indicates his right pectoral down over the ribcage, "When I was sixteen. Hooves the size of dinner plates, ruined my summer," he winces.

Knox smiles when Huck starts gushing over Jett. "Someone has a crush," Knox remarks, clearly amused, though he shakes his head after a moment. "Not that it's any of my business," he accepts, lifting his hands a little apologetically before clarifying, "but he seems like a solid guy, and he's got a lot of talent," Knox agrees.

Knox considers Huck a moment when he mentions people being weirded out by the physical changes he underwent, and a slight frown forms. "That's a shame," Knox frowns. "Nobody ought to struggle to find friends in a place like this," he shakes his head. "Are you looking then? My last roommate got a job with the Cirque de Soleil and just moved out, if you are." Knox suggests.

"Doodles, that must of hurt," Huck winces a little at the thought of getting kicked by a horse there.

As for having a crush on Jett, Huck rolls his eyes and looks away, a hint of embarrassment or bashfulness rushing across his face as he just dismisses it, "Whatevs."

"I think we're mostly past it being a friend inhibitor," he assures Knox. "It was a lot at first, but now there's enough unusual stuff out there that people aren't taken aback by it so much. Most folks either stare at it, or they want to touch it." He laughs, "I don't mind the latter. Honestly, I kind of understand why dogs and cats like their fur stroked now. It's actually kind of nice."

"Yeah, I am, actually," says Huck. "I have a place and in Treasure Cove, that's the nicer building with the balconies and the indoor pool. I've been looking so long, I'm not that picky, and you don't seem crazy. I would warn you though, because of the hearing thing, the doorbell is a flashing light and the television has closed captions set, but otherwise it's pretty normal."

"Yeah, it wasn't the best time..." Knox agrees with a slight chuckle, a hand reaching up to unconsciously rub along his ribcage where he had indicated before. "Like I said, it ruined my summer, but I learned something out of it, so you take the rough with the smooth, right?" he shrugs, and besides, it doesn't seem to have done him any long-term harm! The matter of Huck having a crush on Jett earns a wry smile, but Knox doesn't push on the subject any further.

Knox looks relieved when Huxk mentions that his physical differences don't prevent him from finding friends any more. "That's great," Knox smiles, reaching up to stroke one of his horns thoughtfully. "Everyone at Spellbound was always pretty cool about my horns. I think it just took me some time to get over myself about them. Most people I speak to think they're pretty cool," Knox smiles. It's a smile that only grows when Huck seems agreeable to the idea of a roomie! "Seriously?" Knox asks, lifting an eyebrow. "That'd be awesome. I promise I'll pull my weight. I cook some pretty amazing barbecue food, so you won;t go hungry, at least," he offers, extending a hand for Huck to shake on it, if he likes.

"I think it's the movement of my tail that freaks people out more than anything," Huck notes thoughtfully. "Your horns really seem to fit you though. Let's be honest, you're a pretty striking dude," he notes, sizing up the other taller man. "They kind of add to your imposing boyish jock brute thing you got going on." He whispers, like it's a fun secret, "It's working, by the way." Laughing at that, he smiles and shakes Knox hand. The shake is a little odd as Huck's fingers are unnaturally long and, obviously, clawed at the end. "Apartment 305. Come on by, I'll show you the place, and if you're still cool with it, we'll get you on the lease and moved in!"

"Boyish jock...brute?" Knox looks a little uncertain about how one is meant to react to that, though the rest of what Huck has to say seems pretty positive, so he takes it in stride and laughs a little, even if his cheeks do end up flushing just slightly pink as he does. "Why, thank you." he grins, shaking his head just a little. "Right when I was coming out, I made sure and dressed to make any passing flyons weak at the knees with my...boyish brutishness," he repeats, still uncertain about the verbiage.

Shaking Huck's hand, Knox doesn't seem to mind any awkwardness due to the claws and nods along. "Sure thing. I can drop by whenever's convenient for you. I've been in a couple of those apartments before, so I'm sure it'll be fine, but providing your place doesn't like...smell like death or something, it's just a few forms to fill out with HR," Knox agrees.

"Relax, it's absolutely a compliment," dismisses Huck with a wave of his claw. "Honestly, the only smell is the wet dog scent my tail puts off after I shower."

He pauses just long enough to sell that he's serious before he starts laughing and that tail starts swishing. "I'm totally kidding. If I ever smelled like wet dog I'd die. Anyway, stop by tomorrow and we'll take care of things." He holds up the rice crispies that are in his free hand and the marshmallows being held by his tail. "I'll make rice crispy treats. Trust me. I make the best ones!" And with that, he nods, and prepares to head to the cash registers.