Yo. Looks like I'm continuing.
A few weeks into Skaia and Tavros already found himself in a comfortable routine. Well, as comfortable as he can be considering that he's an anti-social paraplegic in a new city with no friends. But he wanted a new start, despite acting like a malfunctioned labor bot in the middle of a heavy work zone.
At first, it was nice. No one bothered him, or even so much as gave him a second-glace. He was thoroughly ignored, and Tavros preferred it- it was much different than the harsh treatment he got back in Prospit. Little by little though, that small bit of contentment turned to loneliness as they just kept disregarding him. The wheel-chaired boy barely had any interactions with people besides his father, a few teachers, and the occasional grocer and labor steambots.
Although whenever his mood does go sour and the days were particularly rough, he always had that little clown bot at the fountain square. The bot would only show himself once every few days, but it was enough for the mohawked boy to get through the week.
Especially on times such as right now.
His dad was fussing at Tavros' Mohawk, trying to at least slick it back. The boy simply shook his head, shaking off his dad's hand and returning his hair back to it's original, messy form. Tavros doesn't like constant nit-picking he often receives from his father. Especially in public. His dad sighed and ran a hand through his own streaked hair and after a few moments of struggling, he eventually gave up. The boy knows that his dad know what's best, but his 'best' usually ended up being abandoned at the side while his father hits on some random female.
Tavros shuddered in his chair. His dad's endeavors were never subtle. Even when they were supposed to do something important. Like going to the doctor. Which is what Tavros was supposed to be doing if it wasn't for his father checking out every single passerby. The boy gave an exasperated sigh, wheeling himself further while his dad trailed aside him, making small talk with his son (when his eyes aren't peeled to the backside of some female).
After his dad went silent for the millionth time, he turned around to see him already sweet talking some young pretty thing. Tavros gritted his teeth, regretting not taking the bus, or any other form of transportation. The boy would try to go over there to remind his dad that they had errands, but in the end, it would only cause frustration, so with a shake of his head, he rolled forward past the square.
As he passed the familiar fountain that centered the square, he spared a glance at the calming site. He noticed that the crowd already formed at the base. Digging into his vest pocket, he pulled out a small golden pocket watch, and checked the time. After a quick mental argument, he decided to spare a few minutes, and rolled his way to the forming mass.
As he approached the front, he was greeted with the sight of the familiar bronze clown setting up. Grinning slightly to himself, Tavros set the brakes on his wheels and situated himself. He watch as the clown bot started his normal routine.
As time went by, he noticed a pattern to the bots shows. First, it was a few optical illusions, then a couple of disappearing acts, then the juggling (sometimes the orbs would be on fire- Tavros always wondered how his hand doesn't melt), then the beautiful doves. He always ended with the doves. And honestly, they were Tavros' favorite part.
After all, Prospit never had anything like this.
The bot was in the middle of his show when Tavros felt a hand ruffle his head. Hearing a chuckle, the boy looked up to see his father grinning and leaning over the back of his chair. "So," he began, "this is why you come home in a good mood," He chuckled again.
"D-dad…" Tavros warned, slightly annoyed and failing to see the humor in his dad's words.
"Fine," His father said, dejected, "but we still need to head off, kiddo. We only have, what, twenty minutes?" He informed, releasing the brakes on his sons wheels and grasping his brass handle bars.
"But..!" Tavros tried to protest, but again, any attempts were futile. Despite his frivolous ways, he does care about his son. Releasing a heavy hearted sigh, the boy let himself be wheeled away.
That is, until he felt unfamiliar cold hands grasp his left arm. With a shiver running down his spine, he braved a glance upward. Tavros didn't expect to see the glowing indigo eyes of the performer bot. He heard several drawled boos from the crowd but he ignored them. The clown stood there at the side of his chair, with a big grin plastered on his face, mirroring the one painted one surrounding it. The boy swallowed nervously as the automaton started to slightly tug him over to the center. Tavros could only stumble out a few "umm"s and "errr"s before feeling a slight push on the back of the chair. The copper clown took it as a sign of confirmation and before Tavros could glance back, the steam bot helped himself to the handle bars of the chair and pushed him over to the middle.
The automaton stopped him at the base of the fountain smiling at him and twirling toward the crowd. He heard a few whimpers of jealousy from the crowd, but for the most art, cheered on the bot and the paraplegic. Tavros spared a glance toward his father, who just stood there, clapping with a smug grin. Great. He's not doing a thing.
The clown dug in the pockets of his polka dotted pants and pulled out his trademark indigo orbs. But instead of juggling them, he threw them high. About mid air, they burst into flames, causing Tavros to instinctively roll back a bit. When the orbs landed back in the bot's hands, he flicked his wrists, extinguishing the flames. The orbs were now black and white, a typical trick of the clowns, but it never failed to bring a smile to the crowd, as well as Tavros'. The copper clown flashed a smile over at the boy and skipped to his front, the bots smile not wavering. He then held the monochrome orbs out in front of the boy. When Tavros at first didn't respond, the bot grabbed his wrists and placed the orbs in his hands, clasping the boys hands in the automatons own copper ones.
Tavros' first thought was that the orbs was stark cold. But not as cold as the automatons hands. He shuddered involuntarily and tensed as he heard a laugh.
Laugh? Did he hear that right? That was new.
"Don't be so tense," a smooth, artificial voice drawled out to him. The boy blinked as he continued, "just relax, and let them miracles run all up through you." Tavros could of sworn he felt the bot grow tense when he said that, but he shrugged it off as the bot quickly regained his loose, lethargic posture., flashing out an even bigger grin on his painted face, if that were even possible.
"Uhh…" Was the only intelligent reply from the mohawked boy. Lovely. In public. Tavros cursed himself, but let himself clasp into the small orbs. He did not know what he was doing. He started to grow a little worried. What if he messed up? He's going to look like an idiot in front of the crowd and he's never going to come- Wait something's moving. Something is moving and writhing in his hands. Flashing a confused look at the bot, who just laughed.
The automaton then pulled his hands apart, slowly reveling the writhing objects. The moment his hands broke apart, two white blurs flew from his hands. Looking up, Tavros found two white doves flying away from the fountain. The boy smiled. Around him, the crowd roared in approval, and the bot twirled and bowed, still holding one of Tavros' hands high in the air. The paraplegic gave a meek smile, and bowed his head afterward. It was only when the crowd started to disperse that the bot released his hand, but only to give him a big crushing hug.
When the automaton finally released the boy, he gave Tavros a huge smile and ruffled his hair, making the mohawked boy giggle. He barley felt the presence of his father behind him as the bot gathered up his things and left, leaving Tavros a little bit heavy hearted. His father patted him on his back, startling Tavros, "That was fun." He simply stated.
Tavros could only nod and reply, "Y-yeah."
The boy couldn't stop smiling as he and his father continued their way to the doctor.
"Tav, please let me go with you at least."
"N-no, I need to do this, on my own. Besides, I'm just going down the square. I've been there before." Tavros argued, slightly proud of himself for barely inducing a stutter. All he was going to do was run by the pharmacy. He doesn't need his dad to coddle him every time he goes out. Besides, if his dad went with him, it would take longer to go there than if Tavros went alone.
Tavros' father ran a hand through his streaked hair and sighed leaning against the kitchen counter. He was about to make another attempt to dissuade him, but Tavros interrupted him, "Dad, I'll be fine." He stated.
His dad sighed, "Fine. But hurry. It's getting dark." Tavros nodded and wheeled out the front door, prescription in hand.
It was only late afternoon, the sun was setting and the people of Skaia seemed to be rushing home for the day. Tavros simply wheeled down the sidewalk, careful to avoid the passerby, or the occasional labor bot. He passed the fountain with a smile on his face. There was no crowd, but the memory of what happened earlier that day lingered in his mind. Wheeling away with a smile on his face, he passed the fountain to an intersection. Looking both ways, he took a breath and wheeled forward before he heard screeching.
"Motherfucker! Watch out!"
Hearing the strange voice he looked up to see a steam car speeding his way without stop. Tavros froze. He wanted to move, but it felt as if his arms were ice. As the car sped toward him, he felt a pair of arms around him and felt a harsh shove before it all went black.
Suggestions are always welcome and I eat reviews like steak.
