Pit Stop, January 11[open]

[Grendel Parks]

It was a habit now, most people expected to see Grendel in several times a week to use the showers, sometimes to sleep. He'd taken a nice long hot shower this time and had his clothes tumbling in the dryer. It was nice to have a place to go that wasn't a hotel. There had even been more than a few times in his life that he'd been mistaken for a homeless person.

In a literal sense he was one. He lived out of his van. He didn't really have a place he thought of as 'home', not since his parents had up and taken him on the road. And so Jove's was like home to him, but he was constantly afraid it would come under siege, that someone would find out about it, someone who shouldn't know and then it would be lost to him, or they'd all get shipped to the Equality Center.

Grendel feared the Equality Center. He couldn't begin to fathom what they would do to him there to make him accept the government's oppressive policies. They would probably have to lock him up for all time.

After his shower he threw on a robe and flopped over into one of the house's comfy beds and went to sleep face down. It all would have been fine except when he woke up his wandering fingers failed to fall on the familiar plastic shape of his glasses frames. He fumbled around blindly and upset a lamp. He could sense the lamp, fortunately it wasn't on so it wouldn't have started a fire or anything. But where were his glasses?

[Amanda Baranuchi]

It was a long day for Amanda, not so much a ‘oh-god-it-won’t-end’ days just one of those ‘I-could-be-doing-something-else-right-now’ days. So she wasn’t too upset when she went home and heard the shower running in the background. That usually signified one person around this time, the one and only, Grendel Parks.

She figured eventually she’d see him, so she didn’t feel bad going into her “room” and going to sleep. When she finally woke up she went go see if her friend was up, of course, he wasn’t. She should have known that by now, she woke up too early for anyone. Unless she was at Lance’s, then she slept longer than anyone…crazy people.

As much of a sanctuary Joves Manor was, it was also a slow death trap. Not only was it completely illegal, but the government would have a fun time teaching everyone who lived here what it means to be under government control. Sometimes, it would be nice to just give the government and the EST the middle finger salute.

Thinking about that kind of got Amanda’s mood down, but she got a good sleep so she was still somewhat happy, she found herself strolling into Grendel’s sleeping quarters. She found the lights off, but she could see fine. She quietly went right up next to him and took his glasses from off the nightstand.

She backed up back to the door and just waited; she figured eventually he had to wake up…right?

Not even three minutes after she took his glasses did he wake up, she couldn’t help but laugh as she saw the lamp crash to the ground. “Looking for these?” She asked as she strolled forward, his glasses pinched between two fingers.

[Grendel Parks]

On the one hand Grendel was upset that anyone would touch his glasses while he was asleep. On the other hand it was Amanda so he couldn't exactly stay angry for long. He reached up for the glasses, groping for them despite the fact that she was holding them right in front of him practically.

"Don't tease. I can barely see without those." He grumbled drowsily. "How long have you been here at the house? I didn't see you when I got in." He typically did a quick once over of the place whenever he made a stop-by since it was best the place looked as uninhabited as it was supposed to. The once over was partly out of concern for the other people in the house, but also typical Grendel paranoia.

He finally grasped his glasses once she had gotten close enough for him to reach them and slipped them onto his nose.

After he had taken care of the initial worry of where his glasses were he remembered that he was wearing only a robe and there was a woman in the room and that was very embarrassing. He tugged the somewhat ragged terrycloth covering more tightly closed so that he might not offend her.

"Is the dryer done? I was running a load." He said meekly and leaned over to pick up the lamp so he could put it back upright. He tended to be nervous around women and despite having seen Amanda around the house on occasion she was still a woman and a pretty one. It was doubtful she thought of him as more than an occasional annoyance, though she did seem to treat him well enough. He had trouble understanding exactly where he stood.

[Amanda Baranuchi]

Grendel was a good friend of Amanda’s so she didn’t feel too bad about messing with him, mostly because if the role was reversed, he’d do it to her. Maybe. He was a little unpredictable, okay, he probably wouldn’t, but it was fun.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” She said to him as she moved to glasses into his reach, “I got in just after you, I heard you get out of the shower, then I went to bed.” She added, pointing out the door. She already knew he checked the house, that’s Grendel for you, though, if you think about it, if the place were to get raided…he would be the only one not to get caught thanks to said paranoia.

She turned away slightly as he adjusted his robe, she turned around just as he was picking up the lamp. “I don’t know, probably. It’s been a good deal of time, it should be done.” She said, moving farther into the room.

(Sorry, brain dead)

[Grendel Parks]

"OK" Grendel said in response to her. His word lingered in the air along with an uncomfortable silence. He really didn't socialize enough short of his rare opportunities to harass or argue with random people on the street. He didn't really use his phone for talking so most of his communication was online.

If Amanda had been talking to him over his computer he probably would have talked up a storm. Instead he found himself feeling self-conscious and wondering if she thought he was a hopeless nerd. He continued to clutch his robe around himself as if it were some kind of protective shield.

"I noticed the uh... the uh... the light in the entrance has a bulb out. I'll fix that before I go." He said sheepishly, trying to fill the empty space with something useful. "I also put some cash in the money box. Don't let the kids take it all this time." He smirked a little at this. The money was supposed to be for food and other house supplies but it often got spent on other things. He didn't really care as long as the place wasn't a wreck when he came by.

[Amanda Baranuchi]

Amanda had a smirk on her face and looked around the room as the silence hung in the air, “you know I’m not evil or anything, you can talk and I won’t go crazy on you I promise.” She joked, fixing her gaze on him.

He was a bit of an odd duck, but he was a good person, so things evened out. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he might now want to talk to her, she didn’t know why, but he seemed really distant towards her.

“Ya, I noticed that too. I’ll run an errand later and go get some, the last things we need around here are shadows for people to hide in, you know, just in case.” She said, looking at the wall where the front door would be.

She smiled at him, “Sure, I’ll make sure the little ones don’t use all the money…big brother.” She joked, turning to look out his door. “It’s been rather quite around here, you don’t think anything is wrong do you?” She asked.

She wasn’t lying really, the place use to have a lot of people come by and stay the night, but lately it’s been nearly deserted. Besides the few who come in after a night of partying and god knows what else to take a shower, the place kept getting quieter.

[Grendel Parks]

Grendel flushed. "I might talk more if I was wearing something." He said in a quiet tone.

Then he got up and said. "Let me go get dressed."

Without further ado he wandered off in the general direction of the laundry. Awhile later he came back looking rumpled but clean. His clothes looked worn and faded. Grendel always looked like he was overdue for a shopping trip.

Sweats and flannels seemed to be his defaults, but sometimes he wore blue jeans. He seemed a little more human then and far less self-conscious. He wasn't at all used to the idea of people seeing him unclothed. Grendel was, behind it all, very modest and self-conscious unless he had a computer terminal in his grasp.

He liked the idea of Amanda calling him 'big brother'. It helped him feel like he belonged... here. He often felt as if he didn't belong anywhere. He'd wandered so much and his parents had been gone for so long.

"It's probably just quiet." He said, finger-combing his hair once he'd caught up to Amanda again. Strange, how he was usually the paranoid one and he was now reassuring her rather than the other way around.

"Gabe would have said something if the police had caught wind of anything and the house looks fine from what I can tell." He said with an uncharacteristic note of optimism.

[Amanda Baranuchi]

Amanda smiled as he wandered out the door. She, unlike most people, didn’t really care who had what on, as long as it was covering everything that counted. She listened as the dryer door opened and shut and she looked around the room before leaving and closing the door.

She went to her room and looked around for anything she wanted before making her bed and closing that door as well. She didn’t know why, but she had a habit of closing doors behind her and if there was a lock, she’d lock the door too.

She turned around when saw Grendel. “Ya, you’re probably right. I don’t know, it’s just this is my home you know, I don’t what I would do if it ended up getting busted.” She said, folding her arms. She liked talking to Grendel, sometimes it took some poking for him to get comfortable, but it was nice talking to him.

She smiled at him, “This is a first. Usually you’re the paranoid one, when did we switch roles?” She remarked, laughing. “You’re right; Gabe would have found something out. The house seems clear though, that’s what gets me. I don’t know, I’m probably reading too far into it.” She said, glancing around at the almost deserted house.

When it came to Jove and the government, she wasn’t exactly worriless. She always had her doubts that it was going to get busted because someone would bring the wrong person to Joves. They really needed to start a scanning process just to be on the safer side of things.

[Grendel Parks]

Grendel chuckled. "Oh I'm still paranoid, but I'd rather you weren't. The house is safe... for now. Or at least until I check it all over again. You're careful. I trust you not to invite someone here who shouldn't be here. Some of the others... I don't know. I'm not around enough to know everybody unfortunately."

Then after a pause he said. "So I'm actually a little more confident when there aren't so many people here. It means there are fewer people who could cause trouble." He gave her a wink.

He considered whether it was worthwhile to tell her he had something dangerous planned in the next couple of days. He hesitated then said. "I might not be by next week. Don't worry too much OK? I am might have to have to lay low for awhile."

Oh great, that sounded terrible. She was going to know he was up to no good.

[Amanda Baranuchi]

Amanda smiled and shook her head, “I can’t help it, the last thing I want is this place getting noticed. Mostly because if any of us are in here when they come…I can’t go there.” She said, looking at the floor, “It’s so frustrating knowing that just one simple deed could make all of our lives living hells.” She added.

She looked up and Grendel, “It also means there are more people out there who know about in here that can get us locked up and god knows what else.” She remarked, “Okay, so I’m a little paranoid.” She added, chuckling.

Amanda raised one eyebrow and cocked her head, “What are you doing and whatever it is, can I help?” She asked, smiling at him, “I could ask someone if you need a place to stay other than Joves. First, you need to tell me what you’re doing.” She said, her voice deep, a little stern but a little curious.

[Grendel Parks]

He gave her a sheepish look. "I'll be fine. I usually just stay in my van. It's not a big deal. I'm sure I'll do fine without help. And tell you what, when I'm done with that, I may well start spending some more time here helping you beef up the house security. I bet I could rig up a pretty fancy security system with cameras and everything. You'd be able to know right away if someone was approaching the house even if you couldn't immediately see them."

He smiled, his mind already considering a wide range of possibilities. Yes, that would be a good idea. He would have to start doing some research and figuring out where he could acquire said things. Infrared cameras would be useful too, but good ones would be hard to get. He was pretty sure that Gabe would be OK with the idea and he might help out too. He ran a hand over the hair on his chin as he was deep in thought.

"I could rig it all to the servers in the basement too and make that into kind of a security hub... add a few extra monitors and alarms. Then all you'd need is a plan of action in case it ever went off."

[Amanda Baranuchi]

Amanda looked at him with curious eyes, “You still didn’t tell me what you’re up to.” She said, studying him for his answer.

She nodded, “Thank you that would be fantastic. I’d feel so much safer knowing that this place had some kind of security besides the almost broken lock on the front door.” She said smiling. She knew that finding all of that equipment would be hard, even harder learning how to use it if Grendel ever left.

If one thing was good, it’s the fact the she had a technology wizard…er…no pun intended, at her back. It made her feel even more secure with him around, not seeing him for a week wondering is going to be hell, but she’ll manage to stay out of most trouble. Maybe she’d stay at Camelot’s or something.

Amanda just shook her head, “You really want to trust me with an escape plan when I can barely keep myself out of trouble?” She asked, chuckling a little, “If you want an efficient one, you’re going to have to help me. Whatever you’re planning, make sure you get out safe and come back.” She said her voice stern and unwavering.

She looked him straight in the eyes, “The last thing I want to do is go out there and kick some government ass to get you out of the hell they’ll more than likely put you in, but for you I would.” She remarked, again her voice unwavering and strong.

[Grendel Parks]

"I'll tell you next week." He said with a sly smirk. He didn't want her to tell him it wasn't worth it or to try to talk him out of it. He wasn't sure he could argue himself back into it if she did. It was hard for him to argue with her. She was just too nice.

"And don't you worry about a thing. You know me. I've been in some tight scrapes. They'll have to do more then send a few sniffers on my trail if they expect to get Grendel Evander Parks into their institution. I'm invincible." He punctuated this with a wink to inform her that yes he knew that wasn't true.

He did appreciate her sentiment and he had no intention of making her act on it. Then again the same would have been true if she'd ever found herself on the wrong end of the government. Grendel would have hacked into every federal system he could gain access to in order to form an elaborate escape plan and that would have been that.

"Got anything to eat around here? Preferably something that isn't ramen noodles." He was hoping to change the subject and his stomach had suggested food as a possible topic change.

[Amanda Baranuchi]

“Well, can you at least tell me where you’re going to be?” She asked, a little more than a concern question. She figured if she told her that, then she could find him and see what he was up to. It usually worked on most people, because they didn’t realize what she was doing until she showed up.

Amanda laughed, “No one can defeat the all might Grendel.” She joked, standing in a peter pan pose. She smiled at him, “You always could make me laugh.” She added, looking at him, as if the answer would be in his eyes.

She trusted Grendel, he was always truthful to her and never hid anything…unless of course he had to. He was a kind person to her, seriously like her big brother and she wasn’t going to lose another family member to the stupid government and their fat asses. Always trying to squash everything, how rude.

“I think we might have some…I don’t know, something.” She laughed, “I haven’t restocked lately, probably should, their might be so cold pizza or something. I don’t know how long it’s been in there, but we can take out chances.” She said, pointing towards the kitchen.

[Grendel Parks]

Grendel only smiled at her when she pressed for more information. "I'm not telling. Next week I'll tell you all about it. I promise."

And then as for food he said. "I'll take whatever you've got as long as it's not green or fuzzy or otherwise inedible." He smiled. "And I might even attempt to cook if you have something that needs it but I don't think you'd appreciate that."

He knew a little bit about cooking but his concept of cooking usually involved a microwave oven and stuff that came in cans. He'd cooked on a fire a few times but fires were messy when compared to the modern efficient kitchen appliance.

[Amanda Baranuchi]

“Aw, you’re not going to trust little me with your secret? Come on, who am I going to tell? You know I’m not that patient, next week is too long.” She whined, a smile never leaving her face. She really just wanted to help, but she figured she bug him too.

“I can promise not green, but fuzzy, you’re on your own there.” She joked, opening the fridge and saw what looked like random cold foods from various stores, she looked back at Grendel, “take you’re pick.”

“You have cold Chinese, cold pizza, cold…whatever that is, cold chicken, cold tacos, or…” She said as she opened the freezer, “warm ice cream.” She laughed, “I think we need to fix that.” She joked, taking the ice cream and putting it on the counter, leaving a trail of ice cream from the freezer to its new destination…the counter.

“I don’t think we have anything to cook, unless you want to heat up the cold food.” She said, walking to the pantry, she opened it to reveal nothing but cans, “No, wait, we have canned tomatoes and stuff to make chili or salsa, weird how that happens.” She said, she looked down at the floor at the various droppings of rodents.

[Grendel Parks]

He wasn't going to tell her his plans were 'too dangerous' because then she was sure not to stop asking questions so he just shook his head. "Nope not this one."

He wasn't going to give in to her pleas either. She was lucky he'd told her anything at all, in particular about him not being around.

He was a little afraid of the food options. Without knowing who had ordered it or how long ago it was hard to know how fresh it was. He decided to go with the canned tomatoes and beans. He could whip up a decent chili with that and it might even be appetizing.

He had to shuffle around in the drawer to find the can opener and then rinse out a pot.

"You know, we should keep this place up better. Tell me there aren't rats in the kitchen." He said noting the dirt on the floor.

His van could get pretty messy sometimes but there weren't any bugs in it and he did clean it out periodically. It was a shame they couldn't hire someone to keep the place up.

[Amanda Baranuchi]

Amanda crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air, “Fine, I didn’t want to know anyway.” She said, turning and smiling at him, “just promise me you’ll be safe, I don’t want to have to turn into a tiger and maul the son of a bitch who takes you in.” She added, pointing at him.

She didn’t really eat here for one reason; you never knew how old the food was, if it was suppose to have green chunks in it, who ordered it, or what the hell the laced it with. She usually ate with Lance or out with what little money she had.

She should really ask Grendel if he could get some money for her, but she didn’t want to end up getting him in trouble. Then she’d feel bad and have to go rescue him, and end up getting hurt or something in the process. No, better to just eat with Camelot.

She sat on the counter and watched as he pulled out some cans for chili, “No, no rats. Mice maybe, but not rats, at least I hope not, that would really suck.” She said, looking at the pantry, “Besides, it’s not like anyone cleans this place usually. Everyone’s always gone.” She said, staring at him.

[Grendel Parks]

"Well maybe... someone should." Grendel said and poked her playfully. It wasn't as if he was around to make the mess, but it was obvious to him that the place was starting to look like a sty in some areas.

Throwing together his concoction he managed to find a mostly-clean container to cook it in and put it in the microwave. Free room and board was one thing, to take it and not give anything back was another.

Picking up a bit of paper towel, Grendel slipped his glasses back off to clean the lenses. His eyes looked smaller when he wasn't wearing them, but they also looked more proportionate to his face, two normal hazel-colored eyes in a very normal face, though given the length of his hair and the amount of scruff he may as well have been going for the Jesus aesthetic. And once he put the glasses on it was as if he transformed into supernerd.

"So who has been by the house lately?" He asked quietly. It wouldn't surprise him if people were opting for other places to lurk since this one was infested with mice and fungi colonies.

[Amanda Baranuchi]

Amanda stuck her tongue out at him, “You know people are, if you don’t own the place, it’s not your mess…or something.” She said, looking up to the ceiling, “It’s a metaphor or something, maybe I read it in a fortune cookie.” She added, looking at him and smiling.

She usually wasn’t here either; she couldn’t stand the mess for more than a few minutes unless she was sleeping, even then, you could smell it. Usually. She watched as he grabbed the only decent looking container in the bunch and stuffed it with what looked to be chili.

Her smiled went wider as he slipped off his glasses, “You know, you look really good without your glasses.” She said, looking him over, “not to say you don’t look good with glasses, it’s just…” She stopped and shook her head, “I’m going to shut up, I just meant, you look good either way.”

Amanda wasn’t the greatest when it came to not putting her foot in her mouth; she was surprised she didn’t have teeth marks on her knees by now. She was use to being blunt and sometimes sarcastic, but for some reason, giving a simple compliment was hard for her.