♦ ♦ 19th Contract

[mortemscintilla]

Tch. It was a smarter option to stay indoors.

But if Pai is out there. Or Amber...

[ Under the awning of a ramen-stand, 'Li's sits belly up in a pyramid of empty bowls. Yes: he ate every single one. And no: he's nowhere near done. As he starts on his twelfth serving, chopsticks poised in mid-air, noodles dripping, he smiles shyly at the Network device. ]

I guess it's another of those weekends, huh?

Please try to keep the panic and shoving at a minimum. If you're lost and need directions, don't hesitate to ask.

[ Also: don't expect him to share his noodles. Get your own. ]

[ OOC: Anything that is anything goes! Just avoiding outing his true identity on the Network. Replies will be slow ~ but BACKTAGS ARE GLORIOUS! ]

Comments

action;

[brittas_it]

[Britta throws herself down next to Li and sighs angrily. If this is an acid trip, it's the worst one ever.

I mean, come on. Most of them are at least interesting.]

action;

[mortemscintilla]

[ Quietly slurping his noodles, 'Li' regards her sidelong. ]

Um...

Is something the matter? [ Other than the whole Abducted Into A Strange Universe deal. ]

action;

[brittas_it]

How long does it take to get peyote out of your system?



.....I'm asking for a friend.

[whenyouneed]

[ Impetus cannot eat as much as Carla. She is, however, very very pregnant and the pregnancy itself is... a strange one. She is very hungry: eating for two. Or maybe it's stress. She's here alone and due any day. ]

[ She is not normally a clumsy woman, but... he's made a mess, and when she stands to make a trip to a bathroom in the store across the street, she knocks over his pyramid of bowls. ]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei wouldn't be what he is if he weren't aware of every micron of his surroundings. He's kept his eyes politely averted from the pregnant lady with Carla's face (a body-double; a shapeshifter; a product from an alternate universe -- the possibilities are endless, but, ultimately, not his problem.) ]

[ When she upends his little pyramid, he switches automatically into 'Li'-mode. A little flail, a clumsy (unsuccessful) grab for the bowls, and a hasty, ]

Ah! I-I'm sorry about that, Miss. [ Although she's the one who knocked everything over. ]

[whenyouneed]

[She stares down at him with a blank expression for a moment, her hands curled around that enormous stomach.]

You ate all of that.

[There's a vague note of disdain, but she's seen similar abilities in her schoolmates, depending on their powers. Others could barely eat at all.]

[retrocausal]

[ two small hands cover his eyes. she leans in to murmur ]

And if I'm not lost?

[mortemscintilla]

[ He shouldn't be caught off-guard so easily. Yet he is. When she speaks, his insides tilt and skew. Time plays such surreal tricks -- the months since they'd last spoken collapse into nothing, and at the same time, the events of just hours ago fade beyond recall. ]

[ He doesn't jump. Doesn't gape or stammer. He does what he always does when confronted with the unexpected. ]

[ He stills. ]

... Amber.

[retrocausal]

[ the stool next to his is empty. she removes her hands and sits there, one knee bent, both arms wrapped around it, the pin-up pose. she's not sixteen this time around; the angles of her face are sharper, but her smile is soft, ]

It's been a while [ she glances at the empty bowls and giggles ] But some things don't change.

video;

[howhappyarethey]

THIS IS AWWWWWWWWWESOOOOOOOOOMMMMMME!

video;

[mortemscintilla]

[ Aghast, he stares at the screen, ]

Erm...

H-Hello?

video;

[howhappyarethey]

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

pardon me, I'm very rusty!

[regressed]

[As she walks through the streets, she pulls her blanket more tightly around her shoulders. This isn't Tokyo, but any fool could see that. It also can't be death. She doesn't think death would be a city. She still feels alive. One sign of that is her growling stomach.

She is hungry, but she doesn't have any money with her, just what she'd been wearing when they'd headed toward the Gate. Still, the smell of the ramen stand is tempting and lures her nearer. Food... She can still enjoy it. She's still human enough. Or she could enjoy it, if she were able to pay for it.

She breathes in the smell of the cooking food as she comes closer, deeply. The smell's free, at least. She thinks of recipes, of making dishes like this for the children. They'd like to eat here, she's sure.]

Squeeee<33

[mortemscintilla]

[ Pedestrians plod and drift past the stand, but Hei spots her almost instantly. The waif-figure in a blanket. The shock of red hair. He half-turns in his stool to face her, chopsticks arrested halfway to his lips. He seems surprised, then pleased: it all shutters across his face quickly, eventually landing on an almost-smile. His stare, reflective, dark, is a quiet Hello. ]

Lost?

[ It's a coded shorthand for Good to see you, Carmine. ]

[regressed]

[She manages a slight smile in return at the sight of Hei.]

Must be. Since I don't know where I am.

[Good to see you, too. She walks up to where he's sitting. He's the first familiar thing in this unfamiliar place.]

Seems like it's far from where I was.

[In more ways than one. Her powers aren't returning anymore, she's not being held captive, and she feels almost peaceful, in spite of the strange surroundings.]

action :3:3

[negativegate]

[Well, this is weird--it's a familiar type of day, only now things have been reversed: she's the visitor.

She wonders if there's anyone here that remembers her.]

Maybe if someone needs directions to food...

[She stands a few feet behind Li, eyeing those bowls and just wondering...how.]

action \^^/

[mortemscintilla]

[ The familiar voice makes 'Li' half-turn. Eyes and mouth shiny; a bit of spring onion stuck to his face. Recognizing the speaker, he beams, ]

Rita-chan!

action \^^/

[negativegate]

[Ewww, Li, please. Momentary gross-out over, her eyes widen a little--not that she's happy he recognizes her or anything.]

S-so you're still here, huh...

action;

[chrometophilia]

[Slowly inching towards the stand to see if there's any fortune cookies she can...appropiate. Maybe a few of the rainbow coins as well?

To her disappointment? No cookies.] Great. This place is a nightmare.

[Well, then. She spots Li, and walks over.] I need you to pinch me.

[distinctions]

[ Eliot's not shadowing Parker. He's just keeping an eye on her. Shadowing would imply he's trying to hide his presence and, well, he's not. ]

[chrometophilia]

[Her ever-present shadow, standing by to carry her off if she accidentally stabs someone?

She's not stabbing anymore, Eliot, for the love of god.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Rest easy, Eliot. He doesn't stab unless stabbed first. ]

[ Besides. ]

[ He's undercover. ]

action;

[mortemscintilla]

[ (No cookies, alas. He already ate them 8| )]

[ He glances up when she approaches, a bit of noodle dangling from his mouth. His habitual tendency to slide into flustering at the first sign of Strangers+Strange Requests turns up to red-faced stammers, ]

P-Pinch you?

[imitateverything]

[Bouncing along at shin level.]

Puu!

[mortemscintilla]

[ 'Li' promptly chokes on his mouthful of noodles, ]

Gah!

[ OMG WHAT ARE YOU? ]