Chimera Fields a body moving through space

Jojo kicks off his story with a lackluster beginning like a sprinter missing his starting pistol cue and Nine is about to rescind any trace of empathy he'd felt for him, but the plot thickens-- he can't help but cock an ear.

The empathy floods back in at his next words. It's a story that's been told and experienced thousands of times before: a scrappy youth plunging into the wilderness with bright eyes and skyscraping hopes, only to come out the other end defeated and terrifyingly aware of his own shortcomings.

Right, kid, he says, sounding almost irritated. Nine was a spectacular failure at showing compassion. Jojo.

You can stick with me, but... he draws himself up, looking down through hooded eyes, ...I'll get the softer grass to sleep on. Deal?

Truth was, Nine needed company just as much as he did. Aside from his bad leg, he could always use an anchor to keep him from spiraling too far, too fast (that was Kincaid to him, in a way), though this kid seemed less of an anchor than a small paperweight. Not that he'd ever admit this, not even after the heat death of the universe.