open

[arcanaofdeath]

Who: Pharos and you!
When: December 18th.
Where: Apartments; shopping district.
What: Pharos was offered three jobs. Why not try them all out in a single day?
Warnings: None.

[Hello citizens of Cerealia! It's a beautiful day for weird encounters, wouldn't you say? What kind of weird encounters you may wonder. Overly large and affectionate demons? A three-headed dog with loads of slobber? The zombie apocalypse? Skeleton Wars: The Phantom Menace?

Sadly, no.

What you may or may not stumble upon is a certain, pajama clad boy trying out each of the jobs he was offered upon his arrival. Wouldn't really want to commit to something without knowing what it entails.]

morning

[There is nothing quite like reading the newspaper in the morning, right? A cup of coffee or tea or whichever beverage you prefer with the news of the hour spread out in front of you, there really is nothing comparable. Or maybe you prefer to sleep in because your day ended at four in the morning and you're in dire need of sleep? Perhaps not a morning person?

Either way, Pharos has instructions to drop off the holo-newspaper without fail. No one would want a newspaper boy who doesn't know how to bring people their reading material in the mornings, right? So he'll do the polite thing and ring the doorbell at whichever o'clock in the morning to deliver it safe and sound.

Nevermind the fact that he's supposed to do this quietly.

If you happen to be up and about and open the door, you will find Pharos standing on your doormat. Smiling up at you. And greeting you with a 'Good morning', chipper as can be.

If you happen to still be asleep and don't hear or wake up and decide to ignore the ringing, there will be silence for a few seconds. Then you'll get a lapful of holo-newspaper courtesy to the young boy now standing in whichever room you're in.

Teleportation skills and no sense of personal space come in handy sometimes.]

lunch

[Tired from your morning filled with exploring/sparring/tricking people/being tricked by people/work?

Pharos will be standing outside of a coffee shop, holding a tray with a handful of small cups and a thermos bottle filled with what appears to be coffee. Hot coffee. Coffee which smells utterly delicious. The aroma calls to you, sings to you. The coffee really is that good. Maybe it is actually ambrosia. You won't know until you try it.

Dressed somewhat like the Cheshire cat, Pharos will taking his job as mascot very seriously and will be offering poor, weary wayward travelers some coffee as well as a cheerful looking balloon which may or may not pass as coffee bean if you squint hard enough.

And cock your head to the side.]

afternoon

[The lights have grown dimmer as the hours have ticked by, soft and orange and yellow. While some of the shops begin to close, one door-sign is finally flipped from Closed to Open. The sign in front of the door reads 'The Wheel of Fortune – Get your prediction while it's still accurate!' Should you decide to enter, you'll find a single table manned by Pharos, kicking his legs and his chin propped up on his hands.

Clearly, he's been waiting for someone to come in so he can read them their fortune.

Perhaps your character is just settling down, maybe they've already received their fortune and are bemused by it. What kind of prediction is 'Your shoes will make you happy today' anyway? Perhaps you've asked for something more elaborate than a short prediction and are now wondering why in the world the kid is pulling out tarot cards. Aren't those a little outdated?

Careful though, some predictions may hit very close to home...]

evening – bonus

[Maybe you've encountered Pharos during all three scenarios and are wondering whether or not the kid is stalking you. Or if he has two identical brothers and this is just a group of triplets.

Or create your own scenario.]


(note: For the fortune telling, your character will probably get fortune cookie predictions or, if they get a tarot reading, one I'll generate online. I'll be sure to pm you first to ask for permission if I end up using canon information though the wording of the canon prediction would be pretty vague.)

Comments

[invoker]

Oh, of course.

[ She hurriedly takes her seat in front of Pharos, placing her hands in her lap. ]

A full reading, if you don't mind.

[ There was something about him that was rather... compelling. Familiar? Nah, he couldn't be. ]

afternoon

[punchesyu]

[He's strolling down the sidewalk on his way home, still checking out more and more of the city. He sees the shop, figures it wouldn't hurt, since they have plenty of that stuff back at home too, and walks inside. He too, finds the curtain and pushes it back after determining that he's not hearing voices on the other side.

And there is the kid...]

Dude, you're the fortune teller?

[harepiece]

[Someone really should, honestly.]

Pharos! It's good to meet you, Pharos. [He repeats it kind of sleepily, but with a fair amount of enthusiasm nonetheless. It's always nice meeting new people okay, even if they kind of zoop into your house without warning... After stifling a yawn:]

I'm Oz! And I don't mind at all. I wouldn't have made the offer if I did, right? [Accompanied by a small, airy little laugh. He's quick to open his bedroom door after that, peering one way and then the other down the hall... Seems like his roommate is still asleep, at least, so that's one hurdle cleared.]

All right, the coast is clear! [MARCHIN ON OUT and just expecting Pharos to follow, mostly.] What kind of things do you like?

[sjokolade]

[Wasn't he worried being by himself? That was a weird question to ask, shouldn't be everyone feel that way in general? Either way, she simply sighed before shaking her head.]

I don't know, aren't you worried that someone might take advantage of you because you're by yourself?

[But then again, from what she had seen of the place, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. But still, when she was his age, the only problems she had was if she was going to finish her homework or not!

Ah, she's turning old!!]

Not to mention that a kid like yourself shouldn't be working! I think that's the least of your worries!

[unevoke]

[Why this.......A quick glance at the wall clock tells him he still has plenty of time to get to his shift, but he'd been planning on using that to walk through a few familiar side paths, catch up on local gossip. Not spend it debating the merits of overpriced consumerism.]

No. I don't need a newspaper. I hear enough news around town.

[Is that any better?]

[brbwalking]

Is that what this is? I was curious about what you were predicting.

[ She doesn't take much stock in fortunes. ]

[arcanaofdeath]

Indeed, I'll predict your fortune and your future, if that's what you want me to do.

[He's also supposed to hand out good luck charms, squeeze money out of people by worrying them about bad luck and selling all these books lining the walls.

But there would be boring, wouldn't it?]

[arcanaofdeath]

[Anna does have a point, doesn't she? It's not unusual for children to get abducted and threatened or worse. People don't distinguish between adult or child, guilt or innocence no matter where you are. But... she seems genuinely worried about him.

It's difficult not to paint everyone with the same brush. They used to be such a mass to Pharos, all the same and never different.

Anna's words get a giggle out of him before he smiles up at her, his tone pleased. He likes it when people surprise him.]

Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me. And if I am not supposed to be working, what else am I supposed to do? [Someone's never had to do any sort of homework.]

[arcanaofdeath]

[Ah. It's a familiar face. Pharos' smile widens a little and he gestures towards the chair opposite of his. If Yosuke came in here, he didn't come to pay a social visit, evident by the surprise in his voice.

He wanted to know about his fortune or his future and Pharos will be more than happy to supply it to Yosuke.]

Good evening. Did you expect to see someone else?

[arcanaofdeath]

I am. It's a free trial period offered to everyone residing within Cerealia. [Meaning he's been going around ringing peoples doorbells or popping into their apartments since who knows when o'clock in the morning.] If you should accept the free trial period, you will be charged fifty credits each month following that.

[That still sounds like a terrible deal to Pharos but his employer seemed so certain this would work. The more people Pharos encounters, the more they seem disgruntled.

Probably with the deal and not because Pharos is waking them up one way or another. Right?]

[punchesyu]

Yeah, you know, like an adult? Are you just helping run the shop or something?

[Is he even legal to work around here? Isn't there laws against that?]

[arcanaofdeath]

Of course. Shall we get started?

[Pharos nudges the pile of cards towards Mitsuru, smiling at the familiar face of the white and blue mask and the jagged corners of the sun behind it. A gift from the shop owner when Pharos asked if he could use the deck design he had in mind.

He does wish he could place his finger on why Mitsuru seems so familiar.]

Please shuffle the cards with your left hand only while thinking about your future. Then reassemble them and I will be able to get started.

[arcanaofdeath]

[It was either school or work, Yosuke. And while school sounded very, very appealing, direct interaction with more people seemed the smarter choice. He is getting more and more curious about humans after all.]

I was hired to do readings and short predictions. Does that count as helping or that a full job already?

[punchesyu]

I can't believe they gave you a choice in that. I figured they'd make all the kids go to school.

[Honestly, he's surprised, but it looks like they didn't care.]

I mean, you are getting paid, right?

[arcanaofdeath]

[It would be if Pharos was any other person. Mouth to ear news do seem to travel faster than the newspaper, especially in a populated place like Cerealia. But...

Pharos cocks his head to the side, putting the holopaper back into the back he's wearing and twines his fingers together behind his back.]

What about your health? [Aren't humans concerned about their health? The employer specifically mentioned the health section of their newspaper.]

[arcanaofdeath]

I was given the choice whether or not to attend to school. I opted not to. Though it might have been fun to go there for a while. [It's such a fascinating concept.

Yosuke's question makes Pharos giggle. Technically, he doesn't really need the money. He doesn't need food and the tiny apartment he's living in doesn't have much to offer and Pharos could live without it.

But he wanted to try it out, being more human.]

Isn't everyong getting paid one way or another?

[punchesyu]

Well, yeah, but it seems kinda shady to employ a kid. As long as they're not jipping you, dude.

[He guesses. If Pharos opted out and he's making enough money to support himself, as messed up as it is for him to have to have a job and as much as Yosuke thinks he should be in school instead. He's almost jealous, he had to go to school and this kid doesn't...but working sucks too.]

[arcanaofdeath]

[Zooping into private spaces is what he does best, Oz.]

It's nice to meet you, Oz. [The easy acceptance reminds Pharos of Minato and he smiles at the memory as he trails after Oz. The same sleepy look, the same sleep-mussed hair. The only thing missing to make this even more familiar is dark, inhuman light of the Dark Hour.

...Are they on a mission though, perhaps? With the way Oz is sneaking around, you would think he was in trouble for attempting to make breakfast by himself. And also for smuggling the newspaper kid into the kitchen.

The cheery tone in Oz's voice makes Pharos smile widen for a moment before he makes a quizzical, thoughtful noise. He doesn't know what he likes.]

I don't know. What do you prefer to eat in the mornings?

[arcanaofdeath]

[Jipp...ing? Pharos blinks at the odd word, quietly trying to guess the meaning from the context of their conversation. Using? Cheating? ...Perhaps it's something like that. you young people and your slang words

Though the thought of Pharos working and not attending school seems to trouble Yosuke.]

...Is something the matter?

[punchesyu]

They could totally be ripping you off! Normally kids your age are in school, not working in some back alley fortune telling shop. [That's just normal, right?]

[arcanaofdeath]

[Pharos doesn't exactly do normal, Yosuke, Sorry to say.]

While school was up for consideration, I thought it would be more fun to work. [School feels... Too human. And that's where the problem lies anyway. He wants to know what humans enjoy and live like. The desire to be closer to them is clearly evident.

But...]

I was able to meet quite a few interesting people. And I wouldn't have encountered you again if I had attended to school, right?

[harepiece]

[Some people just have all of the best skills and talents...!

They are indeed on a mission, though. The mission is called "don't wake up Ciel and get supermurdered because he hates it when guests arrive uninvited but Oz keeps doing it anyway". Luckily, Ciel's bedroom is soundproofed, so they're in the clear and can be as loud as they want now.]

Me? Hm... I like sweet things! We have some croissants that are filled with raspberry jam from the bakery. Oh, but bacon is good, too... So are eggs! Have you had them poached before? If you salt and pepper them, they're tasty! You can make little toast fingers to dip into the yolk, too.

[Clearly this kid has an appetite...]

[masakados]

[...Well then.]

I think I'm gonna pass on it, then. [He shakes his head slightly.] I don't think that there's anything in there I'd be that interested in anyway.

[He can be relatively certain there'll be no CERES or colony secrets just given away, thrown into a newspaper they're distributing...]

[brbwalking]

You're welcome to predict my fortune, but my future is something I'd like to make happen myself. [ Without outside suggestions. ]

morning

[dereban]

[ As someone who tends to sleep little to nothing a good percentage of the time, when she hears the sound of the doorbell she finds herself groaning -- do they know what time it is? Opening the door, she notices the boy. ]

Was there something you wanted..?