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nobodysheroine August 28 2008, 16:19:26 UTC
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."

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iniquiticity August 28 2008, 19:11:03 UTC
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."

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