Crimson and Magpie

Last's told me to get to know the team a little better, so I've been spending the past week or two trying to get to know all of them.  It's weird being around so many people again.  It's almost like being at one of those family reunions that only comes around every few years, where everyone knows each other but you only kind of know a few people and you just want to go through the buffet line and leave.

Of the Ten Masks, Crimson and Magpie are probably the closest friends I have.  Gabe and Reaper are quite a bit older than me, Mantis doesn't speak much English, Phones doesn't talk to anyone, and I don't know Wraith, Fang, or Boston Black very well.  Last I kind of know, but he also seems distant.  He's the leader, and I think he tries to separate himself from everyone and keep himself at arms length because of it.  Apart from Last, Crimson and Magpie are the only ones who I got much of a chance to talk to before, so I'm most comfortable around them.

The two seem to be pretty close.  They're constantly chatting and joking with each other.  I've seen them apart, but I don't think I've ever seen them alone with other people.  A lot of the Masks tend to branch into little groups like that, but it's most noticeable with Crimson and Magpie so far.  I think they might be together? Not sure, not like it matters.

I went downstairs to watch some TV at one point and they were there on the couch.  "Kenny!" Crimson called.  "You want to watch a movie with us?"

"What movie?"

"You okay with Hercules?"

"I guess?"

Magpie laughed.  "Always with the Disney musical crap."

Crimson gave her an indignant glance.  "Disney makes great musicals!  Tell me you didn't have at least one Disney film you watched over and over again as a kid.  That there's absolutely no Disney movie that you haven't memorized every single word to every single song for."

"Yeah, okay, fair point, but don't you ever want to watch an action movie now and then?  You know, something mindless and dumb that's filled with explosions?  Like something directed by Michael Bay or starring Nicholas Cage."  She gave an excited gasp.  "Ooh, or both!  Do they have a movie like that?"

"They do. It's called The Rock, and it also stars Sean Connery and Ed Harris."

"Why have I never heard of it before and why the hell are we not watching that?"  I sat down in the chair as they bickered, and Magpie turned to look at me.  "What are you doing all the way over there, Kenny?  Come on, there's room."

Crimson patted the space between them.  "Yeah, come on.  Don't be a stranger."

I sat between them a bit reluctantly as the movie started up.  "Uh, thanks, Crimson.  Magpie."

She scoffed and shook her head.  "Please, Kenny, call me Maggie, or at least Mags.  I'm off the clock, and I hate how Magpie sounds.  It's that G-P shift.  So awkward."

"So you use your real name?" I asked her.

"Some of us do.  Mortimer does, because he thinks Reaper's a stupid name.  Kind of the same thing going on with Ben and Fang."

Crimson cut in.  "He insists on Benjamin, by the way.  It's Mags who insists on calling him Ben."

She grinned.  "If he's gonna have a stupid three-syllable name, I'm going to shorten it.  But anyway, I think Jerry would prefer going by Gabe, but when we're at the home base his daughter's around a lot and we can't really call him Gabe in front of her, so I guess we're just used to using both."

"So what's your name?" I asked Crimson.

He gave me a sly smile.  "Crimson."

Maggie patted my shoulder.  "Maybe he'll tell you some day, Kenny."

"Do you know his real name?"

"Maaaaaaaaaybe.  Now shut up, the movie's starting."

So we watched Hercules.  Crimson and Maggie sang along to a lot of it, and they even convinced me to sing with them a bit as well (though I don't know Hercules that well and just kind of mumbled my way through whatever I sang).  Just for a bit, I felt normal again, and that was enough to make it enjoyable for me.

I've got a new life again, and while I'm not too fond of the circumstances, I really can't complain.