[ OPEN ]

[lethechained]

Who: lethechained and any fortunate/unfortunate passersby.
When: IC dates 10/11 to 10/17.
Where: All over the city.
What: Naminé attempts to use her time (and newfound nervous energy) productively. This may or may not end poorly.
Rating/Warning: Paranoia, anxiety, possible but unlikely violence.

---

[ A – Any relatively disused part of the city, morning, days 10/11 to 10/14 ]

[ The sound of thunder cracks loudly through the morning light. This is particularly odd given the lack of any noticeable storm going on at the time, and what’s more, it sounds close. ]

[ Following it to the source yields other strange noises along the way, more loud claps and swishing and other various sounds at semi-regular intervals, the gap between them significant but not enough so to suggest one was hearing things. Turning the last corner, the first thing one sees is-- ]

[ Well, something appears to be on fire, but whatever it is, it’s wholly indistinguishable now. It’s a charred mess already, sitting in the middle of an otherwise nearly empty alleyway. Nearly, that is, except for the young girl who twists with wide eyes to see who it is that’s disturbed her… whatever she was doing. (She looks more than a little guilty about having been caught at it.) ]

… Oh.


[ B - Coffee Shop, days 10/12 to 10/15 ]

[ Naminé is not an uncommon sight in this particular shop. She works here, for one thing, although at the moment she appears to be on her break. ‘Break,’ in this case, seems to be synonymous with ‘sitting at a table staring at her sketchbook like it has personally offended her.’ It’s closed, resting on the far side of the table, and although normally she would almost certainly be found drawing in it, right now it looks wholly untouched. Equally unused is the cup of water also sitting on the table, still completely full. It looks as though she hasn’t even taken a sip yet. Whatever it is that’s on her mind, she seems to be quite absorbed with it, eyes tired, brow furrowed and hands clenched tightly around each other on her lap. ]

[ Despite her apparent distraction, walking near her or making too loud a noise causes her to flinch, glancing up sharply. ]


[ C – Anywhere, day 10/15 or later ]

[ Someone is watching. ]

[ This is not a matter of conjecture; someone is definitely watching your character. Who, why, or where they are is a bit less easy to ascertain, but there are probably hints in the flicker of movement at the corner of their eyes, there and gone in a second. There’s a flash of white around a corner, the sound of someone trying not to make too much noise with their footsteps behind them, the whoosh of something else, something much more difficult to identify and from locations unknown. Whoever they are, they seem to be trying to stay out of sight and aren’t necessarily doing the best of jobs at being stealthy. ]

[ Case in point - there’s the probable culprit, peering down from a nearby roof or just beyond the next corner. But—how did she get there so fast? ]


[ D – Choose your own adventure! ]

Comments

C

[powertotearer]

[Eiji's restlessness has led to him walking around the city a lot, just to try to burn off his energy. It's not working, but he's promised Ankh a million times to try to stop being so reckless, so this will have to do when all he really wants to do is find wherever Mosley is holed up and try to rescue his captives, consequences be damned.

And then he sees someone darting away out of the corner of his eye.]

Hello? Did you need anything?

[Well, that's weird...and more than a little unsettling, so he's on guard as he tries to follow.]

[lethechained]

[ Whoever they are, they seem to be doubling down on the whole 'darting away' thing. There's a brief pause, almost a hesitation, and then quick footsteps that continue in the direction they originally went - that is to say, away from him. ]

[ Only to stop not long thereafter with a loud clatter and an audible, distinctly feminine squeak. They continue again not a moment later, though a touch less evenly, and then stop at the next corner. When he catches up, there are a few overturned boxes in the alleyway and a suspicious bit of what looks like it might be a white dress peeking past the edge of the far wall. ]

[ She could... maybe use a band-aid now, but she doesn't seem inclined to say as much - although she does appear to have stopped. ]

....

[powertotearer]

[The idea of a chase comes as somewhat of a relief for Eiji, if only because it gives him an outlet for all of this restless energy. He runs at full speed, jumping over boxes until finally...well, the chase seems to stop.

Kind of disappointing, much as he doesn't like to admit it.]

Who's there? Why are you following me?

[He's ready for a fight if it comes, but...given that crashing sound and what sounded like a girl squeaking, he's pretty sure it won't come to that.]

[lethechained]

[ He might yet get his chase, if he isn't careful. She doesn't appear to be willing to show herself, at least, and shifts slightly farther around the corner away from him, that sliver of white dress disappearing. After a moment, however, she does answer. ]

Nobody. [ Nobody important, that is, although the word applies in more ways than that. ]

And I wasn't following you, I just--

[ Her voice is tired, haggard; there's only a touch of defensiveness and the rest is something almost confused. She falters, exhaling a faintly audible breath, and admits, ]

I thought you might be... up to something. [ If she were feeling herself, she would probably sound more contrite. Right now, there's only a shadow of it, and it fades in favor of something almost like suspicion. ] What are you doing out here?

[ In the... open, on a public street. ]

[powertotearer]

Huh?

[Well, that's a weird accusation, he thinks.]

I was just taking a walk.

[lethechained]

Yes, but-- why here? Why this street?

[ Or rather the general area. She has no claim to it, of course - even now she knows that - but she's been developing a recent habit of practicing certain skills around here that she has no great wish to have seen by others. Ultimately, though, it all boils down to her unnatural state of mind. Turning her head, she frowns in the direction of the alley; she can't see him around the corner without leaning further over, but she's listening for the answer all the same. ]

A

[beaconed]

Naminé?!

[ Jaune, who had been feeling strangely restless for most of the day, approaches the young girl. ]

You shouldn't be standing near fire, you could-- ...w-well, I suppose that's the thrill of it, huh? How big do you think I could let it get before I gotta put it out? [ what... ]

[lethechained]

[ There's a subtle sort of shrinking in her shoulders as he draws near, but she shakes her head slightly as though to clear it, frowning. Her mouth opens, a response clearly ready, but-- she stops at his question, visibly taken aback. ]

What?

[ What, indeed. Perplexed, she glances between him and the fire, clearly uncertain how to answer that. Instead, her confusion gets the better of her. ]

How is that... thrilling?

[ There's more incredulity in her tone than there otherwise would be, although the question is one she'd wonder regardless of the timing. ]

It's just a fire.

[ And, you know, being able to conjure it with your bare hands kind of ruins the experience. ]

[beaconed]

It's dangerous. [ Said in a tone that suggests it's more of a pro than a con. ]

...What are you doing here?

[lethechained]

It's-- [ She nearly echoes him but catches herself, brow furrowing. ] ... Well, yes, I suppose it is.

[ In a tone which suggests his tone has cause her no small amount of confusion and/or concern. But that's overlooked easily enough at his question, which makes her shoulders come up slightly. ]

I was.... [ She can't very well lie about it, especially not to someone who's a friend. (But it's hard enough for her to talk about that one peculiarity of her existence at the best of times; the slowly growing sense of paranoia hardly helps.) Still, she admits with reluctant slowness, ] ... practicing.

[ And frets about it internally before she even finishes saying it, shifting uncomfortably in her place. But a couple of people have found out one way or another, and it seems... unfair, somehow, to hide it from him. Saying it outright, though - that's another thing. It's much easier to give in to her nerves and ask, a little too quickly, ]

What are you doing here?

[ Grade A deflection, truly. ]

[beaconed]

Oh, no-no-no, we're not doing that routine again.

[ Don't try to outdeflect the king of deflections! ]

What did you mean by practicing? -- A-Are you okay? [ Just realizing he probably should have started with that question. ]

C

[hopetype]

[Takeru was pretty use to having someone stare at him all the time. After all, with Patamon by his side, it was a given and especially with how chaotic things have been lately. However, when he felt the presence of somebody else, that's when he started to get a bit worried. No matter what or where he looked, it felt like they were nowhere to be found. Even with Patamon's careful eyes, he couldn't quite see what was going on.

Feeling like his partner was in danger, the orange batpig wasted no time in preparing for battle. With his feet on the ground and ears up high, he glared around in hopes of finding that mysterious person]

Who's there? Wherever you are, come out! [Because he does not want robots coming in and attacking Takeru again, thank you!]

[lethechained]

....

[ Whoever's there, they don't seem inclined to acquiesce to those demands and show themselves. But looking isn't what'll do any good; no, the real indicator is the soft rushing noise of a portal of Darkness forming - first at ground level somewhere nearby, and then the following, similar noise from up on a nearby roof. It's not loud by any stretch of the imagination, but if someone's listening carefully-- ]

[ Then they might think to look up, where Naminé peers down from one of the buildings. ]

[hopetype]

[Patamon wasn't sure what was going on but it was irritating him. With the faint shadow of Darkness before him, this was giving him flashbacks to a certain Digimon he fought long ago. But just like Devimon, he'll waste no time defeating this mysteries person either.

Although, as soon as he looked up to the roof, that's when he spotted her. Without another moment to lose, he immediately flew up and blew a huge gust of wind directly at Naminé]

[lethechained]

[ Maybe it's the fault of what remains of her mental faculties that she doesn't immediately make a run for it. Even with the paranoia, she still hesitates for that one moment, not wholly certain that Patamon means her any harm. ]

[ But then comes the gust of wind and she yelps, tumbling back onto the roof whether from the force itself or from having stumbled in her attempt to turn away from it. In any case, she lands uncomfortably and then is up again in record time, turning tail to run for the other side of the roof, induced fear making her hasty. The Darkness wells up again ahead of her, awaiting her arrival to that point. If they've any desire to keep her from making her escape, it'd be best to act quickly. ]

[hopetype]

[And that's what they plan on doing. With the figure making a run for it, both Takeru and Patamon ran after her to see who it was. Of course, maybe it was Patamon's imagination but for a moment? It felt like this person meant no real harm to them at all.

And yet, with a dark aura surrounding her, he still had to be on guard.]

Who are you? Is there something you want...? [Takeru shouted as he went to the other side. In hindsight, maybe he and Patamon shouldn't have jumped so quickly in attacking them. He just hoped they were okay in the end.]

B

[heiroglyphs]

[Weiss always loved her coffee, but she's become a common sight at the shop more recently. All of the recent craziness has seemed to create a caffeine dependency. When she notices Naminé, however, coffee is the last thing on her mind. The girl was always quiet, but right now she just seems pensive, maybe angry.]

Hey Naminé, everything okay?

[lethechained]

[ Truthfully, Naminé has always appreciated the regulars. She could probably rattle off the last several orders for many of them, and her smile is always a little sweeter for those she knows. But now-- ]

[ Now her gaze snaps up with... something indiscernible, something that favors fear but has colors of something else. It's there one second and then subtler the next as she slowly sits back in her chair again (for a given value thereof, as she tends to remain quite upright on the whole). ]

... Yes. [ The pace at which she says it might suggest otherwise, although after a brief exhale, the rest seems to come more easily. ] Everything's fine, I'm just-- [ She casts half a glance at the table that stops in the middle. Back at Weiss, ] It's been... a strange day. [ A beat; she manages to keep her voice almost a little too level with her, ] Why? Did it look like something was wrong?

[ It still does. There's something even more rigid about her posture than there usually is. ]

[heiroglyphs]

You just looked upset.

[And Weiss doesn't like it when people she likes are upset.]

[lethechained]

Upset?

[ She sounds almost like she's sounding it out, trying to wrap her brain around it - just for an instant, and then her expression shifts in understanding. ]

... That might be a good word for it. [ As reluctant as she seems to admit it. She skates a hand over her head. ] I don't know. I haven't--... been myself, today. [ And that never sits well with her, though she does make an effort not to let it show how much. Eyes flicking up, she studies Weiss a moment. ] Have you been okay?

B

[pure_havoc]

[At least Cao Pi knows where to find her. His own paranoia is surfacing as a complete distrust of anything technological, including the CEREvice. So he would rather find her in person than leave a message.

He doesn't even bother getting tea, going straight to her and taking a seat abruptly across from her.]

My lady. Forgive me, but I feel as though the device is being monitored by that robot. I wanted to speak to you.

[lethechained]

[ It isn't hard, to be sure. She's got a regular enough schedule. Irregular, however, is the way that she starts when he enters her line of sight, flinching visibly before her rounded eyes take him in and she processes - a moment late - what she's seeing. ]

-- Cao Pi.

[ There's a tension in her shoulders that only ebbs slightly, and her eyes flick briefly over the contents of the table. There's something like an odd hesitation, and then she reaches to draw the sketchbook back toward her side as though its mere presence might be a hindrance. Her face is tired, almost haggard; something's been eating at her, that much is for certain. But she says, ]

Of course. [ With only the slightest of tentativeness, meaning it despite her uncertainty about what he might wish to discuss and her misgivings about her own state of mind. (Because she knows - she knows something isn't right, that she isn't quite right, but even being able to sense that, she means to do her best.) ] You're always welcome to. What is it?

[pure_havoc]

[he neither minds the cluttered table nor the lack of honorifics, he's that distracted and uncertain]

I have spoken out against the one who holds the hostages, and I do not know what will come of it. I may be going to confront him, and I may not return alive.

[which is actually not paranoia but the truth - though suspicion makes it sound a lot worse than it is]

If I do not, I wish my notes on everything that has happened here to fall into the correct hands.

[lethechained]

[ She sucks in a breath at the first sentence, not quite a gasp. Oh, she's aware of the hostage situation by now, but she has always seen fit to hold her tongue when it comes to such things, whether she takes issue with them or not; confrontation is not her way. (Subtler subversion is much less dangerous.) ]

Are you sure that's wise? [ Frowning, she tucks her chin slightly - she can hear herself, after all, and is quick to add, ] It might be the right thing to do-- [ In a moral sense, that is, although she hasn't enough experience with any of the parties involved to determine whether she thinks their deaths justified and necessary. It seems wrong to her, nevertheless, to kill someone who's already been captured and thereby neutralized. ] ... but... it might just as easily be futile. He could be capable of anything.

[ Which is indeed a thought made all the worse by the paranoia - although it doesn't have far to go, in this case. She's far too familiar with villains that seem to hold overwhelming power, and it's force of habit by now to feel as though her adversaries are far stronger than she. And yet she also recognizes the value of taking that calculated risk when the situation necessitates it, as loathe as she is to encourage anyone to potentially throw their life away. There's a reluctant beat, her fingers curling in their places, and then, ]

But--... if your mind is made up, then-- how can I help?

[pure_havoc]

Wise or not, it may be the only way we can control our destiny. I am willing to put myself on the line for that chance.

[it really is crazy, but nobody's in their right minds right now. Even Cao Pi is back to wearing his full uniform and armor, with Pure Havoc sheathed at his side, like he's about to march into a military conflict. He reaches inside his surcoat to find a small piece of paper rolled into a scroll.]

I feel as though I can still trust you. You, and Master Edgeworth. I am unsure about others, or whether they could all disappear one after another, leaving no one intelligent to handle this. If I were to copy my notes on everything I have studied, may I leave a set with you?

[he only has one copy at the moment, earmarked for Edgeworth, but if the days go by and he isn't called to march on Mosley right away, he has time for paranoid all-nighters transcribing his notes. Unfortunately, they'll be in Chinese.]