ioduanlogs | [OPEN] an adjustment period

Characters: The Fool, FitzChivalry Farseer, Devin Parker + OPEN
Date: The first week of March.
Location: Around Aifaran.
Situation: The Fool is having a rough time.
Warnings/Rating: None currently, will update as needed.

I. CRIME 3 - INSURANCE [DEVIN]

The Fool's clever tongue has often been weapon enough to fend off sticky situations, but as the end of the previous month demonstrated to him, a barbed retort does little to repel an assailant bent on roughing him up in a back alley. He still sports the evidence of the assault on his face now; some stitches just above his eyebrow and a discoloured bruise on one of his cheekbones, to say nothing of what the fabric of his clothes conceals.

This 'insurance policy,' offered to him so candidly by a deceptively kindly neighbour, sends a shock of dread rocketing through him.

His first impulse (once he has been divested of what little money he possesses in order to pay for that 'protection' for the month) is to seek out Fitz, because in the throes of a crisis they have always sought each other out. But that very instinct that compels them to aid each other has resulted in catastrophic recklessness in the past--and, if he interrogates his concerns deeply enough, the Fool knows that he still harbours deep fear over what his close proximity to his Catalyst in Aifaran might spell for the future of Konryu. No, he decides, better to choose a cooler head, one less inclined to settle the dispute with an axe.

That is how he ends up outside Devin Parker's door. He knocks once, and waits, straightening his tunic. (It won't at all distract attention away from what has been done to his face, but there's no helping that now.)

II. THE DREAMING BRIDGE [FITZ]

He masks it well, but the Fool is not sleeping soundly. If he were to be truthful, he has not slept soundly since before Aslevjal.

The injuries he sustained at the end of the previous month were just severe enough for him to seek out the assistance of a healer (Eiji had said something about a hospital, which put the Fool very much in mind of the sick rooms where the ill and dying were housed in his own world, but the sight of his own blood was enough to force him into it). Now, in addition to a small line of stitches above one of his eyebrows and a bruise forming on one of his cheekbones, the Fool cannot sleep.

That is, perhaps, not strictly accurate. He can fall asleep. His nightmares prevent him from staying asleep.

His restless feet carry him out of his rooms and down to the cafeteria, where he fumbles with one of the machines until it manages to produce a cup of tea. This he clasps between two hands and approaches one of the windows to look out towards the lights of the rest of the city. It's raining; else he might go for a walk.

III. ARTS 3 [OPEN]

If fate has decided to do him one kindness over the past week, it is this: the approach of a cafe owner who, having glimpsed some of the Fool's carving, offered to put some of the pieces on display in her business. The money gained through selling a few of the pieces to her is enough to put his mind at ease; it more than makes up for the money taken from him by force earlier in the week.

He's seated at the cafe terrace now with a cup of tea in hand and a few other pieces on display; perhaps he'll attract the attention of someone willing to invest in more than just one of his pieces.

Threaded | Flat

Devin is doing what he often does when alone and not at work, which is reading. Work these days is also spent surrounded by books, but that suits him. He has a small stack on the floor next to his bed, and is immersing himself in Castian mythology when there's a knock at the door.

He leaves the book on his pillow as he stands. Opening the door to see who's disturbed him, Devin's expression shifts noticeably from faint annoyance to surprise and then thinly veiled concern.

"Bloody hell, Fool, what happened?" He steps back to allow the prophet entry, seeing little point in lingering on the threshold. The Fool has very clearly taken some sort of beating, and by the rate of healing it can't have been more than a few days since the assault.

So, art.

Eve still hasn't moved out of the Dreaming Bridge; art is the kind of thing you put in a place when you intend to live there for a while. When it matters to you. (This would be why her place on Earth has never had much, but the Library has.) She still appreciates it, though, and the things in the window catch her eye.

Doesn't hurt to stop and look, and possibly get some tea. Eve's inside and poking around when she spots the Fool on the terrace; a few minutes later, she's coming out to join the Fool. "These are all yours, then?"

II

Fitz has a small carrysack over one arm, with various small things that might ease the Fool's existence. It took him some time to finish his work with the exhibition. There was always one more task, Tom, one more, and another, and might you assist these people with this installation? The weeding is exemplary work but you must now uproot these seven small trees and place them in this square instead for no discernible reason other than that we ask it...

Well.

The point is that he has tracked the Fool by his directions and by his 'yimo', and so he goes to him. It is dark, but he is not tired. Only tired of being around those who know him not at all.

There is a symbol on the wall of this building. He knows enough to know that he can find food inside, and so he pushes the door open gently. He will purchase something to bring to the Fool.

Or he will find the Fool himself. "Fool!"

Though not necessarily inclined to offer her skills outside of work, the fact that Devin had requested her aid meant it was important, at least to him. While city was large enough that she couldn't chase down every lead, or solve every problem as she had attempted in Keeliai, she supposed that helping in this instance wouldn't go amiss. She knocked lightly on the door of the room Devin had mentioned, not quite sure what she was going to find on the other side, though there was a soul there. Just one. Hopefully it belonged to the person she was supposed to be helping, and hopefully it wouldn't take long.

"Hello?" It seemed polite to add voice to the knock, "Devin said you needed some help?"

Edited (shhhh. I know my roman numerals) 2018-03-17 23:11 (UTC)

With the frankly alarming quantities of caffeine that Tony consumes, he spends a lot of time and disposable income in the city's cafes. Klaus' magical interdimensional coffee beans only go so far.

When he sees the Fool, he greets him with a cheerful "Hey," and then adds, with his usual tact, "You look like crap. I didn't know wood-carving was so dangerous. Did the tree fight back?"

I

III

no subject

IV. I'm a Rebel

III