Post by High Tide on Mar 25, 2013 22:34:27 GMT -5
Somewhere deep in the dark and mysterious confines of High Tide's left pant pocket was the source of an annoying ringtone, one of the Blackberry's default sounds. The phone had been ringing all day long, as he had become popular with the sort of folk who fancied treasure hunts. After all, Tide had made a tidy sum on his own, and was certainly not opposed to conducting others, assuming he and Wasp shared no less than 75% of the profit. Yet today was not a day for business, no. Tide had more important things to do. The calls could wait, there were not many who did what he did.
He kicked his foot down, pushing off the road below him. This allowed his little orange scooter to maintain continuous forward momentum, although he was surprised it hadn't broke yet. He wondered how ridiculous he looked to others, a pirate weaving up and down the road on a little orange scooter, but decided that he didn't care. Besides, it was early, there weren't a lot of people out anyways, he thought to himself, pushing the scooter forward with renewed momentum. The business could wait he decided, but the kind of "client" he was meeting with was not one he could put off.
She wasn't really a client at all though truth be told. Tide was not going to a meeting, no he was scootering his way towards a date. He figured it would be classier than taking the bus, and he had never really trusted taxi drivers before, so the scooter seemed like the obvious option. Besides, it was classy and original. Who rode a scooter around anymore?
He passed quickly by the more shadier parts of town, out of habit rather than out of any fear. He had spent his time here amongst the badly maintained buildings with street gang signs adorning their walls and the thieves, cutthroats and other undesirables. He was no stranger to the slums of the town, and that worked to his advantage. This was one place in the world the people knew what he meant when he said he was really a pirate. It was funny really. The people considered the least intelligent knew what those who were so called superior in intellect could never understand. He WAS a pirate, with every moral fiber in his body. He would steal, he would plunder, and he would kill if it came down to it. The actors in his past may have laughed, but these people did not.
Tide noticed many dangerous looking men and women as he scootered past the slums but not a single one approached him or even gave him a second glance. His reputation for how brutal and efficient he was preceded him and there was no reward great enough for that kind of hassle. He had crippled one too many men who had decided he would be an easy target to be pick pocketed, or to be mugged for his wallet. He had always dispatched the attackers, usually injuring them to the point they would not be able to bother him for a long time after, if they could muster up the courage to come at him again. None ever did.
Still he was a bit more relieved when he had passed through to the slightly more (but not overly) fancier neighborhood. He still had a few blocks to go, and as he scootered his way across the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians, he mused to himself how the timing always seemed to be against him. Here he was, going into his title defense against Team Crazy Consonant Rabbit, and a team that proclaimed themselves to breed, no doubt as frequently as the rabbits of the other team. Both teams were formidable foes, he could not deny that, but still he was apprehensive of the breeders. They were quite unpredictable, and then there was that manager of theirs. Whoever was in the Spider-Man mask had gotten destroyed, and the worst part was Tide had no idea who it was.
He wasn't overly concerned about winning. He had proven he could stand up to half of the teams that would be after his belt, and although Wasp hadn't managed to best his opponents, between the added threat of the belts on the line and the addition of Tide being in the match, he was confident in his partner's abilities. If there was one thing he know how to do well, it was take care of business and with the titles on the line, it was the most serious kind of business.
Soon he was forced to retreat from his thoughts as he arrived at his destination. From the outside it didn't look like much. It was a small building that appeared to have been jammed between two much larger and nicer looking buildings. The sign for Cafe Joe's proclaimed they had the best coffee in town, and though most didn't agree, Tide happened to. Though he was not much of a coffee drinker, but he hated to drink in front of a lady as fine as the one he was courting, he mused to himself as he tied the scooter up to a bike rack with a lock. One could never be too careful.
He checked his hair in the reflection of the slightly dusty window of the coffee shop. It was futile, considering most of his shaggy hair was hidden beneath his pirate hat, but the strands that had escaped looked well enough in order for him. He straightened his clothing out, possibly putting the most effort he had into a date with those simple actions in ten years, and with that he threw open the door as if to announce his arrival.
He spotted his date easily enough. She was a gorgeous woman of twenty five, her long and lustrous fire red hair extending well past her shoulders. He face had soft features, and he could melt in her deep blue eyes. If her eyes were a cannon. There would be none of that sappiness, he admonished himself. She gave him a little wave, as if he could have missed her, and his heartbeat became irregular for a moment. "Must be all the alcohol," he grunted to himself before smiling and waving back at her, taking a seat across the table from her.
"Well hello there John. It's nice to see you again, you look as much a pirate as ever," she laughed, the sound of it reminding him of soft bells and quiet bird songs. What the hell was he thinking? He shook his head visibly. The woman must be some sort of sorcerer he figured, for she certainly had placed some sort of charm on him.
"Glad you actually decided to show up Katelyn, you wouldn't have been the first woman to have stiffed me," he laughed, the sound surprising him. He did not laugh often. "Oh and you look as beautiful as you always do, if not more," he added meaning every word of it. The sun shining caught her hair in such a way that it sparkled more beautifully than anything else Tide had ever seen before.
"Oh enough of the flattery," she giggled her pale skin going flush as she did. "You're supposed to be a pirate! You can't go around letting people think you are getting soft. You certainly weren't soft when you were manhandling those men when we met at the bar," she giggled again causing Tide to smile as well. He couldn't help it.
"Arr, well what ye don't know is that pirate's be having a soft spot fer exceptional women," he spoke half out of his brain and half pulling it out of his ass. It seemed to appease her either way, as her grin grew wider the more he talked. He was accustomed to this of course, but this was no cruel, sadistic laughter like he had heard so many times in his life. No this was a sweet, innocent if not sort of teasing laughter that was as contagious as it was harmless. It was good laughter.
"Speaking of pirates, are you worried about your match Mr. Tag Team Champion? Are you worried about N. Saniti and Q? You probably know more about them than I do but from what I've seen, their a little nuts. You are probably worried about The New Breed though. To be truthful, I'm a little worried about you and Wasp when it comes to them. You guys are amazing to be sure, but they seem hellbent on putting down anything in their way and claiming what they will for their own. It seems your titles are first in their sights," Katelyn rambled on and Tide laughed inside a little bit. It was a cute habit she had.
He realized that she was expecting an answer and he was just staring at her. Trying as hard as he could to avoid blushing, he smiled. "You have no need to be worried. When the Flying Freebooters are done with The New Breed, they'll realize they need a little bit more than determination to beat us. They might be used to barreling through the competition they've already come across, but there is a reason we are the champions and they are the challengers. Enough about my job though, let us talk about other things, about you," he replied closing the door on that topic firmly and she was happy enough to comply.
They talked for what seemed like hours, Tide mostly nodding and smiling at her. He was more than happy to listen to her talk as they put back a couple of mugs of coffee each. Tide was missing his rum by now, and he'd settle for a cold beer but he wanted to look good in front of Katelyn, and so he abstained. His phone rang and Tide ignored it. She gave him a look, wondering if he would answer it but he just dismissed the phone with a wave of his hand and motioned for her to keep talking. In his mind, nothing could be important enough at this moment.
If he had stopped even to check who was calling, he might have had a different opinion. However he did not check it, and unfortunately for him it was a familiar number. A call he should have took, but Tide sat oblivious to it. He was content for once.
He kicked his foot down, pushing off the road below him. This allowed his little orange scooter to maintain continuous forward momentum, although he was surprised it hadn't broke yet. He wondered how ridiculous he looked to others, a pirate weaving up and down the road on a little orange scooter, but decided that he didn't care. Besides, it was early, there weren't a lot of people out anyways, he thought to himself, pushing the scooter forward with renewed momentum. The business could wait he decided, but the kind of "client" he was meeting with was not one he could put off.
She wasn't really a client at all though truth be told. Tide was not going to a meeting, no he was scootering his way towards a date. He figured it would be classier than taking the bus, and he had never really trusted taxi drivers before, so the scooter seemed like the obvious option. Besides, it was classy and original. Who rode a scooter around anymore?
He passed quickly by the more shadier parts of town, out of habit rather than out of any fear. He had spent his time here amongst the badly maintained buildings with street gang signs adorning their walls and the thieves, cutthroats and other undesirables. He was no stranger to the slums of the town, and that worked to his advantage. This was one place in the world the people knew what he meant when he said he was really a pirate. It was funny really. The people considered the least intelligent knew what those who were so called superior in intellect could never understand. He WAS a pirate, with every moral fiber in his body. He would steal, he would plunder, and he would kill if it came down to it. The actors in his past may have laughed, but these people did not.
Tide noticed many dangerous looking men and women as he scootered past the slums but not a single one approached him or even gave him a second glance. His reputation for how brutal and efficient he was preceded him and there was no reward great enough for that kind of hassle. He had crippled one too many men who had decided he would be an easy target to be pick pocketed, or to be mugged for his wallet. He had always dispatched the attackers, usually injuring them to the point they would not be able to bother him for a long time after, if they could muster up the courage to come at him again. None ever did.
Still he was a bit more relieved when he had passed through to the slightly more (but not overly) fancier neighborhood. He still had a few blocks to go, and as he scootered his way across the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians, he mused to himself how the timing always seemed to be against him. Here he was, going into his title defense against Team Crazy Consonant Rabbit, and a team that proclaimed themselves to breed, no doubt as frequently as the rabbits of the other team. Both teams were formidable foes, he could not deny that, but still he was apprehensive of the breeders. They were quite unpredictable, and then there was that manager of theirs. Whoever was in the Spider-Man mask had gotten destroyed, and the worst part was Tide had no idea who it was.
He wasn't overly concerned about winning. He had proven he could stand up to half of the teams that would be after his belt, and although Wasp hadn't managed to best his opponents, between the added threat of the belts on the line and the addition of Tide being in the match, he was confident in his partner's abilities. If there was one thing he know how to do well, it was take care of business and with the titles on the line, it was the most serious kind of business.
Soon he was forced to retreat from his thoughts as he arrived at his destination. From the outside it didn't look like much. It was a small building that appeared to have been jammed between two much larger and nicer looking buildings. The sign for Cafe Joe's proclaimed they had the best coffee in town, and though most didn't agree, Tide happened to. Though he was not much of a coffee drinker, but he hated to drink in front of a lady as fine as the one he was courting, he mused to himself as he tied the scooter up to a bike rack with a lock. One could never be too careful.
He checked his hair in the reflection of the slightly dusty window of the coffee shop. It was futile, considering most of his shaggy hair was hidden beneath his pirate hat, but the strands that had escaped looked well enough in order for him. He straightened his clothing out, possibly putting the most effort he had into a date with those simple actions in ten years, and with that he threw open the door as if to announce his arrival.
He spotted his date easily enough. She was a gorgeous woman of twenty five, her long and lustrous fire red hair extending well past her shoulders. He face had soft features, and he could melt in her deep blue eyes. If her eyes were a cannon. There would be none of that sappiness, he admonished himself. She gave him a little wave, as if he could have missed her, and his heartbeat became irregular for a moment. "Must be all the alcohol," he grunted to himself before smiling and waving back at her, taking a seat across the table from her.
"Well hello there John. It's nice to see you again, you look as much a pirate as ever," she laughed, the sound of it reminding him of soft bells and quiet bird songs. What the hell was he thinking? He shook his head visibly. The woman must be some sort of sorcerer he figured, for she certainly had placed some sort of charm on him.
"Glad you actually decided to show up Katelyn, you wouldn't have been the first woman to have stiffed me," he laughed, the sound surprising him. He did not laugh often. "Oh and you look as beautiful as you always do, if not more," he added meaning every word of it. The sun shining caught her hair in such a way that it sparkled more beautifully than anything else Tide had ever seen before.
"Oh enough of the flattery," she giggled her pale skin going flush as she did. "You're supposed to be a pirate! You can't go around letting people think you are getting soft. You certainly weren't soft when you were manhandling those men when we met at the bar," she giggled again causing Tide to smile as well. He couldn't help it.
"Arr, well what ye don't know is that pirate's be having a soft spot fer exceptional women," he spoke half out of his brain and half pulling it out of his ass. It seemed to appease her either way, as her grin grew wider the more he talked. He was accustomed to this of course, but this was no cruel, sadistic laughter like he had heard so many times in his life. No this was a sweet, innocent if not sort of teasing laughter that was as contagious as it was harmless. It was good laughter.
"Speaking of pirates, are you worried about your match Mr. Tag Team Champion? Are you worried about N. Saniti and Q? You probably know more about them than I do but from what I've seen, their a little nuts. You are probably worried about The New Breed though. To be truthful, I'm a little worried about you and Wasp when it comes to them. You guys are amazing to be sure, but they seem hellbent on putting down anything in their way and claiming what they will for their own. It seems your titles are first in their sights," Katelyn rambled on and Tide laughed inside a little bit. It was a cute habit she had.
He realized that she was expecting an answer and he was just staring at her. Trying as hard as he could to avoid blushing, he smiled. "You have no need to be worried. When the Flying Freebooters are done with The New Breed, they'll realize they need a little bit more than determination to beat us. They might be used to barreling through the competition they've already come across, but there is a reason we are the champions and they are the challengers. Enough about my job though, let us talk about other things, about you," he replied closing the door on that topic firmly and she was happy enough to comply.
They talked for what seemed like hours, Tide mostly nodding and smiling at her. He was more than happy to listen to her talk as they put back a couple of mugs of coffee each. Tide was missing his rum by now, and he'd settle for a cold beer but he wanted to look good in front of Katelyn, and so he abstained. His phone rang and Tide ignored it. She gave him a look, wondering if he would answer it but he just dismissed the phone with a wave of his hand and motioned for her to keep talking. In his mind, nothing could be important enough at this moment.
If he had stopped even to check who was calling, he might have had a different opinion. However he did not check it, and unfortunately for him it was a familiar number. A call he should have took, but Tide sat oblivious to it. He was content for once.
