Day 49: Noon - South Street

[dual_worlds]

((From here.))As he approached the unusual building, Spock noted the manner in which the doors and windows were boarded up, presumably to keep trespassers from entering. He circled around onto South Street while glancing over the old structure. Oddly enough, some of the boards had been removed. Slowing his pace, the half-Vulcan science officer

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[quarter_english]

In spite of the rain, and in spite of the fact that it had taken all morning (relieved by a quick stop in Tasty Burger, where L had redeemed his meal coupon and eaten only the ice cream), and in spite of the constant presence of their overseers, L and Howell had managed to scope out most of the area.

Appearances were often deceiving, but on the surface, at least, Doyleton lived up to its reputation as a sleepy small town. Because little about the place seemed worthy of immediate suspicion, it was necessary to dig deeper to find out to what degree, if any, he could dismiss the town as incidental rather than integral to the situation at the Institute. But it shares some of the hospital's peculiarities; it operates under similar conditions, or it did a week ago... do the people here remember their nights?

There was more to be done. At the top of the list was talking to the locals, insofar as it was possible to get them to respond to him. He wasn't optimistic. Perhaps he would get Howell to talk, and he could listen, but in some scenarios, that would be only a small improvement. Of the people he had met so far, that woman Meche seemed the most suited to this kind of assignment. He made a mental note to talk to her again.

As L walked down the street, a feeling began to nag at him, a hint that his subconscious had already noted something that hadn't yet come to his conscious attention. He paused, then frowned at the small building they were approaching.

There had been a commercial space for rent on one of the other streets, but this was something different. Doyleton was small, and while it didn't have the appearance of great prosperity, it seemed reasonably well-kept apart from the vandalism. This place was irregular in context, then. He had seen no other abandoned buildings so far. The fact that it was so close to the commercial center of town seemed doubly strange.

Then he became aware of another peculiar element. All day, nurses had been a visible presence, patrolling the area, suggesting definite boundaries, making their presence known. He pushed back the hood of his raincoat, then reached up to rub his scalp. A look over his shoulder showed that there were no nurses watching them at the moment.

"That building," he said, in a neutral tone. "What do you make of it, Howell?"

[slipperymagic]

Howl followed Ryuuzaki's indication. It was easy to spot the building he meant. The thing looked long since abandoned, and down to the last detail it was perfect (for an empty eyesore, of course). This whole place was the ideal model of a little town. It was just the right amount of flawed to make it thoroughly convincing, and that was more frightening than any plastic over-idealized fantasy. Howl hadn't spotted the slightest hint of seams or rushed craftsmanship, which had been discouraging. If this was magic, it was powerful. It was beyond anything he himself was capable of. He couldn't imagine what it would have taken to craft such a place.

However, an empty, ignored house held promise.

"Nothing is ever as pretty behind the scenes, where they think the guests will never step foot," he considered with a bit more genuine bounce to his step. The absence of authority helped to cheer him up, and of all the people he had met, Ryuuzaki was the least stressful. Thus, he allowed his curiosity to show.

"We can cross our fingers for a bit of shoddy workmanship," he added, gesturing outwards optimistically. "I might be able to do something with that." His mind nearly stumbled onto the thought that playing with a mistake could call down a disaster on them. It could collapse the world, cause an explosion, get them noticed. Howl did not wish to stand out to their captor. The willpower it took to pointedly pretend he had not imagined such a prospect was painful. Luckily, however, Ryuuzaki knew nothing of magic. Howl only needed to do or say what he thought was prudent, and Ryuuzaki would have to take his word for it, even if he disliked it.

[quarter_english]

L, still frowning, turned the full weight of his gaze on Howell.

We should go in...? It seemed both foolish and inevitable. He had no desire to be killed while trapped in the environs of the Institute -- he was, in fact, determined not to be -- but having any chance of escaping from it meant taking calculated risks.

Apart from that, Howell's concerns seemed to be predicated on the possibility of magical... what? Creation, manipulation? The likelihood was far better that it was a normal abandoned building in a dull little town, presenting no danger at all. There was no way of being sure unless they investigated it.

He sighed. "If you think the place has some... inherent esoteric danger... you will be far better equipped than I am to deal with it." He sounded resigned to this sad state of affairs, unable to take the lead because of his own lack of skill, truly regretful about the situation. His sincerity showed in his wide, dark eyes. "I will follow you."

He hoped it would work.

[slipperymagic]

For a brief moment, Howl narrowed his eyes at Ryuuzaki and his plaintive attempts at appearing vulnerable and in desperate need of protection from the evil magics that lurked within. Howl was, perhaps, not the most astute about the subtleties of his fellow humans, but he had learned enough about Ryuuzaki. The culprit was not the fact that he sounded insincere, but rather, the words and the emotions expressed were so stunningly unlikely that Howl could not stop his skepticism from showing.

Slowly, the unimpressed expression morphed into one of his winning smiles. Specifically, the smile he gave people when he clearly wished for them to know that the wool was not being pulled over his eyes.

"Well, I would hardly wish to thrust any magical risk upon you." Somewhat true. Somewhat untrue. Really, it had nothing at all to do with Ryuuzaki himself. "You are indeed incapable on the subject. It's not your fault, really."

Howl brushed his way around Ryuuzaki to take the lead, but not without a mental cringe. He was neatly trapped in his temporary position of authority. Normally, howl was quite satisfied to let Ryuuzaki make calls, but then Howl had to go and brag about his magical education. What a lovely advantage that gave him now. Howl made an obvious show of disgust at the state of the building, when truly he hardly cared, and artfully toed his way through the opening.

[To here.]