No Sweat [Crow]

"Alright..." 'Whoever would be stupid enough to climb up the scaffolding of the Sky Lights?' was not the first question which crossed the young Lloyd's mind as his gaze searched frantically for a way up. Lloyd was just that person stupid enough to pull a stunt like this. After living a life on Aurendal, Junction seemed rather tame in comparison. There was just nothing here that could offer him the same adrenaline rush as fighting demons back home. Sure, he could tick off security, but that wasn't really something he'd do just for a simple kick. Besides, Security was needed here, and he didn't want to disctract them from stopping actual crime. So, it all hinged on finding places to basically tempt death. Yeap. That's what his life had come to, outside of his job as a bouncer. Not that his job wasn't fulfilling. Punching rulebreakers and throwing them out was still very fun, even after having done it over one hundred times since taking the job. But even a bouncer like himself had days off. And what better way to scratch that itch than doing things common sense would put a stop to? Lloyd's answer? There simply was no better option.

But enough waiting. He had finally found himself a relatively safe route up. How safe it actually was is up for debate, but Lloyd wasn't one to think twice all that often. Without a care in the world "Aaaa...YAH!" the Bishop flung himself over the edge, catching himself on a metal pole hanging from the edge. From there, he swung himself forward, latching onto the edge of the scaffolding, and slowly made his way upward, until he found a good place to stop and chill. Sitting down on the scaffolding with his back against the wall, Lloyd pulled out a silvery hip flask out of jacket pocket, and proceeded to drink it's contents, satisfied with his accomplishment.

The air up here was rather nice, he had to admit. Not much of an improvement over the air back in the more populated parts of the Middle Ward, but it was good enough. Being all alone here, gazing out over what he could only guess was a bottomless void below. Of course, it would be more difficult to get back than it was to climb up here, but he need not concern himself with that right now. That was an issue for another time. Right now, he got more pressing matters on the platter. Seemed like he wasn't the only one with the same idea to chill up here. Lloyd didn't mind the company at all, but... seeking them out felt a bit weird. The Bishop could clearly hear the movement of something or someone making their way over the scaffoldings somewhere nearby. Maybe calling out was a better choice? "Ay! Dude, girl. Whatever. I see you got a good eye for cool places. Mind keepin' me a lil' company?" Lloyd shouted, thinking that it couldn't hurt to ask, crossing his fingers that he hadn't revealed his position to some asshole from the slums who'd push him off to keep his cover or whatever.

Lloyd looked up, getting to see this previously unknown like-thinker face to face. And oh, look. It was a guy. Sure, an alien guy, something to expect in this trans-universal plane of existence, but a guy nontheless. That meant his first guess of 'dude' was correct, which was awesome. Not that it really mattered in the grand scheme of things, but every little victory counts, y'know?

The Bishop greeted the newcomer with a smile.  "Yooo. I was under that same impression myself. As for why I'm here..." Lloyd scratched the bridge of his nose thoughtfully. "I... guess I don't have a reason to be here, really. Aside from getting my fill of adrenaline. What about you then? Getting some time away from the streets?" No other reason to hang around at such a dangerous place if you thought about it. There was nothing that you could experience out here that you couldn't see on ground level. The only few who did so sought either solitude, or they were crazies like Lloyd who clambered up here just to prove that they could do it, or in Lloyd's case, get up here to satiate his need for Adrenaline. It made for a good workout too, so there was no downside to it other than a... perhaps agonizingly long fall to your inevitable demise, but the Bishop didn't think about that. He never really thought that far ahead. No contingency plan should shit hit the fan. The boy just went for it without a second thought.  "The name's Lloyd, by the way. Pleasure to meetcha."

"Ah. Can't blame you there. The Middle Ward can be a bit stressful at times, I getcha." Not that he was one to really get bothered by that kind of stress, but he knew a fair chunk of people who would've preferred a less populated area to live in, like the upper wards. You know, the place reserved for the best of the best. Lloyd certainly didn't mind the middle-class life. So long as he had dinner on his plate and roof over his head, the Bishop had nothing to complain about, as the young'un lead a pretty simple life, all things considered. Adrenaline needs aside, Lloyd's life wasn't very complicated. Wake up, work out some, go to work during night time, do some needed chores every now and again. Had it not been for his job being so satisfying, the monotomy of his life would surely get to him in time. Then again, would the bouncer job ever truly get boring? Okay, dumb question. Of course it would, on those slooooow days. Not that they had one in a long time. The Screwdriver was doing rather well at the moment, as one of the more popular clubs in the middle ward. "Haha. Well, it's nice to meet ya, dude, unlikely as this meeting was. So, what does a 'crow' like you do? Aside from 'cawing', of course." He asked somewhat jokingly, moving a bit to the side of his scaffold, dangling his legs over the edge, giving Crow some room.

"Buissness? Like what? Just pushin' papers, or something else?" Lloyd himself would probably die from boredom had he been forced to do a desk-job. Sure, he'd still do it, but fuck, he would not enjoy himself in the slightest. He was just someone who couldn't sit still for very long doing something that monotonous. No, what Lloyd needed was something more hands-on, that he could really just use all that muscle for. Construction work? Sure, no problem, so long as he didn't have to like... plan anything. The Bishop was much more of a worker, and not an executive... for a lot of reasons. Outside of combat scenarios, the guy was practically useless as a figurehead. And he knew this all too well. Working to his strengths instead, picking a job that allowed him to use his assets with few to no questions asked. Someone was being rowdy at the bar? Throw them out. If they resist, punch them until they stop resisting. Simple, easy, and fun. "Yeah, this place is really one of the very rare areas where you can really take a break from all the activity. I personally don't need it all that much, but... it's nice to get that needed silence every now and again, even for someone like me." Lloyd smiled towards his newfound talk-mate.

"Dancing, eh? Interesting... I couldn't be any happier with the job I got myself. I work as one of the bouncers at 'The Screwdriver', a local club in the area. Real fun place. Lots of rowdy people I get to throw out." he finished with a light laugh. "What? It's their fault they don't follow the rules. Break them, and I'll break your face on the pavement. That's what I'm paid to do. And maaaaaaan do I enjoy it."

"Are you taking the piss, man?" Lloyd replied, laughing heartily. It was a bit funny, now that he mentioned it. Pushing papers could certainly be something anyone could do, if you interpreted the phrase literally. "In the entertainment biz? Nice. I dunno if I'd be up for such a position, but the industry here is one I've looked at with some interest from a distance." Maybe working as a Stunt-man wouldn't be too bad. Doing all manner of dangerous stuff regular actors lacked the balls for. Perfect for a guy like him. But... was it worth it compared to the job as a bouncer? Probably not, but hey, it earned some mean money, that was a good carrot to keep him working anyway.

"Ah." Lloyd nodded understandingly in response to his statement regarding the crowd. "I mean, I'd say 'just pick better crowds' but... it's kinda hard to really pick, now is it? It's not like you can go out on the street and say 'Oh, hey, that one group over there looks great.' Not when the masses we have here are on this immense scale." That certainly didn't make it impossible to try though. After enough time passed, one would probably find success eventually. The question was, how much time was 'enough'? It could be just twenty minutes or reach upwards to twenty years, if not more than that. "Seems like you've seen the less mannersome parts of the Middle ward too, huh?" Lloyd replied, taking a swig out of his hip flask. "I don't actually smash their faces in. Oh no, I'd get fired if I actually wounded anyone to that extent. No, I just sock em hard enough to knock em out, which really isn't that hard. I mean, we're talking drunkards here. They're not very well known to be paticularly bright or tough. Once they're out, all I have to do is make sure they don't come back in. That's... what my job is. I'd rather have a drunkard knocked out on the street than a drunkard who caused a bar-fight inside the club. Now THAT would be bad."

Lloyd would chuckle lightly, sticking out his tongue. "Well, at least it's going well for you. Can't say the same about the other folk I've met who've been chasing that position of fame. It always ends with them being miserable for even trying. A few do succeed though, and it's great to see. When you work at a club, you get to meet a wide variety of different people. Sure, we have our core customers, but we don't have that many of them, to be completely honest." Not that Lloyd minded the varied customers. He liked casually chatting with them as they slowly got more drunk as the night went on.

"Yeah, wouldn't that be nice? It would make my job so much easier too. Just preventing any troublemakers entering in the first place would sure keep that club nice and violence free. It'd run me outta buissness too. Fuck, I can't have that. I'm no good for much else." Lloyd shrugged his shoulders lightly, before looking at Crow. "I used to be a soldier back on my homeworld, you see. A pretty good one too. Lots of good things coming for me in the future. But of course, Junction had to rob me away from all of that. And so now, all I can do to make use of my skills is like... bodyguard and security duty. And while I could certainly work with the law-enforcers down in the Slums together with Gate, I'm just not much for that side of Junction, y'know?" Hopefully he would understand where the bishop was coming from. "Ah, that would explain a lot, yeah. Where are you working, to be precise? You mentioned it was here in the Core?" He asked curiously before bursting out in a loud laughing fit. "Oh boy. Yeah, they hate me alright. No one's sued me though, for good reason. I've been careful not to cause enough damage to get sued."

"I agree there. Doing whatever you can to give your day some value is what we all strive for, no? To go out there and actually make a difference." At least, that's what those Bishops told him back home, even if they had been liars from the getgo, that part was true. Better make something of your life than let it go to waste. "But sometimes, you can't really do anything about your situation. Just look at those poor motherfuckers down in the slums. You don't end up there just by choice. I'm fairly sure most of them lead good lives until they ended up there, unable to do much if anything to change their path of life now. The system is cruel, but somehow, it works. Don't know whether to praise or to condemn the system for what it's done for the citizens here." The young bishop said, scratching the bridge of his nose thoughtfully. "But what the fuck do I know? I'm no bloody politician." And it wasn't like he could do much of a difference for those down in the Slums by himself. There was simply too many of them to really do any good. He would need an army of do-wells to even help a small portion of all those misfortunate enough to end up in the Slums.

"Me? As a bartender?" Lloyd chuckled lightly. "That's no job for a man like me, dude. I mean, sure, if I had an outlet for my athletic needs, I could probably do it. But man, I'd get bored soooo fast. It's as if I'm not happy sitting idly by when I can do something that aids order, you know?" Maybe it was just a working injury he had gotten from his time as a Bishop. "Well, yeah. But who else would go out of their way to protect a halidom under attack by demons, eh? The common man? Give me a break. I can't say I'm too happy with the soldier life either, but I cannot deny the impact it had on my life and the value it gave me as a person. Besides, without it, I wouldn't have Arnice..." The young man looked at his right arm. "Oh, long story short, Arnice is a demon I've been fused with. Weird, I know, but when it comes to Junction, I'd like to think I'm more 'normal' than most." Well, what was considered normal here anyway? "The Black Maroon? I might check in if I find myself in the area. Sounds like a pretty rad place, bro." Lloyd took another swig from his hip flask as Crow began talking about fight clubs. "I wouldn't mind that, I guess. A fight club would certainly give me something to do with all this pent up energy I have. That way, I don't have to do this stupid crap just to get an adrenaline fix. And it would stop Arnice's nagging too."