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Entry tags:

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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.]

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[Jump back he does, though his brow draws together for only a moment.]

I felt a shock. Is that normal for you?

[A punch may have been less shocking; the point was for Padparadscha to attack, no matter how lightly, really. And though he doesn't care to get shocked again, he holds out his hand. Might as well see this through.]

...Do it again.

[Padparadscha withdraws their hand as soon as he reacts like that, though their expression becomes much more sober when he mentions the shock.]

It isn't. [But they think he would know that anyway, so it's not too surprising when he reaches his hand out again. Padparadscha is somewhat reluctant to take him up on it, considering they feel they do enough damage normally - but they need to figure it out at some point, and better someone offering themselves up than some hapless passerby.

They reach out again to touch his hand. This time, with more awareness, the shock may be enough to briefly stun him.]

[This was...a bad idea. He should’ve engaged his Rider form first, but he didn’t think the shock would get any stronger. But even with that, he’s experienced worse, even as he jerks away and then stumbles backward.]

[He takes a breath, and straightens slowly as the shock fades.] That was probably it. How did you feel?

["Do you feel like you can control it," he means. Though that might be slightly hypocritical, coming from him.] Do you require gloves?

[Padparadscha again withdraws their hand as soon as the effect takes hold, to make sure it doesn't do anything worse. They look at it for a moment, expression difficult to read, before their face clears up into something more typically light and amused.]

Now that I know it's there, it should be fine. Though I have gloves if I really need them. They can be useful, huh?

[In the case of gems, occasionally for holding their arms together in the event of taking a hit they're too brittle to withstand, but this works too.]

[In response, Chase opens and closes his gloved hand.] Indeed.

How does it feel to you? [He's only basing this on the fact that he could compare the control of his ability to something he already knew; he's wondering if there's a connection there for Padparadscha as well. Talking about the mark and the ability in terms of souls is one thing...having that conjecture confirmed is another.]

[He hadn't quite missed the brief change in Padparadscha's demeanor, either, even if he can't yet interpret it.]

[That moment of change in expression is all Chase will have to work with, now that Padparadscha has returned to their composure. It's not easy to break it in the first place, but this is a somewhat exceptional circumstance for them.

They hum a little, stretching their arms out.] Subtle. At my fingertips, but not unnatural. Which is strange for a power only given to us here.

[It's remarkably familiar, not like something only introduced before the equivalent of the blink of an eye to them.]

["Subtle" is one way of putting it. He supposes it describes what it felt like for him, too.]

That's that, I suppose.

[Since it doesn't seem like Padparadscha is that bothered, after all.]

That is strange, but...everything is strange. [He's alive and well, after all.] No more strange than anything else...

Well well, you sound like you're adjusting well. That's good, little one. [Accepting that everything is strange is a good start when it comes to accepting an entire new world. Padparadscha has had to do it before with the Moon Colony, and now again with this shortly after, and it's really not a hard switch to make for them.

That might just be because of how radically different their world seems to be from anyone else's, though.]

But it's a little strange that you can't control it if it feels kind of natural, right?

...I suppose. [He still hasn’t found himself a new purpose, so he could argue about how well he's adjusted...but he also isn’t programmed for culture shock.]

[As for the question...] It’s like a forgotten skill...it is not so strange. [Forgetting their skills is something that happens to humans. And Chase has recovered his programming once or twice, when it was meddled with. He can’t say that it feels exactly like that, but at the very least the concept isn’t foreign to him.]

[And, as usual, it's the fact that it might have been programmed into him without him being aware for it is what he's worried about, because it means he doesn't know who did it.]

That it feels natural...must be intentional.

Of course. [Padparadscha seems to be adapting to this new knowledge very quickly, rolling their arms back as they think on it a little more.] They would want us to use it, to become familiar with it...whoever gave it to us. Maybe they think it'll make us feel more at home here, huh?

[There's a lot of talk of magic they've heard, but not so many people who can actually use it. Perhaps a part of bringing together the people here is giving them that common ability.

It does draw into question one other thing, though, and Padparadscha gives a lengthy, curious hum.] So I wonder what it is the other kinds of magic here do.

[Both of theirs seem designed to do harm, which is unlikely to be a coincidence considering their shared marking.]

Or to make us drop our guard. [Making it feel familiar makes it more likely to be overlooked; he knows from experience. Even after he started to question his memory loss caused by Brain's rewiring, he was willing to take Heart's word. But the fact that he is on his guard now might mean that whoever did this was sloppy.]

...Too early to say. [That there is a "who" is only a conjecture, after all, and he has no proof whatsoever.]

[He lightly touches the spot on his chest where, underneath his jacket, his mark is.] All we have to do is ask. [Evolved Roidmude each had personalized abilities, so for this, he doesn't make any guesses.]

You are curious about this magic?

Edited 2018-02-24 00:21 (UTC)

Of course, that's always possible too. [Padparadscha's agreement to that is rather casual, if with a slightly more straightforward edge to it than some of their other remarks have been.] But if you're suspicious, that undermines your own point a little, doesn't it?

[It's merely suggested, not meant to be a direct argument so much as a supplement to his thought. Their interest piques more when the subject changes to the magic, though, and it gets a slight laugh and shrug.]

We had nothing like it in my world, so yes, I'm a little bit curious. Are you not?

Something like it has happened to me before. [Hence his suspicion. But he doesn't mind having his point undermined anyway; if it turns out he's wrong, then he's wrong.]

I don't mind mysteries... I do not need to know precisely how things work in order to work them. [Magic included.]

[But there certainly are a lot of mysteries here.] Purpose...is what I mean to figure out. If the marks do mean something...I'd rather not be too late to do something about it.

[He pauses, and then leans against the wall, arms folded.] You said I was like a sentry...but I am not. I do not watch for threats to prevent them. But in my world...it was a conflict I could not avoid. If I was brought here to commit a nefarious purpose, I will put a stop to it.

Seems like a strange thing to have happen more than once. [They're not going to pry, but if he chooses to speak on the subject, they're also not going to turn down the additional information. They're unlikely to ever learn as much about the people here as they did the ones of their own world, but it would be a waste not to try at all.

His concern is a valid one, though, even if Padparadscha's expression remains faintly amused.] Well, I suppose it depends on how long we have to find out. If it's only months, we may not be able to catch it. But I think if we were brought here for a reason, the ones who had been here before may have had more to say about it, with how many of them there seem to be.

[It's no reason to completely dismiss the idea, but it doesn't seem to entirely line up to their mind. As it is, they'll be attentive to it, but unlikely to go out of their way unless they see inklings of it becoming a problem.]

[He peers at Padparadscha briefly at the comment, but takes it at face value and doesn't elaborate. Despite that one similarity, the two situations are different enough that it doesn't even occur to him to provide it as information.]

[As for the ones who were here before...] If it was apparent then.

[There were (had been, rather) 108 Roidmude, not including himself, who hadn’t been meant to do specific tasks in particular. Banno hadn’t needed to be active for Heart to pursue his own designs. He understands Padparadscha’s point, but nefarious plots don’t need to be meticulous.]

[He glances upward, at the dome.]

[Especially since they’re essentially trapped, in more than one way.]

[But despite what it sounds like, he isn’t horribly invested in the idea.] We shall see.

[In the meantime—] If you need to practice with that ability...you can call on me. I have some resistance to shocks. [In his other forms, mostly, but hey.]

If it wasn't apparent then, then who says it will be now? [Again, their tone isn't one of someone particularly invested in the subject, just making suggestions. They've noticed already that many of the humans here have a habit of thinking as if definite answers will present themselves at some point, if only they look hard enough.

They've lived a little too long to think it's always that simple.

In any case, they're more prepared for his offer this time, and so they don't slip the way they did earlier, slight smile remaining in place.]

I'll see what I can do first. But the offer could come in useful. [Better him than someone who isn't expecting it, or might even be weak to it. They don't need to do any more damage than this.]

Because things change. [And he was just throwing ideas out there, himself, anyway.]

[In any case—]

You know my room number and my name. [He holds up his yimo. Since they've talked to each other on the thing, they both know that the other knows how to use it.]

There are no conditions attached. If you need it, then I will not mind.

And some things stay the same. [There's no real point in arguing it, though, when the truth will reveal itself in time one way or the other.

As for his offer, Padparadscha gives a nod of understanding, starting to step off. They've got a lot to think about, and though the offer is welcome, they'd prefer to have a little practice on their own first.]

I'll remember it if I need it. [Waving a hand, they start heading out into the city rather than back towards the Dreaming Bridge.] Try not to be breaking more doors next time we see each other, huh?

[There have been one or two times he's been inclined to break doors on purpose, but—] I do not make a habit of it.

[He does glance at Padparadscha's hands as they start to leave; they haven't gone back to get gloves. But he supposes that a shock is less harmful to non-living objects than dismantling would be, and he doesn't get the impression Padparadscha would be careless with it.]

Then I will see you again. [He heads off, himself.]

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