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Characters: Judai and YOU
Date: throughout May
Location: all around!
Situation: Talent stuff! & dashing through the ~~snow~~ city
Warnings/Rating: n/a

A.
[Windy day, isn’t it? Well, kind of. The breeze around one particular guy leaning against thus particular terrace was in fact caused by him, creating a progressively stronger wind with him in the center as the seconds tick by.]

[In the midst of it all, he's trying to whistle, with only partial success.]

Pbbbt.

B.
[Being a courier sounds fun, right? Judai thinks so, anyway, taking up a part-time post as a mailman. He knows his way around well enough by now (and if he doesn't, that's what a map is for!) (A paper map, naturally, because his yimo is broken.)]

[Unfortunately he’s not terribly organized, and as he pulls a pile of mail out, a couple fall. But then a very convenient wind blows up from under them, delivering the envelopes right into his waiting hand.]

Heh.

[That is a particularly pleased and self-satisfied grin on his face.]

C. Gimme Dat Cat
[Hopping over fences! Jumping from rooftop to rooftop! Plummeting down like fifteen feet and hitting the ground running! Sliding down inclines!]

[Who is that ~~dramatic~~ mysterious kid?? Why, it's Judai. (Sorry.) What’s the cause of this headlong rush? —Well.]

Hey! You! [Yes, you.] Stop that cat!

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[Valdis is sitting on a bench, minding her own business when a frantic yowl that clearly belongs to her fluffy menace, Anani, followed by loud thump, and then some shouting with the words 'stop' and 'cat' involved.

She closes her book, sightless eyes drifting in the perceived direction of the madness just as Anani leaps into her lap, shoving his head into her shoulder like it will hide him from his pursuer.]

What have you done this time, cat?

[Judai screeches to a stop.]

Uh—

[A second to catch his breath.]

"This time?" Is that your cat?

[Valdis looks up, wishing that her vision had seen fit to return to her, but there was still nothing. Anani was silent, his white fluff making him resemble a cloud.]

Yes.

[She ran her hand across the cat's back and he purred for a moment, but kept his head pressed against her shoulder.]

Has he done something?

Well, uh...

[There's a necklace (what's it made of? Is it valuable? Who knows! All Judai heard was someone shouting to stop that cat, and the cat had looked spooked enough that Judai had chased after just to make sure it wasn't going to hurt itself) tangled around the cat a bit. Just...]

...Can you see?

[Valdis' finger catches on something around Anani's neck, which is odd because she doesn't keep a collar on him. She brings her other hand around to feel where it is at and slowly starts to untangle it from his fur.]

Not currently.

[The cat shifts back, allowing Valdis to pull the chain off his neck, she holds it out in the general direction of the boy's voice]

Are you looking for this?

Oh, thanks! [That solves that little conundrum.]

[He takes the necklace and puts it into his pocket for now.] I'm Judai! Thanks for the help, and thanks to this little fella, too!

[...Then he sheepishly scratches his head.] Wait, uh...did you say "currently"?

My name is Valdis.

[Valdis returns her hand to her cat's back after Judai takes the necklace, stroking his fur as she thinks.]

Yes...Has no one mentioned that the Dreaming does strange things upon occasion?

[She doesn't expect him to know that such afflictions do not normally affect her kind, but it's an important point all the same.]

Oh... [He's never heard of anything like that happening before, but on the other hand, he never heard of memories being able to leak out until it happened, either. Strange things have happened to him before that he had no inkling could happen, though, so he takes it mostly in stride.]

That's kinda scary... What happened?

[He hopes it wasn't totally random, at least.]

[Valdis smiles, almost amused.]

I woke up.

[It really is that simple sometimes]

Fairly certain it will pass, things like this usually do.

[She sighs, still petting Anani, who has decided he is no longer afraid of Judai.]

I'd like to know where my cat got that necklace.

[Simple as it is...] That's kinda scary. [Judai would probably freak out, at least a little.] Seems like you're really used to it.

[Which...is probably a good thing to be, all things considered.]

[At the question, he scratches his head, sheepish.] I'm not sure. Somebody just called to me and I didn't have time to ask. [Because Anani would have gotten away of he did!] I think it just got caught. He doesn't normally do that, does he?

[Valdis didn't know how to answer Judai's first comments, so she just continues stroking her cat.]

Most I've known him to steal is fish.

[That gets a laugh out of him.]

That makes sense!

[He leans a little closer to see him better.] A "he," right? What's his name?

[Anani turns to look at Judai, head tipped, nose twitching.]

This is Anani. His name means 'Cloud', which makes sense because he's so fluffy...I didn't name him.

[Technically at least, though it depends on who you talk to.]

Anani, huh? [Cloud... Heh. Better than "Cloudian" or something!]

Hiya!

[He turns back to Valdis.] Who named him? [He hopes there isn't a tragedy behind this story.]

[His question is unexpected and Valdis isn't quite sure how to answer.]

It's complicated.

[Perhaps one of her weaker answers]

He's a remnant of a past life.

Oh... [He turns sheepish as he straightens.] Sorry. Guess you don't want to talk about it, huh?

[There's a small pause.] ..."Past life," you said, right? You're a Dreamperson, right? Did...Anani come with you? Woke up here with you, I mean.

Yes, he did.

[It was the simplest answer.]

And he's been causing trouble ever since.

[The cat purred.]

[...No fair...why didn't his cat come with him, too...]

[...Maybe it's for the best, though. Pharaoh, uh. Comes with a ghost.]

Heh. I can imagine. Wasn't his fault this time, though. [Unless Anani really has a use for that necklace, but he kind of doubts that!]

Hope there wasn't any trouble that was too big to handle!

Not that he's discovered yet.

[But it was only a matter of time, she was sure.]

You seem to like animals.

Heh. He does seem pretty adventurous.

[If this incident's anything to go by.]

I used to travel with a cat. He was kind of troublesome, too. Can I pet him?

[Valdis smiled.]

I would think that's up to him, not me. He's generally pretty friendly.

[Well then.]

I'll take that as a yes, then!

[He reaches to pet Anani.]

[Zephyr can't help but laugh. He tries to keep it quiet, at the very least.]

[The wind patterns are pretty interesting up here, he'll grant, but it's the attempt at whistling that's got his attention more.]

You're close. You'll get there.

[...At least he's not whistling smugly.]

Heh. Thanks!

[The wind dies down a bit.]

Thought it'd be fun to do into the wind! You whistle?

[...Huh, that's helpful of the wind. Zephyr keeps a sharper eye on its movements.]

On occasion. The wind kind of takes all the sound away, though.

[The wind doesn't pick back up.]

Heh. That's true.

[He didn't really do it to make sound, but come to think of it...that is the point of whistling, isn't it!]

Where do you like to whistle, then?

[...Real convenient, actually. Hm.]

Oh, you know. When my hands are full, when I'm bored. Out traveling. Wherever, really. It's kind of a casual thing.

Yeah? Sounds nice! Let me hear it, then!

[As he says so, a couple of leaves a few feet away skitter along the ground—looks like it's a mildly windy day today, except for the little area that Judai and Zephyr are standing in.]

[Well now he's on the spot. Zephyr shifts a bit, a little uncomfortable, but eventually comes out with a quick little whistled melody, jaunty and a bit rough around the edges, not quite hitting the high notes.]

Well? Happy now?

[A little bit sarcastic, a little serious.]

[Judai picks up on the discomfort, at least.]

Yeah! You're pretty good at that!

[And a slide away from that topic...] So what brings you out here?

[Thaaaank you. Zephyr shrugs a little.]

Exploring, mostly. I haven't been here very long. It's good to know the places you're going to be spending a while.

You been here for a while?

Oh, huh. [He sheepishly rubs the back of his head.] You heard the bad news, huh?

[Given that “you’re probably going to be here awhile” is something told to them by the Bridge, that’s not exactly saying much, Judai...]

[But anyway.] I haven’t been here too long, either. I just like this spot.

Yeah. I guess it's not so bad, this is a pretty decent place all around. You in a rush to get back?

[There's other reasons it could be bad news, but he's guessing here.]

...It's a nice spot, I don't blame you.

Well...not really. I just didn't ask for it, you know? Getting sucked into a different dimension is exciting! ...But it also kinda sucks.

[He leans his arms against the railing again, and the wind picks up a little, blowing his hair back.]

You don't seem too bothered by it, though. What about you, you're not in a rush to get back?

[Getting sucked into different dimensions kind of sucks. ... Yeah, Zephyr can't argue there.]

Well, this dimension's better than the last one I got sucked into accidentally.

[...actually, no, talking about that is a bad idea, moving on.]

Home is fine. It'll keep without me even if time does move for a bit. I miss everyone, but... this place isn't bad, either.

Huh. Happened to you, too?

[Rokuta says he has, too, so that makes three of them. Judai almost wonders if that's important, but if such an easily-checked thing were in common with all the Dreamfolk, they would have been told at the welcoming spiel, right? That's what welcoming spiels are for? Seems sliiightly more important than giving them a cellphone and how to log in to the internet, anyway, so...]

[Okay, so he has no idea. Seems like something he could find out from the Tower, but after the recent stunt that the Tower was involved in, he's not sure he wants to go down that road at the moment.]

I don't think this place is that bad, either. But...hm... [He scratches his head.] Settling? Settling down...doesn't seem too good, either, in the long run...

Man, I didn't realize that was so common.

[Zephyr laughs, though it's short and quiet. Kind of a strange thing to have in common. Then:]

...you worried about getting too comfortable or something? What's home got waiting for you?

[It's a genuine question, curiosity about Judai's urges.]

Well... [A small laugh.] I was traveling!

[Mildly aimless traveling, to boot, despite what he'd tried to tell himself (and his fat cat and ghost teacher) about his reasons for it. Just...] It's not as simple as just going home... We were brought here, you know? I didn't just fall into a hole...

[Then a laugh.] And if I did, I don't remember! [Which, if true, is also worrying in itself!]

Things don't always have to be obvious for there to be a plan behind it.

[—But anyway. He's bringing the mood down.] Also, I had a cat. [A laugh.]

Maybe you fell into a hole to be brought here.

[Amused. But then his smile shadows after a moment.]

Yeah. It's true. Probably everyone's got a hidden agenda. But you can probably manage to enjoy yourself while you're looking for them, at least.

[Attempting, for a moment, to give off the impression of someone who's only really invested in fun; but he's trying a little too hard.]

Your cat traveling with you?

[Judai gets the vague impression that Zephyr is trying a little too hard at...something, but as someone who has things he wants to keep under wraps, he thinks it might be best not to bring that up for now, especially since it doesn't seem to be affecting anything.]

[Instead—] Heh, that's true!

[Even if his cat isn't here.] He was, but now I guess he's what I've got waiting for me back home. Why, d'ya want to meet him?

[It's not an inaccurate impression; but were Zephyr aware of that decision, he'd be thanking Judai.]

[Zephyr shrugs.]

Maybe I like small animals.

[Sort of true, anyway.]

I was kind of wondering if animals made it across, honestly. I've seen people and I've seen things, but I'm not sure yet about small living creatures.

Heh, yeah? There're probably some strays around. [Which...is probably taking this small animals thing way too seriously, but hey. Finding comforting things in this strange place is a thing, right?]

The cat I was traveling with wasn't really normal either, though. Whatever's blocking animals might not have applied...

Were you traveling with an animal, too?

[Zephyr makes a wibbly gesture with his hand like maybe.]

He looks like an animal, I guess, but he's what's called a sprite, and he's as smart as you or me.

[Probably smarter about some things, if Zephyr is completely honest.]

Oh...so you're worried, huh?

[And he's familiar enough with the general concept of sprites ~~from his card games~~ that he laughs a little at the description.] "Looks like an animal," huh? What kind of animal?

...I'm not worried.

[DENIAL.]

Uhhhh. Somewhere between a dog and a cat. Sometimes he has hands.

[That totally makes sense, Zephyr.]

Yeah?

[It doesn't really sound like Judai believes that Zephyr isn't worried. But he isn't exactly saying so straight out, either.]

Well, dogs and cats don't have hands, so! [It...kind of makes sense?] I'm guessing the hands aren't for eating.

[What else would they be for?]

They kind of come out of his ears?

[Zephyr tries to mime that image and doesn't get very far.]

He uses them for everything, really. Cooking, making tea, cleaning, using his smartphon...

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