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The day was like any other. The sun was bright, the sky was crisp and clear, and Reno Cordova was paranoid as hell. Birds, man. That happens. It was not a far stretch for someone to have two jobs, right? It keeps a young man out of trouble and aside from taking care of the pawn shop next door the young, feathered entrepreneur had another past-time, which was being an accomplished barber. Being cold it was slow. Kids were in school and foot traffic was down from the drifts. Still Reno was out front with a shovel because that walk wasn't clearing itself and he wasn't paying some kid a quarter to clear it. Those quarters add up man!
Two jobs DOES do the trick when it comes to keeping a soul out of trouble. So does two jobs, charity work, a demanding hobby and trying to keep your punkass brother or best friend in line. Jay's on that page. Back and forth all over the city for a multitude of reasons, the man with the bright red wings stuck to his back sees all different portions of the city at any point in time, including the sidewalk in front of Pop's Barber Shop. Bundled in the jacket that he was gifted recently, he still wears his thousand-yard long scarf wound around his neck a bunch, Reno's black feather stuck in the stitches. Which is all the more coincidental when Jay crunches on the frozen snow across the street on the unshoveled sidewalk, peering curiously at Reno from the short distance. "Reno?" The bright spot of red calls out, the words forming heavy fog in front of his face.
Reno warmed a grin like he's never known a bad day in his life when red-bird showed up. "Heeeeeeey, Yoooooou are a sight for very sore beady lil eyes my friend!" There was snow in the feather black hair atop the shorter man's head but that didn't stop him. A hand went out to pat Jay on the sleeve twice before thumbing at the door to the barber shop. "Que pasa? You went a way a bit." His warm brown eyes squint more in knowledge than accusation. The warmth changed to a curious concern. "You cold? You got time to talk? I got cocoa and them lil marshmallows. Or, ya know, you can be like Fish. Sometimes he just put em in his coffee. But good to SEE you! Really though you, um, you okay Jaybird?"
Jay looks both ways before he trots across the street to meet up with Reno when his other feathered friend looks up. Smiling smally as the distance is closed between them, Jay wrestles a hand out of his pocket to wave needlessly back to Reno, glancing at the barber shop when it's thumbed at. Not making much of a connection. "Hey! Ah don't know what that means, but it's good ta see ya, man!" Flashing a smile at the Spanish tossed at him. "Yeah, Ah got time. Ah was just takin' a walk down the way. Ah like marshmallows, sure, let's talk a spell. What's wrong? Is somethin' wrong? Yer face…it looks like somethin's up. Yer cousin doin' all raght?" The only thing he can think of before Reno turns it around and asks if he is okay. Surprise flashing over his face and through his feathers. "What do ya mean?"
Reno chuckled and shrugged, "Eeeh means, um, how the hell are you" He grabbed teh top of his own ear and rubbed it before nodding for the door. "Eeeeh Robbie's been dealin with some stuff. But you, man, you dropped off radar there for a lil while. Birds man, we talk. Know things. You were like here and then really really not here, but here you are! You're here! let's get you some marshmallows man. Is the holidays. Hows your family? You get to see em at all?" Undaunted he pushed the door to Pop's open with a jingle of the door bells. "Don't mind the place. Workin on cleanin it up a bit. Buddy of my primo's is takin care of the pleace but aaaaah he ain't no barber ya know? Still, city neds it. means somethin so here we are. Now with marshmallows."
"Kay Pasa, huh?" Jay tries it out with an angular smile resting crookedly on his mouth. "Well, Ah pasa all right." Politely answering, if not entirely honestly. But it's more of a conversational colloquialism anyway. "Sorry to hear about yer cousin. What do ya mean? Ah haven't really been anywhere in a bit. Ah just took up another job, tryin' to stay busy." And distracted. Always distracted. Jay struggles to recall, shaking his head slowly as he walks into the barber shop, curious. He's probably never been inside a barber shop quite like this one before. "The city needs a barber shop? Ah'm missin' somethin' Ah think, Reno." Jay smiles gently, following in the other feathery fellow's wake, plucking at his scarf to unravel it a little bit Reno's feather flicking beside his ear.
Reno noted where his feathers got up to and pointed to it as he waded over to teh coffeepot where he was heating up the water for the hot cocoa. "That's a lucky thing yous got there man. Sometimes, I dunno, sometimes I just know t'ings. LIk e um… when like something bad's gonna happen and when peoples is goin through some stuff. Like a month ago you were not great and then *blip* I lost track of you all together amigo." He poured the coca powder into the cup without being stingy and stirred the contents of the mugHe paused and offered with a helpful encouragement. "Amigo is like my pal, friend ya know? I ain't callin you names. Here. Sorry, I jsut get worried. People have been taking Mutants and stuff lately. Been scary."
The jacket was unbuttoned as the walk was shoveled and it wasn't cold in here much at all. Small winter blessings. "If you have not noticed this neighborhood is either really nice or sometimes really not nice. THe kids and that don't have a lot and either they can hang out on the street out there and wind up with some bad guys like I did, or they can have someplace to go where bad news can't make em do dumb shit. Sometimes they sit and play chess and sometimes they earn a nickle sweepin up. We all want something to keep people outta trouble. Sometimes we gotta make that somethin."