Essere Orgoglioso

Okay. Alright. This was... an experience. Angelo had probably never met his father. Truthfully, he had no idea who he even was. A reaper, probably. But Jude? Jude knew who his father was. He'd grown up with him. He was a big figure in his life.

And now he was standing right in front of Angelo.

It was weird. Really weird. Because there were so many similarities. The same general facial structure. The same general look. It was like looking at himself--or Jude--in some kind of twisted alternate reality mirror.

Angelo took his hand, giving him a shake and matching Basilio's intense look with one of his own, only his was far more on the side of curiosity.

"This is an experience," Angelo muttered under his breath before getting to actual introductions. "I'm Angelo Genovese. I've been, uh, other Angelo's guardian while he's been on the island."

A man of business. That was pretty familiar too, and Angelo gave a quick nod.

"We can sort things out later," Angelo said. "If you want to start sorting people out and making sure everyone's got their temporary ID, that's probably the most important thing. We've got people giving out food and water and supplies, but on our end, we need to make sure everyone is recorded so we don't lose track of anyone."

That was going to be a big issue, wasn't it?

"Jude," Angelo said, glancing towards him. "Is your arm...?"

"I'm going to be fine," Jude insisted quickly. "I'll check through the crowd and make sure people have IDs."

People didn't want to give Jude help to do. Lots of people saw his arm and then mysteriously had other people to give work to. Like he was crippled or something.

Because he was.

But there was help even he could do. He was relatively recognizable, even without his mask. A few people knew him. A few people recognized him and said they were happy he was okay. A few people shot confused looks.

It didn't matter. He did what he could. He helped where he could. Everyone else was tired, but Jude showed no sign of flagging. He didn't tire. He didn't anything.

Four hours later, the worst of it was over. People were sorted. Many were asleep. There was emergency housing, and water, and a million other things.

It was Angelo who found Jude first.

"We should go find your dad," he said, sounding tired. "I figure you guys can come stay with me at least for a few days. All your stuff is still there, and I assume you'd want to stay with him."

Jude didn't feel the need to acknowledge. Of course he did. There was no question, and he scanned the group, looking for Basilio before heading towards him, Angelo in tow.

"I don't really get tired," Jude confessed. His arm felt sore, but he suspected that was more phantom pain then anything else. There was no reason he'd be in pain. It was dead nerve endings before, and it was dead nerve endings then. There was no nerves to be giving off pain in the first place. "So I'm fine."

"Flagging," Angelo said, "but I've also been on my feet for ten hours or so. They're bringing in a new shift of people from all the official departments, but they're also trying to clear things out. Technically you can stay in the emergency housing, but I figured it'd be smarter if you stayed with us for at least a few days while you get settled. Jud- Angelo's been staying with me since he arrived."

"I portaled into his house and nearly got jumped since he thought I was a home invader," Jude admitted.

"Right now it's me, him, my ward Roa, and Jude's friend Janelle. We've got another six bedrooms easily, so no issue with finding room for you. That said, you should probably grab one of those supply bags. I don't think I have extra toothbrushes or anything, and there's no stores on the drive back."

Angelo had driven to the clearing in his own car, and he quickly signed himself out, cutting through the line with Jude and Basilio as he headed to the car. It was fairly big--probably too big for the island, but also intended to carry six people. There was room for all the luggage Basilio didn't have, and he loaded the two of them up, noting a significant amount of protest on the car's springs as Basilio actually got in.

How the hell much did the guy weigh? The car seemed like it was all but screaming in protest as he started it up, heading back towards the house and eyeing the gauges carefully.

"I have to admit," Angelo said as they drove. "This is pretty weird. I'm sure Jude'll tell you all about it, but you probably don't have a direct equivalent over here."