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Post by Mike Newton on Aug 15, 2008 13:21:56 GMT -5
Mike had gotten out of school later then he had expected and by the time he had made his way to his car the parking lot was pretty much deserted. The sun was going down and night was creeping up slowly around Fork as Mike pulled open his car door and tossed his book bag inside on the passenger side seat. Turning the car on he headed out of the parking lot. As he was heading down the winding roads of Forks heading to his house his car began to act up sputtering and jerking ever so often.
“Come on,” he muttered to himself knowing that the car shouldn’t be acting up at all but it seemed like he had the most rotten luck at the worst possible times. Sure enough a few moments later his car died entirely on the side of the road. Sighing in frustration he yanked his keys from the ignition and pulled himself from the car and hauled the hood open trying to see if he could figure out what was wrong with the car even if he didn’t know much about cars.
Giving up after several minutes Mike pulled out his cell phone and left a message for his dad. He slammed the drivers door shut to the car and leaned against the outside of the car staring into the woods and then back down the road to see if anyone was driving by who could help him out or at least give him a ride home. He turned to open the door again to the car to grab his jacket since the air was beginning to cool down as it got dark but the minute he pulled the door handle the door didn’t open. Mike gave it another hard yank and he groaned as he realized he had locked himself out of the car.
“Excellent, I’m having a great night,” he muttered to himself bitterly as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and waited for his dad to call him back or for another car to come by.
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Post by Phraxius on Aug 15, 2008 13:44:05 GMT -5
Phraxius carefully scraped a small, smooth pebble against the blade of his knife as he sat against the wet bark of a large oak tree. His face indulged in deep concentration, but his ears, his nose, his mind, they were ready and truly awake, springy and alert.
And so, it was that he smelt the dirty and toxious fumes of a Car.
He grudgingly rose to his feet, his innate curiosity getting the best of him once again. Few things had gotten him into more trouble then the same Human and Canine trait that was curiousness.
Phrax rolled his arms and neck, the familiar stiffness quickly receeding to reveal the lightning reflexes of his race.
Within another second, he was pouncing through the forest unperceivably quick. He followed the scent trail, now visible to him in iridescent smoke, to the edge of a road and the forest. He caught sight of a Car, with a young boy standing next to it. Phrax shook his head, stepping onto the road, and began approaching the lad.
"Young lad, what's your problem?" he yelled from about 50 yards away.
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Post by Mike Newton on Aug 15, 2008 14:04:44 GMT -5
Mike was pretty patient or at least eh thought he was but after calling his dad 3 more times with no answer and apparent people around he was quickly beginning to lose his patience with the whole car situation. It seemed as if when it rained it poured for him. He yanked roughly on the door handle once more even though all that did was prove that the car was slick locked and he was still screwed.
He contemplated for a minute smashing the window open with a nearby rock but then that would only give him a broken down car with a shattered window. With the window broken he would still be cold and screwed since nobody seemed to care that he was MIA.
He kicked the driver’s side wheel frustrated but turned startled as a voice called out not too far from him.
“Jesus,” he muttered the voice having startled him as he could have sworn nobody was around him when he had looked.
“Wow totally didn’t see you there,” Mike called out to the stranger. The guy didn’t seem familiar at all but then again mike guessed he didn’t know everybody in Forks.
“Busted car and locked in keys,” he replied bitterly staring back at the car.
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Post by Phraxius on Aug 15, 2008 14:14:06 GMT -5
"Yeah, not many do." Phraxus muttered under his breath, as he strode placidly towards the kid, who he know saw to be around 16, 17, maybe 18 at a push.
He glanced at the car, snorting at the bad luck of the kid he had found. It wasn't often that people broke down around here.
He finally reached the guy and took out a strangely hooked pin.
"Well, that's not the smartest thing I've ever seen someone do," Phraxus commented, but not unkindly. "really should keep a spare set."
He showed the pin to his new acquiantance.
"Lockpick. You snap up a few things in the army." It was clear from his attire, a smart combat jacket over a white vest with cargo pants and a walking boots, that Phraxius had been hiking.
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Post by Mike Newton on Aug 15, 2008 14:26:35 GMT -5
Mike watched the man intently as he made his way over to him and the car.
“Yeah I’ve had better luck,” Mike muttered as the guy pointed out that his actions hadn’t been the smartest. He hadn’t planned for his car t break down but true enough locking the keys in as well hadn’t been the smartest thing he had ever done.
“Yeah I have a spare set…their in my backpack…in the car,” Mike said with an embarrassed shrug as he motioned through the window where his bag sat upon the passenger side seat.
He looked quizzically at the weird looking instrument the guy held in his hands which he soon labeled as a lock pick. The guy was apparently a one stop shop for useful things and it made sense once he shared he had been in the army.
“Were you in the woods?” Mike asked curious as he took stock of the guy’s attire and just overall appearance.
It wasn’t that it was weird for people to go into the woods which surrounded Forks but it was sort of uncommon to do so alone at night but then again he really wasn’t going to get too much into it especially since the guy could help him get back into his car which would at least let him grab his jacket since the temperature was dropping since the sun had gone down.
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Post by Phraxius on Aug 15, 2008 14:36:42 GMT -5
Phrax chuckled at the sheer weight of bad luck that seemed to be following the kid. He himself had had runs of bad luck that occasionally got him into life-threatening situations.
"Yeah, I occasionally head into the woods at night. Old habits." He nodded towards the car.
"Don't worry, kid, streaks of bad luck don't last very long. Unless you're an idiot, of course." He inserted the long pick into the keyhole and, after a minute of careful fiddling, a familiar click followed by a pop as the lock was unleashed.
A satisfied smile crossed the middle-aged man's face.
"There we go." Phrax put the pin back into his pocket and looked at the kid. He looked like an athlete, a kid with a few friends. What he was doing walking to school was none of Phrax's business, and he wasn't that curious.
"You say you've got a busted engine. I could take a look." He said, before he could utter a thanks.
"I'm Phrax, by the way."
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Post by Mike Newton on Aug 15, 2008 14:50:47 GMT -5
“No I’m not an idiot…just sort of when it rains it pours on me,” Mike said with a small smile and a shrug as he watched the man stick the lock pick into the key hole and began to work at the lock.
“Wow by yourself? Aren’t you worried about like bears or anything like that? There’s a whole bunch of different animals out there in the woods especially at night,” Mike said as the guy explained he frequently went in the woods at night.
“Excellent thanks!” Mike said once the guy got the car to unlock. Mike pulled open the door and pulled his jacket from the back seat shrugging into and making sure to grab the keys from the floor of the car and shove them into his pocket. His eyes widened in surprised as the guy offered to take a look at his engine too he was going to owe this guy a lot.
“Really?! Thanks! I called my dad but he isn’t answering his phone and mom’s got book club and I was supposed to be home already but I to holed up at school and…Mike, Mike Newton,” Mike said with a smile as he stopped rambling and extended his hand out to the man who had introduced himself as Phrax.
“That’s a weird name,” Mike said trying to place where the guy might have been from.
“Well not a weird name like bad weird but weird like different sort of name,” Mike said clarifying himself so he wouldn’t offend the guy who was helping him out.
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Post by Phraxius on Aug 15, 2008 15:02:50 GMT -5
"Call me a Renaissance man." Phrax said, grinning at the kid's natural enthusiasm. He was reminded of one of the many people he had met on his travels, a Noble in Florence, hundreds of years ago. They were both bright haired and enthusiastic.
Phrax strode round and popped the bonnet, taking a glance at the car.
He quickly noticed the problem - an oil line had sprung a leak. The kid properly hadn't noticed due to the night sky and lack of light.
"Phraxius is my full name. Italian." He said, idlely answering the kid's question.
His mind then turned to the first question as he pulled out a synthetic-material handkerchief and rolled under the car to tie it around the line.
"It keeps me fit and is pretty challenging at the same time. I don't have a problem with animals, I know how to avoid them." He said, loud enough to hear. He dare not mention that Predators could smell the beast in him, and therefore fled, while the deer and rabbits he hunted.
This he thought until he came to the leak, getting oil on his face. He quickly tied the cloth around it, using only a portion of his strength
"That should do it." Phrax spoke with triumph as he stood up, his jacket and his white vest stained black around the top. He wiped some dirty oil from his face and spat some out.
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Post by Mike Newton on Aug 15, 2008 15:16:57 GMT -5
Mike followed Phrax around the front of the car as he pulled open the hood. Mike had not a clue what was wrong with it but he stared down into the engine with the guy if only to look like maybe he knew half of what was going on.
"Wow that's a mouth full I bet you had a heck of a time in kindergarden learning to spell that," Mike said with a smile as the guy explained his first name and where it came from. This guy was seriously out of left field Mike didn't think he ahd ever met anyone like him before definetly not anyone in Forks.
Mike stared down at the guy intently as he began to do something under the car. He looked around the deserted road and area before turning his attention back down to the car and teh man working on it.
"Wow I bet. I mean me and my friends go down to the beach every so often when we can but that's nothing like going trapsing through the woods alone my luck I'd get eaten by something," Mike said with a small laugh even though he was only half kidding.
"Really?" Mike asked surprised as the guy announced the car was fixed; this dude was amazing.
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Post by Phraxius on Aug 15, 2008 15:22:47 GMT -5
"Just temporarily, it'll break very soon, but it'll give you about 10 or so miles, you'll need to tighten the bolt when you get back." Phrax took out another handkerchief of similiar quality to the first and continued to wipe his face.
"Kindergarden was..." Images of his growing up in Lucinius, of which there was only one he could remember after so long. The boy he had tortured. It didn't even faze him "...different for me."
"Ok, so you best get back on the road. I best be heading back."
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Post by Mike Newton on Aug 15, 2008 15:38:37 GMT -5
“Wow you’re like a jack of all trades Phrax,” Mike said with a smile as he looked from the car back to the man who had helped him.
He couldn’t help but think that if it hadn’t been for the stranger he would have been stuck out there in the cold till someone either came around or his father got back to him which could have taken god only knew how long.
“Thanks so much like seriously thank you I would have been stuck out here forever,” Mike explained with a grateful smile. He watched the man for a moment still really interested in his story there seemed to be a lot to him then met the eye.
“Really how?” Mike asked shutting the hood of the car still really grateful that the guy had fixed the car even if it was only a temporary fix.
“Where are you off to? Did you need any help with anything? I can help maybe since I owe you. Not that I’m playing 20 questions or anything I was just wondering,” Mike said with a smile as he looked back at the guy. It was dark and it was cold but the dude was seriously intriguing and he of course wanted to know if he could do anything to help him out as well since he owed him majorly.
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Post by Phraxius on Aug 15, 2008 15:53:15 GMT -5
"Don't worry. You can repay me by giving me a ride." Phrax explained, not quite prepared to walk back to his apartment in oil-sodden clothes.
"Let's just say my childhood was full of twists and turns." He said, rather bluntly.
"I graduated from high school, well we call it Secondary School, and joined the British Army. Moved here looking for work as a Teacher. That's pretty much my life story." He quickly said, holding true to his story he had invented hundreds of years in the past.
It would have taken him hours, no - days, to explain his life. 2000 years is a very long time. Phrax was living proof against the stereotype that ancient things are evil.
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Post by Mike Newton on Aug 15, 2008 22:56:51 GMT -5
"Oh yeah sure totally not a problem at all you totally saved my ass," Mike said as the guy pointed out that he could repay him by giving him a lift back to his place.
Mike pulled open the drivers side door as he listened to the guy talk a bit about himself.
"Wow you're a teacher? Really?" Mike asked rather surprised by that bit of knowledge as he scooted into the drivers seat and unlocked the passenger side door and tossed his backpack into the back seat of the car so Phrax could get into the car.
"It's nothing fancy," Mike said shoving the keys into the ignition and he was relatively surprised that the car came to life even though Phrax had told him it was at least momentarily fixed.
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Post by Phraxius on Aug 16, 2008 5:20:14 GMT -5
Phrax got into the passenger seat briskly, and grinned with pride as the ignition turned on. He chuckled at the kid's judgement of his car - modesty was refreshing these days.
"I'm just a History teacher. I know, you don't find many teachers skulking about the woods at this time of night." Phrax commented, as he took a look around the car.
"It's not the worst thing I've seen. Go to Germany after 1918, there you'll see some true pieces of crap." And an instant later, the realisation that he had just revealed he had been there dawned on him. His mind whirled for a coverup, quickly finding one.
"My grandfather was there, visited Berlin and everything. Brought back some black and white photos."
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Post by Mike Newton on Aug 16, 2008 12:36:05 GMT -5
"History really?" Mike asked glancing at the guy for a moment before he pulled on his seat belt.
"So you're gonna teach at the high school or are you going to one of the bigger cities?" Mike asked as he pulled the car away from the curb but then stopped as he realized he had no clue where he was taking the guy.
"I guess I may need to know where to take you," Mike said with a smirk as he looked back at Phrax. His face shown with confusion at the guys Berlin comment. He didn't know how old he was but he knew he couldn't have seen things in 1918 that would have to make him way too old. He still looked at the guy curiously even as he ammended his story.
"Cool those would be neat to see," Mike said with a smile as his cell phone began to ring and he fished it out of his pocket and flipped it open seeing it was his dad. After letting his father know it was fine he hung up and looked back over at Phrax.
"So where to?"
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