username: Alonzo
name: Lars
gender: Male
prompt:
Tall, muscled, and with a resting glare, Lars could fool anyone into thinking he was some sort of battle-hardened bully who was not to be trifled with, lest one wanted to have their dental work rearranged.
As such, most of his neighbours and acquaintances saw him this way. Many went out of their way to be nervously polite to him, and when that didn't soften his eyes and brow, they tended to yelp and run, perspiring profusely. Lars's air of silence only served to add to this image, as he communicated mainly in grunts rather than actual words.
But his exterior gave him a reputation he hadn’t exactly earned.
Lars was, for lack of a better phrase, a gentle giant, and an awkward and shy one at that. He kept a small flower garden in his back yard, he collected snow globes, and he even had a little pet bird. He had absolutely no skill in any sort of conflict, verbal or physical. He certainly didn’t pick fights.
Not intentionally, anyway.
But all it took was an accidental look toward some brave stranger, and the fight was picked for him.
It was rather breezy on this particular day. A warm scarf wrapped snugly around his neck, Lars made his way briskly down the pavement, on his way to fetch the week’s shopping. With his hair blowing in his eyes, he was mostly trusting his paws and memory, and so he didn’t see the other kalon until he’d knocked him into the grass.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” the other kalon snapped testily, springing to his feet.
With the wind blowing in his ears, Lars wasn’t sure he’d heard. “What was that?”
The smaller kalon flinched a little. “Hey, you’d better watch it!”
Lars took a step closer. “What?” he repeated, raising his voice.
“I-I’m warning you!”
Lars leaned toward him, prepared to ask a third time, when suddenly, the other kal shot beneath him, kicking his legs out from under him.
Lars landed hard with a breathy, “Oof!”, smacking his chin off the pavement.
By the time the static had gone from his eyes, the other kalon had already dashed off, shouting a hasty, “And don’t you forget it!”
Shakily, Lars picked himself off the ground, shook himself, wrapped his scarf securely back up, and turned back toward home.
He’d take care of the shopping some other day.
(398/600)