[r] is this pho real

[vertigo]

yes it's pho real.

iskander stood before a sizzling grill, watching the fire as he had been told to. as always, he had a book in hand -- a habit he had cultivated since he was a child. it never hurt to read more, and he liked testing the limits of his memory. so far, he had been reading a lot of things and hadn't forgotten any of it.

he also hadn't been out in the sun for a long time. most of his time had been spent indoors. his skin was pale, and he had grown considerably thinner than he once was. perhaps it was the lack of fresh air, or a lack of sunlight, or just natural deterioration.

"hey," iskander said, watching the flames, "can i please have some bacon? or wings, those are good too."

he peered over his hardcover book, watching the flames crackle and hiss.

tuyet

[tuyet]

pho real. wow.

cameron only briefly wondered if leaving iska in charge of the fire was a good idea before she went back to getting out the plates and utensils and making sure rapture wasn't stealing any of the uncooked bacon from the cooler.

when she went back to the grill, she took the tongs and checked the meat. good enough. cameron grabbed a paper plate, piling on probably more bacon and wings than he wanted, and held it out to him.

rapture whined quietly to the side.

vertigo

[vertigo]

pho the love of god and barbecues --

iskander was careful to set his book aside before accepting the plate. he couldn't risk having the book dirtied with grease and grime, even if a few baby wipes were going to help clean it just fine. "whoa," he said, perhaps for the sake of saying something, "that's a lot."

barbecues on fridays were almost a sort of tradition upheld by the two agents. everyone else was welcome, but everyone else didn't attend. a few neighbors did poke their head in out of curiosity -- most of them didn't want anything to do with the eltanin family, though. one man living in a large house didn't seem to sit well with them at all.

"cam," came his lazy voice, "make sure rapture's hidden well, okay? the neighbors are nosy little shits."

the camerupt should technically have been hidden in the garage for safety's sake.

"there's also this kid who looks exactly like me and his name is J. ever fought him?"

tuyet