Farming Simulator (Alex NPC for Yuri)

It was a quiet morning at Lexaco Ranch. The sky was a nice blue, and there was a gentle breeze. What few sounds there were came from East Eden's Various Animals...at least on the outside. Inside was different, as today was the day one Alex Tenth was visiting the ranch. Rather than interacting with the animals, however, he was sitting in the living room, laying on his stomach, and watching television intently. His show of choice appeared to be...Neo-Super Featherman R. A spin-off taking place in the past while occasionally flashing forward to the future, and also to alternate universes if viewership was getting particularly low. It also happened to be one of his favorite shows to watch, not that he'd ever be caught dead by anyone watching it. He wouldn't allow people to think he was some kind of baby that still watched kid shows. While not watching his show, he snatched a piece of candy from the pile of sweets and treats sitting next to him. Being a cadet had it's perks, and one such perk was the fact that visitors of the ranch gave him all sorts of things as thanks for doing his job.

He had carefully made sure nobody was around when he started watching his show...a perk of being liked by the owners was that they wouldn't talk about what sort of things he spent his time watching. Yes, all in all, it was a pretty sweet deal he had at Lexaco Ranch. It made a nice change of pace from Cadet work, at least. As he watched his show, and they reached the climax of the episode, he let out a cheer.

"Yes! Blue Feather Ranger R is the best!" Childish? Yes, but hey, it was a great win. Who would have guessed they would have won in the same way they did every episode, in the same scenario that ended up happening every episode? Certainly not Alex, or the entire viewer base, but that was perfectly fine. As the next episode began, Alex didn't have any intention of leaving yet. Nothing was happening, after all. He'd know if it was, and nobody seemed to be around...at least, as far as he knew.

That ranch was the first place that came to mind when the question "Where would I find a large amount of people in East Eden?" was asked. A bell signifying a customer rang from above the door, and the one who stepped through was Yuri. It appeared expecting a room full of customers was a mistake. There was no one in view besides the one staff who greeted him. There should be someone else nearby, however. He knew this because the sounds of television programming could be heard from around the corner. Yuri peered halfway around the wall. If anyone was still in the room by the time he got there, "Hello... Lover of Animals," he'd creepily address to them.

Upon hearing someone speak, Alex would be on his feet in an instant, a piece of candy being tossed at the TV's power button, turning the device off. He was torn between what to address first, how creepy this person was being, or the fact they'd seen him watching such a childish show. "How much did you see?" He decided to ask. He could deal with this person being a creep later, first he'd have to ensure that this never left the room. And certainly never got back to any of the Cadets. "And as a follow up, do you ALWAYS walk into a room being as creepy as possible? Scratch that, don't want to know. A creep like you probably only has creepy things to say." Alex was almost certain that he'd say something creepy anyway. Creepy creeps relished in an opportunity to say something creepy, that was just a fact of life at the end of the day.

Yuri assumed Alex's inquisition as to how much he saw was in reference to whether or not he saw that cool trick with the candy. "I saw it. That was a cool trick. Most people wouldn't be able to throw something that accurately, even if they took time to aim." Clearly this child was superhuman. Yuri forced a small laugh after being called a creep. "It's the best way to get people's attention. You know..." he said, as he rested his head on his hand, which was in turn being supported by his knee, "The other day I decided I'd read some comics outside. A few chapters into Jonathan's Wacky Quest, and my horse starts neighing real loud. It was just standing there, keepin' on neighing. At eight in the morning, it does it the next day, and today, too, just facing the same direction, in the same spot, neighing." That story was entirely false, but he needed it to drive into talking about weird occurrences in the area. "I figured people at this ranch would know why this would be the case. There are lots of animals here, after all." He smiled, waiting for the boy to say if he knew of any rumours that could be the cause. Hopefully the mention of that popular adventure series would make him feel more familiarised with Yuri.

Alex rose a brow at this strange person. Was that really a good way to get somebody's attention? He didn't think so, at least. It seemed like a good way to end up getting punted out a window, if he'd tried it on anyone in a slightly worse mode...or anyone who didn't care about being seen around the ranch, watching a kids show. "Jonathan's Wacky Quest? Isn't that the manga people only read to make dumb jokes about online?" He huffed. "Horses Neigh. It's one of the only four-ish things they can do. You probably just made it bored by sitting around reading some weeb junk." Alex said, without even the slightest hint of irony. "Anyway, maybe it's calling out to some other horses, or something. Or maybe it sees something you don't. Who knows? Ask the people that run this place, not me." Alex had no clue about why a horse would be neighing at a specific time every morning. Maybe it had some form of internal clock that told it to neigh, like the stupid horse it was. "Look, forget you saw my 'trick' and I'll share my candy with you."

It most definitely was that manga! "Perhaps. I suppose I shall invite it to read with me next time so it doesn't get bored." If he succeeded in teaching a horse to read, then that would have been something that he did and no one else, because he was the best ever. It seemed the candy child had no important knowledge for him in regards to the spooky scary G man.

That deal was hard to decline. "Okay. I won't tell anyone. In exchange..." Yuri picked up a single piece from the pile. "I'll be taking this candy!" He stared at it intently for several seconds before dropping it back into the stash. "Just kidding. I don't want to die of heart disease." He looked down at Alex. "I hope you eat responsibly. I would hate to see someone get sick from too much candy." It really says a lot about our society the way kids keep getting fat and dying from Shitters bars. Or were they called Sketchers?

"Better hope it doesn't have taste then," the Cadet scoffed. Jonathan's Quest wasn't the only thing that was wacky here, this guy was a certified nut job. Reading manga to horses? And of all things Jonathan's Wacky Quest? You could do much better with Featherman anyway, everyone like Featherman R. As long as it wasn't the pirate one, we don't talk about that one.

"Suit yourself. I already said you could have some. Take it or leave it, doesn't make a difference to me. Just don't tell anyone either way," dismissed Alex, crossing his ankles and putting his arms up behind his head. Didn't matter to him, if he didn't take the bribe it just meant that he had more to himself. He just better not squeal. Thought the comment about eating healthy made him scoff.
"I'm old enough to eat just about anything I want, whenever I want. I'm the best Cadet this city has to offer, I think I know a thing or two about my limits. Mostly that they don't exist." Alex scowled as he bragged, not that he was in a bad mood. Scowling made you look cool and like a badass, like a tough guy everyone wanted to look up to. That was certainly who he was after all.