Despite the heat, Argent had been jogging for most of the morning. He had only intended to get out, get some fresh air, and stretch his legs but after the first fifteen minutes, he had just kept going. He had the funny feeling that if he stopped for long enough before reaching the safety of the elevator, he would find himself popped once more into that stupid automobile. Though he could manage the levers and buttons and the like now, he still preferred travelling on his own two feet. It had the added bonus today of distracting him from his busy thoughts, which, even after a good night's sleep and a slow breakfast, were still surprisingly busy. Being overheated and a little out of breath helped a great deal with worries and keeping his mind in order.
As he rounded a corner, though, putting himself in direct line of sight with the elevator, his pleasant, endorphin-fueled train of thought derailed with enough suddenness that he actually half-tripped and caught the edge of the nearest house to stop himself actually falling. There were two figures standing there, both familiar, though in very different ways. Argent felt a bright flash of irritation, a gut reaction more than anything intellectual and before he'd actually realized he'd made a decision, he was jogging towards them.
By the time he got within comfortable range, he was smiling brightly, raising a hand in greeting as he slowed to a halt once again, making a show of bending over his knees and panting a little. He straightened up almost instantly, sweeping a hand through his hair to make sure it was tidy, and then giving them both cheerful nods in turn. "Mr. Reverie, Ran, you both look well today," he said in an even voice. "Especially in light of this insufferable heat. Going up or down?"
Ran turned slightly when she heard the voice greet her and, once again, found herself staring upwards, neck craned to a very odd angle. "Uh, hi there," she said with a half-forced smile, one hand still shoved deep into her bag. Eventually, she retrieved what she was looking for, a small metal hair clip -- slightly bent -- which Ran quickly pressed between both her lips as she swept her bangs off of her forehead with both her hands. "Mm," she said, the hair clip pinched between her teeth, thus making her words hard to form. "Yesh, I pfressed vuh vuddon." To clarify she gave a short nod towards the elevator.
Although pinning back her bangs came naturally to Ran -- something she'd realized fairly quickly was a bit of a nervous tick of hers -- she made a point to make a small production of it, taking her time to gather and smooth all of the hairs, while studying the man who had just greeted her. Straight off the bat, there was something that Ran didn't like, though it didn't take much of a stretch to acknowledge the fact that it probably had something to do with how much of an adult he looked. There was something painfully nondescript about him -- something that made him look something like a teacher, and not an interesting one.
Minus twenty five points, she thought and lifted her eyebrow, suddenly taking stock in what he was wearing. In the end, it was that shabby coat -- the one that immediately said hobo" to her -- that found her reconsidering her initial assessment. Perhaps he was a wildcard. Eventually, with begrudging concession, Ran quickly tacked on: Plus ten.
Plucking the hairclip from her mouth and finally snapping it closed at the crown of her head, Ran offered her hand as if in greeting, when she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure in the periphery of her vision. "What is it they say about cats and what they've just dragged in?" she asked the stranger, before finally turning her head. As she looked at Argent, she made an effort to keep the corners of her mouth tight and only barely upturned, though seeing him again so soon after the night before made this harder than she thought it should have been.
"Physical exertion, Argent?" she asked rather deadpan. "How uncouth. And in polyester, no doubt." She gestured towards the track suit that Argent was wearing -- so completely anachronistic and strange on him that she had to cover her mouth to stifle a small laugh. "I am," she eventually continued, "heading down to work. I'm not sure where your friend is going," and quickly turned her gaze back up to the stranger.
"Just Reverie, please," he said, giving Argent a small, welcoming smile all the while thinking about totally unconnected things. That was a talent he'd discovered almost immediately - it was easy to think about something and appear to be thinking about something more relevant to the actual topic of discussion. "Either way, hello, Argent. I see you've already met this young lady here, but I'm sad to say I have not had the honor." He turned back to Ran and gave her a sort of introductory once-over, noting the skepticism in her eyes, the lines of a cynic in her young face. Curious, he thought to himself, but did not allow the thought to arrive onto his face.
He would have to admit, Argent did look amusing in his track suit, but Reverie could hardly say anything as far as physical appearances were concerned. "I'm going to the scrapyard," he told them both. "I find it's an interesting place to be, even when it is so incredibly hot outside. I'm impressed, though, that you can find the will to run on a day like this."
He looked at the elevator and motioned to Ran. "Ladies first."
Argent smiled again. It seemed the easiest and safest facial expression to be making at the moment. Reverie had never been anything but pleasant or understandably curious around him, but it was hard to forget the immediacy and intensity of Bastet's reaction the first time they had ever met. And, regardless, Argent knew a little something about how appearances could be deceiving.
"Ah, Ran," he said, clapping a hand on her shoulder, perhaps a fraction more firmly than necessary. "Peer pressure, I'm afraid. When you are surrounded by individuals who can walk on walls or, alternately, put their fist through a wall with ease, one does feel something of a need to keep up. Or, at least, attempt to." He gave a half-smile and nod to Reverie. "Even on days such as today when I really ought to be inside, lounging."
He let go of Ran's shoulder and gave her a gentle push towards the elevator, his smile changing into something more teasing as he did so. "Indeed, Miss Ran. Ladies first." Then he stuck his hands in his pockets, looked at the sky in amusement, and rocked back on his heels.. "I shall accompany you two brave souls down as you head out to face the elements. I shall privately think you are mad, of course, but I shall put on a pleasant face nonetheless. And then I think I shall return home. You are quite right, Reverie. I do not have the will to run anymore today."
Ran blinked at Argent as he nudged her forward into the elevator; the thru-line of logic as to why he was joining them on their ride down was not entirely clear to her. She wondered if maybe this an attempt on his part to be ingratiating or charming. Or maybe this was some strange quirk in his personality, something impulsive and whimsical about himself that allowed him to be okay with doing it, just because he could. Or maybe it was simply a case of him having way too much free time on his hands. Whatever the reason, it bewildered Ran, and she allowed it -- if only for a moment -- to show on her face as she looked at him, before looking off and up at Reverie with a tiny shrug.
As she strode past the small panel set into the wall just beside the door, Ran pressed the button meant for the Access Point that opened up onto the floating islands. "You know," she said, settling against the back wall, tugging at her clothes and arranging her bag so it felt more settled, "I don't know what your excuse is," and as she said so she raised both eyebrows at Reverie before looking again at Argent, "but some of us have to work for a living. The sweat of my brow is not mine, after all." Ran rolled her eyes and made a gesture to the world outside as the doors began to roll closed. "It belongs to the tree."
The elevator gave another ding and there was a small jostle as it began is very slow climb down the length of the trunk. She shifted slightly, sliding along the back wall, so that she was closer to one corner rather than center. Looking first at Argent and then to the small space next to her, tilting her head to one side as if to say, yeah? "So," she then said, turning her attention towards Reverie. "Reverie, right? What've you got going on in the scrapyard? Are you one of those scavengers I read about?" An eyebrow raised high above her glasses. "Admittedly, you don't look the type."
Individuals who can walk on walls or put their fist through them...?
Reverie underlined that in his mental notes and promised himself to return to it. He chuckled, though, and nodded. "I can understand that, Argent." He followed both of them into elevator and leaned against the wall, his hands idly fiddling in his pockets. "As for my excuse -" his tone mirrored her's in that slightly sharp sort of way. "-it is my day off. I usually do work, and I'm not one to shirk my duties."
He listened to her question. Despite her age and the rebellious vibe she put out, this was a thoughtful one, a cynic, and someone with high walls to climb to get close. He shrugged at the question and tugged a tin coin out of his pocket, effortlessly but skillfully allowing it to dance around his knuckles, slip it into one sleeve and pull it out the other. "I find the scrapyard holds a lot of interesting things for me to look at and maybe even use. The tree provides us with much, but there is always a way to add on, isn't there? I'm not a scavenger, no, but perhaps I should take it on as a part-time job. I find that in the trash there can be treasures - coins and cards for tricks, coats for holding things, and even more."
Argent took the open space next to Ran, placing his back to the wall and his hands carefully sandwiched into the small of his back and himself between Ran and Reverie in general. He kept his expression mildly pleasant and tilted his head in the direction of whom ever was speaking. When Reverie pulled something out of his pocket, it flashed bright silver in the, admittedly, somewhat muted daylight of the elevator interior. Argent's eyes swivelled towards it, noting its shape and watching the coin dance between Reverie's fingers with what looked like hazy disinterest.
"My one trip to the Scavenger's Yard," he said in a light tone, even though no one had asked, "was rather unsuccessful, so kudos to you, Reverie, for being better able to exploit it to its fullest." With another dip of his head, he looked back to Ran and nodded at her with faux-glumness. "I have also, thus, been unable to find an occupation to call my own. However I employed myself in the days before Edensphere seems to be a field of study not open to me now."
He brought his hands around to the front of chest, holding his palms out, closed his eyes, and shook his head sadly. "I know, I know, this is no exc--" He paused, opening his eyes again and sliding them toward the elevator door. He pursed his lips thoughtfully for the moment as he regarded it suspiciously and then said, "Have we not been travelling for quite a while now?" As soon as he'd spoke, as if the elevator had heard him, it gave a lurch, but rather than stopping it took up it's path almost immediately once again, only this time much faster than before.
Street magician, Ran though, quirking an eyebrow at Reverie as he went about making the coin dance -- disappearing and reappearing as if out of thin air, even though Ran knew that it was merely sleight of hand. That means he's at least on some level some kind of hobo. Employment or not. In her brain, this won Reverie several more points, though she found the way that he spoke -- almost infuriatingly polite -- more than mildly off-putting. "Well," she said, tilting her head to one side as she pushed herself away from the wall slightly in Reverie's direction, "I suppose what they say is right, then. 'One man's trash is another man's treasure'? Though," and her voice shifted now into flat, practiced unamusement, "around here, it's more like: 'One tree's trash is another woefully-displaced and whitewashed individual's treasure', right?"
Settling back against the wall, she began to rummage once again through her back. Blindly this time, as Argent spoke, her face still turned towards him as she went about making sure that she hadn't forgotten her pen. She was about to say something -- something pithy but snide, something she knew that Argent would appreciate and would perhaps give Mr. Magic something to think about -- when suddenly the elevator gave a sudden lurch before shuttling down the shaft quickly towards destinations unknown.
There was a bottoming-out sensation in Ran's stomach as the elevator rushed downwards with increasing speed, and to steady herself she threw one arm against the wall beside her, the other hand reaching out to grip Argent's arm for balance. The descent couldn't have lasted more than twenty seconds, though her brain did a fairly decent job of making it seem longer than that. When it finally stopped, it was with a shuddering motion and the deep sound of something mechanical groaning and the low creak of wood, like huge branches rubbing against one another.
Looking at Reverie and then at Argent, Ran hoped that one of them would explain what had just happened. She was, after all, painfully new but even so was aware that things like this -- unexpected and unpredictable things -- seemed to be part of the daily ebb and flow of life in Edensphere. The hand on Argent's arm flexed instinctively as she looked at him, her eyes still flickering back and forth between him and Reverie questioningly; her expression was clearly disturbed and tinged with confusion, even though she didn't feel particularly scared. "Let me guess," she finally said. "That's not supposed to happen."
Despite how factual Ran had sounded, it brought a warm, amused sort of smile as he tugged on a ragged sleeve, pulling some of the threads away. Maybe he'd figure out some way to make the coat halt it's everpresent deterioration, but for now, it would do as is. He dropped coin back into his pocket and nodded. "I think the things in the junkyard come from people here - remnants of pasts of those alive or otherwise. But it's just an amusing supposition on my part, really. It's hard to find proof of anything here." He glanced up and then down, as if looking for the answers in the tips of the trees or the deep roots, even though he knew answers could be found much, much closer. He opened to answer Argent, but the lurch of the elevator upset his thoughts, even if it didn't upset his balance.
He looked at Ran and Argent about a moment after the elevator stopped it's wild descent, and upon realizing that they were probably not at the scrapyard or wherever Ran worked, a thin line pressed across his face. He firmly believed that nothing in this little fishbowl ever broke by accident, and though he could not say what the reason was here, he could most certainly say this was unusual.
"I don't think it was," he replied evenly, moving across the elevator to thumb the 'door open' button for a couple of moments, though this had the expected effect of absolutely nothing. He pressed a number of other buttons, though the elevator's brokenness (or change in operation, at least) did not include the buttons. "Well, perhaps it was supposed to happen, but it was some other being that wanted it." He was not afraid or concerned - after all, the least it could do was kill them, and that hardly seemed so terrible - but it was annoying to be moved from his plan by this world. His eyes flicked up to the number, and for some reason, he had a hunch that their pre-planned destination was indeed very unusual. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
"I suppose Edensphere has decided we should linger on the forth floor for a while, then."
As he rounded a corner, though, putting himself in direct line of sight with the elevator, his pleasant, endorphin-fueled train of thought derailed with enough suddenness that he actually half-tripped and caught the edge of the nearest house to stop himself actually falling. There were two figures standing there, both familiar, though in very different ways. Argent felt a bright flash of irritation, a gut reaction more than anything intellectual and before he'd actually realized he'd made a decision, he was jogging towards them.
By the time he got within comfortable range, he was smiling brightly, raising a hand in greeting as he slowed to a halt once again, making a show of bending over his knees and panting a little. He straightened up almost instantly, sweeping a hand through his hair to make sure it was tidy, and then giving them both cheerful nods in turn. "Mr. Reverie, Ran, you both look well today," he said in an even voice. "Especially in light of this insufferable heat. Going up or down?"
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Although pinning back her bangs came naturally to Ran -- something she'd realized fairly quickly was a bit of a nervous tick of hers -- she made a point to make a small production of it, taking her time to gather and smooth all of the hairs, while studying the man who had just greeted her. Straight off the bat, there was something that Ran didn't like, though it didn't take much of a stretch to acknowledge the fact that it probably had something to do with how much of an adult he looked. There was something painfully nondescript about him -- something that made him look something like a teacher, and not an interesting one.
Minus twenty five points, she thought and lifted her eyebrow, suddenly taking stock in what he was wearing. In the end, it was that shabby coat -- the one that immediately said hobo" to her -- that found her reconsidering her initial assessment. Perhaps he was a wildcard. Eventually, with begrudging concession, Ran quickly tacked on: Plus ten.
Plucking the hairclip from her mouth and finally snapping it closed at the crown of her head, Ran offered her hand as if in greeting, when she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure in the periphery of her vision. "What is it they say about cats and what they've just dragged in?" she asked the stranger, before finally turning her head. As she looked at Argent, she made an effort to keep the corners of her mouth tight and only barely upturned, though seeing him again so soon after the night before made this harder than she thought it should have been.
"Physical exertion, Argent?" she asked rather deadpan. "How uncouth. And in polyester, no doubt." She gestured towards the track suit that Argent was wearing -- so completely anachronistic and strange on him that she had to cover her mouth to stifle a small laugh. "I am," she eventually continued, "heading down to work. I'm not sure where your friend is going," and quickly turned her gaze back up to the stranger.
From behind her, the elevator gave a small ding.
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He would have to admit, Argent did look amusing in his track suit, but Reverie could hardly say anything as far as physical appearances were concerned. "I'm going to the scrapyard," he told them both. "I find it's an interesting place to be, even when it is so incredibly hot outside. I'm impressed, though, that you can find the will to run on a day like this."
He looked at the elevator and motioned to Ran. "Ladies first."
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"Ah, Ran," he said, clapping a hand on her shoulder, perhaps a fraction more firmly than necessary. "Peer pressure, I'm afraid. When you are surrounded by individuals who can walk on walls or, alternately, put their fist through a wall with ease, one does feel something of a need to keep up. Or, at least, attempt to." He gave a half-smile and nod to Reverie. "Even on days such as today when I really ought to be inside, lounging."
He let go of Ran's shoulder and gave her a gentle push towards the elevator, his smile changing into something more teasing as he did so. "Indeed, Miss Ran. Ladies first." Then he stuck his hands in his pockets, looked at the sky in amusement, and rocked back on his heels.. "I shall accompany you two brave souls down as you head out to face the elements. I shall privately think you are mad, of course, but I shall put on a pleasant face nonetheless. And then I think I shall return home. You are quite right, Reverie. I do not have the will to run anymore today."
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As she strode past the small panel set into the wall just beside the door, Ran pressed the button meant for the Access Point that opened up onto the floating islands. "You know," she said, settling against the back wall, tugging at her clothes and arranging her bag so it felt more settled, "I don't know what your excuse is," and as she said so she raised both eyebrows at Reverie before looking again at Argent, "but some of us have to work for a living. The sweat of my brow is not mine, after all." Ran rolled her eyes and made a gesture to the world outside as the doors began to roll closed. "It belongs to the tree."
The elevator gave another ding and there was a small jostle as it began is very slow climb down the length of the trunk. She shifted slightly, sliding along the back wall, so that she was closer to one corner rather than center. Looking first at Argent and then to the small space next to her, tilting her head to one side as if to say, yeah? "So," she then said, turning her attention towards Reverie. "Reverie, right? What've you got going on in the scrapyard? Are you one of those scavengers I read about?" An eyebrow raised high above her glasses. "Admittedly, you don't look the type."
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Reverie underlined that in his mental notes and promised himself to return to it. He chuckled, though, and nodded. "I can understand that, Argent." He followed both of them into elevator and leaned against the wall, his hands idly fiddling in his pockets. "As for my excuse -" his tone mirrored her's in that slightly sharp sort of way. "-it is my day off. I usually do work, and I'm not one to shirk my duties."
He listened to her question. Despite her age and the rebellious vibe she put out, this was a thoughtful one, a cynic, and someone with high walls to climb to get close. He shrugged at the question and tugged a tin coin out of his pocket, effortlessly but skillfully allowing it to dance around his knuckles, slip it into one sleeve and pull it out the other. "I find the scrapyard holds a lot of interesting things for me to look at and maybe even use. The tree provides us with much, but there is always a way to add on, isn't there? I'm not a scavenger, no, but perhaps I should take it on as a part-time job. I find that in the trash there can be treasures - coins and cards for tricks, coats for holding things, and even more."
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"My one trip to the Scavenger's Yard," he said in a light tone, even though no one had asked, "was rather unsuccessful, so kudos to you, Reverie, for being better able to exploit it to its fullest." With another dip of his head, he looked back to Ran and nodded at her with faux-glumness. "I have also, thus, been unable to find an occupation to call my own. However I employed myself in the days before Edensphere seems to be a field of study not open to me now."
He brought his hands around to the front of chest, holding his palms out, closed his eyes, and shook his head sadly. "I know, I know, this is no exc--" He paused, opening his eyes again and sliding them toward the elevator door. He pursed his lips thoughtfully for the moment as he regarded it suspiciously and then said, "Have we not been travelling for quite a while now?" As soon as he'd spoke, as if the elevator had heard him, it gave a lurch, but rather than stopping it took up it's path almost immediately once again, only this time much faster than before.
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Settling back against the wall, she began to rummage once again through her back. Blindly this time, as Argent spoke, her face still turned towards him as she went about making sure that she hadn't forgotten her pen. She was about to say something -- something pithy but snide, something she knew that Argent would appreciate and would perhaps give Mr. Magic something to think about -- when suddenly the elevator gave a sudden lurch before shuttling down the shaft quickly towards destinations unknown.
There was a bottoming-out sensation in Ran's stomach as the elevator rushed downwards with increasing speed, and to steady herself she threw one arm against the wall beside her, the other hand reaching out to grip Argent's arm for balance. The descent couldn't have lasted more than twenty seconds, though her brain did a fairly decent job of making it seem longer than that. When it finally stopped, it was with a shuddering motion and the deep sound of something mechanical groaning and the low creak of wood, like huge branches rubbing against one another.
Looking at Reverie and then at Argent, Ran hoped that one of them would explain what had just happened. She was, after all, painfully new but even so was aware that things like this -- unexpected and unpredictable things -- seemed to be part of the daily ebb and flow of life in Edensphere. The hand on Argent's arm flexed instinctively as she looked at him, her eyes still flickering back and forth between him and Reverie questioningly; her expression was clearly disturbed and tinged with confusion, even though she didn't feel particularly scared. "Let me guess," she finally said. "That's not supposed to happen."
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He looked at Ran and Argent about a moment after the elevator stopped it's wild descent, and upon realizing that they were probably not at the scrapyard or wherever Ran worked, a thin line pressed across his face. He firmly believed that nothing in this little fishbowl ever broke by accident, and though he could not say what the reason was here, he could most certainly say this was unusual.
"I don't think it was," he replied evenly, moving across the elevator to thumb the 'door open' button for a couple of moments, though this had the expected effect of absolutely nothing. He pressed a number of other buttons, though the elevator's brokenness (or change in operation, at least) did not include the buttons. "Well, perhaps it was supposed to happen, but it was some other being that wanted it." He was not afraid or concerned - after all, the least it could do was kill them, and that hardly seemed so terrible - but it was annoying to be moved from his plan by this world. His eyes flicked up to the number, and for some reason, he had a hunch that their pre-planned destination was indeed very unusual. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
"I suppose Edensphere has decided we should linger on the forth floor for a while, then."
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