03 VXXCX

[sociomonere]

[ He's been hiding for a while now, wandering the city and feeling enclosed, like he's about to be caught at any moment. The tick-tick-tick metronome of the clock has done him no good either, like the footsteps of something hideous following him everywhere. The witch is laughing in the back of his mind, always. Joined now by recent memories of once again residing within Momma's house. There is no escape. ]

Please let me out.

[ A pitiful little voice. ]

Comments

video:

[grigio]

Tallendi?

Is there anything I can do for you?

[Minus helping him get out of the City. She's not sure how to do that.]

video;

[sociomonere]

[ He's still not pointing the camera at his face, instead letting it wander around the surrounding area, it looks like an empty part of Xanadu. ]

I'm supposed to be running.

[ As if that explains everything. ]

Re: video;

[grigio]

Running from something?

[She's just wondering.]

Re: video;

[sociomonere]

[ Running away from home, from his family, from those graves. Running away from home, from the carnage, from the girl. ]

Everything.

[ Always running because there is no home. ]

Re: video;

[grigio]

Does that really help? Running?

Re: video;

[sociomonere]

I can't go home.

video;

[grigio]

Why not? Is there something wrong with home?

[anunluckypenny]

I'm sorry. There's no getting out until the City lets you go.

[sociomonere]

I don't like staying in one place.

[anunluckypenny]

There really aren't any other choices.

[sociomonere]

There never are.

[ Arranged marriages suck. ]

[anunluckypenny]

Being less negative about where you're stuck can help, though.

[sociomonere]

What's not to be negative about?

[ Dead eyes. Stubborn teenager. ]

[deadmanbusiness]

Tallendi? Are you okay?

[sociomonere]

I hate it here.

[ Muh muh muh child.]

[deadmanbusiness]

I know. Most of us do.

[sociomonere]

None of you have to deal with her. Or her mother.

[... but Theo is also the only one who knows about Her, so maybe it's just a relief being able to complain about it to someone other than the crow that follows him everywhere.]

[deadmanbusiness]

No. I just have to deal with my family.

But neither her or her mother are here nor are my family.

Where have you been staying?

[sociomonere]

The witches had me.

[ Which is why he is so surly now, why he's been hiding and trying to move around the city enough to alleviate the sense of horrifying confinement. ]

action;

[sleepingstar]

[Pai lounges almost bonelessly at one of the cafes, poking at her parfait. Hei forced her out of the apartment, but there are only so many parfaits a girl can eat.

She's.

So.

Bored.

She notices Tallendi walking past, and vaguely recognizes him.]

action;

[sociomonere]

[ He kind of recognizes her too. She was one of the pretty girls who saw his flailing freak out when he first got here and Bethle lost her shit. It embarrasses him, and he never really got the chance to flash a smile at this one and smooth it all over. ]

[ He is also... very hungry, and that parfait she's not eating looks pretty good. So he puts on a wan smile that tries to be charming and comes over. The crow watching over him is nearby in a tree, shifting back and forth to make itself comfortable. ]

Hey there.

action;

[sleepingstar]

[If he's aiming for charming, he misses it by a mile. Of course, that might not be his fault. Pai is, by nature, impossible to charm.]

What are you doing?

action;

[sociomonere]

Saying hi, being friendly.

[ He says this with authority, as if educating a newb.]

action;

[sleepingstar]

Why?

action;

[sociomonere]

Because that's what people do.

[ And he takes the opportunity to sit in the chair across from her. ]

We've met before, right?