[PSL - Avatar Wan and Judas]

[idreadbetrayingyou]

Sometimes being crammed into tents and tight spaces with Twelve other guys, even if they were like a family, meant one needed to get out sometimes. Simon and James had dragged Peter off to some club, Thad and John were probably smoking it up somewhere, and JC was lost in cat videos on Youtube on Matt's computer. So for now, he decided to just get out. Take a breather between sermons.

So he was out on the streets of another nameless town, a cigarette between his fingertips. It was, really, a nice night. It was a bit more of a country town, out buried in the woods, so soon enough he found himself walking down a street heading towards them. Couldn't remember the last time he had actually gone out into the woods properly.

But he heard something that caught his ears, and maybe it was a bit of Jesus with him as he ignored his first thought to keep on walking and instead followed the voice down a side street.

Comments

[raavashing]

Wan sat curled up against the side of a dumpster. One of those big, double-sized ones that were almost one story tall and you had to jump to try and open from the top. The side door on it was open and there were stray and feral cats standing on the black and white trashbags from the local diners, pawing them open to pick at the food. Only one of the contributing greasy spoons was still open and the light from it's back door - across the street from the dumpster - was the only nearby illumination.

He was talking to the cats as they rubbed up against his legs and accepted his scratches. Cats that otherwise hissed at each other and jostled for the prime position around the food were gentle when they got close to him. His voice carried just far enough that it soon became clear he was trying to break up the spats that happened and convince all of them to get along with each other. For all that it seemed a silly thing to do, it did also seem to be working.

His eyes caught the movement out of the corner of his eyes and he looked up at Judas. For a moment he seemed wary of the man, but that moment passed as soon as their eyes met. Then he was waving and calling out, "Hello! Don't worry about us! We're friendly!"

[idreadbetrayingyou]

Judas' brows lifted as he watched the other, probably a homeless man if he had to take a guess, and the absolutely massive amount of cats. So, some kind of cat-whisperer? He lifted his hand for a second in return to the wave, surprised at the friendly tone. After a quick puff on his cigarette, chewing on the inside of his lip, it occurred to him from the state of this guy that he was probably hurting if he was digging out of a dumpster.

This was exactly the sort of thing he thought Jesus needed to be more focused on. These were the sort of people that really needed their help more than any other. With that thought in mind, staying back from the milling cats, it was an easy enough choice to be able to offer help. Even if the Twelve didn't think he had enough heart to be able to do this sort of thing. FUck them, sometimes.

"...hey there," he said as a starter, thinking what to say. He knew a lot of the homeless had their pride as much as they were hungry. "...if you're hungry, I was just on my way to find somewhere to eat." An easy lie. "Maybe you could join me."

[raavashing]

Wan shooed a few of the cats to the side so Judas could step closer if he wanted, though he stopped when the other man offered him company. He laughed a little and shook his head, smile rueful, "I don't have any money and all the places around here, they won't let me come inside unless I can show them at least a five spot."

Wan gave a shrug, then turned his head to give his shoulder a sniff. He didn't even have to lift his arm to smell what he did, "And I'm pretty sure 'Stinky' is looked down on, too."

[idreadbetrayingyou]

Okay, good point. He was, after all, pretty grateful to be upwind of the guy. He thought about it for a few seconds, then shrugged. "I'll do takeout." Easy enough way to solve the problem. He could bring something back for the guy, give him probably his first good meal in a while. It never solved someone's hunger, but it might abate it for a while.

"What do you like?" Give the guy some vague concept of choice as he gestured towards the diner. Sandwich, soup, whatever. It's too late to hit up a grocery store, which is what he would have preferred. Get more for cheaper, after all.

[raavashing]

"Hot tea would be nice," Wan said, smile softening. "And maybe something with a lot of bread in it. Bread's pretty filling."

Wan rolled forward on his heels, standing up in a fluid motion. His clothes were a mish-mash of layered scraps he'd found over the years. Despite the bulk, they still managed to hang off his underfed frame. But he didn't seem too upset by that as he moved away from the dumpster to a small milk crate he'd set off to the side just at the edge of the light. A lumpy pillowcase sat inside it and he leaned over to pull it out and flip the crate over.

"I'll get the table ready while you get the food."

[idreadbetrayingyou]

The guy was younger than he expected, as he finally got a good look at him and saw how he moved. See, JC? This is the kind of guy we should be helping. The followers... they're one thing, but these are the people who need our help. As far as Judas was concerned. He could remember living in situations as bad as this. Came with being addicted.

"Got it. I'll be back." He gave a nod, then headed off into the diner.

It wasn't more than twenty minutes before he was back, arms loaded up with supplies - two big bags of food along with what they'd need to eat them. He peered back down into the alley and was secretly glad to see the guy was actually still there and not bolted off. "Hey." A single word of warning that he was coming up, dropping the bags onto the crate.

[raavashing]

Wan caught the bags before they hit the now-pillowcase covered crate. He grinned and set the bags to one side instead. His attention turned to the cats who were starting to line up a few feet off. A small litter of raccoons joined them while he dug into one of the bags and pulled out a dinner roll.

Before he even thought to get himself fed, Wan broke the roll up into a pile of crumbs and scattered them among the animals. They were well trained enough that they didn't bother jumping on each other to try get as much as possible. The gaggle was obviously used to Wan sharing his meals. A lot.

"Take it easy now, there's plenty to go around," he murmured as the last of the crumbs left his hands and he returned his attention to the bags. "Oh! You got a lot of food! You must be really hungry."

[idreadbetrayingyou]

"Hungry enough. Feel free to take whatever catches your fancy," Judas said as he thought about it, then ended up dragging over a bit of cardboard so he could sit down not immediately on the ground, digging into the other bag Wan didn't have his face in currently. He'd seen other homeless before with an animal, usually better cared for than they were, but never someone with this many!

"Big into taking care of them?" Judas asked, gesturing a little towards one of the cats, though he eyed the raccoons very uncertainly. Didn't they generally carry rabies or something like that? Not used to seeing them up close.

[raavashing]

Wan gave a soft 'hmmm?' as he looked up from his prize to glance at the animals and then gave a shrug, "I don't really care for them. They're all strays or animals that come around sometimes."

He nodded toward the raccoons, "Well, except for them. Their mother was killed by a car a couple weeks ago. They tend to keep themselves hidden under the dumpster. I've been making this spot my home because of them. Once they're big enough to fend for themselves in a couple more months I'll find another place to move to. The businesses nearby don't really like having me stay out here anyway."

[idreadbetrayingyou]

So the guy had a bit of a mental problem, perhaps. Judas decided as long as he wasn't dangerous, he could deal with it. He'd been around far, far worse when he was still into drugs. He didn't hide the track marks on his arms unless he was bundled up against the weather, but he didn't call attention to any of it, either.

"Are you trying to get off the streets, or been here most of your life?" Trying to find out a little more about the guy, seeing if there was something more that could be done to help him out. He ate slowly, not in any kind of rush.

[raavashing]

"Oh, I've lived on the streets my whole life," he said with the casualness of someone that had long since accepted their place in the world. "Not here, in this town. I grew up elsewhere. A long way away. I traveled for two years before I got here. They haven't gotten tired of me enough to kick me out."

Wan pulled out the food he had decided he wanted first and carefully tore it apart before eating it very slowly. Small bites that he chewed for a long time before swallowing. A habit that made food last longer and tricked his stomach into thinking he was full when he really wasn't.

"I was kicked out of the town I grew up in. Stole too much food."

He did not talk like he regretted that.

[idreadbetrayingyou]

He recognized the method of eating all too well. "I did it for a long time. Fifteen years or so." Since Judas didn't look terribly old, it indicated easily he had been a kid when he went on the streets. "Not here, either." Finding a surprising bit in common with this guy which was always rare. "I met someone who pulled me off the streets. Got me through getting off the smack, and I've been friends with him ever since." Not everyone knew Jesus' name and someone on the streets was almost completely unlikely to have heard of a man who made most of his claim to fame on social media.

Though he surprised himself a little by opening his mouth about the smack. He never really discussed with anyone his addiction before he met Jesus. This guy had that same open, easy expression and general good nature about him Jesus did. Made it easy to talk to him.

[raavashing]

Wan nodded along, taking the drug confession easily. It wasn't an uncommon thing when you had little else to do with your time.

"I'm twenty something now," he said. "I kind of lost track of time in the last few years. Not from drugs or anything, but just drifting with the spirits. The guy who took care of me when I was younger ended up getting on heroin, too. He didn't get off of it before it ended up breaking his mind. By that point I was taking care of him. He's a good man and was clean for a couple years by the time I had to leave town, but..."

Wan shrugged, "I'm glad you got off it before it twisted you up so much you couldn't be untwisted. Your friend did a really good thing for you."

[idreadbetrayingyou]

"...If Jesus hadn't found me? I'd still be there. Or probably dead by now." He shrugged a little bit, as if it was no big thing, but hidden in the turn of his gaze away suggested it very much still was as big a deal as it sounded. He remembered, sometimes, in his nightmares. In moments like this. It was a whole point of him wanting to do something like this, to try and reach out somewhere where he felt he might actually know what he was talking about.

'Drifting with spirits' sounded like a pot smoker, who usually didn't consider it a drug like the hard stuff, not when tobacco and alcohol did far worse, but he wasn't about to judge one way or the other.

"What about you? ...You trying to get off the streets? Do something better?"

[raavashing]

"Better implies that this isn't good enough," Wan replied with a twist of his lips. "It might not be for most people, but I don't mind it. I'm free to go where I want. Mostly. And I get by just fine. The spirits and the animals have shown me how to get along."

He wasn't actually a pot-smoker, but he sounded enough like one he had often gotten asked if he was holding by casual smokers and cops alike. He wasn't particularly offended by it. Most people couldn't see the spirits like he could.

"I make do just fine," he finished as he went for the water. "Mmm... but this is something I have a hard time getting for myself. Fresh, clean water. People who take pity on me will usually buy me a burger or a dollar taco or something. Things they can get for cheap that they think will tide me over. But they never think to get me something to drink. Thank you for remembering."

[idreadbetrayingyou]

"Better, for me, implies 'steady source of food'." Judas' lips curled up a little into a smile, meaning it as someone who had lived it. While the food definitely wasn't… plentiful at all times with the Twelve and Jesus, it was always enough to keep them going. He had significantly less while on the streets. Just some guy possibly with a bit of mental damage who connected to the animals, or connected more to the animals because they tended to be better than people. Either way, Judas wouldn't judge. Just how shit happened out on the streets.

"No problem. I remember how it was, man. I remember." It wasn't pretty by any means, but something like a bottle of water came in handy. Not just clean water, but it could hold refills from public drinking fountains and the like. Still, Judas leaned forward, taking another bite of his food before he asked, "so what do you want, then? Out of life, I mean? Everyone's got a goal."