May Catch-All

[rutility]

Characters: Rutile + You!
Date: Starting yesterday and continuing through May!
Location: The Dreaming Bridge, Breakwater Wing, and adjacent areas
Situation: Arriving in Aifaran, new accommodations, Faith 4, and maybe more
Warnings/Rating: None, totally PG. You could let your kid cousin read this stuff.



A ▸ NEW ARRIVAL | open

[ First moments in Aifaran. ]

A couple of blocks away from the Dreaming Bridge is a scene of semi-controlled chaos: a couple of Verdant Sentries and well-meaning passersby try to assist the newest Dreamfolk, who seems determined to ignore placating words. If you would just go to the Dreaming Bridge like everyone else, the natives say; if you would just comply with protocol, all your questions would be answered -

"Don't patronize me!" the Dreamfolk snaps in one of the sentry's faces, audible across the street. From here their hair, glimmering gold and crimson in the sun, hangs wild about their face, and their lab coat is dirty and disheveled. Fortunately, Rutile doesn't seem dangerous: they carry no weapons, and they're actually on the smaller side of your average human. They just seem pissed.

The second sentry reaches in to separate the two of them and Rutile knocks their hand away. "Get away from me!" they hiss, "I don't need an escort!" The sentries seem unconvinced.

Scratch that about the danger: the situation isn't looking good.

B ▸ BUTTERFLY BLESSINGS | open

[ Arriving in Breakwater # 03, Faith 4 ]

The room is sparsely furnished, but still more than Rutile is used to: three beds, as many tables, a shelf with books with names such as Baby's First Spiritual Experience with Tu Vishan and Slime Molds of Konryu: A Field Guide.

None of the beds seem mussed or even occupied, despite the twilight fading fast, so Rutile approaches the one closest to the open window and kneels carefully on the mattress. Despite its flimsiness - it's certainly not quartz - it holds their weight. Rutile curls up on one end and tentatively leans their head against the wall, letting their gaze fall across the courtyard below.

Rutile is on the verge of falling asleep - from lack of sunlight, from an emotional hangover - when a tiny mottled butterfly alights on the windowsill. Moments later, more have arrived, fluttering their wings as they land on the sill, the shutters, and even Rutile. They're reminded of someone else they've seen this happen to - a memory that makes them scowl. Rutile reaches out a finger for one of the tiny butterflies to land on.

"You're in the wrong place, little things," Rutile mutters. "I'm not the one you're looking for."

C ▸ WILDCARD | open

[ Not feeling any of the above? Let me know on plurk and I'll see what I can do! Alternatively, just go off. Let me have it. We'll make it work. ]

Comments

[corundrum]

"That's what I said," Padparadscha replies, laughing a little. "It gets a little easier with time, though. I could always introduce you to the local scientists..."

Padparadscha has actually been spending quite a bit of time around the university and Aisling Tower's way of late. On one hand, it had returned them something they could substitute for powder without having to worry about it washing off constantly, but on the other they'd neglected some other areas of the city as a result.

"Or if you want something to lighten up, this city lives on the back of a large turtle. The faithful say visiting the head is a calming experience."

[rutility]

A turtle? Really? Now Rutile's heard everything. That's it. We don't need anymore; show's over folks, everyone go home. They cup their face in their hands and close their eyes, and take a moment to accept it.

But now - and even they are a little surprised to find this - curiosity buds deep in their core. An entire city on the back of a turtle? How often does one see that?

The prospect of there being other scientists in this place comes as a surprise too, though with the population being what it is, perhaps it's to be expected. And of course Padparadscha knows them well; though they keep to themselves, they're just as guided by curiosity as Rutile.

"I think," they say slowly, "that we ought to start with the scientists. Though the giant turtle is impressive, too." After that, Rutile can't hold back a yawn.

[corundrum]

It's definitely an odd thing to start off with, but it's also the kind of thing Padparadscha trusts to get Rutile's attention. They're a gem of science, and there's no shortage of new oddities in this world for study once they get their feet under them again.

It's hard to miss that yawn, though, and Padparadscha's mouth quirks into a somewhat amused smile. "Maybe we ought to leave at least one of them for tomorrow. It won't be too long until evening starts to fall."

They know well enough that's not necessarily going to stop Rutile, considering their intent on their work, but if there's any time they might actually be able to convince Rutile to get some rest, this seems like a good candidate.

[rutility]

Rutile waves a hand, disregarding Padparadscha's suggestion, of course. They're always tired; the hour rarely factors into it.

... That said, it has been a long day. And while Rutile's prone to keeping odd hours, Padparadscha isn't - at least, not to the same extent. "I'll be up a while after sunset," they say, and hold up the tiny device a Bridge staffer gave them earlier. Yimo, was it? Something like that. "I've got plenty to occupy my time with, figuring this thing out.

"But it would be inconvenient to wander around in the dark. The giant turtle can wait." They smile, but the smile fades almost an instant later, and their gaze shifts from the yimo to Padparadscha. It's hard to believe, even after all the events of today, that this isn't a dream, that they won't collapse or disappear again as soon as Rutile's back is turned. Perhaps it's childish, but they're loathe to let Padparadscha out of their sight. "Where are you staying?"

[corundrum]

Padparadscha's amused smile widens a little more as Rutile shows the yimo. "Ah, of course...I've been a little overcautious with mine, I'll admit. No need to find out how hard the screen is by breaking it, huh?"

There's very few materials that can speak to having a hardness level close to Padparadscha's, and they don't get the impression the yimo is made from them. But it seems like an unimportant thing to wonder on for too long, especially when Rutile's attention so obviously turns to them instead.

The question gets a laugh, and Padparadscha taps on the wall in the direction they came from. "The next room along, four. A few people I know have moved to other parts of the city, but I haven't bothered with it yet myself."

Partially because it takes the means to do so, and Padparadscha still doesn't entirely grasp the commerce system here, or at least not enough to know what would be an acceptable profit for work done.

[rutility]

"You needn't worry about breaking the screen. I think I could at least fix that." Given some time to work and a bit of glue, of course.

... but I haven't bothered with it yet myself. A narrow miss, then. If Padparadscha had moved, then it would have taken Rutile far longer to come across them - if they managed to find each other at all. The prospect of being so near without even knowing it is a terrifying one. (Perhaps, Rutile allows, this place isn't so bad after all.)

Rutile's gaze follows Padparadscha's hand, looking in the direction they point. "Really? That's close. Why did the others move?" With accommodations provided, it strikes Rutile as ungrateful and impractical - and even lonely - to leave.

[corundrum]

"I try not to create more problems unless I have to," Padparadscha replies, tone deceptively light. Now that their entire existence isn't going to be causing problems for Rutile at every turn, they'd prefer to keep it that way.

As for people moving, Padparadscha shrugs slightly, looking out the window. "I think some value their privacy, and others have left together with friends for different parts of the city. Maybe they wanted something nicer, or more their own."

It's not really the kind of thing familiar to their society, though, so Padparadscha only really has the few extra months of experience here over Rutile to make their guesswork with.

[rutility]

"You've never created problems," Rutile says earnestly, meeting Padparadscha's eyes. "Not ones that couldn't be dealt with." That's not to imply that Padparadscha has never been troublesome in their life, but rather that for them, Rutile's patience is endless.

The reasons Padparadscha lists are mundane enough, but some are still beyond Rutile's scope of sympathy. "It's none of our business, I suppose," they say. They can't imagine they'll ever move out: all that work in finding and moving lodgings would be wasted when they eventually leave, and for little benefit besides. (Of course, that assumes leaving is possible - the alternative isn't something Rutile wants to consider yet.)

[corundrum]

"Ah, but just because they can be dealt with doesn't mean they aren't problems," Padparadscha responds, with a manner much lighter than they feel that issue deserves. Of course, they're not going to suddenly reveal to Rutile any of the feelings they'd been hiding for so long already, so for now they're willing to just carry on as things were.

Padparadscha doesn't really get the motivation to move either despite having more context for it, and they offer a slight laugh to what seems like a very polite way of putting it. "Not really. Living things have different ways of doing things."