005 || Video

[freezerburned]

[Isaac is broadcasting from inside of a pretty wrecked looking place. The shelves around him are still in some form of disarray, water damage is soaked into the walls, and there are various animal cages laying on the ground with different sorts of pets in them- sluggish lizards in one, sneezy rats in another... all in all, the sight is kind of depressing, even if there are obvious attempts to clean it up.

He sighs.]

Right. I was hoping to not have to do this, but I think that the animals will get sick if we keep them here for much longer. Can you guys foster some of these while we're getting the store rebuilt? We can give you all the stuff you need to take care of 'em.

Oh. And- we're broke. Like, really broke. [Having over a week of no income, plus repairs, plus having to use product to keep the animals alive will do that to you.]

So... [Isaac sighs.] There are those apple things that give you money, right? Would anyone be willing to share some?

Comments

video; private

[freezerburned]

I am.

[And he offers a smile.

It's a very friendly smile. A little bashful.]

And hey man, I appreciate the cash- the store needs it. And I appreciate you helping her out too- but, uh. [Isaac shrugs, looking very nonchalant about the whole thing.] If you hurt her, I swear to god I will kick the shit out of you.

[His smile is wry, a little apologetic. Sorry, this is what adopted big brothers do.]

Understood?

video; private

[whitechocolate]

[ Wow, what a friendly smile for someone Sam was too intimidated to talk to before!

...And then Isaac gets to the threatening part and Sam looks a teensy bit nervous, but he gives Isaac a nod. ]

Understood, man. [ When Sam's little sister is old enough to date, he'll be saying the same to boys interested in her.

There's something he feels like he needs to ask though because he can tell how close Isaac and Erica are... ] Erica's just a friend to you... right? Because if it's more than that, I can totally back off.

video; private

[freezerburned]

[Isaac shrugs at the question, not entirely sure of how to answer that. Calling her 'just' anything seems like an understatement to him, but probably not in the way that Sam is thinking. So he nods, not wanting to complicate matters with discussions of packs and werewolfism and all that fun stuff.]

We're close, but it's platonic. [There's a pause, as he considers that.] I'd ask if you have a problem with it, but I'm really not going to stop being close to her for you.

video; private

[whitechocolate]

I wasn't gonna ask you to stop being close to her... but okay. That's good to know. And I don't have a problem with it. Guys can be friends with girls without it being about sex, right?

video; private

[freezerburned]

[Isaac nods. He's not gonna tell Erica's boyfriend(?) that they maybe sometimes sleep in the same bed when he has nightmares. That's just asking for trouble.]

It's what this is.

[And then a pause, before-]

There's a lot more to her than meets the eye. Good stuff, but- just be ready for it if it comes.

video; private

[whitechocolate]

Good stuff? [ That's a surprise to hear since Erica seems reluctant to tell him whatever it is she's keeping from him. ] She seems to be really worried about telling me something because of how I'll react. Is it that much of a big deal?

video; private

[freezerburned]

That's her business to tell you. I'm just warning you now.

[Isaac shrugs.]

If you can't handle it, or you don't think you can, then you need to stop before you get her hopes up. [And then Isaac will beat the crap out of you anyway! :) ]

video; private

[whitechocolate]

I'll be honest with her. Message received.

video; private

[freezerburned]

Good.

[And he cuts the feed.]