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Entry tags:

(open)

Characters: Chase AND YOU
Date: anywhen Jan 30 - Feb 2
Location: Breakwater Wing + out and about
Situation: discovering his Talent + this is what rank 5 commerce has wrought
Warnings/Rating: n/a

A. Destruction
[He'd returned to the room he'd been assigned last night, and so it is that he gets up bright and early, ready for the day, swinging his legs out of bed without any need to throw off a blanket because he didn't sleep with one, and heads out.]

[Opening doors...it's a fact of life. But not once in his life has Chase pulled on a doorknob to have the doorknob get pulled without the door. He's left standing with a doorknob in his hand, door still firmly closed, while pieces of metal fall to the floor and roll by his feet.]

[Hope no one wanted to exit or enter Breakwater Wing today.]

B. Commerce
[Chase doesn't interact with the proper residents of Aifaran often; the daily lives of the people who belong here simply doesn't concern him most of the time. But today he's accosted by a man. Wearing shades. Indoors.]

[Who takes one look at Chase's purple leather outfit and, upon declaring Chase the perfect man for the job, has dragged him outside, across the street, and stuck him out in front of a store with a sign.]

Hip & Trendy Clothes
They're hip! And trendy!
[The sign is made of only moderately stiff cardboard and glitter paste. The store may or may not be a front for something. And Chase looks entirely deadpan to be there.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Eiji is not someone who pays attention to clothes much. Which may be obvious, considering he is wearing a tie-dye T-shirt, a long white vest, and extremely baggy purple pants. If anything, he probably should go to this store. But he doesn't plan on it.

He does, however stop when he notices the model just...staring. Into nothing.]

Um, are you okay?

It is an errand. [Those are things that exist, therefore.]

[He looks Eiji up and down. Chase really isn't one to talk about fashion, but—] You are Dreamfolk?

[Totally not (intentionally) insinuating things, there, nope.]

[Errand...that's...okay. The funny thing is that Eiji can accept that because he has volunteered to do ridiculous things to help other people. He just usually doesn't stare blankly the whole time.]

Dreamfolk? Um, yeah, I guess that's what they called us. Are you too?

[It’s just his resting robot face.]

I am.

[His expression is a little more engaged when he answers, but it's still mostly expressionless. That is, until he sees a member of the Sentry pass by—looks innocuous enough, but Chase's gaze follows her until she's passed.]

There have been more of them than usual in this area. ...Have you been here long enough to notice?

[Eiji follows that gaze, but he just looks puzzled--everything seemed to be all right to him, but did Chase see something he missed?]

Not really. I kinda just got here. I'm still trying to figure everything out.

Verdant Sentry...otherwise known as...police.

They don't normally follow me around. [Chase has been here long enough to notice that much. And if Eiji hasn't noticed, then they must be here for Chase. ~~That, or something unrelated, but what are the odds?~~]

I will investigate. [It doesn't occur to him to ask whether Eiji will, too, but he does push the sign toward Eiji a little, like he's asking him to hold it.]

[Eiji does take the sign, which is probably a mistake, but he's still trying to keep an eye on Chase.]

Why would they be following you?

I don't know.

[Without waiting to see if Eiji will follow, he turns and heads into the shop. Spotting a door behind the cashier, he overrides the clerk's protests with, "I work here" (is that why he handed off the sign? Who knows) and flings open the suspicious door.]

[...Looks like a closet. So he starts running his hands along the back wall.]

What do you know of secret entrances?

[Eiji sets the sign next to the cashier with a quick "Sorry!" and follows right after him.]

Not much. What are you looking for?

[Chase glances back at the sign when Eiji puts it down, but whatever me might have wanted it for, seems like he doesn't need it now.]

A secret entrance.

[His hand brushes against a block of upraised wall. The clerk, possibly sensing he's near to something, approaches again, but he pushes her firmly away.]

[To Eiji, he says—] I have a feeling. [He pushes against the piece of wall.]

[...Nothing happens for several seconds, before the entire back wall of the closet crashes down. Welp, looks like Chase broke it.]

[He looks back at Eiji now.] It looks like a tunnel. [More like a dark hallway.] I will go first.

[Okay, well, yeah. When you put it like that, Eiji sounds like an idiot.

But then the wall comes crashing down and now he's staring in open-mouthed horror.]

What? You can't just...

[And yet, here he is following Chase down the hallway.]

I can. [There Chase goes again, being overly literal...]

[The hallway is rather short, and terminates in another door, which he forces open. The small room beyond looks abandoned, sporting only a table haphazardly out of place and some scratches on the floor.]

...This must be what the Sentry are looking for. [This room has definitely seen criminal activity recently. Definitely.]

[He takes a few steps inside.] I'm Chase. [Back him up when he goes to talk to the Sentry and tries to convince them that Chase has nothing to do with it despite having accepted this job apropos of nothing?] I will report this...

Uh, okay.

[There's...really not much else Eiji can say to that. After all, what was he supposed to say? "No, I'm getting out of here and you do it yourself"?]

...Didn't we just...contaminate the crime scene, or something, though?

[It's a little late to come to the realization that they probably made matters worse, but better than never, right?]

[He isn't good at talking. (Socializing, rather.) He'd probably come off as suspicious if he talked to the Sentry by himself.]

They'll have to deal with it. [Regardless whether or not they've contaminated the scene, they can't exactly just leave it alone.]

[Though, if that's a concern, he probably shouldn't contaminate it even more. When he turns back to Eiji to go back, though, it does occur to him that he doesn't know anything about Eiji, much less if he wants or wanted to help.] ...You followed. You were concerned?

[Chase really is bad at socializing. Eiji is completely thrown off by the frank question.]

Uh...well, yeah. I mean, I didn't know what was going on, but it looked like you needed help, so...

[Admittedly, he might not be a great choice to talk to the Sentry either, but he might be slightly better at sounding less like they're guilty of something.]

...I do need your help. You are my witness...accompany me when I speak to the Sentry.

[He gives the room a glance-over again. Still definitely looks like it was host to criminal activity. (How does he know this? He has a feeling.)]

I was not associated with this operation. You believe me?

[Wow, that doesn't put Eiji on the spot at all.]

I--I do! Just...

[Eventually, he just sighs and goes with it, like he's been doing the whole time.]

Just lead the way.

[Chase gives Eiji a bit of a look, because he at least knows better than to take that at face value when Eiji was just protesting not even a second ago.]

I am asking. I won't make you.

[He seen police force more corrupt than what he's seen of the Sentry. And the residents of Aifaran seem to regard the Dreamfolk as odd. It should be fine, regardless.]

You have not spoken to the Sentry before?

No, I'll help.

[He's in this far, right? He can't just leave Chase on his own.

He shakes his head.]

No, I'm really new here. I've basically only been shown where to stay. I really don't know much about...well, anything yet.

You have my thanks.

[With that said, he turns to exit.]

[Getting involved in this after only having just arrived does seem a little sudden, though.] You seem to be adjusting well.

[There was a lot of figurative shouting on the Lae network when Chase had first arrived. The strongest reaction that Chase had, though, was to the mark.]

You have a mark on your body?

You're welcome.

[Adjusting well? Well, comparitively speaking, when Eiji's mostly been pretty distracted...]

Uh, I guess? I kind of had some other things to worry about, but so far, it looks like they're under control, so I guess I don't have to worry about it too much...

[But on the comment of a mark, Eiji instinctively looks to his left hand before realizing what Chase is talking about and moving his hand closer to his back.]

Oh, that tattoo or whatever it is? Yeah, it's not in a place where I saw it right away. It's kind of weird, though.

[Sounds like the "other things" are likely things that Eiji brought from his home, if he can tell that they're under control.] That is good.

[Or maybe he manifested his Talent really early. Chase had a bit of trouble with it, himself.]

It is weird. [But Chase happened to be looking over, so he catches the glance.] You have a different mark?

Huh?

[Was Eiji being too obviously suspicious? Answer: Duh.]

No, nothing wrong! Just that one mark. So, what does it mean?

[Chase gives him a bit of an disbelieving glance, but doesn't say anything immediately, emerging back into the shop proper and picking up the sign again.]

I don't know. Supposedly it's connected to our souls.

[He glances back at Eiji. Arm, or back? ...Whichever the case—]

Which one do you have?

Oh? Um...

[It's his back. It's definitely his back, just on the left side, because he is lifting his shirt to show off this mark.]

It's, uh, kind of hard for me to see it.

[Why no, he really has no shame.]

B

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